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DEEP-FRYING
TECH NIQUES
A wide variety of foods can be deep-friedoutdoorson
your gdll, from potatoes, to seafood and chicken.
Deep-frying uses a large portion of oil, preferably
saturated. The outdoor location is ideal for deep-frying
as smoke, grease and smells reach for the sky--not
the ceiling of your kitchen.
Preparing to Deep-fry
Deep-fry on your gdll using a cooking pan or wok, over
direct heat with the gdll lid raised.
Fill the cooking pan no more than half full of vegetable
or corn oil. Start with low heat, then raise the heat
gradually. Check the temperature of the oil carefully
with a frying thermometer or test with a cube of bread.
The cube of bread should brawn in about 30 seconds
for most cooking needs. A temperature between 350
and 400 degrees is optimal for prepadng the majodty
of deep-fded foods.
Food Preparation
Foods being deep-fried taste better when coated with
either batteror breadcrumbsto add flavorand prevent
moisturefrom escaping.
Tips for Deep-frying
Slowly lower foods intothe hot oil using a wire scoop
or stainless steel tongs. Add only a small quantityof
food to the oil, allow it to cook, then repeat with
another small quantity. This ensuresthe oil doesn't
drop in temperature.Once the food is cooked, remove
it carefully and drain onto a paper towel. Turn the heat
off as soon as you have finished deep-frying and allow
the pan to cool. When the oil is cool, remove all
remnants of fried foods by straining it through a fine
metal sieve. Once the oil is quite cool, store it in a
clean bottle for future use.
COOKING ON THE WARMING RACK
Vegetables are generally easy to cook on the gdlL The
warming rack makes it convenient because you can
still use the main cooking area while the vegetables
are suspended from above.
Pre-cook hard vegetables by bdefiy boiling or
microwavingthem before cooking on the gdll. Wrap
vegetables in a double thickness of foil to protect them
while cooking on the grill. Then, remove the foil if
desired, 10-15 minutes before the end of cooking,
brush vegetables with butter or oil and finish cooking.
The warming rack can be used for purposes other
than just the obvious. Consider using it for warming
French bread, garlic bread, croissants or even bagels.
A small whole fish wrapped in foil also cooks well in
the warming rack. Parcels of seafood such as
scallops, prawns and sliced fish fillets prepared in a
sauce and portioned into small foil wraps cooks well
this way, too.
ROTISSERIE TECHNIQUES
Rotisseriecookingproducesfoods that are moist,
flavorfuland attractive.Althoughthe retissedeis most
commonly used for cooking meat or poultry,neady
anythingcan be used ifprepared properly.
Balancing the Food
In rotisseriecooking, balancingthe food is of utmost
importance.The rotisseriemust turnevenly or the
stoppingand starting actionwill cause the food to cook
unevenlyand possibly bum the heavier side.
The easiestfoods to balance are those of uniform
shape and texture. To test if the food is balanced
correctly when secured, place the ends of the rotis-
serie spit looselyin the palms of your hands. If there is
no tendencyto roll, give the spit a quarter turn. If itis
stillstable, give it a final quarter turn. It shouldrest
withouttaming in each of these positions.It can then
be attached to your gdll.
Food Preparation
When preparingpoultry,truss the birds tightlyso that
wings and drumsticks are close to the bodyof the bird.
The cavity of the bird may be stuffed pdor to this if you
wish. Pullthe neck skin down and, using a small
skewer, fix it to the back of the bird. Push the retis-
serie spit through lengthwise,catchingthe bird in the
fork of the wishbone. Center the bird and tighten with
the holdingforks. Test the balance as described above.
A rolledpiece of meat requiresthe rotisserieskewer to
be insertedthrough the center of the length of meat,
then secured and balanced.
For meats that contain bones, it is best to secure the
rotiesede skewer diagonallythroughthe meaty
sections. If protrudingbones or wingsbrowntoo
quickly,cover with pieces of foil.
Tips for Rotisserie Cooking
When retissede cooking,the majority of heat will come
from an indirect source. In other words, the burners at
each end of the grillare lit and the food is placed
centrallyon the rotissede, with no directheat source
underneath.To catch anyddps from the rotisseriefood
it will be necessary to remove the cookinggdds and
then place a drip pan directlyunder the food. These
drippingscan be used to make gravies and other
sauces to accompany the cooked meats. Place the lid
down over the food when you startto cook.
The cookingtimes on a rotissedewill be approximately
the same as for oven cooking.
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