Guide to Stir-Frying and Deep-Frying
STIR-FRYING TECHNIQUES
This method of cooking is popular around the world and can
be easily accomplished outdoors on your Kenmore gas grill.
It’s a quick and healthful way of preparing a complete meal
using meat, poultry or seafood in infinite combinations with
other interesting ingredients like vegetables, rice or noodles.
Preparing to Stir-fry
Although it is possible to stir fry in other dishes, the
wok is your best tool. Its high sides enable the cook to stir
food without spillage. Its construction allows you to cook
quickly at high temperatures, with instant control of heat
which is essential for successful stir frying.
Food preparation
Slice meat and poultry into long thin strips and cube fish fil-
lets. Remove all fat from meat and poultry and cut large
vegetables into even slices or cubes.
Marinate foods for extra flavor and tenderness. Marinat- ing
times will vary for red meat, fish and or various cuts. Less
tender cuts of meat should be marinated longer. Remember
to always chill marinating food in the refrigerator prior to
cooking.
Stir-fry meats, poultry or fish first. Next, add hard vegetables
like carrots. Then continue with softer vegetables like snow-
peas and peppers. To ensure even cooking, continually stir
and toss the food in the wok using a wooden spoon or spat-
ula.
Tips for Stir-frying
Place the wok directly over a high heat on your grill or side
burner. Add only a small amount of food at a time to ensure
fast cooking and also to allow the wok to reheat between
ingredients.
DEEP-FRYING TECHNIQUES
A wide variety of foods can be deep-fried outdoors on your
grill, from potatoes, to seafood and chicken. Deep-frying
uses a large portion of oil, preferably saturated. The outdoor
location is ideal for deep-frying as smoke, grease and
smells reach for the sky – not the ceiling of your kitchen.
Preparing to Deep-fry
Deep-fry on your grill using a cooking pan or wok, over
direct heat with the grill lid raised.
Fill the cooking pan no more than half full of vegetable or
corn oil. Start with low heat, then raise the heat gradually.
Check the temperature of the oil carefully with a frying ther-
mometer or test with a cube of bread. The cube of bread
should brown in about 30 seconds for most cooking needs.
A temperature between 350 and 400 degrees is optimal for
preparing the majority of deep-fried foods.
Food Preparation
Foods being deep-fried taste better when coated with either
batter or breadcrumbs to add flavor and prevent moisture
from escaping.
Tips for Deep-frying
Wear an insulated cooking glove and slowly lower foods
into the hot oil using a wire scoop or stainless steel tongs.
Add only a small quantity of food to the oil, allow it to cook,
then repeat with another small quantity. This ensures the oil
doesn’t drop in temperature. Once the food is cooked,
remove it carefully and drain onto a paper towel. Turn the
heat off as soon as you have finished deep-frying and allow
the pan to cool. When the oil is cool, remove all remnants of
fried foods by straining it through a fine metal sieve. Once
the oil is quite cool, store it in a clean bottle for future use.
Guide to Using the Secondary Cooking Rack
Vegetables are generally easy to cook on the grill. The
cooking rack makes it convenient because you can still use
the main cooking area while the vegetables are suspended
above the grids.
Pre-cook hard vegetables by briefly boiling or microwaving
them before cooking on the grill. Wrap vegetables in a dou-
ble thickness of foil to protect them while cooking on the
grill. Then, remove the foil if desired, 10-15 minutes before
the end of cooking, brush vegetables with butter or oil and
finish cooking.
The cooking rack can be used for purposes other than just
the obvious. Consider using it for warming French bread,
garlic bread, croissants or even bagels. A small whole fish
wrapped in foil also cooks well in the cooking rack. Parcels
of seafood such as scallops, prawns and sliced fish fillets
prepared in a sauce and portioned into small foil wraps
cooks well this way, too.
- 24 -
