Page 54 - YC Cooking School

Mastering Meat 1

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The golden rules of meat

Make friends with your butcher
When buying meat, first prize is to find yourself a good local butcher, aka your ‘meat
advisor’. If this isn’t possible, get to know the manager of the meat counter at your local
supermarket. Both these people should be able to give you vital information on where the
meat comes from, as well as advice on which cuts are best suited to the meal you want to
make. They’ll also help you with preparing specialist cuts in advance, like whole pork belly,

hanger steak and mince to order.

Age is key
Like a good bottle of vintage cabernet, sharp cheddar cheese or a bowl of shiny olives, the
flavour of red meat becomes better developed when it goes through an aging process. Look

for aged meat that has a tinge of purple to it and with fat that is creamy in colour and that
has begun to yellow. Bright red meat is a sign of very young meat, which can be tough on
those jaw muscles.

Buy marbled meat for maximum flavour

When it comes to meat, skinny is definitely not en vogue. Look for a healthy layer of fat on
the meat and make sure it’s well marbled, meaning there are little white specks of fat within
it. This internal fat is a good indication that the meat will be full of flavour.

Always use good, solid cookware

Either stainless steel or cast iron cookware will do the job well, as both generate a lot of heat
and disperse it evenly - which means no hot spots.

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