A use-by date on a package can also be a good guideline. Some meat may also show an iridescent sheen. This is because meat contains iron, fat, and other compounds. When light shines on a slice of meat, it splits into colors like a rainbow. There are various pigments in meat compounds that can give it an iridescent or greenish cast when exposed to heat and processing. Wrapping the meat in airtight packages and storing it away from light will help prevent this situation.
Surely, it will cook even if the browning process is skipped? Sure, it will. I used to believe all that crap about sealing in the juices if the meat is browned before it is braised or stewed — until I realized that there is a difference in the application of the browning and searing process vis a vis the retention of juices when cooking with large or small pieces of meat. For example. Try putting a piece of roast or a whole chicken in an oven that has not been preheated and see how it cooks.
Then, compare that with meat or chicken that was place in an oven that has been preheated to the correct temperature. So, when cooking large pieces of food, like a roast or a whole bird, there is some truth to the searing effect and how internal juices are retained in the meat during cooking. The intense heat will immediately sear the outside of the meat or bird and prevent the meat juices from leaking.
I think most people figure that any extra toughness or dryness that the meat picks up during the browning phase will be completely erased by the extended cooking time, and that it will end up equally moist and tender no matter how well you brown it at the start.
But is this really true? Turns out it's not. There are trade-offs when it comes to browning, and the more thoroughly you brown your meat, the drier and tougher your stew ends up. Here's what I discovered. It basically comes down to this: Browning requires very high heat and a dry environment.
On the other hand, moisture in meat acts as an automatic temperature regulator. It draws energy from the hot pan and uses it to evaporate—energy that would otherwise go toward browning reactions. It's only after the surface moisture of the meat has fully evaporated that the meat can really start to brown. This issue manifests itself in a few ways, but the most obvious and problematic is one we're all familiar with: the steaming pile of meat.
It happens any time you try to brown cubed or ground meat. You preheat your Dutch oven or saucepan until it's screaming-hot, then you add the beef. At first it gives off a sharp, crackling sizzle—a good sign that it's browning efficiently. Yet very rapidly that sizzle dies down into a low, wet sputter as the meat exudes juices, which then collect in the bottom of the pot, simmering away. Browning in smaller batches is time-consuming and tedious.
Tossing the raw meat in a starch, like flour, will increase the rate of browning, but browned flour just doesn't taste as good as browned beef. Eventually, that liquid will evaporate again, and your meat will start browning, but the problem is that the entire time the liquid is steaming, your meat continues to cook. Cook, but not brown. You may think, So what? This causes the meat to "water-out," or lose its juiciness. Have you ever noticed your meat swimming in liquid soon after you start cooking it?
Those are the juices you want IN your meat! It's a common mistake, but easy to avoid. Here's how:. Don't: Add cold meat to a hot pan. Adding cold meat to your pan just cools your pan and may cause yourmeat to release those juices.
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