Meat

Meat is any edible protein of cattle, swine or sheep

It is a nutritious food that should be part of most diets. Further, the entrée of a menu is usually meat; it dictates what other foods will be served as accompaniment. Beef, because of its lower fat content, is the most popular meat in this country.

Pork, veal and lamb [or mutton] follows in order

Meat requires proper preparation. Improper handling or cooking can easily ruin it. Certain cuts need special cooking to be palatable and look attractive.

KINDS OF MEAT

Beef

Beef animals; include veal and calves, steers, heifers, cows, stags bulls and bullocks. They are described as follows:

Veal

A young animal, 4 to 13 weeks old. The flesh is a delicate brownish pink and has very little fat.

Calf

Older than veal; 14 to 52 weeks old. It is meat beginning to turn to the typical rich beef red, but it is paler and has less fat.

Steer

A castrated male

Heifer

A female that has never borne a calf

Cow

A female that has borne a calf

Stag

A male castrated after maturity

Bull

A mature male, not castrated

Bullock

A young bull. After 1975 its meat is called bullock and is graded prime

Pork

Pork animals include:

Barrows, gilts, boars and sows, much pork is cured, described as follows:

Borrow

A young castrated male

Gilt

A young unbred female. The animal is about 6 months old when slaughtered

Boar

A mature male

Sow

A mature male [quite fat and used mostly for sausage meat]

Lamb and mutton

Cuts of meat vary in quality and in the way they are purchased. The meat buyer must know the different cuts of meat. When buying meat, you should specify the name of the cut, the weight or portion size desired and the maximum fat thickness, plus the grade or brand name

Beef

The following are cuts from the “forequarter”

Chuck

Contains the first five ribs. It is used for pot roasts, moist-cooked steaks, stewing meat and ground beef. It is used in the following menu items: pot roast, Salisbury steak, beef stew, beef ragout and meat loaf.

Rib

Roast ribs, Delmonico steak, eye of the rib roast and short ribs

Shank

Used for ground beef and stews

Brisket

Used for corned beef and pastrami

Following are cuts from the “hindquarter”

Round

It can be subdivided into the rump, top [inside] round, bottom [outside] round, knuckle or sirloin tip and hind shank.

The inside round cut is the most tender cut from the round. The knuckle also can be used for a dry heat roast.

The rest of the round should be cooked by moist heat cooking methods. Swiss steaks, stews, pot roasts, beef roulades and cube steaks are prepared from the round. A steamship round, which is the whole round with the rumps and shanks cut off.

Sirloin or loin end

Sirloin steaks can be dry heat cooked.

Short loin

The cut can be boned out and make New York strips. After that it is the club or Delmonico steak followed by the T-bone and porterhouse.

Flank

The flank is stripped from its fatty tissue and used for London broil

Pork

Leg

Also called ham; contains the rump and part of the sirloin. The leg can be boned and used for a roast or can be roasted bone in with dry heat. Ham steaks, smoked ham also comes from the leg.

Shank

It can be cooked with meats or vegetables

Lion

The rib and loin is used fro chops and roasts. The tenderloin can be removed and makes a very tender cutlet.

Picnic

It is rather bony and usually boiled; it can also be cured or smoked.

Jowl

The face of the hog. It can be used fresh or cured and smoked and used as bacon is

Boston butt or shoulder

The butt can be sliced into steaks or bonded and made into boneless roast.

Veal

Veal is divided in the “fore saddle” and “hind saddle”:

Following are cuts from the “fore saddle”:

Shoulder

It is used for stews, veal steaks and roasting

Breast

The shank, brisket and fore plate. These can be used for stews, converted to ground veal, bonded and rolled for roasts or made into braising veal

Hotel rack or rib

The crown roast or rib roast can be made from the rib cut. Rib steaks also can be taken from it.

Following are cuts from the “hind saddle”:

Leg

It is used for steaks, chops, roasts, cutlets, stews, or ground veal

Loin

Contains the loin eye tenderloin. It is used for loin chops or roasts

Flank

Can be used for stew or for ground veal

Lamb

Lamb, like veal, is divided into the “fore saddle”, which is the front half, and the “hind saddle”, which in turn is divided into the leg and the loin

The following cuts are from the “fore saddle”

Shoulder

The fairly high percentage of lean mat found here is cut for steaks, cubed for kabobs and stews, ground for patties and sliced for curries. The rack is also cut into individual chops, each containing one rib and the lean meat of the rib eye.

Breast

Is used for stew or ground meat and also can be rolled and stuffed as a roast

Fore shank

Contains little lean meat but can be braised whole and served with vegetables as a veal shank might be served

Following are cuts from the “hind saddle”

Leg

Contains solid, lean, fine-textured meat; roasts, steaks and cubed or ground meat are all the cut from the leg of lamb

Loin

The trimmed loin or loin with the flank removed. Lamb chops are usually cut from the loin also lamb roasts.

