Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-05-21
VOL. XLVIII. n
Bcefsteah.
now 1T IS COOKED IN ENGLAND, TRANCE. SPAIN,
GERMANY AND AMERICA.
From, .bo A,o.-

| AlllDuNn
he cared little for steak in the country,
he liked steak in town. The sublime idea
OF beefsteak is by no means fixed By
travelling across the sea it changes, if not
It's inherent essence, at any rate its phe-
nomenon or outward manifestations, and
presents widely different features under va
rious skies. In England the beau ideal is
rump steak, and the point, - when noble
fringe OF tat encircles plump triangle of lean,
Is most highly esteemed. As to the thickness
to which these steaks should be cut, doctors
differ. large majority rules in favor of
thick steak, but an intelligent and voracious
minority declares for thickness Of half or
at most threc-quarters Of an inch, on the
ground that steaks of this thickness require
only - one good turn and when hroiled
overa clear fire become equally cooked
through0ut-a condition deemed impossible
in those of greater density. Like other no
bic entities, the - point steak" has his poor
relations, the bladebone steak and buttock
steak, both Of which are but poor substi-
tutes for prime slice of the darkly-colored,
iinely-grained meat which adorns the rump
of Highland OK.
In choosing steaks great care should be
had to the color and grain. Pinky-looking
beel Is always immature, and, if tender,
taSteless while coarSe-iibred meat. albeit
occasionally Of high flavor, gives oyermuch
exercise to the masticators. and is moreover,
apt to put heavy strain on the digestive or
ganS. Except in the case of very small
Highland beef, which abounds in adipoSe
tissue, the rump steak should be endowed
with handsome margin Of fat 1t NAV be
urged that lew persons can consume the
whole or even part OF this fat. and that
therefore 1t i 50 much waste. Now. thi, Is
not altogether true. The steak Is boneless.
ana can, therefore, carry little waste, and,
II not tat, Is. rarely good. Perhaps the
hheSt ana most perfect steaks have ever
seen were cut from Christmas cattle, and
were not only tringed, but marbled with
Tat. in these cases the apparent waste was
considerable but the sublime sensations
experienced IN dey0uring the lean amply
compensated Tor any loss incurred bv an IN
due proportion Of fat. d" After all. - as the
cockney SAID to a country friend who was
worrying him about the price of wheat, a
penny Loaf always costs a penny" So Is
steak steak and if some little bulk must
be sacrificed in surplus adipose tissue. il
- goes farther than any meat known to
the writer. Perhaps the principal reason
why steaks are 50 miserably cooked in most
private houses Is that no skill IS shown in
the management Of the fire. \ good bright
fire topped with charcoal, or. in default of
pure carbon, with coke, will produce the in
tense heat without smoke absolutely nece--
sary to cook a steak to perfection. The bars
OF the gridiron should be thin. and not too
close together. When these are thoroughly
heated they should be rubbed with little
TAT, and are then ready to receive the steak
which, after being severed from the parent
rump arG trimmed should undergo no pre-
llmlnary treatment, save slight dusting
with pepper. salt should never be put upon
the steak till it Is cooked. as it causes the
juices Of the meat to flow and the steak
should be turned and only once turned, with
a par OF tongS or couple Of spoons. and
should by no means be" " prodded" with
fork. All hammering Of steaks with cleav-
ers or outlet bats should be avoided and the
use OF hldeous contriyances resembling q
gantic" back-scratchers. for punching and
clapper-clawing the meat to make it tender
should be eschewed Turned only once and
broiled for about ten minutes over clear
fire, the steak Is cooked, and should then be
sprinkled with salt and served on trcmen-
dously hot dish garnished with horseradish.
