Basic preparations and cooking methods

• Basic preparations
• Cooking methods for meats
• Mini roasts
• Internal temperature of most popular meats

Certain cuts of meat need special preparation to enhance their tenderness, heighten their taste, and preserve moistness during cooking. Here are some of them …

Marinating meat
Marinating means to soak a meat for one to several hours in a slightly acidulated liquid such as - wine, lemon juice, flavoured vinegar, soy sauce - and olive oil or other flavoured oil, fresh or dry herbs, garlic and spices - to tenderize the meat and heighten its taste. Poultry should be marinated for one to six hours, while other meats can be marinated for up to 24 hours.

• Marinating is not recommended for veal because the meat is too delicate.
• Cover the container in which the meat is marinating and keep it in the refrigerator.

Larding meat
Larding meat means to thread small strips of fat or fatty bacon through the lean flesh of meat or poultry using a needle with a large eye. This serves to protect the meat from drying out during cooking.

Barding a meat
This technique serves the same purpose as larding in that it protects the meat from drying during cooking. To bard meat, you cover the meat with a thin layer of fat or fatty bacon and secure with butcher’s string. The fat will melt into the meat during cooking, keeping it moist. This operation offers the added advantage of keeping the meat together well, which makes it easier to slice and serve.

Roasting
This method consists in cooking meat without added liquid in an open roasting pan in the oven or on the barbecue. For best results, all visible fat should be removed and the meat coated with butter, oil or flavoured fatty preparation to seal the meat and preserve moistness.

• Place the meat on a rotisserie rack, on the rack of a roasting pan or on the barbecue grill.
• Preheat the oven, rotisserie or barbecue at 160° C (325° F).
• Less tender cuts should be slow-cooked at lower heat 140° C (275° C).
• The meat can also be seared for a few minutes at high heat 200° C (400° F), which seals the meat and prevents the juices from running out. There will be a slight loss of volume however. Reduce the heat for the remaining cooking time.
• A good meat thermometer is the only reliable way to check for doneness.
• Once the meat has reached the desired internal temperature, it should be removed from heat, wrapped loosely in foil and left to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. This allows the juices to circulate and ensures even cooking. Grilling

This method consists in cooking meats rapidly on medium high heat in a frying pan, under the broiler element of the oven or on the barbecue. The meat is in very close contact with the heat source which caramelizes the meat, keeping it very juicy.

Grilling is particularly successful with tender cuts of meat and poultry. Tougher, less expensive cuts can be marinated to add tenderness and flavour to grills.

The meat is cooked for a few minutes on each side to the desired degree of doneness, turning only once during the process.

Sautéing or stir-frying
This method is the simplest. It involves cooking meat quickly in a lightly-oiled frying pan or wok over medium heat. Cut the meat into small strips or cubes for quick and uniform cooking.

Wok stir-fries generally include vegetables and aromatic ingredients such as spices, condiments and sauces.

Braising, stewing and cooking in sauces
Braising is ideal for less tender cuts of meat that require slow-cooking on low heat to become melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Stews and bouillis are simmered on the stovetop or in the oven in a large quantity of liquid. Some recipes, like Beef bourguignon for instance, require stovetop cooking while others require oven cooking. Slow simmering is particularly indicated for less tender, more economical cuts of meat. The cooking time, however, will vary from one cut to another.

What differentiates a stew from a braised dish is the larger quantity of liquid. While cooking, the liquid evaporates slowly, rendering a very smooth sauce.

It is also interesting to note that a stew or “bouilli” and a “pot-au-feu" are, for all practical purposes, the same thing. It is simply that the term “stew” and “bouilli” are used in Quebec whereas in France, it is called “pot-au-feu”.

Whichever cut you decide to use, the basic procedure is always the same…

• Dredge the pieces of meat in flour.
• Brown the meat over high heat in a mixture of butter and oil.
• Add aromatic vegetables and liquid - wine, broth, vegetable juice. Add a little liquid if you are braising and more liquid (enough to cover) if you are stewing the meat.
• Cover and cook according to recipe instructions, until the meat is soft and tender.

Pressure-cooker
For recipes requiring slow cooking or simmering, many people opt for a pressure-cooker.

In spite of its numerous advantages, the most important of which being the reduced cooking time, there are some inconveniences to using a pressure-cooker …

First of all, a pressure-cooker works so quickly and at such high intensity that it is very easy to overcook food.

Secondly, all the flavours blend in together so much that everything ends up tasting the same. …

Cooking in a pressure-cooker takes about one-third of the time and half as much liquid and fat as any other conventional methods. However, there should be a minimum of 250 ml of liquid to create enough vapour for stewing and braising.

Two things are important to remember when using a pressure cooker: cooking time begins when the pressure has reached “high” and it is always best to use a timer.