degree worn away should be used ever for this or for any other kind of
cookery; or not health only, but life itself, may be endangered by
them.[72] We have ourselves seen a dish of acid fruit which had been
boiled without sugar in a copper pan from which the tin lining was half
worn away, _coated with verdigris_ after it had become cold; and from
the careless habits of the person who had prepared it, the chances were
greatly in favour of its being served to a family afterwards, if it had
not been accidentally discovered. Salt acts upon the copper in the same
manner as acids: vegetables, too, from the portion of the latter which
they contain, have the same injurious effect, and the greatest danger
results from allowing preparations containing any of these to become
cold (or cool) in the stewpan, in contact with the exposed part of the
copper in the inside. Thick, well-tinned iron saucepans will answer for
all the ordinary purposes of common English cookery, even for stewing,
provided they have tightly-fitting lids to prevent the escape of the
steam; but the copper ones are of more convenient form, and better
adapted to a superior order of cookery.
Footnote 72:
Sugar, being an antidote to the poisonous effects of verdigris, should
be plentifully taken, dissolved in water, so as to form a syrup, by
persons who may unfortunately have partaken of any dish into which
this dangerous ingredient has entered.
The enamelled stewpans and saucepans which have now very much superseded
the old-fashioned metal ones for many purposes, are peculiarly suited,
from the nicety of the composition with which they are lined, and which
resembles earthenware, to the preparation of fine preserves, and all
very delicate compounds, as well as to those of milk, and of various
articles of diet adapted to invalids; and they possess the further
advantage of being easily kept beautifully clean. Care should be taken
not to allow anything which they may contain to burn to them, which it
will quickly do if they be placed flat upon a fierce fire; and when this
has once occurred, there will always be some difficulty in preventing
their contents from adhering to them where they have been burned. They
should always be filled with water immediately after being emptied, and
will then merely require to be well washed and rinsed with more boiling
water; but when they have been neglected, strong soda and water should
be boiled in them for a few minutes.
BROILING.
[Illustration:
A Conjuror.
]
Broiling is the best possible mode of cooking and of preserving the
flavour of several kinds of fish, amongst which we may specify mackerel
and whitings; it is also incomparably superior to frying for steaks and
cutlets, especially of beef and mutton; and it is far better adapted
also, to the preparation of food for invalids; but it should be
carefully done, for if the heat be too fierce, the outside of the meat
will be scorched and hardened so as to render it uneatable; and if, on
the contrary, it be too gentle, the gravy will be drawn out, and yet the
flesh will remain so entirely without firmness, as to be unpleasant
eating. A brisk fire, _perfectly free from smoke_, a very clean
gridiron, tender meat, a dish and plates as hot as they can be, and
great despatch in sending it to table when done, all are essential to
the serving of a good broil. The gridiron should be heated, and rubbed
with mutton suet before the meat is laid on, and it should be placed
slopingly over the fire, that the fat may run off to the back of the
grate, instead of falling on the live coals and smoking the meat; if
this precaution should not prevent its making an occasional blaze, lift
the gridiron quickly beyond the reach of the smoke, and hold it away
until the fire is clear again. Steaks and chops should be turned often,
that the juices may be kept in, and that they may be equally done in
every part. If, for this purpose, it should be necessary for want of
steak-tongs to use a fork, it should be passed through the outer skin or
fat of the steak, but never stuck into the lean, as by that means much
of the gravy will escape. Most eaters prefer broiled beef or mutton,
rather underdressed; but lamb or pork cutlets should always be
thoroughly cooked. When a fowl or any other bird is cut asunder before
it is broiled, the inside should first be laid to the fire: this should
be done with kidneys also. Fish is less dry and of better flavour, as
well as less liable to be smoked, if it be wrapped in a thickly buttered
sheet of writing paper before it is placed on the gridiron. For the more
delicate-skinned kinds, the bars should be rubbed with chalk instead of
suet when the paper is omitted. Cutlets, or meats of any other form,
when egged and crumbed for broiling, should afterwards be dipped into
clarified butter or sprinkled with it plentifully, as the egg-yolk and
bread will otherwise form too dry a crust upon it. French cooks season
their cutlets both with salt and pepper, and brush a little oil or
butter over them to keep them moist; but unless this be done, no
seasoning of salt should be given them until they are just ready to be
dished: the French method is a very good one. Steaks or cutlets may be
quickly cooked with a sheet or two of lighted paper only, in the
apparatus shown in the preceding page, and called a conjuror. Lift off
the cover and lay in the meat properly seasoned, with a small slice of
butter under it, and insert the lighted paper in the aperture shown in
the plate; in from eight to ten minutes the meat will be done, and found
to be remarkably tender, and very palatable: it must be turned and moved
occasionally during the process. This is an especially convenient mode
of cooking for persons whose hours of dining are rendered uncertain by
the nature of their avocations. For medical men engaged in extensive
country practice it has often proved so; and we would especially
recommend it to the notice of emigrants, to whom it would often prove
invaluable. The part in which the meat is placed is of block tin, and
fits closely into the stand, which is of sheet iron. The conjuror from
which our design was drawn, was purchased in a country town in Essex,
and was exceedingly well made, and very cheap. We find on inquiry that
the maker has quitted the place, or we would insert his address.
FRYING.
[Illustration:
Sauté Pan.
]
This is an operation, which, though apparently very simple, requires to
be more carefully and skilfully conducted than it commonly is. Its
success depends principally on allowing the fat to attain the exact
degree of heat which shall give firmness, without too quick browning or
scorching, before anything is laid into the pan; for, if this be
neglected, the article fried will be saturated with fat, and remain pale
and flaccid. When the requisite degree of colour is acquired before the
cooking is complete, the pan should be placed high above the fire, that
it may be continued slowly to the proper point. Steaks and cutlets
should be seasoned with salt and pepper and dredged on both sides
lightly with flour before they are laid into the pan, in which they
should be often moved and turned that they may be equally done, and that
they may not stick nor burn to it. From ten to fifteen minutes will fry
them. They should be evenly sliced, about the same thickness as for
broiling, and neatly trimmed and divided in the first instance. Lift
them into a hot dish when done; pour the fat from the pan, and throw in
a small slice of butter; stir to this a large teaspoonful of flour,
brown it gently, and pour in by degrees a quarter of a pint of hot broth
or water; shake the pan well round, add pepper, salt, and a little good
catsup, or any other store sauce which may be preferred to it, and pour
the gravy over the steaks: this is the most common mode of saucing and
serving them.
Minute directions for fish, vegetables, omlets, and different
preparations of batter, are given in their proper places; but we must
again observe, that a very small frying pan (scarcely larger than a
dinner-plate) is necessary for many of these; and, indeed, the large and
_thick_ one suited to meat and fish, and used commonly for them is
altogether unfit for nicer purposes.
The _sauté-pan_, shown in the preceding page, is much used by French
cooks instead of a frying-pan; it is more particularly convenient for
tossing quickly over the fire small collops, or aught else which
requires but little cooking.
All fried dishes, which are not sauced, should be served extremely dry
upon a neatly-folded damask cloth: they are best drained upon a sieve
reversed placed before the fire.
[Illustration:
Wire Basket for Frying.
]
A wire basket of this form is convenient for frying parsley and other
herbs. It must be placed in a pan well filled with fat, and lifted out
quickly when the herbs are done: they may likewise be crisped in it over
a clear fire, without any fat.
[Illustration:
Wire Lining of Frying-pan.
]
[Illustration:
Modern Sauté Pan.
]
The frying-pans fitted with wire linings that lift in and out of them,
which have lately come much into use in good kitchens, are so
excellently adapted to save trouble, and so convenient for preparing
delicately light patties, _croquettes_, _rissoles_, and other dishes of
a similar nature, that no cook who is expected to serve them in the best
manner should be without one. They should all be arranged upon this wire
lining, and plunged together into the boiling fat; and well drained on
it when they are lifted out.
BAKING, OR OVEN COOKERY.
[Illustration:
Nottingham Jar.
]
The improved construction of the ovens connected with all modern cooking
stoves, gives great facility at the present day for _home baking_, even
in very small establishments; and without this convenience it is
impossible for justice to be done to the person who conducts the
cookery; as many and great disadvantages attend the sending to a public
oven; and it is very discouraging to a servant who has prepared her
dishes with nicety and skill, to have them injured by the negligence of
other persons. One of the best modes of cooking with which we are
acquainted is by means of a jar, resembling in form that shown above,
well pasted down, and covered with a fold of thick paper, and then
placed in a gentle oven. Rice is most excellent when thus slowly baked
with a certain proportion of liquid, either by itself, or mingled with
meat, fish, or fruit; but we must reserve for another volume particulars
of this little system of _slow oven-cookery_, in which for some years
past we have had numberless experiments made with almost uniform
success: it is especially suited to invalids, from preserving the
_entire_ amount of nourishment contained in the articles of food dressed
by it; and it is to their use that we hope to appropriate it.
[Illustration:
American Oven.[73]
]
Footnote 73:
We have scarcely done justice in the former editions of this work to
these very useful little ovens, which we have found, after long trial,
better adapted to some purposes than brick or iron ones, because
preparations which require it, (those of Indian corn, for example) can
be heated in them more gradually; and when once the management of them
is understood, they will answer admirably for delicate sweet puddings,
and for cakes, with the advantage of requiring but a very moderate
fire.
The oven may be used with advantage for many purposes for which it is
not commonly put into requisition. Calves’ feet, covered with a proper
proportion of water, may be reduced to a strong jelly if left in it for
some hours; the half-head, boned and rolled, will be found excellent
eating, if laid, with the bones, into a deep pan and baked quite tender
in sufficient broth or water, to keep it covered in every part until
done; good soup also may be made in the same way, the usual ingredients
being at once added to the meat, with the exception of the vegetables,
which will not become tender if put into cold liquid, and should
therefore be thrown in after it begins to simmer. Baking is likewise one
of the best modes of dressing various kinds of fish: pike and red mullet
amongst others. Salmon cut into thick slices, freed from the skin, well
seasoned with spice, mixed with salt (and with minced herbs, at
pleasure), then arranged evenly in a dish, and covered thickly with
crumbs of bread, moistened with clarified butter, as directed in Chapter
II., for baked soles, and placed in the oven for about half an hour,
will be found very rich and highly flavoured. Part of the middle of the
salmon left entire, well cleaned, and thoroughly dried, then seasoned,
and securely wrapped in two or three folds of thickly buttered paper,
will also prove excellent eating, if gently baked. (This may likewise be
roasted in a Dutch oven, either folded in the paper, or left without it,
and basted with butter.) Hams, when freshly cured, and not over salted,
if neatly trimmed, and covered with a coarse paste, are both more juicy,
and of finer flavour baked than boiled. Savoury or pickled beef too, put
into a deep pan with a little gravy, and plenty of butter or chopped
suet on the top, to prevent the outside from becoming dry; then covered
with paste, or with several folds of thick paper, and set into a
moderate oven for four or five hours, or even longer, if it be of large
weight, is an excellent dish. A goose, a leg of pork, and a sucking pig,
if properly attended to while in the oven, are said to be nearly, or
quite as good as if roasted; but baking is both an unpalatable and an
unprofitable mode of cooking joints of meat in general, though its great
convenience to many persons who have but few other facilities for
obtaining the luxury of a hot dinner renders it a very common one. It is
usual to raise meat from the dish in which it is sent to the oven by
placing it, properly skewered, on a stand, so as to allow potatoes or a
batter pudding to be baked under it. A few button onions, freed from the
outer skin, or three or four large ones, cut in halves, are sometimes
put beneath a shoulder of mutton. Two sheets of paper spread separately
with a thick layer of butter, clarified marrow, or any other fat, and
fastened securely over the outside of a joint, will prevent its being
too much dried by the fierce heat of the oven. A few spoonsful of water
or gravy should be poured into the dish with potatoes, and a little salt
sprinkled over them. A celebrated French cook recommends _braising in
the oven_; that is to say, after the meat has been arranged in the usual
manner, and just brought to boil over the fire, that the braising pan,
closely stopped, should be put into a moderate oven, for the same length
of time as would be required to stew the meat perfectly tender.
BRAISING.
[Illustration:
English Braising-pan.
]
Braising is but a more expensive mode of stewing meat. The following
French recipe will explain the process. We would observe, however, that
the layers of beef or veal, in which the joint to be braised is
imbedded, can afterwards be converted into excellent soup, gravy, or
glaze; and that there need, in consequence, be no waste nor any
unreasonable degree of expense attending it; but it is a troublesome
process, and quite as good a result may be obtained by simmering the
meat in very strong gravy. Should the flavour of the bacon be considered
an advantage, slices of it can be laid over the article braised, and
secured to it with a fillet of tape.
“_To braise the inside_ (or _small fillet_, as it is called in France)
_of a sirloin of beef_: Raise the fillet clean from the joint; and with
a sharp knife strip off all the skin, leaving the surface of the meat as
smooth as possible; have ready some strips of unsmoked bacon, half as
thick as your little finger, roll them in a mixture of thyme finely
minced, spices in powder, and a little pepper and salt. Lard the fillet
quite through with these, and tie it round with tape in any shape you
choose. Line the bottom of a stewpan (or braising-pan) with slices of
bacon; next put in a layer of beef or veal, four onions, two bay-leaves,
two carrots, and a bunch of sweet herbs, and place the fillet on them.
Cover it with slices of bacon, put some trimmings of meat all round it,
and pour on to it half a pint of good beef broth or gravy. Let it stew
as gently as possible for two hours and a half; take it up, and keep it
very hot; strain, and reduce the gravy by quick boiling until it is
thick enough to glaze with; brush the meat over with it; put the rest in
the dish with the fillet, after the tape has been removed from it, and
send it directly to table.”
Equal parts of Madeira and gravy are sometimes used to moisten the meat.
No attempt should be made to braise a joint in any vessel that is not
very nearly of its own size.
[Illustration:
Copper Stewpan.[74]
]
Footnote 74:
The line which passes round this stewpan just above the handle, is a
mistake of the designer, and conveys an erroneous idea of the form of
the cover, and it ought to have been omitted.
A round of buttered paper is generally put over the more delicate kinds
of braised meat, to prevent their being browned by the fire, which in
France is sometimes put round the lid of the braising-pan, in a groove
made on purpose to contain it. The embers of a wood fire mixed with the
hot ashes, are best adapted to sustain the regular but gentle degree of
heat required for this mode of cooking.
