Barbeque Chicken

Last week for the first time in my life I went camping. OK now that this confession is out of the way I can concentrate on the food.

So last week for the first time in my life I went camping. Now Mono INSISTED that he makes this trip all rugged and rough, as are all camping trips are supposed to be, I was having none of that. I carried my toilet paper, my face wash, my lens case and solution, and even my perfume...if I was dying in the wilds I was going out in style. In addition I decided that my last meal would not be crappy. You see I was convinced I was going to die. So ignoring Mono's protests I marinated the chicken I was taking to the camp. I wanted good food. It doesn't always have to be too too rough. Not when you are going out just for a night.

And are we so glad that I insisted. Because you see...this barbeque chicken..was excellent!! Without further ado this is what I did. I got this recipe online and you can go here for the original
We need 3 things:

1. Magic dust
2. Barbecue sauce
3. Chicken thighs.

MAGIC DUST

• 1/2 cup paprika
• 1/4 cup regular salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons mustard powder
• 1/4 cup chile powder
• 1/4 cup ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup  garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons cayenne (or less to taste)

Combine ingredients in a container and mix thoroughly. Use some and keep the rest. Trust me, you will use this dust to make this chicken again and again.

For the chicken, I punched some holes in the chicken and sprinkled the magic dust all over the chicken. I left it on the marinated it in the refrigerator overnight. Though I guess you could use the chicken right-away as well.

BARBECUE SAUCE

This is what I used

• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon magic dust (recipe above)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Hot sauce (such as Tabasco) to taste

I put all the ingredients into a saucepan and boiled it. Once it started boiling I turned the heat down to a simmer and cooked it for about 10 minutes until it was think and dark. Once it was done I cooled it and packed it up for my camping trip.

Once we got to the campsite I realized that the grill there would not let us use coal. So I improvised and decided to cook it on fire. One thing I did though was cook it on indirect heat. I didn't want my chicken burnt. I cooked the chicken for about 5 minutes without any sauce. After about 5 minutes I coated the chicken with the sauce and cooked it for about another 20 minutes turning it frequently.

The result was delicious. And the best part? I survived to tell you all about it! Only sad part is I dont have any pictures for it. Well...I know I am making it again. So I am sure I will put it up sometime soon.

Statement of Acheivement

The Indian in me needs to put this out.. ;D

Science of Gastronomy: Desserts

The word dessert comes from a French word 'dessevir', which means 'to clear the table'.

Cakes:
The elasticity of the cake dough is due to formation of gluten fibers. The stronger the fibers the more elastic the dough. Water makes gluten  fibers strong while oil, acid, sugar decrease the strength of gluten thus making the dough less elastic. Salt can make the fibers strong (this is probably why we add a little salt while making the dough in a cake).
Cakes become soft by introducing air bubbles inside the cake. This can be done using leavening agents such as baking powder, baking soda or yeast. Baking powder and baking soda are chemical leavening agents. The differences between the two can be found here. However chemical leavening agent can change the taste and color of the cakes. In this case biological leavening agent like yeasts are used. Yeast requires the right temperature and the correct nutrient like sugar for it to rise. However yeast releases carbon very slowly while the chemical leavening agents produce the air bubbles faster. The dough produced by yeast is more elastic while that produced by chemical agents is less strong. Thus yeast is used for food like bread while chemical agents are used for items like cakes. Yeasts also leave behind a distinct flavor. Butter and eggs add on to the color and the texture of the cakes.

Why do cakes 'sink' in the center?
This is because of variations in temperature.

• temperature too low, or cooking time too short.
• frequent opening of the oven door.
• too much liquid or too little flour. Steam condenses and causes the cake to collapse in the center.
• cooling time too long.

Souffles:

Factors affecting the texture of souffles include

• the type of eggs: old eggs give larger volumes but fresh eggs give more stable foam. eggs from the fridge give firm and good quality foam.
• egg yolk: they are low in water content, so cause the foam to dry out. Also the proteins are too stable to form foam.
• beaters: Multiple tines = better foam. Also if the beater keeps moving around the vessel then the foam will be better.
• ingredients like salt, water, vinegar and sugar. Salt decreases the stability of the foam and will also cause the foam to lose moisture dry out. But may be used for taste. Sugar increases the stability of the egg white foam. However we have to add it at the right time. Too early and a longer time is needed for the foam to form, too late and the foam will be dry. Vinegar makes the foam more stable. 
• incorporation of ions.

Custard:

Protein denaturation is a process that happens when you heat proteins. Denaturation is followed by protein coagulation which leads the food to thicken. This phenomenon is used in making custards etc.

Science of Gastronomy: Baking Soda vs Baking Powder

Baking powder and baking soda are leavening agents. Leavening agents form air bubbles inside cakes and breads thus making them spongy and soft.

Both of them contain sodium bicarbonate. Both of these rely on chemical reactions between acidic and alkaline compounds to produce carbon dioxide to  inflate dough or batter.

Baking soda:

• Contains only alkaline compound.
• When baking powder is added to water it dissolves completely. No bubbles are seen because of absence of acid in plain water.
• Can be added to dough only if the dough or batter contains acid for it to react to. 

