When meat comes from the market it
should be wiped at once with a fresh , damp
cloth, covered, and put in a cool place.
Never wash fresh meat, as cold water draws
out the juice. Remove from mutton all the
pink skin attached to the meat ; if left it
will give it an unpleasant taste when cooked.
The organs of animals, as the heart and
kidneys, should be washed thoroughly ;
salted meats need washing to remove the salt.
Modes of Cooking Meats.
Meat may be boiled, roasted, stewed,
fried, or prepared in other ways. Tender
cuts should be cooked in their own juices
to preserve the flavor. The meat should at
THE MODEL COOK BOOK
19
first be subjected to a high temperature to
harden the albumen on the outside and thus
prevent the escape of the internal juices.
Then the temperature should be lowered
to 180 degrees.
Roasting. — In roasting the object is to
retain all the juice in the meat. The heat
should be sharp at first, for the reason above
stated, and then reduced so that the al-
bumen in the interior may be gradually
coagulated without shriveling and harden-
ing the fibre. The flesh of young animals
is better adapted for roasting than boiling,
as it contains more of those principles sol-
uble in water and which may be boiled
away. Whenever it is desired to retain and
increase the flavor, roasting is the better
method. This applies to pork, venison,
and game, and to poultry unless it be lean
and old.
Boiling. — Meat properly boiled retains
more of its nutritious properties and is more
easily digested than if cooked in any other
way. It loses less in weight than by either
roasting or baking. The degree of extrac-
tion of juices depends on the degree of heat
and the way it is applied. If broth is de-
sired the meat should be soaked in cold
water, and the heat applied gradually and
kept below the boiling point. To obtain
stock for soup, it must come to a boil and
this be kept up for some time. But if boiled
meat is the object, the joint should be
plunged at once in boiling water, so as to
coagulate the outer albumen, and the boil-
ing kept up for five or six minutes. Then
the temperature should be brought down
to 160° F., and the process continued till
the interior is fully cooked.
Baking. — In baking the temperature is
more equally maintained, and there is less
loss of the sapid contents of the meat than
in roasting. The joint is richer in flavor
and its juices more fully retained. But it is
less suitable for delicate stomachs. Great
care must be taken that the fat does not
come into contact with the hot iron of the
stove, as, if burnt, it gives unpleasant and
noxious qualities.
Stewing. — This method is intermediate
between boiling and roasting, and is much
the best method of rendering the meat
tender, juicy, and sapid. Meat that would
otherwise be quite indigestible may be thus
utilized. It also admits of combining a
number of articles, both animal and vege-
table, and is often the best way to employ
canned meats. Hashing is the same pro-
cess applied to meat which has been pre-
viously cooked. It often fails for this rea-
son, the meat being made tough and leath-
ery. Very little water is needed for stew-
ing, often the juices proving sufficient, if
care be taken to prevent burning.
Page 22
Presented as published in 1901. 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
When meat comes from the market it should be wiped at once with a fresh, damp cloth, covered, and put in a cool place. Never wash fresh meat, as cold water draws out the juice. Remove from mutton all the pink skin attached to the meat ; if left it will give it an unpleasant taste when cooked. The organs of animals, as the heart and kidneys, should be washed thoroughly ; salted meats need washing to remove the salt.
Modes of Cooking Meats.
Meat may be boiled, roasted, stewed, fried, or prepared in other ways. Tender cuts should be cooked in their own juices to preserve the flavor. The meat should at
first be subjected to a high temperature to harden the albumen on the outside and thus prevent the escape of the internal juices. Then the temperature should be lowered to 180 degrees.
Roasting. — In roasting the object is to retain all the juice in the meat. The heat should be sharp at first, for the reason above stated, and then reduced so that the albumen in the interior may be gradually coagulated without shriveling and hardening the fibre. The flesh of young animals is better adapted for roasting than boiling, as it contains more of those principles soluble in water and which may be boiled away. Whenever it is desired to retain and increase the flavor, roasting is the better method. This applies to pork, venison, and game, and to poultry unless it be lean and old.
Boiling. — Meat properly boiled retains more of its nutritious properties and is more easily digested than if cooked in any other way. It loses less in weight than by either roasting or baking. The degree of extraction of juices depends on the degree of heat and the way it is applied. If broth is desired the meat should be soaked in cold water, and the heat applied gradually and kept below the boiling point. To obtain stock for soup, it must come to a boil and this be kept up for some time. But if boiled meat is the object, the joint should be plunged at once in boiling water, so as to coagulate the outer albumen, and the boiling kept up for five or six minutes. Then the temperature should be brought down to 160° F., and the process continued till the interior is fully cooked.
Baking. — In baking the temperature is more equally maintained, and there is less loss of the sapid contents of the meat than in roasting. The joint is richer in flavor and its juices more fully retained. But it is less suitable for delicate stomachs. Great care must be taken that the fat does not come into contact with the hot iron of the stove, as, if burnt, it gives unpleasant and noxious qualities.
Stewing. — This method is intermediate between boiling and roasting, and is much
the best method of rendering the meat tender, juicy, and sapid. Meat that would otherwise be quite indigestible may be thus utilized. It also admits of combining a number of articles, both animal and vegetable, and is often the best way to employ canned meats. Hashing is the same process applied to meat which has been previously cooked. It often fails for this reason, the meat being made tough and leathery. Very little water is needed for stewing, often the juices proving sufficient, if care be taken to prevent burning.