Part 6

To be sure of success in meat cookery, know first the structure of the cut of meat you are to prepare, then use a standard tested method for making that cut tender, flavory and juicy.

Always have a good fire before placing meat over the heat, for all meat cookery requires the greatest heat first to seal the appetizing juices in. Your skill will be shown in your first ten minutes of handling.

The short fibered cuts comprising the loin cuts, porterhouse, and club steaks may be given the entire short cooking over a hot fire. Practically all the other cuts on the carcass require long moist cooking after the searing process.

All boiling pieces should be put into boiling water first and after ten minutes’ brisk boiling, the heat should be reduced so that the meat simmers until the connective tissue softens and the meat is tender and just right for carving. Too long brisk boiling makes the meat stringy. Roasts should be cooked on the same principle. Put into the hot oven for fifteen minutes, then reduce the heat and cook the cut slowly, basting frequently. Steaks and chops that are to be pan broiled, should be put on a hot pan and quickly turned so as to sear and brown evenly, then allowed to cook through, over the hot fire. As salt draws the juices out of meats it should not be added until after the first ten or fifteen minutes of cooking, when the meat is thoroughly seared.

METHODS

BROILING

This process of cooking subjects the meat, fish or poultry to the direct rays of the fire, quickly searing and browning the meat; this is the approved method of cooking tender steaks and chops, fish and spring chicken. An intense, even heat is necessary.

PAN BROILING

A very hot frying pan is used without addition of any fat; chops and steaks are cooked in this way.

ROASTING AND BAKING

Roasting is oven cooking in an uncovered pan. Baking differs only in the fact that the pan is covered, thus making the cooking self basting. Prime ribs, loin or leg, and fowl, are roasted; rump, short ribs and shoulder are frequently baked.

POT ROASTING

Wipe the meat, dredge with flour and brown the entire surface in a little fat, place the meat on a rack in a deep kettle and cover with boiling water. Cook with vegetables and seasoning, adding vegetables at intervals to allow for the perfect cooking of each class of vegetables by the time the meat is done. Place cover on kettle and simmer slowly about four hours. Serve with the thickened liquor.

BOILING

Cooking in liquid at 212° F. is boiling. Meat should never be boiled rapidly, as the fibers become tough and the tissues dissolved. To have boiled meats tasty and juicy, plunge the meat into boiling water and cook for ten minutes, then lower the heat and cook slowly until tender. An excellent way to cook shank, clod, shoulder plate, brisket or neck. A fireless cooker is practical for this type of cookery. A pressure cooker makes it possible to cook a tough fowl or cut of meat in a very short time.

BRAISING

Cooking in a closely covered pan in the oven is termed braising; a small amount of water is used. The meat is usually sautéed first, to prevent escape of much juice. Vegetables are often cooked with the meat. The temperature should be kept low. It is an excellent way for cooking spareribs, brisket, rump, shoulder or chuck roast. Besides stewing or boiling, it is an excellent way to prepare the tough cuts.

SAUTÉING

Pan frying in just enough fat to brown the foods nicely and keep them from sticking to the pan is called sautéing. Fish, steaks, chops and potatoes are cooked by this method.

STEWING

Meat for a stew, such as neck, clod, shank, brisket or chuck, can be cut in small pieces, browned to hold in juices before cooking in the boiling water; or, omitting that process, put directly in a small amount of hot water and cooked at a low temperature for a long time. All nutriment is retained in the meat.

DEEP FRYING

For this method of cooking, an iron kettle is best. Half fill the kettle with fat and place over fire; melt and, when a slight blue vapor arises, test with a small cube of bread. If bread browns in one minute, the temperature is right for uncooked mixtures (doughnuts). If it browns in forty seconds, it is right for cooked materials (croquettes). The temperature of the fat should average 350-400 degrees F. Keep the temperature even; if too cool, the food will soak fat; if too hot, both fat and material to be cooked will burn. Foods cooked in deep fat should be drained on brown paper.

_Armour Meats are U. S. Government inspected and passed_

A FEW MEAT RECIPES

ROAST CHUCK

Serves 5. Preparation 3 hours.

4 lbs. chuck (2 first ribs of chuck, cut across) ¼ tsp. pepper ⅛ c. thinly sliced onion 2 tbsp. flour ⅛ tsp. allspice 2 bay leaves 1 tsp. salt

Dredge the roast with flour. Rub skillet with suet and, when pan is hot, quickly sear roast on all sides. Add seasonings, except salt. Roast in hot oven for fifteen minutes, sprinkle with salt, lower heat and cook slowly until tender. Baste every twenty minutes, adding a little boiling water if necessary.

