Cooking Tips

Experiences  made over 5 decades of cooking

Meat

A lot of meat is bought nowadays in the supermarket. The one problem with supermarket meat is that one never really knows how fresh it is. So the obvious thing is to buy the pack with the best by date furthest from the day you want to cook it.

But the question is: Can one trust the supermarket? It is a well known practice that meat which is not sold, can be repackaged. Not so nice but it is happening.

How does one overcome that problem, well firstly get yourself a good butcher if one exists near by, if you are not so lucky then you have to traust your eye and your nose.

Beef should have a dark red colour and should not be lying in too much blood, (this means it is not well hung, and the underside of the meat has already started to deteriorate). The meat should smell fresh of meat, any other smell, means meat is not properly handled.

Note: Minced Beef, select pieces of round steak yourself and ask the butcher to mince it for you. Ask for a minimum of 2-4 pounds this way you can freeze in the rest (in flat packs – easy for defrosting). Asdk as well that you do not want the first bit which comes out of the machine. A good butcher (even supermarkets have them) will show you the minced meat before putting it into a bag.

It is worth the effort to find a butcher who still looks after his customers.

The same goes for steaks. If you buy fillet steak, buy it in a piece and cut the steaks yourself.

If you want to sirloin strip loin or T-Bone Steak, good trick is to tell the butcher the steaks on display are too small and you need a thicker one. He will happily cut you fresh ones.

As you don’t eat steaks every day, a\gain it is worth the effort.

Pork should look freshly pink any paler colour or a hint of a greenish colour, hands off! As with the beef take the packed chops or roast and give it a good sniff. You will soon distinguish between a fresh meat smell and a gone off smell.

Again, if you have a butcher with a good turn over, it is better to purchase from there.

Note: If you can get your hands on “free range” pork, do!!!! The taste is amazing. 

For Beef it does not matter as a lot of Irish Beef is still from cows who eat naturally in the fields

Poultry  

ChickenSimply because it tastes better, it is worth to buy free range chickens, I am aware of the argument that they still do not have enough space, but because they have that extra room to move the meat tastes better. With whole chicken, it is easy to check the freshness, remove the plastic cover, and smell the inside of the chicken. The smell should be fresh of meat. The flesh should be firm and not slimy. 

When you buy whole chicken or chicken meat, make sure the best by date is at least 4-6 days further. Use chicken within a day of buying, otherwise remove from wrapping and freeze in.

Turkey, ducks, geese same rules apply as for the chicken

Cookings Meats

Beef Steaks: can be from rare to well done

Minced Beef: always cook well done

Pork and Chicken: always properly cooked through

Note: 

Nouvelle cuisine Restaurants often offer duck breast rare to pink.

In my personal opinion, I would still cook the breast through. The taste of duck does not lend itself to be eaten rare or pink

Fish

The big test with fish is the smell. Fresh fish does not smell!!!!!!!!

All fish should smell of fresh sea water for sea fish and for fresh fish the same applies.

It is difficult at a fish monger to take the fish in you hand and smell it, But you already know how careful the Fishmonger handles their fish. If the fishmonger smell of bad fish, the hygiene will not be the greatest. Have a look at sea how fresh the ice is, on which the fish lies. It should be renewed regularly, otherwise it smell!

Flat fish Lemon Sole, Plaice, John Dory, Dover (Black) Sole – the eyes should look still bulging, the skin should look fresh and spots should have a bright colour, the gills should still look red. Skin is hard to skin

Cod, Haddock etc 

the same applies here, but as it is usually filleted it is hard to see gills or the skin. Ask the fishmonger to take of the skin and if it slides too quickly off, tell him you changed your mind.

Farmed fish

Salmon Trout Whole fish – same applies as for flat fish. Ask the fishmonger where the fish is farmed, good fishmongers will only used good farmed fish and will be able to tell you where it is from

Supermarket fish Only buy Thursday or Friday, otherwise you can’t be sure it is fresh

Packed fish Buy only if the best by date is 3-4 days onwards

Note: Never buy fish on a Monday!!!!!

Crustaceons Prawns  when you buy them whole, they should have bright black eyes, if they are really fresh, they still move!!!

If you want to use the Prawns the next days, cook them as soon as you buy them, in prepared water.

Water to poach fish/prawns in:

Fill  the saucepan with water, add a teaspoon salt, a cut up  lemon , some parley twigs, some peppercorns. Boil this for 10 minutes. Add fish/prawns bring to the boil

Take saucepan of the heat and take fish 2-4 minutes depending on the thickness, prawns after one minute

This is step one if you want to make a fish pie!