Category: General Food Recipes

Picking The Perfect Outdoor Grill

Grills Galore

Depending on what you feel would suit you the best, what you will be cooking most of the time and how much you can actually afford are some of the vital factors you must consider when buying outdoor grills. You have to take note that different grill would have different features, would have its fortes and weaknesses and as well as would suit a place depending on where you plan to put it in. With the many options you have, you are sure to be delighted when choosing one.

A grill is a reasonably large investment but if you have a backyard, you might as well consider it as a necessity. A good outdoor grill would put that moss gathering backyard of yours into a party or a barbecue place. So to help you come up with a grill that you need, you want or you have to get, here are some tips for you to get what you really need.

Consider The Features

You must be aware that different models of outdoor grills have different features and not all those features could be used by you. If you want something that is light, portable and would serve only you and a few guests, friends or family then you could go for a simple fire pit. This is the cheapest type and the most portable one. For bigger units, think about how much burners you will need and what fancy features you could use.

Some large grills would already have some space for indirect grilling, different levels of separation from heat and a feature that would allow you to smoke items easier. Only buy this type of you really want it, always remember that you can still do those things even if your grill does not have all those fancy features. Also take note that this would influence pricing too much, the more fancy features and outdoor grill has, the more expensive the grill is most likely to be.

Consider The Price

The prices of grill would range from very cheap to almost impossible to buy for a lot of us. So even before you think about buying a grill, it is very important to canvas for your options. Always looking for good buys will help you save so much and still get a lovely outdoor grill in the end. The internet even has good options for grills that are for sale so be sure to check it out.

Take note of the factors that would affect pricing greatly. The most visible factor is size; the larger a grill is, the more expensive it is and that happens almost all of the time. However with the new innovations of the companies that make grills, fancy features are also affecting prices too much. Not to mention that a lot of those are quite tempting. Another is brand name; the more famous it is the more expensive it is. So when buying an outdoor grill, look for a balance between what you need and what you can buy.

Other Things To Consider

When it comes to choosing grills, safety also has to be something that should be considered heavily considering that grilling is not an activity that is completely safe. Newer grills are known to be much safer than most old grills, this is because makers have made it in a manner that the user of it would not get sparks and have prevented other potential sources of danger. With safer and better grills, you as well as everyone else is sure to be delighted with the grill you will buy.

Outdoor Grilling Methods

More To The Grill

Before anything else, you should be aware that your outdoor grill is not limited only to direct grilling. Your outdoor grill can do so much more than just that, it could even be more versatile than your kitchen. While the classic method of direct grilling can already please most of us, just think about the other things that it could do. Other outdoor grilling techniques include searing, indirect grilling and smoking which turns ordinary meat into a tasting pleasure with a distinct flavor.

Different outdoor grilling techniques are to be used depending on what types of items you are to grill, for example; direct grilling is best for large cuts of beef and sausages, smoking on the other hand is best for whole fish and meats too. With experience, you will later develop a taste of what goes where in the grill enabling you to be an expert on it.

Have A Clean Grill

Even before starting out, you have to be sure that your grill is clean. The worst thing that could happen in a grill is to have a beautiful slice of prime rib and to later have it taste like grilled salmon. In cleaning the grill, make sure that you do it right after cooking and while the grill is still hot. In doing this, use a wire brush and scrub off all remaining residue that is left on the grill, these residue are what causes unpleasant flavoring if you dont clean your grill well.

More to that, these residues can also fall into the grill and can later cause a flare-up, this of which we would like to avoid. While your grill is clean, you would also want to prevent residue from sticking to it as much as possible. To do this, spray the surface of your grill with vegetable oil every time before you grill. This is even more important if you are using sugar based sauces like the common ones people use to coat ribs and barbecue.

Get Your Grill Hot

When grilling, it is also very important that your grill is hot before you place the items on top of it. For most of us especially for those who own gas-powered grills, we put the items in right after we start the fire. This is wrong as we have to wait around 15-30 minutes of having the fire turned on before putting the items to be grilled in while having all the items and cooking tools you will be needing standing by.

Also be aware that the surface of your grill is not equally hot on all sides. There are some sides that are hotter than others and some that are a bit cooler than others. Being good on the grill, you should know where these sides are and use them to your advantage. The most common grilling technique used here is indirect grilling of which you would need to know where the cooler side is.

Having Ingredients Ready

Even before you start grilling; it is very important that your ingredients are already prepared and ready to be tossed on top of the grill. For steaks, you might want to cut of excess fat and have it seasoned with some salt and pepper. As for chicken, since it is quite difficult to have it grilled, you can pre-cook it in the microwave oven. This will lessen cooking time and as well as make it easier for you to have your chicken brown.

Vegetables on the other hand should already be cleaned and cut for the grill. After all these, you are ready to get grilling.

New Trends For Outdoor Grilling

The Magic Of Grilling

When it comes to dining, nothing could ever beat the many wonders we could cook up freshly on the grill. Not only do grilled foods taste good, but the bonding involved with it is also magical. Now that there are more things that we can do when grilling outdoors, every family barbecue is sure to be much more enjoyable.

When it comes to outdoor grilling, most of us would most likely think of the nice meats, veggies and fishes dad would grill on the backyard during special occasions. While those are very lovely indeed, there are a lot of new outdoor grilling recipe everyone with a barbecue should try doing. If the only outdoor grilling recipe you know is dads barbecue, then you are missing out on a lot as these recipes could also provide you with just the same amount of tasting pleasure.

