The best meat? - need help settling a debate

So at was at the pub last night with some friends, after my thread about bacon tacos, we got into a heated debate about what is the best meat to eat.

The top contenders were:

Beef steak
Swordfish steak
Salmon filet
Lobster
Bacon *anything*
Pork chops
Lamb
Sausage (lots of choices with this)
Stew (because you can get away with cheaper cuts of beef or pork) made sense to include.
Ceviche, a number of fresh fish types work with this
and finally Sushi, decided that since they are served in similar ways with many types of fish and octopus, squid it should be all under the same category.

There were others like crab and prawns, chicken - but they were considered more bland overall (esp chicken due to how they are bred, corn fed was mentioned but i cant quote on that myself). Deer and veal came up too but, hard to get and so we decided that we should focus on the best/main ones.

What do you think is the best and why?

Hopefully i will have some new info from you guys to arm myself with for the next debate, which IS GOING to come up, because im going to bring it up. Myself, I cant beat a good beef steak (with hot English mustard) or swordfish with a squeeze of lemon.

EDIT: Gamon came up, but no one really had anything to say about it, it was simply mentioned

originally posted by: Biigs
So at was at the pub last night with some friends, after my thread about bacon tacos, we got into a heated debate about what is the best meat to eat.

The top contenders were:

Beef steak
Swordfish steak
Salmon filet
Lobster
Bacon *anything*
Pork chops
Sausage (lots of choices with this)
Stew (because you can get away with cheaper cuts of beef or pork) made sense to include.
Ceviche, a number of fresh fish types work with this
and finally Sushi, decided that since they are served in similar ways with many types of fish and octopus, squid it should be all under the same category.

There were others like crab and prawns, chicken - but they were considered more bland overall (esp chicken due to how they are bred, corn fed was mentioned but i cant quote on that myself). Deer and veal came up too but, hard to get and so we decided that we should focus on the best/main ones.

What do you think is the best and why?

Hopefully i will have some new info from you guys to arm myself with for the next debate, which IS GOING to come up, because im going to bring it up. Myself, I cant beat a good beef steak (with hot English mustard) or swordfish with a squeeze of lemon.

Dude WTF u know that BACON is the best

a reply to: Biigs

One vote for lobster...

IF its cooked right its amazingly moist and tender... and tastes incredible just dipped in butter

I could eat it every day

a reply to: Brotherman

I added lamb in the list, as i forgot that on the first post.

Bacon IS pretty amazing but its so salty and lacks that meaty texture we all love. But definitely a good pick! Theres pretty much nothing that doesnt taste great with bacon, even nutella!

a reply to: Biigs

While good beef steak or lobster are great I'll suggest Northwest Native (wild) Steelhead filets. None of that hatchery crap though got to be native run.

Only problem is I don't believe it's legal to buy in a store except maybe on the Indian Reservations. So you'll just have to fly up to the Olympic Peninsula and catch one yourself.

I'd call it a draw between cabrito (young goat), and cuy, more commonly known as guinea pig.
Both are amazingly succulent if properly prepared.
Barbecued wild piglet is a strong contender.

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: Biigs

One vote for lobster...

IF its cooked right its amazingly moist and tender... and tastes incredible just dipped in butter

I could eat it every day

Good shout, a few guys definitely had buttery lobster at the top of their lists.

Though one addition, they said that inland too far or pre killed and it gets not as good and some times frozen. The best places to eat lobster are by the coast and near a fresh fish market apparrently - preferably boiled alive where ever possible.

Ive only eaten it once and it wasnt good, i guess i got a crappy restaurant, seems to be pretty well respected as a meat meal though.

originally posted by: skunkape23
I'd call it a draw between cabrito (young goat), and cuy, more commonly known as guinea pig.
Both are amazingly succulent if properly prepared.
Barbecued wild piglet is a strong contender.

Sounds interesting, goat, cuy and wild bore didnt come up at all actually.

