Beef

Purchase:

The first thing to keep in mind when going to buy meat for the family, it is the quality and quantity that must be bought according to the number of people who feed in the house (diners), size of the portions (weight or grammage per serving on average 125 gr.) or of the Tama Desired. Kinds of meats they prefer and according to their mode of preparation, because not all parts of the res are cooked in the same way and also vary their cuts. The quality and freshness of the meat will be appreciated in:

• Characteristic, pleasant and fresh smell.
• Vivid Red Color. Unless it is cold-ripened, it would be red wine and vacuum packed.
• Texture
• Flocked meat and no nerves.

If meat lacks these qualities, it is an old animal. The flesh, the brighter and smoother the harder.

The matte is more tender.

This depends also on the type of part of the res (the Lomito is very tender meat compared with the skirt or the boy. Also your tenderness depends on your court. The vertical cut of the workpiece also influences its hardness (looks like grating) because you see the lines of the muscle.

The transversal (cuts through) make it more tender. The bull meat in harder, unpleasant smell and red-black color.

The ground meat must be of a vivid red color, because if it tends to be clear being of beef, it is because it contains a lot of fat. And if it tends to be grey like it’s already cooked, it’s because it’s already in decay. And much less must be with green parts (it is damaged), this for all kinds of meats.

When you go to buy the product to the supermarket you should take into account,

• Observe that the refrigerator where the product is being exhibited is operating properly (which is cooling).
• That the expiration date of the product or expiration of it, which is not covered, altered, or shelf. Choose the product with date as far as Possible.
• Check the packaging, which is in optimal condition, not in a pinched, damaged or beaten position. Neither with broken or discarded labels.
• Check that the gasket is not inflated (blown), because this indicates that the product is already decomposing.
• Buy the product at the end of the market, so that the cold chain is not interrupted.

Do not leave a lot of time exposed to heat inside the car, or outside the freezer (because its lifespan is shortened), maximum 30 minutes not to interrupt “the cold chain” of Turkey, which prevents the proliferation of bacteria that cause disease. If possible, it must be transported in a thermal bag and away from polluting products such as cleaners, automotive oils or petrol as it absorbs these smells. Also when you arrive at your destination, place them immediately in the refrigerator.

Uses:

As a strong dish or as an ingredient in countless preparations, because you can use any cooking method.

Storage:

It is portioned in pieces of 125 gr, on average.

This means that if you are 2 diners and will prepare three times a week, to take 6 units you must buy 1 1/2 pounds of beef and pack it in bags of 2 portions each. It will also take into account the meat to be used (part), and the cut according to the chosen preparations and their cooking method.

For example:

To prepare, filet Mignon is used Lomito (piece) in medallions (cut). For Stroganoff, Lomito (part) in short strips (cut).

Grilled, hip (piece) or flat (piece) if steak (cut). This I will be developing in the next publication.

Its duration depends on the freshness at the moment of the purchase and its freezing:

• Raw meat, frozen (fillets, chops, packages), preferably without fat when it is going to freeze for a long time, this favors its flavor, because the fat gets old easily and damages the taste of the meat, 4-12 months
• Raw meat, refrigerated, 3 days
• Cooked frozen, 3 months refrigerated, 2-4 days approx.
• Ground, burgers and rolls of ground meat, raw and marinated: refrigerated 2-4 days frozen, 3-4 months approximately.

Conservation:

Freeze.             Cool.

Duration:  

3-12 months approx.    3 days approx.

TIPS

Let the meat mature and porcionada and packed (marinated or not), at least for 2 days, in the coldest place of the refrigerator (inside a container, so that the packages do not juices run the refrigerator), this to improve its flavor and its texture is softer and smoother.

Then freeze. To defrost, last night pass the meat pack (s) from the freezer to the refrigerator, placing them in a container so that nothing gets dirty. If you forgot to pass the meat from the freezer to the refrigerator with time for defrosting, don’t worry! Inside a container with water (at room temperature), place the sealed package or the edge of the bag on the outside (to keep the meat from flooding), for approximately 10 minutes and in the refrigerator and ready!

Note:

It is essential to wash with soap and water, anything that has touched raw meat (hands, containers, tables, inns, trays, etc.) before and after handling, even if the raw meat of another kind of animal is to be continued.

Always wash everything after each process with each meat and especially with chicken and pork.

A meat that has been thawed should not be re-frozen as the bacteria in it have been activated. The meats must be bought at the end of the market, so that the “cold chain” of the product is not lost. Also when you reach your destination, place them D immediately in the refrigerator.