Meat, poultry and eggs are cornerstones of nearly all food business offerings, yet each of these foods holds the possibility of not only being badly cooked, but of being potentially harmful to your customers. Therefore, it's wise to take some time to study the best ways of working with meat, poultry and eggs.

Taste is certainly an important consideration when preparing any food for your customers, and this is greatly affected by the sort of food product you choose and how you cook it. In addition, food safety should be paramount in your commercial kitchen, especially when preparing meat, poultry and eggs. Before serving another dish to your customers, consider:

1. How to choose the best cuts from a meat company, then serve it tastefully and safely;

2. How to pick the best in the poultry business, and prepare it healthfully;

3. And how to choose and safely cook eggs from the poultry business.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Select and prepare the best in the meat industry

There are three main goals you have when cooking meat: making it tasteful, cooking it thoroughly (so that all bacteria that might be picked up during meat processing is killed) and making the meat tender. The first is accomplished by choosing the right piece of meat. The second is achieved by cooking all meat to correct doneness. And the third is accomplished by cooking the meat at the proper temperature.

I recommend: To learn how to choose the best cut from meat distributors, see "The Meat Counter" at Texas Steakhouse and Saloon. For a chart of cooking temperatures to ensure a healthy finished dish, plus information on how cooking temperature affects finished tenderness, read "Cooking and Preparation" at Purdue University.

Choose and cook the best poultry from meat and poultry distributors

To create the perfect poultry dish, first begin with fresh, healthy food from meat and poultry companies; many people prefer the taste of free range poultry. Like meat, poultry must also be carefully cooked to kill all bacteria. Using a meat thermometer makes this easier and more accurate. Finally, choose a cooking method and follow it carefully.

I recommend: For great tips on how to handle and cook poultry safely, including a thorough cooking chart, see "Safe Handling of Poultry" at Clemson Extension. "How to Cook Poultry" at Hubpages is a great guide to various cooking methods, including braising, roasting and pan frying.

Learn that when working with meat, poultry and eggs, preparation is key

Like meat and poultry, eggs can contain harmful bacteria, so it's important to cook them thoroughly until they are no longer runny. If you are cooking a dish with uncooked or partially cooked eggs (like traditional Cesar salad dressing) use only pasteurized eggs.

I recommend: For a good run down of egg safety and cooking, read "Eggs" at the Food Standards Agency. "Cooking Eggs Safely" at eMaxHealth also has many useful tips.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When purchasing food from the meat and poultry industry, pay careful attention to 'sell by' dates. Always cook or freeze meat or poultry within two days of this date.

Meat, poultry and eggs are staple foods for many Americans and most restaurants wouldn't be successful without serving those items. In order to supply consumers with the highest quality foods, it's important to work with reputable meat and poultry distributors and to use the freshest possible eggs. Another point to keep in mind is that offering organic selections on your menu may help increase profits and visibility within the community.

If you're working with a meat distributor who doesn't offer a specific product or service that you need, don't hesitate to talk to them about it. Many suppliers are happy to work with you to ensure that you and your customers are happy with their products.

It's also important to remember the following when purchasing meat, poultry and eggs for your restaurant:

1. Serve high quality beef to enhance your customers' dining experience.

2. Stock your restaurant with a variety of poultry choices to stand apart from the competition.

3. Offer a number of high quality egg products to round out your menu.

4. Offer organic meat, poultry and egg selections on your menu.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Buy beef from reputable meat distributors

Although all meat processors must pass minimum state and federal safety and quality standards, some use higher quality animals, meat processing equipment and storage and transportation methods than others. Japanese styles of meat are known for being of the highest quality and USDA prime is the highest grade of American beef available. Both are sure to be a hit with your customers.

I recommend: Silverwind Ranch offers Kobe beef and Lobel's of New York sells USDA prime beef cuts.

