Mastering the Grill_ The Owner's Manual for Outdoor Cooking - Andrew Schloss [33]
The large muscle groups of four-legged animals are called primal cuts. Although the cuts are the same in all types of meats, the names vary by animal (see the chart below). Carcass diagrams of individual animals are included in the sections on beef (page 51), veal (page 55), pork (page 57), and lamb (page 60).
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PRIMAL CUTS (THE DARKER THE SHADING, THE TOUGHER THE CUT)
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Primal cuts are large. For instance, a primal rib of beef can weigh more than 40 pounds, a primal chuck more than 100 pounds. You will usually be buying subprimal or secondary cuts. A 3-rib rib roast of beef, trimmed of excess bone and fat, will typically weigh about 6 pounds and feed six people; the primal rib, after trimming, will serve about fourteen.
The price of meat is set by supply and demand. Because every animal yields the same cuts, an increased demand for sirloin steaks, without a corresponding need for chuck, raises the price of sirloin and lowers chuck prices.
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READING A MEAT LABEL
The names for a particular cut of meat change by region, culture, and marketing incentives. To help with the confusion, the National Livestock and Meat Board has created a standardized meat label that most supermarkets use. The label tells you the type of meat, its primal cut, its retail cut, how it is trimmed, how fresh it is, its weight, its price per pound, and what you end up paying. For ground meat, it will also include the percentage of lean meat.
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The main factor that has traditionally influenced the popularity of one cut of meat over another is tenderness (which is at odds with the primary flavor component of meat, its fat, as explained on page 47). A carcass has a lot more tough meat than tender meat. That disparity has made filet mignon sell for the same price per ounce that budget meats cost per pound. It’s what makes T-bone more expensive than round and tenderloin pricier than sirloin. These meats do not taste any better than cheaper cuts, but they can be sliced with a butter knife. And for that tenderness alone, many diners are willing to blow the budget.
Although tender cuts are generally preferred for grilling, it is possible to grill tougher cuts by cooking them low and slow. Barbecued chuck is delicious; it just takes three to four times as long to grill as the same size rib roast, and eight times longer than a tenderloin.
Why do you need to know whether a cut of meat is tender or tough? Because a meat’s texture determines which cooking method will yield the best results. When meat cooks, two things happen: (1) the protein in the fibers becomes more firm and opaque, and (2) the collagen melts (as long as there is some moisture present). This is why tough meat becomes tender only if it is cooked with liquid—that is, stewing, braising, or barbecuing. Tender meats with sheer fibers of collagen don’t need moist cooking (in fact, they can be ruined by it); they are best cooked with a dry, direct heating method like grilling. That is why steaks and chops from the loin, rib, and tenderloin are often grilled, while shoulder and leg steaks are typically barbecued. For more detailed information on specific cooking methods, see Chapter 2, “Mastering Your Technique.”
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GROUND RULES
Millennia before the hamburger helped to reset the parameters of quick cooking in America, the ancient Romans, Greeks, and Phoenicians knew that ground meat was the ultimate convenience food. Not only did it cook up faster than bullock on a spit, but it could also be preserved and flavored effortlessly just by mixing it with spices.
Today, we often forget the versatility of ground meat, resorting to it for easy, unimaginative meals that anyone will eat but no one relishes. Part of