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Traditional roast beef
Beef pot roast with winter vegetables
Texas barbecue beef brisket
French-style braised beef
Corned beef with mustard sauce
Trinidad pepperpot beef
Beef with roast vegetable salad
Beef wellington
Steak au poivre
Chateaubriand with bearnaise sauce
Steaks with smoked oyster relish
Steak diane
Tournedos roquefort
Beef & bean burritos
Beef stroganoff
Mexican steak platter
Beef teriyaki
Fajitas
Winter beef casserole
Boeuf bourguignon
Carbonnade of beef
Hungarian goulash
Chianti beef casserole
Beef with horseradish
Thai red beef curry
Country beef casserole
Chili con carne
Beef rolls with vegetable julienne
Corned beef hash
Traditional steak & kidney pie
Beef florentine
Braised meatballs
Hamburgers
Meat loaf
Meat pies with cheesy potato topping
Exotic beef
Beef Tacos
Pressed tongue
Oxtail stew
Lemon roast veal with spinach stuffing
Vitello tonnato
Veal chops with mushrooms & cream
Wiener schnitzel
Saltimbocca
Veal marsala
Osso buco
Veal stew with olives & peppers
Liver & bacon with onion sauce
Calf's liver with sage
Creamed sweeetbreads
Roast leg of lamb with red wine gravy
Greek roast lamb
Spinach-stuffed lamb
Shoulder of lamb with lemon & olive stuffed
Lemon broiled lamb
Kebabs
Shoulder of lamb with garlic & herbs
Indian spiced lamb
Rack of lamb with a walnut & herb crust
Lamb with mint glaze
Herbed butterfly chops
Lamb chops with minted hollandaise sauce
Meat hot pot
lamb noisettes with orange & honey
Irish stew
Curried lamb with almonds
Blanquette of lamb
Aromatic lamb with lentils
Lamb tagine
Spiced lamb with coconut
Shepherd's pie
Moussaka
Kidneys turbigo
Sausages with potatoes & peppers
Boned loin of pork with apricot stuffing
Marinated loin of pork with pineapple
Roast leg of pork
Madeira pork with paprika
Bacon-wrapped pork in vermouth sauce
Pork with chili & coconut
Broiled pork chops with mango sauce
Spinach-stuffed pork chops
Pork chops with oranges
Pork steaks with mixed peppercorns
Sweet & sour Chinese spareribs
Pork in red wine
Hearty pork casserole
Danish meatballs
Pasticcio
Mustard-glazed ham
Boston baked beans
Farmer's bacon
Sausage cassoulet
Baked sausage
Toad in the hole
Sausage & lentil casserole

MEAT STOCK

Ask your butcher to saw 4 lb (2 kg) bones into 21/2-in (6-cm) pieces. Beef and veal bones are best.

Meat

1 Roast the bones in a 450°F (230°C) oven for about 30 minutes until well browned. Add 2-3 roughly chopped onions, carrots, and celery stalks. Roast for 30 minutes.

Meat

2 Transfer the browned bones and vegetables to a large stockpot. Add 4 quarts (4 liters) water, a bouquet garni made of 1-2 bay leaves, a few paTsley stalks, and 1-2 sprigs of thyme, tied together with fine string, and a few black peppercorns.

Meat

3 Bring to a boil, skim off scum, then simmer for 4-6 hours. Using a ladle, strain the meat stock. Skim off fat, or let cool and lift off solidified fat.

MEAT KNOW-HOW

FOR CENTURIES, MEAT HAS BEEN the protein food around which the majority of meals have been planned. And even though more and more people are changing their diets to include more vegetables, pasta, rice, and beans, meat is still enjoyed by most families several times a week, and it still forms the traditional centerpiece for many celebration meals. Make sure the cooking method suits the cut of meat you are preparing. Lean meats are best cooked quickly, while tougher cuts of meat are made more tender with long, slow cooking.

BUYING & STORING

If possible, buy your meat from a butcher because he's most likely to have just the cut you want (or will be prepared to cut it for you), and he will also advise you how to cook it. Wherever you shop, choose meat that looks fresh and moist (not wet), with a good color and no grayish tinge. If possible, smell the meat: it should smell fresh. Check that pieces are neatly trimmed, without excess fat and splinters of bone. Appetites vary, but as a general guide, allow 4-7 oz (125-200 g) of lean boneless meat per person and about 8 oz (250 g) per person if the meat has a reasonable amount of bone.

