Journey through meat cooking methods

100% Italian meat and cooking methods

Have you decided to buy meat online from your trusted butcher's shop? The first step has been taken! Here in a few days that cut arrives comfortably at your home, ready to be cooked to perfection. But how to cook it to perfection to enhance the cut of meat you just purchased?

Although there are numerous ways of cooking meat, in reality, there are two main types of cooking we can do: roasting and boiling. From the first you can obtain tasty roasts (in the oven or on a spit), grilled meat, frying and pan-searing. From the latter we obtain meat broths, boiled meats ,braised meats and meat sauces . But let's see together all these ways of cooking meat to learn how to enhance each cut and become real Masterchef-proof cooks!

Roast the meat

Roasting means cooking a cut of meat over a high heat, in the oven or on a skewer. To prepare a good real roast, the meat must be cooked on a layer of butter, at a very high heat, so as to form a nice crust as soon as possible which keeps all the juices inside. The heat must be kept constant and the meat very moist - wetting it with its sauce - until cooked.

The choice of aromas and spices to use depends on the final recipe we want to prepare: whether you choose a citrus roast or a crunchy roast , success will always be guaranteed! Finally, when cooking in the oven, you just need to take care to use a saucepan without a lid that is suitable for the size of the cut of meat you need to cook.

Italian meat and boiling: tradition in the kitchen

Boiled and boiled are often synonymous, but both basically consist of cooking meat in a boiling liquid - water or broth - as our grandmothers did. To prepare a good boiled meat you need to keep the heat very low and avoid the liquid coming to a boil (like when we throw in the pasta so to speak). We need to be a little careful based on what we want to do with the meat once cooked. If we want to eat it accompanied with sauces or mustard, it is good practice to immerse it in hot water to retain the flavor of the meat, vice versa if we want to prepare the meat cube or a good broth , the meat should be immersed in cold water. What about the cuts of meat to use? Trust our Bollito Box to receive the perfect mix of beef for boiled meat at your home.

Beef and braising

Braising or stewing meat means cooking in a container with a lid - often airtight like a pressure cooker - a cut of braised meat together with herbs, vegetables or legumes which will give it their aroma based on the recipe we want to prepare. The braising must be very long, with a gentle and constant flame to create a harmony of flavours. The most suitable containers for preparing a delicious Barolo braised meat are casseroles with high edges and lids, in ceramic or aluminium, or aluminum braising pans.

Fricassee cooking: refined goodness

A method of cooking meat - in a saucepan or pan with a lid - over moderate heat. The peculiarity of the fricassee is that it requires a good base of butter and aromatic herbs in which to sear the meat and a sauce, often thickened, of vegetables, legumes or stewed mushrooms as an accompaniment.

Stir-fry: pure is better!

The most used method for cooking meat in its purest form: sautéing it over high heat with very little fat and flavourings. The meat is cooked over high heat, seasoned with only salt and pepper in a saucepan with very little butter (or extra virgin olive oil) and turning it often until the desired doneness.

The queen of cooking: grilled meat

Whether you use a grill on embers, an electric or gas BBQ, the most important thing about grilling is that there are parallel, hot irons and live contact with the heat on which to place the meat. In this way the meat will have the immediate heat shock which will fix all the juices inside it. Take care to cook the meat according to the particularities of the cut you are preparing, using the right tools and without ever piercing the surface!

Seasonings and sauces for grilled meat vary depending on the country you are in and the recipe you are preparing. BBQ purists advise that only a good marinade and a pinch of salt at the end of cooking are the right way to enjoy each cut. Remember, however, that to be a true master griller there are some very important precautions to follow, as well as knowing how to clean the barbecue grill .

Frying meat: less healthy but very tasty

We all know that it is not the healthiest way to enjoy meat, but the goodness makes up for the violation of the diet. Fried meat is made with both extra virgin olive oil and seed oil, if of excellent quality. The oil must strictly be in large quantities, boiling but never smoking! In this way we will be able to have crispy and golden fried foods, without spoiling the taste of the cut of meat. Fry the meat in a very large and deep pan, possibly made of stainless steel or copper, preferably with straight walls and flared edges.

Grilled meat

There are two gratin methods: the quick gratin and the complete gratin. Both involve the use of a covering - gratin - made of grated bread, breadcrumbs or grainy flours. When we make a quick gratin the meat is cooked previously, following the cooking we prefer (but possibly sautéed), gratinated only on the upper part and then placed in the oven so that the direct heat creates a very tasty surface crust. The complete gratin consists of cooking the cut of meat with butter, oil, white wine, a base of grated breadcrumbs and your favorite vegetables, so that it creates a nice base sauce. Then everything is placed in the oven in order to create a complete gratin and a nice browned crust.