Hotel and private-house stock is quite different.
Hotels use meat in such large quant.i.ties that there is always more or less tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs and bones of meat to add to fresh meats; that makes very strong stock, which they use in most all soups and gravies and other made dishes.
The meat from which soup has been made is good to serve cold thus: Take out all the bones, season with pepper and salt, and catsup, if liked, then chop it small, tie it in a cloth, and lay it between two plates, with a weight on the upper one; slice it thin for luncheon or supper; or make sandwiches of it; or make a hash for breakfast; or make it into b.a.l.l.s, with the addition of a little wheat flour and an egg, and serve them fried in fat, or boil in the soup.
An agreeable flavor is sometimes imparted to soup by sticking some cloves into the meat used for making stock; a few slices of onions fried very brown in b.u.t.ter are nice; also flour browned by simply putting it into a saucepan over the fire and stirring it constantly until it is a dark brown.
Clear soups must be perfectly transparent, and thickened soups about the consistency of cream. When soups and gravies are kept from day to day in hot weather, they should be warmed up every day, and put into fresh-scalded pans or tureens, and placed in a cool cellar. In temperate weather, every other day may be sufficient.
HERBS AND VEGETABLES USED IN SOUPS.
Of vegetables the princ.i.p.al ones are carrots, tomatoes, asparagus, green peas, okra, macaroni, green corn, beans, rice, vermicelli, Scotch barley, pearl barley, wheat flour, mushroom, or mushroom catsup, parsnips, beetroot, turnips, leeks, garlic, shallots and onions; sliced onions fried with b.u.t.ter and flour until they are browned, then rubbed through a sieve, are excellent to heighten the color and flavor of brown sauces and soups. The herbs usually used in soups are parsley, common thyme, summer savory, knotted marjoram, and other seasonings, such as bay-leaves, tarragon, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, mace, black and white pepper, red pepper, lemon peel and juice, orange peel and juice. The latter imparts a finer flavor and the acid much milder. These materials, with wine, and the various catsups, combined in various proportions, are, with other ingredients, made into almost an endless variety of excellent soups and gravies.
Soups that are intended for the princ.i.p.al part of a meal certainly ought not to be flavored like sauces, which are only intended to give relish to some particular dish.
STOCK.
Six pounds of shin of beef, or six pounds of knuckle of veal; any bones, tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of poultry, or fresh meat; one-quarter pound of lean bacon or ham, two ounces of b.u.t.ter, two large onions, each stuck with cloves; one turnip, three carrots, one head of celery, two ounces of salt, one-half teaspoonful of whole pepper, one large blade of mace, one bunch of savory herbs except sage, four quarts and one-half-pint of cold water.
Cut up the meat and bacon, or ham, into pieces of about three inches square; break the bones into small pieces, rub the b.u.t.ter on the bottom of the stewpan; put in one-half a pint of water, the broken bones, then meat and all other ingredients. Cover the stewpan, and place it on a sharp fire, occasionally stirring its contents. When the bottom of the pan becomes covered with a pale, jelly-like substance, add the four quarts of cold water, and simmer very gently for five or six hours. As we have said before, do not let it boil quickly. When nearly cooked, throw in a tablespoonful of salt to a.s.sist the sc.u.m to rise. Remove every particle of sc.u.m whilst it is doing, and strain it through a fine hair sieve; when cool remove all grease. This stock will keep for many days in cold weather.
Stock is the basis of many of the soups afterwards mentioned, and this will be found quite strong enough for ordinary purposes. Keep it in small jars, in a cool place. It makes a good gravy for hash meats; one tablespoonful of it is sufficient to impart a fine flavor to a dish of macaroni and various other dishes. Good soups of various kinds are made from it at short notice; slice off a portion of the jelly, add water, and whatever vegetables and thickening preferred. It is best to partly cook the vegetables before adding to the stock, as much boiling injures the flavoring of the soup. Season and boil a few moments and serve hot.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FRANCES FOLSOM CLEVELAND.]
WHITE STOCK.
White stock is used in the preparation of white soups, and is made by boiling six pounds of a knuckle of veal, cut up in small pieces, poultry tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, and four slices of lean ham. Proceed according to directions given in STOCK, on opposite page.
TO CLARIFY STOCK.
Place the stock in a clean saucepan, set it over a brisk fire. When boiling, add the white of one egg to each quart of stock, proceeding as follows: beat the whites of the eggs up well in a little water; then add a little hot stock; beat to a froth and pour gradually into the pot; then beat the whole hard and long; allow it to boil up once, and immediately remove and strain through a thin flannel cloth.
BEEF SOUP.
Select a small shin of beef of moderate size, crack the bone in small pieces, wash and place it in a kettle to boil, with five or six quarts of _cold_ water. Let it boil about two hours, or until it begins to get tender, then season it with a tablespoonful of salt, and a teaspoonful of pepper; boil it one hour longer, then add to it one carrot, two turnips, two tablespoonfuls of rice or pearl barley, one head of celery, and a teaspoonful of summer savory powdered fine; the vegetables to be minced up in small pieces like dice. After these ingredients have boiled a quarter of an hour, put in two potatoes cut up in small pieces, let it boil half an hour longer; take the meat from the soup, and if intended to be served with it, take out the bones and lay it closely and neatly on a dish, and garnish with sprigs of parsley.
Serve made mustard and catsup with it. It is very nice pressed and eaten cold with mustard and vinegar, or catsup. Four hours are required for making this soup. Should any remain over the first day, it may be heated, with the addition of a little boiling water, and served again. Some fancy a gla.s.s of brown sherry added just before being served. Serve very hot.
