Dried beef

“ The curing process enhances meat flavor and improves shelf life by retarding bacterial growth. Salt and nitrites inhibit bacterial growth and enhance flavor and color; sugar counteracts the hardening effect of salt and also enhances flavor. Beef is generally cured by making corned beef or dried beef using the above-mentioned ingredients.
Corned Beef
Corned beef is generally made from cuts of the round, brisket, plate, or chuck. ”

“ Dried Meat.—Both animal and vegetable food is also preserved by drying. Fish is constantly smoked and dried, and thus prepared, forms a large part of the food of our town poor. Beef and other meat is cut in slices, and dried in the sun and wind in countries where the heat of the sun is more powerful than in our own land. Pemmican is dried meat reduced to powder and mixed with fat, but even that is now much less used than formerly; and in general it may be said that drying as a means of preserving meat has been superseded by more modern and improved methods. ”

“ He should use pork rather as a lard necessary in his cooking than as a meat, and depend more on good dried beef, as commonly made in the country, which may be rendered very palatable by soking it first and then pounding before cooking it. ”

“ First, because beans will keep all winter. Second, because beans are very nearly perfect food for robust people. They have fat in them, and that makes heat, and they have starch and gluten in them too, so that they are in fact both meat and bread. Pound for pound, dried beans are about the most perfect food possible. To make them palatable we must take some dry salted pork along. We can carry that better than pickled pork in kegs and we shall not have to carry a lot of useless brine if we take the dry salted meat."
The Doctor added some dried beef, a few hams, some bacon and a supply of sugar. ”

“ Turn the beef every day, and well rub into it the brine which it makes. Let it remain in pickle for one month. When ready for cooking, let the beef be closely bound into shape with coarse webbing. Lay it in a large kettle or pot, and cover the beef with broth as cold as it can be to remain liquid. Add plenty of rough vegetables, such as carrots, turnips, onions, and celery, all sliced. Dry in the oven a sufficient quantity of ginger, cloves, mace, and peppercorns to make two ounces of each when dried and pounded fine in a mortar. ”

“ Take half a pint of the soup and mix it with a spoonful of catsup, a teaspoonful of made mustard, a little flour, a bit of butter and salt; boil all together a few minutes, then pour it round the meat.
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DRIED BEEF WITH CREAM.
Shave your beef very fine. Put it into a suitable dish on the back of the stove; cover with cold water and give it time to soak out to its original size before being dried. When it is quite soft and the water has become hot (it must not boil) take it off, turn off the water, pour on a cup of cream; if you do not have it use milk and butter, a pinch of pepper ”

“ The object of first crumbing is to dry the surface that egg may cling to it; and where a thin coating is desired flour is often used in place of crumbs.
Larding is introducing small pieces of fat salt pork or bacon through the surface of uncooked meat. The flavor of lean and dry meat is much improved by larding; tenderloin of beef (fillet) , grouse, partridge, pigeon, and liver are often prepared in this way. Pig pork being firm, is best for larding. Pork should be kept in a cold place that it may be well chilled. Remove rind and use the part of pork which lies between rind and vein. ”

“ The suet should be dry and crumbly and of a darker shade than the fat. In old beef both flesh and fat will be darker, much coarser in fiber and decidedly dry compared with young beef. If the beef is of a pale, dull color, and flabby, it is not well matured; if very dark and colored and coarse grained with deep yellow fat it will be found tough and tasteless and if it bears greenish tints and feels slippery on the surface it is already stale and unfit for use. When meat is tough add a little vinegar or a piece of lemon to the water in which it is boiled. ”

“ When your meat, of whatever kind, has been down some time, but before it begins to look brown, cover it with paper and baste on it; when it is nearly done, take off the peper, dredge it with flour, turn the spit for some minutes very quick, and baste all the time to raise a froth—after which, serve it up. When mutton is roasted, after you take off the paper, loosen the skin and peel it off carefully, then dredge and froth it up. Beef and mutton must not be roasted as much as veal, lamb, or pork ”

