The Market Assistant...De Voe, Thomas F. (Thomas Farrington)FoodComplete title: The market assistant, containing a brief description of every article of human food sold in the public markets of the cities of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn; including the various domestic and wild animals, poultry, game, fish, vegetables, fruits &c, &c. with many curious incidents and anecdotes.New York, Hurd and HoughtonElectronic edition created by Digital & Multimedia Center, Michigan State University Libraries, East Lansing, Michigan, 2002-2003.Supplementary material by Jan Longone, Anne-Marie Rachman, Peter Berg, Yvonne Lockwood, and Val Berryman1867Textxml-external-parsed-entityjpegquicktimehttp://digital.lib.msu.edu/cookbooks/marketassistant/mara.xmlOCLC 2021303enDigitized as part of "Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project." Michigan State University Libraries, East Lansing, Michigan, 2002-2003. http://digital.lib.msu.edu/cookbooks/United States/northeastNineteenth centuryThe book digitized here was published in the United States before 1923 and is in the public domain according to U.S. copyright law. The digital version and supplementary materials are made available for all educational uses.
An illustration of a man in top hat, apron and sleeve-guards elegantly slicing meat.
THE
MARKET ASSISTANT,
CONTAINING A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF
EVERY ARTICLE OF HUMAN FOOD
SOLD IN THE PUBLIC MARKETS
OF THE CITIES OF
NEW YORK, BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA, AND BROOKLYN;
INCLUDING THE VARIOUS
DOMESTIC AND WILD ANIMALS, POULTRY, GAME,
FISH, VEGETABLES, FRUITS, &c, &c.
WITH
MANY CURIOUS INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES.
BY
THOMAS F. DE VOE,
AUTHOR OF "THE MARKET-BOOK," ETC.
"What we eat."
NEW YORK:
PUBLISHED BY HURD AND HOUGHTON.
1867.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by
THOMAS F. DE VOE,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
PREFACE.
I HAVE introduced myself to the public in the first volume of "THE MARKET BOOK," by giving them a history of the Public Market-places in the city of New York from the earliest settlement, with numerous and curious incidents, more particularly relating to the local history of that city. It was also my intention to have included in the second volume of that work much of the matter which I have placed in this. The dreadful Rebellion, however, commenced with the attack on Fort Sumter the day after I had arranged for the publishing of ("THE MARKET BOOK") the first volume, and I concluded to wait for the suppression of the Rebellion before entering upon the second. In the mean time my gathering notes had accumulated to such formidable dimensions that I was compelled to divide the useful from the historical; the first of which is presented in this volume, called "THE MARKET ASSISTANT;" and the latter will soon appear in the second volume of "THE MARKET BOOK."
The object of this volume is to present that which may be found practically useful as well as interesting. It aims at bringing together, in as small compass as possible and in a form easy of reference, those items of information which many would desire to possess when called upon to cater for the household. In order fully to carry out the practical views here indicated, this work is divided into several headings; all of which, however, harmonize into one connecting form, "What we eat:" Domestic, or Tame Animals; Wild Animals, or Animal Game; Poultry; Wild Fowl
and Birds, or Bird Game; Fish; Vegetables; Pot and Medicinal Herbs; Fruits and Nuts; Dairy and Household Products, etc.
The desire to present such a work, has lead me--pleasantly--to employ many of the leisure hours from my professional duties in placing together the thoughts and experience of thirty-five years' observation.
What I deem the useful is gleaned from the daily wants, and the common expressions of the day--something to eat!--"What shall we have to-day for dinner? What is there in our Markets fit to eat? What kinds of meats, poultry, game, fish, vegetables, and fruits are in season? What names are given to the different joints of meats, and what dishes are they severally and generally used for? We have had roasts, steaks, and chops; and chops, steaks, and roasts, until we are tired of them! Now, do say, what shall we have for dinner?" These, with many other exclamations, are daily discussed, and no one to answer. We, however, claim for this Book a comprehensive answer to all questions of this nature.
More fully to carry out the views I have entertained in relation to the various articles of food of our citizens, I have thought proper to illustrate with outlined diagram figures of such animals usually portioned out and sold by the public-market butchers, with the various names, as illustrated by the accompanying engraved cuts of the principal joints; which are intended to assist in their recognition when called for, as well as to aid in rendering perfect the dishes commonly made from them.
I may here remark, that many of these engravings were sketched by me from nature, and, although some of them may not represent what I would wish from them, if so, it is proper here to state that the faulty drawing of such must not rest on the engraver (Stephen Weekes, Esq.), as his reputation in this beautiful art must not be impaired by my inexperience as the draughts-man.
After the Butchers' Meats will follow a brief description of other articles of food, with the periods of their season or when considered best; how to judge and select them in the various public market-places.
In obtaining a more thorough knowledge of many of these articles of food noticed, I have been greatly assisted by the experience of many of the intelligent dealers and others, who have on all occasions evinced a communicative and friendly feeling to my oft-repeated visits and numerous inquiries. To enumerate or name all--with the many and various and useful works, and especially the newspaper press--from which I have derived much interesting matter, would now be impossible, as a long period has elapsed since the commencement of my gatherings took place; and I can only say, that my indebtedness is hereby acknowledged, with a sincere return of my warmest thanks to each and all for their great assistance.
Many of the various articles of food are often found in the private markets, or "meat-shops," but never the variety, quantity, or with the same chance for cheapness, or choice, as are to be found in our established public markets.
Having had practical experience in both public and private markets, I am free to say, that citizens and others can be best protected and accommodated in public markets--the larger the better--and more especially when the products are obtained from first hands.
"The market-place" was originally designed, simply to accommodate the producer and consumer; a mart where all might meet at certain times--the one to sell and the other to purchase or trade. Eaton, in his review of New York in 1814, gives the reader some idea of "the market-place" at that period, which he presents to us in the following lines:
- "The place where no distinctions are,
- All sects and colors mingle there,
- Long folks and short, black folks and gray
- With common bawds, and folks that pray,
- Rich folks and poor, both old and young,
- And good, and bad, and weak, and strong,
- The wise and simple, red and white,
- With those that play and those that fight
- The high, the low, the proud the meek.
- And all one common object seek;
- For lady, belle, and buck, and lass,
- Here mingle in one common mass,
- Contending all which shall be first,
- To buy the cheapest, best, or worst.
- In fact their object is to get
- Such things as they can 'ford to eat--
- Some beef, some pork,some lambor veal,
- And those who cannot buy must steal--
- Nothing more clear, I'll tell you why,
- All kinds of folks must eat or die.
- Objects of honor or disgrace,
- Are all seen at the market-place.
- Do you a slothful debtor seek?
- Go there, and you may with him speak;
- Seek there a fool, a friend, a foe,
- For all together there will go.
- Are you a painter, and would trace,
- The features of one in distress?
- Go there, for there you're sure to find,
- An object suited to your mind.
- And do you seek a beauteous form,
- A well-shaped leg or handsome arm?
- Go seek it there, for there are all,
- Of every person since the fall:
- The virgin, matron, husband, child,
- Upon this place have often smiled;
- Whate'er you want, you'll find it there,
- There's every thing, and every where
- But those who are on killing bent,
- Alone shall feel my chastisement;
- In Boston these, 'tis said have not,
- Or common sense or feelings got;
- And therefore they are not allowed,
- The common jurors' seat to crowd;
- But butchers here, like other men,
- Have common sense and sense of pain;
- These weigh the meat, and you must know,
- The meat side of the scale is low,
- And wants your care to balance it,
- If you would have your proper weight,
- Or else two pounds of beef, you'll see,
- Will just two pounds odd ounce be
- The rich, who buy a stately piece,
- Will scarcely know their meats decrease;
- But 'tis the poor, who little buy,
- That miss their meat, and wonder why.
- 'Tis thus with some--but not with all--
- For many, from the loaded stall,
- With balance even, weigh the meat,
- Too honest to defraud or cheat.'
Now, we find, "the market-place" assumes another aspect--a change which time and circumstances have created. The producer is often hundreds of miles in one direction, while the consumer may be as many hundred in another, from the mart at which the productions were sold and purchased. Through the course of the year, the products of the North, South, East, and West, are to be found in our large public market-places; from which great quantities are disposed of, to be consumed in other cities, towns, or villages, or on the many ocean or river steamers or other vessels, as well as in foreign countries.
A great trade has imperceptibly grown upon us (particularly in New York), which I have sometimes thought, would have been more profitable to both producer and consumer, if proper laws, and practical, honest heads, had been placed over these vast interests, which so much affect the general health and comfort, as well as the pockets of our over-taxed citizens; and I cannot avoid the conclusion, that if our public markets were properly conducted, they would be highly advantageous, not only to the city and citizens, but to all who have occasion to obtain supplies, as they facilitate the voluntary inspection, as well as the comparison of every article offered for sale in them, and they also concentrate the trade by which the people are protected from imposition.
This great metropolis should have her public markets as objects of our city's pride, by having proper and substantial buildings, kept orderly, cleanly, well-arranged and officered, when they could be visited by strangers in safety and comfort, as well as by all her citizens, who would find pleasure and exercise in the performance of a necessary and agreeable duty.
THOMAS F. DE VOE,
Butcher.
JEFFERSON MARKET,
City of New York, 1864.
WHAT WE EAT.
THE first natural demand of man is food to nourish his wasting system, and for this purpose he has been bountifully provided for with an extensive choice, furnished by the various productions of both land and water. Man in his natural state, like the wild beasts of the forest, consumes food naturally and spontaneously obtained; but civilized man, luxuriously trained and educated, obtains his principal support from artificial food, or that which has been produced by his skill and labor; and thus we find that the wild and cultivated animals, as well as the natural and cultivated plants, is the proper and sole food for cultivated man.
- "Man is a carnivorous production,
- And must have meals at least once a day'
- He cannot live, like woodcocks, upon suction,
- But, like the shark and tiger, must have prey."
The various fruits, grain, roots, and herbs, with flesh, fish, and fowl, all contribute to the sustenance of man, or rather, to furnish the daily wants, and to supply the wear and tear of his body. The perfect conformation of man's organization is capable of converting into nourishment every peculiarity of food, and separating the nutritive portions of every variety from each production.
Authors agree that animal food is found to be strongly nourishing, and, when extensively used, it is too heating and stimulating, and, withal, overworks the digestive organs, which, after a time, exhausts and debilitates the body; while, on the other hand, a pure vegetable diet seems insufficient to secure to the human system all the strength and vigor of which it is capable, although thousands of individuals
live almost entirely on the latter, but it is found they are seldom so robust, so active, or so brave. Physiologists, therefore, are of opinion that a mixed diet of animal and vegetable food is best suited to the nature and constitution of man. In warm climates, however, meat is found less desirable than any other kind of food.
