Meat infographics are enjoying a cultural revolution—everywhere we look, someone's sketching up a hip new rendition of the same old <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=cuts+of+beef&amp;rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS521US562&amp;espv=2&amp;es_sm=91&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=1XsiU5z6EoPloATh4IDQCg&amp;sqi=2&amp;ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&amp;biw=1410&amp;bih=683&amp;dpr=0.9">cow map</a>. Welp, we decided to go a different route, and after about 30 seconds of discussion, it was decided: We're going to dress Ben up in a cow suit and make him kneel on the butcher block while Grant gives a tour of his bod. And we're going to film it. Perfect.  Luckily, there's some method to the madness: Understanding the basic anatomy of even one mammal—a cow, or a man, or a cow-man—will help you develop an intuition for what cuts of meat to buy in almost any situation. (But, sorry, our cow-man's not for sale.) Most of us already have a general awareness of how animals move, and, in order to determine which cuts are which, it's helpful to think about how certain muscles may have had to work throughout the animal's lifetime: Was it a hard-working, high-activity muscle (legs; shoulders), or a fatty, lazy muscle (poultry breasts; mammal loin)? In general, muscles that work harder will be tough, while muscles that work less will be tender. With this knowledge, you can look at a pig, a cow, a rabbit, a zebra, or a Ben, and know where your meat of choice is.  And yes, we could've just drawn our own infographic, but we really like seeing Ben in a cow suit. Sorry we're not sorry.

Basic Meat Cuts

Getting Started

Prepping Your Kitchen

If you look into a butcher's case or peruse the meat aisle at your local grocery store, you'll see what look like a lot of the same things. How do you know which cuts are for braising, and which ones are better for steak? It's easy to shop for the right meat when you know what to look for. All you have to do is understand a handful of broad, simple concepts about what makes a piece of meat tough or tender. Understanding and recognizing qualities that make up a piece of meat will empower you to choose meat for any occasion.

Selecting Meat for Purchase

Selecting high-quality fish is easy when you know what to look for. A simple inspection of seafood selections at your local grocery store or fish market will tell you whether the fish is fresh or pre-frozen; handled properly or improperly; healthy or unhealthy.&nbsp;At ChefSteps, we either buy properly-treated fish, or we don't buy fish at all. Here's what you need to know for your next seafood shopping trip. What You'll Learn:&nbsp; <ul><li>How to inspect and select whole fresh fish</li><li>How to inspect and select filleted or butchered fish</li><li>How to&nbsp;select and thaw frozen fish&nbsp;</li></ul>

Selecting Fish for Purchase

It’s 2007, and you’re sitting in a darkened theater on a July afternoon, about to watch a two-hour-long cartoon about a rat. Maybe you’ve brought a kid for cover; maybe you didn’t even bother—this is a Pixar film, after all, and Pixar has already made *Toy Story*, *Monsters, Inc.*, and *The Incredibles.* With their **ultracharming**, **ultrabelievable characters**, relatable themes, and truly funny jokes, those movies feel in many ways more adult than the live-action blockbusters with which they share marquee space. For hardcore film fans, and certainly for critics, this cartoon rat movie isn’t just acceptable adult fare—it’s required viewing.

*Ratatouille* doesn’t disappoint. It’s such a beautiful, fun, easy-to-love movie! And from its murine protagonist’s silvery coat ([link http://www.ew.com/article/2007/12/21/movies-numbers-2007 1.15 million hairs], each individually rendered) to the gleaming copper pots in the kitchen where he cooks, it is unbelievably, insanely detailed. **Food is no exception.** Famously, Pixar hired Chef Thomas Keller—the very personification of fussy fare—to serve as culinary consultant, and the French Laundry luminary worked with the Pixar crew to realize the film’s eponymous dish. This ratatouille wasn’t [link http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/classic-ratatouille/ the rustic stew] favored by niçoise grand-mères. It was, instead, a mosaic of vibrantly colored vegetables, sliced paper thin,  fastidiously plated with a ring mold, and sauced with a peppery dressing called a *piperade*. 

While it may not resemble old-school ratatouille, **this version makes the most of that stew’s iconic flavors**—**tomato**, **zucchini**, **peppers**, **onion**, **eggplant**, **and garlic**. The peppers and onions get mixed into that aforementioned piperade, which is thinly spread across the bottom of a casserole pan. On top: those carefully shingled, perfectly sliced vegetables. Hounded by a feverish food press hungry for the details, Keller explained that he liked to call the variation *confit byaldi*, a reference to a Turkish eggplant dish known as *İmam bayıldı*. 

