2,0003,100 2,0003,100

Meat

Iron, milligrams Iron, milligrams

Standard cuts

14 14

Heart

49 49

Tongue

25 25

Gizzard

46 46

Tripe, beef (stomach)

2 2.

Liver

318 318

Sweetbreads

12 12

Kidney

312 312

Brain

23 23

Meat

Folate, micrograms Folate, micrograms

Standard cuts

520 520

Heart

380 380

Tongue

38 38

Gizzard

5055 5055

Tripe, beef (stomach)

2 2.

Liver

70770 70770

Sweetbreads

3 3.

Kidney

20100 20100

Brain

46 46

The word meat meat is used most commonly to mean the limb-moving is used most commonly to mean the limb-moving skeletal skeletal muscles of animals. But skeletal muscle only accounts for about half of the animal body. The various other organs and tissues are also nutritious and offer their own diverse, often p.r.o.nounced flavors and textures. The nonskeletal muscles - stomach, intestines, heart, tongue - generally contain much more connective tissue than ordinary meats - up to 3 times as much - and benefit from slow, moist cooking to dissolve the collagen. The liver contains relatively little collagen: it is an agglomeration of specialized cells held together by a network of connective tissue that, because it experiences little mechanical stress, is unusually fine and delicate. Liver is thus tender if minimally cooked, crumbly and dry if overcooked. muscles of animals. But skeletal muscle only accounts for about half of the animal body. The various other organs and tissues are also nutritious and offer their own diverse, often p.r.o.nounced flavors and textures. The nonskeletal muscles - stomach, intestines, heart, tongue - generally contain much more connective tissue than ordinary meats - up to 3 times as much - and benefit from slow, moist cooking to dissolve the collagen. The liver contains relatively little collagen: it is an agglomeration of specialized cells held together by a network of connective tissue that, because it experiences little mechanical stress, is unusually fine and delicate. Liver is thus tender if minimally cooked, crumbly and dry if overcooked.

Unlike standard meats cut from discrete and largely sterile skeletal muscles, many organ meats carry extraneous matter. Before cooking, they're often trimmed and cleaned, then "blanched," or covered with cold water that is slowly brought to a simmer. The slow heating first washes proteins and microbes off the meat, then coagulates them and floats them to the water surface where they can be skimmed off. Blanching also moderates strong odors on the meat surface.

Liver The liver is the biochemical powerhouse of the animal body. Most of the nutrients that the body absorbs from food go here first and are either stored or processed for distribution to other organs. All this work takes a lot of energy, and this is why the liver is dark red with fat-burning mitochondria and their cytochrome pigments. It also requires direct access of the liver cells to the blood, and accordingly there is very little connective tissue between the minute hexagonal columns of cells. It's a delicate organ that is best briefly cooked; long cooking simply dries it out. The characteristic flavor of liver has been little investigated, but seems to depend importantly on sulfur compounds (thiazoles and thiazolines), and gets stronger with prolonged cooking. Generally, both flavor and texture coa.r.s.en with age. The occasionally milky appearance of chicken livers is due to an unusual but harmless acc.u.mulation of fat, about double the amount in a normal red liver (8% instead of 4%).

Foie Gras Of the various animal innards that cooks have put to good use, one deserves special mention, because it is in a way the ultimate meat, the epitome of animal flesh and its essential appeal. Foie gras Foie gras is the "fat liver" of force-fed geese and ducks. It has been made and appreciated since Roman times and probably long before; the force-feeding of geese is clearly represented in Egyptian art from 2500 is the "fat liver" of force-fed geese and ducks. It has been made and appreciated since Roman times and probably long before; the force-feeding of geese is clearly represented in Egyptian art from 2500 BCE BCE. It's a kind of living pate, ingeniously prepared in the growing bird before it's slaughtered. Constant overnourishment causes the normally small, lean, red organ to grow to 10 times its normal size and reach a fat content of 50 to 65%. The fat is dispersed in insensibly fine droplets within the liver cells, and creates an incomparably integrated, delicate blend of smoothness, richness, and savoriness.

Preparing Foie Gras A good-quality liver is recognized by its unblemished appearance, pale thanks to the minute fat droplets, and by its consistency. The liver tissue itself is firm but pliable (like chicken liver), while the fat is only semisolid at cool room temperature. When cool and pressed with the finger, a good foie gras will give, retain the imprint, and feel somewhat supple and unctuous, while an under-fattened liver will feel elastic, hard, and wet. An overfattened, weakened liver feels soft and frankly oily. A good-quality liver is recognized by its unblemished appearance, pale thanks to the minute fat droplets, and by its consistency. The liver tissue itself is firm but pliable (like chicken liver), while the fat is only semisolid at cool room temperature. When cool and pressed with the finger, a good foie gras will give, retain the imprint, and feel somewhat supple and unctuous, while an under-fattened liver will feel elastic, hard, and wet. An overfattened, weakened liver feels soft and frankly oily.

