Meats Category

This is cut from a beef brisket that's been cured with salt and spices and then simmered in water. It's traditionally served hot on rye bread.

This are very small, tender chickens. Varieties include Rock Cornish game hens = Rock Cornish hens, which are a cross between Cornish and Plymouth Rock chickens.

This is a mild and fatty Italian pork sausage. The links should be pierced before cooking to allow some of the fat to drain out.

Cotto is a cooked salami.

These are made by rubbing salt over a fresh ham and then hanging it out to dry. They're often smoked as well. They tend to be salty, but gourmets often prefer them over city hams. You cook them either by simmering them in water or frying them. Some people soak them in water first to leech out some of the salt. Mold often forms on country hams, but it's harmless and should simply be scrubbed off. Country hams are common in the Southeast; elsewhere you can get them by mail order, or at Chinese markets. Varieties include Virginia ham and Smithfield ham.

This is a Hungarian smoked sausage that's heavily seasoned with paprika. Rings of it are sold in German delis.

This expensive, dry-cured red ham hails from Parma. It's usually sliced paper-thin and served like prosciutto. It's hard to find in the United States.

This British pork sausage is usually displayed in markets as a long coil, and it's sold by the length rather than by the link. It's often baked in the oven with cabbage and potatoes.

This includes seven or eight ribs from the breast. These can be braised, but they're more often marinated and grilled.

This is a dip or sandwich spread made with chopped ham, sour cream, and various seasonings.

Many dried meats don't need refrigeration, so they're great for backpackers and travelers. They're a good source of protein, but they tend to be high in sodium.

This fatty bird makes a divine roast, but it's hard to cook without setting off the smoke alarm. It helps to pour off the fat while it's roasting. Wild ducks are less fatty than store-bought ducks. A young duck, called a duckling = young duckling = broiler duckling = fryer duckling = roaster duckling, is more tender than an old duck = mature duck. High-fat meats like duck generally should be cooked at a higher temperature and for a longer time than low-fat meats.

Emus are Australia's answer to the ostrich. Like ostriches, they're low in fat and taste like beef.

This Portuguese "flour sausage" is hard to find in the United States.

This is a slab of fat that runs along the back of a pig. You can render it into lard, cut it into barding strips to wrap around lean roasts, or use it to line terrine or pâté pans. It you're cutting it into sheets, it helps to put it in the freezer first until it's firm. It's also sometimes cured like bacon. It's hard to find, ask your butcher.

This pricey French delicacy is simply goose or duck liver that's been lightly cooked. When aged, it becomes very rich and flavorful. Goose livers are tastier and more expensive than duck livers. Some people refuse to eat foie gras because the animals are force-fed to enlarge their livers.

Tastier and more humanely raised, but tougher and more expensive. Cuts include halves = splits, which are broiler-fryers cut in half; breast halves = breast splits; breast quarters, which include the breast, wing, and back; drumsticks, which are the part of leg below the knee; drummettes, which are the meatiest wing section; and leg quarters, which include the drumstick and thigh. Cut-up chickens are broiler-fryers that are cut up and packaged with two breast halves, two thighs, two drumsticks, and two wings.

This is a French sausage made of tripe that has waned in popularity over the years as people have come to afford better cuts of meat. When formed into smaller links, it's called andouillette.

This makes a great roast for a large crowd. It's usually cured as ham, so you might have to special-order it to get it fresh. It's sold either boneless or bone-in, and either whole or halved. The bottom half is called the shank portion = shank roast = leg roast, while the upper is called a top leg roast = inside roast = butt portion = pork leg butt = fresh ham butt = pork leg roast sirloin portion. A steak cut from the leg is called a fresh pork leg steak.

This is a steak cut from the middle of a fresh pork leg. It's economical, but a bit tough, so you might want to marinate it before grilling or broiling it. You can also slice it into strips and stir-fry them.

The French love frog's legs, but it's hard for some of us to get past the eerie resemblance between a frog's anatomy and our own. Fresh frog's legs are easy to find in Chinese markets, but they only show up sporadically in other markets. If you can't find them fresh, frozen frog's legs are an acceptable substitute.

This is cold cut resembles a chunky mortadella.

This pork and veal sausage is very mild and fine-grained. The name means "yellow sausage" in German, but that refers to the color of the casing rather than cream-colored sausage itself. You can put it into sandwiches or pan-fry it. It's called "diet bologna" in Germany since it's relatively low in fat.

These are the bird's heart, liver, and gizzard, and usually come in a package tucked inside the abdominal cavity of a packaged whole bird.

Goat meat is widely consumed in North Africa and the Middle East, but many Americans have never tasted it. It's quite lean, and if cooked correctly, it can be surprisingly good. As with sheep, the best meat comes from a young animal, or a baby goat = kid = capretto = cabrito. Meat from older goats is tougher, like mutton.

This is Cincinnati's answer to scrapple. It's a mixture of pork, beef, and oatmeal, and it's usually fried.

Europeans traditionally roast these for their Christmas dinners. The meat is dark and fatty, and more like fat-clad beef than chicken. Young goslings are the priciest, and the most tender. Wild goose is tougher and has a much stronger flavor than a domesticated goose. If the recipe calls for cut-up goose meat, consider using the dark meat from a turkey or chicken. High-fat meats like goose should be cooked at a higher temperature and for a longer time than low-fat meats. If roasting, consider removing the breast meat after it gets to 135 or 140 degrees, and then continuing to cook the thighs to a temperature of 165 or so. Frozen goose is a good substitute for fresh.

This is a family of German sausages made of pork scraps and a grain, like oats or barley. It's usually fried, much like goetta or scrapple.

This varies in quality depending upon what part of the carcass the meat came from. Ground chuck has a high fat content, which means it makes the juiciest hamburgers and meatloaf. Ground round is very lean, and a good choice if you're trying to reduce the fat in your diet. Ground sirloin is also lean, but it's more flavorful (and more expensive) than ground round.

Butchers will grind either dark meat or light meat. Light meat is lower in saturated fat.

This is leaner and more delicately flavored than other ground meats. It's sometimes available as pre-formed lamb patties.

Butchers will grind either dark meat or light meat. Light meat is lower in saturated fat.

Ground veal is leaner than ground beef, and it's great for hamburgers and meatloaf. Use it within two days of purchase.

This is a German sausage sold in links that's usually not smoked, or only lightly smoked.

Guanciale is a cured pork product that's similar to pancetta, except it's made from the pork jowl rather than the belly. As a result, guanciale is much fattier, which allows it lend a richer, more buttery flavor to Italian sauces.