Chapter 8

is always less in price than the roasting parts. It is not so economical a part as the round, having more bone with it, and more fat. Where there are children, very fat joints are not desirable, being often disagreeable to them, and sometimes prejudicial, especially if they have a dislike to fat. This joint also requires more cooking than many others; that is to say, it requires a double allowance of time to be given for simmering it; it will, when served, be hard and scarcely digestible if no more time be allowed to simmer it than that which is sufficient for other joints and meats. Joints cooked in a boiler or saucepan, should always be _simmered_, that is to say, boiled as slowly as possible. Meat boiled fast, or "at a gallop," as the phrase goes, is always tough and tasteless. The brisket is excellent when stewed; and when cooked fresh (i.e., unsalted) an excellent stock for soup may be extracted from it, and yet the meat will serve as well for dinner.