Cooking Tips

How to Improve the Texture and Flavour of Meat

23 July 2024

ingredients

1kg fresh meat

2 teaspoons of kosher salt or 1 teaspoon of regular sea salt

equipment

Paper kitchen towel

Shallow dish

method

1.

For the best quality meat -  buy your meat from the butcher or a market rather than a supermarket.

Unwrap the meat as soon as you get it home. Pat dry the meat using kitchen paper towel and place it  in a clean shallow glass, metal or plastic container.

2.

Measure out the salt onto your hand and sprinkle over the meat and rub into all surfaces .

3.

If you are not cooking the meat within the next 1 - 2 hours - refrigerate the meat uncovered in the lower part of the fridge - away from any fresh, uncovered produce.

TIP : If you have salted the meat and then find you cannot cook it - you can freeze it - just label it as already salted and be sure to thaw it in the fridge, and then bring it to room temperature before cooking. Dont salt it again.

4.

1 -2 hours before you are ready to cook the meat remove it from the fridge and place it on the bench to come to room temperature. This takes the chill out of the meat and allows it to cook more quickly and evenly throughout.
Be sure to pat the meat dry before cooking - the salt often draws moisture out of the flesh.

5.

For best results when pan frying a steak for example, preheat the pan or the grill in a hot oven (approx 220C)  for about 20 minutes while the meat comes to room temperature. Use good quality oven mitts to remove the pan or the grill from the oven and place over moderate to high heat on the stove top. Placing the meat into a hot pan with a small amount of olive oil will allow the meat to cook more evenly  and quickly. The meat will come away from the base of the pan once the meat is hot enough and has developed a crust underneath; The meat wont tear or stick to the base of the pan - so long as the meat and the pan are hot enough.

Preheat your bbq until it is hot before barbequing meat.

If you prefer not to use your oven - you can preheat your pan on top of the stove over moderate heat before cooking the meat. Just make sure you are adding the meat to a hot pan.

For roasting meat it is not necessary to preheat the pan.

6

whether you are roasting, grilling, frying or browning meat - always select a pan, a grill or a pot  that can comfortably contain all of the meat - arranged separately in a single layer in the case of pieces. Never over crowd the pan because if you do you make it difficult for the pan to hold its temperature and the meat will stew rather than brown. You may need to cook the meat in batches.

If the pan is too big - all of the precious juices will burn off and you wont be left with anything to form a sauce. 

If you are making a pan sauce in the dish you cook the meat in - be sure to taste the juices before adding any more salt - keeping in mind the salt you have already added to meat before you cooked it.

7.

When the meat is cooked, remove it from the heat and allow it to rest on a clean, warm plate or dish. Leave it undisturbed for at least 10 - 15 minutes for smaller cuts such as steak or chops -  up to an hour or two is perfectly alright for roasts and larger pieces of meat.

Resting the meat allows the juices to set in the flesh of the meat. If you don't rest the meat - all of the precious juices will run from the meat onto the plate creating an unsightly bloody mess and less juicy meat.

For further information on developing flavour in this way - be sure to consider one of our courses.

source

Notes by Elizabeth Peddey