New Grilling Sauces

The typical American barbecue would be meats with tomato bases sauces, veggies marinated in vinegar and oil or fishes grilled in with herbs. If your grilling vocabulary is limited to these then you should definitely try other new recipes. Nowadays, experts on the grill use all types of pleasant ingredients you could think about to make barbecue sauces some of them being strawberries, raspberries, yogurt, honey and even mustard.

While the typical methods of making items in the barbecue are still maintained up to now such as keeping the grill closed at times to seal in the flavor and moisture and moving items from high fire to low fire and pricking meats and chicken with a fork to see how moist it is inside, these methods are still considered by experts as the best ways of cooking in the grill. Everyone would want the items in the grill to be as juicy and flavorful as much as possible.

Keep Safe

Whenever on the grill, you must also be very aware of your safety. While most cases would only be a minor burn on our hand of which most of us who have been grilling for a while already have already experienced, you should be aware that millions are lost due to structure fires and outdoor fires caused by outdoor grills. Grilling involves a lot of fire and with that, you should be very aware of what it can cause you and your surroundings.

Make sure that kids do not go playing anywhere near the grill as well as the pets should also be kept away from the grill until it has fully cooled. Also remember that an outdoor grill should not be placed near objects that could easily catch fire such as the house itself, bushes, shrubs and trees to avoid any accidents regarding it. Also be careful in using starter fluid, make sure only to use this with charcoal grills and never with gas powered grills.

No Rules!

Just keep in mind that when grilling aside from safety measures there are practically no rules. Whatever produces the best tasting barbecue whatever the ingredients or items could be the best outdoor grilling recipes. While these new barbecue sauces can already be picked up from the shelves of your local grocery, it is also a lot of fun to make them yourselves.

Go ahead and experiment with whatever you can to make your outdoor grilling products as good and as enjoyable as possible.

Party Favors On A Tight Budget

Party favors are gifts given to guests during events like weddings, baby showers, children and birthday parties. There are a lot of choices, all depending on the occasion. There are favors which can be readily bought in gift shops, while others would prefer to put a personal touch by doing their own party give-aways.

Giving away gifts to your guests is a way of saying thank you for taking part in an occasion very important to you. Party favors could be simple like picture frames and trinkets. There are others who would have a general theme for their party, that would cover party decorations, food and even the favors.

Holding event parties or just a simple birthday bash could cost a huge amount. To stay within budget, there are times when you would have to follow some cost saving tips. Following them does not necessarily mean you would have to deal with poor party favors or party decorations. There are inexpensive party favors which would still make your party memorable for guests.

Here are some simple and inexpensive ideas for party favors:

For the holidays or any occasion, giving out candy favors is always a good idea. There are companies that sell wholesale candies, you could repackage them in nice bags and even put some ribbon on them to make them attractive.

Another inexpensive party favor is by making stationery. You could always design a card in your own computer and have it reprinted in the local printing shop. Again you could be creative on how you package them. You could even include favourite quote or an inspirational message on the cards.

You could get coffee and tea bags personalized. Giving away cups could also be good idea, you could put some personal designs on it, adding some flare on the cups or mugs.

You could even check different craft stores or warehouse stores. They would often have candles and candleholders in bulk which is inexpensive.

For weddings, you could get single-stem flowers from wholesalers. You could wrap them individually with cellophane which you can get from any craft store.

Cooking brownies, cookies and other simple homemade recipes would be a great idea for homemade recipes. You could even include the recipe in the package.

You can also give dream and aromatherapy piilows. You could fill them with herbs and dried flowers that would give out a fragrant smell.

Another common trend right now is allotting the amount supposedly for party favors to charity. This would make your birthday or wedding more memorable for you and the guests.

To stay within the budget, determine what kind of even you are needing and how many guests will be arriving. You would need to know the number of party favors will need to prepare to be able to draft a good budget. Whenever you are making a budget for a party or an occasion, always leave a little allowance. In case you run into certain emergencies, you would not be pushed into the limit.

Party favors ideas for weddings

How many times have you attended a wedding party and received a figurine with the name of the bride and groom engraved on it? How many times have you lamented on where you are going to store it because you just do not have the heart to throw it away even if it is completely useless? Such is often the case with party favors for weddings. They end up in a pile of heap in the garage awaiting some form of use, except they dont have.

In recent years, people are slowly realizing the importance of giving party favors that their guests can actually use and not just display. Although a lot of people are still sticking to the figurine gift, some are already giving USBs or fans or music cds, which people can find use for. Below are some great ideas of practical party favors that your guests will surely remember you by.

1. Music CD

One of the best things that I got from a wedding that I attended once was a music cd that contained some of the favorite songs of the couple and well of course the songs that were meaningful for them. When I got home, I immediately copied the songs to my computer, well those that I lack anyway. I even discovered new songs and one even became my favorite. One of the great things about giving music cds is that people like music. This is something that they can upload to their ipods and music players. It will also not be a clutter. You can download the content and then throw the cd. If you have the budget, do it with a USB. That way, they will also be able to use the USb again for their own files.

2. Picture frames

Picture frames store memories and what better way to make them remember the event than give them something where they can put a memory of them in the party. Picture frames can also be used for their other pictures.

3. Fishes or lovebirds or plants

What a better celebration of love than to give your guests something to love. You can give them a brand new pet with a fish or a pair of lovebirds. You can also give them a plant that they can take care of. What is great about this gift is the fact that it celebrates the beauty of both love and life. It will make your guests remember you. Besides, its a great gift to give and it is definitely something that they will not consider a clutter.

Party favors for weddings do not begin and end with figurines. There are other options out there. Explore and find other things to give. But whatever you give, make sure that your guests will find it useful.

Otherwise you would have defeated your primary purpose of giving them party favors in the first place and that is to make them remember you and the special occasion in your life in the most positive of light.