MEAT *gag*

originally posted by: Biigs
- slice a bit off to check how its doing - cook till done how you like it.

Little restaurant trick for you.

If you poke the meat and it feels like you just poked your nose it is rare, your chin it is medium and your forehead it is well.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: Biigs
- slice a bit off to check how its doing - cook till done how you like it.

Little restaurant trick for you.

If you poke the meat and it feels like you just poked your nose it is rare, your chin it is medium and your forehead it is well.

Ive tried getting used to this, but since the meat vary's, so does the texture and firmness - also what cut it is matters, its a tricky busniess.

If i buy a few at the same time and them cook up for guests, after the first one you can better guess the rest - but random single steaks get much harder to gauge.

Thats why when im cooking one for myself, i tend to take a little slice, or just make a cut in the middle, its for me, theres no one to impress with a perfect, untouched steak. Pains me to get everything else ready on the plate, put what i think is a steak how i like it (pink not red in the middle) and then find its too rare and needs a little longer on the grill/pan - all my sides start going cold!

Its truly an art know how its done, im getting there

My mother likes her steaks cooked to 'well done', while i think thats a waste of a steak, its FAR easier to do one of those!!!

a reply to: rickymouse

Good post but a few errors - there are tens of thousands of species of bacteria which make up the gut flora. Maybe even hundreds of thousands. It's a very poorly understood system. Everyone has antigens to something - but in the overall picture, we (man and his science) haven't tied specific foods to specific gut flora species. Antigens can be linked to certain foods, but 1) that doesn't necessarily mean the food is causing harm, and 2) it is unfounded to link those antigens to specific species of gut flora. It is just a marker, something to be explored via elimination diets. That's currently the only real way to determine if a specific food is bad for the individual.

Nobody needs to eat meat, that's a misunderstanding of basic nutrition. There's no essential nutrient found in animal based foods which isn't found, in abundance and in healthy ratios, in plant based foods. All nutrition that animals have originally comes from the plant world. Going vegan is just eliminating the middle man, so to speak.

You're right about organic pesticides being just as bad, if not worse, than their non-organic counterparts. But only in a few cases. As long as the individual is educated on the food they are eating, whether it is plants or animals, they are going to be relatively healthier. Nowadays that isn't difficult - health foods are a major industry and public awareness is pushing the issue of pesticides to the front of the discussion in many places.

But statistical analyses certainly show that vegetarians are healthier than omnivores, and that vegans are healthier than both. Fewer animal products -> greater health, even in highly polluted areas like the rural Chinese villages used in the famous China Study.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

a reply to: yeahright

I typically use those for thinner cuts but with a large cut, like when I make my 3" porterhouse, it does not give me enough accuracy as to the internal temp near the bone.

I'm with the OP - I can barely stomach meat anymore. I have tried to be a vegetarian, total failure - I love bacon too much and BBQ.

..but most meat just tastes horrible.

I stick to grass fed, free range, whatever you what to call it, it costs more, but it's worth it. However, I really only eat small quantities of meat or chicken each week, mostly on salads.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Hmm. I only use one on thicker cuts. I get a reading going in the end towards the middle looking for a temp in the neighborhood of 5 degrees cooler than I want, then pull it off the fire.

With a thick cut, I cook indirectly until I'm about 10 degrees under, then slide over to direct heat for the sear until I'm 5 degrees under, then remove to rest and it'll come up that last 5. I turn thick steaks frequently. Like, really frequently.

Works for me, anyway and that push the face or the fleshy part of the hand comparison thing never worked consistently for me. Now I'm enough of a carnivore that I can eat beef from near raw to well done, and enjoy it. But my pref for a thick beefsteak is medium rare. This is actually the one I use. And the Lamborghini of instant read is here. At $96, too pricey for me. I have thrown it on some lists for family to consult at event times, so it could happen.

originally posted by: yeahright
With a thick cut, I cook indirectly until I'm about 10 degrees under, then slide over to direct heat for the sear until I'm 5 degrees under, then remove to rest and it'll come up that last 5. I turn thick steaks frequently. Like, really frequently.

I actually go in the opposite direction. Sear both sides over high heat turning once then over to indirect to finish cooking, turning once more. I try not to move the meat around too much.

a reply to: canadiansenior70

I am not a big meat person. I prefer chicken when I do eat meat. I was only a red meat eater while pregnant and let me tell you what I put down some massive steaks. Lol I do like meatloaf and will make it about once or twice a month. I usually make it for my son so he has food and he loves it. I make it different every time. Chicken though for me has sooooo many different ways it can be made. Mmmmm. I'm making chicken piccata tonight and chicken Marsala tomorrow and coq au vin over the weekend. Oh the possibilities.

