# Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management/Chapter XIV

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON QUADRUPEDS
General Notes on Mammalia and the different breeds of Cattle and their characteristics, observations on veal and beef, and tables of prices and weights of joints, etc.
The Empire of Nature has been, by general assent, divided into three great divisions or kingdoms: the first consisting of minerals, the second of vegetables, and the third of animals. The Mineral Kingdom comprises all inorganic objects devoid of life, but having a definite chemical composition, consisting of either a single element, as silver, or of two or three of these elements combined, as sodium chloride or common salt. When not mixed with any other substances, minerals are composed of similar particles, and if they possess a definite shape, are characterized by the geometric form their crystals assume, although all minerals are not distinctly crystalline. Minerals enter into the composition of the rocks, which constitute the solid portion of our globe, and guard the land against the encroachments of the sea.
The Vegetable Kingdom covers and beautifies the earth with an endless variety of form and colour. It consists, with some exceptions, of organic bodies which grow by the assimilation of inorganic substances, as water, carbonic acid, and ammonia, forming out of these organic complex substances, as sugar, starch, cellulose, etc. In the process of digestion plants break up carbonic acid into its two elements of oxygen and carbon, setting free the former which is required for the sustenance of animal life, and retaining the carbon necessary for vegetable life. The higher orders of plants are chiefly nourished by means of roots, breathe by the medium of leaves, and are propagated by seeds.
The Animal Kingdom in its lower types is closely allied to the Vegetable Kingdom, both of these constituting the organic series of natural objects. The bodies of each are composed of protoplasm, the basis of all life, a substance formed of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. The nature and method of assimilating their food is the only means by which the distinction between plants and animals in their lowest forms can be clearly determined: the former subsisting on inorganic, and the latter on organic, matter.
In the case of the higher animals and plants, it is easy to assign any individual to its proper place in Nature, but it is almost impossible ​to fix the precise limits of the types which connect the two great Kingdoms together, and to determine where vegetable life ends and animal life begins. In respect of form, internal structure, power of motion, they closely resemble each other as in the case of the DIATOMACEAE and DESMIDIAE, two of the lower order of miscroscopic plants, and the sea-anemones, sea-mats, sponges, corals, etc. Like the Vegetable Kingdom, animals are limited to certain areas by the conditions of climate and soil, the environment of an animal determining its development and survival. There are various systems of classification of animals. Linnaeus divided them into six great classes: Mammalia, Birds, Fishes, Amphibious Animals, Insects and Worms. Cuviers' more scientific arrangement comprised the four sub-Kingdoms, Vertebrata, Mollusca, Articulata, and Radiata. The classifications of more recent times have been largely determined by the consideration of the forms of animals as influenced by evolution, and the facts of heredity and adaptation to their environment. The late Professor Huxley divded the Animal Kingdom into the sub-Kingdoms, Vertebrata, Annuloda, Annuloida, Coelenterata, Infusoria, and Protozoa.
MAMMALIA
This class of animals comprises all the ordinary quadrupeds, and includes all those vertebrate animals in which some part or other of the skin, during some portion of life, is provided with hair, and whose young are nourished for a longer or shorter period by means of a special fluid-milk, secreted by special glands. The mammalia have warm blood, i.e., blood the normal temperature of which is usually retained in any atmosphere. Among the mammalia are classed the whales, dolphins and porpoises, whose bodies are particularly adapted for aquatic life, and, who like the rest of the class, nourish their young by their milk. The heart of mammals is similar to that of birds, and has four distinct chambers, two auricles and two ventricles, and respiration is carried on by means of two lungs situated in the chest cavity.
The following are the general characteristics of the Mammalia. As noticed above, the bodies of nearly the whole class are covered with hair—a kind of clothing which is both soft and warm, little liable to injury, and bestowed in proportion to the necessities of the animal, the climate of the country it inhabits, and the nature of its environment. In all the higher orders of animals, the head is the principal seat of the organs of sense. In it are placed the eyes, the ears, nose, and the mouth. Through the last they receive nourishment. The mouth contains the teeth, which, in most of the mammalia, are used not only for the mastication of food, but also as weapons of defence. They are inserted into two movable jaws, and incisors are so placed that their sharp edges may easily be brought in contact with the food, in order that its fibres may ​readily be separated. Next to these, on each side, are situated the canine teeth or tusks, which are longer than the other teeth, and being pointed are specially adapted for tearing food. In the back of the jaws are placed another form of teeth, called molars, or grinders. Their use is to masticate the food; in animals that live on vegetables the molars are flattened at the top; but in the carnivora, their upper surfaces are furnished with sharp-pointed protuberances. The numbers, form, and disposition of the teeth constitute most important characteristics for separating the various orders of the mammalia from one another. The nose is a cartilaginous body, pierced with two holes, which are called nostrils. Through these the animal is affected by the sense of smell; in some animals this organ is prominent, whilst in others it is flat, compressed, turned upwards, or bent downwards. In beasts of prey the nose is frequently longer than the lips; and in some other animals, as the elephant, it is elongated into a movable trunk or proboscis, whilst in the rhinoceros it is armed with a horn. The eyes of quadrupeds are generally defended by movable lids, on the outer margins of which are fringes of hair called eyelashes. The opening of the pupil is in general circular; but in some species, as in those of the cat and hare, it is contracted into a perpendicular line; in the horse, the ox, and a few others, it forms a transverse bar. The ears are openings, generally accompanied with a cartilage which defends and covers them, called the external ear. In aquatic animals the latter are wanting, sound being transmitted merely through orifices in the head, which have the name of auditory holes. The most defenceless animals are extremely delicate in the sense of hearing, as are also most beasts of prey. Most of the mammiferous animals walk on their toes, which at the extremities are usually divided into five digits. In some, however, the feet end in a single corneous substance, called a hoof. The toes of a few of the mammalia end in broad flat nails, and of most others in pointed claws. Those that are destined to pass a considerable portion of their lives in water have the toes connected by a membrane. Others again, as in the bat, have the digitations of the anterior feet greatly elongated, the intervening space being filled by a membrane, which extends round the hinder legs and tail, by means of which they are enabled to rise into the air. In man, the hand comprises fingers separate free and flexible; but apes and some other kinds of animals, have fingers both to the hands and feet. These, therefore, are the only animals that can hold moveable objects in a single hand. Others, such as rats and squirrels, have the fingers sufficiently small and flexible to enable them to pick up objects, but they are compelled to hold them in both hands. Others, again, have the toes shorter, and must rest on the hind-feet, as is the case with dogs and cats when they want to hold a substance firmly on the ground with their paws. There are still others that have their toes united and drawn under the skin ​or enveloped in corneous hoofs, and thereby cannot exercise any prehensile power.
