teaspoonful of salt, and a tablespoonful of the best currie powder. Cut
down into small well-shaped cutlets or collops, two pounds of veal free
from fat, skin, or bone; beat the slices flat, and dip them first into
some beaten egg-yolks, and then into the seasoned crumbs; moisten them
again with egg, and pass them a second time through bread-crumbs. When
all are ready, fry them in three or four ounces of butter over a
moderate fire, from twelve to fourteen minutes. For sauce, mix smoothly
with a knife, a teaspoonful of flour and an equal quantity of
currie-powder, with a small slice of butter; shake these in the pan for
about five minutes, pour to them a cup of gravy or boiling water, add
salt and cayenne if required and the strained juice of half a lemon;
simmer the whole till well flavoured, and pour it round the cutlets. A
better plan is, to have some good currie sauce ready prepared to send to
table with this dish; which may likewise be served with only well-made
common cutlet gravy, from the pan, when much of the pungent flavour of
the currie-powder is not desired.
Bread-crumbs, 4 oz.; salt, 1 teaspoonful; currie powder, 1
tablespoonful; veal, 2 lbs.: 12 to 14 minutes.
_Obs._—These cutlets may be broiled; they should then be well beaten
first, and dipped into clarified butter instead of egg before they are
passed through the curried seasoning.
VEAL CUTLETS, OR COLLOPS, À LA FRANÇAISE. (ENTRÉE.)
Cut the veal into small, thin, round collops of equal size, arrange them
evenly in a sauté-pan, or in a small frying-pan, and sprinkle a little
fine salt, white pepper, and grated nutmeg on them. Clarify, or merely
dissolve in a clean saucepan with a gentle degree of heat, an ounce or
two of good butter, and pour it equally over the meat. Set the pan aside
until the dinner-hour, then fry the collops over a clear fire, and when
they are lightly browned, which will be in from four to five minutes,
lift them into a hot dish, and sauce them with a little _Espagnole_, or
with a gravy made quickly in the pan, and flavoured with lemon-juice and
cayenne. They are excellent even without any sauce.
3 to 4 minutes.
SCOTCH COLLOPS. (ENTRÉE.)
Prepare the veal as for the preceding receipt, but dip the collops into
beaten egg and seasoned bread-crumbs, and fry them directly in good
butter, over a moderate fire, of a light golden brown; drain them well
in lifting them from the pan, and sauce them like the collops _à la
Française_.
VEAL CUTLETS À LA MODE DE LONDRES, OR, LONDON FASHION. (ENTRÉE.)
Raise the flesh entire from the upper side of the best end of a neck of
veal, free it from the skin, and from the greater portion of the fat,
slice it equally into cutlets little more than a quarter of an inch
thick, brush them with egg, strew them with fine bread-crumbs, and fry
them of a light brown. Toast, or fry apart as many small slices of bacon
as there are cutlets, and let them be trimmed nearly to the same shape;
place them alternately on their edges round the inside of a hot dish (so
as to form a sort of chain), and pour into the middle some rich gravy
made in the pan, and very slightly flavoured with eschalot; or
substitute for this some good brown mushroom sauce. Savoury herbs,
grated lemon-rind, nutmeg or mace, salt, and white pepper or cayenne,
should be mixed with the bread-crumbs, in the proportions directed at
page 213, for cutlets of calf’s head; or they may be varied at pleasure.
A cheek of bacon is best adapted to this dish.
SWEETBREADS SIMPLY DRESSED. (ENTRÉE.)
In whatever way sweetbreads are dressed, they should first be well
soaked in lukewarm water, then thrown into boiling water to _blanch_
them, as it is called, and to render them firm. If lifted out after they
have boiled from five to ten minutes according to their size, and laid
immediately into fresh spring water to cool, their colour will be the
better preserved. They may then be gently stewed for three quarters of
an hour in veal gravy, which with the usual additions of cream, lemon,
and egg-yolks, may be converted into a fricassee sauce for them when
they are done; or they may be lifted from it, _glazed_, and served with
good Spanish gravy; or, the glazing being omitted, they may be sauced
with the sharp _Maître d’Hôtel_ sauce of page 117. They may also be
simply floured, and roasted in a Dutch oven, being often basted with
butter, and frequently turned. A full sized sweetbread, after having
been blanched, will require quite three quarters of an hour to dress it.
Blanched 5 to 10 minutes. Stewed 3/4 hour or more.
SWEETBREAD CUTLETS. (ENTRÉE.)
Boil the sweetbreads for half an hour in water or veal broth, and when
they are perfectly cold, cut them into slices of equal thickness, brush
them with yolk of egg, and dip them into very fine bread-crumbs seasoned
with salt, cayenne, grated lemon-rind, and mace; fry them in butter of a
fine light brown, arrange them in a dish placing them high in the
centre, and pour _under_ them a gravy made in the pan, thickened with
mushroom powder and flavoured with lemon-juice; or, in lieu of this,
sauce them with some rich brown gravy, to which a glass of sherry or
Madeira has been added. When it can be done conveniently, take as many
slices of a cold boiled tongue as there are sweetbread cutlets; pare the
rind from them, trim them into good shape, and dress them with the
sweetbreads, after they have been egged and seasoned in the same way;
and place each cutlet upon a slice of tongue when they are dished. For
variety, substitute _croutons_ of fried bread stamped out to the size of
the cutlets with a round or fluted paste or cake cutter. The crumb of a
stale loaf, very evenly sliced, is best for the purpose.
STEWED CALF’S FEET.
(_Cheap and Good._)
This is an excellent family dish, highly nutritious, and often very
inexpensive, as the feet during the summer are usually sold at a low
rate. Wash them with nicety, divide them at the joint, and split the
claws; arrange them closely in a thick stewpan or saucepan, and pour in
as much cold water as will cover them about half an inch: three pints
will be sufficient for a couple of large feet. When broth or stock is at
hand, it is good economy to substitute it for the water, as by this
means a portion of strong and well-flavoured jellied gravy will be
obtained for general use, the full quantity not being needed as sauce
for the feet. The whole preparation will be much improved by laying a
thick slice of the lean of an unboiled ham, knuckle of bacon, hung beef,
or the end of a dried tongue, at the bottom of the pan, before the other
ingredients are added; or, when none of these are at hand, by supplying
the deficiency with a few bits of lean beef or veal: the feet being of
themselves insipid, will be much more palatable with one or the other of
these additions. Throw in from half to three quarters of a teaspoonful
of salt when they begin to boil, and after the scum has been all cleared
off, add a few branches of parsley, a little celery, one small onion or
more, stuck with half a dozen cloves, a carrot or two, a large blade of
mace, and twenty corns of whole pepper; stew them softly until the flesh
will part entirely from the bones; take it from them, strain part of the
gravy, and skim off all the fat, flavour it with catsup or any other
store sauce, and thicken it, when it boils, with arrow-root or flour and
butter; put in the flesh of the feet, and serve the dish as soon as the
whole is very hot. A glass of wine, a little lemon juice, and a few
forcemeat balls, will convert this into a very superior stew; a handful
of mushroom-buttons also simmered in it for half an hour before it is
dished, will vary it agreeably.
Calf’s feet (large), 2; water, 3 pints; salt, 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoonful;
onions, 1 to 3; cloves, 6; peppercorns, 20; mace, large blade; little
celery and parsley; carrots, 1 or 2: stewed softly, 2-1/2 to 3-1/4
hours. Mushroom catsup, 1 tablespoonful; flour, or arrow-root, 1 large
teaspoonful; butter, 1 to 2 oz. Cayenne, to taste.
CALF’S LIVER STOVED, OR STEWED.
From three to four pounds of the best part of the liver will be
sufficient for a dish of moderate size. First lard it quite through by
the directions of page 181, with large lardoons, rolled in a seasoning
of spice, and of savoury herbs very finely minced; then lay it into a
stewpan or saucepan just fitted to its size, and pour in about half a
pint of broth or gravy; heat it very gently, and throw in, when it
begins to simmer, a sliced carrot, a small onion cut in two, a small
bunch of parsley, and a blade of mace; stew the liver as softly as
possible over a very slow fire from two hours and a half to three hours;
thicken the gravy with a little brown roux (see page 107), or with a
dessertspoonful of browned flour; add a couple of glasses of white wine,
and a little spice if needed, and serve it very hot, after having taken
out the herbs and vegetable.
The liver may be stewed without being larded; it may likewise be browned
all over in a carefully made _roux_, before the gravy is poured to it:
this must then be made to boil, and be added in small portions, the
stewpan being well shaken round as each is thrown in. The wine can be
altogether omitted; or a wineglassful of port mixed with a little
lemon-juice, may take the place of sherry. After the liver has been
wiped very dry, minced herbs may be strewed thickly over it before it is
laid into the stewpan; and it may be served in its own gravy, or with a
_sauce piquante_.
Liver, 3 to 4 lbs: 2 to 3 hours.
TO ROAST CALF’S LIVER.
Take the whole or part of a fine white sound liver, and either lard it
as a fricandeau upon the surface, or with large strips of
highly-seasoned bacon in the inside (see Larding, page 181); or should
either of these modes be objected to, merely wrap it in a well buttered
paper, and roast it from an hour to an hour and a quarter at a moderate
distance from a clear fire, keeping it constantly basted. Remove the
paper, and froth the liver well from ten to fifteen minutes before it is
done. It should be served with a sauce of some piquancy, such as a
_poivrade_, or brown eschalot, in addition to some good gravy. French
cooks steep the liver over-night in vinegar, with a sliced onion and
branches of savoury herbs laid over it: this whitens and renders it
firm. As an economical mode, some small bits of the liver may be trimmed
off, floured, and lightly fried with a sliced onion, and stewed down for
gravy in three quarters of a pint of water which has been poured into
the pan, with the addition of a few peppercorns, and a small bunch of
herbs. A seasoning of salt must not be forgotten, and a little lemon
pickle, or juice, would generally be considered an improvement.
