Plating Meat Dishes

Introduction

Plating refers to the manner a dish is presented to the guests or customers. As a kitchen staff, it is one of your duties to know and look for the many ways and styles meat dishes can be plated. This lesson will present the different factors to be considered when plating meat dishes such as the doneness of meat and common meat accompaniments.

Checking Meat for Doneness

Overcooked meat is dry and flavorless. Undercooked meat, on the other hand, is prone to bacterial contamination. The degrees of doneness a type of meat can be cooked and served safely vary. Beef and lamb can be served rare, medium and well done. Pork should always be cooked well-done.

As a kitchen staff, you must be familiar with the different doneness of meat in order to determine the undesirable and safe meat for serving.

Guidelines for Plating Dishes

There are other common guidelines that the kitchen staff should observe when plating dishes for food service. The following are some of the important aspects of plating that you should look into:

Uniformity - Same dishes should be the same in terms of color, size, shape and portion size. Another way of making the dishes uniform is by presenting the same dishes with the same utensils and made out of the same materials.
Simplicity and Stability - Dishes should be assembled as simple as possible without compromising their visual appeal. Too elaborate arrangements should be avoided in order to keep the stability of the dish. The more toppings you put into the base result to higher chances that the dish will fall out when taken by the diners.
SHIFT (Shape, Height, Interest, Flavor and Taste) - This five-letter mnemonic means making sure that:

The plate shows various shapes which can be in uniform or varying sizes.
Height is considered as another dimension in arranging the elements on the plates.
Colors and texture are put into and set up effectively enough for the plate to be appealing and enticing; and
The flavor and taste of the dish are made sure to be pleasing to the diners the same way as they were satisfied by the visuals of the plate.

Portion - Each plating of the same dishes should be the same in terms of count, weight and volume.
Safety and Sanitation - When plating, you should make sure that all the utensils are clean and safe to be used by the guests. Ceramic crockery and cutlery items should be free from cracks. Stainless or iron tableware should not have dents and rust. More importantly, the doneness and freshness of food should be checked before serving. It should be made sure that cooked food items will be served cooked and raw items will be served fresh.

Common Accompaniments of Meat Dishes

Accompaniments of meat vary according to the type of meat used and how the meat is prepared.

Activity: Well Done

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