Jasper County Democrat, Volume 23, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 June 1920 — How to Lower Your Meat Bills [ARTICLE]

How to Lower Your Meat Bills

Hints From the Department of Justice

NO STEER WITHOUT GOOD MEAT AT LOW PRICE. WANTED —A steer composed entirely of loins and ribs. —H. C. L. Unfortunately, “there ain’t no such animal.” If a porterhouse steer could be developed by a live stock Luther Burbank, we could all have porterhouse or sirloin steaks and rolled roasts from the first and second ribs —next to the loin, and therefore most expensive, as your butcher will tell you. Nearly everybody wants high-grade cuts, but there aren’t enough ribs and loins to go around. These cuts compose but 27 per cent of the carcass, the loin constituting 18 per cent What’s the answer? If people would buy more chucks— they make excellent steaks—or briskets and clods (all forequarter cuts) there would be cheaper sirloin and porterhouse steaks. Ask your butcher or food economist about the possibilities of the fore quarter, also cheap cuts from the hind quarter. Then there is the flank. Ever eat a good flank steak? It possesses a flavor that cannot be duplicated. The full flank composes 4 per cent of the beef carcass, the square-cut chuck about 24 per cent.. ' In New York and other Eastern cities far removed from the packing house center, ribs and loins can be sold at lower prices than in Illinois, because of the heavy demand by the for-eign-born population for rounds, chucks, rumps and other cuts less popular in the West. The least expensive part of the beef carcass is the shank, which is excellent for stews and soups. The round will supply roasts as well as steaks. Pot roasts, steaks and braising meat are furnished by the rump at medium expense. Chucks supply roasts, steaks and stews. The shoulder clod, another economical cut, is used by well-taught cooks for steaks and pot roasts. There Is a large variety of extra portions that many housewives know little about, such as the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs and sweetbreads. But you must know something beef cuts to know what to buy and how to buy. Then you can neglect the costly steaks for the time and return to them when the price has been equalized by the more general buying of the less-familiar cuts. Woman purchasing agents of the home, in learning more about the various cuts and their culinary possibilities, will have impressed upon them a knowledge of the limited quantity

of loins and ribs and the excessive demand for them which causes the price to keep up. When ordering the foods for the day. the meat part of the meal Is always the first planned, and the remainder built around it. Housewives should be familiar with all cuts and then cook them so as to get the best flavor. Rump Pot Roast of Beef W'th Dumpling*. 3 pounds beef rump, % pound salt pork, % cupful carrots, onion, celery and turnips. 1 teaspoonful parsley, 1 bay leaf, 4 cloves, % teaspoonful pepper. Salt. 3 cupfuls water. Wipe the meat, dredge with flour and brown the entire surface in pork fat Place on a rack in a kettle, surround with vegetables, spices and water. Season, cover closely and simmer slowly four hours, keeping the liquid below the boiling point. Remove meat and vegetables to hot platter. Thicken stock and serve with vegetables as a sauce around the meat The sauce may be strained if desired. Dumplings. 2 cupfuls flour, 4 teaspoonfuls baking powder, % teaspoonful salt, 2 teaspoonfuls fat, 2-3 cupful milk, more If needed. Mix and sift dry ingredients. Work in shortening, add milk gradually, pat out one-half inch in thickness, cut with small biscuit cutter. Cook from 12 to 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid while cooking. This mixture may be made slightly thinner and dropped from a spoon into the stock for cooking. Smothered Beef. 3 pounds of rump or clod, 3 large onions sliced, 3 tablespoonfuls oil or drippings, 2 tablespodnfuls mild prepared mustard, Flour mixed with salt and pepper, 1 teaspoonful celery seed, 1 cupful strained tomatoes or % can tomato soup. Dredge meat with flour. Brown well In heavy pan. Brown onions in Oil; add mustard, celery seed and tomatoes. four this sauce over meat and cook slowly three hours or more on top of stove or six hours in a fireless cooker.