Economy in the Buying and Preparation of Meats Price Fifty Cents M. JL WILSON & CO. ir^v n« Economy in the Buying and Preparation of Meats ELEANOR LEE WRIGHT Director " Domestic Science Department Wilson & Co. Price Fifty Cents WILSON & CO. © 1917 Wilson \ Co. ■D INDEX ^ v\^ Foreword ! 1 Value of Meat 2 Selection of Meat 3 Planning Meals 4 Meat Cuts 5 Care of Meats 6 Principles of Meat Cookery 7 Tough Meats Made Tender 8 Cooking by Ear — Fuel Economy 9 Successful Seasoning 10 Sauce and Gravy 11 Utensils — Desirable Aids in Meat Cooking 12 A Bit of Thrift 13 Care of Cooked Meats 14 Oleomargarine 15 Side of Beef — Chart and Description 16 The Chuck — Short Cut 17 Navel End of Plate 18 Whole Chuck 19 Plate— Brisket End 20 Flank Steak 21 Shank 22 The Rump 24 The Round 25 Boneless Cuts 26 The Plate 28 The Flank 28 The Ribs 29 Beef Loin 30 The Short Loin 30 •The Loin End 31 Broiling 31 Miscellaneous Beef Recipes 32-35 Helpful Hints 36 Government Bulletins 37 Mutton and Lamb Cuts — Description and Recipes .. . .38-40 Cuts of Pork ■ 41 Sliced Bacon 42 Memorandum 43 The Wilson Label 44 Wilson's Majestic Poultry 45 Wilson's Majestic Hams and Bacon 46 Wilson's Majestic and Laurel Lard 47 Wilson's Canned Meats 48 Wilson's Oleomargarine 49 Wilson's Luncheon Delicacies 50 Wilson's Clear Brook Butter and Eggs 51 Wilson's Jams, Jellies and Preserves 52 Wilson's Canned Vegetables and Condiments 53 .••, : ©CI.A41:)4 8H7 The Wilson Label ProtectsYour Table BJ^|ll^||iBK=i FOREWORD CONSERVATION of food supplies is one of the most important problems confronting the world today. Under present conditions, food products must be bought with economy and utilized with care. We have prepared this book in the hope that it will help the housewives of America to purchase and use food products carefully and wisely. This cook book illustrates in a simple, practical manner the different cuts of meat, and tells in everyday language the most economical and appetizing methods of preparing them for the table. The cheaper cuts of meat heretofore have been neglected ; possibly because people considered them not good enough, or did not realize their high nutritive value. The suggestions here presented will be new to many a modern housewife, yet our grandmothers used these inexpen- sive cuts and relied upon them for some of their best dishes. The average grade of live stock today is much superior to that of ten or fifteen years ago. Consequently, when we use the cheaper cuts of meat, we have the advantage of this betterment in quality. For example, in considering meats, we naturally think of the loins and ribs. These constitute only a part of the meat available in the animal. It is obvious that if all the available meat is used properly, the total supply of meats will increase in proportion, and the average price will be lowered correspondingly. The charts and illustrations show you just how the cuts of meat look and tell you exactly what portions to ask for. They also show you the large percentage of excellent meat that is not being utilized by the average family. Our recipes tell you in detail the best way to prepare these cuts for the table. You can only take full advantage of this knowledge by doing your marketing in person. You must select your own meats if you expect high quality at a reason- able price. The average woman, in a very short time, will learn the different cuts of meat and their value as well. This applies to all food products, as well as to meats. We have compiled our recipe book along practical lines. We want it to be useful and helpful to those who have to make every penny count — to the family of moderate means — and to the more prosperous as well. So that you will save money and have better food, study this book and accept its suggestions in the spirit in which they are given. V^r xC*.^ — -TO President The Wilson Label Protects Your Table 1 MEAT is most important in our daily living. It is the staple food in the countries that show the greatest enterprise and energy. Eminent authorities all agree on the desirability of some meat as an article of diet. Meat is almost completely digested by a normal person; is always available, easy to prepare, and tastes good. The savory odors that arise in the cooking of meat arouse pleasant anticipation. The consumption of meat in this country is larger than that in any other nation; meat is cheaper here and of a better quality. We have been prosperous and use meat freely — often wastefuUy. Conditions demand that this waste be stopped; we are not asked to omit meat, but to use it intelligently. Economy means wise use, not denial. Very young and very old people require little meat; and it is required only in moderation by anyone. Amounts vary with individual conditions, occupations and habits. People who are undernourished lack resistance to ward off disease — those in prime health have the greater resistance. Meat has a higher food value than most vegetables. Thrift demands wisdom in the selection and use of foods — but to greatly reduce one's daily amount of actual nourishment is a dangerous thing. Economy is not incompatible with the use of meat. With forethought and care, we may practice conservation and still be comfortably fed. Proper feeding is essential for good work — underfeeding handicaps efficiency. Never before in history has the housewife had such an opportunity to help her country. Wise buying, careful prep- aration and sensible serving are necessary to take full advantage of this opportunity. Health must be conserved, bodies nourished, needs gratified and tastes pleased; all at a minimum cost. Many prejudices must be discarded by loyal people — that all foods may be utilized. Nature demands a certain balance; a lack in one element must be made up by another. When the meat supply is scant, the increased use of butter is immediate — indicating a doubtful economy. We pay a good price for meat, eggs and milk, but get full value for our money. No other foods repair bodily waste so perfectly. The digesti- bility of meat depends somewhat upon texture and fat, as well as upon the cooking, but the actual difference between various meats is slight. Meat is the most satisfying food that we place upon our table. I = ^M^ l ^m The Wilson Ubel Protects Your Table rfl|(il|^fa=J TRUE economy consists in knowing the nature of the various cuts of meat as to their proportion of fat, lean, bone and waste. If we eliminate fat, the edible meats vary little in their food value; the loins and ribs, which form about one-fourth of the weight of the cattle, represent nearly one-half the retail cost. The rational way to equalize the market is to use all of the meat, but the demand for center cuts of quality has so increased that the lower priced parts are sadly neglected. Yet experience in making soups shows that a greater amount of extract and flavoring matter is found in these cheaper portions. Meat economy may be practiced either by using the tough cuts of high quality meat, or the more tender cuts of meat from ordinary grades. The former method requires more care in the cooking — the latter furnishes less flavor. Each house- wife makes her own choice, but many will be glad of suggestions that cut down the cost of meats and supply nourishing dishes at the same time. Government inspection is a tremendous factor in the production of meat. The breeder knows that his cattle must undergo a most rigid examination by a number of government experts. These experts must be graduated veterinaries and pass a rigid civil service examination before they are admitted to the Government Inspection Bureau. These men are on hand to detect any indication of unsound meat before, during and after the stock is slaughtered. Our greatest insurance against unwholesome meat is the stamp of Government Approval, and only meat which bears this guarantee should be purchased. Immediate chilling follows the killing of the animal and the meat is kept from five to ten days in a sanitary cooler to render its condition perfect. The meat is then ready for the refrigerator of the retail butcher, where it hangs until placed on the block. The Government stamp assures us that the meat is from healthy stock, but it cannot go further and point out why one animal is finer than another — since, while all the meat is good, some is better. Meat should be heavy for its bulk, solid and firm. The bones of young animals are spongy and those of mature stock solid. Uncut beef is a deep red color; it turns brighter after it is cut and exposed to the air. The color of the fat may come from breed and feed, as well as from maturity — a creamy, waxy fat is preferable to a yellow, oily one; but fat there must be to indicate proper feeding. Lean meat supplies muscular tissue, but fat is needful for health and energy. Fat meats have finer fiavor in addition to their greater food value. Correct methods of utilizing fats form an important item of household economy. =@^^ppta The Wilson Label Protects Your Table ^J^^UP^ SATISFACTORY marketing can only be done in person. The order boy and the telephone are convenient at times, but do not prove economical in daily use. Some plan- ning should be done before going to market, but it may be de- sirable, when one sees what the retailer has in stock, to change these plans. Sensible women patronize reliable dealers and do not hunt for food bargains, which often are actually unsafe. A clean market means wholesome food and an insurance against doctor bills. Upon the choice of meat depends the choice of vegetables for the same meal, so the butcher should be visited first. We must not mistake cheapness for economy. Solid meat at 30 cents a pound is cheaper than half bone and half fat at 20 cents. Soup or stew needs bone for flavor — a pot roast may be boneless. We need variety in our diet, but this variety should be obtained by having a different menu each day rather than a large number of dishes at any one meal. The old fashioned idea of a table laden with all kinds of food is not considered good form today — since it leads to overeating, which is not only harmful, but deprives others of needed food. The good housekeeper takes "just enough" for her motto. She is neither extravagant nor stingy and well cleared dishes at the end of a meal are an indication of her careful planning. She has few left-overs, but those which she has, are carefully used at future meals. It is often desirable to cook enough of a certain food for two meals at one time, but it should not be all placed on the table at the first meal — as then no one is tempted to overeat and there is no hint of future service. The amount of foods necessary may not be calculated exactly at first — but experience will soon teach the housewife how to figure the correct amount required. Appetites are often made fickle by frequent repetition, careless cooking or a poor combination of different foods. Some attention must be given to fuel economy in planning a meal. The cook who uses the oven for one dish and the top burners for several others at the same time shows poor judgment ; her oven should be used at full capacity whenever possible. A list of standard dishes that the family likes is a convenience, although no set of menus, however helpful, can be exactly followed, as tastes and personal choice differ. In time of unusual conditions, however, we should all try to eat the foods that are available. Intelligent marketing, careful preparation, skilful cookery and judicious service are tasks worthy of any woman. The Wdson Label Protects Your Table THE cook, to use tough meats to the best advantage, must know how to utilize all the fat. The home rend- ering of excess fats and those remaining from cooked meat, cuts down the need for commercial fats and oils. The clarifying of used fats greatly increases their use. There is a world shortage of fats today, so that not an ounce should be wasted. Large bones should be cracked before cooking to get all possible flavor, gelatine and marrow out of them; this neces- sitates straining the liquid after the cooking is completed, so as to avoid all bits of bone. Meat trimmings, unless tainted, should be used with the bones to prevent waste. In fact, every part must be accounted for. The housewife should take advantage of the fact that tenderness, appearance, and convenience in cooking, rather than actual food value, largely determine retail prices. The facts are that the cheaper cuts of meat are by far the most economical from every standpoint. She can get the most for her money by purchasing tough cuts and serving tender ones through skilful methods of cooking. Either money cost or considerable labor must be put into food materials to produce perfect results, she who has more time than money finds it pays to spend time in her kitchen. Statistics show that over 30 per cent of the average modest income is spent for food, and these figures do not take into account any allowance for fuel or labor. This indicates the large amount of responsibility that rests upon the shoulders of the housewife. The prudent buyer considers the following points in choos- ing meats: (1) Quality, which includes color, grain and fat. (2) Method of cooking, which includes flavor, fuel and time. (3) Number to be served; also whether all the meat is to be used at one meal or part reserved for a second serving; the" possible use of left-overs. (4) The cost, which means not only the initial outlay but the total cost of fuel, time and additional material. It is a common belief that the cheaper cuts use enough more fuel to make the final expense equal. But this is absolutely untrue if the heat be properly regulated. Ten minutes' broil- ing of chops at a high temperature costs more than four hours' simmering of a tougher cut. Another popular, but mistaken, idea is that the shrinkage, due to long cooking, greatly exceeds that of short cooking. When cooked in the right way, there is little difference and no loss in flavor if the liquid and the meat are combined. f — IVll^j^yfai The Wilson Label Protects Your Table I Care of .9VI(?ats WHEN meat is brought into the kitchen, either by the de- livery boy or by the housekeeper herself on her return from market, the wrapping should first be removed and the meat weighed to check up the household accounts. Buy a pair of good scales; keep them in a handy place for in- coming supplies and use them. First weigh the plate or dish in which the meat is usually placed ; then weigh the meat itself and deduct the weight of the dish. Trim off any portion of the meat that looks unsound, or