"All animals, with but few exceptions, are used as food by various nations of men, although that which is selected as a delicacy by one country is refused as unfit and loathsome by another. The Englishman refuses to dine on Snails with an Italian, on Frogs with a Frenchman, on Horseflesh with the Tartars, or on the Crocodile, Toad, or Locust with the African.
"A traveller, in the last century, remarked to certain Arabs that he wondered at their eating insects so disgusting as Locusts; to which they replied, with some show of reason, that it savored of affectation in a person who could swallow an Oyster to be startled by any thing in the way of eating."
"The Americans will not eat horses, asses, dogs, cats, rats, or mice, but they are all used as food, and some as great luxuries, in other countries."
In Africa the natives eat Ants stewed in Palm Oil, and the large Termites, or White Ants, are roasted in iron pots and eaten by handfuls, as sugar-plums; and as for Locusts, Dr. Phipson says they are far from dreading their invasions, but look upon a dense cloud of Locusts as we would look upon a miracle of Bread and Butter floating in the air. They smoke them, or salt them, or boil them, or stew them, or grind them down as Corn, and get fat on them.
- "Lo! the poor Indian, who untutored feeds
- On Locusts, Beetles, Frogs, and Centipedes!
- His taste keen hunger never taught to sigh
- For Beef, Veal, Mutton, Pork, or Pumpkin Pie;
- But thinks, admitted to that equal feast,
- All things are good for man as well as beast."
It is also found that Horseflesh is not an uncommon article
of food, either in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and other places, where it is publicly exposed for sale in their public markets. It is upon record that about the year 1810, in the town of Christiana, Norway, four hundred horses had been killed for the consumption of that town for a period of a little over two years. We also find it asserted by M. Duchatelet that a very large quantity is consumed in Paris. The Knackers (Horse-slayers) and their families, who live principally on it, have a remarkably robust and healthy appearance. Surgeon Larrey also states that the French armies, during many campaigns under Napoleon I. were greatly indebted to Horseflesh for the means of subsistence. A correspondent from Vienna to the "New York Times," 1855, gives a favorable account of its use in that city, as follows: "The consumption of Horseflesh by the poorest classes, which for the past two years has been more and more resorted to, tends to check any rapid rise in Beef and the common meats. While good roasts and bake-pieces cost fifteen kreutzers the pound--not even so high as in New York--Horseflesh is bought for five kreutzers. An acquaintance who has eaten beef-steak from this meat--would it do to call it horse-steak?--assures me that it does not taste at all bad--that it is indeed a delicacy--and argues from the nature of the food of the two, that horseflesh is a much choicer diet than fried chicken. It may seem to show how well the poorer classes like it, to state that within the past few weeks, in Hamburg, if I remember rightly, the price of this article of food has risen to almost its former rate, owing to the increased demand."
Mule-meat has also been spoken of as being excellent eating; although its trial took place under peculiar circumstances, yet it was compared with horseflesh and such beef as was in the possession of the besieged rebels while caged in Port Hudson. A Confederate officer who has, or is, preparing a detailed account of what took place inside of this fortification during its beleaguerment, says that when (29th of June, 1863) "the last quarter-ration of beef had been
given out to the troops, on the 1st of July, at the request of many officers, a wounded mule was killed and cut up for experimental eating. All those who partook of it spoke highly of the dish: the flesh of mules being of a darker color than beef, of a finer grain, quite tender and juicy, and as having a flavor between that of beef and venison. There was an immediate demand for this kind of food, and the number of mules killed by the commissariat daily increased. Some horses were also slaughtered, and their flesh was found to be very good eating, but not equal to the mule. Rats, of which there were plenty about the deserted camps, were also caught by many officers and men, and were found to be quite a luxury--superior, in the opinion of those who ate them, to spring-chicken."
The ancients appear to have been rather singular in their choice of diet, as Dick, in his "Diet and Regime," says--"They used neither buckwheat, nor French Beans, nor Spinach, nor Sage, Tapioca, Saless, Arrowroot, nor Potato or its varieties, nor even the common, but a sort of marsh-grown Bean, nor many of our fruits, as the Orange, Tamarinds, nor American Maize. On the other hand, they ate substances which we now neglect: the Mallow, the herb Ox Tongue, the sweet Acorn, the Lupin. They used greatly Radish, Lettuce, Sorrel; they liked the flesh of wild Asses, of little Dogs, of the Dormouse, of the Fox, of the Bear. They ate the flesh of Parroquets, and other rare birds, and of Lizards. They were fond of a great many fish and shell-fish which we now hold in no esteem. They employed as seasoning Rue and Assafœtida."
An amusing article on diet, written above one hundred years ago, is found in a London paper called "St. James' Chronicle," dated November 6, 1762, and thus reads:--"There is no affectation more ridiculous than the antipathies which many whimsical people entertain with respect to diet. One will swoon at a Breast of Veal; another can't bear the sight of a Sucking-pig; and another owes as great a grudge to a Shoulder of Mutton as Petruchio, in the farce.
How often does it happen in company that we are debarred of a necessary ingredient in a salad because somebody, forsooth, cannot touch oil! And what a rout is made, whisking away the cheese off the table, without our being suffered to have a morsel of this grand digester, if any one should happen to declare his dislike to it!
"There are others of an equally fantastic disposition, who, as we may say, choose to quarrel with their bread and butter. These are eternally suspicious that their food is not sweet. They bring their plates up to their noses, or their noses down to their plates, at every thing that is put upon them. Their stomachs are so delicately nice that they descry a fault in all they eat. The fish is stale, the mutton is rank, or the suet in the pudding is musty. I have an aunt who almost starves herself on account of her squeamishness in this particular. At one time she is sure the sheep died of the rot; at another the pork is measly; and she would not touch a bit of beef all the time of the distemper among the horned cattle. Veal she detests, because, she says, it is well known the Butchers blow it up with their nasty breath; besides, the Calves have brine given them to make their flesh white. She used to declare House-Lamb to be the only wholesome food, because the innocent creatures were fed with nothing but their mother's milk; but she has lately taken disgust to this likewise, since she has been told that some rascally butchers keep large mastiff-bitches on purpose for their Lambs to suck.
"I dined with her yesterday, when she made an apology for the Beef not being salt enough, saying that she was under a necessity of boiling it too soon, as she did not think it safe to buy any meat yet awhile, on account of the late inundations; for she was apprehensive that the drowned carcasses of hogs, sheep, and other cattle would make their way up to the London shambles. I was surprised that a suspicion of this sort should have entered her head, but more surprised still to find it hinted at afterwards by the following advertisement in the 'Public Advertiser' of Monday:
"'The Master and Wardens of the Butchers' Company do hereby acquaint the public that they have not been able (notwithstanding the utmost care and assiduity has been used by them) to find that any of the hogs or sheep that were drowned in the late unhappy floods, have been exposed to sale within this city or the suburbs thereof.
"'
An illustration of a hand with the index finger pointing at the first line of text in the paragraph.
Any person that sends notice to the Company, at their hall in Pudding Lane, of any casualty or unwholesome flesh of any sort that is exposed for sale, so that the same may be seized, will receive the thanks of the Company, and be a friend to the public in general, the Company being determined to prosecute all persons selling casualty or unwholesome flesh.'
"'I cannot help observing that it seems odd the butchers themselves should sound the alarm about casualty flesh, which many people otherwise might never have thought of. The fishmongers would never cry stinking fish, and the bakers would be unwilling to have it even supposed that any made use of alum in their bread. I remember, for a great while after the affair of Elizabeth Tofts, the Rabbit-woman, the owners and renters of warrens were all ruined, for persons would as soon eat a cat as a rabbit. Should the like disgust prevail against flesh, from the fear of its being casualty flesh, what would become of Smithfield and Leadenhall Markets? There is, indeed, some danger that people will conceive an antipathy against barrelled beef, pickled pork, and all kinds of soused meat, on this occasion; and it is to be hoped that the contractors for victualling His Majesty's Navy will not buy up any of the drowned cattle, to turn the stomachs of our sailors. The unwholesomeness, however, of casualty flesh I have heard denied by a gentleman, who had been in Italy, and declared that he himself had eaten heartily (without any ill effects) of a hog that was casually barbecued, and an ox that was roasted whole in the eruptions from Mount Vesuvius."
The mode of living adopted by some, especially among the rich, who, by their late dinner-hours and sumptuous
feasts, no doubt prepare themselves for early graves. As an old author says, "Some stop their breath with venison and carpe; some poison themselves with soups and ragouts; and others stifle nature with cheese-cakes and tarts. N.B.--Divers worthy citizens make custard their executioner. And who would think it? even beef and puddings, as public-spirited victuals and good protestants as they may seem, are frequently guilty of man-slaughter; and many a country squire, when he escapes drowning in a sea of October, dams up the springs of life with a rump of beef.
"Harmless mutton itself does frequent mischief this way. So that the butchers, as well as the 'pothecaries, are the licensed poisoners of a commonwealth. It may, indeed, seem strange that the sacrifices of oxen should be sacrifices of men too, and that ignorant butchers should interfere with the learned of Warwick-lane, and yet the faculty bear with it; for though butchers are tolerably illiterate and clumsy, yet, as their profession is the killing of brute beasts only, I do not see why the college should permit such unqualified Brethren. Alas! a butcher has but one instrument of death, and that is his knife: and what is that in comparison?" Dr. Carlyon also tells us that "Mixtures, and spices, and wines are the ruin of half the stomachs in the world. Just see: You take, at a dinner-party, soup, a glass or two of wine-punch perhaps; turbot and rich lobster sauce, with, it may be, an oyster paté, or a sweet-bread, to amuse yourself with while the host is cutting you a slice of the southdown haunch; this, with jelly and French beans, is set in ferment with a couple of glasses of hock or sauterne added; when a wing of a partridge or the back of a leveret, solaced with a little red hermitage, succeeds; then you at once sit at ease, and chill your heated stomach with a piece of iced pudding, which you preposterously proceed to warm again with a glass of noyeau or some other liquor: if you are not disposed to roguet with a spoonful of jelly in addition, you are sure to try a bit of stilton and a piquant salad, and a glass of port therewith. At dessert, port, sherry, and claret fill
up the picture. This is about the routine of the majority of dinner-parties. Such a dinner is, in fact, a hospitable attempt on your life."
The Jews, we find, will not eat the flesh of any animal (or fowl) used by them without it has been killed and examined by one of their own persuasion, called a shoket (Jew butcher), who is appointed by their synagogue, or some Jewish ecclesiastical authority, as they retain the opinions held by them from "olden times," concerning the killing of meat for the table. They also will not eat guinea fowls, Muscovy or other ducks, having fleshy crests, besides bears, rabbits, squirrels, etc.; but such game as deer, partridges, quail, etc., when trapped, or otherwise caught alive, and killed by a shoket, their flesh is then accepted.
