The Nest

Wednesday, June 25, 2008 11:59 AM

Baby back ribs vs. spare ribs?

The two types of ribs come from different places on the pig. This seemingly small detail makes all of the difference in the flavor and texture of the ribs.

Spare ribs (pictured, top: meat side, rib side) are the Flintstones of ribs—bigger, tougher and meatier in every way, compared to baby backs. The ribs are cut from the belly of the pig—where bacon comes from. Because they’re so meaty, it takes longer to cook the ribs to the point that the tough and fatty meat breaks down to fall-apart tender. In most supermarkets, spare ribs are trimmed St. Louis-style, with the rib “tips” removed (pictured). This trim makes the racks more attractive, and can helps the ribs cook more evenly. Occasionally, you might run across whole, untrimmed racks of spare ribs. They’re generally a better value because they have more meat, including the tips.

Baby back ribs (pictured bottom: rib side, meat side) are cut from the loin section—the place where pork chops come from. If you think about what a bone-in pork chop looks like, a baby back rib is a pork chop with most of the meat (the “loin”) removed. In grocery stores, baby backs may also be labeled “loin back ribs” or “back ribs.” Baby backs are smaller, less fatty, and naturally more tender than spare ribs, which also means they take less time to cook. They’re the most popular rib, partly because they’re neat, compact and easy to eat—practically dainty compared to spare ribs.

How to cook ribs
Gas grills seem to be the tool of choice on The Nest. If you have a reliable grill thermometer (or even an oven thermometer set on the grate), you can make fine ribs using the 3-2-1 method:

3 hours, bone-side down on the grill at a steady 225 degrees.
2 hours, wrapped tightly in foil, bone-side up on the grill at 225 degrees.
1 hour, unwrapped and bone-side down on the grill at 225 degrees.

To keep the temperature in the grill steady, put a disposable aluminum loaf pan filled with water inside the grill. Place the water pan over the burner set on “high”, and lay the ribs on the side of the grill with low (or no) direct heat.

If you're into low and slow charcoal smoking, my friend and Barbecue Life Coach, Gary Wiviott, has a great step-by-step program for cooking on a Weber Smoky Mountain. (Full disclosure: We're working on a book together, and I've learned absolutely everything I know about barbecue from this guy.)

I was surprised to see only one recipe for spare ribs—Honey of a Spare Rib—in The Nest Recipe Finder. I know I’ve seen slow cooker rib recipes galore on WC. Please post links to any recipes or links to recipes on your blog here!

Filed under: Cooking, Tips and tricks, Grilling, Dinner
Posted by Nest Colleen

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 9:33 PM

First Aid for kitchen boo-boos?

I set the broiler on fire…three times. Once, I sliced a finger nearly to the bone, and I’ve nipped tips and knuckles more times than I can count. And burns. Oh, lovely burns. So many burns on my arms, hands, fingers and forehead (yes, forehead).

I’ve had a lot of cooking-related First Aid emergencies, but none as scary as the one a few weeks ago. There was a knock on the courtyard door. I was annoyed because we were watching Top Chef, but I looked through the curtains and saw my neighbor Susan bent over with her hands over her face. She’d thrown cold food into skillet full of boiling-hot oil, and it exploded. Her face was covered in blisters.

Fortunately, I had the Water Jel Emergency Burn Kit Chris gave me a while back, after a particularly bad burn. If you don't have one, get one. They're inexpensive and way more effective than plain, cold water for immediately treating burns. 

Is your kitchen prepared for any First Aid emergency? Do you know what to do for a cut, burn or severe allergic reaction?

Burns
If you have Water-Jel or another fast-acting burn reliever, apply it immediately. Or, run cold tap water over the burn, or keep it submerged in cold water, for at least five minutes. DO NOT put ice on the burn. Ice may help with immediate pain, but the extreme cold can cause more damage to the skin and slow the healing process. Although it’s a natural reaction, try not to blow on the burn and don’t stick a burned finger in your mouth. This can contaminate the wound and cause an infection.

