Meat is an indispensable delicacy on the table for many people and is also part of a balanced meal. Eating meat in moderation can not only provide us with high-quality protein , but also help in iron supplementation.
But if meat is not done well, it will often be dry and hard, and the taste will become worse. Therefore, many people will have questions: Is the meat the freshest and delicious when it was just slaughtered? How to cook meat to be tender and delicious?
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Cooking a meat dish seems simple, but in fact there is a lot of knowledge in it. In this article, we will focus on the pork that everyone eats the most frequently. Let’s talk about the tips for choosing meat to make it easy for you to grasp it.
1
When is the meat the best?
Many people think that animals are the most delicious when they are just slaughtered. This idea is really wrong. When the meat is just slaughtered, it is the time when the meat is the least delicious. At this stage, the meat has the highest lactic acid content, with a pH value of 5.4 ~ 6.7. When the pH reaches 5.4, the muscle fibers of the animal muscles will harden and become stiff.
Beef will become stiff in about 2.5 hours after slaughtering, while mutton, pork, and chicken will become stiff in 1 hour. The meat at this time is not good, has an unpleasant smell, it is very hard after cooking, and the broth is relatively turbid.
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etc. After the stiffness stage, the meat begins to cook later, which is also called the ripening of meat. The meat in the post-cooking stage is the most suitable for enjoyment. At this time, the pH of the meat will further decrease. The enzyme that digests protein in the muscle fibers will decompose the protein tissue in the muscle, making the overall structure of the muscle weaker and the flesh will also soften.
enzyme will decompose protein into amino acid with flavor; convert liver glycogen into sweet glucose ; convert adenosine triphosphate into delicious and delicious nucleoside monophosphate; fat into scented fatty acids. This series of reactions gives the meat in the post-ripening stage a rich meaty and nutty flavor, and is soft and juicy, and tastes delicious after cooking.
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Dry film will also form on the surface of the meat to prevent the invasion of microorganisms. The slaughtered meat can usually be cooked after 1 to 3 days under 4 ℃. The higher the temperature, the faster it will be cooked afterwards. However, too long, it will enter the next stage that is not suitable for consumption, that is, the autolysis stage.
Once the meat starts to self-soluble, it means that it gradually enters the process of spoilage. The surface and deep layers of the muscles will form dark green sulfide hemoglobin and will be accompanied by the relaxation of muscle fibers, which will reduce the quality of the meat and the internal organs will deteriorate faster.
When the deterioration is severe, it will enter the rot stage. The meat will become odor, sticky and green. is the result of the combined effect of protein and fat decomposition of indole , sulfide, fecal stinum , cadaverine, bacterial toxin , etc., and it also means that is inedible.
So, don’t think that the meat that has just been slaughtered is the best. The meat that is in the post-cooking stage is the most suitable to enjoy!
2
Commonly suitable for meat in these parts?
Different parts of pork have their most suitable cooking methods. Only by cooking correctly can you better taste its deliciousness and taste excellent.
Generally speaking, whether the meat tastes soft or tender or old is closely related to the age, exercise status and body parts of the animal. Young animals have relatively less muscles and are relatively tender in their muscles, but they have less flavor and less fragrance. As the older animals gradually grow, their odor substances accumulate and their muscles are also growing. The content of collagen in their body gradually decreases, leaving more of the protein staggered in the muscle tissue, so they taste rich but have a hard taste.
In addition, the influence of the part is also very important. Next, let me briefly introduce it:
① Tenderloin: Tenderloin is almost all lean meat, with a protein content of up to 19.6%, and a fat of only 7.9%. It is the tenderest part of pork, cow and mutton.
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Tender stew is the tender meat of the animal's waist. Pigs, cattle and sheep stand on their limbs, hang their heads to eat or eat grass, and they must exert force on their shoulders, neck, legs, forelimbs, chest and other parts. Only one muscle on the back exercises less, so it is the tenderest.
Because the tenderloin is mainly lean meat, it is more suitable for slices, frying, and cooking. But if the cooking time is too long and the moisture is lost, the taste will be particularly hard. To avoid this problem, you can use sizing when cooking and marinate with starch, cooking wine, egg white, etc. The starch or egg white during cooking will form a protective shell, preventing the loss of moisture in the meat and making the taste tender. You can also pre-treat with tender meat powder or pineapple juice, papaya juice, kiwi juice, etc. for about 20 minutes. They contain enzymes that digest proteins, that is, protease , which can destroy the structure of muscles and tenderize the flesh.
