http://www.thealternativedaily.com/
Most of us cannot even imagine what life would be like without brushing and flossing our teeth every day. But brushing with a plastic toothbrush is a recent phenomenon – it only became common in the last few generations. Despite the lack of modern oral hygiene, archeological dental records show that our ancestors did not […]
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What is Balsamic Vinegar? Most likely known as the standard staple nestled in the back of your pantry reserved for the occasional tomato basil salad, balsamic vinegar is a unique piece of Italy’s history. The ancient Romans believed that cooked grape mash, or must (the main component of balsamic vinegar) was more than a dressing for foods: it was also a healing elixir. Even the name “balsamic” refers to the original medicinal purpose of this alleged restorative “balm,” indicating its place in ancient society as a tonic.
Much like champagne, the most authentic balsamic vinegar comes solely from the Reggio Emilia and Modena regions of Italy. The two areas have been perfecting the art of this dressing and condiment since the year 1100, when Balsamic Vinegar was a popular gift for visiting royalty and nobility. 1
People tend to use less of a high-quality balsamic vinegar compared to lower quality variety to achieve a similar flavor intensity.
There’s no shortage of balsamic vinegar options in your neighborhood grocery store, and with a plethora of culinary uses, choosing the best balsamic vinegar is no easy task. When searching for your pick, here’s what to keep an eye out for:
Traditional balsamic vinegar is made in the Emilio Reggia or Modena regions of Italy, and begins by cooking grape mash (must). It is then brought through a series of fermentations and aged in a wooden barrel. 4https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S10434526095800475
The aging process differs depending on the type of balsamic. For traditional balsamic vinegars, at least 12 years aging is required, with many being aged for over 25 years. Talk about patience! Balsamic vinegar of Modena, one of the most versatile variants, is only aged for two months. As you might expect, the aging process affects the taste and texture. 6https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-balsamic-vinegar-balsamic-vs-other-vinegars-and-how-to-use-balsamic-vinegar#2-types-of-balsamic-vinegar7
A type of balsamic vinegar you might already be using or have seen stocked in market shelves, is Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. Balsamic Vinegar of Modena refers to not only the origin of its creation, but also the origin of the ingredients used to make it. More widely available, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena typically contains a high level of antioxidant activity, and has a wide range of culinary uses. Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is slow-cooked, for a distinct flavor profile of sweet and sour, with a thicker, syrup-like consistency.
Primal Kitchen®’s recently launched Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is PGI Certified and made with Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified ingredients, for a high-quality, flavor-forward take that maintains Italian authenticity.
Who doesn’t love a vinaigrette to dress up salads and charcuterie? A good rule of thumb to follow is a oil and vinegar dressing ratio of 3 to 1.
Here’s a basic balsamic vinaigrette recipe:
From there, make it your own! Add a clove of garlic, a drizzle of honey, a pinch of herbs, a squeeze of lemon etc.
The only sure way that you know your dressing will be on point every time? Skip the mixing and use Primal Kitchen® Balsamic Vinaigrette & Marinade.
This storied history attached to balsamic vinegar makes it an exciting addition to Italian-inspired recipes and dishes, as does its versatility. From balsamic reductions, to glazes, even as a sweet and sour drizzle on vanilla ice cream, there’s no limit to the culinary uses of balsamic vinegar. Dressed up or dressed down, this condiment has serious kitchen staying power. Despite its ubiquity in most chef’s pantries, most folks don’t know the secret benefits and advantages of adding this condiment/dressing hybrid into your meal routine. The Ancient Romans may have been on to something. Many cultures cite natural vinegars and vinegar products as a source for various therapeutic properties. While you won’t find doctors writing prescriptions for balsamic vinegar anytime soon, some studies show that consuming certain vinegars in their recommended amounts could have some benefits. [ref]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27979138/[ref] There’s not a lot of research behind the health effects of balsamic vinegar, but the handful of studies available show that when broken down, the bioactive components found in balsamic vinegar can be linked to a myriad of health benefits. Quality over quantity. When it comes to balsamic vinegar, many authentic versions might tend to have higher carb or calories count due to a richer product with a deeper flavor profile. Quality of ingredients and authenticity of production are paramount when it comes to choosing a Balsamic Vinegar, especially with a serving size suggestion of just one tablespoon. Generally speaking, most balsamic vinegars range between 10-30 calories and about 7-8g of carbohydrates per serving.[ref]https://www.primalkitchen.com/collections/avocado-oil/products/organic-balsamic-vinegar-of-modena
References
Is Balsamic Vinegar Good for You?
