CHEAP FISH AND MEAT DINNERS.
I have already spoken of the value of fish as strengthening food, and in
support of what I say I need only to remind you how vigorous and healthy
the inhabitants of the sea coast usually are, especially if they eat
red-blooded fish. This fact, in connection with the abundance and
cheapness of fish makes it an important article in the dietary of the
good housekeeper.
Fish may be cooked by boiling, baking, broiling, and frying; boiling is
the least economical method of cooking fish, and fish soup, or fish
chowder the most saving; broiled fish wastes but little of its
nutriment, but its bulk is decreased; baked fish ranks next to fish soup
in point of economy.
Fish are preserved for winter use by cleaning them, rubbing them with
salt, packing them in layers, and covering them with brine. An excellent
way of pickling fish is to clean them, cut off the heads, tails, and
fins, wash them, and then rub them well with salt and spice, pack them
in layers in an earthen crock or deep dish, cover them with vinegar, and
tie the jar over with buttered paper; they are then ready to bake slowly
for about four hours; and will keep for three or four weeks after they
are cooked.
In London, and other large English cities, where fried fish forms an
important item of popular food, it is cooked with great care, and in
such a manner as to retain all its nourishing qualities. It is well
washed in salted water, dried on a clean cloth, cut in slices if large,
dipped in a rather thin batter, made of flour, salt, pepper, and cold
water, and then dropped into a pan containing plenty of fat heated until
it is smoking hot, but does not boil; the pan is then taken from the
fire, and by the time the fat is growing cool the fish is cooked. A
novice would do best by maintaining the fat at the proper degree of heat
until the fish is cooked.
The receipts which I give for fish are calculated to produce compound
dishes from it, hearty enough to make the bulk of a meal.
=Fish and Potato Pie.=--Use any cheap fish which does not cost more than
five or six cents a pound, such as cod, haddock, or blue-fish; cut two
pounds of fish, (cost twelve cents,) in pieces about an inch thick and
two inches long; lay them in a deep dish with a pint of cold gravy of
any kind, or cold water, season with a tablespoonful each of chopped
parsley and onion, and a teaspoonful of salt, pepper, and thyme, mixed
together in equal quantities, and sprinkled among the fish; put it into
the oven for fifteen or twenty minutes to partly cook. Put one quart of
potatoes, (cost three cents,) into boiling water, and boil until soft
enough to mash; mash them, season them with salt and pepper, and put
them over the fish, which you must take from the oven, as a crust;
return the pie again to the oven to brown the crust, and then serve it
with bread and butter. Twenty-five cents will cover the cost of all, and
the dinner will be a good one.
=Fish Pudding.=--Make a plain paste by mixing quarter of a pound of lard
or sweet drippings, (cost three cents,) with half a pound of flour,
(cost two cents,) a teaspoonful of salt, and just water enough to make a
stiff paste; roll it out; line the edges of a deep pudding dish with it
half way down; fill the dish with layers of fresh codfish cut in small
pieces, using two pounds, (cost twelve cents,) season each layer with
salt, pepper, chopped parsley, and chopped onions, using one
tablespoonful of salt, one saltspoonful of pepper, two bay leaves, a
saltspoonful of thyme, four ounces of onion, and half an ounce of
parsley, (cost five cents;) fill up the dish with any cold gravy, milk,
or water, cover with paste, and bake fifteen minutes in a quick oven;
finish by baking half an hour in a moderate oven; serve hot.
With bread the dinner will cost twenty-five cents.
=Fish and Potato Pudding.=--Wash and peel one quart of potatoes, (cost
three cents,) peel and slice about six ounces of onions, (cost one
cent,) skin and bone two bloaters or large herrings, (cost five cents,)
put all these ingredients into a baking dish in layers, seasoning them
with a dessertspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of pepper; pour over
them any cold gravy you have on hand, or add two or three ounces of
drippings; if you have neither of these, water will answer; bake the
pudding an hour and a half; serve hot, with bread. If you use drippings
or milk the entire seasoning will cost you less than five cents; and the
whole dinner, which is excellent, not more than fifteen cents.
=Codfish Steaks.=--Two pounds of codfish, (which costs at the market from
four to seven cents,) can be cut in steaks, dried well, and either
dipped in flour, or thin batter of flour, salt, pepper, and water, and
fried in smoking hot fat, or can be served with a quart of boiled
potatoes, (cost three cents,) and plenty of bread and butter, at the
rate of about twenty cents a meal.
=Red Herrings with Potatoes.=--Soak a dozen herrings, (cost ten cents,) in
cold water for one hour; dry and skin them, split them down the back,
and lay them in a pan with two ounces of drippings, two ounces of onion
chopped fine, a saltspoonful of pepper, and three tablespoonfuls of
vinegar, (cost two cents,) and set them in a moderate oven to brown for
ten or fifteen minutes; meantime, boil one quart of potatoes, (cost
three cents,) with a ring of the paring taken off, in plenty of boiling
water and salt, pouring off the water as soon as they are tender, and
letting them stand on the back of the fire, covered with a dry towel,
for five minutes; serve them with the herrings, taking care to dish
both quite hot. With bread and butter a plentiful dinner can be had for
about twenty-two cents.
