Chapter 9
Meat
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Dry Aging
• Considerations:
– There is a certain amount of weight loss during the aging
process due to the evaporation of water from the carcass,
thus increasing the price even more
– The time, space, labor, and refrigeration involved
– The best meat for aging is the meat that contains the
most marbling or fat distribution, because only the
highest grades have the marbling needed; this becomes a
hindrance because of expense
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Wet Aging
• A less expensive alternative to dry aging
• Meat is shipped from packing plants to butchers in
vacuum packaging
• Packages can be set aside in the refrigerator and
allowed to age
• Enzymes in the meat juices will render it tender
• One disadvantage of wet aging to dry is that
because there is no loss of moisture, the flavor of
the meat is not concentrated
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Fabrication Charts
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Useful in locating primal cuts
Show how animals have similar structure
Position of cuts and their uses are similar
Position of cuts help to define cooking
methods
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Common Cuts
• Are available from all the animals
• Are taken from the exact same place in all the
animals
• Are cut from the primal cuts in the same way
• Are also similar in the way they would be
cooked
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Common Cuts
• Loins are removed by boning and cleaning the racks
and saddles of the animal
• The tenderloins are removed from the opposite side
where the loins are located, within the saddle
• The loin cuts or steaks are achieved by removing the
loin from the saddle region of the animals
• All chops are made by cutting through the loin and
tenderloin
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Common Cuts
• The racks are cut by chining the spine out of the
animal, cutting through the ribs on either side, and
leaving the rib bones attached to the eye of the loin
• The cutlets are cut from these cleaned racks by slicing
into one, two, or three pieces
• When preparing a crown of meat, the racks are tied
together back to back, and pulled into a crown
shape
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Specialty Small Cuts
• Beef
– Comes from steers that have been castrated as
calves and reared as beef cattle
– Marbling is the fine flecks of fat that evenly
distributed amongst the lean meat, and is a major
consideration for grading
• Contributes to juiciness and flavor, and slightly to
tenderness
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Specialty Small Cuts
• Beef
– USDA Grades
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•
•
•
•
•
•
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Prime
Choice
Select
Standard
Commercial
Utility
Cutter
Canner
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Breaking Down the Tenderloin
• Remove the fat surrounding the tenderloin, being
careful not to cut into the meat
• Locate the chain or fillet string that runs down
parallel to the tenderloin and remove it all the way
down to the thickest part of the meat
• As you remove it from the end, make sure you feel
around that area and locate exactly how it attaches
• Remove it without taking large chunks of the meat
off
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Breaking Down the Tenderloin
• Clean the silver skin of the whole tenderloin
and clean away any fat from the other side
• The meat can now be cut into three distinct
areas: the head, the heart, and the tail
• It can now be cut into the smaller cuts
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Veal
• Originated in Europe—mostly the
Netherlands, Spain, France, and Italy—where
young animals were fed skim milk, whey, and
fat
• Male calves are marketed to veal farmers to
produce the veal we use today
• Most animals are slaughtered when between 8
and 16 weeks old
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Veal
• Grades
– Special-Fed
• Complete milk supplement to 18 to 20 weeks of age
• 400 to 450 pounds
• Meat is ivory or creamy pink with a velvety texture
– Bob Veal
• Solely milk diet
• Meat is light pink with soft texture
– Grain-Fed
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Initial milk diet, then grain, hay, and formulas
Marketed at 5 to 6 months of age
450 to 600 pounds
Meat tends to be darker in color and has additional marbling and some
visible fat
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Veal
• USDA Grades
–
–
–
–
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Prime
Choice
Good
Standard
Utility
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Veal Fabrication
• The Leg
– Remove the shank from the leg at the knee joint
by cutting through the ball-and-socket joint
– Trim the fat from around the pelvic bone,
exposing the butt tenderloin and removing the
flank
– Remove the butt tenderloin
– Bone out the pelvic bone and turn the leg with
the inside facing up
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Veal Fabrication
• The Leg
– Find the natural seam and remove the top butt without
cutting any flesh
– Trim around the exposed bone at the shank end,
removing the excess shank meat
– Cut under the bone, removing it cleanly from the meat
– Seam out the knuckle meat in one piece and then separate
the inside round from the eye round
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Pork
• Meat of hogs slaughtered before they are 1 year old
• Not graded by USDA because most is bred and fed
to produce uniformly tender meat
• Look for cuts with a small amount of fat over the
outside, and meat that is grayish pink in color
• The meat should have a small amount of marbling
• Two thirds of the pork marketed in the U.S. is cured
to produced charcuterie items
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Pork Tenderloin Fabrication
• Small tournedos flatten into escalope:
– Trim all fat and sinew off the tenderloin
– Remove the chain or fillet string, and remove all silver
skin by stripping with a sharp, thin-bladed knife
– Cut the tenderloin into eight even-sized pieces against the
grain
– Flatten the meat with a mallet, striking it several times
with glancing blows in different directions, to stretch the
meat
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Lamb
• Meat from sheep slaughtered when less than 1 year
old
• Most are brought to market at 6 to 8 months
• Spring lamb is produced between March and October
• Usually tender
• Look for good marbling
• Meat should be pink with firm, white fat that is not
too thick
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Lamb
• Grades
– Prime
• Extremely tender, very high in flavor, very even, clear
marbling
– Choice
• Slightly less marbling than prime, but still of very high
quality
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Rosette of Lamb
• Trim the saddle of lamb, removing the loin and the
fillet
• Clean the fillet and remove the eye of meat from the
loin, cleaning it of all silver skin
• Trim the fat cap of all sinew, flatten it out with a
mallet evenly, and trim it into a rectangle
• Place the fillet and the eye meat into the fat and
wrap securely
• Tie individual sections with twine and cut into
rosettes
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Goat
• Thought to be the earliest animal
domesticated, other than sheep and dogs
• Principal supply of protein in many North
African and Middle Eastern countries
• Also in Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and other
developing tropical countries
• Under 1 year of age is called kid
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Goat
• Meat from males is lighter in color and lower
in fat than females
• Meat from females is more desirable for
steaks and chops because it is more tender
• Can be dry-aged for up to 7 days
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Goat Roast
• Remove the legs and shoulders from the
animal, leaving the belly and ribs attached to
the rack and saddle
• Completely bone the belly, rack, tenderloins,
and saddle, leaving the two halves connected
• Remove all sinew and cartilage from the
meat, laying it out meat side down
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Goat Roast
• Clean the skin off the outside, and clean silver skin
off the fillets
• Pound the belly with a mallet to evenly distribute the
meat
• Season with appropriate seasonings, and lay the
stuffing side-by-side with the tenderloins, down the
center
• Roll the belly meats up, and secure with string to
form an even shape
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Goat Roast
• Tying
– Wrap the loose end of the twine around the end of the
goat roast
– Create a loop and slide it down the roast to about 2
inches from the twine that you tied in a knot and pull it
tight until it ties the roast together where it is
– Now make another loop, sliding it down the meat until it
is 2 inches from the last loop tightened to it; continue this
way until the roast is completely tied
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Goat Roast
• Tying
– When you have gotten to the end, turn the roast
over and cut the twine long enough to slip it
under each loop all the way back along the roast
to the end you started from
– Now turn the roast over and tie the twine to the
first loop on the other side
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