Boiled Beef
The flank is one of the best pieces for boiling.
Select a five-pound piece; wipe; remove membrane, shape, stuff, tie, and skewer. Cover with cloth; place in kettle; cover with boiling water; bring to the boiling point, and cook just below the boiling point five or six hours, or until tender. Simmered beef would be a more correct term than boiled beef, but it is ordinarily known as boiled beef.
Season with salt one half hour before serving. Reserve liquor for making gravies and soups.
Boiled beef should have a rich, highly seasoned gravy served with it.
Braised Beef
An iron, or agate-ware kettle, with closely fitting cover, is absolutely necessary for perfectly cooking braised beef.
Select six pounds of round of beef, or any tough, inexpensive piece. Try out one cup salt pork cubes; add one cup each of chopped celery, carrot, onion and turnip. Wipe meat; sprinkle with salt and pepper and dredge with flour. Place meat on bed of vegetables and cook in covered kettle twenty minutes; add two pints hot water and cook slowly until tender, about four hours, turning meat and basting occasionally. It may be necessary to add more water, for there should be about a pint and a half when meat is cooked. Thicken gravy with four tablespoons flour, blended with two tablespoons butter, added twenty minutes before serving. A bouquet of sweet herbs may be added to improve the flavor.
Fillet of Beef
The tenderloin of beef is known as the fillet.