Beef, chicken, pork, lamb – the same cooking principles are true for all the meat out there.
Here are 5 basic commandments (AKA meat cooking tips) that will ensure your meat cuts are always cooked to perfection.
Develop Flavour with High Heat
High heat is essential for creating delicious, caramelised flavour.
This flavour is developed by a process called the Maillard reaction, which occurs when the amino acids and sugars in food combine due to high heat.
The Maillard reaction creates hundreds of different flavour compounds – you can read more about it in this blog post. When browning meat, you want to develop a deep brown sear and a thick crust on all sides of the meat. This is best achieved by cooking quickly over high heat.
Searing tips:
For meat to brown properly, it needs to be dry before it goes into the pan. You also need to make sure that the pan is sizzling hot. Finally, make sure that you don’t overcrowd the pan – there should be at least 2 centimetres between each piece of meat. If there isn’t, the meat is more likely to steam than sear!
Preserve Moisture with Low Heat
When it comes to larger cuts of meat or poultry, it is recommended that you use a ‘low and slow’ cooking method. Cooking this way allows the centre of the meat to reach the desired internal temperature without overcooking the outside layers. Low and slow cooking also reduces the loss of flavoursome juices.
Lifehacker conducted an experiment where they took two 3 kilo rib roasts and roasted one at 230ºC and the other at 120ºC until each was medium rare.
They then weighed the roasts and found that the slow cooked roast lost about 9.25% of its starting weight.
The high temperature roast lost about 25% of its original weight. What does this mean? Proteins shrink less and expel less moisture and fat when they’re cooked at moderate temperatures.
Match Cooking Method to Cut Quality
Cuts that come from heavily exercised parts of the animal (like the shoulder or brisket) are best suited to slow cooking methods like roasting or stewing. This is because slow cooking breaks down the connective tissue, and this transforms a tough piece of meat into one that is fall-apart tender.
Tender cuts (like the loin of beef or pork) come from parts of the animal that are not heavily exercised, so they contain little connective tissue. These cuts are best cooked quickly over dry heat, like grilling or or barbecuing. Tender cuts should be served rare to medium (they become dry with prolonged cooking).
Don’t Forget About Carryover Cooking
Meat continues to cook once it has been removed from the heat (this is referred to as ‘carryover cooking’). This means that you should remove meat from the oven, grill or pan when it is just shy of your desired temperature.
Note – carryover cooking does not apply to poultry or fish as they don’t retain heat to the same extent (due to less dense muscle structures).
Rest the Meat
Resting meat after cooking allows the juices to redistribute, which renders the meat more tender. A relatively thin steak or chop should rest for 5-10 minutes. A thicker roast should rest for 15-20 minutes. When cooking a very large roast (like a turkey, for example) the meat should rest for around 30 minutes before it is carved.
The information in this post has been adapted from Lifehacker. Want to expand your beef knowledge further? Check out these blog posts:
FAQs
Primary meat cooking techniques include braising, stewing, pot roasting, barbecuing/smoking, pan searing, grilling/broiling, pan frying, roasting, and stir frying.
What are the 5 steps to preparing meat? ›
The Five Basic Rules for Cooking Meat
- Use High Heat to Develop Flavor. Browning creates a tremendous amount of flavor and is a key step when cooking meat. ...
- Use Low Heat to Preserve Moisture. ...
- Match the Cut to the Cooking Method. ...
- Don't Forget about Carryover Cooking. ...
- Rest Your Meat.
Top 5 Meat of All Time
- Pork.
- Duck.
- Chicken.
- Beef.
- Turkey.
Primary meat cooking techniques include braising, stewing, pot roasting, barbecuing/smoking, pan searing, grilling/broiling, pan frying, roasting, and stir frying.
What is step 5 meat? ›
Beef cattle
Step 4: Cattle are removed from pasture/range only when weather conditions put them at risk. Step 5: There is at least 75% vegetative cover on pasture/range. All physical alterations, including castration, is prohibited. Step 5+: Calves are weaned naturally, and transportation is prohibited.
What are the 5 methods of preserving meat? ›
Preservation plays a vital role in ensuring safety, controlling spoilage and extending the shelf-life of meat facilitates the distribution of meat to distant places. The methods of meat preservation include drying, chilling, curing, fermentation, irradiation, chemical treatment and thermal processing (canning).
What is the most important rule when you cook meat? ›
Note: There are three important temperatures to remember when cooking meat or eggs at home: Eggs and all ground meats must be cooked to 160°F; poultry and fowl to 165°F; and fresh meat steaks, chops and roasts to 145°F. Use a thermometer to check temperatures.
What is the safest meat to cook? ›
Steaks, pork chops, and other whole-muscle meats are the safest bet. That's because the cooking process can easily kill off bacteria on the cut's surface, while the inside of the meat is essentially sterile, protected from any potential pathogens—in theory.
What is the healthiest meat to eat? ›
While meat can be a part of a healthy diet, not all sources are created equal. The leanest and healthiest meats to eat include poultry, pork, fish, and seafood.
What is the most eaten protein in the world? ›
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world (36%) followed by poultry (33%), beef (24%), and goats/sheep (5%).
It is estimated that approximately 36 % of all meat consumed globally is pork . This is followed by poultry ( 33 % ) , beef ( 24 % ) , and goat and sheep meat ( 5 % ) .
What is the rule of cooking? ›
Thorough cooking will kill the pathogens, but remember that the temperature of all parts of the food must reach at least 70 °C. If cooked chicken is still raw near the bone, put it back in the oven until it's done - all the way through. Frozen meat, fish, and poultry, must be thoroughly thawed before cooking.
What are the principle of cooking meat? ›
High Heat Develops Flavor
In turn, hundreds of different flavor compounds are created. These compounds break down to form yet more new flavor compounds, and so on, and so on. When browning meat, you want a deep brown sear and a discernibly thick crust on all sides—best obtained by quick cooking over high heat.
What are the steps for cooking meat? ›
Cooking Meat at Home
- Step 1: Chill.
- Step 2: Dry.
- Step 3: Oil.
- Step 4: Sear.
- Step 5: Transfer from heat.
- Step 6: Take a break.
- Step 7: Turn oven to low temp.
- Step 8: Bring to core temp.
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. ...
- PAN-FRY. ...
- SKILLET-TO-OVEN. ...
- BRAISE/POT ROAST. ...
- BROIL. ...
- GRILL. ...
- INDIRECT GRILLING. ...
- OVEN ROAST.
Common meat preparation techniques like washing, skinning, dicing, trimming, slicing, seasoning and coating are also outlined.
What are the steps of meat processing? ›
“Processing” includes all the steps involved in turning a live animal into meat for sale: Slaughter: stunning, bleeding, skinning, eviscerating, and cleaning; end products are carcass halves or quarters, which go into a cooler for immediate chilling.
How do you properly prepare meat? ›
How to prepare meat
- Do what professionals do, prepare and plan.
- “Start from the end”.
- Thaw slowly. Reach room temperature before cooking.
- Air the meat – especially vacuum packaged – to get rid of odors.
- Always add salt before cooking.
