For steak, nothing is so nice as tenderloin or porter-house steak. I
take this occasion to protest against the unwholesome custom of frying
steak in lard. When inconvenient to broil, it may be deliciously
cooked by being first beaten till tender, then laid in a hot
frying-pan, closely covered, and cooked without lard or butter, in its
own juices. When scorched brown on both sides, but not hard, remove
the pan from the fire, pepper and salt the steak, and put a large
tablespoonful of fresh butter on it. Press this in with a knife and
fork, turning the steak, so that each side may absorb the butter.
Serve on a hot dish. The whole process will not consume five minutes.
Some persons think it best to add the salt after the steak is done,
though many good housekeepers salt and pepper the steak before
broiling it. Beefsteak should be cooked rare; it is a great mistake to
cook it till hard and indigestible.
The parts most suitable for soup are the head, neck, shank, and all
the unsightly parts. After the bones are broken and the meat boiled
from them, the liquor is used for soup, while the meat, picked or cut
to pieces, will make an excellent stew seasoned with potatoes,
turnips, sweet herbs, one tablespoonful of butter and the same of meat
flavoring.
It is well always to keep brine on hand for corning beef. All the
parts not desirable for roast or steak had better be corned.
The beef, after being dressed, should be hung up by the hind legs,
with a smooth, round piece of timber sufficiently strong to hold the
weight, passed through the legs at the hock, or run between the tendon
and bone, with short pegs to keep the legs stretched apart. Then with
a sharp axe, standing behind the suspended beef, split it down the
backbone, severing it in half. Then pass a knife through the ribs,
leaving two or three short ribs on the hind-quarter. Sever the
backbone with an axe. Then cut with a sharp knife straight across the
parallel line with the spinal bone, which piece must be divided into
two pieces, the sirloin and steak. Then take off two rounds, or three,
according to the size of the animal, cutting with a sharp knife, and
cutting the bone with a meat saw or axe, as near the joints as
possible, which leaves the shin-bone.
The fore quarter then is divided into four pieces, after taking off
the shoulder, which may be divided into three or more pieces.
The loin of veal is the nicest part, and is always roasted.
The fillets and knuckles may be stewed and roasted.
The latter is nicest for soup.
The breast may be stewed or roasted.
The cutlets are nicest from the legs or fillet.
The head is a dish for soup, stew or pie.
Sweetbreads from the throat make a delicious dish, much prized by
epicureans.
The feet, boiled till the bones drop out, make a delightful dish,
fried in batter, while the water in which they are boiled makes
excellent jelly.
Veal, to be eaten in its perfection, should be killed when from four
to six weeks old.
BEEF.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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