a bit of butter, season with chopped onions, parsley, and winter savory,
pepper and salt, shake in a good spoonful of flour, moisten with a
little ketchup and a gill of water; toss the saucepan about on the fire
while the pieces of rabbit boil for about ten minutes, and then pour the
whole into a proper sized basin lined with a suet or dripping crust; let
the pudding be covered in with some of the paste, put into a
baking-dish half full of hot water, and placed in the oven, to bake for
an hour and a-half.
No. 67. STEWED OX KIDNEY.
Cut up the kidney in thin slices, fry them brown with a bit of butter or
fat in a frying-pan, over a brisk fire, season with chopped parsley,
shalot, pepper and salt, shake in a good table-spoonful of flour, add a
few drops of vinegar, and nearly half a pint of water; stir the whole on
the fire, while it boils, very gently, for a quarter of an hour; this,
with a dish of well-boiled or baked potatoes, will produce a cheap and
excellent dinner sufficient for six persons.
No. 68. BAKED BULLOCK'S HEART.
Wash and wipe the heart, cut it into four pieces, season these with
pepper and salt, chopped thyme, and bay-leaves, add about two ounces of
dripping, eight onions cut in slices, and four parsnips cut also in
slices; let all this be placed in an earthen pot, with a pint of water,
and the lid being put on, set the stew in the oven to bake for two
hours.
No. 69. BULLOCK'S HEART STUFFED.
Chop fine four onions and twelve sage-leaves; put these into a saucepan
with a bit of fat or butter, and fry them for a few minutes on the fire;
then add eight ounces of crumb of bread, soaked in milk or water, pepper
and salt; stir this stuffing on the fire for a few minutes, add one egg,
put the stuffing inside the bullock's heart, place a round of greased
paper on the stuffing, and fasten it on with four wooden twigs. Next,
put the stuffed heart upon an iron trivet in a baking dish, containing
peeled potatoes, two ounces of dripping or butter, and half a pint of
water; season well with pepper and salt, and while baking let the heart
be frequently basted with the fat from the dish. In case you have no
oven, send it to the baker's.
No. 70. STEWED SHEEP'S TROTTERS.
Sheep's trotters are sold ready cleaned and very cheap at all tripe
shops. When about to cook them, by way of a treat, for supper, or
otherwise, let them be put on in two quarts of water and milk, seasoned
with peppercorns, salt, a good sprig of thyme, and a wine-glassful of
vinegar, and set them to boil very gently on the fire for three hours,
at least. When the trotters are done quite tender, skim off all the
grease, and boil down the liquor to a pint; then add two ounces of
flour, mixed with a gill of milk, some chopped parsley, and one ounce of
butter; stir all together while boiling on the fire for ten minutes, and
pour out into the dish.
No. 71. BAKED SHEEP'S HEADS.
Buy a couple of sheep's heads, get the butcher to split them for you,
place them in an earthen baking-dish, with two ounces of dripping, some
chopped shalots, thyme, bay-leaf, winter savory, pepper and salt, and a
good pinch of allspice; moisten with a quart of cider, or water, strew a
coating of bread-raspings all over the surface of the heads, and bake
them for two hours.
No. 72. SHEEP'S PLUCK.
A sheep's pluck, properly cooked, will furnish a meat dinner enough for
twelve persons, at a very moderate cost. Cut the whole of the pluck,
consisting of the heart, liver, lights, etc., into rather thick slices,
and season them well with pepper, salt, allspice, thyme, and winter
savory; grease the bottom of a baking-dish with two ounces of dripping,
lay a bed of slices of onions upon this, and then place the slices of
pluck, already seasoned, upon the onions; moisten with water enough to
reach half-way up the meat, strew a thick coating of bread-raspings all
over the top, and bake the savoury mess for an hour and a-half.
No. 73. BELGIAN FAGGOTS.
These may be prepared with sheep's pluck, or even with bullock's liver,
and other similar parts of meat; but a pig's pluck is preferable for the
purpose. Chop up the heart, liver, lights, and the fat crow; season well
with pepper, salt, allspice, thyme, sage, and shalots, and divide this
sausage-meat into balls the size of an apple, which must be each secured
in shape with a piece of pig's caul fastened with a wooden twig, or
skewer, and placed in rows in a tin baking-dish, to be baked for about
half an hour in a brisk oven. When the faggots are done, place them on
some well-boiled cabbages, chopped up, in an earthen dish, and having
poured the grease from the faggots over all, set them in the oven to
stew gently for half an hour.
No. 74. FRIED STEAKS AND ONIONS.
