The Arizona sentinel., 1886-01-02
HOW TO MARKET.
The Secret of Judging Meat and Buyir It to Advantage.

1 AiueIlCdu uOuocAOOPClO ho'O ANoo w learn in the choice and purchase of meats to the best advantage; but, then, the American butchers themselves are in some way to blame from the way they cut up their meat. Now in England, where meats, especially beef and mutton, are better understood than in any other countries, the mode of cutting up is very different from our way Their prime cuts are all prime, to the exclu- sion of any inferior attachments, and for such the highest prices can be demanded with clear conscience. Then come the cuts ranking next in quality and price, and so on all down the scale to the cheapest and most inferior parts, so that i both seller and buyer can know just ex- actly what is being disposed of and the 1 just equivalent. However; though that is mi ghty fair way, it couldn't be made to work in this country. American butchers, you see, are obliged, in self-de- i fense, to somewhat combine the excellent and poorer parts in their cuts, especially i in the matter of beef, to meet the require ments of housekeepers here, who for the most part never understand how to cook the poorer parts alone in as pala- fftable manner as housekecpers of other countries, where meat is far scarcer and dearer than here, and must consequent ly be made to go further and more as a genuine treat than in this country. However, our own consumers may be taught to considerably improve their chances of obtaining their full moneys worth by observing few simple rules. J
 Suppose you offer some suggestions that may instruct them, said the re- porter.
 Good enough! We'll, in the general selection of beef, for instance, the house. keeper will do well to remember that, if young, it will have fine, smooth, open grain, a good, wholesome redness of color and will feel tender, while the fat should be white rather than yellow-the winter and firmer the better. Indeed, when the fat of beef is of deep or dull color, the meat is seldom good, and should be systematically avoided. When fed with oil-cake, the fat of beef will be usually of this color and the flesh flabby. In the selection of any cut of beef what ever, a strict observation of the simple rules will suffice to insure even the most inexperienced buyer against imposition. i Then, again, if beef is over-fresh or too recently killed, the fact will make itself apparent by the smell, which will be suggestive of excessive bloodiness, quite as readily as in the case of over-kept or tainted beef, whose odor is sickening. This last precaution will apply to every other kind of meat as well as to beef.
 ''In the way of steaks, let me say that there is one sort, and moderately priced one, that has not its superior for juici- ness, nutriment, general flavor and economy This is the flank steak. It is torn out of bulk of pure fat, in which it is as thoroughly imbedded as are the kidneys themselves; is absolutely bone less, as matter of course, and, after be- ing deprived of thin, filmy skin and properly scored criss-cross with the knife, together with some pounding, if somewhat old, can't be beat for either brOiling or frying. In some other cities the flank steak commands the highest price, not even excepting the porter house, but here in New York it is as yet comparatively unknown and conse- quently cheap, retailing between four teen and sixteen cents pound. Oh, yes, the flank is the boss steak, and don t you forget it! Economical housekeepers would do well to go for it while it re- mains cheap.
 ''Now let us consider the fillet of beef as a general illustration of what can be saved by wide awake, intelligent buying; and what l am going to say will inter- est well-to-do purchasers as well as others. The fillet is good as an illustra- ton, because it can be easily managed at home, and is very expensive when ordered from the restaurant keepers, who are often called upon to undertake the dish-much to their own profit and satisfaction-for modest dinner-givers who are unreasonably diffident as to their own culinary qualifications. Now, the price of the restaurant man for a dressed and cooked fillet of beef for dinner for ten or twelve persons is generally ten dollars; whereas to buy it from the butcher costs one dollar a pound, or less, when dressed, and three pounds are quite suficient- There is, say, three dollars for the main outlay: bO ldlO It, WlliCn lo tlldll OI bCL lillll- utes, will cost ten cents more; a box of French canned mushrooms an addition al forty cents and little stock five cents. You can figure up for yourself what would in this way be saved to the housekeeper. A similar intelligence ex- ercised in the purchase of all other meats will show up proportionately on the credit side of economy.
 ''In selecting veal, but one general rule IS necessary. The whitest is the most juicy, and therefore preferable.
 Mutton should be judged by its fine i grain, good color and white fat; and lamb will speak for itself much on the same principles. If the latter has a ! greenish or yellowish cast, it is stale or unfit to eat. Now, here let me afford 8 hint about mutton for stews. The very best, as well as the cheapest, for this purpose is the breast. This part can be bought at four cents or five cents a 1 pound, and breast weighing three pounds would make an ample stew, or main dinner dish. for three or four grown persons with lively capacities. - ~. r. Matt and Express.