POT ROAST OF BEEF WITH SPAGHETTI

Serves 6. Preparation 4 hours.

4 to 5 lbs. rump of beef 1 lb. spaghetti 2 qts. canned tomatoes ¼ lb. beef suet 1 large onion 1 large green pepper Grated American cheese 2 slices of bacon 3 bay leaves 6 cloves 2 cloves of garlic 1 c. hot water salt and pepper

Cut the suet and bacon fine and fry. Add the onion, garlic and green pepper chopped quite fine and fry. When beginning to brown, add the meat, turning it so that it will be well browned on all sides. Then add the hot water, tomatoes and the seasoning. Simmer gently for three hours, add 2 tsp. salt and a quarter tsp. pepper at the end of an hour and a half. Half an hour before the meat is finished, boil the spaghetti till tender, drain it and put it into the sauce surrounding the meat. Let cook 10 minutes. For serving, put the meat on a platter and the sauce in a dish, grating American cheese thickly over the top.

ROLLED FLANK STEAK

Serves 5. Preparation 1 hour.

1 flank steak (2 pounds) 1 cup bread dressing

Wipe steak. Score across grain with sharp knife. Rub with flour and brown; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread one side with bread dressing, well seasoned. Roll up and fasten with skewers or tie with a cord. Place in a casserole, add one-fourth cup boiling water and let bake slowly until tender. Slice and serve with the gravy.

ROAST SHOULDER OF MUTTON

Serves 5. Preparation 3 hours.

Five-pound shoulder roast Salt, garlic, pepper and flour

Wipe meat. Sear quickly to seal in juices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut garlic in two pieces and place on meat. Dredge both meat and bottom of pan with flour. Place roast on rack in roasting pan, and add hot water. Place in hot oven and baste every fifteen minutes. Lower gas after the first twenty minutes’ cooking, and cook slowly until tender. Keep meat covered and about three-fourths pint of water in the pan, as the steaming will help make the meat tender. Cook at low temperature.

BAKED HAM

Serves 20. Preparation 6-7 hours. (12 pounds.)

Set ham on a rack in a baking pan and bake one-half hour in a hot oven, turning after the first fifteen minutes. Lower heat. Pour a cupful of cider over ham and let bake five hours, basting often with the liquid in the pan. Remove from the oven and skin. Insert cloves in the fat of the ham, from which the skin has been taken; press these into the ham in a symmetrical manner. Mix half a cupful of brown sugar with half a teaspoon of pepper and half a cupful of fine cracker crumbs and sprinkle over the portion containing the cloves; return the ham to the oven for one hour.

_The cheaper cuts of meat are nutritious and can be made as tasty as the expensive cuts_

HUNGARIAN GOULASH

Serves 5. Preparation 2½ hours.

2 lbs. beef (shoulder clod) Salt Flour ¼ lb. fat salt pork Boiling water 2 cups tomatoes 1 sliced onion 1 stalk celery Bit of bay leaf 4 cloves 2 cups sliced potatoes 1½ cups carrots 1 green pepper Parsley

Wipe beef, cut in two-inch pieces, and roll in flour. Cut salt pork in dice and fry until light brown. Add beef and cook until meat is well browned, stirring constantly. Add salt and enough boiling water to prevent burning, and cook slowly two hours or until tender. In another dish cook tomatoes, onion, chopped celery, bay leaf and cloves for thirty minutes. Add two tbsp. flour, mixed until smooth with two tbsp. cold water, and cook thoroughly. Add to meat. Remove meat to center of platter, surround it with potato slices and carrots cut in strips and cooked until tender in boiling salted water, and add the green pepper parboiled and cut in strips. Pour gravy over the meat; garnish with parsley.

STEAKS

BROILED SIRLOIN STEAK

Serves 6-7. Preparation 10 minutes.

3½ lbs. steak ½ tsp. salt ⅛ tsp. pepper 2 tbsp. butter

Wipe meat with cloth wrung out of cold water. Remove superfluous fat and use to grease the broiler. Have broiler very hot. Place meat on broiler about three inches from the heat, which should be even, whether it is coal, gas or electricity. Turn meat every ten seconds at first, that the surface may be well seared and prevent the escape of the juices.

