# Meat for Thrifty Meals

MEAT...
FOR THRIFTY MEALS
FARMERS' BULLETIN NO. 1908
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Page
FOODS AND NUTRITION DIVISION ⚫ BUREAU OF HOME ECONOMICS
MEAT FOR THRIFTY MEALS
by
LUCY M. ALEXANDER, Associate home economics specialist
FANNY WALKER YEATMAN, Junior home economics specialist
MEAT is a food it pays to buy with thrift and cook with care.
Meat is highly prized for its food value as well as flavor. All kinds of lean meats provide body-building proteins, iron, and some of the vitamins needed for good health. Even richer in iron and vitamins than the muscle meats are liver and other meat organs.
The cheaper grades and cuts of meat, though fairly lean and not so tender, if prepared right are just as full of food value and every bit as tasty as the higher-priced steaks and roasts. Chief difference is they take more time in the cooking and more skill in the seasoning. With a few scientific pointers on cooking and a spirit of adventure toward trying new ways and new flavors, appetizing, nourishing meat dishes can be prepared to suit any family budget.
This bulletin gives suggestions for selecting and cooking the cheaper cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and veal.
Meat is one of the more expensive foods to produce, so guard against waste at every step from butcher's block to serving platter. And to make your own meat dollars go further, learn to be a thrifty meat shopper.
Know Your Cuts
Cuts differ in tenderness according to the part of the animal from which they are taken, and to age and fatness of the animal. Cuts differ also in the amount of bone and gristle they contain and in the direction the muscles run. All these points have their effect on price.
​The tender cuts of beef as a rule come from the rib and loin and make up about a fourth of the carcass. The other three-fourths are the less tender, less expensive cuts. Classified according to their use in cooking, these less expensive beef cuts are: Steaks—chuck, shoulder, flank, round, rump. Pot roasts—chuck ribs, cross arm, clod, round, rump. Stews—neck, plate, brisket, flank, shank, heel of round.
In plump young lamb and pork all cuts are tender. With veal, rib and loin are generally more tender than the rest of the carcass. The cheaper cuts of lamb, pork, and veal—that is, shoulder, breast, and shank meat—make good chops, roasts, pot roasts, and stews.
Learn the cuts of meat so you can name them when you see them. The best teacher is the reliable meat dealer. Arrange to do your marketing at the time of day when he can help you. Talk over your needs with him. In addition, study charts that show how meat-animal carcasses are divided and what the different cuts look like. Such charts may vary slightly because styles of cutting meat differ from one part of the country to another. In all meat cutting, however, the object is to divide the thickly fleshed portions from the thinly fleshed and to separate the tender from the less tender meat for convenience in cooking.
Know Your Grades
Study the local markets and patronize those handling the kind of meat that fits your budget.
The leaner grades of meat are less expensive than the well-fatted ones. United States grade marks are a great help in selecting meat. In general, U. S. Commercial grade is medium fat beef, and the U. S. Utility grade is thin beef. Not all beef is marked with a Federal grade stamp, but when consumers demand it, most retailers will arrange to provide graded meat. Lamb and veal as well as beef are graded by the Government when the meat packer or distributor asks for the service and pays for it. At present the Government is grading pork on contract orders only.
The grade stamp is not the same as the stamp which tells that meat has passed Federal inspection and is wholesome food. Graded meat carries in addition to the round purple inspection stamp a ribbon stamp that tells the grade or quality.
Plan Your Purchases
In making purchases, take advantage of the advertised meat "specials." Plan meals well ahead of time. If you have a cold place for left-overs, you save time and fuel by cooking a larger piece of meat than is needed for one meal. Cooked meat is excellent sliced cold, and every tidbit can go into tasty dishes, hot or cold.
​To cut down fuel costs, select meat that can be cooked on top of the stove, that is, unless you are using a coal or wood stove for heating the kitchen, or for some other purpose, and your oven is hot anyway.
Ready-to-eat meats and canned meat have an important place on the carefully planned shopping list. Canned meat is already cooked and, like left-over meat, can be quickly turned into many a good dish.
Save Trimmings and Bones
Preparing a cut of meat for the pan may call for a certain amount of trimming. Save any well-flavored lean tidbits to make stew or to grind for meat patties. Save the fat trimmings. If they have a good flavor, render or melt them down at low heat, strain the drippings, store in a covered container in a dry, cold place, and use the fat for cooking. It is especially important in wartime that no fat be wasted. Return any surplus fat to the processor, if practicable. Otherwise make into soap any fat not suitable for food. Save the bones for soup.
Keep Meat Clean and Cold
Fresh meat spoils quickly and easily; so keep it cold, and of course, clean. How long meat can be kept safely depends on its condition when you receive it and how cold it is kept.
As soon as fresh meat, ground or in the piece, arrives in the kitchen, take off the wrapping paper and store the meat loosely covered in a cold place. If you do not have a refrigerator or some other place just as cold, cook the meat promptly. Ground meat is very perishable. It spoils quickly even in a cold place, so cook it within 24 hours. If meat in the piece is to be kept as long as 2 days, store it, if possible, at 45° F. or colder. Meat may be kept safely even longer in the freezing compartment of a refrigerator.
Liver, kidney, sweetbreads, brains, and other meat organs spoil more quickly than other cuts of meat. Cook them promptly.
Frozen meat requires special care. Thaw it slowly and cook as soon as possible. Do not refreeze it. Frozen meat, once it is thawed, is more perishable than chilled meat.
The modern type of very mildly cured ham should be stored in the same way as fresh meat, in the refrigerator or other cold place. Strongly cured meat should be kept in a cool, dry, dark place that is tightly screened.
When ready to cook fresh or mildly cured meat, wipe it off with a clean cloth wrung out of cold water. Do not soak the meat in water—soaking draws out juice and with it some of the flavor and food value. An old ham or strongly cured pork shoulder, however, generally needs thorough scrubbing. They may require overnight soaking in water to remove some salt.
​Cook According to Cut and Fatness
Roast or broil a tender, well-fatted cut in an uncovered pan. Add no water. Water in a covered pan makes steam which forces out juice and causes the meat to lose flavor and weight. Tender, well-fatted meat holds its juices, cooks perfectly in an open pan if moderate heat is used.
Tough meat, on the other hand, requires long, slow cooking in a covered pan with water or steam. So turn the less tender cuts into pot roast, stew, or some other braised dish. Or, grind them and cook the same as tender meat. Meat cooked in water or steamed is juicier if cooled in the broth for an hour or longer.
Regardless of cut, add fat to very lean beef, lamb, and most veal for richness and good flavor. Then cook as braised steaks and chops, oven-braised meat, pot roast, or stew.
Cook With Moderate Heat
Moderate heat cooks meat evenly and makes it tender. Moderate heat also keeps losses through cooking low, so there is more meat left to serve for each pound purchased. Browning meat develops the rich flavor; however, it may increase the cooking losses somewhat.
To make the most of food value and flavor, cook meat until it is tender, but don't overcook. Cook stuffed roasts and braised or stewed cuts until the meat is tender when speared with a fork or a skewer. Be sure to cook pork well done as a health safeguard. It sometimes contains the trichina parasite, which must be destroyed by thorough cooking or by special methods of processing; otherwise it may cause illness,
Vary the Seasoning
When to season meat with salt and pepper and whether to flour or not are questions on which the opinions of cooks differ. Really it does not matter whether salt and pepper are added to meat just before, after, or during cooking. Likewise, it does not matter greatly whether meat is floured or not. Salt draws out juice from meat, so in any case do not add it until ready to cook, unless the meat is sprinkled with flour.
Try new flavors in meat dishes. That is the way the expert chefs invent their specialties. Garden herbs and other seasonings add zest to many a homely dish at little cost. The following are particularly good with meat: Onions, tomatoes, sage, thyme, sweet marjoram, basil, leaf savory, bay leaf, mint leaves, parsley (fresh or dried), celery tops (fresh or dried), celery seed, caraway seed, cloves, pepper, paprika, green peppers, curry, grated horseradish, garlic, and many others.
In wartime, you may not find all these spices and seasonings on the grocer's shelf. However, some of the condiment plants can be grown in ​your own garden or window box. If you cannot get the seasonings suggested, try what you do have available, or they can, of course, be omitted entirely.
Regardless of seasonings which you may or may not be able to get, combine meat with other foods, as in croquettes, or hash, or meat pie. Skill in combining foods plus knowledge of food values is the key to interesting, appetizing, balanced meals. Meat is a very flavorful food. Make it go as far as possible in toning up bland foods.
Be Thrifty With Left-overs
Save all left-over meat, gravy, or drippings. Make broth of the bones. Keep left-over cooked meat cold, and serve as sliced meat or in salad. Or use left-over meat with other foods in appetizing hot dishes such as stuffed peppers, chop suey, curry, browned hash, croquettes.
