So if you arc to be the trancheur in your home, look to your tools. Choose them yourself and take good care of them. You will need not just one but several knives, and a good steel for the continual whetting they require: The knives must always be kept in condition with the steel, and should be sharpened occasionally by a professional. The minimum of necessary tools includes firm, pointed knives in two or three lengths and at least one long, straight knife with a thin, flexible blade that has a rounded end for slicing. A couple of forks, a small one with a finger guard for roasts, should also be in your kit.
Before going into the directions for carving the various cuts of meats, there ate a few general rules that I want to cull to your attention. Always warm the platter on which the meat is to be placed and the plates on which it is to be served. Never crowd the serving platter with garnishes that will get in the way of the carver. Time the roasting to allow 15 to 20 minutes for the meat to Stand after it is out of the oven and before it is carved. This allows it to reposer, or rest, during which time the juices settle back into the tissues. You will find that the slices of meat will be more succulent, especially if the meat has been roasted to the rare stage, because less juice will run out on the platter when the meat is cut. Broiled meats, on the other hand, should be served as soon as possible after leaving the broiler. And when serving roast or broiled meat, always spoon some of the juice from the platter onto the slices.
Rib Roast of Beef
Set the roast on the platter with the flat, meaty side on the dish: Do not rest it on the bone ends as it did in the oven. The bony side should be on the left and toward you, the rounded, meaty side toward the right. Using a long flexible knife, slice horizontally across the top from the outside edge toward (he bone. Cut with long even strokes to give slices of meat as wide as tie roast, curving the knife upwards to cut the slice away from the bone. The thickness of the slice depends upon individual preference. Some people, (he English for example, prefer two thin slices to one thick one, slices that arc sometimes no thicker than 1/8 of an itch. Others, particularly Americans, arc apt to ask for one good thick slice. Those who prefer well-done beef are served the first slices. As soon as enough slices have been removed to expose the first bone, cut it away, lay it on the side of the platter, and start slicing against the next bone.
Filet of Beef
Place the filet on a board and, using a medium-sized, firm knife, cut vertically against the grain in slices ¼ to ½ inch thick. Serve 2 slices to each person.
Sirloin Steak(2 ½ to 3 inches thick)
Using a medium-sized, firm knife, cut diagonally across the grain slanting the knife to make a larger surface on each slice and cut the slices ½ to ¾ inch thick.
Porterhouse Steak
Using the point of a medium-sized, firm knife, detach the meat from the bone to release both the sirloin section and the tenderloin section. Cut each section into pieces about I inch or more wide. Serve a piece of each section to each person.
Smoked Ox Tongue
In the kitchen remove the skin from the tongue and cur away the root, which is tough and has a number of tiny bones in it. Then, using a medium knife, start at the tip end of the tongue and cut it diagonally into thin slices 1/8 to ¼ inch thick.
Roast Leg of Lamb or Venison
Place the roast on the platter with the side where the meat is thickest on the top. Using a long, flexible knife, start cutting at the shank end. Make the first cut about 1 ½ inches from where the meat starts on the bone and ait out a tiny, curved chunk. Slice the meat parallel to this cur. using a curving stroke and working up the leg to give increasingly large slices that are thin and rounded. When the thick side is finished, turn the leg over and cut the other side in slices parallel to the bone.
Rack of Lamb or Veal
Place the rack on the platter with the ends of the rib hones standing up. Using a large, firm knife, cut down vertically between the bones carving the rack into pieces either one or two chops thick, as preferred.
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