cold ham and two or three slices of onion, a pinch of mace, powdered
parsley and pepper, some salt. Let a pint of milk or cream come to the
boiling point, then add a tablespoonful of cold butter, then the above
mixture. Beat up two eggs and mix with a teaspoonful of cornstarch or
flour, and add to the rest; cook it all about ten minutes, stirring
with care. Remove from the fire, and spread it on a platter, roll it
into balls, when cooled flatten each; dip them in egg and bread
crumbs, and fry in a wire basket, dipped in hot lard.
BROILED VEAL CUTLETS. (Fine.)
Two or three pounds of veal cutlets, egg and bread crumbs, two
tablespoonfuls of minced savory herbs, salt and pepper to taste, a
little grated nutmeg.
Cut the cutlets about three-quarters of an inch in thickness; flatten
them, and brush them over with the yolk of an egg; dip them into
bread crumbs and minced herbs, season with pepper and salt, and fold
each cutlet in a piece of white letter paper well buttered; twist the
ends, and broil over a clear fire; when done remove the paper. Cooked
this way, they retain all the flavor.
VEAL POT-PIE.
Procure a nice breast or brisket of veal, well jointed, put the pieces
into the pot with one quart of water to every five pounds of meat; put
the pot over a slow fire; just before it comes to a boil, skim it well
and pour in a teacupful of cold water; then turn over the meat in
order that all the scum may rise; remove all the scum, boil quite
hard, season with pepper and salt to your taste, always remembering
that the crust will take up part of the seasoning; when this is done
cut off your crust in pieces of equal size, but do not roll or mould
them; lay them on top of the meat, so as to cover it; put the lid on
the pot closely, let the whole boil slowly one hour. If the lid does
not fit the pot closely, wrap a cloth around it, in order that no
steam shall escape; and by no means allow the pot to _stop boiling_.
The crust for pot-pie should be raised with yeast. To three pints of
flour add two ounces of butter, a little salt, and wet with milk
sufficient to make a soft dough; knead it well and set it away to
rise; when quite light, mould and knead it again, and let it stand, in
winter, one hour, in summer, one-half hour, when it will be ready to
cut.
In summer you had better add one-half a teaspoonful of soda when you
knead it the second time, or you may wet it with water and add another
bit of butter.
VEAL PIE.
Cut the veal into rather small pieces or slices, put it in a stewpan
with hot water to cover it; add to it a tablespoonful of salt and set
it over the fire; take off the scum as it rises; when the meat is
tender turn it into a dish to cool; take out all the small bones,
butter a tin or earthen basin or pudding-pan, line it with pie paste,
lay some of the parboiled meat in to half fill it; put bits of butter
in the size of a hickory nut all over the meat; shake pepper over,
dredge wheat flour over until it looks white, then fill it nearly to
the top with some of the water in which the meat was boiled; roll a
cover for the top of the crust, puff-paste it, giving it two or three
turns, and roll it to nearly half an inch thickness; cut a slit in
the centre and make several small incisions on either side of it, put
the crust on, trim the edges neatly with a knife; bake one hour in a
quick oven. A breast of veal will make two two-quart basin pies; half
a pound of nice corned pork, cut in thin slices and parboiled with the
meat, will make it very nice, and very little, if any, butter will be
required for the pie; when pork is used not other salt will be
necessary. Many are fond of thin slices of sweet ham cooked with the
veal for pie.
VEAL STEW.
Cut up two or three pounds of veal into pieces three inches long and
one thick. Wash it, put it into your stewpan with two quarts of water,
let it boil, skim it well, and when all the scum is removed, add
pepper and salt to your taste, and a small piece of butter; pare and
cut in halves twelve small Irish potatoes, put them into the stewpan;
when it boils, have ready a batter made with two eggs, two spoonfuls
of cream or milk, a little salt, and flour enough to make it a little
thicker than for pancakes; drop this into the stew, a spoonful at a
time, while it is boiling; when all is in, cover the pan closely so
that no steam can escape; let it boil twenty minutes and serve in a
deep dish.
VEAL LOAF.
Three pounds of raw veal chopped very fine, butter the size of an egg,
three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk; if milk use a small
piece of butter; mix the eggs and cream together; mix with the veal
four pounded crackers, one teaspoonful of black pepper, one large
tablespoonful salt, one large tablespoonful of sage; mix well together
and form into a loaf. Bake two and one-half hours, basting with butter
and water while baking. Serve cut in thin slices.
VEAL FOR LUNCH.
