Victor Forge
Cooking meat involves applying heat to change its chemical composition, making it easier to chew and enhancing its flavour. The application of heat causes changes in the muscle fibres, which are composed of myofibrils, which in turn are made up of sarcomeres, the contractile units of the muscle. Different types of meat cuts, or muscles, require different cooking methods. For example, a brisket is cooked differently from a sirloin steak. Harder-working muscles, such as the shoulder, contain more connective tissues, which can be chewy if not cooked properly. However, when cooked correctly, these connective tissues can transform into gelatin, lubricating the meat and improving its texture.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Different types of meat | Beef, chicken, pork, lamb, and poultry |
| Different types of muscles | Fast-twitch, connective tissue-rich, harder working muscles |
| Cooking methods | Grilling, BBQ, slow cooking, stewing, braising, roasting |
| Impact of cooking | Changes texture, flavour, moisture, colour, food safety, food quality |
| Key factors | Temperature, cooking time, type of meat/muscle, fat content, connective tissue |
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What You'll Learn
Cooking methods for different muscle cuts
Grilling is the most common method for cooking various cuts of meat. Grilling enhances the meat's natural flavours and adds a distinct char and smoky essence. This technique is versatile and applicable to almost any kind of meat, including beef, pork, chicken, and lamb. The high direct heat sears the meat, creating a crispy, caramelised exterior while keeping the inside juicy and tender.
Beef cuts like ribeye, sirloin, and tenderloin thrive under intense heat that locks in flavours and juices. Tender cuts of meat, no more than 5 cm thick, are ideal for grilling. The high heat of grilling also helps break down the connective tissues in harder-working muscles like the shoulder, transforming them into a silky smooth gelatin that lubricates the meat.
For tougher cuts of meat, moist heat methods like simmering, stewing, and braising are best as they help tenderise the meat over a long, slow cooking time. Tougher cuts of meat come from muscle areas that do a lot of work and have a greater supply of oxygen and fat. These muscles may appear darker in colour due to the presence of myoglobin.
Dry heat methods like roasting, broiling, and grilling are suitable for more tender cuts of meat. Thinner steaks or chops can be cooked using the faster and more convenient method of pan-broiling.
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The impact of cooking temperature on muscle fibres
Cooking meat is a way to make it easier to chew and more enjoyable to eat. Applying heat to meat causes chemical changes that affect its texture, flavour, and mouthfeel. These changes are due to the impact of cooking temperature on the muscle fibres, which are long protein strands that make up the meat's structure.
The direction of muscle fibre formation is the grain of the meat. Muscle meat from land animals consists of bundles of protein fibres called fascicles. Each muscle fibre is a multinucleated cell made up of bundles of myofibrils, which contain sarcomeres. The sarcomeres are the contractile units responsible for muscle contraction.
The cooking process causes chemical reactions in the muscle fibres that vary with temperature, regardless of the cooking method. Myosin and actin, the two most important proteins in meat from a cooking perspective, play a significant role in these changes. Myosin begins to denature at around 40°C, with a noticeable change occurring at 50°C. This denaturation shrinks the sarcomere diameter, resulting in a change in meat texture from raw to cooked and tender. Actin denatures at higher temperatures, leading to meat fibre toughening and moisture loss.
The toughness of meat increases in two phases: first from 40°C to 50°C, and then from 60°C to 80°C. A decrease in toughness occurs between 50°C and 60°C due to the partial denaturation and shrinkage of collagen fibres. The connective tissue strength contributes significantly to the changes in meat toughness at temperatures below 60°C. Above 60°C, the increased breaking strength of single muscle fibres is the primary factor influencing meat toughness.
Cooking temperature also impacts the moisture content of meat. As the internal temperature surpasses 66°C, moisture loss increases dramatically due to the subcellular changes in the protein fibres. The fat content in meat is another crucial factor in determining its flavour and moisture content. While fat caps do not directly flavour the meat, the fat drippings can be used to enhance the dish, such as in gravies or jus.
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The role of muscle in the body and its appearance
The human body contains over 600 muscles, which are soft tissues that help us move, breathe, swallow, and stay alive. They are attached to the bones of the skeletal system and make up around half of a person's body weight.
There are three types of muscle tissue: skeletal, smooth, and cardiac. Skeletal muscles are attached to the bones and control locomotion and any movement that can be consciously controlled. They are cylindrical in shape and have a striped or striated appearance due to the presence of contractile proteins called actin and myosin. These proteins interact to allow the muscle to contract. Skeletal muscles rarely work alone and often work in groups to produce precise movements.