has a particle of odor. Divide the meat into the proper amount, if only a portion of it is to be cooked that day. Wipe with a damp cloth, or scrape the surface of the meat with a knife, but avoid washing it unless necessary, for juices are lost when meat is placed in water. When washing is essential, it should be done quickly and the meat wiped dry. Place the meat on a plate or other suitable container and put it in a cool place (but never on ice) until ready to use. Meat kept for some hours should be well covered. Almost any clean utensil may be used, either of crockery, aluminum or enamel ware; but iron and tin will rust, cracked plates absorb odors and chipped granite is unsafe. . The common custom of using any old dish for the pantry and the refrigerator is neither sanitary nor economical. Careless tooks put meat away without removing the paper in which it is wrapped and then wonder why the flavor is impaired and juices are lacking with the result that the butcher gets the blame for faults which lie nearer home. It sometimes happens, that owing to a change of plans, the meat purchased for use today must be kept over until tomorrow. If refrigeration is good, a days delay will cause no harm, but the use of a marinade is a wise precaution, especially since both beef and mutton are really improved by it. A modified French Dressing is prepared by blending a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice with two or three table- spoons of oil (olive, corn or peanut oil may be used) and adding a light seasoning of salt and pepper. If desired, a bit of bay leaf or onion may also be added, but if this is done, the meat should be tightly covered if placed afterwards in a f-efrigerator. The meat is placed in an earthen dish and thoroughly coated with this marinade and turned occasionally to dis- tribute the coating evenly. The amount of dressing necessary is determined by the quantity of meat with which it is to be used. The oil enriches the meat, the acid makes it tender and the combination protects the surface from the air and aids in preserving it; a good steak is made better and poor meat more palatable by this process. i The Wilson Label Protects Your Table I WE cook meat for one of two purposes — either for the meat itself or for soup; a combination of the two meth- ods is possible in a stew or casserole dish where meat and liquid are served together. Different methods of cooking meat depend largely upon the meat itself — tough fibres require an entirely different treatment from tender meat, but in every case the first con- sideration is to retain the juices. The larger the surface of the meat the more the juices are likely to be drawn out; that is why we cut meat into pieces for soup. The protein of meat is partly soluble in cold water and as we wish to secure as much of it as possible in the making of good soup, cold water is used. The meat should be allowed to stand in the cold water before heating until the liquid becomes red and then slow heat applied to still further draw out the juices. Tough meat and poor soup is the result of rapid cooking which hardens the albumin and retains the juices in the meat instead of allowing them to escape. A tender cut should be cooked at a much higher temperature than tougher pieces and the method employed in cooking any particular piece of meat depends upon its quality and the cut. Hence, a proper understanding of muscular fibre is necessary in selecting meat. It is quite possible to roast or broil a piece of meat that is hung a little too long, but meat for stewing must be fresh and sweet. If cost is not an object, the ribs and loins furnish flavor and nutriment together with meat in its most tender form. If we desire to retain the juices in the meat, we myst apply strong heat to harden the surface. This heat may be applied in several ways — by the direct heat of broiling over a flame; by radiated heat in a hot oven; by contact with hot fat or a heated utensil; or by immersion in boiling water. The result of intense dry heat differs entirely from that of moist heat. A caramel-like flavor is developed under dry heat at a much higher temperature than the boiling point of water. It is this special flavor that makes the pot roast richer than the boiled meat and gives steak the fine taste that is lacking in a stew. The flavor of meat is much improved if it is browned before boiling; this crisping or browning may include all or only a portion of the surface. To make a savory broth put part of the meat in cold water and heat slowly as in soup making; then add the brown parts for additional richness and simmer the whole until tender. If meat does not have sufficient fat to crisp in the hot pan by itself, additional fat must be added. The Wilson Label Protects Your Table I \EV Ooug^A meats mado Condor THE juices evaporate quickly in cooking unless the meat is protected by the fat. Brown meat well but avoid scorching if you value your digestion and your repu- tation as a cook. Boiling liquid surrounding a piece of meat holds in the original flavoring matter, but does not impart the additional flavor obtained by dry heat. The whole process of preparing the cheaper cuts demands time, care and attention to detail. Certain cuts are best adapted to certain dishes only and some cuts are adapted to various dishes; but the same general principle underlies the preparation of them all. We soften tough muscles by several different processes: (1.) Long, slow cooking (the most important way). (2.) Chopping or grinding, to separate the fibres. (3.) Pounding, to break the fibres. (4.) The use of acids, such as vinegar or lemon juice. (5.) Freezing or hanging the meat in a low temperature (Cold Storage); this develops acids which soften the meat without injuring it. Opportunity for variety lies in adapting these methods to the various cuts. Principles are far more important than formulas, since the inexperienced woman needs a recipe for every dish, while the careless will turn out a poor product with the best recipe. No given rule will always work out perfectly for ingredients differ in composition and quantity and conditions vary. Consequently, the methods of prepara- tion are more important than individual recipes. Cold storage, under proper conditions, is a great boon to the consumer. It keeps clean food clean at a temperature at which deterioration is impossible. If it were not for modern cold storage, the market would be flooded with needful foods at one season and without them at another. The average person has no conception of the wonderful value of the present system of cold storage which modern scientific knowledge has developed. The waste of food products would be appalling, if there was no way of keeping them at a continued low temperature. Chicago is the largest food distributing centre in the world and consequently has the largest cold storage plants. The Wilson Label Protects Your Table 8 Cooking hy Ear FuqI Economy IT IS a wise precaution to avoid a draft upon a kettle over a slow fire — for this reason, the back burner is a sen- sible choice. In a slow oven the flame is not exposed and once the burner is adjusted, the meat may be left in peace ; there is no need for watchful waiting. Repeated experiments in slow cooking with a tightly covered utensil show that the amount of fuel used is amazingly small. In fact, it is possible to keep liquid at the simmering point for any length of time desired without attention with a con- sumption of less than two feet of gas per hour. Other fuels show that comparative cost is always in favor of slow cooking. Oil and gasoline burners cannot be main- tained at as low a point as gas and the protection of an asbestos mat or thick iron plate is therefore advised to temper the heat. Wood and coal are harder 'to regulate for any extended period, and the results will never be the same if the meat boils hard part of the time and stops cooking entirely at other intervals. Steady continuous heat is essential for the best results. Fireless cookers serve admirably for this type of cooking and some of the latest devices in gas and electric ovens provide a fireless cooker arrangement that is almost human in its regulation. Too much emphasis cannot be laid upon the slow cooking method. Some cooks think nothing is accomplished without a "good fire" — the kettle boils merrily but the spirits of the family are sad, as good food has been wasted by being cooked too fast. The toughest piece of meat in the world can be made palat- able if it is cooked right. The cooking may take a long time, but when the meat is done properly, it will be tender enough to cut with a fork and yet compact when served. Additional flavors are helpful, close-covered kettles are desirable, ample time is essential; but the chief necessity is to cook slowly. The temperature that allows no breaking of the liquid into bubbles, but just a gentle rippling of the surface, will eventually soften the hardest tissue. There is a foreign saying — "The pot should only smile, not laugh," that sums up the whole matter. If one cannot smell the cooking or see the steam from the kettle, she may listen closely to satisfy her curiosity; a slight sound of bubbling is all that is needed to convince her that the good work is going on. Any woman can cook by ear and when she knows that all is well, she may leave her cooking for hours if need be, based on the knowledge that with such a low fire food canrjot burn, for it cannot cook dry. The Wilson Label ProtectsYour Table -a.' Succossful Soasoning WE have few meats but many flavors — consequently, by combining different spices and herbs one cut of meat has many variations. Ordinary meats are im- proved by good seasoning and fine ones made finer. Several materials in small amounts give better results than an excess of any one. Too much flavoring will ruin the food — just enough makes a common dish a success. In a well stocked pantry we find thyme, summer savory, marjoram, mace, cloves, sage, peppercorns, paprika, celery salt, bay leaves and nutmeg. Vegetables of all sorts should be utilized — the ends of tomatoes or carrots, or the coarse stalks of celery furnish flavor without added cost. Onion is almost indispensable in the cooking of meat, but when onipn is prohibited our next best flavor is celery. The leaves, root, or outer stalks are chosen and the better part of the celery saved for separate service. Onion juice is often preferred to the onion itself. Clean parings and unsightly bits of any vegetable may be utilized to pre- vent waste and improve taste. Garlic often arouses prejudice, but it has a wonderful flavor when carefully used. The least bit is all that is needed. Dried mushrooms are often substituted for fresh ones — the cost per pound is high, but only a small amount is needed when they are soaked and cooked. Beef extract should be in every kitchen — not only for warmed over meat which needs more meat taste, but also to enrich soups and sauces. F"or vegetable seasoning we depend upon the onion family, shallot, leek, scallions, chives and garlic; upon peppers, both green and red, and upon tomatoes, carrots, turnips, parsley and celery as well. Special dishes call for mustard, chili powder, curry powder, capers, ginger, horseradish, tomato paste, catsup, mush- rooms, raisins and vinegar of various kinds. Brown sugar will correct a dish, if it is too salty, but it is hard to remedy food that burns. Different fats may be used in browning meat, such as the fat from ham, bacon, salt pork or roast beef. These fats which give variety to the flavor are carefully saved by the thrifty cook. Squares of coarse cheesecloth or white mosquito netting are handy for tying up seasonings, so that they can be removed before the cooking is finished, and are particularly desirable for removing vegetables that would spoil the flavor of the meat if cooked too long with it The Wilson Label Protects Your Table 3 THE natural juices which flow from the roast or steak when carved are true gravies, but custom has applied the term "gravy" to the thickened liquid which is prop- erly known as the sauce. Care in making these sauces results in a smooth, pleasing combination, thoroughly cooked, well seasoned and served piping hot. Half cooked, lumpy, flavor- less sauces or gravies are unwholesome and wasteful. In cooking meat, we utilize the fat of the meat itself to enrich the gravy, while in made dishes, beef drippings or beef fat, cooked out of bacon, are used. Use meat fat when dishes are warmed over. Any one of the following ingredients — wheat, rice, or corn flour, corn starch, arrowroot, or bread crumbs may be used to thicken the gravy. Blend in a shal- low saucepan in the proportion of three tablespoons of flour and two tablespoons of fat to a cup of liquid. The liquid should be added gradually and the mixture stirred constantly as it cooks. The preparation takes a little longer when the liquid is cold; but the sauce is more certain to be smooth. The mixture should be stirred with a fork as it thickens, as the use of a fork, instead of a spoon, will prevent lumps. If it is hot desirable to cook the flour in the fat, or incon- venient to skim the fat from the stock, the thickening in- gredients may be carefully mixed with cold water and stirred into the liquid. The liquid should be taken off the fire when the mixture is stirred in, as this will avoid too rapid cooking and uneven results. After the thickening is added, replace the dish on the fire and stir as it cooks. A third method is to mix the softened fat and flour smoothly in a bowl, blend with a little of the liquid, add to the stock and cook until the gravy thickens. If a rich brown sauce is required, the meat fat is first well browned in a heavy pan, then flour is added. The whole is browned carefully, and the liquid poured in gradually. It is necessary to use a little more flour in this method, as browned flour does not thicken as much as ordinary flour. If there is no stock on hand, a substitute can be made. by cooking bits of vegetables in water, and seasoning with beef extract. Milk may be substituted for the stock in some meat dishes. Thickened gravies which boil for some time are apt to separate, and the fat comes to the surface. This fact is utilized in making gravy for people with poor digestions, since the fat can be entirely removed before serving. If gravy accidentally boils and separates, add a few spoonfuls of boiling water, stir vigorously, and it will be restored to its former smooth con- sistency. TheWflson Label Protects Your Table ^ m >r 11 HJcsirahle aids in JMoat Cookijx^ MlkUim\ MANY choice pieces of meat are spoiled by cooking in unsuitable utensils; consequently the butcher sometimes gets the blame when the trouble is in the kitchen. Kettles, that are too large, waste fuel. Kettles should have close fitting covers and flat bottoms broader than the flame under them. The shape of the kettle should depend upon the kind of fuel available, and its size upon the use to which it is to be put. Aluminum is easy to clean, holds heat, and is always safe. The lack of seams in aluminum cooking utensils is an advantage. Iron also holds the heat, and is very satisfactory. A heavy frying pan should be part of the equipment of every kitchen. A revival of old customs is shown in the "EXitch Oven" or the iron kettle with an iron cover. Enamelware, unless of good quality, is not desirable. Food has a tendency to stick to it, and cheap enamelware chips easily. High grade tinware is a better investment than cheap granite ware. Copper and nickel are too expensive for the average kitchen and need great care in their use. Earthenware, in the form of a casserole, is deservedly pop- ular. It can be used for many dishes, holds heat well, is easy to clean and does double duty as a cooking and serving dish. The regulation dish, glazed inside and out, is suitable only for use in the oven; but the brown or red clay dish which is dull on the outside can be used on top as well as inside the range. This is a great help in fuel economy. With the protection of an asbestos mat, such a dish may be used over a low flame for hours with perfect results both in flavor and food value. The fireless cooker is adaptable to slow cooking of all sorts. It saves time and attention during the process, but requires an earlier start. Portable ovens of various kinds save fuel and do away with extreme heat in the kitchen in summer; the flavor of baking is far better than when foods are cooked directly over the fire, as the whole surface is equally heated. Covered roasters are well adapted for braising, and for preparing similar dishes. In addition to these various dishes, a cook requires good knives and a knife sharpener, a meat grinder, a heavy cutting board, wire rack or trivet, skimmers, wooden spoon, strong meat fork, quart measure, basting spoon, coarse and fine strainer. Reliable scales are a sensible investment, and a set of steel skewers has many uses. The Wilson Label Protects Your Table 12 "Jkrift THIS story of a piece of brisket beef illustrates the possi- bilities of inexpensive meat. The amounts given are for a small family, but maybe readily increased for a large one. A generous three-pound piece of brisket beef costs 50 cents, and it may be cut so as to give almost two pounds for serving whole (see recipe for brown brisket, page 20), and the re- mainder, cut up and cooked with a quart of cold water and various seasonings, will make a good soup. The piece of meat to be used in soup making should be cooked in a tightly covered kettle, with a low flame for about five hours. The fuel cost will be a little over a cent, and there will be no loss of liquid. The meat and fat are then removed from the bone and separated while still warm — then set aside to cool. The broth will make the foundation of a fine vegetable soup, or the popular onion soup with cheese. For the latter, the onions are sliced thin and cooked in a small amount of water, or no liquid at all. They should be cooked with a tight cover, over a low fire. Slices of bread are toasted, covered with cheese and put into the oven, or under the flame, to melt the cheese. The onions and the broth are put into deep soup dishes, with a slice of the cheese toast on each one, and the result is a delectable dish, which will be eaten with relish by the whole family. The meat remaining from the first meal and the soup meat can be chopped together and used as hash, meat balls, or in any other way preferred. Served with a little gravy, they will furnish the main part of another meal. All pieces of fat should be put into a covered kettle with a little water and cooked until the bits are crisp and the fat clear. The cooking should be watched to avoid scorching. When the cooking is complete, put through a fine strainer, and the result is a cup of rendered fat, and a cup full of fat scraps for future cooking. These scraps, when salted, will make a fine sandwich filling, or can be added to gravy for baked or boiled potatoes. Thus the three pounds of brisket beef, yield one meal of fresh meat, one hearty soup for the main part of a dinner, one reheated meat dish, one service of fat scraps, and one cup of rendered fat. While considerable labor is involved, yet the cost of this meat has been very low. How many women are willing to give the time and thought to these simple but important economies ? Each one must answer for herself. Every housewife who is at home serving her country can accomplish such a saving, and every little bit helps. The Wdson Label ProtectsTour Table 13 WHENEVER possible, the bone and the fat should be separated from left-over meat as soon as the meal is finished, as this can be done easier and better while the dish is still warm. Roasted or boiled meat mav have bone, which still contains value, and this bone can be cooked, together with the parts that cling to it and with other trimmings, a second time, for stock. The meat should be pur in some utensil that prevents it from drying out. Containers, of either enamel or red clay, are good — since they are unbreakable and useful for reheating. Plates or shallow dishes are a poor choice. The meat should be packed solid, covered with the stock, if any is available, and then put away as soon as possible to cool. Cooked meat should be used up as quickly as possible in hot damp weather; dry heat is not so hard on food materials. Salted and smoked meats keep better than fresh meats, and for this reason are often chosen for slicing cold in summer. Jellied meats should not be kept over 24 hours in hot weather or two days in cold as they offer a fine field for bacteria. A serious handicap to economy in the use of meat is the unreasonable prejudice against reheated meat. Flavor and fat are often lacking to be sure, but food values remain; consequently in preparing dishes for cooked meat, it is well to add other seasonings, and enrich the dish with fat in some such form as sauces. By cutting meat small or chopping it up, the portions are more easily heated and the flavors better distributed. So far as possible the flavor in the second service should be quite different from that of the original service. Continued heat and high temperature should both be avoided, as they toughen meat and make digestion difficult. With these facts in mind, it is possible to prepare a variety of excellent dishes from cooked meat, and several kinds of meat can often be used to advantage at one time. It is an error to warm over a choice steak — if good at first, it will be good cold, or sliced in thin strips for luncheon or supper. Reheating steak spoils its fine flavor. The various steamed dishes may be substituted for those to whom fried foods are forbidden, and hash is undesirable. They are convenient when it is impractical to use the oven. Turned out of a mold and covered with a good sauce, they are attractive and palatable. No thoughtful woman will serve the same meat at two successive meals. Under favorable conditions (cold weather, or with a good refrigerator) she may even avoid repetition the next day. A meatless dinner — fish or fowl — may be used in between times to afford variety. The Wilson Label Protects Your Tabled 14 SH^'Art ' Gomavi^arino • a ■ THE importance of fat in the diet is not generally recognized ; but a moderate use of it is always necessary. Fat may be in the form of cream, milk, oil, butter or oleomargarine, or in the form of the fat of meat. The worker must have fat to do his work ; the child must have fat for proper development ; and all must have it for bodily need and for bodily energy. No sen- sible mother restricts the use of butter or oleomargarine as a spread for children's bread. Winter calls for additional fats in our food to keep warmth in our bodies. The poor in pocket are often poor in health for lack of sufficient fats. Good butter is high, cheap butter is unpalatable, and under these condi- tions, little butter is used. The clean, wholesome article known as Margarine or Oleo- margarine is little understood. Ignorance has classed it with renovated butter and the prejudice against it is not confined to those who lack education. The truth of the matter is that Oleomargarine, made by a reputable firm and sold under a dependable brand, is one of the cleanest and most wholesome food products on the market. Unlike butter, every pound of oleomargarine must stand gov- ernment inspection; the examination is rigid and the standard high. The better grades of oleomargarine are churned with milk or cream to increase richness, and give a butter flavor. Oleomargarine goes just as far as butter and keeps better be- cause there is less moisture in it. Consequently, there is an additional economy in its use. Scientific tests show that the difference in the food value of butter and oleomargarine is too slight to be taken into account in the average diet. Govern- ment experts and practical housewives both highly endorse oleomargarine as a wholesome and desirable, product. It may well displace butter in cooking and even where great economy is not a consideration, it is a delicious product to serve on the family table. It is better than cheap butter, and far safer. Most people like to know what they are eating, and they can be sure of purity and cleanliness when they use oleomargarine, for every ingredient contained in it is used on the table in some form or another. The theory that fats are hard to digest has been exploded. It takes more time to digest fat than some other foods, and fats are not readily assimilated by some individuals. Fried articles (foods coated with a layer of fat) are not easily digested; but generally speaking, fats that are not overheated or rancid can be thoroughly digested by any normal person. Excessive heating of fat form.s acids that are undesirable. The use of pastry, doughnuts, etc., is not advocated for a per- son with a delicate stomach; but a bland, weak fat, such as butter or oleomargarine, can be used universally. The Wilson Label ProtectsYourTablel i5 SIDE OF BEEF 1 CHUCK-Suitable for pot roasts, stews, casserole dishes and spiced beef. 2 PLATE— Suitable for soup and pot roast. Cjenerally used for making corned beef. 3 SHANK -Used mostly for soups and stews; also for ham- burger steak. 4 FLANK — Practically a bone- less cut Can be used with very little waste Contains the flank steak Flank meat makes ex- cellent fKjt pie. 5 ROUND— A juicy cut, free from fat. The top (or inside) is used for steak and roasts The bottom (or outside) is best chopped. 6 RUMP — About one-third fat and one-half lean meat Gen- erally used for steaks, corning, braising and F>ot roast. 7 RIBS— There are seven ribs in tnis cut . About one-half is lean meat, one-third fat and one- sixth bone. The two ribs nearest the loin make excellent roasts. Ribs are always roasted. 8—9 — 10 LOIN — Contains the choicest steaks and is divided into two portions, the short loin and the loin end This latter cut contains the sirloin, pin- bone and porterhouse steaks. 1 1 CLOD— There is practically no waste in this cut. It is used principally for steaks and pot roast. 12 BRISKET — Used mostly for corned beef, also used for soup, pot roast and stew. 13 NECK— Good for mince meat; also as a brown stew Flavor and richness arc added by cook- ing with salt pwrk. THE hindquarter will average over one-half lean meat, one-thirci fat and one-tenth bone; the forequarter al- most two-thirds lean, one-fourth fat and an eighth bone. Some cuts of beef require special methods of preparation, while others are interchangeable. One suggestion as to cooking may apply to several different cuts. The loin and rib (all tender meat) comprise only about one-fourth of the side of beef. Beef may be juicy and have a fine flavor without tender- ness, hence the importance of a thorough knowledge of good cooking methods. Generally speaking, tender meat is in- dicated by the color, fine grain and the lack of connecting tissue. Tender meat is marbled with fat, firm yet pliable and easily cut. TheWikon Label Protects Your Table! J 16 ■ a THE CHUCK (SHORT CUT) The first cut from the shoulder — chuck — gives a good steak, cheaper than round steak. The round bone chuck is the first cut from the shoulder, and cannot be excelled for Al pot roast. The clod, which extends from the shoulder chuck into the fore-shank, is a boneless portion also suitable for pot roast or for braising. It has high value as solid meat, but requires fat in cooking to secure a balanced proportion. The chuck is economical meat, since it consists of about two-thirds lean, one-fifth fat and from one-quarter to one-eighth bone. Chuck has an excellent flavor, and is adapted to numerous methods of cooking. CHUCK ROAST— Score the fat side of the meat to prevent the skin from curling, and crisp each side quickly over the gas flame, or in a hot oven. Reduce the heat, baste the meat with the fat that cooks out — add salt, after it is well browned. Trimmings of meat with bits of tomato and celery, slices of carrots and onions added, cooked in a pint of water, will form a good stock. This stock can be cooked with the same heat, but in a separate utensil. The roast may have small potatoes (boiled ten minutes and skins removed) placed around it, the last half hour; or a Yorkshire pudding can be baked below it (the meat standing on a trivet.) An hour and a half is ample time to cook a me- dium six -pound roast. Brown gravy is made from the beef fat in the pan and the strained stock, with the addition of flour for thickening. POT ROAST— Use a EXitch Oven (an iron kettle with an iron cover) or a heavy frying pan well heated. Place the fat side of the meat down first; when well crisp^ed, turn and brown the other side thoroughly; season with salt, pepper, garlic and parsley. An onion with two or three cloves stuck in it may be browned lightly with the meat. The meat should then be cooked in the same utensil, tightly covered, or in the kettle from the fireless cooker. Let it simmer until quite tender, turning once during the cooking. Use no water as the tight cover will hold in all the moisture. Allow about an hour