Doctor Pierce's Notebook

Lard and Fat - Yum

Slate Magazine references the book Fat: an Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes.   The book has won the Best Single Subject Cookbook award, as well as Cookbook of the Year, at the 2009 James Beard Awards, and is on my bedside table.  This gist of the article is that lard has gotten a bad rap. 

Lard's advantages over vegetable shortening:

1.  No trans fats to cause an immune/inflammatory response

2.  Mostly monounsaturated, and even the saturated portion will increase your HDL*

3.  Great taste and texture in cooking/baking

4.  Higher smoking point (along with coconut and palm oils), meaning less fat absorbed by whatever you're frying

Vegetable shortening's advantages over lard:

1.  Um, none that I can think of

The article outlines a method to make your own lard.  Unfortunately, unless your live near my brothers and my mom in Charlotte, NC (pork capital of the world!), it can be difficult to find pork fat in your grocery store.  I make my lard with Trader Joe's Low Sodium Bacon, following the method outlined in the article.  You can even use this TJ Lard in cooking/baking; just don't add any additional salt to your recipe.

*Remember HDL is the "good" cholesterol and you want that level to be higher

Grilling the (Relatively) Cancer-Free Way Part 2

Part 2: Meat

As discussed in Part 1, the major component of carcinogens in grilling meat come from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which form from the smoke of burning fat landing on the food and heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that increase with cooking time and temperature.

 

So again, it’s the old “use your grill like an oven” technique – I like to buy Tri-Tip ($5.99 per pound at Trader Joe’s).  It’s essentially a sirloin roast, 2-2 ½ pounds, so it’ll feed a good number of people.

 

1.  I marinate it in Corbett Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon for six hours

2.  I dry rub it with equal parts sea salt, black pepper, sage and crushed rosemary

3.  I pan-sear each side for 30 seconds (trying to balance juice retention and carcinogen production.)

4.  If you’ve got a multi-burner LP or NG grill, fire up one burner only and put the Tri-Tip on the unheated side, close the grill cover and adjust the grill temp to 250-300 degrees F.  That 2-2 ½ lb roast will take an hour or so to get to medium-rare, so check the internal temp at around 50 minutes or so. 

5.  When it’s done to your liking, take it off the grill and cover in aluminum foil for 5 minute to let the juices equilibrate, then divvy it up.  Almost as tender as a  filet mignon, at a fraction of the price.

Speaking of filet, I use a similar method to prevent juice loss – do steps 1 through 3 above, then fire up all your burners except one, and close the grill cover to create a temperature of at least 550 degrees (higher is better).  Then put the filets on the unheated area and cover quickly.  Cook 3-9 minutes per side, depending on steak thickness and doneness preference.

Or, just throw cancer-caution to the wind, and throw some ribeyes on the grill!

Grilling the (Relatively) Cancer-Free Way

Part 1: Chicken

 

My wife just got me a 5-burner grill as a pre-Father's Day gift, which I converted from LP (liquid propane) to NG (natural gas).  Grilling meat poses some potential health risk in the form of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which form from the smoke of burning fat landing on the food and heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which increase with cooking time and termperature.  Both PAH and HCA have been associated with cancer in several studies, so  I've been experimenting, trying to decrease carcinogens in grilled meats.  

An article in the NY Times outlines 4 useful methods to decrease carcinogens, and a BBC News article touts the benefits of marinating meat in beer for 4 hours or red wine for 6 hours.  

For barbeque chicken, I recommend local, free-range, non-grain fed chickens.  But if it is not within your means you can go cheap (Perdue Natural whole chickens with no antibiotics or growth hormones - $0.89/lb @ BJs).  

Cut into pieces with kitchen shears (I only throw away the spine).  Marinate in Corbett Canyon boxed Sauvignon Blanc ($2 - 2.50/750 ml), dry rub with Rajah Garam Masala (no sodium) or Tandoori Masala and garlic powder, or go Greek with cinnamon, salt and pepper.  

I turn 2 of my 5 burners on high and put the chicken on the unheated part of the grill surface for about 2 hours with the lid closed (grill temperature 250-300 F), flipping and rotating every 1/2 hour.  The last 10 or 15 minutes turn all the burners on high, coat 1 side of the chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce, flip and caramelize/crisp for 5-7 minutes, then repeat for the other side. 

Advantages:

1.  mmm - tasty - and the white meat is super juicy

2. Cheap - $1.00- $1.50 per person if you go the food warehouse route

3. Decreased PAHs since the first 2 hours there's no smoke production

4. Decreased HCAs since you're essentially baking low and slow and you've marinated in the wine

5. Foolproof - if you forget to rotate the chicken or let it cook for 3 hours it'll still be awesome

Disavantages:

1. Time - 2 1/4 hours plus prep time!  You can decrease this by following the NYT recommendation to partially pre-cook the chicken in the microwave - I haven't experimented with this yet.

 

Next - Part 2: Meat