Cuts of meat in the kitchen: the genuine guide

What cuts of meat to use?

Braises, roasts, stews and boiled meats, Italy is the home of typical Mediterranean cuisine but also of long-cooked meat-based delicacies. Each recipe embodies a long regional tradition, linked to the territory in which it was prepared, but also the most arcane secrets that grandmothers jealously guard in their recipe books. If the spice mixes and preparation procedures are true family heirlooms, the cuts of meat used to prepare some recipes are almost codified and accepted by everyone - we know where to start somewhere -.

Having ascertained this, we are left to understand which braised meat is suitable for this typical winter preparation? What is the perfect meat for a grandma-proof boiled meat? What cut of meat do I use for veal with tuna sauce? Let's find out together in this article, but don't worry, if the recipes are well hidden in cupboards or in aprons, the cuts of meat for the recipes can easily be purchased in our online butcher's shop.

Which meat for boiled meat?

The concept of which meat to use for boiled meat varies from region to region, even from family to family. The only certain thing about this tasty and typically winter dish is that the more 100% Italian meat coming from certified farms is used, the dish is able to satisfy everyone.

If we want to make a distinction in the recipe, between boiled meat with only one variety of meat and mixed boiled meat, the boiled meat that is traditionally used comes from cattle. As cuts of beef for boiled meat, the ideals are flank steak, brisket and royal cut. The white meat is the part between the ribs and the dorsal muscles, it has a good percentage of fat and cartilage which makes the boiled meat, and consequently the broth, tasty and balanced thanks also to the addition of typical spices such as bay leaf, cloves and pepper . The brisket, as the name suggests, is the part of the bovine's pectorals close to the actual cut which has a very fatty part and a very lean part. Due to its particular structure of meat, fat and cartilage, it is also often used as roast meat. The Royal cut, or asado cut, comes from the dorsal muscles and is the typical cut, also ideal for roasts, but which lends itself very well to the preparation of boiled meat because it also features very light veins of connective tissue, an ideal characteristic for long and pan-cooked cooking.

Obviously, with the riot of flavors that we find in boiled meat we cannot mention the perfect pairing it has with the perfect sauces for boiled meat .

Meat for mixed boiled meat

In addition to the classic one, we cannot fail to mention the perfect meat for mixed meat boiled meat, which we can also prepare in a slightly smaller version than the famous Piedmontese boiled meat. The most used mixed boiled meat is the same as boiled meat as regards the beef part: Taglio Reale, Biancostato or Punta di Petto, but in addition it is a good idea to also include a Free-Range Half Chicken and some pork such as Cotechino. The traditional mixed boiled meat recipe requires the beef to be immersed directly in already boiling water, together with the chicken meat - such as free-range capon -, the pork and the vegetables. In this way, the boiled meat will maintain a full and super tasty taste.

If you don't want to get the mix wrong, the Bollito Box that you find in our online butcher's shop is perfect for preparing a rich tray of boiled meats to accompany Cremonese mustard or the typical green sauce. If, in addition to this information, you want to know more and discover the difference between boiled and boiled, read our article .

Meat for veal with tuna sauce?

Good, light and perfect for all palates. Vitello tonnato, vitel tonné or vitel tonnà, is one of the recipes that adapt to many solutions: ideal in summer for a light lunch or dinner, perfect for a typical appetizer during winter holidays. A recipe of Piedmontese origins but which is now known and prepared throughout Italy. The cuts of meat for veal with tuna sauce allow you to indulge in the kitchen even in the preparation of more complicated recipes but with a touch of delicacy.

There are mainly two cuts of meat for veal with tuna sauce: the magatello or the girello di shoulder (also called fusello di shoulder). Magatello is a very lean and compact cut of meat, which has no ribs. It is also called by other names such as silverside, spinel or rotondino due to its characteristic shape. It is iconically called the cut of meat for veal with tuna sauce because in Italian kitchens it is perhaps the most used cut to prepare this recipe loved by all. The shoulder girello is a cut that comes from the shoulder muscles of the bovine and is very tasty. It is a versatile and very economical cut of meat, as it falls into the category of the "less valuable parts" of the beef, but still perfect for preparing a delicious veal with tuna sauce.

Which meat for stew?

The stew: beef, potatoes or peas, herbs and a slipper sauce with bread. To cook this delicious dish, typical of the regions of northern Italy and revisited in a thousand sauces throughout Europe, the main ingredient is certainly good beef - preferably not first choice cuts - but which is able to withstand long cooking and on a slow fire. Which stew meat should you use to cook this tasty dish? The cuts mainly used are those found in the neck and shoulder, but we can also use a more valuable cut perfect for stewing: beef fish. With fish, or bell, we can prepare many recipes: steaks, it can be cooked on the grill, and is very suitable for all those preparations such as stews, stews and stews, and for all casserole cooking.

The real cut, or cut for asado, as previously seen for boiled meat, comes from the neck muscles and lends itself very well to the preparation of both boiled meat and stew because it has pulp and connective tissue, an ideal characteristic for long and stewed cooking. As with veal with tuna sauce, shoulder girello, therefore obtained from the shoulder muscles, is perfect for long and very long cooking due to its characteristics and fat/meat balance. Furthermore, as already mentioned, it is the perfect cut of meat for stews with an excellent quality/price ratio.

All these cuts of meat for stew can be found in whole pieces to be processed to obtain cubes of meat, alternatively in our online butcher's shop you can find the meat for stew ready to be cooked.

Meat for bourguignonne?

Fondue bourguignonne, or Burgundian fondue in Italian, is a typical Swiss recipe but also very popular in Italy and France in the colder regions. These are mainly small cubes of beef that are cooked in hot oil or hot broth - often directly by the diners - and then seasoned with different accompanying sauces. The meat is cooked in a pot filled with a good flavored broth which remains at temperature thanks to a flame placed under the pot.

But which meat is perfect for bourguignonne? The most used cut is the beef fillet: lean, compact and perfect for this recipe. The almost total absence of fat in the cut and the possibility of eating it rare also go perfectly with the quick cooking of the bourguignonne. In addition to beef for fondue we can use chicken meat - breast is perfect - pork or even fish and prawns.

Which meat for broth?

As for which meat to use for the broth (whether for bourguignonne or other recipes), we can simply rely on a super mix of chicken thighs or wings , chicken neck, beef shoulder, steak, beef tail and vegetables: simple but perfectly balanced. Or, you can rely on the selection of meat for broth that you find in our Lesso Box : perfect for a very tasty meat broth and can also be used for cooking risottos, tortellini in broth and other typical Italian recipes.