Bigjim68
Head Chef
You're right, meant the side. Point is, if the T bone is tender, then the tenderloin should be tender. If one side was cut bone in and the other boned, the tenderness should still be the same.
Cuts of beef - how do I use these?
- Thread starter taxlady
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
OP
OP
Yup, should be. I'm wondering if the "chateabriand" was eye of round or from a dairy cow.
If you had paid for the butchering and the meat, I would say you should go to the butcher and ask if there was a chance your meat was mixed with another animal.
As far as beef cattle vs. dairy cattle, it's in the diet. Corn (and standing around) makes the tenderness. Most beef cattle grazes freely and then before slaughter are brought to pasture and feed corn. We just had a dairy cow butchered with a friend and it's delicious. Tender, sweet meat with steaks that melt in your mouth including the chateabriand.
As far as beef cattle vs. dairy cattle, it's in the diet. Corn (and standing around) makes the tenderness. Most beef cattle grazes freely and then before slaughter are brought to pasture and feed corn. We just had a dairy cow butchered with a friend and it's delicious. Tender, sweet meat with steaks that melt in your mouth including the chateabriand.
OP
OP
No, I didn't pay for the meat or the butchering. It was a gift from my MIL. If I had paid for it I would be complaining big time.
I thought the reason dairy cow was tough was age. The meat tastes fine. But, pieces that should be tender aren't.
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
taxy, do you have a jaccard? if not, you can always tenderize tougher meat by stabbing the heck out of it with a fork. and i mean go to town on it.
i've had shoe leather london broils and round steaks that i've made really tender by either a jaccard or forking.
i've had shoe leather london broils and round steaks that i've made really tender by either a jaccard or forking.
OP
OP
I never heard of a jaccard before, so I googled. I don't understand why jaccard or forking wouldn't make it leak all the good juices. I'd be willing to give that a try on a couple of those stupid, tough "king steaks". I'll just braise or pot roast or stew most of the rest of it. If I can find a piece with a nice long stretch where the fibres all go the same direction, I can make a roulade and braise that. Roulades are fun and pretty.
Bolas De Fraile
Executive Chef
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2010
- Messages
- 3,191
Tax, what color is the meat and fat,age will be a problem if it is a cow, I always thought that here in the UK cows are only slaughtered when the stop producing milk due to them being not able to calf,they are sold to the Knacker man for pet food, if it is bullock meat the color is still relevant as it is a sign of how long the meat has hung.
I buy my meat from a farm shop with it own abattoir, I buy a "choice cut" (the rump,sirloin, fillet on the T bone) it is weighed and payed for fresh then hung for 32 to 38 days, it loses about 15% of its weight in moisture evaporation, the meat goes from pink to dark red, the cut ends blacken, the flavor is fantastic,pre cooking the meat is dry to the touch and you can cut it with your finger.
Calves of either sex are good eating.
I buy my meat from a farm shop with it own abattoir, I buy a "choice cut" (the rump,sirloin, fillet on the T bone) it is weighed and payed for fresh then hung for 32 to 38 days, it loses about 15% of its weight in moisture evaporation, the meat goes from pink to dark red, the cut ends blacken, the flavor is fantastic,pre cooking the meat is dry to the touch and you can cut it with your finger.
Calves of either sex are good eating.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
If you jaccard the meat when it's raw, there will not be a problem with juices. It's after cooking that a puncture will leak juices.
OP
OP
I did not know that.
My mum told me the opposite, but she used to cook liver for an hour
OP
OP
Good point about the colour. I can't really look at it now, 'cause all the beef is in the freezer wrapped in brown butcher paper. If I remember correctly, the meat and fat were the same colour as meat at the supermarket - medium dark red meat and slightly yellowish white fat. I haven't found any black bits that would indicate hanging, but they could have been trimmed off. I have no idea what this meat looked like before it was frozen. It's definitely not dry to the touch when I defrost it.
