good, and so profitable, as the round. A large round is always better
and more tender than a small one, if the ox has been well fed. A small
round of beef is generally tough. In buying it, see that it looks and
smells well, as sometimes beef is not salted till it begins to taint;
and then it is done, with a view of disguising its unwholesome and
disgusting condition, which, however, will immediately be manifest as
soon as it is put on to boil, if not before. Every sort of food, the
least verging on decomposition, is unfit for any thing but to throw away
or bury. It is not necessary to buy always a whole round of beef. You
can have it cut into a half, third part, quarter, or into as many pounds
as you want. If very salt, lay it to soak in cold water the night
before, or early in the morning. Half a round (weighing about fifteen
pounds) will require about four hours to boil sufficiently. A whole
round, double that time. It must boil very slowly. If it boils too fast
at first, nothing will afterwards make it tender. The fire must be
steady, and moderate, that the heat may penetrate all through, slowly
and equally. The pot must be kept closely covered, unless for a minute
when the scum is taken off, and that must be done frequently. The beef
should, while boiling, be turned several times in the pot. It is much
the best way to boil it without any vegetables in the same pot; they
imbibe too much of the fat, particularly cabbage. Boil the cabbage by
itself in plenty of water, having first washed it well, laid it a while
in cold water, with the head downwards, and examined it well to see if
there are no insects between the leaves. The leaves on the very outside,
should be removed, and the stalk cut short. Tie a string round the
cabbage to keep it from falling apart. Put it into a pot with plenty of
cold water, and boil it an hour. Then take it out, drain it, and lay it
in a pan of cold water, or place it under the hydrant, for the hydrant
water to run copiously upon it.
When the cabbage is perfectly cold, wash out the pot in which it was
parboiled, or put it into another quite clean one, and boil it another
hour. Then take it up, and keep it warm till wanted. Before you send it
to table, lay some bits of nice fresh butter between the inside leaves,
and sprinkle on a little pepper. This is much nicer than preparing what
is called drawn or melted butter to pour over the cabbage, and far more
wholesome. Drawn butter is seldom well made, being frequently little
more than a small morsel of butter, deluged with greasy water; and
sometimes it is nearly all flour and water. Cabbage cooked as above will
be found excellent, and be divested of the cabbage smell which is to
many persons disagreeable.
Carrots are also an usual accompaniment to corned beef. They should be
washed, scraped, cut into pieces, and split, if very large; put into
boiling water, and cooked, according to their size, from one hour to two
hours. Before taking them up, try with a fork if they are tender
throughout. When done, they are best cut into slices, a little cold
butter mixed with them, and put into a deep dish, to be helped with a
spoon.
Parsnips may be dressed in the same manner.
For a plain family dinner, corned beef, cabbage, and carrots, cooked
_exactly_ as above, with, of course, the addition of potatos, will, on
trial, be found excellent.
Corned beef _stewed_ very slowly, in a small quantity of water, (barely
sufficient to cover the meat,) well skimmed, and with the vegetables
done separately, is still better than when _boiled_. Mustard is a good
condiment for corned beef--so is vinegar to the cabbage. Pickles, also;
French mustard is very fine with it.
Next to the round, the edgebone is the best piece for boiling. The
brisket or plate is too fat, and should only be eaten by persons in
strong health, and who take a great deal of exercise. No fat meat should
be given to children. Indeed there is generally great difficulty in
making them eat it. They are right, as it is very unwholesome for them,
unless the very leanest bits are selected from among the mass of fat.
Have tarragon vinegar on the table to eat with corned beef and cabbage.
FRIED CORNED BEEF.--This is a very homely and economical dish, but it is
liked by many persons. Cut thin slices from a cold round of beef, and
season them with pepper. Fry them brown over a quick fire, and put them
in a covered dish to keep hot. Then wash the frying-pan, cleaning it
well from the fat, and put into it plenty of cold boiled cabbage, cut
small, and some cold carrots, sliced thin, adding some thin sliced suet,
or beef dripping to fry them in. When done, dish the meat with the
vegetables laid around it; adding the gravy. This is the dish called in
England, Bubble-and-Squeak, perhaps from the noise it makes when frying.
It is only designed for strong healthy people with good appetites.
It is sometimes made of salt pork or bacon; sliced potatos being added
to the cabbage.
DRIED AND SMOKED BEEF.--For this purpose have as much as you want cut
off from a fine round. Mix together two ounces of saltpetre, (finely
pounded) rub it into the meat, cover it, and let it stand a day. Then
mix together half a pound of bay-salt, an ounce of black pepper, half an
ounce of ground ginger, and an ounce of pounded mace, and a quarter of
an ounce of powdered cloves. Rub this mixture well into the beef, put it
into a deep pan, and let it lie in this pickle two weeks, turning it
every day. Then hang it up in a smoke-house, and smoke it over a fire
made of corn-cobs, or maple chips. Never use pine for smoking.
