MY DEAR ELOISE,--Do not make any mistakes in the way you describe the above receipts, which might be made very ridiculous if wrongly explained. For example: I once had an old French Cookery Book in my hand, which had the 15th edition stamped on its old brown leather cheek, in which a receipt of "Tete de Veau a la poulette," that is, a calf"s head, with white sauce, in which small onions and mushrooms are introduced, reads as follows--but, before describing it, allow me five minutes to indulge in a hearty laugh at the absurd manner in which it is explained: it reads thus: "First choose your head as thick and fat as you can, then plunge it in two gallons of water, which must be nearly boiling in a pan on the fire; let your head remain about ten minutes, then take it out by the ears, and, after remaining a short time, sc.r.a.pe your hair off with the back of a knife without injuring your cheek, and pull your eyes out; break your jawbone and saw your head in two without smashing your brains, which take out carefully; set it in cold water, to get clean and white; then pull out your tongue, sc.r.a.pe and dry it, having previously boiled it with your head, which, after two hours" ebullition, will feel as soft as possible, when see that your head is in the centre of the dish; your tongue divided in two and placed on each side of it: sharp sauce, according to No.-- is allowed to be served with either head or tongue." I a.s.sure you, dear, although I do not profess to be a first-rate scholar in that fashionable language--French, that I believe this to be as near as possible the true translation of the original. Then follows calves" feet, which is nearly as absurd as the former: "Pied de Veau an naturel," Calves Feet, the natural way.--"Choose your fine feet in the rough state, and, as with your head, place a pan of water on the fire; when hot, but not too much so, put your feet in the water for about ten minutes, try if you can easily clean them as your head with a knife, if not, add a spoonful of salt in the water, and let them remain a few minutes longer; then sc.r.a.pe like your head; when well cleaned wipe them dry, and they are ready for dressing, which may be done in almost twenty different ways. (See the series "How to cook Pigs" Feet.") When your feet are tender, set them on a dish, take out the big bone, surround them with sausage-meat; wrap them up in caul, and form a heart with them; then place your feet on a gridiron, let them gently broil, and, when done, eat them for breakfast or luncheon." (After which a gentle walk might give you an appet.i.te for dinner.)
_Calf"s Head_ (No. 313) may be dressed thus:--Half of the head will make a good dish for a remove; lay it in the dish very hot, having previously drained it well; have ready about a pint of Hollandaise or cream sauce, No. 280, pour it over and serve.
It may be surrounded with a dozen new potatoes, if in season, or some quenelles, or quarters of hard-boiled eggs; a little chopped parsley thrown on the head when the sauce is over it, makes it look very inviting. It can also be served "a la poulette," by putting a pint of white sauce in a stewpan; you have peeled and cooked about fifty b.u.t.ton onions in white broth, to which you have added a little sugar and b.u.t.ter, and a few mushrooms; add the broth, onions, and sauce together, and when on the point of boiling, add a liaison of two yolks of eggs and the juice of a lemon; stir it well round; it ought to be the thickness of cream sauce; pour over the head and serve.
It can also be egged and bread-crumbed, and placed in the cream for twenty minutes to get a nice brown color, and may be served with sauces, Nos. 150, 165.
MUTTON.--The sheep, when killed, is generally divided into two, by cutting across about two ribs below the shoulder; these are called the fore and hind-quarters: the former contains the head, neck, breast, and shoulder; the latter, the leg and loin; or the two loins together, the saddle or chine; or the leg and four ribs of the loin, the haunch. The entrails are called the pluck, which are the liver, lights, heart, sweetbread, and melt. When cut up, the kernel at the tail should be removed, and that in the fat in the thick part of the leg, and the pipe that runs along the bone of the chine. The flavor depends on the breed and pasture; that is best which has a dark-colored flesh, of a fine grain, well-mixed with fat, which must be firm and white. Wether mutton is the best; the meat of ewe mutton is of a paler color, and the fat yellow and spongy. To keep a loin, saddle, or haunch, the kidney-fat should be removed, and the place rubbed with a little salt. Mutton should never be cooked unless it has hung forty-eight hours after it is killed; and it can be kept for twenty-one days, and sometimes longer in a severe winter.
