Fried Salt Pork.
CUT salt pork into slices a quarter of an inch thick, cut off the rind,
and then pour over them boiling water, in which let them stand ten
minutes; then turn off the water, and fry until they are brown on both
sides.
Broiled Salt Pork.
Prepare as for fried, and broil ten minutes over clear coals.
Salt Pork Fried in Batter.
Fry the pork as before directed; dip in batter, and fry in the pork
fat, to which should be added two spoonfuls of drippings or lard. Make
the batter in the following manner: Mix gradually with one cup of flour
one cup of milk, and then add one well beaten egg and a little salt.
Fried Ham.
Cut the ham in very thin slices, and cut off the rind. Have half a
spoonful of boiling drippings in the frying-pan, lay the ham in this,
and fry quickly eight minutes; it will then be brown and crisp. Where
the ham is for dinner, have the slices larger and thicker, and if you
do not have eggs with it, fry bread, as directed for sausages.
Broiled Ham.
Cut the ham in thin slices; cut off the rind, and broil over clear
coals ten minutes. Butter or not, as you please. When the ham is very
salt or hard, slice, and let stand in boiling water ten minutes before
frying or broiling.
Ham and Eggs.
Fry the ham as before directed, and when the ham is all fried, turn
the fat into a basin, and scrape the salt from the frying-pan; turn
back the fat, and add to it half a cup of lard. When this comes to a
boil, break in your eggs, leaving room to turn them, if you prefer them
turned; they look much nicer, however, when they are not turned. If
they are not turned, dip up the boiling fat while they are cooking and
pour over them; they will cook rare in two minutes, well done in three.
Lay them on the slices of ham, and serve.
Breakfast Bacon.
Cooked the same as ham.
Beefsteak Smothered in Onions.
Fry brown four slices of salt pork; when brown take out the pork, and
put in six onions sliced thin. Fry about ten minutes, stirring all
the while; then take out all except a thin layer, and upon this lay a
slice of steak, then a layer of onions, then steak, and cover thick
with onions. Dredge each layer with pepper, salt and flour. Pour over
this one cupful of boiling water, and cover tight. Simmer half an hour.
When you dish, place the steak in the centre of the dish, and heap the
onions around it. Serve the same vegetables as for broiled steak.
Broiled Beef Steak.
Cut the steak about three quarters of an inch thick. Have a clear fire
and lay the steak on the gridiron, and dredge lightly with flour. If
you desire the steak rare, cook ten minutes, if well done, fifteen.
Dish and season with butter, pepper, and salt. Serve _immediately_.
Never set steak into the oven to keep warm or to melt the butter.
The dish must be hot, the butter stand in a warm room long enough to
soften, but do not _melt_. If for dinner, serve potatoes, either baked
or boiled, and any other vegetables which you choose. Many persons
pound tough steak before cooking, but I would not recommend it, as by
this means it loses much of its juiciness.
There are some families in the country who have no means of broiling.
The next best thing such persons can do is to heat the frying pan very
hot, and grease with just enough butter to prevent the steak from
sticking; then lay the steak in, and cook, and serve as before directed.
Fried Beefsteak.
For two pounds of steak fry brown four slices of salt pork, then take
up the pork and fry the steak in the fat; salt and pepper it. When you
dish, add a little butter. To the fat remaining in the frying-pan,
after the steak has been cooked, add one tablespoonful of _dry_ flour
(be sure to have the fat boiling), and stir until it is brown and there
are no lumps, then pour in about half a cup of boiling water. Season
well with pepper and salt. Serve in a gravy tureen. This is a more
economical, but not so healthy a method as broiling.
Stewed Beef.
Take a piece of beef that is rather tough or pieces of tough
beefsteak; rub into it a handful of salt, some pepper and flour; lay
in a kettle that you can cover tight, and that has a flat bottom. Cut
up an onion, a potato, a _small_ turnip, a carrot, and a parsnip; lay
these on top of the meat, and then sprinkle in half a teaspoonful of
cinnamon, half of mace, one-fourth of clove, and add cold water enough
to cover it. Let them come to a boil, skim off all the scum; then cover
tight, and simmer five hours. After it has been boiling four hours, mix
half a cup of flour with cold water and add to it. You can then taste
it, and add more seasoning if necessary. The spice may be omitted if
you choose.
Lamb Chops.
Broil fifteen minutes over clear coals. Season with butter, pepper, and
salt.
Broiled Veal.
Cut veal into thin slices, and broil twenty minutes. Season with
butter, pepper, and salt. This is the most unsavory method of cooking
veal, and I would not recommend it.
Fricassee of Veal.
Fry eight slices of salt pork, brown. Take out the pork, and put in
_thin_ slices of veal, which have been cut from the leg. Sprinkle with
salt and pepper, and fry _brown_. When all the veal is fried, mix with
the boiling fat two tablespoonfuls of _dry_ flour; stir until there are
no lumps, and the flour is brown; then add two cups of boiling water,
and season with salt and pepper. Lay the veal in this gravy, and simmer
fifteen minutes. Dish, and pour the gravy over the meat. If for dinner,
garnish with boiled rice, and serve plain boiled potatoes.
Mutton Chops.
Cut the chops from the loin or the neck; broil as you do beefsteak, and
serve in _hot_ dishes.
Mutton Pie with Tomatoes.
Pare and slice six tomatoes; put a layer into a deep pudding-dish, then
put in a layer of slices of cold mutton, and dredge in flour, salt,
pepper. Have the last layer tomatoes, over which sprinkle two rolled
crackers. Bake one hour.
Veal Cutlets.
Fry brown eight slices of salt pork. Take them up, and add to the fat
two large spoonfuls of lard or drippings. Have ready thin slices of
veal (they are best cut from the leg), dip them in an egg which has
been well beaten, then into cracker crumbs, and fry a nice brown.
Season them, before dipping in the egg and cracker, with pepper and
salt. Serve with the salt pork.
Mutton Cutlets.
The same as veal.
Fried Sausages.
Cut the sausages apart, and wash; then lay them in the pan, and pour
boiling water over them; let them boil two minutes, then turn off the
water, and prick the sausages with a fork, or they will burst open
when they begin to fry. Put a little drippings in the pan with them,
and fry twenty minutes. Turn them often that they may be brown on all
sides. Cut stale bread into fanciful shape, fry in the sausage fat, and
garnish the dish with it. Brown bread is delicious fried in this way.
Serve plain boiled potatoes.