If it’s a second or third degree burn, head to the nearest emergency room as soon as you can. Keep the burn covered with a loose, cold compress made out of gauze or a clean dishtowel.
 
While we’re on the subject of burns…do you have a small fire extinguisher in your kitchen? And a functioning smoke alarm? If not, get both. Today. You can shower baking soda on a minor, contained grease fire, but kitchen fires spread so quickly, your tiny box of Arm & Hammer isn’t going to save the day.

Cuts
If blood is spurting out of the wound, take immediate steps to control the bleeding (apply direct pressure with the cleanest surface you can find, like a clean dishtowel,) and call 911 or have someone drive you to the Emergency Room. Don’t drive yourself.

If it’s oozing blood, wash the cut under soap and warm water first. The bleeding will continue, but your first concern with a minor cut is an infection caused by the meat juice or other food bits on the knife that cut you. Apply an antibiotic ointment like Neosporin, then cover the cut with a sterile gauze pad and apply direct pressure for 5-10 minutes.

Resist the temptation to “peek” at the cut. Lifting the gauze will break the clotting around the cut and cause it to bleed again.

Food allergies
Severe allergic reactions, whether caused by a bee sting or a peanut, are serious business. Every household First Aid kit should contain an Epi-pen, a shot of epinephrine that can keep a person from going into anaphylactic shock. And, of course, you should know how to use it properly.

What was your last kitchen First Aid emergency? How did you treat it? Would you do anything differently next time around?

Filed under: Kitchen gear, Tips and tricks
Posted by Nest Colleen

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 10:32 AM

Making dinner when it’s too hot to cook?

There are days when turning on the stove, even to make a pot of coffee, makes me cringe. And as much as I’m loving grilling and barbecuing lately, hovering over a bed of live charcoals to avoid heating up the kitchen still doesn’t cut it.

Last year when the question came up (almost to the day), I wrote about no-cook meal ideas, but it didn’t take long to realize that “cheese and crackers” for dinner, as StacyS444 put it, might not fly for most of ya’ll. Then I wrote about my favorite chilled soups, which require little more than shoving chopped veggies in a blender. Totally do-able, and if DH doesn’t like it, tell him to take you out for dinner.

One more idea: ceviche. Yeah, yeah. “Raw” fish. Some of ya’ll would probably rather crawl in a hot stove than eat ceviche, but you can also make this cool, citrus-y seafood cocktail out of pre-cooked or boiled and chilled shrimp and other fish. It’s healthy, it’s easy to make, and after you get the hang of the basics, it’s one of those dishes you can throw together with whatever you have on hand as long as you have fresh fish. (Although, if you’re TTC or with bump, maybe stick with the chilled soup ☺.)

Tuna Ceviche

1 pound tuna, cut into 1/3” cubes or slices
2 limes, juiced
1 grapefruit, juiced
2 tablespoons coconut milk
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Optional add-ins: I use all of these ingredients in this ceviche, but you can pick and choose from the list to customize the ceviche to your taste.

1/2 cup water chestnuts or jicama, finely chopped
1/4 – 1/3 cup mango, diced
1/4 cup scallions, chopped
5 Thai basil leaves, chopped
2 sprigs cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 teaspoon habanero, Thai, or other chili, minced
1 lime, juiced

Garnish
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup crisp fried shallots (also sold ready-made in most Asian grocery stores)

Combine the tuna, lime and grapefruit juice, sesame oil, coconut milk and soy sauce in shallow glass baking dish. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to 1 hour (depending on the size of the cubes of tuna). Do not marinate for more than 2 or 3 hours.

When the tuna is cooked, drain off the liquid. Gently toss the fish with the remaining ingredients. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.

 
Cha-Cha Shrimp Ceviche
1 pound shell-on shrimp, poached in seasoned liquid (recipe follows)
2 quarts water
1 vanilla bean, split
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped
1-inch piece ginger, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 star anise

1/2 cup yellow or red pepper, diced
1/2 cup sallions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup basil or mint, chopped
2 limes, juiced
1/4 cup mayo
1 teaspoon sriracha/chili paste

Combine the water, vanilla bean, lemongrass, ginger, garlic and star anise in a large stock pot. Bring the water to a boil. Add the shrimp. Reduce heat let the shrimp simmer until cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and drain the shrimp. Quick-cool the shrimp in a bowl of ice. Dice the shrimp into bite-size, 1/2”-inch pieces.

