Chapter 14

What conclusion can you draw regarding the effect of dry and moist heat upon muscle fiber? Which makes it more tender? Which develops the more pleasing flavor?

THE STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF MEAT.--The connective tissue of meat is the material which holds the muscle fiber in place. One can get an idea of the structure of muscle fiber from some cuts of meat such as the rump. This meat when cooked can be torn into strands. On closer examination, however, one finds that these strands are made up of tiny tubes, microscopic in size, which are also held together by a network of connective tissue (see Figure 43). The microscopic tubes hold the muscle juice, which consists of water, protein, ash, coloring and flavoring materials. The latter give to meat its characteristic taste; they are called extractives. In the network of connective tissue, there is fat as shown also in Figure 43.

The muscle juice found in muscle fiber not only contains protein, but the walls of muscle fiber and connective tissue contain protein. These proteins differ greatly in quality, however. They will be discussed in the following lesson.

CARE OF MEAT.--As soon as meat comes from the market remove the paper in which it is wrapped, and put the meat away in a cool place. Before cooking, wipe the meat with a damp cloth. Do not allow it to stand in cold water. If meat is to be roasted, it should be weighed before cooking.

SEARING MEAT.--Since the juice of meat contains both nutriment and flavor, it is desirable to retain the juice when meat is cooked. This can be accomplished by subjecting meat to intense heat. By so doing, the protein coagulates and "seals" the outside of the meat so that its juices are prevented from escaping. _This process is called searing._

From the results of Experiment 51 (_b_), one can understand why seared meat tastes good. Dry heat tends to develop flavor. Hence it is desirable to sear meat not only to prevent waste of its juices, but to make it tasty. After meat is seared, it is usually necessary to reduce the temperature of cooking in order to cook the interior of meat.

TENDER CUTS OF BEEF--Certain muscles of an animal used for food contain more connective tissue than others. Such muscles are considered tough cuts of meat. Other muscles contain either less connective tissue or the connective tissue is less tough. These are considered tender cuts.

Muscles which are the least used by the animal are most tender. What parts of the beef would one expect to find most tender?

Certain methods of cooking meat are adapted to cooking the tender cuts. Unless meat is chopped, only tender cuts of meat can be cooked successfully by dry heat. The following methods are used for tender cuts of meat: (_a_) broiling, (_b_) pan-broiling, and (_c_) roasting (baking).

The best steaks of beef for broiling or pan-broiling are club (see Figure 44), porterhouse (see Figure 45), sirloin (see Figures 46, 47, 48), and first cuts of round. The best cuts for roasting are porterhouse, prime ribs (see Figures 49, 50), and sirloin.

Long shoulder or chuck (see Figures 51, 52), top round, and rump (see Figures 54 and 57) are inferior roasts.

BROILING

Select one of the tender steaks for broiling. Tender steaks should be cut from 1 to 2 inches in thickness. Clean it as directed previously, remove the excess fat, and place the meat on a broiler. Broil over glowing coals or in the broiling oven, holding the broiler very close to the coals, or placing it near the gas flame. The meat should be thoroughly _seared_ on both sides. Finish cooking the meat by holding it farther away from the coals or the gas flame and turning it about every 10 seconds. Steak 1 inch thick should be cooked at least 5 minutes; 2 inches thick, at least 10 minutes. Season, place on a hot platter, and serve _at once_.

PAN-BROILING

Clean the meat, remove excess fat, and place the meat in a very hot frying pan _without any fat_. Sear the meat on both sides, then cook more slowly until done. When thick chops are broiled, stand them on end to brown the edges. Keep the pan free from fat. The time for pan-broiling is the same as for broiling.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PAN-BROILING AND SAUTEING.--Pan-broiled steak differs from sauteed steak (commonly termed fried steak) in: (_a_) ease of digestion and (_b_) flavor. As explained previously (_Frying and Digestion_), fat cooked at high temperature is not easily digested. For this reason, as far as digestion is concerned, it is better to omit the fat, and to broil a steak.

