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.
[Illustration: Courtesy of Bureau of Publications, Teachers College FIGURE
54--ROUND.]
[Illustration: Courtesy of Bureau of Publications, Teachers College FIGURE
55.--CHUCK.]
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.
[Illustration: Adapted from diagram in _University of Illinois_
Bulletin, No 158 FIGURE 56.--CUTS OF BEEF.]
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
2 quarts beef stock
2 tablespoonfuls fat
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot
1 turnip
1/2 stalk celery or dried celery leaves
Heat the fat and sliced onion. Cook until the onion is browned; add a
small quantity of water. Cut the vegetables into dice, add them to the
water containing browned onion and cook until the vegetables are tender.
Add the beef stock to the vegetables and vegetable stock; heat; evaporate,
if necessary, and then serve.
The vegetables may be strained from the soup, and cooked rice, macaroni,
or barley added; or the rice, macaroni, or barley may be cooked with the
vegetables. Pearl barley should be soaked in water before being cooked in
the stock.
Other vegetables may be used for soup-making, as tomatoes, green peas,
asparagus, and cauliflower. Indeed, ingenuity in combining flavors and
utilizing "left overs" should form no small part of soup-making.
EXAMINATION OF MEAT LEFT FROM SOUP-MAKING.--Which contains the more
nutriment,--beef stock or the meat from which the stock was prepared? What
valuable protein material does the solid meat contain (see _Protein in
Meat_)? Taste a bit of the meat. What does it lack? In what does the
flavoring of this meat exist? What can be added to this "left over" meat
as a substitute for its flavor? In the recipe for Baked Hash (below), what
supplies flavor to the meat?
BAKED HASH
l 1/2 cupfuls chopped meat and fat
1/3 cupful (or more) boiling water
1 1/2 cupfuls mashed potatoes or stock
Salt and pepper
1 cupful cracker crumbs, _or_
2 cupfuls soft bread crumbs
1 teaspoonful scraped onion
Chopped parsley
2 tablespoonfuls butter or substitute
Mix all the ingredients, except the fat and crumbs. Add enough water or
stock to moisten all ingredients. Place the mixture in a buttered baking-
dish. Mix the fat with the bread or cracker crumbs. Cover the hash mixture
with the crumbs, and bake slowly until the meat is thoroughly heated and
the crumbs browned. Serve at once.
LESSON LXIV
BEEF: METHODS OF COOKING TOUGH CUTS (C)
ROLLED BEEFSTEAK
1 pound round steak
1 cupful soft bread crumbs
1/8 teaspoonful ground cloves
Pepper
1/2 teaspoonful salt
1 small onion, chopped
Hot water or milk, salt, pepper, flour and fat
[Illustration: FIGURE 57.--RUMP.]
Cut round steak of 1/2 inch thickness into pieces 3 by 4 inches. Make a
stuffing of the bread crumbs, chopped onions, cloves, salt, pepper, with
enough hot water or milk to moisten. Spread the stuffing over the pieces
of steak, roll up each piece and tie it with a piece of string, or skewer
it with toothpicks. Dredge generously with flour and add salt and pepper.
Brown in beef drippings or other fat, cover with boiling water, and simmer
for 1 1/2 hours or until tender. Remove the strings or toothpicks, and
serve the meat with the sauce in which it was cooked.
If the meat has not been cut thin enough, it may be pounded with a wooden
potato masher or mallet to make it sufficiently thin.
BEEF STEW
2 pounds beef
1/4 cupful flour
2 teaspoonfuls salt
1/8 teaspoonful pepper
1 onion cut into slices
1 quart hot water
2 carrots, cut in dice
1 turnip, cut in dice
4 potatoes, cut in dice
1 tablespoonful kitchen bouquet
Remove the fat from the meat to be stewed; cut the meat into 1-inch
pieces. Dredge the meat with the flour; add the salt and pepper. Try out
the fat in a frying pan; remove the scraps. Brown the onion and then the
meat in the hot fat. Add the hot water and pieces of bone and cook in the
frying pan for 2 hours at a low temperature; or turn into a double boiler
and cook for the same length of time. Add vegetables, except potatoes, and
cook for I hour longer; add the potatoes 1/2 hour before the stew is done.
If desired, more flour,--mixed with enough cold water to pour easily,--may
be added when the potatoes are added. Remove the bone, add kitchen
bouquet, and serve.
THICKENING THE SAUCE OF MEAT COOKED IN WATER.--When meat is dipped in
flour, then browned in fat, and finally cooked in water, the flour
thickens the water and forms a sauce around the meat. Usually, however,
more flour needs to be added to the sauce to make it sufficiently thick.
Sometimes directions for adding a flour-and-water paste to the hot meat
stock are given, but unless the flour-and-water paste is cooked for some
time (boiled for 5 minutes at least) the sauce does not have a pleasing
flavor. This is because the starch is insufficiently cooked or the flour
is not browned. It has been found much more satisfactory to sprinkle a
little extra flour into the hot fat while browning the floured meat. Thus
the sauce is made smooth, and the starch cooked thoroughly by the time the
sauce is ready to serve.
