Selecting the proper cut at the meat counter will greatly impact how your finished dish tastes. First, check the color. Beef should be bright red, pork should look pinkish-red, and chicken should be pink. Avoid any meat that has a gray or brown tinge. Fat adds flavor to the meat. In red meat, you want some marbling throughout. Fat is white in younger animals and yellower in older animals. A cut from an older animal has a more mature flavor, though one from a younger animal is more tender. Avoid any packages that have excess liquid or obvious swelling of the plastic. A pool of liquid can indicate that the meat was not stored properly. Bacteria releases gases that cause packaging to swell.