“ The amount of the extractives which will be brought out into the water when meat is boiled depends upon the size of the pieces into which the meat is cut and on the length of time they are soaked in cold water before being heated. A good way to hinder the escape of the flavoring matter is to sear the surface of the meat quickly by heating it in fat, or the same end may be attained by plunging it into boiling water. Such solubility is taken advantage of in making beef tea at home and in the manufacture of meat extract, the extracted material being finally concentrated by evaporating the water. ”

“ To the gravy that is now running from the meat add nothing but a tea-cup of boiling water. Skim it, and send it to table in a boat. Serve up with the beef in a small deep plate, scraped horseradish moistened with vinegar.
Fat meat requires more roasting than lean, and meat that has been frozen will take nearly double the usual time.
Basting the meat continually with flour and water is a bad [71] practice, as it gives it a coddled par-boiled appearance, and diminishes the flavour. ”

“ In selecting Beef, take that which has a coarse, loose grain, which easily yields to the pressure of finger, or knife; which is a purplish red, and has whitish fat. Ox Beef is best. If the lean is purplish and the fat very yellow, it is bad Beef. If it is coarse-grained and hard to break or cut, it is tough. Stall-fed has lighter fat than grass-fed Beef.
If meat is frozen, lay it in cold water to thaw. A piece of ten pounds, or more, will require all night to thaw. Beef and Mutton improve by keeping. Meat is better for not being frozen, except fresh Pork. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Certainly meat cooked in a pot requires very little attention and too frequently receives none at all, as is evidence by the ragged mutton and hard-flavourless beef to which the term BOILED meat may be correctly applied. Although meat loses less weight when boiled than when roasted or baked, there is more loss of nutritive constituents, unless both the meat and the liquor in which it is cooked be consumed, for certain mineral salts, soluble substances, and a considerable quantity of gelatin, are abstracted during the process of cooking, and remain dissolved in the liquor. ”

“ Cold is one means of preserving meat from decay. In the markets of northern Russia, the frozen carcases of animals stand exposed for sale in the winter air for a considerable time, and are sawn in pieces, like sticks of wood, as the purchases are made; such meat, when thawed, being entirely fit for food. Beef and pork are preserved by salting down in brine, and in this condition may be carried on long voyages or kept for future use. Salted meat is not as nutritious as fresh, since the brine absorbs its rich juices and hardens its fibres. ”

“ Do not let your butter be turned to oil before putting it on. It is best to have beef tongs to turn beef, as pricking it lets out the juices. Often turning prevents the surface from hardening and cooks it more equally.
Beef Liver.
Cut it in slices half an inch thick, pour boiling water on it, broil it with some thin slices of salt pork dipped in flour; then cut the liver and pork up into mouthfuls, put them in a frying-pan with a little butter, pepper, and salt, and stew them three or four minutes. ”

“ When such meat is roasted, it emits a strong, offensive smell. The condition of a piece of beef may be ascertained by dipping a knife in hot water, drying it, and passing it through the meat. Apply to the nose on withdrawal, and if the meat is not good, a disagreeable odor will be quite perceptible.
Good beef will not shrink greatly in cooking. In boiling or stewing, the shrinkage is computed to be about one pound in four; in baking, one and one fourth pounds in four. Beef of a close, firm fiber shrinks less than meat of coarse fiber. ”

“ In boiling it is absolutely necessary to have a large quantity of water to put the beef in while the water is cold, to boil steadily, skimming the pot, until the bones are ready to fall out; and, if a tongue, till the skin peels off with perfect ease: the skin must also be taken from the beef. The housekeeper who will buy good ox beef, and follow these directions exactly, may be assured of always having delicious beef on her table. Ancient prejudice has established a notion, that meat killed in the decrease of the moon, will draw up when cooked. ”

