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Page 47
The qualities and characteristics of meats have already been spoken of in
Part I., and it is necessary here to give only a few simple rules for
marketing.
The best BEEF is of a clear red color, slightly marbled with fat, and the
fat itself of a clear white. Where the beef is dark red or bluish, and the
fat yellow, it is too old, or too poorly fed, to be good. The sirloin and
ribs, especially the sixth, seventh, and eighth, make the best
roasting-pieces. The ribs can be removed and used for stock, and the beef
rolled or skewered firmly, making a piece very easily carved, and almost
as presentable the second day as the first. For steaks sirloin is nearly
as good, and much more economical, than porter-house, which gives only a
small eatable portion, the remainder being only fit for the stock-pot. If
the beef be very young and tender, steaks from the round may be used; but
these are usually best stewed. Other pieces and modes of cooking are given
under their respective heads.
MUTTON should be a light, clear red, and the fat very white and firm. It
is always improved by keeping, and in cold weather can be hung for a
month, if carefully watched to see that it has not become tainted. Treated
in this way, well-fed mutton is equal to venison. If the fat is deep
yellow, and the lean dark red, the animal is too old; and no keeping will
make it really good eating. Four years is considered the best age for
prime mutton.
VEAL also must have clear white fat, and should be fine in grain. If the
kidney is covered with firm white fat, it indicates health, and the meat
is good; if yellow, it is unwholesome, and should not be eaten. The loin
and fillet are used in roasting, and are the choice pieces, the breast
coming next, and the neck and ribs being good for stewing and fricassees.
PORK should have fine, white fat, and the meat should be white and smooth.
Only country-fed pork should ever be eaten, the pig even then being
liable to diseases unknown to other animals, and the meat, even when
carefully fed, being at all times less digestible than any sort. _Bacon_,
carefully cured and smoked, is considered its most wholesome form.
POULTRY come last. The best _Turkeys_ have black legs; and, if young, the
toes and bill are soft and pliable. The combs of fowls should be bright
colored, and the legs smooth.
_Geese_, if young and fine, are plump in the breast, have white soft fat,
and yellow feet.
_Ducks_ are chosen by the same rule as geese, and are firm and thick on
the breast.
_Pigeons_ should be fresh, the breast plump, and the feet elastic. Only
experience can make one familiar with other signs; and a good butcher can
usually be trusted to tide one over the season of inexperience, though the
sooner it ends the better for all parties concerned.
BOILED MEATS AND STEWS.
All meats intended to be boiled and served whole at table must be put into
_boiling water_, thus following an entirely opposite rule from those
intended for soups. In the latter, the object being to extract all the
juice, cold water must always be used first, and then heated with the meat
in. In the former, all the juice is to be kept in; and, by putting into
boiling water, the albumen of the meat hardens on the surface and makes a
case or coating for the meat, which accomplishes this end. Where something
between a soup and plain boiled meat is desired, as in _beef bouilli_, the
meat is put on in cold water, which is brought to a boil _very quickly_,
thus securing good gravy, yet not robbing the meat of all its juices.
With corned or salted meats, tongue, &c., cold water must be used, and
half an hour to the pound allowed. If to be eaten cold, such meats should
always be allowed to cool in the water in which they were boiled; and this
water, if not too salt, can be used for dried bean or pea soups.
BEEF � LA MODE.
Six or eight pounds of beef from the round, cut thick. Take out the bone,
trim off all rough bits carefully, and rub the meat well with the
following spicing: One teaspoonful each of pepper and ground clove,
quarter of a cup of brown sugar, and three teaspoonfuls of salt. Mix these
all together, and rub thoroughly into the beef, which must stand
over-night.
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