314. _Haunch of Mutton._--Saw or break three inches from the knuckle-bone, remove all skin from the loin, put it on a spit, commencing at the knuckle, and bringing it out at the flap, avoiding the fillet of the loin; then cover it with three sheets of b.u.t.tered paper, place it about eighteen inches from the fire, if a large one it will take two hours and a half; half an hour before being done, remove the paper, baste it with a little b.u.t.ter, and dredge it slightly; when done, dish it up with a frill round the knuckle, and pour a pint of hot gravy over. In summer time, French beans should be served with it, but always mashed potatoes.
315. _Saddle of Mutton._--The same rule in regard to choice appiles to this as to the haunch. Take off the skin, run a lark-spit through the spinal marrow-bone, which affix to a larger one with a holdfast at one end and string at the other; then tie the skin over the back, and place it down to roast; it will not take so long a time to roast in proportion as another joint, one about ten pounds will take about one hour and twenty minutes; remove the paper ten minutes before taking it from the fire, dredge to give it a nice color, and make gravy as for beef, No.
287, or serve with gravy, No. 177.
316. _Saddle of Mutton, a la Polonaise._--This is my economical dish, _par excellence_, and very much it is liked every time I use it. Take the remains of a saddle of mutton, of the previous day, cut out all the meat close to the bone, leaving about one inch wide on the outside, cut it with a portion of the fat into small dice; then put a spoonful of chopped onions in a stewpan, with a little b.u.t.ter; fry one minute, add the meat, with a tablespoonful of flour, season rather high with salt, pepper, and a little grated nutmeg; stir round, and moisten with a gill or a little more of broth, add a bay-leaf, put it on the stove for ten minutes, add two yolks of eggs, stir till rather thick, make about two pounds of mashed potatoes firm enough to roll, put the saddle-bone in the middle of the dish, and with the potatoes form an edging round the saddle, so as to give the shape of one, leaving the middle empty, fill it with your mince meat, which ought to be enough to do so; if you should not have enough with the remains of the saddle, the remains of any other joint of mutton may be used; egg all over, sprinkle bread-crumbs around, put in rather a hot oven, to get a nice yellow color, poach six eggs, and place on the top, and serve brown gravy round; white or brown sauce, if handy, is an improvement. You may easily fancy the economy of this well-looking and good dish; the remains of a leg, shoulder, loin, neck of mutton and lamb may be dressed the same way, keeping their shape of course.
317. _Roast Leg of Mutton._--Choose the same as the haunch. One about eight pounds weight will take about one hour and a half to roast: run the spit in at the knuckle, and bring it out at the thigh-bone; roast it some little distance from the fire at first, bringing it nearer as it gets done; baste it with a little b.u.t.ter whilst roasting, or cover it with a sheet of well-b.u.t.tered paper, which remove just before it is quite cooked. The leg of doe mutton is the best for roasting; should it be ewe, and intended for roasting, I proceed thus two or three days before I want it. I make a small incision close to the knuckle, pushing a wooden skewer close down to the leg-bone as far as it will go; I then take one tablespoonful of port wine, if none handy I use catsup, and a teaspoonful of either treacle, apple or currant jelly, and mix them together; I then remove the skewer, and run the mixture in it, closing the hole with two cloves of garlic. This joint I prefer to dangle, rather than put on the spit.
318. _Boiled Leg of Mutton._--This I prefer of the Southdown breed, and ewe is equally as good as doe. Cut the end of the knuckle from the leg, put it into an oval pan, in which there is sufficient water to cover it, throw in about one ounce of salt, place it upon a sharp fire until it is on the point of boiling, then remove to the side, and in five minutes remove the sc.u.m, and then let it simmer gently; if the turnips are to be boiled with it, peel and slice them, and put them into the pan half an hour before the mutton is done; it must be again put on the fire for a few minutes, as the turnips have stopped the boiling; dress it upon a dish with the turnips round it, or mash separate, and with caper or gherkin sauce: the broth may be reduced for soup.
319. _Leg of Mutton a la Bretonne._--Choose one about six pounds weight, peel four cloves of garlic, make an incision with the point of a knife in four different parts around the knuckle, and place the garlic in it, hang it up for a day or two, and then roast it for one hour and a half.