Season the steaks with pepper and salt, and when done brown on both
sides, without being overdone, place them in a dish before the fire
while you fry some sliced onions in the fat which remains in the pan; as
soon as the onions are done, and laid upon the steaks, shake a spoonful
of flour in the pan, add a gill of water and a few drops of vinegar;
give this gravy a boil up on the fire, and pour it over the steaks, etc.
No. 75. STEWED STEAKS.
Fry the steaks brown over a very brisk fire, without allowing them to be
hardly half done, and place them in a saucepan with onions, carrots,
turnips, and celery, all cut in pieces about the size of a pigeon's egg;
season with thyme, pepper, and salt, and two ounces of flour; moisten
with a quart of water, and stir the stew on the fire till it boils, and
then set it by the side of the fire on the hob, to simmer very gently
for an hour and a-half. It will then be ready for dinner.
No. 76. STEWED SAUSAGES.
First, prick your sausages well all over with a fork, and soak them in
very hot water, for two or three minutes, to swell them out; next, roll
them in flour, and fry them brown without overdoing them, as that
renders them dry, and spoils them. When the sausages are done and put on
a plate, fry some slices of bread, and put these on a dish; then put the
sausages on the fried bread, and shake a spoonful of flour in the pan;
add a pennyworth of chopped mixed pickles, a gill of water, and a little
pepper and salt; give this gravy a boil up, and pour it over the
sausages.
No. 77. PIG'S FRY.
A pig's fry consists of the heart, liver, lights, and some of the
chitterlings; these are to be first cut up in slices, then seasoned with
pepper and salt, rolled in a little flour, and fried with some kind of
grease in the frying-pan. As the pieces are fried, place them on their
dish to keep hot before the fire, and when all is done, throw some
chopped onions and sage leaves into the pan, to be fried of a light
colour; add a very little flour, pepper, and salt, a gill of water, and
a few drops of vinegar; boil up this gravy, and pour it over the pig's
fry.
No. 78. BEEFSTEAKS, PLAIN.
When you happen to have a clear fire, the steaks may be cooked on a
gridiron over the fire; the steaks must be turned on the gridiron every
two or three minutes. This precaution assists very much in rendering the
meat more palatable and tender, as it is by this frequent turning over
of the meat while broiling, that the juices are not allowed to run off
in waste, but are re-absorbed by the meat. When the steaks are cooked,
rub them over with a small bit of butter, season with pepper and salt. A
little chopped shalot sprinkled over steaks, imparts an extra relish.
No. 79. MUTTON CHOPS, OR STEAKS.
Mutton chops, properly speaking, are an expensive affair; but what I
recommend you to buy is, the chump end of the loin of mutton, which is
always to be had much cheaper. This weighs about one pound, at 6_d._,
and would cut into about three, or perhaps four steaks or chops; let
these be broiled in the same manner as recommended for beefsteaks.
No. 80. KIDNEY PUDDING.
Prepare an ox kidney as shown in No. 67, and use this to fill a good
sized pudding basin, which you shall have previously lined with a
dripping or suet crust; cover the meat in by placing a rolled-out piece
of the paste on the top, fasten it by pressing the two edges of the
paste together, tie the pudding up in a cloth, and take care to place
the bottom of the pudding-basin downward in the pot in which it is to be
boiled. It will take about two hours to boil a good sized pudding of
this kind; when you take it out of the pot, be very careful not to run
the fork through the crust, and pay great attention how you handle the
pudding while removing the cloth, so as not to spill or waste the gravy
it contains, as that would go very far towards spoiling the pudding you
have had all the trouble to prepare.
No. 81. HASHED MEATS.
I strongly recommend that you never allow yourselves to be persuaded,
that cold meat dinners are cheap dinners; just the reverse of this
assumption is the fact. And, let me tell you, that those who make the
former assertion, do so only because they know no better, and as an
excuse for their idleness. I am well aware that in your homes it is not
a common every-day occurrence for you to dress a large joint of meat,
from which enough would be left for one or more days' dinner; but still
it may, and does sometimes occur, that you have cold meat at your
disposal, upon which you may exercise your knowledge in domestic
economy. Besides, some of you who are living close to noblemen and
gentlemen's mansions in the country, or otherwise, may perhaps stand a
chance of now and then receiving a donation of this kind. And whenever
you have any cold meat, I advise you to cook it up into stews of the
various kinds described in this work, or else make it into a hash as
follows: First, chop two onions fine, and put them to boil with pepper
and salt and a pint of water, in a saucepan for ten minutes, then throw
in the meat cut in thin slices, mixed with a little flour; boil all
together gently for ten minutes longer, and pour the hash into a dish
containing either some ready boiled potatoes, or else some slices of
toasted bread.
