à la broche – (French) Food cooked on a spit or skewer.

abbacchio – (Italian, singular) lamb.

acidulated water – A combination of water and an acid used to prevent oxidation in meat and vegetables. Acetic acid (vinegar) or citric acid (lemon juice) are commonly used acids.

actin – The major component of thin muscle filaments. Together with the motor protein myosin, which forms thick filaments, it is arranged into actomyosin myofibrils. These fibrils comprise the mechanism of muscle contraction.

ad lib feeding – Self-feeding or allowing cattle to consume feed on a free-choice basis.

adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – A coenzyme required for the shortening of the actomyosin myofibrils required for muscle contraction. This latter process is one of the main energy requirements of animals and is essential for locomotion and respiration.

adipose tissue – Loose connective tissue comprised of about 80 percent fat.

adobo – A Filipino dish of marinated meat or fish seasoned with garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, and spices. A Spanish process of marinating raw foods in a mixture of spices, especially paprika, and vinegar to preserve the food and enhance its flavor. A Puerto Rican salt and spice mixture rubbed on meats or seafood before cooking. A Mexican sauce preparation.

aging – The process of holding raw meat for a period of time before processing for the purpose of tenderizing and condensing flavor. Dry aging is performed by storing the meat exposed to air under refrigeration. Evaporation of moisture from the muscles serves to concentrate the flavor and cause significant weight loss. Natural enzymes break down connective tissue to improve tenderness. Wet aging is performed by anaerobically packaging the meat and storing under refrigeration. Wet aging increases the tenderness of the meat, and moisture (weight) loss is minimized.

aiguillette – (French) Nowadays any meat cut into long, thin strips. Traditionally in France, aiguillettes were only cut from a duck breast or beef tenderloin.

aïoli – (French, sp. Provençal) In American cooking, a garlic-flavored mayonnaise often used as an accompaniment to fish, vegetables and other meat. In Provence, where the term originates, it can also refer to a complete dish of boiled vegetables, seafood, and eggs served with an aïoli sauce. In Catalan cooking, an aioli may be prepared just from garlic and olive oil pounded together in a mortar.

aitchbone – The portion of the pelvis that is exposed when a carcass is divided at the medial line.

al dente – (Italian) Firm to the bite. Often used to refer to doneness in pasta, the amount of firmness is usually interpreted in the United States as being firmer than in Italy.

all natural – A USDA-regulated term that means that the meat has been “minimally processed with no artificial ingredients.” It may still contain antibiotics and growth hormones.

allspice – The dried, unripe fruit of the Pimenta dioca tree. It may also be referred to as Jamaica pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice.

ambassador steak – One of the many, although now, somewhat obscure, names for a boneless steak cut from the top loin.

amourette – (French) Although often translated as “spinal marrow,” it is actually the spinal cord and contains no true marrow.

anaerobic glycolysis – A process that breaks down sugar without oxygen, to generate ATP from glycogen, a sugar stored in muscle.

andouille sausage, Cajun – Sausage prepared from lean pork, spiced with cayenne pepper, mustard, paprika, and garlic, and smoked over hickory wood. Used to flavor gumbo and jambalaya. Served hot in sandwiches or cold and plain. Some recipes add rice to the forcemeat.

andouille sausage, French – Sausage prepared from cleaned and julienned pig intestines, seasoned with salt and pepper, stuffed into another intestine, and cooked by smoking and or simmering. Usually served cold. A smaller version called andouillette is made only from the small intestine, and is served grilled or fried, with or without a sauce.

angus beef cattle – Angus cattle comprises two breeds of hornless cattle from the original Scottish Aberdeen stock, Black Angus and Red Angus. The original name of the breed was Aberdeen Angus. Black is the predominant color. Black Angus is the most popular breed for beef in the United States. Four bulls were brought to America in 1873. At the time, shorthorn and longhorn cattle were the norm. The crossbred offspring impressed breeders, and purebred herds were imported. The American Aberdeen Angus Association was founded in 1883. Due to the dilution of breeding stock, the Certified Angus Beef Program was established with the Association to ensure that cattle labeled as angus had at least half of its genetic material traceable to true angus sources.

animal – Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa.

animelles – (French) Ovine testicles. Also called rognons blanc (white kidneys). The American-English equivalent would be the euphemism “lamb fries.”

