School and Home Cooking Part 35

How much cheese, by weight, is required for one cupful of grated cheese?

How many will this recipe for Macaroni and Cheese serve?

How does cheese compare in price per pound with beefsteak? How does it compare in nutritive value? How much of the cheese is waste material? How much of beefsteak is waste material? Which is the cheaper food?

LESSON LIX

STRUCTURE OF BEEF--METHODS OF COOKING TENDER CUTS

MEAT.--The flesh of animals is called _meat_. In market this term is applied to the muscle, bone, and fat of beef (cattle), veal (calf), mutton (sheep), lamb, and pork (pig).

To show the structure and properties of the substances in lean meat, try the following experiments with beef:

EXPERIMENT 50: DIVISION OF MUSCLE.--Sc.r.a.pe a piece of lean beef on both sides until nothing remains but the stringy ma.s.s or framework of the meat.

What is the color and texture, _i.e._ toughness, of the two parts into which the muscle is divided?

Lean meat, or muscle, of animals may be divided into two parts: (_a_) connective tissue or framework, and (_b_) muscle fiber.

Divide both the connective tissue and muscle fiber into two equal portions. Use them for Experiments 51 and 52.

EXPERIMENT 51: EFFECT OF DRY HEAT ON: (_a_) CONNECTIVE TISSUE.-- Examine the connective tissue and note its toughness. Place it in a frying pan and heat it for a few minutes. Examine it again. Is it made more tender or tough by dry heat?

(_b_) MUSCLE FIBER.--Shape one portion of the muscle fiber into a ball. Place it in a frying pan and heat as directed in (_a_). Is the fiber made more tender or tough by dry heat? Sprinkle a bit of salt over it and taste. What can you say regarding the flavor of the fiber?

EXPERIMENT 52: EFFECT OF MOISTURE AND HEAT ON: (_a_) CONNECTIVE TISSUE.--Place the second portion of connective tissue in a pan and cover it with water. Let it simmer for at least 15 minutes. How do moisture and heat affect its toughness?

(_b_) MUSCLE FIBER.--Use the second portion of muscle fiber and cook in water at simmering temperature as directed in (_a_). How do heat and moisture affect its toughness? Sprinkle a bit of salt over it and taste. Compare its flavor with muscle fiber cooked by dry heat. Which has a more pleasing flavor?

From these experiments what conclusion can you draw with regard to the length of time--_long or short_--that _connective tissue_ must be cooked in order to make it tender? What conclusion can you draw with regard to the kind of heat--_dry or moist_--that must be applied to connective tissue to make it tender?

What conclusion can you draw regarding the effect of dry and moist heat upon muscle fiber? Which makes it more tender? Which develops the more pleasing flavor?

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 43.--STRUCTURE OF MEAT. A. muscle fibers; B. fat cells; C. connective tissue.]

THE STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF MEAT.--The connective tissue of meat is the material which holds the muscle fiber in place. One can get an idea of the structure of muscle fiber from some cuts of meat such as the rump.

This meat when cooked can be torn into strands. On closer examination, however, one finds that these strands are made up of tiny tubes, microscopic in size, which are also held together by a network of connective tissue (see Figure 43). The microscopic tubes hold the muscle juice, which consists of water, protein, ash, coloring and flavoring materials. The latter give to meat its characteristic taste; they are called extractives. In the network of connective tissue, there is fat as shown also in Figure 43.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Courtesy of _Bureau of Publications_, Teachers College. FIGURE 44.--CLUB OR DELMONICO STEAK.]

The muscle juice found in muscle fiber not only contains protein, but the walls of muscle fiber and connective tissue contain protein. These proteins differ greatly in quality, however. They will be discussed in the following lesson.

CARE OF MEAT.--As soon as meat comes from the market remove the paper in which it is wrapped, and put the meat away in a cool place. Before cooking, wipe the meat with a damp cloth. Do not allow it to stand in cold water. If meat is to be roasted, it should be weighed before cooking.

SEARING MEAT.--Since the juice of meat contains both nutriment and flavor, it is desirable to retain the juice when meat is cooked. This can be accomplished by subjecting meat to intense heat. By so doing, the protein coagulates and "seals" the outside of the meat so that its juices are prevented from escaping. _This process is called searing._

[Ill.u.s.tration: Courtesy of _Bureau of Publications_, Teachers College FIGURE 45.--PORTERHOUSE]

From the results of Experiment 51 (_b_), one can understand why seared meat tastes good. Dry heat tends to develop flavor. Hence it is desirable to sear meat not only to prevent waste of its juices, but to make it tasty. After meat is seared, it is usually necessary to reduce the temperature of cooking in order to cook the interior of meat.

