The main requirement for the preparation of stuffed meat is to choose a large piece of "marble" pulp, without veins, with a small amount of evenly distributed fat.
For starters, five tips on how to choose meat:
Tip one is the market, not the store. Meat is not yogurt and not cookies; its purchase should not be left to chance. You can buy good quality meat only in the market. Only there you can protect yourself from various tricks that supermarkets resort to, creating the appearance of freshness of products.
Tip two - learn the color. The color of meat is the main sign of freshness along with the smell. Good beef has a confident red color, pork is pinkish, veal is also pink, but darker, lamb resembles beef, but even more saturated.
The third. Inspect the surface. The dried meat with a thin pale pink or pale red crust is considered quite normal if it has a uniform color. If there are spots of various colors on it - beware. Good meat cannot be slimy, leaving it behind should not leave any traces.
Fourth. A true adviser in determining the quality of meat will be its smell. Take a sniff. A subtle smell should prompt you to cook a delicious steak or chops immediately. You should not hope that the heat treatment removes an unpleasant odor - the taste of spoiled, badly smelling meat can be not quite pleasant.
And the fifth, final tip - do a spring test. Fresh meat should spring, if you press it with your finger - the pit is immediately smoothed out.
Stuffed Meat - Food Preparation
When preparing meat for stuffing, clearly remember the goal - it should be a tenderloin without bones, thick, large, without veins. It is better if the fat is distributed throughout the volume, so the meat will be more juicy. Feel free to share your wishes with the butcher. Frozen meat should also be checked for sound - tap on it, cut it a little and attach a finger. A bright color should appear - it means the meat is quite suitable. Defrost it gently and for a long time, then cooking stuffed meat from frozen foods will be the same as with fresh foods.
Stuffed Meat - Cooking Utensils
As a rule, stuffed meat is cooked in the oven, often the recipe involves the use of foil. It is advisable to use cast-iron, clay or enameled dishes. Do not use aluminum pans - on a thin bottom, the meat can burn. For these purposes, modern heat-resistant glass fryers are perfectly suitable.
Recipe 1: Beef Chest with Champignons and White Wine
From this dish you can come in a real "veal" delight. Choose a large and thick piece of beef pulp. Beef recipes are different in that the meat is difficult to make soft. In our case, we first put out it and then put it in the oven for baking.
Ingredients: whole beef (1 kg), white wine, mushrooms (champignons or porcini, 500 gr.), onions (1 pc.), carrots (1 pc.), olives, oil (30 gr.), pepper, salt, red sauce .
Cooking method
Fry the meat with a piece along with carrots and onions, cover with white wine and red sauce so as to cover it completely. Stew for 30 minutes. With a chilled piece, cut off the lid - a flat layer of meat, so that there are walls and the bottom of the chest.
We pass the mushrooms in oil. We form the contents of the chest - ¾ meat, cut into pieces, sauteed champignons or porcini mushrooms, chopped olives, meat sauce, salt, pepper, mix thoroughly. We fill the inside of the chest with minced meat and close it with our lid. Sprinkle with grated cheese, sprinkle with butter and bake. Our chest is a real treasure in culinary art.
Recipe 2: Stuffed Pork with Nuts and Oranges
This is a gorgeous dish of a festive table or dinner party, a real royal recipe. Who can refuse sweet and sour pork with nuts cooked with great love? Be patient, you have to tinker a bit.
Ingredients: a large piece of pork (1 kg.), 1 orange, nuts (3 tablespoons), garlic (2-3 cloves), a bunch of parsley or basil, vegetable oil, salt, pepper, soy sauce (2 tablespoons), honey (2 tbsp.spoons).
Cooking method
Rinse the meat, dry it, grate salt and pepper from all ends. On the side we make a large incision, practically cut all the meat, leaving the edges. We open it like a book. Put the filling in half: chopped nuts, herbs, garlic, vegetable oil. We level the surface of the filling and cover it with a second layer of meat, tightly tie it with a thread, put it in foil, wrap it and set it to bake.
Syrup: separate the zest from a small orange, three on a fine grater, squeeze the juice. Add the zest, honey, ginger, soy sauce to the juice, put on a strong fire, boil until thickened. Expand the meat, coat with syrup, wrap again and bake in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
Original, unusual and tasty!
Recipe 3: Pork neck with apples, baked in foil
Pork neck is a real hit among lovers of fried meat or kebabs. In our case, this is an ideal basis for the most juicy and appetizing baked stuffed dish. Apple sauce will give it a delicate flavor and turn from ordinary fried pork into a real gourmet gourmet dish.
Ingredients: pork neck (800 gr.), apples (2-3), crackers (0.5 cups), onions (2 pcs.), pepper, vegetable oil, lemon juice, bay leaf, black pepper peas.
Cooking method
We cut the neck with a layer of the same thickness. Sprinkle with lemon juice and vegetable oil, sprinkle with pepper, salt and rub in the meat with your hands. Fry the onion, cut into small cubes in vegetable oil until browned, cut the apples into cubes or three on a grater and add to the onion. Passing a few minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add crackers, salt, pepper, mix. This is our filling.
Cool it to room temperature. Put the stuffing on the decomposed meat and wrap the meat with a roll, dress it with a thread. In order for the meat to be completely wrapped in foil, fold two pieces of foil crosswise and grease the top sheet with oil. We spread the meat, bay leaf, pepper with peas on it, wrap it and put it in a well-heated oven. Important! Wrap the meat so that the juice has no chance to leak out, then our meat will become juicy and soft. Bake for more than an hour, about 80 minutes.
Stuffed Meat - Experienced Cooking Tips
- For the preparation of stuffed meat, a large number of spices are taken, since large pieces are mainly used. Ideally, if you marinate the meat overnight and leave it in the refrigerator for several hours, it will evenly salt and absorb the aromas of seasonings and spices.
- Do not spare the foil for meat. Wrap it so that the juice remains inside, this will make the dish more juicy and tender. If you want to brown it, open it under the grill for 15 minutes.
