Let's Talk BBQ

Tips, Tricks & Just Good Advice! => Tips, Tricks & Things of Interest => Cooking Equipment - Tips => Topic started by: chriswalters on January 25, 2017, 10:10:55 PM

Title: Food Prep Accessories
Post by: chriswalters on January 25, 2017, 10:10:55 PM
What are everyone's favorite food prep accessories for working with raw meat, applying rubs, transferring from kitchen to BBQ pit, etc. Any special cutting boards, ways to catch raw meat juices, tips for easier cleanup after applying rubs, tips for not contaminating the entire kitchen when working with raw meat?  Thanks in advance!


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Title: Re: Food Prep Accessories
Post by: teesquare on January 25, 2017, 10:17:05 PM
I  buy boxes of Nitrile gloves @ Harbor freight. 

And this cutting board https://www.amazon.com/Dexas-Scoop-Cutting-inches-Handle/dp/B003PDO0FU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1485400524&sr=8-3&keywords=curved+cutting+board
Title: Food Prep Accessories
Post by: Pappymn on January 25, 2017, 11:16:26 PM
I buy nitrile gloves at Costco. And a dedicated board for poultry
Title: Re: Food Prep Accessories
Post by: Pam Gould on January 26, 2017, 06:18:53 AM
I use the gloves and half or quarter heavy aluminum sheet pans, not the thin aluminum ones, .and always stack 2 of them so I have a clean pan underneath for the cooked food, works for me, got them at Sam's..just sayin.   .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.
Title: Re: Food Prep Accessories
Post by: Hub on January 26, 2017, 07:25:01 AM
1.  Lay down several large sheets of butcher paper or foil on the counter before you start slinging rub or flinking miscellaneous meat parts all over the place.  When you're finished, just toss them and no counter cleaning/wiping is necessary.

2.  Find a Lucite cutting board with one side flat and one side indented with drip channels.  These are easy on your knife blades and the one I have is the maximum size that will fit in the dishwasher so that I can sanitize it when I'm through hacking critter parts.

3.  If you're dealing with chicken chunks a big, heavy-duty set of poultry shears is a lot less work than trying to figure out where the knife goes.  Force beats finesse every time.

4.  Know what's in your rub and cook appropriately.  Salty rubs have a drying effect that amplifies bark creation (if that's what you want).  Sugary ones will make for darker exterior coloration on the meat once cooked.  Some herbs and spices actually change flavors under certain heat conditions.  What tastes good on your finger may not taste good on your rib.

5.  Move meat hunks with big tongs, not big forks.  Poking holes in the meat just provides a way for moisture to escape. 

6.  Meat of any kind should spend most of its time in either the fridge or the cooker, not on the counter.  After you carve it, either cook it or refrigerate it.  Same applies after it's cooked.  Carve it and serve it as hot as possible.  Don't leave leftover meat lying around. 

7.  Sneak up on how much rub, sauce or injection you use.  Don't forget that the meat itself has flavor and overriding that flavor with too much rub or sauce defeats the purpose of even having the meat.  If you like the rub or sauce so much, just put a big glob on some Wonder Bread and avoid the expense and bother of messing with the meat.

. . . end of sermonette (for now)  ;D

Hub
Title: Re: Food Prep Accessories
Post by: chriswalters on January 26, 2017, 11:12:06 PM
Thanks for all the great tips so far!
Title: Re: Food Prep Accessories
Post by: sparky on January 27, 2017, 10:58:25 PM
FT, gloves, tongs, sharp knife, cutting board, alum foil and salt n pepper.
Title: Re: Food Prep Accessories
Post by: Subvet on January 28, 2017, 02:54:31 PM
Hub, I learned more from your sermonette than I did at church last Sunday!
Excellent info....
Title: Re: Food Prep Accessories
Post by: smokeasaurus on January 28, 2017, 02:57:46 PM
Jaccard and gloves and lots of hot soapy water...........
Title: Re: Food Prep Accessories
Post by: Daze823 on April 25, 2017, 12:58:03 PM
by far my most used accessories when prepping raw food are aluminum pans with the small lips (I think they are called jelly roll pans), gloves and mustard.  I don't know if mustard counts as an accessory but its great for getting the rub to stick.