The Benefits of Balsamic Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar: Calories and Carbs?
The post All About Balsamic Vinegar: Benefits & Uses appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.
Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/
It’s time to learn how to lunge!
The lunge is a perfect bodyweight exercise that doesn’t require any equipment, so I’m excited you want to learn more about them.
When we design workouts for our coaching clients, we often include lunges so they can train their lower body ANYWHERE. Today, we’ll share with you the goods on how our clients perform their bodyweight lunges.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Let’s jump (lunge?) right in!
If you’re doing bodyweight exercises, performing lunges is a must.
With a lunge, you work your:
Lunges are what we call a “compound exercise,” meaning they recruit more than one muscle group as you perform the movement.
We’re big fans of compound exercises around these parts, because they more closely resemble how your body evolved to move.
If you’ve ever heard the term “functional fitness,” it’s the same idea here. A “functional” exercise is something that will help you in day to day life.
For example, when leaning down to tie your shoe, you’re probably doing some sort of lunge variation.
Since you have to hold yourself upright throughout the movement, performing lunges will help you achieve better balance. This is going to help in all sorts of ways as you go about your day.
Outside of a squat, there’s no better bodyweight exercise to train your lower body.
Plus, with a dumbbell or a kettlebell, you can easily add some weight to make them more difficult:
So let’s show you how it’s done.
In the video above, taken from Nerd Fitness Prime, Coach Jim and Staci demonstrate how to perform a bodyweight lunge.
To perform a forward lunge:
It’ll look something like this:
If a normal lunge is too much for you right now, no problem. You can still get started doing assisted lunges, like so:
The only real difference with the assisted lunge will be your hands. You’ll need to grab something to support yourself. It could be a weight lifting rack (like shown in the video), a doorway in your home, or even just a sturdy chair.
A park bench could also work well here:
Another option to get you going would be a split squat (assisted variation shown below):
This exercise keeps your feet in place the entire time and can be easier to balance and manage when starting off.
The split squats may also be a better option for those of you with knee concerns – as it can often be easier to control the depth of the movement and keep you moving pain-free.
Now, let’s talk about lots of different lunge forms you can try. The most popular variation would be the reverse lunge, which we’ll devote an entire section to next.
The difference between a front and reverse lunge is all about the direction your leading foot is moving.
The front lunge has you stepping forward.
So with a reverse lunge, you’re stepping…wait for it…backward!
To do a reverse lunge:
Much like the assisted front lunge we discussed above, a sturdy chair or doorway can help as you grow strength in this movement.
Why do a reverse lunge over a forward lunge?
The reverse lunge might be easier for a beginner than the forward lunge.
The difference in shifting weight may make balancing with a forward lunge more challenging.
Plus, for those of you with knee concerns, the reverse lunge may also feel kinder on the joint.
The forward lunge requires the knee and leg to decelerate the body in a certain manner (think of slowing yourself as you walk down a hill), which may cause discomfort. The different movements and mechanics of the reverse lunge may be a better option for you!
So feel free to start performing reverse lunges before you start lunging forward.
Now, the fun doesn’t stop once you get the hang of the forward and reverse lunges. Let’s discuss some more variations you can try out.
Depending on your current experience level, try some of these lunge variations on for size.
