How to Use the Cheaper Cuts of Meat
In order to accomplish living comfortably at small cost it is evident that one must understand the comparative values of foods, so as to select those which at low prices furnish the necessary nourishment, and, also, be able to cook them in an appetizing way which will conserve the nourishment.
Meat is a necessity to most people. Yet much of the present expense in the purchase of meat is needless and unwise. Many pieces of meat of the best quality are sold at low rates because not in shapes to be served as roasting or broiling pieces. These serve well for entrees or made-up dishes. Other pieces which are tough but well flavored can, in the hands of an educated cook, be sent to the table as tender, palatable, sightly and nutritious as the prime cuts. It is to show some methods of preparing these cheaper cuts of meat in an appetizing manner that the following explanation of the processes of cooking and the accompanying recipes are given.
Meat is cooked, first, to aid digestion; secondly, to develop new flavors and render it more palatable.
For cooking there are three essentials besides the material to be cooked—namely, heat, air, and moisture, the latter in the form of water, either found in the food or added to it.
The combined effect of heat and moisture swells and bursts starch grains, hardens albumen, and softens fiber.
Albumen is a substance like the white of an egg. It exists in the juices of meat and contains much nourishment. If allowed to escape, the nourishment is lost and the meat is hard. Therefore we have the first general rule for the cooking of meat, namely:
To retain the albumen, the outside of each piece of meat should be seared or sealed at once before the cooking is continued.
Albumen is coagulated and hardened by intense heat. Therefrom comes the second general rule, namely:
Intense heat hardens and toughens meat, while a soft moist heat softens the fiber.
From these general rules we pass to the specific methods of cooking meat, which are nine in number—broiling, roasting, baking, frying, sauteing, steaming, boiling, stewing, or fricasseeing.
Broiling and roasting are practically the same, the chief difference being in the time employed. Both mean to expose one side of the meat to the fire while the other is exposed to the air. By this method the meat is quickly seared and the nutritive juices retained. Meat cooked in this way is richer and finer in flavor.
Baking means cooking in a pan in the oven of a stove, and in these days of hurry has largely superseded roasting.
Frying is the cooking by immersion in hot fat at a temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit. There must be sufficient fat to wholly cover each article. This method is employed for croquettes, oysters, etc., and is less injurious to digestion than sauteing.
Sauteing is cooking in a small quantity of fat, as an omelet or hashed browned potatoes are cooked. This is the least wholesome of all methods of cooking meat, and is often held directly responsible for indigestion.
Steaming is an admirable method of cooking tough meats or hams. Modern housewives use a "cooker," which comes for this purpose, but the old-fashioned perforated steamer over a kettle of boiling water is also good.
Boiling is one of the simplest methods of cooking the cheaper cuts of meat. Properly employed, it consists in plunging the whole piece of meat in a large kettle of rapidly boiling water. The meat should be entirely covered by the water, which should continue to boil rapidly for five minutes after the meat has been immersed in it. The temperature of the water should then be immediately lowered to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. If one has not a cooking thermometer, one has only to remember that water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, and it will easily be seen that 160 degrees is considerably below the boiling point.
Stewing or fricasseeing is really cooking slowly in a sauce after the meat has first been browned in a little hot fat. If the mixture is allowed to boil the meat will be tough and shriveled, but if properly stewed it will be soft and easy to digest. Fricasseeing is the most economical of all methods of cooking meat, as there is very little loss in weight, and what is lost from the meat is found in the sauce.
Braising is a method much used in France, and is a cross between boiling and baking. It is done in a covered pan in the oven. The meat is first browned in a little hot fat and then placed in a pan which is partly filled with stock or water. The pan is covered closely and set in a hot oven. After ten minutes the temperature of the oven is reduced to a very low point, and the meat cooks slowly as the stock in the pan evaporates. This method is the best for inferior pieces which require long, slow cooking. It is an excellent method of cooking veal. Meat which is lacking in flavor can be flavored by adding vegetables or herbs to the stock in the pan.
Different cuts of meat require different methods of cooking to bring about the best results. The following diagram and the accompanying suggestions for proper cuts for certain methods of cooking.
1. Chuck
2. Ribs
3. Loin
4. Rump
5. Round
6. Hind Shank
7. Flank
8. Navel End
9. Clod
10. Fore Shank
11. Brisket.
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