Smoking Point of Oils

Monday, April 2, 2012

Smoke points matter. The smoking point of a given oil is the temerature that an oil breaks down chemically into glycerol and free fatty acids. Glycerol further breaks down into acrolein, which is an irritant to eyes and mucous membranes.

It is important to match the oil you use to purpose.
  • For oiling grill surfaces, I find that canola oil (refined) is the best all around.
  • For using high heat in something like a wok or for deep frying, then I use peanut oil. It has a higher smoking point than most all readily available cooking oils.

Olive, flaxseed, grapeseed, walnut, avacado, seseme oils have a very low smoke point and should be used primarily as a dressing or flavor for salads and perhaps drizzled onto cooked foods. General rule.... if it comes in a small quantity and is costly, I do not cook with it exposing it to heat. The exception might be extra virgin olive oil, which I will mix with canola or peanut oil. This allows the smoke point to be raised while still retaioning some of the olive oil flavor. The same is true of butter.

Seasoning of cast iron, whether cookware or grates is best done at lower temps, around 350F or so. At this range, the pores of the metal are opened (expanded), but will not burn canola, peanut or vegetable oils.

The chart below is from Wikipedia

FatQualitySmoke Point
Almond oil420°F216°C
Avocado oilRefined520°F271°C
Butter250–300°F121–149°C
Canola oilExpeller Press375-450°F[5]190-232°C
Canola oilHigh Oleic475°F246°C
Canola oilRefined400°F204°C[1]
Castor oilRefined392°F200°C[6]
Coconut oilExtra Virgin (Unrefined)350°F[7]177°C
Coconut oilRefined450°F232°C
Corn oilUnrefined352°F178°C[6]
Corn oilRefined450°F232°C[1]
Cottonseed oil420°F216°C[1]
Flax seed oilUnrefined225°F107°C
Ghee (Indian Clarified Butter)485°F252°C
Grapeseed oil420°F216°C
Hazelnut oil430°F221°C
Hemp oil330°F165°C
Lard370°F188°C
Macadamia oil413°F210°C
Mustard oil489°F254°C
Olive oilExtra virgin375°F191°C
Olive oilVirgin391°F199°C[6]
Olive oilPomace460°F238°C[1]
Olive oilExtra light468°F242°C[1]
Olive oil, high quality (low acidity)Extra virgin405°F207°C
Palm oilDifractionated455°F235°C[8]
Peanut oilUnrefined320°F160°C
Peanut oilRefined450°F232°C[1]
Rice bran oil490°F254°C
Safflower oilUnrefined225°F107°C
Safflower oilSemirefined320°F160°C
Safflower oilRefined510°F266°C[1]
Sesame oilUnrefined350°F177°C
Sesame oilSemirefined450°F232°C
Soybean oilUnrefined320°F160°C
Soybean oilSemirefined350°F177°C
Soybean oilRefined460°F238°C[1]
Sunflower oilUnrefined225°F107°C
Sunflower oilSemirefined450°F232°C
Sunflower oil, high oleicUnrefined320°F160°C
Sunflower oilRefined440°F227°C[1]
Tea seed oil485°F252°C
Vegetable shortening360°F182°C
Walnut oilUnrefined320°F160°C
Walnut oilSemirefined400°F204°C

Feast Following the Fast

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Palm Sunday, and Lent is over and so is the Lenten Fast. Dinner tonight was a meat-fest, with chicken, lamb and bacon.

Smoked Chicken Thighs:
Marinaded and de-boned chicken thighs are placed in a muffin tin with holes drilled in the bottom and sides of the cups to allow smoke in and grease out. They come out evenly shaped and very moist with amazingly crisp skin. It was glazed with a mixture of honey and molasses. After 2 1/2 hours of smoke, they were removed from the tin and placed briefly on a hot grill. Since the glaze was not diluted in any way, I did not expose it to the grill surface.

Lamb Steaks:
Excess fat removed. (The bulk of the gamey flavor of lamb comes from the rich, dense fat. I like the taste, but my wife is not too fond of it)
Cubed, marinaded in oil, lemon juice, rosemary and garlic and quick-grilled. Take care to not overcook. It's that simple!

Bacon:
Thick-sliced Farmland brand smoked bacon, placed on the Traeger pellet smoker along with the chicken until done.

Rice Pilaf: 
I admit to cheating.  Schwan's makes rice simple and very fast. This was important tonight because with all the time I spent on the meat and beans, I forgot about a second side.

(Very) Simple Smoked Beans:

1 large can of pork&beans, drained, washed and pork removed
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tablespoon pork rub
1 chopped onion
1 cinnamon stick
Molasses to taste 

Placed in an open, shallow pan and smoked along with the chicken. Why a shallow pan? The cook time was unusually short and a shallow pan allows more surface area for the smoke to penetrate.





Purple Glaze

Given my recent fixation on glazes for meat, I thought I would share with you a glaze I used yesterday on some smoked feather bones. It is deceptively simple.

1/2 cup of cheap blackberry brandy (DeKuyper or Phillips will do)
2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar

Flambe the brandy to drive off the alcohol. This is especially important with cheap brandy as it is usually almost harsh with alcohol.

Wisk the sugar into the hot brandy until dissolved.

Brush onto the meat, being careful not to burn the sugars.

This leaves an extraordinary shine with a purple-red hue. Left over glaze could be brushed onto meat as a sauce replacement after the meat is removed from heat.

Detailed instructions on glazing.

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