Braising pans are of various forms. They are often shaped like a
ham-kettle, and sometimes like the design at the commencement of this
section; but a stewpan of modern form, or any other vessel which will
admit of embers being placed upon the lid, will answer for the purpose
as well. Common cooks sometimes stew meat in a mixture of butter and
water, and _call it braising._
LARDING.
[Illustration:
Larding Pins.
]
Cut into slices, of the same length and thickness, some bacon of the
finest quality; trim away the outsides, place the slices evenly upon
each other, and with a sharp knife divide them obliquely into small
strips of equal size. For pheasants, partridges, hares, fowls, and
_fricandeaux_, the bacon should be about the eighth of an inch square,
and two inches in length; but for meat which is to be larded quite
through, instead of on the outside merely, the bits of bacon (properly
called lardoons) must be at least the third of an inch square.
In general, the breasts only of birds are larded, the backs and thighs
of hares, and the whole of the upper surface of a _fricandeau_: these
should be thickly covered with small lardoons, placed at regular
intervals, and in lines which intersect each other, so as to form rather
minute diamonds.
The following directions for larding a pheasant will serve equally for
poultry, or for other kinds of game:—
Secure one end of the bacon in a slight larding-needle, and on the point
of this take up sufficient of the flesh of the bird to hold the lardoon
firmly; draw the needle through it, and part of the bacon, of which the
two ends should be left of equal length. Proceed thus, until the breast
of the pheasant is entirely garnished with lardoons, when it ought to
resemble in appearance a cake thickly stuck with strips of almonds.
The larger strips of bacon, after being rolled in a high seasoning of
minced herbs and spices, are used to lard the _inside_ of meat, and they
should be proportioned to its thickness, as they must be passed quite
through it. For example: a four-inch slice from a rump of beef will
require lardoons of very nearly that length, which must be drawn through
with a large larding-pin, and left in it, with the ends just out of
sight on either side.
In France, truffles, anchovies, slices of tongue, and of fat, all
trimmed into proper shape, are occasionally used for larding. The bacon
employed there for the purpose is cured without any saltpetre (as this
would redden the white meats), and it is never smoked: the receipt for
it will be found in Chapter XIII.
A turkey is sometimes larded with alternate lardoons of fat bacon and of
bullock’s tongue, which has been pickled but not dried: we apprehend
that the lean of a half-boiled ham, of good colour, would answer the
purpose quite as well, or better.
Larding the surface of meat, poultry, or game, gives it a good
appearance, but it is a more positive improvement to meat of a dry
nature to interlard the inside with large lardoons of well-seasoned,
delicate, striped English bacon.
BONING.
Very minute directions being given in other parts of our volume for
this, we confine ourselves here to the following rules:—in disengaging
the flesh from it, work the knife always _close to the bone_, and take
every care not to pierce the outer skin.
TO BLANCH MEAT OR VEGETABLES.
This is merely to throw either into a pan of boiling water for a few
minutes, which gives firmness to the first, and is necessary for some
modes of preparing vegetables.
The breast only of a bird is sometimes held in the water while it boils,
to render it firm for larding. To preserve the whiteness of meat, and
the bright green of vegetables, they are lifted from the water after
they have boiled a few minutes, and are thrown immediately into spring
water, and left till cold.
5 to 10 minutes.
GLAZING
[Illustration]
This process we have explained at the article _Glaze_, Chapter IV. The
surface of the meat should be covered evenly, with two or three separate
layers of the glaze, which, if properly made, soon becomes firm. A ham
should be well dried in the oven before it is laid on. Cutlets of all
kinds may be glazed before they are sent to table, with very good
effect. The figure above represents a glaze-pot and brush, used for
heating and applying the preparation: a jar placed in a pan of boiling
water may be substituted for the first, when it is not at hand.
TOASTING.
[Illustration]
A very cheap apparatus, by which chops can be dressed before a clear
fire, is shown by the first of these figures; and the second is
peculiarly convenient when bread or muffins are required to be toasted
expeditiously and in large quantities, without much time and attention
being bestowed upon them.
TO BROWN THE SURFACE OF A DISH WITHOUT BAKING OR PLACING IT AT THE FIRE.
This is done with a salamander, as it is called, formed like the
engraving below; it is heated in the fire, and held over the dish
sufficiently near to give it colour. It is very much used in a superior
order of cookery. A kitchen shovel is sometimes substituted for it on an
emergency.
[Illustration]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER X.
=Beef.=
[Illustration]
No.
1. Sirloin.
2. Rump.
3. Edge-bone.
4. Buttock, or Round.
5. Mouse Buttock.
6. Veiny Piece.
7. Thick Flank.
8. Thin Flank.
9. Leg.
10. Fore Rib. (Five Ribs.)
11. Middle Rib. (Four Ribs.)
12. Chuck Rib. (Three Ribs.)
13. Shoulder, or Leg of Mutton Piece.
14. Brisket.
15. Clod.
16. Neck.
17. Shin.
18. Cheek.
TO CHOOSE BEEF.
Beef is in reality in season through the entire year, but it is best
during the winter months, when it will hang a sufficient time to become
tender before it is dressed. Meat of a more delicate nature is better
adapted for the table in summer. The _Christmas beef_ of England is too
much celebrated to require any mention here.
If young and freshly killed, the lean of ox-beef will be smoothly
grained, and of a fine, healthy, carnation-red, the fat rather white
than yellow, and the suet white and firm. Heifer-beef is more closely
grained, and rather less bright of colour, the bones are considerably
smaller, and the fat of a purer white.
Of bull-beef we only speak to warn our readers that it is of all meat
the coarsest and the most rank in flavour. It may be known by its dark
hue, its close tough fibre, and the scanty proportion, bad appearance,
and strong odour of its fat.
In choice and well-fed beef, the lean will be found intergrained with
fat: very lean meat is generally of an inferior quality.
The ribs, the sirloin, and the rump, are the proper joints for roasting.
The round, or buttock, the edgebone, the second round, or mouse-buttock,
the shin, the brisket, the shoulder or leg of mutton piece, and the
clod, may be boiled or stewed. The neck is generally used for soup or
gravy; and the thin flank for collaring. The best steaks are cut from
the middle of the rump; the next best from the veiny piece, or from the
chuck-rib. The inside of the sirloin, commonly used for the purpose in
France, makes by far the most delicate steaks; but though _exceedingly_
tender, they are considered by some English epicures to be wanting in
flavour.
The finest part of the sirloin is the chump-end, which contains the
larger portion of the fillet; of the ribs, the middle ones are those
generally preferred by experienced housekeepers.
TO ROAST SIRLOIN, OR RIBS OF BEEF.
Let the joint hang as long as it can possibly be kept perfectly sweet.
When it is first brought in, remove the pipe of marrow which runs along
the back-bone; and cut out the kernels from the fat. Be very careful in
summer to guard it from flies; examine it frequently in warm or damp
weather; and scrape off with a knife, or wipe away with a dry cloth, any
moisture which may appear on the surface: when this has been done, dust
some powdered ginger or pepper over it. Unless the joint should be very
large, its appearance will be improved by taking off the ends of the
bones, which may then be salted for a few days, and afterwards boiled.
Spit the beef firmly; place it near the fire to render the surface firm,
as directed in the article _Roasting_, of Chapter IX.; then draw it to a
distance and let it remain so until the heat has well penetrated the
interior; and, if from prejudice the old method be still preferred, heat
it very gradually in the first instance (in either case baste it
constantly), and let it be drawn nearer to the fire for the last half
hour or more of roasting, merely to brown it well. Persons who object to
meat being _frothed_ for table, have it dredged with flour when it is
first placed at the fire, and sprinkled with fine salt when it is nearly
done. It is not necessary to paper the fat of beef, as many cooks
direct, if proper attention be given to it while roasting.
As a general rule, it may be observed, that when the steam from the meat
draws strongly towards the fire, it is nearly or quite ready to serve.
The time required to roast it will depend on the state of the
weather,[75] the size and strength of the fire, the thickness of the
joint, the use or non-use of a meat-screen or reflector, the general
temperature of the kitchen, and other contingencies. A quarter of an
hour for each pound of meat is commonly allowed for solid, heavy joints,
and, if the directions we have given be attended to, this will not be
found too much even for persons who prefer beef somewhat rare: it must
be left longer at the fire if wished very thoroughly roasted, and quite
double the usual time when the plan we have noticed at page 172, is
adopted. When likely to be sent to table hashed, minced, or dressed a
second time in any way, the juices of the meat should be dried up as
little as possible when it is first cooked.
Footnote 75:
The meat will be much sooner done in hot weather than in cold. If
frozen, it must be thawed _very gradually_ before it is put to the
fire, or no length of time will roast it; this will be effected better
by laying it into cold water for some hours before it is wanted, than
by any other means.
ROAST RUMP OF BEEF.
As this joint is generally too much to serve whole, as much of it as
will form a handsome dish should be cut from the chump end to roast. It
must be managed as the sirloin, to which it is commonly preferred by
connoisseurs. When boned and rolled into the form of a fillet of veal,
as it sometimes is, nearly or quite an additional hour should be allowed
to dress it.
TO ROAST PART OF A ROUND OF BEEF.
The natural division of the meat will show where the silver side of the
round is to be separated from the upper or tongue side, which is the
proper part for roasting, and which will be found equally good and
profitable for the purpose, if allowed to hang as long as it can be kept
sweet before it is dressed. Care should be taken in dividing the meat,
not to pierce the inner skin. The silver side, with the udder, if there
should be one to the joint, may be pickled, spiced, or simply salted,
and will be excellent either way. The outside fat should be drawn
tightly round the remainder of the beef, which must be firmly skewered,
or bound with tape, to keep it in form. It will require long roasting at
a strong, steady fire, and should be kept constantly basted.
Beef, 14 lbs.: 4-1/2 to 5 hours.
_Obs._—We think that larding the beef quite through with large lardoons
of firm fat, of udder, or of bacon, would be an improvement; and we
ought also to observe, that unless it be delicate and of fine quality,
it will not answer well for roasting.
TO ROAST A FILLET OF BEEF.
Raise the fillet from the inside of the sirloin, or from part of it,
with a sharp knife; leave the fat on, trim off the skin, lard it
through, or all over, or roast it quite plain; baste it with butter, and
send it very hot to table, with tomata sauce, or _sauce piquante_, or
eschalot sauce, in a tureen. It is sometimes served with brown gravy and
currant jelly; it should then be garnished with forcemeat-balls, made as
for hare. If not very large, an hour and a quarter will roast it well
with a brisk fire.
_Obs._—The remainder of the joint may be boned, rolled, and roasted, or
braised; or made into meat cakes; or served as a miniature round of
beef.
1-1/4 hour.
ROAST BEEF STEAK.
If extremely tender, a large slice from the middle of the rump will make
an excellent small dish of roast meat, when a joint is not easily to be
procured. Let it be smoothly cut, from an inch to an inch and a half
thick, flattened on a table, and the inside sprinkled with a little fine
salt and cayenne, or common pepper. Make a roll of forcemeat, as No. 1,
Chapter VIII., adding, at pleasure, a flavouring of minced onion or
eschalot, and increasing the quantity of spices; place this on one end
of the steak, and roll it up tightly in it; skewer and bind the meat so
that the forcemeat cannot escape; fasten a buttered paper over it, and
roast it an hour and a half, or more, according to its size. Twenty
minutes before it is served, take off the paper and flour the meat,
which should be kept well basted with butter all the time it is
roasting. Send brown gravy to table with it, and pour a little over the
beef.
1-1/2 hour, or more.
TO BROIL BEEF STEAKS.
The steaks should be from half to three quarters of an inch thick,
equally sliced, and freshly cut from the middle of a well kept, finely
grained, and tender rump of beef. They should be neatly trimmed, and
once or twice divided, if very large. The fire, as we have already said
in the general directions for broiling (page 175), must be strong and
clear. The bars of the gridiron should be thin, and not very close
together. When they are thoroughly heated, without being sufficiently
burning to scorch the meat, wipe and rub them with fresh mutton suet;
next pepper the steaks slightly, but never season them with salt before
they are dressed; lay them on the gridiron, and when done on one side,
turn them on the other, being careful to catch, in the dish in which
they are to be sent to table, any gravy which may threaten to drain from
them when they are moved. Let them be served the _instant_ they are
taken from the fire; and have ready at the moment, dish, cover, and
plates, as hot as they can be. From eight to ten minutes will be
sufficient to broil steaks for the generality of eaters, and more than
enough for those who like them but partially done.
Genuine amateurs seldom take prepared sauce or gravy with their steaks,
as they consider the natural juices of the meat sufficient. When any
accompaniment to them is desired, a small quantity of choice mushroom
catsup may be warmed in the dish that is heated to receive them; and
which, when the not very refined flavour of a raw eschalot is liked, as
it is by some eaters, may previously be rubbed with one, of which the
large end has been cut off. A thin slice or two of fresh butter is
sometimes laid under the steaks, where it soon melts and mingles with
the gravy which flows from them. The appropriate tureen sauces for
broiled beef steaks are onion, tomata, oyster, eschalot, hot
horseradish, and brown cucumber, or mushroom sauce.
_Obs. 1._—We have departed a little in this receipt from our previous
instructions for broiling, by recommending that the steaks should be
turned but _once_, instead of “often,” as all great authorities on the
subject direct. By trying each method, our readers will be able to
decide for themselves upon the preferable one: we can only say, that we
have never eaten steaks so excellent as those which have been dressed
_exactly_ in accordance with the receipt we have just given, and we have
taken infinite pains to ascertain the really best mode of preparing this
very favourite English dish, which so constantly makes its appearance
both carelessly cooked and ill served, especially at private tables.
_Obs. 2._—It is a good plan to throw a few bits of charcoal on the fire
some minutes before the steaks are laid down, as they give forth a
strong heat without any smoke: a coke fire is also advantageous for
broiling them.
The upright gridirons, by which meat is rather _toasted_ than broiled,
though used in many kitchens, and generally pronounced exceedingly
convenient where they have been tried, do not appear to as so well
adapted for dressing steaks as those of less modern fashion, which are
placed _over_, instead of before the fire.
BEEF STEAKS À LA FRANÇAISE.
