MEATS regard to meat more than any other food, it pays the housewife to do her own marketing. A study of the cuts laid out on a butcher's stall often reveals something good and cheap, which would not have been thought of if one were giving her or ders to a clerk or over the telephone. During the past ten years meat has risen so steadily in price that roasts, chops, and steaks, on which the aver age housekeeper was wont to rely, make a food bill appallingly high. But there are other pieces which pro duce very savory dishes by careful cooking.
The good marketer ought, first of all, to know at a glance not only the various cuts but the appearance of good, wholesome meat. When first killed, a side of beef is reddish pur ple, but it changes fast to a bright red tint, while the fat is a creamy white color, not in chunks by itself but threaded, as it were, through the red. It ought to have a fresh, juicy appearance that tells it has hung long enough to become well ripened and fit for human food.
Before beginning to consider cuts of meat, their price, their tenderness or toughness, try to imagine the ani mal on its feet wandering about a grassy field in search of food. Like every other creature, it has a wonder ful network of muscles. Some of these muscles work overtime, otbers get little usage. Therefore we find the tenderest portions where the body has had little exercise—the flesh on top of the back, that long strip we call the tenderloin lying alongside of the spine, the porterhouse, the seven prime ribs, as a butcher calls the thick sirloin, all cuts which are best adapted for broiling or roasting. Near the neck are the chuck ribs and shoulder, besides the tail and rump; then we come down to the roimd and the leg, portions of all creatures that abound in muscle. Where sinews are abundant and the flesh has a coarse grained appearance, different meth ods of cooking must be resorted to; if it were broiled or roasted, it would be almost impossible to chew. It should be subjected to slow cooking, such as braising, pot roasting, or sim mering just below the boiling point or to the moderate heat of a casserole. The nearer one approaches the hoof of the animal, the better is the meat adapted for soup making. The ten dons of the shin are rich in gelatin, and when dissolved by long, slow cooking, give flavor and consistency to a soup.
Beginning at the hoof of a creature, there is a piece which makes excel lent soup. As we go farther up the loin, the meat begins to be of better flavor and the bone contains finer marrow. Then comes the round; from
the top of it can be cut a really good steak. With a slight amount of pound ing and marinating, it can be made. almost as tender as a more expensive cut. By marinating is meant laying it in a mixture of oil and vinegar in the coldest corner of the refrigerator. Next comes the rump, from which stews and roasts are cut. Then the sirloin, which contains the best steaks and roasts. From this portion is cut the tenderloin, a fine strip of tender meat that lies inside the bone. This bit of the creature does not re ceive the slightest exercise. It is a delicate morsel, which sells from fifty to eighty cents a pound, accord ing to the demand for it. I have bought it in country places as cheap as twenty-five cents a pound, while in New York it often brings ninety cents. Although deliciously tender, it does not possess the flavor and nourishment of a cheaper piece of steak.
Now we come to the forequarter, which begins at the five prime ribs for roasting. Close to them• lie the five chuck ribs, excellent cuts for stews and small steaks. The neck is generally converted into Hamburg steak, while the under part of the animal, which includes the flank, plate, navel, and brisket, are corned. Here also is the shoulder clod; no cut can excel it in juiciness and flav or when a pot roast or beef la mode is desired. For the housewife anxious to have a small income pro vide the best food possible, there are any number of pieces that make a savory disb, only they must be cooked in the way which best fits them. A cut from the top of the round mar inated, as I suggested, and broiled gives an excellent steak. A cheaper piece of round, from farther down the leg, may be put through the chopper; when broiled, it is good as Hamburg steak; baked, it makes a savory cannelon. A cut from the rump may be braised and is as appetizing hot as cold. A pound or two of rump is the base for a nourishing stew, while et. braised or boiled tongue affords one hot meal and several lunch dishes. An ox tail is delicious fricasseed or in soup. Pot roasting converts a num ber of cheap cuts into excellent dishes. Among these are the juicy, lean cross ribs, or a solid piece from the lower part of the round or face of the rump. Two pounds of flank, which costs ten or twelve cents a pound, is very good when cooked a la Milan aloe. Roll the meat, saute it brown, season well, and braise slowly for two hours with enough water to make a good gravy.