#1) One Leg Balance
We mentioned earlier that lunges will challenge your balance. If this is tricky for you, start by just balancing on one leg until you get a little more comfortable.
#2) Assisted Forward Lunge
When you’re just starting out, go with the assisted forward lunge to help you build some strength.
#3) Forward Lunge
When people say “do a lunge,” they probably mean the forward lunge, as shown above.
#4) Reverse Lunge
Once a forward lunge ain’t no thang, turn it around and try going backward (for funsies).
#5) Lateral Lunge
Forward and backward aren’t the only directions for our lunges!
To perform a lateral lunge:
#6) Split Squat
The difference here from a normal lunge: you step one foot forward and the other back, keeping them in place for the duration of the rep. That means your center of gravity is “split” between both legs.
#7) Step Up
Just when you thought we couldn’t add any more directions, we’re mixing things up with a whole new dimension: up!
You can increase or decrease the height of the box to make the exercise harder or easier. Max box/bench height should put your thigh at parallel with the ground at the start.
#8) Bulgarian Split Squat
This squat/lunge variation is really going to challenge your quads and mobility in your hips.
To perform a Bulgarian Split Squat:
#9) Split Squat Jumps
When doing your split squat jumps:
#10) Walking Lunge
If you have a little room to maneuver, you can do walking lunges:
To perform a walking lunge:
#11) Pendulum Lunge
We’re going to really challenge your balance here.
To perform a pendulum lunge:
#12) Goblet Lunge
It’s now time to add a little weight into the equation:
This exercise is just like a normal bodyweight lunge, but you hold a dumbbell between your hands as if it were a goblet (keep it upright so it won’t spill).
If you can’t maintain good form, decrease the dumbbell weight.
#13) Overhead Lunge
This is much like the goblet lunge, but you hold the weight over your head. This will provide a full-body workout as you maintain the weight above you.
#14) Barbell Lunge
Once you get accustomed to performing lunges with a barbell, there’s practically no limit to how intense this exercise can get:
To perform a barbell lunge:
#15) Split Squat, Front Foot Elevated.
This will be a more challenging variation for your hip and ankle mobility – since your foot is elevated they’ll be required to move a bit more as you sink deeper into the exercise.
As with other lunge variations – this can be done assisted, unassisted, or with weights!
The only question left to answer is when to do your lunges.
For that, it’s time to build a workout routine.
We generally recommend our coaching clients complete a full-body strength training workout 2-3 times per week.
Such a full-body routine would include your:
Lunges would cover your entire lower body. So would bodyweight squats.
If you went with a Monday-Wednesday-Friday workout schedule, you could do:
All you’ll need are some pull, push, and core exercises and you’ll have a full-body program. For suggestions on these, make sure you read our guide on building a full-body workout routine.
Want a little more help getting going? You seem like a nice person, so I’ll share with you our top suggestions for next steps:
Option #1) If you want a professional coach in your pocket, who can do video form checks, provide feedback, and adjust your workouts based on the equipment you have available, check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program!
For example, let’s say you find yourself stuck indoors during a pandemic, and you want somebody to custom-build you a workout program based on the equipment and furniture you have. That’s where an online coach is a game-changer!
Personally, I’ve been working with the same online coach since 2015 and it’s changed my life. You can learn more by clicking on the box below:
Option #2) Exercising at home and need a plan to follow? Have questions you need answered? Join Nerd Fitness Prime!
Nerd Fitness Prime is our premium membership program that contains at-home exercise routines, live-streamed workouts with NF Coaches, a supportive online community, group challenges, and much more!
Option #3) Become part of the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out from home” guides.
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
Alright, now I want to hear from you and your experience with lunges!
Do you include lunges in your bodyweight training?
Any lunge variation I’m missing?
What are your questions on how to get started with lunges?
Let me know in the comments!
-Steve
PS: If you’re interested in more no-equipment workouts, check out The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises.