The inside of the sirloin freed from skin and cut evenly into round
quarter-inch slices, should properly be used for these; but when it
cannot be obtained, part of the rump must be substituted for it. Season
the steaks with fine salt and pepper, brush them with a little clarified
butter, and broil them over a clear brisk fire. Mix a teaspoonful of
parsley minced extremely fine, with a large slice of fresh butter, a
little cayenne, and a small quantity of salt. When the steaks are done,
put the mixture into the dish intended for them, lay them upon it, and
garnish them plentifully with fried potatoes. It is an improvement to
squeeze the juice of half a lemon on the butter before the meat is
heaped over it. The potatoes should be sliced rather thin, coloured of a
fine brown, and placed evenly round the meat.
BEEF STEAKS À LA FRANÇAISE (ENTRÉE).
(_Another Receipt._)
Cut the beef into small thin steaks as above, season them with fine salt
and pepper, dredge them lightly with flour, and fry them in butter over
a brisk fire; arrange them in a chain round a very hot dish, and pour
into the centre the olive sauce of Chapter V.
STEWED BEEF STEAK (ENTRÉE).
This may be cut from one to two inches thick, and the time of stewing it
must be proportioned to its size. Dissolve a slice of butter in a large
saucepan or stewpan, and brown the steak on both sides, moving it often
that it may not burn; then shake in a little flour, and when it is
coloured pour in by degrees rather more than sufficient broth or water
to cover the meat. When it boils, season it with salt, take off the
scum, slice in one onion, a carrot or two, and half a turnip; add a
small bunch of sweet herbs, and stew the steak very softly from two
hours and a half to three hours. A quarter of an hour before it is
served, stir well into the gravy three teaspoonsful of rice flour
smoothly mixed with a little cayenne, half a wineglassful of mushroom
catsup, and a slight seasoning of spice. A teaspoonful of currie powder,
in addition, will improve both the flavour and the appearance of the
sauce. The onion is sometimes browned with the meat; and the quantity is
considerably increased. Eschalots may be used instead, where their
strong flavour is approved. A few button-mushrooms, stewed from twenty
to thirty minutes with the meat, will render the catsup unnecessary.
Wine, or any favourite store sauce, can be added at will.
2-1/2 to 3 hours.
FRIED BEEF STEAK.
We have little to add here to the directions of Chapter IX., which are
sufficient to enable the cook to send a dish of fried steaks to table
properly dressed. Currie sauce, highly _onioned_, is frequently served
with them.
BEEF STEAK STEWED IN ITS OWN GRAVY.
(_Good and wholesome._)
Trim all the fat and skin from a rump steak of nearly an inch thick, and
divide it once or twice; just dip it into cold water, let it drain for
an instant, sprinkle it on both sides with pepper, and then flour it
rather thickly; lay it quite flat into a well-tinned iron saucepan or
stewpan, which has been rinsed with cold water, of which three or four
tablespoonsful should be left in it. Place it over (not upon) a _very_
gentle fire, and keep it just simmering from an hour and a half to an
hour and three quarters, when, if the meat be good, it will have become
perfectly tender. Add salt to it when it first begins to boil, and turn
it when rather more than half done. A couple of spoonsful of gravy, half
as much catsup, and a slight seasoning of spice, would, to many tastes,
improve this dish, of which, however, the great recommendation is its
wholesome simplicity, which renders it suitable to the most delicate
stomach. A thick mutton cutlet from the middle of the leg is excellent
dressed thus.
1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hour.
BEEF OR MUTTON CAKE.
(_Very good._)
Chop two pounds of lean and very tender beef or mutton, with three
quarters of a pound of beef suet; mix them well, and season them with a
dessertspoonful of salt, nearly as much pounded cloves, a teaspoonful of
pounded mace, and half a teaspoonful of cayenne. Line a round baking
dish with thin slices of fat bacon, press the meat closely into it,
smooth the top, and cover it with bacon, set a plate on it with a
weight, and bake it two hours and a quarter. Take off the bacon, and
serve the meat hot, with a little rich brown gravy, or set it by until
cold, when it will be equally good. The fat of the meat which is used
for this dish can be chopped up with it instead of suet, where it is
liked as well; and onion, or eschalot, shred fine, minced savoury herbs,
grated lemon-peel, rasped bacon, or mushrooms cut small, may in turn be
added to vary it in flavour.
Lean beef or mutton, 2 lbs.; suet, 3/4 lb.; salt and cloves in powder,
each a dessertspoonful; mace, 1 teaspoonful; half as much cayenne: baked
2-1/4 hours.
_Obs._—A larger portion of suet or of fat will render these cakes
lighter, but will not otherwise improve them: they may be made of veal
or of venison, but one-third of mutton suet or of fat bacon should be
mixed with this last.
GERMAN STEW.
Cut into about three-inch squares, two pounds and a half of the leaner
part of the veiny piece of beef, or of any joint which is likely to be
tender, and set it on to stew, with rather less than a quart of cold
broth or water, and one large onion sliced. When these begin to boil,
add a teaspoonful of salt, and a third as much of pepper, and let them
simmer gently for an hour and a half. Have ready some young white
cabbages, parboiled; press the water well from them, lay them in with
the beef, and let the whole stew for another hour. More onions, and a
seasoning of mixed spices, or a few bits of lean bacon, or of ham, can
be added to this stew when a higher flavour is desired; but it is very
good without.
Beef, 2-1/2 lbs.; water, or broth, 1-3/4 pint; onion, 1; salt, 1
teaspoonful; third as much pepper: 1-1/2 hour. Parboiled cabbages, 3 or
4: 1 hour.
WELSH STEW.
Take the same proportions of beef, and of broth or water, as for the
German Stew. When they have simmered gently for an hour, add the white
part of from twenty to thirty leeks, or two dozens of button onions, and
five or six young mild turnips, cut in slices, a small lump of white
sugar, nearly half a teaspoonful of white pepper and more than twice as
much salt. Stew the whole softly from an hour and a quarter to an hour
and a half, after the vegetables are added.
Beef and water as above: 1 hour. Leeks, 20 to 30: or small onions, 24;
young turnips, 6; small lump of sugar; white pepper, nearly 1/2
teaspoonful; salt, twice as much: 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour.
A GOOD ENGLISH STEW.
On three pounds of tender rump of beef, freed from skin and fat, and cut
down into about two-inch squares, pour rather more than a quart of cold
broth or gravy. When it boils add salt if required, and a little
cayenne, and keep it just simmering for a couple of hours; then put to
it the grated rind of a large lemon, or of two small ones, and half an
hour after, stir to it a tablespoonful of rice-flour, smoothly mixed
with a wineglassful of mushroom catsup, a dessertspoonful of
lemon-juice, and a teaspoonful of soy: in fifteen minutes it will be
ready to serve. A glass and a half of port, or of white wine, will
greatly improve this stew, which may likewise be flavoured with the
store-sauce of page 146, or with another, which we find excellent for
the purpose, made with half a pint of port wine, the same of
mushroom-catsup, a quarter pint of walnut pickle, a tablespoonful of the
best soy, and a dessertspoonful of cayenne-vinegar, all well shaken
together and poured into a bottle containing the thin rind of a lemon
and two fine mellow anchovies, of moderate size. A few delicately fried
forcemeat-balls may be slipped into it after it is dished.
_Obs._—The limits of our work will not permit us to devote a further
space to this class of dishes, but an intelligent cook will find it easy
to vary them in numberless ways. Mushrooms, celery, carrots, sweet
herbs, parboiled new potatoes, green peas, rice, and currie-powder may
be advantageously used for that purpose. Ox-tails, just blanched and cut
into joints, will be found excellent substitutes for the beef: mutton
and veal also may be dressed in the same way. The meat and vegetables
can be browned before broth or water is poured to them; but though,
perhaps, more savoury, the stew will then be much less delicate. Each
kind of vegetable should be allowed something more than sufficient time
to render it perfectly tender, but not so much as would reduce it to
pulp.
TO STEW SHIN OF BEEF.
Wash, and set it on to stew in sufficient cold water to keep it just
covered until it is done. When it boils, take off the scum and put an
ounce and a quarter of salt to the gallon of water. It is usual to add a
few cloves and some black pepper, slightly bruised and tied up loosely
in a fold of muslin, two or more onions, a root of celery, a bunch of
savoury herbs, four or five carrots, and as many turnips, either whole
or sliced: if to be served with the meat, the two last will require a
little more than the ordinary time of boiling, but otherwise they may be
simmered with the meat from the beginning. Give the beef from four to
five hours’ gentle stewing; and serve it with part of its own liquor
thickened and flavoured, or quite plain. An excellent dish for a family
may be made by stewing the thick fleshy part of the shin or leg, in
stock made of the knuckle, with a few bits of lean ham, or a slice of
hung beef from which the smoked edges have been carefully pared away,
and some spice, salt, and vegetables: by frying these last before they
are thrown into the soup-pot the savour of the stew will be greatly
heightened; and a tureen of good soup may be made of its remains, after
it has been served at table.
Ox-cheek, after having been soaked for four or five hours, and washed
with great nicety, may be dressed like the shin; but as it has little
flavour, the gravy should be strained, and quite cleared from fat, then
put into a clean saucepan, and thickened as soon as it boils, with the
following mixture:—three dessertspoonsful of rice-flour, nearly a
wineglassful of catsup, a teaspoonsful of currie-powder, or a little
powdered ginger and cayenne. When these have stewed for ten minutes,
dish the head, pour the sauce over, and serve it.
Shin of beef, 4 to 5 hours. Ox-cheek, 2 to 3 hours.
FRENCH BEEF À LA MODE.
(_A common Receipt._)
Take seven or eight pounds of a rump of beef (or of any other tender
joint), free from bone, and skewer it firmly into a good shape. Put two
ounces of butter into a thick saucepan or stewpan, and when it boils
stir to it a tablespoonful of flour; keep these well shaken over a
gentle fire until they are of a fine amber colour; then lay in the beef,
and brown it on both sides, taking care that it shall not stick to the
pan. Pour to it by slow degrees, letting each portion boil before the
next is added or the butter will float upon the surface and be difficult
to clear off afterwards, three quarters of a pint of hot water or gravy;
add a bunch of savoury herbs, one large or two small carrots cut in
thick slices, two or three moderate-sized onions, two bay-leaves, and
sufficient pepper and salt to season the gravy. Let the meat simmer
gently from four to five hours, and turn it when it is half done. When
ready to serve, lift the beef into a hot dish, lay the vegetables round,
and pour the gravy over it, after having taken out the herbs and skimmed
away the fat. In France, half or the whole of a calf’s foot is stewed
with the beef, which is there generally larded with thick lardoons of
fat bacon. (For larding, see Chapter X.) Veal dressed in this way is
even better than beef. The stewpan used for either should be as nearly
of the size of the meat as possible.
Beef, 7 to 8 lbs.: 4 to 5 hours.
STEWED SIRLOIN OF BEEF.
As a matter of convenience we have occasionally had this joint stewed
instead of roasted, and have found it excellent. Cut out the inside or
fillet as entire as possible, and reserve it for a separate dish; then
remove the bones with care, or let the butcher do this. Spread the meat
flat on a table and cover the inside with thin slices of striped bacon,
after having first strewed over it a mixed seasoning of a small
teaspoonful of salt, half as much mace or nutmeg, and a moderate
quantity of pepper or cayenne. Roll and bind the meat up firmly, lay it
into a stewpan or thick iron saucepan nearly of its size, and add the
bones and as much good beef broth as will nearly cover the joint. Should
this not be at hand, put a few slices of lean ham or bacon under the
beef, and lay round it three pounds of neck or knuckle of veal, or of
stewing beef divided into several parts; then pour to it cold water
instead of broth. In either case, so soon as it has boiled a few minutes
and been well cleaned from scum, throw in a large faggot of savoury
herbs, three or four carrots, as many leeks, or a large onion stuck with
a dozen cloves; and an hour later two blades of mace, and half a
teaspoonful of peppercorns. Stew the beef _very_ gently indeed from four
to five hours, and longer, should the joint be large: serve it with a
good _Espagnole sauce piquante_, or brown caper sauce. Add what salt may
be needed before the vegetables are thrown in; and, after the meat is
lifted out, boil down to soup or gravy the liquor in which it has been
stewed. To many tastes it would be an improvement to flour and brown the
outside of the beef in butter before the broth or water is poured to it:
it may also be stewed (but somewhat longer) half-covered with rich
gravy, and turned when partially done. Minced eschalots may be strewed
over the inside before it is rolled, when their strong savour is
relished, or veal forcemeat may supply their place.
TO STEW A RUMP OF BEEF.
This joint is more easily carved, and is of better appearance when the
bones are removed before it is dressed. Roll and bind it firmly with a
fillet of tape, cover it with strong cold beef broth or gravy, and stew
it very gently indeed from six hours to between seven and eight; add to
it, after the scum has been well cleared off, one large or two
moderate-sized onions stuck with thirty cloves, a head of celery, two
carrots, two turnips, and a large faggot of savoury herbs. When the beef
is perfectly tender quite through, which may be known by probing it with
a sharp thin skewer, remove the fillets of tape, dish it neatly, and
serve it with a rich _Espagnole_, and a garnish of forced tomatas, or
with a highly-flavoured brown English gravy, and stewed carrots in the
dish: for these last the mild preparation of garlic or eschalots, of
page 122, may be substituted with good effect. They should be well
drained, laid round the meat, and a little brown gravy should be poured
over the whole.
This is the most simple and economical manner of stewing the beef; but
should a richer one be desired, half roast the joint, and stew it
afterwards in strong gravy to which a pint of mushrooms, and a pint of
sherry or Madeira, should be added an hour before it is ready for table.
Keep it hot while a portion of the gravy is thickened with a well-made
brown roux (see Chapter IV.), and seasoned with salt, cayenne, and any
other spice it may require. Garnish it with large balls of forcemeat
highly seasoned with minced eschalots, rolled in egg and bread-crumbs,
and fried a fine golden brown.
Plainly stewed from 6 to 7 or 8 hours. Or: half roasted then stewed from
4 to 5 hours.
_Obs._—Grated horseradish, mixed with some well-thickened brown gravy, a
teaspoonful of mustard, and a little lemon-juice or vinegar, is a good
sauce for stewed beef.
BEEF PALATES. (ENTRÉE.)