Meat has a distinct and characteristic flavor. Browned fat also has a pronounced flavor. In broiled steak, the pure meat flavor exists; In "fried" steak there is meat flavor plus browned fat flavor. Since the flavor of meat is most pleasing, it is not advisable to modify it by the addition of any other flavor.

ROASTING (BAKING)

Roasting was accomplished formerly by placing thick pieces of meat before an open fire (see Figure 53). "Roasts" are now placed in the oven and baked. The term roasting, however, is still used. Meat is roasted as follows:

Weigh the meat and clean it. Then skewer it into shape and place it on a rack in a roasting pan. If the meat has but little fat, place extra fat in the bottom of the pan. Place the pan on the upper shelf of a hot oven (500 degrees F.) and sear for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 400 degrees F. Season the exposed surface with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and remove the pan to the floor or lower shelf of the oven. Baste often. When the meat is about half done, turn it over, season, dredge with flour, and continue baking as before.

Since less evaporation takes place in a large roast than in a small one, the larger roasts are more juicy, hence more desirable. A good roast of beef should weigh at least 4 pounds.

The time for roasting varies with the weight of the meat. Usually, for beef roasts, _15 minutes to each pound_ is allowed.

QUESTIONS

Explain the purpose of searing meat.

If meat is to be roasted, pan-broiled, or broiled, how is it seared?

Why is it necessary to remove the fat from meat that is to be broiled or pan-broiled?

Why cannot meat be broiled over _blazing_ coals?

What is the price per pound of porterhouse and of sirloin steak?

What is the average weight of sirloin steak? Of porterhouse steak?

How many persons will each serve?

LESSON LX

BEEF: METHODS OF COOKING TENDER CUTS (APPLIED TO CHOPPED BEEF) (A)

PROTEIN IN MEAT.--It was mentioned previously that there are several different kinds of protein in lean meat. It was also stated that proteins exist in:

(_a_) Connective tissue.

(_b_) Walls of muscle fibers.

(_c_) Muscle juice.

Two proteins exist in connective tissue, viz., _collagen_ and _elastin._ Collagen is changed into gelatine by cooking in water. Elastin is found not only in connective tissue, but in the walls of muscle fibers. In muscle juice, there are two proteins,--_myosin or muscle globulin_ and _albumin_.

Both myosin and albumin coagulate by heating. It is possible to sear meat because it contains proteins. The scum which invariably forms when meat broth is heated consists largely of protein, probably in the form of albumin. This protein as shown in experiments on eggs is soluble in cold water, but is coagulated by heating. If meat broth is skimmed, much of its nutriment is lost.

Of all proteins in meat, myosin is the most important; it exists in greater quantity than the other proteins. Myosin, is practically insoluble in both hot and cold water, though somewhat soluble in a salt solution. As not much myosin is extracted from meat in soup making, _the solid part of meat must be eaten in order to obtain the greatest nourishment_. Meat broth does not contain as much food value as meat.

CHOPPED BEEF.--If meat is chopped, what is the effect of the cutting on its structure? How would this affect its toughness?

It is possible to pan-broil or roast some of the tough cuts of meat, if the meat is chopped fine. Round (see Figure 54, p. 203) and shoulder or chuck (see Figure 55) are especially desirable cuts for this purpose.

CHOPPED STEAK

1 pound beef steak, chopped 1 to 2 tablespoonfuls chopped parsley 1 onion, grated 1 teaspoonful salt 1/2 cupful water or 3/4 cupful tomatoes 1/8 teaspoonful pepper

Mix all the ingredients and shape into firm cakes. Heat an iron frying pan until hot; oil it with a bit of fat from the meat; _then remove the fat_. Sear the cakes; then reduce the temperature to finish cooking. Turn the cakes often. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at once.

Half a cupful of soft bread crumbs and 1 egg may be added to this meat mixture.

The addition of 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice, or a dash of nutmeg is thought by some to improve the flavor of chopped beef.

Instead of shaping chopped beef into small cakes, it may be formed into one large cake or steak. The chopped steak may be either broiled or pan- broiled. If the latter method is followed, a pan-cake turner is useful in turning over the steak.

