1. Meats and Offal
Chapter 13

2. Objectives
Define the term meat, and identify the four basic animals from which meat is derived
Explain the importance of The Meat Buyer’s Guide and IMPS system
Summarize the USDA’s system for grading meat

3. Objectives (cont’d.)
Identify the most commonly used grades of meat for beef, veal, lamb, and pork
List the products classified as offal or variety meats
Identify the four categories of sausages

4. Meats Meat is animal flesh prepared for eating
Includes muscles and fat as well as organ meat and sausage
Sold and categorized by animal of origin
Texture of muscle fibers determines the tenderness of the meat
Fat content, age, and size are also factors

5. Buying and Storing
North American Meat Processors Association (NAMP) has created The Meat Buyer’s Guide
Divided into sections by animal
Includes pictures of the major cuts
Each cut has a unique identifying number
Known as institutional meat purchase specifications (IMPS) codes

6. Buying and Storing (cont’d.)
Considerations when buying meat
Available cuts and grades
Menu needs
Available storage
Meat shipped across state lines must be inspected by the USDA

7. Buying and Storing (cont’d.)
USDA meat grading program
Quality grades for beef, veal, and lamb
Meats are available in many different forms
Primal cuts (approx. 1/8 of the animal)
Subprimal (smaller roasts, rounds, ribs)
Portion cuts (steaks) are most expensive

8. Beef Beef is meat from domesticated cows Two types of grades
Quality grade
Level of flavor, fat, juiciness, and tenderness in the carcass
Yield grade
The amount of usable meat in the carcass

9. Beef (cont’d.) Marbling USDA quality grades for beef
The amount of fat in the muscle
USDA quality grades for beef
Prime
Sold to upscale restaurants
Choice
Available to most restaurants and grocery stores

10. Beef (cont’d.) USDA quality grades for beef (cont’d.) Select
Leaner than choice or prime; less marbling
Standard and Commercial
Lowest quality for restaurants and groceries
Utility, Cutter and Canner
Used by food manufacturers to make ground beef, hot dogs, and other processed meat food

11. Beef (cont’d.) Yield grades Range from 1 to 5
Indicates percentage of usable meat
Only important if purchasing carcasses or primal cuts

12. Veal and Calf Veal is meat from a young cow
16 to 18 weeks of age
By-product of the dairy industry
Forms of veal include calf, bob-veal, and special-diet veal
One of five grades is assigned based on quality and proportion of the lean meat

13. Lamb Most lamb is from animals less than one year old
Five grades available
Prime and Choice available for retail sale
Good, Utility and Cull are used for food processing
Mutton is meat from older lambs

14. Pork Pork is meat from young pigs
In past 30 years, pork producers have modified pig feed
Producing meat that is leaner and sweeter
Two grades: acceptable and unacceptable
No quality grades

15. Offal (Variety Meats) Edible, nonmuscular parts of slaughter animals
Red offal (heart, tongue, lungs, liver)
White offal (brains, marrow, testicles, feet)
Includes meat mixtures such as sausage

16. Buying and Storing Variety meats are more perishable than other meats
Sausages should be smooth and evenly colored, not sticky
Dried sausage should have a pleasant odor and be covered with a bloom

17. Heart Very little importance in contemporary cuisine Stringy meat
Heart of calves, lambs, and chickens are small and tender
Pigs heart is moderately tender
Beef heart is strongest tasting

18. 13.10a Diagram showing where offal, or variety meats, come from on beef
13.10b Diagram showing where offal, or variety meats, come from on pork

19. Liver
Red offal that comes from domesticated animals, poultry, game and certain fish
Liver from young animals is more tender
Calf’s liver is most sought after
Color should be pinkish to reddish brown
Should be shiny with a pleasant smell
Foie gras is fattened duck or goose liver

20. Tongue Tongue has a thick membrane Beef tongue has very strong taste
Should be removed after cooking
Beef tongue has very strong taste
Calf’s tongue is very tender
Can be refrigerated for one or two days
Deteriorates rapidly

21. Sweetbreads Thymus gland from lambs and calves Gland has two parts
Central lobe called heart sweetbread
Two outer lobes known as throat sweetbread
Has a delicate taste
Extremely perishable

22. Brains Brains of sheep and lambs are most delicate and sought-after
Cow brains are firmer
Pork brains are seldom eaten
Purchase only from reputable dealers who had access to animals when they were alive, to verify origin

23. Calf Kidneys Kidney is a type of red offal
Pork and sheep kidneys have one lobe
Those of calf and beef have several
Kidney of young animals is tender and flavorful
Choose plump, firm, shiny kidneys that do not smell of ammonia

24. Tripe Tripe is made from the stomachs of cows and lambs
Usually blanched before it is sold
Choose white or cream colored tripe that has a pleasant odor
Can be poached for one to two hours and then sautéed or fried

25. Sausages Hundreds of types of sausages are available on the market
Germans make the most sausage
Most made from lean and fatty cuts of pork, but some sausages are made from beef, lamb, veal, and other meats

26. Sausages (cont’d.) Natural and synthetic casings are used
Types of sausages
Small fresh sausages
Small cooked sausages
Large cooked sausages
Dried sausages
Raw, but salted, fermented, and then dried

27. Ham Originally referred to pork from the hind leg of a hog
Turkey ham is turkey thigh meat
Sold in fresh, cook-before-eating, fully cooked, picnic, and country varieties
May be stored differently according to its method of curing and preservation

28. Summary
Beef, veal, lamb, and pork are the most commonly available meats
The Meat Buyer’s Guide includes specification codes for many cuts of meat
There are eight USDA quality grades for beef; five for veal and lamb

29. Summary (cont’d.)
Offal is the term for variety meats that include animal organs; many types exist
Sausage is a meat mixture encased in natural or artificial casing
Ham comes in a variety of forms