The Best-Kept Secrets of Beef Revealed - Get Ready to Become the Meat Expert in Your Family!
Aren't you helpless at the counter from package to package, not knowing what to buy? Do you end up buying chickens because you don't know which pieces to buy and don't know how to fix them if you buy them?
There are so many pieces of meat, with so many prices and so many ways to cook the meat, no wonder so many people are confused, and go with the same cut every time they buy meat. Bar-b-qued tri-tip again!
You don't have to worry anymore! I'll explain to you the beef well, you'll be a family meat expert.
Even your in-laws will admire your culinary skills. Your reputation as the best chef in the city will soar, or if you don't have a reputation right now, you will be after reading this!
The first thing you need to know is:
Four grades of meat are not A, B, C or D.
Every single meat carcass is evaluated by the US Department of Agriculture before it is cut into small pieces that we usually see. It is based on the age of the driver, how much marbling there is, and other things only the examiner knows for sure. Grade is:
Prime is the softest and fragrant grade. It usually happens for big money for restaurants and food service industries. It's hard to find a "normal" person like us.
Optional still good, nutritious and tender meat is sold in higher end markets.
Select are nutritious meat, sold in cheap stores. It's a bit difficult to choose from, so you usually have to cook it using a slow cooking method, or apply another method. (Did I miss you there? Don't worry, I'll explain how to do it later). You can save a lot of money if you learn how to cook the meat of choice.
Standard is the most difficult and is used to make processed foods such as lunch. You should not walk in any of these grades at any regular store. However, if you buy meat from someone's car luggage, this is probably why the steaks are a pound!
Now it's time to jump in the car, go to the supermarket and put these to use!
It's good to know your favorite market grade for sale. Then you will know what to do with meat. Both options and selections are nutritious, just choose a little difficult. So if you are planning a dinner where you really want to wow that special guy, or maybe your boss, or anyone else you want to impress, buy a choice of meat. For your kids' everyday meals, choosing will allow them to grow bigger and stronger, and you can buy MUCH more because it's cheaper.
I like to buy my meat in a cryovac package. This is a large piece of meat sealed in thick plastic. More grocery stores sell wounds this way, and many big box stores do. The store I go to usually sells select meats. However, on occasion, I have found cryovac packages stamped option. Usually choose to be stamped on plastic with black ink, the choice is blue. I'm not talking about supermarket labels. This is on the plastic itself and has a small shield mark. When I look for a package of choice sitting there among the package, (and at the same price, I might add) I think I've won the lottery! I've scored a goal!
I used to buy 10 pound fillet mignon from a bin full of 10 pounds of fillet mignons at the same price as the other ones. I took them home, cut them into individual sticks, wrapped them up and frozen them. Whenever I wanted to, I melted one of those fillets and ate like a queen!
So now you have bought the meat of choice but you do not know what to do with it. You know it's going to be a little difficult. Don't worry, it's covered in the next lesson.
What makes meat difficult?
There is connective tissue that runs through the muscles. It's called collagen (yes, the same thing you want on your face to make it look younger!). It's white and you can often see it wrapped around a muscle. The more muscles work, the more collagen there is.
When you want a piece of tender meat, you want a piece from the rider's side that doesn't work much. The heavy-duty muscles are the legs, shoulders, neck (should move heavy heads up and down during grazes) and buttocks, sometimes called the round. This meat is usually used for roast and stewed, or meat based.
Lack of muscle work, less collagen. It will be around the ribs, along the back, (the last time you saw a mover lifting heavy objects?), Chest area, and lower abdomen (not seeing too much crunches either).
These pieces come at a higher price. For example: "T" in T-bone is cut through the spine.
How does this help you when you shop?
Ahh, Grasshopper, I'm glad you asked ...
Different regions are usually called certain names:
- Chuck is around the neck and shoulder area. Work hard - it's hard!
- The arm is eating under the front foot. Hardworking!
- Shank is his own foot. Hardworking!
- The boil of course is the ribs, the short ribs in the chest area are often called plates. Almost never works - tender!
- The so-called "waist" is along the spine between the ribs and the pelvis. Between the ribs and the hind legs is the waist and the director is not known to be flexible in the waist. It's difficult to move!
