Cooking meat : an experience of tenderness!

You have a phobia with not enough cooked meat? You cook it so much that it's enough dry to be a part of dehydrated foods? With this article, not only we explain how to not over cook meats, but we also see what's "in" for cooking, to marinades and meats cut!

Interview with Mathieu Côté : butcher, meats lover and great cook (it's what he told us)!

What's your experience in the butcher shop, your specialty?

I'm butcher since 16 years now at the Boucherie A. Côté de Sainte-Eulalie. I love cooking steaks and love even more bigger pieces, it's trendy! Here in the butcher shop, we have a méchoui machine, and at home I cook it in a standard BBQ. I also teach cooking meat to my entourage.

What are the specialties at the Boucherie A. Côté?

In spring, we age ribs steak with larger ribs for 60 days, which we call a tomahawk steak. It's an annual culinary experience! We start aging it in April and sold it in June. We all sold them very fast! For summer, we opted for ribs steaks with smaller ribs aged 30 days. In autumn, the trend will be to cook one piece! We invite friends at home, cook pork, beef, chicken... We can advises people based on their taste.

What's the efect of aging on meats?

It remove enzymes from the meats, so the fibers is relaxed and more tender.

What kind of mistakes people do more often while cooking meat?

Over cook it! The "just right" is done with rest, so we have to get to a certain temperature and then let it cool down. So it's favorable to always cook with a meat thermometer. If you cook an individual steak, it's okay, but if you cook for more than a person you have to be equipped. Temperature variate depending on it's thickness, meat type, tenderness, etc.

The famous hambuger meat ball : how should we cook it?

Turn it only one time : brown 2 sides and let cool down. Ideally, we have to turn off the BBQ and set up the meat higher, so over the BBQ we set meat balls on the higher grill and test it with a thermometer.

What kind of meat people doesn't dare to cook but should try more?

Pork is the least wanted meat! There aren't only ribs, there's also pork steaks that can be cooked well on the BBQ. Plus, it's less costy. It contains also more fats, so easier to cook and fit well with marinades. Also, horse is wrongly considerated, since it's seen as a domestical animal. But, it can also be cooked well and require less cooking since it contains less fats.

Is it true we shoud rest meat at room temperature 15 minutes before cooking to avoid temperature gap when cooking?

Yes, it should rest on a clean surfaces, without fly obviously! If there's a risk of having few fly, cover the meat. As for méchoui (larger meat pieces) I let it rest at least 1 hour before setting on the skewer and cook.

Why preferably buying meats at a butcher shop instead of the grocery store?

It's more about advices. At the grocery store, the way is different, the trust between the customer and the specialist isn't the same. when people goes to a large grocery store, they decide themselves what pieces they want and advices aren't related to what they bought. At the butcher shop Boucherie A. Côté, we are 15 butchers and assistant butchers with each our specialties, so there's always someone to gave you advices.

If we wan't to be sure to choose right, what's the winning choice?

The ribeye is sure, and it's one of the tastiest pieces.

What kind of vegetables-meat mix do you suggest?

It's really all about taste. As for me, the best way to cook vegetables it's with a steamer, to keep all taste, Boiling it's less trendy... Grilling vegetables gives a roasting flavors. Personally, with meats I love asparagus, broccoli, carrots and thin slices of leeks.

What's trendy with marinades these days?

Dry marinades : it's a mixture of spices and big salt. Ideal when we wan't to keep meat flavours. There are people which prefer to let penetrate the marinade to enhance it's taste. It depends on what we want. As for myself, the ideal is a great raw piece of meat, "frosted" with big salt : let the meat rest, slice, cook and soak in a hot sauce. I love to my steak warm with hot sauce.

Why do you advice to cook a larger piece of meat for many guest?

With a large piece it's easy to get to the right temperature. It also keeps juice inside the meat. After, cut it into slices and there's no need to slice it one more time once in the plate. Just use a fork! I'm not saying we shouldn't use a knife, but it's another experience and we offer some kind of surprise to our guest! I love to encourage people to try new things. If we always cook meat the same way, it's a bit boring. By trying knew technics, we discover other sides of meat. We can do it at home and it's less costy than at the restaurant.

Why should we slice meat perpendicular to fibers?

To keep meats tenderness. When we sliced in parallel, meats "swollen". It stays juicy, but changes it's tenderness.

A-175 licence, MAPAQ inspections and presence of an inspector and a veterinary each butchery day. How is this beneficial for customer?

The MAPAQ ensure an inspection. It's somehow the foods police which is there each week! We have to respect wholesomeness, hygiene, animal health and the well being of animals criterias. We are compliant to director plan of the government. Each beast are inspected. We can butcher for about 150 animals per week : pork, beef, wapiti, goat, boar, sheep, veal, ostrich, alpaca and horse. We also butcher for other butchery shop.

What makes the Boucherie A. Côté different?

Apart from advices, we offer a service of custom meat order for restaurants or special events. We also offer custom cut : scoter, tab, shoulder fillets, osso buco... we're going on a whole other level!

The Boucherie A. Côté is located at 523, rue des Érables in Sainte-Eulalie. Denis and Mario Côté are the owner.