Recipes
Recipes included here are typical of hundreds of others that might be given. Those recipes in which definite quantities are stated are planned to yield five to six servings, unless otherwise noted. Other recipes are in the form of suggested combinations, with quantities left to the judgment of the cook. All measures given are level. only simple equipment is called for, and top-of-stove cooking is given the preference because of economy in fuel. No distinction is made in the method of cooking fresh meat that has been chilled and thawed, frozen meat—both are cooked slowly with moderate heat.
PORK shoulder and spareribs, lamb shoulder and breast all make excellent roasts in the moderate price range. If you bone the shoulder, the roast will be as easy to carve as a loaf of bread. With shoulder and other bony cuts, allow from ¾ to 1 pound of the untrimmed, unboned cut for each person to be served. However, a worth-while roast should weigh at least 3 pounds before it is trimmed and boned.
To roast a tender cut evenly, use a shallow pan with a rack in the bottom of the pan. The hot air moves more freely around the meat than in a pan with high sides. The rack in the bottom of the pan keeps the meat from sticking. Any cheap rack will do.
Start a roast with the fat side up so that it will be a self-baster. Do not add water to the pan and do not cover. Turn the meat from time to time so that all parts will cook evenly.
To roast use open shallow pan, with rack and no water. Keep the oven heat moderate. Start the meat fat side up; turn several times for even cooking. Cook well done.
Select a 5- to 6-pound fresh pork shoulder, skin it, and remove the bones. Make savory stuffing (p. 9). Sprinkle the meat on the inside with salt, and pepper, and pile in some of the stuffing. Begin to sew the edges of the shoulder together to form a pocket, and gradually work in the rest of the stuffing, but do not pack tightly.
Sprinkle the outside of the stuffed shoulder with salt and pepper, and if desired with flour also. Place the roast, fat side up, on a rack in a shallow pan. Do not add water and do not cover. Cook until tender in a moderate oven (325° F.). Allow about, 4 hours for a 5-pound picnic shoulder of pork. Turn the roast occasionally for even cooking. Make gravy with the pan drippings. Remove the strings before serving.
Select a 4- to 5-pound cured pork picnic shoulder, skin it, and remove the bones. Soak strongly cured meat overnight in cold water to cover, drain, and wipe dry. Mildly cured meat need not be soaked.
Make raisin stuffing (p. 10). Pile some of the stuffing into the shoulder, begin to sew the edges together to form a pocket, and gradually work in the rest of the stuffing, but do not pack rightly. Lay the stuffed shoulder, fat side up, on a rack in a shallow pan. Do not add water and do not cover.
Cook until tender in a very moderate oven (300°–325° F.). A 4- to 5-pound shoulder will require about 4 hours. Turn the meat from time to time for even cooking. Remove the strings before serving.
A 9- to 10- pound, long-cut shoulder makes an excellent roast and will serve 12 to 15 persons. cook this cut at very moderate heat also (300° F.) for 5 to 6 hours, or until the meat is tender.
Select 2 well-fleshed rib sections that match and weigh about 2 pounds each. Saw or crack the breastbone so it will be easy to carve between the ribs.
Make apple stuffing (p. 9). Lay one section of the ribs our flat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and spread with the stuffing. Cover with the other section and sew the two together. sprinkle the outside with salt and pepper, and if desired with flour also. Lay the stuffed ribs on a rack in a shallow pan. Do not add water and do not cover.
Cook in a moderate oven (350°–375° F.) until the meat is tender and thoroughly done—allow about 1½ hours. Turn occasionally for even cooking. Remove the strings before serving. Make gravy from the pan drippings.
Select a 3- to 4-pound shoulder of lamb, plump and well-fatted. Remove the fell or thin papery covering; take out all the bones and save them for broth. According to the way the shoulder blade is taken out, the shoulder may be stuffed and rolled, or stuffed to make a cushion. The cushion-style shoulder holds more stuffing and is easier to sew together than the roll. Either of these completely boned stuffed shoulders can be carved straight through in attractive slices of part meat and part stuffing.
Make mint stuffing (p. 10). Sprinkle the inside of the meat pocket with salt and pepper, pile the stuffing in lightly and sew the edges together. Sprinkle the outside with salt, pepper, and flour also if desired. Place the stuffed shoulder, fat side up, on a rack in a shallow pan. Do not add water and do not cover.
Cook until tender in a moderate oven (350° F.)—allow about 2½ hours. Turn occasionally for even cooking. Remove the strings before serving. Serve piping hot with gravy made from the pan drippings, or chill and serve cold.
Breast of lamb makes a good roast for two or three persons. Select a breast that includes the foreshank. Saw or crack the breastbone so that the roast can be carved between the ribs. Remove the foreshank, cut off the meat, and grind it for the forcemeat stuffing. Make a pocket in the breast by slipping the knife between the flesh and the ribs.
Make forcemeat stuffing (p. 10). Sprinkle the inside of the pocket with salt and pepper, pile all but ½ cup of the stuffing in lightly, and sew the edges together. Sprinkle the outside of the meat with salt and pepper, and if desired with flour also. Lay the stuffed breast, ribs down, on a rack in a shallow pan. Do not add water and do not cover.
Cook until tender in a moderately hot oven (375° F.)—allow about 1½ hours. Turn the roast occasionally for even cooking. Make gravy with the pan drippings. Remove the strings before serving.
Baked stuffed onions.—Choose a large, mild-flavored variety. Cut the onions in half crosswise and simmer in lightly salted water until about half done. Lift the onions out, drain, and arrange in a baking dish. Remove the centers without breaking the outer layers, chop, and add to the ½ cup of forcemeat stuffing. Fill the onion shells with this mixture, cover, and bake until tender at 375° F.—about ½ hour. Remove the cover from the baking dish during the last half of the cooking so that the onions will brown well on top.
Serve piping hot with the roast breast and gravy.
WELL-SEASONED stuffings are good "extenders" for the cheaper cuts. Follow the same general rule for mixing and stuffing, but remember "variety is the spice of life" and try different seasonings now and then.
For the "dry" type of stuffing in the following recipes, use medium dry bread—3 to 5 days old. Pick the pieces of bread apart with the fingers, until all the crumbs are fine and are even in size. A 1-pound loaf makes about 1 quart of fluffy crumbs. Add melted fat for richness—about 1 tablespoon for a cup of crumbs. Then use any seasonings desired—savory or thyme, or onion, celery, parsley. Dried fruits, sausage, diced salt pork fried crisp, or tart candied apples may also be added to stuffings. If desired, rice, potato, or some other starchy base may be used instead of the breadcrumbs.
Stuffing swells as it absorbs meat juice so pile it in lightly, don't pack. If the roast is to be cooked prompdy, put the stuffing in hot. If it is to be stuffed and cooked later, put the stuffing in cold and keep the meat chilled so there will be no danger of spoilage.
If crumbs are prepared in advance of using, keep them in a covered container in a cold place.
In the following recipes quantities are given according to meats of a certain weight and cut. If desired, these stuffings may be used with other meats or other cuts, but quantities must be adjusted accordingly.
(5- to 6-pound fresh pork shoulder)
Cook the celery, onion, and parsley in the fat for a few minutes. Then add the bread crumbs and other seasonings and stir until well mixed and hot.
(2 2-pound sections spareribs)
Cook the celery, onion, and parsley for a few minutes in one-half of the fat, then remove them from the pan. Put the rest of the fat in the pan, ​heat, and add the diced apples. Sprinkle the apples with the sugar, cover, and cook until tender. Then remove the lid and continue to cook until the apples are candied. Mix the vegetables, salt, and pepper with the apples and bread crumbs.
(4- to 5-pound cured pork shoulder)
Cook the onion, celery, and parsley in the fat for a few minutes. Mix the raisins thoroughly with the bread crumbs and stir into the cooked vegetables. Salt lightly if at all. If desired, add the grated rind of one-half lemon.
For a 9- to 10-pound, long-cut shoulder, double the quantity of stuffing.
(3- to 4-pound shoulder of lamb)
Cook the onion and celery for a few minutes in the fat. Then stir in the mint leaves and bread crumbs, season with salt and pepper, and mix all the ingredients together until hot. This quantity of stuffing is for the cushion-style shoulder.
For a rolled shoulder use one-half the quantity of bread crumbs and of other ingredients.
(3-pound breast of lamb including foreshank)
Cook the celery, onion, and parsley in the fat for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the ground meat from the lamb foreshank, or from another cut, and cook until slightly brown. Then add the bread crumbs and seasonings and stir until well mixed and hot.
BRAISING in a tightly covered pot or pan combines browning with steaming and stewing and develops rich flavor in meat. Braising is a good way to cook all less tender mear. It is also good for pork chops and for tender cuts of beef, lamb, and veal that are too lean for open-pan roasting and broiling.
The quantity of steaks or chops to allow per person to be served depends largely on individual choice and on the cur of meat selected, hence has been omitted in some of the recipes. For pot roasts, an allowance from ½ to 1 pound of the untrimmed cut, depending on how much bone it contains, is suggested.
