Many of us do not know how to cut meat properly. A delicious dish of meat not only depends on a good recipe but also the proper piece of the ingredients and obviously piece of meat is the main ingredient for a dish of meat.
So we all should know the appropriate way for cutting meat. However at first we all need to know about meat and also the structure of bones to prepare the meat in an appropriate way.
Here I am going to explain everything that you need to know to prepare the meat appropriately. So keep reading…..
Muscle & Bone Structure of Meat:
First of all remember that meat is muscle made up of fibers. Connective tissues like collagen and elastin hold these muscle fibers together. If you want to prepare the meat appropriately, you need to know the amount of connective tissues contained in the muscle.
The highly exercised muscles develop more connective tissues as well as coarse muscle fibers such as shank or shoulder area.
Meat from these areas is less tender. The source of more tender or choice cuts of meat you will get from the back, rib and loin section which contain muscles that are used less frequently.
Now I will describe the general cutting procedures.
Basic Cutting Procedures:
Normally the meat animals are broken down from large carcasses into several parts which are primal and subprimal cuts. These pieces are the large parts of the animals. Further they broken down into small pieces in restaurants and other retail.
Sometimes or on some occasion primal and subprimal cuts are cooked whole, but in general they are broken down into different small pieces. These smaller portion cuts are called fabricated cuts. I will mention some of these cuts to you. They are as follows.
Roasts: This cut is for boneless or bone-in and which is large cuts that meant to be cooked whole. After cooking they are sliced into small portions.
Racks: It’s a special type of roast which contains the rib bones. It is most common with pork and lamb. This is prepared in a process called frenched.
Steaks and Chops: This can be both boneless and bone-in portion of cuts. It can be cooked whole or sliced. There must be a bone in chops but in steak it can be bone-in or boneless.
Cutlets: This is a piece of boneless meat and usually thin slices. It is basically from the legs portion.
Stew or Cubed meat: This cut (cubes of meat) is basically used for stews or similar kind of recipes.
So here are some cuts used on a regular basis everywhere. Now I will tell you how you can make these cuts easily from primal or sub-primal portions.
I always prefer meat cleavers for cutting these types of meat portions or you can say chunk of meat. It is also very handy for breaking down every part of the meat animals. Here I will explain how to use meat cleaver properly and easily to cut chunks of meat and also for deboning.
Using Meat Cleavers in Proper Way:
Many people think meat cleavers are not easy to use. Actually it is if you use it in proper way and you can chop down the meat easily with meat cleavers than any other tools. So keep reading to know how to do it easily.
- Set up your cutting board: First of all the cutting board you will use, should have to be sturdy and unwrapped. Then you have to place it on your counter properly so that it sits stably there. To make it ensure that it will not slip, you can use a gripper or a wet dish towel under the board.
- Choose your plan of attack: Not always you have to hack, sometimes you can use the weight and leverage to slice the meat properly. It basically depends on the portion you are cutting. For example: If you are going to halve a whole roast duck, you should use the cleaver as you always use the chef’s knife, employ a pinch grip and a little rocking motion to lever through the meat. When you are chopping the meat or any poultry animals, use a power grip on the cleaver.
- The final cut: When you are ready, you can use the weight of the cleaver to do much work for you. Chopping motion it-self should come from the wrist. Keep in mind that you hit on the food using the top third of the blade. You can get extra lever power if you do not make it all the way through.
- Slice through a second time, if needed: You need a little practice to gauge just how much force you need to supplement the cleaver’s weight. Maybe you have put the right amount of food to split with a clean cut. But sometimes the cleaver can stuck halfway through the bone. Then the thing you have to do is place your non-dominant hand on the spine of the knife and apply pressure to drive the knife downward and finish the cut.
So this is the appropriate way to use meat cleavers which will make your cooking experience easier than before. You can cut a chunk of meat or primal and subprimal cuts of meat easily with meat cleavers.
Hope this article helps you to know the cuts and the technique. Thanks for reading it.
Happy cooking!!!!!!!!!
