National Affairs: Center Cuts & Loin Chops

Why were meat prices so high? Last week Joseph Marion Hartkopf, who runs a chainstore meat counter in suburban Woodlawn, Ala., gave his explanation. A married Army veteran with two children, Butcher Hartkopf wrote a letter to the Birmingham News:

“Ladies, I wish you would stop talking about the high prices of meat until you are ready to help bring them down. During the depression you were glad to get the cheaper cuts of meat, but now I can’t even sell them.

“You want center cuts of pork chops; you are willing to pay 10 to 15¢ a pound more for them . . . You pay $1 to $1.10 a pound for center cuts of ham because you won’t buy the end cuts that I am glad to trim up for you for 57 to 69¢ a pound. They are just as tender, have as much flavor, and are actually leaner (after I have trimmed them), but your husband makes too much money for you to use them . . . A chuck roast can be cooked just as tender and is every bit as flavorful as a rump or loin tip, though it won’t slice as pretty . . .

“A barbecued lamb shoulder or shoulder chops are delicious, but no, you would rather pay from 20 to 30¢ a pound more for a leg or loin chops. You imagine bone weighs much more than it does . . . The fat that your children need for normal healthy growth is going in the tallow basket for 8¢ a pound and you are paying for it with higher prices . . .

“You won’t take any advice from your butcher . . . You are in a rut and won’t try anything new so we are getting out of the habit of suggesting things. We sure are tired of hearing you complain about tough meats … If you take the toughest piece of meat and rub it well with any citrus fruit, leave it in the refrigerator overnight, then slow-cook it, you will be delighted with its tenderness and flavor . . .

“Practically all of you are very sweet and I do enjoy serving you, but I am trying to bring high prices down by cutting my meat with as little waste as possible. Won’t you cooperate? I must pay these high prices too, and I don’t make as much money as you.”

The next day a woman customer grinned shyly at Butcher Hartkopf and said: “You sure hit me right on the head.”