Facts About Cow Meat
Cow meat, or beef, is flavorful and can be cooked in many ways. There are many different cuts of beef to choose from and you can buy it organic at most supermarkets. It contains several beneficial nutrients that the body needs to operate efficiently.
Chuck and Ribs
Chuck is mostly muscle. This area contains a lot of collagen, which makes the meat extremely flavorful. It's best to cook chuck slowly. Stewing, braising and roasting in a pot are great cooking options. Particularly favored cuts of this area include the blade roast, rib-eye and chuck steak.
Beef ribs are also flavorful and are best suited to roasting, sauteing, pan frying, broiling and grilling. The rib roast is a particularly good cut. It is also known as the standing rib roast. Rib steaks are another select choice of meat.
Short Plate, Shank and Brisket
The short plate is the best cut of meat for stews. It should be cooked for several hours and kept moist during the cooking process.
The shank and brisket are flavorful cuts that can be cooked in several ways. The shank is useful for stews, while the brisket is perfect for barbecue, braising and pot roasting. The front cut brisket is generally fork tender and dripping with flavor.
Short Loin
The short loin is the tender portion of the cow. It neither needs to be moistened or cooked for a long time to achieve tenderness.
Porterhouse steak is cut from the rear end of the short loin. T-bone steak, which is cut from the mid-section, tastes similar to the porterhouse. Tenderloin is either left uncut and cooked as the whole strip, cut into individual steaks, or made into filet mignon. Sirloin is usually made into steaks and tip roast. Sirloin cuts are best when sauteed, fried, broiled or grilled.
Round and Flank
Flank steak is cut from the belly of the cow. This cut is broiled and is often used for kabobs and fajitas.
Round steak is cut from the back of the cow. It is best when cooked for a long time, with plenty of moisture. Round steak cuts include the top round and rump roast. Both of these cuts are usually roasted or braised over low heat for several hours.
Organic Beef
To qualify as organic beef, a pregnant cow must be fed only organic feed starting in the last trimester of gestation. Once the calf is born it must be fed a strict vegetarian diet.
Organically fed cattle may not consume any plastic pellets for roughage, or formulas containing urea and manure. They must not be fed or injected with any growth hormones or antibiotics. They should live in open pastures that have plenty of fresh air, water and sunshine. The cattle should mostly eat grass and 100-percent organic feed. The only shelters that are allowed are specifically designed for the animals' comfort and must promote exercise.
Nutrition Facts
Beef is a good source of protein and iron. Eating protein can help to curb food cravings because it moves through the stomach at a slower rate than other foods. Protein also helps to stabilize blood sugar and energizes the body.
Eating a diet rich in iron will help to ease headaches and it will also keep the body energized. Iron aids protein with oxygen transportation and with metabolism. It also helps to produce dopamine, epinephrine and serotonin in the body.
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