overcook pork, which makes it dry and tough, though fortunately still flavorful. Use an accurate,

meat thermometer to make sure you are serving a safe pork. The Pork Institute recommends that

you cook pork to 145°to 150°F (63°to 66°C). Stay at the low end of this scale for the juiciest,

most tender pork that's still absolutely safe.

Guide to preparing

Finally we get to the meat of this chapter, how to cook meat to perfection. The only two

essential tools you need are an accurate meat thermometer and sharp knife.

The thermometer gives you the power of full quality control for the best and perfectly

safe meat. Have a good meat thermometer with a thin stem that pierces the meat as little as

possible to minimize moisture loss. Whether it is digital or not doesn't matter, though I find that

the battery of a digital thermometer will invariably die at the most critical time. Even if you keep

a spare battery, by the time you fiddle around replacing it, the fillet mignon on the barbecue turns

from medium rare to over the well done stage, a calamity.

With digital thermometer you only need to insert the very tip of the stem. With the old-

fashioned analog thermometer a three-finger-wide tip must be in the meat to get and accurate

reading. When measuring the temperature of a thin piece of meat, it is best to prewarm the stem.

Otherwise when you insert the cold metal stem, the meat can cool down several degrees around

the thermometer stem and you may get a too-low reading.

To measure the temperature of a thin piece of meat, insert the tip horizontally from the

side or end of the meat.

Your second tool, a good sharp knife makes any cutting job much easier and gives you

full cutting control. A good knife is not necessarily expensive, but cheap knives are not good

knives. What's important is how it fits in your hand. Many professional cooks use modest-priced

knives, which they keep razor-sharp at all times. Real pros don't let anyone else touch their

knives, and many nonprofessional cooks do the same.

If your knife takes part in a lot of action in your kitchen, use a honing steel frequently,

and always at the beginning of each major cutting job. This doesn't actually sharpen the edge but

realigns the steel. Keep the knife sharp with the occasional use of a sharpening stone, a steel file,

an electric sharpener or whatever sharpening device you received as a wedding gift.

Cooking Methods

There are only two basic methods to cook meat—with dry heat or moist heat. Which

method you use depends on the type of meat and your personal preference. If the meat has fine

texture (soft, small fibers) and minimal connective tissues, dry heat gives the best result, if not

overcooked.

Meat that contains coarse fibers and more connective tissue turns out best in slow, moist

heat so the tough collagen has a chance to turn into soft gelatin. Some cuts are suitable with

either cooking method.

Dry heat cooking

The five types of dry heat cooking are:

grilling (barbecuing), broiling or pan-broiling

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