According to the Design and End of Nature, mammiferous animals are adapted, when arrived at maturity, to subsist on various kinds of food—some to live wholly upon flesh, others upon grain, herbs or fruits; but in their infant state, milk constitutes the natural food of the whole. That this food may never fail them, it is ordained that the young should no sooner come into the world than the milk should flow in abundance into the organs with which the mother is supplied for the secretion of that nutritious fluid. By a wonderful instinct of Nature, the young animal, almost as soon as it has come into life, searches for the teat, and knows by the process of suction, to extract the fluid necessary to its existence. To man the lower animals are useful in various ways. Some of their bodies afford him food, their skin shoes, and their fleece clothes. Some of them unite with him in sharing the dangers of combat with an enemy, and others assist him in the chase, in exterminating wilder sorts, or banishing them from the haunts of civilization. Many indeed, are injurious to him; but the greater number, in some shape or other, he turns to his service. Of these, there is none more subservient to his purposes than the common ox, for there is scarcely a part of this creature that man has not been able to convert to some useful purpose. Of the horns he makes drinking vessels, knife-handles, combs and boxes; and when they are softened by means of boiling water, he fashions them into transparent plates for lanterns, etc. Glue and gelatine are made of cartilages, gristles, and the finer pieces of the parings and cuttings of hides. Their bone is a cheap substitute for ivory. The thinnest calf-skins are manufactured into vellum. Their blood is made the basis of Prussian blue, and saddlers use a fine sort of thread prepared from their sinews. Their hair is valuable in various manufactures; their suet, fat and tallow are moulded into candles; while the muscular tissues of the carcass constitute beef, and the milk and cream of the cow yield butter and cheese. Thus every part of this animal valuable to man, who has spared no pains to bring it to the highest state of perfection.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON CATTLE.
Cattle, like sheep, belong to the orders Ruminantia and to the same hollow-horned division. The entire order is classed according to the peculiarities of the horn, and includes hornless ruminants like camels and llamas. The giraffe constitutes a genus by himself, known as Camelopardida; deer shed their horns annually; antelopes, bush antelopes, oxen, sheep and goats are hollow-horned; hence cattle and sheep are zoologically not very remote from each other. Domestic European cattle form a distinct group among the Bovidae or oxen.
Oxen include:—
* The Bisons.
* The Yaks.
* The Buffaloes.
* Musk oxen.
* The Gour (Indian bison).
* The Gayal (Indian cow).
* The Zebus (humped cattle of India).
* The European races of cattle.
There are some other oxen, but the eight species above named show the relative position of cattle in the Animal Kingdom and towards other species.
There are 19 distinct breeds or races of cattle in the British Isles, and Moll and Gayot have figured no fewer than 55 races of European cattle in their admirable work, La Connaissance General du Bœuf.
Britain has been famous for cattle from remote times (Bede's Ecclesiastical History), and not only so, but the soil and climate have proved exceptionally favourable for their proper development. British cattle stand pre-eminent in the world at the present time for beauty of form, aptitude to fatten, earliness of maturity, and milking properties. All our races do not possess these aptitudes in the same degree, but they are represented in all. Our cattle are usually classified as milking and dairy breeds, and beef producers, although both classes yield milk and beef. In Europe a third class is usually recognized, distinguished as draught cattle, but horses have almost entirely superseded working oxen in Great Britain.
The beef producing races of cattle include Shorthorns, Herefords, Devons, Sussex, Galloways, Aberdeen-Angus, West Highlanders and Pembrokes.
The principal dairy breeds are Jerseys, Guernseys, Shorthorns, Ayrshires, Norfolk Polls, Kerrys and Dexters. Shorthorns may be included in both sections, and in some other races the distinction must be regarded as rather arbitrary.
Shorthorn Cattle deserve special notice, as combining both milking and feeding properties in a special degree. It is true that many of the highest bred Shorthorns are poor milkers, but the Lincoln Red strain is celebrated for milk, and some herds have been bred for milk, and yet retain their fattening properties. What are known as unpedigreed Shorthorns are perhaps the most generally distributed class of cattle in most dairy districts. The Shorthorn is probably of Dutch origin, but far back in the eighteenth century pure-bred herds with recorded pedigrees were carefully cherished in Northumberland, Durham and Yorkshire. The Dukes of Northumberland, the Blacketts of Matfen, the Milbanks, St. Quintins and Pennymans of Durham, and the Aislabie's of Studley Royal, a very ancient family, all possessed pure-bred Shorthorns before the days of Robert and Charles Colling, the Booths, T. Bates and other accredited promoters of the breed. The enthusiasm of the earlier breeders knew no bounds, and they have been succeeded by a host of great breeders in all parts of the kingdom. There have been many voluminous histories written of Shorthorns, but it is impossible to enter upon particulars here.
A PRIZE SHORTHORN.
​The Shorthorn is of large size and beautifully proportioned. The colour may be all white, all red, red and white, or roan, and the hair is abundant, mossy and licked in various directions. Hair or coat is an important feature. The horns are of wax-like tint, and the nose is cream-coloured and free from black. The bulls are distinguished by "grandeur" in carriage and crest, and the cows are docile and sweet-looking. The beef is red and juicy, but the carcass is liable to be overloaded with fat, and for this reason Shorthorn beef is sometimes considered inferior to that of other breeds.
Hereford Cattle are easily known by their red colour relieved by white on the face, feet, breast, withers and tail. They are poor milkers but quick fatteners, and the beef is of marbled character and of the finest quality. They originated in Herefordshire and Herts, but are widely distributed in the Midlands, and are in high estimation among the graziers of East Anglia. A cross of Hereford and Shorthorn produces heavy-milkers.
Devon Cattle are found in greatest perfection in North Devon on the red land. They are of smaller size than either of the last described and are of blood-red colour: are poor milkers, but good for fattening, and the oxen are first-rate for draught purposes.
Sussex Cattle resemble Devons, but are larger in frame, of a swarthier red and swarthier features. They lack the bright orange tint seen around the eyes, inside the ears, and around the muzzles of Devon cattle. The Sussex breed is one of our best beef producers, and is highly esteemed in its own county.
