Tips For Cooking Beef Outdoors

Beef is a highly flavorful meat and has a pleasant texture that makes it a hit both for outdoor and indoor cooking. However, not every would-be cook knows exactly what to do when faced with a big slab of beef. There are issues such as cut, method of cooking and yes, degree of doneness. After all, not every one at the dinner table likes their beef well done.

Factors that affect beef doneness and flavor
Other than the right amount of salt, herbs and spices, there are certain things that contribute to how well a chunk of juicy beef will turn out. First, there are certain things about beef that you will need to know to help you understand why certain cuts are better than others when it comes to using a specific method often used for outdoor cooking.

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Parts
The cut of the beef is so named because of its location. Cuts such as the brisket, flank and plate are taken from the lower part of the cow's body while cuts such as sirloin, round, short loin, chuck and rib are taken from the upper part.

The location of the cut matters because the more the muscle or flesh is used by the cow, the tougher it becomes. This explains why cuts such as the brisket and flank are more difficult to chew and will require a longer time to cook.

Cooking time and methods
Beef is excellent whether it's rare, medium or well done. For outdoor cooking, some of the best cooking methods you can use include grilling and roasting. Grilling is normally done on an open fire while roasting may be performed in an enclosed space, such as an oven. Closing the barbecue cover to trap the heat will also work. In open fire, meat may also be wrapped in aluminum foil and roasted.

Grilling or broiling time for beef approximately 1" thick:
Medium rare: 4 to 5 minutes per side
Medium: 6 to 7 minutes per side
Well done: 8 to 10 minutes per side

Roasting beef
Allow 30 minutes for each pound of beef to cook for medium beef. Adjust the time for rare beef or well done meat is preferred.

To roast ribs, a 4 to 6-pound bone may be roasted for about 23 to 25 min. at 140 degrees for rare, 27 to 30 minutes per lb. for medium at 160 degrees and 31 to 35 minutes per lb. for well done at 170 degrees.

Try not to overcook beef because heat toughens the meat, especially those that don't contain a lot of fat or juice. If necessary, marinate lean cuts for added flavor.

Barbeque Safety Tips

It should go without saying that barbecuing can be dangerous. It should, but there always seem to be some who haven't grasped that grills are hot and tools are sharp.

For some, pointing out the obvious will have no effect. But for others, listing some easy-to-implement protocols can save a burned hand or lost eye. If young children are around, those habits are even more important. They haven't yet learned that a barbeque is anything more than a big black box.

The first key to any safe practice is awareness. Because it's static and relatively quiet, it's easy to forget that barbeques are hot, full of smoke, can spit up flames at unexpected moments and splatter grease the moment you turn your head aside.

When you're about to lift the lid on your grill, approach the barbeque as if it might contain a wild animal. If you're at the pre-heat stage, you can expect a big blast of hot air in the face. Only, ensure that your face isn't over the grill and it won't be a problem.
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If you've been cooking for a few minutes or more, smoke will most likely have built up as some of the meat becomes carbonized. Getting a grill or smoker that has handles on the side, rather than solely in front, can be a big help here. Lifting as you stand to the side will avoid most of the smoke, which tends to shoot out the (larger) open area in the front.

If you use a charcoal grill, and even with some gas or electrics, it's helpful to have a spray bottle of water within easy reach. That helps douse any grease-induced flame tongues that leap up. It's also very useful for spraying your hands, arms or even face if you get flamed or grease spattered.

Many grease splatters won't be helped much by spraying because the grease repels the water. But spraying helps reduce their temperature on the skin quickly, so it does help some. That's true of any kind of burn, too. Sprayed heavily enough, it's possible to wash off the grease entirely. NEVER put butter on a burn, which only provides a medium for burning the skin even more. That is, as it were, putting fuel to the fire.
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Having the right tools and taking your time is always a good idea. If you're new to certain activities, like unthreading kabob over the grill or turning a fish basket, practice over a flat spot in the kitchen. When you've mastered the physical movements in a cool, safe environment, you're less likely to have accidents over the grill.

