Part 5

• Freeze meat at -10° or lower.

• Freeze only the amount of meat that will freeze in 24 hours.

• Allow ample air circulation by not overpacking the freezer.

• In the freezer maintain 0° F or less for storage.

Remember, proper wrapping and freezing does not improve quality but maintains original quality. It is safe to refreeze meat that has been kept below 40° F during thawing. However, refreezing is not usually recommended because there is some loss of meat quality.

Lamb cuts should be utilized within 6 to 9 months after freezing; ground and stew lamb within 3 to 4 months. Longer storage results in lowered quality.

MEAT COOKERY

Tender cuts of meat are best cooked with dry heat such as broiling, roasting, and panbroiling. Less tender cuts of meat are tenderized by cooking with moist heat. Connective tissue is softened and tenderized by cooking slowly in moisture.

Temperature control is very important in meat cookery. Meat loses moisture, fat, and other volatile substances during cooking. However, some of the meat juices and fat may be retained in the pan drippings.

Cooking losses can be controlled by controlling the oven cooking temperature and final internal temperature of the meat. Shrinkage is increased when hot oven temperatures are used for cooking and when the meat is cooked to a higher internal temperature.

The meat thermometer is the most accurate guide to the degree of doneness of meat. Cooking time can be used as a guide to the degree of doneness, but this may be influenced by fat and moisture content, and shape or size of the cut.

Fresh lamb is usually cooked to an internal temperature of 170 to 180° F (77 to 82° C). Chops or roasts from the leg, loin, back, or shoulder are suited to dry heat cookery methods such as broiling or roasting. Other cuts from the lamb carcass such as stew meat, neck slices, lamb riblets, and shank are best suited to moist cookery methods such as braising. Lamb should be served hot and not allowed to cool before serving.

More detailed instructions for cooking procedures can be obtained from the following sources:

USDA Beef Slaughtering Bulletin, FB 2209

USDA Lamb in Family Meals, HG 124

Lessons on Meat National Live Stock and Meat Board 36 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, 111. 60603

PRESERVING LAMB PELTS

Select pelts for preserving which are free of numerous holes and which have relatively clean fleece. The day the pelt is removed, wash the fleece thoroughly with cold water. High pressure water can be used if the fleece is extremely dirty. Remove any large pieces of connective tissue or flesh adhering to the pelt. In a cool, dry shelter or building, spread the pelt, wool down, on the floor and cover with an even layer of salt. A small amount of alum can be added to the salt.

Take care to put salt on all the edges. Salted pelts may be piled on top of one another, all pelts fleece down. Curing time should be 15 to 30 days. Check the salt covering weekly. After curing, the pelt can be scraped to remove connective tissue or flesh. Neatsfoot oil can be rubbed into the pelt to make it soft and flexible. The fleece can be combed and brushed.

☆ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1977 O-244-090

------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. 2. Illustrations replaced with the text ‘[Illustration]’ or ‘[Illustration: some descriptive text]’. The illustration caption is on the following line. Due to the instructional nature of this text, extensive illustration descriptions have been added to this text only version. 3. The original was printed in two column text with illustrations sometimes spanning both columns. In order to reduce ambiguity, the illustrations have been moved adjacent to the paragraph that refers to them. 4. Footnotes have been renumbered. 5. Italicised words are enclosed by underscores.