VEAL SOUP. (Excellent.)
Put a knuckle of veal into three quarts of cold water, with a small quant.i.ty of salt, and one small tablespoonful of uncooked rice. Boil slowly, hardly above simmering, four hours, when the liquor should be reduced to half the usual quant.i.ty; remove from the fire. Into the tureen put the yolk of one egg, and stir well into it a teacupful of cream, or, in hot weather, new milk; add a piece of b.u.t.ter the size of a hickory nut; on this strain the soup, boiling hot, stirring all the time. Just at the last, beat it well for a minute.
SCOTCH MUTTON BROTH.
Six pounds neck of mutton, three quarts water, five carrots, five turnips, two onions, four tablespoonfuls barley, a little salt. Soak mutton in water for an hour, cut off scrag, and put it in stewpan with three quarts of water. As soon as it boils, skim well, and then simmer for one and one-half hours. Cut best end of mutton into cutlets, dividing it with two bones in each; take off nearly all fat before you put it into broth; skim the moment the meat boils, and every ten minutes afterwards; add carrots, turnips and onions, all cut into two or three pieces, then put them into soup soon enough to be thoroughly done; stir in barley; add salt to taste; let all stew together for three and one-half hours; about one-half hour before sending it to table, put in little chopped parsley and serve.
Cut the meat off the scrag into small pieces, and send it to table in the tureen with the soup. The other half of the mutton should be served on a separate dish, with whole turnips boiled and laid round it. Many persons are fond of mutton that has been boiled in soup.
You may thicken the soup with rice or barley that has first been soaked in cold water, or with green peas, or with young corn, cut down from the cob, or with tomatoes, scalded, peeled and cut into pieces.
GAME SOUP.
Two grouse or partridges, or, if you have neither, use a pair of rabbits; half a pound of lean ham; two medium-sized onions; one pound of lean beef; fried bread; b.u.t.ter for frying; pepper, salt and two stalks of white celery cut into inch lengths; three quarts of water.
Joint your game neatly; cut the ham and onions into small pieces, fry all in b.u.t.ter to a light brown. Put into a soup-pot with the beef, cut into strips, add a little pepper. Pour on the water; heat slowly, and stew gently two hours. Take out the pieces of bird, and cover in a bowl; cook the soup an hour longer; strain; cool; drop in the celery and simmer ten minutes. Pour upon fried bread in the tureen.
Venison soup made the same, with the addition of a tablespoonful of brown flour wet into a paste with cold water, adding a tablespoonful of catsup, Worcestershire, or other pungent sauce, and a gla.s.s of Madeira or brown sherry.
CONSOMME SOUP.
Take good strong stock (see pages 27 and 30), remove all fat from the surface, and for each quart of the stock allow the white and sh.e.l.l of one egg and a tablespoonful of water, well whipped together. Pour this mixture into a saucepan containing the stock; place it over the fire and heat the contents gradually, stirring often to prevent the egg from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. Allow it to boil gently until the stock looks perfectly clear under the egg, which will rise and float upon the surface in the form of a thick white sc.u.m. Now remove it and pour it into a folded towel laid in a colander set over an earthen bowl, allowing it to run through without moving or squeezing it. Season with more salt if needed, and quickly serve very hot. This should be a clear amber color.
JULIENNE SOUP.
Cut carrots and turnips into quarter-inch pieces the shape of dice; also celery into thin slices. Cover them with boiling water; add a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful pepper, and cook until soft.
In another saucepan have two quarts of boiling stock (see pages 27 and 30), to which add the cooked vegetables, the water and more seasoning if necessary. Serve hot.
In the spring and summer season use asparagus, peas and string beans--all cut into small uniform thickness.
CREAM OF SPINACH.
Pick, wash and boil enough spinach to measure a pint, when cooked, chopped and pounded into a soft paste. Put it into a stewpan with four ounces of fresh b.u.t.ter, a little grated nutmeg, a teaspoonful of salt.
Cook and stir it about ten minutes. Add to this two quarts of strong stock (see pages 27 and 30); let boil up, then rub it through a strainer. Set it over the fire again, and, when on the point of boiling, mix with it a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, and a teaspoonful of granulated sugar.
CHICKEN CREAM SOUP.
An old chicken for soup is much the best. Cut it up into quarters, put it into a soup kettle with half a pound of corned ham, and an onion; add four quarts of cold water. Bring slowly to a gentle boil, and keep this up until the liquid has diminished one-third, and the meat drops from the bones; then add half a cup of rice. Season with salt, pepper and a bunch of chopped parsley.
Cook slowly until the rice is tender, then the meat should be taken out. Now stir in two cups of rich milk thickened with a little flour.
The chicken could be fried in a spoonful of b.u.t.ter and a gravy made, reserving some of the white part of the meat, chopping it and adding it to the soup.
PLAIN ECONOMICAL SOUP.
Take a cold roast-beef bone, pieces of beefsteak, the rack of a cold turkey or chicken. Put them into a pot with three or four quarts of water, two carrots, three turnips, one onion, a few cloves, pepper and salt. Boil the whole gently four hours; then strain it through a colander, mashing the vegetables so that they will all pa.s.s through.
Skim off the fat, and return the soup to the pot. Mix one tablespoonful of flour with two of water, stir it into the soup and boil the whole ten minutes. Serve this soup with sippits of toast.