Low & Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons by Colleen Rush, Gary Wiviott Read Free Book Online Page B

brew of chemicals, while lump charcoal is a natural product?
    Okay, now try Lesson #1 again, but ditch the thermometer and the briquettes and buy some natural lump charcoal. If you are still interested in continuing this program . . . great. If I come on too strong and you think I’m full of soot, and you wish to discontinue, that’s perfectly understandable. No hard feelings. But the deal is this: please follow instructions exactly or drop out of the program.
    Cordially but firmly,
    Gary Wiviott

CONTINUING EDUCATION
     
    TO TRULY MASTER THE SKILLS YOU’VE LEARNED IN LESSON #1 and hone your expertise, I recommend practicing the cook over and over again. However, you’ll soon learn that eating Chicken Mojo Criollo over and over again is a drag, and likely to discourage you from perfecting the techniques you need in order to move on to the next lesson. To keep you in the program, here are some simple marinades to expand your flavor repertoire. Or check the index for more recipes that incorporate your delicious, soon-to-be-legendary (in your neighborhood, at least) smoked chicken.

MARINADE 101
     
    MANY PEOPLE WOULD enthusiastically skip this part of the tutorial, buy commercial marinades for the rest of their lives, and be none the wiser. But you, student, have already proven your desire to know more—to elevate your understanding of barbecue cookery—by committing to this program.
    If you’re not used to making your own marinade, the following recipes might seem like a lot of work for food that picks up most of its flavor from wood smoke. Instead of relying on garlic or onion powder and salt for flavor, the recipes call for real ingredients—freshly squeezed citrus juice, toasted and ground dried chile peppers, garlic cloves, onion, and more. This extra step is what will separate you from every other person who cracks open a bottle of sauce and calls himself or herself a “good cook.” Those preservative-laden concoctions can’t touch the flavor of a marinade made with fresh ingredients.
    I am not as strict about the ingredients in a marinade, however, as I am about following instructions for the cooks. You won’t get kicked out of the Program if you use store-bought OJ because you don’t have eight oranges lying around the kitchen. A few shortcuts here and there are more like culinary improv than cheating. The beauty is that learning the simple fundamentals of making a marinade will serve you well. If you’re taking the time to learn the art of barbecue, using the freshest available ingredients in your marinades not only makes for better barbecue—but it also makes you a better cook.

HOT SAUCE
     
    IN THIS PROGRAM, there are two types of hot sauce: Louisiana-style and Mexican-style. Although Tabasco is the hot sauce most associated with Louisiana, I rarely use it because it is a one-note sauce. It contains a higher ratio of vinegar—too much, in my opinion—which brightens the flavor of the hot sauce, but you lose some of the characteristic heat of the peppers. My preferred Louisiana-style hot sauces—Crystal, Louisiana and Texas Pete—aren’t as punchy as Tabasco. These hot sauces have the perfect balance of vinegar and heat. It’s an accent flavor. It enhances without overpowering. Mexican-style hot sauce, like Cholula, Búfalo and El Yucateco, has a broader spectrum of flavors because most brands use a mix of chiles. The consistency of the hot sauce also tends to be thicker, and some are even gritty.
    MARINADE MUST-HAVES
     
    Shortcuts are tempting, but not tasty.
     
    • Always use real, fresh-squeezed juice from citrus fruits, not “juice” that comes out of fruit-shaped plastic.
    • Use canola or inexpensive olive oil.
    • If your spices have been collecting dust for more than eight months, buy a fresh batch. For the best flavor, toast and grind whole spices (page 18) from sources like The Spice House ( www.thespicehouse.com ) or Penzeys ( www.penzeys.com ).
     
MOJO CRIOLLO II
     
    This is a