It may be eaten chipped at tea, or what is much better, stewed and
warmed in a skillet. Venison may be spiced, dried, and smoked in the
same manner.
TO STEW SMOKED BEEF.--Having chipped it thin, put it into a skillet,
with fresh butter, pepper, and two or three beaten yolks of eggs. Let it
stew till the beef is crisp and curled up.
Never allow yourself to be persuaded to use pyroligneous acid in curing
dried beef or ham--instead of the real smoke of a wood fire. It
communicates a taste and smell of kreosote, and is a detestable
substitute, detected in a moment.
A SPICED ROUND OF BEEF.--Take a large prime round of beef; extract the
bone, and close the hole. Tie a tape all round it to keep it firm. Take
four ounces of finely powdered saltpetre, and rub it well into the beef.
Put the meat into a very clean pickling-tub that has a close-fitting
cover, and let it rest for two days. Next rub it thoroughly with salt,
and return it to the tub for eight days. Then take an ounce of powdered
mace, a large nutmeg powdered, a half-ounce of pepper, and a quarter of
an ounce of powdered cloves, (not more.) Mix these spices well
together, and then mix them with a pound of fine brown sugar. Rub the
spices and sugar thoroughly all over the beef, which will be ready to
cook next day. Then fill the opening with minced sweet herbs, sweet
basil, and sweet marjoram, laid in loosely and lightly. Take half a
pound of nice beef-suet. Divide it in two, and flatten each half of the
suet by beating it with a rolling-pin. Lay it in a broad earthen pan,
with one sheet of suet under the meat, and the other pressed over it.
Above this place a sheet of clean white paper, and over all put a large
plate. Set it in a hot oven, and bake it five hours or more, till by
probing it to the bottom, with a sharp knife, you find it thoroughly
cooked. It is excellent as a cold standing dish, for a large family.
When it is to be eaten cold, boil fresh cabbage to go with it. Also
parsnips and carrots.
_Cabbage._--For this beef, red cabbage is very nice, cut small, and
stewed with butter and tarragon vinegar.
A-LA-MODE BEEF.--Remove the bone from a fine round of fresh beef, and
also take off the fat. For a round that weighs ten pounds, make
seasoning or stuffing in the following proportions. Half a pound of beef
suet; half a pound of grated bread-crumbs; the crumbled yolks of three
hard-boiled eggs; a large bundle of sweet marjoram, the leaves chopped;
another of sweet basil; four onions minced small, a large table-spoonful
of mixed mace and nutmeg, powdered. Season slightly with salt and
cayenne. Stuff this mixture into the place from whence you took out the
bone. Make numerous deep cuts or incisions about the meat, and stuff
them also. Skewer the meat into a proper shape, and secure its form by
tying it round with tape. Put it into a clean iron oven or bake-pan, and
pour over it a pint of port wine. Put on the lid, and bake the beef
slowly for five or six hours, or till it is thoroughly done all through.
If the meat is to be eaten hot, skim all the fat from the gravy; into
which, after it is taken off the fire, stir in the beaten yolks of two
eggs.
If onions are disliked you can omit them, and substitute minced oysters.
BEEF A-LA-MODE--(_Another way._)--Take a fine round of fresh beef,
extract the bone, and fill the place from whence it was taken with a
stuffing made of bread soaked in milk and then mashed up, butter, and
some yolks of hard-boiled eggs crumbled fine, the yellow rind and juice
of a large grated lemon, sweet marjoram and sweet basil chopped small,
with some powdered nutmeg and mace. Make deep cuts or incisions all over
the outside of the meat, and in every cut stick firmly a slip of bacon
or salt pork put in with a larding-pin. Bring round the flap and skewer
to the side of the round, filling in between with some of the stuffing.
And pour round it a pint or more of port wine. Lay it in an oven, and
bake it slowly till it is well done all through, which will require
some hours. Serve it up with its own gravy under it. It is more
generally eaten cold, at a supper party. In this case, cover it thickly
all over with double parsley or pepper grass, so as to resemble a green
bank. In the centre place a bouquet of natural flowers, rising from the
green bank.
French a-la-mode beef, or beef _a-la-daube_, is prepared as above, but
stewed slowly all night in lard.
