Plate No. 11 shows the round of beef with the aitch bone taken off; a, a, a, a, is the top of the round, b, b, b, b, the under part, where the aitchbone has been cut off, and c, c, c, c, the vein. Plate No. 10 is this aitchbone, which is first cut from the round, and then the steaks are taken off.

Plate No. 11

Round Of Beef

Plate No. 10

Aitchbone

The best steak begins with the third slice. The top and under part of the round are often cut in one slice. The top is tender and the under part tough. When both are together the steak sells for fifteen or sixteen cents per pound; when separate, the top is twenty or more and the under part from ten to twelve. If it is all to be used as a steak, the better way is to buy the top alone; but if you wish to make a stew one day and have a steak another, it is cheaper to buy both parts together. Round steak is not, of course, as tender as tenderloin, sirloin or rump, but it has a far richer and higher flavor than any of the others. It should be cut thick, and be cooked rare over a quick fire. Steaks are cut from the vein in the round and from the shoulder in the fore quarter. They are of about the same quality as those from the round.