Meat, Fish, & Poultry

Meat, Fish, & Poultry

Meat... Beef from cattle Veal from calves Pork from hogs Mutton from mature sheep Lamb from young sheep Venison from deer; other game incl. wild boar, moose, and elk.

Inspection & grading... Meats sold in the United States are always inspected by federal agents of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA)… from live animal to the grocery store case. Inspection stamps appear on the meat itself, often in the form of a edible, purple vegetable dye. Both safety and quality are determined.

After each animal is slaughtered, the carcass is cut into halves or quarters called primary cuts. It is then hung to age for 48 hours- 21 days. The hanging position lengthens the fibers and creates more tenderness. If left to age longer, the meat becomes darker and more flavorful… but more expensive. Primal Cuts of meat... The meat continues to be inspected throughout this process.

Some call these second cuts ‘primal’ cuts, as well. Wholesale Cuts of meat... After aging, the carcass is cut again… this time into large wholesale cuts. Grocery stores often buy these cuts, and butchers cut them up as customers place their orders.

Retail Cuts of meat... Fabrication is the cutting of wholesale cuts into retail cuts of meat. The customer or restaurant can order their steaks cut ½, 1, or 2” thick OR get a 4, 5, or 20# roast… as they desire. Most retail cuts are packaged and sold to grocery stores for individual customer purchasing.

Wholesale/retail cuts of meat... Round Rump/Butt Ham Chuck Blade Shoulder Steaks and Roasts Rib Loin Sirloin Plate Belly, Bacon Spare or short ribs Flank Hamburger Arm Brisket Shank

Wholesale/retail cuts of meat... Less tender top round When cutting or purchasing steaks (T-bones, rib, loin, round, sirloin, etc.) the larger section of meat at the top side of the bone is less tender. The smaller eye or bottom section is the most tender. Most tender bottom or eye of round A rib eye steak is VERY tender. Hamburger or ground beef is made by grinding up less tender meat and scraps of meat and fat. It is sold by the percentage of lean meat to fat: 85/15 means 85% lean red meat and 15% fat per pound. The lower percentage of fat means ‘healthier… but less flavorful’.

Retail Cuts of meat... When the eye is left whole and not cut crosswise into steaks… it is called the tenderloin. This is the small but very best cut of meat. It is also the most expensive cut. Before roasting trim the tenderloin. The silverskin, which is the tough membrane that surrounds the tenderloin, and the fat or gristle is cut away.

Retail Cuts of meat... This is a butterfly chop.. Tying a roast with string ensures even cooking and helps keep the shape of the meat. The term butterfly means to cut the piece of meat lengthwise, nearly in half, so it opens out and lies flat. This speeds the cooking process. Medallions or the French term Noisettes (nwah-ZET) refers to small, usually round, boneless and tender cuts of meat. The term kosher is meat or poultry that has been slaughtered to comply with Jewish dietary laws.

Brains Variety or Offal Meats... Liver Tripe (stomach lining) Heart Tongue Sweetbreads (thymus glands) Kidneys Variety or offal (OH-fel) meats are edible animal organs…extremely high in nutrients, but high in calories and cholesterol also. Prices may be low if demand is low. For some people, eating these foods is like an episode of FEAR FACTOR! Chitterlings (CHIT-lins) (intestines)

Factors influencing meat tenderness... muscle fibers The primal or wholesale meat cuts on an animal are very large cuts of meat. Muscle fibers are long, thin muscle cells. They are thinnest (and most tender) in parts of the animal that get little exercise. They thicken (and are less tender) in older animals and parts that get a lot of exercise. Can you rationalize which cuts of this beef carcass are tender, and which are less tender?

Factors influencing meat tenderness... connective tissue 1. COLLAGEN is a thin, white connective issue that will soften in moist-heat cooking methods. The amount of connective tissue increases as an animal ages and when the animal gets a lot of exercise. 2. ELASTIN is a yellow connective tissue that will not soften. It must be pounded, cut, or ground to make it chewable. This might be done by pounding with a utensil called a meat tenderizer.

Factors influencing meat tenderness... Suppose these arrows represent long fibers in the meat running in a horizontal direction…the grain. grain If the butcher or carver cuts the meat WITH the grain, the fibers remain long in each piece and difficult to chew. If you cut ACROSS the grain, however, the long fibers are cut into short pieces. This makes them easier to chew. Always carve across the grain for tenderness!

Factors influencing meat tenderness... fat VISIBLE FAT is found under the skin of the animal, in the belly parts, and surrounding the large muscle portions. Cook meat “fat side up” to allow the flavor to melt down through the meat while cooking. MARBLING is the white flecks or streaks that appear within the lean meat. Abundant marbling is associated with tenderness. TALLOW is a type of hard fat that thickens and coats the mouth when cooled. It is found primarily in venison, mutton, and lamb.