Their particular manner of slaughtering a bullock is, by having its hind legs slung, and hoisted high enough to throw it off its fore-feet. The shoket, or "cutter," as he is generally known among butchers, stands ready with his long, polished, keen knife, waiting to have the animal's neck turned upwards, which is done by those who dress the animal. He, with one hand, the left, pinches up the skin on the throat, and, with the knife in the other hand, lays its edge, near to the point, on the throat. He then, with a strong, quick thrust forward, and a sudden draw back, without lifting the knife, divides the flesh and the jugular veins. This is, no doubt, the best mode of more fully clearing the body of its blood: the Jews believing that the blood is the life, from the Mosaic law, which forbids the destruction of the life.
After the process of skinning has commenced, the shoket opens the abdomen, and with his hand examines, by feeling, the lungs, liver, etc.; and, if found in a sound and healthy condition, he places seals, stamped with Hebrew characters, only on the fore-quarters, which particularly shows the day of the month when slaughtered; and the flesh or meat is then termed cosher, or good Jew or Hebrew meat, and fit for their use. Twenty years ago, these seals,
which were then used, were made of lead, but, since that period, they have used thick paper and wax.
If, however, the animal is found defective, either with lungs grown fast to the side, liver diseased, or any other abnormal or unhealthy indications of disease (which is seldom the case with a thriving fat young animal), the shoket pronounces it trifa, or unfit to be used by them; then it is not sealed, but resold to those whose religious scruples may be no bar to its use.
The gut-fat of the cosher animal is also sealed, and used in the place of suet (which is never used by the strict Jews) for all cooking purposes.
The hind-quarters of the animals thus slaughtered are not sealed, and therefore not eaten in this country by the strict Jews, although their laws allow of their being eaten when operated upon by the professional porcher; but as there are none known or recognized by them in the United States, this choice part is left without seals. The operation of the porcher is in the difficult performance of extracting the blood, fat, veins, and sinews, numbering above fifty, recognized by them in the hind-quarters; and I am told they count one hundred and eleven in the whole body, but those from the fore-quarter are more easily removed.
They point to the cause of their refusal to eat the flesh from the hind-quarters (and, in fact, to all their different laws, customs, and belief), to the Old Testament, more particularly, on this point, to Genesis xxxii. 32: "Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank."
This shoket is paid by the society in which he worships, an annual salary, and, in addition, a perquisite from the owners of the animals which he slaughters.
The edible productions of the present day, considered fit for human food, are very numerous, some of which are the greatest delicacies, while others of them the simplest food,
with prices to correspond with their scarcity, rarity, or plentifulness. Many, of course, are unseasonable and unnatural to this climate; but by artificial means, and the swift steam-engine, they have become and are looked for as "things in season." In fact, the public market-place in the various cities under consideration, furnishes us with a "Bill of Fare" which includes almost every article known; among which we have from the North, the moose and bear meat, salmon, mascalonge, white-fish, pike, and drawn poultry; the sea-shore--East--furnishes us with shore-birds, fowl, sea-fish, oysters, and lobsters; from the South comes the early and fine Bermuda potatoes, onions, peas, oranges, bananas, and early shad, with the excellent wild duck from the Potomac; while the West pours in her wild-fowl, venison, poultry, butter, all of which comes by the millions of pounds weight, through the course of the year.
In order to arrange these various productions, and other subjects treated of, I have placed them under the following different heads, viz.: Going to Market; Domestic or Tame Animals; Beef; Veal; Mutton; Lamb; Pigs, Hogs, and Pork; Goats' Flesh; The Parts we use from Domestic Animals; Wild Animals, called Game; Poultry; Wild-Fowl and Birds called Game; Fish; Fish, Large and Abundant; Fish, Small and Abundant; Fish, Large and Scarce; Fish, Small and Scarce; Shell-Fish; Vegetables; Pot Herbs, Medicinal, and other Plants; Fruit; Nuts; Dairy and Household Products; Pot Plants, Roots, and Bouquets; Economy in the use of Meats; Hung Meats; Bleeding Animals; and Cooks and Cookery.
The first in the above arrangement appears somewhat important, as well as necessary, to assist the young housekeeper in purchasing the market supplies wanted, and perhaps a few hints on the subject will be acceptable to her or any others interested. They will appear under the head--
GOING TO MARKET.
Some fifty years ago it was the common custom for the thrifty "old New Yorker," when going to market, to start with the break of day, and carry along with him the large "market-basket," then considered a very necessary appendage for this occasion. His early visit gave him the desired opportunity to select the cuts of meat wanted from the best animals; to meet the farmer's choice productions, either poultry, vegetables, or fruit, and catch the lively, jumping fish, which, ten minutes before, were swimming in the fish-cars.
Soon after followed the "good housewife," who would not trust anybody but herself to select a fine young turkey, or a pair of chickens or ducks, which she kept hold of until the bargain allowed her to place the coveted articles in her capacious basket, that was being carried by a stout servant, who also carried a bright tin, covered kettle, ready to receive several nice rolls of butter, so cleanly and neatly covered with white linen cloths.
The modern "marketer" will still occasionally observe some "relics of the past," who cling to the old custom taught them in their youth, perhaps, by an honored sire, who was not too proud to carry home a well-filled market-basket, containing his morning purchase, which his purse or taste prompted him to select. These old-fashioned ideas, alas! are all lived down, and we reluctantly turn from them, as we would from an interesting but worn-out book to peruse the pages of modern composition.
We now find many heads of families who never visit the public markets, who are either supplied through the butcher or other dealers in our markets, or by their stewards or other servants, or by some that may be termed go-between-speculators, who take orders for marketing, groceries, etc., on their own hook; and, of course, they purchase the various articles of those who will give them the largest percentages. I am sorry, however, to be compelled to state that there are
but few of this species of help, or market assistants, who can lay claim to the title of trustworthy.
It is, therefore, as necessary for our health as it is to our interest to obtain the knowledge of what we desire to purchase, that the articles shall be what they are represented to be, and that they are furnished at the regular market price.
To market well, then, requires much experience, although many rules might be introduced, but they would be seldom successfully followed. Practice gives the looks, smell, feeling, and many signs that are almost indescribable, and which are formed from close observation.
Many dealers know too well how to disguise an inferior article, so as to deceive those who have but little knowledge of marketing; although a lower price may be demanded, such provisions are dear from the fact of their inferior quality, and when prepared are neither relished nor half consumed--perchance they are wholly wasted.
Another class of dealers, while they furnish good articles, they do not fail to obtain exorbitant prices, of such a character as to come under the name of extortion. To succeed in such extortions, different modes of misrepresentation are adopted, which, in our plain vernacular, might be termed absolute lying--"business lying," white or black lying, or any other lying the reader may choose to designate the system.
Their articles are represented as being--"The very best that were ever produced!"--"The finest and largest you ever saw!"--"Could not be better!"--"First-rate!"--"Excellent!"--"Beautiful!"--"Splendid!"--"Can't be beat!"--"As cheap as dirt!" and "Can't be got elsewhere!"
One day I heard a military hero say to a person who was extolling a good common goose, and enlarging on the numerous splendid accessories surrounding it--"Why, your geese are all swans--I do not want any of them. I merely want a good young goose, about that size."
The numerous falsehoods sometimes told, are expressed with such appearance of innocence, that many really feel that what they say must be "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," and so accede to their extortionate demands. This class of dealers effect more business and succeed better than the honest, conscientious dealer, who, when asked, "Is this article the best I can get?" will answer, "I should not like to say it is, but I think it is as good." Such an answer is not always a satisfactory one to the questioner, as he would require one of certainty, or--"It is the very best that comes to the markets, and you cannot get it elsewhere so good, nor so cheap." This appears to be a great fault with many purchasers, that to induce them to buy the dealers must bespatter their articles with a dozen falsehoods, and sometimes fifteen or twenty per cent. above the market price, before the purchasers are fully satisfied with their bargains.
This wretched system or custom, we find, generally pervades everywhere, and in every business, where goods and other property are exposed to sale; both men and women, merchants and mechanics, tradesmen and salesmen, in fact all kinds, are afflicted with this prevailing tongue-disease of exaggeration.
This dishonest custom gives the honest salesman or purveyor but little satisfaction while doing business, as they are often subjected to many petty annoyances, which usually come from those whose education should teach them better. There are others who are deficient of this desideratum, who claim from the lack of educated honesty some charity and excuse for their acts. We occasionally find among purchasers some who are known as "shoppers" and "runners," who make no difference where they trade, so long as it shall be the best article at a low price; and to make a sale to such the market-price must generally be reduced; and when that is done, suspicion steps into the "shopper's" mind, who examines and re-examines, with question after question, whether "perfectly good, tender, and sweet;" and upon
being answered in the affirmative, the "shopper" often turns from the dealer with a supercilious gesticulation, as if they placed no confidence in the recommendation. We recur to an instance where a lady had several times treated a butcher to this negative treatment to his recommended meat, when she was, by him, impressed with this well-merited retort: "My previous answers, in relation to the quality of meat which you several times before selected, have not received such attention as was expected from you; hereafter you will be obliged to judge for yourself." She was not a purchaser on that occasion, but afterwards she gave no further trouble in this respect.
There are other dealers, again, who use much of what may be termed outside deceit--that is, by placing some attractive mark or emblem, in the way of flags, ribbons, signs, etc., to represent the articles so dressed and decorated as being either premium or prize or superior, or some extraordinary quality about them, from the good or general average of what they should represent; and this is done for the purpose of procuring a higher price for an inferior article. In fact, I have heard it said: "I put ribbons and flags on my meat to make it sell for a good price, as I am bound to make money some way or another." This method this class adopt as a "legitimate manner of doing business."
The safest plan for the inexperienced is to select respectable dealers, on whom they can rely. They may charge higher prices for that which they furnish; in the end, however, more satisfaction is afforded, by less risk, and more saving and relish--in fact, cheaper in every way, because all good articles are with profit used--that, while the best articles may cost more money in the purchase thereof, they will be found to be the most economical in the end.
On the other view, unprincipled dealers are always ready for what they term chances, either by giving short weight, short measure, or short change; and, if they are detected, "Why, it's a mistake!" or, if he (or she) think that blustering,
or loud and harsh words, will frighten the wronged purchaser, this mode of tactics is brought to bear.
Many respectable purchasers, not having the time to go to the public markets, will sometimes purchase of the "cheap shops," or street-pedlers, many of whom are still worse than those we have already spoken of, especially street-pedlers, who cannot be found when their fraud or deceit is too late discovered.
A few years ago, one of the city sealers of weights and measures, in one of the districts of our (New York) city, collected fifty-four measures, from grocers and wagon-pedlers, that fell short of the standard. A half-bushel fell short three and a half quarts; twenty-one half-peck measures fell short about one quart each; fifteen two-quart measures were short six quarts in the aggregate; and sixteen one-quart measures were short, in the aggregate, six quarts.