=Cheap Meats.=--Those parts of meat which are called the cheap cuts, such
as the head, brains, tongue, tripe, kidneys, haslet or pluck, feet, and
tail, are eaten much more frequently in Europe than in this country, and
are worthy of all the use they get there; for their proportion of
flesh-forming elements is large; this is especially the case with the
lights or lungs, but as they are rather difficult to digest, they should
be thoroughly cooked, and never eaten alone. Tripe and pigs' feet, on
the contrary, are very easily digested; but on this account are not as
satisfactory food as that which remains longer in the stomach; although
they are both savory and cheap.
Be careful to keep all meat stews closely covered, or a great deal of
the nutriment of the meat will escape in the steam.
=Sheeps' Head Stew.=--Thoroughly clean a sheeps' head, weighing about
three pounds, (cost about ten cents,) put it over the fire with quarter
of a pound of rice, (cost three cents,) two cents' worth of onions
sliced, a level tablespoonful of salt, quarter of a teaspoonful of
pepper, and three pints of cold water; bring it slowly to a boil,
skimming it carefully, and then add five cents' worth of carrots and
turnips, peeled and quartered; let all simmer gently together for two
hours, being careful to remove all grease, and see if the seasoning is
correct, before dishing the stew. With bread, or boiled potatoes, the
meal will cost about twenty-five cents.
=Oxtail Stew.=--Put two jointed oxtails, (cost about ten cents,) over the
fire in one quart of cold water, and scald them, to remove the strong
flavor; then roll the joints in flour, season them with salt and pepper,
and pack them in an earthen jar, with one onion chopped, and one quart
of potatoes peeled and sliced; the vegetables and seasoning will cost
about five cents; add one pint of water, put on the cover of the jar,
and cement it in place with a paste of flour and water, which you must
grease a little to prevent cracking; then put the jar into a moderately
hot oven, and bake it about four hours. With the addition of bread and
butter it makes a hearty meal, and costs about twenty-two cents.
=Beef Pie.=--Cut in two inch pieces two pounds of the neck of beef, (cost
twelve cents,) brown them quickly in one ounce of drippings, (cost one
cent,) season them with pepper and salt, put them into a pudding dish
in layers with one cents' worth of chopped onion, and one quart of
potatoes, (cost three cents,) peeled and sliced; add enough cold water
to cover the beef and vegetables, and put over them a crust made of one
pound of flour, (cost four cents,) and quarter of a pound of lard, (cost
three cents,) put it for fifteen minutes into a hot oven, and then bake
for an hour and a half in a moderate one. It will cost less than
twenty-five cents, and be an abundant meal.
=Baked Heart.=--Thoroughly wash a beef's heart, (cost ten cents,) stuff it
with half a loaf of stale bread, (cost two cents,) moistened with warm
water and seasoned with one teaspoonful of salt, quarter of a
teaspoonful each of pepper, chopped parsley and sweet herbs, an onion
chopped, and one ounce of sweet drippings (cost of all these two cents;)
lay it in a dripping pan with five cents' worth of parsnips scraped and
washed, and bake in a moderate oven about two hours. It may be baked in
an earthen jar, like the oxtail stew, and all its goodness will be
saved.
Parsnips are exceedingly nutritious and cheap, but if they are not liked
potatoes may be substituted for them.
The entire dinner with bread and butter will cost about twenty-five
cents.
=Stewed Kidneys and Potatoes.=--Wash one quart of potatoes, (cost three
cents,) pare off one ring from each, and put them to boil in well salted
boiling water. Choose a very fresh beef's kidney, (cost fifteen cents,)
cut it in thin slices, removing all the white vessels and membranes, fry
it quickly for five minutes in one ounce of smoking hot drippings, (cost
one cent,) season it with half a teaspoonful of salt, and quarter of a
teaspoonful of pepper, a teaspoonful each of chopped parsley, onion, and
vinegar; shake into it from the dredging box one tablespoonful of flour,
add one pint of boiling water, and boil gently for fifteen minutes. By
this time the potatoes will be done, and both dishes must be served at
once, because the kidneys will grow tough and indigestible if they are
cooked more than twenty minutes in all. They will make a plentiful
dinner, including bread and butter, for about twenty-five cents.
=Pig's Kidneys= may be cooked in the same manner, and enough can be bought
for ten cents to make a good sized dish.
=Kidney Pudding.=--Cut the kidneys, season, and stew them as above, making
meantime a crust from one pound of flour, two teaspoonfulls of salt,
and one of baking powder, sifted together; mix into these ingredients
four ounces of finely chopped suet, (cost two cents,) make them into a
paste with about one pint of cold water; use part of this to line a deep
pudding dish, into which put the stewed kidneys; cover the dish with the
rest of the paste, and bake it about an hour and a quarter in a regular,
moderately hot oven. The pudding will cost about thirty cents.