###
Photo Source: Fencing, A good Sunday to you, Yoga Sunset.
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Mark’s Daily Apple veterans are familiar with one of the most controversial and impactful posts ever published to the site, Mark’s 2007 treatise called A Case Against Cardio. The article changed my life and caused me to rethink many of the flawed assumptions about endurance training that have been indoctrinated into conventional stupidity for decades. Follow up posts like this one dig deeper into the do’s and don’ts of cardiovascular exercise, as does the Primal Endurance book and online multimedia education program.
The title of this article is a quote from Paleo movement pioneer Dr. Art De Vany. Far from a tongue-in-cheek wisecrack, De Vany detailed in a 2017 podcast interview on the Tim Ferriss Show how steady state cardio is in conflict with your genetic expectations for health.
This post will provide an update on the mounting science suggesting that steady-state cardio need not, and probably should not be the centerpiece of your fitness endeavor. Plus, I’ll include suggestions to transform your routine steady state cardio workouts into fun, creative sessions that deliver broader and more impactful fitness benefits with less downside risk of drifting into chronic patterns.
Spoiler alert: I’m going to suggest you take your typical steady state jogging session at a chosen pegged heart rate and add some walking (gasp!), pace variations, and alternate activities like explosive bursts and drills that hone balance, flexibility, and mobility.
I’ve been doing steady state cardio for 40 years (gulp) as a high school and collegiate runner, pro triathlete, and Speedgolfer such that heading out the door for a morning jog at a comfortable aerobic heart rate has been programmed into habit at the same level as brushing my teeth.
In recent months I have rekindled a longtime passion for the fabulous track field discipline of high jump. I’m trying to raise the bar in life in every way, so why not? It’s (arguably) the most beautiful and complex of track and field events because of the disparate skills and technical mastery it requires. You need speed and power for starters, but unlike Usain Bolt in the 100 meters or Carl Lewis in the long jump, high jumpers face the complexity of transferring energy from the horizontal plane (i.e., running fast) to the vertical plane (i.e., jumping high) with a difficult change of direction and different application of forces (represented by the curved approach) required to fly backward and bend the body virtually in half to clear the bar.
Consequently, I’ve been taking the opportunity of my usual ho-hum morning run to perform an assortment of creative drills and skills for high jump, and the experience has been a revelation. My outings are more fun, challenge my central nervous system to execute good technique for complex movements, and stimulate my creative energies instead of just a brain flatline outing with jogging. Actually, there’s nothing wrong with the latter in hyperconnected life, but the novel stimulation of a varied workout provides a greater sense of excitement heading out the door and a greater sense of satisfaction after the session.
Perhaps most importantly, getting off the figurative treadmill (some of you will be getting off a literal treadmill if that’s your go-to gym workout) protects you against the high-risk elements of steady state cardio. We talk about football being too violent of a sport for an evolved society (well, at least I do…), but steady state cardio is right there in the high- risk category. Enthusiasts of all ability levels engage in chronic conditions exercise patterns that lead to breakdown, burnout, illness, and injury to a shocking degree. A survey by Runners World magazine revealed that an astonishing 80 percent of the 30 million runners in America get injured in a given year—even with no tackles allowed on the marathon route!
More disturbing are the cardiovascular disease risk factors associated with devoted endurance training over the long run. Sisson and I keep a registry of endurance athletes (including numerous world champion caliber performers) who have suffered from serious heart problems either during, or in some cases years after retirement from elite competition. While Christopher McDougall’s book Born to Run became a bestseller, I believe the legacy of Homo sapiens as a magnificent endurance machine has been twisted out of context today. Indeed, humans evolved some incredible cardiovascular endurance advantages, such as bipedal locomotion and evaporative cooling. While this gave us an edge against other predators, evolving a complex brain was orders of magnitude more significant to rising to the top of the food chain.