Methods of the meat cookery

Roasting

Roasting is a dry heat method used to cook foods surrounding them with hot, dry air, usually in an oven. Not water is used and the meat is left uncovered so that the steam can escape.

Roasting temperatures:

300°F – 325°F beef, veal, lamb, cubed pork

[15 to 20 minutes per pound] 350°F fresh pork

Broiling

Broiling is a dry heat method that uses very high heat to cook meat quickly. Properly broiled meat has a well – browned, flavored crust on the outside. The inside is cooked to the desired doneness and is still juicy. It may be helpful to think of broiling as a browning rather than a cooking technique because the best, juiciest broiled meats are those cooked in the rare of medium done stage.

Sautéing, pan-frying and griddling

Sautéing, pan- frying, and griddling are range top methods using various amounts of fat

Pan broiling

Pan broiling means cooking very thin steaks (such as minute steaks) to a rare stage is very difficult because the heat is not high enough to form a good brown crust without over-cooking the inside. Pan broiling in a very heavy skillet is a solution to this problem

Braising and cooking in liquid

Braising and cooking in liquid is a popular and delicious method of preparation is braising

POULTRY AND GAME BIRDS

Poultry includes chicken, Cornish hen, turkey, duck, goose, guinea fowl, and squab. Poultry is raised for the table. It is contrasted with game birds, which include grouse, pheasant, partridge, quail, peacock, wild duck and wild turkey

Chicken is the largest poultry group, with the turkeys in a distant second place. Poultry is inexpensive compared to most meats because it is now scientifically mass-product and is available year-round

The following are various classification if chicken:

Broiler

A young chicken of either sex, it usually weighs from 1 ½ to 3 pounds

Fryer

The same bird, but slightly larger

Bro-hen

A laying hen of the broiler industry, weighing 4 ½ to six pounds. High ratio meat to be bone

Capon

A neutered male chicken,4 to 7 pounds, tender, flavorful with a lot of white meat

Roaster

A tender chicken weighing 3 ½ to 5 pounds

Cornish hen

A small chicken, 1-2 pounds when mature. High in quality in protein and low in fat. They are served whole or half

Turkey

Turkeys are mass-produced on farms

The following are the classifications of turkey

Fryer roaster

16 weeks old and 4 to 8 pounds

Young toms/hens

They range from 12 to 16 pounds for hens and 12 to 30 pounds for toms. Some toms split to fit in a typical roasting oven

Yearlings

Any turkey marketed under 15 months of age

Duck

Duck meat is all dark, and the yield is low. The main production area for ducks is long island, New York

Following are the classifications of duck

Broilers and fryers

Less than 8 weeks old

Roasters and ducklings

Less than 16 weeks old

Mature or old ducks

More than 6 months old

NOTE: the foodservice industry seldom uses older, tougher birds

Goose

Geese are generally marketed young because weight gained after the first 11 months is mostly in the form of fat. The weight between 4 and 10 pounds is used in the food industry any geese heavier and older than six months are seldom found on the menu

Guinea fowl

Are related to the pheasant family and have somewhat gamey flavor. The most popular weight is between 1 and 1 ½ pounds. They should be young because they can be tough with age.

Squab

Squabs are 3 to 4 week old pigeons that have never flown; they have weigh from 6 to 14 ounces. It is a high priced menu item

Methods of poultry cooking

A poultry yield depends on the bird’s size and fleshing and on the cooking method. Of course, the larger the bird the greater the yield

Poultry is cooked by the same methods as meat, low temperature cooking (250°F to 325°F) results in less shrinkage and a moister, better looking product. Poultry is usually considered done when the temperature is 180°F in the thigh or breast center. The meat should feel soft on the thigh, breast or leg and the wing should move easily.

Most poultry is cooked well done, except for a few varieties such as duck. Small birds, including squab, are best cooked at higher temperatures (around 400°F) to speed cooking and reduce drying out. Older birds should be cooked in moist heat, younger ones in dry heat.

Roasting time table

Ready to cook per pound

minutes per pound

Total cooking time in hours

1-1\2 to 2-1\2

30-40 min

1 to 1-1/2

2-1\2 to 3-1\2

30-40

1-1\2 to 2-1\2

3-1\2 to 4-1\2

30-40

2-3

4-1\2 to 6

30-40

3 to 3-1\2

6-8

30-40

3-1\2 to 4

8-10

25-30

3 to 3-1\2

10-14*

18-20

3-1\2 to 4

14-18*

15-18

4 to 4-1\2

20-30*

12-15

5-6

(* unstuffed)

The following are other common cooking methods of poultry

• Barbecuing

• Braising

• Broiling

• Frying

• Poaching

• Steaming