Meat and fire, when placed quite close to each other, are bound to head towards a combustion showering loads of surprising flavors and rich tastes that take you back to the very primitive world of turning a piece of protein, glazed with some oil into a sensational supper. The magic of fire on meat has not really faded out with time and expert chefs still wield magic by packing in some additional flavor in the form of different spices and herbs, to the meat before placing it on the fire.
Chefs in different parts of the world enjoy churning out different kinds of recipes by placing the meat on slow or high flame, dusting it with different kinds of spices, soaking it in fruit juices or vinegar, etc. The taste varies depending largely on the seasonings, cooking time and cooking procedures.
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Churrasco: The Brazilians call this recipe Churrasco because it is usually cooked in Churrascaria or restaurants. This dish is often cooked with beef, chicken or goat. The history behind the creation of Churrasco is quite interesting. The gauchos or the cowboys of the region used to roam around from one place to another, which made it extremely difficult for them to store the meat after killing animals. They needed a simple cooking procedure to cook a huge amount of meat. The primitive process of cooking it over wood fire has widely been modernized to a large extent. In the present day Brazilian restaurants, it is often done with a little intervention of a grill. But, the result is the same, old, juicy, tender lip smacking dish.
Yakitori: This is basically a bar snack made in Japan with skewered, grilled chicken parts. The special cooking recipe is responsible for imparting a tender, aromatic, unusual taste to this particular dish. People planning to enjoy Yakitori with their choice of wine can order it simply grilled with a bit of salt (shio) or soaked in their favorite grilling marinade, tare sauce. This sauce is a blend of mirin or rice wine, salty soy sauce, a touch of sugar and sake. The idea is to caramelize all the seasonings on the chicken while it gets cooked, over a hot grill.
Shish Kebab: Though the kebab recipes are reigning the world of grilled meat for quite some time now, just any of the grilled platter could not always wield the same magic created by the Turkish Shish kebabs that came to existence after being charred, smoked with the flavor of burnt wood. The Arabian soldiers used their swords for placing beef or lamb over fire. The choice of meat usually vary depending on the local religion, custom and availability.
Jerk: Jamaicans created magic on the grills with a seasoning made of fiery blend of strongly aromatic spices like, cloves, garlic, cinnamon, Scotch bonnet peppers, thyme, etc. Ideally, the seasoning had been created keeping the texture of pork and chicken in mind. Later on, this authentic Jamaican taste transcended all the frontiers to take all the Caribbean islands in its grip. Jerk seasoning has the Scotch bonnet peppers as its base in almost all the Caribbean islands, while the other ingredients varied widely from one place to another.
No matter how irresistible the flavors of your grilled dish is, never serve it before ten minutes pass after the grilling process ends. Picking the pieces up from the hot grill, immediately after searing them to serve on the platter is almost a crime. This process can kill the ideal taste of a barbecue dish. So, have patience before digging in and enjoy it patiently.