Mix the yellow pepper, scallion, garlic, herbs, lime juice, mayo and chili paste in a large bowl. Add the shrimp to the mixture and stir until the shrimp are coated. Chill the ceviche in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.

Ceviche Tips

* Use fresh, sushi grade fish. I’ve used frozen fish in a pinch, but the ceviche tends to get water-y and isn’t as tasty.

* Blanch shhrimp, octopus and squid

* OJ isn’t acidic enough to “cook” fish in a ceviche. Use OJ for flavoring, and use lime, lemon and grapefruit for marinating.

* Raw fish cut in a 1” dice takes about 6 to 8 hours to fully cook in a citrus bath. If you cut the fish down to a 1/3” dice, it’ll take about half the amount of time.

* If the ceviche has a mushy texture after “cooking” in citrus, toss in a few cubes of ice to refresh it. Remove the ice cubes before serving.

[Thanks to BensBabe823 for reminding me about my stash of ceviche recipes!]
 

Posted by Nest Colleen

Wednesday, June 04, 2008 10:10 AM

How do I light charcoal without lighter fluid?

It’s officially grilling season—the gassy, pungent smell of lighter fluid-soaked charcoal is thick in the air of our neighborhood. I’ll admit I was once guilty of the same crime: of squeezing half a bottle of lighter fluid over quick-start briquettes, if only to experience that primal thrill of watching the charcoal bowl flare up for an instant.  

Those days are over. With a chimney starter (pictured left), you’ll never taste the acrid, chemical flavor of lighter fluid on your burger or steak again. I give all credit to Chicago’s barbecue life coach, Mr. Gary Wiviott, for showing me the way of the chimney.  

Step 1: Loosely crumple three full sheets of newspaper (not glossy circulars or magazine paper). Loose paper balls or rings allow air to circulate through and around the paper when you light it. This allows the flames to get hot enough to ignite the charcoal. If the paper is tightly wadded, it will smolder when lit.

Step 2: Insert the crumpled sheets in the base of the chimney starter. Don’t cram them in there. Remember: airflow is key.

Step 3: Fill the chimney with charcoal.*

Step 4: Set the chimney on the top grate of your charcoal grill, with one side of the starter resting on the edge of the grill. The chimney should have a slight forward tilt. This improves airflow, as well.

Step 5: Light the newspaper in two or three places.

The paper will smolder and smoke for a minute or two as it burns and engages the charcoal. If you use natural lump charcoal, the charcoal will pop and crackle as it begins to ignite. This is normal.

Step 6: Wait about 10 minutes. At first, the chimney will emit thick clouds of smoke. As the charcoal at the bottom ignites, smoke will continue to pour out, but you’ll notice that it gradually starts looking lighter and “cleaner".

A full chimney of charcoal should be ready in 10 to 15 minutes. The charcoal is fully engaged when the smoke dies down to faint wisps, and you see burning red embers just below the top layer of charcoal.

Step 7: Lift the top grate of your grill with a pair of tongs or oven mitts. The grate will be hot from lighting the charcoal on it.

Step 8: Gently pour the chimney of charcoal on the bottom charcoal grate.**

Step 9: If you need more charcoal to get the grill hot enough, pour a chimney half full of unlit charcoal over the pile of lit charcoal. Give the unlit charcoal about 5 minutes to engage.

Step 10: Put the top grate back in place. You’re ready to cook.

* Use natural lump charcoal—it burns faster, hotter and cleaner than regular charcoal briquettes, which contain lots of chemicals that make the charcoal light quickly and burn evenly. Lump charcoal is nothing more than charred wood.

