Beefsteak

“ Ingredients.—1 capercailzie, 1⁄4 of a lb. of beefsteak, 1 or 2 slices of bacon, butter, good gravy, bread sauce (see Sauces and Gravies) , fried breadcrumbs, watercress, salad-oil, salt and pepper.
Method.—Prepare and truss the bird in the same way as a roast chicken. Put the beefsteak inside the bird; it greatly improves the flavour, and may afterwards be used in the preparation of some cold meat dish. Cover the breast with slices of bacan, and roast in front clear fire or in a moderate oven for about 1 hour, basting frequently. ”

“ The faults in the meat generally furnished to us are, first, that it is too new. A beefsteak, which three or four days of keeping might render practicable, is served up to us palpitating with freshness, with all the toughness of animal muscle yet warm. In the Western country, the traveller, on approaching a hotel, is often saluted by the last shrieks of the chickens which half an hour afterward are presented to him à la spread-eagle for his dinner. ”

“ There ought to be a law making it a crime, punishable by imprisonment, to fry beefsteak. Broil it; it is just as easy, and when broiled it is delicious. Fried beefsteak is not fit for a wild beast. You can broil even on a stove. ”

“ In the selection of meats, for instances, while beefsteak may cost twice as much as beef stew, it must be borne in mind that beefsteak contains very little waste, and it contains a large proportion of albuminoids, or the tissue building proteins, while, in the beef stew, the bones and the connective tissue predominate; the proteins yielded from the beef stew are a large proportion gelatinoids and extractives,—not the tissue building albuminoids. ”

“ Let the beef soak in the water, stirring occasionally, for two hours; then put it on the stove and heat it until the red color disappears; never boil it. Skim off all grease, salt to taste.
BEEF JUICE. Round steak cut an inch thick; slightly broil like beefsteak for the table, cut into squares of an inch, squeeze in a lemon squeezer, skim carefully and salt. Serve either very cold, or place the cup containing the juice in a bowl of boiling water, stir carefully, and as soon as the juice is warm serve. If left a moment too long it is spoiled, as it curdles. ”

“ Some persons think it best to add the salt after the steak is done, though many good housekeepers salt and pepper the steak before broiling it. Beefsteak should be cooked rare; it is a great mistake to cook it till hard and indigestible.
The parts most suitable for soup are the head, neck, shank, and all the unsightly parts. After the bones are broken and the meat boiled from them, the liquor is used for soup, while the meat, picked or cut to pieces, will make an excellent stew seasoned with potatoes, turnips, sweet herbs, one tablespoonful of butter and the same of meat flavoring. ”

“ Lay on a hot dish along with the best butter, which, with the juices of the meat, makes the best of gravy, and cooked in this style you have a most delicious steak.
Beefsteak with Onions.
Take five or six onions; cut fine, and put them in a frying-pan, with a small cup of hot water, and two ounces best butter, pepper and salt; dredge in a little flour, and let it stew until the onions are quite soft. Next broil the steak carefully. Lay on a hot dish, and lay the onions around, and not on top, of the steak, as that will create a steam, which will wilt and toughen it. To be eaten quite hot. ”

“ As my frying pan is small I am going to cut the steak short. These steaks are cut too thin. A beefsteak to be nice should be over an inch thick—an inch and a half thick. You can easily economise on a thick steak by simply cutting it in halves, and using only as much of it as you want at once, because in almost any weather steak will keep at least over night. ”

“ and imagine an angel suddenly sweeping down out of a better land and setting before him a mighty porterhouse steak an inch and a half thick, hot and sputtering from the griddle; dusted with a fragrant pepper; enriched with little melting bits of butter of the most unimpeachable freshness and genuineness; the precious juices of the meat trickling out and joining the gravy, archipelagoed with mushrooms; a township or two of tender, yellowish fat gracing an outlying district of this ample county of beefsteak; the long white bone which divides the sirloin from the tenderloin still in its place; ”

“ Then from the [Pg 68] side nearest the carver will be cut thin, even slices parallel with the ribs, and the knife run under them, separating them from the bone. The sirloin roast will be sliced in the same way, a cut being made at the flank end as well as near the backbone to separate the slices.
You will notice that a good carver is careful to serve neatly the crisp fat with the rare slices. This adds richness to their flavor.
To carve a beefsteak, the eye must be trained to know at once the best parts, and all of the best should not be served to one or two persons. ”

