Bill The Grill Guy
Master Chef
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2005
- Messages
- 5,454
Besides a rice cooker, how can large quantity of rice be cooked outside? I will have to use a propane burner.
007bond-jb said:Just like the caterers do jambalaya in a large iron pot with a lid
http://bayouclassicdepot.com/jambalaya_pot.htm
boar_d_laze said:Bill,
I like the jambalaya idea, and would definitely roll with that if I could. But if you've got to straight rice ...
The techniques are largely the same as cooking for home consumption. Give the rice a chance to soak for a bit before cooking and rinse it well to remove excess starch. Add salt and fat to the cooking water. Bring the water to a boil before covering. In the case of large quantities, that means using hot water. If you only have one pot -- start with boiling water. Let the rice boil for a minute or so before reducing the heat to a bare simmer and covering. As soon as the rice is covered, reduce the heat slightly more. Simmer white rice for no more than fifteen minutes. Turn off the heat, leave the rice covered, and allow it ten to fifteen minutes (depending on the kind of rice) to finish cooking. There's a tremendous amount of residual heat in the rice. The off the heat period is the right time to add (frozen) peas or herbs.
The proportion of water to rice chanes, and rice recipes DO NOT translate by multiplying. The majority of American white rices start at 2 cups of water per cup of rice and work up to 1 : 1. Most grower/packager/manufacturers provide information on the back of the package. But if not, you should call the packager or check the net. There are no general rules for rice, almost every type is different.
Sauteeing rice before boiling gets some separation on the grains, and is the best way to introduce aromatics like onion and garlic but if you only have one fire that's not happening. If you have two fires, you can saute the rinsed rice in batches. It's not important that the rice be hot when it goes in the water. Just that each grain evenly coated with oil and been cooked to slightly opaque.
Just some general information.