High-tech Inihaw na Liempo - quick and easy

Having a barbeque for me is synonymous to celebration. When my paternal grandfather, Lolo Macario Dadufalza, was still alive (a long, long time ago) each time there was an occasion, he’d have three cows (not 3 kilos, but 3 whole cows) slaughtered. Two of which are roasted whole and the other one would be of different dishes. I also remember having a lot of people at the house in Bayombong just to help prepare the food. There were more people preparing the food than guests! My Dad, Renato or Dado to his friends, would reserve for me the liver and grill it himself. He said it’s good source of iron.We still do barbeques regularly but not as grand as before. I miss those days, though.

Thanks to technology and Monterey, we can do barbeques anytime and conveniently. One gadget my Mom sent is the HealthSmart® Contact Grill of Hamilto Beach – an electric grill. Its more popular counterpart is the George Foreman Grill. It looks the same to me although I’ve only seen the George Foreman Grill on TV.

I find the HealthSmart Contact Grill very convenient to use. Although it’s electric, cooking is fast and easy so I don’t really worry about the electric consumption. The first time I tried it I grilled homemade burgers. It took less than 7 minutes to cook four big patties. The better part is that all the grease dripped away from the patties and into the catcher. The burgers were still juicy, not tough and dry, which was always the case when we fried them.

I’ve also tried inihaw na liempo. Less than 10 minutes to cook 3 thick slices. I have a quick and simple recipe that’s so easy to do.

Ingredients
1 kilo liempo – about 3-5 slices
1 small pack instant tamarind mix – more popularly known as the sinigang mix. Ok to use the calamansi or camias variants. Use the one with siling haba if you want it spicy
1/3 cup soy sauce

Procedure
1. Evenly sprinkle tamarind mix over the liempo.
2. Add soy sauce
3. Marinate for at least 1 hour, overnight if possible.

The HealthSmart Contact is so easy to use. The one I have does not have any variable heat setting. However, there’s a LED indicator that tells you once the grill is hot enough. Once you plug the grill the LED turns on. Once it automatically turns off, it means the grill is ready for the meat.


High heat is best in grilling meat. It keeps the meat juicy and tender. Low fire tends to overcook the meat, and this makes it tough and dry.