1 to 1-1/4 hour.
BLANQUETTE OF VEAL OR LAMB, WITH MUSHROOMS.
(ENTRÉE.)
Slice very thin the white part of some cold veal, divide and trim it
into scallops not larger than a shilling, and lay it into a clean
saucepan or stewpan. Wipe with a bit of new flannel and a few grains of
salt, from a quarter to half a pint of mushroom-buttons, and slice them
into a little butter which just begins to simmer; stew them in it from
twelve to fifteen minutes, without allowing them to take the slightest
colour; then lift them out and lay them on the veal. Pour boiling to
them a pint of _sauce tournée_ (see page 108); let the _blanquette_
remain near, but not close to the fire for awhile: bring it nearer, heat
it slowly, and when it is on the point of boiling mix a spoonful or two
of the sauce from it with the well beaten yolks of four fresh eggs; stir
them to the remainder; add the strained juice of half a small lemon;
shake the saucepan above the fire until the sauce is just set, and serve
the _blanquette_ instantly.
Cold veal, 3/4 lb.; mushrooms, 1/4 to 1/2 pint: stewed in 1-1/2 oz.
butter, 12 to 15 minutes. Sauce _tournée_, or thickened veal gravy, 1
pint; yolks of eggs, 4; lemon-juice, 1 tablespoonful.
_Obs._—Any white meat may be served _en blanquette_. The mushrooms are
not indispensable for it, but they are always a great improvement. White
sauce substituted for the thickened veal gravy will at once convert this
dish into an inexpensive English fricassee. Mace, salt, and cayenne,
must be added to either preparation, should it require seasoning.
MINCED VEAL.
When there is neither gravy nor broth at hand, the bones and trimmings
of the meat must be boiled down to furnish what is required for the
mince. As cold meat is very light in weight, a pound of the white part
of the veal will be sufficient for a dish, and for this quantity a pint
of gravy will be needed. Break down the bones of the joint well, add the
trimmings of the meat, a small bunch of savoury herbs, a slice or two of
carrot or of celery, a blade of mace, a few white peppercorns, and a bit
or two of lean ham, boiled, or unboiled if it can be had, as either will
improve the flavour of the mince. Pour to these a pint and a half of
water, and stew them gently for a couple of hours; then strain off the
gravy, let it cool, and clear it entirely from the fat. Cut the white
part of the veal small with a very sharp knife, after all the gristle
and brown edges have been trimmed away. Some persons like a portion of
fat minced with it, others object to the addition altogether. Thicken
the gravy with a teaspoonful and a half of flour smoothly mixed with a
small slice of butter, season the veal with a saltspoonful or more of
salt, and half as much white pepper and grated nutmeg, or pounded mace;
add the lightly-grated rind of half a small lemon; mix the whole well,
put it into the gravy, and heat it thoroughly by the side of the fire
without allowing it to boil; serve it with pale toasted sippets in and
round the dish. A spoonful or two of cream is always an improvement to
this mince.
MINCED VEAL AND OYSTERS.
The most elegant mode of preparing this dish is to mince about a pound
of the whitest part of the inside of a cold roast fillet or loin of
veal, to heat it without allowing it to boil, in a pint of rich white
sauce, or _béchamel_, and to mix with it at the moment of serving, three
dozens of small oysters ready bearded, and plumped in their own strained
liquor, which is also to be added to the mince; the requisite quantity
of salt, cayenne, and mace should be sprinkled over the veal before it
is put into the sauce. Garnish the dash with pale fried sippets of
bread, or with _fleurons_[77] of brioche, or of puff-paste. Nearly half
a pint of mushrooms minced, and stewed white in a little butter, may be
mixed with the veal instead of the oysters; or should they be very small
they may be added to it whole: from ten to twelve minutes will be
sufficient to make them tender. Balls of delicately fried
oyster-forcemeat laid round the dish will give another good variety of
it.
Footnote 77:
_Fleurons_, flowers, or flower-like figures, cut out with tin shapes.
Veal minced, 1 lb.; white sauce, 1 pint; oysters, 3 dozen, with their
liquor; or mushrooms, 1/2 pint, stewed in butter 10 to 12 minutes.
VEAL-SYDNEY. (GOOD.)
Pour boiling on an ounce and a half of fine bread-crumbs nearly half a
pint of good veal stock or gravy, and let them stand till cool; mix with
them then, two ounces of beef-suet shred very small, half a pound of
cold roast veal carefully trimmed from the brown edges, skin, and fat,
and finely minced; the grated rind of half a lemon, nearly a teaspoonful
of salt, a little cayenne, the third of a teaspoonful of mace or nutmeg,
and four well-beaten eggs. Whisk up the whole well together, put it into
a buttered dish, and bake it from three quarters of an hour to an hour.
Cream may be used instead of gravy when more convenient, but this last
will give the better flavour. A little clarified butter put into the
dish before the other ingredients are poured in will be an improvement.
Bread-crumbs, 1-1/2 oz.; gravy or cream, nearly 1/2 pint; beef-suet, 2
oz.; cold veal, 1/2 lb.; rind of 1/2 lemon; salt, small teaspoonful;
third as much mace and nutmeg; little cayenne; eggs, 4 large or 5 small:
3/4 to 1 hour.
FRICASSEED VEAL.
Divide into small, thick, handsome slices of equal size, about a couple
of pounds of veal, quite free from fat, bone, and skin; dissolve a
couple of ounces of butter in a wide stewpan, and just as it begins to
boil lay in the veal, and shake it over the fire until it is quite firm
on both sides, but do not allow it to take the slightest colour. Stir in
a tablespoonful of flour, and when it is well mixed with the cutlets,
pour gradually to them, shaking the pan often, sufficient boiling veal
gravy to almost cover them. Stew them gently from fifteen to sixteen
minutes, or longer should they not be perfectly tender. Add a flavouring
of mace, some salt, a quarter-pint of rich cream, a couple of egg-yolks,
and a little lemon-juice, observing, when the last are added, the
directions given for a _blanquette_ of veal, page 229. Strips of
lemon-rind can be stewed in the gravy at pleasure. Two or three dozens
of mushroom-buttons, added twenty minutes before it is served, will much
improve this fricassée.
SMALL ENTRÉES OF SWEETBREADS, CALF’S BRAINS AND EARS, &c. &c.
For tables of which the service consists rather of a great variety of
light dishes (_entrées_) than of substantial English fare, the ears,
brains, sweetbreads, gristles or _tendrons_, and the tail of a calf, may
be dressed in many different ways to supply them; but they require a
really good style of cookery, and many adjuncts to render them available
for the purpose, as they do not possess much decided natural flavour,
and their insipidity would be apt to tire if it were not relieved by the
mode of preparing them. We shall give some few especial receipts for
them in the chapter on Foreign Cookery, should sufficient space remain
open for us to admit them; and insert here only such slight general
directions as may suffice for preparing some of them in a simple form;
as they are not in reality of first-rate importance. All of them may be
served with good curried, or highly-flavoured tomato-sauce, after having
been stewed in strong broth or gravy. The brains and sweetbreads cut
into small dice or scallops, and mixed with _béchamel_, or with common
white sauce, may be used to fill small _vol-au-vents_, or patty cases.
The ears are usually filled in part with forcemeat, or a preparation of
the brains, and placed upright when dished; and the upper part is cut
into narrow fringe-like strips. For “_Tendrons de Veau_,” and “Breast of
veal rolled and stewed,” the reader is referred to Chapter XXXIV.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XII.
=Mutton.=
[Illustration]
No.
1. Leg.
2. Best End of Loin.
3. Chump End of Loin.
4. Neck, Best End.
5. Neck, Scrag End.
6. Shoulder.
7. Breast.
A Saddle is the Two Loins.
A Chine, the Two Necks.
Mutton is best suited for table in autumn, winter, and early spring. It
is not considered quite so good when grass-lamb is in full season, nor
during the sultry months of summer.
TO CHOOSE MUTTON.