Factors influencing meat tenderness... cooking methods Moist-heat methods Dry-heat methods • Braising • Cooking in liquid (stewing) • Steaming • Using a lid/cover • Roasting (no lid and and on a rack) • Frying • Grilling/broiling • Deep fat frying Moist-heat cooking methods soften connective tissue and less tender cuts of meat. Use water, broth, or tomato juice for liquid, plus a lid.

Tenderizers... In addition to the utensil called a meat tenderizer (a mechanical tool that is used to pound meat and break up elastin tissue), several forms of chemical meat tenderizers are also used. MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (MSG) is an artificial enzyme that comes in a powdered form and can be sprinkled or rubbed on meat as a tenderizer. PAPAIN is a natural enzyme found in fresh pineapple, papayas, and tomatoes. Cooking meats with these foods cause the meat to become more tender.

Cooking methods… A marinade is a liquid made from oil, and acid such as vinegar or wine, and herbs and spices. The meat may be soaked in it prior to cooking, as the acid breaks down the collagen and adds flavor. A spice rub or dry marinade may be applied to the meat before cooking to improve appearance and flavor. To bard meat means to tie a layer of fat on top or around it to moisten and flavor it while cooking. Bacon is often used.

Cooking methods… Searing meat means to quickly brown it in a very hot skillet prior to usual cooking methods. Searing, although it does not seal in juices as once believed, does improve flavor and appearance. Deglaze the pan after cooking the meat by adding water or liquid, and swirling it around to loosen the food particles on the bottom. The liquid becomes the jus (ZHEW). If the jus is thickened with cornstarch, it is called jus lié (zhew-lee-AY). Jus thickened with a roux is called pan gravy.

Processed meats... Charcuterie (sha-COO-tree) is French for ‘cooked flesh’, and refers to specially prepared pork products including sausage, smoked ham, bacon, pâté, and terrine. Sausages: Bockwurst (BAHK-wurst ); white; veal Cajun or milder French Andouille (ann-DO-ee) German pork bratwurst Mexican or Spanish chorizo (chuh-REE-zoh) Hot dogs or Weiners Italian sausage with garlic and fennel Polish kielbasa (keel-BAH-suh) Knockwurst (NAK-vursht) with garlic Pepperoni Scrapple (sausage and cornmeal) Vienna sausages (short, canned) Sausage is plain or seasoned ground pork, game, beef, veal, poultry, fish, shellfish, and even vegetables… usually forced into a casing made of animal intestines or synthetic materials.

Processed meats... Quenelles Forcemeat is a mixture of lean ground meat and fat that is forced to combine, in a food grinder. It is then forced through a sieve to make a very smooth paste. It can be made into a rich mixture called a pâté, and baked in an earthenware mold called a terrine. A pâté de campagne (pah-TAY de kom-PAN-yuh) uses cured meat. Pâté en croûte Foie gras (FWA-gra) is the liver from a fattened goose or duck, and may be used in a pâté. Mousseline (moose-us-LEEN) is a delicately-flavored forcemeat made from veal, poultry, or fish. When shaped into dumplings and poached in a rich stock, they are called quenelles (kuh-NEL). Pâté Pâté en croûte (pah-TAY on kroot) is forcemeat wrapped in dough. Galantine (gal-en-TEEN) is wrapped in chicken skin.

Processed meats... Processed meats have undergone some sort of additional treatment to either extend shelf life or create a distinctive flavor. Luncheon meats Sausages, often smoked Curing meat (with a mixture of salt, nitrite, ascorbic acid, etc): ham is an example Drying and salting meat: jerky

Cooking safety... This pork chop looks yummy, but if cooked improperly could be responsible for illness and even death. e.Coli is a bacteria that lives in the digestive system of a healthy animal. The bacteria may come in contact with the meat. If the meat is then undercooked and eaten, the bacteria is transferred to the human. It can cause death. Trichinae worms are parasites, living in the muscle of hogs. When the infected meat is eaten by humans, the worm then infects the human muscles. Trichinosis is accompanied by arthritis-type symptoms. Cooking meat until no pink remains destroys both trichinae and e.coli. Even slight overcooking, however, may cause meat to be less-juicy and less-tender.

Poultry… Like meat, poultry is inspected by the federal government. The grades are: USDA A USDA B USDA C Factors that determine grade are the shape of the carcass, ratio of meat to bone, amount of feathers, and number of cuts or broken bones. Fresh poultry has a short shelf life, but can be frozen. It should never be gray in color or have a pasty feel, and odor should be minimal. Never store uncooked stuffing in a raw bird. Cook all poultry thoroughly.

