The meat we eat
What to buy and how to cook it
Recipes
- Pot roast beef with root vegetables
- Lamb shanks with rosemary and mashed potatoes
- Pork and cider casserole
For something that plays such an important role in many people's diet, it's surprising how little we know about the different cuts of meat and how to cook them. What's the best cut to use for a stew? What's the difference between topside and fillet? Why do my roasts often turn out tough? Meat is still one of the most expensive ingredients in your shopping trolley, so make sure you buy the right piece for the dish you're planning.
There are a number of factors that determine how tender meat will be when cooked. Most of these are beyond your control, unless you raise and slaughter your own livestock! The age of the animal, how it is reared, how much exercise it has taken, how it is slaughtered, how long it is stored or hung before cooking, all play a part in the taste and texture of the final product.
We're constantly told that we should eat less fat, which is good advice as long as it is kept in perspective. But, as far as meat is concerned, fat adds flavour and helps keep the meat moist and succulent while cooking. Choose pieces that have tiny lines of fat or marbling running through them. They will have more flavour than a leaner piece with no marbling.
With all the health scares of late and consumers' greater awareness of meat production and processing, consumers have critical decisions to make when buying meat. Find out everything you need to know here and follow just one piece of advice - buy the best piece of meat you can afford.
A very important word about browning steaks, roasts or pieces of stewing meat: Recipes often suggest that you seal meat by frying it quickly over a high heat. This comes from an out-dated belief that when an outer crust is formed on the meat it will seal in the juices. Nothing could be further from the truth. According to Alan Davidson in his tome The Oxford Companion to Food, this thinking belongs "to the realm of culinary mythology". Meat does not seal. Browning or searing is important because it imparts colour and flavour but does not capture the juices within.
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