Small whiting answer well for this purpose. Tie them round, the tail to the mouth, dip them in dissolved b.u.t.ter, lightly sprinkle with pepper and salt, strew them with pale raspings, put them in a baking-dish with a little b.u.t.ter, and bake in a quick oven for a quarter of an hour.
COD CUTLETS.
A cheap and excellent dish is made by filleting the tail of cod, egging and crumbing the pieces and frying them. Get about a pound and a half of the tail of a fine cod; with a sharp knife divide the flesh from the bone lengthways, cut it into neat pieces as nearly of a size as you can, and flatten with a knife. Dip in egg, then in crumbs mixed with a little flour, pepper, and salt. It is best to fry the cutlets in the wire-basket in plenty of fat, but if this is not convenient they can be done in the frying-pan; in any case, they should be done quickly, so that they may get crisp.
FRIED HERRINGS.
Take care the fish is well cleaned, without being split. Two or three hours before cooking, lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper; when ready to cook, wipe and flour the herrings. Have ready in the frying-pan as much fat at the proper temperature as will cover the herrings. Cook quickly at first, then moderate the heat slightly, and fry for ten to twelve minutes, when they should be crisp and brown. When done, lay them on a dish before the fire, in order that all fat and the fish-oil may drain from them; with this precaution, fried herrings will be found more digestible than otherwise they would be.
ROLLED HERRINGS.
Choose the herrings with soft roes. Having sc.r.a.ped and washed them, cut off the heads, split open, take out the roes, and cleanse the fish. Hold one in the left hand, and, with thumb and finger of the right, press the backbone to loosen it, then lay flat on the board and draw out the bone; it will come out whole, leaving none behind. Dissolve a little fresh b.u.t.ter, pa.s.s the inner side of the fish through it, sprinkle pepper and salt lightly over, then roll it up tightly with the fin and tail outwards, roll it in flour and sprinkle a little pepper and salt, then put a small game skewer to keep the herring in shape. Have ready a good quant.i.ty of boiling fat; it is best to do the herrings in a wire-basket, and fry them quickly for ten minutes. Take them up and set them on a plate before the fire, in order that all the fat may drain from them.
Pa.s.s the roes through flour mixed with a sufficient quant.i.ty of pepper and salt, fry them brown, and garnish the fish with them and crisp parsley. A difficulty is often felt in introducing herrings at dinner on account of the number of small bones in them, but this is obviated by the above method of dressing, as with care not one bone should be left in.
GALANTINE OF FISH.
Procure a fine large fresh haddock and two smaller, of which to make forcemeat. Take off the head and open the large fish. Carefully press the meat from the backbone, which must be removed without breaking the skin; trim away the rough parts and small bones at the sides. Cover the inside of the fish with a layer of forcemeat, and at intervals place lengthways a few fillets of anchovies, between which sprinkle a little lobster coral which has been pa.s.sed through a wire sieve; fold the haddock into its original form, and sew it up with a needle and strong thread. Dip a cloth in hot water, wring it as dry as possible, b.u.t.ter sufficient s.p.a.ce to cover the fish, then fold it up, tie each end, and put a small safety pin in the middle to keep it firm. Braise the galantine for an hour in stock made from the bones of the fish. Let it stay in the liquor until cold, when take it up and draw out the sewing thread. Reduce and strain the liquor, mix with cream and aspic jelly, or Nelson"s Gelatine, dissolved in the proportion of half-an-ounce to a pint. When this sauce is on the point of setting, coat the galantine with it, sprinkle with little pa.s.sed lobster coral, dish in a bed of shred salad, tastefully interspersed with beetroot cut in dice and dipped in oil and vinegar.
To make the forcemeat, pound the fillets of the small haddocks till fine, then work in about half its quant.i.ty of bread panada, an ounce of b.u.t.ter, and the fillets of two anchovies; season with salt and pepper, mix in one egg and a yolk, pa.s.s through a wire sieve, and work into it a gill of cream.
FILLETS OF SOLE EN ASPIC.
Aspic jelly, or meat jelly, may be made very good, and at a moderate cost, by boiling lean beef or veal in water with a little vegetable and spice. To make it according to the standard recipes is so expensive and tedious that few persons care to attempt it. The following directions will enable a cook to make an excellent and clear aspic.