It’s more anthropologically accurate to say that humans were born to move frequently at a slow pace, while possessing the ability to perform magnificent endurance feats once in a while. The amazing YouTube documentary, The Great Dance, is believed to be the first filmed account of a bonafide persistence hunt. The program follows a member of the San Bushmen tribe, modern day hunter-gatherers in Africa’s Kalahari desert, tracking an kudu antelope across the desert for four hours in 100-degree-plus temperatures. Finally, the exhausted antelope is easily caught and speared to death in place—another victory for the endurance kings of the planet! The important take away for me is that the hunter didn’t lace up his moccasins the following day to put in an easy eight-miler like a modern runner might. Life or death endurance feats (indeed, the San Bushmen clan in the flick had not feasted in quite a while due to drought) are in a different category from averaging 50-mile weeks and piling up finisher medals.
There’s nothing inherently unhealthy about pushing your limits once in a while to bag an antelope or a 50k finisher medal. It’s both physically and psychologically healthy to get out of your comfort zone now and then, counterbalance the luxuries, conveniences, and excesses of modern life, and trigger a fantastic adaptive fitness response to an extreme challenge. Mark, who finished dozens of marathons in his running career, recommends to aspiring marathoners that they complete just two marathons: The first one is to finish; the second one to improve your time! Then, check “26.2” off your bucket list with the acknowledgement that the stress of repeatedly training and competing in a footrace of that distance is going to compromise your hormonal, musculoskeletal, immune, and endocrine systems without a doubt.
After all, the marathon was introduced as an event in the first modern Olympics in 1896 in Athens to commemorate the saga of the Athenian messenger soldier Pheidippides. As legend has it, 2,500 years ago Pheidippides ran 25 miles from the battlegrounds of Marathon to Athens, burst into the Acropolis and excitedly reported, “Rejoice, we conquer!,” then promptly dropped dead on the spot. Interestingly, Greek historians now assert that the story is not true. Pheidippides is believed to have actually run from Athens to Sparta and back to Athens—a total of 300 miles over the course of four days!—to relay important battle information. It’s believed that a different messenger did the Marathon to Athens jaunt and dropped dead after delivering the news.
In any case, we can draw a clear distinction between honoring our Born to Run genetics to keep fit for life versus following the prevailing “chronic cardio” approach to endurance training that compromises health and accelerates the aging process. Like any other muscle, the heart requires an optimal balance of stress and rest to thrive. It’s unthinkable to rip your biceps to shreds doing exhaustive sets of curls day after day with insufficient rest, but we routinely treat our cardiovascular system with much less TLC than our traps and guns.
Dr. Peter Attia, longevity expert, host of The Drive podcast, and accomplished ultra-endurance athlete, explains what’s going on inside:
“Challenging endurance workouts cause an increase in both heart rate and stroke volume [amount of blood pumped out per beat of the heart], by stretching the heart larger to pump more blood per beat. This amazing organ can quickly go from pumping three to five liters of blood around our body per minute at rest to 30 liters per minute during very intense exercise. Unfortunately, the right side of the heart, which pumps only against the low-resistance lungs, and is far less muscular than the left ventricle, is more vulnerable to damage from chronic amounts of high cardiac output training. So while short bouts of this intensity don’t appear to cause lasting damage on the heart, prolonged activity does—at least in susceptible individuals. The so-called chronic cardio patterns can cause the right ventricle to become scarred from excessive use and insufficient recovery. This scarring can lead to cardiac arrhythmias, especially atrial fibrillation, and even sudden death in athletes who have no evidence of atherosclerosis.”
Beyond scarring and inflaming the heart, there are many other ways to contribute to your demise with chronic cardio. You can gather these under the heading of the “Extreme Exercise Hypothesis,” a concept which has recently been scientifically validated and studied with increasing urgency. Beyond blowing out your heart, Attia describes how mitochondria can become damaged by chronic exercise, a scary story of accelerated aging and health destruction to ponder: “When mitochondria are heated up too frequently for too long, proteins become denatured (destruction of the tertiary elements of the molecule, causing dysfunction) and mitochondrial DNA leaks out of cells.”
