The Preparation and Cooking of Meat.

—Meat, when brought from the market, should be at once removed from the paper in which it is wrapped, as the paper will absorb the juices of the meat; and if the wrapping is brown paper, the meat is liable to taste of it. Joints of meat should not be hung with the cut surface down, as the juices will be wasted.

If meat is accidentally frozen, it should be thoroughly thawed in cold water before cutting. Meat should not be cleaned by washing with water, as that extracts the nutritive juices, but by thoroughly wiping the outside with a damp cloth. The inside needs no cleaning.

Meat may be cooked by any of the different methods of cookery,—boiling, steaming, stewing, roasting, broiling, baking, etc.,—according as the object is to retain the nutriment wholly within the meat; to draw it all out into the water, as in soups or broths; or to have it partly in the water and partly in the meat, as in stews. Broiling is, however, generally conceded to be the most wholesome method, but something will necessarily depend upon the quality of the meat to be cooked.

Meat which has a tough, hard fiber will be made tenderest by slow, continuous cooking, as stewing. Such pieces as contain a large amount of gelatine—a peculiar substance found in the joints and gristly parts of meat, and which hardens in a dry heat—are better stewed than roasted.

Boiling.—The same principles apply to the boiling of all kinds of meats. The purpose to be attained by this method is to keep the nutritive juices so far as possible intact within the meat; consequently, the piece to be cooked should be left whole, so that only a small amount of surface will be exposed to the action of the water. Since cold water extracts albumen, of which the juices of the meat are largely composed, while hot water coagulates it, meat to be boiled should be plunged into boiling water sufficient to cover it and kept there for five or ten minutes, by which time the albumen over the entire surface will have become hardened, thus forming a coat through which the juices cannot escape. Afterward the kettle, closely covered, may be set aside where the water will retain a temperature of about 180°. A small portion of albumen from the outer surface will escape into the water in the form of scum, and should be removed.

Meat cooked in this way will require a longer time than when the water is kept boiling furiously, but it is superior in every respect and more digestible. Something depends upon the shape of the piece cooked, thin pieces requiring less time than a thick, cubical cut; but approximately, first allowing fifteen or twenty minutes for the heat to penetrate the center of the meat, at which time the real process of cooking begins, it will require from twelve to fifteen minutes for every pound cooked.

Stewing.—While the object in boiling is to preserve the juices within the meat as much as possible, in stewing, the process is largely reversed; the juices are to be partly extracted. Some of the juices exist between the fibers, and some are found within the fibers. The greater the surface exposed, the more easily these juices will be extracted; hence meat for stewing should be cut into small pieces and cooked in a small quantity of water. Since cold water extracts the albuminous juices, while boiling water hardens them into a leathery consistency, water used for stewing should be neither cold nor boiling, but of a temperature which will barely coagulate the albumen and retain it in the meat in as tender a condition as possible; i.e., about 134° to 160°. To supply this temperature for the prolonged process of cooking necessary in stewing, a double boiler of some form is quite necessary. Put the pieces of meat to be stewed in the inner dish, add hot water enough to cover, fill the outer boiler with hot water, and let this outer water simmer very gently until the meat is perfectly tender. The length of time required will be greater than when meat is stewed directly in simmering water, but the result will be much more satisfactory. The juices should be served with the meat.

Steaming.—Meat is sometimes steamed over boiling water until it is made very tender and afterward browned in the oven.

Another method of steaming, sometimes called smothering, is that of cooking meat in a tightly covered jar in a moderate oven for an hour (the moderate heat serves to draw out the juice of the meat), after which the heat is increased, and the meat cooked in its own juices one half hour for each pound.

Roasting.—This method, which consists in placing meat upon a revolving spit and cooking it before an open fire, is much less employed now than formerly, when fireplaces were in general use. What is ordinarily termed roasting is in reality cooking meat it in own juices in a hot oven. In cooking meat by this method it is always desirable to retain the juices entirely within the meat, which can be best accomplished by first placing the clean-cut sides of the meat upon a smoking-hot pan over a quick fire; press the meat close to the pan until well scared and slightly browned, then turn over and sear the opposite side in the same manner. This will form a coating of hardened albumen, through which the interior juices cannot escape. Put at once into the oven, arrange the fire so that the heat will be firm and steady but not too intense, and cook undisturbed until tender.

Basting is not necessary if the roast is carefully seared and the oven kept at proper temperature. When the heat of the oven is just right, the meat will keep up a continuous gentle sputtering in the pan. If no sputtering can be heard, the heat is insufficient. The heat is too great when the drippings burn and smoke.

Broiling.—This is the method employed for cooking thin cuts of meat in their own juices over glowing coals. When properly done, broiled meat contains a larger amount of uncoagulated albumen than can be secured by cooking in any other manner; hence it is the most wholesome. For broiling, a bed of clear, glowing coals without flame is the first essential. Coke, charcoal, or anthracite coal serves best for securing this requisite.

I an ordinary stove, the coals should be nearly to the top of the fire-box, that the meat may be held so as almost to touch the fire. No utensil is better for ordinary purposes than a double wire broiler. First, rub it well with a bit of suet, then put in the meat with the thickest part in the center. Wrap a coarse towel around the hand to protect it from the heat, hold the meat as near the fire as possible, so as to sear one side instantly, slowly count ten, then turn and sear the other side. Continue the process, alternating first one side and then the other, slowly counting ten before each turning, until the meat is sufficiently done. Successful broiling is largely dependent upon frequent turning. The heat, while it at once sears the surface, starts the flow of the juices, and although they cannot escape through the hardened surface, if the meat were entirely cooked on one side before turning, they would soon come to the top, and when it was turned over, would drip into the fire. If the meat is seared on both sides, the juices will be retained within, unless the broiling is too prolonged, when they will ooze out and evaporate, leaving the meat dry and leathery. Salt draws out the juices, and should not be added until the meat is done. As long as meat retains its juices, it will spring up instantly when pressed with a knife; when the juices have begun to evaporate, it will cease to do this. Broiled meats should be served on hot dishes.

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