That meat from the farm shop sounds great. Is it expensive? Or do you get a good deal for buying a lot of meat at once? I've never seen anything like that here. Of course the province of Quebec is trying to (or maybe already did) get rid of all the small abbatoirs.
Don't get me started.
Bolas De Fraile
Executive Chef
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2010
- Messages
- 3,191
Tax its about 30 to 40% cheaper than buying the premium grades in a quality supermarket, that includes a discount for buying the piece I butcher it at home.The meat is reared and sold within 30 miles of the abattoir, the animals are not left in a field for days smelling the blood and hearing the noises of other beasts being slaughtered. That makes a big difference to the quality of the meat and to me.
OP
OP
Cool
The meat I got was probably slaughtered within 10 - 30 km of where it was reared, but about 100 km from where I live. Hmmm, that was in Ontario. Maybe I should try to find a farm store in Ontario, well, I really should look even closer to home, here in Quebec first.
Bolas De Fraile
Executive Chef
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2010
- Messages
- 3,191
Tax, you should try to find a butcher near a supermarket meat packing factory that buys the off cuts.
I buy from mine fillet steak tails for £9.00 for three pounds, the supply is intermittent so I buy 12 lbs at a time. I foodsaver pack in 1lbs and freeze.
I buy from mine fillet steak tails for £9.00 for three pounds, the supply is intermittent so I buy 12 lbs at a time. I foodsaver pack in 1lbs and freeze.
OP
OP
Thanks for the tip.
I'm still working on trying to find a meat packing factory in my area. Google isn't being really helpful. I just keep finding butcher shops and places that package prepared meat or non-meat food.
I'm still working on trying to find a meat packing factory in my area. Google isn't being really helpful. I just keep finding butcher shops and places that package prepared meat or non-meat food.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
You may be wasting your time. Meat packers won't sell to you.
However, have you tried going to a butcher and asking them to order specific items for you? Just because they don't stock an item doesn't mean they can't get it for you.
OP
OP
Andy, the idea was to find a butcher near the meat packer, but if I can't find the meat packer...
I'm not really looking for special cuts, just a way to get them cheaper. Around here the butcher shops tend to be more expensive than the grocery stores. I could ask at one grocery store where there is a "real butcher section". I can talk to the butchers. I have special ordered capon there in the past, but they don't know how much something will cost until they get it
Bigjim68
Head Chef
I don't think you are going to find cheaper at a meat market (butcher shop). If you can find a true butcher, rare these days, you will find quality, and you will be able to get the exact cut you want, but the cost is going to be at least as high, probably higher. The best price/quality ratio I have found is at Costco. I don't know about other membership stores, but assume they would be about equal. The trade off is that you will be buying large quantities, and you are on your own with choosing.Andy, the idea was to find a butcher near the meat packer, but if I can't find the meat packer...
I'm not really looking for special cuts, just a way to get them cheaper. Around here the butcher shops tend to be more expensive than the grocery stores. I could ask at one grocery store where there is a "real butcher section". I can talk to the butchers. I have special ordered capon there in the past, but they don't know how much something will cost until they get it
If you buy subprimals in Cryovac, you can age it yourself. Choose an unbroken package, and leave in the refrigerator for a few weeks. You will also pay 10-20% less for the meat than if the store sells it cut.
OP
OP
That would be my experience too. The only membership store around here seems to be Costco and I buy most of my meat there. We eat a lot of pork loin
When you write "Cryovac" do you mean the plastic wrap that was obviously done at a factory? The thick stuff that has seams melted into the sides or ends?
Yes, that is exactly what he is talking about. I buy that, pork, when we make tamales!
Bigjim68
Head Chef
Cryovac is a trade name for the commercial version of the food saver vacuum pump. The meat is packaged in a shrinkable bag, the air drawn out, and the package is sealed and shrunk with heat. As long as the seal is intact, the meat will age without spoiling up to about 60 days from the date of packaging. The box is stamped with dae of packing. If it is not available, assume a week or two. If the seal breaks, aside from a mess in your refrigerator, the meat spoils in the same time as any other packaging.
Similar threads