Ardennes ham – An air-dried ham, similar to prosciutto, produced in the Ardennes region of Belgium. The hams are hand-rubbed with a mixture of salt, juniper berries, thyme, and coriander or brined, smoked over beech wood until dark brown, and aged. Finished hams typically possess a full-bodied flavor and soft texture. IGP-certified hams are marked with a yellow-numbered lead seal as a guarantee of quality and origin. The Belgium-French name is jambon d’Ardenne.

arm bone – The humerus bone. A long bone that lies roughly in the center of the upper forelimb of four-legged mammals. It extends from the scapula to the knee.

arm roast – Roast cut from the main section of the upper forelimb of four-legged mammals. Other names: arm pot roast, arm chuck roast, round bone pot roast, arm steak.

aromatics – The term for all vegetables, herbs, and spices that provide aroma and flavor in cooking.

asem (or asam) – (Var. Indonesian and Malay languages) Tamarind pulp.

aspic – A jelly made with meat or fish stock, usually set in a mold and used as a garnish. Also various vegetable juices, especially tomato, set with gelatin. baby back ribs, back ribs – The portion of the rib-cage structure that lies directly ventral to the loin on either lateral side of the spine. A full set contains 13 rib pieces along with the intercostal muscles. There are two sets per animal. Unless otherwise specified, these ribs are from a pig, but they are also available from a steer but not generally as a full set. Also called loin ribs.

baby lamb – Milk-fed lamb slaughtered when it is between six and eight weeks old, not generally commercially available.

back strap – Part of the ligamentum nuchae that lies on the dorsal surface of the spine and literally holds the animals head up. Beef back straps are sometimes dried and used as dog chews.

bacon grease, bacon drippings – The fat rendered from cooked bacon. It was formerly used as the primary cooking fat by some people, but today is generally replaced by cooking oils seen as being more healthy. If the original bacon was smoked, the fat rendered from it may be used to impart a smoky flavor to items cooked in it.

bacon pigs, lard pigs – An archaic classification of pigs when pigs were important producers of lubricants and cooking fat. Lard pigs were generally thicker with short legs and are fattened quickly on a corn diet. Bacon pigs were leaner and more muscular and used for the production of meat.

barbecue, barbeque, BBQ – Either an apparatus for cooking meat with heat from wood, charcoal, or gas, usually used outdoors; or the act of cooking meat over such an apparatus; or the resulting cooked product; or a gathering that includes items cooked on such an apparatus.

baron – A very large roasting cut, usually of beef, designed to serve a large number of people. The cut is usually produced from a carcass that has not been split into left and right sides. A baron of rumps or loins is the most common.

bavette – (French) See “flank steak.”

beef – The culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle, although beef may also refer to the meat from the other bovines such as antelope, African buffalo, bison, water buffalo, and yak.

beef bacon – A product made from the steer’s belly meat, close to the flank area.

beef cheeks – The muscles on either side of the cheekbones. These highly worked muscles are generally only suitable for braising.

beef jerky – Jerky made from beef. See “Jerky.”

belly – See “pork belly.”

bison – A bovine native to North America. The U.S. government refers to it as buffalo. Bison meat is generally leaner, darker in color, and more intensely flavored than beef.

black angus beef – Black Angus is the most popular breed for beef in the U.S.

blade steak – A steak prepared by cross-cutting the infraspinatus muscle, which is packaged as a top blade roast. (IMPS 1114D)

bloom – The process of beef changing from the dark purple seen in vacuum-packaged meat to a bright cherry-red color when exposed to oxygen.

bockwurst – A sausage of German origin similar to bratwurst, but generally lighter in color and mostly produced from veal. The filling is usually emulsified and the finished sausage is sold precooked.

bone marrow – The flexible tissue found in the interior of bones.

bone-in – A term used to refer to meat cuts that are commonly sold as boneless.

boned, rolled & tied (BRT) – A term referring to roast cuts that are completely boned, internal fat removed, excessive outer fat trimmed off, and tied into a cylindrical shape.

boneless roast – A general term applied to any piece of meat presented without bones and too large to prepare as a steak.

Boston butt – The dorsal portion of a pork shoulder that has been separated where the humerus and scapula bones meet.

