Cooking meat well is not that easy! And there’s nothing like endlessly chewing a piece of steak that is way too chewy to remind us of it.
In a context where we already know that we should all eat less meat (for our health, for the planet, for the well-being of animals), it becomes even more important to cook well, if only for avoiding waste! Here are some pitfalls to avoid to get there better.
1. Leave it in a cold pan
Whether you use a non-stick pan or not (purists prefer to sear the meat in a traditional pan), whether you use a fatty substance or not, you really have to wait until the pan is HOT before adding the meat! Otherwise, it may stick! Besides, the hotter the pan, the more beautiful the color / caramelization.
2. Move it too fast
Once the piece of meat (lamb mutton, chicken breast, piece of beef, etc.) is in the pan, it’s tempting to move it around – it sounds like it’s reassuring us that it won’t stick. !
Yet it’s the other way around. It is very best to leave her alone as much as possible! It can not be moved or replaced for least a few minutes before muscle fibers relax, and caramel “crust” emerges. Once it is baked, it will no longer stick to the dish. You can then turn it around and/or move it just a bit, but nothing else! You don’t have ten times to turn a dumpling!
The situation is different for cuts of meat (chicken or beef strips, for example), which are sautéed and not seared or grilled. For this type of cooking, they should rather be stirred often.
3. Salt it too early
The salt dries meat and removes it from its essential cooking juices. It is, therefore, essential to salt it only if it is placed in a bowl, or only before serving at the very end of the cooking. I like doing this using crunchy salt finish (pink salt, casher salt, salt flower), which brings a fascinating flavor and seasoning to the bowl.
It is particularly important for meatballs for burgers. Salt them too much in advance will lead to a thin, dry and unattractive meatball.
4. Cook it too long
We usually trust the cooking time when cooking, but with meat, it is really better to go with the temperature. A meat thermometer costs just a few dollars and it really is a kitchen essential.
Very few sautéed, seared or grilled meats (i.e. at high heat) benefit from being cooked longer than necessary. All that can happen is you get tough, tasteless meat!
When inserting the thermometer, it should not touch a bone.
- Poultry is ready at 165 F.
- The pork is ready at 145 F.
- The medium-rare beef is ready between 135 and 140 F.
Exceptions to this law are there: certain meat cuts are designed for slow cooking at low heat: paddle roast, pork back, stew sticks, beef brisket, shanks, chicken drumstick, and so on, unlike the pork, pulled in our oven.
5. Slice it in the same direction as the fiber
That can make ALL the difference between pieces that hurt your jaw muscles and tender, tasty pieces.
Beef has a grain, that is, a direction in which the muscle fiber stretches if we cut the meat in the same direction = RUBBER. If we slice it in the opposite direction, = DELICIOUS.
6. Don’t temper it
Cooking very cold meat directly is not great. It makes it more difficult to achieve perfect cooking! What may happen is uneven cooking or burnt edges to obtain a fairly cooked medium.
In an ideal world, you would have to take the meat out of the fridge between 15 and 30 minutes before cooking it. The longer time applies to larger pieces of meat, for example a roast or a whole chicken.
7. Do not let it rest after
It is always best to let a piece of meat rest before serving it. Taking it out of the pan or oven, cover it with foil and leave it on the counter. How long? 5 minutes for a chicken breast, sausage, chop, etc., 10 minutes for a steak, chicken or a small roast, and up to 20 minutes for a large piece of meat; a ham, a pork shoulder, a turkey, etc.
8. Put a large amount of meat in the pan at the same time
While cooking, the meat lets steam escape (part of the cooking is done by evaporation). If there is not enough space between each piece of meat in the pan, it will steam rather than sear or grill, so not the same result at all! There cannot be good caramelization. It is better to cook the meat in several batches, or in two different frying pans.
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