BEEF BOUILLI.--Take from six to eight pounds of a fine round of _fresh_
beef. Put it into a soup-pot, with the remains of a piece of cold roast
beef (bones and all) to enrich the gravy, but use no other cold meat
than beef. Season it slightly with salt and pepper, and pour on just
sufficient water to cover it well. Boil it slowly, and skim it well.
When the scum ceases to rise, have ready half a dozen large carrots, cut
into pieces, and put _them_ in first. Afterwards add six turnips,
quartered; a head of celery, cut small; half a dozen parsnips, cut in
pieces; and six whole onions. Let it boil slowly till all the vegetables
are done, and very tender.
Send it to table with the beef in the middle of a large dish; the
vegetables laid all around it; and the gravy (thickened with fine grated
bread-crumbs) in a sauce-boat. Serve up with it, white potatos, boiled
whole; and mashed pumpkin, or winter squash.
This is a good dinner for a plain family.
Those who like tarragon mustard, or tarragon vinegar, may add it on
their plates.
Tomatos may be skinned and stewed with it.
TO STEW COLD CORNED BEEF.--Cut about four pounds of lean from a cold
round of beef, that tastes but little of the salt. Lay it in a stew-pan,
with a quarter of a peck of tomatos quartered, and the same quantity of
ochras sliced; also, two small onions peeled and sliced, and two ounces
of fresh butter rolled in flour. Add a tea-spoonful of whole
pepper-corns, (_no salt_,) and four or five blades of mace. Place it
over a steady but moderate fire. Cover it closely, and let it stew three
or four hours. The vegetables should be entirely dissolved. Serve it up
hot.
This is an excellent way of using up the remains of a cold round of beef
at the season of tomatos and ochras, particularly when the meat has been
rather under-boiled the first day of cooking it.
A few pounds of the lean of a _fresh_ round of beef, will be still
better, cooked in this manner, increasing the quantity of ochras and
tomatos, and stewing it six hours.
Cold fillet of veal is very good stewed with tomatos, ochras, and an
onion or two. Also, the thick or upper part of a cold leg of mutton; or
of pork, either fresh or corned.
TO STEW SMOKED BEEF.--The dried beef, for this purpose, must be fresh
and of the very best quality. Cut it (or rather shave it) into very
thin, small slices, with as little fat as possible. Put the beef into a
skillet, and fill up with boiling water. Cover it, and let it soak or
steep till the water is cold. Then drain off that water, and pour on
some more; but merely enough to cover the chipped beef, which you may
season with a little pepper. Set it over the fire, and (keeping on the
cover) let it stew for a quarter of an hour. Then roll a few bits of
butter in a little flour, and add it to the beef, with the yolk of one
or two beaten eggs. Let it stew five minutes longer. Take it up on a hot
dish, and send it to the breakfast or tea-table.
Cold ham may be sliced thin, and stewed in the same manner. Dried
venison also.
FRENCH BEEF.--Take a circular piece from the round, (having removed the
bone,) and trim it nicely from the fat, skin, &c. Then lard it all over
with long slips of fat pork or bacon. The place from whence the bone was
taken must be filled with a forcemeat, made of minced suet, grated
bread-crumbs, sweet marjoram rubbed fine, and grated lemon-peel; add a
little salt and pepper. Tie a tape closely round the outside of the
beef, to keep it compact, and in shape. Put it into a broad earthen jar
with a cover; or into an iron bake-oven. Add some whole pepper, a large
onion, a bunch of sweet herbs, three bay-leaves, a quarter of a pound of
butter, divided into small bits, (each piece rolled in flour,) and half
a pint of claret, or port wine. Bake or stew it thus in its own liquor,
for five, six, or seven hours, (in proportion to its size,) for it must
be thoroughly done, quite tender, and brown all through the inside.
STEWED FRESH BEEF.--Cut a square thick piece of beef from the round or
sirloin, and trim off the fat. Put it into a stew-pan with just water
enough to cover it, and season it slightly with salt and pepper. Let it
stew slowly, till tender all through. Then add potatos pared and
quartered, turnips the same; and also, parsnips split and cut short, and
(if approved) a few sliced onions. Stew altogether till the vegetables
are thoroughly cooked, and then serve up the whole on one large dish.
Mutton, veal, and fresh pork, may be stewed in the same manner. Sweet
potatos, scraped and split, are excellent served with fresh meat. There
should be a great plenty of vegetables, as they are much liked in stews.
What is called an Irish stew is fresh beef stewed with potatos only--the
potatos being first pared, and cut in quarters.
For economy, cold roast beef may be stewed next day with fresh potatos
cut up, and as little water as possible. Cold potatos, if re-cooked, are
always hard, tough, and unwholesome.
