Meats
Usually the most expensive of all food items
30-70% of food cost 20-40% of operating cost
Make-up: – 75% water, 20% protein, 5% fat– Shrinkage and deterioration
Humidity Temperature
Animal Fat
5% of animal tissue 30% of carcass? Bred and raised leaner
Some fat is desirable . . .
Fat is not all bad! Juiciness
– Marbling “Juiciness” when eating
Tenderness Muscle fibers separated by fat
Surface Fat Protects during cooking
Flavor The “Beefy” flavor is fat soluble
Meats 3
Connective Tissue is Tough to Eat!
– Collagen and elastin– Old versus young– Use of muscle– Marbling
ROT for Cooking
Much collagen?– Long, slow, moist cooking.
Collagen dissolves into gelatin and water
Much elastin?– Remove– Mechanically tenderize
Grind, cube, slice very thin, pound,– Break up the fibers!
Meats: Inspections and Grading
Authorized by Agricultural Marketing Act The Wholesome Meat Act
– All meat must be inspected– Grading is voluntary
Quality Yield
The Seal of Approval?
The CircularCircular Inspection Stamp– Wholesome and Fit for Human
Consumption The Shield shaped Grading stamp
– A Quality Designation Clearly specified
Quality
Beef– Prime– Choice– Select– Standard– Commercial– Utility– Cutter Canner
Veal and Lamb– Prime– Choice– Good
and more
Quality
Proprietary Quality Grade?– Caveat Emptor!
Know your supplier
– You can none-the-less specify USDA grade
Yield
Ratio of fat to meat– 1 is highest yield
Beef 1-5 Pork 1-4 Lamb/Mutton 1-5 Veal is not yield graded
– Naturally lean
Aged Meat?
Green Meat– Myosin and Actin
Stiff and inelastic
Aged Meat?
Tenderize:– Natural – High temperature– Enzymatic – Vacuum aging– Electrical stimulation
Tenderize:– Dry aging
May lose up to 20% of moisture content
– Wet aging Less initial moisture
loss– Greater cooking
loss
Aged Meat Slightly changed flavor profile
If meat smells (or tastes) spoiled, it probably is
Meat Cuts7
Four forms:– Carcass– Partial carcass– Primal cut– Fabricated cuts (pre-fabs)
IMPS or NAMPS
Bone Structure
Important to know:– Help identify a cut of meat– Help minimize loss when de-boning– Help you avoid messy carving/carving loss
Know the carcasses
Cooking Meats8
Low temp if possible ID-the connective tissue/cut
– ROT for cooking methods: Moist heat
– Larger or tougher cuts
Dry heat– Smaller or tender cuts
Rib and Loin Cuts The most tender (on any animal) Beef and Lamb
– Often served rare to medium: roast, broil or grill.
Veal and Pork– Generally eaten (more)
well done: as above,but also braised on occasion.
Leg or Round
Beef (round)– Typically less tender braise– Roasting OK for Prime or Choice
Marbling Long cooking time - beef’s own moisture helps
tenderize
Leg or Round
Veal, Lamb or Pork (leg)– More tender than beef
Younger!!
Excellent for roasting
Chuck or Shoulder
Beef Braise Veal, Lamb and Pork
BraiseorRoast
NB: The shoulder may be tender, but will have multidirectional muscle tissue
Shanks, Breasts, Briskets and Flank
Usually not tender even on young animals– Shanks are high in collagen: excellent for
braising– Beef flank, if carefully cut across the grain,
can be broiled: London Broil
Mechanically tenderized meats, such as
cubed or ground, can be cooked by dry or moist heat
Searing and blanching? . . . does not seal in the juices !
Do not cook meats when frozen
Does not retain or increase moisture– Same or slightly increased (delayed)
Complicates the cooking process– Timing– Surface dry and done - center frozen
Waste of energy and time
Doneness?
Dry heat vs. Moist heat Carry-over cooking Critical for product quality
Doneness? Color Change
– Red Meats “Blue”
– Barely seen the heat, cold and “blue” center
“Rare”– Browned surface, thin grey layer, red interior, slightly
warm.
