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
 Surface
fibers separated by fat
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
 Much
dissolves into gelatin and water
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
Circular 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
 If
changed flavor profile
meat smells (or tastes) spoiled, it
probably is
Meat Cuts
 Four
forms:
– Carcass
– Partial carcass
– Primal cut
– Fabricated cuts (pre-fabs)
 IMPS
or NAMPS
7
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 Meats
 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
8
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
cooking time - beef’s own moisture helps
tenderize
 Long
Leg or Round
 Veal,
Lamb or Pork (leg)
– More tender than beef
 Younger!!
Excellent for roasting
Chuck or Shoulder
 Beef
 Veal,
Braise
Lamb and Pork
Braise
or
Roast
 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
 Lamb
it is mutton
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
 Beef
and forcemeat preparations
(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