First rub them well with salt, to cleanse them well; then wash them
thoroughly in several waters, and leave them to soak for half an hour
before they are dressed. Set them over the fire in cold water, and boil
them gently until the skin will peel off, and the palates are tolerably
tender. It is difficult to state the exact time required for this, as
some will be done in two hours and a half, and others in not less than
from four to five hours. When thus prepared, the palates may be cut into
various forms, and simmered until fit to serve in rich brown gravy,
highly flavoured with ham, cayenne, wine, and lemon-peel; or they will
make an excellent currie. As they are very insipid of themselves, they
require a sauce of some piquancy, in which, after they have been peeled
and trimmed, they should be stewed from twenty to thirty minutes, or
until they are perfectly tender. The black parts of them must be cut
away, when the skin is taken off. An onion, stuck with a few cloves, a
carrot sliced, a teaspoonful of whole white pepper, a slice of butter,
and a teaspoonful of salt, may be boiled with the palates in the first
instance; and they will be found very good, if sent to table in the
curried gravy of Chapter XVI., or in the Soubise of Chapter VI., made
thinner than the receipts direct.
Boiled from 2-1/2 to 4 or 5 hours. Stewed from 20 to 30 minutes.
_Obs._—A French cook of some celebrity, orders the palates to be laid on
the gridiron until the skin can be easily peeled or scraped off; the
plan seems a good one, but we have not tried it.
BEEF PALATES.
(_Neapolitan Mode._)
Boil the palates until the skin can be easily removed, then stew them
very tender in good veal broth, lay them on a drainer and let them cool;
cut them across obliquely into strips of about a quarter-inch in width,
and finish them by either of the receipts for dressing maccaroni, which
will be found in Chapters XVIII. and XX.
STEWED OX-TAILS.
They should be sent from the butcher ready jointed. Soak and wash them
well, cut them into joints or into lengths of two or three joints, and
cover them with cold broth or water. As soon as they boil remove the
scum, and add a half-teaspoonful of salt or as much more as may be
needed, and a little common pepper or cayenne, an onion stuck with half
a dozen cloves, two or three small carrots, and a branch or two of
parsley. When these have simmered for two hours and a quarter, try the
meat with a fork, and should it not be perfectly tender, let it remain
over the fire until it is so. Ox-tails sometimes require nearly or quite
three hours’ stewing: they may be served with the vegetables, or with
the gravy strained from them, and thickened like the English stew of the
present chapter.
Ox-tails, 2; water or broth to cover them; salt, 1/2 teaspoonful, or
more; little pepper or cayenne; onion, 1; cloves, 6; carrots, 2 or 3;
parsley, 2 or 3 branches: 2-1/2 to 3 hours.
BROILED OX-TAIL. (ENTRÉE.)
(_Very good._)
When the ox-tail is ready for the stewpan, throw it into plenty of
boiling water slightly salted, and simmer it for fifteen minutes; then
take it up and put it into fresh water to cool; wipe it, and lay it
round in a small stewpan without dividing it, just cover it with good
beef gravy, and stew it gently until very tender; drain it a little,
sprinkle over it a small quantity of salt and cayenne, dip it into
clarified butter and then into some fine bread-crumbs, with which it
should be thickly covered, lay it on the gridiron, and when equally
browned all over serve it immediately. If more convenient the ox-tail
may be set into the oven or before the fire, until properly coloured: it
may likewise be sent to table without broiling, dished upon stewed
cabbage or in its own gravy thickened, and with tomata sauce, in a
tureen.
TO SALT AND PICKLE BEEF, IN VARIOUS WAYS.
Let the meat hang a couple of days in mild weather, and four or five in
winter, before it is salted or pickled. During the heat of summer it is
better to immerse it entirely in brine, that it may be secured alike
from the flies, and from the danger of becoming putrid. Trim it, and
take out the kernels from the fat; then rub a little fine dry salt over
it, and leave it until the following day; drain it well from the blood,
which will be found to have flowed from it, and it will be ready for any
of the following modes of curing, which are all excellent of their kind,
and have been well proved.
In very cold weather, the salt may be applied quite warm to the meat: it
should always be perfectly dry, and reduced to powder.
Saltpetre hardens and renders the meat indigestible; sugar, on the
contrary, mellows and improves it much; and it is more tender when cured
with bay salt than when common salt is used for it.
TO SALT AND BOIL A ROUND OF BEEF.
Mix an ounce of saltpetre, finely powdered, with half a pound of very
coarse sugar, and rub the beef thoroughly with them; in two days add
three quarters of a pound of common salt, well dried and beaten; turn
and rub the meat well in every part with the pickle for three weeks,
when it will be fit to dress. Just wash off the salt, and skewer the
beef as round and as even as possible; bind it tightly with broad tape,
cover it with cold water, place it over a rather brisk fire, and after
it boils draw it to the side of the stove and let it simmer gently for
at least five hours. Carrots, mashed turnips, or cabbages, are usually
served with boiled beef; and horseradish stewed for ten minutes in equal
parts of vinegar and water, then pressed well from them, and mixed with
some rich melted butter, is a good sauce for it.
Beef, 20 lbs.; coarse sugar, 1/2 lb.; saltpetre, 1 oz.: 2 days. Salt,
3/4 lb.: 21 days. Boil 5 hours, or more.
_Obs._—Beef cured by this receipt if properly boiled, is tender, of good
colour and flavour, and not over salt. The rump, edgebone, and brisket
may be salted, or pickled in the same way as the round.
HAMBURGH PICKLE FOR BEEF, HAMS, AND TONGUE.
Boil together, for twenty minutes, two gallons of water, three pounds of
bay salt, two pounds of coarse sugar, two ounces of saltpetre, and two
of black pepper, bruised, and tied in a fold of muslin; clear off the
scum thoroughly, as it rises, pour the pickle into a deep earthen pan,
and when it is quite cold lay in the meat, of which every part must be
perfectly covered with it. A moderate-sized round of beef will be ready
for table in a fortnight; it should be turned occasionally in the brine.
Five pounds of common salt may be substituted for the quantity of bay
salt given above; but the meat will not be so finely flavoured.
Water, 2 gallons; bay-salt, 3 lbs.; saltpetre, 2 oz.; black pepper, 2
oz.; sugar, 2 lbs.: 20 minutes.
ANOTHER PICKLE FOR TONGUES, BEEF, AND HAMS.
To three gallons of spring water add six pounds of common salt, two
pounds of bay-salt, two pounds of common loaf sugar, and two ounces of
saltpetre. Boil these over a gentle fire, and be careful to take off all
the scum as it rises: when quite cold it will be fit for use. Rub the
meat to be cured, with fine salt, and let it drain for a day in order to
free it from the blood; then immerse it in the brine, taking care that
every part of it shall be covered. Young pork should not remain more
than from three to five days in the pickle; but hams for drying may be
left in it for a fortnight at least; tongues will be ready in rather
less time. Beef may remain from one week to two, according to its size,
and the degree of saltness desired for it. A little experience will soon
teach the exact time required for the different kinds of meat. When the
pickle has been in use for about three months, boil it up again gently,
and take the scum carefully off. Add to it three pounds of common salt,
four ounces of sugar, and one of saltpetre: it will remain good for many
months.
Water, 3 gallons; common salt, 6 lbs.; bay salt, 2 lbs.; loaf sugar, 2
lbs.; saltpetre, 2 oz.: boil 20 to 30 minutes.
DUTCH, OR HUNG BEEF.
For fourteen pounds weight of the round, the rump, or the thick flank of
beef, mix two ounces of saltpetre with the same quantity of coarse
sugar; rub the meat with them in every part, and let it remain for two
days, then add one pound of bay salt, four ounces of common salt, and
one ounce of ground black pepper. Rub these ingredients thoroughly into
the beef, and in four days pour over it a pound of treacle; rub and turn
it daily for a fortnight; drain, and send it to be smoked. When wanted
for table, put it into plenty of boiling water, boil it slowly, and
press it under a heavy weight while hot. A slice of this beef, from
which the edges have been carefully trimmed, will serve to flavour soups
or gravies as well as ham.
Beef, 14 lbs.; saltpetre and coarse sugar, each 2 oz.: 2 days. Bay salt,
1 lb.; common salt, 4 oz.: pepper, 1 oz.: 4 days. Treacle, 1 lb.: 14
days.
_Obs._—Three quarters of a pound of coarse sugar may be rubbed into the
meat at first, and the treacle may be altogether omitted; cloves and
mace, too, may be added in the same proportion as for spiced beef.
COLLARED BEEF.
Only the thinnest part of the flank, or the ribs, which are not so
generally used for it, will serve conveniently for collaring. The first
of these should be hung in a damp place for a day or two, to soften the
outer skin; then rubbed with coarse sugar, and left for a couple of
days; when, for eight pounds of the meat, one ounce of saltpetre and
half a pound of salt should be added. In ten days it will be fit to
dress. The bones and tough inner skin must be removed, and the beef
sprinkled thickly on the under side with parsley and other savoury herbs
shred small, before it is rolled, which should be done very tightly: it
must then be secured with a cloth, and bound as closely as possible with
broad tape. It will require nearly or quite five hours of gentle
boiling, and should be placed while hot under a weight, or in a press,
without having the tape and cloth removed.
Beef, 8 lbs.; sugar, 3 oz.; salt, 8 oz.: 10 days. Boil 5 hours.
COLLARED BEEF.
(_Another way._)
Mix half an ounce of saltpetre with the same quantity of pepper, four
ounces of bay salt, and four of common salt; with these rub well from
six to seven pounds of the thin flank, and in four days add seven ounces
of treacle; turn the beef daily in the pickle for a week or more; dip it
into water, bone it and skin the inside, roll and bind it up very
tightly, lay it into cold water, and boil it for three hours and a half.
We have found beef dressed by this receipt extremely good: herbs can, of
course, be added to it as usual. Spices and juniper berries would to
many tastes improve it, but we give the receipt simply as we have been
accustomed to have it used.
Thin flank, 6 to 7 lbs.; bay salt, and common salt, each 4 oz.;
saltpetre, 1/2 oz.; pepper, 1/2 oz.: 4 days. Treacle, 7 oz.: 8 to 10
days. Boiled 3-1/2 hours.
A COMMON RECEIPT FOR SALTING BEEF.
One ounce of saltpetre, and a pound of common salt, will be sufficient
for sixteen pounds of beef. Both should be well dried, and finely
powdered; the saltpetre rubbed first equally over the meat, and the salt
next applied in every part. It should be rubbed thoroughly with the
pickle and turned daily, from a week to ten days. An ounce or two of
sugar mixed with the saltpetre will render the beef more tender and
palatable.
Beef, 16 lbs.; saltpetre, 1 oz.; salt, 1 lb.: 7 to 10 days.
SPICED ROUND OF BEEF.
(_Very highly flavoured._)
Rub the beef well in every part with half a pound of coarse brown sugar,
and let it remain two days; then reduce to powder, and mix thoroughly
before they are applied to the meat, two ounces of saltpetre, three
quarters of a pound of common salt, a quarter of a pound of black
pepper, three ounces of allspice, and four of bruised juniper-berries.
Rub these ingredients strongly and equally over the joint, and do so
daily for three weeks, turning it at the same time. Just wash off the
spice, and put the beef into a tin, or covered earthen pan as nearly of
its size as possible, with a cup of water or gravy; cover the top
thickly with chopped beef-suet, and lay a coarse thick crust over the
pan; place the cover on it, and bake the meat from five to six hours in
a moderate oven, which should not, however, be sufficiently fierce to
harden the outside of the joint, which, if properly managed will be
exceedingly tender. Let it cool in the pan; and clear off the suet
before it is dished. It is to be served cold, and will remain good for a
fortnight.
Beef, 20 to 25 lbs. weight; sugar, 3 oz.: 2 days. Saltpetre, 2 oz.;
common salt, 3/4 lb.; black pepper, 4 oz.; allspice, 3 oz.;
juniper-berries, 4 oz.: 21 days. Baked 5 to 6 hours.
_Obs._—We have not ourselves tested this receipt, but the meat cured by
it has received such high commendation from several of our friends who
have partaken of it frequently, that we think we may safely insert it
without. The proportion of allspice appears to us more than would be
agreeable to many tastes, and we would rather recommend that part of it
should be omitted, and that a portion of nutmeg, mace, and cloves,
should be substituted for it; as we have found these spices to answer
well in the following receipt.
SPICED BEEF.
(_Good and wholesome._)
For twelve pounds of the round, rump, or thick flank of beef, take a
large teaspoonful of freshly-pounded mace, and of ground black pepper,
twice as much of cloves, one small nutmeg, and a quarter of a
teaspoonful of cayenne, all in the finest powder. Mix them well with
seven ounces of brown sugar, rub the beef with them and let it lie three
days; add to it then half a pound of fine salt, and rub and turn it once
in twenty-four hours for twelve days. Just wash, but do not soak it;
skewer, or bind it into good form, put it into a stewpan or saucepan
nearly of its size, pour to it a pint and a half of good beef broth, and
when it begins to boil, take off the scum, and throw in one small onion,
a moderate-sized faggot of thyme and parsley, and two large, or four
small carrots. Let it simmer quite softly for four hours and a half, and
if not wanted to serve hot, leave it in its own liquor until it is
nearly cold. This is an excellent and far more wholesome dish than the
hard, bright-coloured beef which is cured with large quantities of salt
and saltpetre: two or three ounces of juniper-berries may be added to it
with the spice, to heighten its flavour.
Beef, 12 lbs.; sugar, 7 oz.; mace and black pepper, each, 1 large
teaspoonful; cloves, in powder, 1 large dessertspoonful; nutmeg, 1;
cayenne, 1/4 teaspoonful: 3 days. Fine salt, 1/2 lb.: 12 days. Beef
broth (or bouillon), 1-1/2 pint; onion, 1 small; bunch of herbs;
carrots, 2 large, or 4 small: stewed 4-1/2 hours.
_Obs._—We give this receipt _exactly_ as we have often had it used, but
celery and turnips might be added to the gravy; and when the appearance
of the meat is much considered, three-quarters of an ounce of saltpetre
may be mixed with the spices; the beef may also be plainly boiled in
water only, with a few vegetables, or baked in a deep pan with a little
gravy. No meat must ever be left to cool in the stewpan or saucepan in
which it is cooked; it must be lifted into a pan of its own depth, and
the liquor poured upon it.
A MINIATURE ROUND OF BEEF.