“ If onions were not in the larder, and they seldom were, the little garlic found in some places growing wild furnished a very acceptable [133] substitute. If the meat was pretty solid, even though it had done duty when in active service well down on the shank or shin, it was quite likely to be served as beefsteak, and prepared for the palate in one of two ways:—either fried in pork fat, if pork was to be had, otherwise tallow fat, or impaled on a ramrod or forked stick ”

“ Any other variety of meat—mutton, veal, venison, &c.—cooked in the form of steak is more readily eaten. The short, compact fibre of mutton chops, especially those from the loin, makes them less likely than beefsteak to be badly cooked, and far easier to be consumed. Well-selected, carefully-cut lamb chops, in their proper season, are a delicacy of the highest order, and rarely fail to be appreciated by the most benumbed eater. ”

“ Serve upon a hot platter. Pour over a scant dressing of melted butter. Season. Whosoever partakes will never become a vegetarian.
STUFFED BEEFSTEAK. E. H. W. Take a flank or round steak and pound well; sprinkle with pepper and salt. Make a plain dressing; spread it on the steak; roll it up; tie closely, and put in a skillet with a little water and a lump of butter the size of an egg; cover closely and let it boil slowly one hour; then let it brown in skillet, basting frequently. When done, dredge a little flour into the gravy, and pour over the meat. ”

“ Our first issue of the beef was quickly disposed of, each man's share being taken to the nearest fire and a "bluff" made at broiling it, the majority of the men being too "meat hungry" to do more than merely toast it. That first "beefsteak supper" of ours on the island is remembered yet. Next day came more beef, more bread and finally potatoes and onions, while with them were brought along rice and canned tomatoes and bacon and hardtack. The two latter we scorned. Eat hardtack and canned beef when we had fresh bread and meat and the materials for beef stew? ”

“ Knowing that men prefer substantial dishes with generous helpings to a great number of fancy "messes" as they term it, we would therefore suggest a Beefsteak supper. First serve raw oysters. After the oysters have the steaks brought in on separate platters, placing platters before the second, fifth, eighth, eleventh, etc, guests. These men cut the steak for the men on their left and right. With the steaks serve French fried potatoes and the Vienna [Pg 24] bread or rolls, the very hard crusty kind. For the second course serve cheese, a rarebit on hard crackers, or any strong cheese. ”

“ Mix a little flour with Indian soy, ketchup, or any sauce that is approved of. Put it into a jar, and boil for another 1⁄4 hour. Add forcemeat balls if preferred. (E. P.)
(d) This may be made with hare only, but the flavour is much improved by cooking some beefsteak with it in the proportion of 11⁄2 lb. to a good sized hare. In any case about 1 lb. or rather less of fat streaky bacon should be added, cut into small slices. The beef should be cut up into small pieces, and the hare into joints. Flour these well on both sides, and sprinkle with black pepper and a little salt ”

“ They are fed twice a day with beefsteak—changed, occasionally, for rabbit, rook, or pigeon; and, if the birds are very young, the food must be cut up small; but it is improper to take them from the nest until the feathers have shown themselves thoroughly through the white down. ”

“ Trim off the hard skin, and flatten each steak with the side of a hatchet. Butter the gridiron well, and have the fire clear and hot. Turn often, not to lose a drop of the juice. Cook three or four minutes longer than you would beefsteaks. The Vertical Broiler is admirably adapted for broiling venison. Have ready, in a hot chafing-dish, a tablespoonful of butter for each pound of venison, a pinch of salt, a little pepper, a tablespoonful of currant jelly for each pound, and a glass of wine for every four pounds. ”

“ Don’t eat a beefsteak. If you do the eyes of that cow will pursue you through all eternity. ”

“ To the fat remaining in the frying-pan, after the steak has been cooked, add one tablespoonful of dry flour (be sure to have the fat boiling) , and stir until it is brown and there are no lumps, then pour in about half a cup of boiling water. Season well with pepper and salt. Serve in a gravy tureen. This is a more economical, but not so healthy a method as broiling.
Stewed Beef.
Take a piece of beef that is rather tough [45] or pieces of tough beefsteak; rub into it a handful of salt, some pepper and flour; lay in a kettle that you can cover tight, and that has a flat bottom. ”