Galloway Cattle. These inhabit the south-western peninsula of Scotland which includes the counties of Dumfries, Wigton and Kirkcubright, and stretches far south of the English border. They live out of doors winter and summer, and the cows bring forth their calves in the open and suckle them on the hills. They are black in colour, although occasionally red or brown, and are long and cylinderical in shape and stand on short legs. They are of medium size, are polled or hornless, and are disposed of to graziers, who fatten them on the rich grazing lands of England. Their glossy black colour, deep carcases, heavy hindquarters and polled character are amply distinctive of the breed, and the beef is of superior quality.
Aberdeen Angus Cattle occur principally in the peninsula which juts out from the main trend of the coastline to the north-east, forming the counties of Aberdeen, Inverness and Angus. The breed in many respects resembles the Galloways, as it is black and polled. The difference is seen its larger size, rather looser build, and thinner hide and hair. The Aberdeen Angus is essentially a beef producing breed, and is not well adapted for milk. It is always a feature in the Smithfield Cattle Show at Islington.
The West-Highland Cattle harmonise with the rugged character of their surroundings as fittingly as do the red deer and the native eagle. ​These denizens of the mountains might well seem to be a natural product of the land of mist and flood. Their gleaming horns, shaggy coats, stalwart frames and sombre hues seem like an embodiment of the "Spirit of the Highlands." They found an early improver in Mr. McNeil, a proprietor in the Hebrides, and from thence they spread over the Western and Central Highlands. Their symmetry is perfect and their size moderate. Their horns are upright or spreading, and their coats are long and capable of resisting any amount of rain, snow or sleet. Their colours are black, brown, silvery grey, fawn or brindled. For scenic effect they are unsurpassed, and when deported from their native homes they are as decorative as deer, in Windsor Great Park and other demesnes. The West-Highlanders are quick fatteners, and yield beef of first-rate quality. At cattle shows, they always attract an admiring crowd, who gaze upon them at a respectful distance. The free life of West-Highland cattle favours the natural suckling of the calves, and they are never enumerated among the dairy breeds.
The Pembroke Cattle of Wales are black, with black tipped white horns. They are considered to be closely related to the Park Cattle of Chillingham and the native red cattle of Devon. They are an indigenous breed, and probably are descended from the ancient British cattle. They are therefore looked upon as the descendants of Bos Primigenius in contradistinction to Bos longifrous, the extinct wild prototype of Highland cattle. The best type of Pembroke Cattle are called CastleMartins.
DAIRY BREEDS.
Jersey Cattle properly head the list of dairy cattle. They occur as the native breed of Jersey, and no bull is allowed to land upon the island that is not of pure blood. These cattle are of fawn or smoke colour, beautifully shaded on the ribs and haunches. The horns are short and curved towards each other, and are black in colour. The face is deer-like and free from flesh, and the carcass is light in front and heavy behind. They are free milkers, and the milk is of rich colour and extremely rich in cream. It is the butter-making breed par excellence, and the beautiful rich yellow colour of the butter confers upon it a special value. A Jersey cow converts her food into rich milk and is a slow fattener. This is a drawback to the male portions of the herd, which are slow to fatten, and not very saleable except in the case of the best bulls. The deer-like beauty, small size and docility of the cows render them general favourites, and they are largely kept in suburban districts by villa residents. As ordinary farming stock they are not general, as the yield of milk and butter is not so great as in some other breeds, and does not always command a price commensurate with its quality.
Guernsey Cattle possess similar properties to the Jerseys, but may ​be readily distinguished by their yellow and white markings and somewhat ampler proportions.
Ayrshire Cattle appear to be the result of Shorthorn crosses upon the races which were formerly called Dunlop Cattle. They are of various colouring, some being almost black, others of Channel Island hues, while some are brown and white, or yellow and white. The horns are upright and fairly long. The form is described as "wedge-shaped," by which is meant that from every point of view they are narrow in front and wide behind. Thus the narrow withers expand into wide loins, and the wide loins contract into narrow rumps. The for end is vertically shallow from withers to brisket, and expands into great depth at the flanks and buttocks. This is the best cheese-producing breed, and is famous in the Scotch Cheddar Cheese-making district of Kilmarnock.
The Norfolk Pollies are a red polled race of cattle of modern origin, and are highly esteemed for dairy purposes, and are also good fatteners. They probably are descended partly from Galloway cows imported by Norfolk graziers, and from the Suffolk Dun, which had a similar origin.
Kerries and Dexters may be taken together as both are improved varieties of the Irish Kerry breed. They are entirely black and horned. They are small in size, and are favourites with those who keep two or three pet cows for domestic uses. The Dexter was produced by Captain Dexter, who crossed Kerry cows with Shorthorn bulls, and afterwards bred the producer inter se until the breed became fixed in its characters. The Dexter fattens more easily than the Kerry.
QUALITY OF BEEF.
The quality of beef depends partly upon race, but also upon age, sex and feeding. The best beef is that of steers or castrated males of three years old. Heifer beef is probably equally good, but cow beef is decidedly inferior, as is also the flesh of bulls. Grass fed beef is esteemed as superior to that of winter fed animals fattened upon turnips, oil-cake and other artificial foods. The best beef is red in colour and marbled or mottled, with fat finely intermingled with the lean. The hindquarters of cattle are superior to the fore-quarters, and in fact, necks, shoulders and "crops" of beef are never seen on the best tables, but are sold by contract to shippers, etc., at a low price. The hind-quarters contain the ribs, the sirloins, the rumps, the buttocks, and the "rounds." The flank is rolled and used for "corned beef." Beef is highly popular with Englishmen, and is preferred to mutton. It is, however, less easy of digestion, and seems naturally to require mustard or horse-radish as condiments, which are not needed with mutton.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON VEAL
As the calf, at least as far as it is identified with veal, is destined to die young—to be killed in comparative infancy—it may, at first sight, appear of little or no consequence to inquire to what particular variety or breed of the general stock his sire or dam may belong. The great art, however, in the modern science of stock-breeding has been to obtain an animal that shall not only have the utmost beauty of form of which the species is capable, but, at the same time, possess a constitution free from all taint, a frame that shall rapidly attain bulk and stature, and a disposition so kindly that every quantum of food it takes shall speedily, and to the fullest degree, be assimilated and converted into flesh. The breed, then, is of considerable consequence in determining, not only the quality of the meat to the consumer, but its commercial value to the breeder and butcher.