Still, be prepared for the unexpected. Steaks stick, burgers break in two, chicken skin peels off. Spraying the grill to minimize that may or may not work depending on your grill type, recipe and other factors. But always be ready. And never let your desire to 'save the meal' get you into trouble. No piece of meat is worth a bad burn.

After you're done, always let the grill cool before attempting some types of clean up. Many clean up guides will say that scraping a hot grill is easier than cleaning a cold one. That's true, since as the material cools it bonds to the grill. But scraping from a distance is safe. Cleaning with a wire brush is foolish, since you'll invariably fling hot bits of material onto your skin and possibly into your eyes. Better to wait and take longer cleaning up.

Practice safe barbecuing, especially when you're not the only one around who may pay for your mistakes.

Do It Yourself Outdoor Cooking

Outdoor cooking can be a fun experience, especially if you are out camping in the wilderness, or if you simply want to have a backyard party with family and friends. Outdoor cooking can teach you survival skills, as well as resourcefulness. Where else can you find a thousand ways to use a fire for cooking, as well as a hundred ways to cook an egg using just foil and sticks?

Outdoor cooking is largely do-it-yourself, with the food usually very high in carbohydrates, as most campers and hikers need the energy. If you are going on a camping trip, you won't be able to carry fresh cuts of meat, or a stock of fresh produce with you. You will have to rely on noodles, dried meats, and perhaps a stock of potatoes to see you through. If you are an expert hunter, perhaps you can get some game, but this is getting rarer, especially with the issue of wildlife conservation looming over many parks.

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You can make a small fire and use a pie iron over hot coals. The pie iron is an iron pan with a long handle. You can use a pie iron for smores, hot dogs, and bread. You can also use a Dutch oven, which is made of cast iron or aluminum, and which has a cover in which you can place hot coals. Dutch ovens are heavy, so you can bring one or two when you have a group going out camping or for a cookout.

Some pots and Dutch ovens are clumsy, and your food may spill. You can rig the outdoor cooking pieces by assembling iron bars so that they hang over the flame. On the other hand, you can also wait for the fire to die down so you can place your pots directly onto the coal and flames. You can also dig a pit and place coals in it, then cook your food in the earth, just like a clambake.

Because campfires are banned in many states, you can use small flames and cook your food in clay pots, leaves, or aluminum foil. There are many other ways to cook your food on your own. In Hawaii, for instance, campers can treat themselves to lava-warmed food wrapped in banana leaves.

These are only a few DIY outdoor cooking methods. For more information, talk to your fellow campers and outdoor cooking specialists. Soon, you can enjoy your meal outdoors!

The Reflector Oven Outdoor Cooking Method

If you have been wanting to bake goodies on an outdoor cooking spree, your wishes are now answered. Since the day reflector ovens were created, baking at campsites became a common thing. And there are no limits as to what foods you can bake. Breads, pies, cookies, and pizzas - you can now make all these delights when you are in the wild outdoors!

All you need is a good campfire. The reflector oven will do everything else for you. Just put the oven on a high campfire with lots of flames. Therefore, it is perfect to be used on colder nights or during campfire ceremonies. And the best thing about using the reflector oven is that it is possible to see the food inside as it bakes. Adjusting the cooking time and the temperature required is very simple.

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A reflector oven is usually made of aluminum. It looks like a box, which is open on one side. It has a single shelf inside that supports the food to be baked. The reflector oven works by heating food in a number of ways.

The first type, and the most common way of cooking, is the conduction method. Through conduction, the food cooks due to the heat in direct contact with the food. It is the same concept used in frying, boiling, and grilling.

In a reflector oven, the food is baked using the convection method as well. Convection is the act of heating food with the hot and moving air that the fire produces. When hot air blows over the food, the food is baked evenly on all sides.

The reflector oven also uses radiation technology too. The oven has the ability to heat the food using radiant energy. Radiant energy travels in multiple directions in and around the fire. And this fact accounts much for why breads are baked squarely all around.

