Wednesday 23 May 2012

Organo proven to reduces the risk of cancer compounds and harfull E-colie in meats in recent study!


Well folks it looks like its a proven fact that using oregano on meats before grilling can reduce cancer causing compounds and reduce the risk of harfull E-colie! This is good news for us BBQ lovers! Also thanks to Brad Barrett from Grillgrates for sharing this article!

Source of the following article: http://www.azcc.arizona.edu/node/3169

By Shelley Littin
University Communications
December 15, 2010

Adding oregano to meat before grilling could reduce the formation of potentially cancer-causing compounds by up to 78 percent, University of Arizona researchers have found. The spice also helps inactivate harmful E. coli O157:H7 in the meat.

Research conducted by UA microbiologist Sadhana Ravishankar has shown that a compound in oregano reduces the formation of heterocyclic amines, the potentially cancer-causing culprits that can form in grilled meat.

"We are preventing the formation of potentially carcinogenic compounds in the grilled meat itself, so people can eat safer grilled meat," said Ravishankar, an assistant professor in the UA's department of veterinary science and microbiology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Her study was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Heterocyclic amines form in grilled, charbroiled or fried meat in two essential steps. First, a raw juicy hamburger is slapped on the grill. As the meat heats up, amino acids and glucose in the meat react with each other to create molecules known as intermediates. Next, these intermediates react with creatinine, a molecule that is present in muscle. The result is heterocyclic amines.

Once the nice and crispy hamburger is eaten, the heterocyclic amines potentially could lead to cell malfunction. Several epidemiological studies have shown a possible correlation between the consumption of well-done meats and different types of cancers in humans.

So maybe people can live without that extra crispy texture on their meat. Unfortunately that strategy has a pitfall too: There are established standards for cooking ground beef in order to eliminate harmful E. coli bacteria in the vast majority of commercial meat. Restaurants often recommend well-done meat to minimize the potential for foodborne illness.

"The ground beef patty has to be heated to a temperature of 71 degrees Celsius to kill E. coli bacteria," said Ravishankar. "When they say 71 degrees, that means the cold spot at the geometric center of the ground beef patty. What happens is when you're grilling or broiling or frying, it takes longer for the geometric center to reach 71 degrees while the periphery of the meat has already reached that ahead of time and the temperature continues to rise. The higher the temperature, the more the formation of heterocyclic amines."

So it's E. coli on one hand, and potential carcinogens on the other. Not the best of choices. Luckily, a plant compound found in oregano may be a solution to both problems.

"We added the active ingredient of oregano oil, called carvacrol, to the meat. Then we grilled the meat, and we were able to reduce the formation of these compounds," said Ravishankar. 

"Carvacrol has anti-oxidative properties, so we are thinking that it binds to or reacts with some of the intermediates and prevents them from forming the heterocyclic amines. The mechanism is not clear yet."

Carvacrol also has antimicrobial properties that inactivate E. coli: a membrane-active compound, it breaks the chain of fatty acids that makes up the outer membrane of an E. coli cell, causing the cell to leak its contents.

"We are also hoping that by using these compounds we can reduce the temperature of heating to inactivate E. coli," said Ravishankar. "If you reduce the temperature of heating, you can reduce the formation of heterocyclic amines automatically."

Collaborating with Mendel Friedman at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif., Ravishankar is currently testing other anti-oxidative and antimicrobial plant compounds and extracts to find out if they have similar effects as carvacrol on grilled meat.

To prevent compromising the meat flavor and taste, Ravishankar's lab is testing different combinations of plant compounds. "We plan on evaluating different combinations in such a way that you reduce the heterocyclic amines, inactivate E. coli, and at the same time you keep the flavor of the ground beef palatable," said Ravishankar.

In the future, Ravishankar would like to test the effects in animal studies designed to find out whether consumption of meat containing plant compounds helps protect against both infection and cancer.

Meanwhile, Ravishankar's research has shown for the first time a way to simultaneously inactivate harmful E. coli and reduce the formation of potentially carcinogenic compounds in grilled meat itself, hopefully saving us from a future filled with medium-rare food.
This research is funded by a grant from the American Cancer Societythrough the Arizona Cancer Center.


Its also know to kill and/or reduce the effect of prostate cancer info can be found here:
oregano-could-help-prevent-prostate-cancer

Friday 11 May 2012

The Little Wombat grill review



A few weeks back I was sent a Little Wombat grill by Craig from the Little Wombat USA. I first learned about the Little Wombat BBQ a few months ago when I came across a few videos of The BBQ Pit Boys using this grill.