Under the System now adopted in the rearing of domestic cattle and stock in general, to gratify the arbitrary demands of luxury and fashion, we can have veal, like lamb, in the market at all seasons, but English veal is considered to be in season from February to September.
The Cow goes with Young for Nine Months, and the affection and solicitude she evinces for her offspring is more human in its tenderness and intensity than is displayed by any other animal; and her distress when she hears it lowing, and is not allowed to reach it with her distended udders, is often painful to witness; and when the calf has died, or been accidentally killed, her grief frequently makes her refuse to give down her milk. In a state of nature the cow, like the deer, hides her young in the tall ferns and brakes, and the most secret places; and only at stated times, twice or thrice a day, quits the herd, and, hastening to the secret cover, gives suck to her calf, and with the same circumspection returns to the community.
The Weaning of Calves is a process that requires a great amount of care and judgment, for though calves are in reality not weaned till between the eighth and the twelfth week, the process of rearing them by hand commences in fact from the birth, the calf never being allowed to suck its dam. As the rearing of calves for the market is a very important and lucrative business, the breeder generally arranges his stock so that ten or a dozen of his cows shall calve about the same time; and then, by setting aside a few, to find food for the entire family, gets the remainder of the herd with their full fountains of milk to carry on the operations of his dairy. Some people have an idea that skimmed milk, if given in sufficient quantity, is good enough for the weaning period of calf-feeding; but this is a very serious mistake, for the cream, of which it has been deprived, contains nearly all the oleaginous principles, and it is found that a calf reared on one part of new milk mixed with five of water, will thrive and look well, while another treated with unlimited skim milk, will be poor, thin, and miserable. ​It is sometimes a matter of considerable trouble to induce the calf—whose instinct only teaches him to suck, which he will do at anything and with anything—to acquire the knowledge of imbibition, and for the first few days it is often necessary to fill a bottle with milk, and, opening his mouth, pour the contents down his throat. The manner, however, by which he is finally educated into the mystery of suction, is by putting his allowance of milk into a large wooden bowl; the nurse then puts her hand into the milk, and, by bending her fingers upwards, makes a teat for the calf to grasp in his lips, when the vacuum created by the suction of the fingers causes the milk to rise along them into his mouth. In this manner, one by one, the whole family are fed three times a day, care being taken that new-born calves are not at first fed on milk from a cow who has calved some days.
As the Calf Progresses towards his Tenth Week, his diet requires to be increased in quantity and quality; for these objects his milk can be thicked with flour or meal, and small pieces of softened oil-cake are slipped into his mouth after sucking, in order that he may grow familiar with its taste, when it may be softened and scraped down into his milk-and-water. After a time, sliced turnips softened by steam are given to him in tolerable quantities; then succulent grasses, and finally, hay may be added to the other food. Some farmers, desirous of rendering their calves fat for the butcher in as short a time as possible, forget both the natural weakness of the digestive organs and the limited capacity of the stomach, and allow the animals either to suck ad libitum, or give them, if brought up by the pail or by hand, a larger quantity of milk than they can digest. The idea of overloadng their stomach never suggests itself to their minds. They suppose that the more food the young creature consumes, the sooner it will be fat, and they allow it no exercise whatever, for fear it should denude its very bones of their flesh. Under such circumstances the stomach frequently becomes deranged; its functions are no longer performed; the milk, subjected to the acid of the stomach, coagulates, and forms a hardened mass of curd, when the muscles become affected with spasms, and death frequently ensues.
Veal. Veal is, by many, considered both unwholesome and indigestible. The practice, now illegal, of bleeding calves before killing them, until they were actually in a state of disease, had probably some effect in producing a general belief in the unwholesomeness of veal. The flesh of the immature animal is less easily digested because its fibres offer greater resistance to the digestive agents. When its fibres are reduced to a fine state of division by the various processes of mastication, mincing, pounding and sieving, veal is easily digested. Weight for weight, it contains less nourishment than beef, in consequence of having in its composition a higher percentage of water, (78 in 100 parts as compared with 72 per cent. in beef), and a corresponding decrease in the proportion of proteids and fats,
​To Choose Veal.—The whiteness of veal is considered a sign of good quality, and animals were bled to make their flesh white. On the Continent calves are killed much younger than is customary in this country, and they are fed on milk and white food, but no feeding will make every calf equally white fleshed. As immature meat keeps badly at all times, it is of importance that the calf should not be bruised in bringing it to market. The fat should be plentiful and very white, especially that surrounding the kidney, which in all animals affords a good indication of quality.
Very young veal is constantly brought to table on the Continent, but no calf may be killed for food less than 14 days old, whereas in England they may be sold when 3 days old. The flesh is in the higher state of perfection when the calf is 8 or 9 weeks old; after 12 weeks it becomes coarse in texture.
Veal is most plentiful from February to the end of July.
The Several Parts of a Moderate-sized, Well-fed Calf, about 8 weeks old are approximately of the following weights: Loin and chump, 18 lb.; fillet, 12½ lb.; hind knuckle, 5½ lb.; shoulder, 11 lb.; neck, 11 lb.; breast, 9 lb.; and fore-knuckle, 5 lb., making a total of 144 lb. weight. The London mode of cutting the carcass is considered to be the standard. It gives three roasting joints and one boiling joint in each quarter; the pieces are also more equally divided, as regards flesh, and have a better appearance.
The Manner of Cutting up Veal for the English market is to divide the carcass into four quarters, with eleven ribs to each fore-quarter; these are again sub-divided into joints, as exemplified in the accompanying illustration.
They are used in the following way:
Hind-Quarter.
(1) Loin.—Prime roasting joint, also for chops.
(2) Chump end of Loin.—Roasted.
(3) Fillet.—The choicest and least bony roasting joint, also suitable for braising for a small party. Cutlets are sometimes taken from this part.
(4) Hind Knuckle.—Low-priced. Fit for boiling or stewing, or for stock.
Fore-Quarter.
(5) Fore Knuckle.—Best stewed or boiled. In the young animal all joints are tender, and can be roasted. When the sinews and tendons have become stiff and hard with age, certain joints are nearly uneatable, except when cooked at a low temperature with moisture.
(6) Best end of the Neck.—For small roasting joint or for chops. Too large a proportion of bone to be economical. The other end of the neck is more suitable for stewing.
(7 and 8) Oyster or Bladebone.—Often sold in halves for roasting.
​(9) Breast.—Low in price. Sometimes roasted; better braised or stewed. Veal tendons, served as an entrée, are cut from this joint.
