meats (cont.)

• Meats


  • Must be evaluated to ensure consumers get safe and quality meats
  • All meats undergo inspection, which is a guarantee of wholesomeness
• USDA grading system


  Has two parts: quality grades and yield grades
• Quality Grade


  • Based on the texture, firmness, and color of the lean meat, the age of maturity of the animal, and the marbling
  • Only beef, veal, and lamb are quality-graded
• Yield Grade


  • Measures the amount of usable meat, as opposed to fat and bones, on a carcass
  • This grading is only applied to beef, lamb, and sometimes pork
  • Yield grade 1 representing the greatest yield and 5 the smallest
• Selecting meats for a food service operation


  • Consider the menu, menu price, and quality
  • Decide in what form the meat will be purchased: the entire carcass, the primal cut, subprimal cuts, or the retail cuts
  • Consider employee skills, menu, storage, and cost
• Reasons for cooking meat

  • To make it microbially safe to eat
  • To tenderize it and make it easier to chew
  • To aid
  • To make it more flavorful
• Determining doneness of meat

  • Internal temperature
  • Color changes
  • Time/weight charts
  • Touch
• Carryover cooking


  The phenomenon in which food continues to cook
• Doneness indicators for beef

  • Rare 60°C: Rose red in the center; pinkish toward the outer portion, shading into a dark gray, brown crust; the juice is bright red
  • Medium Rare 63°C: Most of the center is pink with a hint of red; brown edge and crust, the juice is light pink
  • Medium 70°C: Light pink, brown edge and crust; the juice is light pink
  • Well done 77°C: Brownish gray in the center, dark crust
• Doneness indicators for pork

  • Medium 71°C: Grayish white with a hint of pink
  • Well done 77°C: The center is grayish white
• Cooking methods for meats

  • Dry-heat cooking: Exposes food directly to the heat source, such as flame
  • Moist-heat cooking: Subjects food to heat and moisture, often used to tenderize meats
  • Combination cooking methods: Braising, stewing, and sous vide, which combine dry and moist heat cooking methods
  • Searing: A technique where meat is exposed to very high initial temperatures to seal the meat
  • Sous vide: A method that involves cooking meats sealed in food-grade plastic pouches at precise temperatures for long periods