The Little Wombat BBQ is a pretty versatile grill that converts into a rotisserie, BBQ, and fire pit. What sets this grill apart from all the other compact BBQ is the ability of all the various set up option at your disposal. This grill is very fast and easy to set up and is very compact for storage when not in use which makes it the perfect grill for the RV's, tailgating, beach, and home. The Little Wombat grill is built pretty rugged and is made to last.
Little Wombat in one of the BBQ configuration
Little Wombat rotisserie configuration
Little Wombat used has a fire pit
Source of picture: http://www.dreamtimecampers.com.au



The grill itself is very easy to clean after you done using it. The most important thing is to season this BBQ before its first use. This is accomplish by giving this grill a nice light coat of cooking oil and then fill up the fire box with lump charcoal (approximately 14-18 lump pieces because this grill is so efficient that you don't need more charcoal then that). You then light up the grill and let the oil cook in the stainless steel which causes it to become well seasoned.

Lighting the Little Wombat for the Seasoning process
Seasoning the Little Wombat after the light coat of olive oil

Specifications

The footprint is just 14 x 19 inches and;

The fire box stands 15 1/2 inches tall with legs un-folded;

The dual layer grill offers over 415 sq inches of cooking surface;

Completely folded up, the dimensions are 9 1/2″ x 14 1/2″ x 20″;

When fully opened the Little Wombat dimensions are 15 3/4″ x 14 1/2″ 40″;

The Little wombat weighs approximately 20KG or 44 lb;

It has a portable battery operated spit roast set that comes standard in the box;


Fabricated from high quality 304 Grade Stainless Steel;

It come standard with Two Electro-polish stainless steel cooking grids;

It also comes with two high quality 304 Grade Stainless Steel wind guards (one for the front and one for the back);

Litttle Wombat with back wind guard on
Little Wombat with both wind guard on




The stainless steel fire box wall are 1 inch thick and well insulated with ceramic wool-insulation between the inner and outer walls that’s typically found in a kiln, so the heat stays focused and upward, not radiating out the sides where you don’t need it;

The fire box also has a raised Electro-polish stainless steel grate for lot of air flow for the lump charcoal or briquette;
Fire Grate in the bottom of the fire box


Every little wombat comes with a heavy duty canvas carrying bag;

It also comes with a high quality stainless steel lid with a vent on top;


The BBQ has fold out legs that are pretty sturdy;

Legs folded in for easy storage 
 Legs folded out


The Little Wombat has multiple levels for cooking at once which gives you various heat ranges. This also gives you the option to use high-heat areas, and low-heat areas at the same time or separately. The inner walls of the Little Wombat are very well insulated with kiln quality insulation which means the outer walls will not get red hot. This makes it a lot safer around children.



A nice feature and design of the little Wombat is that the rotisserie can be used at the same time has your cooking other items on the lower grill. Also the hood has a built in access window that you can use for temperature control and for basting your food on the rotisserie. A very nice feature for storage is that the skewers for the rotisserie are designed as two separate halves, that screw together in the middle so that when you are done cooking it easily packs away into the firebox.


You can also use the Little Wombat side trays to serve food or to smother the fire or charcoal after each use. Also when done using everything packs nicely inside the firebox which then can be stored inside the heavy duty canvas bags!

The Firebox also can be used has a fire pit and with its legs folded up it makes it the perfect high for roasting marshmallows. The firebox is also pretty easy to clean. All you have to do is dump the ash and wipe it clean with a damp cloth and your done. 

Here's some Little Wombat videos in action:

Little Wombat Introduction
Source: uploaded by littlewombatBBQ on youtube

The Little Wombat out of the Box

Source: uploaded by littlewombatBBQ on youtube

Assembling the Little Wombat

Source: uploaded by littlewombatBBQ on youtube

Little Wombat indirect cooking method
Source: uploaded by littlewombatBBQ on youtube

Little Wombat rotisserie set up
Source: uploaded by littlewombatBBQ on youtube

Little Wombat Cast Iron BBQ Grill and Griddle Test Drive
Source: uploaded by littlewombatBBQ on youtube

Little Wombat Cast BBQ Tandoori Chicken Shortcut 
Source: uploaded by littlewombatBBQ on youtube

Little Wombat Cast 14 lbs Prime Ribeye Spit Roasted BBQ Pit Boys Style

Source: uploaded by littlewombatBBQ on youtube

Little Wombat T-Bone Steak in 60 seconds...


