FRENCH STEW.
Grease the bottom of an iron pot, and place in it three or four pounds of beef; be very careful that it does not burn, and turn it until it is nicely browned. Set a m.u.f.fin ring under the beef to prevent its sticking. Add a few sliced carrots, one or two sliced onions, and a cupful of hot water; keep covered and stew slowly until the vegetables are done. Add pepper and salt. If you wish more gravy, add hot water, and thicken with flour. Serve on a dish with the vegetables.
TO POT BEEF.
The round is the best piece for potting, and you may use both the upper and under part. Take ten pounds of beef, remove all the fat, cut the lean into square pieces, two inches thick. Mix together three teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, one of cloves, one of mace, one of cinnamon, one of allspice, one of thyme, and one of sweet basil.
Put a layer of the pieces of beef into an earthen pot, sprinkle some of this spice mixture over this layer, add a piece of fat salt pork, cut as thin as possible, sprinkle a little of the spice mixture over the pork, make another layer of the beef with spices and pork, and so on, until the pot is filled. Pour over the whole three tablespoonfuls of Tarragon vinegar, or, if you prefer it, half a pint of Madeira wine; cover the pot with a paste made of flour and water, so that no steam can escape. Put the pot into an oven, moderately heated, and let it stand there eight hours; then set it away to use when wanted.
Beef cooked in this manner will keep good for a fortnight in moderate weather.
It is an excellent relish for breakfast, and may be eaten either warm or cold. When eaten warm, serve with slices of lemon.
STEWED BRISKET OF BEEF.
Put the part that has the hard fat into a stewpot with a small quant.i.ty of water; let it boil up and skim it thoroughly; then add carrots, turnips, onions, celery and a few pepper-corns. Stew till extremely tender; then take out all the flat bones and remove all the fat from the soup. Either serve that and the meat in tureen, or the soup alone, and the meat on a dish garnished with some vegetables. The following sauce is much admired served with the beef: Take half a pint of the soup and mix it with a spoonful of catsup, a teaspoonful of made mustard, a little flour, a bit of b.u.t.ter and salt; boil all together a few minutes, then pour it round the meat.
DRIED BEEF WITH CREAM.
Shave your beef _very fine_. Put it into a suitable dish on the back of the stove; cover with cold water and give it time to soak out to its original size before being dried. When it is quite soft and the water has become hot (it must not boil) take it off, turn off the water, pour on a cup of cream; if you do not have it use milk and b.u.t.ter, a pinch of pepper; let it come to a boil, thicken with a tablespoonful of flour wet up in a little milk. Serve on dipped toast or not, just as one fancies. A nice breakfast dish.
BEEF CROQUETTES. No. 1.
Chop fine one cup of cold, cooked, lean beef, half a cup of fat, half a cup of cold boiled or fried ham; cold pork will do if you have not the ham. Also mince up a slice of onion. Season all with a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and a teaspoonful of powdered sage or parsley if liked. Heat together with half a cup of stock or milk; when cool add a beaten egg. Form the mixture into b.a.l.l.s, slightly flattened, roll in egg and bread crumbs, or flour and egg.
Fry in hot lard or beef drippings. Serve on a platter and garnish with sprigs of parsley. Almost any cold meats can be used instead of beef.
BEEF CROQUETTES. No. 2.
Take cold roast or corned beef. Put it into a wooden bowl and chop it fine. Mix with it about twice the quant.i.ty of hot mashed potatoes well seasoned with b.u.t.ter and salt. Beat up an egg and work it into the potato and meat, then form the mixture into little cakes the size of fish b.a.l.l.s. Flatten them a little, roll in flour or egg and cracker crumbs, fry in b.u.t.ter and lard mixed, browning on both sides. Serve piping hot.
MEAT AND POTATO CROQUETTES.
Put in a stewpan an ounce of b.u.t.ter and a slice of onion minced fine; when this simmers add a level tablespoonful of sifted flour; stir the mixture until it becomes smooth and frothy; then add half of a cupful of milk, some seasoning of salt and pepper; let all boil, stirring it all the while. Now add a cupful of cold meat chopped fine, and a cupful of cold or hot mashed potato. Mix all thoroughly and spread on a plate to cool. When it is cool enough, shape it with your hands into b.a.l.l.s or rolls. Dip them in beaten egg and roll in cracker or bread crumbs. Drop them into hot lard and fry about two minutes a delicate brown; take them out with a skimmer and drain them on a piece of brown paper. Serve immediately while hot. These are very nice.