THE best mutton is small-boned, plump, finely-grained, and short-legged;
the lean of a dark, rather than of a bright hue, and the fat white and
clear: when this is yellow, the meat is rank, and of bad quality. Mutton
is not considered by experienced judges to be in perfection until it is
nearly or quite five years old; but to avoid the additional expense of
feeding the animal so long, it is commonly brought into the market at
three years old. The leg and the loin are the superior joints; and the
preference would probably be given more frequently to the latter, but
for the superabundance of its fat, which renders it a not very
economical dish. The haunch consists of the leg and the part of the loin
adjoining it; the saddle, of the two loins together, or of the undivided
_back_ of the sheep: these last are always roasted, and are served
usually at good tables, or for company-dinners, instead of the smaller
joints. The shoulder, dressed in the ordinary way, is not very highly
esteemed, but when boned, rolled, and filled with forcemeat, it is of
more presentable appearance, and to many tastes, far better eating;
though some persons prefer it in its natural form, accompanied by stewed
onions. It is occasionally boiled or stewed, and covered with rich onion
sauce. The flesh of that part of the neck which is commonly called the
“best end,” or the _back ribs_, and which adjoins the loin, is the most
succulent and tender portion of the sheep, and makes an excellent small
roast, and is extremely good served as cutlets, after being divested of
the superabundant fat. It is likewise very frequently boiled; but so
cooked it makes but an unsightly and insipid dish, though an idea
prevails in this country that it is a very wholesome one. Cutlets (or
_chops_, as the butchers term them) are commonly taken from the loin,
and are generally charged at a higher rate than _joints_ of mutton, in
consequence, probably, of the constant demand for them. They may
likewise be cut from the saddle, but will then be very large, and of no
better quality than when the two loins which form the saddle are divided
in the usual way, though a certain degree of fashion has of late been
accorded to them.[78] The scrag, or that part of it which joins the
head, is seldom used for any other purpose than making broth, and should
be taken off before the joint is dressed. Cutlets from the thick end of
the loin are commonly preferred to any others, but they are frequently
taken likewise from the best end of the neck (sometimes called the
_back-ribs_) and from the middle of the leg. Mutton kidneys are dressed
in various ways, and are excellent in many. The trotters and the head of
a sheep may be converted into very good dishes, but they are scarcely
worth the trouble which is required to render them palatable. The loin
and the leg are occasionally cured and smoked like hams or bacon.
Footnote 78:
Many years since, these “_saddle-back_” cutlets were supplied to us by
a country butcher, and though of very fine South Down mutton, had no
particular importance attached to them, nor were they considered as
remarkably new.
TO ROAST A HAUNCH OF MUTTON.[79]
Footnote 79:
We recommend Liebig’s directions for roasting (page 171), to be
applied here, and for the joints which follow.
This joint should be well kept, and when the larder-accommodations of a
house not are good, the butcher should be requested to hang it the
proper time. Roast it carefully at a large sound fire, and let it remain
at a considerable distance for at least a couple of hours; then draw it
nearer, but never sufficiently so to burn or injure the fat. Keep it
constantly basted; flour it soon after it is laid to the fire, instead
of frothing it, as this latter mode is not generally relished, though
fashion is in its favour. In from three and a half to four hours, the
haunch will be done, and it will require something less of time when not
kept back at first, as we have advised. Serve it with a good
_Espagnole_, or with plain mutton-gravy and currant-jelly. This joint,
when the meat is of very fine quality, may be dressed and served exactly
like venison.
3-1/2 to 4 hours. 5 hours or more by the _slow_ method.
ROAST SADDLE OF MUTTON.
This is an excellent joint, though not considered a very economical one.
It is usual for the butcher to raise the skin from it before it is sent
in, and to skewer it on again, that in the roasting the juices of the
meat may be better preserved, and the fat prevented from taking too much
colour, as this should be but delicately browned. In less than half an
hour before the mutton is done, remove the skin, and flour the joint
lightly after having basted it well. Our own great objection to frothed
meat would lead us to recommend that the skin should be taken off half
an hour earlier, and that the joint should be kept at sufficient
distance from the fire to prevent the possibility of the fat being
burned; and that something more of time should be allowed for the
roasting. With constant basting, great care, and good management, the
cook may always ensure the proper appearance of this, or of any other
joint (except, perhaps, of a haunch of venison) without having recourse
to papering or pasting, or even to replacing the skin; but when
unremitted attention cannot be given to this one part of the dinner, it
is advisable to take all precautions that can secure it from being
spoiled.
2-1/2 to 2-3/4 hours. More if _very_ large.
TO ROAST A LEG OF MUTTON.
In a cool and airy larder a leg of mutton will hang many days with
advantage, if the kernel be taken out, and the flap wiped very dry when
it is first brought in; and it is never tender when freshly killed: in
warm weather it should be well dredged with pepper to preserve it from
the flies. If washed before it is put upon the spit, it should be wiped
as dry as possible afterwards, and well floured soon after it is laid to
the fire. When the excellence of the joint is more regarded than the
expense of fuel, it should be roasted by what we have denominated the
_slow method_; that is to say, it should be kept at a considerable
distance from the fire, and remain at it four hours instead of two: it
may be drawn nearer for the last twenty or thirty minutes to give it
colour. The gravy will flow from it in great abundance when it is cut,
and the meat will be very superior to that roasted in the usual way.
When this plan is not pursued, the mutton should still be kept quite a
foot from the fire until it is heated through, and never brought
sufficiently near to scorch or to harden any part. It should be
_constantly basted_ with its own fat, for if this be neglected, all
other precautions will fail to ensure a good roast; and after it is
dished a little fine salt should be sprinkled lightly on it, and a
spoonful or two of boiling water ladled over. This is the most palatable
mode of serving it, but it may be frothed when it is preferred so,
though we would rather recommend that the flour should be dredged on in
the first instance, as it then prevents the juices of the meat from
escaping, and forms a savoury coating to it; while the raw taste which
it so often retains with mere frothing is to many eaters especially
objectionable.
Leg of mutton, 7 to 8 lbs.: slow method 4 hours, common method 1-3/4 to
2 hours.
_Obs._—Many common cooks injure their roasts exceedingly by pouring
abundance of hot water over them, “_to make gravy_” as they call it.
This should never be done. The use of any portion may, perhaps, be
rationally objected to; but when the joint is not carefully cooked it is
sometimes very dry without it. A few spoonsful of Liebeg’s extract of
meat will supply excellent gravy for this, or for any other dish of
roasted meat.
BRAISED LEG OF MUTTON.
Take out the bone as far as the first joint by the directions of the
following receipt; roll some large strips of bacon in a seasoning of
mixed spice, and of savoury herbs minced extremely fine or dried and
reduced to powder, and with these lard the inside of the boned portion
of the joint; or fill the cavity with forcemeat highly seasoned with
eschalot or garlic. Sew up the meat, and place it in a braising-pan or
ham-kettle nearly of its size, with slices of bacon under and over it,
two or three onions, four or five carrots, two bay leaves, a large bunch
of savoury herbs, a few bones, or bits of undressed mutton or veal, and
about three quarters of a pint of gravy. Stew the meat as softly as
possible from four to five hours, and keep live embers on the pan (or,
as this mode of cooking is not general in England, set the mutton, if it
can be done conveniently, into a moderately-heated oven, after having
luted the edges of the vessel in which it is arranged with a bit of
coarse paste); lift it out, strain the gravy, reduce it quickly to
glaze, and brush the meat with it; or merely strain, free it from fat,
and pour it over the mutton. White beans (_haricots blancs_), boiled
tender and well drained, or a mild ragout of garlic or eschalots, may be
laid in the dish under it. The joint can be braised equally well without
any part of it being boned.
3 to 5 hours.
LEG OF MUTTON BONED AND FORCED.
Select for this dish a joint of South Down or of any other
delicate-sized mutton, which has been kept sufficiently long to render
it very tender. Lay it on a clean cloth spread upon a table, and turn
the underside upwards. With a sharp-edged boning-knife cut through the
middle of the skin, from the knuckle to the first joint, and raise it
from the flesh on the side along which the bone runs, until the knife is
just above it, then cut through the flesh down to the bone; work the
knife round it in every part till you reach the socket; next remove the
flat bone from the large end of the joint, and pass the knife freely
round the remaining one, as it is not needful to take it out clear of
the meat; when you again reach the middle joint, loosen the skin round
it with great care, and the two bones can then be drawn out without
being divided. This being done, fill the cavities with the forcemeat,
No. 1. (Chapter VIII.), adding to it a somewhat high seasoning of
eschalot, garlic, or onion; or cut out with the bone, nearly a pound of
the inside of the mutton, chop it fine with six ounces of delicate
striped bacon, and mix with it thoroughly three quarters of an ounce of
parsley, and half as much of thyme and winter savoury, all minced
extremely small; a half teaspoonful of pepper (or a third as much of
cayenne); the same of mace, salt, and nutmeg, and either the grated rind
of a small lemon, or four eschalots finely shred. When the lower part of
the leg is filled, sew the skin neatly together where it has been cut
open, and tie the knuckle round tightly, to prevent the escape of the
gravy. Replace the flat bone at the large end, and with a long needle
and twine, draw the edges of the meat together over it. If it can be
done conveniently, it is better to roast the mutton thus prepared in a
cradle spit or upon a bottle-jack, with the knuckle downwards. Place it
at first far from the fire, and keep it constantly basted. It will
require nearly or quite three hours’ roasting. Remove the twine before
it is served, and send it very hot to table with some rich brown gravy.
A BOILED LEG OF MUTTON WITH TONGUE AND TURNIPS.
(_An excellent Receipt._)
Trim into handsome form a well-kept, but perfectly sweet leg of mutton,
of middling weight; wash, but do not soak it; lay it into a vessel as
nearly of its size as convenient, and pour in rather more than
sufficient cold water[80] to cover it; set it over a good fire, and when
it begins to boil take off the scum, and continue to do so until no more
appears; throw in a tablespoonful of salt (after the first skimming),
which will assist to bring it to the surface, and as soon as the liquor
is clear, add two moderate-sized onions stuck with a dozen cloves, a
large faggot of parsley, thyme, and winter savoury, and four or five
large carrots, and half an hour afterwards as many turnips. Draw the pan
to the side of the fire, and let the mutton be simmered _gently_ from
two hours to two and a half, from the time of its first beginning to
boil. Serve it with caper, brown cucumber, or oyster sauce. If stewed
_softly_, as we have directed, the mutton will be found excellent
dressed thus; otherwise, it will but resemble the unpalatable and
ragged-looking joints of fast-boiled meat, so constantly sent to table
by common English cooks. Any undressed bones of veal, mutton, or beef,
boiled with the joint will improve it much, and the liquor will then
make excellent soup or _bouillon_. A small smoked ox-tongue boiled very
tender will generally be much approved as an accompaniment to the
mutton, though it is out of the usual course to serve them together:
innovation on established usages is, however, sometimes to be
recommended. The tongue should be garnished with well-prepared mashed
turnips, moulded with a tablespoon into the form of a half-egg, and sent
to table as hot as possible; or the turnips may be dished apart.
