BEEF
- Fresh meat must be hung to allow it to become tender. The colour darkens after it has been hung.
- Lean meat should be bright red, with small flecks or fat interspersed in the muscle (marbled)
- Fat should be firm, brittle in texture, creamy white in colour and odourless.
VEAL
- Flesh should be pale, pink, firm, not soft or flabby.
- Cut surfaces should be moist.
- Bones in young animals are pinkish, white, porous and with an exceedingly small amount of blood in their structure.
LAMB
- Carcass should be compact and evenly fleshed, having an even coat of fat.
- Lean flesh is firm and of a pleasing, dull red colour and of a fine texture of grain.
- Fat should be evenly distributed, hard, brittle, flaky and clean white in colour.
- Bones are porous in young animals, as age progresses, they are smooth, white and brittle.
PORK
- Lean flesh should be pale pink changing to rose as the animal matures.
- Fat is white, firm, smooth and not excessive.
- Bones must be small, slender and pinkish.
- Fat ought to be white, smooth and not excessive in proportion to the bacon.
- Lean meat should be deep pink in colour and firm.
OFFALS
- Liver should be fresh and not dry.
- Should be smooth in texture and not contain tubers in the flesh.
- There should be a pleasant odour.
Selection of Other Meat/Organ Parts
1. Kidney
- Should be fresh.
- Certain amount of fat should be attached to the kidney as it keeps them moist.
- The fat should be crisp and not sticky.
2. Tongue
- Lamb or Ox Tongue should be fresh.
- There must not be an excessive amount of waste at the root end.
3. Sweetbreads
- They should be creamy white in colour.
- They should have a pleasant smell.
- They should be fleshly and large.
4. Oxtail
- They should be of good size and lean.
- There should be no sign of stickiness.
5. Head
- Pig’s & Calf’s head should not be sticky.
- They should be well fleshed and odourless.
