Trignare meat at home is not just for butchers. With a sharp knife and a little know-how, you can save serious money and improve the quality of your meals. This guide divides the tools, the basic techniques and the practical advice necessary to master the cut of everything, from steaks to poultry with confidence.
Before starting to cut, make sure you have these fundamental tools:
Knives
Quality matters, but it is not necessary to spend a fortune. A strong $ 40 from $ 40 knife exceeds a boring $ 200 each time. Concentrate on maintaining your knives rather than buying the most expensive options.
Cut the surfaces
- Wooden cutting board: Ideally hard wood in parmesan, which is more delicate on the edges of the knife
- Dedicated meat board: Consider having a separate table for the preparation of the meat that can pass through the dishwasher
- Wet kitchen towel: Place under the table to avoid sliding
Additional equipment
- Cesoie da kitchen: To cut small bones, cartilage and cutting cuts
- Butcher: To cross and tie them after cutting
- Paper towels: Mantien yourself in abundance at hand to dry the meat and cleaning
Security first
- Taglio -resistant gloves: Highly recommended, especially for beginners: he orders the right dimensions to avoid frustration.
- Adequate technique: Always cut distant from yourself
- Cross prevention: Ashesitize all surfaces first AND After cutting
Understanding of the structure of the meat
Good cut requires a basic knowledge of the composition of the meat:
Muscle and wheat
- Muscle fibers: Always identifies the direction of wheat before cutting
- Directorate of wheat: Influence the way you in the end you cut the meat after cooking (perpendicular to wheat)
- Muscle groups: Different muscles within the same cut can have different wheels
Types of fat
- Subcutaneous fat: The layer of fat just below the skin or the external surface
- Intramuscular fat: Marbleization through meat (generally desirable)
- Intermuscular fat: Fat between different muscle groups (often removed)
Connective tissue
- Silver skin: Pearl and hard membrane that does not break during cooking
- Tendons: Attach the muscles to the bones, hard and unpublished
- Band: Thin membranes between muscle groups
Knowing what to remove and what to leave makes the difference in your final dish. Most of the cooking failures derive from an improper finishing technique, not cooking.
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Basic beef cutting techniques
- Whole cuts: Ribeyes, strips and fillets for steaks.
- Roast: Clean roasted and fried feeding by removing the excess skin of fat and silver.
- Steaks: Remove the chain meat and cut the edges for a clean presentation.
- Minced beef: Check the fat-leo ratio by merging the coating from other cuts.
Remember: For steaks, the less cuts are often the better. The rule of flavor is equal to fat applies heavily here.
Whole cuts
When you work with larger submitrs such as Ribeye, Striscia or fillet loin:
- Initial evaluation: Examine the cut to identify the fatty caps, the silver skin and the unwanted portions
- Outer fat: Cut to a thickness of 1/4 inch for most types of cooking (this provides flavor while preventing excessive reaches)
- Removal of silver skin: Slide the tip of the knife under the edge, angles the blade slightly upwards and draw the knife as he pulls the silver skin to detach it
Basic notions on pork cutting
- Whole cuts: Focuses fatty caps on Boston’s buttons and clean pork bells to cook evenly.
- Canciole: French pork ribs for a better presentation and caramelization.
- Ribs: Remove the membrane on the bone side for tender bites.
- Thread: Remove the silver skin with shallow and delicate features.
Whole cuts
When working with pork shoulder, loin or belly:
- Skin removal: If the cut has the skin, decide whether to remove it or mark it to crack
- Cap: For the shoulder (Boston seats), cut to a thickness of 1/4 inch
Fast Bruccole of the poultry
- Whole chicken: Learn to Spatcare or to break completely in parts.
- Turkey: Portion to roast or smoke easily.
- Duck: Manage thick fat layers for crunchy skin.
- Spatchcocking: Remove the backbone to flatten the poultry also to cook.
Whole chicken
The cheapest way to buy chicken is whole:
- Initial preparation: Remove the fragions, cut the excess fat around the cavity
- Tips for wings: Remove and save for stock
- Reduction:
- Remove the legs by cutting the joint
- Separate the thigh from the wand to the joint
- Remove the backbone with kitchen shears
- Divide the breast by cutting the breast through the sternum
- Remove the angular arm for easier sculpture
Quick lamb cutting guide
- rack of lamb: French bones for an elegant presentation.
- Leg of lamb: Butterfly for filling or even cooking.
- Shoulder: Cut the excess fat and preparation for a low and slow cooking.
- Fat management: Keep the fat enough for humidity and flavor.
Maximize surrender and reduce waste
- Save the coating: Uses meat and blood waste for broths and stocks.
- Freezing finish: Label and freezing in dated portions.
- Fat: Use the pork or duck fat to roast vegetables or confit.
- Minced meat: Exploit the leftovers, waste and escaped for sausage or hamburger grind.
Resolution of cutting problems common challenges
Work with cold meat
- Partially frozen meat is sometimes easier to cut precisely
- Let the meat clashes enough
- Work in small sections, keeping the rest refrigerated
Face difficult membranes
- Use the “Lift and pull” technique: lift with the tip of the knife, pull the membrane
- A paper napkin offers a better grip on slippery membranes
- Casoie for cooking can help with particularly stubborn sections
When cutting
- Before cooking: most of the silver skin, excess fat and portion
- After cooking: final fat cut on some cuts, such as the chest
The cut of the meat is both an art and a science, one that allows you to save money by improving the results of the kitchen. It starts with less expensive cuts while creating confidence and reminds that each coating makes you more skilled.
With the practice, you will develop an intuitive understanding of the different cuts and their unique requirements. You will know exactly how fat leave for the flavor, which connective fabrics must be removed and how to maximize the surrender from any purchase.