** It’s usually a good idea to “bank” the charcoal so that a portion of the grate is set up to cook by indirect heat. The side of the cooking grate with more charcoal underneath it will be hotter, and you can sear meat over this high, “direct” heat. After searing, move the meat to the “indirect” side—the section of the top grate over no (or low) charcoal. The interior of the meat will continue cooking without charring the outside.

Put your new knowledge to the test: check out these great grill recipes from The Nest's Recipe Finder.

Filed under: Cooking, Tips and tricks, Grilling, Dinner, Recipes
Posted by Nest Colleen

Wednesday, May 28, 2008 8:09 AM

How (and why) should I brine meat?

If you’ve never brined a chicken breast, you won’t really believe the impact brining has on meat until you actually taste it. Brining makes meat very tender and juicy. The meat does not dry out the way un-brined meat can when it’s overcooked. If you’re prone to overcooking meat, brining is the answer to your culinary shortcomings.

Brines are like marinades, but instead of using an acid like vinegar or citrus to flavor and tenderize meat, you use a strong saltwater solution. Meat absorbs the brine, the salt in the brine untangles the proteins in meat, and water gets trapped inside the cell structure. The water inside the meat “plumps” the cell structure, and the meat stays juicy and tender.

The cool thing about brining is that the saltwater solution actually penetrates the meat. If you flavor the brine with seasonings, like herbs or spices, those flavors will also be absorbed into the meat. (A marinade, on the other hand, impacts the surface flavor and texture of the meat—it doesn’t actually get inside.)

After brining, cook the meat as you normally would--whether you're grilling, baking, frying or sauteeing. Don’t worry about brined meat tasting too salty. The sugar in a brine balances the flavor of the salt, and the cooked meat won’t taste salty. (You can also use honey, white sugar, or even a very sweet juice as the sweetener.)

Basic Brine
Brines 3 to 4 pounds of meat

Try this basic brine on chicken pieces (breasts, thighs, wings), shrimp or pork.

3/4 cup Kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 gallon water

Seasoning Ideas (optional)
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

4 smashed garlic cloves

1 jalapeno, sliced into rings

1 onion, quartered

1 tablespoon citrus zest

1/4 cup vodka or bourbon

1 1-inch piece ginger, sliced

In a large pot, heat the salt, sugar and water until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. (The brine does not need to come to a full boil.) Remove the brine solution from the heat and allow it to cool completely in the refrigerator.

When the brine is fully cooled, put the meat you’re brining in two gallon-size zip-top bags, and pour half of the cold brine in each bag. Place the bags in a large bowl or on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch drips) and brine the meat for 1 to 2 hours. (The length of the brining time depends on the size of the meat. Shrimp takes less than an hour, chicken pieces brine in about 11/2 hours. Thick pork chops or tenderloin can take as much as 8 hours of brining time.


Brining Tips

* Always start with a cold brine. This is vital for food safety—throwing cold chicken into a hot brine is a recipe for a food safety disaster. If you’re in a hurry, decrease the amount of water in the solution by 1 or 2 cups, and add ice cubes to quick-cool the brine after dissolving the salt.

* Always use kosher salt.

* Never—ever—reuse a brine. 

* Zip-top bags work best because you can fully immerse the meat in the brine and flip the bags to distribute the marinade. Large buckets also work, but be sure it fits inside your refrigerator.

The food science of brining
Brined meat undergoes osmosis. All meat contains saltwater, but the salt in the meat is not as strong as the salt content of the brine. When meat is soaked in a heavily salted liquid, the meat absorbs the brine until the concentration of salt inside the meat is the same as the concentration of the salt in the brine—in effect, the meat tries to “correct” the salt imbalance by absorbing more salt.)

Filed under: Cooking, Tips and tricks, Grilling, Recipes, Baking
Posted by Nest Colleen

Tuesday, May 20, 2008 6:28 PM

How do I make marinade from scratch?

Sure, you can buy bottled marinade. But there’s a reason you’re hanging out on the WC board—and it’s not just to earn a Nesticle. It’s because you like to eat, and you probably like to cook. Or, maybe you’re learning to cook.

