MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS Mr Staneley Meat is probably our most important food, accounting to a major share of our total expenditure on foods. Cattle, sheep, and pigs are reared for fresh meat and certain pigs are specifically produced for bacon. The animals are humanely killed and the meat prepared in hygienic conditions. The skins or hides are removed, the innards are taken out of the carcass and the offal put aside. Carcass of beef is split into two sides and those of lambs, sheep, pigs and calves are left whole. They are then chilled in a cold room and therefore being sent to the market. To cook meat properly it is necessary to know and understand the structure of meat. Lean flesh is composed of muscles which are numerous bundles of fibres held together by connective tissues. The sizes of these fibres are extremely small, especially in tender cuts or cuts from young animals. Only the coarsest fibres may be distinguished by the naked eyes. The size of the fibres varies in length, depth and thickness and this variation will affect the grain and the texture of the meat CHOOSING MEAT -Buy meat from clean, well ventilated shops -choose the cut of meat suitable for the method of cooking which is to be used -the grain should appear fine and even -the colour should be good for the type of meat a) beef-bright red lean finely grained and white fat b) mutton/lamb-light red, lean and hard and white fat c) Veal –pale pink lean and little white fat -there should be no unpleasant odour. -the amount of bone should not be excessive -Young rabbits are much tenderer than old ones and these can be identified by:- 1. Their pale flesh 2. Short claws 3. Brittle easily cracked jawbones METHODS OF COOKING MEAT Most methods of cooking can be used for one or other cuts of meat, but general rules are as follows; bearing in mind that the objective of cooking is to remove the raw appearance without over coagulating the proteins or losing the minerals and extraction. Roasting- is unsuitable for good quality, tender, thick cuts or for rolled and stuffed thin cuts eg.breast. Boiling- is suitable for tough meat. Grilling- should be used for thinly cut pieces of good quality. Frying-as for grilling; Stewing-is suitable for inferior quality meats which require long, slow cooking to make tender and need the added flavor of vegetables,etc to improve the characteristics insipidity. During cooking, the proteins in meat are coagulated and made pleasant to eat but less easily digested. The ease with which they can be digested depends; A).on the degree of toughness, often the cause of the success or failure of the cooking. B].on the amount of fat present. C].on the flavor. When meat is boiled the outside albumen must be set to prevent the inner juices from being extracted. Therefore it should be placed initially in boiling water. If all the albumen is coagulated quickly however the resulting joint will be tough. Therefore to soften the fibres slowly, the heat must then escape, so liquor in which meat is boiled should be used as stock for sauces and soups. When meat is stewed the juices are allowed to escape and the resulting gravy is served as part of the dish. The long, slow cooking gradually softens tough fibres and these must on no account be hardened by boiling When the meat is roasted the fat should traditionally be hot when meat is placed in it in order to coagulate the surface albumen. After 10 minutes, the heat should be lowered so that the inner tissues are cooked slowly. The joint should be basted every half an hour to prevent shrinkage and drying, unless cooked in foil or roasting bag. However automatic oven-roasting has shown that meat can be quite successfully cooked in what is initially a cold oven gradually raised to the prescribed heat When meat is grilled only thin pieces should be used(not more than 5cm thick).if the meat has no fat of its own it should be brushed with oil before the inside is cooked, but care should be taken not to pierce the flesh with fork prongs because this would liberate juices BEEF The hanging or maturing of beef at chilly temperature of 1oc for up to 14 days has the effect of increasing tenderness and flavour.This hanging process is essential as animals are generally slaughtered around at the age of 18-21 months and the beef can be tough. Also a short time after death, an animal muscles stiffen, a condition known as rigor mortis.After a time chemical actions caused by enzymes and increasing acidity relax the muscles and the meat becomes soft and tender as meat continuous to hang in storage rigor mortis is lost and the tenderness,flavour and moist increases Nb pork other, lamb and veal are obtained from young animals so that toughness is not a significant factor VEAL Veal is the meat of milk fed calves not over 12weeks of age.it has very little fat covering and high moisture content. Consequently, it will dry out very quickl, if left to hang in the refrigerator too long or if cooked too long or at too high a temperature. Veal carcasses will average in weight from 27kg-72kg, but the best veal is slaughtered when between 6-8 weeks old and weighs a bought 57kg. Veal flesh contains a very delicate flavour and for this reason blends very well with foods and savory sauces. Veal is always tender it will cook quickly and it will display a fine appearance when served. Above all, it will blend with many of the popular sauces LAMB AND MUTTON Lamb is the flesh of immature sheep, both male and female, approximately 6-12 months old. Mutton is the flesh of mature sheep, both female and male approximately 20 month or older. There is a great deal of differences between the eating qualities of the two. Lamb is more slightly tougher depending on its age and quite strong in flavour. PORK The keeping quality of pork is less than that of any other meat; therefore it should be handled, prepared and cooked with great care. Pork must always be well cooked because trichinellae (parasitic worm) may be present in the meat and must be destroyed by heat. If they are present in the meat and are not destroyed in cooking, they will continue to live in the human body STORAGE FRESH MEAT Fresh meat must be hung to allow it to become tender Ideal storage temperature for fresh meat is -1oc at a relative humidity of 90%.safe storage times, under hygienic conditions at these temperature are:- -beef up to 3 weeks -Veal up to 1-3 weeks -Lamb up to 10-15 days -pork up to 7-14days Meat should be suspended on hooks BACON Bacon is kept in a well ventilated cold room Joints of bacon should be hanged on hooks Cut bacon is kept on trays in the refrigerator or cold room PREPARATION During preparation, storage temperatures should be maintained for safe cooking joint of meat should be no larger than 2.5kg.larger joints should be divided into small portions Cutting boards should be colour coded to separate raw from cooked meats. This reduces the risk of cross contamination. Frozen meat should be thawed in refrigerators PRESERVATION SALTING Meat can be pickled in brine and this method of preservation may be applied to silverside, brisket and ox-tongue. Salting is also used in the production of bacon before the sides of pork are smoked. This also applies to ham CHILLING This means that meat is kept at a temperature just above freezing point in a controlled atmosphere. Chilled meat can not be kept in the usual type of cold room for more than a few days and this is sufficient time for the meat to hang enabling it to become tender. FREEZING:-Small carcasses such as lamb and mutton can be frozen and the quality is not affected by the freezing. They can be kept frozen until required and then thawed out before being used. Some beef is frozen but it is inferior in quality to chilled beef. CANNING Large quantities of meat are canned and it is of importance since it has a very high protein content .pork is used for tinned luncheon .