Going to have to put them in the list

wild piglet sounds great

Oh heck, we didnt even talk about rabbit either!!! hmmmmmm

Why aren't bacon and pork chops at the top of that list? MMMM Shake N Bake pork chops. Or a nice garlicky tender pork loin roast. I'm getting hungry now.

These will never win, but are my favorites :

Smoked Eel and Soused Herring (yes, I`m from the Netherlands)

originally posted by: Biigs

originally posted by: Akragon
a reply to: Biigs

One vote for lobster...

IF its cooked right its amazingly moist and tender... and tastes incredible just dipped in butter

I could eat it every day

Good shout, a few guys definitely had buttery lobster at the top of their lists.

Though one addition, they said that inland too far or pre killed and it gets not as good and some times frozen. The best places to eat lobster are by the coast and near a fresh fish market apparrently - preferably boiled alive where ever possible.

Ive only eaten it once and it wasnt good, i guess i got a crappy restaurant, seems to be pretty well respected as a meat meal though.

Well ye can't pre kill lobster... you gotta cook em alive... Kinda cruel really, but they're damn tasty...

IF it wasn't good it was probably frozen lobster... that's a bloody sin

Gotta go to Nova Scotia to get the best lobster, but any good restaurant will have a tank with live ones... Not quite as good but still lovely

Rattlesnake, alligator, armadillo, squirrel, nutria, soft shelled turtle, rabbit...it's all good if you know how to cook it.
Meat is meat and a man's got to eat.

originally posted by: skunkape23
Rattlesnake, alligator, armadillo, squirrel, nutria, soft shelled turtle, rabbit...it's all good if you know how to cook it.
Meat is meat and a man's got to eat.

SQUIRREL?

I didnt know that was even a thing! The rest i heard of once or twice, i wouldnt know even where to start trying to find those!

Whats the best out of those you named?

Going to add Maryland blue crab meat, and cast a vote for tuna steaks. High points as well for barbecued pork ribs.

Moose roast .....or lots and lots of Lobster .

the answer is clearly beaver.
but seriously, pork roasted over hot coals is the winner. or anything with bacon.

originally posted by: AphoticJoe
Going to add Maryland blue crab meat, and cast a vote for tuna steaks. High points as well for barbecued pork ribs.

I was debating weather to include ribs BBQ/Chinese style, we did talk about them but they didnt rank higher than the more chunky meats.

Tuna steak though, that should definitely be brought up next time we talk this out (it took hours before!). I had a few good ones but swordfish steak wins in my opinion.

Theres also the little sea foods, cockles, oysters, mussels and probably a host of other ones, but they are more sides, starters or pizza toppings than a direct main course meal.

My personal ranking:

beef steak
bacon
pulled pork
various sausages
hamburger
chicken
beef roast
beef hot dogs
pork chops
chicken livers
turkey
ham

as for seafood:

crab
oysters
shrimp
swordfish
clams
lobster
salmon
various fish

It's hard to decide really — goat, alligator, buffalo, crayfish, etc are all pretty good. So many delicious creatures! I've never been a big fan of venison or rabbit, I don't eat squirrels, muskrats, nutria, ostrich, emu, etc and the only thing I really don't eat on principle alone is veal and maybe foie gras.

a reply to: Biigs
Good start but I'd question any top meats list that did not include pastrami.
2nd.

a reply to: Biigs

A two to three year old Impala cut from the filet section, but unless you've lived in Africa you've probably never had it. It was the most amazing meals I have ever had and was served in a sand floor boma on safari under the stars in the middle of the bushveld near Kruger Park. Kudu would run second best for me, especially when it's done properly as Biltong, the South African way.

If we are doing seafood as well, I had 18 king prawns from Mozambique served in a rose cream garlic sauce. The owner of a restaurant I frequented weekly wanted a guinea pig and when it comes to prawns, I can be a real pig LOL.

Cheers - Dave