Footnote 80:
We have left this receipt unaltered, instead of applying to it Baron
Liebeg’s directions for his improved method of boiling meat, because
his objections to the immersion of the joint in _cold_ water are
partially obviated, by its being placed immediately over a sound fire,
and heated quickly; and the mutton is very good thus dressed.
2 to 2-1/2 hours.
ROAST OR STEWED FILLET OF MUTTON.
Cut some inches from either end of a large and well-kept leg of mutton,
and leave the fillet shaped like one of veal. Remove the bone, and fill
the cavity with forcemeat (No. 1, Chapter VIII.), which may be flavoured
with a little minced eschalot, when its flavour is liked: more forcemeat
may be added by detaching the skin sufficiently on the flap side to
admit it. When thus prepared, the fillet may be roasted, and served with
currant-jelly and brown gravy, or with only melted butter poured over
it; or it may be stewed gently for nearly or quite four hours, in a pint
of gravy or broth, after having been floured and browned all over in a
couple of ounces of butter: it must then be turned every hour that it
may be equally done. Two or three small onions, a faggot of herbs, a
couple of carrots sliced, four or five cloves, and twenty whole
peppercorns can be added to it at will.
Roasted 2 hours, or stewed 4 hours.
_Obs._—At a large fire, half an hour less of time will roast the mutton
sufficiently for English taste in general.
TO ROAST A LOIN OF MUTTON.
The flesh of the loin of mutton is superior to that of the leg, when
roasted; but to the frugal housekeeper this consideration is usually
overbalanced by the great weight of fat attached to it; this, however,
when economy is more considered than appearance, may be pared off and
melted down for various kitchen uses. When thus reduced in size, the
mutton will be soon roasted. If it is to be dressed in the usual way,
the butcher should be desired to take off the skin; and care should be
taken to preserve the fat from being ever so lightly burned: it should
be managed, indeed, in the same manner as the saddle, in every respect,
and carved also in the same way, either in its entire length or in
oblique slices.
Without the fat, 1 to 1-1/2 hour; with 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hour.
TO DRESS A LOIN OF MUTTON LIKE VENISON.
Skin and bone a loin of mutton, and lay it into a stewpan, or
braising-pan, with a pint of water, a large onion stuck with a dozen
cloves, half a pint of port wine and a spoonful of vinegar; add, when it
boils, a small faggot of thyme and parsley, and some pepper and salt:
let it stew three hours, and turn it often. Make some gravy of the
bones, and add it at intervals to the mutton when required. This receipt
comes to us so strongly recommended by persons who have partaken
frequently of the dish, that we have not thought it needful to prove it
ourselves.
3 hours.
ROAST NECK OF MUTTON.
This is a very favourite joint in many families, the flesh being more
tender and succulent than that even of the loin; and when only a small
roast is required, the best end of the neck of mutton, or the middle, if
divested of a large portion of the fat and cut into good shape, will
furnish one of appropriate size and of excellent quality. Let the ends
be cut quite even and the bones short, so as to give a handsome
squareness of form to the meat. The butcher, if directed to do so, will
chop off the chine bone, and divide the long bones sufficiently at the
joints to prevent any difficulty in separating them at table. From four
to five pounds weight of the neck will require from an hour to an hour
and a quarter of roasting at a clear and brisk, but not _fierce_, fire.
It should be placed at a distance until it is heated through, and then
moved nearer, and kept _thoroughly basted_ until it is done. Tomatas
baked or roasted may be sent to table with it; or a little plain gravy
and red currant-jelly; or it may be served without either.
When the entire joint, with the exception of the scrag-end (which should
always be taken off), is cooked, proportionate time must be allowed for
it.
TO ROAST A SHOULDER OF MUTTON.
Flour it well, and baste it constantly with its own dripping; do not
place it close enough to the fire for the fat to be in the slightest
degree burned, or even too deeply browned. An hour and a half will roast
it, if it be of moderate size. Stewed onions are often sent to table
with it. A shoulder of mutton is sometimes boiled, and smothered with
onion sauce.
1-1/2 hour.
THE CAVALIER’S BROIL.
Half roast or stew, or parboil, a small, or moderate-sized shoulder of
mutton; lift it into a hot dish, score it on both sides down to the
bone, season it well with fine salt and cayenne or pepper, and finish
cooking it upon the gridiron over a brisk fire. Skim the fat from any
gravy that may have flowed from it, and keep the dish which contains it
quite hot to receive the joint again. Warm a cupful of pickled
mushrooms, let a part of them be minced, and strew them over the broil
when it is ready to be served; arrange the remainder round it, and send
it instantly to table. The reader will scarcely need to be told that
this is an excellent dish.
FORCED SHOULDER OF MUTTON.
Cut off all the flesh from the inside of the joint down to the
blade-bone, and reserve it for a separate dish. It may be lightly
browned with some turnips or carrots, or both, and made into a small
harrico or stewed simply in its own gravy, or it will make in part, a
pie or pudding. Bone the mutton (see page 219), flatten it on a table,
lay over the inside some thin and neatly-trimmed slices of striped
bacon, and spread over them some good veal forcemeat (No. 1, Chapter
VIII.) to within an inch of the outer edge; roll the joint up tightly
towards the knuckle (of which the bone may be left in or not, at
pleasure), secure it well with tape or twine, and stew it gently in good
gravy, from four hours to four and a half.
4 to 4-1/2 hours.
_Obs._—In France it is usual to substitute _sausage-meat_ for the bacon
and veal stuffing in this dish, but it does not appear to us to be well
suited to it.
MUTTON CUTLETS STEWED IN THEIR OWN GRAVY.
(_Good._)
Trim the fat entirely from some cutlets taken from the loin; just dip
them into cold water, dredge them moderately with pepper, and
plentifully on both sides with flour; rinse a thick iron saucepan with
spring water, and leave three or four tablespoonsful in it; arrange the
cutlets in one flat layer, if it can be done conveniently, and place
them over a very gentle fire; throw in a little salt when they begin to
stew, and let them simmer as _softly as possible_, but without ceasing,
from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half. If dressed with great
care, which they require, they will be equally tender, easy of
digestion, and nutritious; and being at the same time free from
everything which can disagree with the most delicate stomach, the
receipt will be found a valuable one for invalids. The mutton should be
of good quality, but the excellence of the dish mainly depends on its
being _most gently stewed_; for if allowed to boil quickly all the gravy
will be dried up, and the meat will be unfit for table. The cutlets must
be turned when they are half done: two or three spoonsful of water or
gravy may be added to them should they not yield sufficient moisture; or
if closely arranged in a single layer at first, water may be poured in
to half their depth. The advantage of this receipt is, that none of the
nutriment of the meat is lost; for that which escapes from the cutlets
remains in the gravy, which should all be served with them: any fat
which may be perceived upon it should be carefully skimmed off. Cold
broth used for it instead of water will render it extremely good.
1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hour.
TO BROIL MUTTON CUTLETS. (ENTRÉE.)
These may be taken from the loin, or the best end of the neck, but the
former are generally preferred. Trim off a portion of the fat, or the
whole of it, unless it be liked; pepper the cutlets, heat the gridiron,
rub it with a bit of the mutton suet, broil them over a brisk fire, and
turn them often until they are done; this, for the generality of eaters,
will be in about eight minutes, if they are not more than half an inch
thick, which they should not be. French cooks season them with pepper
and salt, and brush them lightly with dissolved butter or oil, before
they are laid to the fire, and we have found the cutlets so managed
extremely good.
Lightly broiled, 7 to 8 minutes. Well done, 10 minutes.
_Obs._—A cold Maître d’Hôtel sauce may be laid under the cutlets when
they are dished; or they may be served quite dry, or with brown gravy;
or with good melted butter seasoned with mushroom catsup, cayenne, and
chili vinegar or lemon-juice.
CHINA CHILO
Mince a pound of an undressed loin or leg of mutton, with or without a
portion of its fat; mix with it two or three young lettuces shred small,
a pint of young peas, a teaspoonful of salt, half as much pepper, four
tablespoonsful of water, from two to three ounces of good butter, and,
if the flavour be liked, a few green onions minced. Keep the whole well
stirred with a fork over a clear and gentle fire until it is quite hot,
then place it closely covered by the side of the stove, or on a high
trivet, that it may stew as softly as possible for a couple of hours.
One or even two half-grown cucumbers, cut small by scoring the ends
deeply as they are sliced, or a quarter of a pint of minced mushrooms
may be added with good effect; or a dessertspoonful of currie-powder and
a large chopped onion. A dish of boiled rice should be sent to table
with it.