At the same time you have procured a quart of small dry French haricots, which after well washing put into a saucepan with half a gallon of water, add about half an ounce of salt, the same of b.u.t.ter, set them on the side of the fire to simmer for about three hours or till tender, when pour the liquor off into a basin, and keep the haricots hot; peel and cut two large onions into thin slices, put some of the fat of the dripping-pan into a frying-pan, put in the onions, and fry a light brown, add them to the haricots with the fat and gravy the mutton has produced in roasting, season with salt and pepper, toss them a little, and serve very hot on a large dish, put the leg on it, with a frill of paper on the knuckle. In case the leg is very fat do not add all of it to the haricots. This if well carved is an excellent dish for eight or nine persons; it is a dish very much esteemed in France, and is considered cheap food from the nourishment afforded by the haricots, which can be purchased at sixpence per quart.
Shoulder and loin may be dressed in the same way.
320. _Shoulder of Mutton_ is best if well hung; the spit should be run in at the flap and brought out at the knuckle; this should not be basted in roasting, but merely rubbed with a little b.u.t.ter; it is served occasionally with sauces, No. 158. This is sometimes boiled with onion sauce; or, as it is called, smothered in onions. It is also good by having the bone extracted, and its place filled with veal stuffing, and then put it on a trivet, in a baking-dish, with sliced potatoes under, and baked more or less in proportion to its size; one of six pounds will take one hour and a half--or as follows:
Put a small shoulder of mutton in a deep saute-pan or baking-dish, season with a little pepper and salt, cover over with thin slices of fat bacon, then put in ten potatoes peeled and quartered, and the same quant.i.ty of apples, with half a pint of water, place in a moderate oven and bake for two hours, dress upon your dish, with the potatoes and apples round, skim all the fat from the gravy, which pour over and serve; it requires a little oil or b.u.t.ter over before baking.
321. _Shoulder of Mutton, Provincial Fashion._--Roast a fine shoulder of mutton; whilst roasting mince ten large onions very fine, put them into a stewpan, with two tablespoonfuls of salad-oil, pa.s.s them ten minutes over a good fire, keeping it stirred, then add a tablespoonful of flour, stir well in, and a pint of milk, season with a little pepper, salt, and sugar; when the onions are quite tender and the sauce rather thick, stir in the yolks of two eggs and take it off the fire; when the shoulder is done, spread the onions over the top, egg over, cover with bread-crumbs, put in the oven ten minutes, and salamander a light brown color, dress upon your dish, put the gravy from it in your stewpan, with a pat of b.u.t.ter, with which you have mixed a little flour, boil up, add a little sc.r.a.ped garlic, pour round the shoulder, which serve. The shoulder may also be dressed in the housewife"s method, as directed for the leg. A little browning may be added.
322. _Loin of Mutton._--Take off the skin, separate the joints with a chopper; if a large size, cut the chine-bone with a saw, so as to allow it to be carved in smaller pieces, run a lark-spit from one extremity to the other, and affix it to a larger spit, and roast it like the haunch.
A loin weighing six pounds will take one hour to roast.
323. _Leg of Mutton stewed with Vegetables._--Have a good leg, beat it a little with a rolling-pin, make an incision in the knuckle, in which put two cloves of garlic, then put it into a stewpan, with a pound of lean bacon cut in eight pieces, set over a moderate fire half an hour, moving it now and then until becoming a light brown color, season with pepper and salt, add twenty pieces of carrots of the same size as the bacon, fifteen middling-sized onions, and when done add two bay-leaves, two cloves, and two quarts of water, replace it upon a moderate fire, moving round occasionally, stew nearly three hours, dress upon your dish with the carrots and onions dressed tastefully around, take off as much of the fat from the gravy as possible, take out the bay-leaves and pour the garniture round the mutton, which serve very hot. It can be braised like No. 289. A few drops of browning may be required.
324. _Neck of Mutton._--This is a very _recherche_ dish, if off a good-sized sheep, and well hung; it must be nicely trimmed, sawing the bones at the tips of the ribs, which detach from the meat, folding the flap over; saw off the chine-bone, and carefully detach the remainder of the bone from the fillet; detach the skin from the upper part, fix the flap under with a couple of skewers, run a flat lark-spit from end to end, fix it to a larger one, cover it with b.u.t.tered paper, and roast like the haunch; if of five pounds, nearly three-quarters of an hour to one hour. It should be served very hot, the plates and dish the same, and not one minute before it is wanted: serve gravy under.