Boston cut(s) – Reference to the style of butchered beef cuts commonly found in Boston at the turn of the 20th century.

bottom roast – See “bottom-round roast.”

bottom round – See “outside round.”

bottom-round roast – A boneless beef roast, ranging in size from 2 to 3 pounds, prepared from the bottom, or outside, round, a large group of muscles on the lateral portion of the upper hind leg.

bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) – A fatal brain disorder that occurs in cattle. Commonly called “mad cow disease.”

braising – A slow cooking method in which tough cuts of meat are partially immersed in liquid in a covered pot or pan for long periods of time. By only partially submerging the meat, the space above the liquid is filled with steam which does a better job of breaking down the tough connective tissue. The denatured collagen is thought to melt into the meat, moistening it and allowing it to become tender. Cooks commonly confuse braising with stewing or simmering, where the meat is totally submerged in liquid.

bratwurst – A sausage of German origin sausage usually composed of veal, pork, and or beef. In different parts of the world, this sausage made be sold either cooked or raw. In its various forms, the meat filling may either be emulsified, finely ground, or coarsely ground. The name is derived from the German words brät, finely chopped meat, and wurst, sausage.

braunschweiger – See “liverwurst.”

brawn – Pork meat fragments, usually from the head, set in thick gelatin, derived from the same pieces, so they can be thinly sliced.

breast cuts – Collectively, cuts made from the breast of an animal.

brisket – Technically, the cut includes the anterior end of the sternum bones, the deep pectoral muscle, and the supraspinatusmuscle. (IMPS 118) Commonly, this cut is sold as either the boneless flat cut, pectoral muscle, (IMPS 120A) or the boneless point cut, supraspinatus muscle, (IMPS 120B) Either cut should be termed of essentially all fat and no part may be less that 1/2 inch (13 mm) thick at any point.

bull testicles – Also known as calf fries, cowboy caviar, prairie oysters, Rocky Mountain oysters, and other terms.

butcher – A person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, cut their flesh into saleable portions, sell their meat, or any combination of these tasks.

butt ham – A bone-in ham taken from the upper portion of the femur that may also include the aitch bone.

butterfly – A term referring to a single muscle, or group of muscles, that has(ve) been cut in one or more places to leave a hinge so the cut can be opened like butterfly wings. The process produces a thinner meat cut that will cook quicker or more evenly or both. The term may also refer to a chicken carcass that where the spine is removed to allow the carcass to open flat.

calf fries – See “bull testicles.”

carpetbag steak – Not a cut of meat but a preparation dating back to the 19th century in which a pocket is cut in a steak and filled with raw oysters. The pocket is then fastened shut with thread or skewers to contain the oysters while the steak is cooked.

casing – The various parts of the alimentary canal used to enclose forcemeats to create sausages. The most common casings are made from the collagen that makes up the submucosa of the small intestines, usually from pigs but also lambs. Other parts, such as beef caecums are also used, but removed before eating.

center cut – Generally refers to steaks cut from the longitudinal center of one of the loin cuts, such as the rib-eye, sirloin, or tenderloin.

Certified Angus Beef – A registered trademark of the American Angus Association. Beef produced by licensees of the trademark must contain a minimum amount of the angus bloodline in their DNA, be graded as “choice” or “prime,” and meet 10 additional quality standards set forth by the Association.

chateaubriand – (French) In French butchery in the early 20th century, the beef tenderloin was divided into five portions of approximately equal length. The second piece from the rump end, the one where the iliacus and the psoas major join, was the chateaubriand. In the mid-20th century in America, this piece was used as a roast cut for two people in fine restaurants. There is also a 19th-century French steak dish by the same name that uses the same cut.

Chicago-style steak – A preparation of steak, cooked to the desired level and then heavily charred. The diner orders it by asking for the style followed by the level of doneness, e.g. “Chicago-style rare.” In some areas it is also referred to as Pittsburgh-style steak.

chicken-fried steak, country-fried steak – A mechanically tenderized round steak cooked in a manner similar to fired chicken, hence the name. The meat is coated with seasoned flour, shallow-fried, and often served with a milk gravy.

chine, chine bone – In English-speaking countries, the vertebral column.

chipped beef – Dried lean beef cut into thin slices for packaging. This is a shelf-stable product. In the U.S. military in the first half of the 20th century, chipped beef replaced salted meat as a common source of meat protein.

