Why Andrew Zimmern Thinks More People Should Be Eating This Underrated Cut Of Meat

Most of us tend to gravitate toward the best beef cuts and best pork cuts for steaks, such as the tender and juicy pork loin chop or filet mignon. Cuts like these come from the lesser-worked muscles of an animal, resulting in a softer, more buttery meat. But meat cuts that come from heavily worked muscles rich in connective tissue and fat are often overlooked despite having more depth of flavor, and Andrew Zimmern thinks it's time for that to change. He recently told Tasting Table that he thinks neck is at the top of the list when it comes to underrated cuts of meat. "Every animal moves its head to eat, [so the neck] has some of the best flavor on any animal," he says.

Zimmern encourages people to broaden their horizons further, looking beyond brisket and shank to less common cuts. He notes that the neck and other "working cuts" of the animal like shoulders and butts and feet are worthy of your attention. "In some cases, those require more cooking and they require a little bit more work... but the results are twice as delicious. " 

Zimmern says now is the ideal time to turn toward less popular cuts of meat like neck, because the fact that they're not in high demand is reflected in the price. He likens it to eating delicious struggle meals that are both cheap and craveable, saying food born out of poverty is once again having a moment. "A lot of people enjoy throwing a luxury steak on a grill, he acknowledges. "These days, most people can't afford that."

When it comes to cooking neck, Andrew Zimmern warns it's not the cut of meat you want to experiment with for a last-minute meal. "Obviously, a fish neck doesn't take that long to cook, but a lot of times, if you're using a lamb neck or a hog neck, it's [about] patience," says Zimmern. Since working muscles like neck tend to have more connective tissue, that means tougher meat that takes much longer to cook. 

Like brisket or shank, neck needs low and slow heat to break down that tissue. For example, braising or oven-roasting beef neck lets all the flavorful fats simmer and soften up the meat. Braised beef neck bones are also a staple Southern recipe, slow-cooked with aromatics and savory spices until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. "It is going to cook all day long. It'll braise for eight hours. It'll roast for 10 hours. It'll go on the smoker for 14 hours, but the results are really second to none," Zimmern notes. To really stretch your dollar, don't discard those neck bones once you have eaten the meat either. They contain a ton of collagen, making them ideal for creating bone broths and bases that are wonderfully full-bodied and rich in flavor.

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