“Select a fine rib of beef, and have it cut small or large in width
according to your taste; it may thus be made to weigh from five to
twelve pounds, or more. Take out the bone, and wrap the meat round like
a fillet of veal, securing it with two or three wooden skewers; place it
in a strong pickle for four or five days, and then cook it, taking care
that it does not boil, but only simmers, from forty minutes, or more,
according to its size. It is best to put it on in hot water, as it will
not draw the gravy so much as cold. Many persons adjust a rib of beef in
this way for roasting: let them try it salted, and they need not envy
the possessor of the finest round of beef.” We give the receipt to our
readers in its original form, and we can assure them, from our own
experience, that it is a good one; but we would recommend that, in
dressing the meat, quite the usual time for each pound of it should be
allowed. When boned and rolled at the butcher’s, the skewers should be
removed when it is first brought in; it should be well wiped with a dry
cloth, or washed with a little fresh brine, and a small quantity of salt
and saltpetre should be rubbed over the inside, it may then be firmly
bound with tape, and will be quite ready to boil when taken from the
pickle. The sirloin, after the inside fillet is removed, may be cured
and dressed in the same way, and will be found super-excellent if the
beef be well fatted and properly kept. The Hamburgh pickle (see page
197) is perhaps the best for these joints. Part of the rump, taken clear
of bone, answers admirably when prepared by this receipt.
BEEF ROLL, OR CANELLON DE BŒUF. (ENTRÉE.)
Chop and mix thoroughly two pounds of lean and very tender beef with one
pound of slightly striped bacon; season them with a large teaspoonful of
pepper, a little salt, a small nutmeg, or two-thirds as much mace, the
grated rind of a lemon, or a teaspoonful of thyme and parsley finely
minced. Form the whole into a thick rouleau, wrap a buttered paper round
it, enclose it in a paste made of flour and water, and send it to a
moderate oven for a couple of hours. Remove the paper and the crust, and
serve the meat with a little brown gravy. Lamb and veal are excellent
dressed in this way, particularly when mixed with plenty of mushrooms.
Brown cucumber sauce should be served with the lamb; and currie, or
oyster sauce, when there are no mushrooms, with the veal. A flavouring
of onion or of eschalot, where it is liked, can be added at pleasure to
the beef: suet, or the fat of the meat, may be substituted for the
bacon.
Beef, 2 lbs.; bacon, 1 lb.; pepper, 1/4 oz.; little salt; small nutmeg;
rind of 1 lemon, or savoury herbs, 1 tablespoonful: baked 2 hours.
MINCED COLLOPS AU NATUREL.
Mince finely a pound of very tender rump steak, free from fat or skin;
season it with a moderate quantity of pepper and salt, set it over a
gentle fire, and keep it stirred with a fork until it is quite hot that
it may not gather into lumps. Simmer it very slowly in its own gravy
from ten to twelve minutes, and then, should it be too dry, add a little
boiling water, broth, or gravy; stew it for two minutes longer, and
serve it directly.
These collops are particularly suited to persons in delicate health, or
of weak digestion; and when an extra dish is required at a short notice,
from the expedition with which they may be dressed, they are a
convenient resource.
10 to 12 minutes.
SAVOURY MINCED COLLOPS.
Make a little thickening (see Brown _Roux_, Chapter V.) with about an
ounce and a half of butter, and a dessertspoonful of flour; when it
begins to be coloured, shake lightly into it a large teaspoonful of
finely-shred parsley or mixed savoury herbs, two-thirds as much of salt,
and half the quantity of pepper. Keep these stirred over a gentle fire
until the thickening is of a deep yellow brown; then add a pound of
rump-steak, finely minced, and keep it well separated with a fork until
it is quite hot; next pour to it gradually half a cupful of boiling
water, and stew the collops very gently for ten minutes. Before they are
served, stir to them a little catsup, chili vinegar or lemon-juice: a
small quantity of minced onion, eschalot, or a _particle_ of garlic, may
be added at first to the thickening when the flavour is not objected to.
A RICHER VARIETY OF MINCED COLLOPS.
Omit the minced herbs from the thickening, and season it with cayenne
and a small quarter of a teaspoonful of pounded mace. Substitute beef
gravy for the boiling water, and when the collops are nearly done, fill
a wineglass with one fourth of mushroom catsup, and three of port wine,
and stir these to the meat. Serve the collops very hot, and garnish them
with alternate forcemeat balls (see No. 1, Chapter VIII.) and fried
sippets. If flavoured with a little gravy made from the bones of a roast
hare, and served with currant jelly, these collops will scarcely be
distinguished from game.
SCOTCH MINCED COLLOPS.
“Chop the beef small, season it with salt and pepper, put it, in its raw
state, into small jars, and pour on the top some clarified butter. When
wanted for use put the clarified butter into a frying-pan, and slice
some onions into the pan and fry them. Add a little water to them, and
put in the minced meat. Stew it well, and in a few minutes it will be
fit to serve.”
BEEF TONGUES.
These may be cured by any of the receipts which we have already given
for pickling beef, or for those which will be found further on for hams
and bacon. Some persons prefer them cured with salt and saltpetre only,
and dried naturally in a cool and airy room. For such of our readers as
like them highly and richly flavoured we give our own method of having
them prepared, which is this:—“Rub over the tongue a handful of fine
salt, and let it drain until the following day; then, should it weigh
from seven to eight pounds, mix thoroughly an ounce of saltpetre, two
ounces of the coarsest sugar, and half an ounce of black pepper; when
the tongue has been well rubbed with these, add three ounces of bruised
juniper-berries; and when it has laid two days, eight ounces of bay
salt, dried and pounded; at the end of three days more, pour on it half
a pound of treacle, and let it remain in the pickle a fortnight after
this; then hang it to drain, fold it in brown paper, and send it to be
smoked over a wood fire for two or three weeks. Should the peculiar
flavour of the juniper-berries prevail too much, or be disapproved, they
may be in part, or altogether, omitted; and six ounces of sugar may be
rubbed into the tongue in the first instance when it is liked better
than treacle.”
Tongue, 7 to 8 lbs.; saltpetre, 1 oz.; black pepper, 1/2 oz.; sugar, 2
oz.; juniper-berries, 3 oz.: 2 days. Bay salt, 8 oz.: 3 days. Treacle,
1/2 lb.: 14 days.
_Obs._—Before the tongue is salted, the root end, which has an unsightly
appearance, should be trimmed away: it is indeed usual to take it off
entirely, but some families prefer part of it left on for the sake of
the fat.
BEEF TONGUES.
(_A Suffolk Receipt._)
For each very large tongue, mix with half a pound of salt two ounces of
saltpetre and three quarters of a pound of the coarsest sugar; rub the
tongues daily, and turn them in the pickle for five weeks, when they
will be fit to be dressed, or to be smoked.
1 large tongue; salt, 1/2 lb.; sugar, 3/4 lb.; saltpetre, 2 oz.: 5
weeks.
TO DRESS BEEF TONGUES.
When taken fresh from the pickle they require no soaking, unless they
should have remained in it much beyond the usual time, or have been
cured with a more than common proportion of salt; but when they have
been smoked and highly dried, they should be laid for two or three hours
into cold, and as much longer into tepid water, before they are dressed:
if extremely dry, ten or twelve hours must be allowed to soften them,
and they should always be brought very slowly to boil. Two or three
carrots and a large bunch of savoury herbs, added after the scum is
cleared off, will improve them. They should be simmered until they are
extremely tender, when the skin will peel from them easily. A highly
dried tongue of moderate size will usually require from three and a half
to four hours’ boiling; an unsmoked one about an hour less; and for one
which has not been salted at all a shorter time will suffice.
BORDYKE RECEIPT FOR STEWING A TONGUE.
After the tongue has been soaked, trimmed, and washed with extreme
nicety, lay it into a vessel of fitting size, and place round it three
or four pounds of the neck, or of any other lean cuttings of beef, with
some bones of undressed veal, and pour in sufficient cold water to keep
it covered until it is done; or, instead of this, use strong unseasoned
beef broth made with the shin, and any odd bits or bones of veal which
may be at hand. Let the tongue be brought to boil very gradually, that
it may be plump and tender. Remove the scum when it first rises, and
when it is quite cleared off add a large faggot of parsley, thyme, and
winter savoury, three carrots, a small onion, and one mild turnip. After
three hours and a half of gentle simmering, probe the tongue, and if
sufficiently done peel off the skin and serve it quickly. If not wanted
hot for table, lay it upon a very clean board or trencher, and fasten it
down to it by passing a carving fork through the root, and a smaller one
through the tip, drawing the tongue straight with the latter before it
is fixed in the board; let it remain thus until it is quite cold. It is
much the fashion at present to glaze hams and tongues, but this should
never be attempted by a cook not well acquainted with the manner of
doing it, and the proper flavour and appearance of the glaze. For
directions to make it, see page 104. Where expense is not regarded,
three or four pounds of veal may be added to the beef in this receipt,
or the tongue may be stewed in a prepared gravy made with equal parts of
beef and veal, and vegetables as above, but without salt: this may
afterwards be converted into excellent soup. A fresh or an unsmoked
tongue may be dressed in this way, but will require less time: for the
former, salt must be added to the gravy.
TO ROAST A BEEF HEART.
Wash and soak the heart very thoroughly, cut away the lobes, fill the
cavities with a veal forcemeat (No. 1, Chapter VIII.), secure it well
with a needle and twine, or very coarse thread, and roast it at a good
fire for an hour and a half, keeping it basted plentifully with butter.
Pour melted butter over it, after it is dished, and send it to table as
hot as possible. Many persons boil the heart for three quarters of an
hour before it is put to the fire, and this is said to render it more
delicate eating; the time of roasting must of course be proportionately
diminished. Good brown gravy may be substituted for the melted butter,
and currant jelly also may be served with it.
1-1/2 hour, or more.
BEEF KIDNEY.
Slice the kidney rather thin, after having stripped off the skin and
removed the fat; season it with pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg, and
sprinkle over it plenty of minced parsley, or equal parts of parsley and
eschalots chopped very small. Fry the slices over a brisk fire, and when
nicely browned on both sides, stir amongst them a teaspoonful of flour,
and pour in by degrees a cup of gravy and a glass of white wine; bring
the sauce to the point of boiling, add a morsel of fresh butter and a
tablespoonful of lemon-juice, and pour the whole into a hot dish
garnished with fried bread. This is a French receipt, and a very
excellent one.
BEEF KIDNEY.
(_A plainer way._)
Trim, and cut the kidney into slices; season them with salt and pepper,
and dredge them well with flour; fry them on both sides, and when they
are done through lift them out, empty the pan, and make gravy for them
with a small slice of butter, a dessertspoonful of flour, pepper and
salt, and a cup of boiling water; shake these round and give them a
minute’s simmering: add a little mushroom catsup, lemon juice, eschalot
vinegar, or any store sauce that will give a good flavour. Minced herbs
are to many tastes an improvement to this dish, to which a small
quantity of onion shred fine can be added when it is liked.
6 to 9 minutes.
AN EXCELLENT HASH OF COLD BEEF.
Put a slice of butter into a thick saucepan, and when it boils throw in
a dessertspoonful of minced herbs, and an onion (or two or three
eschalots) shred small: shake them over the fire until they are lightly
browned, then stir in a tablespoonful of flour, a little cayenne, some
mace or nutmeg, and half a teaspoonful of salt. When the whole is well
coloured, pour to it three-quarters of a pint or more of broth or gravy,
according to the quantity of meat to be served in it. Let this boil
gently for fifteen minutes; then strain it, add half a wineglassful of
mushroom or of compound catsup, lay in the meat, and keep it by the side
of the fire until it is heated through and is on the point of simmering,
but be sure not to let it boil. Serve it up in a very hot dish, and
garnish it with fried or toasted sippets of bread.
A COMMON HASH OF COLD BEEF OR MUTTON.
Take the meat from the bones, slice it small, trim off the brown edges,
and stew down the trimmings with the bones well broken, an onion, a
bunch of thyme and parsley, a carrot cut into thick slices, a few
peppercorns, four cloves, some salt, and a pint and a half of water.
When this is reduced to little more than three quarters of a pint,
strain it, clear it from the fat, thicken it with a large
dessertspoonful of rice flour, or rather less of arrow-root, add salt
and pepper if needed, boil the whole for a few minutes, then lay in the
meat and heat it well. Boiled potatoes are sometimes sliced hot into a
very common hash.
_Obs._—The cook should be reminded that if the meat in a hash or mince
be allowed to boil, it will immediately become hard, and can then only
be rendered eatable by very _long stewing_, which is by no means
desirable for meat which is already sufficiently cooked.
BRESLAW OF BEEF.
(_Good._)
Trim the brown edges from half a pound of undressed roast beef, shred it
small, and mix it with four ounces of fine bread-crumbs, a teaspoonful
of minced parley, and two-thirds as much of thyme, two ounces of butter
broken small, half a cupful of gravy or cream, a high seasoning of
pepper and cayenne and mace or nutmeg, a small teaspoonful of salt, and
three large eggs well whisked. Melt a little butter in a deep dish, pour
in the beef, and bake it half an hour; turn it out, and send it to table
with brown gravy in a tureen. When cream or gravy is not at hand, an
additional egg or two and rather more butter must be used. We think that
grated lemon-rind improves the breslaw. A portion of fat from the joint
can be added where it is liked. The mixture is sometimes baked in
buttered cups.
Beef, 1/2 lb.; bread-crumbs, 4 oz.; butter, 2 oz.; gravy or cream, 1/2
cupful; parsley, 1 teaspoonful; thyme, two-thirds of teaspoonful; eggs,
3 or 4, if small; salt, 1 teaspoonful; pepper and nutmeg, 1/2
teaspoonful each: bake 1/2 hour.
NORMAN HASH.
Peel and fry two dozens of button onions in butter until they are
lightly browned, then stir to them a tablespoonful of flour, and when
the whole is of a deep amber shade, pour in a wineglassful and a half of
red wine, and a large cup of boiling broth or water; add a seasoning of
salt and common pepper or cayenne, and a little lemon-pickle catsup or
lemon-juice, and boil the whole until the onions are quite tender; cut
and trim into small handsome slices the remains of either a roast or
boiled joint of beef, and arrange them in a clean saucepan; pour the
gravy and onions on them, and let them stand for awhile to imbibe the
flavour of the sauce; then place the hash near the fire, and when it is
thoroughly hot serve it immediately, without allowing it to boil.
