Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-16
CARVING FOR THE FAMILY
A Little Knowledge of Anatomy Helps
Greatly.
Desirable Parts Go to Guests, of
COurse-HOw to Portion
Fish.


! Written for The Evening Star
The masculine head of the family IS us,,-
ally tie one who Is compelled to do tho
carving. because a strong hand is erron-
eously supposed to be necessary to separate
the piece of meat into portions for the plate
of each diner. Once the art of carving is
| understood the work is quite as easy for
one person for another
The carver's chair should he little
higher than those of the rest OF the fam
| lily. and should be placed quite close to the
table. The only utensils needed are
sharp carving knife. with n steel to keep
its edge in good condition. and a two
pronged carving fork provided with the
protection afforded by q guard designed to
prevent the knife from slipping in delicate
operations
A little knowledge of anatomy will he of
assistance. and he should try to learn what
are the best parts. These he should serve
to each person equally. or, in the case
of a fowl. where desirable parts will not
go around. they should he served TO guests
first and then to members Of the family in
the order OF seniority.
The carving of a fowl Is not an easy mat
ter and requires some experience to make
one proficient at 1t. 1t should be remem-
bered that in cutting a joint either in fish.
fowl or ordinary meat the joints will he of
the ball and socket order. that require a
twist at the point of the knife to separate
them
The First Move.
The knife should be first inserted into the
breast of the fowl and passed between the
legs and the body. pressing the former out
ward. so that the joints divided. Then
cut along the breast short distance down
the sides. leaving some white meat on each
side of the breast bone After that cut
down to the joints and take off the wings
Next take out the wishbone by inserting
the knife across the breastbone. and. cut
ting diagonally outward. remove the slices
on each side of the central bone. Pleas
ants are carved in the same way but
smaller birds. such as cartridges. pigeons
and snipe. are, except in cases where the
bird is abnormally large, divided through
the center.
sirloin of beef is cut Ieng hways with
the rib and sliced across with the undercut.
Many persons are fond of the delicate fat
found at the end of the urdercut. and some
of this should be served with each helping
1t is the custom to carve the undercut be-
fore the upper side. and the slices should be
cut through thinly Cut straight down to
the bone. giving with the upper portions
some of the streaky fat.
In serving a flet of beef it is sometimes
cut straight across, sometimes diagonally.
the slices being removed an inch or so from
the under surface. The ends of the fillet
nice. large slices NAV be served. The rib
of beef is cut the length of the fiat bone.
the bones being loGSened from ire meat DF
a couple of deXterous cuts before sl'cing.
There is usually little difficulty in slicing Il
large Joint, as it may be generally cut in
one direction.
ThinIy Slice Thiclsest Part.
A loin of veal is cut through the thickest
part in very thin slices. portion of the
kidney and fat being served to those who
like it. The fillet is cut in round slices hori-
zontally. When tongue is carved. it
CHI hac str icbt fbrnnph he rhinkeSt
part. leaving enough tiessue to keep the
parts together. The slices shold be fairly
thin and wedge shaped. When a ham is
cut, it is sliced from the knucle end. which
is turned to the carver's left hand. The
slices should be thin and taken off toward
the right.
A saddle of mutton is carved in long
slices, half lean, half fat. a cut should be
made down the length of the piece of meat
and parallel with the backbone, the slices
being cut diagonally from the center of the
ton should be SO held with the FORK that the
inner side is toward the carver. Then the
knife should be inserted near the thickest
part, and the portions should not be cut
close to the bone. The pieces should not be
too thin, and the first cut should not be re-
moved until two or three more slices are
detached. Some people regard the knuckle
end as the most delicate because of it's
glutinouS qualities. In carving loin each
plate is served with chop. A shoulder of
mutton Is not hard to cut once the best side
goes through on the fore part is the most
desirable portion and it should be cut into
rather thick slices. the underside being cut
in thin slices lengthways.
Lamb Lofn and Leg.
The leg and loin of lamb are carved like
the same parts of mutton. In carving a
fore quarter of lamb. one should first loos-
en- the shoulder by means of a curved cut
about an inch deep. A longitudinal cut
will then separate the ribs from the neck.
The shoulder may be carved the same as a
piece of mutton and served with or without
the ribs. The neck is best cold
In cutting fish, suppose one is helping to
sole. First remove the head and tail, then
cut straight through the bone. putting L
narrow double piece each plate. Some
persons prefer to make a division at the
top. sliding the knife under this to give
single slices. Tastes differ to which
part of fish is most toothsome. Mackerel.
turbot and fiat fish are generally served in
Sirgle slices. the knife being down the
backbone and a number of incisions made
at right angles with the first. When the
upper part of the fish is finished, 1t is turn
ed over, and the lower part is cut and
served. Cod is served in slices as unbroken
as possible. Whiting is, as a rule, served
with the tail of the fish curled into the
mouth, and Is cut in two when necessary.
When salmon is served. narrow slice
from the back and a narrow piece from the
underpart should be given. The back IS
thick and dry and the underpart Is fat and
juicy When there Is any roe In a fish.
portion of 1t should be put on each plate.
An Easy One.
From the Ohio State Journal.