Steak is a favorite dish of millions of people on all continents
Observer «Lenta.ru» suggests taking a gastronomic journey to where meat is loved, eaten a lot, and cooked deliciously.
Meatloaf and barbecue in the USA
The biggest meat eaters in the world are Americans. In a year, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a US citizen consumes about 120 kilograms of meat, of which approximately 50 kilograms is chicken.
American cuisine is associated primarily with turkey with cranberry sauce, prepared for Thanksgiving. At Christmas, many Americans prefer baked ham or roast beef.
Barbecue – meat cooked over coals – has also long been considered an integral part of American culture. On the grill they cook pork, beef, chicken, and homemade sausages. Chefs compete in preparing various marinades and sauces – spicy tomato, savory and sweet, mustard and vinegar.
Another traditional American dish is steak, which came to the New World with colonists from Great Britain. The main thing in its preparation is the right choice of meat (you cannot use fresh or recently thawed) and preparation for the frying process (thickness no more and no less than three centimeters, seasoning with salt, pepper, and vegetable oil).
Meatloaf (Old-Fashioned Meat Loaf) is a legend and pride of Americans, invented during the Great Depression of the 1930s. To feed all household members with one small piece of meat, vegetables, bread, rice or other grains were added to the mince.
Kibbeh and samman in Kuwait
The second place in the world in meat consumption is occupied by the small but very rich Middle Eastern state of Kuwait. Islam completely excludes the consumption of pork, but beef, veal, lamb, goat, and poultry are prepared in many different ways, most often fried on a hot pan without added fat. A local resident on average eats 119 kilograms of halal meat products per year.
Chicken is used to make tikka dajaj – marinated in spicy sauce shashlik, biryani dajaj – pieces of stewed meat with rice, al-mandi – steamed with honey, spicy jaj tannuri, casserole – harees. Quail meat is also highly esteemed, from which samman is made.
Lamb is also eaten in a wide variety of forms – kebabs, meat balls kibbeh, cutlets with herbs kustileta, stuffed peppers with meat. Expecting guests, they cook a lamb stuffed with rice and nuts – guzi or a roast from different types of meat – meshwi mushakkal.
Barramundi and meat pie in Australia
Every inhabitant of the Green Continent eats on average 111.5 kilograms of meat per year. The local cuisine was greatly influenced by British traditions brought by the first settlers.
For the Christmas table, descendants of British subjects serve roast turkey, chicken or ham with a side dish, and a favorite everyday dish is steak.
The main entertainment at picnics and family dinners here, as in the USA, is preparing barbecue from beef or lamb, pork or chicken, previously marinated in papaya or kiwi puree, with the addition of dry wine, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, onion, garlic and pepper. Sometimes they even take kangaroo or ostrich meat.
Australian meat pie with a filling of minced meat and tomato or mint sauce is considered a national dish, although it was invented quite recently – in the 1940s. It is the main food of football fans and the most popular fast food.
From the tender and juicy meat of crocodile, similar to chicken, various dishes are prepared, the same as from poultry. Kangaroo meat, rather dry and tough, is more often baked or put into pie fillings. The best piece is the kangaroo tail. Ostrich meat (to make it soft and tender, the bird must run a lot) is grilled, chopped for stew and cutlets.
Among other national delicacies are trout baked with herbs, barracuda and the river fish barramundi.
Turtle soup and bacon and eggs in the Bahamas
The Bahamas is an independent state within the British Commonwealth, headed by the Queen of Great Britain. Bahamians on average eat 109.5 kilograms of meat per year.
The main dish for most of the 350 thousand inhabitants of the archipelago was turtle soup for a long time, but, alas, these reptiles are on the verge of extinction.
The conch sea mollusk is used to make all kinds of snacks, salads, soups, and fried in deep fat. Spiny lobster, a local delicacy, is served with curry sauce, lemon juice and coconut pulp.
Local residents also do not deny themselves dishes familiar to British subjects – bacon and eggs, steaks, schnitzels, ham. From water, onions and lemon juice they cook a local pickle soup, adding veal or pig's trotter, chicken, lamb tongue.
Read the continuation of the article:
MEAT ROUTES OF GOURMETS (part 2)