chitterlings – An English-language term for the small intestines, usually from a pig.

chop – Originally a cut made by cross-cutting the loin that included the chine. In the U.S. a chop made now refer to any steak-like cut from a lamb or pig, with or without bone.

chorizo – A highly-seasoned, spicy sausage whose red color comes from spices made from red-colored peppers. Spanish varieties are cured, dried, and ready to eat, similar to other dried, cured sausages. Mexican varieties are fresh and require cooking before eating.

chuck – In North American meat cutting, a beef primal obtained by cutting between the 5th and 6th ribs, perpendicular to the vertebral column.

chuck roast – The portion of the beef forequarter after removal of the rib, short plate, foreshank, and brisket. The rib end of the chuck is prepared by a straight cut between the 5th and 6th ribs. The brisket and foreshank are removed by a straight cut at an approximate right angle to the rib end. The roast may be cut into smaller portions to increase its salability.

chuck steak – Any steak cut from the beef chuck. Some chuck steaks have more specific names, e.g. top blade steak, depending upon which part of the chuck it is cut from.

chump – A term used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries for a lamb top sirloin, which contains the contains the gluteus medius, gluteus accessorius, gluteus profundus, and the biceps femoris muscles.

city butt – An alternative term in the United States for a Boston butt. See “Boston butt.”

city ham – A boned or bone-in, wet-cured ham that is normally sold fully cooked. To produce, a pork leg is soaked in or injected with brine, a sodium chloride solution that may also contain sodium nitrite and flavorings. The meat is cooked by boiling, steaming, or hot smoking. See also “country ham.”

closed herd – A herd of farm animals that is 100% born and raised on a single farm to ensure the health of the herd. No additional animals are brought in from the outside.

club steak – A bone-in beef steak cut from the rib end of the loin. Similar in concept to a T-bone or porterhouse steak, a club steak contains mostly logissimus dorsi muscle, the same as the principal muscle of the rib-eye steak, and sometimes a little of the psoas major muscle from the tip of the tenderloin.

connective tissue – The collagenous tissue between and within muscles that helps bind muscles together. When the tissue attaches muscle to bone, it is called tendons. When the tissue attaches bone to bone, it is called ligaments.

core temperature – The temperature at the center of the thickest part of a piece of meat.

corn-fed, grain-fed – An adjective describing the process of feeding animals a diet of corn kernels and other grains. The process tends to create more fat than grass feeding.

corned beef – Corning refers to pickling beef in a seasoned brine or curing beef in salt. The term “corn” comes from the Old English word used describe any small hard particles. Today, briskets or eye of rounds are used to make corned beef, originally all cuts were used when corned beef was used for both land- and sea-based military units.

country ham – A dry-cured ham made by rubbing the raw meat with salt and flavorings. Once cured, the ham may be cold-smoked before drying. Drying is done over a period of 6 to 18 months, sometimes in a controlled environment. Country ham is uncooked. If being cooked before serving, the ham requires desalting in multiple changes of water. It may also be eaten uncooked in paper-thin slices. See also “city ham.”

country-style ribs – The blade end of a pork loin which contains not less than 3 nor more than 6 ribs. The chine bones are removed so the cut exposes lean meat between the featherbones and ribs. Country-style ribs are divided into approximately equal portions by cutting through the flesh from the rib end (ventral) side to the feather bone side without severing the muscle cover (trapezius), leaving both portions attached.

cowboy steak – A thick, chined, bone-in, beef rib steak cut parallel to the bone. The piece includes a short piece of bone ventral to the eye with all the meat and tissue removed.

cracklings, pork rinds – Fried or slow roasted pig skin with some fat attached.

crown roast, interlaced roast – A roast made from two rib racks harvested from the 5th through 12th ribs, generally from lamb or pork. The racks are fully chined, the individual racks are curved so the rib bones stand as a vertical half cylinder, and the two racks fastened together end-to-end to complete the cylinder, or “crown.”

cube steak, minute steak – A thin slice of beef generally cut from the top (inside) or bottom (outside) round. It is tenderized by pounding it with a mallet, jaccarding, or running it through a tenderizing machine. A mallet with a diamond pattern will leave a cube-shaped pattern in the meat.