Have the round steak sliced about ½ inch thick. Cut it into strips 2 to 3 inches wide and about 4 inches long. Pound the pieces to flatten them and help make the meat tender. For the stuffing, cook the celery and onion in 2 tablespoons of the fat for a few minutes, add the bread crumbs and seasonings, and mix thoroughly. Put stuffing on each strip of meat, roll, and skewer or tie in place. In the remaining 2 tablespoons of fat, brown the birds slowly on all sides, then cover and cook until tender in a moderate oven (350° F.)—allow about 1½ hours. Or, finish the cooking on top of the stove. Serve the pan drippings with the meat.
Select a large flank steak or two small ones, not cut or scored. For the stuffing, cook the celery and the onion in 2 tablespoons of the fat for a few minutes, add the bread crumbs, and season with salt and pepper. Spread the stuffing over the steak. Beginning at one side of the steak, roll it up like a jelly roll, and tie securely in several places with clean string.
Brown in 2 tablespoons of fat in a heavy frying pan or a baking pan, on top of the stove. Turn the meat frequently until browned on all sides. Slip a rack under the meat in the pan, cover closely, and cook until tender in a moderate oven (310° F.)—about 1½ hours.
Start the carving at the end of the roll and cut across the grain, so that each serving is a round slice with the stuffing in the center.
For Swiss steak select about 2 pounds of beef from the rump, round, or chuck, or a slice of veal, cut fairly thick. Season the meat with salt and pepper, sprinkle with flour. Pounding helps to make the meat tender. Cut the steak into individual portions and brown in suet or other fat in a heavy frying pan or kettle. Then add canned or sliced tomatoes, or water to cover. Partly cover with a lid and simmer for 2 to 2½ hours, or until the meat is tender enough to cut with a fork. Serve the gravy over the meat.
With macaroni (as Spanish Steak).—Follow the recipe above using 1½ pounds of meat, and a quart of tomatoes as the liquid. Coctk ½ pound macaroni in boiling, salted water until tender, and drain. Brown ½ cup chopped onion and 1 large chopped green pepper in fat. Add the macaroni, onion, and pepper to the tomato gravy, and serve over the meat.
Smothered with onions.—If the steak is from the round, rump, or chuck, or if it is a flank steak, follow the recipe for Swiss steak, and add sliced onions during the last half hour of cooking. If it is a beef porterhouse or sirloin steak, but very lean, brown it on both sides in suet, or other fat; then remove from the pan. Brown sliced onions in the same pan. Put the steak back, cover with the onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper, put a lid on the pan, and cook slowly for about 15 minutes.
For braising, use veal or very lean lamb or pork chops. Cut through the edges in several places to prevent curling. Sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper, and flour, and brown in fat. Cover the pan, and finish the cooking slowly for ½ to ¾ hour, or until the meat is tender. Serve the chops and drippings on a platter with a border of boiled noodles or rice.
Cut the ham or shoulder into pieces for serving. If the meat is very, salty, parboil it in water and drain. Brown the meat lightly on both sides and arrange the pieces to cover the bottom of a baking dish. Spread the sliced sweetpotatoes over the meat, sprinkle with sugar. Add the hot water to the drippings in the frying pan and pour over the sweetpotatoes and meat. Cover the dish and bake slowly until the meat and sweetpotatoes are tender, basting the sweetpotatoes occasionally with the gravy. Toward the last, remove the lid and let the top brown well.
BRAISING A LESS TENDER STEAK
Pounding helps to make Swiss steak more tender. Use meat pounder, saucer, or dull knife. The flour absorbs the meat juice. Brown in fat to give rich flavor. Add water or tomatoes, cover, and finish slowly.
Serve Swiss steak and gravy with riced pototoes, rice, or noodles.
Select a piece of beef or veal weighing 3 to 5 pounds from the chuck, shoulder ,rump, or round. Sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper, and flour, and the or skewer into compact shape. Brown the meat in a heavy pot; use suet if the meat is very lean. Then slip a low rack under the meat to keep it from sticking to the pot. Add ½, cup of water, cover with a close-fitting lid, and cook slowly over a low fire for 2½ to 3 hours or until the meat is tender when pierced with a fork. During the last hour or when the meat is almost tender, add onions, carrots, or potatoes. Cook until both meat and vegetables are tender, then remove them to a serving platter and keep hot. Make gravy with the drippings.
Oven pot roast.—After seasoning the meat, lay pieces of suet, salt pork,or bacon over the top. Put the meat on a tack in a roasting pan, cover closely to hold in steam, and cook until tender in a moderately hot oven (about 375° F.). This will probably take from 1½ to 2½ hours, depending on the size and tenderness of the cut. About 35 minutes before the meat is done, put pared raw potatoes of medium size into the pan around the meat. Turn the potatoes in the drippings and sprinkle with salt. Cover and cook until meat and potatoes are tender, then remove the lid to allow them to brown before serving. Make gravy of the drippings.
Select 3 to 4 pounds of well-fleshed short ribs of beef. Cut into individual servings and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour. Brown well on all sides in suet or other fat. Add 1 cup of water, cover closely, and bake until tender in a moderately hot oven (375°-400° F.)-allow about 1½ to 2 hours. Or, finish the cooking on top of the stove. Make gravy with the pan drippings.
Remove the bones from the shoulder. Save the bones for broth.
For the stuffing, cut the suet or salt pork into small pieces and fry crisp.
Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, stir in the bread crumbs and seasonings. Mix well and continue cooking until hot.
Sprinkle the inside of the meat with salt and pepper. Pile in the stuffing. Roll the stuffed shoulder compactly, sew or tie in place, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and if desired with flour also. Place the roll on a rack in a roasting pan, and put several pieces of suet of salt pork on top. Cover the pan, cook in a moderately hot oven (about 375° F.) until the meat is browned and tender—about 2½ hours. Make gravy with the pan drippings. Remove the strings before serving.
POT ROASTING A LESS TENDER CUT
Add vegetables during last hour of cooking.
Cover 3 to 5 pounds of chuck, rump, round of beef with equal parts of vinegar and water. Add a few bay leaves, a dozen whole cloves, a teaspoonful of whole black peppers, and a peeled onion. Let the meat stand in the vinegar for 1 to 3 days in a cool place, turning it so that it will pickle evenly. Remove the meat from the liquid and brown in hot fat in a heavy kettle. Then slip a rack under the meat to keep it from sticking to the pot, add 1cup or less of the pickling liquid or water, cover with a close-fitting lid, and cook slowly for 2 to 2½ hours, or until the meat is tender. Make ginger snap gravy (p. 27) and serve with the meat.
THERE'S NOTHING more tasty than a piping hot, perfectly cooked stew. The toughest and cheapest cuts of meat make excellent stews. Also, many small pieces of tender meat are just right for stewing.
Some stews are made of all meat, some are part meat and part vegetables. For 5 to 6 generous servings, 2 pounds of lean raw meat without bone makes a good all-meat stew. Browning the meat gives it richer flavor. For meat and vegetable stew, combine meat and vegetables in any desired proportion. Vegetables are at their best when cooked quickly, so do not add them until the meat is almost if not altogether tender.
Once a stew is made there are many simple attractive ways to serve it. For variety, try a savory stew in a border of riced potatoes, flaky rice, or with dumplings; as filling for hot biscuits in meat shortcake; scalloped with macaroni or spaghetti; or as meat pie under a lid of biscuits, pastry or mashed potatoes.
In the recipes that follow, the quantities of lean, raw meat called for do not include bone or excess fat.
For a stew, select beef or veal neck, plate, brisket, flank, or shank; or lamb shoulder, neck, flank, or shank. Cut about 2 pounds of lean raw meat into inch cubes and sprinkle with salt, pepper, add flour. Brown in 2 to 3 tablespoons of fat. and add a sliced onion. Add water to cover, put a lid on partly, and cook slowly until the meat is tender. Lamb or veal will probably cook tender in 1½ to 2 hours; beef may need 2½ to 3 hours. If the stew is not thick enough by the time the meat is tender, mix 1 to 2 tablespoons flour to a smooth paste with an equal quality of cold water. To the paste add several spoonfuls of the stew, then stir the mixture into the rest of the stew and cook until smooth and thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add chopped parsley if available.
​To make a stew, first brown the meat. Add water, cover, and cook slowly until the meat is tender enough to cut with a fork. Use all meat, or add vegetables.
For meat pie, top the stew with fluffy mashed potatoes and brown in the oven…
Or put on a "lid" of biscuits rounds, or pastry crust.
Select lean beef from round, chuck, flank, shank, neck, or brisket. Cut the meat in inch cubes, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour and brown in 2 or 3 tablespoons of fat. Add the onions and brown them. Then add the tomatoes and 1 cup of the liquor in which the beans cooked. Simmer 2½ to 3 hours, or until the meat is tender. If the stew needs to be thickened, mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour to a smooth paste with an equal quantity of cold water. To the paste add several spoonfuls of the stew, then stir the mixture into the rest of the stew and cook until smooth and thickened. Season to taste. Add the beans, and also the parsley if available. Put the stew into a shallow pan or baking dish.