Purchase poultry from a diversified distributor

There are a lot of high quality poultry distributors to choose from, many of which offer both plain and premarinated birds, both whole and precut. This diversity allows you to create your own poultry recipes or use recipes provided by the distributor.

I recommend: Luv-A-Duck sells many ready-to-cook duck products. Capital Meats, Incorporated offers discounts on bulk orders of plain and premarinated chicken. Mayflower Poultry Company specializes in distributing freshly killed birds to restaurants at wholesale prices. In addition to fulfilling custom orders, they offer a wide poultry selection, including Cornish hens and whole chickens of various sizes.

Keep a variety of eggs from a high quality dairy farm on hand

If you offer both regular and brown eggs to your customers, you can give them added value for their dining dollar without significantly increasing your overall expenses.

I recommend: Smith Brothers Farm Incorporated sells wholesale regular and brown eggs. Sauders Quality Eggs has a lot of different wholesale eggs to choose from.

Add organic selections to your menu

The meat industry is increasingly well-equipped to handle the growing demand for organic meat, and it's not hard to find a meat company, poultry or egg distributor that can supply you with the organic foods that your customers will appreciate.

I recommend: Diamond Organics, Inc. can provide you with almost every cut of organic, grass-bed beef imaginable, while Wise Kosher Natural Poultry, Inc. has everything from organic whole chickens to ground organic chicken legs. Farmer's Organic Foods International features cage free shell eggs, and a variety of liquid, frozen and dry egg products to supply your restaurant.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Keep in mind that if you serve both organic and regular meats in your restaurant, you'll need to store and cook them separately.

Experts say that in the next 10 years, half of America's ranchers will retire--leaving ample opportunity for those with meat, poultry and eggs education and training. In the last 15 years, fewer and fewer young people have studied or gone into ranching and farming, so if you think ranching or poultry farming is for you, now is the perfect time to jump on your dream.

Once you have an idea of just what sort of ranching, farming, or poultry or meat processing you'd like to do, remember that your education should ideally begin in high school. Any work time on a ranch or farm is valuable, but also take agricultural courses (if available) and consider joining 4-H. Once high school is over, however, be sure to do the following:

1. Obtain a college education appropriate for the meat or poultry business.

2. Join organizations for meat and poultry companies.

3. Read periodicals for those in the poultry and meat industry.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Secure a formal education for those wishing to form their own poultry or meat company

Whether you wish to become a rancher or poultry farmer, a good education gives you a firm leg up. A two-year college education in poultry science or animal husbandry is essential, but don't neglect business courses as well.

I recommend: Find a college offering animal husbandry or poultry science education through a school search database like Degree Finder or Ed-Reference.

Become a member of organizations for meat and poultry distributors

Professional organizations do much more than provide business advice and networking. A good organization also provides learning opportunities in the way of journals, books, CDs and DVDs, workshops and seminars. There are a wide variety of associations appropriate for ranchers and farmers. Seek some that are specific to your area of interest.

I recommend: The Texas Workforce Commission offers a great guide to a variety of ranching associations, including those for ostrich, sheep and beef ranchers. For poultry farmers, the American Pastured Poultry Producers' Association offers the only pastured poultry newsletter available.

Continue your education through meat and poultry industry publications

There are a myriad of magazines for professional ranchers and farmers; they include general ranching and farming publications, and magazines targeted to particular fields of interest like organic meat processing and ranching, wild meat processing and ranching and game meat processing and ranching. Find several publications targeting your field of interest in order to keep up with the latest news, trends and innovations.

I recommend: "The Progressive Rancher" magazine is free to anyone working with livestock. "Working Ranch Magazine" focuses on cattle ranching. Sosland Publishing offers "Meat & Poultry" magazine, for business owners in the poultry or meat field.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Although meat, poultry and eggs may be your passion, it's unlikely you'll succeed unless you study and practice the business side of ranching and farming. Therefore, learn everything you can about good business practices and how to protect your assets.