GROUP 2

• Lean meat is composed of long, thin muscle fibers bound together in bundles.
• two types of muscle fibers:

  • Fine
  • Course
• Fine – grained meat is composed of small fibers bound in small fibers.
• Course – textured meat has large fibers.
• Connective tissue These are network of proteins that bind the muscle fibers together.
• Meats are high in connective tissue if the muscles are more exercised like meat from legs and the meat comes from older animals.
• Two Kinds of Connective Tissue:

  • Collagen

  • Elastin
• Collagen – white connective tissue that dissolves or breaks down by long, slow cooking with liquid.
• Moist-heat cooking methods at low temperature are not effective for turning a meat high in connective tissue into a tender, juicy finished product.
• Acid helps dissolve collagen.
• Basic Preparation Methods of Meat

  • Washing
  • Skinning
  • Dicing
  • Trimming
  • Slicing
  • Seasoning
  • Coating
• Generally, the only occasion in which you will have to wash meat is when it comes into contact with blood during preparation.
• After washing, dry the food thoroughly with absorbent kitchen paper.
• Most of the meat you dealt with has been already skinned by the supplier.
• It is the cutting of meat by determining the direction of the grain (the muscle fibers), and cut across the grain.
• It is the addition of salt and white or black pepper to improve the flavor of food.
• The two basic coatings are:

  • Flour
  • Breadcrumbs
• Flour – must coat the meat before cooking, otherwise the flour becomes sticky and unpleasant.
• Coat the meat in flour, then egg wash and finally with the bread crumbs.
• egg wash is made of lightly beaten whole egg with a little water/milk
• Different kinds of meat and its source:

  • Pork
  • Beef
  • Lamb
  • Carabeef
  • Chevon
  • Veal
• Carabeef – meat from carabao.
• Chevon – meat from deer/goat.
• Veal – flesh of a young calf, 4-5 months old. Because of its age, it is considered by some to be the finest meat.
• . Beef -meat from cattle over one year old
• Lamb – meats of domesticated sheep. Its texture is a direct result of what it consumes and the age at which it is slaughtered.
• Pork – meat from domesticated pigs, typically high in fat, commonly slaughtered one year or less of age to ensure tender cuts
• Muscle Fibers - These determine the texture or grain of a piece of meat.
• Structures of Meat:

  • Muscle fibers
  • Connective tissue
• Connective tissue is tough.
• Elastin – yellow connective tissue and is not broken down in cooking.
• Tenderizing can be accomplished only by removing the elastin, by pounding and by slicing and grinding.
• Use white pepper or cayenne pepper on food which you want to keep attractive with white color.
• Add salt to roast and grill after the meat has browned.
• Adding salt before cooking will extract the juices of the meat to the surface, and slows down the browning reactions (which need high temperature and dry heat).