How to Buy Choice Cuts of Meat

The first step in preparing excellent meat is purchasing meat of good quality.

A number of factors affect the quality of meat available at stores. There are many physical indications of a good cut of meat. Writing in "The Good Housekeeping Cookbook," Susan Westmoreland points out that all U.S. meats are inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and most are graded based on tenderness. For high-quality meat, it's best to buy the highest grade you can afford.

Physical Indications of a Good Cut

"The color of the external fat should be white rather than yellow and it should be well trimmed; the color of the meat should be suitable to the type; the texture should be fine-grained, not coarse; there should be flakes of intramuscular fat called marbling running through," summarizes Bruce Aidells in "The Complete Meat Cookbook." Finally, trust your own instincts: The meat should also look appetizing.

Beef

According to Aidells, the most costly and valued steak is the short loin, which comes from the back of the animal. The rib steak is also highly rated, though not to the same extent as the short loin. Westmoreland explains that steak has the greatest number of grades because of the meat's range of tenderness.

Pork

Aidells advises avoiding pale-colored pork. Raw pork should be a reddish-pink color, "firm to the touch, lean and fine-grained." Westmoreland explains that pork is not usually graded, since only the highest grade of pork is available for purchase.

Lamb

A good cut of lamb should be pinkish-red, notes Westmoreland; a darker cut indicates age in the animal and therefore a stronger flavor. Remember to check the bones, which "should be porous and unsplintered, with a reddish tinge at the cut end."

References

• "The Complete Meat Cookbook"; Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly; 1998
• "The Good Housekeeping Cookbook"; Susan Westmoreland; 2007