Man vs. Meat Part Two

Sorry I've been away from the keyboard, folks. It's been a long week. As I've said before, I work at a small restaurant, but small doesn't mean not busy. We have a dinner theater and this week we are opening our fourth show of the season! That means tweaking the recipes, spiffing the restaurant, rehearsals every night, selling tickets and generally up to the eyeballs in work, but it is so exciting that I wouldn't change it for anything.

However, I do want to continue answering G's question about cooking meat. Did you do the quiz? Did you play match-up with the meats and cooking methods?

If you did, here are a few of the combinations:

Steaks -- Broil, Grill, or Saute

Roasts -- Braise, Roast or Stew

Ribs -- Braise, Grill or Roast

Stew Beef -- Braise or Stew

Pork Chop -- Broil, Grill, or Saute

Pork Loin -- Grill or Roast


Soooo, now that we know what things go together, what else is important to keeping meat from turning to leather? There are a few things on that list. Let's start with marinades and rubs.

A marinade is a combination of oil, an acid (usually vinegar, but could be citrus) and a variety of herbs, spices, etc. The ratio is generally two parts oil for one part of vinegar, so if you use a half a cup of oil, you would need...... that's right, a quarter cup of vinegar. What is the purpose of vinegar? Well, the acid starts to break down the muscle fibers, making them tender. With meats like beef and pork, they tend to be more hearty and can withstand greater marinating times. For example, if you are marinating a steak, you could probably manage an hour or two with no problems, where chicken can only take half an hour or forty-five minutes. If you marinate something for too long, your meat will basically turn to mush. But, that doesn't mean you need to be afraid of marinating. Practice, practice, practice!

Here's a great marinade I'm currently using with pork loin. The unused marinade (meaning the part that does not touch the raw meat) doubles as a sauce after cooking.

1/4 cup red wine or rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 - 1 tsp minced fresh garlic
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh sweet basil
pinch of sugar
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients and allow to sit at room temperature for an hour or so, then marinate your meat, reserving a cup or so for saucing your finished product. Feel free to jazz any recipe up. I love spicy, so if I were making this for myself, I might finely dice a jalapeno or two to add to the mix, throw in a little cayenne or some crushed red pepper flakes. Experiment. You can make any recipe reflect you.

Rubs are a combination of spices that are literally rubbed onto the meat. This is done often with ribs, but you can rub steaks or roasts, too. A good ingredient to keep on hand for rubs, although it can be added to marinades, too, is meat tenderizer. It's a powder that is actually an enzyme found primarily in pineapple. Cool, huh? Rubs can be simple: salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder. Or they can be more complicated. They sky is the limit. One of my favorites, and super simple is this recipe for herb roasted pork. The change I make for the rub is letting it actually sit overnight on the pork.

Oh, you know what? I forgot probably the simplest way to make your meat less like leather....


Ladies and gentlemen, it's a meat mallet. Go ahead and take out your daily frustrations by getting in a few rounds of whack-a-steak. I promise you'll feel better and your steak will be tender. Two birds, so to speak.

Ok, so now, we've covered the cuts of meat you are most likely to buy, and discussed, briefly the methods used to cook them. You've got your steak or your pork loin marinating in the fridge-- (you did put that back in the fridge, right?) What's next?

Next up, we will actually get your meat cooking. Stay tuned for how to use your grill or your oven, when Man vs. Meat returns.