CHAPTER SEVENStyling Meat with Bones for the Camera
Cuts of meat with bones add one more element for the
food stylist to address. Some examples of meat with
bones are rack of lamb, ribs, T-bone steaks, and lamb
chops. Each of these is wonderful and interesting as the
subject for food photography. Once you get your fi rst
meat styling job under your belt, don’t be afraid to
tackle meat with bones. Just be prepared and arm your-
self with some styling information.
However, before we talk about techniques, I want to
mention stand-ins. In the case of meat with bones, you
will need to use a stand-in that is a close replica to the
hero. Bones can often be challenging when you are in the
process of deciding how to position the meat to camera.
It will pay off to do some testing with the stand-in as
you plan the shot so that when you are ready to go to
hero with the meat, you will have a very good idea of
placement for the hero meat in relation to the camera.
Follow the griddle and braising methods discussed earlier
for cooking the meat, depending on the thickness of the
cut. Th e rib cooking procedure is diff erent and is described
next.
Ribs
Prep and styling techniques for ribs are unique. Because
both the top and underside surfaces of a rack of ribs are
curved, the griddle method for cooking is not practical.
My favorite method to prep ribs for photography is to
simmer the ribs in a stockpot of water. Th is method
requires a large stockpot fi lled with simmering water and
a pair of tongs to maneuver the rack of ribs. Th e ribs must
be totally submerged in the simmering water. When the
meat is no longer red, allow it to simmer for 10 minutes
longer. Remove the ribs from the hot water. If you have
other food elements to style for the shot, put the ribs in
cool water to rest.