BEEF LOAF

Use the ingredients for Chopped Steak, adding the bread crumbs and egg. Shape into a loaf, and place in a greased baking-pan. Bake in a hot oven (450 degrees F.) for about 30 minutes. Serve hot, plain, or with Tomato or Brown Sauce.

The use of tomatoes instead of water in _Beef Loaf_ makes the meat especially tasty.

QUESTIONS

Why is it necessary to reduce the temperature to finish cooking meat after searing it?

What are the prices per pound of round and long shoulder?

How many cupfuls are there in one pound of chopped meat?

How many servings of Chopped Steak can be obtained from one pound of meat?

LESSON LXI

BEEF: METHODS OF COOKING TENDER CUTS (APPLIED TO CHOPPED BEEF) (B)

STUFFED MEAT ROAST

2 pounds chopped meat 2 teaspoonfuls salt 1/8 teaspoonful pepper

Mix these ingredients. Take about three fourths of the mixture, put it into a greased baking-dish or pan, shape it into a loaf, and make a large cavity in the center. Into the cavity, put a stuffing prepared as follows:

2 cupfuls bread crumbs 1 teaspoonful salt 1 teaspoonful marjoram 1/4 teaspoonful thyme 1/4 teaspoonful savory 1/8 teaspoonful pepper 2 tablespoonfuls fat

Mix the crumbs and seasoning. Melt the fat, add the seasoned crumbs. Stir and heat until the crumbs are slightly browned.

Put the remainder of the meat mixture on top of the crumbs, so that the latter are entirely surrounded by the meat mixture. Place in a hot oven and bake from 1/2 to 3/4 hour. Serve hot,--plain or with Brown Sauce (see below).

Instead of bread stuffing, potato stuffing prepared as follows may be used in _Stuffed Meat Roast_.

Tomatoes may be added to the meat mixture (see _Beef Loaf_).

POTATO STUFFING [Footnote 55: From United States Food Administration Bulletin.]

2 cupfuls dry mashed potatoes 1 egg (beaten) 1 small onion, grated 1 tablespoonful fat 1 stalk celery finely minced _or_ 1/2 teaspoonful celery salt 1 teaspoonful salt Pepper

Mix the ingredients and use in place of ordinary bread stuffing.

EXPERIMENT 53: COMPARISON OF STARCH AND DEXTRIN FOR THICKENING.--When flour is browned what substance is formed from some of the starch (see Experiment 26, above)?

Make a White Sauce, using 1 teaspoonful of fat, 1/2 tablespoonful of flour, and 1/4 cupful of water. Make a Brown Sauce with the same ingredients, browning the fat and flour. Compare the Brown and White Sauce as to thickness. Which has the greater thickening property,--starch or dextrin? Estimate the quantity of flour to use for Brown Sauce in order to make it equal in thickness to a White Sauce made by using 1, 2, and 3 tablespoonfuls of flour to 1 cupful of liquid.

NOTE.--If a suitable fat has been used, the Brown Sauce may be seasoned and used with the Stuffed Meat Roast.

BROWN SAUCE

1 1/2 tablespoonfuls fat 2 tablespoonfuls flour 1/2 teaspoonful salt Pepper 1 cupful meat stock or hot water 1 teaspoonful scraped onion

If there is any meat stock in the roasting pan, remove it and make the "Brown Sauce" in the pan. Put fat and onion in the pan, and brown them. Add the flour and brown it, then add the other ingredients and cook as _White Sauce_.

QUESTIONS

What cuts of meat are suitable for roasting? Why?

Explain how it is possible to use tough cuts of meat and roast them successfully.

LESSON LXII

BEEF: METHODS OF COOKING TOUGH CUTS (A)

EXPERIMENT 54: EFFECT OF COLD WATER ON MEAT.--Place a bit of meat in a test tube or glass measuring cup and add cold water. Allow it to stand for a few minutes and note the appearance. What has been drawn out into the water? What practical application as to washing meat can be made from this?

