Meat

Meat is the food that replaces Mushrooms in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door during Bowser's special sidescrolling levels. Like the Mushrooms that make Mario grow up when he is in Small Mario form, meat makes Bowser bigger. Meat can be found by hitting certain ? Blocks. If Bowser takes a hit from an enemy, he will shrink down by one level. Getting enough pieces of meat in one level will make Bowser gigantic, allowing him to smash through everything in the level, similar to Mega Mario. Meat does not appear outside of Bowser's sidescrolling events in the same game.

Similar giant pieces of meat can be found floating in the Ghostly Galaxy's A Very Spooky Sprint level in Super Mario Galaxy.

In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, meat can be thrown at Midbus from the audience during the battle between Bowser and Midbus at Fawful Theater. If this occurs, Midbus will eat them later and heal 50 HP, but Bowser can punch, burn, or inhale them before Midbus has a chance; in the latter case Bowser will have his POW go up as well. Later, a type of enemy called the Tenderling resembles to a piece of meat that Mario and Luigi face inside Bowser's body. Hot Drumsticks, Fiery Drumsticks and TNT Drumsticks appear as consumable items. In Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Bowser uses meat to heal in two of the battles against him, and also uses meat outside of battle to grow larger and stronger (a probable reference to The Thousand-Year Door).

In Paper Mario: Color Splash, Mario has to "prepare" (ie, fight) a steak for Larry Koopa.

In Super Mario Odyssey, a specific cut of meat can be captured.

Fleisch