What Is Broasting?
Broasting is a well-known method used by restaurants and eateries to prepare crispy fried chicken. However, contrary to popular belief, broasting is not a word coined from the terms broiled and roasted. Rather, broasting is a cooking technique that relies on pressure frying; producing chicken that contains fewer calories and one that is moist yet crispy on the outside.
Broasting, a term
acquired from Broaster is actually a company established in 1954 in a little
town in Wisconsin, the USA, known as Beloit. Today, Beloit is actually
known as the home of broasted chicken.
L.A.M. Phelan invented
the broasting technique in 1952. He had been in search of a frying technique
that would allow him to prepare fried chicken quickly. However, unable to find
a frying technique that could work efficiently while producing a high-quality
product, Phelan set about to create his own technique.
After months of
research, Phelan eventually settled for the technique;
combining the components of a and a deep fryer. Not only did this
frying technique allow him to produce fried chicken quickly, but the results
were also outstanding. A year after L.A.M. Phelan unveiled his groundbreaking
deep-frying technique, which resulted in the creation of the Broaster Company.
Broasted chicken is
prepared when it is deep-fried under pressure. However, to completely broaster
the chicken, deep-fry it in a broaster, as well as incorporate the secret blend
of spices and marinade that accompanied the invention. But before frying,
marinate and dust it in a special mix of herbs and spices that have remained
relatively the same since Phelan introduced his invention and cooking
technique.
Broasted chicken is
typically soft and moist on the inside and golden and crispy on the outside;
something that is hard to achieve with regular air fryers or deep fryers.
Broasters are not sold for home use. As such, if you want to enjoy genuine
broasted chicken, you have to go to a restaurant that specializes in cooking
broasted chicken.
Even to this day,
Beloit is still producing Broaster pressure fryers. The core of the Broaster Pressure Fryer is its cylindrical pot. The cylindrical
shape does a better job, compared to deep fryers, of heating the pot and the
oil evenly to produce crispy deep-fried chicken. The largest commercial
Broaster has the ability to produce about 22 pounds of chicken in a short ten
minutes! Because the chicken cooks quickly, the process loses only a little
amount of moisture while reducing the amount of oil absorbed by the chicken.
Now, if you ask me a question
that what’s the difference between broasted chicken and KFC chicken?, the reply
is that the Broaster came
before KFC- as a matter of fact, the very 1st patent
ever recorded for a commercial pressure fryer. When Phelan was creating his
commercial Broaster, The Colonel had not yet adapted his pressure,
Fryer. The KFC Pressure Fryer came later on but both cooking
techniques generally rely on pressure frying.
As we are going to
prepare the Drumstick Broast without having a Pressure Fryer and have to rely
on conventional deep frying in a wok, and also to rely on our own ability to
produce the result as close as possible to the mechanized production at the
Restaurants and franchise outlets, it may be a little different in texture and
shape but I am sure the taste will be very very close to the restaurant
quality.
Remember we are not
making KFC fried chicken, which has something different in appearance. So
please don't judge this broast with what we get from the counter of that
well-known outlet. Let us start to prepare our homemade broast with the name
of ALLAH.
EQUATION:
INGREDIENTS REQUIRED:
FOR MARINATION:
FOR COATING:
METHOD:
How was this experience? hopefully, a bit exciting and rewarding as well because of words of praise at the dining table from all who have tasted your effort of homemade Drumstick Broast and the fear of failure in preparing a well-marketed dish in your home Kitchen must have evaporated now.
In my dictionary, the word of failure is missing, we've become prisoners of our own so-called myths and thoughts of what people say if the dish we are making may not get such a result as is available in the restaurants. Please leave all these fears away from your conscience and JUST DO IT. Heaven will not fail if our cooking or baking fell short of the standards set by the professionals and the establishments who are running their businesses on the pillars of experienced hands and expenses of millions of dollars.
Remember, we at home are not experts or professionals, and we don't possess the state of the art paraphernalia. The failure will push us to DO MORE and DO AGAIN., so just leave aside this FEAR OF FAILURE and do what you can do, no herculean effort and no professional attitude, only a humble effort.
