12, First cut round. 13, Second cut round. 14, Top of sirloin. 15, S, Neck piece. 16, Second neck piece. 17, Plate piece. 18, Navel piece. 19, Brisket. 20, Shoulder clod. 21, Flank piece. 22, Third cut of neck. 23, Leg. 24, Shin. CHAPTER I. HOW TO SELECT MEAT. To Select Beef. — Cattle from four to eight years of age furnish the best beef. The flesh of young animals is less rich in flavor and nutrition, and loses more weight in cooking than that of mature age. Good beef has a dark red color when first cut, which changes to a lighter shade after a few minutes' exposure to the air. It looks juicy, is fine grained, smooth, firm, and, at the same time, elastic to the touch. It has a fair proportion of fat about the kidneys and overlying the loin and ribs, while the lean or muscular portions are ingrained and marbled with dots and streaks of fat. A very dark color indicates an old animal, a pale, moist muscle a very young one, and a bluish or dark red color poor beef. Those portions of a beef containing the greatest amount of tenderloin are generally considered the choicest, consequently they command the highest price. But, as a matter of fact, the sirloin, rump, ribs, and some other cuts, although less tender, contain more juice, flavor, and nutrition than the tenderloin. The fore quarter of a beef contains a larger propor- tion of bone to meat, and is less tender, than the hind quarter, but is quite equal to it in juiciness and flavor. Backward from the head, in the fore quarters, and up- How to Select Meat. " ward from the legs in both fore and hind quarters, the quality and price of the meat increases. The best steak is the porterhouse steak, cut from the loin of an animal where the tenderloin is largest. It con- tains both tenderloin and sirloin, separated by a small bone, and is frequently called a pin-bone steak. Further back the pin-bone centers in a cross-bone at the top, and a cut from there is often called a T-bone steak. Steaks cut forward from the porterhouse steaks have no separating bone in them, but are nevertheless called porterhouse steaks by many butchers, and are not in- frequently given that name even when cut so far forward that there is not a semblance of tenderloin about them. When the pin-bone or T-bone is removed from a porter- house steak, and it is divided into two parts, these parts are known respectively as tenderloin steak and sirloin steak. As has already been said, the tenderloin is the tenderest portion of a beef; but many people prefer a sirloin to a tenderloin steak on account of its being more juicy and richer flavored. After the loin, the rump steaks are the best. The round is very inferior for broiling, as the juices are so thin and exposed that it is difficult to keep them from flowing out while the meat is cooking, and leaving it dry and tasteless. Round steak is better cooked as Salisbury or Hamburger steak, or sauted and braised. The first, second, and third cut ribs, as shown on the chart, make prime roasts. The rump also makes an excellent roast. The chuck ribs do not make nearly so good a roast as either of the other cuts mentioned. But the portions that are best for steaks furnish the 12 The Art of Cookery. finest roasts. And while sirloin is considered best for a large roast, nothing can be choicer for a small one than porterhouse.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

12, First cut round. 13, Second cut round. 14, Top of sirloin. 15, S, Neck piece. 16, Second neck piece. 17, Plate piece. 18, Navel piece. 19, Brisket. 20, Shoulder clod. 21, Flank piece. 22, Third cut of neck. 23, Leg. 24, Shin. CHAPTER I. HOW TO SELECT MEAT. To Select Beef. — Cattle from four to eight years of age furnish the best beef. The flesh of young animals is less rich in flavor and nutrition, and loses more weight in cooking than that of mature age. Good beef has a dark red color when first cut, which changes to a lighter shade after a few minutes' exposure to the air. It looks juicy, is fine grained, smooth, firm, and, at the same time, elastic to the touch. It has a fair proportion of fat about the kidneys and overlying the loin and ribs, while the lean or muscular portions are ingrained and marbled with dots and streaks of fat. A very dark color indicates an old animal, a pale, moist muscle a very young one, and a bluish or dark red color poor beef. Those portions of a beef containing the greatest amount of tenderloin are generally considered the choicest, consequently they command the highest price. But, as a matter of fact, the sirloin, rump, ribs, and some other cuts, although less tender, contain more juice, flavor, and nutrition than the tenderloin. The fore quarter of a beef contains a larger proportion of bone to meat, and is less tender, than the hind quarter, but is quite equal to it in juiciness and flavor. Backward from the head, in the fore quarters, and up- How to Select Meat. " ward from the legs in both fore and hind quarters, the quality and price of the meat increases. The best steak is the porterhouse steak, cut from the loin of an animal where the tenderloin is largest. It contains both tenderloin and sirloin, separated by a small bone, and is frequently called a pin-bone steak. Further back the pin-bone centers in a cross-bone at the top, and a cut from there is often called a T-bone steak. Steaks cut forward from the porterhouse steaks have no separating bone in them, but are nevertheless called porterhouse steaks by many butchers, and are not infrequently given that name even when cut so far forward that there is not a semblance of tenderloin about them. When the pin-bone or T-bone is removed from a porterhouse steak, and it is divided into two parts, these parts are known respectively as tenderloin steak and sirloin steak. As has already been said, the tenderloin is the tenderest portion of a beef; but many people prefer a sirloin to a tenderloin steak on account of its being more juicy and richer flavored. After the loin, the rump steaks are the best. The round is very inferior for broiling, as the juices are so thin and exposed that it is difficult to keep them from flowing out while the meat is cooking, and leaving it dry and tasteless. Round steak is better cooked as Salisbury or Hamburger steak, or sauted and braised. The first, second, and third cut ribs, as shown on the chart, make prime roasts. The rump also makes an excellent roast. The chuck ribs do not make nearly so good a roast as either of the other cuts mentioned. But the portions that are best for steaks furnish the 12 The Art of Cookery. finest roasts. And while sirloin is considered best for a large roast, nothing can be choicer for a small one than porterhouse.

The art of cookery