“ The ready fried beefsteaks are put on a hot platter. The gooseliver is cut into as many pieces as there are steaks, and one piece put in the center of each steak. The prepared champignons are placed around each piece of gooseliver on top of each steak.
The gravy is put on the platter too. You can garnish the platter with scallops of puff paste. This dish is nice between courses.
No. 6—BROILED STEAK OF ROAST BEEF.
Quantity for 6 Persons.
3 lbs. of roastbeef Salt, pepper 1⁄4 lb. of butter (scant) Preparation: The roastbeef is cut into 11⁄2 inch thick slices and pounded well. ”

“ the average American’s simplest and commonest form of breakfast consists of coffee and beefsteak; ”

“ Cut small steaks from the rump: season, and roll up as olives, or lay them flat, fat and lean mixed, seasoned with salt, pepper, and spices. Then put in 1⁄2 pint of gravy, or 1⁄2 pint of water, and a table-spoonful of vinegar. If you have no gravy, a piece of kidney will enrich the gravy of the beef, and is a valuable addition to a meat pie. Forcemeat in layers between the slices of beef, or in small balls, makes this much richer; if to be eaten cold, suet must not be used: some cooks put in a few large oysters also. Walnut or mushroom catsup. ”

“ The flesh of the smaller breeds is much sweeter than that of the larger, which is best when the animal is about seven years old. That of the smaller breeds is best at about five years, and that of the cow can hardly be eaten too young.
BAKED BEEF-STEAK PUDDING. 600. INGREDIENTS.—6 oz. of flour, 2 eggs, not quite 1 pint of milk, salt to taste, 1-1/2 lb. of rump-steaks, 1 kidney, pepper and salt.
Mode.—Cut the steaks into nice square pieces, with a small quantity of fat, and the kidney divide into small pieces. Make a batter of flour, eggs, and milk in the above proportion ”

“ The best part of the beef for steaks, is the seventh and eighth ribs, the fat and lean are better mixed, and it is more tender than the rump if it be kept long enough; cut the steaks half an inch thick, beat them a little, have fine clear coals, rub the bars of the gridiron with a cloth dipped in lard before you put it over the coals, that none may drip to cause a bad smell, put no salt on till you dish them, broil them quick, turning them frequently ”

“ Beef Steaks.
Those from the sirloin are best, those from the shoul55der clod and round are not so good, but cheaper. Meat, if tough, is made more tender by pounding, if it is done very thoroughly, so as to break the fibres. Cut the steaks from half an inch to an inch thick. Broil on hot coals, and the quicker it is done the better. Ten or twelve minutes is enough time. Turn it four or five times, and when done put on butter, salt, and if you like pepper, and on both sides. ”

“ Any kind of meat can be used to make a meat-and-potato hash; but, of course, nothing is so good as corned beef. Cold roast, boiled, or broiled beef, mutton, lamb, veal, or tongue can be freed from skin, fat, and bones, seasoned highly with salt and pepper, and cooked like corned beef hash. Even two or three kinds of meat can be used. If it happens that you have a bit of steak, a part of a chop, and perhaps a slice of tongue, use them all. ”

“ In choice and well-fed beef, the lean will be found intergrained with fat: very lean meat is generally of an inferior quality.
The ribs, the sirloin, and the rump, are the proper joints for roasting. The round, or buttock, the edgebone, the second round, or mouse-buttock, the shin, the brisket, the shoulder or leg of mutton piece, and the clod, may be boiled or stewed. The neck is generally used for soup or gravy; and the thin flank for collaring. The best steaks are cut from the middle of the rump ”

“ The best beef steak is cut from the inner part of the sirloin. Good steak may be cut from the ribs.
If you wish to practise economy, buy the chuck, or piece between the shoulder and the neck; it makes a good roast or steak, and is excellent for stewing or baking. The thick part of the flank is also a profitable piece; good to bake or boil, or even roast.
The leg and shin of beef make the best soup—the heart is profitable meat, and good broiled or roasted. The leg rand is used for mince pies—it needs to be boiled till it is very tender. The tongue, when fresh, is a rich part for mince pies. ”