FRENCH RECEIPT FOR HASHED BOUILLI.
Shake over a slow fire a bit of butter the size of an egg, and a
tablespoonful of flour; when they have simmered for a minute, stir to
them a little finely-chopped onion, and a dessertspoonful of minced
parsley; so soon as the whole is equally browned, add sufficient pepper,
salt, and nutmeg to season the hash properly, and from half to three
quarters of a pint of boiling water or of bouillon. Put in the beef cut
into small but thick slices; let it stand by the fire and heat
gradually; and when near the point of boiling thicken the sauce with the
yolks of three eggs, mixed with a tablespoonful of lemon-juice. For
change, omit the eggs, and substitute a tablespoonful of catsup, and
another of pickled gherkins minced or sliced.
BAKED MINCED BEEF.
Mince tolerably fine, with a moderate proportion of its own fat, as much
of the inside of a cold roast joint as will suffice for a dish: that
which is least done is best for the purpose. Season it rather highly
with cayenne and mace or nutmeg, and moderately with salt; add, when
they are liked, one or two eschalots minced small, with a few chopped
mushrooms either fresh or pickled, or two tablespoonsful of mushroom
catsup. Mix the whole well with a cupful of _good_ gravy, and put it
into a deep dish. Place on the top an inch-thick layer of bread-crumbs,
moisten these plentifully with clarified butter passed through a small
strainer over them, and send the mince to a slow oven for twenty
minutes, or brown it in a Dutch oven.
SAUNDERS.
Spread on the dish in which the saunders are to be served, a layer of
smoothly mashed potatoes, which have been seasoned with salt and mixed
with about an ounce of butter to the pound. On these spread equally and
thickly some underdressed beef or mutton minced and mixed with a little
of the gravy that has run from the joint, or with a few spoonsful of any
other; and season it with salt, pepper, and a small quantity of nutmeg.
Place evenly over this another layer of potatoes, and send the dish to a
moderate oven for half an hour. A very superior kind of saunders is made
by substituting fresh meat for roasted; but this requires to be baked an
hour or something more. Sausage-meat highly seasoned may be served in
this way, instead of beef or mutton.
TO BOIL MARROW BONES.
Let the large ends of the bones be sawed by the butcher, so that when
they are dished they may stand upright; and if it can be done
conveniently, let them be placed in the same manner in the vessel in
which they are boiled. Put a bit of paste, made with flour and water,
over the ends where the marrow is visible, and tie a cloth tightly over
them; take the paste off before the bones are sent to table, and serve
them, placed upright in a napkin, with slices of dry toasted bread
apart. When not wanted for immediate use, they may be partially boiled,
and set into a cool place, where they will remain good for many days.
Large marrow bones, 2 hours; moderate sized, 1-1/2 hour. To keep; boil
them 1-1/2 hour, and from 1/2 to 3/4 hour more when wanted for table.
BAKED MARROW BONES.
When the bones have been sawed to the length of a deep pie-dish, wash
and wipe them dry, lay them into it, and cover them entirely with a good
batter. Send them to a moderate oven for an hour or more, and serve them
in the batter.
CLARIFIED MARROW FOR KEEPING.
Take the marrow from the bones while it is as fresh as possible; cut it
small, put it into a very clean jar, and melt it with a gentle heat,
either in a pan of water placed over the fire, or at the mouth of a cool
oven; strain it through a muslin, let it settle for a minute or two, and
pour it, clear of sediment, into small jars. Tie skins, or double folds
of thick paper, over them as soon as the marrow is cold, and store it in
a cool place. It will remain good for months.
OX-CHEEK STUFFED AND BAKED.
(_Good, and not expensive._)
Cleanse, with the greatest nicety, a fresh ox-cheek by washing, scraping
it lightly with a knife, and soaking out the blood; then put it into
plenty of warm water, and boil it gently for about an hour. Throw in a
large teaspoonful of salt, and carefully remove all the scum as it rises
to the surface. Let it cool after it is lifted out, and then take away
the bones, remembering always to work the knife close to them, and to
avoid piercing the skin. When the cheek has become cold, put into it a
good roll of forcemeat, made by the receipt Nos. 1, 2, or 3, of Chapter
IX., or substitute the oyster or mushroom forcemeat which follows; but
in any case increase the quantity one-half at least: then skewer or bind
up the cheek securely, and send it to a moderate oven for an hour or an
hour and a half. It should be baked until it is exceedingly tender quite
through. Drain it well from fat, dish it, withdraw the skewers, or
unbind it gently, and either sauce it with a little good brown gravy, or
send it to table with melted butter in a tureen, a cut lemon, and
cayenne, or with any sauce of Chapter V., which may be considered more
appropriate.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XI.
=Veal.=
[Illustration]
No.
1. Loin, Best End.
2. Loin, Chump End.
3. Fillet.
4. Hind Knuckle.
5. Fore Knuckle.
6. Neck, Best End.
7. Neck, Scrag End.
8. Blade Bone.
9. Breast, Best End.
10. Breast, Brisket End.
In season all the year, but scarce and expensive in mid-winter, and very
early spring.
TO CHOOSE VEAL.
VEAL should be fat, finely grained, white, firm, and not overgrown: for
when very large it is apt to be coarse and tough. It is more difficult
to keep than any other meat except pork, and should never be allowed to
acquire the slightest taint before it is dressed, as any approach to
putridity renders it equally unwholesome and offensive to the taste. The
fillet, the loin, the shoulder, and the best end of the neck, are the
parts generally selected for roasting; the breast and knuckle are more
usually stewed or boiled, although the former is excellent roasted. The
udder or firm white fat of the fillet, is much used by French cooks
instead of butter, in the composition of their forcemeats: for these, it
is first well boiled, then left until quite cold, and afterwards
thoroughly pounded before it is mixed with the other ingredients. The
head and feet of the calf are valuable articles of food, both for the
nutriment which the gelatinous parts of them afford, and for the great
variety of modes in which they may be dressed. The kidneys, with the
rich fat that surrounds them, and the sweetbreads, are well known
delicacies; the liver and the heart also are very good eating; and no
meat is so generally useful for rich soups and gravies as veal.
TO TAKE THE HAIR FROM A CALF’S HEAD WITH THE SKIN ON.
It is better to do this before the head is divided; but if only the half
of one with the skin on can be procured, it must be managed in the same
way. Put it into plenty of water which is on the point of simmering but
which does not positively boil, and let it remain in until it does so,
and for five or six minutes afterwards, but at the first full bubble
draw it from the fire and let it merely scald; then lift it out, and
with a knife that is _not_ sharp scrape off the hair as closely as
possible. The butchers have an instrument on purpose for the operation;
but we have had the head look quite as well when done in the manner we
have just described, as when it has been sent in ready prepared by them.
After the hair is off, the head should be _well_ washed, and if it
cannot be cooked the same day, it must be wiped extremely dry before it
is hung up; and when it has not been divided, it should be left whole
until the time approaches for dressing it. The brain must then be taken
out, and both that and the head well soaked and washed with the greatest
nicety. When the half head only is scalded, the brain should first be
removed. Calves’ feet are freed from the hair easily in the same manner;
indeed, we find it a better mode of having it cleared from them than the
one we have given in Chapter XXII., though that is practised by many
good butchers.
BOILED CALF’S HEAD.
When the head is dressed with the skin on, which many persons prefer,
the ear must be cut off quite close to it; it will require three
quarters of an hour or upwards of additional boiling, and should be
served covered with fried crumbs: the more usual mode, however, is to
boil it without the skin. In either case first remove the brain, wash
the head delicately clean, and soak it for a quarter of an hour; cover
it plentifully with cold water, remove the scum as it rises with great
care, throw in a little salt, and boil the head gently until it is
perfectly tender. In the mean time, wash and soak the brains first in
cold and then in warm water, remove the skin or film, boil them in a
small saucepan from fourteen to sixteen minutes, according to their
sage, and when they are done, chop and mix them with eight or ten size
leaves boiled tender and finely minced; or, if preferred, with boiled
parsley instead; warm them in a spoonful or two of melted butter, or
white sauce; skin the tongue, trim off the root, and serve it in a small
dish with the brains round it. Send the head to table very hot with
parsley and butter poured over it, and some more in a tureen. A cheek of
bacon, or very delicate pickled pork, is the usual accompaniment to
boiled calf’s head.
We have given here the common English mode of serving this dish, by some
persons considered the best, and by others, as exceedingly insipid. On
the continent, tomata sauce takes place of the parsley and butter; and
rich oyster or Dutch sauce, are varieties often substituted for it in
this country.
With the skin on, from 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 hours; without the skin, from
1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hour.
CALF’S HEAD, THE WARDER’S WAY.
(_An excellent Receipt._)
Boil the half-head until tolerably tender; let it cool, and bone it
entirely; replace the brain, lay the head into a stewpan, and simmer it
gently for an hour in rich gravy. From five-and-twenty to thirty minutes
before it is dished, add half a pint of mushroom-buttons. Thicken the
gravy, if needful, with rice flour or with flour and butter, and serve
plenty of forcemeat-balls round the head. For dishes of this kind, a
little sweet-basil wine, or a few sprigs of the herb itself, impart a
very agreeable flavour. When neither these nor mushrooms are within
reach, the very thin rind of a small but fresh lemon may be boiled in
the gravy, and the strained juice added at the instant of serving.
Boiled from 1 to 2 hours; stewed 1 hour.
_Obs._—The skin, _with the ear_, may be left on the head for this
receipt, and the latter slit into narrow strips from the tip to within
an inch and a half of the base; which will give it a feathery and
ornamental appearance, the head may then be glazed or not at pleasure.
PREPARED CALF’S HEAD.
(_The Cook’s Receipt._)
Take away the brains and tongue from the half of a calf’s head, and then
remove the bones, being careful in doing so to keep the knife as close
to them as possible, and to avoid piercing the outer skin: in this
consists the whole art of boning, in which an attentive cook may easily
render herself expert. Next wash the head and dry it in a clean cloth;
sprinkle over the inside a little pounded mace, and cayenne or white
pepper; roll it up tightly, and bind it round with tape or twine. Lay
into a small stewpot three or four pounds of neck of veal or of beef,
twice or thrice divided, and place the head upon it with the bones well
broken; pour in half a gallon of cold water, or as much as will suffice
to keep the head covered until it is done, and simmer it very gently
from an hour and a quarter to an hour and three quarters. When it is
extremely tender, lift it out, and if wanted for table, remove the
binding, and serve it very hot, with currie sauce, rich oyster sauce, or
egg sauce and brown gravy; but should the remains, or the whole of it be
required for the following receipts, pour no gravy over it: in the
latter case do not take off the tape for several hours. The tongue may
be stewed with the head, but will require rather less time. We do not
think it needful to repeat in every receipt our directions for adding
salt to, and removing carefully the scum from, meat that is stewed or
boiled, but the cook must not neglect either. When the trouble of boning
is objected to, it can be dispensed with for some of the dishes which
follow, but not for all. After the head is taken out, boil the gravy
until it is well reduced, and rich: it should be strongly jellied when
cold. A bone of ham, or a slice of hung beef will much improve its
flavour; but vegetables must be avoided if it be wanted to keep: a
little spice and a faggot of parsley may be added to it, and a calf’s
foot will be sure to give it the requisite degree of firmness. This
receipt is for a head without the skin.
BURLINGTON WHIMSEY.
Set aside until quite cold half a calf’s head dressed by the preceding
receipt. If, on cutting it, the gelatinous part should not appear
perfectly tender, pare it off closely from the head, weigh, and mince
it; put it into a pint of good gravy, and stew it gently from ten to
fifteen minutes. Mince as much more of the head as will make up a pound
in weight after the edges are trimmed off, and part of the fat is taken
away; add to this three ounces of the lean of a boiled ham finely
chopped, the grated rind of a large lemon, three teaspoonsful of parsley
and one of thyme shred very small, three quarters of a teaspoonful of
mace, half a small nutmeg grated, a teaspoonful of salt, and a
half-quarter one of cayenne; stir the whole well together, and put it,
with half a pint more of gravy, to the portion which has been already
simmered. When the whimsey has boiled _softly_ from four to five
minutes, pour it into moulds or pans, in which slices of the tongue have
been evenly arranged, and when quite cold it will turn out very firmly.
It may be garnished, before it is sent to table, with branches of
parsley, which should, however, be perfectly dry; and when served for
supper or luncheon, it may be accompanied by a salad dressing.
Calf’s head, 1 lb.; lean of ham, 3 oz.; gravy, 1-1/2 pint; rind of 1
large lemon; parsley, 3 teaspoonsful; thyme and salt, each 1
teaspoonful; mace, 3/4 teaspoonful; 1/2 nutmeg; cayenne, 1/8 part of
teaspoonful: 5 minutes.
_Obs._—The remains of a plain boiled head may be made to serve for this
dish, provided the gravy used with it be well jellied and of high
flavour. Slices from the small end of a boiled and smoked ox-tongue,
from their bright colour improve greatly its appearance. It should be
tasted before it is poured out, that salt or any other seasoning may be
added if needful. After three or four days’ keeping, should any mould
appear upon the surface, take it off, re-melt the whimsey, and give it
two minutes’ boil. For change, the herbs may be omitted, and the
quantity of ham increased, or some minced tongue substituted for it.
CUTLETS OF CALF’S HEAD.
Prepare, by the Cook’s Receipt, half a calf’s head with or without the
skin on; only, in the latter case, allow more time for the boiling. When
it is quite cold, remove the fillets of tape, and cut the head into
slices of half an inch thick, brush them with yolk of egg, and dip them
into fine bread-crumbs, seasoned with the grated rind of half a lemon,
half a teaspoonful of minced savoury herbs, some cayenne, and a little
of the lean of a boiled ham chopped very small, should this last be at
hand. Fry the cutlets in butter of a fine light brown, make some gravy
in the pan as for veal cutlets, and add to it the juice of half a lemon;
or mix a large teaspoonful of currie-powder, and one of flour, very
smoothly with the butter, shake them over the fire for four or five
minutes, and let the gravy simmer as much longer, after the water is
added; or serve the cutlets, covered with good mushroom sauce.
HASHED CALF’S HEAD. (REMOVE.)
