Cooking Fresh Meat: the Methods

Many traditional meat recipes were developed at a time when meats came from mature, fatty animals, and so were fairly tolerant of overcooking. Fat coats and lubricates meat fibers during cooking, and stimulates the flow of saliva and creates the sensation of juiciness no matter how dry the meat fibers themselves have become. Recipes for hours-long braising or stewing were developed for mature animals with substantially cross-linked collagen that took a long time to dissolve into gelatin. However, today’s industrially produced meats come from relatively young animals with more soluble collagen and with far less fat; they cook quickly, and suffer more from overcooking. Grilled chops and steaks may be just right at the center but dry elsewhere; long-braised pot roasts and stews are often dry throughout.