Meat Identification and Tenderness

Identification Tips

• Key characteristics to identify meat include the number and texture of muscles in a cut, as well as its size.
• Size Guide: Beef is larger than pork, which is larger than lamb.
• Beef color is bright cherry-red.
• Pork color is light pinkish-red.
• Lamb color is dark cherry-red.

Tenderness of Meat Factors

• Meat tenderness relies on the animal's age, sex, feeding practices, living environment, as well as pre- and post-slaughter handling.
• Meat from younger animals tends to be more tender because they are milk-fed and less exercised.
• Meat from older, uncastrated male animals is tougher and has a stronger flavor, unlike meat from castrated males or females.
• Grain-fed or meal-fattened animals produce more tender meat versus that from grass-fed animals.
• Animals kept in clean, maintained stables and with limited movement yield more tender meat than those roaming freely.

Pre-Slaughter Handling

• The handling of animals pre-slaughter impacts meat yield, texture, and pH.
• Higher pH in meat results in a darker color and lower quality.
• Darker meat with a pH above 5.9 spoils faster, is stickier, and unsuitable for aging.
• Vacuum-packed, high-pH meat can only last up to 3 weeks in storage.

Post-Slaughter Handling

• Cold shortening happens when meat muscle chills too fast before rigor mortis sets in.
• Rapid chilling causes muscle fibers to contract and toughen the meat.
• Smaller carcasses with less fat are more prone to cold shortening.

Types of Meat by Purchase Form

• Fresh meat is slaughtered and chilled for aging without processing.
• Chilled meat is stored whole or processed and packed in a 0-2°C chiller, aged, and ready for consumption.
• Frozen meat is stored in a freezer at -18°C, typically processed, packed, aged, and ready for consumption.

Processed Meat and By-Products

• Processed meat is preserved through salting, smoking, drying, roasting, cooking, or canning.
• By-products of meat include non-meat items from slaughtered animals like liver, kidneys, heart, bones, intestines, blood, hides and rendered products. By-products can be edible or non-edible.
• Variety meats are the edible internal organs, known as fancy meat or offal.

General Meat Storage

• Store the same types of meat together but avoid storing different types in the same container to prevent contamination.

Refrigerated Storage

• Refrigeration is not a meat preservation method, but extends shelf life by slowing down bacterial growth.
• Enzyme activity leads to spoilage even under refrigeration.
• Ideal chiller temperature: +1 to +2°C, 85% humidity, although 5°C is acceptable.

HACCP Meat Storage Guidelines

• Store same types of meat together in individual containers.
• Use puncture-proof containers with lids or plastic tape.
• Storing vacuum-packed meat in covered containers is highly recommended to prevent punctures.
• Change meat containers daily.
• Position meat with the fat surface facing up to avoid discoloration from blood.
• Individually wrap each meat portion in plastic or vacuum bags to prevent drying.
• Label all meat with its name, received date, and consumption date to maintain a quality product and ensure proper stock rotation using FIFO (First In, First Out).
• Use FIFO to rotate stock and maintain quality.
• Portioned meat life is two days if refrigerated.
• Primary and secondary meat cuts life is ten days, if refrigerated.
• Raw meat must be separate from ready-to-eat foods to avoid any cross contamination.

Freezer Storage

• The freezer does not preserve the meat but extends its shelf life if operating at -18°C or lower.
• High-fat meats such as pork have a freezer shelf life of 3-4 months; veal, beef, and lamb can last up to 6-8 months.
• Maintain a steady freezer temperature at or below -18°C for optimal meat quality.

Freezing Meat Rules

• Do not overstock freezers to ensure proper air circulation.
• Portion meat into smaller quantities before freezing for faster results.
• Label all frozen items with their name, date of receipt, and consumption date.
• Use airtight and puncture-proof plastic to avoid freezer burn and spoilage.
• Only freeze meat once.

Thawing Meat Rules

• Thaw meat in the refrigerator at 5°C or lower for optimal quality.
• Meat in puncture-proof plastic may be thawed under running water (+20°C to +21°C).
• Do not thaw meat by direct water contact to avoid contamination, or loss of proteins, vitamins and minerals.
• Store meat with the fat side up during thawing to prevent a bloody appearance.
• Freeze meats in single layers.