culatello – A dried ham made from the inside round, eye of round, and outside round of a large pig. The salted meat is stuffed into is a pig bladder and tied into a pear shape before being dried for 8 to 12 months in an open-air building environment.

culotte steak, top sirloin cap steak –The beef steak is produced from the sirloin and consists of the portion of the biceps femoris muscle anterior to the acetabulum. The biceps femoris is removed from the sirloin by cutting through the natural seams and made into specified portion sizes or thickness by slicing the pieces at a right angle to the grain. (IMPS 1184D)

curing – The process of preserving meat or fish with salt.

cushion – The triceps brachii muscles the pork foreleg. It shall be practically free of fat with the tendons trimmed flush with the lean. (IMPS 405B)

cut – The term used for a piece, segment, or section of an animal produced during butchering.

cutlet – A thin, boneless slice of meat, often cut on the bias to create as wide a piece as possible. dam – The female parent of an animal. In general, more specific terms such as hen, ewe, sow, or cow are more appropriate to use.

dark cutter – Color of the lean muscle in the carcass has a dark appearance, usually caused by stress to the animal prior to slaughter. This condition may also be referred to as “dark, dry, dry” or “DFD.”

debeak – To remove a portion of a bird’s top beak to prevent cannibalism or self-pecking.

deckle – The muscles located laterally in a primal rib cut. The large deckle muscle is the latissimus dorsi muscle, and the small deckle is the trapezius muscle. Sometimes the pectoralis muscle of the beef brisket is referred to as the deckle.

deep-fry – To cook food in hot fat in a level deep enough to completely cover the item being cooked.

dehorn – To remove the horns of an animal.

Delmonico steak – Although the definition has changed over time, today the term is usually used as a synonym for a boneless rib-eye steak.

demi-glace – (French) Formerly a mixture of equal proportions of brown stock and brown sauce that was reduced by half. Today, the term refers to highly reduced meat stock that is high in gelatin and solid at room temperature.

Denver ribs – Lamb spareribs cut from the breast and trimmed of all fat and connective tissue.

deviled ham – A commercial product of emulsified ham and spices which was first sold in 1868 by the William Underwood Company

dewlap – Loose skin under the chin and neck of animals.

disjoint – To separate poultry at its joints, typically the knees, hips, and shoulders.

done – The point of time in food preparation when the cooking of an item is complete.

Dorset Horn Sheep – Originating in Southern England, the Dorset Horn was imported into the U.S. in 1885. In 1948, a dominant gene for polledness occurred resulting in Polled Dorsets which are now popular in the farm flocks. Dorsets are medium-sized and white-faced. They produce medium-wool fleeces free of black fibers and have wool extending down their legs. Dorsets are noted for their a seasonal breeding characteristics and are commonly used in crossbreeding to produce females for out-of-season breeding. Ewes are prolific, heavy milkers. They are long lived and produce hardy lambs with moderate growth and maturity that yield heavy muscled carcasses.

double chop – A lamb chop produced by cutting transversely across the vertebral column forming left and right sides. See “saddle.”

double-cut chops – Rib chops, usually of lamb, that include two ribs instead of one (single-cut chops).

down – The soft, fur-like fluff covering a newly hatched chick; also, the fluffy part near the bottom of any feather.

dry sauté – An American term referring to cooking meat in a dry frying without the addition of fat. The term should not be confused with searing. See “sear.”

dry-aged – Fresh beef that has been hung or set on wooden racks to partially dry under controlled temperature, humidity, and air flow to enhance flavor and tenderness. During aging, the meat typically loses 10 to 12% of its water content, but in extreme cases twice that much water may be lost. The increase in flavor and tenderness is counter-balanced the significant increase in cost due to lose of weight.

dry-heat cooking – The cooking of meat in an air environment. Broiling, grilling, pan-frying, and oven roasting are examples of dry-heat methods of cooking.

dub – To trim a cock’s comb.

duck – Any of a variety of species of wild or domestic web-footed birds. Duck is generally higher in fat than other domestic poultry.

Duroc pig, Duroc pork – A heritage pig, the Duroc is a large red hog with loppy (drooping) ears. According to the National Swine Registry, it is the second most recorded breed of swine in the U.S. and a major breed in many other countries. While known for its red color, the Duroc can range from a very light golden, almost yellow color, to a very dark red color that approaches mahogany.