Mutton, 1 pint; green peas, 1 pint: young lettuces, 2; salt, 1
teaspoonful; pepper, 1/2 teaspoonful; water, 4 tablespoonsful; butter, 2
to 3 oz.: 2 hours. Varieties: cucumbers, 2; or mushrooms minced, 1/4
pint; or currie-powder, 1 dessertspoonful, and 1 large onion.
A GOOD FAMILY STEW OF MUTTON.
Put into a broad stewpan or saucepan, a flat layer of mutton chops,
freed entirely from fat and from the greater portion of the bone, or in
preference a cutlet or two from the leg, divided into bits of suitable
size, then just dipped into cold water, seasoned with pepper, and
lightly dredged with flour; on these put a layer of mild turnips sliced
half an inch thick, and cut up into squares; then some carrots of the
same thickness, with a seasoning of salt and black pepper between them;
next, another layer of mutton, then plenty of vegetables, and as much
weak broth or cold water as will barely cover the whole; bring them
slowly to a boil, and let them just simmer from two to three hours,
according to the quantity. One or two minced onions may be strewed
between the other vegetables when their flavour is liked. The savour of
the dish will be increased by browning the meat in a little butter
before it is stewed, and still more so by frying the vegetables lightly
as well, before they are added to it. A head or two of celery would to
many tastes improve the flavour of the whole. In summer, cucumber, green
onions, shred lettuces, and green peas may be substituted for the winter
vegetables.
Mutton, free from fat, 2-1/2 lbs.; turnips, 3 lbs; carrots, 3 lbs.;
celery (if added), 2 small heads: 2 to 3 hours.
_Obs._—The fat and trimmings of the mutton used for this and for other
dishes into which only the lean is admissible, may be turned to useful
account by cutting the whole up rather small, and then boiling it in a
quart of water to the pound, with a little spice, a bunch of herbs and
some salt, until the fat is nearly dissolved: the liquid will then, if
strained off and left until cold, make tolerable broth, and the cake of
fat which is on the top, if again just melted and poured free of
sediment into small pans, will serve excellently for common pies and for
frying kitchen dinners. Less water will of course produce broth of
better quality, and the addition of a small quantity of fresh meat or
bones will render it very good.
AN IRISH STEW.
Take two pounds of small thick mutton cutlets with or without fat,
according to the taste of the persons to whom the stew is to be served;
take also four pounds of good potatoes, weighed after they are pared;
slice them thick, and put a portion of them in a flat layer into a large
thick saucepan or stewpan; season the mutton well with pepper, and place
some of it on the potatoes; cover it with another layer, and proceed in
the same manner with all, reserving plenty of the vegetable for the top;
pour in three quarters of a pint of cold water, and add, when the stew
begins to boil, an ounce of salt; let it simmer gently for two hours,
and serve it very hot. When the addition of onion is liked, strew some
minced over the potatoes.
Mutton cutlets, 2 lbs.; potatoes, 4 lbs.; pepper, 1/2 oz.; salt, 1 oz.;
water, 3/4 pint: 2 hours.
_Obs._—For a real Irish stew the potatoes should be boiled to a mash: an
additional quarter of an hour may be necessary for the full quantity
here, but for half of it two hours are quite sufficient.
A BAKED IRISH STEW.
Fill a brown upright Nottingham jar with alternate layers of mutton (or
beef), sliced potatoes, and mild onions; and put in water and seasoning
as above; cover the top closely with whole potatoes (pared), and send
the stew to a moderate oven. The potatoes on the top should be well
cooked and _browned_ before the stew is served. We have not considered
it necessary to try this receipt, which was given to us by some friends
who keep an excellent table, and who recommended it much. It is, of
course, suited only to a _quite plain_ family dinner. The onions can be
omitted when their flavour is not liked.
CUTLETS OF COLD MUTTON.
Trim into well-shaped cutlets, which should not be very thin, the
remains of a roast loin or neck of mutton, or of a quite underdressed
stewed or boiled joint; dip them into egg and well-seasoned
bread-crumbs, and broil or fry them over a quick fire that they may be
browned and heated through without being too much done. This is a very
good mode of serving a half roasted loin or neck. When the cutlets are
_broiled_ they should be dipped into, or sprinkled thickly with butter
just dissolved, or they will be exceedingly dry; a few additional crumbs
should be made to adhere to them after they are moistened with this.
MUTTON KIDNEYS À LA FRANÇAISE. (ENTRÉE.)
Skin six or eight fine fresh mutton kidneys, and without opening them,
remove the fat; slice them rather thin, strew over them a large
dessertspoonful of minced herbs, of which two-thirds should be parsley
and the remainder thyme, with a tolerable seasoning of pepper or
cayenne, and some fine salt. Melt two ounces of butter in a frying-pan,
put in the kidneys and brown them quickly on both sides; when nearly
done, stir amongst them a dessertspoonful of flour and shake them well
in the pan; pour in the third of a pint of gravy (or of hot water in
default of this), the juice of half a lemon, and as much of Harvey’s
sauce, or of mushroom catsup, as will flavour the whole pleasantly;
bring these to the point of boiling, and pour them into a dish garnished
with fried sippets, or lift out the kidneys first, give the sauce a boil
and pour it on them. In France, a couple of glasses of champagne, or,
for variety, of claret, are frequently added to this dish: one of port
wine can be substituted for either of these. A dessertspoonful of minced
eschalots may be strewed over the kidneys with the herbs; or two dozens
of very small ones previously stewed until tender in fresh butter over a
gentle fire, may be added after they are dished. This is a very
excellent and approved receipt.
Fried 6 minutes.
BROILED MUTTON KIDNEYS.
Split them open lengthwise without dividing them, strip off the skin and
fat, run a fine skewer through the points and across the back of the
kidneys to keep them flat while broiling, season them with pepper or
cayenne, lay them over a clear brisk fire, with the cut sides towards
it, turn them in from four to five minutes, and in as many more dish,
and serve them quickly, with or without a cold Maître d’Hôtel sauce
under them. French cooks season them with pepper and fine salt, and
brush a very small quantity of oil or clarified butter over them before
they are broiled: we think this an improvement.
8 to 10 minutes.
OXFORD RECEIPT FOR MUTTON KIDNEYS. (BREAKFAST DISH, OR ENTRÉE.)
Fry gently in a little good butter, a dozen _croûtons_ (slices of bread,
of uniform shape and size, trimmed free from crust), cut half an inch
thick, about two inches and a half wide, and from three to four in
length: lift them out and keep them hot. Split quite asunder six fine
fresh kidneys, after having freed them from the skin and fat; season
them with fine salt and cayenne, arrange them evenly in a clean
frying-pan, and pour some clarified butter over them. Fry them over a
somewhat brisk fire, dish each half upon a _croûton_, make a sauce in
the pan as for veal cutlets, but use gravy for it instead of water,
should it be at hand; add a little wine or catsup, pour it round the
_croûtons_, and serve the kidneys instantly.
10 minutes.
TO ROAST A FORE QUARTER OF LAMB.
This should be laid to a clear brisk fire, and carefully and plentifully
basted from the time of its becoming warm until it is ready for table;
but though it requires quick roasting, it must never be placed
sufficiently near the fire to endanger the fat, which is very liable to
_catch_ or burn. When the joint is served, the shoulder should be
separated from the ribs with a sharp knife; and a small slice of fresh
butter, a little cayenne, and a squeeze of lemon juice should be laid
between them; if the cook be an expert carver, this had better be done
before the lamb is sent to table. The cold _Maître d’Hôtel_ sauce of
Chapter VI. may be substituted for the usual ingredients, the parsley
being omitted or not, according to the taste. Serve good mint sauce, and
a fresh salad with this roast.
A leg, shoulder, or loin of lamb should be cooked by the same directions
as the quarter, a difference only being made in the time allowed for
each.
Fore quarter of lamb, 1-3/4 to 2 hours. Leg, 1-1/2 hour (less if _very_
small); shoulder, 1 to 1-1/4 hour.
_Obs._—The time will vary a little, of course, from the difference in
the weather, and in the strength of the fire. Lamb should always be well
roasted.
SADDLE OF LAMB.
This is an exceedingly nice joint for a small party. It should be
roasted at a brisk fire, and kept constantly basted with its own
dripping: it will require from an hour and three quarters to two hours
roasting. Send it to table with mint sauce, brown cucumber sauce, and a
salad.
1-3/4 to 2 hours.
_Obs._—The following will be found an excellent receipt for mint
sauce:—With three heaped tablespoonsful of finely-chopped young mint,
mix two of pounded and sifted sugar, and six of the best vinegar: stir
it until the sugar is dissolved.
ROAST LOIN OF LAMB.
Place it at a moderate distance from a clear fire, baste it frequently,
froth it when nearly done, and serve it with the same sauces as the
preceding joints. A loin of lamb may be boiled and sent to table with
white cucumber, mushroom, common white sauce, or parsley and butter.
1 to 1-1/4 hour.
STEWED LEG OF LAMB WITH WHITE SAUCE. (ENTRÉE.)[81]
Footnote 81:
This may be served as a _remove_ in a small unceremonious dinner.
Choose a small plump leg of lamb, not much exceeding five pounds in
weight; put it into a vessel nearly of its size, with a few trimmings or
a bone or two of undressed veal if at hand; cover it with warm water,
bring it slowly to a boil, clear off the scum with great care when it is
first thrown to the surface, and when it has all been skimmed off, add a
faggot of thyme and parsley, and two carrots of moderate size. Let the
lamb _simmer_ only, but without ceasing, for an hour and a quarter;
serve it covered with _béchamel_, or rich English white sauce, and send
a boiled tongue to table with it, and some of the sauce in a tureen.
