Food & Receipts

Perfectly Cooked Meat: Avoid These 4 Mistakes for Tender and Juicy Results

Below are the 4 common mistakes when boiling meat that result in dark, dry and tough meat. Avoid these mistakes to ensure a delicious and tender dish.

Administrator

11 January, 2024

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Boiled meat is a familiar dish for every Vietnamese people. A tender and delicious boiled meat, with its white appearance, will surely be very appealing to anyone who enjoys it. If you eat a piece of tender meat in your mouth, you will definitely want to eat more. To have a delicious, tender, and white meat like that, you should never make the following mistakes!

Do not boil the meat for too long

One of the mistakes when boiling meat that makes the meat difficult to swallow is boiling the meat for too long, making the dish hard to swallow. This habit is caused by many people afraid that the meat is not cooked enough, so they boil it for a long time to make sure it is no longer raw. At the same time, this habit of simmering for a long time makes the lean meat dry, and furthermore, the whole piece of meat becomes mushy, tasteless and quickly done.

Boiling the meat for too long also affects its nutritional value. According to experts, at temperatures of 200 – 300 degrees Celsius, amino acids, creatinine, sugar, and harmless compounds in meat will undergo chemical reactions, forming some harmful compounds. To have a delicious and attractive boiled meat, you should boil the meat until it is just cooked, so that the meat is attractive and does not lose its nutritional value.

Adding cold water when the boiling water is boiling

One of the mistakes many people make when boiling meat is adding cold water to the pot when the boiling water is almost dried up. Suddenly lowering the temperature will cause proteins and fats to precipitate immediately, the meat’s gaps and openings will contract and become hard, the lean part will become harder, and the fresh taste of the meat will also be affected.

At the same time, this habit makes your meat drier and less flavorful. Because you spend more time boiling the water from the beginning, this makes your meat overcooked.

Adding meat to boiling water

One of the mistakes when boiling meat is adding the meat when the water is already boiling. Many people choose to put the meat in when the water is boiling to save time. In this way, the meat will cook faster. But in reality, this method breaks the bonds between the protein granules in the meat, making your meat shrink and less attractive.

According to experts, the best way to boil meat is to put the meat in warm water so that the cooking time is not too long and the meat remains flavorful. It also prevents the meat from shrinking due to the hot water.

Slicing the meat right after boiling

Many people slice the meat right after boiling to ensure its heat. This is a mistake because at this time, you will find it difficult to slice the meat beautifully and “sharp” because it is still soft, soggy. The best thing is to put the meat in cold water for about a minute before slicing, the meat is still warm, delicious, and visually appealing.

How to boil delicious meat

To boil delicious meat, you need to choose the right ingredients. Ideally, it is belly pork. Ham, pork head, or shoulder are also delicious, depending on your family’s taste. Choose a piece of meat with a tight bond between lean and fat parts for beautiful slices when slicing.

Add a little salt to the pot of water, enough to cover the meat, put the cleaned pork in, cook over medium heat, when the water starts to boil, remove it, drain the water, rinse the meat, and then start boiling. Add a little salt, vinegar, and crushed garlic to the pot to remove the odor.

To ensure the meat is boiled to the right degree, do not leave the pieces too large, it will be difficult to cook the inside, or if it is cooked, the outer layer will be dry and the lean part will be soggy. If the pieces of meat are large and thick, you should make some cuts to ensure even cooking. The boiling time depends on the size of the meat pieces, usually from 15 to 25 minutes. That way, the meat will be cooked to be fragrant, delicious, and visually appealing.