Monday, July 2, 2007

Cooking Tips from JW

My cousin, JW, is always in the kitchen. (Cooking? or eating? That's the question!) So, I asked him to send me a recipe for my blog. His reply - "I don't write stuff down!" But he did send me some cooking tips. If you know him, you can almost hear this stuff coming out of his mouth!
Hope you all enjoy and learn something.

  • If you cook chicken in less than ninety minutes...you are cookin' it too hot and fast - it dries out. Now I'm talking bone-in chicken - not this new, rich-folk, boneless, skinless stuff!
  • Cook steaks fast - even the thickest of cuts. Over sixteen minutes and you can call the bootmaker.
  • Most steak marinades call for one hour of soaking, but I soak them at least overnight - two nights if possible. Put them in the fridge in a sealed container. Don't listen to the makers of A-1. What do they know, they only make a sauce that is good on steaks somebody left on the grill for twenty minutes!!!
  • The best hot sauce for seasoning anything is "Red Hot" made by Franks. It is the secret to all of your $100 a plate restaurants!!! It's also the exact same sauce on all of your "famous" wings that we all love. Don't be fooled by the name - it's not that hot. You can pour it on your eggs for breakfast and not even need Tums or Rolaids. You can even add it to your favorite BBQ sauce for some pep.
  • Speaking of BBQ Sauce....Never mix your pleasures. Such as: "Honey Jalapeno Sauce". If you want it sweet, keep it that way!!! I add Italian dressing and "Red Hot" to my BBQ sauce. The dressin' keeps your meat moist kind of like wrapping it in bacon.
  • Most anything you cook - stovetop, oven, or grill - is better with a cut up yellow onion. It adds moisture, flavor, and the aroma of an onion cooking is wonderful.
  • Only use real butter for cooking. As you know, everything else is mostly grease and water!
  • Plan ahead for your meals and campouts! This will save you time and money. If you have to call your nearest neighbor far a last minute ingredient...you didn't plan ahead!!!
  • Most of the time, if you have to "pay" for ice, your planning was also slow. I travel, hunt, fish... and all my life have never wasted money on buying ice! Daily, for a week before your trip, dump your ice trays and buckets into sacks and you will have enough ice to fill a 100 qt. cooler! These days I can buy a bag of chicken leg quarters cheaper than a bag of ice.....imagine that!!!


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Loved John Wayne's tips! Think he should have his own TV cooking show!