Tips and Methods for Cooking Meat

I am currently in the process of getting divorced from a vegetarian. My soon-to-be-ex-husband and I had been together (married or living together) for about 15 years, which comprises most of my cooking-for-others life. Before him, I mostly made convenience foods because it was just me and I was still in the student mindset - and I didn't know any better. While we were married, of course, cooking meat dishes was not very high on my priority list, though I often had deli slices or frozen/prepared meats around the house.

Now that I'm out of that relationship, I realize I don't really know to cook meat very well at all. I can do simple chicken breasts, a meatloaf, and one braised beef dish that my sister taught me. I can reheat a Thanksgiving turkey without incident. So I was wondering if I could impose on you all to share your expertise, with some easy ways I might be able to switch up my cooking and learn some new techniques for me and my eight-year-old son. I would especially love to learn to make pulled pork or pork tenderloin, and use my slow cooker more often. Steak! Being able to create a good steak at home would be wonderful. Even learning something about how to make the most of fish and shellfish would be great, because I feel like we ought to eat more of that at home. Any help would be appreciated, especially now that my funds are more limited and we are eating out a lot less.

Thank you!

Two recommendations:
1. Any cookbook by Bruce Aidells-- perhaps the "Complete Meat Cookbook"-- he also has one about pork.
2. Buy (or request as a gift, better yet) the best thermometer you can get-- accurate internal temperature is key to cooking many cuts of meat. I have Thermopens*-- one instant-read for quick checks, and one probe thermometer for roasting.

Good luck and happy experimenting!

Cheers, Jen

*Edited to add that I conflated my two thermometers-- I have a Thermapen instant read and a Thermoworks probe thermometer. The latter is only about $20 on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/ThermoWorks-Origi ... =thermapen

Hi,

This is a reliable steak cooking method I described at lunch:
alternative to the sear & blast steak method. As Pie-love commented about, you will need a good thermometer. I have one with a probe on a wire to allow me to check temps without opening the oven door.

Thanks for posting such an interesting question.

Regards,

How do you know what's a "good" meat thermometer? I have one, which I use for reheating Thanksgiving turkeys. It appears to be fairly simple.

nukegirl wrote:How do you know what's a "good" meat thermometer? I have one, which I use for reheating Thanksgiving turkeys. It appears to be fairly simple.

A "good" thermometer in my opinion, is a quality instant read-type. Thermapen is generally regarded as one of the best, it is accurate and able to be re-calibrated. Not cheap (around $80) but it will save you from ruining another steak or roast-

cito wrote:

nukegirl wrote:How do you know what's a "good" meat thermometer? I have one, which I use for reheating Thanksgiving turkeys. It appears to be fairly simple.

A "good" thermometer in my opinion, is a quality instant read-type. Thermapen is generally regarded as one of the best, it is accurate and able to be re-calibrated. Not cheap (around $80) but it will save you from ruining another steak or roast-

Very sorry to hear the news.

Thermapen is a totally awesome product. I've had mine for years and I don't know how I'd manage without it. As cito posted, they used to cost about $80 but are nearly $100 now, if you're only buying one. Still, they are well worth the money (unless they aren't making them like they used to). I could not find warranty information on their site but when I called, they told me the units are guaranteed for one year and the probes are guaranteed for 6 months. I've had mine at least 5 years and have never had an issue with it.

=R=

Hi,

I have several instant read thermometers and a battery operated display with probe. All I bought at rummage sales from 50 cents to two dollars. I do check them against a known temperature: boiling water at 212 F sea level.

I did have a battery operated display, which broadcast a signal in a small distance. I could set a pot to boil and throw in the probe, then go to my office elsewhere in the house. When temperature hit 212 F, I went upstairs to continue to the next step. It cost around $40, but after I broke it I didn't replace it.

Of course, if a thermapen dropped in my pocket, I would be happy. If I really wanted it, I'd track e-Bay.

Regards,

nukegirl wrote:How do you know what's a "good" meat thermometer? I have one, which I use for reheating Thanksgiving turkeys. It appears to be fairly simple.

Simple is not necessarily bad! Consumer Reports has a bit on it:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/meat ... -guide.htm

Some of it is in "front" of the paywall too.

Jen

Nice to meet you in person today nukegirl!

Sorry for the circumstances but taking on a few new projects is a great distraction!!

One of my favorite "interesting" meat dishes is lechon asado. I usually use this recipe. It makes for a lovely "nice" meal and then the leftovers can be used for everything from Cuban sandwiches to fried rice.

Happy cooking!!

I love to braise fatty cuts like pork shoulder, chuck roast, etc because the basic process is simple, replicable across different flavor profiles, and very forgiving. The end results also reheat/freeze well and make great leftovers.