An old law, as well as a long-standing custom, makes it incumbent upon the seller that all articles subject to be sold by the measure--such as apples, peaches, potatoes, and others of a round, oval, or flat conformation--shall be heaped up above the even line of the measures, to make up for the interspaces between the irregularities of such articles of food, etc.
The fish, fruit, vegetables, etc., which are usually peddled about the streets in carts and wagons, are seldom found so good as those offered for sale in the public markets, they being either the refuse of the markets, unfit to be offered by the respectable dealer, or happens to be a glut, or very large quantities offered; and, even then, their selections are generally of those which sell at the lowest price; then, in their sales through the streets, their false-bottomed measures, short weights, or their stale or unfit articles, are detected by examination; they are off, and not to be found, until the frauds and their persons are forgotten.
When the purchaser desires to be served through orders
by the butcher, or others, it is best that they should have such latitude or choice of sending the purchaser that which they may have in the best condition for immediate use. If it be for a roast, it should be either a rib, sirloin, or other piece of beef; or leg, loin, saddle, or shoulder of mutton; or fore or hind quarter of lamb; or fillet, loin, shoulder, or breast of veal; or turkey, capons, chickens, venison, partridges, or grouse, etc. If for a boil, a leg of mutton, rump or round, plate, navel, or brisket of corned beef; and the same, in fact, with all the various dishes.
Without particular joints, or other articles, are ordered for an arranged or "dinner-party," it is then best, as well as proper, to give notice a day or two before, that the butcher, or other, may prepare a particular, prime, or choice article, such as may not only please the purchaser, but will give the butcher, or other dealer, some satisfaction--as it is gratifying to the conscientious dealer to hear that his joints or other articles were praised, as it is to those who pay for that which is acceptable and pleasing to them.
DOMESTIC OR TAME ANIMALS.
The domestic or tame animals which are usually prepared by the butchers into meat, produce one of the chief articles of food in our daily supplies; and the first among these animals stands the ox, one of the richest gifts to man, being useful to the farmer as a faithful worker, a great assistant in enriching his land, and then as a mill to grind his surplus fodder into beef, while every thing about him, from his hoofs to his horns, is profitable for some purpose or other.
Nearly all of these animals, while living, are known by the names given to them by our Anglo-Saxon fathers; but, when slaughtered and dressed, their flesh assumes another name, as the ox, with its varieties--the bullock, steer, cow, heifer, stag, and bull--are changed to beef; sheep, consisting
of the wether, ewe, stag, buck or ram, are changed to mutton; calf, to that of veal; hog, i.e., pig, shoat, barrow, sow, stag, hog, and boar, to that of pork. The same changes will also apply to some species of wild animals.
Beef, mutton, lamb, veal, and pork, are usually found throughout the year, in its various seasonable preparations, in all the public markets, and they may be reasonably considered "always in season;" but there are certain months in the year when each are found in greater perfection than at other periods of the year, although, when a sound, healthy animal has been properly fed and prepared, the flesh will be found to be excellent eating in any part of the year. The additional advantage of a cool atmosphere (not freezing the flesh), permitting it to hang for several days, or even weeks, such flesh as beef, mutton, lamb, venison, etc., will render them not only tender, but also add much to the richness of their flavor. I may here also add, that the flesh of all animals, poultry, and game (drawn), is much better in the warm weather, when it can be placed in a cool cellar; a deep well (tied in a linen bag, and hung by a rope near the water), a refrigerator, or an ice-house, for a day or two, will render the flesh cool and firm enough for good eating.
When it is necessary to send or carry any kind of fresh provisions great distances--such as butcher-meat, poultry, game, or fish--either article should first be kept in a refrigerator, or other cold place, until thoroughly cooled, then wrapped in a coarse linen cloth, around which should be placed cabbage-leaves (or other green leaves), and the whole again wrapped and tied up in a coarse cloth, and placed in a basket, when the articles may be carried from six to ten hours without the danger of becoming sour or tainted. Poultry, game, or fish should be drawn, and a piece of charcoal, wrapped in a thin linen rag, be inserted into the drawn parts; as the intestines, when left in, are apt to give the flesh a disagreeable flavor.
Beef and mutton are usually found best from November
to May, from the fact that those animals producing this flesh are then generally "grain or stall fed," although those fed, or which are fattened, on roots, pumpkins, or grass, produce good, sweet, and tender meats; but it has not the weight, substance, or heart that is found in "stall-fed" meat. From a letter written to B. P. Johnson, Esq., Secretary of the New York State Agricultural Society, found in their "Transactions" (1852, vol. xii., p. 282), the following extract refers to this subject: "You are aware, no doubt, that the greatest quantity of 'barrelled beef' sent to foreign markets is packed in the West. Great portions are of young cattle, fattened on grass, principally of a quick and large growth, and are what we New York butchers call 'grass-fed beef." The beef when fresh will eat soft, tender, juicy, and sweet, but will not have the delicious flavor, solidity, firmness, weight, or the heart or nourishment that the stall-fed (with grain) beef has. It appears to me, as soon as the salt touches "grass-fed beef" it draws back, shrinks into a smaller compass, and changes to a dark color, as if there was not firmness or solidity to resist the action of the salt; and when boiled, especially if salted a long time, will shrink very much, leaving it tasteless, juiceless, without heart or substance, and, when cut, of a dark color. "Stall-fed beef," on the contrary, is like corn-fed pork, which has the appearance (when properly cured) of being firmer, brighter, plumper, or has a swelled look, as if the well-mixed fat protected the lean parts of the flesh. We seldom hear of farmers, or others, salting down "grass or milk fed pork." They pen them up, and feed as much corn, generally, as the animal will take, for sometimes months before slaughtering; and when they are salted--I quote an old saying--"Put one pound of corn-fed pork in the pot, it comes out two," which will apply to "stall-fed beef."
Animals in sound health, which have been fairly fed, will have a layer of fat between the skin and the flesh or muscles. This may be termed the outside fat or back fat.
The fat will also be mixed in and through the muscles themselves, according to the quantity and quality of the feeding. When highly fed the flesh increases, the back fat thickens, the muscles become marbled with small particles of fat throughout the body, and a large collection of fat around the kidneys, which butchers call suet, to designate it from the common meat or flesh fat.
I may here observe, that it is artificial or over-feeding that produces the prize, choice, and extra-large fine cattle, sheep, etc., sometimes exhibited at our fairs and cattle markets.
BEEF.
In relation to the best cattle for beef, the question may properly be asked, Which among the varieties of neat-cattle will generally produce the best or choicest eating beef?
This point, I am well aware, many of our most respectable butchers, epicures, and others, will honestly differ in. I, however, shall present the experience which has brought me in contact with all sorts and sizes, shades and colors, and not only by hundreds, but by thousands, from the poorest, toughest "old bull," used for jerked-beef, to feed the slaves of the West Indies, to that of the choicest--the winners of many first-prizes--which have been so elaborately prepared, both to tickle the palates of the many epicures and lovers of good beef, and also to gain the admiration of thousands. Notwithstanding this, my observations may not be correct; they, however, are my convictions. I therefore proceed to place them in the order as they appear, as follows:
First--Spayed Heifer, from four to seven years old.
Second--Steer or bullock (never worked), from four to six years old.
Third--Free Martin (or barren heifer), not over eight years old.
| Fourth--Ox, |
from five to eight years old. |
| Fifth--Heifer, |
" three to four " |
| Sixth--Cow, |
" " to eight " |
| Seventh--Stag, |
" " to " " |
| Eighth--Bull, |
" two to six " |
In the above arrangement I have placed the Spayed Heifer first--from four to seven years old--as generally affording the best and choicest beef. I mean, of course, with the same breed, care, and partaking of the same feeding. My reasons for this are: that she is more docile and quiet, a gentler disposition, not apt to roam or run so much as the common heifer or steer, and therefore she will naturally flesh and thrive faster, while her nerves, muscles, or flesh and fat, are rendered more tender from her general quietude. I do not pretend to assert that this quiet manner of growing beef will produce that which shall be the most nutritious and wholesome, because this question must be left to scientific research; my wish here is to show that which shall prove the most profitable, tender, and well-tasted beef.
The usual appearance of the above-described Spayed Heifer, or fine steer, beef, when first cut with a knife, or afterwards, when it has laid together against or on marble, a dish, etc., it will be found to be quite a dark red color; but the action of the air, on being exposed to it, in five minutes after will change its color to a clear cherry red.
This beef will also have a juicy or sappy appearance, with a fine smooth grain to the touch, and in cold weather (or if it has been thoroughly cooled by the aid of ice) it should present a well-mixed or marbled appearance. The fat, both outside and through the muscles, presents a clear, straw-colored appearance, and that on the outside should entirely cover the back of the loin and ribs, in some parts not less than half an inch. The kidney-fat, or suet, should be so large, or so well filled up under or inside the loin, especially the thin end, that the whole sirloin (when cut up), suet, or kidney-fat, down, will lay nearly on a level; or, in other words, the thin end should appear nearly as thick as the
thick or rump end when laid on a bench or block to be cut up.
The suet should be of a brighter shade than the meat or muscle fat, dry and hard, break or crumble easily, and at the same time show but little fibre through it. When greasy or oily, or tough and full of tough fibre, small in quantity, is a certain indication that the animal has been improperly fed, overdriven, or brought from a great distance, and therefore the quality of the beef is deteriorated by rendering it more tough, dry, and tasteless.
Ox and cow beef, when in good condition, will show their flesh and fat of a darker color; that of the ox, more particularly, will have an open and a coarser grain, as well as hard, tough cartilages, sinews, ligaments, and muscle, less flesh according to the quantity of bone, and if the animal has been always kept in a good fat condition, the flesh will not be, or eat so tender nor so juicy or fine-flavored as one (not too old) which has been worked down in flesh, then turned into fine pasture with a "summer's run," taken up and stall-fed for two, three or four months, when all the newly made, or growth of flesh, will be a much more tender, a rich cutting, and also well-flavored beef, than the preceding; but still the old nerves and muscle is not replaced, but left behind, and show themselves, more particularly in the pieces which are called plate, navel, and brisket pieces. If, however, the animals (old or young) are poor, then when slaughtered their flesh will show little or no fat on the back and through the muscles, and will also be of a darker color, quite dry looking, very little kidney-fat or suet, and the kidney itself not well covered; and this kind of beef will be usually quite hard, dry, and not well-flavored eating.
Stag-beef is usually found more fleshy than the ox or steer: of a dusky red, close-grained; and unless the animal has been well fed the flesh will be quite tough and somewhat strongly flavored. If, however, the stag has been altered when quite young, it will much improve the quality
of the flesh. Their horns are generally thicker and shorter than those of the steer or ox.