STEWED BEEFSTEAKS WITH OYSTERS.--Take some fine tender beef-steaks cut
from the sirloin. If they are taken from the round they should be beaten
with a rolling-pin to make them tender. Put them into a close stew-pan,
with barely sufficient water to prevent their burning, and set them over
the fire to brown. When they are browned, add sufficient oyster-liquor
to cook them, and some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Let them
stew slowly for an hour, or till they are thoroughly done. Then add
three or four dozen of fine large fresh oysters, in proportion to the
quantity of meat, seasoning them well with nutmeg, a few blades of mace,
and a little cayenne. Cover the pan, and simmer them till the oysters
are well plumped, but not till they come to a boil. When all is properly
cooked, transfer the whole to a deep dish, and send it to table hot.
The meat, when preparing, should be cut into pieces about as large as
the palm of your hand, and an inch thick, omitting the fat. Small clams
may be substituted for oysters.
TOMATO STEWED BEEF.--Take large ripe tomatos, and scald them, to make
the skins peel off easily. Pare, quarter them, and sprinkle them with a
little salt and pepper. Lay in a stew-pan some thin tender beef-steaks,
lamb, mutton-chops, or cutlets of fresh pork. Bury the meat in the
tomatos, and add some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour and a little
sugar to take off the extreme acid of the tomatos; also, an onion or
two, very finely minced. Let the whole cook slowly till the meat is
thoroughly done, and the tomatos dissolved to a pulp. Send it to table
all on the same dish.
A rabbit or chicken, (cut apart as for carving,) is very good stewed
with tomatos. Freshly killed venison is excellent for this stew.
Many persons mix grated bread with tomato stew. We think it weakens the
taste--a thing not desirable in any cooking.
This stew must not have a drop of water in it; the tomatos will give out
sufficient liquid to cook the meat. There is not a more wholesome dish.
BEEF STEWED WITH ONIONS.--Take a square piece of beef from the sirloin,
where there is no bone or fat. With a sharp knife make very deep
incisions all over it, but not quite so deep as to cut it through to the
bottom. Prepare a forcemeat by peeling and boiling some onions. Then
drain and mince them. Mix in with the onions some fine bread-crumbs, and
some chopped sweet-marjoram, (seasoning with powdered nutmeg and mace,)
and fill tightly all the incisions. Put into the bottom of a stew-pan
some drippings of roast-beef, or else a piece of fresh butter rolled in
flour. Lay the seasoned meat upon it. Let it stew till completely
cooked, and no redness to be found in any part of it. Serve it up hot,
and send it to table in its own gravy.
A round or fillet of fresh pork may be cooked as above, putting into the
incisions, or holes, powdered sage instead of sweet marjoram, with the
onions and crumbs; and using lard instead of beef-drippings. Eat apple
sauce with it.
BEEF STEWED WITH OYSTERS.--Prepare two or three pounds of the best beef,
by trimming off all the fat, and removing the bone. Lay in the bottom of
the stew-pan a few bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Then put in the
meat, and sprinkle a little pepper over each piece. Have ready a quart
of large fresh oysters. Strain the liquor to clear it from bits of the
shell, and pour it over the meat in the stew-pan. Stew the meat in the
oyster liquor till it is thoroughly cooked, skimming it well, and
keeping it covered, except when skimming. Then add grated nutmeg, and a
few blades of mace. Lastly, put in the oysters, and let them remain in
just long enough to plump, which will be in a few minutes. If cooked too
much oysters always shrivel, and become hard and tough. When all is
done, serve up the whole in one dish.
In the same manner clams may be stewed with beef. Never put any salt
where there are clams. They are quite salt enough in themselves.
FRENCH STEW.--Cut into pieces two or three pounds of the lean of fresh
tender beef, mutton, veal, or pork, and peel and slice a quarter of a
peck or more of ripe tomatos. Season the whole with a little pepper and
salt. Add, if you choose, a tea-spoonful of sugar to moderate the
extreme acid of the tomatos. Put the whole together into a stew-pot, and
cover it closely, opening it occasionally to see how it is doing. Put no
water to this stew, the juice of the tomatos will cook it thoroughly.
Add a large table-spoonful of minced tarragon leaves. When the tomatos
are all dissolved, stir in a piece of fresh butter, dredged with flour.
Let it stew about a quarter of an hour longer. When the meat is quite
tender all through, and every thing well done, make some sippets of
triangular shaped toast, with the crust trimmed off. Dip the toast, for
a moment, in hot water; butter and stand it up all round the inside of a
deep dish. Then fill it with the stew, and serve it hot. Any meat may be
stewed thus with tomatos.
