There is almost no limit to the number of dishes one can cook with meat as the main ingredient. Meat, along with its excellent taste, is also a great source of several important nutrients for the body. Thus, it is no surprise that so many people want to purchase meat on a regular basis and cook recipes with it. Though it might appear like a simple task, buying meat is not that easy. You need to keep several things in mind if you want to buy good quality meat and one which is the right ingredient for the recipe that you have in mind.

Most people, when going to buy meat, are unaware of some critical things they need to consider before purchasing and often end up with poor-quality meat or a product which is not suitable for the dish they wished to cook. The next time you go for buying meat, you must take care of some important things:

1. Check the color of the meat

The color factor is the most overlooked one when people go to buy meat though It is one of the most important factors in determining the meat’s quality. There is, however, not a single color that is right, it depends on the type of meat you wish to purchase. Good Pork meat must have a light blushing pink color.

Game meat should be light brown. Red meat can vary between purple, red, and brown but the color must be dark. Now, many people tend to avoid Red meat that possesses a brown color but that simply means that it has been exposed to oxygen. The meat does not lose its quality because of it.

2. Pay attention to the meat’s smell

A lot of people, including those who consume meat products on a regular basis, tend to dislike the general smell of the various meat products. The smell of the meat, however, is an excellent way of determining if the meat you are buying is fresh or not.

For many, it might be difficult to comprehend if the aroma they are smelling is simply the raw meat odor that is always there or something else entirely. But you must carefully smell the meat and if it possesses a pungent smell or if the smell is even slightly different than the usual, keep it back on the shelf and proceed to the next piece.

3. Examine the meat surface

Looking closely at red meat will enable you to notice the meat fibers on its surface. The grains of these fibers can tell you a lot about the meat. If the meat has coarse grains that have a lot of visible muscle fibers, it means that it has a lot of flavors and is tough meat.

This kind of meat should be chosen for slow cooking. If these grains are lacking on the surface, it means that the meat will be more tender when cooked. So, carefully look at the surface of the meat before buying it and keep in mind the dish you want to cook with it.

4. Meat fat

The amount of fat meat contains determines its quality to a great extent. If there are white flecks and streaks of fat distributed throughout the muscle, the meat will be much more tender and juicier than the one which has fewer white specks of fat on it. This fat is known as marbling.

A slice of better-quality meat will have finer marbling and is a lot tastier than others. However, as a downside, it also costs more than the others.

Over to you…

Besides all these points, you should also consider buying meat from meat wholesalers in Melbourne if you want better meat at lower prices than the ones in your nearest grocery stores. However, irrespective of the shop you buy your meat from, don’t forget to tick all of the boxes that have been mentioned above.