The meat lover's tools: knives

Knife anatomy

We know, a good meat knife is like a good cast iron saucepan: a love that lasts a lifetime. Thanks to a good, well-sharpened knife with a quality blade, you can cut meat and vegetables easily and appropriately, enhancing the characteristics and goodness of the cut you want to cook.

Every good knife is made up of some main parts to check before purchasing because they act as indicators of its quality:

• The handle: must be comfortable, grippy, and allow the hand to remain firm during cutting
• The blade: the best remains the forged one - that is, produced by hand - which is much heavier, solid, sharp and remains sharp longer
• Rivet and tang: together, fitting perfectly to the handle, they ensure stability and perfect fixing of the blade
• Guard and knot: they are located between the blade and the handle and are an indication of the quality of the knife and, in the case of the guard, it serves to protect the fingers
• Edge and cutting edge: The edge is the part that cuts and the cutting edge is just above it. There are two types of cutting edges in knives: the European type, which is more rounded, and the Japanese type, which is generally much more pointed.

What knife are you?

We all agree that one good quality knife is better than 100 cheap knives. For this reason, we always recommend purchasing 2 or 3 quality and guaranteed products, even if they are more expensive, and then adding others over time. But let's see the main types of knives that we can find in shops!

I will never be without it again

The chef's knife

Typically the blade is between 12 and 30 cm. It is the typical all-purpose knife, the one used to cut a roast or a goodsteak into slices, to move pieces of meat directly with the blade, or as we all do, to crush garlic cloves. Very useful and high-performance with cuts of meat that are cooked on the grill since its very smooth and regular blade optimizes the contact surface between meat and support surface. In short, if you want only one knife in your kitchen, the chef's knife is your man!

The universal knife

Very similar to the chef's knife, with a blade between 10 and 16 cm, the universal knife is indispensable in the kitchen for everything that does not concern meat. Each of us has that knife that is ready to help for every occasion: to cut vegetables, chop spices and - yes we all do it - open plastic bags!

The Japanese cousin

Japanese knives, generally with a more pointed blade, have a length between 16 and 24 cm. These knives are famous throughout the world for the quality of their blades, a legacy of traditional sabers, but also for their refined and refined design. There are two types: the Gyuto, used mainly for meat and fish, thanks to its curved blade, and the Santoku, the universal knife.

Slicing knives

The slicing knife

The carving knife, with a blade between 18 and 30 cm long, is perfect for cutting larger pieces of meat into thin slices such as a priest's hat , a codon or a cooked ham . The blade is much narrower and pointed than the chef's blade to be more precise on longer slices.

The Japanese brother

As we understand, Japanese culture has an ancient tradition when it comes to knives. To slice meat into very thin sections the Japanese use Chutoh. With a blade between 16 and 20 cm, this knife combines the qualities of the Gyuto and Santoku but with a longer blade that allows you to prepare and clean meat with precision, such as marbled Wagyu.

The "butcher's two"

The boning knife

Excellent for deboning beef and pork , stuffed baked free-range chicken , preparing ribs and filleting fish. In short, a valid, super versatile ally for all aspiring chefs!

The chicken chopper

A more unusual shape than that of knives, with a total length between 22 and 26 cm, the chicken cutter comes into play every time we have to prepare chicken meat but also in the case of tougher beef or pork meat, or to break thin bones.

The serrated bread knife

What is the serrated bread knife doing on a list of knives suitable for meat? Simple, it comes to the rescue whenever we need a coarser cut rather than a more uniform and precise one. The bread knife, due to its characteristic serrated blade, is a valid ally when we have to cut harder pieces of meat, which require long cooking (stewed or boiled) or stewed dishes such as: boiled meats , stews and braises .

This is because meats that need long cooking, thanks to the bread knife, have an irregular cut and cavities created inside them which allow the juices to seep in during cooking.

Did you know that a good cut is good for your health?

Clean and precise cuts in the meat during preparation promote better chewing, because their correctly cut fibers make digestion easier and less demanding, thus avoiding swallowing whole pieces that have not yet been split. Thanks to a clean cut in a tough meat, which is also rich in fiber and requires hours of cooking, chewing will become easier: therefore also its digestion in the stomach!

Now that we have learned everything about meat knives, all we have to do is try and experiment with Bovì's guaranteed meat cuts and, if you lack inventiveness, thanks to our recipes for cooking the most famous and particular cuts of meat!