Steak 1½ inches thick will require 10 minutes if desired rare, 12 to 15 minutes if preferred well done.

PLANKED RUMP STEAK

Serves 5-6. Preparation 25 minutes.

1 cross cut of rump steak (1¾ inches thick) 2 tbsp. butter ½ tsp. salt 2 c. small beets ⅛ tsp. pepper 6 slices tomato 6 slices lemon 6 stuffed olives 6 potatoes

Wipe steak, remove superfluous fat, and pan broil seven minutes. Grease an oak plank and arrange, close to the edge, a border of mashed potatoes, pressed through a pastry bag. Remove steak to plank, put into a hot oven, and bake until steak is cooked and potatoes are browned. Spread steak with butter, salt and pepper, and garnish with parsley, lemon and olives. Arrange beets and other vegetables, if desired, on the side.

MEAT SAUCES AND GRAVY

Use the meat juices left from cooked meat or fowl, removing any excess fat. Extract of beef may be substituted for meat juices in gravy.

After removing meat and excess fat from the roasting pan or skillet, heat meat juices to boiling and thicken carefully. To avoid lumpy gravy, the best way is to mix the flour with a small amount of water, stirring until smooth, then gradually adding more cold water until the thickening is of the right consistency. Add gradually to the hot liquid, stirring constantly.

Allow mixture to cook ten minutes. Gravy should be cooked thoroughly to avoid any raw or starchy taste, too common to American gravies.

Season carefully, according to the meats gravy is to be served with. It is wise to taste before serving.

The distinctive touch French chefs are noted for in their meat and fish dishes is often due to the sauce accompanying them. Any careful American cook can acquire the same reputation for skill by following the suggestions to cook thoroughly and season distinctively.

FOUNDATION RECIPE FOR CREAM SAUCES FOR MEATS, FISH AND VEGETABLES

Thin Sauce 1 tbsp. fat, 1 tbsp. flour to ½ pt. liquid Medium “ 2 tbsp. fat, 2 tbsp. flour to ½ pt. liquid Thick “ 3 tbsp. fat, 3 tbsp. flour to ½ pt. liquid

=Method of Preparation=—Melt fat, add flour, stir until smooth. Add liquid gradually, stirring constantly. Place over hot water until the starch is well cooked and the sauce is smooth and of the desired thickness. Season to taste.

_For variety, serve some of the extra meat portions each week—see page 15_

HOW TO COOK POULTRY

(_See pages 13 and 40_)

SELECTION OF YOUNG FOWL

The flesh of young fowl is smooth. The claws and feet are usually light yellow in color and are very supple. A breastbone which bends easily indicates young fowl. Fowl should be plump, but not over plump. If fowl is exceptionally fat at the crop, it indicates large inner organs. They weigh heavily, and therefore are poor purchases.

PREPARATION FOR COOKERY

Care should be taken that the fowl is drawn and thoroughly cleansed. This is often attended to by the local butcher, but special care and attention is also needed in the home.

The pin feathers must all be removed and the fowl singed. All blood clots, portions of lungs, etc., should be removed. Hold fowl under faucet, and let water from faucet rush through it to remove any clinging portions.

TERMS USED IN SELECTING FOWL

Chicken—Term applied to fowls under ten months. Broilers—Young spring chickens about six months old. Fowl—Term including chicken, turkey, goose and duck. Pullet—Young hen. Term including fowl up to the age of one year. Capon—Specially fattened male chicken.

METHODS OF COOKING

ROASTING

Chicken and turkey being dry meat, require frequent bastings. The grease which accumulates in the roasting of geese must be poured off from time to time. This should be clarified and carefully saved for use in pastries and as spreads. Strips of salt pork or bacon if placed across turkey or chicken baste the fowl as well as flavor it.

STEWING

Older fowl is best when stewed. The fowl should be put into boiling water, seasoning added, and gently cooked at the simmering point for several hours before the vegetables are added. Cook until the meat is very tender. Add dumplings the last twenty minutes.

BROILING

Fowl that is to be broiled should be brushed well with oil and allowed to stand in cool place some time before broiling. Sprinkling with lemon juice also tends to make it tender as well as flavors the fowl. Strips of bacon laid across the top baste the fowl. Turn frequently to insure thorough cooking.

FRYING

Select young fowl for frying. Long, slow cooking is needed to thoroughly cook the fowl. The portions are dipped in egg and crumbs to protect them from the high heat of the pan and so keep them tender. Use a shallow griddle and add bacon fat as necessary.