to a pound for cooking. Some cooks prefer to use a little water, but this is not necessary. Make a gravy of the brown fat, an equal amount of flour, and water or stock. Noodles or macaroni may be served in the gravy as a separate dish. SWISS STEAK— The steak should be cut at least two inches thick. Use a half cup of fllour for a slice of meat weighing two pounds and mix well with salt and pepper. Pound the flour thoroughly into the meat with a wooden potato masher, or the edge of a heavy plate. Heat one-fourth of a cup of fat, strained from ham or bacon, and brown the meat on each side in this fat. Then add a few slices of onions and one- half of a green pepper chopped fine, two cups of boiling water or part strained tomato. Cover closely and let it simmer for two hours, or cook it in a casserole in the oven. Swiss steak may be cooked without any liquid if preferred, as its own moisture is sufficient. The onion may be omitted or other vegetables added as desired. BEEF GOULASH— Cut the beef into cubes or slices and sprinkle with vinegar and a little summer savory. Add a teaspoonful of salt, and half teaspoonful of paprika ; cook six onions for each two pounds of meat, slowly, in one-fourth of a cup of oleomargarine. Add the cooked onions to the meat, cover tightly, and cook slowly for about two hours. The liquid may be in- creased just before serving by the addition of a little beef stock, or either sweet or sour cream. The Wikon Label Protects Your Table! m A #- 17 •D ■ NAVEL END OF PLATE The meat from the navel end is sometimes used for stew and pot roast, but more often it is corned. Corned and smoked meat are toughened by the process of curing, so they need longer cooking than fresh meat. Always place cured meat in cold water, heat gradu- ally, and skim the water when it begins to bubble. It is almost impossible to cook cured beef too slowly, as it is toughened by strong heat. A steam cooker or double boiler gives good results. CORNED BEEF— Wash the meat quickly and if it has been in brine longer than is desired, cover it with cold water and bring slowly to a boil, drain off the water and reheat with fresh cold water. As soon as the liquid bubbles, reduce the heat, add a few peppercorns, and continue the slow cooking (al- ways below the boiling point), until the meat is tender. At least one hour's cooking will be required on each pound of beef. Keep the meat closely covered during cook- ing and it will have to be turned when partly done, if the water does not cover it. Carrots, parsnips, turnips and potatoes can be added during the cooking if desired. Cabbage and meat should not be placed in the same kettle. Cut the cabbage into quarters, use some of the stock to cook it in to obtain a meat flavor. Vegetables can all be cooked in the stock without the beef, if the meat is to be used cold afterwards. Place the left-over meat that is to be served cold in the stock to cool. CORNED BEEF HASH— To one pint of chopped meat, add a pint and a half of chopped cooked potatoes. Use one-third of a cup of beef drippings combined in a frying pan, and add to this two tablespoons of minced onions. Mix the hash thoroughly with the fat and the seasoning, and add just enough water to moisten well (half a cup will be sufficient). Cover closely, and cook slowly for half an hour or until a brown crust is formed on the bottom. Loosen carefully from the pan and turn out like an omelet on a hot platter. If the oven is in use, hash may be baked either in a frying pan or in a shallow dish from which it can be served. For variety a cup of white sauce instead of water, may be mixed with baked hash, in which case less fat will be necessary for cooking. Garnish the hash with parsley. BAKED BEEF WITH VEGE- TABLES— Cut a pound and a half of round, chuck or flank steak into strips and roll in flour that has previously been seasoned. Prepare a cup each of sliced onions and sliced carrots. If the latter are old, first boil them for fifteen min- utes, drain off the water, blanch in cold water and remove the skins. Select a large baking dish or meat pan and put in alternate layers of the meat and vegetables. Add a half cup of diced salt pxark and a generous dredging of flour. Put in enough water to cover and bake for one hour and a half. Then cover with halved potatoes and bake until done. SAVORY BEEF — Cut two pKDunds of beef into pieces of a size for serving. Slice three large onions, place in pan and brown slowly in three tablespoons of lard. Increase the heat, add the meat and brown. Mix three tablespoons of flour with a teaspoon of salt, a fourth of a teaspoon each of black pepper, ground cloves and thyme, or sum- mer savory; sprinkle this mixture over the meat. Add a pint of stock (or boiling water and beef extract) — two tablespoons of vinegar and one tablespoon of catsup. Cover closely and simmer until the meat is tender. Allow two hours cook- ing for shank or plate beef, and an hour and a half for rump or round. The Wilson Label Protects Your Table IS WHOLE CHUCK The steaks cut from the chuck are juicy and well flavored. The lower part of the shoulder has little bone; but the meat is very fat. The distribution of fat and bone gives good results in stewing. Pot roast, stews, casserole dishes, and spiced beef may all be made from chuck beef. It is sometime corned also. Care must be taken when bones are cut away, that any small bits are removed before cooking. The neck makes good mince meat; or it can be served as a brown stew. It is also exceedingly good if strips of salt pork are run through the meat for flavor and richness. Chuck combines well with spaghetti or macaroni since the rich gravy supplies what the pastes lack. If the meat has been cut up before cooking, the gravy will be better, and the -serving can be done to better ad- vantage. CHUCK STEAK WITH ONIONS — For a two-pound .steak, slice five or six onions — in water to avoid tears, arid drain thoroughly. Place the onions in a shallow aluminum saucepan, cover clo.sely and cook over a slow fire for fifteen or twenty minutes, until they are tender. Use no water or fat, as the onions con- tain both moisture and richness. When the onions are done, uncover them and let them brown slightly if preferred, but they are more digestible without browning. Heat a frying pan smoking hot, and brown the steak quickly on both sides; reduce the heat and turn the meat frequently until it is cooked through. Season the steak and salt the onions. Serve the meat on a platter with the onions around it. Add butter or oleomargarine if desired. POT ROAST WITH VEGE- TABLES — If the meat is not in a solid piece, skewer or tie it into shape, wipe it with damp cheese- cloth, and roll in flour. For three to four pounds of beef, prepare a cupful each of cut carrots, onions and celery or turnips. Boil these in enough .salted water to barely cover, until soft, then rub through a coar.se strainer or puree sieve. Heat three tablespoons of fat (preferably from salt pork) in a frying pan or Dutch oven — put in the meat and brown on all sides. If the frying pan is used, transfer the meat after it is brown, to a casserole or kettle, unless the pan is deep enough to hold the beef. Pour the vegetables and their liquid over the meat, together with any preferred seasoning. Cover tightly and let simmer slowly for four or five hours, turning twice. Thicken the gravy a little, season as desired, and pour over the meat. Parboiled potatoes may be added at the last. BEEF STEAK PIE— Cut a chuck .steak into narrow strips, place in a kettle with enough boiling water to cover, and let it simmer for half an hour. Tie in a square of cloth: a bit of garlic, half a bay leaf, and an onion stuffed with two cloves, a sprig of parsley, six peppercorns Add this together with salt to the meat, and thicken the stock (allow three tablespoons of corn starch to a pint of liquid.) Place the kettle on an asbestos mat to keep sauce from sticking. Add a cup of sliced carrots, four halved potatoes and a cup of celery cut into strips (all parboiled). Some dried mush- rooms soaked and drained, improve the flavor. Simmer while making the pastry. Then remove the bag of seasoning — put all in a baking dish with a rolled crust over the top and sides. Brush with milk and bake forty minutes, cover- ing it with heavy paper as soon as it is brown. The same ingredients may be cooked in a casserole with- out the crust. i..'i%^.fkA.ii The Wilson Label Protects Your Table sk^^h=i 19 ■ ■ a PLATE— BRISKET END The brisket gives the streak of lean and streak of fat that the epicure demands in fine corned beef. Smoked brisket is excellent. As the texture of brisket is closer than that of the navel end, the brisket takes longer to cook. Fresh boiled brisket is good, hot. cold, or warmed over — in fact it deserves more attention than it usually gets. It can be boned and a good stock made from the bone, with the addition of seasoning The solid meat can be braised with salt pork for flavor, with stock for moisture, and vegetables. Several hours are needed to prepare this dish The vegetables should be added when the meat is partly done. The brisket can be sliced, pounded in flour, browned in drippings, and stewed in stock with potatoes and parsnips in acasserole. These "One Piece Dinners" are economical, since they save labor, fuel and service. BEEF BRISKET, boiled and browned — If the piece has a large amount of bone, some of this may be removed to use for soup stock, or to furnish gravy to be used with the warmed over meat for a second service. Cook the solid part of the meat until tender, with a little celery salt and a bit of garlic added, turning it once during the cooking, which will take from four to six hours according to the amount of meat used. Remove meat from liquor and place it in a shallow pan with the skin side up and score across the top several times. Have boiled potatoes in readiness (either hot or cold) and drop them into the kettle to take up a little of the fat, then place them around meat and brown all in a hot oven for about twenty minutes. Make a gravy with the remaining liquor and serve it separately. The meat will slice as firmly as cheese, and be tender and appetizing. BRAISED BEEF— Cut the meat into cubes and brown in frying pan with rendered beef suet or drip- pings. Use strong heat — stir meat so i^ will coat quickly and not lose its juice. Tender cuts can be cooked whole. Remove the pieces to a closely covered kettle or casserole that can be used on top of range (unless the oven is heated for other cooking). Rinse the pan with a quarter of a cup of boiling water to save all browned bits, and pour over meat. Cover tightly and cook slowly for two hours. Chop one onion, one carrot and a few sprigs of parsley, and cook five minutes in two tablespoons of butter; add half a cup of diced celery and a cup of chopped tomatoes. When heated thoroughly, season with salt and paprika and pour over meat. Con- tinue the cooking for another hour and serve meat with the vegetables and boiled rice or grits as a side dish. BRISKET WITH ONION SAUCE — Wipe the meat with a damp cloth, and tie it into a compact shape with strips of cloth. Place it in a deep kettle with boiling water (or part of the stock if possible). Add a soup bunch, several cloves and pepper- corns. Simmer until tender, add salt when partly cooked. Take the meat from the liquid, remove the cloth, and place the meat in a shal- low baking dish. Beat one egg and spread over the beef, then sprinkle with coarse crumbs, and brown under a flame or in a hot oven. For sauce — for a three pound piece of meat — cut up half a cup of green onions and cook these with two tablespoons of oleomargarine. Brown slightly. Stir in two table- sp)oons of flour, add a cup and one- half from the stock of brisket, and a tablespoon of minced parsley. Keep the sauce over hot water, or in a double boiler, until the meat is finished. Pour the sauce over the meat and serve. m. M^ M The Wdson Label ProtectsYourTablel 20 ■ FLANK STEAK The steak taken from the inside of the flank is quite juicy; but the fibre is long and coarse. Score each side with a sharp knife at close intervals in the same manner that the butcher does, to cut the tough particles. This scoring can also be done by special devices made for this purpxjse. A thick steak may be pan-broiled or baked quickly in a hot oven with good results. Butter, bacon or a savory sauce improve the dish If the thick steak is too large, the butcher will sell half of it, or the whole steak may be bought and divided before cooking to allow for a second service Flank steak is not as desirable meat to warm over as some other cuts, so that the extra piece of steak should be baked or steamed and then browned with vegetables or a spicy sauce. It makes a good stufiTed roll, as being boneless it is easily manipulated and slices to advantage. FLANK STEAK, baked— Score the steak and then place on a shallow greased pan (use enamel or earthenware if tomato is to be added for seasoning). Season the meat slightly, cover it with a thick slice of parboiled potatoes, then a layer of sliced onion, and then a layer consisting of a little minced parsley, green pepper and tomato — raw or canned. On this top layer, spread meat drippings or chopped bacon. Season and sprinkle with flour. Place in a hot oven and after ten minutes, add a cup of boiling x/ater and reduce the heat. Baste the meat several times during the cooking, which should take about one and a half hours in all. SCOTCH ROLL— Make a mix- ture consisting of half a tablespoon each of salt and sugar, one-fourth of a teaspoon of summer savory, a little pepper and ground cloves and one-fourth of a cup of vinegar. Rub this mixture in thoroughly, then roll up the meat into com- pact shape, secure it with twine or skewers, and let it stand over night. Simmer in boiling water for three or four hours, thicken the liquid with browned flour and fat and serve. FLANK STEAK, pan broiled — Put into a hot frying pan. Do not add any fat. Cook quickly at first, turning the steak as soon as it is browned, then reduce the heat and cook from five to ten minutes. The result is a juicy, palatable piece of meat. Place the meat on a platter. Put two or three table- spoons of water and a little beef drippings into the pan, bring to a boil and pour over the meat. Add pepper and salt to season. STUFFED FLANK — Make a pocket in a thick flank steak to hold the dressing, or if the meat is thin, fold one-half over the other and skewer together, after it has been filled. To make the dressing crumble one pint of