Eid al-Adha: Hot weather and the mistakes of 'clumsy butchers' that can spoil and stink the sacrificial meat
‘After the
sacrifice, the best thing to do is to spread the meat and cool it by blowing
air, then make packets of it. Before that, when the animal is slaughtered,
after cutting it, it should be hung upside down so that the blood can drain
from the meat. The more blood you drain from the meat, the faster it will rot
and will not be soft.’
Many of you
have either sacrificed the animal you raised or bought with love by now or will
soon. And there will be a large number of people who are waiting for the
sacrificial meat to arrive, however, it is not easy to handle fresh meat in a
safe and healthy way on this Eid that comes in the intense summer season.
This time,
the heat is also intense on Eid, which falls in the last week of May. In some
places, the temperature is above 40 degrees, in others, the sun is at its peak,
and in many areas, there is a lot of humidity in the air, so how to preserve
the meat in such a situation?
So, we
thought why not talk to a food and nutrition expert about simple yet hygienic
guidelines for handling, preserving and preserving fresh and raw meat for a
longer period of time.
Speaking to
the BBC, expert chef Mehboob Khan, who has hosted several cooking shows on TV,
stressed that once the sacrifice is made and the pieces of meat are cut, the
best way is to spread the meat out, air it, cool it, and then make packets.
On the other
hand, nutritionist Zainab Ghayur, citing food safety guidelines, said, “It is
important to divide the meat or freeze it within two hours of slaughtering the
animal in this hot weather, otherwise it will start to grow bacteria due to
being at room temperature for too long.”
In this
article, along with talking to experts on handling meat, we also talked to some
women who are experts in household affairs to know their experiences along with
the questions they have in mind about handling meat.
It should be
remembered that, especially in hot weather, slight negligence in meat storage
methods and ignoring hygiene principles can not only affect the quality of the
meat but can also pose health risks.
‘The more
blood is squeezed out of the meat, the faster it will rot’
For
Islamabad resident Tasneem Shahnaz, Eid al-Adha brings with it many activities
and responsibilities. Far from the stage of inviting guests and setting the
table decorated with delicious food, it takes her hours to go through the stage
of handling, cutting and distributing the meat after the sacrifice at home.
However, this stage becomes a headache for her when the sacrificial animal
falls into the hands of a seasonal butcher instead of a professional.
According to her, ‘During this period of inflation on Bakrid, many people without experience become butchers and the disadvantage of this is that they spoil the meat of the slaughtered animal. So, it is best if the butcher is professional, this makes Eid a good one. Otherwise, it will turn into a waste of mea
t and that is where your problems start.’
According to
him, ‘If the pieces of meat are large, taking all this meat and cutting it into
smaller pieces and separating the fat from it is a difficult problem. On the
other hand, since the meat does not bleed, it is very difficult to wash and
clean it.’
Chef Mehboob
also agreed with Tasneem Shahnaz. Speaking to BBC, he stressed on getting the
sacrifice done by a professional butcher on Eid and said that ‘to keep the meat
in the best condition, it is important to hang the animal upside down for an
hour and a half after the sacrifice.’
According to
him, ‘On normal days, even in shops, after slaughtering the animal, it is hung
upside down for some time so that the blood comes out of the meat. This also
eliminates the unpleasant smell and all the blood flows out from inside.
However, the inexperienced butcher overlooks this important point.
, “The more
blood comes out of the meat, the better and faster the meat will cook.”
“Keep
cutting the meat and spreading it under the fan.”
It is
necessary to reduce the temperature of the hot meat for some time before
cutting the meat.
Chef Mehboob
emphasizes spreading the meat out in the air before packing it, which,
according to him, can preserve the nutritional value and taste of the meat for
a long time.
He says, “As
soon as the sacrifice is made and the pieces of meat are cut, spread it out on
a plastic sheet or steel plate and run a fan from above so that the air
circulates and the meat cools. So you cut and spread it out in a ventilated
place so that the temperature of the meat decreases.”
According to
him, it is necessary to spread the meat out after the animal is slaughtered.
Many people seal the pieces of meat in wrappers and immediately put them in the
refrigerator or freezer, due to which the cooling does not take place
immediately and there is a risk of spoilage of the meat.
Should I
store the meat in a shopper, newspaper or a thick plastic bag?
Nimra, a
mother of two, not only takes care of the sacrificial animal with her husband,
but as the only daughter-in-law, she also fulfills the responsibility of
handling the meat and dividing it into portions.
According to
Nimra, she keeps each part of the meat in a separate tray, then makes packets
of it and puts them in a large shopper, writing down which part of the meat it
is. This makes it easier to share and store.
It has been
seen that many people take plastic bags instead of plates to share the
portions, some people also distribute the meat by wrapping it in paper, while
some also prefer ziplock bags.
According to
the nutritionist, ‘Newspaper or paper is never considered safe for storing meat
because wrapping it in newspaper causes the printing ink to stick to it, while
brown paper also absorbs its moisture and can also cause it to absorb
contaminants from outside.’
She says,
‘Most meat is packaged in airtight or sealed bags, but if you want to keep it
in the freezer, keep it in an airtight bag, or if you want to keep it in the
refrigerator, try to keep it in an airtight or lidded container.’
According to
Chef Mahboob, ‘People wrap it in newspaper, and it sticks to the meat, so this
is a harmful aspect. However, using butter paper is much better for wrapping
meat. The bag completely blocks the air, while butter paper has a breathing
space.’
