Meat dish is always the most important part of the meal. The selection of the kind of meat, the cut to use and preparation, will determine the quality of the finished product. The quality of fresh meat is judged by its color, firmness, marbling and texture. High-quality fresh meat has bright color, slight marbling, firm structure and fine texture.

Kinds of Meat and Selection of Meat Cuts:

a. Beef has six official grades, of the six grades only three are customarily available for home cooking, these are; prime, choice, and good. These three grades carry an inspection mark which is enclosed in a circle, this grade mark indicates the quality of the beef.

• Prime quality beef - this kind of meat comes from a young, well-fed cattle. The meat's lean portions are bright red, firm, fine-textured, and generously marble with fat.
• Choice quality beef - this grade has good red muscle, it contain less fat than prime, and is often preferred for that reason.
• Good quality beef - this grade of beef has a higher ratio of lean to fat than prime or choice. It is, therefore, not so juicy as the higher grades, although it is relatively tender and has good flavor.

Tender Beef Cuts: Sirloin, tenderloin, T-bone, rib and high-quality rib eye.

Cuts and preferred cooking method:

• Sirloin tip and rump are best for cooking by dry heat, as in broiling or roasting.
• Chuck, round, plate, brisket, shank and most rump - for this less tender cuts, moist heat cooking such as braising, simmering or stewing is preferred. Cuts of beef that have been tenderized by the application of a natural food enzyme may also be cooked by dry heat.

b. Veal is the flesh of calves less than a year old. The lean meat is light grayish pink, very finely grained, and fairly firm. The small amount of fat present is firm and white. Veal (all cuts) are juiciest when cooked in moist heat.

Cuts and preferred cooking method:

• Large cuts, such as shoulder, loin, sirloin, rump, and leg, may be roasted and should be larded to provide the fat needed for succulence.
• Chops, steaks, and cutlets may be panfried or braised.

c. Lamb is the meat of young sheep. The lean meat is pink to deep red; the fat is clear, white, and brittle.

Cuts and preferred cooking method: All lamb cuts are tender enough to cook in dry heat, but shoulder cuts, riblets and shanks are more flavorful if braised or stewed.

d. Pork the meat of young hogs has a leaner look than before because of the new methods of breeding and feeding. Firm white fat covers the outside surfaces of pork, and leaner portions are firm and fine texturedwith a marbling of fat.

Cuts and preferred cooking method:

• Large cuts of fresh pork-shoulder, loin, sirloin, tenderloin, and ribs-may be roasted.
• Chops, steaks, and tenderloin may be panfried or braised.