Whether you’re cooking meat at home or you’ve just started it as a hobby, cooking meat can be quite challenging. Perfect steak or burger can be better; however, the uncooked or overcooked meat dish can be really worse.
Fraserview Meats has come up with a few things that should be avoided while cooking meat and have also shared tips on what should be done instead.
Things to avoid while cooking meat
Overcooked chicken breast and tenders become tough and dry as they have a very little amount of fat content in them.
Tips to cook whole chicken breast perfectly: Soak the whole chicken breast within the brine solution made of salt, sugar, and any herbs. Follow this process to tenderize the meat and then cut the chicken breast into even pieces to cook them at the same time.
Unlike tender chicken breast, whole chicken holds more heat and the outer parts of whole chicken cook faster than the inner part.
Tip to cook meat: To cook the whole chicken perfectly, make sure you cook at low temperature and slowly. In order to distribute the juices evenly, remember to allow them to rest. You can use the meat thermometer to make sure you’re not removing the chicken too early.
Seasoning the chicken after it is cooked will not absorb the seasonings well into the chicken.
Tip to season the chicken: You must season the uncooked chicken in order to make sure the salt, pepper, and other spices are well absorbed into the meat during the cooking process.
Most people notice the common problem of beef sticking to the pan. They end up using extra oil or use a non-stick pan. However, this must not be the only solution especially if you love to have a nice crust on your steak.
Tips to avoid beef sticking to the pan or grill: Here is what you need to follow while cooking your beef pieces on the pan or grill.
- Keep your pan in medium heat and if you’re using a grill then keep it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add less amount of oil to the bottom of the pan or only half a teaspoon. In the case of the grill, do not use oil.
- Add your steak once the pan or grill is hot.
- Make sure not to flip or move the steak multiple times.
- When the meat is ready to be flipped, it comes out off the bottom of the pan without sticking. Hence, it is good to flip only once.
If you add the meat in the pan or the grill while it heats up, the meat while gradually dries out.
Tips to avoid your meat from drying out: Here is what you have to take care of
- Make sure you do not cold meat. If so, allow it to get back to room temperature.
- While cooking beef at the desired temperature, allow it to rest for some time so that it helps lock in more flavor and have a juicy piece of meat.
Allowing your steaks to rest for a longer period wouldn’t do anything much to the cooking process. However, the fact is resting it for a longer duration will create moisture on the outer parts of the meat and if you cook this, it will steam the meat instead of searing. It also turns to grayish color when cooked.
Tips to cook sear the steak perfectly: Begin with putting the steak into the oven at low temperature and then sear it in a skillet to have a nice golden brown texture with a pink interior.
7. Don’t forget to cut the steaks across the grain
Cooking the meat for a longer time will overcook your meat as the meat continues to cook even if you take it off the heat.
Tips to cook meat for the perfect time period: Bigger the meat, the higher will be the rise in temperature. Take off the meat from heat when it feels like it is almost ready and needs to be cooked for 5 to 10 degrees more to reach the optimum temperature of your choice. Allow it to rest for 10 to 30 minutes for a large roast.
If you miss cutting the hanger steak across the grain, it will be tough and hard to chew.
Tips to avoid having perfect chewy steak: Be careful while you cut your steak and remember to cut across the grain.
Yes, as per studies usage of the right cooking oil is important while cooking seafood. Though people love to use extra virgin olive oil for its taste, it is terrible when you add intense heat to it.
Extra virgin oil needs to be cooked at low temperature which ends up having improper searing of seafood and losing the protein from the food.
Tips to use the right oil: Use oil such as olive oil, peanut oil, or canola oil as these oils will eventually raise the temperature high enough for the perfect searing of the seafood.
Over mixing the spices and seasoning would cause the meat to dry out and toughen when cooked.
Tips to keep your meat moist: Mix up a grated small onion into the mixture to resist the moisture during cooking.
