Top Tips for Buying Quality Meat
When shopping for beef and lamb, there is one sure way of ensuring you find quality meat in your local butcher or supermarket, just look for a quality mark. Meat carrying the Quality Standard Mark logo is traceable right back to the farm it comes from and has guaranteed eating quality. This means that whatever your culinary creation the meat will be tender, succulent and incredibly tasty.
1. Gristle – Skilled butchers should remove the blueish membrane from beef steaks. If this is present, it will tighten upon cooking and render the steak tough. However, if the meat is slow cooked for a longer period of time (approx. 2-3 hours), the gristle will become soft and turn into jelly which is very flavoursome.
2. Texture – Generally steaks for frying and grilling will have a fine texture while steaks for braising might have a coarse texture. Always make sure gristle has been removed when choosing the cut.
3. Grain – Always make sure you look at the grain of the meat. The grain is the direction of the muscle fibres. Steaks should be cut across rather than along the grain. Once a roasting joint has been cooked and rested, it should be cut across the grain.
4. Consistent butchery - Skilled butchers care about the quality of their products and therefore will have the best pieces of meat on display. Cuts of meat should be of even thickness with smooth edges.
5. Colour – Fresh meat should have a rich and vibrant colour. Although the colour of the meat will differ slightly between various cuts. Beef can be bright red in colour when very fresh or it can also be darker in colour (particularly when vacuum packed).
6. Provenance and quality – Ask your butcher where they source their meat, this way you can be sure where it comes from. Older animals and those used for breeding, which generally produce tougher meat, won't carry the Quality Standard Mark. Similarly, beef that has been hung for a minimum of 14 days will be more succulent and tender, as it has had time to mature.
7. Fat/Marbling – The fat/marbling on beef cuts is important for good eating quality. When it comes to beef steaks look for little white dots of fat in the middle of the steak.
8. Know your cuts – It's important to research the cut of meat you're buying, so you can choose the right cut for the dish you want to cook. Ask your butcher for advice if you're not sure.
For everything you need to know about beef and lamb, recipe ideas and information about the Quality Standard Mark, please visit www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk
1. Gristle – Skilled butchers should remove the blueish membrane from beef steaks. If this is present, it will tighten upon cooking and render the steak tough. However, if the meat is slow cooked for a longer period of time (approx. 2-3 hours), the gristle will become soft and turn into jelly which is very flavoursome.
2. Texture – Generally steaks for frying and grilling will have a fine texture while steaks for braising might have a coarse texture. Always make sure gristle has been removed when choosing the cut.
3. Grain – Always make sure you look at the grain of the meat. The grain is the direction of the muscle fibres. Steaks should be cut across rather than along the grain. Once a roasting joint has been cooked and rested, it should be cut across the grain.
4. Consistent butchery - Skilled butchers care about the quality of their products and therefore will have the best pieces of meat on display. Cuts of meat should be of even thickness with smooth edges.
5. Colour – Fresh meat should have a rich and vibrant colour. Although the colour of the meat will differ slightly between various cuts. Beef can be bright red in colour when very fresh or it can also be darker in colour (particularly when vacuum packed).
6. Provenance and quality – Ask your butcher where they source their meat, this way you can be sure where it comes from. Older animals and those used for breeding, which generally produce tougher meat, won't carry the Quality Standard Mark. Similarly, beef that has been hung for a minimum of 14 days will be more succulent and tender, as it has had time to mature.
7. Fat/Marbling – The fat/marbling on beef cuts is important for good eating quality. When it comes to beef steaks look for little white dots of fat in the middle of the steak.
8. Know your cuts – It's important to research the cut of meat you're buying, so you can choose the right cut for the dish you want to cook. Ask your butcher for advice if you're not sure.
For everything you need to know about beef and lamb, recipe ideas and information about the Quality Standard Mark, please visit www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk