Read Online Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course by Gordon Ramsay - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Gordon Ramsay
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flavour and texture. Not only does it protect the meat from the heat of the oven or the pan and stop it burning, but it melts as the muscle fibre cooks, adding flavour at the same time as keeping the meat moist. You’ll find less marbling in young animals, and in cuts from muscles that aren’t used as much, such as fillet steak. That’s why these cuts need more careful cooking, as they can go dry and tough if overdone.
Hanging beef for anything up to 35 days is important as it gives time for enzymes to start to break down the muscle fibre, making it more tender and allowing the flavour to develop. Your butcher should be able to tell you how long his meat has been hung, but colour can also be a clue. Well-hung beef should be a dark ruby colour, rather than a bright, bloody red. You should know that supermarkets are less likely to age their meat, not only because the delay in getting it to the shop floor costs them money, but also because meat loses moisture as it hangs, so reducing its final selling weight. As ever, farm shops, farmer’s markets and traditional butchers are the best places to buy.
If you are buying for a traditional Sunday roast, I’d always recommend a sirloin or rib joint, from the middle of the cow’s back. You’ll often see topside and silverside, from the top of the thigh, dressed up as roasting joints, sometimes with an extra layer of fat stitched on top like a poor man’s hairpiece. These cuts are never as flavoursome and can be very tough. They are better suited to slower pot-roasting, with a bit of liquid in the pan to keep them moist.
STORING
Once you get your meat home, you need to keep it correctly. Meat needs to breathe, so remove any plastic wrapping straight away. This is particularly important with vacuum-packed cuts, which will otherwise marinate in their own blood and take on a nasty metallic taste. Put the meat on a plate loosely covered with paper or cling film pierced with a few holes and place it at the bottom of the fridge so it can’t drip onto any other foods.
If you choose to freeze meat, wrap it up tightly in cling film to stop water crystals forming on the surface and chill it as quickly as possible. Always defrost meat slowly, ideally in the fridge or at room temperature. Never defrost raw meat in the microwave or all the juices will seep out and the meat will toughen.
PREPARING
The meat that’s likely to need the most fiddly preparation prior to cooking is chicken. I always buy my chickens whole and then joint them myself. It works out so much cheaper and you’ll be amazed how far they go. The method described below will produce six joints of dark brown meat (wings, thighs and drumsticks) and two beautiful plump breasts. I’ve also given instructions for deboning, but this is altogether a more complicated affair, and, unless you’re brimming with confidence, is probably best done by your butcher.
----
HOW TO JOINT A CHICKEN
1 . Open up the chicken legs and pierce the skin where the thigh joins the body. Holding the bird steady, pull the leg out and down until the thighbone pops out of its socket. Cut through the skin and sinew with a sharp knife until you can pull the thigh and drumstick off in one piece. Turn the bird around and repeat with the other side.
2 . With your thumb, feel where the knuckle is between the thigh and the drumstick and slice through, letting the weight of the knife do the work. The thigh is great for roasting or barbecuing, but the drumstick is the most difficult part to cook evenly. A trick is to slice through to the bone about halfway down the drumstick, where the meat gives way to skin and sinew. Scrape away the tendons until you expose a length of bare bone. Now cut off the end of the knuckle by placing your left hand on top of the knife blade and banging down hard to cut through the bone. Keep the knuckle for making stock.
3 . Pull out the wings and feel with your thumb for where the bone joins the body. Slice through and take
Hanging beef for anything up to 35 days is important as it gives time for enzymes to start to break down the muscle fibre, making it more tender and allowing the flavour to develop. Your butcher should be able to tell you how long his meat has been hung, but colour can also be a clue. Well-hung beef should be a dark ruby colour, rather than a bright, bloody red. You should know that supermarkets are less likely to age their meat, not only because the delay in getting it to the shop floor costs them money, but also because meat loses moisture as it hangs, so reducing its final selling weight. As ever, farm shops, farmer’s markets and traditional butchers are the best places to buy.
If you are buying for a traditional Sunday roast, I’d always recommend a sirloin or rib joint, from the middle of the cow’s back. You’ll often see topside and silverside, from the top of the thigh, dressed up as roasting joints, sometimes with an extra layer of fat stitched on top like a poor man’s hairpiece. These cuts are never as flavoursome and can be very tough. They are better suited to slower pot-roasting, with a bit of liquid in the pan to keep them moist.
STORING
Once you get your meat home, you need to keep it correctly. Meat needs to breathe, so remove any plastic wrapping straight away. This is particularly important with vacuum-packed cuts, which will otherwise marinate in their own blood and take on a nasty metallic taste. Put the meat on a plate loosely covered with paper or cling film pierced with a few holes and place it at the bottom of the fridge so it can’t drip onto any other foods.
If you choose to freeze meat, wrap it up tightly in cling film to stop water crystals forming on the surface and chill it as quickly as possible. Always defrost meat slowly, ideally in the fridge or at room temperature. Never defrost raw meat in the microwave or all the juices will seep out and the meat will toughen.
PREPARING
The meat that’s likely to need the most fiddly preparation prior to cooking is chicken. I always buy my chickens whole and then joint them myself. It works out so much cheaper and you’ll be amazed how far they go. The method described below will produce six joints of dark brown meat (wings, thighs and drumsticks) and two beautiful plump breasts. I’ve also given instructions for deboning, but this is altogether a more complicated affair, and, unless you’re brimming with confidence, is probably best done by your butcher.
----
HOW TO JOINT A CHICKEN
1 . Open up the chicken legs and pierce the skin where the thigh joins the body. Holding the bird steady, pull the leg out and down until the thighbone pops out of its socket. Cut through the skin and sinew with a sharp knife until you can pull the thigh and drumstick off in one piece. Turn the bird around and repeat with the other side.
2 . With your thumb, feel where the knuckle is between the thigh and the drumstick and slice through, letting the weight of the knife do the work. The thigh is great for roasting or barbecuing, but the drumstick is the most difficult part to cook evenly. A trick is to slice through to the bone about halfway down the drumstick, where the meat gives way to skin and sinew. Scrape away the tendons until you expose a length of bare bone. Now cut off the end of the knuckle by placing your left hand on top of the knife blade and banging down hard to cut through the bone. Keep the knuckle for making stock.
3 . Pull out the wings and feel with your thumb for where the bone joins the body. Slice through and take
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