Unit 10: Meat and Poultry Identification

1. Unit 10: Meat and Poultry Identification These are some of the costliest items on the menu, but most profitable; care in handling is of the utmost importance American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

2. American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

3. Inspection • All meats sold to the public must be inspected • Inspection is mandatory • Occurs at various times—on the farm, plant slaughterhouse, processing area • Done by federal inspectors • Paid for by taxpayers • Inspectors ensure that: • Animals are free from disease • Farms are operated in accordance with appropriate standards for safety, cleanliness, and health • Meat is wholesome and fit for human consumption American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

4. Grading • Grading is voluntary • Done by USDA using specific standards of quality • Meat packer absorbs the cost of grading and will pass it on to consumers • Packer may choose to do the grading, and this is called “no-rolls” • In-house grades must meet or exceed the USDA standards American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

5. Grading Guidelines • Overall carcass shape • Ratio of fat to lean • Ratio of meat to bone • Color • Marbling (beef only) • Grade will be applied to all cuts • Yield grades, another type of grading, measure edible meat yield, known by butchers as “cutability” American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

6. Receiving • Very perishable • Check temperature of meat upon receipt • Insert a thermometer between packages without puncturing the packaging • Should be received at 41°F (5°C) • Check for temperature and cleanliness of truck • Check for leaking cryovac or bloody boxes • Check for discoloration American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

7. Storage • Refrigerate immediately • Store at or below 41°F (5°C) • Place on trays to prevent dripping onto other foods, place meat on lower shelves • Keep different meats separated • Store vacuum-packed meats right in their boxes • Once unwrapped, store in air-permeable paper • Cook meats with short shelf lives first • Do not over stock American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

8. Market Forms of Meat • Carcass is cut to manageable pieces • Sides, quarters, saddles • Next, cut to primal cuts • Next, to subprimals • Next, to retail cuts for hotels and restaurants • Many restaurants and hotels will cut subprimals to retail cuts • Portions or portion control cuts are also known as retail cuts American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

9. Beef • Flavor and color is influenced by several factors: • Amount of exercise the muscle gets • Type of feed • Breed, age, gender, amount of aging • Where on the carcass the muscle is located • More-exercised muscles on a beef carcass are best suited for slower or moist-cooking methods • Less-exercised muscles are suitable for grilling, broiling, roasting American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

10. Grades • USDA grades start with the best being Prime (high-end restaurants) • Then Choice (foodservice industry) • Select (retail markets mostly) • Standard (processed products) • Commercial • Utility • Cutter • Canner American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

11. Primal Cuts • Round primal cuts are most suitable for braising or roasting (most-exercised muscles) • Loin primal cuts are most suitable for fast, dry-cooking methods as they are less exercised than the other muscles on the carcass • Chuck primals are most exercised and are great for moist methods, grinding, stewing, marinating • Variety meats or offal cuts, such as liver, tongue, kidneys, oxtail, intestines, heart, and lungs are used in specialty applications such as sausages, puddings, ethnic dishes American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

12. Veal • Comes from calf about 12 weeks old • Calf has only eaten milk or formula • Meat is pinkish gray • Split in half after slaughter • Comes in foresaddle, hindsaddle • Primal cuts are shoulder, shank, loin, and leg • Grades are Prime, Choice, Good, Standard, Utility, and Cull American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

13. Primal Cuts of Veal • Leg yields the shank, heel, rounds, knuckle, eye, butt tenderloin; suitable for most dry methods of cooking, except for the shank • The loin yields the tenderloin, veal loin, strip loin, suitable for dry methods of cooking • The hotel rack yields the split rack, chop ready rack, Frenched veal wrack; suitable for dry methods of cooking • The square cut shoulder yields the cut shoulder and the clod; suitable for moist methods of cooking or grinding American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

14. Variety Cuts of Veal • Very highly prized and versatile • Braised cheeks • Poached tongue • Sweet breads • Calve’s liver • Heart and kidneys • Brains • Feet (used for head cheese) American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

15. Pork • Meat of domesticated pig • Among most popular meats sold in the U.S. • Slaughtered at 12 months • Cuts are slightly different; split in two halves • Loin is cut longer • Primal cuts include leg or ham, shoulder butt, and the loin • Subprimal are spareribs, bacon, jowls, and clear-plate and fatback American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

16. Grades • USDA starts at 1, being the best, 2, 3, 4 and Utility grades • Ham primal cuts include hock, bone-in or boneless ham • Loin cuts are tenderloin, center cut pork loin, boneless loin, baby back ribs; used mostly for dry-heat methods • The Boston butt primal includes the Boston butt bone-in and the cottage butt; used for roasting, sautéing, stewing • Picnic primal cuts are bone-in or bone-out, and used for braising and stewing • Additional cuts are bacon, jowl (used mostly as a flavor enhancer), salt pork, spareribs, and fatback • Offal cuts from the pig include neck bones, liver, heart, intestines, kidneys, caul fat American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

