BBQ Bliss
|
Qatar Restaurants, Qatar Restaurant Guide
We caught up with Executive Chef Matthew Morrison, the Ritz-Carlton Doha’s resident
God of the Grill, to find out how he gets his meat oh so tantalizing (and not at all
black or raw like what usually happens when we BBQ). |  |
Type:
International
Date:
05/01/2010 | |
| |
1) Soak it Up
The difference between ok and grilled magnificence? The marinade!
Marinades tenderize the meat, add flavour and help lock in moisture, and can even act as a dressing after cooking. When concocting your perfect marinade, think about balancing acidity and sugars: the acids break down the meat and help flavours penetrate, and the sugars caramelize. Acids can be anything from vinegar to citrus juices like orange, lemon and lime. Sugars can be actual sugar, fruit, or even sodas like 7Up, cola, and ginger ale.
But your marinade isn’t just acid and sugar: other ingredients can help it along as well. Oils and water dilute the mix and help the process. Garlic also lends a hand, not just for the taste, but for the reaction it has with the acids, helping tastes seep into the meat.
Make sure to wash the meat clean of all blood before you place it in the marinade – this wil l also help tenderize it if you soak it in water first.
Once you’ve concocted your potion, you have to decide how long to leave the meat in the delectable bath. If you have more time to marinate, use less acidity. If you have less, use more- it will help the flavours get into the me
at faster. 24 hours is a good maximum time for most items, 12 hours for fish.
Once you’ve got the me at going, don’t be concerned if it changes colour: chicken will take on the colours in the marinade , and fish will often get white around the edges. The acid begins to ‘cold cook’ it as it soaks!
2) Prometheus Power
According to Chef Matthew, you don’t need a fancy grill to make excellent food. It’s all about the coals – they need to be at the right temperature to cook the food without reducing the outside to charcoal while the tender innards stay raw.
Your grill doesn’t even need a cover- while they might look swanky and make you feel like the king of the spatula when opening and closing in a cloud of dramatic smoke, all they do is trap that smoke and heat inside. You want to cook on the coals with heat, not smoke your food!
To get the perfect coals, let the fire rage for at least 45 minutes before you start cooking. You want to cook on the coals, not on flames: cooking over flames will add carbon taste and burn your food. You want your coals to be
dark gray to black and hot, not grayish white and cold.
Once you’ve got your coals roaring, you’ve got to prepare your grill itself: Chef Matthew recommends spraying the grill with Pam or a similar cooking spray. Yes, this will steam like the bowels of Hades, but it will also keep your food from sticking! Plus, yummy butter smell. Let the grill heat up with the coals, and you’re ready to go!
3) Get Cooking!
Your meat is marinated, your coals are perfect: now is the magic moment you throw you food on the grill and laugh like a Neanderthal at your culinary brilliance.
But beware: this takes time. Most foods, like chicken, need to slow cook for around 30 minutes before they’re finished. Fish can go faster, and should be put on after other meats. You can’t rush a good BBQ, no matter if your guests are chomping at the bit to take a bite. A quick tip is to cook the food about 50 percent before guests arrive, and store in a cooler (which, if filled with hot items and no ice, will actually keep heat in and things warm) till your
guests arrive, then finish on the grill.
Always burning your meat? Chef Matthew says there’s nothing wrong with cooking most of the way on the grill, then finishing the food in the oven– you get that grilled look and taste, without burning the outside as you try to cook
the inside!
With chicken and other meats, place it bone side down to start, and turn it often to get it cooked evenly. Never leave a BBQ unattended: now is the time to gather your friends around to marvel at your grilling prowess, as you baby your food for best results. Spend time moving the food around, so you find where the hot spots are. Fish needs a higher heat, while chicken is fine in the cooler spots.
BBQ sauce should be the last thing you brush on your creation. Slowly brush it on when 90 percent done cent so it doesn’t burn.
Then grab a plate and get ready for your mouth to fall in deep, sentimental love with you!
|
Have Your Say |
| |
Be the first to comment. Click the button below to post a comment. | |
| |
|
|
|  |
|
Request Review | | | |
If you like us to review a restaurant, pleaseclick here. | |  |
| | |  |
|