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Contents {#contents.TOCHeading} ======== [Storage of Meats 1](#storage-of-meats) [Fresh Meats 1](#fresh-meats) [Frozen Meats 2](#frozen-meats) [Tenderness and Appropriate Cooking Methods 2](#tenderness-and-appropriate-cooking-methods) [The Principles of Low-Heat Cooking 2](#the-principles-of-lo...

Contents {#contents.TOCHeading} ======== [Storage of Meats 1](#storage-of-meats) [Fresh Meats 1](#fresh-meats) [Frozen Meats 2](#frozen-meats) [Tenderness and Appropriate Cooking Methods 2](#tenderness-and-appropriate-cooking-methods) [The Principles of Low-Heat Cooking 2](#the-principles-of-low-heat-cooking) [Breaking Down Connective Tissue 3](#breaking-down-connective-tissue) [Cooking Characteristics Of Different Cuts 3](#cooking-characteristics-of-different-cuts) [1. Rib and loin cuts. 3](#rib-and-loin-cuts.) [2. Leg or round. 3](#leg-or-round.) [3. Chuck or shoulder. 3](#chuck-or-shoulder.) [4. Shanks, breast, brisket, and flank. 3](#shanks-breast-brisket-and-flank.) [5. Ground meat, cubed steaks, and stew meat. 3](#ground-meat-cubed-steaks-and-stew-meat.) [Other Factors Influencing Choice of Cooking Methods 4](#other-factors-influencing-choice-of-cooking-methods) [1. Fat Content. 4](#fat-content.) [2. Developing Tenderness Is Not the Only Goal Of Cooking. 4](#developing-tenderness-is-not-the-only-goal-of-cooking.) [Searing and "Sealing" 4](#searing-and-sealing) [Searing 4](#searing) [Blanching & "Sealing" 5](#blanching-sealing) [Cooking Frozen Meats 5](#cooking-frozen-meats) Storage of Meats ================ The quality of a final meat product is determined not only by correct meat selection and cooking but also by proper meat storage. Fresh flesh spoils quickly. Because meat is so expensive, it is critical to avoid spoilage. Fresh Meats ----------- 1. Upon arrival, inspect purchases to confirm that the meat purchased is of high quality. 2. Avoid wrapping too tightly. Bacteria and mould grow in damp, stagnant environments. Their growth is slowed by air circulation. Meat should be stored loosely organised on pans or racks to enable air circulation between portions, but sliced surfaces should be covered to prevent excessive drying. 3. Do not open vacuum-packed meats until you are ready to utilise them. 4. Store at 32°--36°F (0°--2°C). Meat does not freeze until it reaches around 28°F (-2°C). 5. To avoid cross-contamination, keep meats separated in the cooler (or, better yet, in different coolers) and on the work table. 6. Apply as soon as feasible. Fresh meat only lasts two to four days. Ground meats retain even worse because there is so much surface area exposed to microorganisms. Products that have been cured or smoked can be stored for up to a week. For these reasons, frequent delivery is preferable to long-term storage. 7. Do not attempt to save spoiled meats by freezing them. Freezing deteriorating meat will not improve its quality. 8. Maintain the cleanliness of coolers. Frozen Meats ------------ 1. Wrap frozen meats tightly to avoid freezer burn. 2. Keep at 0°F (-18°C) or lower. 3. Rotate stock such that it is first in, first out. Frozen meats do not last forever. 6 months at 0°F (-18°C) for buff, veal, and lamb; 4 months for pig (pork fat gets rancid rapidly in the freezer). 4. Carefully defrost. It is best to temper in the refrigerator. Bacterial growth is aided by room-temperature defrosting. 5. Thawed meats should not be refrozen. Refreezing causes quality loss. 6. Keep your freezers clean. 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If there is moisture and slow cooking, it **tenderises connective tissue.** 2. It **makes protein harder**. Even lean meats can become rough and dry when cooked for an extended period of time at extremely high temperatures. The Principles of Low-Heat Cooking ---------------------------------- Protein becomes tougher and shrinks under high heat, which causes excessive moisture loss. Therefore, for the majority of meat preparation techniques, low-heat cooking should be the standard. 1. Broiling appears to be against this regulation. Meat that has been skillfully grilled stays tender because it is prepared rapidly. The inside of the meat never gets extremely hot since it takes time for the heat to be transferred there. However, meat that has been grilled until it is well done is likely to be dry. 2. Because they shrink less and lose less moisture, roasts cooked at moderate temperatures produce superior results than roasts cooked at high temperatures. 3. Meat is quickly heated by moist heat because both liquid and steam are greater heat conductors than air. Therefore, meat should never be boiled to prevent overcooking. Breaking Down Connective Tissue ------------------------------- Remember that connective tissue is highest in muscles that are frequently exercised and in mature animals.  If one were to study table the table above you will notice a pattern. Tender cuts are mostly cooked over dry heat, slightly less tender cuts are occasionally cooked over dry heat and occasionally cooked over moist heat, and least tender cuts are usually cooked over moist heat. When it comes to moist-heat cooking one needs to understand the methods better in order to break down the connective tissue. Collagen is broken down by heat in the presence of moisture, which is the typical explanation for how moist heat affects connective tissue. Moisture is constantly present though, because flesh is roughly 75% water. Regardless of the cooking technique, cooking for a long time at a low temperature causes collagen to break down. The drawback is that dry-heat cooking methods for small portions of meat are often short and rapid. Cooking time must be limited since prolonged exposure to dry heat causes considerable moisture loss from the product. Because the food is surrounded by moisture when simmered, steamed, or braised, moist-heat cooking methods encourage moisture retention rather than moisture loss, allowing for longer cooking times. A steak cooked on the grill or in the oven does not have enough time to tenderise