(10) Head.—Eaten hot or cold in a variety of ways. Calves' brains are served as an entrée.
Besides these joints, the following parts of the Calf are sold for food:—
(12) Sweetbread.—A delicacy, sold at fancy prices. Cooked in a variety of ways, generally served as an entrée. It is described as heart sweetbread and throat sweetbread, the latter being the thymus gland.
(13) Liver.—Often used for frying. As it is very lean, it is usually cooked with some of the inside fat or crow, or with bacon.
(14) Feet.—These are sold by tripe-dressers and butchers, and for jelly-making, in the place of prepared gelatine. They may also be stewed and fried. "Neats' foot" is a common article of food with the poor.
(15) Heart.—Can be bought separately, or with the pluck or fry. Liked by many persons; makes an economical dish either roast or braised, and is less indigestible than bullock's heart.
(16) Suet.—Veal suet, sold with the loin, is more delicate for all purposes than beef, and may with advantage be substituted for it in puddings, forcemeat, etc.
(17) Kidney.—This is much more delicate than, and is preferred to, beef kidney. It is sold with the loin; if sold separately an extra price is charged.
According to the calculation in the following table we find that 1s. will buy 1 lb. and 6 oz. of breast of veal at 9d. per lb., or 13 ozs. of veal cutlet at 1s. 2d. In the cheaper joint there may be expected an average of 6 ozs. of bone, leaving exactly 1 lb. of solid meat. In the cutlets there may be no bone, but there will probably be 2 ozs., leaving 10 ozs, of solid meat. The price of the cutlet is not unusual, though it is high. It is easy to see that at the price we have quoted, the breast is the more economical purchase, though it would certainly not be so were the price of both joints the same.
TABLE OF THE RELATIVE VALUE OF VARIOUS PARTS OF VEAL.
Giving the Actual Cost of the Eatable Portion of the Various Joints, after deducting Loss in Weight from Waste, Bone and different Modes of Cooking.
Great care has been taken in the preparation of these tables, all the joints having been carefully tested. The result shows that no joint can be reckoned to cost less than 1s. per lb. Veal is not, however, such an extravagant meat as it is generally considered to be, the waste in cooking, as may be seen by the second table, not being excessive.
| Name of Joint. | How usually cooked. | Weight before cooking. | Weight before cooking. | Weight when cooked, bone and waste deducted. | Weight when cooked, bone and waste deducted. | Total loss per lb. | Average cost per lb. | Average cost per lb. | Cost per lb. after cooking, bone and waste deducted. | Cost per lb. after cooking, bone and waste deducted. |
| | | lb. | oz. | lb. | oz. | oz. | s. | d. | s. | d. |
| Breast | Roasted | 5 | 0 | 3 | 6½ | 5¼ | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10½ |
| Fillet | Roasted | 9 | 12 | 7 | 0½ | 4½ | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4¾ |
| Head | Boiled | 12 | 4 | 7 | 8½ | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9½ |
| Heart | Baked | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5½ | 1½ | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8½ |
| Knuckle (of shoulder or leg) | Boiled | 5 | 15 | 2 | 12½ | 8½ | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1½ |
| Leg (in cutlets) | Fried | 1 | 12 | 1 | 6¾ | 2¾ | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5½ |
| Liver | Fried | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15½ | ½ | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10½ |
| Loin | Roasted | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13½ | 7¼ | 0 | 9 | 1 | 4½ |
| Neck Best end | Roasted | 3 | 8 | 2 | 6½ | 5½ | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1½ |
| Shoulder (part) | Stewed | 9 | 0 | 6 | 3½ | 5½ | 0 | 9 | 1 | 1½ |
| Sweetbread | Fried | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2¾ | 1½ | 1 | 6 | 1 | 7½ |
| Tongue | Boiled | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6½ | 6½ | 0 | 8 | 0 | 11½ |
TABLE GIVING WEIGHT OF BONE, SKIN AND WASTE IN JOINTS OF VEAL.
| Name of Joint. | Weight of joint when bought. | Weight of joint when bought. | Weight of bone, skin and waste. | Weight of bone, skin and waste. | Loss of weight by cooking. | Loss of weight by cooking. | Total weight of waste. | Total weight of waste. | Weight of eatable matter. | Weight of eatable matter. |
| | lb. | oz. | lb. | oz. | lb. | oz. | lb. | oz. | lb. | oz. |
| Breast | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4½ | 1 | 6½ | 1 | 10½ | 3 | 6½ |
| Fillet | 9 | 12 | 0 | 8½ | 2 | 4½ | 2 | 12½ | 7 | 0½ |
| Head | 12 | 4 | 3 | 0½ | 1 | 12½ | 4 | 12½ | 7 | 8½ |
| Knuckle | 5 | 15 | 2 | 7½ | 0 | 11½ | 3 | 2½ | 2 | 12½ |
| Leg (in cutlets) | 1 | 12 | 0½ | 3¼ | 0 | 2½ | 0 | 5½ | 1 | 6¾ |
| Loin | 7 | 0 | 1 | 11½ | 1 | 8½ | 3 | 3½ | 3 | 13½ |
| Shoulder | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1½ | 0 | 12½ | 2 | 13½ | 6 | 3½ |
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHOICE OF MEAT
Choosing Meat.—Every housekeeper ought to know how to choose a good piece of meat in the butcher's shop, and how to detect a bad piece sent to her kitchen. It is almost needless to say that the first necessity is that the meat should be wholesome, It may be unwholesome from a variety of causes.
Parasites.—It may be infested with parasites, and this condition is known to be without doubt most injurious to the consumer. We shall have to speak again of "measly pork" in another chapter, and of the parasite known as "Trichina Spiralis," that also frequently infests the pig. The chief, indeed, the only safeguard against this danger lies in the thorough cooking of the meat, every part of which should be raised to the temperature of boiling water, 212 Fahr. This applies particularly to all the visceral organs, where these are eaten, for in these parts of the animal that parasites are most often found.
Putrefaction.—Even if the animal be killed in a healthy condition, the meat may become unwholesome by putrefaction. Habit has much to do in accommodating mankind to various kinds of foods. Some American Indians prefer putrid meat, and they bury salmon for some months in order to bring it to what they consider a state of perfection. Until recently Englishmen preferred game in a half-putrid condition, but now the taste for it is rapidly disappearing.
To Choose Good Meat it is necessary to see that it possesses the following qualifications:—
(1) It should have a marbled appearance, from the ramifications of little veins of fat among the muscles; this is specially characteristic of beef.
