Over the years there has been a dramatic decline in the amount of independent butchers stores, meat markets and meat counters available to shoppers. These have been replaced with convenience packaged meat being sold in grocery store aisles, with no expert on hand to guide the shopper to buying the right cut of meat to suit their needs. This article will focus on explaining the different types of pork cuts most commonly sold, where they come from on the animal, and how best to cook them to ensure tender and tasty pork every time. So lets begin by looking at the whole side of a pig. The diagram below shows…
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Safely REFREEZE Meat & Poultry – A Detailed Guide
So you have taken some meat or poultry out of the freezer and realise that you don’t actually need to use it yet. The product has fully thawed out and you are now left wondering whether it is safe to put it back into the freezer, or whether you need to go ahead and cook it. So is it safe to refreeze raw meat and poultry that has thawed? Yes, raw meat and poultry is safe to refreeze after thawing, provided it has been defrosted in the refrigerator. However, if the meat or poultry has been out of refrigeration for longer than two hours, then it will NOT be safe…
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Braising Steak & Stewing Steak – The Differences Explained!
When the cold weather arrives and you decide it’s time to make some delicious comforting meals, you may see recipes asking for braising steak or stewing steak and not know what the difference is between the two cuts of beef. This article hopes to answer those questions for you. So what is the difference between Braising Steak and Stewing Steak? Braising Steak and Stewing Steak are tougher cuts of beef taken from the shoulder of a cow. Braising steak is usually leaner and cooked as slices, whereas stewing steak is cut into bite sized chunks that may break into smaller pieces during cooking. Both cuts require slow cooking in a…
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Collar Bacon – A Tasty Alternative To Gammon Ham
Collar bacon is not as popular as the more commonly available gammon cut, but that may because people are not sure what it is. In this article we aim to highlight just how the collar bacon should not be so easily overlooked when assessing your boiling bacon needs. So what is collar bacon? Collar Bacon is the shoulder portion (pork butt) of a pig, that has been cured in a salt brine. The collar is usually boiled in liquid for several hours, and used for dishes such as Irish Boiled Bacon & Cabbage. Although the collar has a more intense flavor than the Gammon Ham, it is less desired by consumers due to…
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How To Prevent Dry & Tough Pork Chops With Perfect Result Every Time!
So you really enjoy having cooked pork chops for dinner but shy away from making them because they always seem to turn out dry and tough. Well, we will explain why that happens, and what you can do to make sure you always end up with tender juicy pork chops in future. So why do cooked pork chops end up dry and tough? To prevent dry and tough pork chops, you need to cook the chops a certain way. Shoulder and rib pork chops are tougher cuts, and so need to be cooked long and slow in liquid. The prime centre cut loin chops should ideally be cooked to a…
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Chicken Livers – Benefits, Preparation & Different Ways of Eating
I’m guessing if you are reading this that you have just discovered that chicken livers are a ‘thing’. Now you want to know what benefits are provided by eating them, and in what way you can incorporate them into your diet. Well, read on and we will cover everything you will need to know about these healthy little morsels. What are Chicken Livers? Chicken livers are the liver organ from a chicken. They are high in protein, and offer many vitamin benefits that will help to keep you in prime health. Chicken livers can be eaten in many different ways from pan frying to making Pâté. What Do Chicken Livers…
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Is “Out of Date” Meat Safe To Eat?
Food labelling can be a confusing issue for consumers, and a costly affair, if perfectly good food is being thrown away for the wrong reasons. So is meat past its expiration date still safe to eat? Meat labelled with a ‘Use By’ date should not be eaten beyond the listed date. Products labelled with a ‘Sell By’, ‘Display Until’, or a ‘Best Before’ date, will still have a useable life after the listed date. We will look at how you can decide whether your expired meat is actually still safe to be eaten, or if it would be better to throw it away. “The average American family of four throws…
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17 Different Meat Cuts From One Whole Pork Loin, Including Tenderloin!
The pork loin is one of the most versatile parts of the pig, offering 17 different cuts of meat that can be used for a variety of dishes. Here is a list of the different cuts the whole pork loin can be portioned into, providing endless recipe possibilities from just one part of the pig. Bone In Pork Rib Roast Bone In Centre Cut Loin Roast Bone In Chump Pork Roast Boneless Centre Cut Pork Roast Bone In Rib Chop Bone In Centre Cut Chop Bone In Country Style Chops Boneless Pork Ribeye Boneless Pork Loin Steaks Pork Escalopes Pork Kebobs Diced Pork Pork Tenderloin Pork Medallions Ground Pork Baby…
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Difference Between Chicken Legs, Thighs and Drumsticks
There are many recipes out there that call for chicken legs, thighs or drumsticks, however not everyone knows what the difference is between these parts of the chicken. So what is the difference between chicken legs, thighs and drumsticks? Chicken leg refers to the whole leg portion of a chicken which is both the thigh and drumstick connected as one piece. When the whole leg is divided into 2 parts, it creates the thigh and drumstick portions. The chicken thigh is the top portion of the leg, and the drumstick is the lower calf section of the leg. Whole Chicken Leg Portion The whole leg of a chicken, or the…
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Beef Marbling – Why You Need This In Your Meat!
You have probably heard people refer to the marbling of beef, but are unsure about what it refers to. We will now explain what it is, and why it is so important to have it in your meat. So what is Beef Marbling: Beef Marbling is what is referred to as the white flecks of fat that can be seen running through the flesh of the beef. Seeing marbling in the meat is generally a sign of quality, and is something that beef inspectors take into account when grading an animal. How Do I Recognise Beef Marbling? When you see a steak in the meat counter of your local butchers…
