Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Spice over fat

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Spice over fat

    My fiance's family relies heavily on cooking meat in it's fat to increase flavor, but honestly all that fat doesn't settle well in my stomach so I tend to use spices/steak sauce instead. This can get just as bad for me though, because of the high salt content.

    I usually use fresh garlic or garlic powder over garlic salt and a lot of cajun seasoning or pre-made steak spices. Pepper is great, but with these limited options I'm afraid of the flavoring getting stale. And even cajun and pre-made spices tend to have salt in them.

    So... just wondering what everyone's favorite way of spicing different types of meat is. If you know of any homemade steak sauce with low sodium. And ways to cook meat that help get rid of fat. I enjoy boiling hamburgers and grilling, but is there more you can do to get the fat out?
    We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

    I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
    It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
    Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
    -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

    Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

    #2
    Re: Spice over fat

    I'd look at leaner cuts of meat myself - flank steak, round steaks, that kind of thing. They don't have much marbling and do best with quick cooking methods, like stir-fry or strung on kebabs & grilled. I like a thick marbled steak myself, but the flank & round steaks are cheap. I've found that braising helps the thinner leaner meats stay moist when you want them cooked a little longer.

    You can incorporate fruit juices for various flavors, as well as wines, liquors and vinegars - I've even been known to throw some ginger ale into Asian-style dishes. Traditional 'red-eye' gravy is made with coffee, & us southern folk have been adding Coca-Cola to sauces & gravies for quite awhile.

    Have you tried any of the different cooking oils that are out there? My husband doesn't get along w/canola oil - it gives him heartburn, and 'vegetable oil' (which is a blend of just about any imaginable vegetable oil) triggers his IBS, but pure peanut oil & sunflower oil seem to be ok for him.
    The forum member formerly known as perzephone. Or Perze. I've shed a skin.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Spice over fat

      I use sauces and spices, but I make my own. Since I make my own, I use less salt (sea salt is great because you need less for the same effect!) and I use a bit of olive oil (for lower heat), or sunflower oil, but not a lot.

      I make one that's a marinade that's basically red wine, garlic and whatever herbs that go with the rest of the meal. I mix the above with a bit of oil (just a tad) and a dash of salt and pepper and marinate it for half a day to a day....nice and juicy.

      Or I get recipes from the net. I just look up whatever flavour I want and make it.

      I also go for lean cuts of meat, or I cut off fat. I HATE meat fat. HATE IT.
      Last edited by DanieMarie; 09 Jul 2011, 23:27.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Spice over fat

        Depends on the dish and my mood, not to mention what I have available. Red meats in general I tend to use soy with some spices (like rosemary and garlic) or even flavor it with fruit like figs. Chicken, seafood, etc. tend to have something of a bland sauce(homemade quite often) with a "kick" in it like curry or rooster sauce.

        Honestly you can't beat homemade blends of spices IMO. You control the ratio and the sodium content, not to mention you can keep a recipe written somewhere. I have my cider spice recipe written on the label of my bottle for it. That way I can make it again and even use it to flavor my coffee (to do this, put the spice in with the coffee in the filter, not after it's brewed).
        my etsy store
        My blog


        "...leave me curled up in my ball,
        surrounded by plush, downy things,
        ill prepared, but willing,
        to descend."

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Spice over fat

          A mix of 4 parts onion powder, 4 parts garlic powder, 2 parts mustard powder, 1 part salt, and 1 part pepper will flavor just about any red meat perfectly. I keep all but the pepper premixed in a shake bottle, then add the pepper fresh ground press it into the meat, let it sit for a few minutes before bringing it to the grill, or pan.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Spice over fat

            Thanks all for the great ideas. I'd never considered adding fruit, and alcohol is outside my budget for drinking, let alone using in food, but once I can afford it I'll be trying it!

