What You Need To Know About Meat

Let's learn about how to make the broth transparent, why pork fat is useful, how to choose and cut meat and other important and interesting things.

• The nutritional value of beef depends very much on the feed. If earlier most of the cattle were kept on grass feeding, now - on grain. Meat from grass-fed animals has more antioxidants and carotenoids and less fat.

• Chilled pork and beef , without freezing, can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, but offal - no more than 2. It is easy to check the freshness of the meat by its color, it should be in a red-pink palette. The grayish shade of the meat , brown spots in the cut indicate that the meat has already been cooked.

• The maximum shelf life of meat in the freezer is six months, during which the meat will lose its properties. After a year, it will be neither tasty nor, moreover, useful.

• According to WHO studies, pork fat is more useful than lamb or beef fat. Pork fat is a source of minerals, vitamin B and essential fatty acids. Among beef or lamb fat, it is successfully distinguished by the fact that it does not change or lose its properties when heated. It is often used in folk medicine to prepare cosmetic products for external use. In cooking, it is used for frying, cooking soups, main dishes and simply as a snack with bread. To improve the taste, you can add spices, garlic or herbs to the fat.

• About 800 registered breeds of cattle are known in the world. Rare breeds include the Belgian blue and fluffy panda cow. The first is bred as an extremely rich source of lean meat (cows can weigh up to 900 kg), the second - for pleasure. There are about 30 cows of this fluffy breed all over the world.

• Beef is one of the most important dietary sources of iron. To get the same amount of iron contained in 100 g of beef , you need to eat about 600 g of raw spinach.

• Properly processed and sliced ​​meat will not lose its juices during cooking and will retain all its useful and tasty properties. In most cases, beef is cut across the grain, on a cut that should be smooth and even, these fibers are very clearly visible. If the beef is difficult to chew, it means that either you chose a stringy piece for steak , or the meat is old, or it was cut incorrectly - along the fibers, to check this, you can look at the cut of the piece.

• If the cooled or thawed meat in the refrigerator is taken out 30 minutes before slicing and left at room temperature, it will become more uniform in structure, and the moisture will be evenly distributed in the fibers.

• Any raw piece of meat should be soaked with a paper towel, removing excess moisture, so that the meat is fried, not boiled. When frying steaks in a pan, it is necessary to grease the meat itself with sunflower oil , and the pan should be dry.

• Meat can be cut correctly only with a well-sharpened, sharp knife. Knives for greens and fruits, curved, cleavers are not suitable for this. When cutting boneless meat , the movements of the knife should be quick and direct (again, only a sharp knife will cope with this), there is no need to saw the meat , because of this, unevenness will appear on the pieces. A knife with a wide blade made of strong high-carbon steel with high tempering hardness is suitable for the home kitchen. The tip is rounded or triangular, the latter will be more convenient when working with vegetables and fruits.

• The thickness of a good raw steak should be at least 4 centimeters. It will allow you to easily achieve the desired browning. A steak that is too thin can quickly fry on the inside and be dry. Today, meat for steaks is not difficult to find in large supermarkets, specialized stores or even on the Internet. If we are talking about ordinary beef , you can buy, for example, a whole tenderloin, and already at home cut it with a well-sharpened knife across the grain into 4-5 cm thick washers.

• The tenderness of the meat depends on the age of the animal and the part from which the piece is taken. Of course, the older the animal was, the tougher and rougher the product will be. Steaks are muscles that are simply fattened or well developed. And the less they worked and were loaded, the thinner their fibers will be, and the more tender the meat will be .

• It is better to use meat from the freezer for minced meat or stewing. It is unlikely that you will get a perfect steak from a frozen piece: meat fibers lose elasticity and properties after freezing, heat treatment also has an effect.

• The easiest way to determine which dish is suitable for meat is to touch it with your finger. If the piece has thin and soft fibers and your finger easily passes through them, it is a good option for frying, grilling or pan-grilling. A piece with an elastic texture that quickly straightens to the touch is the best option for stewing and cooking. The neck, scapula, loin, thigh, and back are suitable for minced meat. The lower part of the carcass for minced meat is a better option, since this meat is considered less tender and, accordingly, cheaper.

• A pearly sheen on a cut piece of meat or beef carpaccio is a bad sign of an addicted product. It is better not to eat it.

• After cooking the beef tongue for 2 to 3 hours, the tongue should be placed in a container with ice. This makes it easier to clean the tongue from film and unwanted streaks that can cause discomfort when chewing.

• Beef liver will not be bitter if you soak it in milk with ice for 2 hours. Why can it be bitter? The liver of any vertebrate is bitter, because the bile ducts (veins) of the liver contain bile from the gall bladder, which is adjacent to the liver. Sometimes, due to incorrect and careless separation of the carcass, bile can flood the liver.

• Brain bones are oysters for Vikings, healthy, nutritious, with a unique taste. These can be bones sawn lengthwise or tree stumps sawn across. You can find them frozen in many large supermarkets. Cooking is simple: salt, pepper, and in the oven for 20 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees.

• What is dry-aged meat and why is it valued? This is aromatic, tender meat with the maximum enhanced natural meat taste. This effect of a piece can be achieved by removing all moisture from it during the ripening process while maintaining the ideal temperature and air circulation. Biochemical reactions occur, as a result of which the muscle tissue softens. Such pieces are much smaller and richer than fresh meat .

• For a clear broth, you can use brain bones, ribs and onions with meat , any other meat with bones. It takes about 4 hours to cook the broth. After the water boils, reduce the heat so that the broth does not bubble. The broth is cloudy precisely because of the high temperature and boiling. Remove the foam and bring to a boil over low heat. If the broth has already become cloudy, it can be clarified by adding a chicken egg. It will immediately absorb all the turbidity, after which it must be pulled out of the pan.