Pittsburgh is famous for many things: steel mills, football and Pittsburgh-style steak. The Pittsburgh rare steak is also known as the "black and blue" steak because it is charred "black" on the outside but rare and bloody -- or "blue" -- on the inside. This method of cooking a steak is not as easy as it might seem.

Oven roasting, which uses moist heat to cook and requires little attention, is ideal for large, thick cuts of beef such as pot roasts that need longer, slower cooking to become moist, tender and flavorful. The section of the cow from which the pot roast is cut dictates, in part, the appropriate cooking temperature.

Elk steak is a very lean, low cholesterol meat, high in protein and the minerals iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. While appropriate for grilling, proper preparation and attention to timing is essential to enhance flavor and keep elk steak from becoming dry.

Cooking very tough meats, such as lamb shank, involves some compromises. You'll earn the richest mouthfeel and tenderest texture by slow-cooking them at very low temperatures, either dry or in a flavorful liquid. Yet, the most savory flavors come from high-temperature cooking methods such as grilling.

Omaha Steaks is a family run business that specializes in premium meat products. The company websites states they produce custom cuts to distribute internationally. The pork chop selections from Omaha are sent boneless and frozen. You have the option of using the oven or a grill to cook your meat.

Cooking a beef roast well-done makes the meat less tender and juicy, and considerably more chewy, than beef cooked to a lower temperature. For this reason, it's important to pick the best beef cuts for roasting. Loin, chuck and rib meat are optimal, being the most tender and juicy cuts.

Lamb rumps aren't tough like most other meat taken from the hind end of an animal, so they don't need to be tenderized or cooked low and slow. Lamb rumps, the British nomenclature for the meat between the tenderloin and leg, correspond with sirloins in the American market.

The giant, melt-in-your-mouth tender porterhouse steak is undoubtedly the king of steaks, containing both a New York strip and a filet mignon all in one. It's more common to pan-sear a porterhouse to develop its crust then finish cooking it in the oven, but you can also pan-fry the steak all the way.

Chuck eye steak is taken from the shoulder area of a cow. It requires strong seasonings and fast, high heat cooking because it is less flavorful and moist than other cuts of beef. If prepared correctly, the high heat will seal juices within the meat for the best flavor.

Corned beef and cabbage has been used for years to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but if you cook it well and trim it properly, it can make a healthy dish at any time and provide leftovers to fill sandwiches. Re-heating this dish can be difficult, though, as the meat may dry out and the cabbage may become limp and mushy.

Thin-sliced steaks are available in many grocery stores and butcher shops. Sold in packages with four to six steaks, they’re usually labeled as breakfast, sandwich, wafer or minute steaks. This small, lean, boneless cut of meat comes from the eye of round steak.

Unless you're feeding a crowd, a large pork roast can result in plenty of leftovers. Don't let the food go to waste; refrigerate the leftovers and heat them up for dinner on another day.