10 common mistakes when preparing meat

Slicing meat as soon as you buy it or as soon as it's cooked, using the same cutting board as vegetables... are common mistakes.

1. Use the same cutting board for meat and vegetables, raw and cooked foods.

According to businessinsider, raw meat will leave bacteria on everything it touches, including cutting boards, pots and pans, and your hands. It's best to have separate cutting boards for meat and vegetables, raw and cooked, or else use hot water and detergent to sanitize the cutting board when you move on to the next food.

2. Defrosting incorrectly

In fact, many people leave meat out at room temperature before cooking without knowing that they are harming themselves, because room temperature is an ideal environment for bacteria to grow. In addition, many people are impatient with defrosting, so they think that hot water will speed up this process. Did you know that when exposed to high temperatures, the surface of the meat forms a hard film, affecting the diffusion of heat in the meat, creating opportunities for germs and bacteria to grow, causing the meat to deteriorate.

Ideally, you should have a cold water bath or refrigerator to thaw meat. With the refrigerator thawing method, the thawing time is 8 to 24 hours. When thawing with a cold water bath, place the entire bag/box of meat in a pot of cool water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Thawing this way is faster than in the refrigerator.

3. Pour cold water into the pot while boiling meat.

The mistake will cause the proteins and fats in the meat and bones to immediately precipitate, making the meat shrink and become hard, not to mention the taste is also affected. Many people also often add salt to the meat when cooking without knowing that the NaCl in the salt will cause the proteins in the meat to precipitate and also make the meat shrink and become hard.

4. Slice the meat as soon as it is cooked.

After boiling, you should not slice immediately because the water has not had time to escape and will make the meat fibers not look nice. It is best to let the meat or bones, skinless chicken breast rest for 5 minutes. Boiled chicken needs to be left for 30 minutes.

5. Keeping meat in the refrigerator for too long

For raw meat, poultry and especially seafood, health experts recommend not keeping it in the refrigerator for more than 2 days. Beef and processed meat can be kept for up to 5 days. Therefore, if you decide that you will not finish all the food you buy, package it carefully and put it in the freezer.

6. Mistakes when freezing meat

Never throw a bag of meat straight into the freezer. To maintain the quality of the meat, wash it, pat it dry, wrap it in aluminum foil or in a sealed bag, label it with the date, and freeze it.

7. Cooking too much meat in the pan

Overcrowding the pan with too much meat will not heat the meat well enough and will cause the juices to escape. The meat will be dull and the flavor will not be as good as if you cooked the right amount of meat.

8. Slice the meat as soon as you buy it.

To make the meat easier to slice, especially when you want to slice it thinly, into long strips, put it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before slicing. This little tip not only makes it easier for you to work, but also makes the sliced ​​meat look more aesthetically pleasing.

9. Use an old cutting board to cut raw meat.

Old wooden cutting boards have a lot of grooves and dirt that are a breeding ground for bacteria. Cutting meat on them will cause bacteria to enter. However, wooden cutting boards are the best for chopping meat. You can still use them as long as you always clean them thoroughly before cutting.

10. Fry the bacon in a hot pan

Many housewives fry bacon in a hot pan without knowing that bacon when exposed to high temperatures of cooking oil can easily produce carcinogenic toxins. Instead, you can place the bacon on aluminum foil and heat it in the oven for about 18 minutes. The meat will have the golden, crispy color as expected./.

According to VnExpress