UNDERSTANDING MEAT AND GAME

Hello Welcome again to my blog . Its me again , today we gonna learn about CHAPTER 4: UNDERSTANDING MEAT AND GAME

What is meat?

Meat is a muscle tissue. It is the flesh of domestic animals and of wild game animals. Meat  is the largest expense item of a food service operation.

The composition of meat is: 

• Water upwards of 75%
• 20% protein 
• Fat (5% muscle tissue and 30% carcass)
• Carbohydrate

Meat cuts are based on muscle and bone structure of the meat. It uses appropriate cooking methods for various parts of the animal.

Meat structures are consist of:

1.     Muscle fiber: Long, thin, muscle fibers bound in bundles.

2.     Connective tissue: Meats are high in connective if they come from muscle that are more exercised.

3.     Collagen

4.     Elastin

Inspection Of Meats

All meats produced for public consumption must be inspected by the USDA. Inspections ensure products are processed under strict sanitary guidelines and are wholesome and fit for human consumption.

Yield is the amount of edible meat to bone and fat ration. Grading is the voluntary and some purveyors and retailers develop their own labeling systems to ensure quality.

Green Meat:

• When animals are slaughtered, their muscles are soft and flabby.
• Within 6-24 hours, rigor mortis sets in, causing the muscles to contract and stiffen.
• Rigor mortis dissipates in 48-72 hours while under refrigeration. All meats are allowed to age or rest long enough for rigor mortis to dissipate.

Aging method:

• Aging is done to bring out the texture and flavour characteristics of the meat.
• Wet aging: Smaller cuts enclosed in Cryovac. 
• Dry aging: Larger cuts of meat exposed to air in controlled conditions. Can lose up to 20% of weight during dry aging. 

Basic cuts:

1.     Carcasses: The whole animal except head, feet, entrails, and hide (except pork from which only head and entrails is removed).

2.     Partial carcasses:

• Sides
• Quarters
• Foresaddles
• Hindsaddles

    3. Primal or whosale cuts

    4. Fabricated cuts: Primal cuts of meat are fabricated into smaller cuts for roasts, steaks, chops, cutlets, stewing meat, and ground meat, ground meat, or to customer specifications.

    5. Portion-controlled cuts: Cuts ready-to-cook, processed to customer specifications. 

Basic cuts for beef are:

Forequarter: Chuck, Brisket, Shank, Rib, Short Plate

Hindquarter: Full Loin, Short Loin, Sirloin, Flank, Round

Offal (Organ Meat): These products are known as the offal. Items such as heart, kidney, tongue, tripe, and oxtail are in this category.

Specifications are important to a food service operation; they fully describe the item in exact detail:

1.   Item name

2.   Grade

3.   Weight range

4.   State refrigeration

5.   Fat limitations

Principle of low-heat cooking: 

• High heat toughens and shrinks proteins and results in high moisture loss.  
• Broiling is very fast which is why #1 is not contrary.
• Roasts cooked at lower temperature have better yields.
• Because liquid and steam are better conductors than air, moist heat penetrates quickly.

Breaking down connective tissue:

• Connective tissues is highest in muscles that are frequently used.
• Long, slow cooking tenderizes collagen.

How cuts are used:

• Rib and Loin Cuts: Very tender, used for roasts, steaks, and chops.
• Leg or Round: Less tender and cooked by braising.
• Chuck or Shoulder: Tougher; generally braised.
• Shanks, Breast, Brisket, and Flank: Less tender; cooked by moist heat.
• Ground Meat, Cubed Steaks, and Stew Meat: From any primal cut; cooked by dry or moist heat.

Preparing meats:

1.   Barding

2.   Larding

3.   Marinating

4.   Degree of doneness

5.   Carryover cooking and resting

Searing is done at high heat to create desirable flavor and color by browning all sides.

When cooking frozen meats, it must first be thawed and then prepared. Some sources say to cook from frozen to avoid "drip loss".

Carry-over cooking: The internal temperature will continue to rise after meat is removed from oven, because the exterior is hotter than the interior, it will conduct heat to the inside.

Doneness:

• Depends on whether cooking using dry or moist heat.
• Dry heat - the meat is done when the proteins have reached the desired degree of coagulation.
• Moist heat - meat is done when tissues are broken down enough for the meat to be palatable. Most of the time the meat is well done.

Degree of Doneness:

• Blue Rare(115F): Seared on the outside, completely red throughout. Meat remains gel-like in texture and difficult to chew; juices are not yet flowing freely.
• Rare(120F): Seared and still red 75% through the center. Once the heat transfer is completed during the resting period, this steak will achieve The Perfect Steak - tender & juicy.
• Medium Rare(126F): Seared with 50% red center. Just passed the point of The Perfect Steak.
• Medium(134F): Seared outside, 25% pink showing inside. Much drier and tougher than The Perfect Steak, but still palatable.
• Medium Well(150F): Done throughout with a slight hint of pink. Past the point of no return.
• Well Done(160F): 100% brown. Waste of a good quality steak.

Juiciness: 

• Internal Fat
• Gelatin
• Protein Coagulation

Cooking variety meats:

Glandular Meats:

• Liver
• Kidneys
• Sweetbreads (Thymus)

Muscle Meats:

• Brain
• Tripe
• Oxtail
• Heart
• Tongue

Other Variety Meats:

• Intestines
• Caul
• Feet

Game and Specialty Meats: Game is used to refer to poultry and meat animals normally found in the wild. Example includes, venison, boar, and buffalo. 

Storage of Meat: 

• Meat products are highly perishable and potentially hazardous to your health, so temperature control is essential.
• Fresh meats should be stored at 32F to 36F.
• Frozen meats should be stored at 0F to 20F and well wrapped to prevent freezer burn.
• Use as quickly as possible.