When sirloins of beef, or loins of veal or mutton, come in, part of the suet may be cut off for puddings, or to clarify.
Dripping will baste anything as well as b.u.t.ter; except fowls and game; and for kitchen pies, nothing else should be used.
The fat of a neck or loin of mutton makes a far lighter pudding than suet.
Frosted meat and vegetables should be soaked in _cold water_ two or three hours before using.
If the weather permit, meat eats much better for hanging two or three days before it is salted.
Roast-beef bones, or shank bones of ham, make fine peas-soup; and should be boiled with the peas the day before eaten, that the fat may be taken off.
BOILED LEG OF MUTTON--Soak well for an hour or two in salt and water; do not use much salt. Wipe well and boil in a floured cloth. Boil from two hours to two hours and a half. Serve with caper sauce, potatoes, mashed turnips, greens, oyster sauce, etc.
--> To preserve the gravy in the leg, do not put it in the water till it boils; for the sudden contact with water causes a slight film over the surface, which prevents the escape of the gravy, which is abundant when carved.
HOW TO HASH MUTTON.--Cut thin slices of dressed mutton, fat and lean; flour them; have ready a little onion boiled in two or three spoonfuls of water; add to it a little gravy and the meat seasoned, and make it hot, but not to boil. Serve in a covered dish. Instead of onion, a clove, a spoonful of current jelly, and half a gla.s.s of port wine will give an agreeable flavor of venison, if the meat be fine.
Pickled cuc.u.mber, or walnut cut small, warm in it for change.
HOW TO PREPARE PIG"S CHEEK FOR BOILING.--Cut off the snout, and clean the head; divide it, and take out the eyes and the brains; sprinkle the head with salt, and let it drain 24 hours. Salt it with common salt and saltpetre; let it lie nine days if to be dressed without stewing with peas, but less if to be dressed with peas, and it must be washed first, and then simmer till all is tender.
PIG"S FEET AND EARS.--Clean carefully, and soak some hours, and boil them tender; then take them out; boil some vinegar and a little salt with some of the water, and when cold put it over them. When they are to be dressed, dry them, cut the feet in two, and slice the ears; fry, and serve with b.u.t.ter, mustard and vinegar. They may be either done in batter, or only floured.
PORK, LOIN OF.--Score it, and joint it, that the chops may separate easily; and then roast it as a loin of mutton. Or, put it into sufficient water to cover it; simmer till almost enough; then peel off the skin, and coat it with yolk of egg and bread crumbs, and roast for 15 or 20 minutes, till it is done enough.
HOW TO PICKLE PORK.--Cut the pork in such pieces as will lie in the pickling tub; rub each piece with saltpetre; then take one part bay salt, and two parts common salt, and rub each piece well; lay them close in the tub, and throw salt over them.
Some use a little sal prunnella, and a little sugar.
PORK PIE, TO EAT COLD.--Raise a common boiled crust into either a round or oval form, which you choose, have ready the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs and small bits of pork cut off a sweet bone, when the hog is killed, beat it with a rolling-pin, season with pepper and salt, and keep the fat and lean separate, put it in layers quite close to the top, lay on the lid, cut the edge smooth, round, and pinch it; bake in a slow-soaking oven, as the meat is very solid. Observe, put no bone or water in the pork pie; the outside pieces will be hard if they are not cut small and pressed close.
HOW TO ROAST A LEG OF PORK.--Choose a small leg of fine young pork; cut a slit in the knuckle with a sharp knife; and fill the s.p.a.ce with sage and onion chopped, and a little pepper and salt. When half done, score the skin in slices, but don"t cut deeper than the outer rind.
Apple sauce and potatoes should be served to eat with it.
PORK, ROLLED NECK OF.--Bone it; put a forcemeat of chopped sage, a very few crumbs of bread, salt, pepper and two or three berries of allspice over the inside; then roll the meat as tight as you can, and roast it slowly, and at a good distance at first.
CHINE OF PORK.--Salt three days before cooking. Wash it well; score the skin, and roast with sage and onions finely shred. Serve with apple sauce.--the chine is often sent to the table boiled.
HOW TO COLLAR PORK.--Bone a breast or spring of pork; season it with plenty of thyme, parsley and sage; roll it hard; put in a cloth, tie both ends, and boil it; then press it; when cold, take it out of the cloth, and keep it in its own liquor.
PORK AS LAMB.--Kill a young pig of four or five months old: cut up the forequarter for roasting as you do lamb, and truss the shank close.
The other parts will make delicate pickled pork; or steaks, pies, etc.