The pastry crust for a meat pie is made in the same way as biscuit dough (p. 33) but with twice as much fat. Roll the dough about ½ inch thick to the size of the baking dish, place on top of the meat filling, and bake in a hot oven (425° F.). The crust bakes better if the filling is hot at the start.
Shoulder, neck, flank, and shank are all good for shepherd's pie. Cut the meat in inch cubes; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour; and brown in 2 to 3 tablespoons fat. Add the onion and water to cover. Simmer for 1½ hours, or until the meat is tender. Then add the turnips and green pepper and cook until they are tender. If the stew is not thick enough, mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour to a smooth paste with an equal quantity of cold water. To the paste add several spoonfuls of the stew, then stir the mixture into the rest of the stew and cook until smooth and thickened. Season to taste.
When the stew, is done, put it into one large baking dish or individual baking dishes. Put on a "lid" of seasoned fluffy mashed potatoes and bake until the pie is hot throughout and browned on top. A small quantity of baking powder or a well-beaten egg adds to the lightness of the mashed potato.
Shoulder, neck, flank, and shank of lamb or mutton are all good for Irish stew. Cut the meat in inch cubes; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour; and brown with the onions in 2 to 3 tablespoons of fat. Add water to cover and let lamb simmer 1½ hours or until tender. Mutton takes more time, probably 2½ to 3 hours. Add the diced vegetables and cook until tender. If the stew is not thick enough, mix 1 to 2 tablespoons flour with an equal quantity of cold water to make a smooth paste. To the paste add several spoonfuls of the stew, then stir the mixture into the rest of the stew and cook until smooth and thickened. Season with salt, pepper, and parsley.
Cut the beef in inch cubes and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour. Brown well in 2 to 3 tablespoons of fat, and while browning add the onion, green pepper, celery, and parsley. Sprinkle with paprika, add water to cover, put on a lid, and cook slowly for 2½ to 3 hours or until the meat is tender. If the stew is not thick enough, mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour to a smooth paste with an equal quantity of cold water. To the paste add several spoonfuls of the stew, then stir the mixture into the rest, of the stew and cook until smooth and thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper, adding, if desired, tomato catsup, or chili sauce, or grated horseradish.
Dice the salt pork and fry until crisp. Cut the lean raw meat in inch cubes, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour, and brown in 2 to 3 tablespoons of the salt pork drippings. Add the onion and green pepper and cook for a few minutes. Add water to cover and the bay leaf and cloves, put on a ​lid, and cook slowly for 2 to 3 hours or until the meat is tender. Then add the diced potatoes and carrots, and cook until tender.
If the stew is not thick enough, mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour to a smooth paste with an equal quantity of cold water. To the paste add several spoonfuls of the stew, then stir the mixture into the rest of the stew and cook until smooth and thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Select 3 to 4 pounds of corned beef. Wash the meat. Put on to cook in cold water, bring to the boiling point to take out excess salt, then drain. Cover the meat again with about 4 quarts of water, and let it simmer until tender—about 3 to 4 hours. If possible, let the meat cool for an hour or more in the broth, then remove it. Meat cooked in water is juicier if cooled in the broth. If the liquid is too salty, pour off part of it and add sufficient fresh water to have at least 3 pints of well-flavored broth. To this add whole onions, and if they are very large, cook them about 20 minutes before putting in whole turnips, carrots, and potatoes. Lastly add a head of cabbage, cut in sections down through the center stalk so that the pieces will keep their shape. Cook until all the vegetables are tender. Reheat the meat. Serve the boiled dinner on a large platter, with the meat in the center and the vegetables drained and placed neatly around it (see cover). Serve with grated horseradish, if desired.
Simmer 3 to 4 pounds of corned beef brisket in water to cover for 3 or 4 hours or until the meat is tender. If the corned beef is very salty change the water several times. While the meat is hot, separate gristle and excess fat from the lean. Line a bread pan with tough paper or a strip of cheesecloth, lay the pieces of lean meat in the pan so that the fibers of the meat run lengthwise, and add about ½ cup of the meat broth. Cover the meat with paper or cheesecloth, and press it down with a heavily weighted pan or board. Chill overnight. Turn the pressed meat out of the pan, slice very thin across the grain, and serve with horseradish sauce or a spicy relish.
The hock end of a ham, the picnic shoulder, and the boneless shoulder butt, are all good low-cost cuts of cured, smoked pork.
Scrub the meat before cooking. Cover with cold water and simmer (do not boil) until the meat is tender. Allow 3 to 4 hours for the hock end of a ham or for a picnic shoulder, and 2 to 2½ hours for a boneless shoulder butt. A whole ham usually requires about 25 minutes to the pound. If possible, let the meat cool for an hour or more in the broth. ​Meat cooked in water or steamed is juicier if cooled in the broth. Save the broth for cooking beans, cabbage, or greens.
Cider and raisin sauce (p. 29) is good served with cured, smoked pork.
Veal breast, shoulder, neck, flank, and shank meat are all good for a fricassee. Cut the meat in inch cubes, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour. Brown in fat and add the onion. Add water to cover, put on a lid, and cook slowly for 1½ hours or until the meat is tender. Then remove the meat to a serving platter and keep hot. There should be 4 cups of good-flavored broth. To thicken it very slightly, blend 2 to 3 tablespoons of flour with an equal quantity of cold water. Stir in several tablespoons of the hot broth, then add the mixture gradually to the rest of the broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. The gravy is now ready for cooking the dumplings.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Beat the egg and add the milk. Then mix all the ingredients together just enough to moisten the flour. Drop the dumpling batter by spoonfuls over the boiling gravy, cover tightly to hold in the steam, and boil gently for l5 minutes without opening the pot. By this time the dumplings should be light and, fluffy. Serve at once with the meat and gravy.
Select 3 pounds of bony pieces of pork. Simmer (do not boil) in 3 quarts of water until the meat drops from the bone. Strain off the broth, remove the bones, taking care to get out all the tiny pieces, and chop the meat fine. There should be about 2 quarts of broth, and if necessary add water to make this quantity. Bring the broth to the boiling point, slowly stir in 2 cups of corn meal or 3 cups of cracked wheat, and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chopped meat, salt, and any other seasoning such as a little sage or thyme. Pour the hot scrapple into bread pans which have been rinsed with cold water. These quantities will make two pans. Let stand until cold and firm. Slice about ½ inch thick and brown slowly in a hot skillet. If the scrapple is rich with fat, no more fat is needed for frying.
Scrub the ham thoroughly. Cover the bottom of a large pressure cooker with water; usually 1 quart is enough. Put the ham, rind side up, on a rack that is high enough to hold the meat completely out of the water. Clamp the lid on the cooker securely, and heat with the pet cock open until steam has escaped for 7 minutes. Close the pet cock and cook at 10 pounds pressure, allowing about 3 hours for a 12-pound ham. Let the pressure fall to zero, before opening the pet cock, then take off the lid. Remove rind from ham, sprinkle with brown sugar, and brown in a hot oven—about 400° F.
Wash and scrape pigs' knuckles and simmer in water to cover for about 2 hours, or until tender. Then add sauerkraut to the broth and cook just long enough to make it tender. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and if available, celery or caraway seed.
Grinding helps to make tough meat tender. Good cuts of beef for grinding grinding are lower round, fore part of the chuck, lean sections of brisket, and other small pieces of good flavor. There are also many small tidbits of tender lamb, pork, and veal that are best used as ground meat. Have meat ground medium fine, not too fine.
A pound of ground meat "as is" makes enough hamburg steak or meat patties for 4 servings, when broiled or fried. But ground meat is a good mixer and it goes further and the texture of the cooked product is often better when the meat is combined with milk and bread crumbs or with some other starchy food.
The following recipes are typical combinations and usually make 5 or 6 servings.
Add the flour, bread crumbs, liquid, and seasoning to the ground meat and mix thoroughly.
To provide drippings, fry small pieces of good-flavored suet in a hot pan. Drop the soft meat mixture by spoonfuls into the fat and flatten out into fairly thin cakes. Fry slowly until the cakes are brown on both sides.
Make cream gravy (p. 27) with the pan drippings and little brown bits in the frying pan. Serve hot over the meat.
To fry hamburg steak, place the ground meat in hot fat, flatten into cakes, and brown slowly on both sides.
Toast bread on one side. Spread the untoasted side with raw ground meat ... broil under direct heat. A "favorite" with the children.
Mold meat loaf on tough paper ... place on a rack in an open, shallow pan, ... bake at moderate heat.
​With onion rings.—To prepare the onion rings, cut half-inch slices of large mild onions, lay them in a baking dish or pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dot with well-flavored fat. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons water, cover closely, and bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes, or until tender. Serve a meat cake on each onion ring.