Vacuum Packing

• The most common method of extending meat's shelf life and aging it.
• Air is extracted from the bag inside a sealed chamber.
• Vacuum packed meat can be stored at 0-1°C for 12 weeks.
• At higher temperatures (4-5°C), the shelf life of vacuum-packed products reduce to 5-6 weeks, and pork products for 3 weeks.
• Add labels to indicate the exact expiration date.

Basic Primal Cuts

• The 8 basic primal cuts are chuck, brisket, rib, plate or short plate, loin, flank, round, and shank.

Carcass Classification

• A carcass is the whole slaughtered and skinned animal, excluding intestines, head, and hooves, and is generally not purchased by hotel, restaurant and food service operations.
• Sides are created when a carcass is halved by slitting it along the vertebral column.
• Quarters result from further cutting a beef side between the 12th and 13th ribs into the back muscles.
• These may be divided into forequarters and hindquarters.

Beef Forequarter

• It consists of the neck (leeg), chuck (kadera sa unahan), rib set (kostillas), plate (tadyang), brisket (punta y pecho) and front limb (paypay at kenchi sa unahan).
• Tougher cuts come from the parts of the cow that move most.

Neck (Beef Forequarter)

• An economical cut due to tendons and bones.
• Flavorful when cooked slowly at low heat.
• Suitable for braising, stewing, and simmering.
• Used for neck steaks (beef tapa), neck roasts, soup bones (stock), and ground beef (burger).

Chuck (Beef Forequarter)

• It comes from the cow's shoulder, from the neck's end to the sixth rib.
• It has connective tissue, fat, collagen, and rich beef flavor; however has tough muscle fibers (except for top blade).
• Suited for braising.
• Used for ground chuck (burgers, meatballs), chuck rib roast (braising), short ribs (Korean Kalbi style), and flat iron steak (good alternative to expensive steaks).

Rib (Beef Forequarter)

• It comes from ribs 6 through 12 on the top of the cow with upper ribs near the chuck and the 13th rib in the loin.
• It is tender because of limited movement, also an expensive part of beef forequarter.
• 7 ribs make up a full rack of rib roast.
• Ideal for smoking, roasting, grilling, and pan-searing.
• Cuts include: standing rib roast (bone-in, 7 ribs), prime rib roast (slice from standing rib roast), rib eye steak, cowboy steak (prime rib steak with bone attached), and rib eye fillet (boneless from prime rib).

Plate (Beef Forequarter)

• Grouped with the brisket, found near the stomach directly below the rib primal.
• A source of short ribs and ground beef.
• Though inexpensive cuts are tough, high in fat and flavorful.
• Best for oven roasting, braising, smoking.
• Used for hanger plate (ground meat), skirt steak (seared, braised), and short ribs (6th-8th rib, below the rib eye).

Brisket (Beef Forequarter)

• Directly below the chuck in the front chest.
• A well-used muscle with coarse fibers and a decent amount of flavorful fat.
• Becomes meltingly tender when cooked low and slow.
• Ideal for smoking and braising.
• Used for corned beef, and long and slow barbecue cooking.

Shank (Beef Forequarter)

• Cross-cut from the front and back legs with tough, sinewy meat and little marbling.
• Rich in collagen.
• Best prepared by boiling, braising over low heat.
• Used for 1- to 2-inch-thick cross shank (bulalo), center cut shank (osso buco), and whole shank (lean ground beef, beef bourguignon, Philippine stews, French onion soup, beef broth for pho).

Beef Hindquarter

• The hindquarter contains all of the premium, tenderest, high-value cuts of beef.
• It include loin (kadera), rump (tapadera), round (kabilugan), hind shank (kenchi sa hulihan), and flank (kamto).