Foie gras is at its best fresh out of the bird. Apart from its use in pates, it is generally prepared in two ways. One is to slice it fairly thick, briefly saute in a hot, dry pan until the surface is browned and the interior just warmed through, and serve it immediately. The sensation of warm, firm, flavorful flesh melting away between tongue and palate is unparalleled. Liver quality is especially important in this preparation, since high pan heat will release a flood of fat from an overfattened or otherwise weakened organ, and the texture is unpleasantly flabby.

A second preparation is to cook the liver whole, chill it, and slice and serve it cool. This is more forgiving of second-quality livers, and offers its own kind of lusciousness. To make a terrine, the livers are pressed gently into a container and cooked in a water bath; to prepare a torchon of foie gras, they're wrapped in a cloth and poached in stock or in duck or goose fat. Fat loss is minimized by gentle, gradual heating just to the desired doneness (from 110 to 160F/4570C, lower temperatures giving a creamier texture), the liquid kept only a few degrees above the target temperature. Cooling partly solidifies the fat, which allows the terrine or torchon to be sliced cleanly, and then contributes a melting firmness to the dish's texture as it's eaten.

Skin, Cartilage, and Bones Usually cooks don't welcome large amounts of toughening connective tissue in meat. But taken on their own, animal skin, cartilage, and bones are valuable exactly because they're mostly connective tissue and therefore full of collagen (skin also provides flavorful fat). Connective tissue has two uses. First, in long-cooked stocks, soups, and stews, it dissolves out of bones or skin to provide large quant.i.ties of gelatin and a substantial body. And second, it can be turned into a delicious dish itself, with either a succulent gelatinous texture or a crisp, crunchy one, depending on the cut and the cooking method. Long moist cooking gives tender veal ears, cheeks, and muzzle for tete de veau, or Chinese beef tendon or fatty pork skin. A briefer cooking produces crunchy or chewy cartilaginous pig's ears, snouts, and tails; and rapid frying gives crisp pork rinds.

Fat Solid fat tissue is seldom prepared as such: instead we usually extract the fat from its storage cells, and then use it as both a cooking medium and an ingredient. There are two major exceptions to this rule. The first is caul fat, caul fat, a thin membrane of connective tissue with a lacework of small fat deposits embedded in it. This membrane is the omentum or peritoneum, usually from the pig or sheep, which covers the organs of the abdominal cavity. Caul fat has been used at least since Roman times as a wrap to hold foods together and protect and moisten their surface while they are cooked. During the cooking, much of the fat is rendered from the membrane and the membrane itself is softened, so that it all but disappears into the food. a thin membrane of connective tissue with a lacework of small fat deposits embedded in it. This membrane is the omentum or peritoneum, usually from the pig or sheep, which covers the organs of the abdominal cavity. Caul fat has been used at least since Roman times as a wrap to hold foods together and protect and moisten their surface while they are cooked. During the cooking, much of the fat is rendered from the membrane and the membrane itself is softened, so that it all but disappears into the food.

The second fat tissue frequently used as is is mild, soft-textured pork fat, especially the thick deposits lying immediately under the skin of belly and back. Bacon is largely fat tissue from the belly, while back fat is the preferred fat for making sausages (p. 170). Italian lardo lardo is pork fat cured in salt, flavorings, and wine, eaten as is or used to flavor other dishes. In cla.s.sic French cooking, pork fat is used to provide both flavor and succulence to lean meats, applied either in a thin sheet that protects the surface during roasting, or in thin splinters inserted into the meat by means of larding needles. is pork fat cured in salt, flavorings, and wine, eaten as is or used to flavor other dishes. In cla.s.sic French cooking, pork fat is used to provide both flavor and succulence to lean meats, applied either in a thin sheet that protects the surface during roasting, or in thin splinters inserted into the meat by means of larding needles.