PORK SAUSAGES.--Take 6 lbs. of young pork, free from gristle, or fat; cut small and beat fine in a mortar. Chop 6 lbs. of beef suet very fine; pick off the leaves of a hand-full of sage, and shred it fine; spread the meat on a clean dresser, and shake the sage over the meat; shred the rind of a lemon very fine, and throw it, with sweet herbs, on the meat; grate two nutmegs, to which put a spoonful of pepper, and a large spoonful of salt: throw the suet over, and mix all well together. Put it down close in the pot; and when you use it, roll it up with as much egg as will make it roll smooth.
SAUSAGE ROLLS.--One pound of flour, half a pound of the best lard, quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, and the yolks of three eggs well beaten.
Put the flour into a dish, make a hole in the middle of it, and rub in about one ounce of the lard, then the yolks of the eggs, and enough water to mix the whole into a smooth paste. Roll it out about an inch thick; flour your paste and board. Put the b.u.t.ter and lard in a lump into the paste, sprinkle it with flour, and turn the paste over it; beat it with a rolling-pin until you have got it flat enough to roll; roll it lightly until very thin; then divide your meat and put it into two layers of paste, and pinch the ends. Sausage rolls are now usually made small. Two pounds of sausage meat will be required for this quant.i.ty of paste, and it will make about two and a half dozen of rolls. Whites of the eggs should be beaten a little, and brushed over the rolls to glaze them. They will require from twenty minutes to half an hour to bake, and should be served on a dish covered with a neatly-folded napkin.
SPICED BEEF.--Take a round of an ox; or young heifer, from 20 to 40 lbs. Cut it neatly, so that the thin flank end can wrap nearly round.
Take from 2 to 4 ounces salpetre, and 1 ounce of coa.r.s.e sugar, and two handfuls of common salt. mix them well together and rub it all over.
the next day salt it well as for boiling. Let it lie from two to three weeks, turning it every two or three days. Take out of the pickle, and wipe it dry. then take cloves, mace, well powdered, a spoonful of gravy, and rub it well into the beef. Roll it up as tightly as possible; skewer it, and tie it up tight. Pour in the liquor till the meat is quite saturated, in which state it must be kept.
STEWED BEEF.--Take five pounds of b.u.t.tock, place it in a deep dish; half a pint of white wine vinegar, three bay leaves, two or three cloves, salt and pepper; turn it over twice the first day, and every morning after for a week or ten days. Boil half a pound or a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, and throw in two onions, chopped very small, four cloves, and some pepper-corns; stew five hours till tender and a nice light brown.
HOW TO BOIL TONGUE.--If the tongue be a dry one, steep in water all night. Boil it three hours. If you prefer it hot, stick it with cloves. Clear off the sc.u.m, and add savory herbs when it has boiled two hours; but this is optional. Rub it over with the yolk of an egg; strew over it bread crumbs; baste it with b.u.t.ter; set it before the fire till it is of a light brown. When you dish it up, pour a little brown gravy, or port wine sauce mixed the same way as for venison. Lay slices of currant jelly around it.
HOW TO FRICa.s.sEE TRIPE.--Cut into small square pieces. Put them into the stewpan with as much sherry as will cover them, with pepper, ginger, a blade of mace, sweet herbs and an onion. Stew 15 minutes.
take out the herbs and onion, and put in a little shred of parsley, the juice of a small lemon, half an anchovy cut small, a gill of cream and a little b.u.t.ter, or yolk of an egg. Garnish with lemon.
HOW TO FRY TRIPE.--Cut the tripe into small square pieces; dip them in yolks of eggs, and fry them in good dripping, till nicely brown; take out and drain, and serve with plain melted b.u.t.ter.
VEAL CUTLETS, MAINTENON.--Cut slices about three quarters of an inch thick, beat them with a rolling-pin, and wet them on both sides with egg; dip them into a seasoning of bread crumbs, parsley, thyme, knotted marjoram, pepper, salt and a little nutmeg grated; then put them in papers folded over, and broil them; and serve with a boat of melted b.u.t.ter, with a little mushroom ketchup.
VEAL CUTLETS.--Another way.--Prepare as above, and fry them; lay into a dish, and keep them hot; dredge a little flour, and put a bit of b.u.t.ter into the pan; brown it, then pour some boiling water into it and boil quickly; season with pepper, salt and ketchup and pour over them.
ANOTHER WAY.--Prepare as before, and dress the cutlets in a dutch oven; pour over them melted b.u.t.ter and mushrooms.
FILLET OF VEAL.--Veal requires a good, bright fire for roasting.
before cooking, stuff with a force-meat, composed of 2 ozs. of finely-powdered bread crumbs, half a lemon-peel chopped fine, half a teaspoonful of salt, and the same quant.i.ty of mixed mace and cayenne pepper, powdered parsley, and some sweet herbs; break an egg, and mix all well together. Baste your joint with fresh b.u.t.ter, and send it to table well browned. A nice bit of bacon should be served with the fillet of veal, unless ham is provided.
