The proper way to prepare and cook great meat!
1. First of all one must choose a great piece of meat to start out with. It must be of the proper size, weight and texture, as well as to be plumped with the right combination of fat and muscle... too lean is no good and too much fat is no good either. It helps to pick up and feel the piece of meat and feel the texture of it, really feel it... once you become accustomed at picking out a good piece of meat, you will be able to tell right away if you've got a great piece of meat in your hands just from the feel of it, and you'll be able to tell if it will make the grade when it gets heated up and hot... lol
2. Now once you have decided that you have picked out a great piece of meat to start out with... the next step is very important... it's called the preparation! One should not rush and just throw a great piece of meat into the oven or fire. One should properly prepare it for the cooking, otherwise you may very well ruin what could have otherwise been a great piece of meat! Now depending on what kind of meat you are preparing, there may be slightly different ways to prepare it, but with most meats you usually want to start out with some kind of rub... the ingredients you choose to use as the rub will vary from one piece of meat to another, but pick the right ingredients carefully... and then you must use your hands to gently, but firmly rub all those spices into the meat... you need to knead those spices deeply into the meat... don't be shy and take your time, the more you rub it in, the better this meat will be once you put it in the fire or oven... you should know when you have thoroughly and successfully rubbed the spices in correctly as the texture of the meat will feel much differently and even the color and smell will let you know you're ready to move onto the next step. The remaining step in the preparation of good meat is one a lot of people will skip because they don't realize how much of a difference it makes in how a great cut of meat turns out. This next step is to apply a liquid substance in order to seal in the juices in that great piece of meat. Here again, depending on the specific kind of meat you are preparing, the exact liquid may vary, but the whole point is you need to liberally apply the liquid all over every bit of the surface of the meat. You must once again use those hands to thoroughly work that liquid all over the meat, kneading the meat as you rub the liquid in is a must. You will probably feel the juices internally in the meat as you rub the liquid onto it, and this is normal, and you want to actually bring the juices as close to the surface as you can without piercing the meat surface and having the juices running out of the meat... at this point, we are simply building up and and locking in those juices. With practice you will find the best technique to use to properly rub in the liquid... but in general it is usually best to run your hands up and down the length of the meat and to go with the natural shape and texture of the meat... and as with the spice rub, you will be able to tell from the feel and texture of the meat when you have properly prepared it and it is READY for the oven or fire! in a nut shell, the meat should now be glistening and will probably have a distinct red tint to it and there will be no doubt that it is plump and firm and you can just feel all those juices are locked in there and ready to be heated up!
3. Ok, so now you have properly prepare the meat for cooking, you have rubbed in both the spices and the liquid to a point where you can just tell it is ready to be shoved into the oven or fire. Now it is highly critical that you have the temperature of the over or fire just right. If one needs to play with and adjust the temperature of the oven prior to inserting the meat, then make sure you do so and take your time with this step... because if the temp is either too cold, or too hot when the meat is inserted, it just will not cum out right in the long run... so by all means, play with the controls and knobs and find just the right combination that gets that oven heated up to just the perfect temp! With experience one doesn't even need a thermometer to judge when the oven is at the right temp... most will be able to tell simply by placing their finger into the oven and feeling the overall temp, and will know when it's the proper temp for receiving the meat. Once this temp is reached, you simply insert the meat into the oven. Once you do this, you will normally want to just take your time in cooking it. A slow cooking process is almost always going to produce a better and tastier piece of meat... keep that oven temp pretty constant and steady and just allow that meat to cook slowly. you will find the meat will firm up nicely as it cooks, yet you know the juices are building up slowly and nicely and are going to be mouth watering when it's time to sample the meat. One will want to turn the meat over several times while the meat is cooking... and it almost goes without saying that you should take small samples of the meat as it's cooking to be able to see if it's done and ready to eat. As the meat gets closer to being done, it will start to have the juices run out of it... and one should by all means take these juices onto their fingers and sample how they taste. As these juices are starting to flow out of the meat, it is always a good idea to use the natural juices that are flowing into the oven to continue to recoat and cover the meat, so as to help lock in the deep juices, as the final result will be much better this way. The key is to bring those juices to the surface, yet keep them locked in too, so that once you remove the cut of meat and are ready to taste it, it will literally explode with flavor and and the juices will literally fill your mouth with a taste unlike anything you have ever tasted!
4. Ok now to the last part... experience will tell you when this great piece of meat is fully cooked and is ready to be taken out and enjoyed. When you have decided that the meat is properly cooked and ready to be eaten, it is always best to eat the meat when it is fresh out of the oven and still hot as can be... so don't be shy, once you have decided to pop this great piece of meat out of the oven and have it, just dig right in... feel the great texture of the meat, feel how hot and tasty it is, and feel how the juices you have went to all the trouble of sealing in and bringing to the surface feels as the juice from the meat explodes in your mouth... I think you will agree that when you take a great piece of meat to start out with, properly prepare it in every way, cook it in the oven to the perfect texture and temp, and until the juices are flowing out of it... and then you finally get to taste and devour the end result... you will agree there is nothing better than a properly prepared and cooked piece of meat... lol
So anyone up for BBQ?