Toast the bread on one side. Spread the untoasted side lightly with fat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Season the meat with salt and pepper and add the milk. Spread the meat mixture over the untoasted side of the bread slices, covering evenly to the very edge. Broil by direct heat, under a flame or a grill, for 5 to 10 minutes. Dot with fat, if desired. Serve hot.
Soak the beans overnight, then cook in the same water until almost tender. Add more water if needed. In the meantime cut the suet into small pieces and fry it crisp, add the onion, garlic, and meat and cook for a few minutes. Add this mixture to the beans and season to taste with chili powder, paprika, and salt. Cook slowly for about 1 hour or until the mixture thickens. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking to the pan.
For a meat loaf select one kind of meat or a mixture of two or more kinds. Cut the suet or salt pork into small pieces, and fry until crisp. Cook the celery, parsley, and onion in the fat for a few minutes. Stir in the flour and gradually add the milk, stirring constantly and cooking until thickened. Combine all the ingredients and mix well with your hands. The mixture will be sticky.
The two ways to bake a meat loaf are: (1) Mold the loaf on a piece of tough paper with the hands. Place the meat and paper on a rack in an ​uncovered shallow roasting pan, and bake in a moderate oven (350° F.). Do not add water. (2) Pack the mixture into a greased pan and bake like a loaf of bread, in a moderately hot oven (375°–400° F.). Either way, bake a meat loaf well done to the center, particularly if there is any pork in the loaf. Allow about 1½ hours for a loaf made of the above ingredients. Serve meat loaf hot or cold.
Add the chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, and bread crumbs or mashed potatoes to the ground meat. Season, mix well, and mold into flat cakes. Dip the cakes in flour, then fry slowly in the fat until well browned on both sides. Remove the cakes and drain in part to take up the fat. Serve with tomato gravy. (p. 26).
Select 1½ to 2 pounds of sausage, bulk or link. To cook bulk sausage, mold cakes about ½ inch thick and fry. In an uncovered pan, cook the cakes slowly and thoroughly until brown and crisp on both sides. Remove the cakes, drain on paper to take up the fat, and keep hot.
To cook link or cased sausage, prick the casing in several places with a fork, lay the pieces in a cold frying pan, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water, cover, and steam for a few minutes. Then take off the lid and finish at moderate heat until thoroughly done, turning frequently for even cooking.
With apples.—Slice up tart, firm apples, leaving the skins on. To 3 or 4 tablespoons of sausage fat in the pan, add the apples, sprinkle with sugar, cover, and cook slowly until the apples are tender. Then remove the cover, turn the apples carefully so the pieces will hold their shape, and let them brown. Serve the fried apples on a hot platter with the fried sausage.
With pineapple.—Drain slices of the canned fruit and brown in 3 or 4 tablespoons of the sausage fat. Serve the fried sausage on the pineapple slices on a hot platter.
Baked with cabbage and apples.—Put a layer of shredded raw cabbage into a lightly greased baking dish, add a layer of raw sliced apples, another of cabbage (red or green), and so on. Salt each layer as it is put on and have apples as the top layer. Lay the fried sausage over the top. Mix 1 tablespoon each of vinegar and of the fat from the sausage pan and pour over the contents of the baking dish. Cover and bake until the cabbage and apples are tender. Serve from the dish in which cooked.
Mix 1 pound each of ground raw pork and veal, add a chopped onion, 1 teaspoon flour, ¼ cup milk, 1 teaspoon salt, a dash of Pepper, and if desired ⅛ teaspoon thyme. Mold into cakes. After browning the cakes on both sides in hot fat, remove most of the fat, cover the pan, and cook the cakes slowly until they are thoroughly done to the center. Serve the pan drippings over the meat.
The secret of making thickened gravy that is free from lumps and will not separate is to blend flour with fat in equal quantity, then add cool or lukewarm liquid gradually while stirring or beating the mixture over low heat. Use 1½ to 2 tablespoons each of flour and fat to 1 cup of liquid. The liquid may be juice that cooks out of roasted or braised meat, or broth made by stewing bones, or tomato juice, or liquor drained off any cooked vegetable, or water, or milk, or cream, or a mixture of these.
Season gravy to taste, but vary the seasonings. In addition to salt and pepper, try tomatoes or chopped parsley, or chopped celery and leaves, or chopped onion, or grated horseradish, or any favorite seasoning herbs. Some cooks like to add a bouillon cube for an extra touch of flavor and color. Browning the flour is another way of improving flavor and color of gravy. Also, the barbecue sauce described below adds zest to gravy. Always serve gravy piping hot.
To make gravy in a roasting pan, start by pouring the drippings out into a bowl or cup. Skim off the fat that rises to the top of the meat juice and set it aside. For 1½ cups of gravy, blend thoroughly in the roasting pan 3 tablespoons of flour and 3 tablespoons of fat from the drippings. Set the pan over low heat and add gradually with constant stirring 1½ cups of cool or lukewarm liquid. Season to taste. If the gravy is too thick, add more liquid. Cook the gravy slowly until smooth and thickened.
Pot roasts and other braised meats give up more of their flavor to the drippings than do oven roasts, so more gravy can usually be made with these dishes. However, the method of making gravy with a pot roast is the same as for an oven roast.
To make tomato gravy with lamb patties or hamburg steak, blend 3 tablespoons of flour with 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the pan, then stir in gradually about 1½ cups of tomato juice, and cook until smooth and ​thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If desired, add chopped parsley or green pepper.
To make tomato gravy for a roast of pot roast, following directions for savory brown gravy, but use part or all tomato juice for the liquid.
The pan drippings and little brown bits remaining in the frying pan used for hamburg steak, meat patties, or chops are a good start for cream gravy.
For thickened gravy, mix 2 tablespoons flour with 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the frying pan. Add gradually with constant stirring 1 to 1½ cups of cold milk and cook slowly until smooth and thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
For unthickened gravy, pour almost all the fat out of the frying pan, but leave the brown bits. Add milk, or water and evaporated milk, boil with constant stirring, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Blend 2 tablespoons of flour with 2 tablespoons of drippings. Add gradually with constant stirring 1½ cups of cool or lukewarm liquid. Cook slowly until smooth and thickened. Add 2 or 3 gingersnaps broken into small pieces, and stir until smooth; strain the gravy, if desired. Or season the gravy with little ginger and sugar instead of the gingersnaps.
Cook all the ingredients, except the flour and fat, for 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve and stir gradually into the blended flour and fat. Cook the sauce for a few minutes stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. Serve piping hot.
Mix the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt and bring to the boiling point. Remove from the fire, add the chopped mint leaves, and allow the sauce to stand for 3 or 4 hours before serving.
Crack the soup bones. To the bones add all the ingredients except the vinegar, horseradish, and salt. Cover with water and simmer for about 3 hours. The flavor will be improved if the mixture stands overnight in a cold place. Skim off the fat that rises to the top. Heat the remaining mixture, remove and discard the bones, and strain through a sieve. There should be about 1 quart of liquid and pulp. Add the vinegar, horseradish, and salt to taste. Serve the sauce hot with cooked meat. A few dashes of tabasco sauce or other highly seasoned mixtures give extra "pep" to this barbecue sauce.
Cook the onion in the fat for a few minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and quickly stir in the tomatoes, celery, green pepper, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the ham or bacon, parsley, and salt and pepper, and serve at once.
Blend the melted fat and flour thoroughly, gradually stir in the cold milk while heating slowly. Heat and stir constantly until smooth and thickened. Cook over steam for 10 minutes longer. Add the salt.
Whip the cream, salt, and sugar, and gradually add the horseradish.
Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt; add the cider and raisins. Put the spices tied up in a piece of cheesecloth. Boil the mixture for about 10 minutes and take out the spices. Serve the sauce hot with ham.
Every good cook knows the value of left-over meat. Many a one has made quite a reputation for her smart ways of turning left-overs to good account. And in her home, the family looks forward with pleasure to the savory hash or scallop or some other excellent dish that follows yesterday's roast or steak or stew. Often times the second or third "edition" is enjoyed even more than the first.
Canned meat has the good points of any other cooked meat so it to is quickly turned into a variety of appetizing dishes, hot or cold.
Of course, there is almost no end to the interesting combinations of cooked meat with other foods. The following recipes are offered as suggestions. They apply equally well to left-overs and canned meat. Where definite quantities of ingredients are given, they will usually make 5 or 6 servings.
Mix thoroughly 1 quart of chopped boiled potatoes, 1 pint of chopped cooked meat, 1 finely chopped onion, and seasonings to taste. Or, grind the cooked meat, boiled potatoes, and an onion together in a food chopper, mix thoroughly, and season to taste.
Mold into flat cakes and fry slowly on both sides until crusty. Or, spread the mixture in an even layer in a lightly greased frying pan and cook slowly until a brown crust forms. Then, cover the pan and turn the hash out so the browned side is on top. Slip the hash carefully back into the frying pan with the uncooked side down, and allow this side also to become brown and crusty. Turn out on a plate, garnish with parsley, and serve.