By using the pans (and I have about 8 of them), I can usually contain all the juices on the pan and most of the rub (but sometimes I get carried away).  and I just switch to a new pan when I need to.  I will generally have a unused pan or two to carry the cooked meat, or I just wash them while the food is cooking. 

One thing I still need to get better at is preparing my spices, rubs, etc. for use before I grab the meat.  I try really hard not to touch the seasoning with a hand that has touched the meat, so I end up stopping and washing a lot since I can't seem to remember to take the caps off the seasonings BEFORE I grab the meat with one hand (I guess using tongs would help with this, but I like to be hands on).
Title: Re: Food Prep Accessories
Post by: DWard51 on April 25, 2017, 06:06:59 PM
Above all keep your work space clean and sanitary!

Title: Food Prep Accessories
Post by: Pappymn on April 25, 2017, 07:37:23 PM
Above all keep your work space clean and sanitary!

  • Like others said, gloves are a must (nitrile).  I sometimes double glove if I know I'm going to need clean hands while handling the meat.  It's easier than trying to put the next pair of gloves on damp hands after washing them (or sweaty hands after pulling dirty pair off when only wearing a single layer).
  • Depending on what I'm prepping and how much, I will either use a good sturdy aluminum pan or a large disposable pan to hold the bulk of the meat.   Also I will put an aluminum commercial cookie sheet under the large disposable pan when carrying bulk food out to the smoker (or back in when done).  Nothing sucks more than having a disposable pan fold up on you dumping your meat on the deck
  • I have a flexible cutting board/sheet that I really like.  Once I have some cut up meat I can pick up the board and fold it into a curve to funnel the meat into another container or into a hot pan for browning.
  • I also keep a Worksharp diamond knife sharpener in the kitchen drawer and dress up a knife just before working on meat.  A sharp knife makes a world of a difference (and remember to curl your thumb under when curling your fingers and holding meat or vegetables being cut - ask me how I know - cut through to the bone once in a fraction of a second).  If you keep them sharp, you only need to do a quick dressing on the ceramic rod or leather strop most of the time.  I also have the Ken Onion power sharpening system and when a new knife comes home, it gets the full treatment before going into service.  Like I said, once sharp, it's easy to keep them sharp with a quick dressing stroke or two
  • Buy the big rolls of aluminum foil from either Sam's Club or a restaurant supply warehouse.  You will us it often, even if you don't foil your meat.  Makes a great liner for parts of the smoker to make clean up easy.  Same for the clear plastic food wrap.  The wide stuff makes it easy to cover bowls and plates of leftovers in the fridge.
  • If you don't have a Restaurant Depot or similar nearby, Sam's Club or Costco is your next best friend for decent prices on meat, pans, cutting boards, etc...
  • use fresh spices, and keep spices stored in sealed glass jars under vacuum if you can.  Oxygen is your enemy when it comes to spices.  I use the small 4oz and 8oz Ball jars with standard lids and vacuum them with the foodsaver.  They do make both a wide mouth lid adapter that comes with most kits, and a standard lid adapter that is an option. If you order some online, make sure the 4oz have the regular mouth lid as they also make a mini-8oz version that looks like a small ball jar and has a much smaller lid[\li]
    • Oh yeah, FOODSAVER!!!!!!   That is a must have item IMO.  Buy in bulk, cut in to smaller quantities, vacuum pack and freeze.  Also when I pull spice mixes out to make 5lbs of sticks from a bag that makes 25lbs, I fold over the bag and vacuum pack it in another bag.  Keeps spices fresh as the day you opened the bag.  Hell, you could make an entire "what do you use your foodsaver for" thread.....
       

    Oh, and don't be afraid to try and make your own rubs and spice mixes.  The pre-packaged stuff is good, but there is something to be said for tweaking it to your liking by adding something extra or mixing an entire batch from scratch.  If you do "tweak" a commercial mix or make your own, keep records of what you did so you can repeat it if it was a hit.  I also convert my go-to recipes to grams  and load them into spreadsheets.  I can then make any amount of sausage or snack sticks I want and have precise spice measurements in grams.  Which reminds me to recommend everyone also have a gram scale that goes to 1/100th a gram and a larger scale that will go into the 25 lb and up range.

Great post. I do most of these. I have the Ken Onion as well and I like it. What is the Worksharp diamond knife sharpener? Do you use that like a honing steel? I use a steel to prolong my edge in between using the Ken Onion