How Do You Season Meat?

Supplements and Nutrition
#1

I’ll start by pointing out that I know fuck-all about cooking.

However, it seems to me that there is no way to cook and season meat so that it actually tastes good, without loading it up with junk ingredients.

I have a George Foreman grill which I use to cook chicken tenders. I spray the grill with nonstick olive oil cooking spray, and that’s it. I don’t use anything else. Once it is cooked, I eat the chicken with tomato sauce or a natural salad dressing/sautee. It’s not particularly good. Never has been.

I’ve tried using the Foreman to cook beef patties, but they tasted like absolute shit. Granted, I used no conventional meat seasonings, for they are loaded with junk ingredients.

I know that many people on this forum love meat. But I highly doubt that love is based on eating it plain off a Foreman grill.

How can I enjoy meat without turning the meal into Mickey D’s?

#2

Easily, man! There’s red cooking wine, Hell, Lawry’s and lemon pepper is a good “El Cheapo” combo. You could also marinate some chopped-up beef in some teriyaki sauce and stir-fry it up with some veggies if you like. There’s lots of ways. It all depends on what you like, though. What sort of flavors do you like?

#3

First off, the George Foreman sucks. It kills all the flavor by sucking any sort of fat out. It makes meat taste dry and terrible. I like to cook chicken breasts or meat on a frying pan and add garlic salt to it or sometimes teriyaki sauce is good.

#4

Rinse and trim your chicken breast.
Liberally drizzle with kosher salt (it’s more pure)
Rinse the salt off. Don’t cut the chicken again 'till done.

Now choose seasoning. The simplest 10 second thing is just some dried minced garlic and a liberal coating of pepper. Cook chicken until done… barely. The worst thing you can do is over cook the chicken. If you cut into your finished chicken and find it a bit pink you can put it in the microwave for a min and it won’t mess it up too much at that point. This is better than overcooking.

It isn’t really a foreman thing but look up some curry recipes if you have a stove.

#5

Rub some garlic and herbs on the outside of a chicken breast and then cook on anything other than a Foreman.

A nonstick pan should be fine and then you can choose to use oil or not.

Cook the chicked in garlic or herb infused oil to give it a hint of flavour.

Coat chicken in chilli flakes and then cook.

If you like the taste of something, you can use it to flavour meat. Just be imaginative.

#6

is this a real question?

i’ve been gone for about 4 months, and you’ve all become noticeably more retarded in my absence

this is a real answer:

go to the store
buy the best damn piece of meat possible
buy as many seasoning blends as you desire
go home
start the grill
get your meat out (the other one) and put it on a plate
get your spices out and throw them away
put salt and pepper on your meat (the other one still)
pick up the meat
smash the plate over your head
put meat on fire for ~ 1 minute
turn meat to other side for 1 minute
turn off grill
eat

you are welcome

#7

[quote]BASTARD GUY wrote:
put meat on fire for ~ 1 minute
turn meat to other side for 1 minute
turn off grill
eat

you are welcome[/quote]

You must eat some thin steaks. The T-Bones I buy are way to thick to be cooked for 2 minutes. Don’t get me wrong I like my steak medium, but not still breathing.

Nothing and I mean nothing beats Johnnys. Anyone else like Johnnys as much as I do? That Montreal steak seasoning is pretty good too.

#8

[quote]Nominal Prospect wrote:
I’ll start by pointing out that I know fuck-all about cooking.

However, it seems to me that there is no way to cook and season meat so that it actually tastes good, without loading it up with junk ingredients.
[/quote]

What do you consider a “junk ingredient”? There are lots of good seasonings out there without additives.

#9

I think the Forman Grill can still do a fairly good job with cooking meats without drying them out. It is all in the method of cooking.

Get the Forman grill super hot, place chicken on the grill and place top on VERY LOOSELY! Do not press down the lid or it will push all the juices out of the meat and leave it dried out and leathery. Do not flip the meat or touch it while it’s cooking. Don’t poke at it with a fork or knife to tell if it’s done. Since this will release the juices on the inside and they will run out and leave the meat dried out and leathery.

Turn down the grill to low/ med and cook for about 12 minutes, depending on the thickness, or until it is just done. This will take a little practice. But, you can tell it is done by pressing lightly on the thickest part of the breast. If it is still fairly mushy then leave it for a few more minutes. Don’t overcook it.

Take the chicken off the grill, very carefully, don’t pierce it yet or the juices will run out of it again leaving it dry and leathery.
LET IT REST for at least 4-6 minutes before you eat it. This will insure the juiciest inside.

As far as seasonings, try marinating your meat before cooking it. Main components of Marinate include:

  1. Some kind of ACID, like lemon juice, lime juice, vinegars etc.

  2. A FAT, to transfer the flavors. Fat is the vehicle for the flavor to get into the meats. So, don’t skimp on the fat in your marinade. Don’t worry it won’t add very much fat overall to your meats. I like to use olive oil (not Extra Virgin since it has a very low smoking point) Just use regular pure or pommace olive oil. Good flavor none of the burnt flavor.

  3. FLAVOR…you need some kind of flavor. Figure out what you like. Fresh herbs, onions, garlic, hot or smoked peppers, spices etc. Experiment with different flavors as much as possible. Add a lot of spices like curry powder, chili powder, cumin, other dried spices. I prefer fresh herbs myself. Just use the stems in the marinade and then chop up the leaves to sprinkle on top when it’s cooked.

With this method you could eat chicken breast every day for every meal and never get bored.

