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Barbecue
101 Part IV-A: The Seasoning By Dan Gill Barbecue, by definition, is seasoned meat cooked slowly with wood
or wood by-products (live coals or charcoal) until it assumes the usual
characteristics. Raw meat is relatively tasteless: in order for a hunk of
meat to be transformed into flavorful, succulent and savory barbecue, many
natural processes must be managed and manipulated before, during and after
cooking through the judicious use of seasonings, time, and temperature.
Herein lies the true art of meat cookery in general and barbecue in
particular. There is a fine line between "roasted pork" and
"barbecue". The transformation occurs after most of the free
moisture has been cooked out of the meat, allowing internal temperatures to
exceed 170¡ F. During this late cooking stage, collagen melts, fats render,
and protein breaks down to flavorful peptides resulting in the usual
characteristics of barbecue in terms of taste, texture and aroma. You can
tell when barbecue happens by the smell alone. Spices and seasonings enhance
this process and complement natural barbecue flavors (but should not
overwhelm them). They may be added before, during or after cooking –
with different results for each method. Meat, poultry and fish cooked by
other methods also benefit from the judicious use of seasonings. For this
discussion, we will use the broad definition: Seasoning is anything applied
to meat that affects its organoleptic qualities - not only flavor and aroma,
but also texture and tenderness. The
Players Salt: Salt is the real work-horse of seasonings and is the only
essential seasoning for barbecue: The absolute epitome of the art is a whole
hog, seasoned only with salt, and cooked about twenty-four inches above
glowing hardwood coals for eighteen hours or so. Though best when pulled
directly from the hot carcass with no further seasoning, it may be dipped in
an "Eastern North Carolina sauce" consisting only of vinegar, hot
peppers, salt and maybe a little sugar or molasses (though not for purists).
In conjunction with other seasonings, salt balances flavors, moderates
bitter, sour and sweet tastes and intensifies umami or the savory quality of
food (see PL January – February 2006). The heavy hitters (such as
peppers and herbs) can swagger all they want, but most owe their real magic
to a little salt. Salt is the vehicle which transports flavor into meat
tissues: When applied to meat surfaces, salt draws free water and immediately
dissolves into positively charged sodium and negatively charged chloride
ions. Not only do these ions readily penetrate meat tissues by diffusion but
they can also latch onto and drag some water-soluble flavor components along
with them. Salt simply makes most foods taste better. It enhances umami by
participating in the alteration of protein during aging and cooking
processes, then by combining with complex molecules (amino acids and
inosinates) to create flavor. For example, when sodium ions from salt join
with glutamic acid from protein, they form natural MSG (monosodium
glutamate). Contrary to popular belief, salt does not make meat dry during
cooking. In fact, salt causes moisture to be retained within cells allowing
the final product to be juicier – even when overcooked. Salt denatures
protein, causing the component strands to relax. During cooking, protein
strands do not contract as much and so do not squeeze out as much water. This
is why turkey breasts are often injected with a saline solution during
processing and why salt is the key ingredient in dry rubs and brines. Salt acts as a preservative, protecting meat as it slowly warms
and during prolonged cooking in an oxygen-poor (smoky) atmosphere. This is
especially important when smoking fish. Salt also firms the flesh of delicate
fish species, improving texture. All salts are not created equal. The best way to measure salt (and
many other ingredients) is by weight. Kosher salt is less dense than table
salt and takes longer to dissolve. It may take a cup and a half of kosher
salt to equal the salinity of one cup of table salt in a brine or dry rub.
Sea salt contains minerals and other salts in addition to sodium chloride and
may require more volume or weight for the same effect. Sugar is used in conjunction with salt to moderate
saltiness, enhance flavors and retain moisture. It dissolves and penetrates
into the meat along with salt during the preparation stage and aids in
browning and bark formation during the final cooking stage. Thus sugar is an
important ingredient in rubs and bastes, but must be used with care so that
it doesn't burn or scorch. Molasses (my favorite) brings its own flavors to
the party and is used in brines, bastes and sauces. Dry rubs usually contain
brown sugar, which now is just refined sugar with molasses added back in, or
raw sugar, which has not had all of the molasses removed during processing. . Vinegar is used mostly in bastes and sauces as a solvent
to reduce greasiness and to provide brightness. Strong acids break down raw
muscle tissue and can make meat mushy; therefore they are usually used in the
later stages of cooking or in condiments. Herbs and Spices, including capsicum peppers, owe
most of their flavor to complex fat-soluble molecules, which are released by
acids and oils but don't move around much and are difficult to get into meat.