Butter a good-sized bowl, and line it with thin slices of hard-boiled
eggs; have veal and ham both in very thin slices; place, in the bowl a
layer of veal, with pepper and salt, then a layer of ham, omitting the
salt, then a layer of veal, and so on, alternating with veal and ham,
until the bowl is filled; make a paste of flour and water as stiff as
it can be rolled out; cover the contents of the bowl with the paste,
and over this tie a double cotton cloth; put the bowl into a saucepan,
or other vessel, with water just up to the rim of the bowl, and boil
three hours; then take it from the fire, remove the cloth and paste,
and let it stand until the next day, when it may be turned out and
served in very thin slices. An excellent lunch in traveling.
VEAL PATTIES.
Cut portions of the neck or breast of veal into small pieces, and,
with a little salt pork cut fine, stew gently for ten or fifteen
minutes; season with pepper and salt, and a small piece of celery
chopped coarsely, also of the yellow top, picked (not chopped) up;
stir in a paste made of a tablespoonful of flour, the yolk of one egg,
and milk to form a thin batter; let all come to a boil, and it is
ready for the patties. Make the patties of a light, flaky crust, as
for tarts, cut round, the size of a small sauceplate; the centre of
each, for about three inches, cut half way through, to be raised and
serve as a cover. Put a spoonful of the stew in each crust, lay on the
top and serve. Stewed oysters or lamb may be used in place of veal.
BRAISED VEAL.
Take a piece of the shoulder weighing about five pounds. Have the bone
removed and tie up the meat to make it firm. Put a piece of butter the
size of half an egg, together with a few shavings of onion, into a
kettle or stone crock and let it get hot. Salt and pepper the veal and
put it into the kettle, cover it tightly and put it over a medium fire
until the meat is brown on both sides, turning it occasionally. Then
set the kettle back on the stove, where it will simmer slowly for
about two hours and a half. Before setting the meat back on the stove,
see if the juice of the meat together with the butter do not make
gravy enough, and if not, put in about two tablespoonfuls of hot
water. When the gravy is cold it will be like jelly. It can be served
hot with the hot meat, or cold with the cold meat.
BAKED CALF'S HEAD.
Boil a calf's head (after having cleaned it) until tender, then split
it in two, and keep the best half (bone it if you like); cut the meat
from the other in uniform pieces, the size of an oyster; put bits of
butter, the size of a nutmeg, all over the best half of the head;
sprinkle pepper over it, and dredge on flour until it looks white,
then set it on a trivet or muffin rings in a dripping-pan; put a cup
of water into the pan, and set it in a hot oven; turn it that it may
brown evenly; baste once or twice. Whilst this is doing, dip the
prepared pieces of the head in wheat flour or batter, and fry in hot
lard or beef drippings a delicate brown; season with pepper and salt
and slices of lemon, if liked. When the roast is done put it on a hot
dish, lay the fried pieces around it, and cover it with a tin cover;
put the gravy from the dripping-pan into the pan in which the pieces
were fried, with the slices of lemon, and a tablespoonful of browned
flour, and, if necessary, a little hot water. Let it boil up once, and
strain it into a gravy boat, and serve with the meat.
CALF'S HEAD CHEESE.
Boil a calf's head in water enough to cover it, until the meat leaves
the bones; then take it with a skimmer into a wooden bowl or tray;
take from it every particle of bone; chop it small; season with pepper
and salt, a heaping tablespoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of pepper
will be sufficient; if liked, add a tablespoonful of finely chopped
sweet herbs; lay in a cloth in a colander, put the minced meat into
it, then fold the cloth closely over it, lay a plate over, and on it a
gentle weight. When cold it may be sliced thin for supper or
sandwiches. Spread each slice with made mustard.
BRAIN CUTLETS.
Well wash the brains and soak them in cold water until white. Parboil
them until tender in a small saucepan for about a quarter of an hour;
then thoroughly drain them and place them on a board. Divide them into
small pieces with a knife. Dip each piece into flour, and then roll
them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry them in butter or well-clarified
drippings. Serve very hot with gravy. Another way of doing brains is
to prepare them as above, and then stew them gently in rich stock,
like stewed sweetbreads. They are also nice plainly boiled and served
with parsley and butter sauce.
CALFS HEAD BOILED.