When using reflector ovens, a steady source of high heat is required. High flames are preferable. Position the oven very carefully. It needs to be placed on a secured area, to keep it from falling or tilting. Don't put the oven over the fire. Instead, put it a foot or two away from the fire's edge. Be careful when using the oven or adjusting anything, as the risk of burning yourself is rather high.

Various Outdoor Cooking Fuels

Outdoor cooking can be a great activity for family bonding, for entertaining with friends, or simply for a great meal and a change of pace. Since there are a variety of fuels to cook with, you may want to experiment. Some foods work better with an open flame, others with gas, and others with foil.

The most basic and most versatile fuel to use is, of course, wood. You can build a wood fire to keep yourself warm, as well as to heat everything from stews in pots to potatoes in foil. However, not all camping areas allow open fires, especially as these pose a health and safety hazard. You can attract wild animals, moreover, if you don't put your fire out immediately. A good substitute is charcoal. You can have hot glowing coals that you can put your Dutch oven on, allowing you fewer worries in terms of spilled or spoiled food.

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You can also bring your own stove and use different liquid fuels to build a fire. One popular option is any kind of alcohol or a fuel derived from petroleum, which is inexpensive. However, these fuels can catch fire easily, and will burn relatively quickly. If you are cooking a lot of food, you might want to switch to gaseous fuels, such as propane. Propane is a non-toxic fuel, but it is harmful if inhaled, so take care when using it.

You can also use solid fuel for small fires. Wood shavings will keep your fire low and your cooking slow, but you need to watch the fire constantly and renew the shavings supply. You can also use hexamine, another solid fuel in crystal form. Hexamine fuel tablets are useful for camping and hiking trips.

The sun is a great source of fuel for your cooking in the Great Outdoors. All you need is a dark box covered on top by plastic or clear glass. The dark box keeps sunlight-derived heat in, and allows your food to cook slowly. You can wrap your food in aluminum foil, with the shiny part facing the wrapped food, in order to cook the food better.

These are only a few examples of outdoor cooking fuels. You can still count electricity if you are cooking in your backyard and are using an electric grill. For more information, do research on the different fuels, and choose a fuel that will fit your outdoor cooking needs.

Choosing The Right Outdoor Cooking Accessories

Outdoor cooking is made easy by the availability of various kinds of accessories. Through the years a lot of accessories have been manufactured to serve the needs of the growing number of people who want to enjoy outdoor cooking.

Catalogs featuring different kinds of accessories are available online and offline. For grilling alone, accessories may include a grill basket, a grill brush, a grill fork, grill gripper, grill racks, and grill pad and pan.

With so many outdoor cooking accessories available, how do you choose the appropriate or the best kind? There are many considerations like:

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1. The outdoor cooking style you have
Is it just for a simple set of outdoor cooking utensils? What cooking utensils do you have that need accessories? Do you need more than one of each accessory? Consider also the length of time you spend outdoors. Do you go on weekend, week long or month-long outdoor trips?

2. The planned destination
Are your cooking utensils good for backpacking and simple explorations? Or, do you just plan to go to the nearby public park or your backyard? Do you need light weight accessories because you will be hiking a lot?

3. The number of people you intend to cook for.
Maybe you need more racks, leg extensions, or rotisserie accessories.

4. The durability of the accessories.
As in almost anything you buy, durability is a very important quality. The need for durability is more important in an outdoor activity since you are in a far away place and buying accessories is a less priority.

5. The existing cooking utensils that you buy the accessories for.
Make an inventory of the more frequently used utensils but without accessories and put them on the top of the list of accessories to buy.

6. Are the accessories easy to clean and/or maintain?
These should be important considerations as you don't want to waste precious time outdoors cleaning them. Outdoor cooking shouldn't be hampered by problematic utensils and accessories.

7. Are they appropriate for the kinds of food that are often cooked?
Go over the various catalogs offered by the manufacturers or dealers to know the kind of accessories to be given priority in future purchases. Maybe you need additional rotisserie accessories? Or a bigger grilling rack?

Accessories certainly make outdoor cooking an easier chore. However, it should be realized that they are only effective if they are appropriate for the existing utensils and pieces of furniture and the actual needs of the user.