I think that a good place to start would be to learn how to roast a chicken. So many things follow from this - gravy, leftovers in many forms, soup, sandwiches. . . a home or apartment that smells wonderful. Really, this should be considered a basic survival skill. I don't use a recipe. Find a rub you like, put some celery and onions or other aromatics in the cavity and use that new fangled meat thermometer. You can mix it up and it will always taste new. I think this is step one.

bw77 wrote:I think that a good place to start would be to learn how to roast a chicken. So many things follow from this - gravy, leftovers in many forms, soup, sandwiches. . . a home or apartment that smells wonderful. Really, this should be considered a basic survival skill. I don't use a recipe. Find a rub you like, put some celery and onions or other aromatics in the cavity and use that new fangled meat thermometer. You can mix it up and it will always taste new. I think this is step one.

Great idea. I really like Dorrie Greenspan's Roast Chicken for les Parreseux.
http://www.food.com/recipe/roast-chicke ... eux-500592

Jen

Pie- love - sounds like just the ticket. It will smell like home. Later make stock from the bones and chicken salad sandwiches with Mayo and chopped up bits of celery. If you want to get fancy add a bit of curry and some raisins to the chicken salad.

I agree that braising is a great place to start. It's very forgiving, extremely customizable, typically uses inexpensive cuts and produces enough leftovers for a few diverse meals.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I agree that braising is a great place to start. It's very forgiving, extremely customizable, typically uses inexpensive cuts and produces enough leftovers for a few diverse meals.

=R=

Braising and roast chicken-- both sound great.
For braising, I recommend Molly Stevens' cookbook "All About Braising"-- check it out of the library first, to see if it fits your style. I'm also a fan of Fine Cooking-- they have a lot of well-explained recipes.

nukegirl, for the steak you mentioned, would you be grilling or cooking it on a stovetop?

nukegirl wrote:I am currently in the process of getting divorced from a vegetarian. My soon-to-be-ex-husband and I had been together (married or living together) for about 15 years, which comprises most of my cooking-for-others life. Before him, I mostly made convenience foods because it was just me and I was still in the student mindset - and I didn't know any better. While we were married, of course, cooking meat dishes was not very high on my priority list, though I often had deli slices or frozen/prepared meats around the house.

Now that I'm out of that relationship, I realize I don't really know to cook meat very well at all. I can do simple chicken breasts, a meatloaf, and one braised beef dish that my sister taught me. I can reheat a Thanksgiving turkey without incident. So I was wondering if I could impose on you all to share your expertise, with some easy ways I might be able to switch up my cooking and learn some new techniques for me and my eight-year-old son. I would especially love to learn to make pulled pork or pork tenderloin, and use my slow cooker more often. Steak! Being able to create a good steak at home would be wonderful. Even learning something about how to make the most of fish and shellfish would be great, because I feel like we ought to eat more of that at home. Any help would be appreciated, especially now that my funds are more limited and we are eating out a lot less.

Thank you!

So you don't get information overload, I will pass on two suggestions for you, along with saying "ditto" about the Thermapen.

Being from North Carolina, I love - and dearly miss - barbecue. I recently saw a Crock-Pot recipe for "Carolina Barbecued Pork," and immediately my suspicions were raised. So were my husband's. But it was dang tasty, even if the nomenclature was wrong! Here is the recipe from the company website:

http://www.crock-pot.com/stories?storyI ... id=recipes

(They also leave out serving the 'cue with coleslaw and/or hushpuppies, I feel the need to point out ... )

If you are interested in learning the hows and whys of what happens when you cook, a great free on-line source is "Serious Eats," and particularly, the Food Lab columns by J. Kenji-Alt. http://www.seriouseats.com

Happy cooking!
Sharon

My cheapo thermometer, until I can afford a Thermapen.

I don't do a lot of meat, more for economy than preference, but when I do, it's mostly chicken. My two favorite quick recipes are the pan-roasted thighs and the roasted whole chicken. Both are super easy, relatively quick, and give great results. We do one or the other at least once a week.

mamagotcha wrote:My cheapo thermometer, until I can afford a Thermapen.

That's the one I have, which I bought for two dollars at a rummage sale.

I made marmalade the other day. When the temperature hit 220 degrees, I turned off the heat. It was perfect!

Regards,

My husband took our grill with him when he moved out (it was a wedding gift) so no grilling for me until I figure out my financial situation and can get a new one. And figure out how to use it properly.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I'm definitely excited to try some of these ideas, although honestly a roast chicken sounds intimidating to me for some reason (which probably means it's the first one I should try). I will put that meat thermometer on my Christmas list.

And thanks for the sympathy/ good wishes. I discovered LTHForum at a fortuitous point, as it turns out. Cooking has helped me fill up some of my extra time and learn new skills, and I've been able to explore more restaurants and widen my knowledge of the local scene. Eating out with my husband was limited as he isn't only vegetarian - and actually a bread and cheese-heavy vegetarian - he's very habitual. Over the summer I had a friend visit from out of town (a world traveler, who tries to eat locally wherever she goes), and because we happened to be near Old Orchard mall at dinnertime, he wanted to take her to Noodles and Co. We talked him into at least trying Epic Burger instead.

