Rumpsteak is the most suitable part of beef for broiling, as it is cut right across the grain, contains no bones, hardly any fibrous, sinewy, or aponeurotic parts, and is mostly tender. Although rumpsteak is actually beefsteak, yet the meat which is called beefsteak at the butcher s shop is an inferior description of beef, inferior certainly to, and lower in price than, rumpsteak. A cut across the loin of beef, corresponding to a chop from mutton, is also very suitable for broiling. In the fourth rank, as regards taste and flavour, stands the steak obtained by cutting the fillet across the grain, which is much used in Germany and France*; it has the advantage of being mostly tender. Formerly there was much discussion on the question whether steak should be beaten before being broiled or not. Kitchiner, e.g., was strongly opposed to it, and called the procedure ‘ a vulgar trick,’ which broke the cells in which the gravy of the meat was contained, whereupon it became dry and tasteless. This assertion cannot be maintained, as the sacculi of the flesh fibres, the only objects that could be meant by ‘ gravy-cells,’ do not yield any liquid to beating- Others, again, insist strongly on the necessity of beating meat. It has a certain advantage in this, that it makes a cut of unequal thickness a little more equal. Steak of un- equal thickness should be separated into the thinner and thicker part, and each should be broiled during the time required by its particular size. For broiling a very clear fire is indispensable, and this was assured by a little super- stition, namely, that the steak should not be put on until a little salt thrown into the fire produced a blue flame. Steak should be an inch thick, and broiled rapidly ; if it is to be well done, and not underdone, the final cooking must be Gouffe, ioc. ciL, p. 140, says that 'hifleck' ought always to be taken II om the nllet, and that grills taken from other parts of the ox ‘ ought not to receive the denomination of “ bifleck." ’ He knows not ‘ Rometeck,’ niakes his ‘ biftpxk ’ four ceiitimetres thick, beats it lightly, and grills it for eight minutes. 446 THE SPIRIT OF COOKERY given after the first rapid broiling has coagulated the outside; then the steak bears slower ripening before the fire without becoming dry. Steak can be fried in a pan, and is then called pan-steak ; if the fat and pan are hot enough, the steak is equal in quality to grilled steak, but a slow pan leaves it flabby. For frying, steak may be cut thinner than for grilling. The parts of beef ordinarily called steak,* meaning ‘ piece,’ may be prepared in many ways — by stewing with various garnishes, as kebabs or khubabs ; as mince, in Spanish or Peninsular sauce ; hashed, in cassarip sauce ; hashed and braised, steioed in a baked pie, or in a boiled pudding.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Rumpsteak is the most suitable part of beef for broiling, as it is cut right across the grain, contains no bones, hardly any fibrous, sinewy, or aponeurotic parts, and is mostly tender. Although rumpsteak is actually beefsteak, yet the meat which is called beefsteak at the butcher's shop is an inferior description of beef, inferior certainly to, and lower in price than, rumpsteak. A cut across the loin of beef, corresponding to a chop from mutton, is also very suitable for broiling. In the fourth rank, as regards taste and flavour, stands the steak obtained by cutting the fillet across the grain, which is much used in Germany and France*; it has the advantage of being mostly tender. Formerly there was much discussion on the question whether steak should be beaten before being broiled or not. Kitchiner, e.g., was strongly opposed to it, and called the procedure ‘ a vulgar trick,’ which broke the cells in which the gravy of the meat was contained, whereupon it becomes dry and tasteless. This assertion cannot be maintained, as the sacculi of the flesh fibres, the only objects that could be meant by 'gravy-cells,' do not yield any liquid to beating. Others, again, insist strongly on the necessity of beating meat.It has a certain advantage in this, that it makes a cut of unequal thickness a little more equal. Steak of unequal thickness should be separated into the thinner and thicker part, and each should be broiled during the time required by its particular size. For broiling a very clear fire is indispensable, and this was assured by a little superstition, namely, that the steak should not be put on until a little salt thrown into the fire produced a blue flame. Steak should be an inch thick, and broiled rapidly ; if it is to be well done, and not underdone, the final cooking must be Gouffe, loc. cit., p. 140, says that 'bifteck' ought always to be taken from the fillet, and that grills taken from other parts of the ox ought not to receive the denomination of "bifteck." He knows not 'Homesteak,' makes his 'bifteck' four centimetres thick, beats it lightly, and grills it for eight minutes. given after the first rapid broiling has coagulated the outside; then the steak bears slower ripening before the fire without becoming dry. Steak can be fried in a pan, and is then called pan-steak ; if the fat and pan are hot enough, the steak is equal in quality to grilled steak, but a slow pan leaves it flabby. For frying, steak may be cut thinner than for grilling. The parts of beef ordinarily called steak,* meaning ‘ piece,’ may be prepared in many ways — by stewing with various garnishes, as kebabs or khubabs ; as mince, in Spanish or Peninsular sauce ; hashed, in cassarole sauce ; hashed and braised, steioed in a baked pie, or in a boiled pudding.

The spirit of cookery