bread, soften it with cold water and drain well after it is moist throughout. Season the crumbs with salt and pepper, onion salt and celery salt, a little poultry seasoning and two tablespoons of drippings. Pack the dressing closely into the meat, pat it into shape and bake for one hour in a covered roaster, or for an hour and a quarter in an open pan. In the latter case it is necessary to baste several times. A few slices of bacon placed on the top of the meat ten minutes before serving, improves the dish. FLANK ROLLS— Cut flarfk steak the length of the meat into inch strips and pound to uniform thickness. Spread with bread dressing, minced onion and a bit of bacon. Roll up each strip care- fully and skewer into shape. Cover them with flour and brown quickly in a little fat ; then add flour and a pint of water to the fat and simmer for an hour or more until tender. Remove skewers, strain gravy and serve. TheWdson Label Protects Your Table 21 SHANK Over one-third of the fore shank consists of bone, and the amount of fat is very small, so soup making is the logical use for this cut of meat. A solid piece of meat is first cut off from the top for Hamburg Steak or stewing. Bones and trimmings should then be cooked an hour or more before adding the browned meat, if the full flavor is to be obtained. Vegetables may be added during the last hour, and rice, dumplings, split biscuits or crust added at the time of serving, if the full meal in one dish is desired. For variety in flavoring, crisp salt pork, some dry grated cheese, or a little curry, may be mixed with the flour used in thickening, and will prove an agreeable addition. If there is more than enough meat for one meal, it would be well to sort over the pieces before serving, reserving the best pieces to use whole, and the balance for hash meat or some similar use. The hind shank contains valuable flavoring matter and the large amount of bone makes it desirable for use in the preparation of soup. The proportion of lean varies. From the top part a good pot roast may be prepared. The middle cut is the most economical. The shank meat averages high in protein and is good stewed and served with noodles or hominy grits Beef tea and beef extract are made from the shank. The former is of known value in the sick room; the latter is a great convenience in cooking. Beef tea as a food has been greatly overrated however. It has stimulating properties and is an aid to digestion but the strong meaty taste is deceptive. All of the flavor and much of the fat is extracted from meat in the proper preparation of soup but food value still remains in the solid portion of meat even though it may have lost half its weight through continued cooking. CHOPPED BEEF— The meat should not be ground until it is to be used, as ground meat spoils quicker than a solid piece. Chop- ped beef in the form of meat loaf, or steak, takes longer to cook than a solid piece of meat, and in serving cools more quickly. It may be run through the grinder two or three times, to vary the flavor and consistency. The meat needs fat and it is cheaper to grind fat in with the lean, than to add other shortening later. The strip of fat on the side of the shank may be fastened around the Hamburg before cook- ing. Meat should be shaped as thick at the edges as in the middle, so as to secure uniform results. Sour cream may be mixed with the lean meat before cooking if desired. A meat roll, if wrapped in oiled paper, retains its moisture. It is necessary to baste the wrapped loaf with fat and hot water to prevent the paper from bursting. SPICED BEEF. Short Method— A thick piece from the solid part of the shank is covered with diluted vinegar, seasoned with pickled spices. Let this stand for several hours. It is then brought slowly to a boil and the spices removed, a teaspoorf each of sugar and salt added and the meat simmered until it is tender. Half an hour before it is time for serving, make the following savory tomato sauce: Rub a piece of garlic over the frying pan, put in two tablespoons of lard (or olive oil if preferred) — then add a sprig of parsley, one celery stalk, cut fine, half a bay leaf, a bit of mace, a scant teaspoonful of salt, a finely cut green pepper, two cloves, a sliced onion and six cut tomatoes (or the equivalent in canned tomato). This sauce should be cooked until it is reduced, which will probably require about twenty minutes, then rubbed through a coarse strainer to remove the pulp. Drain off the liquid, place the meat on a serving dish and pour the sauce over it. BEEF BALLS WITH DUMP- LINGS — To a cup and a half of beef, put twice through a food chopper, add a third of a cup of bread crumbs, salt, popper, a tea- spoonful of lemon juice, a little SI The Wilson Label Protect s Your Table SJM!iBfeK=. 22 •D ■ nutmeg and a beaten egg. Shape into balls lightly, and let them stand for half an hour or more to become firm, then roll them in flour and brown in the frying pan with three tablespoons of lard or some salt and pork fat. Then add a tablespoon of flour to the remaining fat and a cup of stock (or water and beef extract). Season well, add this mixture to the meat balls and simmer in a closely covered dish for an hour and a half. DUMPLINGS — Use three tea- spoonfuls of baking powder to a cup of flour with a little salt and milk added — to make a soft dough. Steam the dumplings over boiling water. Drop spoonfuls of the dough on a greased perforated pie pan and cook 15 minutes without uncovering. A teaspoonful of the cooked marrow taken from the bone used in making meat stock and placed on top of the dumplings before steaming, improves them. SERVICE — The same materials will not yield both a rich broth and a juicy well flavored meat at the same time. Some form of fat, vegetables or seasoning to soup meat, produce a savory dish. Thus a well made soup, with croutons, serves one purpose, and the meat (with its deficiencies sup- plied) serves another. Left-over soup meat may be ground fine and seasoned to form potted meat for a luncheon or for use in sandwiches. It keeps for several days if packed solid in a jar and covered with melted fat to exclude the air. Excel- lent meat balls may be made from minced soup meat or it may be spiced, pressed in a mold and served cold. SOUP MAKING— Wipe the soup shank with a damp cloth, crack the bones and cut the meat into pieces. Place bones, meat, fat and marrow in a large kettle, which has a tight fitting cover. Add cold water in the proportion of a pint to each pound of material, if you desire rich stock, and a quart per pound if you desire light stock. Let it stand for one-half hour, then heat very slowly to the bubbling point, and add salt. Other seasonings may be tied in a cloth and left for an hour or two in the stock. Vegetables should not be cooked too long with the soup stock, as over cooking develops a rank flavor. If clean materials are used, no skim- ming is needed; since this makes clear soup, but takes away some of the nourishment. The soup should simmer from four to ten hours ac- cording to ingredients used, and the strength desired. Fuel cost is small if the gas flame is kept at its lowest point. The vegetables should be removed, unless the soup is to be served at once. Quick cooling aids in preserving the quality. The fat which forms on top should not be removed until the stock is to be used, as the solid cake of fat acts as a preservative. In warm weather stock should not be kept over twenty-four hours; in cold weather it can be kept for several days. If the stock is to be used immediate- ly, all fat should be removed. The fat that cannot be taken off with a spoon may be absorbed by blotting paper or a soft cloth. Greasy soup is exceedingly unpal- atable. The bright color in a good brown soup is obtained by browning part of the meat before adding it to the stock. BEEF SALAD— Boiled beef in salad form is often served for supper in warm weather. Soup meat will answer excellently for this purpose since the dressing gives it character and richness. The meat should be cut into cubes (not chopped) and seasoned with salt, pepper and mustard, which have been well blended with onion juice and moistened with a little beef stock. A mixture of lemon juice or vinegar and double the quantity of oil or thick cream will complete the flavoring. The whole dish should stand for an hour or more after the seasonings are added. Surround the meat with quartered tomatoes, cut celery, or cucumbers. Add a sprinkling of capers or mixed parsley, if desired. The Wilson Label Protects Your Table E ■ THE RUMP The beef rump consists of about one-third fat and one-half lean meat. The rump requires considerable trimming which increases the actual cost of the meat. As beef is cut in the east, the tip of the rump is an economical large roast and the middle cut of six or seven pounds is good. In western cuts, the rump is generally corned. It may be braised with vegetables in a covered roaster. After the initial browning it should be simmered at a very low temperature for an hour and a half for each pound of meat. The tough fibre may be broken up by pxjunding. Pounding in the old fashioned way meant lost juices; but when we pound in flour we accomplish the same purpose and save the juice. The flavor of the meat is improved by a stock made from bones and trimmings and the use of spices and vinegar makes the meat more tender and also improves its flavor. SMOTHERED BEEF— Take a solid piece of meat from the clod or the rump and dredge with flour, salt and pepper. Then brown well in a heavy pan. For a three- pound slice of meat, cut three large onions into slices and brown them lightly in three tablespoons of oil. If oil is not available, drippings may be used. Add a little salt and two tablespoons of mild prepared mus- tard to the onions ; place the sauce over the meat together with a tea- spoon of celery seed and a cupful of strained tomatoes, or half a can of tomato soup. Cook slowly for three hours or more on top of a stove or for six hours in a fireless cooker. BEEFSTEAK AND KIDNEY PUDDING— Cut one pound of beef into inch cubes. Wash a beef kidney thoroughly — remove all the membrane and cut it into eight pieces. Add this to the beef and roll all the meat in seasoned flour. For the crust use three cups of flour, two teaspoons of baking powder, a little salt and three- fourths of a cup of beef suet chopp>ed fine and free from skin and shreds. Mix to stiff paste with cold water. Roll the crust out thicker than pie crust, line the bottom of a bowl or baker with it. Put in the meat, season with onion juice and add water to within two inches of the top. Moisten the edge of the crust, cover the dish with the rest of the paste and press well together. Wring out a large cloth in boiling water, flour it, place it over the top and tie it down. Set the pudding on a trivet in boiling water or cook in a steamer for two hours and a half. Remove the cloth and cut a hole in the crust before serving. BEEF A LA MODE— Allow half a pound of firm fat salt pork for a compact chuck or rump roast of about five pounds. Cut the pork into small strips and roll in a mixture of one teaspxxjnful each of ground cloves, allspice, cinnamon, black pepper, summer savory, thyme and salt. Make deep cuts in the beef with a sharp knife, and force the strips of pork into the cuts or else run the pork in with a larding needle. Cover the surface of the meat with the balance of the spices and place it in a deep earthen dish. To one and one-half cups of vinegar, add two bay leaves, a bit of mace, some chopped parsley and onion — scald — and when cool, pour this sauce over the meat which should then be tightly covered and set aside in a cool place. It should be turned morning and night for several days and then boiling water added to barely cover. Let it simmer for four hours or more. The liquid may then be thickened and strained and served with the meat which will be very dark in app>earance but most savory in flavor. Potato Cancakes are usually served with eef a la mode. The Wikon Label Protects Your Table 3 ^> THE ROUND The round consists of about two-thirds lean meat and one-sixth bone. 1 1 is popular because it is juicy and free from fat and has a somewhat larger amount than have some of the other cuts. The top of the round (or inside) can be used for steak and roast; the bottom (or outside) is lower in price and is best utilized either chopped or for slow cook- ing. It makes inferior steak but is a good meat for a pot roast or for cooking in a cas- serole. It is sometimes corned. The round makes the best flavored beef tea. The house- wife exercises economy in buying a thick slice cut across the round — particularly in cold weather. A large thin steak loses more juice in cooking than a small thick one. The latter ma;' not look sufficient, but if it is equal in weight, it will serve as well. If the thick round is large, it will do for two services. A two-inch cut from the top of a round of fine beef can be broiled and sliced like a roast. ROUND STEAK, browned — Round steaks are usually pan- broiled. The pan must be very hot and the cooking done quickly to retain the juices. The meat should not be seasoned until after it is cooked. No fat should be added to the pan, but the addition of a little butter to the finished meat improves its flavor. Prompt serving is most important with round steak as it toughens by standing even for a few minutes. Round steak is sometimes cut in thin pieces, dipped in milk, then rolled in crumbs and fried in beef fat. An economical method of preparing round steak is to pound flour into it, then brown in clrippings and add onion and soup stock or strained tomato, put a light cover over the steak and simmer for forty or fifty minutes. If soup stock is not at hand, water flavored with beef extract and catsup can be used. An excellent substitute for breaded veal can be prepared from the round, which should be thoroughly pounded, dipped in egg and sea- soned crumbs, browned well in fat and then simmered in stock or milk until it is tender. HAMBURG STEAK — The round — in chopped form — is best known as Hamburg Steak. Ham- burg steak may be broiled with direct heat or else pan-broiled. It can be shaped into cutlets and breaded and fried in beef fat, but the shape must be small to insure sufficient cooking and deep frying is not to be encouraged at the present time from the fat conserva- tion standpoint. It can also be blended with cooked rice or hom- iny, or else rolled in melted butter with either corn or rice flakes and baked quickly. Croquettes