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Splash it on Heavy!
'cause we give you
More Sauce for Your Money! |
- Woodchips for Smoking:
Use a variety of natural wood chips to enhance your grilling experience.
The choice of woodchips is made easy with Mr. Happy's Wood Chips Flavor Chart.
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- Choosing Peppers: There is a wide
variety of peppers. All with different flavors and hotness. Choose them
here with the Scoville Unit heat index, Peppers of the World chart.
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- Choose a Style of BBQ: A reference
chart for BBQ Styles
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- Grilling Equipment: Heavy duty
mitts as well as long-handled tongs, forks, basting brushes, and spatulas
are essential for protection from the searing heat of your grill. Some
utensils are coated with non-stick material for easy clean-up. Barbecue
baskets help keep certain foods, such as fragile fish fillets and small
vegetables, from falling through the grill during cooking.
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- Starting the Fire: If you have
a gas or electric grill, follow the manufacturer's instructions. If you
have a charcoal grill, spread coals in a singer layer to extend about 1
inch beyond your food. Add a few more coals if weather is humid or windy.
Then, push the coals into a mound for lighting. Self-lighting briquettes
do not require a fire-starter; simply light them with a match to start.
To jump-start other types of coals, try an electric starter or a liquid,
wax-type (solid), or jelly starter, following manufacturer's directions.
Never add more starter after fire has started and never use gasoline or
kerosene to start your coals! Expect self-lighting coals to burn for 5
to 10 minutes before they are ready for grilling; standard briquettes take
about 20 to 30 minutes. The coals will appear ash gray in daylight, or
glowing red all over at night, when they are ready to use.
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- Arranging the Coals: First, decide
between direct and indirect cooking method (when the option is available).
Direct cooking means the food is placed on the grill rack directly over
the coals. With long-handled tongs, spread the hot coals evenly in a single
layer. Reduce flare-ups by spreading coals about 1/2-inch apart. Indirect
cooking means the coals will be arranged away from the food, so that juices
from the food will not reach the coals, reducing flare-ups. Place a foil
drip pan (large enough to cover the surface below the food) in the center
of the fire-box and mound the coals all around the pan, using long-handled
tongs. For a gas or electric grill, follow manufacturer's directions on
indirect cooking. Usually, for 2- or 3-burner units, after preheating,
one burner is turned off and the food is placed over the unlit burner.
For 1-burner unit, the burner is turned to LOW.
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- Testing the Temperature of the Coals:
Hold your hand, palm side down, at the height where the food will be grilled.
Count by saying "one thousand-one, one thousand-two, etc." for
each second you hold your hand there. You will need to remove your hand
after 2 seconds if the coals are hot; 3 seconds for medium-hot, 4 seconds
for medium, 5 seconds for medium-slow, and 6 or more for a slow fire. Note
that for indirect heat cooking, you will need hot coals to provide medium-hot
heat, medium-hot coals for
medium heat, and so forth. Add several fresh coals every 20 minutes or
so to maintain the proper temperature.
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- Avoiding Flare-Ups: Reduce flare-ups
by lowering the heat. To accomplish this, raise the grill rack, cover the
grill,
spread the coals so there is more space between, or remove some coals.
For excessive flare-ups, it may be necessary to remove the food from the
grill and mist the flames with a water-spray bottle. Once the flames die
down, you can resume grilling.
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- Checking the Doneness of Meat:
Mr. Happy recommends cooking many tender cuts of beef and lamb to medium
rare, to maintain the most tender, juiciest quality of the meat. If you
prefer medium or medium-well doneness, simply lengthen the cooking time
following suggested timings. Check often to avoid overcooking the outside
of the meat. (Less tender cuts, such as a beef rolled rump roast, require
longer cooking to tenderize. Do not grill to only medium rare or it will
not be tender.) Use a meat thermometer to check the doneness of roasts,
inserting it into the thickest portion of the meat: 145° F. for medium
rare, 160° F. for medium, 170° F.for well done. For ground meat
patties, cook until meat juices are no longer pink and no pink remains
in the meat. For pork, cook until juices run clear when meat is pierced
with a fork. Roasts and chops from the loin or rib sections may be cooked
to an internal temperature of 160° F. (slightly pink in the center);
other pork cuts should be cooked to 170° F. (well-done; no pink remains).
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- Grilling Fish: Because fish is
delicate and breaks apart easily, it helps to place the fish on foil or
in a grill basket when grilling. Use a grill basket for direct grilling
only (most grill basket handles cannot take the heat of indirect cooking
on a covered grill). To keep the fish from sticking, lightly grease or
brush the foil or basket with cooking oil before adding the fish. To avoid
poaching the fish in its own juices during grilling, cut slits in the foil
and allow the juices to run through; place a drip pan underneath to catch
the juices. Firmer-textured fish steaks can be grilled on a
greased grill rack.
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- Grilling and Health: You may have
heard about the possible health risks associated with foods cooked over
high heat. Barbecuing has been implicated. Nutritionists and food research
scientists say that high-heat cooking methods, such as barbecuing, can
produce minute amounts of harmful substances when fat from the meat drips
onto hot coals, resulting in flare-ups (flames that come in contact with
the food). However, they admit that the possible health risks are very
low. If you are concerned about grilling foods for health reasons, the
Barbecue Industry Association recommends using indirect heat for grilling.
The fat then drips into the drip pan, and not onto the hot coals, preventing
flare-ups.
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- Meat injector: Use a meat injector
to add flavor to all your Happy Meats. It is just like a hypodermic needle
but with a very large diameter needle. Inject your favorite Mr. Happy's sauce or marinade right into
the meat before grilling. Meat injectors are available in your favorite
gourmet kitchen store.
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| More tips coming soon! |
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