Oh yeah and think about investing in a “real grill” or at least a cast iron grill pan you can put on your stove.

Happy grilling!
BP

#10

am i the only one that prefers my meat straight?

I don’t want anything on it, nothing not even salt. I take it out of the package and i cook it like that. I love the taste so much. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm steak. I cook all my meats this way but steak always comes out the most amazing.

#11

Fucking salt and pepper. Not rocket science. And you don’t need the non-stick spray with the foreman, it is a non stick surface. No offense, but it amazes me how people advance through life amassing no life skills.

On a bright note, good to see Bastard Guy back!

#12

The cheap, easy, tasty way:

Beef:
McCromick Montreal steak seasoning w/ either 2 tbsp of worc. or teriyaki. Soak for 15-30 min.

Chicken:
Italian dressing, or just teriyaki
Soak for 30 min

There are plenty of good spice combos available. Take a look in the spice section and select spices that suit your tastes.

#13

You’re kidding, right? I’m shocked that someone doesn’t know how to just yank some spices out of the pantry and throw it together.

My default spices for pretty much anything:
Thyme
Basil
Garlic (LOTS of Garlic - fresh is best, but powder works, too)
Onion (I prefer powder over fresh for this)
Oregano
Rosemary
Parsley
Cumin
Cayenne
Dill
Salt
Pepper
Soy Sauce

I season everything w/ those spices alone. Not all at the same time, usually, but you could. I have a variety of other spices, as well, but those are my faves.

Chicken:
Marinate in soy sauce, basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, garlic, onion, salt, pepper. Cook it.

If you like it breaded, marinate in soy sauce, lemon, and a little bit of oil. Like a tablespoon. Bread it in your own homemade breadcrumbs (a bunch of bread whipped through the food processor) or in prepackaged bread crumbs. I like Italian Flavored from Progresso (blue canister) if I buy prepackaged. I can make my own that flavor, though, if I throw in the above named spices. Anyway, marinate, bread, and bake on 350 for about 20 -25 minutes. Put a little pat of butter on top of each chicken breast half way through cooking. (Keeps it moist.) Season w/ a sprinkle of lemon juice if you want. (My fave and now I’m hungry.)

Steak:
Marinate the same as chicken, minus the rosemary, add lemon. Or, just garlic, salt, & pepper. It doens’t need much. you can always pour on some A-1 after, too. Not the most healthful - God knows what preservatives are in it! - but it’s quite tasty.

Hamburgers:
Garlic, salt, & pepper.

Bottom line is that you need to mix it up, be creative, invent something.

#14

[quote]BIGRAGOO wrote:
The cheap, easy, tasty way:

Beef:
McCormick Montreal steak seasoning w/ either 2 tbsp of worc. or teriyaki. Soak for 15-30 min.

Chicken:
Italian dressing, or just teriyaki
Soak for 30 min

There are plenty of good spice combos available. Take a look in the spice section and select spices that suit your tastes.[/quote]

#15

[quote]consumer wrote:
am i the only one that prefers my meat straight?

I don’t want anything on it, nothing not even salt. I take it out of the package and i cook it like that. I love the taste so much. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm steak. I cook all my meats this way but steak always comes out the most amazing.[/quote]

Hell yeah that’s the way I eat it, if it’s a very good piece of meat though…But when I do season, I use garlic salt, and onion salt.

#16

[quote]BASTARD GUY wrote:
smash the plate over your head
put meat on fire for ~ 1 minute
turn meat to other side for 1 minute
turn off grill
eat

you are welcome[/quote]

a minute a side? are you nuts? 30 seconds or so on a good hot fire (or seared quickly in a good hot pan/skillet) is more than enough. Searing the outside’s enough to kill anything dangerous and it leaves the inside cold and raw, i.e. flavoriffic.

(also, I believe the plate smashing is supposed to be done on your face, nose blood makes for a great steak seasoning)

Ok, rare steak rant over, for chicken, a great option is to cut it up into small chunks and pan fry it in some olive oil and white wine (salt and pepper to taste). When the pieces are almost done add some veggies (spinach, sundried tomato, mushrooms, broccoli, etc… whatever you fancy) give them a minute or so to cook/wilt then toss with some whole wheat pasta. Makes a quick, easy, and fantastic meal. And it holds up well in the fridge so it’s great for a couple of lunches.

#17

good meat.
sea salt.
cast iron.

your main problenm is foreman grills cook for shit. sorry to be the one to break it to you.

#18

Seasoning meat is always fun for me. Same for stews, rice dishes, whatever.

There is nothing better than sitting down to the meal and having my girl ask:

“ummm, did you ‘kick this up?’”

“lil bit…”

For meat, for me anyways, it’s mostly sea salt, montreal steak seasoning, and hot fire for a short period of time (unless it’s chicken).

B.

#19

[quote]ThatGirl77 wrote:
My default spices for pretty much anything:
Thyme
Basil
Garlic (LOTS of Garlic - fresh is best, but powder works, too)
Onion (I prefer powder over fresh for this)
Oregano
Rosemary
Parsley
Cumin
Cayenne
Dill
Salt
Pepper
Soy Sauce

[/quote]

I would add:
Ground Coriander
Paprika
Lemon Pepper (works for fish and chicken)
Sage
Red pepper (I prefer flakes)

Mix and match the seasonings until you find what combinations you like with either, fish, chicken or beef.

That gives you BASIC seasonings that work well most of the time.

#20

Since when are herbs and spices “junk ingredients”?