Many beginner cooks find that cooking a good piece of meat is not as easy as they might’ve thought. Even though there are plenty of ways to cook a piece of meat, some things apply to almost all cooking techniques.
If you keep in mind these four things tips mentioned below, you can easily follow any recipe and cook like a professional.
Make Sure the Cut Matches How You Intend To Cook It
If you have a desired method of cooking in mind, then you need to make sure the quality meat you buy from The Meat Store matches it.
That means not every cut is suitable for a particular type of cooking, as you will learn below. If you are getting a tough cut, which is from the shoulder, rump, or other heavily exercised areas, then you should slow cook. That refers to roasting, barbecuing, or even stewing.
The tender cuts, on the other hand, are better cooked faster. These areas are not as exercised, meaning the meat is not too rigid. So you can try some quick and dry methods like grilling or roasting.
Use High Heat for Flavor
When cooking a piece of meat, you would want to have a deep brown appearance with crusty sides. That is the best way to get as much flavor as possible, and it’s done right over high heat.
That is why you should preheat the pan and make sure it is burning hot. But before you put the meat in, you must dry it with a paper towel properly.
If you are cooking more than one piece of meat, then try not to crowd everything together. It’s better to cook in batches and do it properly, instead of crowding everything in there and ruining it.
Use Low Heat on Larger Cuts
If you have bought some larger cuts, then you might want to keep the heat low and slow cook the meat. The reason is that high heat will cook the outer layers, but the insides might not get properly cooked.
So instead of burning the outer layers to cook the inner ones, you should try to use low heat. If you do try this way, you can have one added benefit. That is, the juices won’t be lost as much, and the meat will retain much of its moisture.
Let It Rest
After you are done with the carryover cooking, you should take out the meat and it rest. If you are not familiar with the idea of carryover cooking, it’s the temperature at which you should take out the meat from the grill, oven, or pan. You can find the temperature chart anywhere online.
Since all the juices of your meat collect in the center while cooking, resting the meat for a few minutes allows the juices to redistribute across the meat. That makes it much more delicious.
You can rest a tender cut for 5 to 10 minutes, and the tough cuts taste better after 15 to 20 minutes of rest.
These are great tips! I am no cook so these tips are so useful to know. Thank you for the concise post.
gosh. i learned 2 new things today. i love the tip about high heat for flavor. i will give it a try next time!
It is true that cooking meat is an art. It took me a while to learn but now I’m pretty good. ^_^
Hhhhmmmm….these are great pointers for the next barbecue that comes my way. I will keep them very close by.
These are excellent tips. I’m a big fan of meat, and I’ve always appreciated really good cuts of meat when they’re cooked well.
These are great tips. Lots of first-time cookers don’t realize that you have to cook different meats in different ways. Well, you CAN, but it won’t be tasty.
I am butcher and I cook meat all of the time. I have to say your tips a great for beginners .
Thanks for the great tips! I definitely need them 😂 I’ve learned so much!
Yes! Let the meat rest, otherwise, you will lose so much flavor when you cut into it. haha, so many people cut into it before they are supposed to. Great tips!
What a great resource for cooking meat. I never knew about using low heat on larger cuts. I always wondered why my large cuts were a little dry.
Never knew how to cook perfect meat. :/ Thanks for putting this together. Looks amazing!
fantastic tips. going to send this over to my boyfriend. he could use this.
great tips and helpful for beginner’s like me
I hope I will never have to cook meat, honestly haha
I flinch when I ever touch raw meat, it’s just not comfortable for me
These are very good tips for cooking meat. My daughter is still a newbie when it comes to cooking. This is going to be a good guide for her so she will learn to cook meat the right way.
for how long and at what temperature must meat be at in order to be completely safe to eat.
Any tips that help you be creative with your food? Anything from spices or cooking techniques to mixing different foods. Whatever you come up with would be helpful 🙂