THE CHEAPER MEATS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 29, Issue 739, 11 September 1953, Page 22

THE CHEAPER MEATS

HERE is an old saying "cheap and nasty," but that certainly does not apply to intelligently cooked meals using the cheaper meats. Liver, kidneys, brains, sweetbreads, heart -and even tripe can form tasty and delicious dishes, depending on good cooking, and the use of imagination in varying the flavourings and accompaniments. There are also the cheaper cuts of meat, such as mutton-flaps, and skirt-steak, which can form flavoursome meals. Nutritionally, they furnish excellent protein, and liver is especially valuable, being one of the best sources of iron, particularly when only lightly cooked. Liver Rub seasoned flour into 14-inch thick slices of liver. Heat some butter (or bacon fat) in a shallow saucepan, and when very hot, put in the floured slices. Cook quickly till brown all over, turning with a knife or wooden spoon so that the liver is not pricked to let juice escape. Should be soft and tender and juicy inside, and done in 5 minutes. Poor Man’‘s Goose Slice thickly a lamb or sheep fry. Make plenty of stuffing, with breadcrumbs, chopped onions, butter, powdered sage or chopped sage leaves, a pinch of ginger, salt and pepper to taste. Mix with beaten egg, or milk if no egg. In greased casserole put a double layer of sliced parboiled potatoes, then a layer of liver slices, then of stuffing. Repeat till dish is full, finishing with potatoes. Add chopped bacon if liked. Pour over a small teacup of gravy or water, preferably having a meat cube dissolved in it, cover with greased paper, bake in moderate oven about 11% hours, Serve with apple sauce. This can be varied by adding layers of thick slices of raw apple, chopped celery, and even thin slices of carrot. Use imagination. Remove cover to brown the dish for last few minutes. But the true poor man’s goose has only liver and stuffing, with apple sauce served separately. Faggot Loaves Half a pound raw liver, 2 medium onions, 2 rashers bacon; 2-3 slices bread, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons flour, milk, seasoning, herbs if liked. Beat eggs and make into batter with flour and milk, add seasoning and herbs. Mince liver, onion and bacon, catching juice, soak bread in

milk, Mix all, Diend with batter. Put into greased, covered _ piedish. Cook in a. moderate oven for approximately % hour, Serve hot or cold in slices. Roasted Liver ‘Wash thoroughly, «nd wipe dry. Cut a long deep hole in the side, and stuff with breadcrumbs, bacon and onions chopped, salt «nd pepper to taste, a piece of butter, and 1 egg to bind. Sew or tie «he liver together. Spread with dripping, and bake about 1 hour in fair oven, basting frequently. Serve with gravy and currant jelly. Stewed Tripe One pound tripe, 1 or 2 large onions, 1

pint milk, 1 teaspoonful salt, % teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon flour or cornflour. Cut the tripe into nice sized pieces, place

in a saucepan of boiling salted water.. Cook till quite tender. Strain off the water, and ‘cover the tripe with milk, add onion minced, and seasoning, simmer 2 hour. Mix the flour or cornflour with a little cold milk, pour some of the hot on to it, stir all into tripe. Boil a few minutes, serve, garnish with strips of toast. Tripe Stuffed Cook 1% Ib. tripe till tender-do not cut it up. Slice 2-3 onions and fry light brown. Mix with 1 cup breadcrumbs, season with pepper and _ salt, powdered or chopped sage, and bind with milk. Spread on to cooked tripe, roll up and tie with thread. Put in casserole, pour over about }t pint of milk, dab of butter on top, put on lid and bake in hot oven %2-% hour. Remove thread, serve with parsley sauce made with milk in casserole. Savoury Mutton Make filling with diced raw potato, diced turnip, chopped onion; chopved lean bacon, finely chopped parsley, breadcrumbs, pepper and salt, Spread this on a boned flap of mutton, not too fat. Roll up the flap, tie firmly, and place in casserole with about a cup of water. Cover and cook slowly 2-3 hours. Nige with brown gravy and hot vegetables. Sea Pie Two pounds steak or gravy beef, 1 large onion, 1 carrot, 4 potatoes, 1 pint water, 42 lb. suet paste, salt and pepper. Cut meat into pieces about 2 inches, fry them in a small quantity of dripping, a nice brown. Cut all the vegetables into thin slices, put them on top" of steak, add seasoning, and the pint of water. Make a suet pastry, roll out ‘n a round to fit the inside of the saucepan, put it on top of the vegetables when boiling and simmer gently 2-3 hours. Then lift out the suet paste, place the meat, vegetables and gravy on a hot dish, cut the paste into nice pieces, and put them round the edge of the dish. Liver and Onions Cut the liver into thick slices or chunky pieces so that they will be juicy

when cooked; and do not»cook too long -3 to 5 minutes, according to size and thickness. Dip the pieces into seasoned flour, working inva real coating with the fingers. It is a good idea to use-a deep Saucepan instead of a frying pan, to avoid splashing the stove. Have the fat smoking hot and about 4% inch deep. Put in the liver and cook gently on each side, turning with a spoon, because sticking a fork in will let the juice escape, Serve it very hot. Cook the onion rings at the same time in a separate deep pan of smoking hot clean fat. They are cooked in 3-4 minutes. Cut big onions into thick slices and separate into rings with the fingers. Dip these first into milk, then into flour. Shake off surplus flour and drop them into deep fat. Remove with perforated spoon and drain on crumpled paper. Fry the bacon (or grill). Serve very hot, on hot plates with mashed potatoes sprinkled with chopped parsley, and a green vegetable. The bacon slices may also be dipped first in milk and then in flour and fried in the pan after the liver, if desired. The secret of good fried liver is the fair: thickness, the well-floured surface, the hot fat, and the short time of cfoking, as well as the turning with a spoon instead of sticking in a fork.