3 ms·

Absolutely. I grew up spending lots of time on a farm, I've lived in a 3rd world country, plus have cooked for a living. The fact is, the majority of an anima

Absolutely. I grew up spending lots of time on a farm, I've lived in a 3rd world country, plus have cooked for a living. The fact is, the majority of an animal is shitty cuts of meat. Even something like short rib is 'premium' compared to much of the carcass. So slow-cooking is great to turn a blade or round roast into something that doesn't suck. And definitely, a huge part of every food culture is cooking these subpar cuts.

bserge 5y ago
I'm just here trying to understand what a "shitty cut" even means. For me, it's all meat. Some tastes better than other. But the baseline is "good". The old animal meat (from milk cows and goats, and egg hens) that I ate as a kid would probably horrify someone like you lol
- graycat 5y ago
  > old animal meat? In one of his books, Escoffier explained that in making beef stock get better flavor starting with the meat of old animals. Soooo, I considered that, and in NY thought of retired dairy cows so called around. I got to a packing house in PA where I got an explanation "think fast food". So, maybe McDonald's, Burger King, etc. are serving the beef the Escoffier liked for making beef stock!
- PeterWhittaker 5y ago
  Well, think of it this way: all cuts of meat have varying degrees of meat, fat, and gristle. The meat, properly cooked, adds texture and some flavour; the fat carries immense flavour but can overwhelm with grease; the gristle is mostly crap: no flavour, gets in your teeth, chewy, unpleasant, best discarded or ground into sausage. Broadly speaking. Some meat is so lean (bison, e.g.) that is must be cooked rare lest it become as dusty as the rest of Utah (the best bison I ever had was this fantastic place in southern Utah, hence the reference) and some meat is so fatty or gristly it must be slow cooked or braised or otherwise managed. And consider that how tough is a cut depends on its use: various fowl favour standing on one leg so the other is ceteris paribus more tender; cf also the reference above to the front legs of red deer. So “shitty meat” basically says “this animal did not lay about on fluffy cushions but scrambled for a living, except for this little bit here”. Some people rave over tenderloin aka filet mignon. I love it, if properly larded and cooked. Otherwise, I much prefer rib eye: juicier, more flavourful, even if a little gristlier. When I’m hungry, I don’t much care. When I have time and/or spare cash, a good starting piece well prepared is a joy.
EdwardDiego 5y ago
Indeed - I hunt red deer, and the most useful meat is the back legs and back straps (muscles running along the spine) - the front legs and neck etc. are typically only used for mincing. Even then the cuts in the back legs vary in usefulness. And venison is notoriously lean, hence a lot of methods of cooking it involve larding to prevent it ending up a dry lump of chewiness.
emmelaich 5y ago
Slow cooked 'shitty' meat like chuck is tastier than the best cuts. Or so I've found. But you do have to cook it for a long time - or pressure cook.

bserge 5y ago

I'm just here trying to understand what a "shitty cut" even means. For me, it's all meat. Some tastes better than other. But the baseline is "good". The old animal meat (from milk cows and goats, and egg hens) that I ate as a kid would probably horrify someone like you lol

graycat 5y ago
> old animal meat? In one of his books, Escoffier explained that in making beef stock get better flavor starting with the meat of old animals. Soooo, I considered that, and in NY thought of retired dairy cows so called around. I got to a packing house in PA where I got an explanation "think fast food". So, maybe McDonald's, Burger King, etc. are serving the beef the Escoffier liked for making beef stock!
PeterWhittaker 5y ago
Well, think of it this way: all cuts of meat have varying degrees of meat, fat, and gristle. The meat, properly cooked, adds texture and some flavour; the fat carries immense flavour but can overwhelm with grease; the gristle is mostly crap: no flavour, gets in your teeth, chewy, unpleasant, best discarded or ground into sausage. Broadly speaking. Some meat is so lean (bison, e.g.) that is must be cooked rare lest it become as dusty as the rest of Utah (the best bison I ever had was this fantastic place in southern Utah, hence the reference) and some meat is so fatty or gristly it must be slow cooked or braised or otherwise managed. And consider that how tough is a cut depends on its use: various fowl favour standing on one leg so the other is ceteris paribus more tender; cf also the reference above to the front legs of red deer. So “shitty meat” basically says “this animal did not lay about on fluffy cushions but scrambled for a living, except for this little bit here”. Some people rave over tenderloin aka filet mignon. I love it, if properly larded and cooked. Otherwise, I much prefer rib eye: juicier, more flavourful, even if a little gristlier. When I’m hungry, I don’t much care. When I have time and/or spare cash, a good starting piece well prepared is a joy.

EdwardDiego 5y ago

Indeed - I hunt red deer, and the most useful meat is the back legs and back straps (muscles running along the spine) - the front legs and neck etc. are typically only used for mincing. Even then the cuts in the back legs vary in usefulness. And venison is notoriously lean, hence a lot of methods of cooking it involve larding to prevent it ending up a dry lump of chewiness.

emmelaich 5y ago

Slow cooked 'shitty' meat like chuck is tastier than the best cuts. Or so I've found. But you do have to cook it for a long time - or pressure cook.