Better Meals for Less Money Part 11

119.--PRESSED BEEF

Wash a four-pound piece of beef flank or any other of the cheaper cuts.

Cover with boiling water, bring to boiling point, and skim; slice and add two carrots, two onions, and one white turnip; cook slowly for four hours or until meat is very tender; add two teaspoons of salt when half cooked; pack meat solidly into a deep bread pan, putting the grain of the meat lengthwise; place pan in a shallow pan to catch the overflow, put an empty bread pan on top of meat, and press with two heavy flatirons; let stand in a cool place over night. Strain the stock, and use for soups or sauces.

120.--PRESSED CORNED BEEF

Select a four-pound piece of shoulder or lean end of brisket lightly corned; wash well, cover with boiling water, and cook slowly for four hours; pack and press as for Pressed Beef (see No. 119). The heat should not be above the simmering point (185 F.): if the water boils the meat will be tough.

121.--ROAST BEEF

The most economical cuts of beef for roasting are the shoulder, the face of the rump, and the chuck ribs; they are all of good flavor and fairly tender. When ordering a shoulder roast, have an inch slice cut off to broil. The chuck roast should be ordered boned and rolled, and the bones sent with it. Wipe beef with cheesecloth, place skin side down on a rack in a roasting pan suitable for the size of the roast; dust with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and cook in a hot oven, basting every ten minutes. When half roasted, turn over, dredge with flour, and finish cooking. For a medium-cooked roast allow seventeen minutes for each pound of meat. The oven should be very hot for the first fifteen minutes, after which the heat should be reduced.

122.--POT ROAST OF BEEF

A small aitchbone or a solid piece from the shoulder weighing about five pounds makes an economical roast. Wash, dry, season with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and brown quickly in a hot frying pan or Scotch kettle; place in kettle, half cover with water, cover closely, and cook slowly four hours; when half cooked, season with salt and pepper; add four small onions, two carrots, and one white turnip cut in quarters; when cooked place meat on platter with vegetables around it; remove fat from gravy, and thicken with flour mixed to a paste with cold water, allowing one-fourth cup of flour to two cups of gravy. Color with a few drops of kitchen bouquet if necessary.

123.--SHIN OF BEEF WITH CREOLE SAUCE

4 pounds shin of beef 1/2 onion chopped 1/2 onion sliced 1/4 teaspoon celery salt 1/2 carrot sliced 1/4 teaspoon paprika 2 cups tomato 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 green pepper chopped 4 tablespoons dried bread crumbs

Wash meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper; put into an iron kettle or earthen crock; add onion and carrot; cover closely, and bake in a slow oven four hours. Remove meat from the bone; skim fat from stock. Cook tomatoes, pepper, onion, and seasonings twenty minutes; add stock, crumbs, and meat. The meat cooks in its own juice and will be very tender.

124.--STUFFED SHIN OF BEEF

4 pounds shin of beef 1 small white turnip 1 onion 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 carrot 1 quart boiling water

Have the bone removed and cracked; finely chop vegetables and stuff into beef; place on a trivet in kettle with the bone; add boiling water, and cook slowly for four hours. Skim when necessary. Remove meat, and thicken gravy with flour mixed to a paste with cold water, allowing one-fourth cup flour to two cups gravy. Color with a few drops of kitchen bouquet.

125.--TO BROIL STEAK

Wipe steak, trim off superfluous fat, place on a greased broiler with fat towards the handle, and broil over a clear fire or under a gas flame. Turn four or five times during the first minute, and then occasionally. For steak an inch and a half thick, medium cooked, allow twelve minutes to broil. Season with salt and pepper, and spread with soft b.u.t.ter. A slice from the shoulder is a good and inexpensive cut.

126.--BROILED FLANK STEAK

Follow directions for broiling steak (see No. 125), but, as flank steak is thinner, broil only seven or eight minutes. Season with salt and pepper, spread with one tablespoon of soft b.u.t.ter and one tablespoon of tomato ketchup.

127.--STEAK COUNTRY STYLE

1-1/2 pounds flank steak 1/3 teaspoon salt 4 onions 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon flour 1/4 cup boiling water

Pound the steak with a meat pounder or a wooden potato masher to break the tough fibers. Sear quickly on each side in a very hot frying pan; peel and chop onions, dredge with flour, and put in pan with the steak; add salt and pepper; cover closely, and cook slowly an hour and a half.

Put steak on platter, add boiling water to onions, and pour around steak. Serve with hashed brown potatoes.

128.--BROILED CHOPPED BEEF

Put one pound and a half of any of the cheaper cuts of beef through the meat chopper; season with pepper and salt, and pat lightly into a flat cake an inch thick; place carefully on a greased broiler, and broil about eight minutes for a medium-cooked steak. Spread with soft b.u.t.ter.

129.--HAMBURG MEAT CAKES

1 pound beef 1 teaspoon salt 1 thin slice salt pork 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1/4 cup dried crumbs 1/2 cup milk

Use any of the cheaper cuts of beef; put through the meat chopper with the salt pork, add crumbs, seasoning, and milk; mix well, shape into small flat cakes, roll in flour, and saute slowly in beef drippings until brown, allowing ten minutes for each side. Remove meat to platter; add two tablespoons of flour to the fat in the pan, and stir until brown; add one-fourth teaspoon each of mustard, salt, and paprika, and one cup of boiling water. Stir until smooth, and pour around meat cakes.

One teaspoon of grated onion may be added to meat.

130.--BEEF AND BACON CAKES

1 pound flank of beef 1/2 cup water 3 slices bacon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs Dash of cayenne

Put meat and bacon through chopper; add crumbs, water, and seasonings; mix well, form into small flat cakes, and saute in bacon fat.

131.--BEEF LOAF

2 pounds shoulder tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs chopped 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 pound salt pork chopped 3 common crackers rolled fine 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 cup milk

Mix in order given and bake in a deep pan about two hours in a slow oven. Serve hot with Tomato Sauce (see No. 203) or Creole Sauce (see No.

191), or serve cold, sliced. One teaspoon of poultry seasoning may be added if desired.

132.--Ca.s.sEROLE OF BEEF

1 pound of shoulder tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs 1 tablespoon pearl tapioca 1 tablespoon flour 1-1/4 teaspoons salt 2 potatoes 1/4 teaspoon paprika 1 carrot 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup 1 onion Cold water

Cut beef into inch pieces, sear quickly in hot frying pan, dredge with flour, and put into ca.s.serole; cut potatoes into cubes or b.a.l.l.s; put carrot and onion through meat chopper; mix vegetables, and add to meat; add tapioca and seasonings, cover with cold water (a little of the water should be put into the frying pan to obtain all the flavor of the meat, and then added to the rest). Cover, and bake slowly two and a half hours. Any of the other cheaper cuts of meat may be used. Serve with spinach or cold slaw.

133.--CREAMED DRIED BEEF WITH CHEESE

1/4 pound dried beef 1 cup milk 1-1/2 tablespoons b.u.t.ter 2 tablespoons grated cheese 2 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons ketchup

Cut beef in small pieces, cover with boiling water, let stand five minutes, and drain; melt b.u.t.ter, add beef, and stir until hot; add flour and milk, and stir until smooth; add cheese and ketchup, and stir until cheese is melted. Serve with baked potatoes.

134.--AMERICAN CHOP SUEY

2 tablespoons bacon fat 1 cup cooked spaghetti 1 onion finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 pound flank beef chopped fine 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1 can condensed tomato soup