            Originally posted by perzephone View Post
            I'd look at leaner cuts of meat myself - flank steak, round steaks, that kind of thing.
            I agree with this whole-heartedly, but pork is generally what I end up getting around here. Right now, I'm not the one buying the food, though, cause I just can't afford it. We live with me in-laws (hopefully be out in the next couple months) and they buy the food until then. I have the option of spicing or saucing my food my own way though. Only time this doesn't really work out is when they're cooking something like spaghetti sauce or hamburger helper.
            We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

            I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
            It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
            Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
            -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

            Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Spice over fat

              Originally posted by Shahaku View Post
              Right now, I'm not the one buying the food, though, cause I just can't afford it. We live with me in-laws (hopefully be out in the next couple months) and they buy the food until then. I have the option of spicing or saucing my food my own way though. Only time this doesn't really work out is when they're cooking something like spaghetti sauce or hamburger helper.
              Ouch. Yeah, that kind of limits what your diet will consist of.

              It's part of why I could never be or have a room-mate. I'm all, "This ain't Burger King, it's my kitchen - eat it my way or GTFO!"
              The forum member formerly known as perzephone. Or Perze. I've shed a skin.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Spice over fat

                I always marinade red meats for 24 hours beforehand in a mixture of bourbon, brown sugar, honey, water to thin it out a little if it needs it, and a few dry herbs and spices such as cinnamon, cloves, rosemary, garlic, coriander, cilantro, and so on (not all at once, obviously). The bourbon/brown sugar base usually stays the same, but you can pretty well do whatever you want with the dry herbs and spices.

                Seriously, cooking with booze is just...so awesome, you get all kinds of flavors out of it that you can't manage normally. Considering where I live, authentic bourbon is cheap as hell, so I use it on everything. Considering what you've said though, I guess it doesn't help you much. Sorry
                "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others."
                -Thomas Jefferson

                Let a man never stir on his road a step
                without his weapons of war;
                for unsure is the knowing when the need shall arise
                of a spear on the way without.
                -

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Spice over fat

                  I love using Guinness in my cooking, especially lamb. It reduces down beautifully with a little butter & adds a nice smokiness to pork or beef... and Guinness duck is fan-freaking-tastic!

                  For beer-can chicken (that's one version in the link), though, I go with lagers. If you wanted to cook a whole chicken for your family, not just flavoring your portion, it's a wowzer and relatively inexpensive. If it's a particularly fatty chicken, you can clean some of the fat out before you stick it in the oven, and the rest of it drains off pretty well. You want to leave the skin on for cooking because it helps seal in the moisture, but it can be taken off before you eat it.
                  The forum member formerly known as perzephone. Or Perze. I've shed a skin.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Spice over fat

                    Cooking with alcohol is great! Especially when the cook gets to polish off the "leftovers)!
                    I have a cheesecake recipe that has Amaretto in it, which I then modified to replace a bit of the required cream with Baileys. The crust is chocolate crumbs & butter to which I add a bit of chopped buttercrunch cashews.
                    sigpic
                    Can you hear me, Major Tom? I think I love you.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Spice over fat

                      Originally posted by Hawkfeathers View Post
                      I have a cheesecake recipe that has Amaretto in it, which I then modified to replace a bit of the required cream with Baileys. The crust is chocolate crumbs & butter to which I add a bit of chopped buttercrunch cashews.
                      OMG that sounds delicious! May I snag it from you and modify it for my celiac purposes?
                      my etsy store
                      My blog


                      "...leave me curled up in my ball,
                      surrounded by plush, downy things,
                      ill prepared, but willing,
                      to descend."

                      Comment


                        #12
                        sigpic
                        Can you hear me, Major Tom? I think I love you.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Spice over fat

                          Thank you so much! I understand about "secret" stuff; it's kinda moot after a while.
                          my etsy store
                          My blog


                          "...leave me curled up in my ball,
                          surrounded by plush, downy things,
                          ill prepared, but willing,
                          to descend."

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Spice over fat

                            You're most welcome. Yeah, I've even been giving people pasta secrets lately! I really don't want whatever I've got to die with me! It's definitely moot like you said!
                            Note: it's important if you use the Bailey's, use "whipping" cream instead of "heavy". (With the heavy cream plus Baileys it just never sets up in the middle! Guess it's too rich.)
                            And maybe it's just my springform pan but it always seems to drip a bit while baking and the butter smokes, so I put foil under it. Which may explain why it takes a few extra minutes to bake?
                            sigpic
                            Can you hear me, Major Tom? I think I love you.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Spice over fat

                              That sounds so sinfully yummy!

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X