Bull-beef is the poorest eating of all beef, especially an old, poor, worn-out bull. They are always heavy-fleshed, especially in the neck and buttock. The color of the flesh is sometimes almost black, usually tough, with a strong rank scent or flavor, especially when it is fresh killed; although some months in the year a fine, fat young bull will keep hunger off, but will never be choice eating.
All animals should be killed when they are in the coolest state, or when respiration is the least active. Their flesh then will keep much longer fresh, and be more beautiful, sweet, and healthful; but when killed in a heated condition, or immediately after a hard drive, the flesh will take longer to cool through, spoil sooner, and the flesh and fat will have a feverish, dark look (caused from its being full of blood), and of course it will not be so inviting or considered so healthy.
The animal for beef, after having been killed and dressed, is called a carcass of beef; the one-half (a hind and fore quarter), a side of beef; and the separate quarters, a hind-quarter of beef and a fore-quarter of beef. The same terms will also apply to mutton, lamb, veal, pork, or, in fact, to almost all animals.
The whole carcass, before being "split down," or divided through the back, has been occasionally roasted whole, here, as well as many other places, usually to celebrate some great event. I have witnessed several public occasions in this city when the roasting of an ox was one of the great features, which, of course, took place on some public ground, and, five times out of six, part of the carcass would be invariably spoiled or tainted, as it appeared almost impossible to apply the heat so as to roast the inside of the thick parts; and the consequence was, that it would be about half-roasted--some portions burnt, and the greater part heated just enough to make it turn sour or spoiled, and, of course, unfit to be eaten. No doubt, large iron spits
or skewers could be introduced or forced through the thick parts, which, when properly heated, would produce the desired object.
The first account of an "Ox-Roasting," which has come under my notice, would now seem a very curious and expensive affair, as it happened in the latter part of the year 1727, on the "King's Birthday," in the then fashionable city of Bath, England. This account is found in the New York Gazette (January 29, 1728), which ushers the day in as follows:
"At four o'clock in the Morning, the Bells struck out; a Bonfire was lighted, and a whole Ox set a roasting, with a Quantity of Liquor, and Huzzas to his Majesty's Health. At 6 the Drums beat the young Gentleman Volunteers to arms; by 8, an Hundred and Sixty assembled themselves together at the Colonel's House; by 10, they were ready to march, but first every Man drank a Glass of Brandy to his Majesty's Health. The Officers were extremely rich in their Apparel--Velvet, Embroidery, Gold and Silver Laces; the Men with fine Caps, Cockades, Holland Shirts, Silver and Gold Ribbons, Shoulder-knots, fine Scarlet Cloth Breeches, richly laced white Stockings, red Tops to their Shoes; the Slings to their Pieces had this Motto: 'God save King George the Second.' By 12, they marched through the best part of the town, with two Sword-Bearers, a sett of Morris-Dancers, and Martial Musick before them; then came to the Market-place, where they drew up in Order for Fire. Wine was brought, and every Officer charged his Glass; the King, Queen, and Royal Family went round distinct, with a Volley at each Health; the Glasses were thrown over their Heads; and in other parts of the town they did the same. Then Captain Goulding repeated this Verse, extempore:
- In spite of Legions of Infernal Devils below,
- To ye Powers above, supream Divine.
- Let George in the Center our Standard be,
- And his Queen the great Caroline
"One Colonel Edward Collins, that keeps the White-Hart Inn, and Captain Thomas Goulding, Jeweller in the Walks, Captain James Warriner, Bookseller in the Walks, Lieutenant Collins, Woolen-Draper in the Churchyard, Lieutenant Taylor, Sword-Cutter in the Churchyard, and three more young Gentlemen of the Town-Officers, which makes 8 in Number, that gave the Ox and all the charges thereto. They drew to the Beef when roasting, with Handfuls of Silver, each Officer, and obliged the Cook to stuff it into the Shoulders and Neck; and Captain Goulding, Jeweller, stuffed above an Hundred true stones into the Buttocks of the Ox, several Diamonds, Rubies, Saphires, Emeralds, Garnets, Amethists, and Topasses. At two, the Ox was ready, brought to the Table, put into a Dish 12 Foot long and 6 wide, made on purpose. They dined in the Public Market-House; but the stuffing made the Mob so furious that they flung themselves over the Heads of the Officers, into the Dish, and stood over their Shoes in Gravy; and one was stuffed into the Belly of the Ox, and almost stifled with Heat and Fat. The Grease flew about to that Degree which made the Officers quit the Table, or all their Cloaths must have been Spoiled. They stopt and looked on their Proceedings till three; then they all Marched to the Colonels, and staid till four. They went out again on their Procession. At five, the candles begun to light; at 6, the town was illuminated. They went into the Colonel's Quarters, near Seven, with Huzzas--'King George for ever!'--where there was great Quantities of Wine and Beer drank to his Majesty's Health, and all his loving Subjects in his extended Dominions. At Eleven, the Drums beat 'Go to bed, Tom!' and all departed in Peace after Pleasure."
The following figure represents the form of a Spayed Heifer, which is found marked with lines, numbers, and letters, showing where the several joints or parts of the animal for beef are taken from, and how to cut the quarters up in the common manner--as cut in the city of New York. Those marked with the letter S are commonly used for
steaks of the best, middling, and poorest kinds. The numbers on the top of the back denote the number of ribs in each "roasting-piece;" while those numerically numbered
FIGURE OF A CHOICE ANIMAL FOR BEEF.An illustration of an animal with numbered sections relating to various cuts of beef. See text for description of numbered sections.
designate the common name of each part, as used in the cities of New York and Brooklyn, followed by those of Boston and Philadelphia--the two latter, however, as near as can be given, from the marked joints in the foregoing figure.
| New York and Brooklyn. |
Boston. |
Philadelphia. |
| 1. S Hip sirloin or thick sirloin. |
Part of the rump or hook bone. |
Pinbone sirloin. |
| 2. Second-cut ribs or middle ribs. |
Second prime-ribs. |
Middle-rib cut. |
| 3. S. Small end sirloin. |
Sirloin. |
Sirloin. |
| 4. First-cut rib or first rib-pieces. |
Fore-rib or first prime-rib. |
First-rib cut. |
| 5. Third-cut ribs or thick ribs. |
Third prime-rib. |
Third-rib cut. |
| 6. First-cut chuck ribs. |
First chuck-rib. |
Best chuck-rib |
| 7. S. Second-cut chuck rib. |
Second chuck-rib. |
Chuck-rib cut. |
| 8. S. Cross rib. |
Leg or shoulder-of-mutton piece. |
Boler-piece. |
| 9. S. third-cut chuck rib or chuck-piece. |
Chuck-piece. |
Chuck-piece. |
| 10. S. Rump of beef. |
Aitch or edgebone (part of). |
Tall end rump. |
| 11. Socket or face rump. |
Rump (part of). |
Rump-piece (part of). |
| 12. First-cut round. |
Round. |
Round. |
| 13. Second-cut round. |
Leg ran. |
Round (part of) |
| 14. Top of sirloin. |
Thick Flank. |
Cut with Sirloin Steaks. |
| 15. S. First-cut neck or neck-piece. |
Neck-piece. |
Neck-cut. |
| 16. S. Second-cut neck or neck-piece. |
" |
" |
| 17. Plate-piece. |
Rattle-Ran or Runner piece. |
Plate-piece. |
| 18. Navel-piece. |
Navel end of brisket. |
Thin end of brisket. |
| 19. Brisket-piece. |
Butt end of brisket. |
Thick end of brisket. |
| 20. Shoulder clod. |
Clod (part of). |
Clod (part of). |
| 21. Flank-piece. |
Thin flank. |
Flank. |
| 22. Third cut neck or neck-piece. |
Neck-piece. |
Neck. |
| 23. Leg of beef or leg. |
Shank. |
Leg. |
| 24. Shin of beef or shin. |
Shin. |
Shank. |
In presenting the above names, as it were, belonging to each city, I was somewhat puzzled to procure, from numerous inquiries, those which appeared to be the most common ones; although there were some which all appeared to agree upon, then again, no two were alike; some had been always used to one name, while others had another, and if I had given all it would have been quite difficult for the buyer, or even the seller to have become reconciled to the large number, so I concluded to adopt those which appeared to have
the most intelligent friends. I also found that many foreign butchers had not only brought their countries' customs of cutting up meats, but also their names of the joints; and then, again, there were others in the same markets who have different ways of cutting, and they also have adopted names which appeared to have been known only to themselves. I have, however, a hope that the following wood-cuts may assist the eye to distinguish the most prominent of the above-named joints, and also to know how to use them, or, rather, what dishes they are severally and generally used for; and, therefore, we will proceed to cut up, first, the different quarters of beef.
The hind-quarters are usually considered the choice quarters, as from them are cut or taken the large and famous "Baron of Beef," which the English hold in the highest estimation as the crowning dish for the Christmas dinner. This joint is seldom prepared in this country, but it is cut much like a saddle of mutton; that is, by leaving the two sirloins together; when being dressed, the hind-quarters of the animal are not separated, but cut so as to saddle or baronize them, by taking off the buttocks, rumps, sockets, tops of sirloins, and a part of the suet, which leaves almost a square-looking piece, first known in England as the baron of beef; and this enormous piece is roasted whole.
The principal dish, from time immemorial, for the sovereigns of England at their Christmas dinner is the "Royal Baron of Beef."
In an English print I read that "it was this year (1854) cut from a fine Highland ox, fed by Prince Albert, and weighed eight hundred and forty pounds. It was put down before an enormous fire on Saturday afternoon, and for fourteen hours was watched and basted by relays of assistants under the head cook, after which it was trimmed and decorated, with the holly and mistletoe apparently sprouting from the outside fat of the meat."
I also find the following advertisement for the Christmas festivities: "A Baron of Beef will be roasted on Wednesday next at the Merchants' Dining Rooms, Lancaster Buildings,
Exchange-street, East Liverpool. Will be placed on the table at one o'clock," etc.
In this city I have found several instances where this great dish was prepared and served, and a few of these evidences of the fact are now in my possession in the shape of old bills of fare. About the first found on my list was given by William Sykes, who kept one of the best public houses at the period of which this "baron of beef" was given, then called the "New York Coffee House," and located at the corner of William-street and Slote-lane (Beaver-street.)
This took place on the 8th of October, 1823, in honor of the union of the Erie Canal waters with the Hudson River, on which occasion he served up "a 'baron of beef' measuring nearly four feet in length, and weighing one hundred and twelve pounds. It was placed upon a marble slab and surmounted with a white silk flag, bearing the arms of the State, and painted for the occasion." Then at the Agricultural Society's dinner, which took place on Friday, the 31st inst. following, at a place called "Mount Vernon," located on the East River, just above the (Youle's) shot-tower. Another "baron of beef," weighing but one hundred and nine pounds, was furnished by Thomas Gibbons, No. 60 Fulton Market.
