Meat Cleaver
Friday, January 15th, 2010 Meat Cleaver
Believe it or not, the method you use for cutting deer meat can make a difference in how good your meal will taste. Three common methods for cutting meat are bias slicing, shredding, and cubing.
Bias Cutting Venison
Bias cutting means cutting on an angle, and it’s a good method for making sure the meat stays tender. You can bias cut flank steaks, skirts steaks, brisket, London broil (yes, you can get London broil from venison), backstraps, and so on. The reason to bias cut venison is that the meat contains long lines are fibers running through it, and they can be difficult to chew through. When you cut it on an angle, against the grain, it shortens the connective tissue and makes the meat more tender. To bias cut the meat, hold a cleaver or chef’s knife at a 45-degree angle to the meat and slice it across the grain.
Shredding Venison
Whether you’re making Tex-Mex (which uses lots of shredded meat), BBQ, or you just like small pieces of meat, shredding before cooking is a good option. First, bias cut the meat. Then stack a few slices of meat together and cut the slices lengthwise into matchstick-size shreds.
Cubing Venison
Cubing is one of the most common ways of cutting deer meat; most stews call for cubed meat. Kabobs and other grilled recipes also call for cubing (although bigger cubes). First, trim the silver and any fat off the meat. Cut the venison lengthwise into strips, the width being determined by what you’re doing with the meat (for stews, you want 1-inch cubes, for kabobs, you’d want 2- or 3-inch cubes). Then, cut the strips crosswise into cubes.
No matter how you’re cutting your meat, doing so when it is a little bit frozen will make it easier (this goes for grinding too).
Susan Rose is creator of The Hunting Widow’s Guide to Great Venison Cooking, greatvenisoncooking.com, a collection of venison recipes and instructions on how to prepare venison so that it is a culinary treat. Find more tips and tricks for preparing venison on our cooking tips page.
|
|
R4 Straight Razor 8/8 Wade Butcher Chopper Meat Cleaver $335.00 |
|
|
Circa 1700’s Meat Cleaver with Sheath $320.00 |
|
|
1882 Meat Cleaver/Butcher Knife/Buffalo Splitter 30″ $249.99 |
|
|
SUPERB Antique Italian Chef Meat Cleaver/Butcher Knife $249.99 |
Do you have a good meat cleaver?
It needs to handle meat at least a couple of times a day?
No, but my other half has a rather nice chopper!
|
|
J.A. Henckels International Classic Stainless-Steel Meat Cleaver $38.95 Meat and poultry can be intimidating. But with the right tools, you can slice right through the whole prep process. Chop through joints and bones in seconds using this board blade with professional-caliber weight and balance. Lifetime warranty…. |
|
|
Norpro Kleve Cleaver $21.00 Heavy duty construction with a wonderful heft and balance. Stainless molybdenum vanadium steel blades. Double bolsters for superb balance. Comfortable, ergonomic soft grip handle. Heavy duty construction with a wonderful heft and balance. Stainless molybdenum vanadium steel blades. Double bolsters for superb balance. Comfortable, ergonomic soft grip handle…. |
|
|
Meat Cleaver $2.95 Plastic Meat Cleaver. |
|
|
Psycho Sideshow Meat Cleaver $5.95 Psycho Slideshow Bloody Meat Cleaver |
my survival knife review (meat cleaver)