=Gammon Dumpling.=--Make a plain paste of one pound of flour, (cost four
cents,) one dessertspoonful of salt, and one of baking powder, quarter
of a pound of finely chopped suet or scraps, (cost two cents,) and
sufficient cold water to mix it to a stiff dough; roll this out about
half an inch thick, spread over it half a pound of any cheap cut of
bacon or ham, finely chopped, (cost six cents,) roll up the dumpling as
you would a roly-poly pudding, tie it tightly in a clean cloth, and boil
it in boiling water, or boiling pot-liquor, for about three hours. Do
not let the pot stop boiling, or the dumpling will be heavy. Serve it
hot, with one quart of plain boiled potatoes, (cost three cents.) The
dinner will cost fifteen cents.
=Bacon and Apple Roly-poly.=--Boil a pound of bacon, (cost twelve cents,)
for half an hour; then slice it thin; peel and slice three cents' worth
of apples and the same quantity of onions; make a stiff dough of one
pound of flour, (cost four cents,) a teaspoonful of salt, and cold
water; roll it out half an inch thick; lay the bacon, apples, and onion
all over it, roll it up, tie it tightly in a clean cloth, and boil it
about two hours, in plenty of boiling water. Serve it with three cents'
worth of boiled potatoes, or boiled cabbage. The dinner will cost
twenty-five cents.
=Mutton and Onions.=--Choose a shoulder of mutton weighing about three
pounds, which you can buy at six cents a pound; wipe it thoroughly with
a damp cloth, put it into a pot half full of boiling water, with a
tablespoonful of salt, and boil it gently for two hours, skimming the
pot as often as any scum rises. Half an hour before it is done slice one
quart of onions, (cost five cents,) boil them in a pint of boiling water
for about twenty minutes, add one ounce of butter, (cost two cents,)
half a pint of milk, (cost two cents,) four tablespoonfuls of flour
(cost one cent,) one teaspoonful of salt, and pepper to taste. When you
have put the onions over the fire, pare rings off a quart of potatoes,
(cost three cents,) and boil them in well salted boiling water. Have
all three dishes ready at once, and serve them together hot. Save the
broth from the mutton, and the next morning boil it up once, and serve
it for breakfast, with half a loaf of stale bread, toasted, and cut in
dice; or boil in it for twenty minutes a quarter of a pound of rice or
macaroni.
The dinner will cost you about thirty cents, and you have on hand the
broth for breakfast.
=Pork and Onions.=--Three pounds of the neck, or spare ribs, of fresh
pork, which you can buy at the packing houses for three cents a pound,
can be made into a capital dinner, which will cost only about twenty
cents, by following the above receipt.
=Veal and Rice.=--Put the scrag end of a neck of veal, which you can
usually buy for ten cents, into a pot half full of boiling water, with a
half tablespoonful of salt, and half a pound of bacon, or salt pork,
(cost six cents,) half a pound of rice, (cost five cents,) and an onion
stuck with six cloves; boil it gently for three hours, and then serve it
hot, the meat in the middle of the platter, and the rice laid around it.
The broth may be served for breakfast, as in the receipt for MUTTON AND
ONIONS.
The dinner will cost about twenty cents.
=Irish Stew.=--Cut two pounds of the flank of beef, (cost fifteen cents,
or less,) in pieces about two inches square, rub them well with pepper
and salt; peel and slice one quart of onions, (cost five cents;) place
beef and onions in a saucepan, with just enough cold water to cover
them, and stew them gently for one and a half hours; then add one quart
of peeled potatoes, (cost three cents,) and boil the stew until the
potatoes are soft, which will be in about twenty minutes. Serve at once
hot. The dish will cost twenty-three cents.
=Sheep's Haslet.=--Peel and slice one quart of onions, (cost five cents;)
wash and slice a sheep's haslet, (cost six cents;) put two ounces of
drippings, (cost two cents,) in the bottom of a dripping pan, strew the
onions upon it, and lay the haslet on them, seasoning it with a
teaspoonful of salt, and one of thyme, savory, allspice, and pepper,
using equal parts of each; add enough water to reach halfway to the top
of the meat, then cover it thickly with the crumbs from half a loaf of
stale bread, and bake all together for one hour and a half, in a
moderate oven. The whole dish will not cost over seventeen cents, and it
is nutritious and savory. =Baked Pig's Head.=--Buy at a packing house
half a medium sized pig's head, which you can get for three or four
cents a pound, (the piece will cost about ten cents;) clean and wash it
well; pare and slice one quart of onions, (cost five cents;) chop
quarter of a pound of suet, (cost two cents,) and grate half a loaf of
stale bread, (cost three cents;) put into a dripping pan one ounce of
drippings, (cost one cent,) one gill of vinegar, (cost one cent,) then
the onions, next the head, skin up, and last the bread, suet, and
seasoning, well mixed, and bake in a moderate oven for about one and a
half hours. The dish will cost about twenty-two cents; it is hearty and
extremely nutritious.