There is nothing worse than smelling a beautiful hearty stew cooking all day, only to find the meat tough, dry and tasteless when you come to eat it. So why does stewing beef get dry, tough and tasteless? To ensure that you have a stew that contains fork tender, tasty chunks of stewing beef, you have to use selected cuts of meat that contain fat marbling, and will break down during the long cooking process. Lean, prime cuts of beef may look tempting, but will result in a poor eating stew. This article will explain the best cuts to use to ensure an tasty and tender stew, and the beef…
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The Differences Between Pork, Ham, Bacon & Gammon Explained
When it comes to buying different types of meat, there is sometimes confusion over which product to buy if you are not familiar with the product name. Different types of cured pork are a prime example so let’s clear things up a little bit for you. So what is the difference between pork, ham, bacon and gammon? Pork is the uncured meat from a pig. Ham, bacon and gammon are pork cuts that have been cured in some way, such as salting, brining or smoking. The shoulder, belly and loin of pork are used to make bacon, and the leg of pork is used for hams. Now we will look…
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How Much Meat You Get From A Whole Chicken & Chicken Portions!
When buying chicken to use in a recipe to feed your family or guests, you may not know how much useable meat you will get from the whole chicken you have just bought. In this article we will look at the different yields of meat you can expect to get from a chicken , based on both raw and cooked whole chickens. So how much meat is there on a whole chicken? A general yield you can expect to get from a whole raw chicken after the bones have been removed is approximately 65% of the weight of the chicken. The yield from a whole cooked chicken drops to approximately…
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Whole Turkey Cuts Explained – Crowns, Portions & Serving Size
Turkey is a versatile meat, and when feeding a crowd, it can be more economical than cooking several chickens or more expensive roasts such as beef or lamb. Turkeys can be bought as a whole bird, as portions, or even as ground or diced meat. This article will explain the different cuts that can be got from a Turkey and how you would use them. These are the different cuts that can be produced from a whole turkey? Whole Turkey Bone In Turkey Crown Boneless Turkey Crown Turkey Legs Turkey Thighs Turkey Drumsticks Ground Turkey Diced Turkey Turkey Steaks Turkey Escalope Turkey Sausage We will now look at each of…
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Does Cooking Meat Extend The ‘Use By’ Date?
You may have found some meat in the refrigerator that needs using that day and wondered if cooking the meat will extend the ‘Use By’ date. So does cooking meat extend the ‘Use By’ Date? No, cooking the meat does not extend the ‘Use By’ date, however it does give you longer to use the meat. Once the meat has been cooked, the ‘Use by’ date becomes redundant, as this is the date that the meat needed to be either cooked or frozen by. Once cooked, the meat has a useable time of up to three more days. Sometimes dates marked on foods can be confusing and may lead you…
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Pork And Beef CAN Be Cooked Together In The Same Pan!
There are many dishes that can call for a combination of Pork and Beef meats to be cooked together, and you could be left wondering if it is possible to cook the meats together in the same pan. So can Pork and Beef be cooked together in the same pan? Yes, the flavors of pork and beef compliment each other and can be cooked together without issue. Many recipes such as Meatloaf, Spaghetti, Meatballs etc call for a combination of both pork and beef, and it makes sense to combine the meats and cook them together in the same pan. Whether you are cooking ground meats, steaks or roasts, the…
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Pork Cuts Guide – Every Cut of Pork Explained
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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Can Lamb Be Eaten Rare or Still Pink In The Middle?
Lamb is a meat that is not eaten as often as perhaps Beef or Chicken, and so it can leave the person doing the cooking wondering just how well they have to cook it. So can Lamb be cooked so that it is rare or still pink in the centre? Yes, lamb chops, steaks, and roasts can be cooked and served rare, or medium rare, providing it has reached an internal temperature of at least 145oF. However, any form of ground or minced lamb, should be cooked thoroughly to a minimum temperature of at least 165oC, to ensure any harmful bacteria are eliminated. We will now look at when and…
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Lamb Meat Smells Bad – Is It Safe To Eat?
You’ve gone to the refrigerator to get ready to cook the lamb meat that you have been storing, but now it doesn’t smell so appetising. Depending on how often you cook lamb, you may be left unsure as to whether the meat is still safe to cook, or if it has spoiled and needs to be thrown away. So how can you tell if the lamb has gone bad? Fresh lamb meat will have a light pink to dark red flesh with a creamy colored fat covering and a slight gamey odor. Lamb that has spoiled will have a greyish tinge to the flesh and the fat will be dry…
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Food Mold – Is It Safe To Eat Moldy Food & What Causes It?
We have all been the victim of food mold! You want to make a sandwich and the bread has blue spots on it, or the the cheese has furry edges. Maybe those Strawberries you were saving have now gone soft and grown white fur. This is frustrating and leaves us asking -Can I eat it anyway? So Is It Safe To Eat Food Mold? Unless the mold is present as part of the food processing, such as in blue veined cheese, it is generally not considered safe to eat moldy food. Although small amounts are relatively harmless to most healthy adults, the mold can cause some health problems such as…
