If people wish to be economical, they should take some pains to
ascertain what are the cheapest pieces of meat to buy; not merely
those which are cheapest in price, but those which go farthest when
cooked. That part of mutton called the rack, which consists of the
neck, and a few of the rib bones below, is cheap food. It is not more
than four or five cents a pound; and four pounds will make a dinner
for six people. The neck, cut into pieces, and boiled slowly an hour
and a quarter, in little more than water enough to cover it, makes
very nice broth. A great spoonful of rice should be washed and
thrown in with the meat. About twenty minutes before it is done, put
in a little thickening, and season with salt, pepper, and sifted
summer-savory, or sage. The bones below the neck, broiled, make a good
mutton chop. If your family be small, a rack of mutton will make you
two dinners,--broth once, and mutton chop with a few slices of salt
pork, for another; if your family consist of six or seven, you can
have two dishes for a dinner. If you boil the whole rack for broth,
there will be some left for mince meat.
Liver is usually much despised; but when well cooked, it is very
palatable; and it is the cheapest of all animal food. Veal liver is
by some considered the best. Veal liver is usually two cents a pound;
beef liver is one cent. After you have fried a few slices of salt
pork, put the liver in while the fat is very hot, and cook it through
thoroughly. If you doubt whether it be done, cut into a slice, and see
whether it has turned entirely brown, without any red stripe in the
middle. Season it with pepper and salt, and butter, if you live on a
farm, and have butter in plenty. It should not be cooked on furiously
hot coals, as it is very apt to scorch. Sprinkle in a little flour,
stir it, and pour in boiling water to make gravy, just as you would
for fried meat. Some think liver is better dipped in sifted Indian
meal before it is fried. It is good broiled and buttered like a steak.
It should be cut into slices about as thick as are cut for steaks.
The heart, liver, &c. of a pig is good fried; so is that of a lamb.
The latter is commonly called lamb-fry; and a dinner may be bought for
six or eight cents. Be sure and ask for the sweet-bread; for butchers
are extremely apt to reserve it for their own use; and therefore
lamb-fry is almost always sold without it. Fry five or six slices of
salt pork; after it is taken out, put in your lamb-fry while the fat
is hot. Do it thoroughly; but be careful the fire is not too furious,
as it is apt to scorch. Take a large handful of parsley, see that it
is washed clean, cut it up pretty fine; then pour a little boiling
water into the fat in which your dinner has been fried, and let the
parsley cook in it a minute or two; then take it out in a spoon, and
lay it over your slices of meat. Some people, who like thick gravies,
shake in a little flour into the spider, before pouring in the boiling
water.
Bones from which roasting pieces have been cut, may be bought in the
market for ten or twelve cents, from which a very rich soup may be
made, besides skimming off fat for shortening. If the bones left from
the rump be bought, they will be found full of marrow, and will give
more than a pint of good shortening, without injuring the richness of
the soup. The richest piece of beef for a soup is the leg and the shin
of beef; the leg is on the hind quarter, and the shin is on the fore
quarter. The leg rand, that is, the thick part of the leg above the
bony parts, is very nice for mince pies. Some people have an objection
to these parts of beef, thinking they must be stringy; but, if boiled
_very tender_, the sinews are not perceived, and add, in fact, to the
richness of a soup.
The thick part of a thin flank is the most profitable part in the
whole ox to buy. It is not so handsome in appearance as some other
pieces, but it is thick meat, with very little bone, and is usually
two cents less in the pound than more fashionable pieces. It is good
for roasting, and particularly for corning and salting. The navel end
of the brisket is one of the best pieces for salting or corning, and
is very good for roasting.
The rattle rand is the very best piece for corning, or salting.
A bullock's heart is very profitable to use as a steak. Broiled just
like beef. There are usually five pounds in a heart, and it can be
bought for twenty-five cents. Some people stuff and roast it.
The chuck, between the neck and the shoulder, is a very good piece for
roasting,--for steaks, or for salting. Indeed, it is good for almost
anything; and it is cheap, being from four to five cents a pound.
The richest, tenderest, and most delicate piece of beef for roasting,
or for steak, is the rump and the last cut of the sirloin. It is
peculiarly appropriate for an invalid, as it is lighter food than any
other beef.
But if economy be consulted instead of luxury, the round will be
bought in preference to the rump. It is heartier food, and, of course,
less can be eaten; and it is cheaper in price.
The shoulder of veal is the most economical for roasting or boiling.
It is always cheap, let veal bear what price it may. Two dinners may
be made from it; the shoulder roasted, and the knuckle cut off to be
boiled with a bit of pork and greens, or to be made into soup.
The breast of veal is a favorite piece, and is sold high.
The hind-quarter of veal and the loin make two good roasting pieces.
The leg is usually stuffed. The line has the kidney upon it; the
fore-quarter has the brisket on it. This is a sweet and delicate
morsel; for this reason some people prefer the fore-quarter to any
other part.
Always buy a shoulder of pork for economy, for roasting, or coming to
boil. Cut off the leg to be boiled. Many people buy the upper part of
the spare-rib of pork thinking it the most genteel; but the lower part
of the spare-rib toward the neck is much more sweet and juicy, and
there is more meat in proportion to the bone.
The breast, or shoulder, of mutton are both nice, either for roasting,
boiling or broth. The breast is richer than the shoulder. It is more
economical to buy a fore-quarter of mutton than a hind-quarter; there
is usually two cents difference per pound. The neck of fat mutton
makes a good steak for broiling.
Lamb brings the same price, either fore-quarter or hind-quarter;
therefore it is more profitable to buy a hind-quarter than a
fore-quarter; especially as its own fat will cook it, and there is no
need of pork or butter in addition. Either part is good for roasting
or boiling. The loin of lamb is suitable for roasting, and is the most
profitable for a small family. The leg is more suitable for boiling
than for anything else; the shoulder and breast are peculiarly
suitable for broth.
The part that in lamb is called the loin, in mutton is called the
chop. Mutton chop is considered very good for broiling.
Pig's head is a profitable thing to buy. It is despised, because it is
cheap; but when well cooked it is delicious. Well cleaned, the tip of
the snout chopped off, and put in brine a week, it is very good for
boiling: the cheeks, in particular, are very sweet; they are better
than any other pieces of pork to bake with beans. The head is likewise
very good baked about an hour and a half. It tastes like roast pork,
and yields abundance of sweet fat, for shortening.
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