Additional question: can someone explain broiling to me? Thank you. I may have to wait till after Thanksgiving weekend to try some of these, but I am looking forward to it.

Think of broiling as "reverse grilling" - when you grill you put meat over dry heat. When you broil you put dry heat over meat.

nukegirl wrote:So I was wondering if I could impose on you all to share your expertise, with some easy ways I might be able to switch up my cooking and learn some new techniques for me and my eight-year-old son. I would especially love to learn to make pulled pork or pork tenderloin, and use my slow cooker more often. Steak! Being able to create a good steak at home would be wonderful. Even learning something about how to make the most of fish and shellfish would be great, because I feel like we ought to eat more of that at home. Any help would be appreciated, especially now that my funds are more limited and we are eating out a lot less.

Thank you!

It's been a while since I posted but this topic hit home a little. I'm not a chef but I think I'm a decent enough home cook - enough to host Thanksgiving, Christmas, Super Bowls, and the random BBQ (thanks GWiv). It's been a long road as a self taught cook but I started very young. My parents divorced when I was eight and my younger brother and I lived with my Mom on a very low budget. I was often in charge, at an early age, for either starting dinner (typically pre-assembled) or finishing dinner while my Mom coordinated between two jobs. She knew how to stretch a dollar and we grew up on a lot of stews, soups, and typical American dinners (meatloaf, chicken, smoked sausage). Now, that was 30 years ago and times have changed. There's the internet and grocery stores with many new items but the basics are still a good place to start.

Here's my two cents on how I would approach an intro into cooking proteins while being respectful of cost.

There are many ways to prepare meat but in my opinion, if you can figure out pan-roasting (combo of frying and roasting), braising, and roasting, you're half way home. For me, pan roasting is great for leaner cuts of meat. I use it for pork tenderloin, pork chops, chicken breasts/thighs, fish fillets, and steak - even hamburgers (especially if you don't have a grill). The technique is relatively simple. You'll need to pre-heat your oven (for the roasting part - usually around 350-400) and use an oven-safe skillet or frying pan. That is, one that typically does not have a plastic handle - like a $25 cast iron skillet. You heat your frying pan, add a little oil, then sear (brown) your protein on both sides. Once it's brown, it's probably not fully cooked, so you use the dry heat from the oven to finish the cooking to the desired internal temperature (hence the above suggestions for the meat thermometer). One drawback is that this technique can produce a lot of smoke during the searing portion - so open your windows and turn on your exhaust fan.

Braising is great for cheaper (used to be much cheaper) cuts of meat like pork shoulder and beef chuck/stew meat/pot roasts/briskets. This is great for one pot meals like chili, stew, pork and beans, pot roast, etc. The technique is similar to pan roasting except you will use a much lower temperature in the oven and cook for a longer time, like 2-4 hours to actually break down the meat and make it tender. Typically, you would take your cut of meat, sear it in a larger oven proof dutch oven, add a braising liquid (often just water or stock), then place it in a pre-heated oven set at 275-300 for the required time. The great thing about this technique is that it can be replicated to a degree in your slow cooker.

Roasting is something I use every once in a while. I use it to bake a meatloaf, roast a chicken or turkey, or of course a pork or beef roast. This technique uses dry heat to cook the meat, usually in the range of 350-425. Chicken is pretty easy although there are a million ways to do it but a basic roast chicken is very easy. If you can do a meatloaf, you can do a chicken. Honestly though, I rarely roast a chicken. Where I shop, whole raw chickens are more expensive than a fully-cooked rotisserie chicken. It baffles me. Also roasts are lot more expensive than they should be so most of the meat I eat is typically grilled, pan roasted or braised.

You're probably getting informational overload at this point so I'll stop. I don't claim that these techniques are the "best" ways to prepare meat but I would argue that they may be the easiest place to start as well as the most convenient for a small family on a budget. Another nice thing is that you can stretch these meals to last two or three meals. Left over pan roasted chicken breasts can be chilled and sliced for a nice salad, or chicken salad, or re-heated into chicken tacos or stir fry (yet another technique). Same with steak and pork chops / tenderloins.

Your investments can be minimal but I do agree with having a thermopen meat thermometer or something similar. It's not required but it saves you some time and worry. Also, cast iron dutch ovens and skillets may seem heavy and clumsy but they are affordable and can last forever with proper care. I use my great grandmother's from the 1920's.

Sorry for the long-winded response. Best of luck to you and have a happy holiday season.

I think a great book to start with would be Ruhlman's Twenty. It has a great foundation for all kinds of cooking methods (he basically boils down cooking to 20 techniques) and is a book designed to get people cooking without fear.

If you have a tablet, I also love Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" app.

Also for a great cheap, fast, and accurate thermometer, I love this one.
http://www.amazon.com/RT600C-Super-fast ... hermometer