325. _Boiled Neck of Mutton._--Take one with little fat upon it, divide the chops, taking care not to cut the fillet, put it into a pan with cold water sufficient to cover it, place in it one ounce of salt, one onion, and a small bunch of parsley, boil it gently; when done, dish it up, and serve it with either parsley and b.u.t.ter made from the liquor in which it was boiled, caper or onion sauce, mashed turnips separate.
Proceed as under receipt with the broth.
326. _Sheep"s Head._--Though this may be seen in every part of London inhabited by the working cla.s.ses, and may be procured ready-cooked, I prefer always to prepare it at home, and very good it is. I choose a fine one, as fat as possible, and put it into a gallon of water to disgorge for two hours; wash it well, saw it in two from the top, take out the brain, cut away part of the uncovered part of the skull, and also the ends of the jaws, wash it well, put it into the stewpan, with two onions, one carrot, two turnips cut in slices, a little celery, four cloves, a bouquet of four sprigs of thyme, a bay-leaf, one ounce of salt, a quarter of an ounce of pepper, three quarts of water, set on the fire; when near boiling, add half a teacupful of pearl or Scotch barley; let it simmer for three hours, or till tender, which try with a fork; take out vegetables, cut in dice, remove bouquet, skim off the fat, and pour all into tureen. Or, lay the head on a dish, and serve with either onion sauce over, parsley and b.u.t.ter, or any sharp sauce; or egg and bread-crumb it over, put it in an oven for half an hour till getting a nice yellow color, and serve with sharp sauce under. Or, with the brain, thus: having boiled it for ten minutes in a little vinegar, salt, and water, cut it in pieces, warm it in parsley and b.u.t.ter, season it a little, and put it under the head and serve.
327. _Sheep"s Head and Liver._--Boil half a sheep"s liver for thirty minutes in a quart of water, cut it into small dice, put two ounces of b.u.t.ter in the stewpan, and set it on the fire, then add a tablespoonful of chopped onions, cook it a few minutes, add the liver, season with salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, a spoonful of flour, half-pint of broth, stir when boiling, simmer for a few minutes, lay on dish, and put the head over just as it is out of the broth, or bread-crumb it, and put it in the oven.
LAMB.--The same rules for cutting up should be observed as in the sheep. The fore-quarter consists of a shoulder, neck, and breast together; if cut up, the shoulder and ribs. The hind-quarter is the leg and loin. The head and pluck consist of the liver, lights, heart, nut and melt, as also the fry, which is the sweetbread, bits and skirts, and part of the liver. The fore-quarter should be fresh, the hind-quarter should hang, it should be of a pale color and fat. The vein in the fore-quarter ought to be bluish and firm; if yellow or green, it is very stale. To ascertain if the hind-quarter is fresh, pa.s.s your finger under the kidney, and if there is a faint smell it is not fresh. If there is but little flesh on the shoulder it is not fine lamb; those that have short wool I have found to be the best flavored. Nothing differs so much in flavor and goodness as this: much depends upon the kind of pasture on which the ewe is fed; that which is obtained when it is the dearest has but little flavor, and requires the addition of lemon and cayenne to make it palatable.
328. _Neck of Lamb a la Jardiniere._--Plain roast the neck, as you would that of mutton; dish it up with sauce, and, whilst it is roasting, cut one middling-sized carrot in small dice, the same quant.i.ty of turnip, and thirty b.u.t.ton onions; wash all in cold water, put them in a small stewpan, with one ounce of b.u.t.ter and half a teaspoonful of sugar, place on the fire till no liquid remains in the stewpan; add to it a gill of brown sauce, half a one of broth, add a small bouquet of parsley and bay-leaf; after once boiling, set it to simmer on the corner of the stove, skim off all the fat; when ready, taste if very palatable; it must be a nice brown color, and the sauce lightly adhere to the back of the spoon; serve on the dish, place the neck over: white sauce may be used instead of brown, only add a spoonful of liaison when ready to serve. This sauce is equally good with almost any kind of meat, game, and poultry: it will often be referred to, therefore be particular in making it; you can shape the vegetables in twenty different ways, by using either green peas, French beans, Brussels sprouts; sprey-gra.s.s may be added, when in season, but should be boiled separately, and added just previous to serving. Should you have no sauce-water cold, a little glaze may be used; or, for white sauce, use water and milk.
