Toronto Butcher
As you choose your meat at your local
http://torontobutchershops.ca/ Shop you may want to keep a few tips in mind to be sure you are getting the best meat available. Some cuts of meat are just naturally more tender than others, the tenderest are cut from the less workied muscles along the back areas such as the rib and loin sections. The shoulder, flank and leg cuts tend to be tougher bacause the are used more during the life of the animal.
Here are some tips on choosing the best meats;
The best beef available is graded as prime, but this can be hard to find and of course comes with a larger price tag. Most of the beef that you find at your local
http://torontobutchershops.ca/ shop will graded as choice, select or standard. Standard is often sold as un-graded or "brand name" meat.
1. Roasts and steaks should be quite firm to the touch. Avoid soft, squishy feeling roasts or steak no matter the grade of meat.
2. Check the expiration dates on packeged meats. Choose meats either before or on the expiry date.
3. Always be sure the meat is cold and packaged properly with no leaking.
4. Be sure that there is no moisture visible inside the packeging. This could indicate the the meat has been overly warm at some point after being packaged.
5. Beef should be a bright reddish colour, pork should be white or slightly whitish. Look for a nice marbling of fat throughout the cuts.
6. Check with the butcher to be sure that the meat has not been injected with flavour. This could indicate a poor quality cut and may lead to a mushy, tasteless meal.
7. It is always best to do your own tenderizing for tougher cuts. Even the best
http://torontobutchershops.ca/ shop may use piercing tools for tenderizing which may allow juices to flow out during cooking, resulting in tough meat.
8. Try to find aged meats if possible. Aged meat is usuallt only be found at a good
http://torontobutchershops.ca/ shop. Dry aging is a process where the meat is hung in a cooler for a number of days or evem weeks to allow it to dry out. This will increase the cost, but the results can be well worth it as the aging process adds more flavor and tenderizes the meat.
9. If you have questions, doubt, talk with your butcher. He will be able answer all of your questions about the different types of meat, and may even have some good suggestions on best ways to cook different meats.