Heat the water in which the meat has been soaked. What does the water contain? In soup making, should this material be strained out of broth? Explain. If broth must be strained, should a coarse or a fine strainer be used? Why?

EXPERIMENT 55: EFFECT OF BOILING WATER ON MEAT.--Pour boiling water over a bit of meat, then heat it. Has the juice been drawn out into the water? Explain how hot water prevents the juices from being drawn out.

EXPERIMENT 56: EFFECT OF SALT ON MEAT.--Sprinkle some salt on a piece of meat. Let stand for 10 minutes or longer and note results. What practical application as to seasoning meats can be drawn from this?

NOTE.--The bits of meat used in these three experiments should be saved and used for soup-making.

TOUGH CUTS OF BEEF.--From the Experiments of Lesson LIX, what was found to be the toughest portion of the muscle of meat? What method of cooking was used to make this tough part tender (see Experiments 51 and 52)? Toughness of meat depends upon (_a_) amount of connective tissue, and (_b_) character of the walls of muscle-fiber tubes (thick or thin). These conditions depend upon (_a_) the age of the animal, and (_b_) locality of muscle or cut of meat.

Although meat contains some materials which are better slightly cooked, tough cuts of meat contain so much connective tissue that long cooking is necessary to make them palatable. _The long cooking must be accomplished in water or steam_ in order that the meat may not burn or become too dry.

Meat from old animals is usually tough. Veal and lamb are more tender than beef and mutton. The muscles that are used most are toughest, because they are developed to a greater extent and contain more connective tissue. Muscles that are constantly used contain more extractives, hence tough cuts of meat have more flavor than tender cuts. This is not always appreciated, however, since all the flavor of tough meat is rarely extracted because it is so hard to chew. Moreover, as mentioned previously, dry heat usually applied to tender cuts tends to develop flavor in meat.

USE OF BONE AND FAT IN SOUP-MAKING.--Bone contains a substance which long cooking changes into a jellylike mass called _gelatine_. In the center of the bone there is a fatty substance called _marrow_. This fat in the bone and that in and around the muscles liquefies in making soup stock. In cooling, the fat rises to the top, hardens, excludes the air from the stock, and thus prevents it from spoiling readily. Hence, in soup-making, it is of advantage to use both the fat and the bone with the lean meat. The fat, however, should be removed carefully from the stock before using.

BEEF STOCK

2 pounds meat, bone and fat 1/4 teaspoonful celery seed 5 peppercorns 2 cloves 2 quarts cold water 1/2 bay leaf 2 1/2 teaspoonfuls salt

Cut the meat and fat into small pieces. Try out some of the fat and brown about 1/3 of the meat in it. Put all the meat in a kettle, add the seasoning and water; cover, and allow to soak one hour. Then cook below boiling temperature for 3 hours; strain through a coarse strainer. Pour it through a fat separator or set aside to cool. If the fat has been allowed to solidify, skim it from the surface when the stock is to be used.

1 can of tomatoes, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, and 1 onion (all cut in small pieces) may be added to the ingredients of beef stock. Trimmings and bones of fresh meats or bones and pieces of roasts or unused meat may be cut into small pieces and used for soup stock. No smoked or charred pieces of meat or bone should be used, however. Stock may be colored with caramel, provided the sugar has been cooked sufficiently to lose its sweetness.

CUTS OF BEEF (see Figure 56).--The feeding, care, and age of an animal have much to do with the _quality_ of its meat. It is considered that good beef is obtained from an animal four or five years old. Beef should be firm, of bright red color, and of fine grain. There should also be a generous supply of suet. The latter should be dry and easily crumbled. In most markets, meat is made more tender by allowing it to hang for several days at a temperature near freezing.

The _cost_ of the different cuts of meat varies greatly. The difference in cost is based upon the tenderness of the cut of meat, and upon the demand,--not upon the nutritive value. Prices vary in different localities, and in different seasons.

The _waste_ of a cut of meat is a factor which the housekeeper needs to consider in determining the cost of meat. The cuts of meat containing no waste may be "cheaper" than some cuts whose price per pound is lower.

