Page:Meat for Thrifty Meals.djvu/24



Scrub the ham thoroughly. Cover the bottom of a large pressure cooker with water; usually 1 quart is enough. Put the ham, rind side up, on a rack that is high enough to hold the meat completely out of the water. Clamp the lid on the cooker securely, and heat with the pet cock open until steam has escaped for 7 minutes. Close the pet cock and cook at 10 pounds pressure, allowing about 3 hours for a 12-pound ham. Let the pressure fall to zero, before opening the pet cock, then take off the lid. Remove rind from ham, sprinkle with brown sugar, and brown in a hot oven—about 400° F.

Wash and scrape pigs' knuckles and simmer in water to cover for about 2 hours, or until tender. Then add sauerkraut to the broth and cook just long enough to make it tender. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and if available, celery or caraway seed.

RINDING helps to make tough meat tender. Good cuts of beef for grinding grinding are lower round, fore part of the chuck, lean sections of brisket, and other small pieces of good flavor. There are also many small tidbits of tender lamb, pork, and veal that are best used as ground meat. Have meat ground medium fine, not too fine.

A pound of ground meat "as is" makes enough hamburg steak or meat patties for 4 servings, when broiled or fried. But ground meat is a good mixer and it goes further and the texture of the cooked product is often better when the meat is combined with milk and bread crumbs or with some other starchy food.

The following recipes are typical combinations and usually make 5 or 6 servings.

Add the flour, bread crumbs, liquid, and seasoning to the ground meat and mix thoroughly.

To provide drippings, fry small pieces of good-flavored suet in a hot pan. Drop the soft meat mixture by spoonfuls into the fat and flatten out into fairly thin cakes. Fry slowly until the cakes are brown on both sides.

Make cream gravy (p. 27) with the pan drippings and little brown bits in the frying pan. Serve hot over the meat.