The year following (1824), the corporation gave a dinner, on Monday, the 5th of July, in the City-Hall, when a large baron of beef was on the table; and the next year they gave another, quite as large as the previous one, on Monday, the 4th of July. I am also much indebted to Charles H. Webb, Esq., the almoner of St. George Society, who informs me that this Society has had several barons of beef served up at their Anniversary dinners, which were principally prepared by Mr. and Mrs. William Niblo. The following incident will show one of the mistakes which occurred with perhaps the largest and finest baron of beef ever prepared for, or attempted to be roasted in New York, or elsewhere. This, no doubt, occurred from the anxiety of Mrs. Niblo to outdo all former efforts of giving this choice piece in the greatest perfection. She gave the order
and her instructions to Mr. Andrew C. Wheeler (butcher, No. 19 Fulton Market), that it should be the largest and finest that he could procure. It was taken from a very choice animal, and, when trimmed, weighed some two hundred and eighty pounds then sent to Niblo--who then kept his famous garden and hotel corner of Broadway and Prince-street--the day before the grand dinner of the St. George Society was to take place. The same night, late, Mrs. Niblo was about to put it down to roast. She found it so large and unwieldy that she could not spit it, let alone roast it; so, about midnight, she sent for Mr. Wheeler, who came, and, after cutting some one hundred pounds or more off of it, they were enabled to get it spitted, and near enough to the fire to commence this great roast for the next afternoon's dinner. They had, however, almost given it up in despair before they succeeded; but it was said that it was superbly cooked and served up, as every thing else was with which Mrs. Niblo had to do.
Dividing the baron of beef exactly through the centre of the loins, or back-bone, produces two sirloins--a name which has become extensively known and commonly associated with this choice part of the carcass. It is said that the name originated with Charles II., who jocularly knighted that part of the animal Sir-Loin.
We will again turn to the different quarters of beef, and show the most prominent joints marked on the figure separately; but perhaps a brief explanation, showing how and where to obtain these joints, which to cut off first, and how to handle or lay the different quarters in the most convenient way to separate or cut them up, is first in order.
The hind-quarter is first laid down on a strong table, back down; the buttock and flank, together, are first separated, the other part turned over on the other (suet) side, when the knife divides the rump-piece from the sirloin. These two pieces--rump-piece and buttock--will be subdivided hereafter; in the mean time, we will show that, if the sirloin-piece is wanted or sold for the use of hotels
or steamers, it is either sent whole or cut into roasts or steaks, as desired.
The Boston and Philadelphia butchers, after cutting off the buttock and thin-end sirloin, are prepared to cut their fine rump-steaks, which are much the same as our sirloin-steak, only cut more across the hip (or pin) bone. Many of them remove part of the bone.
We will now divide the sirloin-piece into portions suitable for families who want roasting-pieces, which are cut of all
MIDDLE-CUT SIRLOIN.An illustration of a cut of beef.
sizes: the thick part, containing the hip-bone, will give the largest piece, while the small end cuts two small pieces, say from eight to twelve pounds each. The best of these is shown in the above figure, and usually called the "middle-cut sirloin."
The other part, adjoining the ribs, is usually known as the thin-end sirloin, being much like the middle-cut sirloin, but with less tenderloin, and is sometimes preferred for a small family, or those who seek it for its close proximity to the prime ribs. It is also cut up into small-loin or porter-house steaks.
The thick part of the sirloin, by cutting off a few round-bone steaks adjoining the rump side, contains the largest part of the tenderloin, or filet-de-bœuf, which forms a large and choice piece for roasting, from twelve to twenty-five
pounds in weight. This piece is shown in the figure below, and usually known as the "hip-sirloin."
This choice part of the beef is sometimes termed the thick-end sirloin; and, when it is not used for roasting, it is cut into three kinds of the finest dinner-steaks, all commonly called sirloin steaks, but separately. The first and
HIP-SIRLOIN.An illustration of a cut of beef.
best, containing the largest quantity of tenderloin, is shown in the figure on following page, and known as the "hip sirloin-steak," of which there are but two or three in one sirloin.
Next in order is the "flat-bone sirloin-steak" (shown in figure on page 43), of which there are about the same number as the "hip sirloin-steak." This is followed by the same number of the "round-bone sirloin-steak" (shown in figure on page 44), which is cut up to the socket-bone or socket-piece. This latter steak makes an excellent beef-steak-pie, beef-tea, minced collops, etc., as it contains more lean than either of the preceding-named steaks.
I am much indebted to Henry W. Dunshee, Esq., for the following "Origin of Beefsteak:"
"The discovery of the chief sources of human enjoyment has all been attributed to some fabulous origin in the ancient world. The story of that important feature of dinner,
the beefsteak, was thus given in the middle ages:--Lucius Plaucus, a Roman of rank, was ordered by the Emperor Trajan, for some offence, to act as one of the menial sacrificers to Jupiter; he resisted, but was at length dragged to
HIP SIRLOIN-STEAK.An illustration of a cut of beef.
the altar. There the fragments of the victim were laid upon the fire, and the unfortunate senator was forcibly compelled to turn them. In the process of roasting, one of the slices slipped off the coals and was caught by Plaucus in its fall. It burned his fingers, and he instinctively thrust
them into his mouth. In that moment he had made the grand discovery that the taste of a slice thus carbonaded was infinitely beyond all the old sodden cookery of Rome. A new expedient to save his dignity was suggested at the
FLAT-BONE SIRLOIN-STEAK.An illustration of a cut of beef.
same time, and he at once evinced his obedience to the emperor by seeming to go through the sacrifices with due regularity, and his scorn of the employment by turning the whole ceremony into a matter of appetite. He swallowed every slice, deluded Trajan, defrauded Jupiter, and invented the beefsteak! A discovery of this magnitude could not be long concealed; the sacrifices began to disappear
with a rapidity and satisfaction to the parties too extraordinary to be unnoticed. The priests of Jupiter adopted the practice with delight, and the king of Olympus must have been soon starved if he depended on any share of the good things of Rome."
ROUND-BONE SIRLOIN-STEAK.An illustration of a cut of beef.
Broiling Steaks.
--In the early part of the nineteenth century, when travelling by the stage-coaches was the fashion, Mr. Southmayd, my neighbor, says: "Travellers going to the eastern cities and towns--Boston, New Haven, etc.--and those who travelled much, were always anxious to
reach New Haven, to enjoy a good broiled beefsteak. A man, by the name of Butler, kept a public house in that town, in Chapel-street, and, about that time, was famous for his delicious steaks, which he always cooked or attended to himself. You would find him, with his white cap and apron on, before a heap of live hickory coals, in front of the great wide old-fashioned chimney, having a long handle attached to a large double (hinged) gridiron, and a fine steak fastened up in it, so that he could keep the steak turning, first on the one side then on the other, that not a drop of the fine gravy should drip off. When done, it was dished up, and placed steaming hot before the hungry travellers, who never failed to do ample justice to the efforts of the cook, who, by these means, built a reputation, as well as a fortune, by the knowledge of broiling a beefsteak."
The rules adopted by the celebrated "Beefsteak Club," organized in England, in 1734, were thus represented:
"HOW TO COOK A BEEFSTEAK.
- "Pound well your meat until the fibres break;
- Be sure that next you have, to broil the steak,
- Good coal in plenty; nor a moment leave,
- But turn it over this way and then that.
- The lean should be quite rare--not so the fat:
- The platter now and then the juice receive.
- Put on your butter--place it on your meat--
- Salt, pepper; turn it over, serve and eat."
The small-end sirloin, when not called for roasting, is cut into "small loin steaks," vulgarly known as "porterhouse steaks," which are represented in the following wood-cut under the head of "small loin steaks."
The origin of the name of "porter-house steaks" took place about the year 1814, in the following manner:
Martin Morrison was the proprietor of a long-established and well kept "porter-house," located and known at that period at No. 327 Pearl-street (New York), near the "old Walton House." We introduce him in 1803, where we find small loin, or porter-house steaks.
SMALL LOIN, OR PORTER-HOUSE STEAKS.An illustration of a cut of beef.
The opens a "porter-house" at No. 43 Cherry-street, which became a popular resort with many of the New York pilots for his prepared hot meals, at any hour, at their call, they being occasionally detained on shipboard until their vessels were safely moored.
The "porter-houses" in those days were not so devoted to tippling, dram-drinking, and the common nests for the loafing, or the manufacturing of politicians and corrupt officials as at the present day, but rather to accommodate the hungry and thirsty travellers, old and young bachelors, sea-men, and others with a cold lunch after the English custom--"a pot of ale [or porter] and a bite of something." Some "porter-houses" prepared a hot meal of one or two dishes, among which was Morrison's, who must have been quite famous for his excellent broiled beefsteaks, which were universally called for at his place.
On one occasion (at the above period, 1814), Morrison having had an unusual call for steaks, he had cooked his last steak, and, as fortune would have it for all future partakers of beefsteaks, an old favorite but a rough pilot, made him a late visit, both hungry and thirsty, having been several hours without food. Not caring for the salt junk aboard the vessel which he had piloted in, he concluded to wait until he got on shore, that he might cast his anchor at Morrison's,
where he could enjoy his "hot steak and mug of porter."
In his honest language the pilot gave his usual order. Morrison had nothing but his family dinner for the next day, which consisted of a sirloin roasting-piece, of which he offered to cut from if the old pilot would have it. "Yes, my hearty, any thing--so long as it is a beefsteak--for I am as empty as a gull!" exclaimed the pilot. Morrisan cut off a good-sized slice, had it dressed and served, which the pilot ravenously devoured, and turning to the host (who had been expecting a blast from the old tarpaulin, but who, to his astonishment, received the order): "Messmate, another steak just like that--do you hear?" Having finished his steaks and the second mug of porter, the old pilot squared himself towards his host, loudly vociferating, "Look ye here, messmate, after this I want my steaks off the roasting-piece?--do ye hear that?--so mind your weather-eye, old boy!"
It was not long after this when the old pilot's companions insisted upon having these "small loin steaks" served to them. Morrison soon discovered that these steaks were more suitable in size to dish up for single individuals, and he ever after purchased the sirloin roasting-pieces, from which he cut off these small steaks as they were called for, the large sirloin-steaks becoming less in demand.
Morrison's butcher--Thomas Gibbons--in the Fly Market, one morning put the question, after he (Morrison) had selected several sirloin pieces, "Why he had ceased purchasing the usual quantity of sirloin steaks?" Says Morrison, "I will tell you the reason: I cut off from the sirloin roasting-pieces a small steak which serves my pilots and single patrons best; but as it is now cold weather, I wish to have these roasting-pieces cut up as I shall direct every morning." After this, Morrison's sirloins were daily cut up by Mr. Gibbons, with his order to "cut steaks for the porter-house;" hence the sirloin was changed into "cut the porter-house steaks." Their appearance attracted the attention
of other butchers and keepers of porter-houses, who admired their appearance and convenient size; in a few years their name and character became quite common to the butchers of the Fly Market, from which the name has spread to the several principal cities of the United States, and I doubt not that the name, porter-house steak, has reached across the Atlantic.
