Which meat is better for pilaf: choice, meat quality, taste features, pilaf recipe with photo

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Pilaf is a dish that everyone loves without exception. Juicy, savory, flavorful. It looks great on the festive table, and it is prepared quite quickly and simply. But there are many subtleties, without knowing which it will not work to cook a really tasty pilaf. Many housewives are faced with the fact that instead of crumbly, it turns out to be sticky. Yes, rice porridge with meat is also good, but not at all what we would like. Therefore, the choice of ingredients must be approached very seriously. Today we will talk about what kind of meat is best for pilaf.

Your choice

Pilaf is very picky about rice and spices. Do not try to cook a delicious dish if you only have round-grain rice for porridge. It boils well, it makes delicious milk porridge. But in this case, you need to keep the rice whole. So try to choose long-grain, yellow rice. And don't forget the meat! Which is better for pilaf?

In this respect, the dish is quitedemocratic. Pretty much any meat you have in your fridge will work for this purpose. Sometimes even … fish is used. But we should not forget that the taste of the finished dish will depend on the choice. Avoid meat from young animals. It quickly crumbles into fibers and loses its taste.

Lamb

Traditionally, the meat of these animals is used to cook delicious pilaf. However, not everyone likes the specific smell. If you belong to this category of people, it is better not to experiment, but immediately replace it with beef or pork. It will turn out no less tasty, however, the result will be slightly different.

In general, the question of what kind of meat is best for pilaf is ambiguous. It depends on what end result you want to get. But if there is a desire to cook exactly that classic pilaf from Central Asia, then lamb should be preferred. It is sold in almost every city, although the choice may be worse than in the case of the same beef or pork.

Which piece do you like

You can, of course, ask the sellers in the market. But they have a slightly different task - to sell all the meat available. Therefore, you may not get what you need at all.

So, lamb pilaf is on the agenda. What meat is better to take? Discard the back leg - there are a lot of stiff muscles here. It is best to take the ribs, shoulder blade or neck. A good taste will turn out if you add a few ribs and fat tail to pilaf.fat.

According to traditional recipes, the meat is cut into large pieces, about 150 g each. First, the pieces are fried until brown. After that, water is added to the cauldron and they are stewed until soft. And only then you can fry onions and carrots and lay rice. It is recommended to fry the meat at an oil temperature of 180 degrees. If the temperature is made higher, then it will be charred on top, and inside it will remain raw.

Cooking recipe

You decide for yourself what kind of meat is better to make pilaf. In the meantime, let's look at the process of preparing a real Uzbek pilaf. First you need to prepare the ingredients:

• Rice - 1 part.
• Carrots, onions - 1 part each.
• Meat - 1 part.
• Butter - 0.3 parts.
• Water - 1 part.

What does "one piece" mean? You can choose the measure arbitrarily. But it is very convenient to take a faceted glass with a volume of 300 g as such. Immediately measure all the products so that you do not have to return to this issue during the cooking process.

Rice should be soaked in cold water for 2 hours. After an hour, it needs to be rinsed, and then pour cold water again. This will wash off the excess starch. Pour the cereal into a colander to glass the water. Excess liquid can spoil the whole dish, so you need to watch this especially carefully.

Now you need to cook overcooking. To do this, we strongly heat the pan, pour in the oil and also heat it up almost to smoke. After that, fry the meat cut into pieces, then chopped onion rings and chopped strawscarrot. Focus on the readiness of vegetables. It's not that difficult, usually the housewives are well aware when the carrots become soft.

Pour rice on top. Nothing needs to be mixed. Add water, it needs exactly as much as rice. Be sure to poke five holes all the way to the bottom with the handle of a spoon. They put garlic cloves in them. And now the most important thing. We close the cauldron very tightly with a lid and reduce the fire to the very minimum. The content should gurgle a little. And don't open it even for a second. Set a timer for 70 minutes and go about your business.

After the time has elapsed, stir the pilaf, close and leave for another hour.

Lid closed

Why is this one so important? Is it really impossible to look in and check if the dish is burning? If you are doing everything according to the recipe, then you should not worry. Nothing will burn. And that's why a tight lid is needed. When the temperature reaches 75 degrees, starch begins to form on the pilaf grains, which causes the paste-like consistency of porridge. But when the temperature rises higher, to 96 degrees, the starch breaks down and turns into glucose, which is absorbed into the grains. When the lid is closed, steam rises to the top. It will cause the destruction of starch. As you can see, everything is very interconnected. Uzbeks cook pilaf in cauldrons on a fire. The temperature is different there, so nothing sticks together.

Pork

And we continue to consider what kind of meat is better to cook pilaf. Everything is clear with lamb, this is a classic, but notit is always at hand. Try to cook pork pilaf. The aroma of the dish turns out to be completely different, but this, again, is a matter of taste. It should be noted that this meat is slightly sweet. This will have to be compensated with barberry and other spices.