DRESSING A FOWL

In order that the legs, wings, and neck of fowl will not dry out, it is well to truss the fowl for roasting.

Fold back the wings so that they form a “V” on the back. Fold the neck back so that it fits beneath the wings. Fasten with twine. Bend back legs and fasten them close to the rump. Also fasten joints close to the body. If dressing is to be used, stuff in body and then sew up the openings. A trussing or darning needle threaded with twine makes the matter of trussing quite simple.

FROZEN FOWL

If fowl is purchased frozen, thaw in pan of cold water or place in refrigerator for six hours and then dress in the usual manner. Frozen fowl handled by a nationally recognized food organization has been carefully selected and possesses a delicate flavor.

PRESSURE COOKERY OF FOWL

Fowl may be fried or stewed in the pressure cooker. The foods are made ready as in the ordinary method and are placed in the bottom of the cooker. Vegetables or cereals may be placed on the rack above and cooked at the same time. The lid is then adjusted and the pressure raised to about 18 pounds and then kept there for thirty minutes. Fowl that is old is quickly cooked tender in a pressure cooker.

WAYS OF SERVING LEFT-OVER FOWL

Fricassee, creamed chicken, chicken à la king, croquettes, soufflé of fowl, timbales, en casserole, salad, pilaff, patties, cold jellied loaf with vegetables, club sandwiches, hot chicken sandwiches, fritters, dumplings, pot pie, cottagers’ pie, pan roast, boned stuffed chicken, soup, country fried, pressed chicken, forcemeat, blanketed, curry, cutlets, gumbo, scalloped, stew.

_Armour’s Veribest Poultry, the choice of the discriminating housewife_

SALADS

Salads are combinations of meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, or fruits and nuts with a dressing.

Mayonnaise should not be added to salad until just before serving, as it may liquefy. It is most satisfactory to mix each ingredient in a fruit or vegetable salad with the dressing separately and combine at the last moment.

Green vegetables, such as lettuce, should not have dressing added until just before serving.

The flavor of meat and fish salads is improved by marinating in French dressing before combining with other materials.

CARE OF MATERIALS

LETTUCE AND OTHER SALAD GREENS

Wash and pick over carefully as soon as brought from garden or market. Wrap in a wet tea towel or in salad bag and place on the ice or in cold place to keep fresh.

To keep parsley or other garnishes fresh, place in a fruit jar, sprinkle with cold water and cover tightly. The greens will remain fresh as long as there is moisture in the jar.

SALAD DRESSINGS

FRENCH

A mixture of salad oil, two parts, with one part vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.—Suitable for almost all salads.

CHEESE

To a French dressing add one part of one of the stronger varieties of cheese, crumbled.—Suitable for lettuce salad.

MAYONNAISE

Salad oil, eggs, a small amount of lemon juice, or vinegar and seasoning whipped together to form a thick dressing.—Suitable for chicken, Waldorf, cream cheese, fruit, Macedoine, asparagus, celery and other salads.

BOILED

Milk, eggs, mustard, vinegar and seasonings cooked together to form a dressing of the consistency of soft custard.—Suitable for potato or cabbage salad, and salads where oil dressing is not liked.

RUSSIAN

To one cup of boiled dressing add one-fourth cup of ground ham, 2 tablespoons of caviar, 1 tablespoon of shallots, horseradish and grape juice, and season with sour cream, sugar, pepper and salt.—Suitable for vegetable salads.

THOUSAND ISLAND

A mayonnaise dressing to which is added pimento, green peppers, chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pickles and whipped cream.—Suitable for lettuce, endive, and watercress.

WHIPPED CREAM DRESSING

Whipped cream added to a small proportion of boiled dressing or mayonnaise dressing. =Use=—For fruit salad, chicken salad, and other meats of delicate flavor.

