G asks: "How are you supposed to cook meat...in general...everything I make is roughly the consistency of shoe leather."
You are not alone. I used to have that problem before I entered the magical world of culinary school. Meat is good stuff. According to the 2010 US Census, the United States consumed 34,156,000 metric tons of meat (including beef, veal, pork, and poultry). Given the US population of 308,745,538 in 2010, also according to Census, this means, on average, we each consume approximately 242 lbs of meat each year, or about 2/3 of a lb per day. Clearly, we love our meat.
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| Image from corncommentary.com |
But, wouldn't we love it more if we all knew how to make it tasty at the end of the cooking process? Absolutely! So, let's get down to basics.
The first thing I'm going to cover is some terminology.
There are many, many ways to cook meat. Here are a few of the more common ones and their definitions.
Braise- simmering with a small amount of liquid, usually in a closed container, for a period of time
Broil- cooking with a direct heat, generally in the oven, but could also be a grill or a salamander
Grill- cooking with direct heat, as above, on a grill
Roast- cooking with dry heat, essentially baking
Saute- frying in a pan with a small amount of liquid or oil
Stew- cooking at a simmer or low boil for a length of time
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In addition to quite a few methods for cooking meat, let's not forget the different cuts of meat that are out there. Some of the most common cuts are:
Steaks- a thick slice of beef, generally high quality. Steaks tend to come from the top half of the animal, from the ribs on back. Steaks tend to be cut from muscles the cow doesn't use too much, hence their higher fat content and thus their tenderness.
Roasts- large hunks of beef, roasts can be either tough cuts that require a long time in cooking (think Grandma's Pot Roast), or a more tender cut that can be cooked until rare (i.e. Prime Rib)
Ribs- Just what you think....ribs. These come in a few varieties, including Short Ribs, Baby Back Ribs, Spare Ribs and the pork Country Rib (which doesn't actually come from the rib but rather a place near the shoulder of the pig, but tastes delicious anyway)
Stew beef- tougher cuts of beef, usually from the front end of the cow
Pork chops- small cuts of pork, usually from the center portion of the pig, near the ribs; can be cut thick or thin
Pork loin/tenderloin- The loin in the large muscle that runs basically from the shoulders back. It is the primal muscle for chops, but can stand on its own as a roast. The tenderloin is a small muscle attached to the loin that is prized for its tenderness.
If you aren't squeamish, take a look here at a beef butcher chart, or here at a pig butcher chart.
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Now that we know some basic ways to cook meat, and some basic cuts, let's figure out how to put them together. Probably the most important thing to remember here is that tender cuts require less time to cook than tough cuts and direct heat will almost always cook faster than indirect heat.
Want to test your knowledge? Take a few minutes and play a little game with yourself matching up the cuts of meat with cooking methods. Write it down if you want; I'll be solving that puzzle with my next entry.
Those things in mind, we are armed with the tools to start cooking in "Man vs. Meat Part Two"!
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