Cut two pounds of lean beefsteak or veal cutlet into dice, put it on in two quarts of cold water, and as soon as it boils, take off the sc.u.m as it rises. Let it simmer gently for half-an-hour; then add four onions, a turnip, carrot, small bundle of sweet herbs, blade of mace, half-a-dozen white peppercorns, and when it has again boiled for an hour strain it through a napkin. Let it stand until cold, remove all the fat, boil it up, and to a quart of the liquor put an ounce of Nelson"s Gelatine, previously soaked in cold water. Add salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper, and when the jelly is cool stir in the whites and sh.e.l.ls of two eggs well beaten. Let the jelly boil briskly for two minutes, let it stand off the fire for a few minutes, then strain through a jelly-bag and use as directed. Take the fillets of a pair of large thick soles, cut them into neat square pieces, leaving the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs for other dishes, and lay them in vinegar with a little salt for an hour. As they must be kept very white the best French vinegar should be used. Boil the fillets gently in salted water, with a little vinegar, till done; take them up and dry them on a cloth. Have ready some picked parsley and hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters; arrange these neatly at the bottom of a plain mould so as to form a pretty pattern. Pour in very gently enough jelly to cover the first layer, let it stand until beginning to set, then put another layer of fish, eggs, and parsley, then more jelly, and so on until the mould is full. When done set the mould on ice, or allow it to stand some hours in a cold place to get well set. Turn it out, ornament with parsley, beetroot, and cut lemon.
COLLARED EELS.
Clean and boil the eels in water highly seasoned with pepper and salt, an onion, bay-leaf, a clove, and a little vinegar. When the eels are done enough, slip out the bones and cut them up into pieces about two inches long. Take the liquor in which the fish is boiled, strain it, let it boil in the stewpan without the lid, skimming it until it becomes clear. Dissolve a quarter of an ounce of Nelson"s Gelatine to each half-pint of the fish gravy, and boil together for a minute, let it then stand until cool. Arrange the pieces of eel tastefully in a plain mould with small sprigs of curled parsley and slices of hard-boiled eggs, and, if you like, a fillet or two of anchovies cut up into dice. When all the fish is thus arranged in the mould, pour the jelly in very gently, a tablespoonful at a time, in order not to disturb the solid material. Let the mould stand in cold water for seven or eight hours, when it can be turned out. Ornament with parsley, lemon, and beetroot.
LITTLE DISHES OF MEAT.
In this chapter a number of useful and inexpensive dishes are given, which will serve either as breakfast dishes, _entrees_, or for invalids, and which may, in the hands of an intelligent cook, serve as models for many others. As will be seen, it is not so much a question of expense to provide these little tasty dishes as of management. In all the following recipes for little dishes of mutton, it will be found a great advantage to use New Zealand Meat.
A good cook will never be embarra.s.sed by having too much cold meat on hand, because she will be able by her skill so to vary the dishes that the appet.i.tes of those for whom she caters will never tire of it. Even a small piece of the loin of mutton may be served in half-a-dozen different ways, and be relished by those who are tired of the mutton-chop or the plain roast.
MUTTON CUTLETS.
Taken from the neck, mutton cutlets are expensive, but those from the loin will be found not only convenient, but to answer well at a smaller cost.
First remove the under-cut or fillet from about two pounds of the best end of a loin of mutton, cut off the flap, which will be useful for stewing, and it is especially good eaten cold, and then remove the meat from the bones in one piece, which divide with the fillet into cutlets about half-an-inch thick. Egg them over and dip them in well-seasoned bread-crumbs, fry them until a nice brown, and serve with gravy made from the bones and an onion.
This way of cooking the loin is much more economical than in chops, because with them the bones and flap are wasted, whereas in cutlets all is used up.
To stew the flap, put it in a stewpan, the fat downwards, sprinkle pepper and salt, and slice an onion or two over, and set it to fry gently in its own fat for an hour. Take up the meat, and put half-a-pint of cold water to the fat, which, when it has risen in a solid cake, take off, mix a little flour with the gravy which will be found beneath the fat, add pepper, salt, and some cooked potatoes cut in slices. Cut the meat into neat squares; let it simmer gently in the gravy with the potatoes for an hour.
