St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1901-03-20
THE CUTTING OF BEEF.
How 10 Tell Good Meat and Where tn
Choicest Cuts Come from.

Choicest Cuts Come from.
At a recent meeting of the New Eng
land cooking school of Springfield, Mass,
Thomas King, local marketman, ex-
planned the mysteries ofmarketing and
the secrets OF good beef. Two of the
cooking schools tables were converted
into a meat counter, and beef cutin two
and several dressed lambs and chickens
were on exhibition. Mr.. Kings talk
was genuinely entertaining, witty, tenn
ing with information and simple enough
to be understood by even schoolgirl
who had never gone marketing.
Good beef" Mr.. King explained, sis
known by it's bright red color, firm tex
ture, and its being we-mottled with fat
The more fat piece OF beef contains, the
less water is in it, and the more you get
for your money. The creature when
killed is slit down the middle of the hack.
There are 10 ribs in a side Of beef. In this
section it is commonly cut with one rib
on the hindquarter and the other II on
the foreuuarter. The New York city cut
leaves ali the ribs on the forequarter. In
New York state, where you have one rib
left, it is called the tip roast, where the
meat comes next to the tenderloin.
About the tenderest portion of the ami
NAL lies about the last rib.
When the creature is killed and hung
up by the tendons, naturally all the
juices flow do wn toward the loin. Round
steak is cut from the back part of the
quarter, rump steak comes from the top,
near the end of the backbone The top
part is more tender than the outside OF
the animal, because the animal lies down
on the outside. The second cut OF the
round is the best, as it is more juicy.
Cutting the steak about one inch thick,
you take off the first slice, there are three
good slices, then you begin to get to the
sinews.
1t is not always the largest beef that
is the best. The quality depends upon
its feeding and rearing. When the ami
NAL is old, the meat lacks in substance.
Beef from three to four years old is best.
You cannot make beef in one year; it
takes two or three years for it to ma
ture. The market can be overstocked
| Will DOulLl dhu mugs III OhS JNaI lAhlN
but it takes longer to make beef. After
beef gets to be five or six years old it is
growing tougher, for it has less vitality.
The rump makes the best corn beef there
is in the creature. Some use it for roast.
Hotels have the advantage over small
families in buying good roasts. The
larger the roast the better it is when
cooked. The upper part OF the leg makes
the best dried beef. The piece around the
bone, which is taken off at the joint, is
what most dried beef is taken from.
The lower part of the leg is the shin of
the beef, used for soup stock, and is
where the sinews and muscles are. 1t
can be told by the grain OF the meat.
After you get to this Joint it is used for
soup. 1t is too tough for beetsteaks and
there are too many sinews for any other
purpose than soup"
Mr.. King made specially interesting his
talk upon steaks. The tenderloln in
beef" he said, "begins close to the back
bone next to the kidney! Tenderloins lie
directly back of that, under the back
bone, and imbedded under all the kidney
suet. When it is taken out it is called
the fllet; in the creature it is known as
the tenderoin. From the rump to the
hip portion it is called the back of the
rump, and that is where the porterhouse
comes from. When we cut off IL inches
we get to the split bone steaks. The
lace of the rump is the best for pot roast.
This is the cheapest roast in the end be-
cause you don't have any waste. The
fist cut on the rump has the least bit OF
the tenderloin on it. This steak is the
beginning of the split bone steak. The
larger it is the more tender it is. Split
bone steak is so called because you can
take little knife and cut the bone right
out. 1t is very good and economical tor
a family that wants a steak OF more than
2 lbs. II is also called the sirIon. Be-
yond the split bone comes the teuder
portion of the sirloin. This is the order
First the rump, second the split bone
steak, then the siiloin. The second cut
on the rump is sometimes called srloin.
The porterhouse is tie choicest steak in
the animal, because it contains most ten
deroin Short porterhouse is called the
fillet or tenderloin. There is more of the
flank lett on a short steak, and there is
more waste. A tip roast is from the
hind quarter and includes one rib. A 10
or IL 10 roast from this part of the ami
NAL Includes the short steak.
Years ago good cattle used to be raised
here in West Springfield and Westfeld.
The farmers would send their best cattle
to be marketed in Boston. The larger
and more wealthy community the bet
ter the meat. In a locality like Fall
River, where there are great many mill
operatives whose wages are small, a great
deal OF the poorest meat finds its way.
For dried beef, canned beef, etc, Texas
cattle are used mostly, which have been
exposed to the weather. When slaught-
cred at Chicago, if they are bruist in
any way, and il their sides would not
look we'll enough to send east, the pack
ers use them tor canning and pressed beef.
The very best meat raised in this coun.
try goes to Europe The animals are
known as export cattle, and are fed and
bred for the trade. The best cattle raised