Bones_ Recipes, History, and Lore - Jennifer McLagan [4]
“Should you like eggs, sir?”
“Eggs, no! Bring me a grilled bone.”
“Really, Fred,” said Rosamond when the servant had left the room, “if you must have hot things for breakfast, I wish you would come down earlier. You get up at six o’clock to go out hunting; I cannot understand why you find it so difficult to get up on other mornings.”
“That is your want of understanding, Rosy. I can get up to go hunting because I like it.”
“What would you think of me if I came down two hours after everyone else and ordered grilled bone?”
Buffalo, Bison, and Beefalo
Yes, buffalo is the shaggy beast of the Great Plains—but its correct name is bison. Now farm-raised, bison has lean, dense meat that is richer in taste than its cousin the cow. It is increasingly available at specially butchers and through mail-order.
With its hump, big head, and broad shoulders, the bison is “front heavy,” resulting in less weight proportionately in the middle region where the prime cuts are located—the reason why bison is more expensive than beef. The meat is darker in color than beef because of its higher iron content. Bison is low in fat, with little marbling, so it needs more careful cooking than beef. Treat it like venison instead, which is also low in fat; marinate it or wrap in a protective coating of fat before cooking. Bison is best eaten rare or medium-rare.
Beefalo is a cross between beef and bison. It is leaner than beef but has more marbling than bison, making it less likely to dry out. It tastes like beef and can be cooked the same way.
“I should think that you were an uncommonly fast young lady,” said Fred, eating his toast with the utmost composure.
“I cannot see why brothers are to make themselves disagreeable, any more than sisters.”
“I don’t make myself disagreeable; it is you who find me so. Disagreeable is a word that describes your feelings and not my actions.” “I think it describes the smell of a grilled bone.”
—GEORGE ELIOT. Middlemarch
Beef and Veal Cooking Temperatures
The simplest way to determine if the meat is cooked is with an instant-read thermometer. Instant-read thermometers have almost become standard issue for the serious cook. These thermometers aid the experienced and novice cook alike. Inserted into meat (away from the bone or fat for an accurate measure) toward the end of cooking they display the internal temperature of the meat either on a dial or with digital readout. The newest thermometers have a probe that is inserted into the meat before it goes in the oven. The internal temperature of the meat is signaled on a digital readout and also by an alarm. While thermometers are a great help to the cook, remember they are not infallible.
The temperatures below serve as a guide when using a thermometer. Remember to allow the meat to rest at least 10 to 15 minutes, during which time the internal temperature will rise by up to 5°F (2°C).
Thy bones are marrow less.
—WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE,
Macbeth. Act 3, Scene IV
Beef and Veal
Rare 125°F (51°C)
Medium-rare 130°F (54°C)
Medium 140°F (60°C)
While the same internal temperatures apply to veal cuts, the roasts and chops are juicier when cooked to medium-rare or medium, rather than rare. When braising, cook the veal or beef until fork-tender and almost falling off the bone.
Irish saying: What’s in the marrow is hard to take out of the bone.
Veal
Veal has always been a popular meat in Europe, especially in Italy, where its mild delicate flavor is much appreciated. Calves are essential to maintain the cows’ milk production. Despite arguments to the contrary, veal can be humanely raised with the animals allowed to move around freely and feed on milk, or a combination of milk and grain until slaughter. Their meat is pale and mild. Veal allowed to graze on pasture produce meat that is a redder color and has a more robust flavor.
Brown Stock
Stock is very simple to make, as most of the cooking