How to choose meat

• Look for telltale fat, "marbling", for more taste.
• Cold meat should – due to a high level of fat – be firm.
• Do the right thing with the right cut of meat.
• Ask your butcher for advice and cultivate your relationship with him or her.
• "Less but better" is a good strategy

Sadly, you can’t always count on the meat you buy in a store comes from a high quality source. Here are some tips that make it easier for you to find the correct raw material.

Fat level

Marbling - interspersed fat – gives a deeper, more delicious taste. Feel and squeeze the meat in the refrigerated display. It should feel firm, as cold fat is hard. A fatty coating also contributes to helping the meat retain its juice and taste while cooking. Older animals – with more yellow fat – can be less tender, but the meat often has a deeper, more mature taste.

Tenderizing

Meat from veal, lamb, pork and poultry is consumed directly, whereas beef needs to tenderize over one or two weeks. Meat that is hanged to tenderize develops a great taste and loses considerable liquid, which is a one reason why it is more expensive. But the difference in price can be seen as good business since you don’t have to pay for water, which would anyway disappear during cooking.

Feed

Animals that graze build meat and fat in natural proportions. Green grass gives a tastier meat and – even better – more deliciously interspersed fat than other feeds. Spanish Pata Negra pigs, which are raised on acorns, corn-fed chicken and calves that have been fattened convincingly show how different feeds can change the taste of meat considerably.

Happy animals

We have a moral obligation to make sure all animals have a decent life. Luckily for those of us who appreciate good meat, there is a connection between good animal husbandry and good quality meat.

Price and result

When you buy cheap meat, it is likely that you are paying for added saltwater. It is better to opt for a smaller sized, but nicer and more tastier cut that is not transformed into a pool of liquid in the pan. Estimate 120-200 grams per person depending on the menu and company and the quality of the meat.

Learn how to cut up a chicken so you can buy them whole. You will get a better price, more beautiful pieces (with the skin) and you can prepare an extremely useful broth from the bones. It is simple: Boil the bones with an onion and a carrot, turn off the cooking plate and leave with the lid on overnight. Next day, strain. Voilá, that’s it!

The right meat for the right purpose

There is a strong trend – started by skillful, knowledgeable meat cooks – to select less exclusive cuts of the animal that demand longer or slower cooking. A muscle that has worked a lot during the lifetime of the animal is less tender, but usually has more taste. You achieve a greater taste experience for a lower price – which, as a bonus, can be prepared beforehand.

“It is not only a matter of an excellent cut of meat. The knowledge and the processing also makes the cut of meat excellent.”

- Anna Lindblad, Bistro Nouveau

Packaged meat:

• Should be firm when chilled.
• The darker meat, the richer taste. The color should be clear, deep and red.
• Avoid meat that is brown at the edges or grayish.
• The meat should be firm and dry, never wet and wobbly.
• Marbling (interspersed fat) gives juicier meat and more taste.
• The pieces should be evenly and carefully cut.
• Avoid processed, pre-spiced, pre-marinated meat – which usually is produced from lower quality cuts.
• Smell, look, feel and rely on your own judgment.