Put the head into boiling water and let it remain about five minutes;
take it out, hold it by the ear, and with the back of the knife scrape
off the hair (should it not come off easily dip the head again in
boiling water.) When perfectly clean take out the eyes, cut off the
ears and remove the brain, which soak for an hour in warm water. Put
the head to soak in hot water a few minutes to make it look white, and
then have ready a stewpan, into which lay the head; cover it with cold
water and bring it gradually to boil. Remove the scum and add a little
salt, which increases it and causes it to rise to the top. Simmer it
very gently from two and a half to three hours, or until the bones
will slip out easily, and when nearly done, boil the brains fifteen or
twenty minutes; skin and chop them (not too finely), add a
tablespoonful of minced parsley which has been previously scalded;
also a pinch of pepper, salt; then stir into this four tablespoonfuls
of melted butter; set it on the back of the range to keep it hot. When
the head is done, take it up and drain very dry. Score the top and rub
it over with melted butter; dredge it with flour and set it in the
oven to brown.
When you serve the head, have it accompanied with a gravy boat of
melted butter and minced parsley.
CALF'S LIVER AND BACON.
Slice the liver a quarter of an inch thick; pour hot water over it and
let it remain for a few minutes to clear it from blood; then dry it in
a cloth. Take a pound of bacon, or as much as you require, and cut the
same number of thin slices as you have of liver; fry the bacon to a
nice crisp; take it out and keep it hot; then fry the liver in the
same pan, having first seasoned it with pepper and salt and dredged in
a little flour; lay it in the hot bacon fat and fry it a nice brown.
Serve it with a slice of bacon on the top of each slice of liver.
If you wish a gravy with it, pour off most of the fat from the frying
pan, put in about two ounces of butter, a tablespoonful of flour well
rubbed in, add a cup of water, salt and pepper, give it one boil and
serve in a gravy boat.
_Another Way._--Cut the liver in nice thin slices, pour boiling water
over it and let it stand about five minutes; then drain and put in a
dripping-pan with three or four thin slices of salt pork or bacon;
pepper and salt and put in the oven, letting it cook until thoroughly
done, then serve with a cream or milk gravy poured over it.
Calf's liver and bacon are very good broiled after cutting each in
thin slices. Season with butter, pepper and salt.
CROQUETTES OF SWEETBREADS.
Take four veal sweetbreads, soak them for an hour in cold salted
water, first removing the pipes and membranes; then put them into
boiling salted water with a tablespoonful of vinegar, and cook them
twenty minutes, then drop them again into cold water to harden. Now
remove them, chop them very fine, almost to a paste. Season with salt,
pepper and a teaspoonful of grated onion; add the beaten yolks of
three raw eggs, one tablespoonful of butter, half a cupful of cream,
and sufficient fine cracker crumbs to make stiff enough to roll out
into little balls or cork-shaped croquettes. Have ready a frying
kettle half full of fat over the fire, a dish containing three
smoothly beaten eggs, a large platter of cracker dust; wet the hands
with cold water and make the mixture in shape; afterwards rolling them
in the cracker dust, then into the beaten egg, and again in the
cracker dust; smooth them on the outside and drop them carefully in
the hot fat. When the croquettes are fried a nice golden brown, put
them on a brown paper a moment to free them from grease. Serve hot
with sliced lemon or parsley.
SWEETBREADS.
There are two in a calf, which are considered delicacies. Select the
largest. The color should be clear and a shade darker than the fat.
Before cooking in any manner let them lie for half an hour in tepid
water; then throw into hot water to whiten and harden, after which
draw off the outer casing, remove the little pipes, and cut into thin
slices. They should always be thoroughly cooked.
FRIED SWEETBREADS.
After preparing them as above they are put into hot fat and butter,
and fried the same as lamb chops, also broiled the same, first rolling
them in egg and cracker crumbs.
BAKED SWEETBREADS.
Three sweetbreads, egg and bread crumbs, oiled butter, three slices of
toast, brown gravy.
Choose large, white sweetbreads, put them into warm water to draw out
the blood, and to improve their color; let them remain for rather more
than one hour; then put them into boiling water, and allow them to
simmer for about ten minutes which renders them firm. Take them up,
drain them, brush over the egg, sprinkle with bread crumbs; dip them
in egg again, and then into more bread crumbs. Drop on them a little
oiled butter, and put the sweetbreads into a moderately heated oven,
and let them bake for nearly three-quarters of an hour. Make three
pieces of toast; place the sweetbreads on the toast, and pour round,
but not over, them a good brown gravy.
FRICASSEED SWEETBREADS.
