ROAST BEEF

There are seven prime ribs in a beef. Any of them will make a first-class roast. Do not have the ribs removed, but have them cut in two-inch pieces up to the thick muscle; cut these pieces of bone off, to be braised and served as short ribs of beef ; place the cut sur- face of the roast on a smoking hot griddle and press close; let cook for

BOASTING 23

two or three minutes, or until it is nicely seared ; turn and sear the other side ; set the roast, resting upon the edges of the ribs, on a rack in a dripping pan ; put into an oven hot enough to bake bread, and let cook ; do not season the meat and do not put water in the pan ; when the oven is at the proper temperature you will hear a gentle sputter- ing when the oven door is opened — if smoke issues from the oven it is too hot — if you do not hear a gentle sputtering increase the tem- perature. The time required for roasting depends upon the thickness of the roast ; fifteen minutes is allowed for each inch in thickness ; a roast four inches in thickness will cook rare in one hour; measure across the thickest part of a roast. A rump roast is seared in the same way and placed upon a rack in a hot oven ; allow fifteen min- utes to the pound.