The word meat comes from the Old English word mete, meaning food in general. In modern usage, meat primarily means skeletal muscle with its associated fat and connective tissue, but it can include offal, other edible organs such as liver and kidney. The term is sometimes used in a more restrictive sense to mean the flesh of mammalian species (pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, etc.) raised and prepared for human consumption, to the exclusion of fish, other seafood, insects, poultry, or other animals.

Here I've used a broader definition of 'meat' to include the flesh of animals, birds and insects. Fish, shellfish, aquatic crustaceans and seafood are excluded and have their own section on this site as Fish and Seafood. Insects are now included in their own section as I will be increasing the number of insect-based recipes on this site over the coming months.

As this site also includes historic recipes, there will be some unusual animals in the lists (like crane and flamingos from ancient Roman cookery) also game meats (or bushmeat) will include agouti, and capybara from South America, snakes from many cultures, antelopes and cane rats from Africa. Also the culinary sub-types of birds, poultry for domesticated birds, game for game birds and fowl for Galliforms (chicken-like) and Anseriformes (waterfowl). Offal, the internal organs, feet and heads of animals also has its own section.