The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1880-02-14
HINTS FOR TaE HOUSEHOLD.
Meats-Hew to Select and How to- Cook
Them.

In boiling fresh meat of any kind there
should be always sufficient water to en-
tirely cover the meat and to last until
the meat is satisfactorily cooked. The
water should always be boiling hot, and
the vessel in which it is cooked so large
that the meat will not touch the sides;
giving room for the water to entirely
surround as well as more than cover it.
Keep the lid on, closely covering the
kettle, and i. viii require less time and
fuel to cook the meat. There is no need
OF removing the cover at all except as it
may be desirable now and then to look
in and see that the water is not wasting
too fast, and to remove the scum. When
possible, use soft, filtered water. BY
putting meat into boiling water one Sc
cures more Of the juices and rich flavor
of the meat. If boiled too fast the
meat viii be hardened in cooking, and
no boiling will make it tender. Let the
water be boiling, not scalding hot
merely, when the meat touches it; then
remove the kettle from the hottest part
of the stove to where the temperature will
not rise above 1902; keep it at that heat
aud let it simmer till done. Half cup
OF cold water poured in four or five
times during the process of cooking the
meat will help the scum, or coagulated
blood, and all impurities to rise. This
scum must be very carefully and thor
oughly removed as it rises. Fresh meat
will need longer time to boil than that
day or two old; little more than q
quarter of an hour to every pound is
usually long enough. Never take up
the meat with fork, because by thus
piercing it much of the juice and flavor
flow into the liquor, making the broth
(Which should always be saved for soup
stock) richer, to be sure, but detracting
from the richness of the meat more than
is desirable. A stout Irvine should be
tied around the meat when first put in
TO the water, and it can be lifted from
the kettle, when done, by this string; a
loop on the end will make it easy to lift
out by large iron fork. Do not add
the salt to boiling meat until more than
half done. The meat will be tenderer
and juicier for leaving the seasoning
until the last.
For steacs, stone jars are much better
than metal kettles or saucepans. The
old brown or red earthen jar does not
stand heat as well, and is also unsafe
from the lead used in the glazing. This
glazing is easily cracked by the use of
salt, and thus the lead will be brought
in contact with the contents of the jar;
the stone jar is not injured by heat.
which it retains longer than metal, and
is readily cleaned. The lid should be
fitted tightly, SD as to prevent escape of
steam. In buying meat for a stew,
choose that which has been carefully
dressed and freed from blood. Put into
the saucepan or stone jar boiling water,
"a quart to a pound of meat will make
the liquor very rich. That is no fault;
still, if richer than is liked, it can be
weakened by adding little boiling wa
ter when the salt is added-that is,
when the stew is two-thirds done;
about a teaspoonful of salt to quart of
liquor. Bring the water gradually back
to the boiling point after the meat has
been put .in-of course, at first, the cold
meat lowers the temperature. As soon
as it boils, remove all scum that
has risen; set the jar back
where it will simmer and not
quite boil, and let it remain in this
state till the liquor is thoroughly filled
with the flavor of the meat. Skim often
and quickly, till no more scum rises;
cover steam-tight Immediately. Before
adding the salt carefully remove all the
fat. 1t is nicer to use for frying, or
suet-puddings, before the salt is added.
When no more fat rises put in the salt.
A stew is very nourishing if prepared as
above, and.it is one of the most econom-
ical dishes; for although it is, of course,
best when made of the choicest meat,
yet any kind of meat may be used,
either together or separately, as most
convenient, and be neutrality-suspicious..
Those bits that can not be prepared
nicely in any other way can, by judicious
seasoning and careful stewisg-keeping
all the steam with the meat SO that the
flavor will not escape-be made into a
most excellent dish. Almost all the odd
bits and ends from meat which the
butcher pares off, all gristly bits, shanks,
knuckles and feet, can only be made fit
for the table by stewing. Those pieces
require longer time to cook tender than
many other pieces but sensible woman,
with any tact for good management,
will put them on the stove as she goes
about other work, and with very little
care convert them-with proper pro-
portion of vegetables and judicious
seasoning-into q most nutritious and
attractive dish, more enjoyable than
some of the more expensive joints.
Housekeepers who are obliged to study
economy viii do wisely to watch the
markets for many articles which will
otherwise go to waste, but which if she
has skill and intelligence can be pre-
pared so as to be preferable, under the
circumstances, to that which would
cost much more money. Bones, for
instance, which can be bought for five
cents, contain much that is exceedingly
nutritious. They should be cracked in
to quite small pieces, SO that all the
richness may be obtained. Just before
a dish prepared from such materials is