Start with cooked meat and gravy or meat broth. Or, to take the place of gravy or meat broth, dissolve 1 or 2 bouillon cubes in water. Cut the meat in small pieces and brown it in fat. Add diced raw or cooked potatoes, sliced onion, and green pepper, and brown. Add the gravy or broth, and cook slowly on top of the stove, or bake the hash in the oven until it is brown over the top.
Cook onion and celery in the fat for a few minutes, add the tomatoes, and cook for about 20 minutes. If the mixture is too thin, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour mixed to a smooth paste with an equal quantity of cold water. Cook until smooth and thickened. Add the meat, heat thoroughly, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot on crisp toast.
Cut off the stem ends of green peppers, and remove the seeds. Boil the pepper shells for about 5 minutes in lightly salted water, and drain. Mix chopped or ground cooked meat with bread crumbs, cooked rice, or mashed potatoes, add melted fat, an onion chopped fine, and moisten with gravy, milk, chili sauce, or catsup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stuff the peppers with this mixture, cover with fine bread crumbs, and bake in a moderate oven (about 350° F.) for 30 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and the crumbs are brown.
Make thick white sauce with the fat, flour, and milk. Add the bread crumbs, meat, parsley, salt and pepper to taste, and the beaten yolks of the eggs. Fold in the egg whites, beaten stiff. Place the mixture in a greased baking dish or in greased individual baking dishes or custard cups. Set in a pan of warm water and bake in a very moderate oven (325° F.) for 1½ to 2 hours or until the mixture is firm.
Serve the souffle in the dish in which it is cooked, or, if preferred, turn the individual souffles out onto a hot platter. Thin gravy or tomato sauce may be served with the souffle.
Stuff peppers with seasoned cooked meat, top with bread crumbs. Brown in a moderate oven.
Make a thick sauce by combining the drippings and flour, and gradually stirring in the milk or gravy while cooking until smooth. Let the sauce stand until cold. Then add the meat and seasonings. Mold the mixture into croquette shapes. Dip into the egg beaten up with the water, roll in the bread crumbs, and allow to stand for an hour or longer in a cold place to dry the coating.
Brown croquettes in 3 to 4 tablespoons of hot fat in a frying pan, or in deep fat. To fry in deep fat, heat the fat in a deep vessel to 350° F., or until hot enough to brown an inch cube of bread in 40 seconds. Place several croquettes at a time in a frying basket and lower slowly into the hot fat and fry to a golden brown. Remove the croquettes and drain on paper to take up the fat.
Or bake croquettes instead of frying, if preferred. Make a stiffer texture by adding about ½ cup soft bread crumbs or mashed potatoes to the above ​ingredients. Mold the croquettes into flat cakes, coat with crumbs and egg as described. Bake in a greased pan in a hot oven (400° F.) until browned on the bottom; then turn the croquettes to brown them on the other side.
Wash fresh green cabbage leaves and wilt them in hot lightly salted water until they become limp enough to roll. Make the same cooked meat mixture as suggested for stuffed peppers (p. 30), put some of the mixture on each cabbage leaf, and roll it up. Place the rolls in a baking dish, add hot gravy or a very little hot water, cover the dish, and bake in a moderate oven (350° F.) for about ¾ hour, or until the cabbage is tender.
Make white sauce of the fat, flour, and milk. Add the well-beaten eggs, meat, and seasoning, and mix thoroughly. Pour into greased custard cups. Place the cups in a pan of hot water. Bake in a moderate oven (350° F.) about ¾ hour, or until the mixture is firm in the center. Turn the timbales out and serve hot, with thin gravy or white sauce.
Cook the onion and parsley for a few minutes in the fat, then mix thoroughly with the meat, potatoes, and gravy or milk. Season to taste. Add the beaten egg yolks, then fold in the beaten whites. Pile lightly into a greased baking dish and bake in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 1 hour or until set in the center and lightly browned. Serve in the dish. Tomato sauce (p. 27) is good with beef and potato puff.
Cook the turnips in the boiling water until tender. Thicken the mixture with the flour mixed to a smooth paste with an equal quantity of cold ​water, then cook several minutes. Add the cooked meat, season to taste with salt and pepper, and pour into a shallow pan or baking dish. Make biscuit dough as described below. Roll the dough thin, about ½ inch, cut into biscuits, and place them over the top of the hot meat mixture so they do not touch each other. Bake in a hot oven (400° F.) for about ½ hour, or until the biscuits are done.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine the fat with the sifted dry ingredients, and add milk or water to make a soft mixture that can be rolled.
Season chopped cooked meat with onion and celery or parsley, moisten slightly with gravy, broth, tomatoes, or chili sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Make a rich dough, following the biscuit recipe above, but using twice as much fat. Roll out portions of the dough in rounds about 6 inches in diameter. On each round place some of the meat filling, fold the dough over and pinch the edges together to make turn-overs. Bake until brown in a hot oven (about 425° F.).
Cook the onion in the drippings of other fat. Add the apples of green tomatoes, cover, and cook until tender. Add the meat (pork, lamb, veal, or beef) and heat thoroughly. If the mixture is too thick, thin it slightly with meat broth, gravy, or water. Season to taste with curry powder and salt. Serve with flaky boiled rice, or with noodles.
Mix the meat, mashed potatoes, and parsley, and season to taste with salt. Mold into flat cakes, and fry in hot fat until brown.
Make thin white sauce of the fat, flour, and milk. Add salt to taste. Make alternate layers of noodles and meat in a shallow baking dish, pour on the white sauce, sprinkle bread crumbs over the top, and bake about 20 minutes in a moderately hot oven (375° F.).
Make white sauce, using for each cup of milk 1 tablespoon fat and 1½ tablespoons flour. Add ground or chopped cooked ham or smoked shoulder of pork to the white sauce, and season to taste with salt and pepper. A little chopped green pepper or parsley adds color and good flavor. Serve the mixture hot as filling for hot biscuits.
Separate the beef into fairly small pieces and fry in the fat until the meat curls slightly or is crisp. Sprinkle the flour over the meat, gradually add the cold milk, while heating slowly and stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. Serve hot on waffles or crisp toast.
Heat 3 tablespoons fat in a large pan, add 2 to 3 quarts shredded cabbage, cover to keep in the steam, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring thoroughly. Add 2 cups cooked corned beef, in small pieces, and heat piping hot. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a little vinegar.
Cook the green pepper and onion in the fat for a few minutes. Add the celery, and meat broth or thin gravy. Cover and cook slowly for about 5 minutes. If the mixture needs thickening, mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of corn-starch or flour to a smooth paste with cold water. To the taste add several ​spoonfuls of the broth or gravy, then mix with the rest of the gravy and cook until smooth and thickened. Add the meat, artichokes or radishes or raw carrots, and season to taste with soy sauce and salt. Heat thoroughly and serve, if desired, with flaky boiled rice and fried noodles.
Toast slices of bread on one side and spread the toasted side with fat. Make into sandwiches with slices of cold roast meat, placing the toasted side next to the meat. Toast the outside of each sandwich, place on hot plates, pour on hot gravy, and garnish with a sprig of parsley and a pickle.
If preferred, heat the meat in the gravy and serve on untoasted bread or rolls.
Hot Spanish sandwich.—Pour hot Spanish sauce (p. 28) instead of the gravy over the cooked sliced meat sandwich.
Make open-faced sandwiches with toasted or untoasted rolls or bread, and slices of cooked beef, veal, fresh pork, or lamb. Serve on hot plates with mild barbecue sauce (p. 28) heated and poured over the sandwiches.
Open Faced, hot meat and onion sandwich. Make tasty sandwiches with left-over meat and toasted rolls, biscuits, or bread.
Cook sliced onions until tender in meat broth, gravy, or water. Thicken slightly with flour mixed to a smooth paste with an equal quantity of cold water, and cook several minutes longer. Stir in chopped cooked meat and heat thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add if desired celery seed, or celery tops (fresh or dried), or parsley, or tomato catsup, or chili sauce. Use as the filling for hot sandwiches with bread or hot biscuit or rolls, with plenty of the gravy poured over the top.
Make double-decker sandwiches with slices of toasted bread from which the crust has been removed and the other ingredients arranged in layers of lettuce, bacon or ham, chicken, and tomato, with enough salad dressing to moisten. Insert toothpicks to hold the sandwiches together and garnish with crisp lettuce and radishes, olives, or pickles.
Mix ground cooked ham or cured pork shoulder or other meat with enough fat to spread easily on bread. Make sandwiches with this meat filling. Beat up 1 or 2 eggs with 1 cup of milk, and dip the sandwiches lightly on both sides in the egg and milk. Fry the sandwiches slowly in a small amount of fat until golden brown. Serve hot.
Saw marow bones in sections 2 to 3 inches long. Over each open end put a covering of flour-and-water dough, and tie in a piece of cloth. Put the pieces of marrow bone into a kettle and pour on boiling water to cover. Boil for an hour, then remove the cloth and dough and serve the sections of marrow bone piping hot on pieces of crisp toast.
