Beef is considered by most people the best and most
nutritious of meat. An ox should be five or six years old
before it is killed, being then in its prime. Ox-beef is
the best. The meat is fine-grained, the lean being of
a bright red color, marbled throughout with fat, when the
animal is well-fed and of good breed. The fat should be
white, not yellow ; and the suet should also be white and
firm. Beef should never be lean — that is, lacking in
the usual amount of fat; for unless there is a good
quantity of fat, the meat will be tough and undesirable.
Heifer-beef is paler in hue than ox-beef and of closer
grain, the fat being white, and the bones, of course,
smaller. Bull-beef should always be avoided. It is dark
colored and coarse-grained, has very little fat, and
possesses a very strong, meaty smell. If when meat
is pressed with the finger it quickly rebounds, it is
prime ; but if the dent disappears slowly or not at all,
the meat is of inferior quality. Any greenish tints about
the fat or the bone, or any slipperiness of surface,
indicates that the meat has been kept too long and
is unfit for use, except by those who enjoy what is known
as a "high flavor."
MARKETING.
49
Meat is cut differently in different parts of the coun-
try, but the accompanying cut of an ox shows one way of
dividing it.
1. Sirloin.
2. lop or aitch-bone.
3. Rump.
4. Round.
5. Lower part of round
6. Veiny piece.
7. Thick flank.
8. Thin
9. Leg.
10 Fore-rib (5 ribs).
11. Middle rib (4 ribs)
12. Chuck rib (3 nbs)
13. Shoulder.
14. Brisket.
15. Clod.
16. Sticking.
17. Shin.
OX.
Choose the ribs or the sirloin for roasting ; if the
former be selected, let them be the middle ribs. One rib,
unless the bone is taken out and the meat rolled and
stuffed, is too thin to be an economical cut, because much
is lost in cooking. In selecting sirloin, have it cut from
4
50
THE PATTERN COOK-BOOK.
what butchers call the " chump end," which has a
good under-cut. The tenderloin lies under the short ribs
and close to the back. It is considered by many to be
the choicest piece and can be purchased by itself, but
Loin, best end.
Loin, chump end.
Fillet.
Hind knuckle.
Fore knuckle.
Neck, best end.
Neck, scrag end.
8. Blade bone.
9. Breast, best end
10. Breast, brisket end.
CALF.
only at the larger markets. It is usually cut through
with the porterhouse and sirloin steaks. Of these the
porterhouse is generally preferred, and the short or small
porterhouse is the most economical. The coarse and
tough end of the large steaks may be used for soup. The
family that has to carefully consider the expense of meat
will find recipes farther on for preparing the cheapest
cuts so as to make a nutritious dinner at small cost.
MARKETING.
51
Veal is best when the calf is two or three months old ;
if over four months old, the flesh will be coarse. Veal
should be white and the kidney well covered with fat. If
the flesh is dark and hangs loosely about the bone, it
IS not good. It should be dry and closely grained ; if
Leg.
Chump end of loin.
Best end of loin.
Neck, best end.
Neck, scrag end.
6. Shoulder.
7. Breast.
A saddle is the two loins undivided.
A chine is the two sides of the neck
undivided.
Page 17
Presented as published in 1890. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Beef is considered by most people the best and most nutritious of meat. An ox should be five or six years old before it is killed, being then in its prime. Ox-beef is the best. The meat is fine-grained, the lean being of a bright red color, marbled throughout with fat, when the animal is well-fed and of good breed. The fat should be white, not yellow ; and the suet should also be white and firm. Beef should never be lean — that is, lacking in the usual amount of fat; for unless there is a good quantity of fat, the meat will be tough and undesirable. Heifer-beef is paler in hue than ox-beef and of closer grain, the fat being white, and the bones, of course, smaller. Bull-beef should always be avoided. It is dark colored and coarse-grained, has very little fat, and possesses a very strong, meaty smell. If when meat is pressed with the finger it quickly rebounds, it is prime ; but if the dent disappears slowly or not at all, the meat is of inferior quality. Any greenish tints about the fat or the bone, or any slipperiness of surface, indicates that the meat has been kept too long and is unfit for use, except by those who enjoy what is known as a "high flavor."
Meat is cut differently in different parts of the country, but the accompanying cut of an ox shows one way of
dividing it.
1. Sirloin.
2. lop or aitch-bone.
3. Rump.
4. Round.
5. Lower part of round
6. Veiny piece.
7. Thick flank.
8. Thin
9. Leg.
10 Fore-rib (5 ribs).
11. Middle rib (4 ribs)
12. Chuck rib (3 ribs)
13. Shoulder.
14. Brisket.
15. Clod.
16. Sticking.
17. Shin.
OX.
Choose the ribs or the sirloin for roasting ; if the former be selected, let them be the middle ribs. One rib, unless the bone is taken out and the meat rolled and stuffed, is too thin to be an economical cut, because much is lost in cooking. In selecting sirloin, have it cut from
what butchers call the " chump end," which has a good under-cut. The tenderloin lies under the short ribs and close to the back. It is considered by many to be the choicest piece and can be purchased by itself, but
Loin, best end.
Loin, chump end.
Fillet.
Hind knuckle.
Fore knuckle.
Neck, best end.
Neck, scrag end.
8. Blade bone.
9. Breast, best end 10. Breast, brisket end.
CALF.
only at the larger markets. It is usually cut through with the porterhouse and sirloin steaks. Of these the porterhouse is generally preferred, and the short or small porterhouse is the most economical. The coarse and tough end of the large steaks may be used for soup. The family that has to carefully consider the expense of meat will find recipes farther on for preparing the cheapest cuts so as to make a nutritious dinner at small cost.
Veal is best when the calf is two or three months old ; if over four months old, the flesh will be coarse. Veal should be white and the kidney well covered with fat. If the flesh is dark and hangs loosely about the bone, it IS not good. It should be dry and closely grained ; if
Leg.
Chump end of loin. Best end of loin. Neck, best end. Neck, scrag end.
6. Shoulder.
7. Breast.
A saddle is the two loins undivided. A chine is the two sides of the neck undivided.