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Classic
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page 94
MEATS.
In the selection of meat it is most essential that we understand how to choose
it; in beef it should be a smooth, fine grain, of a clear bright red color, the
fat white, and will feel tender when pinched with the fingers. Will also have
abundant kidney fat or suet. The most choice pieces for roast are the sirloin,
fore and middle ribs.
Veal, to be good, should have the flesh firm and dry, fine grained and of a
delicate pinkish color, and plenty of kidney fat; the joints stiff.
Mutton is good when the flesh is a bright red, firm and juicy and a close grain,
the fat firm and white.
Pork: if young, the lean will break on being pinched smooth when nipped with the
fingers, also the skin will break and dent; if the rind is rough and hard it is
old.
In roasting meat , allow from fifteen to twenty minutes to the pound, which will
vary according to the thickness of the roast. A great deal of the success in
roasting depends on the heat and goodness of the fire; if put into a cool oven
it loses its juices, and the result is a tough, tasteless roast; whereas, if the
oven is of the proper heat, it immediately sears up the pores of the meat and
the juices are retained.
The oven should be the hottest when the meat is put into it, in order to quickly
crisp the surface and close the pores of the meat, thereby confining its natural
juices. If the oven is too hot to hold the hand in for only a moment, then the
oven is right to receive the meat. The roast should first be washed in pure
water, then wiped dry with a clean dry cloth, placed in a baking-pan, without
any seasoning; some pieces of suet or cold drippings laid under it, but no water
should be put into the pan, for this would have a tendency to soften the outside
of the meat. The water can never get so hot as the hot fat upon the surface of
the meat, and the generating of the steam prevents its crispness, so desirable
in a roast.
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