And what exactly to choose from pork? What meat is best for pilaf? In this case, give preference to the back leg, shoulder or neck. But the loin is not suitable for stewing, as it will lose its juices during the cooking process and it will turn out dry. The ribs are very good. Do not forget that the layer of fat must be cut off from the meat, because excess fat will not do any good.

If the pork has been frozen, then the defrosting process should proceed at room temperature. Accelerating this process under running warm water or in the microwave degrades the quality of the meat, so it's best not to save time.

Beef

This is the favorite meat in almost every family. Fragrant, tasty, not too greasy, ideal in stew. Beef is also suitable for pilaf. What meat is better to take? For stewing, shank, shoulder, brisket and shank are preferred. As in the case of lamb, it is better not to take the back leg. The meat is fibrous and tough. It is better to twist it into minced meat and add a little pork for tenderness.

Many believe that only veal is used for cooking. In fact, properly prepared and aged beef is much superior in taste to veal. It takes at least 3 hours to stew it, only after that it will be possible to cook onthe resulting basis of pilaf. Otherwise, the meat will be tough in the finished dish, and the aroma of the stew will not have time to open up.

Recipe for the perfect pilaf

Of course, every hostess has her own. Someone cooks food in a saucepan, others believe, and not without reason, that the best pilaf is in a cauldron. What kind of meat to take for this, we have already discussed. There is no single answer to this question and there cannot be. But judging by the numerous reviews, according to this recipe, it always turns out to be successful and pleases guests. Therefore, we write down another cooking option and try it in the very near future. You will need:

• Beef meat - 900g
• Rice long grain - 2.5 cups.
• 3-4 onions and the same number of carrots.
• Olive oil - half cup.
• Hot pepper - one pod each green and red.
• Spices - 1 tsp each. zira and turmeric.

It is best to take the shoulder part of the carcass with white fat and not too dark meat. Let's prepare all the ingredients. This is the most time consuming part.

1. Carrots should be cut into thin strips.
2. Chop the onion into cubes.
3. Be sure to dry the beef with a paper towel and cut into cubes.
4. Heat the oil in a cauldron and fry the meat until golden brown.
5. Add the onion and wait for it to fry.
6. It's the turn of carrots. Simmer it until done. In the process, add the barberry and whole pepper.

When the vegetables are ready, cover the meat with water and remove the pepper. Now you needsimmer the contents of the cauldron (pot) until the meat is soft and the water evaporates. Adjust the amount of fluid. If the meat is already cooked, and there is still water, then you need to increase the heat and boil it out. Now pour the rice, add water in a ratio of 1:2 and close the lid, leaving a small hole. After 40 minutes, you will need to remove the lid and add the garlic. If by this time the water has evaporated, then you can turn off the fire and mix the pilaf. After that, it needs to be wrapped and left to evaporate for 20-30 minutes. Soon you will be able to enjoy the most delicious pilaf.

Poultry

Speaking about what kind of meat is better to take for pilaf, we should not forget about the chicken. But forget the factory chickens. You need a homemade chicken, big and fat. Depending on the size of the cauldron, you can cut off half the carcass. Here we will not highlight the wings, legs and breast. Half the carcass must be cut into equal pieces and fried in a cauldron. After the pieces acquire a golden color, they are taken out of the cauldron and fried carrots and onions. Then put back the meat and rice. This is necessary so that the tender meat does not fall apart into fibers during the stewing process.

Alternative options

And what meat do you want to use for pilaf? Do you have a piece of horsemeat at home? Fine. It will make a very tasty pilaf. The only rule: it must not be fried, otherwise the meat will become inedible. Stew it well, then add to the fried onions and carrots. On this frying can be considered ready.

Gentle rabbit can also be the basis forpilaf. But sweetish meat cooks very quickly, and it does not need to be fried at all. Therefore, we first prepare the vegetables, then lay out the rabbit and almost immediately add rice. Even with spices, the taste is very delicate. Not everyone likes this option, but rabbit meat is considered dietary meat, unlike pork or lamb.

Instead of a conclusion

Pilaf is one of the most mysterious dishes. Many housewives are surprised, they say, I seem to be doing everything as expected, but it turns out porridge with meat and carrots. Today we revealed all the secrets. What meat to choose, in what sequence to lay products, proportions and time - everything plays a role. Try to cook exactly according to the recipe once - and the result will definitely please you.

Good pilaf moderately oily, crumbly and bright. By the way, you can use not only rice. Pilaf is made with bulgur, lentils, peas and chickpeas, buckwheat. That is, with almost any cereal. The whole secret lies in the fact that cereals are not boiled in water, but steamed, absorbing all the flavors. And from what meat it is better to make pilaf, decide for yourself.