CHOICE AND CUTTING UP OF MEAT. 11
ably send a “makeweight,” as he calls it, of either bone or extraneous suet, as large as he thinks the inexperience of the customer, or the carelessness of the cook, will permit.
The veiny piece lies below the round, and is used for inferior steak, and is also most excellent for stews, ragoûts, etc.
The flanks, thick and thin, come next; the thick flank next to the veiny piece, whilst the thin flank divides the thick one from the brisket. The thick flank boils and stews admirably, whilst the thin flank is excellent for soup or broth, and for collaring.
The best “mutton” broth is made from this thin flank of beef (if the bull may be forgiven), though in Scotland it is often replaced by the “runner,” thick or thin, which is shown in the diagram giving the Scotch method of cutting up beef.
The brisket, which answers to the breast of mutton, is not so delicate for salting and plain boiling as the silverside; but if salted and slightly spiced, stewed with vegetables, pressed, and allowed to cool in its own gravy, produces a most delicate lunch or break-fast dish. Its only fault is a tendency to an undue amount of fat.
The leg of mutton piece is in reality the top of the foreleg, and though, like the veiny piece of the thick and thin flanks, butchers condemn it as “inferior,” it is most juicy and excellent if hung, especially for ragoûts, for which indeed in France it is usually reserved.
The neck, clod or “sticking piece” as it is also called, is used for stock making, and for clarifying soup.