Missouri Home Makers' Conference. 559 



The essential points or principles underlying the prep- 

 aration of meat can probably be brought out best by describing 

 one or two typical examples under each head. The roast is 

 probably the best example to take for the first group. 



Roasting. — We use for roasting only the tender, well- 

 flavored pieces of meat. Probably the cut best adapted for this 

 purpose is the rib. The chuck from a good animal may be used, 

 but is not so desirable since at this point the muscle is so much 

 divided and the shoulder blade comes in. This can, however, 

 be boned out, and in a good animal makes a delicious roast. The 

 rump makes a nice small roast, but taking into consideration 

 the large proportion of bone, is not a cheap cut. A porterhouse 

 roast, while considered by some as quite choice, is correspond- 

 ingly expensive, and is difTicult to obtain on account of the 

 demand for porterhouse steaks. 



Having chosen a rib cut, and less than two ribs will be too 

 thin, the bone may be taken out and the roast rolled or the bone 

 left in. If the former is to be done, the butcher should be told 

 before the roast is cut off, because in this case it is cut longer, 

 long enough for the fat portion to wrap completely about the 

 eye of the beef, and so protect it during the cooking process. 

 The rolled roast is much the easier to carve, while leaving the 

 bone in is considered by many to improve the flavor, and the 

 arched rib bones serve as a natural support to keep the roast 

 off the pan. In case the roast is boned out, have the butcher 

 send along the bones and trimmings, for they will be useful in 

 the soup kettle. In case they are left in, be sure the butcher 

 does not break th?m, as in that case they will not serve as a 

 support and are not so effective as a means of keeping in the juice. 



Preparation for the Oven. — The roast should be removed 

 from the pap6r as soon as it comes from the market, as the 

 paper simply serves to absorb the juice. In preparing it to be 

 cooked, simply wipe off with a damp cloth. It should never 

 be washed, because that is unnecessary and would remove some 

 of the flavor. For roasting, use any uncovered pan that is 

 suflTiciently large. 



How Hot Shall the Oven Be. — Place roast in the pan on a 

 rack or something to hold it off the bottom with the fat side 

 up. In order to keep in as much of the flavor as possible it is 

 now necessary to form a coat over the outside. This is ac- 

 complished by putting the roast into a very hot oven (250C) 

 for about fifteen minutes. If the roast is a very large one it 