329. _Saddle of Lamb, Russian fashion._--Roast a small saddle of lamb, keeping it pale; having had it covered with paper, take ten good-sized boiled potatoes, mash them with about two ounces of b.u.t.ter, a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter ditto of pepper, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and a little grated nutmeg; mix all well together with a fork, adding half a gill of milk and one egg; when cold, roll them into a long shape the size of plover"s eggs, egg and bread-crumb twice, and fry light colored; dress the saddle, surround it with the potatoes, make a sauce of melted b.u.t.ter and maitre d"hotel b.u.t.ter, No. 285, put in it, and pour it round, and serve. All joints of lamb can be dressed thus.
330. _Leg or Shoulder of Lamb with Peas._--These must be plain roasted; when done, serve with peas in the bottom of the dish, prepared as No.
169.
331. _Leg or Shoulder with French Beans._--Plain roast as before; prepare beans as directed. (See Vegetables.)
332. _Boiled Leg of Lamb with Spinach._--Procure a very small leg, and cut the end of the knuckle-bone, tie it up in a cloth and place it in cold water, with two ounces of salt in it, boil it gently according to size; when done, remove the cloth, and dish it up with spinach under it, prepared as directed. (See Vegetables.)
333. _Shoulder of Lamb braised._--Take the blade bone from a shoulder of lamb, and have ready ten long strips of fat bacon, which season rather highly, with pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, place the pieces, one after the other, in your larding pin, which draw quickly through the fleshy part of the shoulder, leaving the bacon in the meat; after having used all the bacon, roll the meat round, and tie it up with a piece of string; then put it into a stewpan containing a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter over a slow fire, stirring it occasionally until of a light golden color, when pour in a quart of water or broth, and add forty b.u.t.ton onions, and a bunch of parsley; let simmer very slowly until the onions are quite tender, when take up the meat, pull off the string, and dress it upon a dish with the onions round; take the parsley out of the liquor, from which carefully skim off all the fat, and reduce it until forming a thinnish glaze, when pour it over the meat and serve. Mushrooms may be added ten minutes before sending to table.
334. _Breast of Lamb broiled._--Saw off the breast from a rib of lamb, leaving the neck of sufficient size to roast or for cutlets; then put two onions, half a carrot, and the same of turnip, cut into thin slices, in a stewpan with two bay-leaves, a few sprigs of parsley and thyme, half an ounce of salt, and three pints of water, lay in the breast, which let simmer until tender, and the bones leave with facility, when take it from the stewpan, pull out all the bones, and press it between two dishes; when cold, season with a little salt and pepper, egg and bread-crumb it lightly over, and broil gently (over a moderate fire) of a nice yellowish color, turning it very carefully; when sufficiently browned upon one side, serve with plain gravy in the dish and mint sauce separately, or with stewed peas or any other vegetable sauce; tomato sauce is likewise very good served with it.
335. _Lamb"s Head._--See Sheep"s Head (No. 324). This will take half the time to cook.
336. _Lamb"s Fry._--Take about a pound and boil for ten minutes in half a gallon of water, take it out and dry on a cloth; have some fresh crumbs, mix with them half a spoonful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper; egg the fry lightly with a paste-brush, dip it in the crumbs, fry for five minutes, serve very hot on a clean napkin in a dish, with fried parsley over.
337. _Lamb"s Head with Hollandaise._--If you want it very white, make stock as for sheep"s feet, put it to stew when done, lay on dish with about twelve new potatoes (boiled) round it, pour over some cream sauce (No. 280), and serve.
338. _Lamb"s Head, with Brain or Liver._--Blanch the brain or liver, and mince them as for sheep"s head, introducing only the yolk of an egg; mix with a little milk, stir in quick, add a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, the juice of half a lemon, lay it on the dish with the head over, and serve.