Meats+Group+2

IT IS ALL ABOUT MEAT!!!!



There are three main types of meat, Beef (cow), Lamb/Mutton (sheep) and Pork (hogs). All cuts of meat are composed of water, muscle, connective tissue, adipose (fat) tissue and bone. Meat is a major source of protein and mucopolysaccharides, with Collagen, Elastin and Reticulin being the major proteins. Collagen, however, is the most abundant. All three are found in connective tissue and can lead to toughness of meat if for example there is to much collagen due to increased age of the animal or not all of the Elastin was cut off prior to cooking.


 * 1. Identify the wholesale cuts of meat indicating which provide tender meats and which provide less tender meats. List at least one retail cut in each wholesale section. **

(yahoo images)

Wholesale Cuts of Meat:
====** Chuck- ** Pieces of meat that come from the chuck are usually very touch because the muscles and meat located there work hard and are constantly moving, or walking. This meat is found from the hindquarters or shoulders. An example would be Shoulder Top Blade Steak. ====

[[image:shoulder_top_blade_steak.png]]
(Shoulder Top Blade Steak, yahoo images).

====** Rib- ** Meat that comes from the ribs are tender pieces of meat becasue they are worked the less. They come from the sides and lower back of the cow. An example would include back ribs. ====

[[image:beef_back_ribss.png]]
(Beef Back Ribs, yahoo images)

==== ** Loin- ** These pieces of meat are usually the most tender and come from the lower back of the cow. It is the least worked area and therefore melts right in the mouth. An example would be Tenderloin Steak. ====

[[image:tenderloin_steak.png]]
(Tenderloin Steak, yahoo images).

====** Shirloin- **Another very tender cut of meat is the Shirloin because it is the least worked part of the cow. It is located in the lower back or rib area. An example of this type of meat is Tri-Tip Roast. ====

(Tri-Tip Roast, yahoo images)
====** Round- **Coming from the hindquarters or shoulders the Round is a very touch cut. These two areas are worked the most because the cow uses those muscles to walk and balance. An example would be Round Tip Roast. ====

[[image:round_tip_roast.png]]
(Round Tip Roast, yahoo images)

====** Shank and Brisket- ** These pieces of meat come from the legs and underside of the cow which make them the least tender of cuts. Since the cow works these areas a lot the meat must be tenderized mechanically. An example of this cut of meat would be a Shank Cross Cut. ====

[[image:shank_cross_cut.png]]
(Shank Cross Cut, yahoo images)

====** Plate and Flank- ** Pieces of meat catagorized in these areas are also the least tender cuts of meat because they too come from the legs and underside of the body which are worked a lot. An example would be Skirt Steak. ====

[[image:skirt_steak.png]]
(Skirt Steak, yahoo images)

2. What factors affect the tenderness of meat?

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Natural Tenderness

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">a) //Cut// = <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The legs, underside, and ribs tend to be the least tender <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The lower back, and rib area tend to be the more tender areas

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">B) //Animals Age and Spices//= The younger the animal is, the more likely it is to be tender because it contains smaller muscle fibers <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">and less connective tissue. This is becuase the animal hasn't had time to fully develop. As the animal continues to grow up muscle fiber and connective tissue (and the collagen found in it) will continue to develope and increase in size and this is what leads to tougher meat.

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">c) //Fat Content//= Fat content can be effected by heredity (angus beef), diet, and marbling (fattening the animals before slaughter) The more marbling in meat the more tender the cut will be. Grading of meat based on marbling: (yahoo images)

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">d) //Rigor Mortis//= also known as "stiffness of death" (pg. G6) is the state the muscle takes 6-24 hours after the animal is slaughtered. As the meat is deprived of oxygen, glycogen becomes the new energy source. This is then converted to lactic acid which increases the acidity from 7.0 to 5.8, causing the meat to be more tender (the ideal pH is 5.8)

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">e) Slaughtering Conditions= Poor conditions can greatly affect the quality of meat. Having poor quality meat means the pH has dropped too low due to too much stored up glycogen, which is converted to lactic acid, in the animal. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">When the glycogen is used up and there is not enough to convert to lactic acid, however, the pH is higher and this causes a deep-purple brown sticky texture known as [|Dark-cutting beef]. Both conditions are not pieces of meat that consumers want to buy.

