Get Cooking_ 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen - Mollie Katzen [67]
“Prime” is the top USDA grade for meat, then “Choice,” then “Select.” The lower the grade, the less marbling the meat will have, and thus the less flavor and tenderness. “Select” is typical supermarket meat-case fare, but it can be delicious, especially if you marinate it.
BUYING FISH AND SEAFOOD
Buy fish from a reputable store where they can tell you its source and how it was caught. Check out seafoodwatch.org for guidelines on buying sustainable seafood—there’s even an iPhone application, so you can get a read on what you’re buying while you’re at the store.
Really fresh fish will never smell fishy. Rather, it should smell like the ocean. The flesh should be glossy and firm with no dark spots, mushiness, or separation. Your best bet is always simply to start by asking, “What’s fresh?”
BUYING POULTRY
Here again, go with a trusted source—a good market committed to offering sustainable/organic local options. Try to get poultry that has been pasture-raised, which means the chickens get to walk—or whatever they do—around outside, pecking their food. And ideally, that food they’re pecking at is healthy, organic, and hormone-free. Your purveyor will tell you, so always ask. Or, if you shop in a supermarket, check out specialty brands that are sustainably produced. Look for poultry that is plump, with creamy-yellow skin and no strong odors.
STORING
There’s a reason your refrigerator has a meat compartment: It’s generally colder in there, and that’s where meat, seafood, and poultry fare best. If you don’t have one, go with the coldest part of refrigerator, which is usually toward the bottom. Keep meat and poultry in the refrigerator for no more than 3 to 4 days, seafood for only a day or two. Or wrap meat or poultry very well, put it in a resealable freezer bag, mark the date on the outside, and freeze it for up to 3 months.
HANDLING
When handling raw meat, seafood, and poultry, you want to keep things cold and clean to avoid any possibility of bacterial contamination. It’s a good idea to designate a separate cutting board (preferably not made from wood) just for meat, poultry, and seafood (you can even mark one side for just seafood and poultry and the other for meat). Wash the board well in hot soapy water (or, even better, in the dishwasher if the cutting board is dishwasher-safe), and be careful to clean up well after you finish your prep. That means washing your hands thoroughly, as well as the countertop, your knives, and any other implements you’ve used.
MENU PLANNING
Menu planning around a main dish of meat, poultry, or fish generally means giving some thought to side dishes—a potato, rice, or grain dish, plus a vegetable or two and maybe a salad—so check out the recipes in those chapters and plan accordingly. You may need to get potatoes or rice cooked ahead of time, and you want to factor in your vegetable preparation as well in putting together the meal. Don’t stress about the timing, though. Most things that are good hot are also good mostly hot or even warm, so do your best to coordinate (sit down and think it through first)—but beyond that, just do what works and enjoy.
EASY MEETS TASTY AND AFFORDABLE
My choice of recipes for this chapter was based first and foremost on their high simplicity-to-deliciousness ratio, with an eye toward keeping things affordable. We’re working with reasonably priced cuts of meat and types of fish here, not the high-end stuff. But the good news is, some of the best flavor lives at that low end of the price spectrum. “Give me a brisket over a filet mignon any day,” say my meat-appreciating friends, and I know they’re talking about the meat itself and not just the price.
Many of these recipes work well as tonight’s dinner plus leftovers to be chilled and turned into other meals, and you’ll find lots of suggestions along those lines. So even