How To Smoke Meats Without Drying Out

Learning how to smoke meats without drying out is much harder than learning not to burn the food or learning how to tell when food is done. There are a number of factors that contribute to moist, juicy meat in the smoker. Begin by selecting the best meat. Choice or prime meat is more expensive, but you do get what you pay for. The most important thing to look for is the marbeling of the meat. Marbeling is thin strips of white that are woven into the meat. The white strips are fat. You want as much marbeling as possible on your meat (especially beef). Brine pork and chicken before you cook them. Brining is soaking the meat in cool, salty water. Most recipe books will call for 20 to 30 minutes of brining the meat. Two to three hours is best, and do not be afraid to brine large cuts of meat overnight in the refrigerator. Get the temperature right before you put in the food. If the smoker is not up to temperature or is too hot, it will cook too slowly or too quickly. Either of these can make the meat tougher. Keep the lid closed unless it is necessary to open it. Add 20 to 30 minutes on to the cooking time for each time you open the lid during cooking. Lengthening the cooking time often leads to drying out the meat. Opening the lid also lets out the smoke flavor and the moisture that is trapped inside. Use a good quality thermometer. Make sure the thermometer on your grill is accurate. You can place a meat thermometer in a potato and leave it in the smoker to judge how accurate your smoker thermometer is. Do not pierce the meat. Avoid cutting into the meat or sticking it with a fork until you are ready to eat it. After the food is done, set it aside for at least 10 to 20 minutes before serving. This will allow the juices and flavors to redistribute in the meat. Add a pan of water to the smoker. Some models come with a pan, but if yours does not it is fine to use a stainless steel or foil pan in the smoker to impart moisture. After you learn how to smoke meats without drying out, you will be much happier with the foods that come out of your smoker, and you will be willing to try more expensive meats and meats that are more complicated to smoke.

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How to Brine Meat and Why

What is brining? Why do it? Brining is soaking meat in a salt heavy solution. Just like humans, most mammals are mostly made up of water. When meat is soaked with brine, the water in the meat will be drawn out into the brine because the moisture inside the meat is greater than the moisture outside due to the salt. This happens until the point the that the brine dries out the meat so much that there's more moisture in the brine. The meat will then start drawing in the brine and until the moisture is equal. This is when the brine mixes all throughout the meat. Simply put, soaking meat in a salt heavy, flavored, and seasoned solution will replace the water in the meat with the solution, something no amount of basting can achieve. This alone is reason enough to brine before cooking, but brining also breaks down proteins which make it harder for the meat to lose moisture by non-liquid means. So brining can evenly season and flavor meat and also makes meat more juicy after cooking. Brining is also the best way to season deep fried turkey or chicken, since basting is not possible and outer seasoning is limited to dry rubs or batter. How to brine: The basic brine is about 1 cup of salt per 1 gallon of water. Many brine recipes will have equal parts sugar or brown sugar and salt. Sugar will help brown and crisp the outside of the meat while cooking. Other than salt and water, any other seasoning can be used in the brine. Some of the water can be substituted with broth, fruit juices, wine, or beer. Coarse herbs, seeds, and fruit can be added. Use whatever seasoning you want the meat to be seasoned with, including just black pepper. Once you're ingredients are picked out, add them all in a pot with enough water to easily mix and cover the salt and sugar. Boiling is not necessary, just heat until all the salt is dissolved. You can also just boil water in a tea kettle and pour into your ingredients. The brine needs to be cold before adding the meat. You can wait until it's cooled, or just add it to the rest of the cold water and use ice cubes to cool it down faster. Brining takes 6 to 12 hours. Brining overnight is usually all that's needed. At least double the amount of brine solution as the amount of meat is needed and at least enough to submerge the meat in the container. Three times the amount of brine as the amount of meat and in a spacious container is best. Smaller items such as pork chops can be easily put in plastic containers with lids or even a large plastic zip lock bag if it's strong enough. Chickens or ducks may require a large stock pot with a lid. It's always best to brine in the refrigerator. Use a closeable cooler for brining turkeys and keep the cooler cold and packed with ice. Never brine in the sink or an open container. Although the salt in the brine greatly slows the breeding of bacteria, the brine and the raw meat are contaminated and should be treated as such. Prevent it from spilling or other items in the refrigerator from touching it. After brining and before cooking, rinse the meat with fresh water and dry. Do not add anymore salt during or before cooking. Also keep in mind that most all meat cooks faster and browns faster after brining. Expect brined meat to cook about 10% faster than unbrined meat. Stephen French, owner of TurkeyFryerCamp.com Turkey Fryers Selling Bayou Classic turkey fryers, stock pots, and other indoor and outdoor cookware.