QUESTIONS
If round steak has been cut too thick for rolling, what is a practical way
of making it of one half inch thickness?
For what purpose is rolled steak browned in fat before cooking in water?
Explain why the rolled steak is cooked in water at simmering rather than
at boiling temperature.
What is the purpose of dredging these meats in flour?
Why are not the vegetables added to the Beef Stew when the boiling water
is added? Why are not the potatoes added with the other vegetables?
Why is the bone added to the Beef Stew?
Name at least two cuts of beef that would be suitable for Beef Stew. What
are the prices per pound of these cuts?
LESSON LXV
BEEF: METHODS OF COOKING TOUGH CUTS (D)
SWISS STEAK
1 1/2 pounds round steak, cut 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
1/2 to 1 cupful flour
Suet or bacon fat
1/2 onion, sliced
1 1/2 teaspoonfuls salt
Dash pepper
With the edge of a saucer, pound the flour into both sides of the steak.
In a frying pan, put the suet or bacon fat and brown the onion in it. Then
brown both sides of the floured meat in the fat. Cover with boiling water
and let the meat cook at simmering temperature either on top of the range
or in the oven from 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until it is tender. Add enough
salt and pepper to season the meat. If necessary, evaporate the sauce
around the meat until it is of sufficient thickness to serve as Brown
Sauce. Serve the meat and sauce hot.
If desired, the meat may be stewed in tomato juice instead of water. (If
tomato is added, what kind of frying pan (_i.e._ of what material)
should be used in cooking the meat? See _Suggestions for Cooking
Fruits._)
This variation may also be made: One half green pepper may be chopped and
sprinkled over the surface of the steak while the latter is simmering. The
onion may be omitted, if desired.
POT ROAST
3 pounds beef
Flour
Salt pork or suet
1/2 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
Salt and pepper
1/4 cupful each,--diced carrot, turnip, onion, and celery
[Illustration: FIGURE 58.--CROSS RIB, BOSTON CUT, OR ENGLISH CUT]
Try out the fat and remove the scraps. Dredge the meat generously with
flour and brown the entire surface in the fat. Place the meat on a rack in
the kettle; surround it with the vegetables and spices, and season it with
salt and pepper. Add 3 cupfuls of boiling water; cover closely and simmer
for 4 hours. Turn after the second hour. Serve hot both the meat and the
sauce containing vegetables.
NOTE--This meat may be saved and used in the following lesson regarding
the uses of cooked beef
[Illustration: Courtesy of _Bureau of Publications_ Teachers College
FIGURE 59--SKIRT STEAK, FLANK STEAK.]
SUMMARY OF THE METHODS OF COOKING TOUGH CUTS OF MEAT--There are many
recipes for cooking meats All, however, are modifications of a few
methods. Moist heat must be applied to tough cuts of meat (see _Tough
Cuts of Beef_) The methods of cooking such cuts can be summed up as
follows
1 _Soup-making_--Soak meat, bone, and fat in cold salted water, and
then cook below boiling temperature in the water.
2. "_Boiling" or Stewing_.--Plunge meat into boiling water; boil
until well seared; then cook in water below the boiling temperature.
3. _Pot-roasting and Braising_.--Sear meat by boiling or browning in
fat, then cook in steam. If the cooking is done on the top of the range,
it is called pot-roasting. If it is done in the oven, it is called
braising.
QUESTIONS
What is the chief difference between pot-roasting and braising?
Why is it not necessary to baste meats cooked by these methods?
What is the difference between braising and roasting meats (see
_Roasting_)? Why is braising suitable for tough cuts, and roasting
for tender cuts (see Experiments 51 and 52)?
Name at least three cuts of meat suitable for pot roasts. Give the price
per pound of each.
LESSON LXVI
BEEF: USES OF COOKED BEEF
"LEFT OVERS"--Small pieces of cooked meat should not be thrown away; they
can be used in many ways. Even though the meat has been cooked so as to
extract its juices, there still remains practically all of the myosin, and
this is a valuable constituent. If the juices have been drawn from the
meat, a little fresh meat should be added to it, or it should be seasoned
well with condiments, spices, or herbs. Water in which the meat has been
cooked, and "left over" gravy, should be utilized in making sauces for
cooked meats. Cooked meat of tender cut should merely be reheated, not
recooked. Hence it is usually well to cut it into pieces or chop it fine
in order to heat it quickly.
As in soup-making, ingenuity in combining and using "left over" materials
is required in making meat dishes. Stewed tomatoes can be substituted for
stock or gravy, and one starchy food substituted for another. The recipes
here given simply serve as suggestions. The ingredients and proportions
should be changed to utilize available materials.
SCALLOPED MEAT
2 cupfuls chopped meat
2 tablespoonfuls fat
3 tablespoonfuls flour
l-1/2 teaspoonfuls salt
1/8 teaspoonful pepper
1 teaspoonful scraped onion or chopped parsley
l-1/2 cupfuls milk, stock, or water
2 cupfuls buttered crumbs (See _Crumbs for Scalloped Dishes_.)