VEAL PATTIES.--Mince some veal that is not quite done with a little parsley, lemon-peel, a sc.r.a.pe of nutmeg, and a bit of salt; add a little cream and gravy just to moisten the meat; and add a little ham.
do not warm it till the patties are baked.
VEAL PIE.--Take some of the middle, or scrag, of a small neck; season it; and either put to it, or not, a few slices of lean bacon or ham.
If it is wanted of a high relish, add mace, cayenne, and nutmeg, to the salt and pepper; and also force-meat and eggs; and if you choose, add truffles, morels, mushrooms, sweet-bread, cut into small bits, and c.o.c.ks"-combs blanched, if liked. Have a rich gravy ready, to pour in after baking. It will be very good without any of the latter additions.
COMMON VEAL PIE.--Cut a breast of veal into pieces; season with pepper and salt, and lay them in the dish. Boil hard six or eight yolks of eggs, and put them into different places in the pie; pour in as much water as will nearly fill the dish; put on the lid, and bake. _Lamb Pie_ may be done this way.
STEWED VEAL.--Cut the veal as for small cutlets; put into the bottom of a pie-dish a layer of the veal, and sprinkle it with some finely-rubbed sweet basil and chopped parsley, the grated rind of one lemon with the juice, half a nut-meg, grated, a little salt and pepper; and cut into very small pieces [Transcriber"s note: the original text reads "peices"]
a large spoonful of b.u.t.ter; then another layer of slices of veal, with exactly the same seasoning as before; and over this pour one pint of Lisbon wine and half a pint of cold water; then cover it over very thickly with grated stale bread; put this in the oven and bake slowly for three-quarters of an hour, and brown it. Serve it in a pie-dish hot.
BREAST OF VEAL STUFFED--Cut off the gristle of a breast of veal, and raise the meat off the bones, then lay a good force-meat, made of pounded veal, some sausage-meat, parsley, and a few shalots chopped very fine, and well seasoned with pepper, salt, and nutmeg; then roll the veal tightly, and sew it with fine twine to keep it in shape, and prevent the force-meat escaping; lay some slices of fat bacon in a stew-pan, and put the veal roll on it; add some stock, pepper, salt, and a bunch of sweet herbs; let it stew three hours, then cut carefully out the twine, strain the sauce after skimming it well, thicken it with brown flour; let it boil up once, and pour it over the veal garnish with slices of lemon, each cut in four. A fillet of veal first stuffed with force-meat can be dressed in the same manner, but is must first be roasted, so as to brown it a good color; and force-meat b.a.l.l.s, highly seasoned, should be served round the veal.
HOW TO MAKE PIES OF VARIOUS KINDS
BEEF-STEAK PIE--Prepare the steaks as stated under _Beefsteaks_, and when seasoned and rolled with fat in each, put them in a dish with puff paste round the edges; put a little water in the dish, and cover it with a good crust.
CHICKEN PIE--Cut the chicken in pieces, and boil nearly tender. Make a rich crust with an egg or two to make it light and puffy. Season the chicken and slices of ham with pepper, salt, mace, nutmeg, and cayenne. Put them in layers, first the ham, chicken, force-meat b.a.l.l.s, and hard eggs in layers. Make a gravy of knuckle of veal, mutton bones, seasoned with herbs, onions, pepper, etc. Pour it over the contents of the pie, and cover with paste. Bake an hour.
COCOANUT PIE--Take a teacup of cocoanut, put it into a coffee-cup, fill it up with sweet milk, and let it soak a few hours. When ready to bake the pie, take two tablespoonfuls of flour, mix with milk, and stir in three-fourths of a cup of milk (or water); place on the stove, and stir until it thickens. Add b.u.t.ter the size of a walnut, while warm. When cool, add a little salt, two eggs, saving out the white of one for the top. Sweeten to taste. Add the cocoanut, beating well.
Fill the crust and bake. When done, have the extra white beaten ready to spread over the top. Return to the oven and brown lightly.
CREAM PIE--Take eight eggs, eight ounces pounded sugar, eight ounces flour, put all together into a stew-pan with two gla.s.ses of milk, stir until it boils, then add quarter pound of b.u.t.ter, and quarter pound of almonds, chopped fine; mix well together, make paste, roll it out half an inch thick, cut out a piece the size of a teaplate, put in a baking tin, spread out on it the cream, and lay strips of paste across each way and a plain broad piece around the edge, egg and sugar the top and bake in a quick oven.