before drying out. Huge pieces of less sensitive meat, on the other hand, can be properly roasted since they are too huge to dry out during a long roasting time. To summarise, slow, long cooking breaks down collagen. Moist-heat cooking methods are ideal for lengthy, slow cooking. Dry-heat methods are great for short, rapid cooking procedures that are only ideal for tender cuts unless larger cuts are roasted for an extended period of time. Cooking Characteristics Of Different Cuts ----------------------------------------- The following list summarizes the cooking characteristics of the major cuts. ### Rib and loin cuts. The most sensitive cuts are always utilised for roasts, steaks, and chops. In India, lamb is frequently served medium rare, medium well, or well done, hence the rib and loin are nearly solely utilised for roasting, broiling, and grilling. Pork and mutton are typically served well done. As a result, these meats are occasionally braised, not to produce tenderness but to aid in the preservation of juices. ### Leg or round. Mutton, lamb, and pork are meats from young animals, they are soft enough to roast. Legs are ideal for roasting because their broad muscles, minimal seams, and uniform grain allow for easy slicing and appealing pieces. ### Chuck or shoulder. Mutton, lamb, and pork are typically braised, but they can also be roasted or chopped into chops for broiling. Shoulder roasts are not the most appealing since they are made up of many little muscles that flow in different directions. As a result, they do not yield appealing, solid slices. ### Shanks, breast, brisket, and flank. Even on young animals, these are the least tender slices and are virtually typically cooked with wet heat. Shanks are ideal for braising and boiling because their high collagen content is transformed into gelatin, which adds body to braising liquids and improves meat eating quality. ### Ground meat, cubed steaks, and stew meat. These can be derived from any primal cut. They are often formed from scraps, but full chucks are occasionally crushed into chopped meat. Because ground meat and cubed steaks have been mechanically tenderised, they can be cooked using either dry or moist heat. Of course, stew beef is cooked over wet heat. Other Factors Influencing Choice of Cooking Methods --------------------------------------------------- ### Fat Content. Meats with a high fat content, such as buff, lamb, or mutton are typically cooked without the addition of fat, such as by roasting or broiling. To prevent dryness, meats with low-fat content are frequently cooked with extra fat. There are two techniques to add fat to lean meats: - Barding. Tying fat slices, such as butter, over meats that don\'t have a natural fat cover to protect them when roasting. - Larding. Inserting fat strips with a larding needle into meats with little marbling. These two procedures were created in Europe during a time when meat was much thinner and less tender. They\'re rarely paired with today\'s supple, grain-fed meats. However, these strategies are effective when cooking lean meats. ### Developing Tenderness Is Not the Only Goal Of Cooking. Other objectives include: - Developing flavour - Preventing excessive shrinkage and nutrient loss - Changing appearance. To achieve a balanced output, you must frequently make compromises. Preliminary browning of a roast over high heat, for example, increases shrinkage but may be advantageous for particular roasts to improve flavour and look. Searing and "Sealing" --------------------- ### Searing Browning the surfaces of meats while searing them at high heat imparts desirable flavour and colour. For a long time, it was thought that searing the surface of beef \"seals the pores,\" keeping juices in. This does not occur in reality. Meat does not have pores, but rather a network of open fibres. Consider the surface of a steak to be the cut end of a thick rope. There aren\'t any pores to close. Heavy browning does produce a crust on the surface of the meat, but this crust is no more waterproof than an unbrowned surface. Roasts cooked at a low temperature from the outset retain more juices than roasts browned at high heat first. Steaks, chops, and cutlets cooked quickly at high heat retain more moisture at first because the intense heat instantly evaporates the juices from the surface of the meat and forces internal juices further into the meat. This permits browning, because moisture creates steam and inhibits browning. However, overcooked steaks are dry whether or not they were seared. ### Blanching & "Sealing" Putting the meat in hot water also does not seal the pores. What happens is, that many proteins break down in cold water. When heated, these proteins coagulate and form froth or scum on the water\'s surface. When meat is immersed in boiling water, part of the protein coagulates within the meat, and less of it is taken out with the lost moisture. Prolonged cooking shrinks meat the same amount whether it is started in boiling or cold water. Cooking Frozen Meats -------------------- Some sources propose cooking various frozen meats without thawing to avoid the drip loss that occurs during defrosting. However, it is normally preferable to thaw frozen foods before cooking for the following reasons: 1. Frozen meats lose no moisture when defrosted but lose more when cooked. The total loss is comparable to that of thawed meats. Furthermore, the perception of juiciness is affected by fat content just as much as it is by moisture content. 2. Cooking frozen meats complicates the cooking process and necessitates technique changes. Roasts can be cooked on the outside while remaining frozen in the centre. Frozen steaks, like thawed steaks, are more difficult to cook uniformly. Thawed meats, on the other hand, are handled as if they were fresh. 3. Cooking frozen foods demands additional energy, which is costly. The cooking time for a hard-frozen roast maybe three times that of a thawed roast. 4. Most significantly, boiling frozen meats causes uneven thawing, which is a food safety problem.