“Outlaw Chef” Damjan Bistričić Reveals: What Is the Difference Between Meat Prepared with HACCP and HALAL Certification?

What is the difference between preparing premium cuts of meat when one has HACCP and the other HALAL certification? What processes occur in them during thermal treatment? Which one is ultimately juicier, more tender, and tastier? These are just some of the questions seeking answers, and in recent days, renowned Pula-based “outlaw chef” Damjan Bistričić has pioneered the search for them through an interesting gastro-scientific project.

Restaurant “La Loggia”

The location was perfect: the terrace of the La Loggia hotel in Labin, with a perfect view of the sea, Rabac, and old Labin, was not chosen by chance for the start of this examination. Namely, in a few days, a restaurant was opening in the hotel where the “outlaw chef” would take the lead role, so this was, in a way, his premiere culinary performance at that location, where he could be found daily in the future.

“The idea for this research arose in an informal conversation with nutritionist and head of the Croatian Centre for Halal Quality Certification, Dr. Aldin Dugonjić, who said it would be very interesting to comparatively test and analyze the similarities and differences when preparing identical cuts of meat, some with HACCP and others with HALAL certification,” says Bistričić. “I liked the idea and agreed to be his technical support in this project, and today was the first step in its realization,” says Bistričić, who took his role as assistant extremely seriously.

Even before two pieces of beef shoulder were taken out of the chamber, everything was prepared. Separate cutting boards, two knives, two pans, and an induction cooktop on which the meat would be prepared are the usual “armament” of a chef, but in this case, they were only part of the equipment that Bistričić prepared, because the scientific part required the engagement of additional equipment. Thus, there was also indicator paper with which he tried to establish the pH values of the ingredients used, as well as probe thermometers with which the movement of the meat temperature during cooking was monitored, and also cameras that recorded every action taken as confirmation that the required procedure was fully followed.

An exciting challenge

“As someone who deals with food preparation, and is therefore interested in the processes that occur during it, I consider this a very exciting challenge, and I am glad that we have symbolically embarked on it with this act,” says Bistričić. “Of course, I noticed some omissions that I will correct in the next phases, and I believe that together we will arrive at results and answers to all the questions we set for ourselves when entering the project,” he says.

The term halal, in Arabic, means “permissible” or “legal,” and is used for food and drink that are allowed for Muslims, while HACCP is a quality system that ensures the safety of food and is today a standard for all those who work with food. When it comes to meat, the characteristic of halal foods is that the blood is drained from them, which is not the case with the other sample being analyzed, and that is one of the differences that, in this examination, resulted in interesting results and culinary insights, says Bistričić.

But, of course, in the end, the irreplaceable “instrument” for analyzing what had been done was also the palate of several volunteers who willingly agreed to participate in this final phase of the first examination, and here the results were quite varied. Halal or HACCP—for gourmets, what comes out of the kitchen of a top chef will probably be less important. But science? Well, that is something else. It wants details, and it is precisely for them that Damjan Bistričić and Aldin Dugonjić continue their search on this matter.

Source: https://www.glasistre.hr/gastro/zanimljivi-gastro-znanstveni-projekt-outlaw-chefa-damjana-bistricica-kakva-je-razlika-izmedu-pripremljenog-mesa-sa-haccp-i-halal-certifikatom-717296