Meats - Practice Makes Perfect

The biggest challenge in cooking meats seems to be overcooking your meats and having them turn out dry, or undercooking your meats and having them turn out raw. Sometimes it’s a challenge to get the perfect in between

My good Friend, Anne Steele, the kitchen manager at Anasazzi Stone in St. George, told me a good trick for testing your meats. Place the pad of your thumb against your pointer finger, forming a teardrop shape. Now poke the “ball” of your thumb with the pointer finger on the opposite hand. The “give” you feel in your thumb is the “give” you’ll feel in meat when it’s “rare”. Now move your thumb to the middle finger and poke the “ball” of your thumb, the “give” is equivalent to the “give” when your meat is medium, move your thumb to your ring finger, the “give” is the same as well done.

Pretty cool, huh? When your cooking your meat, press it with a pair of tongs and you’ll feel the same density of “give” in the meat as you do in your thumb. Practice and you’ll get pretty close to the doneness that you desire in your meats.

Chicken seems to be the most challenging, although an overdone beef roast or steak is, truly, a terrible waste of meat. If you want to be more accurate, use an instant read meat thermometer and always remember that meat will continue to cook after you’ve removed it from the heat, so remove it just shy of what you want your finished degree of doneness to be and allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes.

Here’s a meat temperature chart for your convenience:

Meat Temperature Chart (Fahrenheit)
Beef Rare Medium-rare Medium Medium-well Well done	120° - 125° 130° - 135° 140° - 145° 150° - 155° 160° and above
Lamb Rare Medium-rare Medium Well done	135° 140° - 150° 160° 165° and above
Poultry Chicken Turkey	165° - 175° 165° - 175°
Pork	150°

Resting is very important. If you cut your meat immediately, all the juices in the meat will flow out, causing your meat to be dry. Allow it to rest and all the juices will remain in the meat and give you a nice moist, juicy end product.

I’ve given you recipes for “quick meals”. Many of these require you to pre-prep your meats in order to be able to “finish off” your meal within 20-30 minutes. Some forethought goes a long way in keeping your meal preparation time down to a minimum.

I often cook a lot of meat at one time. I usually have in mind what I want to use the meat for; after it’s cooked, I can package it in serving, or recipe, sizes and place it in the freezer. I write on the bag what my intentions are for the meat, thus saving myself considerable time.

If I’m going to grill 2 chicken breasts for dinner, it doesn’t take any longer to grill 4 or 8. You can leave the breasts whole, or slice them before freezing or refrigerating.

When cooking chicken, I usually leave my meat a little shy of done (I do not like raw chicken), especially if the meat is going to be reheated or used in another recipe. If you’ll do this, your meat won’t be overcooked when the dish is fully prepared. If a breast is a little undercooked and I want to use it immediately, I slice the meat, place it on a plate or in a microwave container and microwave it for 30-60 seconds or just till done. You’ll always have perfectly cooked chicken.

Be sure to choose meats, especially with beef and pork, that have some fat marbling, this is essential in having a tender, moist and flavorful cut of meat. Meat that is without marbling will be tough and dry. The fat will cook off, I promise.

Try slow roasting cuts of meat that have a tendency to be tough. Season your meat all over and place it in a roasting pan with the fat side up. This allows the meat to baste while roasting. I start it in the oven about 200 degrees, covered (no added water or liquids). If I’m cooking a 12-15 pound beef brisket, I’ll start the meat 10-12 hours before I want to serve it. Allow it to roast till it reaches “rare” on a meat thermometer, then uncover, turn the heat up to 225 and continue to roast till it reaches your desired doneness. For smaller cuts of meat, the time will be considerably reduced. Just calculate the time against the weight and adjust accordingly.

Poultry and pork can be slow roasted also. It’s a great way to get a head start on a meal and requires very little “hands on” attention. Try it, you won’t be sorry.

If your meats seem bland, try some spice blends, new seasonings or marinades and don’t forget the salt and pepper. If you’re not sure what you like, S&P with some garlic and/or onion powder is pretty safe and always good.

Whether it’s grilling, pan frying, poaching or roasting, spend a little time experimenting with timing and seasoning. The old saying, “practice makes perfect”, really does hold true. Enjoy!