Meat may be wholesome, yet not fat, as we shall explain later, but a sickly animal never fattens.
(2) It should be firm and elastic to the touch, and should scarcely moisten the fingers, bad meat being wet, sodden and flabby, with the fat looking like wet jelly or parchment.
(3) It should be neither of a pale pink colour nor a deep purple tint; the former is a sign of disease, the latter indicates that the animal has not been slaughtered, but has died with the blood in it, or has suffered from acute fever. In this case the inside fat surrounding the kidneys and the liver is often suffused with blood, showing plainly that there has been inflammation of those organs.
(4) It should have little or no odour, and the odour should not be disagreeable, for diseased meat has a sickly, cadaverous smell, and sometimes a smell of physic. This is easily discovered when the meat is cut up finely and put into warm water.
(5) It should not shrink or waste much in cooking, though this depends partly on the mode of cooking, as, for instance, roast meat wastes more than baked, and some joints more than others. Badly ​fed meat, such as pork fed on nuts and offal instead of meal, wastes much in cooking.
(6) It should not run to water or become very wet on standing for a day or two but should on the contrary be dry upon the surface. Meat however that has been frozen is always damp on the surface, although the quality may be excellent.
Inferior Meat.—Meat may be quite wholesome and yet may be of inferior quality. Ordinary purchasers do not understand this in theory, though they are accustomed to it in practice. An ox that had worked at the plough would be hard and somewhat strong-flavoured; but suitably cooked it would be unobjectionable from a hygienic point of view. Cow-beef is habitually sold in the markets and the poor gladly buy it at a low price. Even in the best quarters of the town, superior meat hangs side by side with the second quality. Not enough comes to town of the best short-horned beef, or of Southdown mutton, to supply one-tenth of the customers, and in all market-lists the prices at per stone vary according to the breed and the quality. It answers the grazier's purpose to take a lower price per stone for an animal that arrives quickly at maturity, and attains to the greatest weight on a given amount of food. As a rule, the larger the animal, the coarser the flesh. This is markedly true of different varieties of the same species. In providing for a large number of persons, where quantity and cheapness are of more importance than first-rate quality, joints of large, full-flavoured beef and mutton are by far the most advantageous to buy, and for strong soup, stews with vegetables, and such dishes, there is no reason for choosing the most delicate meat.
Fat Meat.—As regards fat, that can be bought more cheaply than on a joint of meat, and many persons object to eat much fat. But it is always risky to buy any part of an unusually lean animal, in case its condition should be due to disease. It is better to buy a lean joint off a fat beast, or to cut off the fat before cooking the meat, as it can be clarified and used for deep frying, plain cakes, pastry, etc. Again, if economy is an object, it is well to buy a cheap part of a first-rate animal rather than a prime joint off an inferior beast. The fore-quarter costs less than the hind; and in a bullock it is easy to get a solid lump of meat from the fore-quarter with little or no bone; of course, if a joint is cheap because it is bony, there is no economy in buying it.
A Few Observations on the Nutritive Value of Salted Meat may be properly introduced in this place. Every housewife knows that dry salt in contact with fresh meat gradually becomes fluid brine. The application of salt causes the fibres of meat to contract, and the juice to flow out from its pores; as much as one-third of the juice of the meat is often forced out in this manner. As this juice is pure extract of meat, containing albumin, osmasome, and other valuable principles it follows that meat, which has been preserved by the action of salt, cannot have the nutritive properties of fresh meat.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON BEEF
Buying Beef.—Beef should not be eaten if it is in the least high. In dry weather it will keep some days; but it very soon spoils in damp weather, even if the thermometer is low. At such times joints of meat may often be bought very cheaply, especially in the large markets on Saturday nights. The meat may be quite good at the time it is sold, but it would not be in twenty-four or thirty-six hours. And thrifty housekeepers, having more time than money at disposal, in this way do their marketing to great advantage. It is not wise at such times—perhaps not at any time when economy is studied—to go out with a fixed idea of the joint that is to be bought. A general idea of the relative value of each joint, of its usual price, and its average proportion of bone and fat, is all wanted. The prices of meat, and of all perishable articles, are only fixed so long as the circumstances which determine them are fixed, and when there is a glut in the market of anything that cannot be held back, it is sure to be sold for whatever it will fetch.
Foreign Beef is now imported in large quantities, and although it is not, generally speaking, considered so good in flavour or quality as English meat, is nevertheless excellent, and can be usually obtained at a lower price. The best parts only used to be sent to this country, but owing to the great improvement in the means of transport and methods for preserving the meat, carcasses frozen, chilled or refrigerated arrive in excellent condition, and are cut up and sold in the same manner as English beef, and usually at a lower rate, thus placing good meat within the reach of all classes. The chief supplies are from the United States, Australia and Argentina. The beef from the United States of the best brands (as those of Swift, Armour and Morris), are not frozen, but refrigerated or chilled, and are sold at a rate within a fraction of our home-raised meat. Argentine beef is not considered to be so good as that from the United States, but is considerably less in price, although it is not so cheap as the beef imported from Australia, which is the cheapest of all. Large quantities of live cattle are now brought over, especially from Argentina, to England, and are slaughtered for the market.
The Larder is the only room in the house that should always face due north, so that the sun never comes in, There should be thorough ventilation, and no direct communication with the drains, an untrapped sink in the floor. The joint should be hung up, not laid on a dish or plate. It should be wiped, and it is a good plan to dust it with flour or flour and pepper. If placed in a draught, meat will keep for a longer time. The kernel, often seen in the round or silverside, and the marrow from the backbone should always be removed, as it taints before the joint itself. Meat from a sickly animal, or from one that has been over-driven or bruised, does not keep well. Old meat keeps better than young.
​Tainted Meat.—If meat is clammy or musty from being kept, it should be washed in water containing vinegar or some such non-poisonous disinfectant as permanganate of potash. Powdered borax dissolved in water is the best to use. Another plan is to powder the joint with charcoal, and then wash it. In any case it should be roasted, not boiled or stewed, if the meat is really tainted ed enough to give it a flavour. It is much better to half-roast or parboil a joint a day or two before it is eaten than to hang it too long, for it is really not hurt by so doing if it is put down to a very hot fire.
