According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the term meat refers to the muscle of cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. Of these, beef and pork have long prevailed in North America, and their popularity has risen steadily since the first settlers brought over a few pigs and cows. While initially pork overshadowed beef, the boom of western cattle ranches along with the introduction of refrigerated rail transport began a hunger that has yet to be quelledΓÇöAmericaΓÇÖs voracious appetite for beef. Changes in economics and taste may cause dips and peaks in the popularity of various meats over the years, but one thing does not change: per capita meat consumption continues to rise. Today, meat remains the most common source of protein in our diets, providing a richness of vitamins and minerals as well.
The way meat is produced and consumed has changed dramatically in recent decades. Growing health concerns about dietary fat have led consumers to demand less fat in food, and the meat industry has responded accordingly. It is estimated that beef sold today is 27 percent leaner than it was twenty years ago, while todayΓÇÖs pork, which was once valued as much for its lard as its meat, is closer to 50 percent leaner than in days of old. While this may be good news for our cardiovascular systems and waistlines, it presents a new set of challenges for the cook. Anyone who has ever savored a well-marbled, juicy rib-eye steak knows how fat lubricates meat, making it more tender and moist. Since fat has a direct effect on flavor and juiciness, these new leaner meats must be handled differently. Lean meats are easily dried out and made unpalatable with overcooking, and you can assume that unless a cookbook was written in the past ten years, its cooking times and temperatures for meats are outdated.
The other significant change in the meat industry is that the knowledgeable, helpful butcher has been replaced by an unseen presence that mysteriously slices, grinds, and wraps behind a partition or by bins full of prepackaged meat straight from processing plants. In the past, meat was shipped to market as hanging carcasses, sides, or large pieces known as primal cuts. A butcherΓÇÖs ability to fabricate retail cuts like steaks, roasts, stew meat, and hamburger relied on his knowledge of the anatomy of each animal and his understanding of the distinctions in muscle structure and texture. Skilled butchers could easily help customers identify the best cuts for flavor or tenderness and offer cooking and handling advice. All this changed in the 1970s with new technology that allowed producers to ship beef more efficiently and economically to market by precutting and packaging individual cutsΓÇöa method commonly referred to in the industry as boxed meat. Today, butchers are no longer required to understand the entire musculature and skeleton of any type of meat; they simply need to be able to trim and slice large cuts into small pieces. We now also can buy large cuts of boxed beef still in its factory vacuum-packed seal at the popular wholesale clubs and large retailers. The difficulty for the consumer when purchasing a vacuum-packed meat is that the bag contains quite a bit of fluid, which makes it difficult to judge the color and quality of the meat inside and adds a fair amount of unusable weight. When opening a package of vacuum-sealed meat, bear in mind that it may appear darker than normal and give off an unpleasant odor when it first comes into contact with oxygen. Let the meat air for a few minutes; the color will return to normal, and any unpleasant smell will dissipate.
If you are lucky enough to have a knowledgeable, experienced butcher nearby, by all means give him or her your business and tell your friends. If not, the best tool for understanding the variety of cuts available is to learn a bit about meat cuts in general.
