Selecting the right meat – be aware of what you want to cook

When buying meat, be aware of how you want to cook it. There are three distinct areas on animals, and the method of cooking each for the best results is different due to the way that the muscles have been worked.

1. The hardest working muscles support the head and front of the animal: neck, shoulder and fore shin. These all need long, slow, moist cooking.

2. The muscles that do no heavy work are in the middle of the animal: ribs, sirloin and fillet. These need quick cooking, and can be served rare.

3. The medium-worked muscles are at the rear of the animal: silverside, rump, toprump and topside and these can be grilled, roasted or braised.

Supermarkets like to sell boneless meat, as sharp bones can pierce their packaging, meaning it cannot be sold. But a good butcher will encourage you to buy bone-in meat, especially for slow cooking, as it enhances and adds depth to the flavour.

Meat needs to ‘breathe’, so store it with cool, fresh air circulating. When you buy meat at a butcher, it should be wrapped in greaseproof paper. At home, unwrap it and put it on a plate in the refrigerator.

(Taken from The Ginger Pig Meat Book by Tim Wilson & Fran Warde)