Store meat, both raw and cooked, in the refrigerator. Ground meat and organ meats are more perishable than other kinds of meat, so cook them within 1-2 days of purchase. Chops, steaks, and roasts can be kept for 2-4 days; remove the wrapping and replace with a loose covering. Eat cooked meat within 2-3 days.

Microwaving

Because microwave cooking is so fast, meat does not have time to brown and become crisp. This can be overcome by using a special browning dish that sears meat in the way a skillet does.

The microwave oven is very useful for defrosting frozen meat. This must be done evenly at the manufacturer's recommended setting to prevent some parts of the meat beginning to cook before others are totally defrosted. All wrapping should be removed from the meat before defrosting to ensure that the meat does not start cooking.

Freezing

Meat to be frozen must be very fresh. Wrap it tightly so that all the air is excluded. Pad any sharp bones so that they don't pierce the wrapping. If packing chops, cutlets, steaks, or hamburgers, separate them with freezerproof plastic wrap or freezer paper. The larger the piece of meat the longer it will keep. Ground meat and sausages can be stored in the freezer for 3 months; organ meats, chops, and cutlets for 4 months; roasts and steaks for 6 months. Thaw frozen meat, in its wrapping and Oil a plate to catch any juices, in the refrigerator.

BASIC COOKING TECHNIQUES

Tougher pieces of meat should be cooked slowly by stewing or braising. More Lender pieces can be cooked quickly by frying or broiling. Beef and lamb when roasted, broiled, or fried can be served pink in the middle, but pork should be thoroughly cooked.

Stewing
Meat

Cut the meat into cubes. Put into a flameproof casserole with any vegetables and liquid to cover. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on top of the stove or in the oven.

Alternatively, to seal in juices, heat some oil in the casserole and brown the cubes. Brown the vegetables, add liquid and flavorings, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer as above.

Roasting
Meat
  1. Take the meat from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature.
  2. Preheat the oven. Rub the meat with fat or oil and seasonings or make incisions all over and insert herbs or slivers of garlic. Insert a meat thermometer, if using.
  3. Put the meat and any vegetables in a roasting pan. Roast in the preheated oven, basting with the juices, until cooked to your taste (page 214). If not using a meat thermometer, test whether the meat is cooked by inserting a skewer into the center. If the juices that run out are bloody, the meat is rare; if pink, medium; if clear, well-done.
  4. Transfer the roast to a carving board and leave to rest for 10-15 minutes while making gravy. Carve the roast (page 213) and serve.
Braising
Meat
  1. Brown the meat in the casserole to add flavor and to seal in the cooking juices. Remove the meat from the casserole.
  2. Add chopped vegetables and cook until beginning to brown. Return the meat and add liquid and flavorings. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook gently according to the recipe.
Frying and sauteing
Meat
  1. Dry the meat with paper towels (if too moist, it will not brown quickly and evenly). Heat oil or a mixture of oil and butter in a heavy skillet until it is very hot and add the meat, being careful not to crowd the pan.
  2. Cook until well browned all over. Reduce the heat and continue until the meat is done to your taste. When turning meat, use tongs rather than a fork since a fork pierces the meat and allows thejuices to run out.
Broiling and barbecuing
Meat
  1. Preheat the broiler to hot, or light the barbecue (it will take 20-30 minutes to reach cooking temperature unless it is a gas barbecue, which will heat up immediately).
  2. Arrange the meat on the broiler pan and put under the broiler, or arrange on the grid over the charcoal fire. Brush with oil or melted butter and cook the meat until it is browned all over.
  3. For sausage or thicker pieces of meat that need to be cooked thoroughly, reduce the heat or move the meat farther away from the heat and complete cooking.
Stir-frying
Meat
  1. Cut the meat into uniform pieces for even cooking. Heat a wok or heavy skillet, then add a little oil.
  2. When the oil is hot, start adding the meat, a little at a time - adding too much at once will lower the temperature of the oil. Using a slotted spoon or a spatula, stir and toss the meat constantly until it is evenly browned.
  3. If some pieces of meat are cooked before others, they can be pushed Lip the side of the wok or to the side of the pan, where they will stay warm but not overcook.