Baking powder:

• Has both alkaline and acid compounds. Baking powder = Baking soda + Acid solids.
• When baking powder is added to water it dissolves immediately and tiny bubbles may be seen because of the acid reacting with water.
• Self raising. Does not need an acidic medium for it to work.

Science of Gastronomy: Sauce

• Sauces as an accompaniment provide different taste and texture to the food that we are eating. This in turn provides a new dimension to the food.
• Sauces can be of different viscosity/thickness. Making a good sauce is about achieving perfect texture and flavor.
• TEXTURE: Viscosity can be changed by adjusting the temperature, the type of solute, the size of the molecules in the solute (e.g. simple sugar vs oil) and suspended matter in the sauce (these can be particles, bubbles or oils). Difference between thickeners and suspenders is that thickeners combine with water to form a new substance which is usually translucent (think of a gelatinous starch solution) while suspenders do not form new substances. They are distinct from water and tend to settle down or float up when left alone for a while (think of vegetable particles settling down or oil floating up). Thickening with air as a suspender is in cappuccinos, or whipping creams/eggs. Egg whites can prevent disintegration of air suspenders.
• Corn starch and potato starch can be used as a thickener. Potato starch thickens faster than corn starch but it also disintegrates faster.
• Emulsifiers are things that are lipophilic and hydrophilic. Thus they can be used to mix these 2 together. E.g. using egg yellow to mix water and oil.
• So what makes an ideal sauce: it should be easy to pour out, it should be able to cover food it is poured on and it should not run in the plate. That is it should be less viscous when pouring but should thicken when poured.
• The concept of shear thinning and shear thickening comes into play here.
• FLAVOR: Flavor in sauces can be achieved using salt, alcohol, protein, starch and fat.
• Important to note. Decrease in viscosity leads to an increase in perceived saltiness. So for example, to use less salt (Hypertension Duh!!) increase the thickness of the sauce/soup. Thickness can be increased by adding larger molecules like starch or wheat flour. However, flour tends to bind salt. So for the same food item if we thicken using flour the food will have more salt content.
• Another ingredient to intensify the flavor of sauces is alcohol. Wines, brandy and vodka can be used to flavor sauces. Alcohol needs to be burnt out in the sauces. Just the flavor is used.
• Another ingredient in alcohol is protein which can come from egg yolk, gelatin and yogurt or cheese. Sometimes proteins bind to aroma and make it difficult to release it. Which is to say that the flavor will be diminished but because they release it slowly it may leave behind a slow aftertaste.
• Next ingredient in sauces is fat. Fat affects the creaminess of the sauce. Fat can be cream which is heavy or we can use a thinner form called emulsions. Fat in sauces cause the intensity of flavors to decrease but can make the flavors last longer. Which is to say that instead of very intense flavor for a short time, fat makes the flavor less intense but last for a longer time. Eg vanilla flavor lasts longer in full fat ice-cream. Fat is also used to extract flavors from ingredients like dried shrimp etc.
• Last ingredient in sauces is starch which can be corn starch, potato starch or flour. Lumping is a problem with starch. To avoid this we use cold water or oil to disperse the starch and then add hot water to dissolve it.
• Starch is known to reduce the flavor of the dish by either diluting the sauce or by binding to the flavor molecules thus hampering their release. This is also the reason why thin sauce is more intense for a shorter time while a thick sauce has less intense but the flavor lasts for longer.

The Science of Gastronomy: Steak

For the past 4 weeks I have been on Coursera taking a class on Gastronomy. It has been interesting so far. The class which is taken by Professors from University of Hong Kong talks about the science behind cooking. Its like a professional version of the Alton Brown show.

Anyway for the past 2 weeks they have been talking about cooking the perfect steak. They started off with the anatomy of muscles. Felt like I was in my physiology class. Actin, myosin and the lot.

This week they spoke of choosing the perfect piece of steak. The three different types of steak meat- Prime, Choice and Select differ by the percentage of fat in them. Prime has the highest amount (10-13%) while Select has the lowest (2-4%). Choice has about 4-10%. Distribution of fat (marbling) in Prime is also more even compared to the other 2. More marbling the steak has the better it is.

The part of the animal body where the steak comes from is also important. If a muscle is used continuously like in legs etc, the muscle will have lots of fiber and sheath, so the meat will be tough. That is why the regions called tenderloin, sirloin etc are more preferred. [Note that same applies to other animals as well. Chicken breasts are more tender than thighs or legs]. 

For tough meat Physical or Chemical methods can be used to tenderize it.  Physical methods involve pounding or slicing and carving. Chemical methods involve use of Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), marinating (with some acid, oil and herbs) or using meat tenderizer. These methods either increase the water content of the meat or cause disruption of muscle fibers. Baking soda has been known to be the best tenderizer. However note that baking soda can make food bitter. Thus one has to add a little sugar to neutralize the bitterness.

One more thing. Cutting along the meat fibers will make the meat tougher than cutting across the fibers. This is because cutting across the fibers breaks the fibers and makes the meat softer to chew.