Smooth muscles, on the other hand, are involuntary muscles that line the inside of some organs, such as the intestines, stomach, and urinary bladder. They play an important role in many body systems, including the reproductive, urinary, respiratory, and digestive systems. Smooth muscles have no striations and are tapered at both ends.
Cardiac muscle, as the name suggests, is found in the heart. It makes up the middle layers of the heart and is responsible for pumping blood through the cardiovascular system. Cardiac muscle is also involuntary and has a striped appearance.
In terms of appearance, muscles can vary depending on their function and location in the body. For example, harder-working muscles, such as those in the shoulder, will contain more connective tissue. These muscles may appear darker in colour, especially in white meat, due to the increased presence of myoglobin, which carries oxygen.
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Connective tissue in muscle and how to cook it
There are a few types of connective tissues in meat. Tendons, for example, are connective tissues that attach muscles to bones, while ligaments connect bones to each other. Sheets of white fibrous tissue, called silverskin, surround whole muscles, and individual muscle fibers are also encased in connective tissue, although it's less visible. The two main types of connective tissue are elastin and collagen. Elastin is the protein that makes up silverskin and ligaments and is what we think of as gristle. No matter how it's cooked, elastin will be chewy and rubbery, so it's best to remove as much of it as possible before cooking.
Collagen, on the other hand, can be softened and melted away if cooked correctly. Collagen sheaths encase muscle fibers, and when heated to between 160 F to 205 F, the collagen will start to melt away and turn into gelatin, which is soft and jiggly. This process can take several hours. Collagen-rich cuts of meat, such as beef chuck, will become moist and succulent as the collagen melts and coats the muscle fibers, even as the muscle fibers themselves become tough and dry.
Hard-working muscles, such as the brisket, shoulder, and legs, will contain more connective tissues as they need to endure more strenuous work. When connective tissue is not properly cooked, it can be really chewy and not very edible. This is why cuts of meat with a lot of connective tissue, like brisket, short rib, and pork shoulder, are cooked slowly to a higher internal temperature—to break down the connective tissue into gelatin. This transforms tough, chewy, and traditionally cheaper cuts of meat into tender and succulent dishes.
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The science of meat: moisture loss and cooking
The way we cook meat depends on the type of meat and the muscle group it comes from. For example, chicken breast and chicken thighs require different cooking approaches. Harder-working muscles, such as the shoulder, contain more connective tissues. When connective tissue is not properly cooked, it becomes really chewy and almost inedible. However, when cooked properly, it can transform into gelatin, a silky smooth liquid that lubricates the meat. This is why we slow cook harder pieces of meat to a higher internal temperature—to break down the connective tissue into gelatin.
The physics behind moisture transport during the cooking of meat is not yet fully understood. Several models have been proposed, all based on the diffusion of moisture. However, moisture transport in cooking meat can be explained by the Flory-Rehner theory of swelling or shrinking polymer gels. According to this theory, during cooking, muscle proteins denature, leading to a decrease in their water-holding capacity and the shrinkage of the protein network. The shrinking network exerts a mechanical force on the water between the fibres, resulting in moisture loss.
The temperature at which meat is cooked also affects moisture loss. A study on the effect of meat temperature on moisture loss found that moisture loss increased at higher temperatures. The study compared the moisture loss of broiler breast samples at different temperatures and found that the samples lost the least amount of moisture at 53°C. At higher temperatures of 68°C and 90°C, the moisture loss was significantly greater.
To minimize moisture loss in meat, it is recommended to use a low-and-slow cooking method, especially for large cuts of meat or poultry. This involves cooking at a lower temperature for a longer period, followed by a short period of intense heat at the end to brown the exterior. This method helps to minimize the loss of flavorful juices and fat, resulting in a more tender and juicy final product.
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Frequently asked questions
The best way to cook muscle depends on the type of muscle and the animal it comes from. For example, a brisket is cooked differently from a sirloin steak. Harder-working muscles, such as the shoulder, contain more connective tissues, so they need to be cooked slowly at a low temperature to break down the connective tissue into gelatin.
Cooking causes chemical changes in meat that make it easier to chew and give it a better texture. These changes are due to the denaturing of proteins, such as myosin and actin, which affects the texture and moisture-holding capacity of the meat.
Moisture loss in meat is directly related to its final doneness temperature. The amount of moisture lost increases dramatically once the internal temperature of the meat reaches 150°F (66°C).
Harder-working muscles require more oxygen and, therefore, have a greater presence of myoglobin, which gives them a darker colour.