If there’s one thing I’d like to accomplish as your weekly Dinner Q&A flunky, it’s to get some of ya’ll comfortable with on-the-fly cooking. I want you to be able to open up your cabinets and throw something together without being a slave to a recipe or running to the store to buy more ingredients. Not only is this a more cost-effective way to cook, it develops your culinary intuition. It builds your instincts for balancing flavors and improvising when you run out of ingredients.

So, I’m starting with the DIY marinade, which is nothing more than a seasoned, acidic liquid that lends flavor and tenderizes the texture of meat. At it’s most basic, a marinade is made of two parts oil to one part acid. 2:1. The rest is really up to you.

This template makes enough marinade for about two pounds of meat.

Oil: 3/4 cup
Oil transfers the flavors of the marinade seasoning to the meat. I use canola because it’s less expensive, or cheap olive oil. Feel free to experiment with other light, neutral oils you have lying around the kitchen, like grape seed, safflower and sunflower. Heavy, flavorful oils like corn, peanut or sesame can overwhelm the flavor of a marinade. A teeny splash of sesame oil will do in a marinade with Asian flavors.

Acid: 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons
Vinegar: red wine, white wine, apple cider, rice wine, champagne, tarragon, hot pepper
Citrus juice: orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, yuzu
Fruit or vegetable juice: unsweetened cranberry, pineapple, mango, tomato, papaya
Yogurt or buttermilk
Wine
Mustard

When balanced with oil, acid in a marinade breaks down the proteins in meat, which gives meat a juicy, tender texture. Too much acid will toughen the proteins. Use a single acid, or mix them up—mustard and wine, red wine vinegar and lemon juice. (One caution: Yogurt, papaya, pineapple, ginger and kiwifruit contain enzymes that can turn meat to mush if it’s marinated too long. Use a smaller amount, or cut the marinating time by half.)

Seasoning: 1 teaspoon salt, plus 1 to 3 tablespoons herbs or spices
Oil and acid contribute some flavor to a marinade, but they primarily transfer the flavor of the seasonings to the meat. So, this is where you get to start fiddling around with flavors you like. Oregano? Basil? Honey? Tamarind? Herbs de Provence? Citrus zest? Whatever. Sprinkle in a little at a time, taste it and tweak accordingly. The amount you use really depends on the strength of the flavor and other seasoning in the marinade.

Marinade Time: 2 to 3 hours
Here’s how to whip up a lemon-pepper marinade using the template:

3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Pour all of the ingredients in a large (at least 12 oz) jar with a tight-fitting lid. Screw the lid. Shake vigorously. Add more salt or pepper to taste. Voila! Marinade.

Filed under: Cooking, Low-fat cooking, Tips and tricks, Easy, Recipes
Posted by Nest Colleen

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 6:02 PM

What do the different meat grades mean?

The USDA uses as many as eight grades to indicate the quality of different types of meat, including beef, lamb, veal, pork and poultry.

Beef and lamb grades are based on 1) the age of the animal and 2) the amount of marbling in the meat. Here’s how it works: the younger the animal and the more marbling in the meat, the more flavorful and tender the meat, the higher the grade.

USDA Prime is the highest grade for beef, lamb and veal. Only about 2 percent of the beef sold in the U.S. makes the Prime grade, and most of this ends up in restaurants. In grocery stores, it’s very expensive and very rare.

USDA Choice is second best, and about 45 percent of beef and veal scores this grade. In high-end restaurants, if a grade isn’t listed on the menu, it’s probably USDA Choice.

USDA Select is the last tier in beef sold at the retail level. Lamb in this category is graded “Good”. Lower grades are ground up or used in processed meats.

Although the meat still goes through USDA inspections for quality and safety checks, pork and poultry grading are voluntary, and processors must pay to have the meat graded. Pork grades are “Acceptable” and “Utility”. Grade A is the only one you’re likely to see on packages of poultry, and it generally indicates the poultry is free of cuts, bruises, broken bones and has few pin feathers.

Posted by Nest Colleen