But to everyone who fell in love with the movie, this was ratatouille: **a dish fit for a food critic yet so simple a rat could cook it**. (Okay, maybe only a magic animated rat with a culinary gift, but still.) If you’re like us, its bright beauty has never escaped your mind, so we’re pleased to report we’ve got a foolproof recipe that you can use to experience the quiet bliss of making one yourself. We enjoyed making this layered dish so much that we created some fun variations on it too. Think Breakfastouille, a ’touille with root vegetables, and even a sweet ’touille you can whip up whenever a tough dessert critic stops by unannounced. We hope these recipes will inspire you the way this lovely movie has always inspired us. With ratatouille—confit byaldi, whatever—there are many ways to get creative. They’re all going to be delicious.

Get Creative With Pixar-Style Ratatouille

Juicy, Tender Meats: What You Need to Know

Cooking Meat at Home

Step 1: Chill

Step 2: Dry

Step 3: Oil

Step 4: Sear

Step 5: Transfer

Step 6: Take a Break

Step 7: Set Oven to Low Temp

Step 8: Cook to Core Temp

Step 9: Serve

Nine Steps to Perfect Proteins

Close your eyes, and remember the best steak you've ever had. Remember how it waited, plump, and brown, and buttery, on your plate, sprinkled with sea salt that had just begun to melt into the surface. Remember that savory, roasted fragrance wafting from the kitchen or the grill. You sliced gently through the thick, crunchy edge, eventually breaking through to the juicy interior, firm enough to carve with your steak knife, but tender enough to yield to the blade. Perhaps it was packed full of meaty flavor; all fatty and marbled and dripping with juices. Perhaps the texture melted in your mouth; just a few slow chews, and your shoulders drop, and the corners of your mouth turn up into a smile, and all you can say is "mmmmmmm." Hopefully, you have at least one of those moments. Unfortunately, they often take place in an expensive restaurant, and they're usually pretty scarce. Many of us have only had one or two great steaks in our entire lives. But no longer. Master this technique, and you'll probably have to stop yourself from making steak every night of the week.  We created these steps with a one-inch piece of meat in mind, but they'll work for thinner and thicker pieces as well. The only thing that changes is cook time—pull the steak out earlier or later depending on the size of the cut.

Beef Steak

Pork Chop

This is the best way to cook a rack of lamb, period. We'd choose this method over any other, including sous vide and grilling. And for good reason: This technique yields a delectably crispy fat cap, and a perfectly uniform pink interior, every time. We think even&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVZDbHUG-_0" target="_blank">Shari Lewis</a> would eat this lamb chop.&nbsp;

Lamb Rack

If you throw a last-minute dinner but then serve your guests a gorgeous rib roast, they’re going to think you’re some kind of wizard. Deep brown crust, juicy pink meat—prime rib is elegant, crowd-friendly, and really quite easy to prepare, requiring no special equipment or hard-to-find ingredients. And while we too often corral this carnivore crack into the holiday-meal category, **there’s no reason you can’t use rib roast as the inspiration to throw an impromptu party**. In fact, we highly encourage it. Pop by the market and pick one up, tell your friends to come by in a few hours with some wine or a side dish, and enjoy a casually spectacular repast with none of that weird stiffness of special-occasion meals. Got leftovers? Lucky you. Roast beef anchors one of the world’s most delicious sandwiches: the French dip. 

Here, we walk you through the three simple stages of creating a perfect rib roast. Once you’ve tried the well-tested method, we bet you’ll return to it often, reproducing the roast easily without needing to consult a recipe. French the bones yourself or ask your butcher to do it. Swap in whatever fresh herbs you happen to have on hand. Fiddle with doneness until the perfect amount of pinkness is yours. **This is destined to become your house specialty**, so go ahead and make it your own.  A holiday-worthy dish that’s flexible and easy to make on the fly? Now that’s what we call culinary magic.

Standing Rib Roast

Meat

Chicken & Turkey Breast

Cooking duck breasts properly requires a little more attention and time, but it's well&nbsp;worth the effort. After all, a thick, crispy layer of duck skin over juicy,&nbsp;dark breast meat is arguably one the best things ever. The trick is to render out some of the fat in the skin, without overcooking the meat itself. Here's how to get that perfectly-roasted and mouthwatering duck breast over and over again.

Duck Breast

Small Game Birds

Poultry

Salmon & Other Fish

Shrimp

Seafood

Troubleshooting

Discussion

tester activity

More Resources

Not, ready to buy sous vide equipment? We’ll show you one simple, versatile technique for cooking any tender cut of meat to perfection. All you need is an oven, a pan, and a thermometer.