When the whole of this dish has to be prepared, make for it a quart of
stock, and proceed in all else as directed for mock turtle soup (page
24); but after the head has been parboiled, cut down a full pound and a
half of it for the hash, and slice it small and thick, instead of
dividing it into dice. Make the brains into cakes (see page 162), and
garnish the dish with forcemeat-balls, rolled in egg, and in the finest
bread-crumbs, then fried a delicate brown, and well drained, and dried
upon a warm sieve reversed. The wine and other seasonings should be the
same as for the soup. Rich gravy, 1 quart; flesh of calf’s head, full
1-1/2 lb.; wine, and other seasonings, as for mock turtle soup.
_Obs._—The gravy for this should be stewed with ham, eschalots, &c.,
exactly as for the soup.
CHEAP HASH OF CALF’S HEAD.
Take the flesh from the bone of a cold boiled head, and put it aside
until wanted; take about three pints of the liquor in which it was
cooked; break the bones, and stew them down with a small bunch of
savoury herbs, a carrot, or two should they be small, a little carefully
fried onion, four cloves, a dozen corns of pepper, and either a slice or
two of lean ham or of smoked beef. When the liquid is reduced nearly
half, strain it, take off the fat, thicken it with a little well made
roux, or, if more convenient, with flour and butter, stirred into it,
when it boils, or with rice flour or arrow-root, mixed with a little
spice, mushroom catsup, or Harvey’s sauce, and a small quantity of lemon
pickle or chili vinegar. Heat the meat slowly in the sauce when it is
ready, but do not allow it to boil. The forcemeat, No. 1, of Chapter
VIII., may be rolled into balls, fried, and served round it. The gravy
should be _well_ seasoned. A little of Liebeg’s extract of beef (see
Chapter I.), or as much good beef broth as may be required for the hash,
will convert this into a really good dish. For preparations which are of
themselves insipid, the _Jewish_ beef, of which we have often already
spoken, is an admirable addition.
TO DRESS COLD CALF’S HEAD OR VEAL
À LA MÂITRE D’HÔTEL. (GOOD.)
(_English Receipt._)
Cut into small delicate slices, or into scollops of equal size,
sufficient cold calf’s head or veal for a dish. Next knead very smoothly
together with a knife two ounces of butter, and a small dessertspoonful
of flour; put these into a stewpan or well tinned saucepan, and keep
them stirred or shaken over a gentle fire until they have simmered for a
minute or two, but do not let them take the slightest colour; then add
to them in very small portions (letting the sauce boil up after each is
poured in) half a pint of pale veal gravy, or of good shin-of-beef
stock, and when the whole is very smoothly blended, and has boiled for a
couple of minutes, mix together and stir to it a tablespoonful of common
vinegar, a dessertspoonful of chili vinegar, a little cayenne, a
tablespoonful of good mushroom catsup, and a _very small_ bit of sugar;
and when the sauce again boils, strew a tablespoonful of minced parsley
over the meat, lay it in, and let it stand by the fire until it is quite
heated through, but do not allow it to boil: if kept just at the
simmering point for ten or twelve minutes it may be served perfectly hot
without. The addition of the mushroom catsup converts this into an
English sauce, and renders it in colour, as well as in flavour, unlike
the French one which bears the same name, and which is acidulated
generally with lemon-juice instead of vinegar. Pickled mushrooms are
sometimes added to the dish: the parsley when it is objected to may be
omitted, and the yolks of two or three eggs mixed with a little cream
may be stirred in, but not allowed to boil, just before the meat is
served. When veal is used for this hash instead of calf’s, it should be
cut into slices not much larger than a shilling, and freed entirely from
fat, sinew, and the brown edges. When neither broth nor gravy is at
hand, a morsel or two of lean ham, and a few of the trimmings or bones
of the head or joint, may be boiled down to supply its place.
Sufficient cold calf’s head, or meat, for a dish; butter, 2 oz.; flour,
1 small dessertspoonful; gravy, or strong broth, 1/2 pint; vinegar, and
mushroom catsup, of each 1 tablespoonful; chili vinegar, 1
dessertspoonful; _small_ bit of sugar; little cayenne, and salt if
needed; parsley, 1 tablespoonful (pickled mushrooms or not at pleasure).
_Obs._—Soles or cod-fish are very good, if raised neatly from the bones,
or _flaked_, and heated in this _Mâitre d’Hôtel_ sauce.
CALF’S HEAD BRAWN.
(_Author’s Receipt._)
The half of a fine large calf’s head with the skin on, will best answer
for this brawn. Take out the brains, and bone it entirely, or get the
butcher do this; rub a little fine salt over, and leave it to drain for
ten or twelve hours; next wipe it dry, and rub it well in every part
with three quarters of an ounce of saltpetre finely powdered (or with an
ounce should the head be _very_ large) and mixed with four ounces of
common salt, and three of bay-salt, also beaten fine; turn the head
daily in this pickle for four or five days, rubbing it a little each
time; and then pour over it four ounces of treacle, and continue to turn
it every day, and baste it with the brine very frequently for a month.
Hang it up for a night to drain, fold it in brown paper, and send it to
be smoked where wood only is burned, from three to four weeks. When
wanted for table, wash and scrape it very clean, but do not soak it; lay
it, with the rind downwards, into a saucepan or stewpan, which will hold
it easily; cover it _well_ with cold water, as it will swell
considerably in the cooking; let it heat rather slowly, skim it
thoroughly when it first begins to simmer, and boil it as gently as
possible from an hour and three quarters to a couple of hours or more,
should it not then be _perfectly_ tender quite through; for unless
sufficiently boiled, the skin, which greatly resembles brawn, will be
unpleasantly tough when cold. When the fleshy side of the head is done,
which will be twenty minutes or half an hour sooner than the outside,
pour the water from it, leaving so much only in the stewpan as will just
cover the gelatinous part, and simmer it until this is thoroughly
tender. The head thus cured is very highly flavoured, and most excellent
eating. The receipt for it is entirely new, having originated with
ourselves. We give the reader, in addition, the result of our _first_
experiment with it, which was entirely successful:—“A half calf’s head,
not very large, without the skin, pickled with three ounces of common
salt, two of bay-salt, half an ounce of saltpetre, one ounce of brown
sugar, and _half an ounce of pepper_, left four days; then three ounces
of treacle added, and the pickling continued for a month; smoked nearly
as long, and boiled between one hour and a half, and two hours.” The
pepper was omitted in our second trial, because it did not improve the
appearance of the dish, although it was an advantage in point of
flavour. Juniper-berries might, we think, be added with advantage, when
they are liked; and cayenne tied in a muslin might supply the place of
the pepper. It is an infinite improvement to have the skin of the head
left on.
TO ROAST A FILLET OF VEAL.
Take out the bone and put a good roll of forcemeat (No. 1, Chapter
VIII.) under the flap, dividing first, with a sharp knife, the skin from
the meat sufficiently to admit the quantity required; secure it well,
truss the veal firmly into good shape, place it at a distance from the
fire at first, and baste it with butter. The outside will have a richer
crust of browning if the meat be washed, wiped tolerably dry, and well
floured before it is laid to the fire. It should be carefully watched,
and basted often, that the fat may not burn. Pour melted butter over it
after it is dished, and serve with it a boiled cheek of bacon and a
lemon. Roast it from three hours and a half, to four hours and a half,
according to its size.
FILLET OF VEAL, AU BÉCHAMEL, WITH OYSTERS.
Roast, in the usual way, a delicate fillet of veal, and in preparing it
for the spit be careful to bind it up tightly, so that no cavity may be
left where the bone has been taken out. While it is at the fire, plump
gently in their own strained liquor, without allowing them to boil, half
a pint of fine native oysters, and, after having freed them from the
beards, set them aside; then boil the beards for fifteen or twenty
minutes in nearly three quarters of a pint of good veal stock, or in
strong veal broth, made for the purpose; strain them out, add the liquor
of the oysters, also passed through a muslin or other fine strainer, and
convert the broth into rich white sauce, of which there should be a full
pint. When the veal is ready to serve, take it from the spit, dish it in
a very hot dish, and cut out quickly from the centre in a cup-like form,
about a pound of the meat, leaving a wide margin round the joint, to be
carved in the usual way. Mince, as rapidly as possible, the white part
of the veal which has been cut from the fillet, and the plumped oysters;
put the whole into the white sauce, which should be ready heated, bring
it to the _point_ of boiling, pour it into the fillet, and send it
immediately to table. The joint should be placed under a well-heated
cover, while the mince is in course of preparation, and be kept near the
fire.
When the knuckle of veal has been sent in with the fillet, a few thick
slices from it may be taken for the sauce; but it should be boiled down
sufficiently early to allow it to cool, and to have every particle of
fat removed from it before it is used. A pound of the meat ought to
make, with the addition of the oyster liquor, sufficient gravy for the
sauce. When expense is not a consideration, the _béchamel_ of Chapter V.
may be made for it, and the fillet may be filled up entirely with whole
oysters heated in it; or these may be intermixed with the veal cut into
shilling-sized collops. Mushroom-buttons, stewed white in butter, can be
substituted for the oysters, when their season is past; and very small
forcemeat balls, delicately fried, may then be piled entirely over the
open part of the fillet.
Persons who may take exception at the idea of _oysters with roast veal_,
as not being in accordance with the common etiquette of the table, are
recommended to give the innovation a trial before they reject its
adoption.
BOILED FILLET OF VEAL.
A small and delicately white fillet should be selected for this purpose.
Bind it round with tape, after having washed it thoroughly; cover it
well with cold water, and bring it gently to boil; watch, and clear off
carefully, the scum as it rises, and be, at the same time, very cautious
not to allow the water to become smoked. Let the meat be _gently
simmered_ from three hours and a half to four and a half, according to
its weight. Send it to table with rich white sauce, and a boiled tongue;
or make for it in the first instance the oyster forcemeat of Chapter
VIII., and serve with the veal a tureen of well-made oyster sauce.
3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours.
ROAST LOIN OF VEAL.
It is not usual to stuff a loin of veal, but we greatly recommend the
practice, as an infinite improvement to the joint. Make the same
forcemeat as for the fillet; and insert it between the skin and the
flesh just over the ends of the bones. Skewer down the flap, place the
joint at a moderate distance from a sound fire, keep it constantly
basted, and be especially careful not to allow the kidney fat to burn:
to prevent this, and to ensure the good appearance of the joint, a
buttered paper is often fastened round the loin, and removed about half
an hour before it is taken from the fire. It is the fashion in some
counties to serve _egg-sauce_ and brown gravy with roast loin, or breast
of veal.
The cook will scarcely need to be told that she must separate the skin
from the flank, with a sharp knife, quite from the end, to the place
where the forcemeat is to be put, and then skewer the whole very
securely. When the veal is not papered, dredge it well with flour soon
after it is laid to the fire.
2 to 2-1/2 hours.
BOILED LOIN OF VEAL.
If dressed with care and served with good sauces, this, when the meat is
small and white is an excellent dish, and often more acceptable to
persons of delicate habit than roast veal. Take from eight to ten pounds
of the best end of the loin, leave the kidney in with all its fat,
skewer or bind down the flap, lay the meat into cold water, and boil it
_as gently as possible_ from two hours and a quarter to two and a half,
clearing off the scum perfectly, as in dressing the fillet. Send it to
table with well-made oyster sauce, or _béchamel_, or with white sauce
well flavoured with lemon-juice, and with parsley, boiled, pressed dry,
and finely chopped.
2-1/4 to 2-1/2 hours.
STEWED LOIN OF VEAL.
Take part of a loin of veal, the chump end will do; put into a large,
thick, well-tinned iron saucepan, or into a stewpan, about a couple of
ounces of butter, and shake it over a moderate fire until it begins to
brown; flour the veal well all over, lay it into the saucepan, and when
it is of a fine, equal, light brown, pour gradually in veal broth,
gravy, or boiling water to nearly half its depth; add a little sauce,
one or two sliced carrots, a small onion, or more when the flavour is
much liked, and a bunch of parsley; stew the veal very softly for an
hour or rather more; then turn it, and let it stew for nearly or quite
another hour, or longer should it not be perfectly tender. As none of
our receipts have been tried with large, coarse veal, the cooking must
be regulated by that circumstance, and longer time allowed should the
meat be of more than moderate size. Dish the joint, skim all the fat
from the gravy, and strain it over the meat; or keep the joint hot while
it is rapidly reduced to a richer consistency. This is merely a plain
family stew.
BOILED BREAST OF VEAL.
Let both the veal and the sweetbread be washed with exceeding nicety,
cover them with cold water, clear off the scum as it rises, throw in a
_little_ salt, add a bunch of parsley, a large blade of mace, and twenty
white peppercorns; simmer the meat from an hour to an hour and a
quarter, and serve it covered with rich onion sauce. Send it to table
very hot. The sweetbread may be taken up when half done, and curried, or
made into cutlets, or stewed in brown gravy. When onions are objected
to, substitute white sauce and a cheek of bacon for them, or parsley and
butter, if preferred to it.
1 to 1-1/4 hour.
TO ROAST A BREAST OF VEAL.
Let the caul remain skewered over the joint till with within half an
hour of its being ready for table: place it at a moderate distance from
a brisk fire, baste it constantly, and in about an hour and a half
remove the caul, flour the joint, and let it brown. Dish and pour melted
butter over it, and serve it with a cut lemon, and any other of the
usual accompaniments to veal. It may be garnished with fried balls of
the forcemeat (No. 1, Chapter VIII.) about the size of a walnut.
2 to 2-1/2 hours.
TO BONE A SHOULDER OF VEAL, MUTTON, OR LAMB.
[Illustration:
Shoulder of Veal boned.
]
Spread a clean cloth upon a table or dresser, and lay the joint flat
upon it, with the skin downwards; with a sharp knife cut off the flesh
from the inner side nearly down to the blade bone, of which detach the
edges first, then work the knife _under_ it, keeping it always _close to
the bone_, and using all possible precaution not to pierce the outer
skin; when it is in every part separated from the flesh, loosen it from
the socket with the point of the knife, and remove it; or, without
dividing the two bones, cut round the joint until it is freed entirely
from the meat, and proceed to detach the second bone. That of the
knuckle is frequently left in, but for some dishes it is necessary to
take it out; in doing this, be careful not to tear the skin. A most
excellent grill may be made by leaving sufficient meat for it upon the
bones of a shoulder of mutton, when they are removed from the joint: it
will be found very superior to the broiled blade-bone of a _roast_
shoulder, which is so much liked by many people.
STEWED SHOULDER OF VEAL.
