COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF MEAT
Meat the Mightiest of All
Meat is defined as a skeletal muscle tissue, it is distinguished from other parts of carcass such as
offal’s, bone and meat fat. Meat structure is a composition of connective tissue or fiber, blood
vessel, blood, rind, nerves, attached fat and skin in case of poultry.
Meat is a great source of many vital proteins, minerals, nutrients and vitamins, some of this can
only be obtained from meat source and nothing else.
Some of the cuts of meat can be as healthy as chicken as they have lessor or equal fat when
compared with it.
From the chef’s point of view, meat is a very good source of food as its wide range of cuts can be
prepared and cooked in many ways to suit any occasion, mood, budget or time. Any desired diet,
flavor, taste or textured can be obtained from the choices that is available in meat i.e. Beef, Veal,
Mutton, Lamb, Wild Boar, Ostrich, etc.
While including meat in your daily meal one should select the leanest of the cuts so as to make it a
healthy and well balanced diet, there are various option available like steak, chops, offal’s, mince,
pork fillet & ribs, etc.
Effect on Health
All kind of meat are excellent source of protein and vitamins, they almost provide same vitamins
and minerals but in different amount. So it is very important to eat all variety of meats in order to
maintain a healthy supply of all the minerals and vitamins.
Meat also has fat content in it, which is the only negative contribution of this elixir in our diet, the
bad reputation of meat among some is due to the saturated fat content, which has caused many
foodie to omit meat from their daily diet.
Healthy way to include meat in your diet is to opt for lean meat which has less fat content, this will
help to keep fat intake within healthy limits, but still providing the minerals and vitamins.
Another way to avoid fat is to cut the meat along the seam so that any visible fat is discarded to
produce lean meat cut for the use.
Composition of Meat
Beef Meat
Meat is made of three major components i.e. Water, Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate.
A) Water
About 75% of muscle tissue is made up of water, this is the main reason why there is shrinkage
problem in meat, as the water is lost with time from the meat and it becomes hard and less in
weight which can cause loss of profit to the retailer.
B) Protein
About 20% of the muscle tissue is made of vital and important protein. The coagulation of protein
occurs when it is exposed to heat. Coagulation of protein is related to doneness of meat, when
protein is coagulated to desired temperature, the meat is said to be done as it loses moisture and
becomes firm.
C) Fat
Up to 5% of meat is accounted for fat, as I said earlier that fat is only the reason why sometimes
meat is considered bad for the health because 90% of the fat content is saturated fat which is not
good for health. Nowadays animals are bred and raised with low fat diet in order to keep check of
the fat content of the animal.
Not all fat is bad as some amount of fat is desirable for the body as well as for the meat itself,
following are reason why fat is required by the meat-
a) Juiciness
Fat is the reason why the meat remain juicy and moist after cooking, as it help the meat from
drying up. There are two ways to obtain the desired fat content in meat one is marbling which is a
self-occurring natural way and the other is barding which a process is done manually.
Marbling is the fat deposited within the muscle tissue, which melts once exposed to heat as a
result of which the meat becomes juicy and don’t dry up in the cooking process.
Barding is a process in which fat is added to the outer surface of the meat while grilling or
roasting, this is done as the meat lacks natural surface fat, surface fat is responsible for meat from
getting burnt in the process of roasting as the fat melts it provides a coating around the meat
which helps in cooking.
b) Tenderness
Marbling fat which presents between the muscle fiber, melts in the process of cooking and
providing required tenderness to the meat.
c) Flavor
Fat also gives flavor to the meat as it is the primary source of flavor for any meat.
D) Carbohydrate
Percentage of carbohydrate is very less in meat, however it plays an important part in cooking of
the meat, as it provides desirable appearance and flavor to the meat.
Maillard Reaction, It is a reaction which takes places when meat is browned by the process of
roasting, broiling or sautéing. When proteins are heated to about 310°F (154°C), the amino acids
in the protein chains react with the carbohydrate molecules and undergo a complex chemical
reaction. The result is that they turn brown and develop richer flavors. This reaction is called the
Maillard reaction, the Maillard reaction takes place only on the dry surface of the food. Because of
its water content, the interior of the meat cannot get this hot.
Structure of Meat
A) Muscle Fibers
Lean meat is composed of long, thin muscle fibers bound together in bundles. These determine
the texture or grain of a piece of meat. Fine-grained meat is composed of small fibers bound in
small bundles. Coarse-textured meat has large fibers. Feel the cut surface of a tenderloin steak,
and compare its smooth texture to the rough cut surface of brisket or bottom round.
B) Connective Tissue
Muscle fibers are bound together in a network of proteins called connective tissue. Each muscle
fiber also is covered in a sheath of connective tissue. It is important for the cook to understand
connective tissue for one basic reason i.e. connective tissue is tough.
To cook meats successfully, you should know, which meats are high in connective tissue and
which are low and what are the best ways to make tough meats tender?
1) Meats are highest in connective tissue ifThey come from muscles that are more exercised. Muscles in the legs, for example, have more
connective tissue than muscles in the back.
They come from older animals. Veal is tenderer than meat from a young steer, which, in turn, is
tenderer than meat from an old bull or cow. (Young animals have connective tissue, too, but it
becomes harder to break down as the animal ages.)
2) Meats high in connective tissue can be made tenderer by using proper cooking techniques.
There are two kinds of connective tissue: collagen, which is white in color, and elastin, which is
yellow.
a) Collagen
Long, slow cooking in the presence of moisture breaks down or dissolves collagen by turning it
into gelatin and water. Of course, muscle tissue is about 75 percent water, so moisture is always
present when meats are cooked. Except for very large roasts, however, long cooking by a dry-heat
method has the danger of evaporating too much moisture and drying out the meat. Therefore,
moist-heat cooking methods at low temperatures are most effective for turning a meat high in
connective tissue into a tender, juicy finished product.
Other factors also help tenderize collagen:
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Acid helps dissolve collagen. Marinating meat in an acid mixture, or adding an acid such as tomato or
wine to the cooking liquid, helps tenderize it.
Enzymes are naturally present in meats. They break down some connective tissue and other proteins as
meat ages. These enzymes are inactive at freezing temperatures, slow-acting under refrigeration, active
at room temperature, and destroyed by heat above 140°F (60°C).
Tenderizers are enzymes such as papain (extracted from papaya) that are added to meats by the cook
or injected into the animal before slaughter. Exercise care when using enzyme tenderizers. Too long an
exposure at room temperature can make the meat undesirably mushy.
b) Elastin
Older animals have a higher proportion of elastin than younger animals. Elastin is not broken
down in cooking. Tenderizing can be accomplished only by removing the elastin (cutting away any
tendons) and by mechanically breaking up the fibers, as in
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Pounding and cubing (cubed steaks)
Grinding (hamburger)
Slicing the cooked meat very thin against the grain (as in London broil)