SALAD COMBINATIONS

MATERIALS DRESSING WHEN TO SERVE

FRUIT

Waldorf—Apple, celery, Whipped cream Luncheon, dinner or nuts and dressing dressing light dinner

Half pear filled with “ Luncheon or heavy chopped fruit dinner

Mixed fruits—orange, “ Luncheon or to replace pineapple, dates, banana dessert for dinner

CHEESE

American cheese cut in Boiled dressing Main luncheon dish or cubes, peas, gherkins light dinner

Celery stuffed with cream French dressing Luncheon or course cheese dinner

Cheese and nut balls “ “ lettuce

Lettuce, grated cheese Mayonnaise “

Pineapple slice with French dressing Serve with baked ham cheese ball dinner

FISH

Tuna and diced celery Mayonnaise Main luncheon dish or with light dinner

Fresh watercress, minced onion, shredded finnan French dressing “ haddie

Salmon en French dressing “ mayonnaise—asparagus tips

VEGETABLE

Any vegetable fresh, French dressing Luncheon, dinner or to canned or cooked or mayonnaise replace second vegetable dressing at dinner

_For a fine flavored salad dressing use Armour’s Veribest Salad Oil_

SOME HEARTY MEAT SUBSTITUTES

EGGS

Although hens’ eggs are more commonly in use, the eggs of ducks, geese, guinea fowl and turkeys are all used as food.

USES

The various uses of eggs in cooking may be listed as follows:

1 As a substitute for meat 2 To clear soup and coffee 3 To thicken sauces, etc. 4 To make certain foods light, omelet, soufflés 5 As a garnish 6 To improve flavor 7 To color certain foods 8 To glaze breads, rolls, etc. 9 As a leavening agent in baking

PRINCIPLES OF COOKERY

In cooking eggs, heat produces a change in both color and in firmness, the firmness, or hardness, depending on the temperature and length of time cooked. The change which takes place in the egg albumen is called coagulation. A high temperature for any continued length of time will produce a leathery consistency, which necessitates a longer time for digestion.

Soft-cooked eggs digest more quickly and more satisfactorily than do eggs prepared any other way.

The margin is slight, however, and the stomach takes care of all kinds of cooked eggs.

WAYS OF COOKING AND TIME REQUIRED TO DIGEST

Hours to Digest

1 Boiled { Soft 3 { Hard 3½ 2 Poached 2½ 3 Scrambled 3½ 4 Fried 3½ 5 Baked or Shirred 2¼ 6 Raw 1¼

HOW TO PRESERVE

As there is a harvest time for eggs, it is necessary to insure eggs for year around use by preserving a supply for winter release.

Preserve only fresh clean eggs in the spring and early summer when they are cheap and plentiful. They may be preserved in any of the following ways:

1 Commercial cold storage is the most satisfactory method of preserving eggs. 2 Pack in sawdust, salt, bran or sand, with small end down. 3 Cover with salt brine, limewater or water glass. 4 Coat with lard, oil or paraffin.

CHEESE

PRINCIPLES OF COOKERY

Cheese is sufficiently cooked when melted. Protein is toughened by a high temperature, therefore a low temperature process should always be used in preparing cooked cheese dishes.

Cheese should be kept dry and covered, but never wholly exclude the air. If spread with melted paraffin, it will keep moist. Soft cheese should be kept in the ice box. The receptacle for cheese should be thoroughly sterilized before new cheese is placed in it.

Cheese gives character to many nourishing but indistinct-flavored foods.

HOW TO USE CHEESE

{ Sandwiches { Grated in Soups Uncooked { Salad Cheese { With Pie or Pudding { With Crackers and { Coffee

{ In Scalloped Dishes { Rarebit { Sauces { Croquettes Cooked { Soufflés and Fondues { Biscuits, Muffins, { Cheese Sticks { Topping for Baked { Dishes

CHEESE SOUFFLÉ

Serves 4. Preparation 20 minutes. Medium in cost.

2 tbsp. butter or oleomargarine 3 tbsp. flour ½ c. scalded milk Speck cayenne ½ tsp. salt ¼ c. grated American cheese 3 eggs

Melt the oleomargarine, add the flour and when well mixed add gradually the scalded milk. Then add salt, cayenne and cheese. Remove from the fire and add the yolks of eggs, beaten until lemon colored. Cool the mixture and fold into the whites, beaten until stiff. Pour into a buttered baking dish and cook twenty minutes in a slow oven. Serve at once. Cheese soufflé is suitable as the main dish for luncheon, dinner or supper.

CHEESE SAUCE

Serves 5. Preparation 20 minutes.

2 c. medium white sauce 1 c. grated cheese

Make a medium white sauce. To each cup of sauce add half a cup of grated cheese and cook in double boiler until melted.

Use as a sauce over macaroni, spaghetti, rice, hominy, escalloped vegetable dishes, over toast as mock rarebit, or as a foundation for cream of cheese soup.

_Veribest carton eggs carry the Armour guarantee of dependability_

VEGETABLE COOKERY