(_English Receipt._)
Bone a shoulder of veal, and strew the inside thickly with savoury herbs
minced small; season it well with salt, cayenne, and pounded mace; and
place on these a layer of ham cut in thin slices and freed from rind and
rust. Roll up the veal, and bind it tightly with a fillet; roast it for
an hour and a half, then simmer it gently in good brown gravy for five
hours; add forcemeat balls before it is dished; skim the fat from the
gravy, and serve it with the meat. This receipt, for which we are
indebted to a correspondent on whom we can depend, and which we have not
therefore considered it necessary to test ourselves, is for a joint
which weighs ten pounds before it is boned.
ROAST NECK OF VEAL.
The best end of the neck will make an excellent roast. A forcemeat may
be inserted between the skin and the flesh, by first separating them
with a sharp knife; or the dish may be garnished with the forcemeat in
balls. From an hour and a half to two hours will roast it. Pour melted
butter over it when it is dished, and serve it like other joints. Let it
be floured when first laid to the fire, kept constantly basted, and
always at a sufficient distance to prevent its being scorched.
1-1/2 to 2 hours.
For the forcemeat, see No. 1, Chapter VIII. From 8 to 10 minutes will
fry the balls.
NECK OF VEAL À LA CRÊME.
(_Or Au Béchamel._)
Take the best end of a neck of white and well-fed veal, detach the flesh
from the ends of the bones, cut them sufficiently short to give the
joint a good square form, fold and skewer the skin over them, wrap a
buttered paper round the meat, lay it at a moderate distance from a
clear fire, and keep it well basted with butter for an hour and a
quarter; then remove the paper and continue the basting with a pint, or
more, of _béchamel_ or of rich white sauce, until the veal is
sufficiently roasted, and well encrusted with it. Serve some _béchamel_
under it in the dish, and send it very hot to table. For variety, give
the _béchamel_ in making it a high flavour of mushrooms, and add some
small buttons stewed very white and tender, to the portion reserved for
saucing the joint.
2 to 2-1/4 hours.
VEAL GOOSE.
(_City of London receipt._)
“This is made with the upper part of the flank of a loin of veal (or
sometimes that of the fillet) covered with a stuffing of sage and
onions, then rolled, and roasted or broiled. It is served with brown
gravy and apple sauce, is extremely savoury, and has many admirers.” We
transcribe the exact receipt for this dish, which was procured for us
from a house in the city, which is famed for it. We had it tested with
the skin of the best end of a fine _neck_ of veal, from which it was
pared with something more than an inch depth of the flesh adhering to
it. It was roasted one hour, and answered extremely well. It is a
convenient mode of dressing the flank of the veal for eaters who do not
object to the somewhat coarse savour of the preparation. When the
_tendrons_ or gristles of a breast, or part of a breast of veal, are
required for a separate dish, the remaining portion of the joint may be
dressed in this way after the bones have been taken out; or, without
removing them, the stuffing may be inserted under the skin.
KNUCKLE OF VEAL EN RAGOUT.
Cut in small thick slices the flesh of a knuckle of veal, season it with
a little fine salt and white pepper, flour it lightly, and fry it in
butter to a pale brown, lay it into a very clean stewpan or saucepan,
and just cover it with boiling water; skim it clean, and add to it a
faggot of thyme and parsley, the white part of a head of celery, a small
quantity of cayenne, and a blade or two of mace. Stew it very softly
from an hour and three quarters to two hours and a half. Thicken and
enrich the gravy if needful with rice-flour and mushroom catsup or
Harvey’s sauce, or with a large teaspoonful of flour, mixed with a slice
of butter, a little good store-sauce and a glass of sherry or Madeira.
Fried forcemeat balls of No. 1, Chapter VIII. may be added at pleasure.
With an additional quantity of water, or of broth (made with the bones
of the joint), a pint and a half of young green peas stewed with the
veal for an hour will give an agreeable variety of this dish.
BOILED KNUCKLE OF VEAL.
After the joint has been trimmed and well washed, put it into a vessel
well adapted to it in size, for if it be very large, so much water will
be required that the veal will be deprived of its flavour; it should be
well covered with it, and _very gently_ boiled until it is perfectly
tender in every part, but not so much done as to separate from the bone.
Clear off the scum with scrupulous care when the simmering first
commences, and throw in a small portion of salt; as this, if sparingly
used, will not redden the meat, and will otherwise much improve it.
Parsley and butter is usually both poured over, and sent to table with a
knuckle of veal, and boiled bacon also should accompany it. From the
sinewy nature of this joint, it requires more than the usual time of
cooking, a quarter of an hour to the pound not being sufficient for it.
Veal 6 to 7 lbs.: 2 hours or more.
KNUCKLE OF VEAL WITH RICE.
Pour over a small knuckle of veal rather more than sufficient water to
cover it; bring it slowly to a boil; take off all the scum with great
care, throw in a teaspoonful of salt, and when the joint has simmered
for about half an hour, throw in from eight to twelve ounces of well
washed rice, and stew the veal gently for an hour and a half longer, or
until both the meat and rice are perfectly tender. A seasoning of
cayenne and mace in fine powder with more salt, should it be required,
must be added twenty or thirty minutes before they are served. For a
superior stew good veal broth may be substituted for the water.
Veal, 6 lbs.; water, 3 to 4 pints; salt, 1 teaspoonful: 30 to 40
minutes. Rice, 8 to 12 oz.: 1-1/2 hour.
_Obs._—A quart or even more of full grown green peas added to the veal
as soon as the scum has been cleared off will make a most excellent
stew. It should be well seasoned with white pepper, and the mace should
be omitted. Two or three cucumbers, pared and freed from the seeds, may
be sliced into it when it boils, or four or five young lettuces shred
small may be added instead. Green onions also, when they are liked, may
be used to give it flavour.
SMALL PAIN DE VEAU, OR, VEAL CAKE.
Chop separately and very fine, a pound and a quarter of veal quite free
from fat and skin, and six ounces of beef kidney-suet; add a teaspoonful
of salt, a full third as much of white pepper and of mace or nutmeg,
with the grated rind of half a lemon, and turn the whole well together
with the chopping-knife until it is thoroughly mixed; then press it
smoothly into a small round baking dish, and send it to a _moderate_
oven for an hour and a quarter. Lift it into a clean hot dish, and serve
it plain, or with a little brown gravy in a tureen. Three ounces of the
lean of a boiled ham minced small, will very much improve this cake, of
which the size can be increased at will, and proportionate time allowed
for dressing it. If baked in a _hot_ oven, the meat will shrink to half
its proper size, and be very dry. When done, it should be of a fine
light brown, and like a cake in appearance.
Veal, 1-1/4 lb.; beef-suet, 6 oz.; salt, 1 teaspoonful; pepper and mace,
or nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoonful each; rind of 1/2 lemon; ham (when added) 3
oz.; baked 1-1/4 hour.
BORDYKE VEAL CAKE.
(_Good._)
Take a pound and a half of veal perfectly clear of fat and skin, and
eight ounces of the nicest striped bacon; chop them separately, then mix
them well together with the grated rind of a small lemon, half a
teaspoonful of salt, a fourth as much of cayenne, the third part of a
nutmeg grated, and a half-teaspoonful of freshly pounded mace When it is
pressed into the dish, let it be somewhat higher in the centre than at
the edge; and whether to be served hot or cold, lift it out as soon as
it comes from the oven, and place it on a strainer that the fat may
drain from it; it will keep many days if the under side be dry. The
bacon should be weighed after the rind, and any rust it may exhibit,
have been trimmed from it. This cake is excellent cold, better indeed
than the preceding one; but slices of either, if preferred hot, may be
warmed through in a Dutch oven, or on the gridiron, or in a few
spoonsful of gravy. The same ingredients made into small cakes, well
floured, and slowly fried from twelve to fifteen minutes, then served
with gravy made in the pan as for cutlets, will be found extremely good.
Veal, 1-1/2 lb.; striped bacon, 8 oz.; salt and mace, 1 teaspoonful
each; rind of lemon, 1; third of 1 nutmeg; cayenne, 4 grains; baked
1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour.
FRICANDEAU OF VEAL. (ENTRÉE).
French cooks always prefer for this dish, which is a common one in their
own country, that part of the fillet to which the fat or udder is
attached;[76] but the flesh of the finer part of the neck or loin,
raised clear from the bones, may be made to answer the purpose nearly or
quite as well, and often much more conveniently, as the meat with us is
not divided for sale as in France; and to purchase the entire fillet for
the sake of the fricandeau would render it exceedingly expensive. Lay
the veal flat upon a table or dresser, with the skin uppermost, and
endeavour, with one stroke of an exceedingly sharp knife, to clear this
off, and to leave the surface of the meat extremely smooth; next lard it
thickly with small _lardoons_, as directed for a pheasant (page 181),
and make one or two incisions in the underside with the point of a
knife, that it may the better imbibe the flavour of the seasonings. Take
a stewpan, of sufficient size to hold the fricandeau, and the proper
quantity of vegetables compactly arranged, without much room being left
round the meat. Put into it a couple of large carrots, cut in thick
slices, two onions of moderate size, two or three roots of parsley,
three bay leaves, two small blades of mace, a branch or two of lemon
thyme, and a little cayenne, or a saltspoonful of white peppercorns.
Raise these high in the centre of the stewpan, so as to support the
meat, and prevent its touching the gravy. Cover them with slices of very
fat bacon, and place the fricandeau gently on them; then pour in as much
good veal broth, or stock, as will nearly cover the vegetables without
reaching to the veal. A calf’s foot, split in two, may with advantage be
laid under them in the first instance. Stew the fricandeau _very_ gently
for upwards of three hours, or until it is found to be extremely tender
when probed with a fine skewer or a larding-pin. Plenty of live embers
must then be put on the lid of the stewpan for ten minutes or a quarter
of an hour, to render the lardoons firm. Lift out the fricandeau and
keep it hot; strain and reduce the gravy very quickly, after having
skimmed off every particle of fat; glaze the veal, and serve it on a
ragout of sorrel, cucumbers, or spinach. This, though rather an
elaborate receipt, is the best we can offer to the reader for a dish,
which is now almost as fashionable with us as it is common on the
Continent. Some English cooks have a very summary method of preparing
it; they merely lard and boil the veal until they can “cut it with a
spoon.” then glaze and serve it with “brown gravy in the dish.” This may
be very tolerable eating, but it will bear small resemblance to the
French fricandeau.
Footnote 76:
Called by them the _noix_.
3-1/2 to 4 hours.
SPRING-STEW OF VEAL.
Cut two pound of veal, free from fat, into small half-inch thick
cutlets; flour them well, and fry them in butter with two small
cucumbers sliced, sprinkled with pepper, and floured, one moderate sized
lettuce, and twenty-four green gooseberries cut open lengthwise and
seeded. When the whole is nicely browned, lift it into a thick saucepan,
and pour gradually into the pan half a pint, or rather more, of boiling
water, broth, or gravy. Add as much salt and pepper as it requires. Give
it a minute’s simmer, and pour it over the meat, shaking it well round
the pan as this is done. Let the veal stew gently from three quarters of
an hour to an hour. A bunch of green onions cut small may be added to
the other vegetables if liked; and the veal will eat better, if slightly
seasoned with salt and pepper before it is floured; a portion of fat can
be left on it if preferred.
Veal 2 lbs.; cucumbers, 2; lettuce, 1; green gooseberries, 24; water or
broth, 1/2 pint or more: 3/4 to 1 hour.
NORMAN HARRICO.
Brown in a stewpan or fry lightly, after having sprinkled them with
pepper, salt, and flour, from two to three pounds of veal cutlets. If
taken from the neck or loin, chop the bones very short, and trim away
the greater portion of the fat. Arrange them as flat as they can be in a
saucepan; give a pint of water a boil in the pan in which they have been
browned, and pour it on them; add a small faggot of parsley, and, should
the flavour be liked, one of green onions also. Let the meat simmer
softly for half an hour; then cover it with small new potatoes which
have had a single boil in water, give the saucepan a shake, and let the
harrico stew very gently for another half hour, or until the potatoes
are quite done, and the veal is tender. When the cutlets are thick and
the potatoes approaching their full size, more time will be required for
the meat, and the vegetables may be at once divided: if extremely young
they will need the previous boil. Before the harrico is served, skim the
fat from it, and add salt and pepper should it not be sufficiently
seasoned. A few bits of lean ham, or shoulder of bacon browned with the
veal, will much improve this dish, and for some tastes, a little acid
will render it more agreeable. Very delicate pork chops may be dressed
in the same way. A cutlet taken from the fillet and freed from fat and
skin, answers best for this dish. Additional vegetables, cooked apart,
can be added to it after it is dished. Peas boiled very green and well
drained, or young carrots sliced and stewed tender in butter, are both
well suited to it.
Veal, 2 to 3 lbs.; water (or gravy), 1 pint; new potatoes 1-1/2 to 2
lbs.; faggot, parsley, and green onions: 1 hour or more.
PLAIN VEAL CUTLETS.
Take them if possible free from bone, and after having trimmed them into
proper shape, beat them with a cutlet-bat or paste-roller until the
fibre of the meat is thoroughly broken; flour them well to prevent the
escape of the gravy, and fry them from twelve to fifteen minutes over a
fire which is not sufficiently fierce to burn them before they are quite
cooked through: they should be of a fine amber brown, and _perfectly
done_. Lift them into a hot dish, pour the fat from the pan, throw in a
slice of fresh butter, and when it is melted, stir or dredge in a
dessertspoonful of flour; keep these shaken until they are
well-coloured, then pour gradually to them a cup of gravy or of boiling
water; add pepper, salt, a little lemon-pickle or juice, give the whole
a boil, and pour it over the cutlets: a few forcemeat balls fried and
served with them, is usually a very acceptable addition to this dish,
even when it is garnished or accompanied with rashers of ham or bacon. A
morsel of _glaze_, or of the jelly of roast meat, should when at hand be
added to the sauce, which a little mushroom powder would further
improve: mushroom sauce, indeed, is considered by many epicures, as
indispensable with veal cutlets. We have recommended in this one
instance that the meat should be thoroughly _beaten_, because we find
that the veal is wonderfully improved by the process, which, however, we
still deprecate for other meat.
12 to 15 minutes.
VEAL CUTLETS A L’INDIENNE, OR INDIAN FASHION. (ENTRÉE.)