Poultry (white and dark meat)... Chicken and turkey have both white and dark meat. White meat is leaner with a mild flavor. Ducks and geese have only dark meat, which is more flavorful but higher in fat. The part of the bird getting more exercise is darker, such as the legs and thighs of a chicken. Free-range poultry is raised in large yards where the bird can get more exercise, and there is more dark meat. Game birds that do more actual “flying”, have more dark meat. Wild game might include quail, pheasant, wild turkey, ducks, geese or turtledove. Domesticated birds have far more white meat.

The method used for cooking poultry depends on the age of the bird. Young birds can be cooked in dry heat, such as grilling, frying, and roasting. Cooking poultry... Chicken is often dredged in flour before frying to form a coating and seal in juices. Older birds and game birds are less tender, and need to be cooked in moist heat. Use a lid and add liquid or gravy during cooking. Stewing, or boiling older birds is common.

Cooking poultry... Trussing a bird means the legs and wings are tied to the bird’s body, so the entire bird will cook evenly and stay moist. Chicken can be purchased whole to save money; you cut it up yourself OR you can purchase it already cut up OR purchase just the pieces you want. Deboning poultry means to separate the meat from the bone and cut the bird into pieces. Clean work surfaces and equipment carefully to avoid cross-contamination.

The skin on the poultry is high in fat content. For that reason, many people remove the skin before eating the poultry. In the picture to the left, the chicken breast has been halved, boned, and skinned. More poultry tips... GIBLETS (JIB-lets)are the edible poultry organs, including the liver, heart, and gizzard (a digestive organ). Giblets and the neck are often packaged separately in the cavity of the raw bird; cooked, and used in the stuffing.

Cooking meat and poultry... Cooking does not stop immediately when food is taken from the heat. This is called carryover cooking, and the larger the item the more heat it will retain. Poultry should be cooked à point (ah PWAH), all the way through but not overcooked. Allow meat or poultry to rest after removed from the oven. This allows time for carryover cooking and allows less juice to be lost during carving.

Fish... Flat and round fin fish can be divided into two categories by the color of their flesh… Light or white fish have a mild flavor, tender texture, and low fat. They include catfish, cod, flounder, haddock, halibut, perch, pike, pollack (PŎL-luck), pompano (POM-pa-nō), turbot (TER-bet), red snapper, sole, trout, and whitefish. Darker fish flesh has a more pronounced flavor, firm texture, and higher fat content. These include bluefish, mackerel, salmon, swordfish, and tuna.

CRUSTACEANS have long bodies with jointed limbs covered with shells, including crab, crayfish, lobster, and shrimp. Shellfish...Seafood... MOLLUSKS have soft bodies covered by at least one shell, including clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, and squid. Removing them from the shell is called ‘shucking’.

Buying and cooking fish... Purchase fresh fish by appearance and a mild, fresh aroma. Eyes should be clear and full; gills should have a red or maroon color. Inspection is not required, but generally Grade A fish are for cooking; grades B and C are for canning. Oyster in the shell Live crab/lobster should be moving around; lobster tails should curl under when picked up; clams, mussels, and oysters should be tightly closed.

Click on this fish icon to see a demonstration on Asian speed-cooking of snake & fish Buying and cooking fish... Scaling fish means to remove the hard and inedible scales from the skin. To gut a fish, make a slit in the belly OR cut off the head and pull out the insides. FILET (fil-LAY) is a procedure to remove bones or a piece of fish “without bones”.

De-veining shrimp means to remove the digestive tract. Buying and cooking fish... 1. 3. 2. Gently pull off heads. Pull off legs and then peel back shell OR peel back shell and then remove any remaining legs. 4. 6. 5. Pull out the intestine with your knife, fingers, or toothpick. Peel off shell and then remove tail if desired. Make a shallow slit down the back to expose the vein (digestive tract).

Buying and cooking fish... Fish can be cut into goujonettes (goo-sha-NET) or small strips OR paupiettes (pō-peeEHT) thin rolled fillets filled with stuffing. Fish may be canned in oil for flavor, or water to cut calories. It can be preserved by pickling, smoking, curing or drying. Lox is a fish that is smoked and cured, and commonly served with bagels. Fish is very tender. It should be cooked until it flakes easily and is opaque in color. All cooking methods can be used… grilling, frying, and deep fat frying, boiling, steaming, etc.

Buying and cooking fish... En papillote (en paw-pee-YOTE) is a moist-heat cooking method, well suited for fish. The fish, vegetables, herbs, etc. are encased in parchment paper and baked, or steamed in foil. Seafood Newburg is lobster, crab, or shrimp in a rich sauce made from butter, cream, egg yolks, sherry, and seasonings. Jambalaya (jam-bo-LIE-ah) is a Creole stew made from rice or pasta, shellfish, and vegetables.

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Meat, Fish, & Poultry