Chapter 70
Knuckle of veal 1 Tb. salt 1/4 c. chopped celery 1 Tb. chopped parsley 1 Tb. chopped onion
Put the knuckle in a pot and add enough water to cover it. Add the salt, celery, parsley, and onion. Cook until the meat is very tender and then strain off the liquid. Cut the meat from the bones and chop it very fine. Boil the liquid until it is reduced to 1 pint, and then set aside to cool. Place the meat in a mold and when cold pour the broth over it.
Keep in a cool place until it has set. Slice and serve cold.
VEAL ORGANS AND THEIR PREPARATION
17. Getting Sweetbreads Ready for Cooking--The throat glands and the pancreas of calves, which, as has already been learned, are called sweetbreads, can be cooked in various ways for the table. The first process in their preparation, however, is the same for all recipes. When this is understood, it will be a simple matter to make up attractive dishes in which sweetbreads are used. It is generally advisable to buy sweetbreads in pairs, as the heart and throat sweetbreads are preferable to the one that lies near the stomach. Sweetbreads spoil very quickly.
Therefore, as soon as they are brought into the kitchen, put them in cold water and allow them to remain there for 1/2 hour or more. Then put them to cook in boiling water for 20 minutes in order to parboil them, after which place them in cold water again. Unless they are to be used immediately, keep them in cold water, as this will prevent them from discoloring. Before using sweetbreads in the recipes that follow, remove the skin and stringy parts.
18. Broiled Sweetbreads.--Because of their tenderness, sweetbreads are especially suitable for broiling. When prepared in this way and served with sauce of some kind, they are very palatable.
In order to broil sweetbreads, first parboil them in the manner just explained. Then split each one lengthwise and broil them over a clear fire for 5 minutes or pan-broil them with a small amount of b.u.t.ter until both surfaces are slightly browned. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve hot.
19. Creamed Sweetbreads.--If an especially dainty dish is desired for a light meal, sweetbreads may be creamed and then served over toast or in patty sh.e.l.ls or timbale cases, the making of which is taken up later. If desired, mushrooms may be combined with sweetbreads that are served in this way. Diced cold veal or calves' brains creamed and served in this way are also delicious. Instead of creaming sweetbreads and calves'
brains, however, these organs are sometimes scrambled with eggs.
To prepare creamed sweetbreads, parboil them and then separate them into small pieces with a fork or cut them into cubes. Reheat them in a cupful of white sauce, season well, and then serve them in any of the ways just mentioned. If mushrooms are to be used, cook and dice them before combining them with the sweetbreads.
20. Kidneys.--The kidneys of both lamb and veal are used for food. The cooking of them, however, must be either a quick, short process or a long, slow one. When a quick method is applied, the tissues remain tender. Additional cooking renders them tough, so that a great deal more cooking must be done to make them tender again. Whatever method is applied, kidneys must always be soaked in water for 1 hour or more so as to cleanse them, the outside covering then pared off, and the meat sliced or cut into cubes or strips. After being thus prepared, kidneys may be broiled or sauted, or, if a long method of cookery is preferred, they may be boiled or stewed with or without vegetables.
21. Calves' Liver and Bacon.--Beef liver is sometimes used for food, but it is not so good as liver from the calf. In fact, calves' liver, especially when combined with bacon, is very appetizing. The bacon supplies the fat that the liver lacks and at the same time provides flavor.
To prepare calves' liver and bacon, cut the liver into 1/2-inch slices, cover these with boiling water, and let them stand for 5 minutes. Remove from the water, dip into flour, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. For each slice of liver pan-broil a slice of bacon. Remove the bacon to a hot platter, and then place the slices of liver in the bacon fat and saute them for about 10 minutes, turning them frequently. Serve the liver and bacon together.
PREPARATION OF LEFT-OVER VEAL
22. Veal Rolls.--The portion of a veal roast that remains after it has been served hot can be combined with dressing to make veal rolls, a dish that will be a pleasing change from the usual cold sliced meat.
To make veal rolls, slice the veal and into each slice roll a spoonful of stuffing. Tie
23. Left-Over Jellied Veal.--While jellied veal is usually made from a piece of veal bought especially for this purpose, it can be made from the left-overs of a veal roast. However, when the roast is purchased, some veal bones should be secured. Wash these bones, cover them with cold water, and to them add 1 onion, 1 bay leaf, and 1 cupful of diced vegetables, preferably celery, carrots, and turnips. Allow these to simmer for 2 hours. To this stock add the bones that remain after the roast has been served and simmer for 1 or 2 hours more. Strain the stock, skim off the fat, and season well with salt and pepper. Chop fine the left-over veal and 2 hard-cooked eggs. Put in a loaf-cake pan and pour the stock over it. When it has formed a mold, slice and serve cold.
24. Creamed Veal on Biscuits.--A very good subst.i.tute for chicken and hot biscuits is creamed veal served on biscuits. This is an especially good dish for a light meal, such as luncheon or supper. Any left-over veal may be chopped or cut up into small pieces and used for this purpose. After the veal has been thus prepared, reheat it with white sauce and season it well with paprika, salt, and pepper. Make baking-powder biscuits. To serve, split the hot biscuits, lay them open on a platter or a plate, and pour the hot creamed veal over them.
25. Scalloped Veal with Rice.--A very palatable dish can be prepared from left-over veal by combining it with rice and tomatoes. To prepare such a dish, season cooked rice with 1 teaspoonful of bacon fat to each cupful of rice. Place a layer of rice in a baking dish, and over it put a layer of chopped veal. Pour a good quant.i.ty of stewed tomatoes over the veal and season well with salt and pepper. Over the tomatoes put a layer of rice, and cover the top with b.u.t.tered crumbs. Set in a hot oven and bake until the crumbs are browned and the ingredients thoroughly heated.
