We all love a juicy, tender cut of meat, but have you ever wondered what makes it so tender? Turns out, in addition to buying from a reputable supplier such as N1 which has the best quality meat Cape Town has to offer, there are several other factors to consider: how old the animal is and its diet; the specific cut of meat; the muscle size and amount of connective tissue; and also the cooking temperature. Two other factors that greatly affect tenderness as well are the importance of leaving it to rest, and how you slice it before serving i.e. with the grain or against the grain.

RESTING:

We’ve all heard how essential it is that meat rests before we slice it, but do you know why? The reason is quite simple: when meat is hot the juices are very liquid and when you cut into a very hot piece of meat all those juices run out, but if you give it a chance to cool down a little and settle, those juices redistribute themselves which makes for a much juicier piece of meat. Resting time might vary from cut to cut, but a good rule of thumb is generally to leave a cooked piece of meat for between 10-15 minutes, and don’t make the mistake of covering it with tin foil as this will accelerate the cooking,  instead place it in a warm area, such as the top of the stove.  

SLICING:

When you look closely at a cut of meat, you can see bundles of muscle fibre that run parallel to each other - this is the grain. In some cuts of meat known for their tenderness, for example, loin and tenderloin, the muscle fibre bundles are very slight and the grain is barely discernible; but in other cuts of meat, for example, flank, the grain is clearly visible. So, to maximise tenderness, the best way is to slice against the grain. Why? Because, by cutting against the grain, we cut through the fibres and shorten them which makes it easier to chew through since a lot of the hard work of breaking up the muscle fibres has already been done for us.  

And there you have it – two of the best ways to ensure your meat this festive season is juicy and tender! And speaking of the festive season, don’t forget to call N1, your leading Cape Town meat wholesalers, to stock up on all your Christmas meat and fish needs.