Important Note:
Picture No. 1,2,3,4, and 8 are taken from Google images as the pictures I took got deleted by error. I regret that they are not mine and also apologize for copying them from the Internet.
thanks,
thine eternally,
NOVICE
Karachi, August the 26th, 2017.
Red Velvet Cake is very popular across the world but by the name of Red Velvet Cake, especially during Christmas and more in demand on Valentine's Day celebrations. The name Red Velvet Cake is attributed to its smooth and soft texture with a reddish hue. It can be called the Cousin of Chocolate Cake as both these cakes use Cocoa Powder as their basic ingredient. The difference comes when Vinegar is mixed with Cocoa Powder while preparing the Velvet Cake along with a generous amount of Butter Milk. The chemical reaction of Vinegar with Cocoa gives it a Reddish Hue but that is not sufficient and Red food color is used not in drops but in tablespoons.
This Cake is neither purely Red nor Maroon, it has a unique color and texture of its own. Its reddish hue comes from the acidic nature of the Cocoa which then reacts to the Butter Milk and Vinegar. This Chemical reaction also makes this cake more fluffy, soft, smooth, and moist.
The History of this cake is disputed but the hints are there that it is being prepared since 1800. Before it, Cocoa Coffee Cakes were made and their color was Mahogany in 1900. The first proper written account of this cake came in 1943, during World War. The scarcity of Sugar during that period of War made Bakers use Beet Root Juice and its Pulp. It gave a good red color to the Cake.
In the USA, the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel of New York claims to be its birthplace, though their claim has no authentic means to prove it. It is sold at 100 and 200 dollars a cake by this hotel.
As I have mentioned in my introduction, I tend to experiment with different methods and ingredients to judge their result and outcome without any type of FEAR OF FAILURE, so I have plans for trying other colors i.e., Green, Pink, Purple, Yellow, and Orange for this Cake.
I have attempted this cake on last Eid ul Fitr and now I am giving you its smaller version in the shape of Cupcakes. The result is s great as it was with the bigger version and comes out to be one of the excellent cakes I have made, as I have no prior experience of baking or cooking, the result is breathtaking for me. I am sure this is because I never think of failure. The FEAR OF FAILURE always hinders the urge to try new things, so I must again request all my viewers to please throw away this fear, heaven will not fall if you try does not to succeed. Try again and again, this is part of life.
I must clarify here that I am not writing this introduction entirely again but as I've written it with the recipe of the Red Velvet Cake, way back about 2-3 years ago so I've just done copy and pasting of that introduction here. Moreover, the ingredients and the method are almost the same except for the utensils, instead of a Baking Pan, the Cupcake liners have been used this time, similarly, the baking time has changed and the Cupcakes would take lesser time than the bigger version requires.
Try it after throwing away your FEAR OF FAILURE into The Dead Sea. No harm if you fail on the first try, failure makes us try hard and achieve what we failed, at least it gives me a boost to do more and with more concentration and effort. Nothing can stop you from trying in the privacy of your home and Kitchen. The problem with us in our country is that the women here are destined to cook, launder and clean for the family, and more than everything they also have to look after the kids. It is her prime duty. Now while she is performing all these duties and cooking food at the same time, misfortune hits her sometimes as she forgets to add salt or had made the curry spicier than what her husband likes. All hell breaks loose now, everybody at home grumbles as she has committed an unpardonable sin. Now, in this scenario, only a stupid woman should try something new as she knows that she can not try it more than once and the once failed try will remain as a black spot for her entire life. So who will try and achieve? No one, yes NO ONE dares in our society to face the onslaught of the family and inlaws who name her as the Dumbest of all girls they've ever seen or heard about and also extravagant as she has waisted hard-earned money of her husband by trying something which is meant for the Chefs and Professional Cooks.
So, I must request all except the housewives to please, please, please, place themselves in the character of that housewife and think for a moment what they'll feel if they forgot to add salt, etc. Let her try something new, let her innovate. She is not a Concubine, she is not a hired hand, she is doing all odd jobs without any remuneration. If she is such a nincompoop in every aspect then why do you ask her to make or prepare such and such dishes?
Give her due respect and the place she deserves to be perched on. Encourage her and then enjoy her culinary skills again and again. Believe me, Women are not created by a lesser God.
Thanks,
thine eternally,
NOVICE
Karachi, February the 3rd, 2020.