This phenomenon is highly problematic because mitochondrial DNA is perceived as a foreign agent to your body. They are different from cellular DNA and strikingly similar to bacteria cells. When mitochondrial DNA leak into the bloodstream, your immune system is confused into launching an attack against a perceived invader. This triggers an inflammatory autoimmune response (essentially the body attacking itself), a sustained pattern of which accelerates aging and disease risk. Emerging science on the gut microbiome reveals that this leaking of mitochondrial DNA into the bloodstream is particularly prevalent in the intestinal tract via a leaky gut. As you likely know from reading articles like this one on MDA, leaky gut is driven strongly by eating offensive foods like gluten and toxic seed oils, but endurance training is also a risk factor. When you elevate heart rate and raise body temperature for a prolonged workout, your gut becomes inflamed and permeable as a matter of course to respond to the workout stimulus—especially in hot temperatures. Dangers are no doubt magnified when you try to shove sugary drinks, bars, gels and blocks into said intestinal tract while blood is shunted to the extremities for performance.
“But wait, there’s more!” A 2015 Outside Magazine article titled, Running on Empty chronicled the hidden dangers of ultramarathon running, describing how numerous elite performers suddenly disappear from the face of the earth (or at least the starting line), victims of extreme burnout. A Wall Street Journal article titled, One Running Shoe In The Grave detailed how older athletes have a higher risks of health disturbances related to ambitious endurance training.
A 2015 Velo News article titled, Cycling To Extremes, explained how longtime competitive cyclists are especially vulnerable to developing atrial fibrillation because they can sit and pedal for hours on end with their heart rates pegged at a medium-to-high rate. Hence, they are unrestrained by the pounding that limits a runner’s total weekly exercise output.
Hence, other low impact sports like rowing or cross-country skiing fall into the same risk category as the cyclists. Interestingly, the weightlessness and body temperature stability with swimming lessens the strain on the cardiovascular and other body systems, providing a measure of protection to high volume swimmers.
In the book, The Great Cardio Myth, strength and conditioning expert Craig Ballantyne details how cardio exercise is ineffective for weight loss, heart disease prevention, and longevity; rather, it can have an opposite effect in each area. In cardiologist Dr. James O’Keefe’s TED Talk, “Run for your life! At a comfortable pace, and not too far,” he explains that aerobic health and disease protection are easily optimized with a couple hours of easy cardio per week, and that anything beyond that seemingly paltry total departs from the category of “health” and “longevity” and into the realm of potentially compromising health, increasing disease risk and literally accelerating cellular aging. What’s more, marketing forces brainwash serious enthusiasts to believe they aren’t really legit until they finish a marathon or triathlon. For well intentioned novices heading to the gym, they are subjected to a boot camp experience (literally!) to the extent that they associate the gym, and a fitness lifestyle, with pain and suffering.
Alas, if you love endurance training and racing for the pursuit of peak performance, the enjoyment of nature, social connection, and the psychological satisfaction and confidence gained from pushing yourself, these huge benefits must not be discounted. It’s just a matter of rejecting the conventional stupidity of “more is better” and adopting a Primal Endurance-style holistic approach featuring healthy eating (escape carb dependency to become fat- adapted), aerobic emphasis with strict heart rate guidelines, complementary fitness activities such as flexibility/mobility exercises and brief, explosive exercises, and maintaining exceptional overall stress-rest balance in life. With a correct approach, you can preserve your health, have more fun, and still manage to perform well at endurance or ultra endurance activities.
Granted, it’s an extremely tricky balance for the Type-A subjects who populate the starting line. Sedentary observers from the peanut gallery laud the “focus and discipline” exhibited by their endurance athlete neighbor. Ironically, most of the focus and discipline required to excel in endurance sports must be directed toward restraint, stress-rest balance, and backing off when necessary.
