Clearly, meat is one of the main ingredients in Paleo diet recipes, since it was largely consumed by Paleolithic people. Today we cook meat in many ways and not necessarily in the healthiest of manners; however, here we give you 8 delicious and beneficial ways to cook it.
First, know that cooking meat after it reaches room temperature helps it cook faster and more uniformly.
In fact, the cooking temperatures suggested in the Paleolithic diet recipes are based on room temperature meat, so if you want your dishes to taste exactly like the recipe conveys, get your meat out of the freezer or fridge in advance to let it reach room temperature before cooking.
These are the 8 ways we recommend you cook your meat:
1. Roast it
Tender cuts of meat like pork loin, poultry, rump, beef ribs, sirloin, or lamb racks taste delicious when roasted. All you have to do is put the meat in the oven at 425°F for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350°F until it is done.
You can leave your red meat rare if you like it, but make sure the pork and chicken are very well-cooked.
2. Slow-roast it
In this case, you do the same as above but you leave the meat cooking longer at an oven temperature between 300°F and 325°F.
This is great for harder meat cuts like pork and lamb shoulder or pork belly.
3. Pot-roast it
You can use this technique for tougher meat cuts, too. In this case, you brown the meat in a pot to keep the juices in, then you put the pot in the oven to roast the meat while you add some stock or red wine to it as it cooks.
4. Pan-roast it
This one is the pot-roasting version, but without stock for tender cuts of meat. You brown and seal the meat before putting it in the oven until it is done.
5. Fry or stir-fry it
This technique is very popular for cooking chicken breasts, steaks, chops, ribs, and tenderloins. First, heat up a pan to medium-high temperature before throwing in a healthy fat like lard or coconut oil (or other fat that won’t burn); next you put in the meat and cook it, flipping it from time to time until it’s ready.
To stir-fry your meat, cut it in slices, put it in a hot wok (but not too hot – keep it at medium or medium-high) with a healthy fat, and keep stirring until it’s cooked.
6. Grill it
This is one of the best meat cooking techniques, as we all know. You just have to sear the meat on the hottest spot of the grill, and then place it on a medium-hot spot to finish cooking. Try not to pierce the meat to avoid losing the juices.
7. Poach it
This technique is great for fish or chicken, and it will give you a yummy stock that can be used in a sauce to finish your dish.
The secret to poaching is to have a very tight lid that will let the meat cook evenly at low heat with the steam the liquid produces.
8. Stew or braise it
Stewing is a good technique to make tough meat cuts like shoulders, shins, or beef brisket into tender, juicy entrees.
You just put the meat and some stock or water on the stovetop or in the oven or crock-pot, add vegetables like onions, carrots, and celery, some herbs and spices, and cook at low heat until it’s tender.
You normally braise a whole cut – not pieces of it – and the meat is not fully covered with the stock because you want the steam produced to do part of the cooking.
At Paleo Plan we save you time and money by planning your paleo meals every day, taking the worry out of deciding what to eat. We choose seven full days’ worth of food for you: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack.
We give you healthy and delicious paleo diet recipes, and a shopping list to buy everything you’ll need for the whole week without wasted food at the end of the week.
What could be more appealing when you’re trying to really stick to a healthy diet? You don’t have to pick and choose your recipes AND you get to try new recipes you may not have chosen on your own.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with your questions – we’re always here to help you. And make sure you read our blog to learn about all things paleo!