If they are uncooked, cut into thin slices, let them simmer in a rich
gravy for three-quarters of an hour, add a well-beaten egg, two
tablespoonfuls of cream and a tablespoonful of chopped parsley; stir
all together for a few minutes and serve immediately.
MUTTON AND LAMB.
ROAST MUTTON.
The pieces mostly used for roasting are the hind-quarter of the sheep,
called the loin and leg, the fore-quarter, the shoulder, also the
chine or saddle, which is the two loins together. Every part should be
trimmed off that cannot be eaten; then wash well and dry with a clean
cloth; lay it in your dripping-pan and put in a little water to baste
it with at first; then afterward with its own gravy. Allow, in
roasting, about twelve minutes to the pound; that is, if your fire is
strong, which it should be. It should not be salted at first, as that
tends to harden it, and draws out too much of the blood or juices; but
salt soon after it begins to roast well. If there is danger of its
browning too fast, cover it with a sheet of white paper. Baste it
often, and about a quarter of an hour before you think it will be done
dredge the meat very lightly with flour and baste it with butter. Skim
the gravy well and thicken very slightly with brown flour. Serve with
currant jelly or other tart sauce.
BONED LEG OF MUTTON ROASTED.
Take the bone out of a small leg of mutton, without spoiling the skin
if possible, then cut off most of the fat. Fill the hole whence the
bone was taken with a stuffing made the same as for fowls, adding to
it part of an onion finely minced. Sew the leg up underneath to
prevent the dressing or stuffing from falling out. Bind and tie it up
compactly; put it in a roasting pan, turn in a cup of hot water and
place it in a moderately hot oven, basting it occasionally. When
partly cooked season with salt and pepper. When thoroughly cooked,
remove and place the leg on a warm platter; skim the grease from the
top of the drippings, add a cup of water and thicken with a spoonful
of dissolved flour. Send the gravy to the table in a gravy dish, also
a dish of currant jelly.
BOILED LEG OF MUTTON.
To prepare a leg of mutton for boiling, wash it clean, cut a small
piece off the shank bone, and trim the knuckle. Put it into a pot with
water enough to cover it, and boil gently from two to three hours,
skimming well. Then take it from the fire, and keeping the pot well
covered, let it finish by remaining in the steam for ten or fifteen
minutes. Serve it up with a sauce boat of melted butter, into which a
teacupful of capers or nasturtiums have been stirred. If the broth is
to be used for soup, put in a little salt while boiling; if not, salt
it well when partly done, and boil the meat in a cloth.
BRAISED LEG OF MUTTON.
This recipe can be varied either by preparing the leg with a stuffing,
placed in the cavity after having the bone removed, or cooking it
without. Having lined the bottom of a thick iron kettle or stewpan with
a few thin slices of bacon, put over the bacon four carrots, three
onions, a bunch of savory herbs; then over these place the leg of
mutton. Cover the whole with a few more slices of bacon, then pour over
half a pint of water. Cover with a tight cover and stew very gently for
four hours, basting the leg occasionally with its own liquor, and
seasoning it with salt and pepper as soon as it begins to be tender.
When cooked strain the gravy, thicken with a spoonful of flour (it
should be quite brown), pour some of it over the meat and send the
remainder to the table in a tureen, to be served with the mutton when
carved. Garnish the dish around the leg with potatoes cut in the shape
of olives and fried a light brown in butter.
LEG OF MUTTON Á LA VENISON.
Remove all the rough fat from the mutton and lay it in a deep earthen
dish; rub into it thoroughly the following: One tablespoonful of salt,
one each of celery-salt, brown sugar, black pepper, English mustard,
allspice, and some sweet herbs, all powdered and mixed; after which pour
over it slowly a teacup of good vinegar, cover tightly, and set in a
cool place four or five days, turning it and basting often with the
liquid each day. To cook, put in a kettle a quart of boiling water,
place over it an inverted shallow pan, and on it lay the meat just as
removed from the pickle; cover the kettle tightly and stew for four
hours. Do not lat the water touch the meat. Add a cup of hot water to
the pickle remaining and baste with it. When done, thicken the liquid
with flour and strain through a fine sieve, to serve with the meat;
also a relish of currant jelly, the dame as for venison.
This is a fine dish when the directions are faithfully followed.
STEAMED LEG OF MUTTON.
Wash and put the leg in a steamer and cook it until tender, then place
in a roasting pan, salt and dredge well with flour and set it in a hot
oven until nicely browned; the water that remains in the bottom of the
steamer may be used for soup. Serve with currant jelly.
HASHED MUTTON.
