Chicken sausages are lower in fat and calories than most pork or beef sausages, but they aren't known for having as much flavor as the two meatier varieties. This isn't to say that they're bad, just that they tend not to be as crave-inducing as their counterparts. But because some chicken sausages aren't all that satisfying doesn't mean that none are. EatingWell magazine set out, in their most recent issue, to do a taste test of 27 different varieties of chicken sausages to find out which ones were the most worth-eating, both when it came to flavor and health.

After an exhaustive and filling trial, EW's tasting panel narrowed the field down to eight top picks from five manufacturers. They all had approximately half the calories and one third of the fat of the average pork sausage, but were still very tasty. The winners included:

• Al Fresco: Buffalo Style, Sweet Italian Style, and Teriyaki Ginger
• Applegate Farms: Chicken & Apple
• Bilinski's: Mild Italian Style; Spinach & Garlic
• Casual Gourmet: Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella
• Coleman Natural: Cilantro

I believe that I mentioned one of my favorite things - although I had quite a lot of "favorites" to be perfectly honest - from the Fancy Foods Show were the meat pies that I had at the Vili's Gourmet booth. Meat pies are a favorite Australian snack food, the sort of thing that you'll find at pubs, random takeaways and - of course - at any major sporting event. They exactly what they sound like, too: small pastries that are filled with a thick mixture of meat and gravy. It's important that the filling be thick enough not to run out all over the eater, since the pies are usually eaten by hand and they are best when topped of with a bit of tomato sauce (ketchup).

With the amount of bacon that we have seen on this site this year, 2006 should have been the year of the pig (2007 is actually the year of the pig). It has popped up everywhere from breakfast plates to evening cocktails. Some say that Everything Tastes Better with Bacon, but after checking out our list of the top 8 uses for bacon from the last year, you can decide for yourself if you have been Seduced by Bacon:

• Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, why not start it off with a big bowl of Bacon cereal?
• Cereal isn't the only bacon-infused breakfast option. French toast and bacon sandwich could be a more appetizing choice if you're not the cereal type, or you could simply opt for bacon waffles. Bacon breakfast cookies will give you a bacon fix on the go.
• BLT's have much too small a ratio of bacon-to-nonbacon. The ultimate bacon sandwich or a deep-fried bacon Double Quarter Pounder are both much more meat-oriented.
• Gummy bacon isn't bacon flavored, but if you like the idea of bacon in candy, bacon caramel might be just what you're looking for
• For dessert, a generous serving of bacon ice cream is in order, and this kind actually has chunks of bacon in it, much like the bacon ice cream that Marcel mixed up on Top Chef.
• The bacon martini is not a drink for everyone. You may have to be an addict - not that we condone alcoholism or bacon-aholism - to get it down.
• You can't keep bacon in it, but the bacon wallet will help you bring home the bacon, in addition to looking like it. The only odd thing here is that the wallet is made of faux leather - couldn't they have gone for the real thing?
• Time, bacon and eggs heal all wounds, especially if you use bacon and eggs bandaids to help speed the healing process along.
• We suspect that the bacon trend may continue into next year, since we recently found out about the existence of chicken fried bacon (with gravy), which sounds like it will be an instant hit at the fried-food havens that are county fairs.
• Last, but certainly not least, we have heard that eating bacon and participating in open discussion of the pork product may be the single most important part of achieving world peace. Peace Through Pork makes a good point.

Animal welfare is clearly a hot topic in the supermarket these days, as anyone can see just by taking a look at all the different types of labels and certifications that are meant to convince us that the animals we are eating led full, happy lives before they became dinner. The current list includes labels such as "free farmed," "certified humane," "cage free" and "free range," among others. Whole Foods is adding a new term to this group: animal compassionate.

"Animal compassionate" sets some of the following standards of care for animals: "Castration of sheep prohibited; electric prod on beef cattle permitted in emergencies; tail docking of pigs not allowed."

But in the end, these labels - many of which are developed by animal welfare groups or, as in this case, the stores that carry the products - are really just another security blanket for consumers who like the idea of an animal playing in a field and looking happy. It makes them feel good, like they're doing the right thing from the animal's perspective. It might also confuse consumers, many of whom already have difficulty choosing between organic, hormone/antibiotic free and grass fed animals.

At the moment, food produced from cloned animals is not approved for sale to consumers, but the FDA said this week that they were "moving closer to approving meat and milk from cloned animals." It could happen as early as next year.

Understandably, some people are concerned about this. 60% of Americans say that they are "uncomfortable" with the idea of eating such animals. Most feel that any products resulting from a cloned animal should be clearly marked so that consumers have a choice about what they're eating - despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has concluded there is no more danger in eating meat or other products from cloned animals than there is from conventional animals. There are no more than 2,000 or so cloned animals in the US for now, and the FDA has asked producers to voluntarily keep such products out of the production lines.

One question that has been raised is why farmers or ranchers would want cloned cattle (or other animals) in the first place, since it would cost just as much to upkeep them as natural animals. The other big question is why consumers would want cloned food over non-cloned food. There is said to be little difference between natural and non-natural meat and dairy, and if consumers can't tell the difference, why would they pay for it?

In the EU, meat cannot be treated with carbon monoxide to preserve a look of freshness, so food scientists have had to look for other methods of keeping packaged meat looking pink and appealing to consumers. Spanish researchers recently hit upon a possible solution: rosemary. Their studies show that a rosemary extract added to the packaging will have the same effect as carbon monoxide treatment. This so-called "active packaging" could be the wave of the future as far as meat products are concerned, since beef steaks packed in the "rosemary-enhanced plastic film" remained fresh-looking for 14 days under supermarket conditions - an increase of two days over chemical preservation.