ROULADES OF MUTTON.
Remove the fillet from a fine loin of mutton, trim away every particle of skin, fat, and gristle. Flatten the fillet with a cutlet-bat, and cut it lengthways into slices as thin as possible; divide these into neat pieces about three inches long. Sprinkle each with pepper, salt, and finely-chopped parsley, roll them up tightly, then dip in beaten egg, and afterwards in finely-sifted bread-crumbs mixed with an equal quant.i.ty of flour and highly seasoned with pepper and salt. As each roulade is thus prepared place it on a game-skewer, three or four on each skewer. Dissolve an ounce of b.u.t.ter in a small frying-pan, and cook the roulades in it.
MUTTON COLLOPS.
Cut neat thin slices from a leg of either roasted or boiled mutton, dip them in yolk of egg and in fine dry bread-crumbs to which a little flour, pepper, and salt have been added. Heat enough b.u.t.ter in a small frying-pan to just cover the bottom, put in the slices of mutton and cook them very slowly, first on one side then on the other, until they are brown. Garnish the dish on which the mutton is served with some fried potatoes or potato chips.
MUTTON SAUTe.
Put a little b.u.t.ter or bacon fat in the frying-pan, sprinkle pepper and salt over slices of cold mutton, and let them get hot very slowly. The mutton must be frequently turned, and never allowed to fry. When turned in the pan for the last time sprinkle a little chopped parsley on the upper side; remove the slices carefully on to a hot dish, pour the fat in the pan over, and serve.
COLD MUTTON POTTED.
Cut up the mutton, being careful to free it from all sinew and skin; chop or pound it with half its weight of cooked bacon until it is as fine as desired. Season with a little pepper, salt, and allspice, put it into a jar, which set in a saucepan of water over the fire until the meat is hot through. When taken up stir occasionally until cool, then press it into little pots, and pour clarified b.u.t.ter or mutton fat over the top. If liked, a little essence of anchovy may be added to the seasoning.
MUTTON PIES.
Mince a quarter of a pound of underdone mutton, taking care to have it free from skin and fat. Mix with it a tablespoonful of rich gravy--that which is found under a cake of dripping from a joint is particularly suitable for this purpose--add a few drops of essence of anchovy, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and a small teaspoonful of minced parsley. If necessary add salt.
Line four patty-pans with puff paste, divide the mutton into equal portions and put it into the pans, cover each with a lid of paste, and bake in a quick oven for half-an-hour.
OX BRAIN.
Having carefully washed the brain, boil it very fast, in order to harden it, in well-seasoned gravy. When it is done, take it out of the gravy and set it aside until cold. Cut it either in slices or in halves, dip each piece in egg, then in bread-crumbs well seasoned with dried and sifted parsley, pepper, and salt, fry them in a little b.u.t.ter until brown. The gravy having become cold, take off the fat, and boil it in a stewpan without a lid until it is reduced to a small quant.i.ty; pour it round the brain, and serve.
BRAIN FRITTERS.
Carefully wash an ox brain, and boil it for a quarter of an hour in well-seasoned stock. When the brain is cold, cut it into slices as thin as possible, dip each of them in batter, drop them as you do them into a stewpan half-full of fat at a temperature of 430, or that which will brown instantly a piece of bread dipped into it. To make the batter, mix two large tablespoonfuls of fine flour with four of cold water, stir in a tablespoonful of dissolved b.u.t.ter or of fine oil, the yolk of an egg, and a pinch of salt and pepper; when ready to use, beat the white of the egg to a strong froth, and mix with it. Do not fry more than two fritters at once; as you take them up, throw them on paper to absorb any grease clinging to them, serve on a napkin or ornamental dish-paper. If this recipe is closely followed, the fritters will be light, crisp, delicate morsels, melting in the mouth, and form besides a very pretty dish. Garnish with fried parsley; take care the parsley is thoroughly dry, put it into a small frying-basket, and immerse it for an instant in the fat in which the fritters are to be cooked. Turn it out on paper, dry, and serve.
MARROW TOAST.