Slow-cooking
meat (aka why you
should never casserole
a chicken breast)
BY DR STUART FARRIMOND
Slow-cooked,
fall-apart tender
meat is a joy to eat.
After several hours
in a low oven or slow
cooker,a toughlump
offatty,sinewyfleshre-emerges
asmoist,tenderandrichly
flavoured.Themagicbehindthis
transformation?Gelatine,which
alsohappenstobethe(non-
vegetarian)settingagentusedin
jellyandcountlesspuddings.
Sciencetellsuswhythere’sno
waytorushcookinga sinewybeef
brisketorfattylambshoulder.
Connectivetissue,theinedible
ribbon-likesinewsthatarewoven
throughthefleshofstewingmeats,
aremadeoftough,rope-likeprotein
moleculescalledcollagen.When
cookedatabove70°Cforprolonged
periodstheseinediblewhitestrands
slowlystarttodisintegrateand
formgelatine,whichhasa
succulent,velvetymouthfeel.Thick
layersoffattissuesimilarlybreak
downveryslowlyovertime(a
processcalledrendering)torelease
theirflavourfuloilsintothedish.
If you’veevermadethemistake
ofcasserolingchickenbreastor
filletsteak,you’llknowyoucan’tdeliciousmagazine.co.uk 119
BE A BETTER COOK
delicious.
(^) KITCHEN
SCIENCE
OF FOOD
slow-cookleanmeatandexpect
anythingotherthanbone-dry
leather.That’sbecausemuscle
proteinscookquicklyandata lower
temperaturethancollagen(just
60°C).Witheachpassingminute
atorabovethistemperature,the
proteinsshrivelup,forcingout
moisturefromthemeat.
Stewingmeatsaregoodvalue,
asthey’regenerallylesscostlythan
filletsorotherprimecuts,andthey
havemoreflavour.Comingfrom
thehardestworkingpartsofthe
animal,themusclecellsinsuch
cutsaremoredenselypackedwith
themolecularmachinerythatwill
evolveintothemostintense,
heartymeatflavours.
Tastethemagic:tryGeorgina
Hayden’sslow-cookedrecipesonp52
COOK’S
TIP
PEELING
GINGER
This method
reduces the
amount of
fresh ginger
wasted by
peeling or
slicing: using
a metal
teaspoon,
start by
finding
a gnarly area
of the ginger,
then dig the
end of your
spoon
through the
skin, just into
the flesh.
With a little
bit of force
you can easily
scrape away
just the skin
and none of
the ginger
beneath.
TIMESAVER
If you’re in a rush to get supper cooking,
grate your veg (especially onions) instead
of chopping it – the technique works well
PHOTOGRAPHS: KAREN THOMAS, GARETH MONTGOMERY for easy one-pot dishes and sauces. →