“Medium”– Browned surface, more grey, pink center.
“Well Done” – Grey throughout
Doneness?
Interior temperature the best approach:– Beef:
Rare:– 130 F
Medium– 140-145 F
Well done– 160 F
Doneness for White Meats?
Pork:– Cooked well done: 160-170 F
Must pass 137 F throughout for minimum 10 seconds to avoid trichinosis!
Play it safe and hit 150 -155 F (FDA)
Veal– Generally cooked well done– Hues of pink increasingly accepted in the
most tender cuts
Doneness by Touch?
Takes much experience!– Small steaks/chops
Touch the raw product first!– Rare: Firmer, but still soft and pliable– Medium: Firmer, springs back– Well done: Firm, does not yield to pressure
Dry Heat Meat Cookery Seasoning
– If you season just prior to roasting Only fractions of an inch will be seasoned Browning will be retarded
– 3 choices: Season several hours/days in advance Season after roasting Do not season, but have a well seasoned
sauce
Roast fat side up Basting only needed for lean meats
– Baste with fat, not stock– Bard (cover with fat) or lard
Broil, grill, pan broil– browning and internal doneness– ROT: the shorter the cook time (the rarer
the interior), the higher the temperature– brush with oil if necessary, avoid the “oil
dip”
Sauté and Pan Fry– Only tender cuts!– The smaller or thinner the piece the higher
the heat– ROT for sauté:
Hot pan Do not overcrowd Flip only as needed
– Deglazing
Moist Heat Cookery
Simmering– Fresh meats, start with boiling liquid– Cured or smoked meats, start with cold
liquid Braising Stewing
Meats “elsewhere”
Grain fed versus “double duty cow” Horsemeat Goat
– Increasingly found in US
Veal
Formula (milk) fed – Farming conditions?
Free-range Color of flesh is indicator
– Milk fed White (pork-like)
– Grain fed Reddish flesh
Veal
Two general types:– “Special Fed” (85% of market)– “Bob Veal” (15% of market)
Special Fed (a.k.a. milk- or formula-fed): Removed from the cow within 3 days Fed a nutritionally balanced soy or milk based
diet until 16-18 weeks Sent to market upwards of 450 lbs.
Veal
Bob Veal Very young calves No more than three weeks old Usually no more than 150 lbs.
Lamb and Mutton
Lamb– Most 6 (3) months to 1 year– Less than 3 months: Milk lamb– I year: yearling
Thereafter it is mutton
Lamb versus Mutton– Tenderness, cooking methods, doneness,
flavor
Variety meats (offal)
Two categories– Glandular meats
Liver, kidney, sweetbread, brains
– Muscle meats Heart, tongue, oxtails, and tripe
Glandular
Liver– Easy to prepare
Remove outer skin and tough membranes Cut on the bias Cook carefully and to order
– Slightly pink or it will be dry
– Calf liver the most tender and prized– Beef also OK– Pork mostly used in pate and sausage
Glandular
Kidneys– Lamb and Veal best
Dry heat
– Beef OK Moist heat
– May need blanching or milk marinades– Split in half– Remove any white fatty tissue and veins
Glandular
Sweetbreads (Thymus glands of young cattle)
– Soak– Blanch and refresh in ice water– Remove membrane– Press?– Braise or Sauté
Glandular
Brains– Low priority in the US– Delicacy elsewhere
“Mad Cow Disease” . . . .
Muscular Heart (Veal or Beef)
– Tough Casseroles and forcemeat preparations
Beef (veal) Tongue– Fresh, cured or smoked
Braised: Entrée or as “deli meat”
Oxtail– Very high gelatin and good flavor
Excellent for soups and stews Cut between joints
Receiving and Storing Meats Fresh
– Check upon arrival– If not vacuum packed do not wrap tightly
Molds and “off” flavors may develop
– Store at 32-36 F– Separate by type
Fresh below cooked
– Unless you have proper facilities, use quickly (2-4 days)
Receiving and Storing Meats
Frozen– Check upon arrival: Receive frozen!– Store at 0 F or colder
Lean meats max 6 months Fattier meats (pork) max 4 months
– Never refreeze