cooked in this way are preferred by those who cannot eat fried dishes. Hamburg steak may be served with a variety of sauces; a brown sauce made separately — or a white sauce flavored with beef extract — or a to- mato sauce — or a sauce of milk and soft bread, highly flavored with horseradish; another desirable sauce is Lemon Butter, which is made by creaming a little oleo- margarine and flavoring it with grated onion, minced parsley, salt, pepper and lemon juice. BEEF ROLLS— To make little beef rolls, round steak is cut into strips and well pounded. Bacon, onion or olives and other seasonings may be added if desired. The beef rolls are held in shape with tooth picks, floured, browned and stewed until tender. They are also served acceptably with brown rice. The round can be stuffed and baked. It is often used for pot roast or Swiss steak. More different dishes can probably be made from the round than from any other cut. The so-called Minute Steak of public restaurants is a very thin round steak quickly cooked and served piping hot. l=^^^l|is The Wilson Label Protects Your Table I 25 BONELESS CUTS The six cuts shown on the following pages are taken from Al beef, and, because they are practically boneless, bring high prices. One can get the same cuts from beef of lighter weight at a more reasonable cost. The meat, because it is tender, is easily cooked, and there is no waste. These cuts combine economy and good eating. The restaurants have for a long time adopted the wise practice of utilizing this meat of cheaper quality The cuts lack fat, which may be added in the cookmg, but they contain food value. The compact cuts prove most useful for the woman whose time is limited, and who, therefore, finds it impossible. to give much time to cooking. In the Fall, when second or third grade cattle are plentiful, these cuts are packed for future use. Because housewives are not familiar with the advantages of these cuts, the demand for the fresh meat is not siifficient for the retailers to handle all of it. Butchers will carry these cuts if there is a call for them. Women should demand them. Frozen meat is fserfectly wholesome, and may be used with safety by any one, provided it is used at once. Meat when thawed out spoils very quickly, so the cooking should be started as soon as the thawing is done People eat frozen fish half of the year, and yet many have an idea that frozen meat is undesirable. The Boneless Sirloin Butt makes a good steak or roast. The back of the sirloin with the tenderloin removed can be made into a boneless strip for similar use. or for pot roast. Tenderloin, sliced and pan broiled, or roasted whole, will supply a popular cut at a low price. SIRLOIN BUTT ROUND POT ROAST SPENCER ROLL •— nsBOuEf The Wilson Label ProteclsYour Table BUIT lENDERLOIN BONELESS STRIP BONELESS BRISKET REGULAR ROLL The Wilson Label ProtectsYourTablel 27 Q" THE PLATE THE plate is a strip which lies underneath the rib section and is divided into two portions, the navel and the brisket. The plate contains almost as much fat as lean meat, and a small proportion of bone. The plate is more available for stews than in a roast, since in stewing much of the fat is dissolved into the liquid. For general economy, the plate ranks next to the chuck. The ribs which form the upper part of the plate have less lean and more bone. THE FLANK THE flank is attached to the loin of beef. There is practically no bone in the flank, but about two-thirds of it is fat. Most of this fat is trimmed off for tallow. The lean portion is used for boiled meat, and for stew. It is rather coarse in texture, and, as it lacks fla- vor, additional ingredients are advisable. The flank steak is cut away to be sold by itself. An excellent pxjt pie can be made from flank meat, and an excellent covered meat pie may be made with the addition of a suet crust. The best way to utilize the meat, however, is to bone and roll it, and then put it in brine. This will result in excellent corned beef, which will slice to good advantage either hot or cold. If it is to be used cold, it is well to place a weight on the meat as it cools in the stock. The Wilson Label Protects Your Table! 28 THE RIBS The first cut of the upper part of the forequarter consists of seven ribs. The ribs contain about one-half lean meat, one-third fat, and one-sixth bone. The prices paid for this choice meat does not represent food value as much as it does agreeable eating. A large amount of surface, cut across the grain, is exposed in cooking, and this is one reason why a small roast is rarely satisfactory, as at least two ribs are needed to retain the juices — three are even better. The first cut is considered best, and is not too heavy for an average family. The second cut is larger and equally good (as shown in the picture). The third and largest cut is not quite so choice. The ribs are cut off to about eight or ten inches, leaving what is known as "short ribs." which are either boiled, browned, or boned, rolled and baked. The ribs are always roasted, inasmuch as much flavor is lost by boning. The fat is used for basting, since to add water to a choice roast of beef is a culinary crime. ,JlOASTING — Roasting is a process similar to broiling, the only difference being in the cut and weight of the meat, and the amount of time required. Tough meat is not made tender by rapid cooking; but roasting is the ideal method for a choice tender cut, although these cuts are not eco- nomical, on account of their high first cost. Rolled roasts are popular and easily carved. The best shape is the standing roast, which is not boned, but the bones cut short. Boned meat can easily be tied or fastened with a skewer. Steel skewers are superior to wood, on account of the greater ease in serving. Roasts should be placed on a rack to prevent the meat from frying in its own fat. Strong heat is necessary at the outset as in broil- ing, and at least ten full minutes' heat of the oven is necessary when gas is used. The smaller the roast, the stronger should be the first heat, so as to prevent the juices drying up. Sear each side of the roast under a flame, add seasoning, and finish cooking at a lower temperature on a lower slide; or else place in baking oven as preferred. Pork and fowl require water in roasting, but beef or mutton never do unless a covered roaster is used. Rare meat will be better flavored if cooked in an open pan; well done roasts may be cooked in a covered roaster. THE RIBS— A fine roast requires attention. There is no danger of the meat cooking dry if the heat is moderate and basting frequent. Lean meat requires additional fat (drippings saved from previous cooking may be used). Gravy can be cooked in the oven at the same time — without additional fuel. Add to cold water — stock from the bone — trimmings and vegetables — to- gether with browned fat from the roasting pan and flour to thicken. Secondary flavors can be extracted from roasts or steaks (after serving) by stewing the bones for a long time. This stock can be intensified with vegetables and seasonings, if desired. ^^B^ The Wdson Label Protects Your Table I 29 a" BEEF LOIN LOIN contains the fine steaks, and is divided into two portions: the short loin, and the loin end. Various steaks take their name ac- cording to the bone — the first cuts taken from the rump end have the least bone, and the amount of bone increases as the cuts continue. TTie steak cut last, the club steak, contains most bone. The tenderloin is neither so fine flavored or juicy as the other cuts, but brings a high price on account of its tenderness. Salt pork is generally added to tenderloin steak in cooking, for additional fat and flavor. Tender- loins are not generally taken out of the best grade of meat, as the balance would then have to be sold at reduced prices. THE SHORT LOIN THE short loin is cut into porterhouse and club steaks. When the tenderloin is left in the loin, the porterhouse steak may be cut from the short end. These steaks are the highest in price, and also contain the greatest amount of fat. The flank end of porter- house is the poorest of all the steaks, and is sometimes used afterwards for hash meats, but it is wiser to cut it off before broiling, and grind it for fresh cooking. The sensible plan is to buy a piece of round steak to add to this flank end, for the next meal, so that it may be utilized to the best advantage. The demand for porterhouse steak is due to richness of flavor rather than to wise judgment in buying for food value. The Wilson Label Protect s Your Table i7iPH^fefcj>==- 10 ■D ■ T THE LOIN END HE thick end of the loin contains the various sirloin steaks, such as long or flat bone, hip, or pin bone. A sirloin is cheaper and better to eat than a tenderloin steak. BROILING TENDER meat in broiling should be surrounded by fat, or brush- ed over with soft fat to avoid dryness. The edges of the meat should be cut in several places to prevent curling, as they will contract from heat. No seasoning should be used until the meat is part- ly cooked. A thick steak is far better eating than a thin one, so that for a small family it is better to buy a fair-sized steak and cut it in two por- tions and broil at different times, than to choose a thin one for economy. it is a mistake to bone a steak before cooking, although it may prove con- venient. Remember that "the nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat." Intense heat is necessary for broiling. A perfect bed of coals is not easily secured, and may interfere with other cooking; hence, broiling by this method has not been popular with the housewife. At the present time, when gas is almost the universal fuel, broiling has become a practical process. The fire should be lighted fully ten minutes before the cooking begins, and the broiling pan well heated. The metal rack should be removed, because meat sticks to hot wires. The meat is placed near the flame at first and turned as soon as seared. Avoid piercing the meat with a fork, as this will cause juices to be lost. As soon as each side i& brown, reduce the heat and season the meat lightly. If the steak should contain too much fat, place the fat part towards the front of the oven. Leave the lower door of the gas oven open when broiling, to do away with smoke and the fumes of cooking. The meat need only be turned once or twice, and the time for cooking depends upon the thickness of the cut and the family's taste for rare or well-done steak. Place the meat on a heated platter, add part of the fat from the pan, and serve .at once. The flavor, delicacy and digestibility is far superior to steak cooked by any other methods. Even Hamburg steak takes on a new dignity when broiled. It should be lightly seasoned (a little onion juice helps), and if the meat is moistened with cream the dish will be a treat. Shape it lightly so that it will not become dry when cooking. Hamburg steak is better if cooked in one large flat cake than if made into small ones, and can also be more easily handled by inverting it on a pie pan. The Wdson Label Protects Your Table! >i ^.XJ/ M see II a neons "Boo/KQcipQS S «f>su4iS^'Sft953^'« SHORT RIBS OF BEEF— Short ribs of beef and browned potatoes are one of the most popular moder- ate priced dishes served in hotels and restaurants. Some butchers do not sell short ribs. After they have prepared their rib roast, they re- turn the short ribs to the packer to use. Many cooks do not consider this cut worth while on account of the amount of bone and fat it con- tains; but, since the price is low enough to offset this bone and fat, the dish furnishes food value in a very palatable form. The ribs should be separated and can be cooked in pot roast fashion, with or without water, for several hours with good results, but the best method of cooking is to simmer until tender in a small amount of water, and brown them afterwards. For three ribs, weighing a pound and one-half each, allow three cups of water and two teaspoons of salt. If convenient, tie a little garlic, parsley and green pepper in a piece of netting and put in the water. Simmer for about three hours in a tightly covered kettle. The meat should be turned at the end of the first hour, and the seasoning re- moved. It will be necessary to simmer longer if the meat is not perfectly tender at the end of three hours. Potatoes may be par- boiled and added to the meat dur- ing the last part of the cooking, or else boiled potatoes can be used after the meat is done. Place the meat, well drained, in a shallow roasting pan and surround with the potatoes. If boiled potatoes are used, dip each one in the rich liquid to coat them with fat. Season with a little salt, and brown all in a hot oven for about half an hour or over a gas flame for about twenty minutes. Remove part of the fat from the top of the liquid and thicken the balance to make a rich, brown gravy. QUICK MEAT LOAF — Take three-quarters of a pound of round or some other solid meat, and run it through a meat grinder twice. Do not remove the fat that is on the meat. Soften enough bread in milk to make three-quarters of a cup, when well drained. Add a beaten egg to the bread and seasoning of salt and pepper, lemon juice, a little nutmeg and onion juice. Add this mixture to the meat. The meat is shaped in a bowl and sprinkled well with flour. Melt a tablesfX)on each of butter and oleomargarine in a frying pan, put in a sliced onion, cover and cook slowly, until the onion is a light brown; remove the onion; put the meat loaf into the hot pan with the floured side down. Cover and cook for ten minutes, then sprinkle the top with flour, turn carefully, and cook for five minutes longer. Lift the meat loaf on to a platter with a cake turner, place the cooked onion on top and p)our over the juice remaining in the pan. This meat loaf can be served either hot or cold. BEEF WITH ROLLED OATS — Grind together through a meat chopper a pound and a half of beef, two slices of salt pork (about one-eighth of a pound), and a cup of rolled oats, or other uncooked cereals. Season with a little salt, white pepper, celery salt, and 'a minced onion; add a beaten egg and stock or water to moisten slightly. The roll should be stiff rather than soft. Dredge with flour, brown in a frying pan with a little pork fat, and place it in the oven and bake for one hour. The heat should be moderate and the loaf should be basted with hot water and butter several times. POTTED HOMINY AND BEEF- Hominy is excellent to use as part of a one-dish dinner if you have a fire in your stove so that you can cook it for a long time, or use a ftrcless cooker. Heat one and one- half quarts of water to boiling; add one teaspoon of salt and two cups of hominy which has been soaked over night. Cook in a double boil- er for four hours or in the fireless cooker over night. This makes five cups. This recipe may be in- creased and enough cooked in dif- ferent ways for several meals. Hominy is excellent combined with dried, canned or fresh fish, or meat The Wilson Label Protects Your Table! 