[Illustration: Fig. 3]
35. With the general characteristics of beef well in mind, the housewife
is prepared to learn of the way in which the animal is cut to produce
the different pieces that she sees in the butcher shop and the names
that are given to the various cuts. The cutting of the animal, as well
as the naming of the pieces, varies in different localities, but the
difference is not sufficient to be confusing. Therefore, if the
information here given is thoroughly mastered, the housewife will be
able to select meat intelligently in whatever section of the country she
may reside. An important point for her to remember concerning meat of
any kind is that the cheaper cuts are found near the neck, legs, and
shins, and that the pieces increase in price as they go toward the back.
[Illustration: Fig. 4 *divisions of a cow into cuts*]
36. The general method of cutting up a whole beef into large cuts is
shown in Fig. 3. After the head, feet, and intestines are removed, the
carcass is cut down along the spine and divided into halves. Each half
includes an entire side and is known as a _side of beef_. Then each side
is divided into _fore_ and _hind quarters_ along the diagonal line that
occurs about midway between the front and the back. It is in this form
that the butcher usually receives the beef. He first separates it into
the large pieces here indicated and then cuts these pieces into numerous
smaller ones having names that indicate their location. For instance,
the piece marked _a_ includes the _chuck_; _b_, the _ribs_; _c_, the
_loin_; _d_, the _round_; _e_, the _flank_; _f_, the _plate_; and _g_,
the _shin_.
37. The cuts that are obtained from these larger pieces are shown in
Fig. 4. For instance, from the chuck, as illustrated in (_a_), are
secured numerous cuts, including the neck, shoulder clod, shoulder, and
chuck ribs. The same is true of the other pieces, as a careful study of
these illustrations will reveal. Besides indicating the various cuts,
each one of these illustrations serves an additional purpose. From
(_a_), which shows the skeleton of the beef, the amount and the shape of
the bone that the various cuts contain can be readily observed. From
(_b_), which shows the directions in which the surface muscle fibers
run, can be told whether the cutting of the pieces is done across the
fibers or in the same direction as the fibers. Both of these matters are
of such importance to the housewife that constant reference to these
illustrations should be made until the points that they serve to
indicate are thoroughly understood.