Things are getting better as more and more enthusiasts appreciate the sensibility of a less stressful approach focused on aerobic development and minimizing the exhausting, depleting workouts (Hawaii Ironman legend Dave Scott describes them as “kinda hard”) that compromise health and increase burnout risk. It’s heartening to see the rise in popularity for the work of aerobic training pioneer Dr. Phil Maffetone, author of The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing. Phil has been talking about the now widely accepted “180 minus age” MAF (stands for Maximum Aerobic Function; it’s also a play on Phil’s last name) nearly 40 years. He’s coached some of the greatest endurance athletes of all time, including triathlon legends Mark Allen, Mike Pigg and Tim DeBoom. Alas, Phil’s urgent message to slow down has received more lip service than strict implementation until recent years. As more and more athletes accumulate results with a sensible approach, the tide is finally turning.
In the second part of this article, we will cover ways to depart from steady state suffering to enjoy fun, challenging workouts that broaden your fitness competency without the downside risks of chronic cardio. Check back next week, and get ready to jump for joy!
The post “Don’t Jog, It’s Too Dangerous.” Evolving Your Cardio for More Benefit, Less Risk appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.
http://www.thealternativedaily.com/
It is estimated that 75 percent of American adults suffer from self-imposed chronic dehydration, with most drinking an average of only 2.5 cups of water a day. Inadequate hydration can cause fatigue, poor appetite, heat intolerance, dizziness, constipation, kidney stones, and a dangerous drop in blood pressure. On the other hand, overhydration, also known as […]
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As the summer heat peaks, you probably don’t want to stand over your grill. Luckily, you can turn your grill into a smoker, creating a largely hands-off cooking process.
The taste of smoked meat screams summer to me, especially after spending the last eight years in North Carolina. If you want to try your hand at smoking at home but don’t have a dedicated smoker, you can actually transform your propane grill into a makeshift smoker. The process is fairly simple, but smoking time can be lengthy if you’re smoking a large cut of meat. So, a full tank of propane and some time at home are necessary to make it happen.
In this post, we’ll walk you through transforming your gas grill into a smoker and use bone-in pork chops as our test recipe.
Serves: 2-4, depending on size of your pork chops
Time in the kitchen: 55 minutes, including 40 minutes hands-off smoking time
First decide the type of wood you want to use. Fruit tree woods like apple and cherry are great for pork or chicken. More bold types of wood like hickory work well with large cuts of pork or beef. Mesquite has a distinctive flavor and best for beef. For an all-purpose wood, go with pecan which tastes great with pork, chicken and beef.
Wood chips are much smaller than chunks and therefore burn more quickly. If you’re smoking small cuts of meat like pork chops or chicken pieces, chips work nicely. If you’re going to smoke a large brisket or pork butt, use chunks instead. I recommend using about 3 handfuls of chips for every ~40 minutes you spend smoking.
Soaked wood chips take a bit longer to create nice smoke, but they will also continue smoking for a longer period of time. I recommend soaking here because it keeps the smoking environment moist and the meat is less likely to dry out. Soak wood chips for about 30 minutes.
Some people buy a smoker box, or their grill comes with a smoker box, but mine does not. I kept costs down by draining the wood chips and placing them in the center of some heavy duty foil. Wrap up the wood chips in the foil and make a few holes in the foil with a knife. These holes will be where the fragrant smoke emanates from the package.
Once you have your wood chips ready, prepare your meat. Some brine their meat, but I found that a nice dry rub works well for something like bone-in pork chops or skin-on chicken thighs. Drizzle the pork chops with avocado oil and then cover the chops in the spice rub.
Turn your grill on and set all burners to high. Set your packet of soaked wood chips over the left or right-most burner on your grill. If your grill uses 4 heating sections, set it over 1 or 2 of the heating sections. If your grill has 3 heating zones, set the chips over the far left or far right zone.