32 F 3iiscQllan0ous noofKQcifDQs and vegetable left-overs may be used. Here is one combination: Two tablespoons fat, two table- spoons flour, two cups milk, four potatoes, two cups carrots, five cups cooked hominy, one-fourth pound dried beef, one teaspoon salt. Melt the fat, stir in the flour, add the cold milk, mix well. Cook until it thickens. Cut the potatoes and carrots into dice, mix all the materials in a baking dish and bake for one hour. BEEF HEART— The heart from good beef furnishes considerable food value at a moderate cost. It should first be thoroughly washed. The arteries and veins are then cut out, and the heart washed again to free it from blood. The heart is usually stuffed to fill it out and to improve its shape, as well as to extend the service of the meat. Bread toast or cracker crumbs may be used. Finely cut onion and parsley, and a few of the savory herbs may be added to the bread crumbs if desired. Salt and pepper should be used plenti- fully for seasoning. Beef fat from some other cut may be added to en- rich the heart. Add a small amount of water (the soft dressing becomes softer from moisture during the cooking), and put the dressing into the opening. The flavor of this dressing will be increased if, ir»stead of putting the fat into it, it is sauted with a little fat. Sew up the end of the heart loosely, to allow for swelling, and sprinkle with seasoned flour. Use either a frying pan or an iron kettle and brown the heart in pork fat or drippings. The cooking can then be finished in the kettle with the addition of enough water to partly cover, or the heart can be transferred to a casserole or baking dish, water added and the cooking completed in the oven. In either case the liquid should be slightly thickened, and the heart turned several times during the cooking. The heart must be basted every twenty minutes if it is cooked in an open baker. Onions, carrots and cut celery added to the dish, make a pleasing combination. Meat of such close texture requires long, slow cooking to make it tender. If the cooking is right, the result will be excellent. Left-over beef heart may be sliced or minced and served with gravy. It can also be served cold in thin slices with a meat relish, in which case beaten eggs should be added to the dressing to hold it intact. Good meat loaf may also be made from left-over meat heart, by chop- ping it up very fine with a little cooked bacon or salt pork. It is then seasoned well, and mixed with an equal amount of boiled rice. It should be steamed until heated through and then served with a savory tomato sauce. It can also be chilled and sliced. DRY OR SUMMER SAUSAGES — a happy compromise between fresh and canned meat. Many housekeepers are familiar only with the pork sausage which is so popular on winter mornings. They do not know of the newer varieties. Sum- mer sausage is always ready for use at a moment's notice, and as it is concentrated in bulk and highly seasoned, it keeps better than any meat not canned. Foreign nations have long used summer sausage as a staple food; but only in recent years have many varieties been made successfully in this country. Summer sausage made under Gov- ernment inspection, and carrying the brand of a reliable company, will .suit particular people. The meats are carefully blended and skillfully seasoned, and many com- binations are offered to suit differ- ent tastes. Summer sausage comes in convenient form ioY the picnic basket, or for the use of campers. Summer sausage sliced cold and surrounded with a savory potato sal- ad, is delicious. It can be light- ly chopped and served on toast with the addition of a white sauce. It is often minced and blended with left-overs to add flavor or else served sliced and crisped in the frying pan with potatoes. A very savory omelet can be made by the addition of summer sausage chopped fine. A delicious sand- wich can be made by mixing chopped summer sausage with but- The Wdson Label Protects Your Table! MscQllaneoiis 'Boof KecilDOS «*:ortions may be reserved for braising.) Put in a soup kettle, cover with cold water and heat slowly to the bubbling p)oint. Simmer for one hour. Then add two carrots, two white turnips and an onion, all sliced. Tie together in a bit of netting, a sprig of parsley, a bit of garlic, a small bay leaf and six peppercorns and place in the stock. Add enough salt to season. When the meat is quite tender, remove it from the stock and take out all the bone. Remove the seasoning and then put the meat back into the kettle and add a cup of tomato puree which is made either from canned soup or from fresh tomato cooked down and strained. Add a little caramel of coloring also. Thicken with a little arrowroot or rice flour. Noodles can be added if desired. This meat and vegetable soup makes a hearty dish. COLD MEATS GLAZED — Meats that have been cooked specially to serve cold — such as boiled tongue, braised corn beef, etc., may be enhanced for service by a thick jellied coating. This coating differs from jellied stock since the basis is a sauce such as brown, tomato or white sauce — enriched with egg yolks. To each cupful of this hot mixture, add a tablespoon of granulated gelatine softened in cold water. Meat should be covered thickly as the sauce stiffens. Bits of parsley, green peppers or pimento strips may be added for a garnish. With a little practice, attractive dishes for company occasions can easily be prepared. JELLIED SOUP— Rich beef or other soup stock may be chilled and served cold for special occa- sions in summer. The stock is cleared with egg to make it attrac- tive in appearance. Mix together a quart of stock and the shell and white of one egg. Apply gradual heat and stir constantly until a thick scum forms on the top. Let the dish stand for a few minutes, then strain the soup through a napkin or other fine cloth. The soup must be made with consider- able bone if it is to jelly. If it is not firm enough, it can be stiffened with gelatine in the proportion of a tablespoon of gelatine softened in two tablespoons of water for each three cups of soup. The jellied soup must be rather highly seasoned and a small amount of caramel coloring will give the desired tint to a pale soup. We depend largely upon starchy foods to increase the use of either freshly cooked or reheated meat. The potato easily ranks first; the pastes in the form of macaroni, spaghetti, noodles, and products, such as coarse hominy, fine grits and cornmeal. are close seconds. Rice, either unpxjlished or browned, as well as tapioca, can be used in many ways. Barley is especially suitable served with mutton, The Wikon Label Protects Your Table I THERE are certain recognized limits in the cooking of meat disines for small families, it is strictly out of the question to get a choice roast of a weight less than five pounds. It is possible to make a pot roast out of a pound of meat if it is rightly cooked in a small close-covered kettle. Braised meat with vegetables can be satisfactorily prepared in small amounts if cooked on a rack in a kettle over a low fire, or in a covered roaster in a slow oven. Braised meat is richer than stewed meat, as less water is used and the broth is more concentrated. No more actual time need be spent in the kitchen in the longer, slower processes of cooking meat than in the shorter methods; but an earlier start is necessary. Unless ample time is allowed for cooking, it is useless to attempt such dishes, as the materials will inevitably be wasted, or the results poor. No matter how slow the main process is in the cooking of tough meat, the first few minutes should be at strong heat to seal the surface of the meat and retain the juices. Boiled meat (it should not really boil but barely simmer) goes further if prepared with a generous amount of liquid, and the addition of dumplings, biscuits, and strips of toast. The common practice of adding water while boiling meat, for the reason that the water cooks away, indicates bad fuel man- agement. Meat cut up for stewing gives a richer gravy than when cooked in one piece. It is a good plan to leave one solid piece of meat to slice cold, if the supply is sufficient for two meals. The cold meat should be left in the stock until it is ready to serve, so as to retain the moisture, but any vegetables that are in the stock must be removed, or the flavor will be too strong. One advantage of slowly cooked meat dishes is that prompt service is not as necessary as with roasts, steaks and so forth. Tender, red meat deteriorates rapidly if allowed to stand after it is ready to eat, and much of the delicious flavor is lost. The stew, pot roast, and casserole dishes are equally good whether placed on the table at a certain moment or not. In fact they can be kept an hour if necessary without any harm, provided they are kept hot. It is a great conven- ience, when a meal is delayed, to place the kettle over hot (but not boiling) water, without having the meal suffer. Meat that has been cured in brine, needs longer cooking than fresh meat; it is less easily digested, as the action of the salt hardens the tissues, so it should not be served frequently, and never served to the very young or very old. For variety cured meats may be served occasionally, if they are gently and thoroughly cooked. The Wilson Label Protects Your Table t'.'jiKj.i.'iMMv.i p:^:^ J a* melpful m inis BULLETINS OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AMERICAN markets furnish a great variety of food stuffs. New fruits and vegetables are constantly being supplied through the help of the Government. It is worth while to try out foods that other countries have found valuable. The Government Bulletin tells how to select and use untried products, and the retailers are always glad to show a new article. You will also find that the Government bulletins issued by the Department of Agriculture will give you full information on all the staple goods you use in your homes. It is a pity that these bulletins, which cost so little, are not in use in every home. They treat of almost every subject per- taining to the home in a clear, concise manner. These bulletins contain a fund of practical knowledge, worked out by trained, scientific experts. This knowledge is presented in terms easily understood. The list of the numerous Government publications, together with their price, can be secured by writing to the Department of Agriculture at Washington. Many of these bulletins are free; for others, a small charge is- made. We are indebted to the Department of Agriculture for much of the information contained in this booklet. The Department of Agriculture has published a great number of bulletins, free to the public as long as the first edition lasts. A complete list will be sent to anyone who writes the department at Washington Any bulletin not procurable through free distribution may be obtained at a cost of five or ten cents from the Supt. of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Following is a partial list of practical pamphlets for the housewife. Numbers below five hundred are mostly exhausted in the free list. Bread and Bread Making in the home No. 807 Cheese and its economical uses in diet ,, 487 Eggs and their uses as Food , 128 How to select foods : Body Needs ,, 808 How to select foods : Protein foDds , 824 Fresh fruits and vegetables , 87 1 Foods — nutritive value and cost , , 142 Fats and their economical use in home ,, 4b9 Care of Food in the home ,, 375 Food for young children 717 Fish as Food , 85 Honey and its uses in the home 653 Beans, Peas and other legumes ,, 121 Meats: Composition and Cooking ,, 34 Mutton and its value in diet ,, 52b Milk as food „ 74 Potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc , 4b8 Poultry as Food ,, 1 82 Sugar as Food ,, 93 Preparation of Vegetables 25b 1 The Wilson Label Protects Your Table I 37 MUTTON AND LAMB CUTS The meat should be of a deep red color and fiim to the touch — the fat creamy, white and solid. 