Cold rice or hominy may be used in place of the potato; or a cupful of cold fish minced fine in place of the meat.
COLD ROAST, WARMED. No. 1.
Cut from the remains of a cold roast the lean meat from the bones into small, thin slices. Put over the fire a frying pan containing a spoonful of b.u.t.ter or drippings. Cut up a quarter of an onion and fry it brown, then remove the onion, add the meat gravy left from the day before, and if not thick enough add a little flour; salt and pepper.
Turn the pieces of meat into this and let them _simmer_ a few minutes.
Serve hot.
COLD ROAST, WARMED. No. 2.
Cold rare roast beef may be made as good as when freshly cooked by slicing, seasoning with salt, pepper and bits of b.u.t.ter; put it in a plate or pan with a spoonful or two of water, covering closely, and set in the oven until hot, but no longer. Cold steak may be shaved very fine with a knife and used the same way.
Or, if the meat is in small pieces, cover them with b.u.t.tered letter paper, twist each end tightly, and boil them on the gridiron, sprinkling them with finely chopped herbs.
Still another nice way of using cold meats is to mince the lean portions very fine and add to a batter made of one pint of milk, one cup of flour and three eggs. Fry like fritters and serve with drawn b.u.t.ter or sauce.
COLD MEAT AND POTATO, BAKED.
Put in a frying pan a round tablespoonful of cold b.u.t.ter; when it becomes hot, stir into it a teaspoonful of chopped onion and a tablespoonful of flour, stirring it constantly until it is smooth and frothy; then add two-thirds of a cupful of cold milk or water. Season this with salt and pepper and allow it to come to a boil; then add a cupful of cold meat finely chopped and cleared from bone and skin; let this all heat thoroughly; then turn it into a shallow dish well b.u.t.tered. Spread hot or cold mashed potatoes over the top, and cook for fifteen or twenty minutes in a moderate hot oven.
Cold hominy, or rice may be used in place of mashed potatoes, and is equally as good.
BEEF HASH. No. 1.
Chop rather finely cold roast beef or pieces of beefsteak, also chop twice as much cold boiled potatoes. Put over the fire a stewpan or frying pan, in which put a piece of b.u.t.ter as large as required to season it well, add pepper and salt, moisten with beef gravy if you have it, if not, with hot water; cover and let it steam and heat through thoroughly, stirring occasionally, so that the ingredients be evenly distributed, and to keep the hash from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When done it should not be at all watery, nor yet dry, but have sufficient adhesiveness to stand well on a dish or b.u.t.tered toast. Many like the flavor of onion; if so, fry two or three slices in the b.u.t.ter before adding the hash. Corned beef makes excellent hash.
BEEF HASH. No. 2.
Chop cold roast beef, or pieces of beefsteak; fry half an onion in a piece of b.u.t.ter; when the onion is brown, add the chopped beef; season with a little salt and pepper; moisten with the beef gravy, if you have any, if not, with sufficient water and a little b.u.t.ter; cook long enough to be hot, but no longer, as much cooking toughens the meat. An excellent breakfast dish.
_Prof. Blot._
Some prefer to let a crust form on the bottom and turn the hash brown side uppermost. Served with poached eggs on top.
HAMBURGER STEAK.
Take a pound of raw flank or round steak, without any fat, bone or stringy pieces. Chop it until a perfect mince, it cannot be chopped too fine. Also chop a small onion quite fine and mix well with the meat. Season with salt and pepper; make into cakes as large as a biscuit, but quite flat, or into one large flat cake a little less than half an inch thick. Have ready a frying pan with b.u.t.ter and lard mixed; when boiling hot put in the steak and fry brown. Garnish with celery top around the edge of the platter and two or three slices of lemon on the top of the meat.
A brown gravy made from the grease the steak was fried in and poured over the meat enriches it.
TO ROAST BEEF HEART.
Wash it carefully and open it sufficiently to remove the ventricles, then soak it in cold water until the blood is discharged; wipe it dry and stuff it nicely with dressing, as for turkey; roast it about an hour and a half. Serve it with the gravy, which should be thickened with some of the stuffing and a gla.s.s of wine. It is very nice hashed.
Served with currant jelly.
_Palmer House, Chicago._
STEWED BEEF KIDNEY.
Cut the kidney into slices, season highly with pepper and salt, fry it a light brown, take out the slices, then pour a little warm water into the pan, dredge in some flour, put in slices of kidney again; let them stew very gently; add some parsley if liked. Sheep"s kidneys may be split open, broiled over a clear fire and served with a piece of b.u.t.ter placed on each half.