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April 10, 2018 by Greg Underwood

How getting a raclette grill can help you save time in the kitchen

The Raclette tradition has been around for hundreds of years. It hails from Switzerland, where workers and shepherds used to come back home with a lot of cold in their bones and used to sit around a fire where they melted cheese and poured it over their food. Nowadays, the process has changed drastically, and that’s all thanks to the many technological advances that have occurred over the years.

But raclette remains one of the most popular types of dishes in Switzerland and other countries, too. Let’s see what makes it so special.

Preparation time

The neatest thing about having your friends and family gathered around a table where there’s a raclette grill is that they get to cook their own food. What this means for you is that you will spend far less time in the kitchen than you would normally.

Of course, there are several ingredients that need to be pre-cooked such as potatoes, which can’t possibly be baked or fried properly on a raclette grill. However, aside from cutting all of the ingredients so that they are all neatly prepared, you don’t have to do all that much in the way of preparing food per se.

How does such a grill work?

Most raclette grills, including some products from here, are made of just a couple of components. Usually, there’s a top surface where you and your other guests are going to place the foods that need cooking. Typically, this top is made of granite, stone, or a non-stick material like Teflon.

Under the cooking surface, you’ll find a variable number of little pans where you can place a variety of cheeses to be melted by the heat of the appliance. These you’re going to pour over your food once everything is done and ready. So, you see, there’s not all that much to say about the actual design of the appliance — there isn’t anything all that complex about it.

Ease of use and cleaning

While back in the day, Swiss shepherds used the fire from a hearth to melt the cheese, now you don’t have to go through all that. Fortunately, raclette grills are electric, which means that they are far safer to use than open fires. Nevertheless, if there are little children joining the meal, too, you have to make sure that you explain to their parents that they should not touch the cooking surfaces or the pans with bare fingers.

As for ease of use, the machine is pretty straightforward. You literally don’t have to do all that much other than place the food you want to eat on the top and then maybe turn it on the other side once in a while.

Cleaning can be done very conveniently as many manufacturing brands go to extreme lengths to ensure that their appliances come with non-stick surfaces and are traditionally made of several dishwasher-safe components.

March 1, 2018 by Greg Underwood

Is it Safe if Your Steak Is Pink?

How safe is the meat you’re grilling or ordering in a restaurant? Some people insist on ordering their steak well-done, even if they’re at the best steakhouse and seafood restaurant in town. It’s not only because they like the taste of it, but many of them say it’s because of safety reasons. They say that if the meat isn’t fully cooked, then you run the risk of ingesting bacteria that can make you feel sick afterwards.

But is that true? Is it dangerous if your steak is pink instead of truly well done? Do you risk your health when you insist on a rare steak? Let’s clarify the issue with certain facts:

For Beef, Pink Medium-Rare Steak is Safe

Medium-rare pink meat is actually safe, as long as we’re talking about beefsteaks only. Onsite studies have already confirmed this multiple times. What you have to understand is that bacteria (and E. coli in particular) mainly live on the outer surface of the steak. So when you grill your beefsteaks to a medium-rare level, you’ve made it hot enough to kill the bacteria outside the meat.

In fact, in these studies, it was discovered that any bacteria you may find on the meat once it’s cooked comes from the tongs and other utensils you may use with your meat. That’s usually because the tongs have touched the raw meat before it’s been cooked properly.

So to cook it to a proper medium-rare level, you have to use a meat thermometer and check that the internal meat temperature is 140° F. You then lay it to rest for just a few minutes, until it reaches 145° F.

Meanwhile, you can minimize the bacterial contamination from the tongs by sterilizing or washing the tongs between turns of the meat. This may be a tedious exercise, but then it’s better than suffering food poising after enjoying your steak.

What about Rare Beef Steaks?

Some people actually enjoy eating meat that’s almost bloody and raw. The meat hardly spends any significant time on the grill at all. Any kind of “done-ness” that’s below medium-rare runs a rather high risk of bacterial contamination.

Besides, rare steaks give you a great level of juiciness and tenderness while the center of the steak actually turns warm. It’s a bit off-putting when you put a bit of cold meat into your mouth. The fat in the meat also doesn’t get a chance to melt, and this is actually what makes a steak so flavorful.

How Do You Know How a Steak Is Done?

You can simply press the center of the steak with a finger to find out for yourself if the steak is medium-rare already. If the steak sinks a little bit and then springs right back, it’s already medium-rare. If it feels mushy and soft, it’s still not done yet. But if it feels firm or hard, then you’ve entered the medium level of doneness.

What About Ground Beef?

Pink meat may not be all that safe when we’re talking about ground beef. That’s because ground beef is processed through a blender. So the bacteria can go from the outside and into the inside.

When you’re dealing with ground beef, it’s best to play it safe and just cook it up to 160° F. That should take care of any bacterial presence inside and outside the beef.

The same goes if you’re mechanically tenderizing the meat with pins or needles. You’re also pushing the bacteria from the outside into the inside of the meat. So again you need to cook the meat to 160° F.

January 25, 2018 by Greg Underwood

How to Get Started with Smoking Meat at Home

Smoking is a long and proven tradition to process protein. It is known to be healthier than frying or grilling, simply because you can have proteins such as beef, poultry, and seafood cooked at low temperatures to produce a very tender and flavorful dish.

Smoking is a lot easier than it was a few years ago. A lot of smaller restaurants and cooking enthusiasts at home are starting to smoke their own meat to get the best results. If you’re interested in giving smoking meat at home a try, here are a few basic things you need to know.

Pick a Good Electric Smoker

The avid smoking fans will tell you that you can get much better flavors using the more traditional wooden or charcoal smokers. This is true to a certain degree, but modern electric smokers are worthy alternatives to consider too.

Electric smokers are far more advanced and allow you to benefit from consistent results. You can still get a smoky flavor that is unique to traditional smokers by using the right wood chips, adding herbs, and allowing the meat to absorb flavors by letting it sit overnight.

Electric smokers are also easier to use in general, making them perfect for beginners. You can find the best smokers to pick up depending on your personal preferences with the help of review sites such as electricsmokercenter.com.

Choosing Wood Chips

As mentioned before, you can still get a smoky flavor by using the right wood chips. Keep in mind that wood chips are designed to produce different flavors when used to smoke meat. Choosing the right wood chips according to the flavor you want to achieve is one of the first things you should learn in the beginning.

Oak, for example, is great for bigger cuts of red meat. It is perfect for smoking over an extended period of time due to the more neutral and subtle flavor this type of wood produces. If you’re smoking pork, you can also go with apple or cherry wood chips to get that sweet flavor.

Mesquite, on the other hand, has a strong, unmistakable flavor. It is perfect for proteins that require only a short amount of time in the electric smoker, such as smaller cuts of red meat or seafood.

Know Your Protein

The last thing you want to master when you’re just getting started with smoking meat at home is the proteins you can smoke. Each meat requires specific handling to get the best results. A good example is when you want to smoke seasoned red meat. Wrapping the meat in aluminum foil and letting it sit overnight before smoking will bring out the best flavors.

With seafood, you want to keep the smoking time as short as possible. Seafood isn’t a durable protein, so to speak, and you want to be extra careful when smoking salmon or shrimp to maintain its stunning texture.

Smoking meat is a lot of fun. The more you learn the basics, the more you will find it interesting to explore. With the basic tips and tricks we have covered in this article, you can get started with smoking meat at home right away.

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