1-1/4 hour.
LOIN OF LAMB STEWED IN BUTTER. (ENTRÉE.)
Wash the joint, and wipe it very dry; skewer down the flap, and lay it
into a close-shutting and thick stewpan or saucepan, in which three
ounces of good butter have been just dissolved, but not allowed to boil;
let it simmer slowly over a very gentle fire for two hours and a
quarter, and turn it when it is rather more than half done. Lift it out,
skim and pour the gravy over it; send asparagus, cucumber, or _soubise_
sauce to table with it; or brown gravy, mint sauce, and a salad.
2-1/4 hours.
LAMB OR MUTTON CUTLETS, WITH SOUBISE SAUCE. (ENTRÉE.)
The best end of two necks of either will be required for a handsome
dish. Cut them thin with one bone to each; trim off the fat and all the
skin, scrape the bones very clean that they may look white, and season
the cutlets with salt and white pepper; brush them with egg, dip them
into very fine bread-crumbs, then into clarified butter, and again into
the bread-crumbs, which should be flattened evenly upon them, and broil
them over a very clear and brisk fire, or fry them in a little good
butter of a fine clear brown; press them in two sheets of white blotting
paper to extract the grease, and dish them in a circle, and pour into
the centre a _soubise_ sauce, or a _purée_ of cucumbers. Brown cucumber
sauce or a rich gravy, may be substituted for either of these in serving
a quite simple dinner. Cutlets of the loin may be dressed in the same
way after being dipped into crumbs of bread mixed with a full seasoning
of minced herbs, and with a small quantity of eschalot when its flavour
is liked. The small flat bone at the end of the cutlets should be taken
off, to give them a good appearance.
LAMB CUTLETS IN THEIR OWN GRAVY.
Follow exactly the receipt for mutton cutlets dressed in the same way,
but allow for those of lamb fifteen or twenty minutes less of time, and
an additional spoonful of liquid.
CUTLETS OF COLD LAMB.
See the receipt for Cutlets of Cold Mutton, page 243.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XIII.
=Pork.=
[Illustration]
No.
1. The Spare Rib.
2. Hand.
3. Belly, or Spring.
4. Fore Loin.
5. Hind Loin.
6. Leg.
In season from Michaelmas to March: should be avoided in very warm
weather.
TO CHOOSE PORK.
THIS meat is so proverbially, and we believe even _dangerously_
unwholesome when ill fed, or in any degree diseased, that its quality
should be closely examined before it is purchased. When not home-reared,
it should be bought if possible of some respectable farmer or miller,
unless the butcher who supplies it can be perfectly relied on. Both the
fat and lean should be very white, and the latter finely grained; the
rind should be thin, smooth, and cool to the touch; if it be clammy, the
pork is stale, and should be at once rejected; it ought also to be
scrupulously avoided when the fat, instead of being quite clear of all
blemish, is full of small kernels which are indicative of disease. The
manner of cutting up the pork varies in different counties, and also
according to the purposes for which it is intended. The legs are either
made into hams, or slightly salted for a few days and boiled; they are
also sometimes roasted when the pork is not large nor coarse, with a
savoury forcemeat inserted between the skin and flesh of the knuckle.
The part of the shoulder provincially called the hand, is also
occasionally pickled in the same way as hams and bacon, or it is salted
and boiled, but it is too sinewy for roasting. After these and the head
have been taken off, the remainder, without further division than being
split down the back, may be converted into whole sides, or _flitches_ as
they are usually called, of bacon; but when the meat is large and
required in part for various other purposes, a chine may be taken out,
and the fat pared off the bones of the ribs and loins for bacon; the
thin part of the body converted into pickled pork, and the ribs and
other bones roasted, or made into pies or sausages. The feet, which are
generally salted down for immediate use, are excellent if laid for two
or three weeks into the same pickle as the hams, then well covered with
cold water, and slowly boiled until tender.
The loins of young and delicate pork are roasted with the skin on; and
this is scored in regular stripes of about a quarter of an inch wide
with the point of a sharp knife, before the joints are laid to the fire.
The skin of the leg also is just cut through in the same manner. This is
done to prevent its blistering, and to render it more easy to carve, as
the skin (or _crackling_) becomes so crisp and hard in the cooking that
it is otherwise sometimes difficult to divide it.
To be at any time fit for table, pork must be _perfectly sweet_, and
thoroughly cooked; great attention also should be given to it when it is
in pickle, for if any part of it be long exposed to the air, without
being turned into, or well and frequently basted with the brine, it will
often become tainted during the process of curing it.
TO MELT LARD.
Strip the skin from the inside fat of a freshly killed and well-fed pig;
slice it small and thin; put it into a new or well-scalded jar, set it
into a pan of boiling water, and let it simmer over a clear fire. As it
dissolves, strain it into small stone jars or deep earthen pans, and
when perfectly cold, tie over it the skin that was cleared from the
lard, or bladders which have been thoroughly washed and wiped very dry.
Lard thus prepared is extremely pure in flavour, and keeps perfectly
well if stored in a cool place; it may be used with advantage in making
common pastry, as well as for frying fish, and for various other
purposes. It is better to keep the last drainings of the fat apart from
that which is first poured off, as it will not be quite so fine in
quality.
TO PRESERVE UNMELTED LARD FOR MANY MONTHS.
For the particular uses to which the leaf-fat, or fleed, can be
advantageously applied, see fleed-crust, Chapter XVIII. It may be kept
well during the summer months by rubbing fine salt rather plentifully
upon it when it is first taken from the pig, and letting it lie for a
couple of days; it should then be well drained, and covered with a
strong brine; this in warmer weather should be changed occasionally.
When wanted for use, lay it into cold water for two or three hours, then
wipe it dry, and it will have quite the effect of the fresh fleed when
made into paste.
Inner fat of pig, 6 lbs.; fine salt, 1/2 to 3/4 lb.: 2 days. Brine: to
each quart of water, 6 oz. salt.
TO ROAST A SUCKING PIG.
[Illustration]
After the pig has been scalded and prepared for the spit, wipe it as dry
as possible, and put into the body about half a pint of fine
bread-crumbs, mixed with three heaped teaspoonsful of sage, minced very
small, three ounces of good butter, a large saltspoonful of salt, and
two-thirds as much of pepper or some cayenne. Sew it up with soft, but
strong cotton; truss it as a hare, with the fore legs skewered back, and
the hind ones forward; lay it to a strong clear fire, but keep it at a
moderate distance, as it would quickly blister or scorch if placed too
near. So soon as it has become warm, rub it with a bit of butter tied in
a fold of muslin or of thin cloth, and repeat this process constantly
while it is roasting. When the gravy begins to drop from it, put basins
or small deep tureens under, to catch it in.[82] As soon as the pig is
of a fine light amber brown and the steam draws strongly towards the
fire, wipe it quite dry with a clean cloth, and rub a bit of cold butter
over it. When it is half done, a pig iron, or in lieu of this, a large
flat iron should be hung in the centre of the grate, or the middle of
the pig will be done long before the ends. When it is ready for table
lay it into a very hot dish, and before the spit is withdrawn, take off
and open the head and split the body in two; chop together quickly the
stuffing and the brains, put them into half a pint of good veal gravy
ready thickened, add a glass of Madeira or of sherry, and the gravy
which has dropped from the pig; pour a small portion of this under the
roast and serve the remainder as hot as possible in a tureen: a little
pounded mace and cayenne with a squeeze of lemon-juice, may be added,
should the flavour require heightening. Fine bread sauce, and plain
gravy should likewise be served with it. Some persons still prefer the
old-fashioned currant sauce to any other: and many have the brains and
stuffing stirred into rich melted butter, instead of gravy; but the
receipt which we have given has usually been so much approved, that we
can recommend it with some confidence, as it stands. Modern taste would
perhaps be rather in favour of rich brown gravy and thick tomata sauce,
or _sauce poivrade_.
Footnote 82:
A deep oblong dish of suitable size seems better adapted to this
purpose.
In dishing the pig lay the body flat in the middle, and the head and
ears at the ends and sides. When very pure oil can be obtained, it is
preferable to butter for the basting: it should be laid on with a bunch
of feathers. A pig of three weeks old is considered as best suited to
the table, and it should always be dressed if possible the day it is
killed.
1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hour.
BAKED PIG.
Prepare the pig exactly as for roasting; truss, and place it in the dish
in which it is to be sent to the oven, and anoint it thickly in every
part with white of egg which has been slightly beaten; it will require
no basting, nor further attention of any kind, and will be well crisped
by this process.
PIG À LA TARTARE
When the shoulders of a cold roast pig are left entire, take them off
with care, remove the skin, trim them into good form, dip them into
clarified butter or very pure salad oil, then into fine crumbs highly
seasoned with cayenne and mixed with about a half-teaspoonful of salt.
Broil them over a clear brisk fire, and send them quickly to table, as
soon as they are heated through and equally browned, with tomata sauce,
or _sauce Robert_. Curried crumbs and a currie-sauce will give an
excellent variety of this dish; and savoury herbs with two or three
eschalots chopped small together, and mixed with the bread-crumbs, and
brown eschalot sauce to accompany the broil, will likewise be an
acceptable one to many tastes.
SUCKING PIG EN BLANQUETTE. (ENTRÉE.)