Confirmed steak-eaters insist that nothing
beyond pepper, salt, mustard and horserai-
ish l. needed with a steak, except a mealy
potato and slice of stale bread, but the
didd Of these rigid puri~ts are often set
aside in these degenerate DAYS, and oyster
sauce, fried onions, OF sauc,-jernaisr are
often served a accomplishments Many
gosiroHomcs ike their plates rubbed with a
shallot, but more Thoroughbred admirers
OF this oderierous bulb maintain that they
had as lief be hanged for sheep rs
lamb, and cover their steak with actual
shallot finely minced Hot horseadish
sauce Is also frequently eaten with a steak.
and is an excellent companion to il. MuSh-
room catSup Is also liked by many. but
should always be made bot The sight of
human being deluginS prime hot steak
with cold catsup arouScS stormy emotions in
the bosom ct true stcak-eatcr Inferior
in texture to the steak, but Juicy and tender
withal, Is the beef skirt, an article seldom
heard of. When intended for boiling the
skirt should only be skinned On one side,
and by those whose molars are not Of the
best, Will be appreciated as a >ingularly sue
culent m0rsel. Turning from the steaks of
old England to those OF France, we find the
Resources OF cookery called in to help out
very inferior raw material. The French
" bHteck proper is generally 4 tou-hisli bit
0. meat, cut from 10 recognizable part of
the animal, often oyer-eooked, and sur
rounded with lred pOt.itoes-iar better
cooked than the meat The French shine
TO better advantage in their treatment Of the
tif or undercut Ot the surlJin, and the tll-
| frecotc or upper part thereof. The flcf Is
| cut into slices, STEPPED in a Haylhads Of oil.
vinegar, sliced onions, spices, pepper, salt,
| parsley and sweet herbs for a few hours,
and is then brolled in the usual way. For
long while the ontrecoies SdigRantcs were
very fashionable in Paris but pernars the
most glorihed form Of a French flet Is the
| ChateaatrlG1ld. This is a nice piece Of the
" undercut, taken across the grain. and
neatly trimmed. 1t should be Of moderate.
not exaggerated, thickness. and should not
altogether resemble pincushion. 1t must
then be sprlnkled with pepper, coated light
ly with oil, grilled, and garnished with po-
tatoes cut to the size of marbles. and fried
in butter. This is the ClaiequJriand pur et
SIMPLE, but it Is not unirequently served
with sauce perigUeuI. The practice of cut
ting steaks from the Surloin prevails in
the upper and under portions are often di-
| yided into - sirloin steak and tender
| lOin, the truly national practice Is to cut
clean through the bone and serve both in one
piece, which Is then called a '' porter-house
steak. There l. a story current d" on the
other side to the effect that on landing in
New York n gentleman Of the llibernian
persuasion endowed with the lightness Of
heart and language often enjoyed by the
" Irish emlgrant, was enthusiastically re-
ceiyed by Joyial compatriot who, having
enjoyed the free air Of Manhattan for about
SIX months, and being already thriving
citizen and - good Democrat, invited his
&" new chum 10 eat n steak with him forth
with Rushir,g into a restaurant he order
ed - double porterhouse, " and was quick
ly served wit n that fine species Of the genus
steak. " B the powers 80 cried the new
conner, . to think my mothers son should
cross the sa 1t sea to eat mutton chop made
of beef!'
This Ilib ernian definition actually gives a
perfectly el ear idea Of the famous porter
house steal,.'' These handsome cuts are
broiled, an often served with mushrooms.
making capital dish for at least two per-
sons. 1t must. however, be admitted that
in Amer lca exist persons depraved enough
not only to fry these magnificent steaks. but,
like the man who eat asparagus at the wrong
end. to pretend that they like them best
that way Spanish notions Of cookery are
hardly worth quoting but for the sake of
yarie y may describe the Peninsuar mode
of tt eatment Neat slices are cut from the
und srside of the sirlOin meanwhile a guam
tity OF onions chopped very finely are put
into, frying pan with liberal allowance of
butter, and allowed to take slight color
Tie pan is then drawn back, and the pieces
of beef, well seasoned with pepper and salt,
put in and fried in the butter. Served
with the onions over, and quantity of
stewed tomatoes, these fllets are very eat
able when nothing better can be got. The
German bee fsteak is a very inferior produc-