17. Lamb and Mutton • Lamb is tender, young domestic sheep • Mutton is older, stronger, and not as tender • Texture of milk-fed lamb is delicate in color and flavor; grass-fed lamb has more pronounced flavor • Highly prized at Easter by many ethnic groups • Most lamb is finished on a grain diet, butchered at 6–7 months • Lamb over 16 months is sold as mutton • Cut into fore- and hindsaddle, then broken into sides, racks, legs, shoulders, loins, shanks American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

18. Grades of Lamb • Prime, Choice, Good, Utility, and Cull • Legs, same as veal, used for dry and moist methods, mostly all tender due to size and age, shank and heel are usually braised • Loin, trimmed and split, boneless loin and tenderloin, like most four-legged animals, very tender and suitable for quick, dry methods • Hotel rack comes split with chine removed • Shoulder includes the neck, foreshank, and square cut chuck (boneless) • Variety meats include the tongue, liver, heart, kidneys, and intestines (great for small sausages) American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

19. Venison and Furred Game • Commercially raised for restaurants • Dark, very lean meat, often needs to be barded or larded • Flavor, color, and texture is a direct result of age, diet, season • Venison is the term for large game animals: moose, deer, elk, reindeer • Bison and boar are also very popular, boar having a tendency to be tough • Same general rules apply to these animal • Most-used muscles need to be cooked by moist methods, more tender muscles cooked by dryer methods • Rabbit is becoming very popular as it is lean and tender • Sizes range from 2 ½ pounds to hares of up to 12 pounds American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

20. Trimming/Fabricating • For roasting, leave a little fat for self-basting • Remove all silverskin, gristle, and connective tissue • For shaping medallions, use cheesecloth, wrap tightly or twist and tighten; press with the heel of your hand firmly and shape • For cutlets, slice across the grain, place the meat between wax paper or clear wrap, place on a dense surface and slightly pound with a mallet, cleaver, or heavy, small skillet • Different meats need more or less pressure when pounding American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

21. Cubing and Mincing • Used for tougher meats for stewing and grinding • Remove surface fat and connective tissue • Cut along seams • Cut into even sizes and shapes • Store in clean containers, covered until use • These cuts are great to marinate American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

22. Mincing • Trim tender cuts as you have already seen • Slice into thin slivers or slices, always across the meat fibers • Hold in clean containers for service, not too deep as this will promote purging of moisture American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

23. Tying a Roast (Trussing) • Secure knots that slide (half-hitch knot works well) • You can use one piece or cut and tie each piece • This takes a little practice but the tying promotes even cooking, uniform shape, retention of moisture, easy slicing, and better eye appeal • Be sure to trim away unneeded fat and all connective tissue • You can wrap flavored sliced fat under the skin American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

24. Grinding Meats • Most establishments buy bulk ground meat, but many places making forcemeats would rather grind their own • This calls for special attention to sanitation • All tools should be clean, sanitized, and well chilled • Blades must be sharp • Meat must be well trimmed, cut to the size that eliminates forcing through the grinder head • Start with a large die and progress to the smallest or to the desired size • Sometimes diced meat can be partially frozen for the best results American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

25. Poultry • Refers to any domestic bird used for human consumption • Chicken is the most popular • Poultry must undergo mandatory inspection • Must be chilled to 26°F (–3°C) during processing • Grades are A, B, C, A being mostly used in the foodservice industry American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

26. Choosing Quality • Poultry should have plump breasts and meaty thighs • Skin intact with no punctures or tears • Always purchased from reputable purveyors • Kept chilled to below 32°F (0°C) during storage • Placed on drip pans on the lowest shelves, preferably close to a drain • Age, size, and fat content determine the cooking method American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

27. Ratites • Ostrich, emus, and rhea are flightless birds known as ratites • The meat is sold as steaks, fillets, medallions, roasts, and ground meat • Most of the meat comes from the fan (leg and thigh area) • There is little meat on the front of the bird as it has no need of a large breast muscle, only a covering American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.

28. Poultry Fabrication • Most trim is useable for stocks • Most poultry is trimmed similarly • Wing tips removed, fat pulled off, disjointed at the pelvic bone, leg and thigh separated, breast split • Trussing promotes a smooth, compact shape, even cooking, and moisture retention • Many poultry items come boneless, probably the most popular is the breast • Can be ordered boneless, skinless • Younger poultry splits and cuts easily as the bones are still very cartilaginous • Disjointing is easy in most birds as a knife is passed between the joints and the muscles separated American Culinary Federation: Culinary Fundamentals.