TENDER CUTS OF BEEF--Certain muscles of an animal used for food contain more connective tissue than others. Such muscles are considered tough cuts of meat. Other muscles contain either less connective tissue or the connective tissue is less tough. These are considered tender cuts.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 46.--SIRLOIN,--HIP STEAK (portion next to the porterhouse) _Courtesy of Bureau of Publications, Teachers College_]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 47.--SIRLOIN,--FLAT BONE (choice cut in the middle of the sirloin section). _Courtesy of Bureau of Publications, Teachers College._]

Muscles which are the least used by the animal are most tender. What parts of the beef would one expect to find most tender?

Certain methods of cooking meat are adapted to cooking the tender cuts.

Unless meat is chopped, only tender cuts of meat can be cooked successfully by dry heat. The following methods are used for tender cuts of meat: (_a_) broiling, (_b_) pan-broiling, and (_c_) roasting (baking).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Courtesy of _Bureau of Publications_, Teachers College FIGURE 48.--SIRLOIN,--ROUND BONE (next to the rump and round).]

The best steaks of beef for broiling or pan-broiling are club (see Figure 44), porterhouse (see Figure 45), sirloin (see Figures 46, 47, 48), and first cuts of round. The best cuts for roasting are porterhouse, prime ribs (see Figures 49, 50), and sirloin.

Long shoulder or chuck (see Figures 51, 52), top round, and rump (see Figures 54 and 57) are inferior roasts.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Courtesy of _Bureau of Publications_, Teachers College FIGURE 49.--FIRST CUT PRIME RIB ROAST]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Courtesy of _Bureau of Publications_, Teachers College FIGURE 50.--SECOND CUT PRIME RIB ROAST]

BROILING

Select one of the tender steaks for broiling. Tender steaks should be cut from 1 to 2 inches in thickness. Clean it as directed previously, remove the excess fat, and place the meat on a broiler. Broil over glowing coals or in the broiling oven, holding the broiler very close to the coals, or placing it near the gas flame. The meat should be thoroughly _seared_ on both sides. Finish cooking the meat by holding it farther away from the coals or the gas flame and turning it about every 10 seconds. Steak 1 inch thick should be cooked at least 5 minutes; 2 inches thick, at least 10 minutes. Season, place on a hot platter, and serve _at once_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Courtesy of _Bureau of Publications_, Teachers College FIGURE 51.--BLADE RIB ROAST (7th and 8th ribs).]

PAN-BROILING

Clean the meat, remove excess fat, and place the meat in a very hot frying pan _without any fat_. Sear the meat on both sides, then cook more slowly until done. When thick chops are broiled, stand them on end to brown the edges. Keep the pan free from fat. The time for pan-broiling is the same as for broiling.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PAN-BROILING AND SAUTEING.--Pan-broiled steak differs from sauteed steak (commonly termed fried steak) in: (_a_) ease of digestion and (_b_) flavor. As explained previously (_Frying and Digestion_), fat cooked at high temperature is not easily digested.

For this reason, as far as digestion is concerned, it is better to omit the fat, and to broil a steak.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Courtesy of _Bureau of Publications_. Teachers College FIGURE 52--CHUCK RIB ROAST (9th and 10th ribs)]

Meat has a distinct and characteristic flavor. Browned fat also has a p.r.o.nounced flavor. In broiled steak, the pure meat flavor exists; In "fried" steak there is meat flavor plus browned fat flavor. Since the flavor of meat is most pleasing, it is not advisable to modify it by the addition of any other flavor.

ROASTING (BAKING)

Roasting was accomplished formerly by placing thick pieces of meat before an open fire (see Figure 53). "Roasts" are now placed in the oven and baked. The term roasting, however, is still used. Meat is roasted as follows:

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 53.--COLONIAL FIREPLACE, SHOWING A "ROASTING KITCHEN"--a device for roasting meat--at lower right-hand corner.]

Weigh the meat and clean it. Then skewer it into shape and place it on a rack in a roasting pan. If the meat has but little fat, place extra fat in the bottom of the pan. Place the pan on the upper shelf of a hot oven (500 degrees F.) and sear for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 400 degrees F. Season the exposed surface with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and remove the pan to the floor or lower shelf of the oven. Baste often. When the meat is about half done, turn it over, season, dredge with flour, and continue baking as before.