INFORMATION SHEET4QR_15.6.

1
“Prepare and Cook Meat”

Overview:
This lesson covers the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required to prepare and cook meat.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the lesson you are expected to do the following:
1. perform mise’n place;
2. cook meat cuts;
3. present and evaluate meat dishes; and
4. store meat.

Cook Meat Cuts

Meat Dishes and Entrees

In the classical menu, the term entrée refers to the courses after the Grosse piece. Basically,
entrees are divided into cold entrees and hot entrees. Today, however, the entrees are usually served as
the main dish with suitable vegetable and salad garnishes. Both hot and cold entrees are frequently
described as simple dishes on the menu, where they appear in various categories, such as hot snacks
garnishes for main dishes and specialties of the day. The main difference between main grosses piece is
that the entries are cut up before being cooked. They do not require the same methods of preparation
as the grosses pieces which are prepared in single large pieces. It is, therefore, not possible to group the
two types of dishes in the same category.

Four kinds of doneness in meat:

1. Rare – when pressed with a finger, the meat is very soft with jelly like texture.
2. Medium Rare – when pressed with a finger, meat feels springy and resistant
3. Medium – when pressed with a finger, meat feels firm and there is a definite resistance.
4. Well Done – when pressed with a finger the meat feels hard and rough.

Nutrient Content of Meat

Meat consists of water protein and fat, with a few minerals and some B vitamins.

1. Protein – High-quality protein is the major constituent of meat after water, accounting for about 20
percent of its weight. Meat contains 7 grams of protein per ounce.
2. Fat – content can vary widely, according to the grade of meat and its cut.

3. Carbohydrates – Meat contains very little carbohydrates. Glycogen, found in liver and muscle tissue, is
present when the animal is alive, but the glucose that makes up the glycogen is broken down to lactic
acid during and after slaughter.

4. Vitamins – Meat is an excellent source of certain B vitamins – thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), pyridoxine
(B6), cobalamin (B12), niacin (B3) and some folate. Niacin is obtained from tryptophan, an amino acid
plentiful in meats and milk.

5. Minerals – Meat is an excellent source of iron, zinc, copper, phosphorous, and a few other trace
minerals.

Market Forms of Meat

1. Fresh meat – meat that is recently slaughtered, has not been preserved frozen
2. Chilled meat – meat that is placed in chiller or slightly cold
3. Cured meat – meat preserved by salting, smoking or aging
4. Processed meat –meat preserved by chemical process

Primary Cuts of Meat

Methods of cooking

1. Dry Heat Cooking such as roasting, broiling, or sautéing.

2. Moist heat cooking, like braising, steaming, or poaching.

Dry Heat Cooking

Dry heat cooking refers to any cooking technique where the heat is transferred to the food item
without using any moisture. Dry-heat cooking typically involves high heat, with temperatures of 300°F or
hotter.

Baking or roasting in an oven is a dry heat method because it uses hot air to conduct the heat.
Pan-searing a steak is considered dry-heat cooking because the heat transfer takes place through the
hot metal of the pan.

Note: The browning of food (including the process by which meat is browned, called the Maillard reaction) can only
be achieved through dry-heat cooking. Examples of dry-heat methods include:

 Roasting and Baking

Roasting and baking are forms of dry heat cooking that use hot, dry air to cook food. Like other
dry-heat cooking methods, roasting and baking brown the surface of the food, which in turn develops
complex flavors and aromas. Both words describe a method of cooking an item by enveloping it in hot,
dry air, generally inside an oven and at temperatures of at least 300°F and often much hotter.
A convection oven, which circulates hot air throughout the oven, can enhance the browning reaction.
  Grilling and Broiling

Grilling and broiling are dry-heat cooking methods that rely on heat being conducted through the air
from an open flame. This type of cooking produces browning reactions on the surface of the food, thus
encouraging the development of complex flavors and aromas. Grilling cooks hot and fast, because air is
a poor conductor of heat. Broiling and grilling require the food to be quite close to the heat source,
which in this case, is likely to be an open flame.

Source: http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/dryheatcooking/a/grilling.htm

 Sautéing and Pan-Frying

Sautéing is a form of dry-heat cooking that uses a very hot pan and a small amount of fat to cook the
food very quickly. Like other dry-heat cooking methods, sautéing browns the food’s surface as it cooks
and develops complex flavors and aromas.
Sautéing requires a very hot pan. When
sautéing, it’s important to heat the pan for a minute, then add a small amount of fat and let it gets hot
as well, before adding the food to the pan. This hot fat helps brown the surface of the food. Another key
is to avoid overloading or overcrowding the pan.