Tender-loin (or filet de bœuf). This most tender portion of the beef is taken from the under or kidney side of the whole sirloin, behind the suet, stretching along the inner loin or backbone. It commences at, and connects with the round-bone steak, extending to the thin-end sirloin, and seldom weighs above ten pounds when all taken out. It is much thicker and broader at one end, gradually tapering to the other, and measuring from sixteen to twenty inches in length. It is considered the most tender, and by many the choicest part of the animal, and therefore always commands an extra price.
The reason of the tenderness of this choice bit is, that it is so situated in the animal while living, that the uses of this flesh or muscle is little called into action, and lies well warmed and protected by the fat on one side, and on the other by the backbone. It is found that those parts of the animal's flesh are tender which are not brought into wear and tear by the ordinary movements of the animal, of which it would seem the back, the loin, and the rump appear to have the least straining, and therefore in those parts is found the tenderest flesh; on the contrary, the neck, legs, sides, and buttocks are brought into violent action by the physical efforts in walking, eating, lying down, stretching, rubbing, and other muscular movements.
The tenderloin is not recognized by the epicure as either being the sweetest or best-flavored meat. The cause of this will be readily understood when it is known, as already stated, that this muscle is not used as much as are the other sweeter portions of the beef; hence, the blood flows more sluggishly through its substance, with the consequent less
nervous force brought to bear upon it. We therefore find, while the tenderloin possesses the attribute of tenderness, it must be recognized as being flabby, or soft, or deficient in tone or firmness compared with the glowing life-giving essentials observable in the meat of ribs, rumps, and the top side of the sirloin, and other outside portions of slaughtered animals.
The animal which is kept housed, especially in a small dark pen, often breathing an impure atmosphere while fattening,
SOCKET-PIECE.An illustration of a cut of beef.
will not produce well-flavored flesh; but it certainly will be more tender (in consequence of the inaction, from being penned up and forced into quietness) than that which is taken from the animals fattened and exercised in the free
open air, upon the same food. In fact, wild animals, which range and fatten upon the hills and mountains, always produce flesh the sweetest, as well as of the highest flavor, and
RUMP OF BEEF.An illustration of a cut of beef.
certainly the most healthy for human food. It would appear that the genial warmth of the sun, the pure mountain air, and the short sweet mountain-grasses, produce their influences in perfecting and sweetening living things, whether animal or vegetable, intended for our sustenance.
The whole rump-piece is usually divided into two or more pieces. The first, or that which joins on the sirloin, is called the face-rump, or "socket-piece" (shown in the figure on preceding page). The other part is known by the common name, "rump of beef" (shown in the above figure).
When this piece is divided through the centre streak of
fat, cutting about half-way across the dark bone, on the left side of the fat, the smallest piece on the left side is called the edge-bone (aitch, H, itch, or adze bone), and the other side the tail-end-rump, or "rump-piece." From the rump of beef are also cut pieces for doube, bouilli, stewing, potted beef, fricandeau, etc., and, when left whole, is one of the best joints of corned beef.
The buttock, cut large or full, by cutting off the flank and fat, forms three pieces for smoking, viz., inside piece, outside piece, and veiny piece; the first is generally preferred, although the latter is the most tender. This leaves a large leg of beef. Or the buttock can be cut into two rounds of beef--the first and second cuts. The second cut is usually smaller and not so good as the first cut. They are used for à-la-mode, à-la-doube, bouilli, stewing, and for corning.
ROUND OF BEEF.An illustration of a cut of beef.
The parts remaining, being a small veiny piece and the thick part of the leg of beef, are used for soups, etc., after having been cut into pieces across the marrow or leg-bone.
The buttock is often prepared by some "old-country men" for a Scotch ham,by taking off the flank, the veiny piece, and removing the whole of the leg-bone; it is then
cured in a sugar and spice pickle, after which it is bound hard with cord, when it is either hung to dry or lightly smoked, and is then generally used as smoked beef.
If the buttock is cut for a Scotch ham or smokers, the leg, when taken out, will have the marrow-bone attached, and assume the appearance of the following figure.
LEG OF BEEF.An illustration of a cut of beef.
Top of Sirloin.--This piece is known by some as the "thick flank," being a connection with the flank and the sirloin--a piece without bone, quite tender, and well mixed with fat; used for corning, stewing, etc. The flank is either turned on the round of beef, or the fat trimmed off, when the lean parts are excellent for stewing, etc.
MIDDLE RIBS.An illustration of a cut of beef.
The fore-quarter being now ready, is laid upon a bench or block, ribs or inside down. It is then cut down on the
chuck side, close against the large prominent shoulder-bone, which is sawed through, and the shoulder-clod is cut off. The other part of the quarter is then divided, leaving the ribs and chuck in one piece, and the plate, navel, cross-rib, and brisket in the other. We next separate the two latter from the plate and navel (after counting four ribs under the cross-rib), and follow on by cutting off the brisket, and separating the navel from the plate-piece They are then ready for cuisine.
There are thirteen ribs in this quarter, nine of which are cut off from the chuck: the first seven of which are called prime ribs, and are cut into the choicest roasting-pieces, by
FIRST CUT RIBS.An illustration of a cut of beef.
subdividing (if not sold whole) into three or more pieces. The first ribs begin from the thin-end sirloin, and are always
the smallest and most suitable for a small family; which, when required, it is usual to cut two ribs--first and second (or first, second, and third)--which are called the "first-cut ribs," a representation of which can be seen on the preceding page.
The next ribs--third and fourth--or representing the third, fourth, and fifth as the "middle-cut ribs," or "second-cut ribs," are illustrated on page fifty-two.
And the last two (sixth and seventh), the thickest part of the prime ribs, are called third-cut ribs.
THIRD-CUT RIBS.An illustration of a cut of beef.
Each of these prime ribs is considered by many epicures to be the finest and best-flavored pieces of the animal, not
excepting the sirloin. These choice pieces are usually roasted, although the first and second cuts are sometimes used for rolled beef, having all the bone taken out and skewered into a round form, when it is used for à la mode, or occasionally roasted in this form.
The last of the nine ribs (eighth and ninth) are known as the first-cut chuck rib.
FIRST-CUT CHUCK RIB.An illustration of a cut of beef.
Although it has a thin point of the shoulder-blade through it, yet it is supplied with more flesh, according with the bone, which makes it a profitable and good piece, both as to price and quality.
The chuck contains the last four ribs (making thirteen in all) running under the shoulder-blade, and the neck-piece makes up the balance of the chuck.
These chuck ribs are usually divided into pieces of one or
two ribs each. The first two--tenth and eleventh--are called second cut chuck rib.
SECOND-CUT CHUCK RIB.An illustration of a cut of beef.
A very sweet, juicy eating-piece of beef, not quite so tender as the first-cut chuck rib, but as well flavored. This joint sells at a much less price per pound. The next cut, being the twelfth and thirteenth, or both ribs together, is usually known as a "chuck piece," or chuck rib. These pieces are not quite so good, but having the blade taken out (as all others should be that have it in), and a piece of nice fat or suet placed or skewered in, makes an excellent piece to "roast in the pot," à la mode, potted beef, bouille, for mince pies, soups, etc.
When four of these chuck ribs, with the neck end, are left together, it is known as a chuck, and ofttimes this whole piece is cut into and sold as chuck steaks; the first of them, when from a choice animal, are next in quality to the sirloin steaks, being as well mixed or marbled with fat, and are equally sweet and juicy.
The balance of the chuck, or rather neck-piece, is usually divided into three or more pieces. The first, next to the chuck, is called first-cut neck-piece, and so on. These pieces are excellent for a sweet, strengthening soup, or mince pies, bolognas, etc.
The cross-rib (which the English call leg-of-mutton piece), is a profitable and good piece, very fair for a plain roast, one of the best for stewing, à la mode, bouille, and for what some of our "old-fashioned folks" call "roast in the pot."
The brisket-piece is much used by the French for bouille, soup, and a very good piece corned or salted.
The plate-piece (in Boston called rattle-ran) is commonly used for corned or salted beef,
and the best for pressing. Many butchers roll it--after taking all the bones out--with sugar, spice, etc., then tie or skewer it up in a round form. After being well cured it is known as Scotch roll, a name given it by the author. It is an excellent dish when cold.
The navel-piece (or thin-end brisket) is much used for the same purposes as the plate and brisket pieces. These three pieces are used principally for salting, packing, exportation, and shipping uses.
SHIN OF BEEF.An illustration of a cut of beef.
The shoulder-clod, or clod, when cut in pieces, is principally used in soups, bouille, etc. The meat is juicy
and tender, with a nice marrow-bone in each piece, except the thick end, sometimes known as "Old Tom," although it contains a large bone, which, though hidden from view, is excellent for a rich soup.
The shin of beef, which is represented on the preceding page, is taken from off the clod; it is fit for nothing but stock for soup. When well and properly boiled, it makes a rich, gelatinous soup.
The sticking-piece is also taken from the clod, but of late years is seldom taken off. It is used principally for mince-pies, stews, soups, etc.
Half-bison (or buffalo) heifer.--An animal of the half-breed, or cross of the bison bull and Durham cow, was slaughtered by me in the month of October, 1855, and for further particulars the following extract is taken from the
FIFTH AND SIXTH RIBS.An illustration of a cut of beef.
"Transactions of the American Institute," page two hundred and nineteen of the volume for 1855.
"This animal's age was between three and four years
--live weight nearly one thousand seven hundred pounds. The four quarters (dead) weighed nine hundred and forty pounds (rough fat one hundred and twelve pounds--hide seventy-five pounds). On the hump the fat measured three and one-half inches, on the loin two inches, and cut beautifully marbled. (See figure of the fifth and sixth ribs.)
"Her color almost black, with tan-colored long hair on her shoulders, and also long hair under her chin and at the fetlocks; with the turn-up horns, round nose, and the wild flashing eye of the bison. When fastened up in a large pen she was so cross and vicious that no person dare go in the pen with her, and when a red object presented itself, whether a shawl on a lady or the red shirt of a workman, she would become very much excited and pitch directly at the object, or as far as she could go.
"Colonel De Voe reported that he had sold all her 'beef,' without giving an opinion either in favor or against the eating qualities, but wished those to whom he sold cuts to report on this point after having partaken. There were but two who reported unfavorably, some ten or twelve who thought 'they never eat finer flavored or more tender beef,' and a very large number, among whom was Lieutenant-General Scott, reported that the 'beef' was very high-flavored, with a taste of game, but not so juicy as our first-quality beef."
