Mastering the Grill_ The Owner's Manual for Outdoor Cooking - Andrew Schloss [271]
TIMING
Prep: 5 minutes
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GOOD WITH
Seafood: any fish or shellfish
Poultry: chicken, turkey, game hen, duck
Meat: beef, lamb, pork, veal
INGREDIENTS (MAKES ABOUT 1/3 CUP)
1½ tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon caraway seed
1 teaspoon ground cardamom ½ teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all of the ingredients.
2. Use as directed in a recipe; can be stored in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
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TIMING
Prep: 5 minutes
TAKE CARE WHEN YOU GLAZE
Most glazes include a significant amount of sweeteners to help them lacquer a food with a crispy crust and a beautiful sheen, but it also makes them scorch easily. For that reason, always use glazes in the last 5 minutes of cooking, and don’t turn your back on them.
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Glazes
Hot Pepper-Bourbon Syrup
This spicy, not-so-sweet hard sauce is splendid with any roast: turkey, chicken, lamb, and especially pork. Notice that there are two types of pepper in this recipe: red and black. The reason is not for color (although the contrasting specks do look nice together); it is because different peppers hit the palate at different places. Red pepper (cayenne) tends to warm the back of the throat, jalapeño heats the lips, and black pepper radiates around the center of the mouth. When food tastes painfully peppery, it is not usually because there is too much pepper; rather, the types of pepper are out of balance. The remedy is to add more pepper of a different sort to redirect the heat.
GOOD WITH
Seafood: salmon or any other oily fish
Poultry: chicken, turkey, game hen
Meat: lamb, pork, veal
INGREDIENTS (MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP)
1 cup bourbon whiskey
½ cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
DIRECTIONS
1. In a small saucepan, heat the bourbon with the sugar, salt, and red and black peppers. Whisk in the butter until incorporated.
2. Serve warm. Refrigerate in a tightly closed container for up to 2 weeks; rewarm before serving.
Red-Cooking Lacquer
In Chinese cuisine, “red-cooking” means simmering in soy sauce until whatever is being cooked, usually chicken or pork, turns a deep mahogany red. The same way that brine adds moisture and flavor (page 85), seasoned soy sauce has the potential to relax proteins and invade them with whatever flavorful ingredients are infused into it. This glaze includes floral-scented Szechwan pepper and sweet anise seed.
GOOD WITH
Seafood: salmon or any other oily fish
Poultry: chicken, turkey, duck, game hen
Meat: lamb, pork, beef
INGREDIENTS (MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP)
½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon cracked Szechwan pepper
1 teaspoon anise seed
1 tablespoon sherry
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
1. Mix all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until the brown sugar dissolves.
2. Serve at room temperature. Refrigerate in a tightly closed container for up to 2 weeks. Bring back to room temperature before serving.
Peking Crackle
Based on the glaze that gives Peking duck its crackling skin, this salty, sweet, and savory glaze is delicious on any poultry. It is best used with indirect grilling. If used directly over a flame, watch its progress very carefully. It can reduce to a blackened sheen in a few untended seconds.
GOOD WITH
Seafood: salmon
Poultry: chicken, duck, turkey, game hen
Meat: lamb, pork
INGREDIENTS (MAKES ABOUT ½ CUP)
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons honey
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon Chinese chili paste with garlic
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all of the ingredients.
2. Serve at room temperature. Refrigerate in a tightly closed container for up to 1 month. Bring back to room temperature before serving.
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TIMING
Prep: 5 minutes
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Mustard-Molasses Glaze
The combination of mustard and molasses is magical-similar