A good cut of beef, pork, prime poultry, or game meat deserves special treatment to ensure the best texture and flavor. From sirloin and chicken to less common cuts of meat, marinating is still the most effortless and delicious way to prepare any meat for cooking. On the other hand, if you want a new, tasty, and even challenging method for preparing a steak, bird, or chop, look for online recipes featuring the following lesser-known ways to prepare meat.
Barding
Bacon is the king of foods—at least on the Internet. If you’ve ever wrapped something in bacon—cubed chicken for shish kebabs, say—you’ve already employed barding in your culinary adventures. The point of barding—or wrapping meat in strips of fat—is to help leaner cuts retain their juices, which results in moister, more tender, and far more succulent meat. Barding also allows for a more natural and sometimes saltier taste. Barding is perfectly (and historically) suited for roasts, but the technique also works wonderfully with game birds and pork tenderloin. Bacon is always a reliable go-to for barding, but suet and fatback are other handy wrapping mediums as well. A little bacon goes a long way, and a lot goes even further.
Larding
What’s the difference between barding and larding? Simply put, it’s outside versus inside. Barding involves wrapping fat around the meat, while larding means inserting or injecting fat inside the meat. This will require a new addition to your kitchenware, a specialized tool called a larding needle: a long, sharp, metal device with a groove up the center. You pack fat inside the groove, stick the needle into the meat, and then remove the tool. This leaves the fat behind to marbleize and moisturize the meat during the roasting process, enhancing the flavor. Larding is ideal for roasts and leaner cuts.
Velveting
Preparing a stir-fry, soup, or stew? Let’s look to the east with our next technique, velveting. Velveting involves dipping cubed cuts of meat in cornstarch, soy sauce, and cooking oil (egg whites and wine are sometimes added for flavor) and then refrigerating them. When you fry or pan-sear the meat, the starch seals in the flavor while protecting the meat. You can use velveting with any kind of meat, including fish and shellfish, as well as with tofu. Trying to stick to a budget or just wanting to make everyday meals seem a little bit special? After velveting, cheaper cuts will taste extra-tender and delicious.
En Vessie
Get ready—this one may sound off-putting to non-foodies! En vessie involves wrapping a cut or poultry in a dehydrated pig bladder before cooking it. The best-known recipe utilizing this technique may be for poulet en vessie. The recipe uses a Bresse chicken, a French breed celebrated for its piquancy. Foie gras and truffles are stuffed beneath the skin, and the bird is seasoned with other ingredients. Finally, the chicken is sealed in the bladder and poached in chicken broth. The bladder seals in all the juices while keeping out the broth, leaving the meat moist and delicious. Think hard and make sure your cooking skills are up to snuff before tackling an en vessie recipe—they’re not for first-timers!
Those are just a few lesser-known ways to prepare meat. Keep them in mind and treat yourself—and the meat you use—right!
Van Rundell is a writer and author who specializes in transportation, travel, guidance, health & fitness. With over 10 years of experience in the industry as a driver and an entrepreneur, he has seen it all. His tone is professional but friendly with a dash of humor thrown in for good measure. In past, he has been advising, educating and writing about transport for the public and professionals alike.
A qualified fitness instructor with over 5 years’ experience as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, Van brings his deep knowledge of health and exercise science to his articles on health & fitness.
