Take a round of fresh beef (or the half of one if it is very
large) and remove the bone. The day before you cook it, lay it in
a pickle made of equal proportions of water and vinegar with salt
to your taste. Next morning take it out of the pickle, put it into
a large pot or stew-pan, and just cover it with water. Put in with
it two or three large onion a few cloves, a little whole black
pepper, and a large glass of port or claret. If it is a whole
round of beef allow two glasses of wine. Stew it slowly for at
least four hours or more, in proportion to its size. It must be
thoroughly done, and tender all through. An hour before you send
it to table take the meat out of the pot, and pour the gravy into
a pan. Put a large lump of butter into the pot, dredge the beef
with flour, and return it to the pot to brown, turning it often to
prevent its burning. Or it will be better to put it into a Dutch
oven. Cover the lid with hot coals, renewing them as they go out.
Take the gravy that you poured from the meat, and skim off all the
fat. Put it into a sauce-pan, and mix with it a little butter
rolled in flour, and add some more cloves and wine. Give it a boil
up. If it is not well browned, burn some sugar on a hot shovel,
and stir it in.
If you like it stuffed, have ready when you take the meat out of
the pickle, a force-meat of grated bread crumbs, sweet herbs,
butter, spice, pepper and salt, and minced parsley, mixed with
beaten yolk of egg. Fill with this the opening from whence you
took the bone, and bind a tape firmly round the meat.