Raise the flesh from the bones of a cold roast pig, free it from the
crisp outer skin or crackling, and cut it down into small handsome
slices. Dissolve a bit of butter the size of an egg, and throw in a
handful of button-mushrooms, cleaned and sliced; shake these over the
fire for three or four minutes, then stir to them a dessertspoonful of
flour and continue to shake or toss them gently, but do not allow them
to brown. Add a small bunch of parsley, a bay-leaf, a middling-sized
blade of mace, some salt, a small quantity of cayenne or white pepper,
half a pint of good veal or beef broth, and from two to three glasses of
light white wine. Let these boil gently until reduced nearly one third;
take out the parsley and mace, lay in the meat, and bring it slowly to
the point of simmering; stir to it the beaten yolks of three fresh eggs,
and the strained juice of half a lemon Serve the _blanquette_ very hot.
TO ROAST PORK.
When the skin is left on the joint which is to be roasted, it must be
scored in narrow strips of equal width, before it is put to the fire,
and laid at a considerable distance from it at first, that the meat may
be heated through before the skin hardens or begins to brown; it must
never stand still for an instant, and the basting should be constant.
Pork is not at the present day much served at very good tables,
particularly in this form; and it is so still less with the old savoury
stuffing of sage and onions, though some eaters like it always with the
leg: when it is ordered for this joint, therefore prepare it as directed
for a goose, at page 160, and after having loosened the skin from the
knuckle, insert as much as can well be secured in it. A little clarified
butter or salad oil may be brushed over the skin quite at first,
particularly should the meat not be very fat, but unless remarkably
lean, it will speedily yield sufficient dripping to baste it with.
Joints from which the fat has been pared, will require of course far
less roasting than those on which the crackling is retained. Brown
gravy, and apple or tomata sauce, are the usual accompaniments to all
roasts of pork except a sucking pig; they should always be thoroughly
cooked.
Leg of pork of 8 lbs., 3 hours; loin of from 5 to 6 lbs., with the skin
on, 2 to 2-1/2 hours; spare rib of 6 to 7 lbs., 1-1/2 hour.
TO ROAST A SADDLE OF PORK.
The skin of this joint may be removed entirely, but if left on it must
be scored lengthwise, or in the direction in which it will be carved.
The pork should be young, of fine quality, and of moderate size. Roast
it very carefully, either by the directions given in the preceding
receipt, or when the skin is taken off, by those for a saddle of mutton,
allowing in the latter case from three quarters of an hour to a full
hour more of the fire for it in proportion to its weight. Serve it with
good brown gravy and tomata sauce, or _sauce Robert_; or with apple
sauce should it be preferred. 20 minutes to the pound, quite [TN: text
missing.]
TO BROIL OR FRY PORK CUTLETS.
Cut them about half an inch thick from a delicate loin of pork, trim
them into neat form, and take off part of the fat, or the whole of it
when it is not liked; dredge a little pepper or cayenne upon them, and
broil them over a clear and moderate fire from fifteen to eighteen
minutes: sprinkle a little fine salt upon them just before they are
dished. They may be dipped into egg and then into bread-crumbs mixed
with minced sage, and finished in the usual way.[83] When fried, flour
them well, and season them with salt and pepper first. Serve them with
gravy in the pan, or with _sauce Robert_.
Footnote 83:
If broiled, with the addition of these a little clarified butter must
be added to the egg, or sprinkled on the cutlets.
COBBETT’S RECEIPT FOR CURING BACON.
“All other parts being taken away, the two sides that remain, and which
are called _flitches_, are to be cured for bacon. They are first rubbed
with salt on their inside, or flesh sides, then placed one on the other,
the flesh sides uppermost in a salting trough, which has a gutter round
its edges to drain away the brine; for to have sweet and fine bacon, the
flitches must not be sopping in brine, which gives it the sort of taste
that barrel-pork and sea-junk have, and than which is nothing more
villainous. Everyone knows how different is the taste of fresh dry salt
from that of salt in a dissolved state. Therefore, _change the salt
often_; once in four or five days. Let it melt and sink in, but let it
not lie too long. Change the flitches, put that at the bottom which was
first on the top. Do this a couple of times. This mode will cost you a
great deal more in salt than the _sopping mode_; but without it your
bacon will not be so sweet and fine, nor keep so well. As to the time
required for making the flitches sufficiently salt, it depends on
circumstances; the thickness of the flitch, the state of the weather,
the place wherein the salting is going on. It takes a longer time for a
thick than for a thin flitch; it takes longer in dry than in damp
weather, it takes longer in a dry than in a damp place. But for the
flitches of a hog of five score, in weather not very dry or very damp,
about six weeks may do; and as yours is to be _fat_, which receives
little injury from over-salting, give time enough; for you are to have
bacon till Christmas comes again. The place for salting should, like a
dairy, always be cool, but always admit of a free circulation of air;
confined air, though cool, will taint meat sooner than the midday sun
accompanied with a breeze. With regard to smoking the bacon, two
precautions are necessary: first to hang the flitches where no rain
comes down upon them, and next, that the smoke must proceed from wood,
not peat, turf, nor coal. As to the time that it requires to smoke a
flitch, it must depend a good deal upon whether there be a constant fire
beneath, and whether the fire be large or small. A month will do if the
fire be pretty constant, and such as a farm house fire usually is. But
oversmoking, or rather, too long hanging in the air, makes the bacon
_rust_. Great attention should, therefore, be paid to this matter. The
flitch ought not to be dried up to the hardness of a board, and yet it
ought to be perfectly dry. Before you hang it up, lay it on the floor,
scatter the flesh-side pretty thickly over with bran or with some fine
saw-dust, _not of deal or fir_. Rub it on the flesh, or pat it well down
upon it. This keeps the smoke from getting into the little openings, and
makes a sort of crust to be dried on.
“To keep the bacon sweet and good, and free from _hoppers_, sift fine
some clean and dry _wood-ashes_. Put some at the bottom of a box or
chest long enough to hold a flitch of bacon. Lay in one flitch; and then
put in more ashes, then another flitch, and cover this with six or eight
inches of the ashes. The place where the box or chest is kept ought to
be _dry_, and should the ashes become damp they should be put in the
fire-place to dry, and when cold, put back again. With these precautions
the bacon will be as good at the end of the year as on the first day.”
_Obs._—Although the preceding directions for curing the bacon are a
little vague as regards the proportions of salt and pork, we think those
for its after-management will be acceptable to many of our readers, as
in our damp climate it is often a matter of great difficulty to preserve
hams and bacon through the year from rust.
A GENUINE YORKSHIRE RECEIPT FOR CURING HAMS AND BACON.
“Let the swine be put up to fast for twenty-four hours before they are
killed (and observe that neither a time of severe frost, nor very damp
weather, is favourable for curing bacon). After a pig has been killed
and scalded, let it hang twelve hours before it is cut up, then for
every stone or fourteen pounds’ weight of the meat, take one pound of
salt, an ounce and a quarter of saltpeter, and half an ounce of coarse
sugar. Rub the sugar and saltpetre first into the fleshy parts of the
pork, and remove carefully with a fork any extravasated blood that may
appear on it, together with the broken vessels adjoining; apply the salt
especially to those parts, as well as to the shank-ends of the hams, and
any other portions of the flesh that are more particularly exposed.
Before the salt is added to the meat, warm it a little before the fire,
and use only a part of it in the first instance; then, as it dissolves,
or is absorbed by the meat, add the remainder at several different
times. Let the meat in the meanwhile lie either on clean straw, or on a
cold brick or stone floor: it will require from a fortnight to three
weeks’ curing, according to the state of the atmosphere. When done, hang
it in a cool dry place, where there is a thorough current of air, and
let it remain there until it is perfectly dry, when the salt will be
found to have crystallized upon the surface. The meat may then be
removed to your store, and kept in a close chest, surrounded with clean
_outer straw_. If very large, the hams will not be in perfection in less
than twelve months from the time of their being stored.”
Pork 20 stone; salt, 20 lbs.; saltpetre, 20 oz.; sugar, 10 oz.; 14 to 21
days.
KENTISH MODE OF CUTTING UP AND CURING A PIG.
To a porker of sixteen stone Kentish weight (that is to say, eight
pounds to the stone, or nine stone two pounds of common weight), allow
two gallons of salt, two pounds of saltpetre, one pound of coarse sugar,
and two pounds of bay-salt well dried and reduced to powder. Put aside
the hams and cheeks to be cured by themselves; let the feet, ears, tail,
and eye-parts of the head be salted for immediate eating; the
blade-bones, and ends of the loins and ribs reserved for sausage-meat
should it be wanted, and the loin and spare-ribs for roasting. Divide
and salt the remainder thus: Mix well together the saltpetre, sugar, and
bay-salt, and rub the pork gently with them in every part; cover the
bottom of the pickling tub with salt, and pack in the pork as closely as
possible, with a portion of the remaining salt between each layer. A
very little water is sometimes sprinkled in to facilitate the dissolving
of the salt into a brine, but this is always better avoided, and in damp
weather will not be needed. If in a fortnight it should not have risen,
so as almost entirely to cover the meat, boil a strong brine of salt,
saltpetre, sugar, and bay-salt; let it remain until perfectly cold, and
then pour it over the pork. A board, with a heavy stone weight upon it,
should be kept upon the meat to force it down under the brine. In from
three to four months it will be fit for table, and will be delicate and
excellent pickled pork.
The pickling parts of a porker of sixteen stone (Kentish weight, or nine
stone two pounds of common weight, or fourteen pounds to the stone);
common salt, 2 gallons; saltpetre, 2 lbs.; coarse sugar, 1 lb.:
bay-salt, 2 lbs.
