Game Meat -- Remove the wild taste from game meat by soaking it in baking soda and water overnight in your refrigerator. Rinse well and pat dry before cooking.
MIX IT UP, RUB IT IN -- Rubs can be applied to meat up to 30 minutes before cooking. If you are short on time, just sprinkle and cook. Or apply the blend by patting or rubbing it into the meat; use as much or as little as you wish. Here are some other tips:
| Tasty Crust | Rubs can contribute a nice crust to meats. Give the meat a heavy coat, then grill or sautè quickly. |
| Waste Not | If two or more homemade rubs or purchased seasoning blends are getting low, combine them. For instance, lemon pepper would go well with an herb blend for lamb, poultry, pork or seafood. |
| More than a Rub | Add a little moisture to a dry seasoning rub and it becomes a paste. Add lots of moisture, such as vinegar, oil or wine, and the rub becomes a marinade. |
| Please Crush | Always crush dried herbs with your hands to release their aromatic oils. |
| Which Sugar? | Brown sugar is a good sweetener for rubs because it will not burn as quickly as white sugar due to its higher moisture content. |
| Poultry Seasoning | If you have ever used commercial poultry seasoning, you've used a rub. Thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, black pepper and nutmeg are the ingredients in poultry seasoning. Now that you know what's in it, make your own and tailor it to your taste. |
Peppery Rib-Eye Steak Dry Rub -- Beef rib-eye steaks are tender and delicious, but this zesty dry marinade can give any beefsteak a lift. Make a large batch of the dry rub and store airtight in a cool dry place. It is also good rubbed on pork, chicken or turkey.
Get Some GREAT ORIENTAL Recipes Here!
MARINADES -- Marinades are great flavor boosters and tenderizers. To prepare these recipes, mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl or resealable plastic bag. Add meat, chicken or fish and marinate in the refrigerator an hour or two before you grill them. Store unused marinade that hasn't come into direct or indirect contact with raw foods in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
| Peppery Peanut Marinade | 1 cup chunky peanut butter, 1 cup dry red wine, ¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted, 1 garlic clove, minced, 1 teaspoon ground red pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Makes 2 cups. |
| Marinade | 1 cup olive oil, ½ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup dried oregano, 2 tablespoons chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1 tablespoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt. Makes 1½ cups. |
| Teriyaki Marinade | 1 cup soy sauce, ¾ cup honey, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 tablespoon chopped garlic |
| Southwestern Marinade | 1 cup dark Mexican or other dark beer, 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice, 1 small chopped onion (about ½ cup), 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic, 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, 1 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon salt. Makes 1½ cups. |
WOK THIS WAY! -- Before cooking beef, pork, or chicken, partially freeze for 1 hour. Easy for slicing thinly. Place meat in marinade adding a small amount of cornstarch which will protect the meat from high heat and make it more tender and juicy. Use only 1 tablespoon of oil for 4 servings. Stir frying in a Steel Wok will increase the iron content of the food by 200-500%.
Tough Meat -- Tenderize tough meat by rubbing it with baking soda. Let it stand for several hours before rinsing and cooking.
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PORK -- In the War of 1812, Uncle Sam Wilson, a meat packer, shipped hundreds of barrels of pork to American troops. Each was stamped with "U.S." It soon made the rounds that the initials stood for "Uncle Sam" whose pork shipment seemed to be enough to feed the entire army. Soon the expression "Uncle Sam" came to mean the government. Pork played a role in the naming of Wall Street, too. When settlers first came to the then-rural island of Manhattan, they had to erect a wall to stop the forays of semi-wild pigs. They built the wall on the northern edge of lower Manhattan for protection from the pigs, and the street that ran alongside it was called Wall Street.
Pork Chops -- Rub baking soda into the fat surrounding pork chops to make them extra crispy.
Get Some GREAT PORK Recipes Here!
See the many great PORK RECIPES, visit Debbie's Country Cookin'
HERBS THAT ARE BEST SUITED FOR CERTAIN MEATS
Make a NON-GREASY Gravy -- You can strain fat out of meat broth by pouring it through a paper coffee filter. Works every time!
All-Around Breading for any Food -- 2 cups whole wheat flour, ½ tablespoon paprika, 1 tablespoon dry mustard, ¾ teaspoon ground celery seed, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon basil, 1 teaspoon marjoram, ¾ teaspoon thyme.
How to "DEGLAZE" a Pan -- After cooked food has been removed from a pan, the pan is "deglazed" to save every bit of flavor in those tasty brown bits that cling to it. To deglaze, add a small amount of water or other liquid; bring to a boil as you scrape up the cooked-on or caramelized food. Use the flavorful brew in gravy.
Quick Honey-Dijon BBQ Sauce -- Mix 1 part honey-dijon mustard with 3 parts of your favorite BBQ sauce.
FOR MORE "SAUCES", VISIT THE "DAIRY CATEGORY
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