The safety numbers come from the USDA, the US Department of Agriculture. The rest are kitchen rules of thumb that work for everyday cooking. At the end you will see which steps the Thermomix® TM7™ does with meat, and which ones belong on the stove or in the oven.
How much to buy
Bones, skin and fat count in the weight but not on the plate, so the cut changes how many people a pound feeds. One pound is about 450 g.
| Cut | Servings per pound (450 g) | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Boneless meat and fillets | 3 to 4 | Ground beef, stew meat, boneless chicken, fish fillets |
| Some bone | 2 to 3 | Pork chops, bone-in steaks, bone-in chicken thighs |
| Lots of bone | 1 to 2 | Ribs, chicken wings, oxtail |
These counts use a standard serving of 85 to 115 g (3 to 4 oz) of cooked meat. A bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder shrinks a lot as it roasts, so plan on about 340 g (3/4 lb) raw per person: that is why an 8 lb (3.5 kg) pernil feeds about 10.
How much per person
Meat loses about a quarter of its weight as it cooks, mostly water. For boneless meat, plan on this much per person:
- Everyday meal with rice, beans and sides: about 115 to 150 g (4 to 5 oz) raw, which gives a standard serving of 85 to 115 g (3 to 4 oz) cooked.
- Big appetites, or when the meat is the star: 170 to 225 g (6 to 8 oz) raw, about 115 to 170 g (4 to 6 oz) cooked.
- Want leftovers for sandwiches the next day? Buy a little extra.
- For bone-in cuts, use the servings per pound in the table above.
How much salt
A good starting point for a dry rub or a wet adobo is about 3/4 teaspoon of fine salt per pound (450 g) of boneless meat, roughly 1 percent of its weight. Taste the finished dish and adjust next time.
- Coarse kosher salt: use about 1 teaspoon per pound, because the big crystals fill the spoon with less salt.
- Bone-in cuts: stay at the low end, since the bone counts in the weight but does not need salt.
- Store-bought adobo seasoning and sazón already contain salt, so count them as part of it.
- Rub the adobo in well, into small cuts or under the skin, so it reaches past the surface.
- Pat the meat dry before browning or frying: a wet surface steams instead of browning.
How long to marinate
An adobo with garlic, oregano, oil and vinegar or citrus flavors the meat over time, but the acid can also change the texture if it sits too long. Always marinate in the fridge, covered, never on the counter.
| Food | How long |
|---|---|
| Fish and shrimp | 15 to 30 minutes |
| Thin steaks and stew meat | 15 minutes to overnight |
| Chicken pieces | 30 minutes to overnight, ideally a few hours |
| Pork chops | 1 hour to overnight |
| Pork shoulder for pernil and other big roasts | Overnight, 12 to 48 hours |
Want to use some marinade as a sauce? Set it aside before it touches the raw meat. Marinade that held raw meat has to come to a full boil before you serve it, or go in the trash.
Safe internal temperatures
Color does not tell you when meat is safe, and neither does time alone. An instant-read thermometer does. These are the USDA safe minimum internal temperatures:
| Food | Cook to at least |
|---|---|
| Beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops and roasts | 63°C (145°F), then rest 3 minutes |
| Ground beef, pork, lamb and veal: burgers, meatballs, picadillo | 71°C (160°F) |
| Chicken and turkey, whole, in pieces or ground | 74°C (165°F) |
| Fish | 63°C (145°F), or until it is opaque and flakes easily with a fork |
| Shrimp, crab and lobster | Until the flesh is pearly and opaque |
| Leftovers and casseroles | Reheat to 74°C (165°F) |
Push the thermometer into the thickest part, away from bone, fat and gristle. These are the minimums for safety: tough cuts like pork shoulder go much higher, 85 to 90°C (185 to 195°F) for the pernil, so they turn fork tender.
Let it rest
When meat comes off the heat, give it a few minutes before you cut it. The juices settle back into the meat instead of running onto the board, and the heat inside keeps cooking it a little.
- Steaks and chops: 3 to 5 minutes.
- Whole chickens and roasts: 10 to 20 minutes, loosely covered with foil. Leave crisp skin, like the cuerito of a pernil, uncovered so it stays crunchy.
- Big roasts keep rising a few degrees as they rest, which is why they are a little more done at the table than when they left the oven.
Thawing safely
Frozen meat thaws safely three ways. Never thaw it on the counter or in hot water: the outside warms into the danger zone, 4 to 60°C (40 to 140°F), where bacteria multiply fast, while the center is still frozen.
| Method | How | Then |
|---|---|---|
| In the fridge | The safest way, but slow: about a day for a 450 g (1 lb) package, and about a day for every 2 kg (4 to 5 lb) of something big like a turkey | Cook ground meat, chicken and seafood within 1 to 2 days, and steaks, chops and roasts within 3 to 5 days |
| In cold water | Seal the meat in a leak-proof bag, cover it with cold tap water and change the water every 30 minutes: about 1 hour for 450 g (1 lb), 2 to 3 hours for 1.5 to 2 kg (3 to 4 lb) | Cook it right away |
| In the microwave | Use the defrost setting | Cook it right away, because some parts start to cook |
You can also cook meat straight from frozen: it is safe and only takes about 50 percent longer.
Handling raw meat
- Do not leave raw or cooked meat out of the fridge more than 2 hours, or 1 hour when it is hotter than 32°C (90°F), like at an outdoor party in summer.
- Keep raw meat on the bottom shelf of the fridge, on a plate or in a container, so its juices do not drip onto other food.
- Use a separate cutting board for raw meat, and wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot, soapy water after touching it.
- Rinsing raw chicken or meat with water, lime or vinegar is a habit in many homes, but the USDA advises against it: the splashes spread bacteria around the sink. Cooking it to the right temperature is what makes it safe.
The TM7, the stove and the oven
The TM7 works with meat in small pieces that have room to move in the bowl. For a deep brown crust, crisp skin or a whole roast, use the stove or the oven. Many recipes use more than one.
- In the TM7: chopping garlic and herbs into a smooth adobo in seconds, as for the bistec encebollado.
- In the TM7: sautéing sofrito and pieces of meat at 120°C (250°F), then simmering them with reverse and speed soft so the pieces stay whole, as in the carne guisada: cook 45 min/100°C (212°F)/reverse/speed soft.
- In the TM7: browning ground beef or small pieces, as in the beef chili: brown 8 min/160°C (320°F)/reverse/speed 1.
- In the TM7: steaming fish or chicken in the Varoma while rice cooks in the bowl, as in the steamed salmon: steam 22 min/Varoma/speed 1.
- On the stove: searing for a deep brown crust and frying, like the chuletas fritas, or browning the chicken for the pollo guisado before it goes into the oven.
- In the oven: roasting big cuts and crisping the skin, like the pernil and the lechón asado.
Keep the total contents of the mixing bowl under 2 L.