Cut into small pieces the lean of some cold mutton that has been
underdone, and season it with pepper and salt. Take the bones and other
trimmings, put them in a sauce-pan with as much water as will cover
them, and some sliced onions, and let them stew till you have drawn from
them a good gravy. Having skimmed it well, strain the gravy into a
stew-pan, and put the mutton into it. Have ready-boiled some carrots,
turnips, potatoes and onions. Slice them and add to the meat and gravy.
Set the pan on the fire and let it simmer till the meat is warmed
through, but do not allow it to boil, as it has been once cooked
already. Cover the bottom of the dish with slices of buttered toast. Lay
the meat and vegetables upon it, and pour over them the gravy.
Tomatoes will be found an improvement.
If green peas or Lima beans are in season, you may boil them and put
them to the hashed mutton, leaving out the other vegetables, or serving
them up separately.
BROILED MUTTON CHOPS.
Loin of mutton, pepper and salt, a small piece of butter. Cut the chops
from a tenderloin of mutton, remove a portion of the fat, and trim them
into a nice shape; slightly beat and level them; place the gridiron over
a bright clear fire, rub the bars with a little fat, and lay on the
chops. While broiling frequently turn them, and in about eight minutes
they will be done. Season with pepper and salt, dish them on a very hot
dish, rub a small piece of butter on each chop, and serve very hot and
expeditiously. Nice with tomato sauce poured over them.
FRIED MUTTON CHOPS. NO. 1.
Put in a frying-pan a tablespoonful of cold lard and butter mixed; have
some fine mutton chops without much fat; trim off the skin. Dip into
wheat flour, or rolled cracker, and beaten egg, then lay them into the
hot grease, sprinkle with salt and pepper, fry on both sides a fine
brown. When dine, take them up and place on a hot dish. If you wish a
made gravy, turn off the superfluous grease, if any, stir into the hot
gravy remaining a heaping spoonful of cold water or milk; season with
pepper and salt, let it boil up thick. You can serve it in a separate
dish or pour it over the chops. Tomato sauce is considered fine, turned
over a dish of hot fried or broiled chops.
FRIED MUTTON CHOPS. NO. 2.
Prepare the chops by trimming off all extra fat and skin, season them
with salt and pepper; dip each chop in beaten egg, then in rolled
cracker or bread-crumbs; dip again in the egg and crumbs, and so on
until they are well coated with the crumb. Have ready a deep spider
containing a pound or more of lard, hot enough to fry crullers. Drop
into this hot lard the chops, frying only a few at a time, as too many
cool the fat. Fry them brown, and serve them up hot and dry, on a warm
platter.
MUTTON CUTLETS. (Baked.)
Prepare them the same as for frying, lay them in a dripping-pan with a
_very_ little water at the bottom. Bake quickly, and baste often with
butter and water. Make a little brown gravy and turn over them when
they are served.
BAKED MUTTON CHOPS AND POTATOES.
Wash and peel some good potatoes and cut them into slices the
thickness of a penny-piece. The quantity of potatoes must, of course,
be decided according to the number of persons to whom they have to be
served; but it is a safe plan to allow two, or even three, potatoes
for each person. After the potatoes are sliced, wash them in two or
three waters to thoroughly cleanse them, then arrange them neatly (in
layers) in a brown stone dish proper for baking purposes. Sprinkle a
little salt and pepper between each layer, and add a sufficient
quantity of cold water to prevent their burning. Place the dish in a
very hot oven--oil the top shelf--so as to brown the potatoes in a few
minutes. Have ready some nice loin chops (say one--for each person);
trim off most of the fat; make them into a neat round shape by putting
a small skewer through each. When the potatoes are nicely browned,
remove the dish from the oven, and place the chops on the top. Add a
little more salt and pepper, and water if required, and return the
dish to a cooler part of the oven, where it may be allowed to remain
until sufficiently cooked, which will be in about three-quarters of an
hour. When the upper sides of the chops are a nice crisp brown, turn
them over so as to brown the other side also. If, in the cooking, the
potatoes appear to be getting too dry, a little more water may be
gently poured in at one corner of the dish, only care must be taken to
see that the water is hot this time--not cold as at first. The dish in
which the chops and potatoes are baked must be as neat looking as
possible, as it has to be sent to the table; turning the potatoes out
would, of course, spoil their appearance. Those who have never tasted
this dish have no idea how delightful it is. While the chops are
baking the gravy drips from them among the potatoes, rendering the
whole most delicious.
MUTTONETTES.