I think I need meat tutorials!

I am willing to work with chicken, steak, ground beef and steak strips.

What do you need to know and remember about cooking meat?

Re: I think I need meat tutorials!

Not sure what you're asking here. Do you mean how to cook it, temperature?

Re: I think I need meat tutorials!

Yeah...basically what's the best way to cook chicken? What kind of pan? Oil? For how long? That kind of stuff. How do you season it? I don't eat it. I don't know if it's overcooked, tasty, etc.

Re: I think I need meat tutorials!

I'll give lessons ;) Depends on what kind of meat you're cooking for what purpose..there are visual cues for things like ground beef, steak..chicken, too..basically, you don't want chicken to be pink and you want ground beef to be brown, but not burned and steak to be pinkish in the center, mostly seasoned with just salt and pepper..hth, but feel free to ask more questions...

Re: I think I need meat tutorials!

That's a BIG question because there are so many different types and cuts of meat and so many different ways to prepare depending on the recipe.

Like.. with beef.. a high quality cut (like porter or rib) will usually demand grilling for me. Sometimes I'll pan fry but only at screamingly high heat and only in a cast iron pan.

Lesser quality mean - like chuck or a London Broil - means I'll usually marinate and either slice for a sautee or sometimes cook whole on the grill or in the broiler and slice THINLY across the grain to make it more tender.

Roasts get the oven treatment or occasionally get dumped in a crock pot.

And that's just a real general "usually" kind of thing. I've also braised beef and stir fried it.. it all depends on the texture I'm looking for. And it depends on taste too. I like a rare steak.. but my friend Mike likes his SUPER rare.. almost mooing. And another friend likes hers super well done (which I refuse to do because I'm a snob).

You go to chicken and it's the same thing.. you can stir fry, sautee, pan fry, deep fry, oven bake, roast, braise.. it all depends on the taste of the person you are cooking for and the flavor profile you are seeking.

I know this is probably NOT a lot of help.. but it's a really huge question!

Re: I think I need meat tutorials!

Great cuts of steak = Porterhouse, fillet mignon. FYI the fillet is the smaller part of the porter house steak.

I broil steak with a little salt and pepper. I flip them half way through. Cooking time depends upon the thickness of the steak. I usually start out with 5 minutes per side and add as needed. After cooking, and before eating let the steak sit to reabsorb its juices. I like a pink middle. It is personal preference as to how done you like it.

I also broil lamb chops but don't put anything on it.

Chicken - a whole chicken is roasted. I stick lemons inside of it. I use my fingers to put spices under the skin and on top of it. I also put olive oil on it. Some people like to put butter on the top of it. Roast in a pan at 350 degrees. It depends upon the size of the chicken for the time. I go by 15-18 minutes per lb.

To make a breaded cutlet:
Trim fat from cutlet.
Make the cutlets uniform size to aid in cooking.
Pound cutlets if necessary.
Wash cutlet.
Pat dry with paper towel.

Take out 3 plates and 1 bowl.
Plate 1. Wondra Flour on the plate
Bowl beat one egg
Plate 2. Panko, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder
Plate 3. Clean plate

Dredge each cutlet in flour on both sides, then in the egg, let excess egg drip off in the bowl, then bread the cutlet. Place on the clean plate. Do all of the cutlets this way.

In a frying pan, cover the bottom with oil and add a little extra, heat pan. To test if the oil is hot enough. Flick in a drop of water to see the oil crackle. Be careful when doing that. It is to make sure that the oil is hot enough. You can get an oil burn from the oil popping up from the pan so BE CAREFUL when doing that.

When the oil is hot reduce the heat slightly and place the breaded cutlets in the pan for about 1 minute and then flip to the other side. You will need to flip them every minute or two. Cook until golden brown. I slice into one to make sure it is done. Put the cooked cutlets on a clean plate and pat them with a paper towel to get rid of excess oil.

Re: I think I need meat tutorials!

I would also like to add, good pieces of beef shouldn't be cooked straight out of the fridge. I was always taught to leave it out for 15-20 mins before cooking it. After cooking leave it to rest on a plate and cover with foil for 5 mins. I've always read this from top chef recipes.

I am not sure about the food safety of that, but I eat my meat medium rare, so that isn't that safe either .

Re: I think I need meat tutorials!

Thank you all for replying. I never knew to leave meat out for a bit before cooking.

Re: I think I need meat tutorials!

The best thing I ever got was a meat thermometer - it has a chart that tells you the temperature each type of meat has to reach. It really helped me because I was always overcooking everything!