According to
him, ‘I use a thick bag for packing meat at home. This has the advantage that
its smell does not spread in the refrigerator and the freshness of the meat
remains. And after packing, keep it in the freezer in such a way that it gets a
chance to cool evenly.’
According to
Zainab Ghayyur, ‘The rules for preserving meat are to preserve it in small
pieces in small packets so that it does not take long for the internal
temperature to reach freezing point quickly, otherwise there is a possibility
of it not being safe.’
Cleaning
blood and hair from meat
Cleaning
blood and hair from fresh meat of the sacrifice is also a time-consuming task.
When we
mentioned this problem to Chef Mehboob, he said that hair on meat is also more
when the butcher is inexperienced. According to him, ‘If it is a professional
butcher, there will be no hair. There is a possibility of hair near the meat of
the curtain and thigh. For this, wash the meat in a bright place so that if the
hair is stuck, you can easily remove it.’
On the other
hand, Nimra uses her mother’s recipe to remove hair from meat, especially from
the feet.
‘My mother
does this especially from the feet, by putting flour on it, the hair sticks to
the flour and thus we wash it with soap. I myself use a stiff brush to clean
meat on Eid so that it is not too difficult to wash a bone or a large piece of
meat.’
Tasneem
shares her experience of cleaning hair from meat, in which she puts the meat in
an open container and fills it with water, which brings the hair up.
‘Then if she
pours out the water and repeats the same process, the meat becomes very free of
hair and blood in two to three times.’
According to
her, apply vinegar and chopped garlic to the meat, leave it for 10/15 minutes
and then wash it thoroughly. She also tries the same trick for liver, which
clears the blood and removes the impurities, and yes, people never tire of
praising her made liver.
Here, Chef
Mahboob told us that before cooking the liver, leave it in water for about half
an hour and then put it in a sieve and let the blood drain well, then it will
become clean.
Bone
shavings that injure the mouth
She says,
“The bones in the meat are sharp, so when washing it, there is often a fear of
injuring the skin, so thick rubber gloves are kept for this so that the hands
are safe.”
But if these
same bones get into the food, they can injure the mouth or gums.
According to
Chef Mahboob, “If there is a butcher, he keeps shaking the meat so that the
shavings come out. If the bones are splintered, try to remove the bone while
washing, otherwise sometimes a small bone can get stuck in the teeth and gums
and cause great damage.
"If
there is a possibility of the sacrificial meat being cooked even after washing,
then it is necessary to strain the broth in the form of pulao while cooking it,
and if it is qurma, then boil it carefully first and strain it, and then add spices
so that the bone splinters settle to the bottom and you can remove them."
Washing
meat and preventing bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella
Namra says
that in her experience, if the sacrificial meat is washed, it spoils quickly.
When the meat is washed and kept in the freezer, water starts leaking from the
bag or the bag and dirt spreads. Therefore, she dries the meat in a fan, makes
packets and keeps them in the refrigerator.
"We dry
the meat on a large mat and then make packets and send them to the neighborhood
and relatives. And when it comes time to cook, they wash the meat before
wearing gloves.
Many people
ask whether the sacrificial meat should be washed and frozen or not?
Chef Mehboob
answers, “It is not possible to wash and freeze such a large amount of meat. In
most areas of Karachi and Balochistan, there is not enough water.”
Why is it
important to protect animals from stress and keep them with love?
In response
to the question of whether meat is healthy or has a specific smell, Chef
Mehboob drew attention to an important issue and strongly opposed the behavior
in which the sacrificial animal is dragged.
‘When
slaughtering an animal, it is not right to drag it before it is slaughtered or
to slaughter one animal in front of another because lactic acid starts
accumulating inside the cow due to fear or stress and dragging it.’
According to
him, ‘Generally, inexperienced butchers cannot slaughter a cow in one go,
especially if they run after the cow and drag it, lactic acid accumulates
inside the animal due to this fear and its meat has an unpleasant smell. So,
due to this fear inside a goat or cow, its muscles and meat also become hard,
so that is why there is a complaint about its meat being hard.’
He says,
‘First relax the sacrificial animal, give it water, love it so that it gets rid
of stress and slaughter it skillfully so that its meat does not smell and
become hard.’
It is
necessary to wash hands with soap every time after touching the meat
It is also
very important to pay attention to cleanliness while preparing, distributing
and storing the parts of the sacrificial meat.
Zainab
Ghayyur emphasizes washing hands thoroughly after washing the meat.
‘Because on
Eid we have to touch the meat repeatedly, we touch the meat repeatedly, so it
would be very good to wash our hands thoroughly for 20 seconds every time we
touch raw meat, as per the guidelines of the World Health Organization.
She says,
"After using the meat, wash the knife thoroughly with detergent first and
avoid cutting fruits or vegetables with it immediately. It is better to wash
the knife with chlorine or disinfectant, otherwise it can also be washed with
simple soap or surf. It is better to have a separate meat knife." Here are
some small but useful tips from Nimra and Tasneem that can help keep the house
and environment clean after the sacrifice.
For cleaning
after the sacrifice, pick up the blood with scrapers and collect it on a dirt
or rough place, this way it is easier for the cleaners to pick it up.
Since the
sacrificial meat is greasy, try to clean and wash the meat in an open area
instead of the sink, then clean the floor and the area, add hot water and soda
and pour it into the drain.
Make a
mixture of vinegar, soda and dishwasher liquid and spray it and clean the
kitchen counter frequently.
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