Signs Of Tenderness

Toughness is the shortcoming that causes more complaints than any other characteristic of our daily meat; so much so, indeed, that more essential points are usually sacrificed to overcome it. For instance, veal is in constant demand even at high prices, merely because it is naturally tender; whereas mature beef is much more nutritious, has a decidedly richer flavor, loses less weight in cooking and, furthermore, if properly cooked, may be made practically as tender.

Although no infallible rule can be stated that will certainly indicate whether a given cut will turn out tender when cooked, nevertheless careful observation will assist greatly in making a good guess. Look for fine, smooth grain or fiber, little connective tissue, a velvety, pliable feeling, and such consistency that the flesh may be penetrated with the finger or easily cut with a knife, yet firm in condition rather than soft and flabby. With some exceptions, the fatness of the meat and the degree of " marbling," or distribution of fat throughout the lean, are indications of tenderness; and a light color shows usually that the cut is from a young animal and should be tender.

Whether meat is cut with the grain, or across it, makes much difference in its apparent fineness or coarseness of fiber, and this must be considered in judging of tenderness. Even the tenderloin of beef or of pork looks stringy when cut lengthwise, and the flank steak still more so. Lean meat is made up of elongated cells of muscular tissue, bound into small bundles by a thin white membrane called connective tissue. The more of this connective tissue, the tougher the meat. Fortunately, however, it is susceptible to softening by heat, which changes it to gelatin; so that, within certain limits, it is under the control of the cook. By adequate treatment, such as fireless cooking, the natural toughness of cuts from these parts that have been exercised most, like the legs and neck, or cuts from old and poorly fattened animals, may be largely reduced or eliminated; and thus meat may be selected with due regard not only to tenderness but also to flavor, food value, and economy. " Marbling" in meat, particularly in beef, also softens the connective tissues by filling their cells with globules of fat.

Another indication of the degree of tenderness in meat is the texture and color of bone. Comparatively soft, spongy, and reddish colored bones indicate that the cut is from a young animal, while hard, dense, white bones are characteristic of old ones. The " lamb joint," or " break joint," found on the legs or shanks of lamb is a good illustration of this point. In dressing lambs, the foot is broken off at a suture, or false joint, just above the ankle, while in sheep this suture is knit or ossified, and the foot must be removed at the round joint.

Next to tenderness, the greatest satisfaction in eating meat, regardless of the kind, depends upon the juiciness and flavor. Dry, stringy meat is neither palatable, nutritious, nor economical; while a juicy cut meets all three requirements. It is the cell substance that makes meats juicy; the cell walls and connective tissue that make it stringy. There is a decided difference, too, between meat of a juicy nature and that which is merely watery. The former, as developed in prime beef or mutton, more nearly retains its substance, and shape in cooking, while the latter, as in veal, shrinks largely, due to the loss of water, leaving it comparatively dry and tasteless.

Flavor is closely associated with the juiciness of meat. As just indicated, it develops with the growth of the animal, and is therefore most pronounced in mature fat carcasses. Veal and lamb cuts are deficient in flavoring material as compared with beef and mutton. Generally, too, " the nearer the bone the sweeter the meat," and the cheaper cuts from joints that are exercised most are equal, or superior, in point of flavor, to those from the more tender parts along the back and loin.

Well marbled meat has a distinctive flavor, due to the rich taste which the intermingled fat gives it when cooked. Such meat is also more susceptible to ripening in the butcher's cooling-room than very lean or watery cuts. In cured meats, particularly sugar-cured ham and breakfast-bacon, flavor cuts a large figure, and much depends upon the methods and materials used in curing and smoking. Being generally sold under brand names, the purchaser has a fairly good guide in the selection of a desired flavor in such meats. It is true that few commercially cured meats are equal, and none superior, in palatability to the genuine farm-cured article at its best; but the latter in these days is almost extinct.

We Americans, as compared with the English, pay little attention to the natural flavor of meats, and our penchant for putting artificial relishes on our dishes has almost destroyed our sense of discrimination. To some, however, who still esteem flavor, a choice shoulder-roast of lamb or of pork is equal or superior to the loin, and only half as expensive; flank steak at eighteen cents is preferable to tenderloin at fifty; a choice "California" round roast is as palatable as a high-priced prime rib of beef; and breast of veal or of lamb at ten cents a pound is as good as chops or cutlets at twenty-five. Others, who are possessed both of rich tastes and of ample means, cheerfully pay a premium for beef cuts that have been highly " ripened," or for hams that have been specially selected, cured, smoked, and aged.