Top round roasts come from the hind quarter of the steer, and those muscles get well worked. Consequently, top round roasts are lean and full-flavored, but lacking fat and marbling, they don’t tenderize quickly. Cook your top round oven roast slowly with a low heat.

While they appear to be culinary masterpieces requiring professional chef training, bacon-wrapped sirloins are actually relatively simple to prepare. Home cooks need just need a little patience and a reliable pair of tongs to get through the searing process.

Set your oven to broil when you want to cook flank steak; broiling is a dry-heat cooking method. Flank steak is one of 29 lean cuts of beef available on a cow and is one of America’s favorite pieces of meat, according to the California Beef Council.

You won't find eye of round roast on the menu at many fancy restaurants because it is an inexpensive cut of meat. Eye of round is quite lean and will turn to shoe leather if cooked improperly. With proper preparation, however, you can make eye of round as succulent and juicy as prime rib.

Most of the time when you think of ham, what comes to mind is the deep-pink meat that is served at Easter. It is decidedly salty and pairs well with a spicy sauce. A fresh whole ham, however, is the hind leg of a pig that has not been cured or smoked and needs to be cooked before eating.

If you think acorns are only for squirrels, think again. Acorns are tasty and nutritious and also easy to harvest. You can gather them from oak trees in the fall and roast them to make a delicious snack. However, you need to treat them before roasting, since they contain tannin, which is slightly bitter.

Cola makes an unusual marinade or cooking liquid for pork roasts and other meats. The sugar and caramel flavorings in it provide subtle sweetness to a pork roast, especially if you allow the sauce to become thick and reduced.

Broilers are an overlooked and underused kitchen preparation tool. Broiling is a healthy cooking method requiring no added fat. In fact, fat drains off the meatballs when you cook them in a broiler pan. Broiling exposes food to very high heat at close distance for a short cooking time.

For most people, sirloin steak is not an everyday meal. One of the more economical prime cuts of beef, sirloin steak offers a flavorful break from ground beef, chicken and other daily fare. It comes from the upper, forward part of the rear hip, so the muscles got a fair workout moving the steer about.

Country-style chuck ribs are not ribs in the traditional sense, but are instead meaty strips of butterflied, boneless chuck roll, pre-cut to serving size.

The loin is to pork what the filet mignon is to beef. The pork loin is the tenderest cut and the perfect ingredient for a wide array of recipes. You can cook the loin whole or cut into medallions. A whole loin weighs typically two to three pounds. A half loin weighs about a pound, and serves two people.

Pork loin is a high-quality cut of pork, usually ranging between 1 and 4 lbs. While there are numerous ways to cook a pork loin fillet, including grilling and braising, simply baking the meat allows the natural flavors of the pork to come through.