VEAL.
THE calf, after it is slaughtered and dressed, is called veal; but, unlike the ox or steer, in the dressing, our regular butchers seldom take off its skin until the day it is to be placed on their stalls for sale. It is retained on the carcass for the purpose of keeping the flesh moist, bright, and clean.
Selecting the various calves to produce the best veal, I have placed them in the following order:
| 1. Heifer-calf, |
from 4 to 6 weeks old, fed wholly on milk. |
| 2. Bull-calf, |
" " " |
| 3. Steer-calf, |
from 6 to 10 weeks old, fed partially on milk and meal. |
| 4. Heifer-calf, |
" " " |
| 5. Bull-calf, |
" " " |
| 6. Steer-calf, |
from 10 months up to yearling, fed as above. |
| 7. Heifer-calf, |
" " " |
| 8. Bull-calf, |
" " " |
The age of the calf not being less than four nor more than six weeks, produces the best veal, if properly fed and in a healthy condition. At a less age veal is not fit for food, as the flesh is flaccid, gelatinous, and watery. When calves are wholly fed from the cow, and range between the age of four to six weeks, they produce what may be called milk veal, being the most white, tender, and delicate, and considered the choicest eating of all other veal. After six weeks the calf requires more food than the mother can produce: the milk of another cow, or a little meal, grass, or hay, is also given. This change of food, with advance of its age, of course, materially alters the character of the flesh, both in quality and color, which becomes darker, while the
fat is more yellow and the meat less juicy. When turned out and wholly fed on grass (grass claves), the flesh is rendered poor, dry, tasteless, and usually dark-colored.
An illustration of an animal with numbered sections representing various cuts of veal.
| 1. Loin of veal |
5. Breast of veal. |
| 2. Leg of veal. |
6. Calf's head. |
| 3. Shoulder of veal. |
7. Calf's feet. |
| 4. Neck of veal. |
|
The above table was originally placed as a caption for the illustration of the animal with numbered sections representing various cuts of veal
Good veal should be finely grained, tender, and juicy, the fat firm and of a whitish color. If too white, the veal will show that the calf has been bled before being slaughtered--a process which may add to its appearance, but which deprives the meat of much of its juiciness as well as its sweet flavor.
The figure on preceding page represents a calf about six weeks old, and is marked out with lines and numbers, showing the different joints and their several names.
LOIN OF VEAL.An illustration of a cut of veal.
The hind-quarter of veal is the choice, and always commands the highest price. It is usually divided into two
parts when found on the butcher's stall, which are commonly called the loin and leg of veal. The figure on preceding page represents a loin of veal, which is the choicest portion for roasting, either whole or divided. It also makes fine veal chops, either for broiling, frying, or stewing, etc. When the loin is too large, it is divided into two small joints; the thin end is called "kidney-end," and the other "thick-end," and, by foreigners, the "chump-end."
We now turn to the leg of veal,
LEG OF VEAL.
which is sometimes used whole for roasting, or from it is cut the "fillet of veal," "veal cutlets," for fricandeau, force-meats, collops, etc. The fillet of veal is boned by the butcher, and is used generally for roasting, stewing, etc. The "knuckle of veal," being a part of the leg of veal after the fillet or cutlets are taken from it, makes a good light soup, a stew, or boil, etc.
The fore-quarter of veal comprises the shoulder, the neck, and the breast. The following figure represents a shoulder of veal,
SHOULDER OF VEAL.An illustration of a cut of veal.
with all the bone, or blade, taken out. It is a good joint for being stuffed to roast, and will answer for that purpose without boning. A small family can make two dishes from it, by having the blade taken from the thin end, for roasting, stewing, etc. The "knuckle," or hock-end, left with the flesh on, with the blade-bone, will make a good soup or stew, at a slight cost.
NECK AND BREAST OF VEAL.An illustration of two different cuts of veal. See the text for a description of the numbers 1 and 2 on the illustration.
The breast of veal is shown, on the left of the above engraving, connected with the "neck of veal," running from figure 1, directly down across the inside ribs, to figure 2. The breast is seen with the fat and throat sweet-bread attached, as it is usually dressed by the market-butcher. The sweet-breads are, however, sold separately.
Many persons prefer the breast of veal for roasting, stewing, veal-pie, and ragout; and it is sometimes boned, so as to roll, or a large hole is cut into it for the reception of stuffing, etc.
The neck of veal is used for stewing, fricassee, veal-pie (either pot or oven); and the best or rib end is preferred by the French and Germans for "rib chops" or "veal cotelettes"--(not "veal cutlets.")
The head, feet, haslet, sweet-breads, and other parts of the calf, are noticed under another head.
MUTTON.
THE flesh of sheep, when slaughtered and dressed, is known by the name of mutton: a single one whole, a carcass of mutton; many together, mutton carcasses.
The various kinds, ages, and sex of sheep producing the best mutton, are placed in the following order:
| 1. Wether (cosset), |
from 3 to 5 years old. |
|
| 2. Wether, |
" " " |
|
| 3. Wether, |
" 1 to 3 " |
|
| 4. Ewe (cosset), |
" 3 to 5 " |
never having had lambs. |
| 5. Ewe, |
" " " |
" " |
| 6. Ewe, |
" 1 to 3 " |
" " |
| 7. Ewe (young, breeding, but dry). |
|
| 8. Ewe, of any age. |
|
|
| 9. Stag sheep, of any age--young best. |
|
| 10. Back of ram, |
" " |
|
The age of the animal producing the best mutton appears to be between three and five years old. They are then better interlarded, or mixed with fat, through the flesh, when full fed, and if not driven too far will have a large kidney fat. The cosset wether is selected as producing the best mutton, because we find its temper and habits are more docile and gentle. It is usually better fed than other sheep, and it is rarely worried in or out of the fields, but rather treated as a pet around the house or barnyard; therefore we find its flesh generally in the best condition.
Young wether mutton, although usually tender, has not so much rich flavor and sweetness as the same kind when older or fully developed by proper feeding and age.
It is asserted by some that mutton is best immediately after being killed, or before the animal heat has parted from it. If so, I have not discovered it, and I have eaten from the same animal on several different occasions--when fresh and long killed-and have always found the fresh--killed
mutton taste much as it smells when dressing the animal, that is, what butchers call "woolly," or "sheepy," and never so sweet or tender as the long-killed, or that which has hung the longest in clear, cool air, where the flesh has not been permitted to dry too much or become tainted; the fibre then has become tender, yields easily to the powers of mastication, and, while much of the fresh, thin, tasteless juices or water are dried out, experience shows that the thick, sweet juices are left.
The different breeds and feeding have also a great deal to do in producing the best qualities. A large-framed, coarse-woolled, fat sheep produces a coarse-grained, dry, and but indifferent-flavored mutton; while the middle-woolled, round, plump, thick sheep--generally found in the Southdown, Leicester, Cotswold, etc., breeds--produces the close-grained, tender, juicy, and high-flavored mutton, especially when they are allowed to feed upon the short, sweet grass of the hills and mountains, with the addition of proper stall-feeding afterwards.
A great deal of the mutton brought to New York City by the steamers from England, and paraded so ostentatiously at many of our first-class restaurants, hotels, etc., is generally no better than our best mutton, which can be procured from any of our first-class butchers, and more especially when it has been "hung." The principal advantage of the English mutton is on account of its being long-killed when it arrives here. I will not, however, say that we produce as much fine mutton, because I know we do not. The climate of England is more favorable, it never being so cold but that the sheep can be left out all winter, without being housed at all: in fact, I am told that these animals can eat the turnips out of the ground, where they are left for that purpose, while ours, to keep them improving, must be housed and well cared for, to produce this excellent meat in perfection.
Many travellers say that mutton is the favorite meat of the English people of all classes; it, however, is not so in
this country yet; but its consumption is gradually increasing, and, I think, quite as fast as the improvement and increase of the fine breeds of sheep.
General opinion confirms the fact that good mutton is one of the most wholesome, as well as the most easily digested, of all the meat kind, and therefore best calculated for invalids.
In choosing the best mutton, perhaps a few remarks may assist the unpractised buyer. The fat should be white, clear, and hard, the scored skin on the fore-quarters nearly red, the lean firm, succulent, and juicy, rather of a darkish red color, and the leg-bones clear and nearly or quite white.
Indifferent and poor mutton is seldom fat; but if so, the fat will have a yellowish appearance: and if the animal has been driven a long way, or diseased, the flesh will be flabby, the kidney-fat small, with a stringy appearance, and the lean seen through the skin on the back of a dark bluish shade.
The flesh of ram-mutton is usually found to be dark, close, and coarse-grained; the fat is of a darker (and some times of a yellowish) shade than that found in good mutton, while the flesh is softer and spongy, and rank in its flavor.
An illustration of an animal with numbered sections representing various cuts of mutton.
| 1. Leg of Mutton. |
5. Breast of Mutton. |
| 2. Shoulder of " |
6. Scrag " (end of the neck). |
| 3. Loin of " |
7. Flank " |
| 4. & 6. Neck of " |
|
The above table was originally placed as a caption to the illustration of an animal with numbered sections representing various cuts of mutton.
In dividing or cutting up a "carcass of mutton," it is usual, first, to split it through the backbone into two sides, and if the weather should be unfavorable for hanging them any length of time, it will be best to hang them separately, without quartering them. "In some parts of England," says the Westmoreland Gazette, "it is usual at Christmas for the farmers to kill each a sheep for their own use, on
SADDLE OF MUTTON.An illustration of a cut of mutton.
which occasion, when the butcher inquires if they want any meat against Christmas, the usual reply is, 'Nay, I think not; I think o' killing myself.' Last Christmas a butcher called on a farmer of his acquaintance in the usual manner, saying, 'Will ye want a bit of meat, or ye'll kill yerself this Christmas?' 'I nae not,' replied the farmer, 'whether I'se kill myself or take a side o' me father.'"
In the figure on page sixty-seven is shown the various prominent pieces, designated by the number of each piece.
The carcass is also often cut with the two hind-quarters together, and so hung up on the stalls, sometimes for weeks, if in weather fit for keeping it, or long enough to ripen it. This hanging of meats is a great loss to the butcher, from the effect of drying out the juices, thereby lessening the weight. An animal of eighty pounds weight, hung up for two weeks, will lose from eight to twelve pounds, according to the state of the weather, which loss, with the risk of sudden changes of either close, damp, warm, or muggy weather, should demand an increased price, or a proper allowance made for the loss on the original weight. There are some families, however, who have proper places, and buy their mutton fresh, when it is used as it is required.
When two connected hind-quarters, which I have designated hind-saddle, are ready to be used or cut for a saddle, they are hung by the right leg: then cut a part through the aitch-bone; and again, cut off the legs, either ham (as seen on the preceding page) or haunch fashion, which leaves the two loins together, and are know