Rendered Fats Pure fat is rendered from fat tissue by cutting the tissue into small pieces and gently heating them. Some fat melts out of the tissue, and more is squeezed out by applying pressure. Rendered beef fat is called Pure fat is rendered from fat tissue by cutting the tissue into small pieces and gently heating them. Some fat melts out of the tissue, and more is squeezed out by applying pressure. Rendered beef fat is called tallow, tallow, and pork fat and pork fat lard. lard. The fats from different animals differ in flavor and in consistency. Fats from ruminant cattle and sheep are more saturated and therefore harder than pig or bird fats (due to their rumen microbes; seep. 13); and fats stored just under the skin are less saturated and therefore softer than fats stored in the body core, because their environment is cooler. Beef suet, from around the kidneys, is the hardest culinary fat, followed by subcutaneous beef fat, then leaf lard from pig kidneys, and lard from back and belly fat. Chicken, duck, and goose fat are still less saturated and so semiliquid at room temperature. The fats from different animals differ in flavor and in consistency. Fats from ruminant cattle and sheep are more saturated and therefore harder than pig or bird fats (due to their rumen microbes; seep. 13); and fats stored just under the skin are less saturated and therefore softer than fats stored in the body core, because their environment is cooler. Beef suet, from around the kidneys, is the hardest culinary fat, followed by subcutaneous beef fat, then leaf lard from pig kidneys, and lard from back and belly fat. Chicken, duck, and goose fat are still less saturated and so semiliquid at room temperature.

Meat Mixtures The transformation of a steer or pig into the standard roasts, steaks, and chops generates a large a.s.sortment of sc.r.a.ps and by-products. These remainders have always been put to use, rea.s.sembled into everything from the "goat sausage bubbling fat and blood" that the disguised Odysseus wins in a warm-up fight before his battle with Penelope's suitors, to the Scots haggis of sheep's liver, heart, and lung stuffed into its stomach, to the modern canned mixture of ham, pork shoulder, and flavorings called Spam. Chopped or ground up, mixed with other ingredients, and pressed together, meat sc.r.a.ps can provide one of the heartiest parts of a meal - and even one of the most luxurious.

Sausages The word sausage sausage comes from the Latin for "salt," and names a mixture of chopped meat and salt stuffed into an edible tube. Salt plays two important roles in the sausage: it controls the growth of microbes, and it dissolves one of the fiber filament proteins (myosin) out of the muscle fibers and onto the meat surfaces, where it acts as a glue to bind the pieces together. Traditionally the edible container was the animal's stomach or intestine, and fat accounted for at least a third of the mixture. Today many sausages are housed in artificial casings and contain far less fat. comes from the Latin for "salt," and names a mixture of chopped meat and salt stuffed into an edible tube. Salt plays two important roles in the sausage: it controls the growth of microbes, and it dissolves one of the fiber filament proteins (myosin) out of the muscle fibers and onto the meat surfaces, where it acts as a glue to bind the pieces together. Traditionally the edible container was the animal's stomach or intestine, and fat accounted for at least a third of the mixture. Today many sausages are housed in artificial casings and contain far less fat.

There are an infinite number of variations on the sausage theme, but most of them fall into a handful of families. Sausages may be sold raw and eaten freshly cooked; they may be fermented; they may be air-dried, cooked, and/or smoked to varying degrees in order to keep for a few days or indefinitely. The meat and fat may be chopped into discrete pieces of varying size, or they may be disintegrated, blended together, and cooked into a h.o.m.ogeneous ma.s.s. And the sausage may either be mostly meat and fat, or it may include a substantial proportion of other ingredients.

Early Sausage RecipesLucaniansPound pepper, c.u.min, savory, rue, parsley, seasoning, bay berries, and liquamen liquamen [salted fish sauce], and mix with well-pounded flesh, grinding both together. Mix in [salted fish sauce], and mix with well-pounded flesh, grinding both together. Mix in liquamen, liquamen, whole peppercorns, plenty of fat and pine-nuts, force into an intestine stretched thinly, and hang in smoke. whole peppercorns, plenty of fat and pine-nuts, force into an intestine stretched thinly, and hang in smoke.- Apicius, first few centuries CE CELiver Sausage (Esicium ex Iecore) (Esicium ex Iecore)Grind pork or other livers after they have boiled a little. Then cut up pork belly to the amount of liver, and mix with two eggs, sufficient aged cheese, marjoram, parsley, raisins, and ground spices. When these form a ma.s.s make b.a.l.l.s the size of a nut, wrap in caul fat, and fry in a pan with lard. They require slow and low heat.- Platina, De honesta voluptate et valetudine, De honesta voluptate et valetudine, 1475 1475 Fermented sausages are a form of preserved meat, and are described on p. 176.

Fresh and Cooked Sausages Fresh sausages are just that: freshly made, unfermented and uncooked, and therefore highly perishable. They should be cooked within a day or two of being made or purchased. Fresh sausages are just that: freshly made, unfermented and uncooked, and therefore highly perishable. They should be cooked within a day or two of being made or purchased.