answer:It just takes practice and a meat thermometer. Practice to know methods for cooking different meats and cuts of meat without drying them out, and the meat thermometer to make sure you don’t kill people or overcook the meat. There’s no simple answer, because cooking chicken properly is different from cooking a steak properly. Even the way to cook the steak depends on the cut of meat. I use www.allrecipes.com because the reviews for the recipes often contain tips and advice to help you get it right the first time. You can also browse the book store for a cookbook that contains not only recipes, but descriptions of the different cuts of meat and how to best cook them.