Thursday, September 6, 2012

BBQ and Grilling

A few months ago, I took a class at L'Ecole Academy on Pies and Tarts.  Last week I returned for another one, this time on BBQ and Grilling.  In some ways, this class was completely stupid: I have neither a grill nor a smoker (of which our chef is a big fan), so my ability to actually put any of the techniques I learned into practice is basically nil.

However, I did learn some things!  We started out, as last time, with some discussion.  We talked about the difference between types of animals, the difference between cooking working and non-working muscles, and different cooking techniques.

We prepared a spice rub; we each got to take a container home, and some got rubbed all over half a port shoulder which we started smoking for tomorrow's lunch.  The chef was finishing up the other half of the shoulder in the oven; he had gotten it started in the smoker that morning.

We grilled some chicken thighs (working muscles) to get a good sear on them, then finished them in the oven as well.  Those, along with the pork shoulder and some asparagus, were dinner.

The asparagus were delightful.  Blanched to maintain firmness and color, the asparagus were coated in Thai chili sauce for sweetness before grilling.  They were delicious!

Our final item, another take-home, was barbecue sauce.  I haven't used it yet (remember my lack of grill?), but I'm looking for an opportunity!

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