Loin (Beef Hindquarter)

• The location for the most expensive cuts of beef since it is not a heavily used muscle.
• The tender loin can be divided into the sirloin and short loin.
• Sirloin is the rearmost cut, and the least tender but most flavorful, which is best for grilling but never for slow cooking.
• Short loin is similar to sirloin but found closer to the center of the cow and is more tender making it best for grilling and frying.
• Common short loin cuts: NY strip, T-Bone, porterhouse, tenderloin filet, filet mignon and strip loin

Short Loin Cuts

• Boneless cuts are strip steak (New York strip steak) which is a popular, well-marbled cut from the top.
• Boneless cuts also include strip roast, which is similar to strip steak in quality.
• Also boneless, tenderloin is a long, lean muscle along the cow's backbone known for its tenderness.
• Bone-in cuts are the T-bone steak, which includes the strip steak and portion of the tenderloin divided by a "T"-shaped bone.
• Bone-in cuts continues with porterhouse steak, which is similar to the T-bone, but includes a larger section of the tenderloin.
• Also bone-in, club steak (bone-in strip steak or bone-in striploin) is a cut fro the front short loin, similar to the strip steak, but without the tenderloin.
• Fillet mignon is generally 1.5-2.5 inches across and are cut from the head and tail of the tenderloin; sometimes also called tournedos or medallions.
• Chateaubriand is cut from the center of the tenderloin and frequently cut thicker

Rump (Beef Hindquarter)

• The boneless, five-muscled primal cut sits between the sirloin and top round.
• It is found on the lower back, around the hip of the cow.
• Cuts are firmer than tenderloin or striploin because they are working muscles.
• Best cooking methods: stir-frying, roasting, frying, or grilling.
• Rump is more economical as a steak than tenderloin or striploin.

Round (Beef Hindquarter)

• An inexpensive, lean cut from near the cow's hind legs.
• Used for roasts and stews.
• Top round is the largest muscle in the round from which deli (roast beef for slicing) made; also used for thick marinated steaks to roast, and thin steaks for stovetop braising, scallopini, or roulade.
• Bottom round is not as large as the top round in size and boasts a tighter grain. It is best roasted dry, and use for roast beef.
• Sirloin tip is best used to make philly cheesesteaks.
• Eye of round, the toughest cut of the round, is long and cylindrical in shape.

Flank (Beef Hindquarter)

• It comes from a cow's abdominal muscle below the loin.
• It is a long, flat cut with a significant grain, known for its bold flavor and chewiness.
• Cut across the grain to make the meat more tender.
• Best cooking methods: grilling, pan-frying, broiling, and braising.

Terms of Beef Cuts

• Paypay corresponds to Chuck in English and Nilagang Baka/Burger in local dishes.
• Kadera corresponds to Chuck Rib in English and Kaldereta in local dishes.
• Punta y Pecho corresponds to Brisket in English and Beef Pares/Corned Beef in local dishes.
• Kalitiran corresponds to Blade Clod in English and Kaldereta in local dishes.
• Kostillas corresponds to Ribs in English and Bbq Beef Ribs in local dishes.
• Pierna Corta corresponds to Round in English and Mechado/Morcon in local dishes.
• Tapadera corresponds to Rump/Sirloin in English and Bistek in local dishes.
• Kenchi corresponds to Shank in English and Bulalo in local dishes.
• Kadera corresponds to Short loin/Sirloin (Loin) in English and Tapa/Bistek/Steaks in local dishes.
• Tadyang corresponds to Short plate (short ribs) in English and Crispy Tadyang/Sinigang in local dishes.
• Solomiyo corresponds to Tenderloin in English and Tenderloin Steak in local dishes.
• Kamto corresponds to Flank in English and Beef Mami in local dishes.

Terms of Pork Cuts

• Liempo corresponds to Belly or Side Bacon and Lechon Belly in local dishes.
• Paypay corresponds to Boston Butt in English and Humba in local dishes.
• Pique corresponds to Ham/Leg in English and Cured Ham in local dishes.
• Kalamnan corresponds to Jowl in English and Crispy Sisig in local dishes.
• Pata corresponds to Hock in English and Crispy Pata/Patatim in local dishes.
• Tagiliran corresponds to Loin in English and Roast Pork in local dishes.
• Lomo corresponds to Tenderloin in English and Stir-Fried recipes in local dishes.
• Kasim corresponds to Picnic Shoulder in English and Menudo/Adobo in local dishes.
• Tadyang corresponds to Spareribs in English and Baby Back Ribs in local dishes.
• Batok corresponds to Neck in English and Pork Nilaga in local dishes.
• Maskara corresponds to Head or Mask in English and Sisig in local dishes.