beef stew beef stew, whatcya gonna do?

So it's always been a mystery to me how to cook different pieces of meat. I've wondered why you fry some, roast some, cook some in a pan, and others you cook for a long period of time with lots of liquid. It was always this last category that fascinated me because that meat seemed to undego the greatest transformation from tough, stretchy, grey meat to melty chunks of deliciousness. As it turns out that type of cooking is called stewing or braising (the main difference being that stewing refers to bite size pieces of meat, and braising is done on large cuts that are later portioned into individual servings). When it comes to trying to decide what type of meat is best for what method of cooking, it is important to look at the animals muscles and classify them as high activity or low activity muscles. Shoulders, necks, and legs are high activity muscles because of their intensive use and extended periods of engagement i.e. all the time. Low activity muscles include muscles surrounding the belly, back, or rib cage because on most four legged animals those muscle groups are not used strenuously. High activity muscles are tough when cooked and posses high amounts of collagen connective tissue, while low activity muscles are often very tender and have little to no collagen. This collagen is important to consider when cooking a high activity piece of beef because in its raw form the collagen is stretchy and incredibly tough to cut through, however over low heat for a long period of time, it melts and becomes wonderfully rich. Activity level also correlates to flavor, and that is true for fish as well. Because tenderloins are virtually useless in an animal (they are surrounded by much, much larger muscles that instead do any work required) they also have virtually no flavor when compared to say a beef shank (pictured above, from the leg) that is just so full of beefy flavor, its awesome. Stewing and braising are best for high activity (tough) cuts of meat while sauteeing, roasting, grilling, and poaching are best for low activity (tender) cuts of meat.

So today we made beef stew which turned out okay due to the fact that our meat did not simmer long enough and was still chewy. Other than that, its Friday. What more could you ask for?