Marrow cooked in this way is very light in color and delicate in flavor and texture. For marrow with more of its fat cooked out, omit the dough, but tie the pieces of bone in cloth. Boil for 30 to 45 minutes. Or, if the raw marrow is separated from bone, tie the marrow in floured cloth and simmer in water, or cut the marrow in slices, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour and fry slowly to a delicate brown.
Cooked beef, veal, pork, or lamb, with catsup, or chili sauce, or chopped pickles. Cooked beef with thin slices of mild onion. Cooked corned beef with grated horseradish–especially good on rye bread. Crisp-fried dried beef with shredded lettuce and cooked dried beans. Cooked cured ham or shoulder with mustard and lettuce, or with thin slices of cucumber–goes well on whole-wheat bread. Chopped cooked cured ham or shoulder, or minced crisp-fried bacon, with sliced tomatoes or hard-cooked eggs, and salad dressing. Cooked fresh pork, or veal, or lamb, with lettuce and salad dressing. Two thin slices of cooked lamb with mint, or currant, or plum jelly between. Thin slices of cooked tounge, with water cress. Liver paste (p. 40) with thin slices of mild onion.
Any cooked meat ground or finely chopped with raisins or dried apricots, and mixed with salad dressing.
Select a beef bone or a knuckle of veal and crack the bone to get out all the good flavor and food value. Wash the bone, being careful to remove any small slivers, cover with the water in a large kettle, and simmer for about 4 hours, or until the meat is tender. Then add the onions, celery, tomatoes, carrots, turnips, and potatoes to the broth. Simmer gently until the vegetables are tender, but not broken. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the meat with the soup, either left on the bone or ground and added to the soup. Or save the meat to make hash or croquettes.
This recipe makes about 3 quarts of soup. The soup is equally good reheated and served another day.
To make even more substantial soup add rice, or short pieces of macaroni or spaghetti, or pearl barley, or cracked wheat.
Select beef shank, or neck, or some other inexpensive cut. Cut the meat into small pieces, cover with water, and simmer for 2½ to 3 hours. This makes about 1 pint of well-flavored broth. Then add all the other ingredients except the vinegar, salt, and pepper. Simmer for half an hour. Strain through a thick layer of cheesecloth, add the vinegar, tarragon preferred, and season to taste. Reheat and serve piping hot. If desired, place chopped parsley or a thin slice of lemon in each cup of bouillon.
Select a lamb breast that includes the foreshank. Remove the fat. Crack the bones. Put the lean meat and bones on to cook in water to cover. Add the onion. Soak the barley for an hour in cold water, then add to the soup. Cook the soup for 1½ hours after adding the barley. Remove the meat and bones, being careful to take out bone splinters. There should be 3 to 4 cups of broth. Let the broth cool long enough for the fat to harden so it can be skimmed off. Meanwhile chop the cooked meat. Reheat the skimmed soup and add the turnip and carrot and cook until they are tender. Add to cup or more of the chopped meat. Season the soup with salt and pepper and serve piping hot.
Instead of breast of lamb, the bones from 3 or 4 lamb shoulders may be used to make this quantity of soup.
Simmer a beef bone or knuckle of veal in water to cover for 3 to 4 hours. Pour off the broth, skim the fat from it, and strain through cheesecloth. This should make about 3 pints of well flavored broth. To the broth add the onion, bay leaf, celery, savory, and red pepper and simmer for about an hour. Then add the potatoes and cook until tender. Add the tripe, and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with chopped parsley on top.
Wash the tails and cut into short lengths. Brown the pieces in fat, put them into a large kettle, cover with water, add a bay leaf and simmer until the meat is tender enough to fall off the bones. Strain off the broth, and to it add diced vegetables, such as a mixture of onions, carrots, turnips, and potatoes, and cook slowly until the vegetables are tender but not broken. Chop up the meat and serve in the soup. Season to taste.
Boil the vegetables in the ham liquor until they are tender. Then add the milk and ham. When heated, season to taste with salt and pepper.
With wheat.–Follow the recipe above but instead of the vegetables listed use 2 cups of cooked cracked or whole-grain wheat, 2 cups of diced raw carrots, and a slice of onion. Add more milk or ham liquor if needed.
Beef, calf, lamb, and hog liver vary considerably in price, but all can be prepared in tasty ways. Liver has a delicate flavor if properly handled. Scald or pour boiling water over lamb and hog liver before cooking, and drain. Beef and calf liver do not require scalding. Do not overcook liver; use moderate heat and cook only long enough to change the color.
Fried with bacon.–Lay strips of bacon in a cold or moderately hot frying pan, and cook slowly, turning frequently. As soon as the bacon is done, drain on paper to take up the fat, and keep hot. Sprinkle slices of liver with salt, pepper, and flour and cook in the bacon fat at moderate heat until the liver is lightly browned. Serve surrounded by the crisp bacon on a hot platter.
Scalloped with potatoes.–Sprinkle 1 pound sliced liver with salt, pepper, and flour. Brown lightly in fat, and cut into small pieces. Pare and slice 6 or 7 potatoes. Put a layer of the potatoes into a greased baking dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, add some of the liver, together with a few slices of onion, and continue until all are used, making the top layer potatoes. Cover with milk, put on a lid, and bake for about an hour in a moderate oven (350° F.), or until the potatoes are tender. At the last remove the lid and allow the potatoes to brown on top.
Cooked rice, macaroni, or noodles may be used instead of potatoes.
Season and flour liver, and cook slowly.
Liver loaf.—Fry 1 to 1½ pounds of liver in fat just long enough to brown on both sides, then grind or chop it very fine. Cook a sliced onion and 3 or 4 stalks of chopped celery for a few minutes in the drippings and mix with the liver and 1 quart mashed potatoes, cooked rice, or oatmeal. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, add fresh or canned tomatoes, catsup, or chili sauce. Place the meat mixture in a greased shallow pan and bake in a moderately hot oven (375°-400° F.) for about an hour.
Liver paste.—Broil or fry slices of liver, or simmer the whole piece in water until tender. Mash, grind, or chop fine the cooked liver, and mix with fat and seasonings—use 2 tablespoons each of chili sauce or catsup, chopped celery, and fat to 1 cup of ground liver. Add salt and pepper to taste. Use the liver paste as spread for sandwiches.
Wash and skin a beef kidney; cut out the fat, blood vessels, and connective tissue. Cover with cold water, heat slowly to boiling, discard the water, and repeat the process until there is no strong odor. Then add about 1 quart of fresh water and simmer the kidney until tender. Remove the kidney and cut into small pieces. Cook diced potatoes and a small onion in the broth if the flavor is mild; if it has a strong flavor, cook the vegetables in water instead. Pour off the liquid and measure it. To each cup, allow about ½ tablespoon of flour for thickening. Blend the flour ​with an equal quantity of fat and add the liquid gradually with constant stirring over low heat. To this sauce add the potatoes, onion, and kidney. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and if desired, chopped parsley and lemon juice.
Select calf or lamb kidneys for broiling. Wash kidneys, remove the outer membrane, split through the center and cut out the fat, blood vessels, and connective tissue. When ready to cook, dip the kidneys in melted fat, lay the pieces in a shallow pan, and broil for 10 to 20 minutes, turning for even cooking. Sprinkle broiled kidneys with salt and pepper, and serve on toast on a hot platter. If desired, garnish with parsley and thin slices of lemon.
Select 1 beef heart, or 2 or 3 calf hearts. Wash and slit the heart, remove gristle and blood vessels. For the stuffing, chop an onion and a stalk of celery and cook in 2 tablespoons of fat, add 2 to 3 cups of soft bread crumbs, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Thyme goes well with heart–add a pinch to the stuffing.
Fill heart with the stuffing; sew up the slit. Brown the heart on all sides in fat; place it in a baking dish or casserole; add ½ cup of water, cover closely, and cook until tender in a very moderate oven (about 300° F.). A beef heart will require about 4 hours. A calf or a hog heart will cook tender in much shorter time–about 1½ hours. Make gravy of the drippings.
Beef heart and lung go well together in stew, loaf, and pickle. To prepare heart and lung wash thoroughly, then remove gristle and the larger blood vessels. Simmer in water to cover. A beef heart and an equal weight of beef lung will probably require 4 to 5 hours to cook tender. If possible let the cooked meat cool in the broth.
In stew with onion gravy.–Make onion gravy as follows: Cook a finely chopped onion for a few minutes in l tablespoon fat. Then stir in 3 tablespoons flour. Add gradually 2 cups of the broth in which the heart and lung were cooked. Dilute the broth with water if the flavor is strong. To the onion gravy add 3 pints of diced cooked heart and lung and heat the mixture thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and if desired add also several peppercorns, about ¼ teaspoon thyme, and a dash of red pepper. Serve piping hot.
