I have been reading through all the books that I can find at the library on meatcutting and butchery. I really want to learn how to cut meat to retain all of the fat.
I have learned that since the middle 1900s, meat processing has changed and more and more fat is trimmed off of cuts.
In addition, practices of raising and breeding animals has changed as well, to produce leaner and leaner meats.
And ranchers switched to grain-fed rather than grassfed, so the fats are not as nutritious anyway.
I want to get back to the way it was previously, when all roasts and briskets had a wonderfully thick and nutritious fat cap on them.
I believe that is how homo sapiens ate for most of its existence on earth, for 160,000 years, prior to the advent of agriculture a mere 10,000 years ago.
The megafauna of the ice ages had vast amounts of fat on them. Also, hunters would seek out the fattest animals.
And when cooking the meats, they did not trim off the fat! That would defeat the whole purpose!
The fat is the main caloric and energy source. In addition, the fat from grassfed animals contains antioxidants, vitamins A, D, E, K, and omega 3 fatty acids. These are all essential for our health.
So I will keep digging. My hope is to find a much older book on butchery or meat cutting that will show how to retain the fat on cuts, instead of trimming them off. And maybe somewhere out there is some very old butcher who can remember those methods and maybe I can study from him!
In the meantime, I keep seeking out the fattiest cuts that I can find from my local grassfed farmers!
 |
Grassfed beef brisket with sea salt
|
Comments
Post a Comment