Chop 1/2 pint cold boiled ham fine. Put a gill of milk in a saucepan and set on the fire. Stir in 1/2 teacup stale bread crumbs, the beaten yolks of 2 eggs and the ham. Season with salt, cayenne and a little nutmeg. Stir over the fire until hot, add a tablespoon chopped parsley, mix well and turn out to cool. When cold make into small b.a.l.l.s, dip in beaten egg, then in bread crumbs and fry in boiling fat.
TOAST.
Remove the fat from some slices of cold boiled ham, chop fine. Put 2 tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter into a saucepan on the stove, add the chopped ham and half a cup of sweet cream or milk. Season with pepper and salt; when hot, remove from the stove and stir in quickly 3 well-beaten eggs. Pour onto toast and serve at once.
FLAVORED WITH VEGETABLES.
Take a small ham, as it will be finer grained than a large one, let soak for a few hours in vinegar and water, put on in hot water, then add 2 heads of celery, 2 turnips, 3 onions and a large bunch of savory herbs. A gla.s.s of port or sherry wine will improve the flavor of the ham. Simmer very gently until tender, take it out and remove the skin, or if to be eaten cold, let it remain in the liquor until nearly cold.
PATTIES.
One pint of ham which has previously been cooked, mix with two parts of bread crumbs, wet with milk. Put the batter in gem pans, break 1 egg over each, sprinkle the top thickly with cracker crumbs and bake until brown. A nice breakfast dish.
PATTIES WITH ONIONS.
Two cups bread crumbs moistened with a little milk, and two cups cooked ham thoroughly mixed. If one likes the flavor, add a chopped onion. Bake in gem pans. Either break an egg over each gem or chop cold hard-boiled egg and sprinkle over them. Scatter a few crumbs on top. Add bits of b.u.t.ter and season highly with pepper and salt, and brown carefully.
FRIED PATTIES.
One cup cold boiled ham (chopped fine), 1 cup bread crumbs, 1 egg, salt and pepper to taste, mix to the right thickness with nice meat dressing or sweet milk, mold in small patties and fry in b.u.t.ter.
HAM SANDWICHES.
Mince your ham fine and add plenty of mustard, 3 eggs, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter and as much chopped cuc.u.mber pickles as you have ham.
Beat this thoroughly together and pour into 1 pint of boiling vinegar, but do not let the mixture boil. When it cools, spread between your sandwiches.
_Salt Pork._
FRIED WITH FLOUR.
Slice the pork thinly and evenly, placing it in a large frying pan of water, and turning it twice while freshening. This prevents it humping in the middle, as pork, unless the slices are perfectly flat, cannot be fried evenly. When freshened sufficiently, drain, throw the water off, and, rolling each slice in flour, return to the frying pan. Fry a delicate brown, place on a platter dry, add slices of lemon here and there. Drain all the frying fat off, leaving a brown sediment in the pan. Pour 1 cup of rich milk on this, and when it thickens (keep stirring constantly until of the consistency of rich, thick cream), pour into a gravy boat, and dust with pepper.--[M. G.
FRIED PORK AND GRAVY.
Cut the rind from a firm piece of fat salt pork that has a few streaks of lean (if preferred). Slice thin, scald in hot water, have the frying pan smoking hot, put in the slices of pork and fry (without scorching) until crisp. Then pour off nearly all the fat, add some hot water after the slices have been removed from the pan, and stir in some flour moistened with cold water for a thickened gravy.--[Farmer"s Wife.
FRIED IN BATTER OR WITH APPLES.
Slice thin and fry crisp in a hot frying pan, then dip in a batter made as follows: One egg well beaten, 3 large spoons rich milk, and flour enough to make a thin batter. Fry once more until the batter is a delicate brown, and if any batter remains it may be fried as little cakes and served with the pork. Instead of the batter, apples, sliced, may be fried in the fat, with a little water and sugar added, or poor man"s cakes, made by scalding 4 spoons granulated (or other) corn meal with boiling water, to which add a pinch of salt and 1 egg, stirred briskly in.--[F. W.
SWEET FRIED.
Take nice slices of pork, as many as you need, and parboil in b.u.t.termilk for five minutes, then fry to a golden brown. Or parboil the slices in skimmilk, and while frying sprinkle on each slice a little white sugar and fry a nice brown. Be watchful while frying, as it burns very easily after the sugar is on.--[I. M. W.
TO FRY IN BATTER.
Prepare as for plain fried pork, fry without dipping in flour, and when done, dip into a batter made as follows: One egg beaten light, 2 tablespoonfuls of milk and the same of sifted flour, or enough to make a thin batter. Stir smooth, salt slightly, dip the fried pork into it and put back into the hot drippings. Brown slightly on both sides, remove to a hot platter and serve immediately.--[R. W.
FRIED WITH SAGE.
Freshen the pork in the usual manner with water or soaking in milk, partly fry the pork, then put three or four freshly picked sprigs of sage in the frying pan with the pork. When done, lay the crisp fried sage leaves on platter with the pork.--[Mrs. W. L. R.
MRS. BISBEE"S CREAMED PORK.
Slice as many slices as your frying pan will hold, pour on cold water, place upon the range to freshen; when hot, pour off the water and fry until crispy; take out upon a platter, pour the fat in a bowl. Pour some milk, about a pint, in the frying pan, boil, thicken and pour upon the fried pork. Serve at once.--[Mrs. G. A. B.
BAKED.
Take a piece of salt pork as large as needed, score it neatly and soak in milk and water half an hour, or longer if very salt; put into a baking pan with water and a little flour sprinkled over the scoring. Bake until done. Always make a dressing to eat with this, of bread and cracker crumbs, a lump of b.u.t.ter, an egg, salt, pepper and sage to taste; mix with hot milk, pack in a deep dish and bake about twenty minutes. Keep water in the baking dish after the meat is taken up, pour off most of the fat and thicken the liquor. Tomatoes go well with this dish, also cranberry sauce.
BOILED.
Boil 4 or 5 lbs. of pork having streaks of lean in it, in plenty of water, for one and one-half hours. Take out, remove skin, cut gashes across the top, sprinkle over powdered sage, pepper and rolled crackers. Brown in the oven. Slice when cold.
CREAMED IN MILK AND WATER.
Freshen 10 or 12 slices of fat pork and fry a nice brown, then take up the pork and arrange on a deep platter. Next pour off half the fat from the frying pan and add 1 cup of milk and 1 of boiling water, and 1 tablespoon flour mixed with a little cold milk or water, or else sifted in when the milk and water begin to boil, but then a constant stirring is required to prevent it from being lumpy. Next add a pinch of salt and a dust of pepper, let it boil up, and pour over the pork. Enough for six.
EGG PORK.
Take slices of pork and parboil in water, sprinkle a little pepper on the pork and put into the frying pan with a small piece of b.u.t.ter and fry.
Take 1 egg and a little milk and beat together. When the meat is nearly done, take each slice and dip into the egg, lay back in the pan and cook until done.
CREAMED PORK.
Take 6 slices nice pork, or as many as will fry in the frying pan, and parboil for five minutes, then take out of the water and roll one side of each slice in flour and fry to a golden brown. When fried, turn nearly all of the fat off and set the pan on the stove again and turn on a cup of nice sweet cream; let it boil up, then serve on a platter.
_Soups, Stews, Etc._
PORK SOUP.