Pablo Luna
Protein is the backbone of every healthy diet, and meat has the biggest concentration of it of all foodstuffs. The ethics of eating meat are still a very debated topic, but it is nonetheless still recommended to consume it regularly by every major medical and nutritionist expert. As we have been eating meat for quite a long time as a species we have developed many ways of preparing it to please our tastes.
Cooking, mincing, grilling, smoking, salting, aging… A seemingly endless number of techniques and shapes are put into it to make a meal. Knowing your meat from a biochemical standpoint is only the beginning of it, how it oxidizes, how the fats and the proteins bond and react together, and knowing how to process it is the second, much more interesting part. Every meat enthusiast should pride themself on the way they can prepare a tasty meal, but to do so requires some tools too.
Grills
A set of metal bars over a charcoal fire, sizzling meat, and a warm summer day – what could you possibly ask for more? Grills come in a variety of sizes and thicknesses, depending on how much meat is supposed to be grilled on them. Unlike barbecues, they are meant for fast and hot preparation of food, both meat, and vegetables.
As they are usually placed over a charcoal fire they need to have a place to vent and if you’re outdoors that’s not a problem. If, however, the weather is bad or you don’t have a yard where you fire up the grill, you might consider investing in grills for the indoors. These are designed with electrical heaters under the bars so they create smokeless heat and can be easily used and cleaned whenever, independent of weather or time of year.
Electrical Thermometer
Curing meat, as well as most hot preparations, requires careful control of temperature and humidity. Temperature, being the main factor here, used to be closely monitored just by our natural senses, sticking your hand in the smoke-house, tasting the meat now and then, etc. Luckily, today we have digital thermometers that are much more reliable for such a job.
They are rather cheap on the market today and easy to use. You simply point them at something close enough and it will tell you their temperature within seconds.
Set of Professional Knives
Going to the butchers for freshly cut slices is OK if you are in a hurry, but buying meat larger and fresher so you can cut it yourself is where the real deal is. Different knives are used for different jobs and knowing your way with them can make working in the kitchen a lot easier.
An important aspect is also their sharpness. Whacking at something with a blunt knife is not only dangerous but will ruin the meat as well. So make sure your knives remain sharp and dirt-free whenever they are to be used.
Protective Gloves and Skirt
Following the previous part – safety is a big concern while dealing with meat. The risk of burns and cuts is always present, however careful you are. The first-ever platform shoes were invented for butchers so they don’t slip and fall while walking over blood and other pieces on the floor.
When cutting up meat the hands and lower abdomen or hips are the most exposed parts of the body and the ones that most often get injured. To counter this you should invest in a pair of chainmail gloves and a skirt that protects these vital parts. The way they are made out of very small metal rings means they can stop any cut to the body, while stabs are minimal too.
Slow Cooker
Slow cookers have become a very popular appliance in recent years due to the depth of taste they create, and the need for thoroughly slow-cooked food instead of a hastily made burger.
They can be used, of course, for a large variety of meals that do not need to contain any meat in them, but considering it is mostly meat that needs more thermal processing to become edible, this type of cooker is designed mostly for that. Their wide-spread popularity is partly due to how easy it is to use them and store them away, similar to pressure cookers, for example.
Meat Grinder
Minced meat is great for many different meals. Burgers, for starters, are the most popular example and a favorite meal in many countries today. As meat that has been ground is a very unstable product, easy to spoil, it needs to be kept cool and airtight as long as possible, something that costs a lot but still doesn’t allow for a perfectly conserved product.
Because of this, investing in a meat grinder is a big plus to secure fresh minced meat from known pieces of pure meat.
Having a dedicated part of the kitchen for preparing meat is probably a dream for some, but usually unobtainable in reality. But with just a few carefully selected appliances you can still make great and tasty meat-based meals just like the pros.