As for fast food, it's never been good just convenient

originally posted by: mblahnikluver
Lol I do like meatloaf and will make it about once or twice a month. I usually make it for my son...

Do you get him to eat it like Ralphy's brother in A Christmas Story?

'Meatloaf, beat-loaf, I hate meatloaf'.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
I actually go in the opposite direction.

I used to, then I heard about the 'reverse sear'. And I think it provides a juicier, more flavorful result esp with thicker cuts. Getting the inside temp right is the tricky part. The outside sear is the easy part.

And neither Alton Brown nor I believe the sear first method retains any more juice.

a reply to: yeahright
Worth giving it a shot. I am a fan of Brown's since he advocates food science which I am a big proponent of.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
I am a bog proponent of.

Like, Irish cuisine?

originally posted by: yeahright
Like, Irish cuisine?

Dur, you got me before the edit.

Not a huge fan of boiled taters and meat.

Aside from the meat quality going downhill as a whole with commercial farmed meat, everyone forgets that their taste preferences change over time, too. I used to love a good pork chop myself. I don't like pork any more. Not much to do with the flavor (tastes the same as it always has) or texture (granted it's tougher meat now) but I "grew" out of the flavor and no longer like it. Beef & chicken are running a close second, I'm just tired of it, it's almost monotonous in the US: Beef, Pork, or Chicken. I dislike turkey entirely, and always have, so I'm excluding it here. If we're eating the same damn thing all the time, how is it any surprise that we could tire of it eventually?

What has grown on me is duck. Canadian duck, specifically. I can get it for about $3 a lb, American & Canadian duck alike, but the Canadian duck is simply delicious. I find American duck to be drier, though I'll buy it if I can't get Canadian. I can't cook for s***, but I can roast a duck like a pro, baby

originally posted by: Nyiah
I can't cook for s***, but I can roast a duck like a pro, baby

Try a recipe for duck confit or seared duck breast.

Killer.

a reply to: Nyiah

Mmmmm roast duck.

Have you ever had a turkey slow cooked on a charcoal kettle grill? Best ever. Moist and flavorful. I'm generally not a white meat guy (dry and flavorless), but a charcoal roasted turkey has unbelievably moist and delicious breast meat.

I also like the deep fried ones, but that's cheating. Everything's good when it's deep fried.

Also, those tiny little scraps of turkey you always end up with that are too small for sandwiches and not enough for a typical main dish?

I make a killer simple turkey hash out of those scraps.

Or stock for noodles with the scraps and bones for soup or turkey bone gumbo.

Turkey rocks.

a reply to: Son of Will
Some people lack the ability to create certain enzymes to take vitamins, minerals, etc..out of vegetables. So without the meat they cannot get the chemistry they need. One of those is vitamin K2. Some people cannot make this from the K1 in veggies, they need to consume it. You can call it a genetic flaw, but the fact is it is not a problem if they eat meat. This is just a difference in people's genetic makeup. There are a lot of these possible enzyme deficiencies.

Another thing is that they say there are only so many necessary amino acids(proteins) that people can't make. Some people can make some of these, they have different metabolic functions. They may not have the ability to make some of the non-essential amino acids though. Some gut microbes make these for us, along with processing a lot of minerals and vitamins into the proper chemistry for us. Some gut microbes, if the balance gets off, can make us drunk all day long without even having a drink. That would save a lot of people money.

I can eat most veggies in moderation, I need to cook them though, the plant defense chemicals are a medicine to me, medicines can make you sick if you take them all the time. I eat veggies when I crave them, I do not always listen to what others tell me is good. I have a lot more research on the subject of foods in the body than a lot of professional people. I have also done self evaluation of how certain foods effect memory and thinking for about four and a half years now. I was noticing that they effected me before that, but could not put anything together without research and actually paying attention to mind clarity and side effects. So I started reading and experimenting on myself.

People mistakenly say they are allergic or intollerant to things without actually doing proper research and testing. I am intolerant to bread from the store, but it is probably not gluten. I think it is the kind of yeast they use in many breads. It is not the bleached and bromated, it is not the enriched vitamins in my case. I can eat sour dough breads most times. I can tollerate homemade breads made with red star yeast also, and if I add a little barley and rye flower and wheat germ, I can eat a lot more. There are two intolerances to bread for me, both with different symptoms. Now, the enzymes in rye do break down gluten a little so I cannot say gluten is not a problem. Rye also slows down the conversion of bread starches. I have not found an answer other than if I make homemade bread a certain way, I can eat more. I am not satisfied with blaming things on the wrong thing.

I just heard on the news that there is something called the a Lone Star tick and its bite can make you allergic to red meat.

I am going to go coat myself in Frontline since I cannot imagine a more horrific allergy.


Unless it made me allergic to beer as well....