The line dividing the rib and loin cuts and the plate and flank, marks the division of the beef into hind and fore quarters. The position of the various cuts is indicated by letters. The names of the cuts are indicated around the outer boundary of the diagram.

The closely spaced lines such as shown in the round cut indicate that the cut is sliced into steaks, while the more widely spaced lines such as shown in the rib cut, indicate that the cut is separated into pieces for roasting or stewing. The numerals indicate the number of steaks or pieces into which a cut is usually divided.

EXPLANATION OF FIGURE 56. CUTS OF BEEF

HIND QUARTER

NAME AND FORM OF CUT METHOD OF COOKING

ROUND A. Rump. Pot-roasting. 1. Rump piece (see Figure Stewing. 57). Corning.

B. Round (not including Sauteing. rump and shank). Stewing. 2-14. Round steaks (see Braising. Figure 54). Pot-roasting.

C. Horseshoe or Heel. Pot-roasting. 15. Pot roast. Stewing.

D. Hind shank. 16. Knuckle soup bone. Soup-making. 17-19. Soup bones.

LOIN E. Sirloin. Broiling 1-4. Round-bone sirloin Roasting (when cut into steaks (see Figure 48). thick pieces 5-6. Flat-bone sirloin steaks (see Figure 47). 7. Hip-bone sirloin steak (see Figure 46).

F. Porterhouse. Broiling. 8-15. Porterhouse steaks Roasting (when cut into (see Figure 45). thick pieces). 16-18. Club or Delmonico steaks (see Figure 44).

FLANK G. Flank steak (see Figure 59). Sauteing. Rolling and Braising

H-H. Flank stew. Stewing. Corning.

FORE QUARTER

NAME AND FORM OF CUT METHOD OF COOKING RIB I. Rib roasts. Roasting. 1-4. Prime-rib roasts (see Figures 49 and 50).

CHUCK J. Chuck roasts and steaks 1. Chuck-rib roast (see Braising. Figures 51 and 52). Pot-roasting. 2-9. Chuck or shoulder steaks Broiling. (see Figure 55). Sauteing. 10-13. Pot roasts. NOTE.--In some localities, a pot roast is cut from the lower portion of the chuck. It is called Cross Rib, Boston Cut, or English Cut (see Figure 58). 14. Clod, no bone (over knuckle soup bone).

L. Neck. Stewing. 15. Stew. Soup-making. Corning.

PLATE M. Rib ends. Stewing. 1, 2. Stews. Soup-making. Corning.

N. Navel. Stewing. 3. Stew. Soup-making. Corning.

O. Brisket. Stewing. 4. Stew. Soup-making. Corning.

FORE P. Shin. SHANK 1. Stew. 2. Knuckle soup bone (underneath Stewing. clod, _J_, 14). Soup-making. 3-6. Soup bones ("3" underneath clod, _J_, 14).

Skirt steak,--diaphragm inside of Rolling and Braising. ribs (see Figure 59). Stewing.

Tail. Soup-making.

QUESTIONS

Other than the differences in cost, what advantages are there in using tough cuts of meat for soup?

Name at least three cuts of meat that would be suitable for soup-making. Give the price per pound of these cuts.

In soup-making, what is the purpose of cutting the meat into pieces and of cracking the bone?

Why should salt be added to the water in which meat is soaked (see Experiment 56)?

LESSON LXIII

BEEF: METHODS OF COOKING TOUGH CUTS (B)

EXAMINATION OF COLD BEEF STOCK.--Examine the beef stock of the previous lesson. Why has the fat risen to the top (see Experiment 35)? Why is fat cooked with meat and bone in making soup stock? What use can be made of the fat after removing it from the stock? Remove the fat from the stock. Stir the stock with a spoon. How do you account for its jellylike consistency? From what material has the gelatine been formed? What solid material is found in the stock? Should this be strained out when the stock is used for soup? Explain your answer (see Experiment 54).

VEGETABLE SOUP