 Deep-Frying

Since deep-frying involves submerging food in hot, liquid fat, it might take some time to get used to
the idea that it’s actually a form of dry-heat cooking. But if you’ve ever seen the violent reaction of hot
oil to even a tiny drop of water, you know that oil and water are a
couple of opposites that has nothing to do with each other.

Moist heat cooking

Moist heat cooking methods include any technique that involves cooking with moisture —
whether it’s steam, water, stock, wine or some other liquid. Cooking temperatures are much lower,
anywhere from 140°F to a maximum of 212°F, because water doesn’t get any hotter than that. Examples
of moist-heat cooking methods include:

 Simmering

With simmering, the cooking liquid is a bit hotter than poaching from 180°F to 205°F. Here we will
see bubbles forming and gently rising to the surface of the water, but the water still isn’t at a full rolling
boil. Because it surrounds the food in water that maintains a more or less constant temperature,
simmering cooks food very evenly. It’s an excellent choice for culinary preparations including stocks or
soups, starchy items such as potatoes or pastas, and many others.

 Boiling

The hottest of these three stages is boiling, where the water reaches its highest possible
temperature of 212°F. It’s actually the least likely of the three to be used for cooking. That’s because the
violent agitation caused by the rolling boil can be too rough on food and will often damage it.
Water at a full boil would be a bad choice for cooking an egg outside its shell, as we do when preparing
poached eggs, because the agitation would cause the egg to fall apart. The same holds true for delicate
fish as well as some pastas.

 Steaming

Steaming is a moist-heat cooking technique that employs hot steam to conduct the heat to the food
item. Steaming can be done on a stovetop, with a pot containing a small amount of liquid that is
brought to a simmer. The item to be cooked is then placed in a basket suspended above the liquid
and the pot covered.

 Braising and Stewing

Braising is a form of moist-heat cooking in which the item to be cooked is partially covered with
liquid and then simmered slowly at a low temperature. Though it can be done on the stovetop, braising
is best done in the oven, because the heat fully surrounds the pot and causes the food to cook more
evenly than if it were only heated from below.

Factors Affecting Choice of Cooking Methods in Meat

1. Cuts of meat

• Tender cuts like ribs and loin cuts

are used for roasting, broiling and grilling

• Less tender cuts from leg or round

are used for braising

• Tougher cuts from chuck or shoulder

are usually braced

• Least tender cuts from shanks,

breast, brisket, and flank are cooked
by moist heat.

• Ground meat and cubed usually

made from trimmings can be cooked
by dry heat or moist heat.

2. Fat content

• Meats high in fat are cooked without

added fat, such as roasting or
broiling

• Meats low in fat are often cooked

with added fat to prevent dryness,
like sautéing, pan frying or braising.

3. Desired quality

• Tenderness is not the only goal of

cooking. Flavor and appearance is
also one of the objectives to get the
desired quality.

Basic Principles of Platter Presentation

1. Presentation must have three elements:

• Centerpiece may be an uncut portion of the main food item.

• Slices or serving portions of the main food item, arrange artistically.

• Garnish, arranged artistically in proportion to the cut slices.

2. The food should be easy to handle and serve, so one portion can be removed without ruining the
arrangement.

3. Simple arrangements are easier to serve, and more likely to be still attractive when they are half
demolished by the guests.

4. Attractive platter are made of metals, mirrors, china, plastic or woods, presentable and suitable for
use with food.

5. It must look attractive and appropriate not only by itself, but among other presentations on the table.
 SELF-CHECK 4QR_15.6.8
“Prepare and Cook Meat”

Select the best answer. Write only the letter on your answer sheet

1. In platter presentation, the uncut portion of the main food item is

A. garnish B. serving portions C. centerpiece

2. It is arranged artistically in proportion to the cut slices.

A. slices B. serving portions C. garnish

3. The food should be easy to handle and

A. garnish B. serve C. arrangement

4. Use attractive platter presentation made of metal, mirrors, plastic or wood, and
A. china B. pan C. platter

5. The act of serving or arranging portions of the main food item artistically:
A. slicing B. garnishing C. setting
 SELF-CHECK KEY ANSWE 4QR_15.6.9
“Prepare and Cook Meat”

1. C
2. C
3. B
4. A
5. A