Meat consumption from A to Z

How do I recognize good meat and where do I buy it?

You can see quality with the naked eye: Meat should always look fresh and never grey. The older the animal, the darker the color. If a lot of juice has already escaped, it will quickly dry out in your pan. Do not buy vacuum packed meat that has a damaged packaging or is damp inside.
Seal: With Demeter, Bioland, own organic brands and the EU organic seal, you get good to very good quality. The many regional labels differ in the award criteria, but you will also find good quality here. Be careful with manufacturer guarantees, they only help the manufacturer himself. It’s also possible without a seal: at the butcher around the corner. If he gets his meat from the region, the animal was usually kept in a species-appropriate manner.
Price:good quality for 5 euros a kilo? Hardly likely. Schnitzel from organic pork costs around 22 euros per kilo on average.

How much meat is healthy?

Every German eats 88.2 kilos of meat per year. Average. This corresponds to 6 servings per week. This is too much. The recommendations of the German Society for Nutrition are 2-3 portions per week (total amount maximum 600 grams).
Anyone who eats too much meat damages their health in the long term: cholesterol and saturated fatty acids lead to high blood lipid levels, hardening of the arteries, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. The risk of colon cancer also increases.

Where exactly on the animal are the fillet and roast beef? And how are they prepared in the kitchen?

1. Leg: consists of lean pieces such as the topside and ball (ideal for steaks, roulades and roasts), the coarse-grained bottomside (stews) and the mayor’s piece for roasts.
2. Fillet: very tender piece from which steaks, tournedos and the tip of the fillet are cut. Suitable for quick frying and for sliced ​​meat.
3. Roast beef: suitable as a roast or sliced ​​as T-bone steaks and rump steaks for pan frying.
4. Bow/Shoulder: provides different pieces like the wrong fillet for Sauerbraten and flavorful meat for Pot Roast.
5. Prime rib: marbled meat for pan frying, from which the popular rib eye steak is also cut.
6. Rump / hip cover: very juicy, tender meat, ideal for stewing. It is used for roasts, steaks and roulades, the top of the tail piece for boiled fillet.
7. Brisket: very meaty, high-fat meat for stews or poaching.
8. Vorderhesse: aromatic, strong pieces for stewing (e.g. goulash). The leg slice provides a good broth for soup.

Sustainable meat consumption

We consumers can
make a difference. People around the world want to eat more and more meat – and pay less and less for it. This leads to extremely calculated factory farming. But scandals such as dioxin, antibiotics and bacteria in meat, genetic engineering in feed and climate change are causing more and more consumers to take a closer look. The subject of “meat” is becoming more and more popular. Responsible farmers have long since drawn consequences: they breed old breeds instead of fast-growing varieties.
Whether Galloway or Limpurger cattle, the Bentheim pig or Rhön sheep and salt marsh lamb: their meat tastes better, the animals are more resilient and cannot be turbo fattened because of their slow growth. Many organic guidelines that affect feeding and husbandry can therefore be easily implemented with old breeds. As customers, we have a choice. If we reduce our meat consumption, buy from species-appropriate husbandry and – important! – instead of dumping at fair prices, we strengthen the regional farmers. It’s a bit more strenuous and requires an overview, but it’s worth taking part! For the sake of ourselves and the animals.

This navigation aid simplifies our shopping at the butcher around the corner

1. Filet: tender, short-fiber, low-fat meat. Whole or in medallions, ideal for frying.
2. Loin/Chop: Lean meat for pan frying. Cooked with the bone, it stays juicy.
3. Nut: low-fat roast or schnitzel. Can be braised and fried.
4. Bow/Shoulder: Higher-fat cuts such as false fillet and Schäufele, which are best stewed for a long time.
5. Neck: very fatty meat for grilling. Cured available as “Kasseler Hals”.
6. Knuckle of knuckle/Haxe: aromatic and very meaty, fatty pieces, are also offered cured.
7. Belly: aromatic meat with a very high fat content. Known smoked as pork belly and as spare ribs for grilling.
8. Top/bottom side: lean meat used for schnitzel, goulash and roulades.
9. Cheek: streaky, tender meat ideal for long stewing.
10. Rump: Lean meat, also known as bacon, for frying (eg frying crusts).

pay

• A German eats 54.1 kg of pork per year. That means first place in the meat hit list, ahead of poultry and beef.
• 18% of all CO2 emissions worldwide come from agriculture – more than from all transport.
• 1% of the pork we offer is organic.
• 80% of all GM crops are fed to animals.

Whether leg, back or neck – the pieces of meat are the main ingredient of delicious recipes

1. Leg: is my favorite roast because it is lean, tender and aromatic. Cooked on the bone, it remains very juicy.
2. Back: supplies chops, fillets and lamb loin. The juicy meat, which is streaky down to the fillets, is suitable for grilling, pan frying or stewing whole.
3. Shoulder: rather small piece, firm and more heavily streaked with fat. Dice them for curries and ragouts.
4. Breast: Streaked with fat and therefore a good basis for soups and stews.
5. Knuckle: aromatic meat that is best cooked on the bone. Well suited for the grill.
6. Neck: Marbled, juicy chops for grilling or pan frying.
7. Neck: streaked with fat, so the meat is suitable for goulash and stews.

kitchen tricks

Always buy meat fresh, store it for as short a time as possible or use it immediately. Thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator and process without the thawed water (bacteria and germs collect in it). Good quality and still tough? Correct cutting is also important. Cut against the grain, meat becomes tough and rubbery as it cooks. This also happens with long roasting. If you use a very hot pan, the surface will form a crust more quickly and the meat will remain juicy.