No. 82. BOILED TRIPE.
Tripe is not exactly a cheap commodity for food; yet, as you may feel
occasionally inclined to indulge in a treat of this kind, I will give
you instructions to cook it in the most economical manner. When you have
procured any given quantity of tripe, cut it up in pieces the size of
two inches square, put these into a saucepan containing skim milk, or
milk and water, enough to swim the tripe; add some peeled onions,
pepper, and salt, and a sprig of thyme, and boil gently for at least an
hour; and when the tripe is done, eat it with mustard and some well
boiled potatoes.
No. 83. BAKED TRIPE.
Cut the tripe up in pieces, and put it into an earthen pot, with some
ale, cider, or water, enough to cover it in; add sliced onions, pepper,
and salt, and a good pinch of allspice; put the lid on the pot, and set
the tripe in the oven to bake for two hours.
No. 84. SAUSAGE DUMPLINGS.
Make one pound of flour and two ounces of dripping, or chopped suet,
into a firm paste, by adding just enough water to enable you to knead
the whole together. Divide this paste into twelve equal parts, roll each
of these out sufficiently large to be able to fold up one of the beef
sausages in it, wet the edge of the paste to fasten the sausage securely
in it, and, as you finish off each sausage dumpling, drop it gently into
a large enough saucepan, containing plenty of _boiling_ water, and when
the whole are finished, allow them to boil gently by the side of the
fire for one hour, and then take up the dumplings with a spoon free from
water, on to a dish, and eat them while they are hot.
No. 85. SAUSAGE ROLLS.
Procure a quartern of dough from the baker's, knead this with four
ounces of butter, dripping, or chopped suet; divide it into twelve equal
parts, and use each piece of paste to enfold a beef sausage in it; place
these rolls on a baking-tin, and bake them in the oven for about twenty
minutes or half an hour.
No. 86. ROAST PORK.
Let us suppose, or rather hope, that you may sometimes have a leg of
pork to cook for your dinner; it will eat all the better if it is scored
all over by cutting the rind, or rather slitting it crosswise, at short
distances, with the point of a sharp knife; it is to be well sprinkled
all over with salt, and allowed to absorb the seasoning during some
hours previously to its being cooked. Prepare some stuffing as
follows:--Chop six onions and twelve sage leaves fine, fry these with a
bit of butter, pepper, and salt, for five minutes; then add six ounces
of bread soaked in water; stir all together on the fire for five
minutes, and use this stuffing to fill up a hole or pocket, which you
will make by running the point of a knife down between the rind and the
flesh of the joint of pork; secure this by sewing it up, or else fasten
it securely in with a small wooden skewer or twig. The joint of pork, so
far prepared, must then be placed upon a trivet in a baking-dish
containing plenty of peeled potatoes, and, if possible, a few apples for
the children; add half a pint of water, pepper and salt, and if the
joint happens to be a leg, it will require about two hours to bake it.
No. 87. BUBBLE AND SQUEAK.
When you happen to have some cold boiled salt beef, cut this up in
slices; fry it on both sides, and dish it up round some cabbages or any
dressed vegetables ready to hand, which must be chopped up, seasoned
with pepper and salt, and fried.
No. 88. JUGGED HARE.
It does sometimes happen that when you are living in the country, in the
neighbourhood of considerate gentlefolks who possess game preserves,
that they now and then make presents of a hare and a few rabbits to the
poor cottagers in their vicinity. And when you are so fortunate as to
have a hare given to you, this is the way to cook it:--First, cut the
hare up into pieces of equal size, then cut up a pound of bacon into
small squares, and fry these in a saucepan for five minutes; next, add
the pieces of hare, and, stirring them round in the pot with a spoon,
fry them brown; add a good handful of flour, some pepper and allspice,
carrots and onions, and a sprig of winter savory; moisten the stew with
nearly three pints of water, and stir it all together on the fire till
it boils, and then set it on the hob to continue gently simmering for
about an hour and a-half or two hours; the jugged hare will then be
ready for dinner.
No. 89. BOILED BACON AND CABBAGES.
Put a piece of bacon in a pot capable of containing two gallons; let it
boil up, and skim it well; then put in some well-washed split cabbages,
a few carrots and parsnips also split, and a few peppercorns; when the
whole has boiled gently for about an hour and a-half, throw in a dozen
peeled potatoes, and by the time that these are done, the dinner will be
ready. And this is the way in which to make the most of this excellent
and economical dinner. First, take up the bacon, and having placed it on
its dish, garnish it round with the cabbages, carrots, parsnips, and
potatoes, and then add some pieces of crust, or thin slices of bread, to
the liquor in which the bacon-dinner has been cooked, and this will
furnish you with a good wholesome soup with which to satisfy the first
peremptory call of your healthy appetites.
