Dried peaches are done in the same way, only the lemon and spice are omitted.
HOW TO SELECT AND TAKE CARE OF BEEF, MUTTON, LAMB, VEAL, AND PORK.
Ox beef is the best; next to this the flesh of an heifer; and both are in perfection during the first three months of the year. Choose that, the lean of which is red and of a fine grain, and the fat of which is white.[10] In cold weather, if you have a large family, it is good economy to buy a quarter. The hind quarter is considered best. Have the butcher cut it up. Pack the roasting pieces, which you do not want soon, in a barrel of snow, and set it where it will not melt. It is not necessary to freeze the meat first. The leg will furnish, besides a piece to cook alamode, two or three to smoke. The thin pieces at the end of the ribs are good corned, and the flank also; or it may be used for mince pies. The shank, although it has but little meat, is very good for some purposes. It should be cut up into several pieces and boiled four or five hours, no matter how long. There is a great deal of marrow and fat in it which, when cold, should be taken off and clarified for various uses. The meat is good used as is directed in the receipt for brawn, and the liquor makes excellent soup and gravies.
The best roasting pieces of beef are the sirloin, the second cut in the fore quarter, and the rump. If you buy a sirloin for a family of six or eight, get eight or ten pounds. Cut off the thin end in which there is no bone. It is very good corned, and not very good roasted. The roasting piece will still be large enough for the family dinner, and the corned piece will do for another day, with a pudding or another small dish of meat. The back part of the rump is a convenient and economical piece, especially for a small family. It is a long and rather narrow piece, weighing about ten pounds, and contains less fat and bone than any other, equally good, in the ox. The thickest end affords nice steaks, and next to them is a good roasting piece, and the thinnest end which contains the bone, is very good corned, or for a soup. The whole is an excellent piece for roasting, in case so large a one is needed.
The spring is the best season for mutton. That which is not very large is to be preferred. It should be of a good red and white, and fine grained. There is a great difference between mutton and lamb killed from a pasture, and that which has been driven a distance to market.
Lamb is best in July and August.
Veal is best in the spring. It should look white and be fat. The breast is particularly nice stuffed; the loin should be roasted. The leg is an economical piece, as you can take off cutlets from the large end, make broth of the shank, and stuff and roast the centre.
Roasting pieces of all kinds of ribbed meat, except beef, should be jointed by the butcher, else the carving will be extremely difficult.
Always provide a sharp knife for carving. The juices of meat are extracted by its being haggled. An invalid, speaking of the kindness of a neighbor in sending him some slices of corned beef, said, "They were cut with a sharp knife." For the sake of economy, if for no other reason, carve smoothly, and only as much as is wanted at first. It is easy to cut more for replenishing plates; and meat is far better not to lie sliced in the dish. If no more is cut than is used, a handsome piece may often be reserved for the next day; whereas if all is cut up it cannot be so good, and some of it will certainly be wasted.