Certain cuts of meats are preferred to others in making of soups because
of the difference in their texture. The tender cuts which are the expensive ones,
should not be used for soups. They do not produce enough flavor. The hardy
cuts, which come from muscles the animal uses constantly, and therefore grow
hard and tough, are FAR more economical, yet... they are also more suitable
for your soups, since they contain the essence of what makes the best soups. If
you and your family enjoy eating meats, soups are VERY cost-effective!

MEAT USED FOR SOUP MAKING

       Almost every kind of meat including beef, veal, mutton, lamb, game
  and poultry, is used for soup making. When soup stock is made from these
  meats, they may be cooked separately or as a combination, several kinds
  may be combined. For instance, mutton used alone makes a very strongly
  flavored soup. It is usually advisable to combine this kind of meat with
  another meat that has a less distinctive flavor. On the other hand, veal
  alone does not have sufficient flavor, so it must be combined with lamb,
  game, fowl or some other well-flavored meat.

      The pieces best adapted to making of soups are the shins, the shanks,
lower part of the round, the neck, the flank, the shoulder, the tail and
the brisket. You'll improve stock made from one of these cuts if you cook
a small amount your meat's fat with the lean meat. Any excess fat remaining
after cooking should be carefully removed. The marrow of the shinbone is
the best fat for soup making.

      If soup is to be made from fish, a white variety should be selected.
The head and trimmings may be utilized, but these alone are not sufficient
because your soup stocks are better when you include some solid pieces of
meat in their production, equal proportions of bone and meat required for
the best stock for soups.
  
      Your soups should always be made entirely of fresh meat that has not
been previously cooked. An exception to this rule can be made in the use of
the remains of a piece of undercooked roast beef. You can add it to a good
piece of raw meat.

COOKING MEAT FOR SOUPS

      To obtain the most flavors from meat that is properly prepared,
it should be put over a slow fire and allowed to come gradually to the
boiling point. As the water approaches the boiling point, a froth will
begin to form. You'll want to skim this off at once, and then continue
the skimming process until no froth remains. When the water begins to
boil rapidly, it's best to lower the fire until the water bubbles just
enough for a very slight motion to be observed. Throughout the cooking,
the water should continue to bubble, but prevent the meat you'll use in
your soups from being boiled violently.

      It's good to allow the meat for any soups to cook for at least
four hours if possible, but no longer. If, during this long cooking, too
much water evaporates, add more to dilute the soup stock. Salt required
for seasoning may be added a few minutes before your stock is removed
from the kettle. However, it is better to add the salt together with the
other seasonings after the stock has been drawn off, since salt, has a
tendency to harden the tissues of meat, and to prevent the flavor from
being readily extracted.
	  
      Whenever you create your clear stock from fresh meat, it is always
best to cut the meat into small pieces, exposing as much of the surface
of the meat as possible from which the flavor of it will be drawn. A little
more flavor is obtained, and a nice brown color developed, if a small part,
perhaps a fourth, of the pieces of meat is first browned in a frying pan.
Then, you'll put the pieces thus browned, together with the pieces of fresh,
unbrowned meat, into a kettle and add a quart of cold water for each pound.
The reason for using cold (rather than hot) water will be evident when you
consider the action of water on raw meat.

      Fiber of meat is composed of innumerable threadlike tubes containing
the flavor you want to be drawn out into the water, and make your soup stock
its appetizing best. When the meat is cut, these tiny tubes are laid open.
When you put meat prepared this way into cold water, and allow it to heat
gradually, you'll extract the contents of the tubes. This material is known
as extractives, and it contains in its composition stimulating substances.
On the other hand, if you were to plunge the meat into hot water and subject
it quickly to a high temperature, this unwise action would instead coagulate
the protein in the tissue, preventing the extractives from leaving the tubes.

      Although, as explained above, flavor is drawn from the fibers of meat
by boiling it slowly for a long time, the cooking of meat for soups does not
extract the nourishment from it to any extent. In reality, the meat itself
largely retains its original nutritive value after it has been cooked for
soups, although a small quantity of protein is drawn out, and much of the
fat is removed. This meat should never be wasted, rather... you'll want to
use it carefully together with other soup ingredients that will take the
place of the flavor that has been cooked from it.

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