The General Mode of Slaughtering Oxen in this country is by striking them a smart blow with a hammer or poleaxe on the head, a little above the eyes. By this means, when the blow is skilfully given, the beast is brought down at one blow, and, to prevent recovery, a cane is generally inserted, by which the spinal cord is perforated, instantly depriving the ox of all sensation of pain. In Spain, and some other countries on the Continent, and also in some parts of England, it is usual to deprive oxen of life by the operation of pithing or dividing the spinal cord in the neck, close to the back part of the head. This is, in effect, the same mode as is practised in the celebrated Spanish bull-fights by the matador, and it is instantaneous in depriving the animal of sensation, if the operator be skilful.
The Manner in which a Side of Beef is cut up in London is shown in the accompanying engraving. The custom varies in different parts of the country, and in some places no difference is made in price between one joint and another. This, however, is of rare occurrence. Meat is sold wholesale at per stone of 8 lb.
In the Metropolis, on account of the large number of its population possessing the means to indulge in the "best of everything," the demand for the most delicate joints of meat is great; the price, at the same time, being much higher for these than for the other parts. The consequence is that in London the carcass is there divided so as to obtain the greatest quantity of meat on the most esteemed joints. But in many places, owing to a greater equality in the social condition and habits of the inhabitants, the demand and prices for the different parts of the carcase are more equalized, there is not the same reason for the butcher to cut the best joints so large.
The meat on those parts of the animal in which the muscles are least called into action is most tender and succulent; as, for instance, along the back, from the rump to the hinder part of the shoulder; whilst the limbs, shoulder and neck are the toughest, driest, and least esteemed.
Amongst the illustrations is given an engraving of the animal, with the parts indicated from whence the different joints are cut, followed by a list of their names.
​ The Names of the Several Joints are as follows:—
Hind-Quarter.
1. Sirloin. 2. Rump. 3. Aitchbone. 4. Buttock or Round. 5. Topside. 6. Silverside. 7. Thick flank. 8. Thin flank. 9. Leg.
Fore-Quarter.
10. Fore rib (6 ribs). 11. Middle rib (4 ribs). 12. Chuck rib (2 ribs). 13. Leg of mutton piece. 14. Brisket. 15. Clod. 16. Neck or Sticking. 17. Shin. 18. Cheek.
These joints are generally cooked in the following ways—
Hind-Quarter.
(1) Sirloin.—Corresponds to loin of mutton, without the chump-end. Two sirloins together correspond to saddle of mutton, and are known as a baron of beef, now very seldom seen. The sirloin is almost invariably roasted, and is considered the best joint for that purpose. Some of the kidney suet is always taken away, and some persons cook the under-cut or roll separately, instead of roasting it with the sirloin. The under-cut is better than any other part for entrées, such as grenadines, olives, fillets of beef, etc.
(2) Rump.—Broiling steaks should be cut from here, although often they are not. For stewing, steak from another part does as well, and costs several pence less. Also roasted. A first-rate joint for any purpose.
(3) Aitchbone.—Often salted and boiled.
(4) Buttock.—A large lump of solid meat without much fat. The joint is roasted in large establishments where economy is studied, but is better boiled or stewed.
(5) Topside.—The top part of buttock, cut into steaks and joints for roasting.
(6) Silverside.—The bottom part of buttock, generally salted and boiled.
(7) Thick Flank.—Coarser in fibre than some parts, but well flavoured, and generally tender. No bone and little fat, and sold at a reasonable price, so that it is one of the most economical parts to buy, whether for pies and puddings, or for a roast; also for steaks.
(8) Thin Flank.—May be used for stews, but is rather fat. Is always low-priced. Perhaps the best way to use it is to salt or pickle it and eat it cold, when it is a very economical joint.
(9) Leg.—Only purchased for soup meat, or the lean part for slow stewing.
Fore-Quarter.
(10) Fore Rib.—The 6 ribs nearest the sirloin are the best for any ​purpose. The best end of the ribs, or wing rib, is always to be preferred. The best end of the ribs has a strip of yellow gristle running about an inch from the outer skin. This should always be cut out before it comes to table. It is not necessary to buy all 6 ribs at once, only sufficient to make a piece thick enough to stand up on dish when roasted, or two ribs. It is generally thought more economical to have the bones taken out and the meat rolled round; the bones then serve for soup. This applies of course to the last 3 or 4 ribs, not the wing ribs.
(11) Middle Rib.—Almost always roasted. It is from this part that the top and back ribs are obtained.
(12) Chuck Rib.—Cut into steaks, etc., mainly for stewing or puddings. The bladebone steak is also cut from here.
(13) Leg of Mutton Piece.—Really part of chuck rib. Solid meat with little fat. The best for pies and puddings, as it is full of gravy. Good steaks are cut from it, and it is very economical to roast.
(14) Brisket, or Breast.—Sold at a low price for stewing or salting. Very good for either purpose, but rather fat. It is excellent cold.
(15) Clod.—Part of this is often sent if soup meat is ordered. If it is not fat, it makes good pies and puddings, but the meat should be stewed first. It is also suitable for an economical stew.
(16) Neck.—Used in the same way as the clod.
(17) Shin.—For soups, gravies and cheap stews.
(18) Ox Cheek.—This is too bony to be a very cheap joint, although it is sold at a low price, and can be made very palatable by slow stewing, or is good for soup. The brains, well soaked, and boiled or fried, make a good dish.
Besides these joints, the following parts of the ox are sold for food:—
(19) Cow-heel.—The feet are boiled and neats-foot oil extracted. These are sold by butchers with the skin on, and are cooked and sold by tripe-dressers or used for soup. They make as good jelly as calves' feet, and what remains of them is very good eating. They can be used for soup in the same way as calves' head.
(20) Ox-tail.—For soups and stews. Considered a delicacy, and, therefore, not cheap.
(21) Heart.—Generally roasted. Economical, but, on account of the closeness and hardness of the muscular tissue, very indigestible.
(22) Tongue.—Can be bought fresh or salted. Is considered a delicacy. Usually boiled and eaten cold, but also stewed as an entrée.
(23) Liver.—Very nutritious and very cheap, but coarse flavoured. Finds a ready sale in the poorest quarters. The food known as "faggots," is made of the liver and lights of sheep and bullocks, mixed with some fat.
(24) Lights, or Lungs.—Sold for cats' and dogs' food.
(25) Kidneys.—For puddings, pies, or stewing. They are cheaper and less delicate than the kidneys of sheep, and are difficult of digestion.
CATTLE.
1. Hereford Steer. 2. Devon Steer.
PIGS.
