Cow beef and bull beef are also sold, but they are, at the general age of slaughter ing, not in any way comparable to steer beef in quality. Cow beef is a darker red than steer beef. When young it may be more tender than steer, but it is seldom i f ever as juicy or fine flavored.
"Boneless cuts" of beef are supplied to retailers throughout the country by several big packing houses. They include tenderloins, sirloin strips, sirloin butts, rib-beef rolls, loin backs, clods, etc. They are especially convenient and easy for the inexperi enced butcher to handle and cut up, but some judges assert that, shipped in that man ner, the meat deteriorates in flavor as the result of the loss of blood and extractives.
Beef to be at its best should always be aged. To age it properly, a good refrigera tor is, of course, indispensable. The temperature should be about 33° to 35° Fahr., and the atmosphere dry—the dryer the better. In cold dry air, beef will ripen and sweeten and may safely be held a long time, whereas, in a warm, moist atmosphere it will become sticky and sour in a comparatively short time. It is important that the temperature should be uniform and not allowed to rise and fall.
One cannot dwell too emphatically on the importance of the proper aging of beef, for cooked fresh beef, even if cut from young animals, is certain to be tough, whereas beef properly aged will be more or less tender, even if cut from animals conspicuous for the number of their years. "Light" or very lean carcases are not though suitable for aging, as the fibre is liable to deteriorate during the process.
Beef is generally acknowledged to be the best flesh-former of all modern foods, as in addition to an average of about 15% to 20% of protein it contains a considerable proportion of fat in an easily digestible form. A diet very largely of meat is not, though, desirable for the average person of sedentary occupation (see FOOD VALUES) .
When heads of families realize that there are many cuts of beef equally as nutri tious as the sirloin, porterhouse steak and standing rib roast, which can, with very little extra trouble, be served in forms just as palatable and inviting, they will find a wonderful difference in their expenditures for meats. Further, such a revolution in ideas would inevitably result in lower prices for the "choice cuts" also—it is only natural that high prices prevail for them now as the general public thinks that there are only three or four pieces of an entire beef that are fit for the table and all other parts have to be sacrificed at extremely low figures, or utilized by packers for their canned products.
In broiling or frying a steak, the most important point is to put it over a quick fire and expose it on each side for about a minute so as to seal the juices in the meat —then proceed in the ordinary way to finish the cooking.
Similarly, in "roasting" meat, have the oven hot, so that the outside is quickly cooked, to seal the juices inside.
The average American doesn't care much for boiled fresh beef, yet, properly pre pared, it is just as palatable as steak. The best cuts for this purpose are the brisket, cross-ribs and rump—the rump is especially suitable for those who prefer lean boiled meat. The principal points to be observed in cooking are : (1) tie the meat up to pre serve its shape, (2) put into boiling water, (3) add salt, etc., and plenty of vegetables, (4) simmer gently until done—don't let it boil and bubble away, and don't overcook it or reduce it to rags.
American prime beef has earned the reputation—abroad as well as at home—of being equal to the world's best anywhere. This is the result of the improvements dur ing recent years in breeding, feeding and shipping. The old-time long-horned Texas.
steer, formerly the accepted American type, is obsolete as the result of crossing with high class imported stock and selection of the best grades has been brought to a very fine point ; range feeding exclusively has been succeeded by grain feeding scientifically controlled for a considerable time prior to slaughtering, and modern methods of trans portation have done away with the necessity for freezing shipments.
Americans are, by the way, the greatest meat eaters in the world. The average con sumption per capita here is 175 pounds per annum—and of this by far the greatest percentage is of beef in one form or another. English people average 110 pounds per capita, the French eat only half as much as the English, and the people of Germany; Austria and Italy consume still less.
See also BRAINS, HEART, KIDNEYS, LIVER, SAUSAGE, SWEETBREAD, TONGUE, TRIPE, ETC., and general article on MEATS.