- The flank is located on the abdomen.
- Round and butt is the rear end of the drive. They really move the muscles - it's difficult.
If you hear those words in the cut, you know where they came from. Anything with a "waist" will be soft. Roast roast will require slow cooking to make it tender, as will roast chicken. The knife blade comes from the shoulder blade: 7-bone roast includes part of the blade and 7 other bones in the area.
Why in the world would you buy this piece?
In addition to the lower price, you can feed more people with roast than steak, and anything near the bone has more flavor than the meat not near the bone. It depends on how much time you have, and how much flavor you want. If you have time to cook the grill slowly in damp heat, it will taste good, and will be soft (here are the useful crockpots).
Make the meat as soft as the baby's back.
You need to break down collagen when cooking meat. This can be done in four ways:
- Slowly slow in damp heat.
- Soak in acid (squeeze).
- Enzymes (aging, and sometimes using certain meats like papaya).
- Mechanical heating (cube steak is mechanically tender - have you ever seen your grandma beat a piece of meat with a pallet? You think she's just crazy, huh!).
In addition to collagen, another thing that makes meat difficult is when the proteins in the muscle expand. Proteans freeze in high heat. This is why rare steaks are softer than well-made steaks. Less time the steak breeds cooking, the less protective the protein.
When to cook slow and low. When cooking high and fast.
Heavier cuts (with more collagen) = slow cooking with lower heat and humidity.
Tender cut = cook quickly with high heat.
Bake and steak cut from chuck, butt, round, or wrap should be purchased in advance or cooked by baking in a pan over the kitchen, in a crockpot, or in a pan in the oven (dry roast). Do not cut any fat before baking, it will protect the meat from drying during cooking. Put the roast in a pan or pot with the fat part.
Insert the meat thermometer into the thick part of the grill, without touching the bone. They are rare at 130 °, moderate at 140-145 °, and perform well at 160 °.
Bones handle heat, so bake without bones will cook more slowly than bake.
Touch a thin slice with your finger (clean - I hope). When it is soft, it is rare: strong enough, simple: and firmly done.
Now you can be sure when you buy your meat. You know what to look for, and what to do when you buy it.
We will play a small role.
Let's say you plan on having a thick cactus stick for dinner. You know the word "chuck" refers to the over-worked shoulder area, so this should be flagged.
The plan is to brown with a little oil in a pan, throwing some red wine to dissolve the chocolate on the bottom of the pan (called deglazing). Place a few pieces of carrot or rack on the bottom to lift the meat out of the liquid (if it sits in a boiling liquid, the protein will freeze - you don't want that!) Then add the onions, eggs, and some mushrooms. You will add water or soup but not much to submerge it, and let it sit for an hour or so. That's the plan.
Then reality came in. The practice of junior football is slow, you forget that you need to take a dry cleaning, and by the time you get to the small bar on the driveway, you only have 30 minutes for dinner on the table. So to plan B.
There are 4 ways to focus your beef. One slow cook, but you don't have time to slow down. You can install it, but it also takes a long time. You don't have a meat fan on hand ... but you do have a bottle of plastic water.
Put the grill on! Wiping the bottle quickly, you use it to punch the chuck steak. Of course you can use a special palette called a meat palette or a light pick, but that will take away all the drama from my story.
Sprinkle the steak with your usual seasoning salt, or other seasonings, then remove the now tender steak on the grill and whip the salad.
Dinner is served!
If you like this special report: you'll love my book,
Too broke to buy and can't cook either! A "How To" Guide to Frugal Cooking. You will learn how to cook not only beef, but everything; Eggs, potatoes, chicken, vegetables. You will learn what will bring to the potluck, and what to offer at that special dinner where you try to impress someone.
You'll learn where to shop to find the best deals and what stores to avoid like an outbreak if you have a budget. And they are all written in the same style as this report.
The information in this book will save you money for the rest of your life!
Find "Too Hot to Buy" on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles or as an e-book: http://www.booklocker.com
Suzy Sharpe can write great articles that drive traffic to your site. scsmarketing@aol.com
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