No need to fire up your propane or charcoal grill. Your oven can be used to make delicious BBQ! You can achieve a smoked charred flavor without having to use a smoker or by having to char. You will also be able to attain tenderness and juiciness using your oven. Using your oven in this way is especially advantageous when it is not practical to use your outdoor grill.
One of the most important aspects of cooking oven barbecue is temperature. An oven temp of 325° is perfect. To make sure your internal oven temperature is truly 325° do not rely on your built in oven temp meter rather use an oven thermometer that either sets on or hangs from one of the oven racks. These types of thermometers can be purchased at most department stores and even some supermarkets and are usually inexpensive.
You will not be smoking or charring as when using a smoker or an outdoor grill so you will need another way to get that good smoked/charred flavor. The way to do this is by using liquid smoke. Liquid smoke is concentrated smoke flavoring that can be purchased at your local grocery store. There are a couple of different brands out there so be sure to read the label to make sure you are buying "real" liquid smoke and not an imitation. The ingredients should be water and smoke concentrate and nothing else. There are also a couple of different smoke flavors my favorites being "Hickory" and "Mesquite". Liquid is used sparingly and is usually diluted with some other liquid when using it for cooking. You can make up your own liquid concoction or find a recipe for one or you can just use water along with the liquid smoke. A teaspoon to a tablespoon or so of liquid smoke should be plenty.
Achieving juiciness and tenderness is easily done in the oven. You can use either of two methods, braising or steaming. Braising usually consists of browning in oil or animal fat and then slow cooking in a small amount of liquid. Using the oven barbecue method you will skip the browning stage and go straight to slow cooking in a small amount of liquid. Steaming is cooking a food item with steam created by hot liquid in an enclosed in vessel. You do this by placing a steaming device inside of a pot or other vessel to hold the food item above liquid and placing a lid or other device on top to trap steam. When the liquid gets to a simmer enough steam is created to cook the food. Which ever method you decide to use you will need baking dish big enough to accommodate the item/s you are braising without stacking. Fill the dish with your cooking liquid to about a ¼ inch up the side of the dish. Steam or braise it's up to you however you will gain a fuller smoke flavor by braising. You can place a roasting rack inside the baking dish if steaming to use as your steaming device. Cover the dish tightly with foil and cook for approximately 2 hours. Remove pan from the oven, pour off liquid, sauce and return to the oven for approximately 25 minutes, just to heat the sauce through.
Oven barbecuing is great during the winter when it is not practical to BBQ outside on your outdoor grill, or anytime. Oven barbecuing will allow you to always achieve tenderness and juiciness and that rich smoky flavor BBQ lovers crave. You will find that oven BBQ is easy, convenient, and down right tasty!
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