Types of Meat to Use in Broths | Rouxbe Online Culinary School (2024)

FAQs

What cuts of meat are mostly used for moist heat cooking? ›

Moist heat is usually applied to cuts from the round. A combination of dry and moist methods can be used also, especially on the medium-tender cuts of the chuck, flank, plate, brisket and shank.

The most tender cuts of steak come from the rib and loin areas of the animal. These cuts include the ribeye, tenderloin, and sirloin. These cuts are known for their tenderness because they come from muscles that do not get a lot of exercise, which makes the meat more tender.

Meat tends to get tougher as you radiate out from the tenderloin, with the rib and loin containing the most tender cuts, and the shank, round, flank, plate, chuck, and brisket—areas that work hard to walk, graze, and support the cow's weight—generally housing the toughest cuts.

Tough cuts are best to cook (blade, brisket, short rib) slowly, by stewing or braising them, in order to add moisture and break down the tough proteins.

Dry-heat cooking involves higher temperatures and shortened cooking times. If we're talking about beef, look for cuts that originate closer to the backbone and are largely free of connective tissue: Ribs, tenderloin, ribeye, sirloin, and the like. These are called beef rib primal cuts.

Baking or roasting in an oven is a dry heat method because it uses hot air to conduct the heat.

The chuck, round, brisket, and shank are tougher yet.

From the heart of the tenderloin section, the tenderloin steak is one of the most prized pieces of meat. The most tender of all cuts of beef, tenderloin steaks are lean and known for their delicate, butter-like texture and thick cut.

Chicken is the go-to option and holy grail of any grill experience. If you are looking for the best and easiest meat to grill—chicken thighs are just the meat cuts you need. Talk to experienced grillers and they will tell you that this part of the chicken, especially with the skin left on, is superior to any other cut.

Shank is arguably the toughest, cheapest cut of beef.

What is a large tougher cut of meat best cooked by? ›

Braising or stewing in liquid are the two traditional methods of dealing with the tougher and/or older cuts of meat or poultry. More modern developments like pressure cooking and sous vide cooking have supplemented those methods.

Slow Cooking

Braising and barbecuing are ideal for tough cuts such as brisket, chuck and bottom round. Try making Slow Cooker Brisket, Slow Cooker Pot Roast or Texas BBQ Braised Beef Brisket, which also benefits from an overnight dry brine.

Simmering and stewing are used for less tender cuts of meat while poaching is used for tender cuts. Also, poaching is only appropriate for beef while any type of meat (beef, veal, pork or lamb) can be simmered.

The food web and a great many cookbooks (very many of them highly reputable) recommend blasting a tenderloin in a hot oven, 450–500°F (232–260°C), for a relatively short time to cook it, followed by a counter rest.

Moist-heat cooking methods are techniques used with tougher cuts of meat and with sturdy root and fibrous vegetables to break down their tough connective tissue and fiber. Methods include blanching, parboiling, boiling, poaching, simmering, steaming, braising, stewing, fricasséeing, and pot-roasting.

Dry heat occurs in any location with a combination of a temperature of 90 °F or above and relative humidity of 30% or less. Dry heat occurs most often in desert climates, like Phoenix and Las Vegas, that receive very little rain and moisture.

Collagen, a connective tissue, helps hold the muscle fibers in meat together. When cooked in the presence of moisture, collagen dissolves into gelatin, which allows the meat fibers to separate more easily. This is the essence of tenderizing tough cuts of meat.

Tender cuts from the back (loin) region are quick-cooking cuts. These are cuts like ribeye, sirloin, strip steak, pork chops, and tenderloin. These cuts don't need much cooking to make them taste awesome.