“ Lean, fresh meat trimmings are employed and some add a small proportion of heart, all chopped very fine. While being chopped, spices and seasoning are added, with a sufficient quantity of salt. The meat employed is for the most part beef, to which is added some fresh or salted pork. When almost completed, add gradually a small quantity of potato flour and a little water. The mixture being of the proper consistency, stuff in beef casings, tie the ends together into rings of fair length and smoke thoroughly. ”

“ In the former, all the juice is to be kept in; and, by putting into boiling water, the albumen of the meat hardens on the surface and makes a case or coating for the meat, which accomplishes this end. Where something between a soup and plain boiled meat is desired, as in beef bouilli, the meat is put on in cold water, which is brought to a boil very quickly, thus securing good gravy, yet not robbing the meat of all its juices. With corned or salted meats, tongue, &c., cold water must be used, and half an hour to the pound allowed. ”

“ When nearly done, season with black and cayenne pepper and salt. The habit of dredging beef with flour is a very bad one. Flour is no improvement to beef. Ten pounds of beef will roast, before a good fire, in two hours. For the gravy, pour off the grease, add a little water, pepper and salt; send to table in a gravy boat. This receipt will answer for any part of the beef that is fit to roast. Garnish with horse-radish, grated. All roasts should be well skewered to the spit. ”

“ If there is not a good quantity of fat running through it, the beef will be tough and not well flavored. The fat should be a rich clear white, just tinged with yellow, and firm, and the suet also. Heifer or cow beef is paler than ox beef, firmer grained, the fat a clear white, and the bones smaller, but it is not as rich or juicy. When the animal is too old or badly fed, it is of a dark red, the fat skinny and tough, and in very old beef a horny substance will be found running through the ribs. When it is pressed, if the meat rises quickly from the finger it is good ”

“ The drying of salt meat is effected either by hanging it in a dry and well-aired place, or by exposing it at the same time to wood smoke, which gives it a peculiar flavour, much admired in Westphalia hams and Hamburgh beef, and also tends to preserve it, by the antiseptic action of the pyrolignic acid. When meat is to be hung, it need not be so highly salted. ”

“ The meat loses its red colour, becomes more savoury in taste and smell, and more firm and digestible. If the process is continued
too long
, the meat becomes indigestible, less succulent, and tough.
1078. Loss by Boiling (General)
The loss by boiling varies from 6-1/4 to 16 per cent. The average loss on boiling butcher's meat, pork, hams, and bacon, is 12; and on domestic poultry, is 14-3/4.
1079. Loss by Boiling (Specific)
The loss per cent, on boiling salt beef is 15 ”

“ Meat should be removed from paper as soon as it comes from market, otherwise paper absorbs some of the juices.
Meat should be kept in a cool place. In winter, beef may be bought in large quantities and cut as needed. If one chooses, a loin or rump may be bought and kept by the butcher, who sends cuts as ordered.
Always wipe beef, before cooking, with a cheese-cloth wrung out of cold water, but never allow it to stand in a pan of cold water, as juices will be drawn out. ”

“ The same rules are applicable to the soiling of the cow during the summer months, the only difference being that green food is given in the place of dry. This may consist of rye, oats, barley, millet, or Hungarian grass, corn, English grass, etc., cut while in the milk. It will frequently be found that a proportion of dried hay will also at times be highly relished, and may be essential to allay any excessive looseness of the bowels, which may be produced by the succulent food. ”

“ If boiled separately from the meat, have ready some melted butter to eat with it.
Should you find the beef under-done, you may reboil it next day; putting it into boiling water and letting it simmer for half an hour or more, according to its size.
Cold corned beef will keep very well for some days wrapped in several folds of a thick linen cloth, and set away in a cool dry place.
In carving a round of beef, slice it horizontally and very thin. Do not help any one to the outside pieces, as they are generally too hard and salt. French mustard is very nice with corned beef. ”