POTATO BEEF.--This is an excellent family dish. Boil some potatos till
well done, all through. Peel them, put them into a large pan, and mash
them smoothly, adding, as you proceed, some milk, and one or more beaten
eggs, well mixed into the potatos. Rub the bottom of a white ware
pudding dish with nice butter, or some drippings of cold beef, and cover
it with a thick layer of mashed potatos. Next, put in thin slices of
beef, (omitting the fat,) enough to cover the potatos. Next, add
another layer of mashed potatos, evenly and thickly spread. Then, more
thin slices of beef, and then more potatos. Do this, till the dish is
full; finishing it with potatos, on the top, heaping them up in the
centre. Bake it in an oven. There must be plenty of potatos, as they
will be much liked.
BEEF AND MUSHROOMS.--Take three pounds of the best sirloin steaks.
Season them with black pepper and a very little salt, having removed the
fat and bone. Put a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter into a
frying-pan, and set it over the fire. When it is boiling hot, put in the
steaks, and fry them brown. Have ready a quart of very fresh mushrooms,
peeled and stemmed. If large, cut them in four. Season them with a
little pepper and salt, and dredge them lightly with flour, and add a
few bits of butter. Stew them in a separate pan kept closely covered.
When the steaks are done, pour the mushrooms over them with all their
juice. Put them all (steaks and mushrooms) into a dish with a cover, and
serve them up hot.
This is a breakfast dish, or a side dish for dinner. Unless the company
is very small, four pounds of beef steaks, at least, and three pints of
mushrooms, (with butter in proportion) will be required at dinner, as it
will be much liked.
BEEF'S HEART.--Wash the heart well, and soak it in a pan of tepid water
till all the blood is drawn out of the ventricles, and it is made very
clean and dry. Next par-boil it a quarter of an hour. Then stuff the
cavities with a forcemeat made of minced veal, bread-crumbs, butter or
minced suet, and sweet herbs, seasoned with a little pepper and nutmeg;
or it may be stuffed simply with sage and onions. Sew up the openings
with coarse brown thread, lest the forcemeat should fall out. Put the
heart on a spit, and roast it before a clear fire, for near two hours;
basting it well with nice fresh butter. Thicken the gravy with a little
flour, and stir into it a glass of port wine, or of tarragon vinegar.
Have ready a hot dish and a heated cover. Serve up the heart as hot as
possible, for it soon chills, and pour the gravy around it. The gravy
should be heated to a boil in a small sauce-pan.
_Calves' Hearts_ are cooked in the same manner. As they are small, it
takes four calves' hearts to make a dish.
Hearts may be sliced and stewed with onions and sweet herbs, adding to
the stew a little salad oil.
BEEF PATTIES.--A nice way of disposing of underdone roast beef, is to
mince fine all the lean, and a _very little_ of the fat. Season it with
cayenne, and powdered nutmeg, or mace, or else chopped sweet herbs. If
you have any stewed mushroom-gravy, moisten the meat with that. Make a
nice paste, and cut it into small circular sheets, rolled out not very
thin. Cover one half of each sheet of paste with the minced beef (not
too near the edge) and fold over the other half, so as to form a half
moon. Wet your fingers with cold water, and pinch together the two edges
of the half moon. Then crimp them with a sharp knife. Lay the patties in
square baking pans, prick them with a fork, and bake them brown. Or you
may fry them in lard. Serve them up hot, as side dishes.
Cold veal, minced with cold ham, or tongue, makes very nice patties;
also cold chicken or turkey.
A BEEF STEAK PIE.--Stew two pounds or more, of fine tender sirloin
steaks, divested of fat and bone, and cut rather thin. Season them with
a very little salt and pepper; and, when about half done, remove them
from the fire, and keep them warm, saving all the gravy. Make a nice
paste, allowing to two quarts of flour one pound and a quarter of fresh
butter. Divide the butter into four quarters. Rub one half into the pan
of flour, and make it into a dough with, a very little cold water. Roll
it out into a large sheet, and with a broad knife stick over it, at
equal distances, one of the remaining divisions of butter. Then sprinkle
it with more flour, fold it, and roll it out again into a large sheet.
Put on the remainder of the butter in bits, as before. Then fold it
again. Cut the paste into equal halves, and roll them out into two
sheets, trimmed into round or oval forms. With one sheet line a
pie-dish, and fill it with your meat, adding, if convenient, some
mushrooms, or some fresh oysters, or the soft part of a few clams, and
some blades of mace. Use the other sheet of paste as a cover for the
pie, uniting the edges with the under crust by crimping it nicely. Of
the trimmings of the paste, make an ornament or tulip, and stick it into
the slit at the top of the pie.