As you can see the Little Wombat grill is one solid versatile BBQ. When using you only need a little bit of charcoal which I quickly observed when using it. If you put too much charcoal it will burn very hot. I find that lump charcoal is a lot better for usage since they are made from 100 percent hard wood with no fillers but briquette will also work well. I am used to cook with ceramic cookers and the Little Wombat actually gave me just has good of a results in cooking various meats. This grill is highly recommended for all tailgaters, cottage owners, RV owners and the backyard griller. The Little Wombat is also excellent in searing steaks! You can also smoke with this little grill which is a big bonus!

The Little Wombat is made in Australia and is picking up in popularity at a rapid past in North America.

You can order a Little Wombat here:  Little Wombat

There Facebook page can be found here: Little Wombat Facebook Page

Also enter The Little Wombat giveaway for your chance to win one!

There's NO CATCH !

With the delivery fee included, the weekly draw is worth over $300.00!

Enter here: Little Wombat Contest




Happy Grilling!

Stay tune for more great reviews, tips, and recipes!












Thursday 10 May 2012

Huge sale over at Mild to Wild Hot Sauce Shop

From Mild to Wild hot sauce shop is having a huge sale on all hot sauce, rubs, sauce, and many more items! From now through the weekend Checkout with the following coupon code "blowout" and save 40% off all in stock items! Also don't forget if you order for $65 or more you get free shipping!


Also register for there newsletter to keep up to date on all there sales!


You can place your orders here: frommildtowild store

This store has excellent customer service and if you like BBQing and using unique and wicked good sauces this is the best place in Canada to get them!

Happy Grilling!


Friday 4 May 2012

My order of Sauce just arrived!

I just got my order of my favorite BBQ sauce and now I am all set for a month or so!


You can get all your favorite sauce directly from: frommildtowild sauces

They have excellent customer service and you name the sauce from mild to hot they most likely carry it!! They ship all over Canada and I am more then certain that they can ship to the US has well.

Info from there website:

Compared to some of the lifelong pepperheads that I've known I'm a
relative newcomer, but I've got a deep seeded passion for spicy foods and great gourmet products. Those of you that are familiar with the hot sauce businesses in the Halifax Regional Municipality will probably remember the first business that opened a full retail location. Of course I'm referring to Jobe's House of Pepper, and I can remember when it was a little hole in the wall in Halifax Shopping Centre. I'm still in touch with David Jobe to this day (he's doing well with his family in China!). I was sad when that shop closed it doors. It was a great day when hot sauce products were once again offered by the newest Dave in the form of From Mild to Wild Hot Sauce Shop. Dave has since moved on to bigger and better things, and I've acquired the business from him and am once again bringing fiery foods back to the maritimes.

I am the first one in a while that hasn't been named Dave to operate a 
hot sauce shop in the area as far as I know. I'm sure that Mr. Byers 
and Mr. Jobe would make me an honorary "Dave" if I asked nicely. The 
rest of you will get to know me as Brian, but I just might answer to Dave 
for old time's sake. The new location for the store is a little outside of the HRM, due to the fact that I live down in between Digby in Annapolis on the edge of southwest Nova Scotia. I am certainly looking to make all our products available through resellers in the HRM and other AtlanticCanadian regions. If you are interested in reselling any or all of our products in your corner of the region drop me a line and I'd love to talk to you!


I look forward to getting to know all of those who have made peppers
their passion. I aim to bring back a lot of the hot sauce community events that were launched by From Mild to Wild in the past, as well as
adding some new ones. I'm certainly optimistic that there will be a rebirth of Tear Factor so that once again we can bring back the Wheel of Pain and all the fun that came with it. Drop me a line and let me know what you'd like to see. I'd love to talk to anyone that loves hot sauce and spicy gourmet food products as much as I do!



You can get all you rfavorite sauce directly from: frommildtowild sauces

Tuesday 1 May 2012

National BBQ Month


Don't forget May is National BBQ Month! Get your grill fired up, BBQ shoes on and start rubbing and saucing some meat! You heard it right May is the Official National BBQ Month!

Let's celebrate the good weather May brings us by getting family and friends together to enjoy some good BBQing! It's also the perfect time to introduce BBQing to friends.

Also BBQing has lots of health benefits such has fat drips off as the food cooks. This results in healthier meals, lower fat intake helps to lower bad cholesterol levels in the blood and manage your weight. It's also been proven that lots of spices uses in rubs and sauces for BBQing are excellent source of antioxidants! This is why I love BBQing everyday and another reason for everyone to fire up their grills more often.


Happy Grilling!