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7 Ways to Cook Ground Beef

Beef is one of the best meats that we love. It is very tasty and it has lots of protein in it. There is something in beef that makes dishes from good to wow. If cooked properly beef can be very juicy and satisfying. It is also a flexible meat. You can eat it raw, like in a beef tartare which is minced beef or carpaccio which is thinly sliced beef. You can cook it as it is like a steak, just add some spices. You can also stew it for very long time and make a very satisfying meal. Another way to prepare it is to air dry it or cure it like corned beef which is in cured in a brine solution, good for sandwiches. Ground beef is one of the best use of beef. We normally use it for meat balls, burgers, stir fry and more. Here are some ground beef recipes that you can try at home. Ground beef with potatoes casserole A warm and hearty casserole which is made of ground beef, potatoes, cream of mushroom soup topped with sharp cheddar cheese. It is a one pot meal with all the nutrients. Protein from the ground beef, carbohydrates from the potatoes, and calcium from the cheese, what more can you ask for? Taco Filling Sauté ground beef with taco seasoning, chili sauce, and lots of garlic. Put on taco shells top with chopped lettuce, tomato and tangy and spicy pepper jack cheese. Everybody will say Ole! Meatballs It is made up of ground beef, home-made bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, eggs and seasonings. Every family has their own version of meatballs. It can be all American or Italian. You can eat them as a meal with mashed potatoes, make a meatball sandwich, or top them in spaghetti. Whatever your preference, it is super delicious. Spaghetti and Meatballs Make use of the meat balls that you made and make a crowd pleasing spaghetti and meatballs. Just sauté garlic, onion, basil, salt and pepper, and tomato sauce and top it with parmesan cheese. It is simply awesome. Enchilada Casserole Mexican food is hot on the scene nowadays. So what is a good way to infuse Mexican spices than enchilada. It is made up of ground beef, chili peppers, cream of mushroom soup topped with cheddar cheese and crunchy tortilla chips. Baked Macaroni Make your usual mac and cheese meatier by adding ground beef and tomato sauce. Sauté ground beef, garlic, onion and tomato sauce then make a cheese sauce by mixing cheddar, pepper jack and Gouda. Bake it until brown on top and enjoy. Beefy Macaroni Casserole Pump up your baked macaroni is one of the staples in home recipes. Just add vegetables like carrots and potatoes, cooked macaroni, ground beef and top with cheese. You can try these ground beef recipes that you and your family will surely love. Ground beef is a good source of protein. It is also very tasty and except if you are a vegetarian, you will surely love these recipes and keep them for good. For more information on Food and Recipes, Please visit Ground Beef Recipes, Recipes for Ground Beef and Chicken Recipe.

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Stopping your dog from peeing in the home within a week Some tips I've used.

Puppy Peeing all over carpet? This article will show you what to do to stop that nonsense! Stop Puppy Peeing and ruining your rugs! I followed a very specific training regimen when I brought home my long-haired chihuahua, Puppy. Yes, her name is Puppy!will tell you what I did to stop this behavior in my puppy Chihuahua in less than 1 week.In the 5 minutes it will take to read this article, you will know what to do to stop puppy peeingWhat causes a puppy to pee in home in first place? Know this answer.The dog is marking its territory instinctively.Understand that your puppy has a sense of smell thousands of times more advanced than ours! Any other dog entering the house will know that "This place belongs to Puppy, not me!" Some breeds are known to do this more often than others, and if you have a male dog, it is more likely going to mark than female. What not to do? Getting angry is one result that an owner has. The owner then punished the puppy to try to get it to stop puppy peeing. The problem is that dogs have no memory at all as to why you are upset. They don't know the reason they are in trouble. You will confound him totally if you do this.The only real way to solve the problem is positive reinforcement and rewards for 'GOOD' behavior, and not even acknowledge the bad behavior. This method will stop puppy peeingSo let's talk about what you can do to overcome this problem. The best solution is to start early with crate training. I began crate training my puppy the minute she came home at three months.It may appear to be cruel like a prison to you, but it is not.Crates are a comfort to a puppy, and they begin to enjoy, and retreat to it, on their own many times per day, even while you are home. The main reason for crating is that dogs do not like peeing in their own bed. Now if you don't have the option of crating your puppy, you can devise a way to distract the dog just before he begins to pee. That will give you time to get him outside to do his business.Simply make a loud shaker.For example, you can put some coins in a glass jar. Shake that and puppy will stop dead in his tracks!This will alert your dog, and give you time to take him outside to pee.LEARN STOP PUPPY PEEING QUICKLY AND EASILY IN ONLY 6 DAYS!. FREE REPORT!.OTHER SITES WORTH CHECKING OUT.http://makingmoneywithonlineauctions102.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/unique-affiliate-program-now-available-for-making-money-with-online-auctions/How Do I Stop My Dog Peeing in the House in one week flat? Here's How!http://anthonyfontana58.jimdo.com/2009/12/10/bigvaluedepot-com-takes-net-by-storm/

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