26. Veal Salad.--A salad is always a delightful addition to a meal and so usually finds favor. When it is made of meat, such as veal, it can be used as the main dish for luncheon or supper. As shown in the accompanying recipe, other things, such as celery, peas, and hard-cooked eggs, are usually put in a salad of this kind.
VEAL SALAD (Sufficient to Serve Six)
2 c. cold diced veal 1 c. diced celery 1/2 c. canned peas 3 hard-cooked eggs 4 Tb. olive oil 2 Tb. vinegar 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper
Combine the veal, celery, peas, and eggs chopped fine. Mix the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to make a dressing. Marinate the ingredients with this dressing. Serve on lettuce leaves with any salad dressing desired.
MUTTON AND LAMB
COMPARISON OF MUTTON AND LAMB
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 5]
27. The term mutton is usually applied to the flesh of a sheep that is 1 year or more old, while lamb is the flesh of sheep under 1 year of age.
The popularity of these meats varies very much with the locality. In the United States, a preference for lamb has become noticeable, but in England mutton is more popular and is more commonly used. Both of these meats, however, are very palatable and nutritious, so that the choice of one or the other will always be determined by the taste or market conditions.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 6]
28. Lamb that is 6 weeks to 3 months old is called _spring lamb_, and usually comes into the market in January or February. The meat of sheep 1 year old is called _yearling_. Good mutton is cut from sheep that is about 3 years old. Lamb may be eaten as soon as it is killed, but mutton requires ripening for 2 or 3 weeks to be in the best condition for food.
Mutton differs from lamb very much as beef differs from veal, or as the meat of any other mature animal differs from a young one of the same kind. In mutton there is a smaller percentage of water and a larger percentage of fat, protein, extractives, and flavoring substances.
There is also a difference in the appearance of these two meats. Lamb is pink and contains only small amounts of fat, while mutton is brick red and usually has considerable firm white fat. The bones of lamb are pink, while those of mutton are white. The outside of lamb is covered with a thin white skin that becomes pink in mutton. The size of the pieces of meat often aids in distinguis.h.i.+ng between these two meats, mutton, of course, coming in larger pieces than lamb.
29. If there is any question as to whether the meat from sheep is lamb or mutton, and it cannot be settled by any of the characteristics already mentioned, the front leg of the dressed animal may be examined at the first joint above the foot. Fig. 5 shows this joint in both lamb and mutton. In lamb, which is shown at the left, the end of the bone can be separated from the long bone at the leg, as indicated, while in mutton this joint grows fast and looks like the ill.u.s.tration at the right. The joint is jagged in lamb, but smooth and round in mutton.
CUTS OF MUTTON AND LAMB
METHOD OF OBTAINING CUTS
30. Mutton and lamb are usually cut up in the same way, the dressed animal being divided into two pieces of almost equal weight. The line of division occurs between the first and second ribs, as is indicated by the heavy middle line in Fig. 6. The back half of the animal is called the _saddle_ and the front half, the _rack_. In addition to being cut in this way, the animal is cut down the entire length of the backbone and is thus divided into the fore and hind quarters.
The method of cutting up the racks and saddles varies in different localities, but, as a rule, the method ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 7 is the one that is used. As here shown, the rack, or fore quarter, is cut up into the neck, chuck, shoulder, rib chops, and breast; and the saddle, or hind quarter, is divided into the loin, flank, and leg.
The way in which the front and the back of a dressed sheep appear is shown in Fig. 8. The membrane, which extends from the legs down over the ribs, is the omentum, or covering of the intestines, and is known as the _caul_. This must be removed from any part that it covers before the meat is cooked. The kidneys incased in fat are also shown in the view at the left.
NAMES AND USES OF CUTS
31. Distinguis.h.i.+ng Features of Cuts.--When the uses of the cuts of lamb and mutton are to be considered, attention must be given to the anatomy of the animal and the exercise that the different parts have received during life. This is important, because the continued action of the muscles tends to make the flesh tough, but, at the same time, it increases the amount of extractives or flavoring material. Therefore, meat taken from a part that has been subjected to much muscular action is likely to need longer cooking than that taken from portions that have not been exercised so much.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 8]
In lamb and mutton, as in beef and veal, the hind quarter is exercised less in life than the fore quarter and consequently is, on the average, more tender. The cuts from this part are therefore more expensive and more suitable for roasting and broiling. The fore quarter, although having the disadvantage of containing more bone and being tougher, is more abundantly supplied with extractives and flavoring materials. Most of the pieces obtained from this portion are particularly suitable for broths, soups, stews, etc. The rib is an exception, for this is usually higher in price than the hind-quarter pieces and is used for chops and roasts.
32. Table of Mutton and Lamb Cuts.--The various cuts of mutton and lamb and the uses to which they can be put are given in Table II, which may be followed as a guide whenever there is doubt as to the way in which a cut of either of these meats should be cooked.
TABLE II
NAMES AND USES OF MUTTON AND LAMB CUTS
NAME OF LARGE CUT NAME OF SMALL CUT USES OF CUTS Fore quarter: Neck...................Broth, stew Chuck.................. Stew, steamed Shoulder................Boiled, steamed, braised, roast Rack ribs...............Chops, crown roast Breast.................. Stew, roast, braised, stuffed
Hind quarter: Loin.................... Seven chops, roast, boiling Flank................... Stew Leg..................... Roast, braising, broiling Saddle.................. Roast