BONING & BUTTERFLYING A LEG OF LAMB

A boned leg of lamb is much easier to carve than meat still on the bone. Tunnel boning leaves a pocket that can be filled with stuffing. Cutting the leg open to lie flat is knoum. as butterflying.

Meat

1 To tunnel bone, trim the skin and most or all of the fat from the lamb. Cut around the pelvic bone, at the wide end of the leg, to separate it from the meat. Sever the tendons that connect it to the leg bone. Remove the pelvic bone.

Meat

2 At the narrow end of the leg, cut around the shank bone and then scrape the meat away from the whole length of the bone using short strokes.

Meat

3 Cut away the meat to expose thejoint that joins the shank bone to the leg bone. Sever the tendons and then remove the shank bone.

Meat

4 Cut around each end of the leg bone. Ease the leg bone out, cutting and scraping away the meat as you twist and pull it out. Trim off the tendons.

Meat

5 If you want to butterfly the boned leg, carefully insert a large chefs knife into the cavity left by the leg bone and cut to one side to slit open the meat.

Meat

6 Open out the boned leg into a "butterfly" shape. Cut through any thick portions of meat so that the whole leg can be opened out flatand is roughly even in thickness. Trim off excess fat and any remaining tendons.

BONING A SHOULDER OF LAMB

A special boning knife, with a narrow, pointed blade, is useful for preparing shoulders af lamb, pork, and veal. If you don't have one, a small, sharp chef's knife can be used instead

Meat

1 Remove the skin and fat. Set the shoulder meat side up. Cut through the meat to the blade bone, and then cut away the meat on either side, keeping the knife as close to the bone as possible, until the bone is revealed.

Meat

2 Cut through the baJl-and- socket joint between the blade bone and the central shoulder bone to separate the 2 bones.

Meat

3 Cut beneath the ball-and- socket joint to free the end. Hold it firmly in one hand and pull the blade bone away from the meat.

Meat

4 Cut around the central shoulder bone, severing the tendons and cutting and scraping away the meat. Pull out the bone. If necessary, enlarge the pocket left by the bone so that it will accommodate a stuffing.

PREPARING RACK OF LAMB

Rack of lamb is a tender cut for roasting or broiling. A single rack, which is one side of the upper rib cage, comprises 6-9 cutlets and serves 2-3 people. Two racks can be used to make impressive cuts such as a guard of honor or a crown roast.

Rack of lamb
Meat

1 Set the rack on a board and cut away the cartilage at one end. Pull off the skin. Score the fat and meat 2 in (5 cm) from the ends of the rib bones.

Meat

2 Turn the rack over and set it at the edge of the cutting board so the ends of the rib bones are suspended. Score the meat along the rack, about 2 in (5 cm) from the ends of the rib bones, cutting through to the bones.

Meat

3 Cut out the meat from between the bones, cutting from the crosswise cuts to the ends. Turn the rack over and scrape the ends of the bones clean.

Meat

4 Trim away most of the fat from the meat. Repeat the preparation process with the second rack, if using.

Guard of honor

Poultry

Hold 1 rack in each hand, fat side outward, and push them together, interlocking the rib bones. Cook as directed, covering the rib bones with foil if desired, to prevent them from charring during cooking.

STUFFING, ROLLING, & TYING A ROAST

Cuts that have been boned and opened out can be rolled around a stuffing, which gives both moisture and flavor to the meat during cooking.

Poultry

1 Open out the meat and spread with an even layer of stuffing, leaving a small margin around the edge of the meat.

Poultry

2 Roll up or fold the meat around the stuffing to make a compact bolster shape. Turn it so that the seam is underneath.

Poultry

3 Tie string around the meat at regular intervals, to hold it in shape during cooking. Remove the string before carving.

CROWN ROAST

Meat

Two racks of lamb are tied together in the shape of a crown.

  1. Prepare 2 racks as above. Slit the membrane between the rib bones at the meaty end so that the racks can be bent.
  2. Stand the racks, meat side innermost, on a work surface and curve to form a crown shape. Bend the bones so that the crown will stand upright.
  3. Tie string around the middle of the 2 racks to hold them in place.
  4. Fill the center of the roast with a stuffing or add a filling just before serving. Carve the roast by cutting down between the rib bones.