In loaf or "pudding."–Cook a finely chopped onion for a few minutes in 2 tablespoons fat in a large pan. Add 5 cups ground cooked heart ​and lung and 1 cup of the broth in which the meat was cooked. Stir in 2 egg yolks, beaten, and cook slowly for a few minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and if desired add a little ground mace and chopped parsley. Place the hot mixture in a greased bread pan and chill. Turn out and serve in slices.
In sweet sour pickle.–To 1 cup of the broth in which heart and lung were cooked add 2 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon molasses, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon pickle spices, and ⅛ teaspoon mustard. Boil the mixture for a few minutes, then add 2 cups diced cooked heart and lung and simmer until hot throughout. Season to taste with salt. Serve hot, or chill and serve cold.
If using a fresh tongue, wash, cover with water, add an onion, a sprig of parsley, a bay leaf, several whole black peppercorns or whole cloves, and salt. Simmer (do not boil) for 2½ to 3 hours, or until the meat is tender. Skin the tongue, slice, and serve hot, or allow it to cool in the liquid after skinning, and serve cold.
If tongue is smoked, soak it overnight. Put on to cook in water to cover, bring to the boiling point, and discard the water. Repeat several times if the water tastes very salty. Add fresh water and cook slowly until the tongue is tender.
Select a calf tongue or several lamb tongues. Cover with water, bring to the boiling point, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain, remove skin and gristle, and lay the skinned tongue in a large baking dish. In the meantime, cook about 1½ quarts of sliced vegetables (onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, and green pepper) in about 2 tablespoons of fat for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Put the vegetables over and around the tongue in the baking dish and add 1 cup hot water. Cover the baking dish and cook in a moderately hot oven (375° F.) for about 1 hour or until the meat is tender. Make gravy with the drippings.
Wash the sweerbreads. Whether sweetbreads are to be broiled, fried, creamed, or used in salad, simmer them for about 20 minutes in salted water to cover, then allow them to cool in the liquor. Remove the skin and tough membranes, leaving tender, lobe-shaped pieces of delicate flavor. Save the broth.
Broiled.–Keep the cooked lobes whole, place them in a shallow pan, pour over them melted fat, and brown on all sides in the broiler. Sprinkle ​the sweetbreads with salt and serve on a hot platter with a border of green peas, if desired.
Fried.–Either keep the cooked lobes whole or divide them into a few pieces. Dip the pieces into a beaten egg diluted with 1 tablespoon of flour, sprinkle with salt and flour, and fry slowly in a generous quantity of fat.
Creamed.–Cut the cooked lobes of the sweetbreads into small pieces. Sprinkle with salt and flour, brown lightly in fat, and remove the browned pieces from the pan. To make sauce, blend 2 to 3 tablespoons of flour with the drippings in the pan, stir in 1 to 2 cups of liquid–the liquor in which the sweetbreads were cooked and milk or cream or both–and cook until smooth. Serve the sauce over the sweetbreads, on toast or in patty shells.
In salad.–Cut cooked sweetbreads into small pieces, and mix with chopped celery and salad dressing. Serve on crisp lettuce.
Wash brains, soak in cold water (with or without salt) for half an hour, then remove blood vessels and membrane. Whatever way brains are to be served they are easier to handle if precooked. To do this cover the brains with slightly salted cold water and simmer for about 15 minutes. Cool in the broth.
Breaded.–Drain the cooked and cooled brains and separate into fairly large pieces. Dip them into a beaten egg, diluted with 1 tablespoon of flour, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then roll in finely sifted bread crumbs, and fry slowly in fat. Serve hot. Tomato sauce (p. 27) is good with breaded brains.
Creamed.–Drain the cooked and cooled brains. Cut into fairly small pieces, sprinkle lightly with salt and flour, brown delicately in fat, then remove the browned pieces from the pan. To make sauce blend 2 to 3 tablespoons of flour with the drippings in the pan, stir in 1 to 2 cups of liquid–the liquor in which the brains were precooked and milk or cream or broth–and cook until smooth. Serve the brains and sauce on toast or in patty shells or with waffles. If desired, add chopped parsley or paprika.
In croquettes.–Cook 1½ pounds of brains as described and cool them in the broth. Drain the brains and cut into small pieces; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour; brown lightly in fat and remove from the frying pan. To get all the good flavor rinse the pan with ½ cup of the broth in which the brains were cooked. Make a very thick sauce with 3 tablespoons of fat, 5 tablespoons of flour, 1 cup of milk, and the broth used to rinse the frying pan. Let the sauce stand until cold, then add the brains, and ¾ cup sifted dry bread crumbs. Season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper and, if desired add chopped parsley, and paprika. Mold the ​mixture into croquette shapes or flat cakes, dip in beaten egg and crumbs, and fry in either shallow or deep fat, or bake, as described under Beef or Veal Croquettes (p. 31).
Scrambled with eggs.–Cook about 1 pound of brains and cool them in the broth. Drain the brains, cut into small pieces, and brown in 2 tablespoons of fat. In the meantime beat 4 eggs with ½ cup of milk, and pour into the pan containing the browned brains. Cook slowly, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Do not overcook. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on a hot platter. Garnish with parsley.
In salad.–Cut cooked brains into small pieces, and mix with chopped celery and salad dressing. Serve on crisp lettuce.
Select pickled or fresh tripe which has already been cooked, or simmer uncooked tripe in water for about 6 hours or until tender. If possible, let the tripe cool in the broth.
Fried.–Cut cooked tripe into pieces for serving. Before frying the tripe dip it in a thin batter. Good proportions for this batter are 1 egg, 1 cup milk, 1 cup sifted flour, and 1 teaspoon salt. Or dip tripe in egg and bread crumbs, then let the coating dry before frying the tripe. Brown the tripe in 2 to 3 tablespoons fat. Serve hot. If desired, garnish with parsley and slices of lemon.
Broiled.–Cut cooked tripe into pieces for serving. Dip the pieces in melted fat, and brown them on both sides in the broiler. Serve hot, garnished with parsley and slices of lemon if desired.
Creamed.–Cut cooked tripe into inch squares or into finger lengths, brown lightly in 1 to 2 tablespoons fat, and serve in medium white sauce, seasoned to taste.
Select a beef spleen, or 5 or 6 pork spleens. Wash spleen and remove the thin outer skin and fat. Put spleen on to cook in water to cover and simmer until tender. Beef spleen will probably require 3 hours, and pork spleen 2 hours. If possible, let the meat cool in the broth. Cut the cooked spleen into inch cubes.
Cook the onion in the fat for a few minutes, then add the flour and stir until blended. Gradually add the spleen broth and water, stirring constantly over low heat, and cook until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and if desired add the thyme and celery seed. Lastly add the cooked spleen and heat thoroughly. Serve piping hot.
Boil the potatoes in their jackets, skin them, and slice or cut the potatoes in cubes. Add the onion, salad dressing and salt to taste and heat the mixture piping hot. In the meantime cook the sausage as directed under Fried Sausage (p. 25). Or, if using frankfurters, wash them, cover with boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve the meat hot on the hot potato salad and, if desired, add a dash of paprika and garnish with pickles or strips of green pepper or pimiento.
Cut the cold macaroni into small pieces. Mix lightly with the other ingredients. Chill and serve on crisp lettuce, water cress, or endive.
Tongue, sliced cold, goes well with crisp, raw vegetable salad.
To 3 cups of cold cooked veal or fresh pork, cut into small pieces of even size, add thick salad dressing. Let the mixture stand in a cold place for several hours. Shortly before serving, add 2 cups of cut celery and more salad dressing if needed to coat all the pieces. Salt to taste.
Hard-cooked eggs, sliced or cut in quarters, may be used as a garnish, or mixed with the salad to make it go further.
When ready to serve, pile the salad on crisp lettuce or in tomato cups. Or serve in long rolls from which the centers have been scraped out. Or use the salad as a filling for sandwiches.
Crack the bones. Wash the knuckle well and cover with the 2 quarts cold water. Add the onion. Heat slowly to the boiling point, then simmer for about 3 hours, or until the meat is tender. Pour off and measure the liquid. There should be about 3 cups. Remove the meat from the bones, discarding all gristle and bone splinters, and either grind or chop the meat very fine. Soften the gelatin in the 2 tablespoons of cold water and add to the hot stock, chill, and when partly set add the meat and seasonings, and stir until well mixed. Rinse a large mold or individual molds, pour in the mixture, and allow to stand some hours or overnight in a refrigerator or other cold place. When thoroughly stiffened, turn the jellied meat out on crisp lettuce. Serve with salad dressing. Garnish with thinly sliced cucumber and tomato, if desired.
Chopped crisp bacon or ham, diced apples or sliced bananas, and salad dressing.
Chopped crisp bacon or ham with sliced or chopped raw vegetables–tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, celery, tender leaves of spinach–and salad dressing.
Chopped crisp bacon or ham with cooked green vegetables–snap beans, asparagus, peas–and salad dressing.
Crisp fried dried beef broken in pieces, or chopped cooked corned beef, cooked dried beans or peas, chopped onion, and salad dressing.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).
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