The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-08-19
ALL ABOUT BEEF.
How 1t Is Cut Up--The Best Pleces--A Few
Hints.


The New York ,Sttn has been inter-
viewing the cattle men and secures some
valuable hints about beef. eyes, sir,
your surmise is correct" said one butch
en- "Beef eating is decidedly q phase
of American extravaganza. Even the
working classes must have their porter.
house or sirloin steaks or their rib pieces
for roasting. Yes, sir, in this particular
they live beyond their means, as well as
in many other things. 1t doesn't attract
so much attention as the habit of buying
expensive furniture, for that you see
afterward in the auction rooms. Now,
you can buy a chuck steak good enough
for anybody for twelve cents pound,
or the round for from fifteen to eighteen
cents, while you pay twenty five cents q
pound for sirloin and thirty cents for
porterhouse steak. -"
"How much prime beef is there in an
animal 2"
"There's from seventy to one hundred
pounds in an animal giving seven hun
dred weight of beef All the rest is the
coarser meat"
"What is the result on prices"
"Why, the natural result, of course.
There is a greater difference in price be-
tween prime beef and coarse-greater
than there is anywhere else. In other
places they make but three or four cents
difference. We sell prime beef at whole
sale for eighteen cents; the coarse meat
of good animal can be bought for
nine, and sometimes there's greater
difference than that. Now the coarse
meat of good animal is great deal
better than the prime meat of a poor
one. That's the reason L say poor people
don't know how to live.
"The chuck, sir, said another butcher,
" is the fore quarter of beef with the
ribs cut out. The fore ribs are sold with
the rest of the prime beef, and at the
same price. The animal is divided this
way {: They take the hind quarter and
cut out the loin. That brings from six
teen to seventeen cents at wholesale.
The ribs are next highest. They bring
about fifteen cents for roasting. The
round sells at about ten cents. The
chuck out of good bullock brings about
seven cents pound. These are whole
sale prices. For inferior cattle ribs and
hind quarters bring about twelve and a
lalf cents the chucks about six cents. "
The receipts at the abattoir yards are
about 5000 head of cattle week, which
are mostly slaughtered for use in New
York. This is an average of about six
hundred pounds of beef to the animal.
One of the leading retail firms in the
beef trade in Washington market subse-
quently confirmed the opinion of the
wholesale men. A light, active man, in
light Dundrearys and an excitable frame
l.
of orders, while the son OF another
member of the firm acted as entry clerk.
Jim, did you send those short loins
to the Mountain House this morning 2"
had just been answered i'll the affirma-
tive as the active mans attention was
drawn off to the ice-houso for a moment,
and that of the entry clerk was attracted
to the subject of this article. He said ::
"Our trade is principally shipping,
but isn't as brisk as it should be. Yes,
sir; the sale for coarse meat is very SLOW
The only thing there is any ready sale
for is the prime part of the carcass. AS
we buy the whole animal, we have to
dispose of thewhole Of it, though we get
for loins, a good cut, first quality,
twenty two cents short loins for porter
house steaks) bring from twenty-five to
twenty-seven cents. The sides are
worth twelve cents +; the hips, eighteen
cents. Ribs run from eighteen to
twenty-t two cents, according to who use
them. We sell to number of hotels.
For example, there is piece with tho
ends of the ribs cut off, and they are
utterly useless, that is for hotel, and
the man that wants that piece has to pay
for the loss of those ends. Rumps are
worth from twelve to thirteen cents.
Round stakes cut off them are worth
fifteen cents if they are cut right through,
and twenty cents if they are cut from
the tender side of the rump. The chuck
is sold for from eight to nine cents, in
pieces weighing from fifty to seventy
five pounds, but it is very hard to sell. "