No right or wrong way to prepare meat, but, good and better ways
By Deborah Williams
We’ve been eating meat since we were cavemen. What does that tell us? You don’t have to be a Mensa scholar to cook a steak. Meat’s simplicity is part of its appeal, but choosing the right preparation and cooking method is what really makes each cut shine. There may not be a right or wrong way to prepare meat, but there are, arguably, good and better ways.
MARINATE
There are two reasons to marinate beef: to tenderize it and to flavor it. The more connective tissue a cutof meat has and the stronger/leaner its source muscle was during the animal’s life, the tougher it tendsto be. (Tenderloin and filet are exceptions to this rule.) Heat is one way to break down the connectivetissue, but some cuts need a running start. Enzymes from oils, fruit juices, wine, beer or spices can kickstartthe process of breaking down the tissue. With the exception of tenderloin, top sirloins and bone-incuts, most flat steaks that will be prepared over dry heat benefit from a liquid marinade. Place the meatand the liquid marinade in a zip-top plastic bag in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to several hours, flippingit regularly to ensure even coverage. Dry rubs are good for larger cuts such as briskets and roasts, but use salt sparingly as it will draw moisture out of the meat during cooking.
PAN-FRY
Thin and tender cuts such as flat iron and cubed steak cook in just a few minutes in the pan. Heata little bit of oil in the skillet and season but don’t salt the cut before adding it to the pan. Addingsalt too early will dry out your meat, so wait until it’s fully cooked before salting. Ground beef cooksquickly and cleanly in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, which explains why 43 percent of Americansprepare it at home twice a week or more.
SKILLET-TO-OVEN
Thick-cut boneless fillets like tenderloin are ideal for this method. Browning the fillets in a heavy, ovenproof,nonstick skillet for a couple minutes on each side before transferring the pan to the oven ensuresthe outsides and insides of the meat get cooked evenly.
BRAISE/POT ROAST
Braising or pot-roasting—cooking with moist heat—tenderizes meat and is ideal for large roasts andtough bone-in cuts from the chuck, loin and round. Another benefit: It’s relatively labor-light. Afterbriefly pan-searing the meat in a heavy pan, you can place it in a large pot with flavorful liquid—beer, wine,broth or stock—and leave it alone while it cooks for an hour or more on the stove or in the oven.
BROIL
A common alternative to grilling and a good option when you can’t or don’t want to go outside to thegrill, broiling uses direct heat to cook thin, tender steaks that stand up to this method without dryingout. A few tricks: Always place your meat on a preheated broiler pan that allows the grease and fat todrip off, leave the oven door slightly open while cooking, use tongs or a spatula rather than a meat forkto flip the steak without losing any juices.
GRILL
Gas or charcoal grills are ideal, but a stove-top grill pan works too. And you wouldn’t be Americanif we had to tell you that everything from burger patties to flank steak to ribeyes are show stopperswhen cooked this way.
INDIRECT GRILLING
Bet you thought grilling only worked for steaks and burgers, but that isn’t true. You can turn yourcharcoal or gas grill into an outdoor oven to cook larger cuts such as ribeye and sirloin roasts with thismethod. Marinate or season your meat as desiredFire up the barbecue like you normally would, but don’t place the meat directly over the flame.Instead set it to the side of the flame and close the lid. In 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the size of theroast, dinner will be ready, almost. Remove the roast from the grill when it’s about 10 or 15 degrees belowyour desired temperature (see right) and let it rest under an aluminum-foil tent for 10 to 15 minutes.Slice and enjoy.
OVEN ROAST
When making cookies with this method, it’s called baking. When preparing meat, it’s calledoven-roasting. The heated air inside the enclosed oven circulates around the food to cook itevenly on all sides. Using a low-temperature allows you to slow-roast meat, so it’s ideal for preparinglarge cuts that need plenty of time to tenderize. A higher temperature speeds roasting time, so it is bestfor cuts of meat that are naturally tender.
Get Saucy
“Sauces on a steak are acontroversy. Latin recipesfavor acidic ones likeArgentine chimichurri—amash of parsley, garlic, oliveoil, salt, and pepper—thatcontrast with the richnessof beef. French sauces arethe opposite. They rely on reductions of stock, cognac,or red wine to augment themeat’s natural flavor, or onemulsions of butter and eggyolk like béarnaise sauceto smother it. Purists, ofcourse, use none of them.Good meat is enough initself. If you want tarragon and shallots, order a salad.”
—Andrew Rimas,Beef: TheUntold Story of How Milk,Mean, and Muscle Shapedthe World(HarperCollins,2009)
How Do You Like It?
Using a meat thermometerensures you’ll always getthe internal temperaturejust right, whether you likeit bloody, slightly pink ortwice dead.
Rare:115–130º
Medium Rare:130–135º
Medium:135–140º
Medium Well:140–150º
Well Done:155–170º
Ground Beef:160º
More about beef:
BEEF: Meat Your Match: How much and what’s the grade?
BEEF: What the Cut: The five major categories of cuts
BEEF: Dressed to the Nines: What is a primal?
BEEF: You Are What You Eat Eats