Therefore, herbs and spices are used to advantage in marinades, bastes and
sauces but only to flavor meat surfaces. For the same reason herbs and spices
are of limited value in brines. In dry rubs they just lie on the surface,
basically intact, until the later stages of barbecue when the flavors are
released by heat and rendered fats and they can participate in browning
reactions and bark flavor. Tomato products play a special role in bastes and sauces: In
bastes they provide sugars for caramelization, acids for brightness and amino
acids for flavor. In sauces, tomato juice or catsup provide a platform for
other flavors, but can also overwhelm or mask hard-earned barbecue
characteristics. By the same token, tomato based sauces can be used to
disguise inferior barbecue. Milk products are included in brines for meats
and poultry that are to be smoke-cooked. Milk provides calcium, which
stimulates aging enzymes thereby tenderizing and improving texture and
flavor. Fermented dairy products such as buttermilk and yogurt add mild acid
and even more flavor. The Dark Side: Chocolate and coffee, brewed or
instant, are among the "secret ingredients" used to add depth to
sauces and bastes. Many award-winning chili recipes contain a little cocoa
powder and mole (moh-lay) sauce is defined by a small amount of chocolate. Time and Temperature: Raw meat contains enzymes that break
down protein and connective tissue as part of the decomposition process
thereby improving flavor and tenderness. Under controlled conditions, beef,
lamb and venison benefit most from aging. Vacuum-packed primal cuts can be
"wet-aged" in the refrigerator for several weeks without going bad.
If you discover that the packaging has lost vacuum, then open and evaluate
the condition of the meat right away: Once air gets in the packaging, meats
go downhill fast. If the package starts to swell, indicating the production
of gas inside, the meat is probably bad or going bad. There is normally a
strong smell to the juice when the package is first opened, so rinse meat
well before giving it the sniff test. Aging enzymes work best when the meat is in the danger zone (40¡
to 140¡). Allowing meat to reach room temp for a few hours after rubbing and
before cooking accelerates the process. Also, low pit temperatures give meat
more time to warm slowly, allowing the enzymes to work at top speed until
they are de-activated at about 130¡ F. Seasonings, primarily salt and sugar, need time to penetrate and
to do their work. How much time depends upon meat thickness and temperature.
Large pieces, such as pork shoulder and briskets should be dry-rubbed and
refrigerated for 12 to 24 hours, or held at room temperature for several
hours before cooking to accelerate rub penetration. Salt in the rub or brine
helps protect raw meat from microbes as it warms. Thin pieces, such as ribs,
can be dry rubbed shortly before going on the pit. I like to warm pork spare
ribs in hot water (warming also makes the membrane easier to remove), then
dry-rub about one hour before they go on the pit. Smoke is a distinctive flavor component. I have
discussed fire control and smoke quality at length in previous articles
available in back issues of Pleasant Living and on our web page. Smoke flavor should be subtle and
pleasant, never bitter, harsh or predominant. Though not a flavor, the
"smoke ring", or pink zone below the surface of smoked meats can be
either an indicator of proper technique or nefarious trickery: Nitrogen from
smoke combines with myoglobin in meat to form persistent pink molecules; but
the smoke ring can also be faked by including a little curing salt,
containing nitrates, in dry rubs. Smoke is most effective during the first
half of the cooking time while the surface of the meat is still moist enough
to facilitate penetration, and enzymes and myoglobin are still active.
My next article will discuss seasoning methods: rubs, brines,
marinades, bastes and sauces, and how each method can be used to advantage in
barbecue and meat cookery. Previous articles in the Barbecue 101 series are
available in the "Blurb Book" at Something Different Country Store,
on our website under "Blurbs" and in archived copies of Pleasant
Living Magazine online. (c) Dan Gill 2-08 Published
in Pleasant Living magazine March - April 2008 Previous: Praise the
Lard and Pass the Scrapple
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