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When it comes to food and how to cook it there is no shortage of choice and no matter where you are from you will have that special cooking technique that still makes your mouth water every time you think of it.

While there are hundreds of ways to cook something, the more traditional methods that have stood the test of time are:

BBQ

Tandoori

Smoking

While BBQ is loved by everyone and is easy to do, it is very difficult to master. Using a tandoor is an ancient way of cooking in a special oven and is still common in Asia while smoking fish and meats is a rustic technique for a true craftsperson.

Man Cooks Meat

Now synonymous with the United States, cooking with a barbecue is cooking in its simplest and rawest form using charcoal, lump wood, or (not so good) natural gas. Despite this, when it is done properly by a true master or a BBQ catering company, this is one of the most amazing culinary experiences you will ever have.

Most Americans in the southern states will tell you that the key to a good BBQ is “low ‘n slow”. This is when the meat is cooked over a relatively low temperature for a long, long time. It isn’t uncommon for a BBQ Pitmaster to sit up for 12 hours per night manually turning a spit.

Of course, other meats can be cooked on a BBQ. Beef ribs and extra-thick steaks are glorious when cooked properly on a BBQ while a spatchcock chicken is something that even an inexperienced home chef can try.

Traditions Never Die

An ancient form of cooking, a tandoor is a cylinder-shaped clay oven that can reach extremely high temperatures using wood for fuel. The traditional method of cooking for many in the southern parts of Asia, the tandoor can be used for meat and bread.

The most common use of the tandoor is for roti and naan bread which are stuck to the inside walls of the tandoor for a perfect bread baking experience. The clay material used for the tandoor along with the wood used for fuel gives the bread their notable flavor and traditional slightly rounded shape.

Modern adaptations to the street tandoor have been made to accommodate tourists who prefer to eat meat-based dishes, so the popularity of Asian street food means that some tandoori chefs now grill meats much like a BBQ on their tandoors. The high temperature means that foods such as skewered chicken can be cooked evenly and quickly. 

Time, Patience, Delicious

A traditional form of cooking, smoking food dates back to ancient Turkey and has been adopted by many cultures such as northern Native American tribes, Scottish clans, and Scandinavian hirds, where the technique lends itself well to the variety of fish and meats available locally.

Using specially built smokehouses, many varieties of fish and meat can be smoked which gives the finished product a very unique flavor and texture. Smoked salmon is a famous example, where the fish is “cold smoked” at a low temperature of burning oak. 

Cold smoking doesn’t cook the food in a traditional sense and therefore retains moisture and a lot of flavors, more of which are added by the smoke itself. Hot smoking can be done to food that has been brined first in order to dry out the skin, otherwise, the oily albumin will leak and coagulate along the edges of the fish which doesn’t look very pretty.

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This is a contributed post