No. 90. ECONOMICAL VEGETABLE POTTAGE.
In France, and also in many parts of Europe, the poorer classes but very
seldom taste meat in any form; the chief part of their scanty food
consists of bread, vegetables, and more especially of their soup, which
is mostly, if not entirely, made of vegetables, or, as is customary on
the southern coasts of France, Italy, and Spain, more generally of
fish, for making which kinds of soup see Nos. 4, 6, 118, etc.
The most common as well as the easiest method for making a good mess of
cheap and nutritious soup is the following:--If you are five or six in
family, put a three-gallon pot on the fire rather more than half full of
water, add four ounces of butter, pepper and salt, and small sprigs of
winter savory, thyme, and parsley; and when this has boiled, throw in
any portion or quantity, as may best suit your convenience, of such of
the following vegetables as your garden can afford:--Any kind of
cabbages cleaned and split, carrots, turnips, parsnips, broad beans,
French beans, peas, broccoli, red cabbages, vegetable marrow, young
potatoes, a few lettuce, some chervil, and a few sprigs of mint. Allow
all this to simmer by the side of the hob for about two hours, and then,
after taking up the more considerable portion of the whole vegetables on
to a dish, eat one half, or as much as you may require, of the soup with
bread in it, and make up your dinner with the whole vegetables and more
bread. The remainder will serve for the next day. Let me persuade you,
my friends, to try and persevere in adopting this very desirable kind of
food, when in your power, for your ordinary fare. I, of course, intend
this remark more particularly for the consideration of such of my
readers as are or may be located in the country, and who may have a
little garden of their own.
No. 91. HOW TO MAKE A FISH CURRY.
Slice up six onions fine, and fry them with a little butter or grease
over a slow fire until they become very lightly coloured; then add three
or four green apples in slices, and when these are dissolved, place your
pieces of any kind of fish, which you have previously fried in a
frying-pan, on the top of the onions, etc., sprinkle a spoonful of curry
powder all over the fish, put the lid on the saucepan, and set the
whole on the hob of a moderate fire, or in the oven, if you have one, to
remain simmering for about half an hour; the curry will then be ready to
be eaten with well-boiled rice.
No. 92. THIS IS THE WAY TO BOIL RICE.
I recommend you to buy Patna rice, as it is the cheapest; it is best to
soak it in water over-night, as it then requires less time to boil it,
and moreover, when soaked, the rice becomes lighter, from the fact that
the grains separate more readily while boiling. Put the rice on to boil
in plenty of cold water, stirring it from the bottom of the saucepan
occasionally while it is boiling fast; when the grains separate at the
ends, and thus appear to form the letter X, the rice will be done; it
requires about half an hour's gentle boiling. When the rice is done,
drain it in a colander, and place it before the fire, stirring it now
and then with a fork.
No. 93. RICE DUMPLINGS.
Boil one pound of rice as directed in the foregoing Number, and when
thoroughly drained free from excess of moisture, knead the rice with a
spoon in a basin into a smooth, compact kind of paste, and use this to
cover some peeled apples with in the same way as you would make an
ordinary apple dumpling. In order the better to enable you to handle the
rice-paste with ease, I recommend that each time previously to shaping
one of the dumplings, you should first dip your clean hands in cold
water. Let the dumplings, when finished, be tied up in small cloths, and
boiled in plenty of hot water for about three-quarters of an hour. The
cloths used for these dumplings must be greased.
No. 94. PLUM OR CURRANT DOUGH PUDDING.
Ingredients, two pounds of dough from the baker's, four ounces of plums
or currants, a pinch of allspice, ditto of salt, a gill of milk. Mix all
the above ingredients together in a pan; tie up the pudding in a
well-greased pudding-cloth, and place it in a pot containing _boiling_
water, and allow it to continue boiling for two hours; at the end of
this time the pudding will be done, and may be turned out on its dish.
No. 95. CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING.