**PSE Pork** - if the pH drops too low in pork cuts the meat becomes flavorless, pale, slimy, mushy and making it very dry when cooked. (normal pork on the left and PSE Pork on the right, yahoo images)

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** Cold Shortening **- when meat is cooled directly after slaughter or before rigor mortis can occur, cuts become to tough and are not sold to consumers. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** Green Meat **- when meat is cooked before rigor mortis has occured, cuts will become touch, tasteless and unappealing.
 * Thaw rigor **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- when meat is frozen directly after slaughter or before rigor mortis can occur, the cut will shrink to about 50% its size when cooked. This is not put out for sale.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">f) Meat Aging= <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">﻿Aging meats improve their juiceness, tenderness, flavor, color, and ability to brown during heating. The enzymes that are found in the meat break down the muscle tissue, improving its texture and flavor. There are two ways: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * 1) Dry aging: meat is hung in the refrigerator for at least 6 weeks (used in high-end restaurants)
 * 2) Wet aging: Meat is aged in plastic shrink - wrap. It is used warmer temperature with high humidity, and it is also how retail meat is aged.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">How to dry age steak media type="youtube" key="FYx0wtVgpsk" height="390" width="640"

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">3. What methods of artifical tenderizing can be used for tough cuts of meat?

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">What tenderizing means? <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">In cooking, tenderizing is a process to break down collagens in meat. It makes the meat more palatable and tender for consumption.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">There are many ways:

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> a) Enzymes= work to break down the proteins within the muscle. Examples of enzymes: papain from papayas, bromelin from pieapples, ficin from figs, trypsin from the pancreas of animals, and rhyozyme P-11 from fungi. Enzymes will only be effective on tenderrizing the meat if the depth of the meat is 1/2 to 2 milimeters. It is totally inefective on large and thick cut of meats such as roasts. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">*need higher heat to activate



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">b) Salts= makes meat retain moisture and break down proteins within the muscle fibrils. Depending on the toughness of the meat, polyphosphates are added to the salts to improve the meat's juiciness by increasing water retention ability, and antimicrobial activity. But, be careful adding this product will increase in water retention and in sodium concentration.



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">c) Acids= Acids break down the outside surface and also adds flavor and color. Making a marinade is very simple and add delicius flavor to the meat. There are varius kinds of acids that are added to the marinade, such as wine, lemon juice, vinegar, and tomato. Here is an example of a simple and delicius marinade that can be used with any cut of meat.

**//Lemon Herb Marinade://** <span class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar (1/4 cup) juice and grated rind of 2 lemons 1 tbsp. fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried 1 shallot, minced or 1 large onion, minced 1/4 tsp. oregano 1 tbsp. soy sauce 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 6 cloves garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp. black pepper <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">It is also important to notice that to obtain a maximum benefit of a marinate is important to cut the meat into small pieces to increase the surface area. For example, cut the meat in cubes or strips. After making the marinade and cutting the meat in small pieces, it is important to refrigerate the marinated meat for at leat half an hour or it can be left in the refrigerater overnight to increase flavors and tenderness.



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">d) Mechanical tenderization= Mechanical tenderization breaks down muscle cells and tought connective tissue. For exmple, pounding the meat with a special hammer that breaks down the surface tissue.



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">e) Electrical Stimulation = a current of electricity is pass through the meat after slaughter and before the onset of rigor mortis. Electrical stimulation speeds up rigor mortis by accelarating glycogen breakdown and enzyme activity, which breaks down protein making the meat more tender.

4. What changes occur to meat during the cooking process? What are the best cooking methods to use for tender cuts and for tough cuts?

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">﻿The best methods to use for tender cuts should be dry-heat cooking methods, such as <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">roasting,broilings or grilling, frying, pan broiling, sauteing, and deep frying. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">The best methods to use for tough cuts should be moist-heat cooking methods such as braising, simmering, stewing, or steaming.

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">*microwaving should not be used as a cooking method, it can however be used to re-heat or help to thaw, but should not be used to fully cook meats.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Effects of Temperature on meat: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">100 degrees F: Protein begins to unfold <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">120 degrees F: Protein coagulates and loose water <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">140 degrees F: connective tissue shrinks - more mistute is lost <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">150 degrees F: Connective tissue begins dissolving into a gelatin-like substance and protein are densely packed <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">170 degrees F: Proteins are entirely coagulated and most of the moisture is loss.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">*The temperature for hamburgers should be 155 degrees

media type="youtube" key="3IL_Df5ouUc" height="390" width="640"

5. Important!!! What is the right way to curve meat?

media type="youtube" key="_dFRGKoUPcE" height="390" width="480"

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 160%;">How do you like your meat??

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Rare: 136 - 140 degrees F <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Medium Rare: 145 degrees F <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Medium: 160 -167 degrees F <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Well Done: 172-180 degrees F



= Don't let your big roast over cook!! = = ﻿ = = media type="youtube" key="Q7nfNfVn3kA" height="390" width="480" =

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">﻿Carryover cooking: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">When making a large, thick roast, meat temperatures increase an extra ten degrees after being taken out of the oven, so the roast should be taken out of the oven before its done so it will continue to cook.

References: Brown, Amy. //Understanding Food Principles and Preparation.// Wickham, Catherine. //Class notes - Meat// - 3/31/2011 [], [], [] , yahoo images** Lemon Herb Marinade. [|www.cooks.com]