Close your grill’s lid and let the grill heat up. It will take around 20-25 minutes for the wood chips to begin smoking. Once you see a steady amount of smoke coming from the wood packet, place your pork chops all the way to the left or right side of the grill (the side that’s opposite the wood packet). Turn off the two (or three) heat zones that aren’t heating the wood packet so that the only source of heat still on is the heating zone under the wood packet. Some say that you don’t want grill marks on smoked meat, but I can’t help but love the look of them, so I placed the chops on the right side of the grill when the grates were still a bit hot to get some marks.
Set a meat thermometer with a probe to the desired internal temperature (for pork chops, I like 145 degrees Fahrenheit) and place it through the side of the pork chop so the tip of the probe sits in the center of the chop.
Cover the lid of the grill and let the smoking begin!
Try to avoid opening up the grill while the smoking is taking place, although after 15-20 minutes, you can flip over the chops if you choose. Continue smoking until the internal temperature is reached.
Our chops were about 1” thick and took around 40 minutes to smoke. If you are using a thicker chop or larger cut of meat, consider having a second packet of soaked wood to place on the grill after 45-60 minutes once the first packet burns out.
Slice into strips, and serve with your favorite Primal Kitchen® BBQ Sauce on the side. If you like sweet heat, the Mango Jalapeño BBQ Sauce will make you very happy.
Enjoy!
Calories: 130
Total fat: 4.5g
Total carbs: 3g
Net carbs: 3g
Protein: 18g
The post Turn Your Grill Into a Smoker, Plus a Smoked Pork Chops Recipe appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.
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Whether it’s for onions, shrimp, or any other food, recalls protect the public from products that may cause illness or even death. Recalled foods are removed from the marketplace because they are either contaminated with a foodborne pathogen, contain a food allergen not listed on the label, or contain a physical contaminant. So, it’s important […]
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Intermittent fasting paired with resistance training maintains lean body mass and helps burn body fat.
IV NAC blocks inflammatory COVID-19 cascade.
Honey beats traditional cough and sore throat meds.
Breastmilk protects against coronavirus infection and replication.
Ancient hunter-gatherers likely had similar social organization as living hunter-gatherers.
Episode 440: Jennifer Ludington: Host Elle Russ chats with Jennifer Ludington, a high performance mindset coach.
Episode 441: Brad Kearns Q&A: Host Brad Kearns answers your questions. Always fun.
Primal Health Coach Radio, Episode 74: Laura and Erin chat with PJ Taei about the importance of bringing content online.
Primal Health Coach Radio, Episode 75: Laura and Erin chat with Sam Miller about optimizing what you can control.
Are all of our mental disorders actually disorders?
Growing insane produce from elephant dung.
FitBits predicting COVID-19 before symptoms show.
“But high-fat low-carb only works in young fit athletes!”
Multivitamin/minerals improve immune function.
Term I liked: “Chrono-nutrition.”
That’s one way to do it: Scientists sequence the genes of an ancient wooly rhino whose meat they found in the stomach of an ancient dog.
Book that looks interesting: Ketones: The Fourth Fuel
Good piece on coffee: The drug that changed the world.
Horse eyes and bone hammers: These were a few of the Neanderthal’s favorite things.
Would you work remotely forever if you could? Where would you live?
One year ago (Aug 15 – Aug 21)
“Mark, have you ever approached a lactating woman (other than your wife) and asked for a sip from the tap? No? Than I forgive you for not realizing one of the biggest ways that adult men drinking breast milk can be unsafe, unless you’re wearing battle armor.”
–Aaron speaks from experience here, folks.
The post Weekly Link Love — Edition 95 appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.
For now classes are 6pm and 640pm at 2840 Wildwood st in the Boise Cloggers studio.
Book your class NOW!
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