CARVING A ROAST

ROnce a roast has finished cooking, transfer it to a carving board and let it rest in a warm place for 10-15 minutes. During this time, the temperature of the meat will even out, and the flesh will reabsorb most of the juices. To carve, use a 2-pronged carving fork and a long carving knife.

Shoulder of lamb
Meat

1 Insert the fork into the shank end. Cut a narrow, wedge-shaped piece from the center, in the meatiest part between the angle formed by the blade bone and the shoulder bone.

Meat

2 Carve neat slices from either side of this wedge- shaped cut until the blade and central shoulder bones are reached. Turn the shoulder over and cut horizontal slices lengthwise.

Leg of lamb
Meat

1 Set the roast with the meaty side upward, and insert the carving fork firmly into the knuckle end. Cut a narrow, wedge-shaped piece from the center of the meaty portion, cutting all the way to the bone.

Meat

2 Carve neat slices from either side of this wedge- shaped cut, gradually changing the angle of the knife to make the slices larger. Turn the leg over. Trim off the fat, then carve off horizontal slices.

Beef rib roast
Meat

1 Set the roast upright on a carving board, insert the carving fork into the meaty side to steady the joint, and cut close to the large rib bones at the base of the meat to remove them.

Meat

2 With the meat on its side, hold the knife at a slight angle and carve the meat into slices, 3j 4 in (2 cm) thick.

Whole ham
Meat

1 Cut a few horizontal slices from one side of the ham to make a flat surface. Turn the ham over onto this surface. Insert the carving fork in the shank end. Make 3 or 4 cuts through to the bone at the shank end.

Meat

2 Insert the knife into the last cut and slide it along the bone to detach the slices. Make a few more cuts in the ham and continue to remove the slices in the same way. Turn over and carve off horizontal slices.

MAKING GRAVY

A delicious gravy can be made from a good stock and the richly flavored drippings left after roasting meat. Be sure to remove most of the fat before you begin.

Meat

1 Pour all but 1 tbsp fat from the roasting pan, leaving the juices. Set the pan on top of the stove and heat until sizzling. Stir in 1 tbsp all-purpose flour.

Meat

2 Stir briskly to mix the flour with the juices and scrape the bottom and sides of the pan to dissolve any browned bits. Keep stirring to form a well-browned paste.

Meat

3 Gradually add 1 quart (1 liter) stock or other liquid, whisking constantly to combine with the flour paste. Whisk until smooth. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Season to taste, strain into a warmed gravy boat and serve.

USING A MEAT THERMOMETER

Meat

The most accurate way to test if a large piece of meat is cooked is to use a meat thermometer, which registers the internal temperature of the meat. Before cooking, insert the spike of the thermometer into the middle or thickest part of the meat. Make sure that the thermometer does not touch a bone because bones become hotter than meat and will therefore give a false reading. Start checking the temperature reading toward the end of the suggested cooking time. A roast will continue to cook by retained heat for 5-10 minutes after it is removed from the oven, so take it out as soon as the thermometer reaches the desired temperature.

PREPARING ORGAN MEATS

Sweetbreads are glands from the throat and heart of calves or lambs. They have a delicate flavor and a rich, creamy texture. Lamb, beef, and veal kidneys are sometimes sold surrounded by a layer of hard, white fat - this is suet.

Sweetbreads
Meat

1 Soak the sweetbreads in cold water with 1 tbsp lemon juice for 2-3 hours to clean them. Drain and rinse well. Cut away any discolored parts. Use your fingers to carefully peel off the thin membrane surrounding the sweetbreads.

Meat

2 Cut away the ducts and any fat and discard. Don't remove too much, or the sweetbreads will break up. Put into a saucepan of cold water and bring to a boil. Blanch calfs sweetbreads for 5 minutes, lamb's sweetbreads for 3 minutes.

Kidneys
Meat

1 If the kidneys are surrounded by suet, pull it away. Separate the kidneys (if using beef or veal). Carefully cut through the fine membrane around each kidney and use your fingers to peel it off (cut the ducts from beef or veal kidneys).

Meat

2 Set each kidney rounded side up and slice lengthwise in half (or leave attached at the base, according to recipe directions). With a sharp pair of scissors, snip out the small fatty white core and the tubes.