Food
Hot Time Outside
Barbecue means long, slow cooking.
ANNABEL COHEN
Special to the Jewish News
M
ay is National Barbecue Month.
During the summer months here
in Michigan, people cook as
much outdoors as they do
indoors.
But while most think they barbecue all summer
long, that quick-turning, short-cooking-time,
standing-outside-flipping-burgers thing we do is
actually grilling.
Grilling is also known as "direct" heat or "radi-
ant" cooking, because foods are cooked directly over
the heat source. When grilling a steak, the tempera-
ture can reach close to 700 degrees, especially with
some of the fancier gas grills. That means your meat
is cooking fast.
Barbecuing is usually "indirect" heating, since
foods are placed away from the direct heat under-
neath. A true barbecue — the stuff made famous in
places like Texas, Kentucky and Arkansas, among
others — is the long, slow, smoky roasting process
you've heard tell about. That's why so many barbecue
recipes require hours and hours of cooking at lower
temps — between 200-300 degrees generally — to
make foods tender.
So while you can actually grill on a barbecue, you
need to take a few extra steps to barbecue foods on a
grill.
To barbecue on a traditional grill, it's necessary to
actually keep the lid down during the process, cook
slowly, and use wood for adding that requisite smoky
flavor.
Many of us barbecue without even knowing it.
Whenever there are ribs or other tough meats — like
brisket — on the grill menu, we barbecue them
because we know they need the long cooking time
for melt-in-your mouth perfection.
For charcoal grills, use charcoal on one side of the
grill or around the inside perimeter and place the
meat on the cool side. For gas grills with two or
more burners, keep one burner off and place the
meat on the cool side.
If you want to add smoky flavor, smoker boxes —
inexpensive small metal boxes available at grill shops
— are available, or simply fill an aluminum pan with
wood chips and water and soak (many wood chip
packages include instructions). When the heat dries
the wet wood, it begins smoldering and smoking,
adding the coveted flavor we seek. For less authentic
smoky flavor, you may also add an liquid called "liq-
uid smoke" (available in the supermarket spice aisle),
to the marinade.
This is only a mere morsel on the art that is barbe-
cuing, which is fine for our purposes. Just follow the
directions in the recipes below for excellent results.
DENISE BENAY'S SPICY RUB
Denise Benay from West Bloomfield has concoct-
ed her own sweet-and-spicy rub. Unlike a mari-
nade or sauce, a rub is literally rubbed on raw
food. Denise uses this all-purpose rub for every-
thing from beef to poultry to fish. For -beef, rub
on early; for poultry or fish, rub it on just before
cooking. If you'd like, add a bit of olive oil and
use the rub as a sauce for vegetables and fish. For
less "heat," cut the spices down. Play with the
recipe to make it your own.
1/4 cup paprika
1 T. ground black pepper
2 T. kosher salt
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. sugar
1 T. mild or hot chili powder, to taste
2 T. ground cumin
2-3 t. ground cayenne pepper, to taste
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk
well. Spread rub over all sides of meat, poultry or fish.
Cover the food with plastic wrap and chill several
hours to overnight for beef, and up to a half-hour for
chicken or fish. Makes about 2 cups of rub.
ANNABEL'S QUICK RUB
2 T. mild chili powder
3 T. paprika
1 T. granulated garlic
1 T. kosher salt
1 t. ground cumin
2 t. ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk
well. Spread rub over all sides of meat, poultry or fish.
Cover the food with plastic wrap and chill several
hours to overnight for beef, and up to a half-hour for
chicken or fish. Makes about 1 cup of rub.
BARBECUE BEEF BRISKET
This isn't your bubbie's brisket. This is hot and spicy, so
serve it with cool slaw or a crisp green salad. While
most barbecue briskets are cooked with the fat, we've
eliminated most of it for ease of preparation and serv-
ing.
1 5-pound flat-cut beef brisket, fat trimmed
Beer Basting Sauce:
1 can (12 oz.) beer, any type
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. minced garlic
1 T. brown sugar
Spread dry rub (Anabel's Quick Rub above) all over
brisket (about 1 cup of rub is sufficient). Place the beef
in a nonreactive container large enough to hold it and
covered with plastic wrap or a large zipper-style bag
and chill 6 hours to overnight.
Make the basting sauce: Combine all ingredients in a
medium bowl or jar with a tight fitting lid and whisk
or shake well. Set aside.
Heat barbecue, smoker or grill with lid to 200 250F
(follow manufacturer's instructions) adding soaked
wood chips as desired. Place the beef on the grate and
cover with the lid (if using a grill, cook the meat on the
cool side and keep the grill covered). Cook for about 6-
7 hours, turning beef 2 3 times.
Set aside 1 1/2 cups of basting sauce. Use remaining
sauce to brush on the beef and barbecue for 1-2 hours
more, until the meat is very tender. Remove the beef
from the heat, allow to cool for about 10 minutes
before slicing the brisket thinly, across the grain. Serve
hot, with the remaining basting sauce on the side.
Makes 8 12 servings.
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HOT TIME
on page 78
5/ 9
2003
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