②Plum Blossom : is mainly characterized by lean meat, but it is mixed with a little fat. It is the meat on the neck between the front shoulders and front legs of the pig, which is slightly older than the tenderloin.
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Because it has marble patterns, it is more suitable for frying. When frying meat, it will make an hissing sound that promotes appetite. This is actually the sound of water evaporating from the meat when it comes into contact with the surface of a high-temperature pot.
During the process of frying meat, the surface of the meat will brown and exude an attractive fragrance. It is necessary to pay attention to turning the heat immediately after the meat surface is browned and to avoid the inside being cooked and the outside being zoomed long ago.
③ Pork belly: has clear layers of fat and leanness, it is the meat on the abdomen of pigs. The protein content is lower than that of tenderloin, only 7.7%, but the fat content is as high as 35.3%. If you lose weight, eat less.
pork belly is also divided into upper five flowers and lower five flowers. The part connected to the pork ribs is the upper five flowers. The fat meat is very thick, the lean meat is less, and the taste is greasy. It is suitable for chopping and making meat filling; the part connected to the pork belly is the lower five flowers, which looks three layers of five flowers, and the lean meat is relatively more, and the taste is not very greasy. It is suitable for Dongpo pork , braised pork , and refry pork.
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④Pork leg meat: relatively speaking, there is more lean meat and less fat. Because legs are used to walk and also have to support the weight of the entire pig body, the meat of the front leg is older and has more tendons, while the tendons of the hind leg are less than those of the front leg. Both are more suitable for making braised dishes or braised meat. The front legs can also be used to make meatballs or make fillings, and the rear legs can be used to make the famous Jinhua Ham .
For large and hard meat, you can use to slow-cook to cook. If you want the meat to taste tender and juicy, then the cooking time must be long, which usually takes 1 to 2 hours. The key is to slowly cook on low heat. Slow cooking is beneficial to tenderize the meat and increase the flavor. When cooling, the meat should also cool down in the soup. The meat will absorb some of the soup and taste delicious and juicy.
3
How to choose a good piece of meat?
People often have questions: There are all kinds of pork on the market, how can you buy high-quality pork? It is actually not difficult to buy good pork. There are mainly 6 points:
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①Look at the color: Healthy pork muscle color bright red or dark red, and are accompanied by luster, fat is milky white or pink white. The muscles of the dead pork are dark red and even purple, and the fats of the show an abnormal color of .
②Look at the epidermis: healthy pork skin is consistent in color, without spots or bruises. Sick and dead pork often has purple spots or large patches of dark red, and even mass or rash.
③Press: The meaty of healthy pork is elastic, and the depression can be restored immediately after finger pressing. The meat of the dead pork is not elastic and cannot be restored after pressing, and a large amount of dark red liquid seeps out.
④See viscosity: healthy pork has a slightly dry appearance and does not stick to your hands, and the dead pork may become sticky, and the cut surface of may also appear in the shape of tofu.
⑤Smell the smell: The smell of healthy pork is the normal fresh meat flavor. After boiling, the broth is clear and transparent, and the cellulite is gathered on the liquid surface, which has the aroma of pork. The dead pork has a bloody smell, rotten smell and other peculiar smells, and the broth is turbid.
⑥Look at lymph nodes : The lymph node size of healthy pork is normal, while the diseased pork lymph nodes are swollen .
In addition, you need to be careful of "rice pork", also known as "pock pork", which refers to pork infected with cystic disease . It is a white and mung bean-sized parasite, parasite parasite parasite parasite parasite parasite parasite parasite of muscle fibers, that is, the thick white film on the surface of the meat.
Summary:
There are some specialties in choosing meat to make meat. After understanding it, you will become a master of meat cooking. However, although the meat is delicious, don’t eat too much. According to the recommendations of " Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents ", it is recommended to eat 300 to 500 grams of livestock and poultry meat per week.
References:
[1] Sun Changhao. Nutrition and Food Hygiene, 7th Edition [M]. People's Health Press. 2017:45
[2] Harold Maki [US]. Lin Huizhen Translation. Food and Cooking. Milk, Egg, Meat, Fish. Beijing Fine Art Photography Press. 2013.8
[3] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Ingredients Table, 6th Edition, Volume 2[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018
[4] http://www.ipraction.gov.cn/article/zskt/sjbj/yjsp/202004/175860.html
[5] Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents [M]. People's Health Press. 2022
Author | Xue Qingxin Member of the Chinese Nutrition Society Registered Nutritionist Health Manager Public Nutritionist
Review | Han Hongwei Director and researcher of the Risk Exchange Department of the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center
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