1 LEG Roasts 2 LOIN. _ _ Roasts and Chops 3 BACK Roasts and Chops 4 BREAST Roasts and Stews 5 CHUCK Roasts and Stews ^ -" The Wilson Label Protects Your Table I 38 • a d\iuiton RecipQs THE dividing line between lamb and mutton is not based wholly upon age; a well bred and well fed animal, twelve or eighteen months old, may still belong in the lamb class, while a yearling of rangy stock, which has been poorly fed, yields meat of an inferior grade of mutton. The best grade of mutton consists of fat, heavy meat. Light and flabby meat is not very palatable. Lamb rarely is an economical meat to serve. The relative difference in food value between lamb and mutton, is the same as be- tween veal and beef. Mature meat furnishes more nutrition, but has a more pro- nounced flavor. Lamb has a delicate taste and the fat is not as strong as it is in mutton. The consumption of ewe lambs should be discouraged, as it adds greatly to the cost of properly aged meat and contributes to the scarcity of wool. The mutton flavor, to which many object, is largely due to the outside fat, so that this fat, together with any particles of heavy skin, should be removed before cooking. The meat should be of a deep red color and firm to the touch; the fat, creamy, white and solid. Mutton absorbs odors easily, so it must be kept in a cool place under proper conditions. Mutton may be placed in spiced vinegar or in a marinade and kept in it for some time to absorb the flavor and to become more tender. The forequarter of mutton is cheaper than the hind- quarter, as the amount of bone is greater and the flesh is less tender; but the forequarter has more flavor and so is excellent for stews and soup. As more of the fat of mutton dissolves in cooking than does the fat of beef, it is desirable to skim off a portion of this fat before serving the stew. A shoulder roast, boned, stuffed and rolled, is appetizing served hot and the meat will slice well when cold. The ribbed chops are dainty, but very expensive. The loin chops serve better, as they have a greater amount of meat on them. A leg of mutton may be boiled or roasted. The saddle from the two sides of the loin furnishes a choice roast for special occasions, as does also the crown of lamb, which is made from the ribs on each side, cut in the form of a circle. Mutton should be served hot in every detail, as mutton fat hardens at a higher temperature than other fats. Fat usually calls for an acid to add flavor; — hence, the use of capers, mint sauce, tart jelly, and spiced fruit with mutton or lamb. A bit of garlic inserted in a leg of mutton before roasting, improves the flavor. Herbs well rubbed into the surface and the whole wrapped in cloth before cooking to retain the flavor, produces boiled mutton that is unusual. The Wilson Label Protects Your Table S 39 PIGKLED lamb tongues are popular served cold, and the tongues, boiled and baked, and served with a sauce, are delicate and savory. The kidneys are broiled with bacon, en brochette (sliced and strung on a skewer before broiling), or else they can be stewed with onions and carrots in the English fashion. The heart may be stuffed, boiled and browned with salt pork. The liver is usually fried in the same manner as calf's liver. The brains are sometimes substituted for calf's brains in made dishes, or else they are scrambled with eggs or they may be breaded and fried, it is best to simmer or steam the brains first to make them tender. The addition of a little lemon juice will whiten them and make them firm. MUTTON IN CASSEROLE— Wipe the meat with a damp cloth — cut it in uniform pieces, and roll in seasoned flour. Brown part of the meat in hot drippings, then place all the meat in a casserole (or a kettle if it is to be cooked on the range instead of in the oven). Add carrots, onion and parsley, and cover with cold water if a rich broth is desired. Cook very slowly until the meat is quite tender. Re- move the bone, which will, slip easily from the meat when the cook- irig is finished. Drain the liquid off and thicken with flour. Pour the sauce back over the meat and serve piping hot. Dumplings may be added, or potatoes put in with the meat when it is partly cooked. STUFFED LEG OF MUTTON — Prepare the following dressing: Take two cups of soft bread, which has been soaked in cold water untvl well moistened, and then all the possible liquid pressed out. Season the bread with salt and pepper. Add a little thyme or sweet mar- joram, together with a little onion, some fat and a beaten egg. Place this dressing in the boned beef, skewering the ends into shape. Have the oven very hot and place the meat in a pan. When the sur- face is seared, reduce the heat, dredge the meat lightly with flour, and add any other left-over season- ing, and baste every fifteen minutes unless a covered roasting pan is used. A six-pound roast will re- quire from orae hour and a half to two hours. BROWNED BREAST OF MUT- TON — Cook the meat in a small quantity of water until very tender, seasoning it with salt and pepper, a little garlic and parsley. Drain the meat well, put it into a shallow pan or baking dish and brown in a hot oven. Make a thickened gravy from the stock, coloring it with a little prepared caramel if desired. Serve meat with boiled rice and the gravy. Carrots may be boiled with the meat and browned afterwards with a little sugar and meat drip- ping if desired. HOT POT OF MUTTON AND BARLEY — One pound mutton, one- half cup pearl barley, one table- spoon salt, four potatoes, three onions, celery tops or other sea- soning herbs. Cut the mutton in small pieces, and brown with the onion in fat cut from meat. This will help make the meat tender and improves the flavor. Pour this in- to a covered saucepan. Add two quarts water and the barley. Sim- mer for one and one-half hours. Then add the potatoes cut in quar- ters, seasoning herbs, and seasoning, and cook one-half hour longer. MUTTON STEW WITH BAR- LEY — Cut meat from the neck or breast into small pieces and put into a kettle with enough water to cover. Use about a cup and a half of water to a p>ound of meat. Add onions, carrot, salt and pepper. For each pint of liquid add a third of a cup of pearl barley. Simmer gently for two to three hours. The Wilson Ubd Protects YourTdbleld^A|^£nt= 40 fH^ CUTS OF PORK HAM — It is more economical to buy a whole ham. The butt can be baked, the center slices fried or broiled and the shank boiled. LOIN — Roasts and chops. BELLY— Used for bacon. The best grade of bacon, "Majestic"', is the heart of this cut. PICNIC BUTT — Roasts, steaks, chops, hams. BOSTON BUTT— Steaks and roasts. JOWL— Used for cheap bacon and generally cooked with baked beards. HOCK— Stewed and pickled. FAT BACK— Smoked or pickled. CLEAR PLATE— Smoked or pickled. The Wdson Label Protects Your Table EH|pipPBfc=i BROILED BACON is at once the most" easily digested and the most savory of all forms of cooked fat. Choice bacon of a dependable brand is uniform both in its quality and its proportion of fat and lean. Bacon is one of the few meats that can be kept on hand constantly and cooked quickly. It is one of the few meats of which people never tire. Sliced bacon in packages proves convenient in an emergency and is unexcelled in flavor. The addition of a few slices of bacon improves many meat and vege- table dishes. A breakfast of bacon and eggs will satisfy almost any man and is one of the easiest breakfasts that the cook can prepare. Bacon can be cooked in several ways but the best results are obtained by having the bacon cold and the fire hot. Bacon that has stood in a hot kitchen becomes soft and will not crisp nicely. Broiling is the ideal method of cooking bacon. A fine wire rack should be used to hold the slices in place, since the regulation broiler of a gas range will prove too large. Place the rack over a pan to catch the dripping, have a hot fire and turn the bacon as soon as one side is lightly cooked and finish the browning quickly. Place the cooked bacon on pieces of soft paper and drain the fat while it is still warm. When the oven is in use, bacon can be baked on the rack in a similar manner. Some cooks prefer the following way of frying bacon: Put boiling water in the pan to cover the bottom and boil the bacon quickly until the water has cooked away, finish the browning with dry heat. The quickest way to cook bacon is to put the slices in a hot pan, turning them as soon as they have browned on one side. When it is desired to draw out the fat, use a slow fire. Place the bacon in a frying pan heated gradually; frequently turning will insure even cooking, and increased heat at the last results in crisp slices. Overheated fat is unwholesome, so care must be taken to avoid scorching. The drained fat that remains is very useful in many forms of cooking. It should be strained and kept in a cold place where it will be ready for use in a sauce for other meats, or in a milk gravy for potatoes (boiled, baked or re-heated). It can also be used to saute cooked potatoes, to enrich the dressing of a potato salad, or a bread stuffing for fowl and meat. Bacon is an economical meat as every bit of both fat and lean is utilized. Left-over bacon may be used in sandwiches or cut up in scrambled eggs, omelets, cereals or stuffed eggs. It can be crushed fine and sprinkled over ste>\cd potatoes or baked stuffed potatoes. It can also be sprinkled on green or lima beans, used in a cream sauce for toast or as a spread for bread. The Wilson Label Protects Your Table! 42 MEMORANDUM The Wilson Label Protects Your Table 43 The Wilson Label Protects ^ur Table WHAT THE WILSON LABEL TELLS YOU WE have told you of the "home influence" in this institution — of how we select, prepare and handle Wilson products 'with the respect due that which is to be served on your table — how we give it the same care your mother exercises when she prepares the favorite dish of the family. We cannot expect your dealer to tell you this story every time you buy a Wilson product from him. But we want that story told to you in some form every time. So we have devised and adopted our "W-shaped" Wilson label, with the big "red W" trademark on it. About this advertisement are reproduced a number of these labels. Every time you see the Wilson label, H tells you our story; it gives you our guarantee. It symbolizes the principles we outlined fifteen months ago — the principles which established a national reputa- tion for and confidence in Wilson products — principles which we must maintain to grow and endure. The Wilson label is our promise to you personally that those principles and policies will be maintained constantly. It is a faithful declaration that the product bearing it is clean, wholesome, properly prepared and thoroughly good. Try any Wilson product — and you will realize that this label on all Wilson products means just that, in. the fullest, fairest and broadest sense. ^^/tCo-o -ro Prist dent 44 Wilson's Majestic Poultry MAJESTIC Chickens and Fowl are produced in our own feeding stations, under the most up-to-date methods. The finest birds only are selected for this class. They are fed on a special milk and grain diet for a period of about two weeks. The quality and the mixture of the feed, and the way it is fed, together with our most careful selection, pro- duces the kind of poultry which is highly appreciated by the discrimi- nating buyer. Ask for Majestic Poultry. Dm J ■ D 45 D» Y7Y THE WILSON LABEL PROTECTS YOUR TABLE Wilson's Majestic Hams and Bacon THERE is probably no meat food product so appetizing, whole- some and so generally used as Hams and Bacon. WILSON'S MAJESTIC HAMS AND BACON are very carefully se- lected, closely inspected, painstakingly and thoroughly cured in the old fash- ioned way, slowly smoked and every- thing done to insure Smoked Meats, both in quality and flavor, that will truly represent the WILSON MA- JESTIC BRAND. We know WIL- SON'S MAJESTIC HAMS AND BACON will please you. Always ask for 'WILSONS MAJESTIC." 46 y-v THE WILSON LABEL PROTECTS YOUR TABLE Wilson's Majestic and Laurel Lard A THE housewife, who prides herself on the lightness and wholesome- ness of the biscuits she serves to her friends and family, who wants them to be a delicate velvety brown on top . who insists that her pies shall have a crust that is exactly right so that it will add to the goodness of the filling, invariably chooses Wilson's Majestic or Laurel Lard. Wilson's Majestic and Laurel Lard — rendered from choice, selected fats and by most modern methods, are given their fine texture and qual- ity under the supervision of experi- enced lard makers. Like all Wilson Products, they bear the guarantee of the Wilson Label. Da 47 TT-V THE WILSON LABEL PROTECTS YOUR TABLE Wilson's Canned Meats WILSON'S MAJESTIC Sliced Beef, Sliced Bacon, Ox Tongue, Corned Beef, Roast Beef and other Wilson Canned Meat Products are carefully cooked under the guid- ance of experienced chefs, who take great pains to see that each product is properly seasoned and spiced so as to make it tempting. Wilson's Ready- to- Serve Products save time, labor and fuel, and are always ready to serve to the unex- pected guest. Keep a supply in your pantry and delight your guests and family at your luncheons and teas. Like all Wilson's Products, they must earn the Wilson Label by their undoubted quality. 48 ■ D l r7 I M. l VTO l THE WILSON LABEL PROTECTS YOUR TABLE A Wilson^s Oleomargarine IF YOU have never tried Oleomar- garine, buy a pound of Wilson's Certified or Majestic Brand. You will find this Oleomargarine truly delicious. The ingredients are used in your home every day, on the table and in baking and cooking; pure refined fats and nutritious vegetable oils, churned with pasteurized milk. No food is made with such pains- taking care, so carefully handled, so scientifically tested and inspected. The United States Government cer- tifies to its purity. Buy Wilson's Oleomargarine — not only because it is economical — but because it is an appetizing, nourish- ing and delicious food product. 49 ■ D a» v~v THE WILSON LABEL PBOTECTS YOUR TABLE Wilson's Luncheon Delicacies A LUNCHEON or tea is made pleasant when you rely upon the guaranteed excellence of Wilson Products. Our expert chefs have studied the problem of provid- ing luncheon delicacies of the finest quality. You will find Wilson's Favorite Luncheon Loaf, Majestic Square Boiled Ham and Sausages both delicious and economical. For cold luncheons and suppers, picnics or auto parties, served plain or with potato salad, they are delightful. ■ a 50 Dl ■ O \ - V / \ I'.'JIM.l.'P.WWJ / \ " / \ WILSON LABEL / \ PROTECTS YOUR / 1 TABLE 1 ) A ( Wilson's Clear Brook Butter and Eggs CLEAR Brook Eggs — are de- pendable, carefully handled, closely inspected. We guar- antee every egg when obtained in our sealed Clear Brook cartons. Clear Brook Butter — The best butter obtainable, uniform in quality, color, and salt. Packed in quarter pound, one- half pound and one pound flat cartons; also one pound cartons containing four oblong quarter sections, each wrap- ped separately, so it can be sliced just the right size for the individual dish. Only the finest pasteurized butter goes into our Clear Brook carton. 51 a» THE WILSON LABEL PROTECTS YOUR TABLE A Wilson's Jams, Jellies, Preserves and Canned Fruits JELLIES — with the clear gleam of the fruit — that quiver with old fashioned fineness and clean- liness. Jams and preserves, which give you the genuine taste of the berries from which they are made. Apples, pears, peaches, etc., from the best cared for orchards — carefully prepared and cooked in our modern kitchen in the most approved manner. These are the offerings of the Wilson Kitchen to you. ■ a 52 V~7 THE WILSON LABEL PROTECTS YOUR TABLE A Wilson^s Canned Vegetables and Condiments CHOICE Maine Corn, plump choice grain — sliced green from the white cob — cooked and put up so that all the ripeness and de- liciousness is kept for you. Catsup made of fresh, rosy, juicy tomatoes — made when they are taken plump with goodness — handled and cooked as carefully as you would have it done in your own kitchen. All these and many other delicious vegetables and condiments are ready for you under the Wilson Certified Brand Label. 53 —The Dollar Bill — The Wilson Label Each in Itself a Scrap of Paper and a Bit of Ink. But Whose True Value is Undisputed. One Represents the Pledge of a Great Country — the Other of a Great Com- pany. Both Appreciate that the Fulfillment of Their Ob- ligations is Essential to Continued Existence and Prosperity. HAOIU'WCINSIieiHCn OO CHICAOO 54 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 012 821 364 8 V~^ THE WILSON LABEL PROTECTS YOUR TABLE A