PREPARATION OF MEATS
Roast Beef.—The problem of roasting beef is to have it sufficiently cooked in the center without hardening and over-cooking the outside. Burned edges and a raw center testify to a lack of intelligence.
The English way of baking beef is to allow nine minutes to the pound for a rib-roast and eight minutes for a sirloin. Sprinkle pepper and salt over the meat and sprinkle with flour. Pour a little boiling water into the pan and bake in an oven hot enough to crisp and brown peeled raw potatoes cooked in the same pan. Do not forget to baste often. This method gives a rich flavor to the beef and the gravy, but the outside is apt to be cooked too hard while the inside is not enough cooked. Too hot a fire tends to make meat tough and dry.
The French have a safer way, especially for small roasts. The beef is cooked in a cool oven—so cool that a peeled, raw potato will cook tender without browning. Allow about an hour and a quarter for a four-pound rib-roast. In this way the heat penetrates to the center without hardening the outside. When properly done the outside is very little more cooked than the inside, and the roast throughout is tender, rare, and juicy, with no hard-burned edges. This way of baking makes inferior beef more tender and juicy than the English way. It has the disadvantage of not leaving any gravy in the pan. When baked after the English method the fat fries out into the pan, and a delicious, rich, brown gravy may be made by adding flour and water. Strain the juice through a fine sieve and allow to stand a few minutes so as to be able to skim or pour off all the grease. Do not serve gravies with half an inch of pure grease on top. It does not require a scientific education nor a herculean effort to remove the grease.
Pot Roast.—If the beef is of an inferior quality, the best way to cook it is in a heavy iron kettle, preferably with a sloping bottom. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper; place a little fat in the bottom of the kettle—enough to keep the meat from sticking—and allow the roast to brown slowly for half an hour. Now put a pint of boiling water in the pot. Cover very closely and let it simmer on the back of the stove for about four hours, adding small quantities of hot water as necessary, and turning often. When cooked take up the meat; skim the fat from the gravy and thicken with flour.
Hamburg Steaks.—Another way of preparing inferior cuts of beef is to make Hamburg steaks. Chop the meat in fine pieces. Season with salt, pepper and a little onion juice, and shape into thin cakes. Put three or four slices of fat salt pork into a frying-pan, and when brown remove it and place the steaks in the fat. Fry four minutes; turn, and fry three more, and serve on a hot platter. Put a tablespoonful of flour into the fat and stir until brown. Gradually add a cupful of water or preferably milk and boil three minutes; season well, pour over the meat, and serve immediately.
Broiled Beef.—Broiling is the simplest, easiest, and most delicious method of cooking meats, but, as a rule, ignorance instinctively turns to the frying-pan, and broiling is unknown in many homes. This is partly due to not knowing how to manage the fire. It seems so much easier to fry on top of the stove than to plan beforehand an adequate preparation of the coals. It is necessary to have a bed of clear, hot coals with no smoke. Have the steak cut three-quarters of an inch thick; place in a wire broiler; put over the coals and cover with a baking-pan. Turn every minute or two until the meat is sufficiently cooked. When done, place on a hot platter, and season well with salt, pepper, and butter. Serve immediately. It should take about ten minutes to cook a steak or thick mutton chop.
Fried Beef.—If beef must be fried, have a hot fire; heat a thick iron frying-pan and grease it just enough to keep the meat from sticking. Have the meat three-quarters of an inch thick; place in the hot pan and turn as soon as it is well seared. Turn often until done and then season well and serve at once. There should be no gravy in the pan; all the juices should be in the meat.
Beef Hash.—Take equal parts of beef and cold potatoes, chopped moderately fine. Chop a small onion and fry in plenty of butter until brown; add the meat and potatoes and just enough milk to keep from sticking. Cook for half an hour, stirring frequently. Serve with thin, dry toast or toasted crackers. Poached eggs are a very nice addition.
Veal.—Veal, when properly cooked, is delicious and delicate. Like pork it should be cooked slowly for a long time to develop its full flavor. Unfortunately it is usually half-cooked, tough, and insipid. The housewife who can cook veal properly has a distinct advantage over her less fortunate neighbor.