1. Large White Yorkshire. 2. Berkshire.
​Kidneys need thorough but light cooking, for if they are exposed to a high temperature they dry up and become tasteless and horny.
(26) Tripe.—Sold partially cleaned by the tripe-dressers. It is said to be the most digestable of meats, and specially suited for invalids, although rather fat. Sometimes served as an entrée. It consists of paunch or ruminant stomach of the ox. "Blanket tripe," "honeycomb tripe," and "double tripe," are popular names derived from their respective characteristic conformations.
(27) Sweetbread.—Coarser in texture than that of the calf, needing long and careful cooking.
(28) Suet.—The inside fat. That which surrounds the kidneys is the firmest and best for all purposes, especially for puddings, but at Christmas time any pieces of white fat are sold in its stead.
(29) Spleen, or Milt of bullock, sheep and pig, is sold for food. It is generally stuffed and roasted, or stewed, or boiled for stock.
It is not possible to lay down any exact rule as to the relative cheapness of each joint of meat. The joint itself varies, the prices vary, the tastes of eaters vary, perhaps, most of all. But by way of a rough calculation, the following may be offered:—
Rumpsteak, beefsteak and bullock's liver are all three without any bone. Spend one shilling, and you will get 2 lb. of liver, 1 lb of beefsteak, or 12 ozs. of rumpsteak. Of shin of beef cut without a bone, a shilling buys 1½ lb., and of the solid roasting joint cut from the shoulder, about 1 lb. 3 ozs. Among these are the cheapest of animal food. The shin of beef is only capable of satisfactory results in the hands of a good and patient cook. Ribs of beef cost a little less than beefsteak per lb., but then there are 2 ozs. or 3 ozs. of bone in each shilling's worth, besides a quantity of fat. The shoulder costs less than the rib, and has no bone.
TABLE OF THE RELATIVE VALUE OF VARIOUS PARTS OF BEEF.
Giving the Actual Cost of the Eatable Portion of the different joints of Beef, after deducting Loss of weight from Waste and Bone, by different Modes of Cooking.
Great care has been taken in the preparation of these tables; all the joint have been specially cooked, and the different weight carefully tested. It will surprise many to see the actual relative amount of food obtained, and the doubtful economy of some of the cheaper joints.
| Name of Joint. | How usually cooked. | Weight before cooking. | Weight before cooking. | Weight when cooked, bone and waste deducted. | Weight when cooked, bone and waste deducted. | Weight when cooked, bone and waste deducted. | Total loss per lb. | Total loss per lb. | Average cost per lb. | Average cost per lb. | Average cost per lb. | Cost per lb. after cooking, bone and waste deducted. | Cost per lb. after cooking, bone and waste deducted. | Cost per lb. after cooking, bone and waste deducted. |
| | | lb. | ozs. | lb. | ozs. | | oz. | oz. | s. | d. | | s. | d. | |
| Aitchbone | Roasted | 8 | 9 | 3 | 5 | | 9 | ¾ | 0 | 7 | | 1 | 7 | |
| Brisket | Boiled | 4 | 13 | 2 | 13 | | 6 | ½ | 0 | 5 | ½ | 0 | 9 | ½ |
| Buttock (in steaks) | | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | | | ½ | 1 | 0 | | 0 | 11 | ¼ |
| Heart | Roasted | 5 | 0 | 4 | 13 | ½ | | ½ | 0 | 5 | | 0 | 6 | ¼ |
| Leg of mutton piece | Roasted | 6 | 8 | 5 | 0 | | 3 | ¾ | 0 | 10 | | 1 | 1 | |
| Ribs (fore) | Roasted | 7 | 8 | 4 | 4 | | 7 | | 0 | 11 | | 1 | 7 | ¼ |
| ribs„ (middle) | Roasted | 8 | 4 | 4 | 13 | | 6 | ½ | 0 | 9 | | 1 | 6 | ½ |
| Topside | Baked | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | ¼ | 2 | | 0 | 10 | ½ | 0 | 11 | ¼ |
| Topside„ (silver side) | Boiled | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | | 3 | | 0 | 9 | | 0 | 11 | |
| Rump (steaks) | Broiled | 1 | 8 | 1 | 7 | ½ | | ½ | 1 | 2 | | 1 | 2 | ¼ |
| Sirloin | Roasted | 11 | 8 | 8 | 4 | | 4 | ½ | 0 | 11 | | 1 | 3 | ¼ |
| Tongue | Boiled | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ½ | 4 | | 0 | 9 | | 9 | 10 | ½ |
Note.—The prices quoted are average ones for English beef; Australian beef is cheaper, but wastes a little more in cooking; American, U.S., a fraction lower.
TABLE GIVING WEIGHT OF BONE, SKIN AND WASTE IN JOINTS OF BEEF. :
| Name of Joint. | Weight of joint when bought. | Weight of joint when bought. | Weight of bone, skin and waste. | Weight of bone, skin and waste. | Weight of bone, skin and waste. | Loss of weight by cooking. | Loss of weight by cooking. | Loss of weight by cooking. | Total weight of waste. | Total weight of waste. | Total weight of waste. | Weight of eatable matter. | Weight of eatable matter. | Weight of eatable matter. |
| | lb. | oz. | lb. | oz. | | lb. | oz. | | lb. | oz. | | lb. | oz. | |
| Aitchbone | 8 | 9 | 2 | 3 | | 3 | 1 | | 5 | 4 | | 3 | 5 | |
| Brisket | 4 | 13 | 0 | 12 | | 1 | 4 | | 2 | 0 | | 2 | 13 | |
| Leg of mutton piece | 6 | 8 | 0 | 8 | | 1 | 0 | | 1 | 8 | | 5 | 0 | |
| Ribs (fore) | 7 | 8 | 2 | 0 | | 1 | 4 | | 3 | 4 | | 4 | 4 | |
| Ribs„ (middle) | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | | 1 | 6 | | 3 | 7 | | 4 | 13 | |
| Round | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | | 0 | 8 | ¼ | 0 | 10 | ¼ | 4 | 7 | ¾ |
| Round„ (silver side) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 11 | | 0 | 8 | | 1 | 3 | | 5 | 2 | |
| Rumpsteak | 1 | 8 | None | None | None | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 7 | ½ |
| Sirloin | 11 | 8 | 1 | 12 | | 1 | 8 | | 3 | 4 | | 8 | 4 | |
| Tongue | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | 1 | 6 | ½ | 1 | 7 | ½ | 4 | 8 | ½ |