Ingredients, two pounds of flour, twelve ounces of raisins, twelve
ounces of currants, twelve ounces of peeled and chopped apples, one
pound of chopped suet, twelve ounces of sugar, four eggs, one pint and
a-half of milk or beer, one ounce of salt, half an ounce of ground
allspice. Boil the pudding four hours. First, put the flour, suet, and
all the fruit in a large pan; mix these well together, and having made a
deep hole in the middle thereof with your fist, add the salt, sugar, and
allspice, and half a pint of the milk, or beer, to dissolve them; next,
add the four eggs, and the remaining pint of milk, or beer; mix all
vigorously together with the hand, tie up the pudding in a well-greased
and floured cloth, boil it for at least four hours, taking care that the
water boils before the pudding is put into the pot to boil. When done,
turn the pudding out on its dish, and, if you can afford it, pour over
it the following sauce:--
No. 96. SWEET PUDDING SAUCE.
Ingredients, two ounces of common flour, ditto of butter, ditto of
sugar, chopped lemon-peel, half a gill of any kind of spirits, and half
a pint of water. First mix the flour, butter, and sugar in a small
saucepan by kneading the ingredients well together with a wooden spoon,
then add the water, spirits, and lemon-peel; stir the sauce on the fire
till it comes to a boil, and then pour it all over the pudding.
No. 97. JAM PUDDING.
Ingredients, one pound of flour, six ounces of suet, half a pint of
water, a pinch of salt, one pound of any kind of common jam, at 7_d._
Mix the flour, suet, water, and salt into a firm, compact kind of paste;
roll this out with a rolling-pin, sprinkling some flour on the table to
prevent the paste from sticking to either; fold up the paste, and roll
it out again; repeat the rolling-out and folding three times; this
operation will make the paste lighter. Next, roll out the paste one foot
long by eighteen inches wide, spread the jam all over this, roll up the
pudding in the form of a bolster, roll it up in a well-greased and
floured cloth, tie it up tightly at both ends; put the pudding into a
pot of _boiling_ water, and boil it for nearly two hours; when done,
turn out carefully on to its dish, without breaking the crust.
No. 98. RHUBARB PIE.
A bundle of rhubarb, one pound of flour, six ounces of butter, or lard,
or dripping, half a pint of water, a pinch of salt, ditto of
baking-powder, eight ounces of moist sugar. First, cut up the rhubarb in
pieces about an inch long, wash them in plenty of water, and drain them
in a colander, or sieve. Next, place the flour in a pan, or on the
table, make a hollow in the middle with your fist, place the salt and
the baking-powder in it, pour in the water to dissolve them, then add
the butter; mix all together by working the ingredients with the fingers
of both hands, until the whole has become a firm, smooth, compact kind
of paste. You now put the cleaned rhubarb into a pie-dish, with the
sugar and a gill of water, roll out the paste to the exact size of the
dish, and after wetting the edges of the dish all round, place the
rolled-out paste upon it, and by pressing the thumb of the right hand
all round the upper part of the edge, the paste will be effectually
fastened on, so as to prevent the juice from running out at the sides; a
small hole the size of a sixpence must be made at the top of the pie,
for ventilation, or otherwise the pie would burst. Bake the pie for an
hour and a quarter.
No. 99. FRUIT PIES IN GENERAL.
All kinds of fruit pies are made as shown in the foregoing Number.
No. 100. A CHEAP KIND OF MINCE-MEAT.
Ingredients, eight ounces of stoned raisins, eight ounces of washed and
dried currants, one pound of tripe, one pound of apples, one pound of
chopped suet, four ounces of shred candied peel, one pound of moist
sugar, one ounce of allspice, the juice and the chopped rind of three
lemons, half a gill of rum. First chop the raisins, currants, apples,
and the tripe all together, or separately, until well mixed; then place
these in a pan, add the remainder of the ingredients, mix them
thoroughly until well incorporated with each other; put the mince-meat
into a clean dry stone jar, tie some thick paper, or a piece of bladder
over the top, and keep it in a cool place till wanted for use.
No. 101. MINCE-PIE PASTE.
Ingredients, one pound of flour, eight ounces of butter or lard, three
gills of water, half an ounce of salt, a tea-spoonful of baking-powder.
Place the flour on the table, hollow out a hole or well in the centre
with your fist, place the salt and baking-powder in this, add the water
and the butter, work all together lightly with the fingers, without
positively absorbing or entirely uniting the butter with the flour,
but, on the contrary, keeping the butter in distinct pieces here and
there; then roll up the paste in the form of a ball of dough, spread it
out on the floured table, and, with a rolling-pin, roll it out to the
extent of eighteen inches in length, by eight inches wide; then fold the
paste in three equal folds, roll it out the reverse way, fold it up
again as before, and after repeating the rolling out and folding up a
third time, the paste will be ready for use.
No. 102. TO MAKE A MINCE-PIE.