Meats Category

A German specialty, schinkenspeck is lean pork that's been dry-cured and aged. It's normally sliced paper-thin and served cold.

This German cold cut consists of ham suspended in a bologna-like emulsion. It's usually served cold on sandwiches.

A Pennsylvania Dutch specialty, this is a mixture of sausage and cornmeal. It's often slowly fried and served with eggs and grits.

This Spanish dry-cured ham doesn't need to be cooked before eating. It's not smoked, and it's usually cut into very thin slices.

This is the upper half of a leg of lamb, and it makes a tender, but bony roast. Many people ask the butcher to bone this cut, then either roll and tie it or butterfly it.

Sliced ham is moister than other kinds of ham, which makes it far more perishable. Store it in the refrigerator and use it within a few of days after buying it.

This is a smoked variation of German bratwurst.

These are sometimes thrown into Southern stews to lend a smoky flavor.

The jowl (which is pronounced "jole" in the South) is the hog's cheek. It's often cut into pieces and used to flavor stews, collard greens, and bean dishes.

These are great for flavoring stews and soups.

These are often used to flavor bean dishes.

Sobrasada is a raw Spanish pork sausage. It's similar to Spanish chorizo, only heavier on the paprika and garlic.

This is a fatty Italian pork salami that's seasoned with peppercorns.

These cubes of meat are tough enough to require slow cooking in a liquid. Don't use them for kabobs--they're too tough for the grill.

This is a spicy Lebanese beef sausage. Look for it in Middle Eastern markets.

This is made from a mixture of calves' feet or pig snouts, eggs, and other meats that's been cooked and then allowed to gel. There's no need to cook it further; the cold slices are usually served as appetizers.

This is a family of spicy, somewhat dry pork and/or beef sausages that are great for sandwiches. They don't need to be cooked. Varieties include landjaeger and thuringer.

Sweetbreads are the soft and delectable thymus glands of calves and lambs. Though it's hard to get fussy teenagers to eat them, there are enough knowledgeable gourmets clamoring for sweetbreads to keep the price fairly high. Freshness is very important--you should plan on preparing them the day you buy them or else freezing them. Like other organ meats, sweetbreads are high in cholesterol.

This is a heavily smoked ham with a spicy, peppery rind. It's often used in Cajun dishes.

Germans like to spread this smoky "tea sausage" on crackers or bread at teatime.

The most popular seem to be bull testicles = Rocky Mountain oysters = bollocks = swinging beef = Montana tendergroin = bull balls = huevos del toro, but those from smaller, younger animals are reputed to have a milder flavor. Well regarded are lamb testicles = lamb fry = lamb fries = lamb balls, and calf fry = calf balls = calf testicles. Hispanic markets are a good source.

These have chunks of meat suspended in them that form a mosaic pattern when sliced. Varieties include schinkenwurst, jagdwurst, tyroler, Ansbacher pressack, tongue sausage, and zungenwurst.

This is a mild summer sausage that's made of pork and sometimes beef.

Tocino is Spanish for bacon, but in the Philippines, it refers to cured pork that's been marinated in a sweet red sauce. Look for it in Asian markets.

A tofu and seitan substitute.

Cooked tongue is lean, meaty, and quite versatile; it works well in sandwiches, tacos, and casseroles. To prepare it, boil it in a stockpot, then plunge it in cold water and peel off the skin and trim the base of gristle and fat. You can then cut it into thin slices and serve it hot or cold. Since beef tongue = ox tongue and calf's tongue = calf tongue = veal tongue are larger and easier to slice, they tend to be pricier. Many markets also carry lamb tongue (pictured at left) and pork tongue. Different tongues can be used interchangeably in recipes though their cooking times vary according to their size.

Delis often stock loaves of pork, lamb, veal, or beef tongues that have been cooked, pressed, jellied, and/or smoked.

This exquisite French sausage is usually made with pork, smoked bacon, wine, and garlic. It's a great sausage for a cassoulet. Cook it before serving.

This is a pork and beef soft salami ring.

Tripe is the name given to the stomachs of various animals, but most recipes that call for it intend for you to use beef tripe. Cows have four stomachs, and the first three yield merchantable tripe. Blanket tripe = plain tripe = flat tripe = smooth tripe comes from the first stomach, honeycomb tripe (pictured at left) and pocket tripe from the second, and book tripe = bible tripe = leaf tripe from the third. Honeycomb tripe is meatier and more tender than the other kinds and considered to be the best, but all these kinds of tripe can be used interchangeably in recipes. Tripe is almost always sold bleached and partially cooked. This saves a lot of work, since unprocessed tripe would need to be cooked for many, many hours to make it tender enough to chew.

Markets often sell whole turkeys at bargain prices during the holidays, using them as loss leaders. It's a good idea to stock up on them then, since you can keep them in the freezer for up to a year and serve your family this cheap, lean meat year-round. If you're planning to roast a whole turkey, choose a young turkey. Older birds (including yearlings) aren't as tender and are best cooked in a stew or soup. When selecting your turkey, make sure that the plastic wrapping isn't torn. There's no big difference between males (toms) and females (hens). Experienced cooks like fresh birds (since they're moister) that are between ten and twelve pounds. Bigger ones are tricky to cook without drying them out. Frozen turkeys should be thawed in the refrigerator, allowing one day of thawing per five pounds of bird. If you're short of time, you can thaw a turkey by leaving it in its original plastic wrapper and covering it completely with cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes. Allow 30 minutes of thawing time per pound of bird if you use this method. Fresh turkeys should be used within two days of purchase. Cut-up turkeys are also available. The major cuts are the turkey breast, tenderloin, cutlet, drumstick, and thigh.

Different brands of turkey bacon have wildly different amounts of fat, but most have much less fat than ordinary bacon. The flavor suffers a bit, though.

This has less fat and sodium than beef jerky.

Turtle meat is very flavorful though it's somewhat chewy. It often goes into soups.

A seitan-based turkey.

This includes the arm bone and some of the ribs. A steak cut from the arm roast is called a veal arm steak. The roast is often braised, roasted, or used a pot roast.

The veal arm steak looks a lot like a veal round steak cut from the back leg in that both cuts contain round bones, but the arm steak isn't as tender.