The downside might be for consumers, who could have difficulty discerning the difference between a 2-day-old steak and a 2-week old one, although the idea of getting chemically-treated meat off the shelves sounds like one that most meat-eaters could get behind anyway.

A lot of people are uncomfortable eating meat that looks like part of an animal, so pre-packaged and process meats are popular. This lunch meat, however, must be one of more disturbing things to ever have been featured in the deli meat section of a grocery store. The problem isn't that it is 80% pork with coloring added to it, but that the coloring is added to make it look like a clown face. It is clearly intended to be appealing to children, it actually explains why some children are afraid of clowns. After all, if you discovered a face in your sandwich when you were in kindergarten, you would be traumatized, too. This meat might also be a factor in why some children become vegetarians.

At least soylent green didn't look like people.

[via Neatorama]

No additives, no hormones. no chemicals... do these phrases mean what you think they mean? The Diet Detective has a little guide to help you figure out what these designations mean, and it isn't always what you think.

• No antibiotics - Some antibiotics are given to treat sick animals, and given to the whole herd when one animal is ill. The "subtheraputic" use of drugs to boost animal growth is the main concern here, and labeling usually differentiates between the two. Organic farmers cannot use any animal for organic products that has been treated with antibiotics, so they are simple separated from the herd if they must be treated.
• No chemicals - This label means nothing (or anything at all), since there is no USDA or FDA definition of the term.
• No additives - There are 2,800 potential additives for meat in the US and the labeling applies to what was added to the meat, such as colorings and flavorings - not what was fed to the animal in the first place.
• No hormones - Hormones are not allowed in the production of pork and poultry. Period. Cows can be given hormones to speed their growth, though, so if the label specifies that "No hormones [were] administered," the cow probably lived a healthy and natural life.

The Detective notes that because the regulations are in place, doesn't mean that they are always followed. In many cases, there is little in the way of follow-up to prove that all producers are living up to their labels. Many suppliers, however, do live up to the standards set by law, if not to a higher standard of their own. Labeling may not be fail-safe, but it's still more reliable than the alternatives of no labels or completely unsanctioned ones.

Generally, meat is for eating and not to be used as a toy. In this case, however, I think we can make an exception. Sweet Meats sells (vegetarian!) meat plushies, all made from and stuffed with a super-soft fleece. The varieties they sell include ham, t-bone and pork chops, as well as ribs and hot links. Most of the plushies are available in a "family size" for those who like their meat larger, too.

It seems like they would make an amusing gift for vegetarian friends, since no animals were harmed in the making of these meats, or a cute alternative to a teddy bear for a young carnivore-in-training. Can you imagine a little kid carrying around a plush steak instead of a security blanket? Adorable!

It is difficult to tell when a steak is done simply by looking at it unless you like your meat very, very rare or very, very well-done. The cooking times given in recipes, if given at all, tend to be vague because the temperatures that our grills and stoves work at can vary so widely. For example, a dial set to "medium heat"  on one stove might actually produce as large a flame as "high heat" in another kitchen. Cutting meat open once at the end of cooking isn't a big deal, but if you need to keep checking the interior of the meat, you can lose a lot of the cooking juices. The best way to check if the meat is done is by using a meat thermometer (125F for rare, 135F for medium, and 155F for well-done, according to Real Simple), but you can also use your hand as a reference and determine the doneness from the firmness of the meat.

I labeled a diagram of a hand, above, to identify the reference points. Simply press the labeled spots on your hand. They correspond with the following levels of doneness:

1. Rare meat should feel soft and offer little resistance to pressure.
2. Medium meat should feel firm, but with a little bit of give to it. The less give, the more well-done the piece will be.
3. Well done meat should also feel firm, but will have only minimal give to it.

Chef Kazuki "Kaz" Yamamoto is on the cutting edge of cuisine. And by "cutting edge," what I mean is that he cooks rare, occasionally immoral, and sometimes outright illegal, foods for those who are willing to pay for them. Based out of Arizona, he travels to homes of rich and/or famous clients and plies them with previously untasted delicacies from his traveling "restaurant, known as "Le Menu". Because his client list includes government officials and gastronomes alike, Yamamoto says he has had few problems in the past obtaining locations, including restaurants, to hold his dinners. When Stephen Lemons, the Phoenix New Times food critic joined in a dinner, he sampled foods such as Saguaro cactus salad, made from the legally protected succulent; tenderloin of Bichon Frise, endangered pygmy owl, roasted and eaten whole, with entrails and bones intact; and nigiri-style seal sushi.

Other items that Yamamoto is famed for include chimpanzee stew (protected), grilled intestines of brown bear (poached from Yosemite), rhino genitals, gila monster, giraffe tongue, monkey tartare and a dozen variations on penguin meat.

An undercover investigation revealed that some butchers in the UK were selling non-certified organic beef under an organic label. Some of the butchers were from small towns and knew their meat suppliers closely. They were willing to attest to the quality of the beef that they sold, even if they have not been willing or able to purchase organic certification for their shop. Others, however, simply claimed to use the term as "shorthand."

Because the organic label can command up to 5 times the price of conventional beef, there is a clear financial incentive for less scrupulous butchers to try and sell it as such. From the customer's perspective, it can be quite difficult, if not nearly impossible, to tell the difference between organic and non-organic beef based on physical appearance and the scientific methods are not a guarantee. Relying on certification continues to be the most trustworthy method, but is it actually doing a disservice to small businesses, like some butchers, who say they can't afford the £300-£400 to become certified?