FRENCH BACON FOR LARDING.
Cut the bacon from the pig with as little lean to it as possible. Rub it
well in every part with salt which has been dried, reduced to powder,
and sifted; put the layers of bacon close against and upon each other,
in a shallow wooden trough, and set in a cool, but not a damp cellar;
add more salt all round the bacon, and lay a board, with a very heavy
weight upon it. Let it remain for six weeks, then hang it up in a dry
and airy place.
Pork, 14 lbs.; salt, 14 oz.: 6 weeks.
TO PICKLE CHEEKS OF BACON AND HAMS.
One pound of common salt, one pound of the coarsest sugar, and one ounce
of saltpetre, in fine powder, to each stone (fourteen pounds) of the
meat will answer this purpose extremely well. An ounce of black pepper
can be added, if liked, and when less sugar is preferred, the proportion
can be diminished one half, and the quantity of salt as much increased.
Bacon also may be cured by this receipt, or by the Bordyke one for hams.
A month is sufficient time for the salting, unless the pork be very
large, when five weeks must be allowed for a ham. The ingredients should
be well mixed, and all applied at the same time.
To each 14 lbs. of pork, salt, 1 lb.; coarse sugar, 1 lb.; saltpetre, 1
oz.; pepper (if used), 1 oz.: 4 to 5 weeks.
MONSIEUR UDE’s RECEIPT, HAMS SUPERIOR TO WESTPHALIA.
(_Excellent._)
“Take the hams as soon as the pig is sufficiently cold to be cut up, rub
them well with common salt, and leave them for three days to drain;
throw away the brine, and for a couple of hams of from fifteen to
eighteen pounds weight, mix together two ounces of saltpetre, a pound of
coarse sugar, and a pound of common salt; rub the hams in every part
with these, lay them into deep pickling-pans with the rind downwards,
and keep them for three days well covered with the salt and sugar; then
pour over them a bottle of good vinegar, and turn them in the brine, and
baste them with it daily for a month; drain them well, rub them with
bran, and let them be hung for a month high in a chimney over a
wood-fire to be smoked.”
Hams, of from 15 to 18 lbs. each, 2; to drain 3 days. Common salt, and
coarse sugar, each 1 lb.; saltpetre, 2 oz.: 3 days. Vinegar, 1 bottle: 1
month. To be smoked 1 month.
_Obs._—Such of our readers as shall make trial of this admirable
receipt, will acknowledge, we doubt not, that the hams thus cured are in
reality superior to those of Westphalia. It was originally given to the
public by the celebrated French cook, Monsieur Ude. He directs that the
hams when smoked should be hung as high as possible from the fire, that
the fat may not be melted; a very necessary precaution, as the mode of
their being cured renders it peculiarly liable to do so. This, indeed,
is somewhat perceptible in the cooking, which ought, therefore, to be
conducted with especial care. The hams should be very softly
simmered,[84] and not _over_-done. They should be large, and of
finely-fed pork, or the receipt will not answer. We give the result of
our first trial of it, which was perfectly successful, the ham cured by
it being of the finest possible flavour.
Footnote 84:
We have not had the trial made ourselves, but we think they would be
even finer baked than boiled.
Leg of Suffolk farm-house pork, 14 to 15 lbs.; saltpetre, 1-1/4 oz.;
_strong_ coarse salt, 6 oz.; coarse sugar, 8 oz.: 3 days. Fine whitewine
vinegar, 1 pint. In pickle, turned daily, 1 month. Smoked over wood, 1
month.
_Obs._—“When two hams are pickled together, a smaller proportion of the
ingredients is required for each, than for one which is cured by
itself.”
SUPER-EXCELLENT BACON.
For several successive years, after first testing the above receipt, we
had it adopted for curing bacon, with even more highly satisfactory
results, as it was of incomparable flavour, and remained good for a
great length of time, the vinegar preserving it entirely from becoming
_rusted_. Well-fed pork of delicate size was always used for it, and
excellent vinegar. The ingredients were added in the proportions given
in the receipt for the Suffolk ham which preceeds this, and the same
time was allowed for the salting and smoking.
HAMS.
(_Bordyke Receipt._)
After the hams have been rubbed with salt, and well drained from the
brine, according to our previous directions, take, for each fourteen
pounds weight of the pork, one ounce of saltpetre in fine powder mixed
with three ounces of very brown sugar; rub the meat in every part with
these, and let it remain some hours, then cover it well with eight
ounces of bay-salt, dried and pounded, and mixed with four ounces of
common salt: in four days add one pound of treacle, and keep the hams
turned daily, and well basted with the pickle for a month. Hang them up
to drain for a night, fold them in brown paper, and send them to be
smoked for a month. An ounce of ground black pepper is often mixed with
the saltpetre in this receipt, and three ounces of bruised
juniper-berries are rubbed on to the meat before the salt is added, when
hams of a very high flavour are desired.
Ham, 14 lbs.; saltpetre, 1 oz.; coarse sugar, 3 oz.: 8 to 12 hours.
Bay-salt, 1/2 lb.; common salt, 4 oz.: 4 days. Treacle, 1 lb.: 1 month.
To heighten flavour, black pepper, 1 oz; juniper-berries, 3 oz.
TO BOIL A HAM.
The degree of soaking which must be given to a ham before it is boiled,
must depend both on the manner in which it has been cured, and on its
age. If highly salted, hard, and old, a day and night, or even longer,
may be requisite to dilate the pores sufficiently, and to extract a
portion of the salt. To do either effectually the water must be several
times changed during the steeping. We generally find hams cured by any
of the receipts which we have given in this chapter quite enough soaked
in twelve hours; and they are more frequently laid into water only early
in the morning of the day on which they are boiled. Those pickled by
Monsieur Ude’s receipt need much less steeping than any others. After
the ham has been scraped, or brushed, as clean as possible, pare away
lightly any part which, from being blackened or rusty, would disfigure
it; though it is better _not_ to cut the flesh at all unless it be
really requisite for the good appearance of the joint. Lay it into a
ham-kettle, or into any other vessel of a similar form, and cover it
plentifully with cold water; bring it _very slowly_ to boil, and clear
off carefully the scum which will be thrown up in great abundance. So
soon as the water has been cleared from this, draw back the pan quite to
the edge of the stove, that the ham may be simmered softly but steadily,
until it is tender. On no account allow it to boil fast. A bunch of
herbs and three or four carrots, thrown in directly after the water has
been skimmed, will improve it. When it can be probed very easily with a
sharp skewer, or larding-pin, lift it out, strip off the skin, and
should there be an oven at hand, set it in for a few minutes after
having laid it on a drainer; strew fine raspings over it, or grate a
hard-toasted crust, or sift upon it the prepared bread of Chapter V.,
unless it is to be glazed, when neither of these must be used.
Small ham, 3-1/2 to 4 hours; moderate sized, 4 to 4-1/2 hours; very
large, 5 to 5-1/2 hours.
_Obs._—We have seen the following manner of boiling a ham recommended,
but we have not tried it:—“Put into the water in which it is to be
boiled, a quart of old cider and a pint of vinegar, a large bunch of
sweet herbs, and a bay leaf. When it is two-thirds done, skin, cover it
with raspings, and set it in an oven until it is done enough: it will
prove incomparably superior to a ham boiled in the usual way.”
TO GARNISH AND ORNAMENT HAMS IN VARIOUS WAYS.
When a ham has been carefully and delicately boiled, the rind while it
is still warm, may be carved in various fanciful shapes to decorate it;
and a portion of it left round the knuckle in a semi-circular form of
four or five inches deep, may at all times be easily scollopped at the
edge or cut into points (_vandykes_). This, while preserving a character
of complete simplicity for the dish, will give it an air of neatness and
finish at a slight cost of time and trouble. A paper frill should be
placed round the bone.
The Germans cut the ham-rind after it has been stripped from the joint,
into _small_ leaves and similar “prettinesses,”[85] and arrange them in
a garland, or other approved device, upon its surface. In Ireland and
elsewhere, bread evenly sliced, and stamped out with cutters much
smaller than a fourpenny-piece, then carefully fried or coloured in the
oven, is used to form designs upon hams after they are glazed. Large
dice of clear firm savoury jelly form their most appropriate garnish,
because they are intended _to be eaten with them_. For the manner of
making this, and glaze also see Chapter IV.
Footnote 85:
This should be done with a confectionary or paste cutter.
The ham shown in Plate V., which follows the directions for “Carving,”
is of very good appearance; but in common English kitchens generally,
even the degree of artistic skill required to form its decorations well,
is not often to be met with.
FRENCH RECEIPT FOR BOILING A HAM.
After having soaked, thoroughly cleaned, and trimmed the ham, put over
it a little very sweet clean hay, and tie it up in a thin cloth; place
it in a ham kettle, a braising pan, or any other vessel as nearly of its
size as can be, and cover it with two parts of cold water and one of
light white wine (we think the reader will perhaps find _cider_ a good
substitute for this); add, when it boils and has been skimmed, four or
five carrots, two or three onions, a large bunch of savoury herbs, and
the smallest bit of garlic. Let the whole simmer gently from four to
five hours, or longer should the ham be very large. When perfectly
tender, lift it out, take off the rind, and sprinkle over it some fine
crumbs, or some raspings of bread mixed with a little finely minced
parsley.
_Obs._—Foreign cooks generally leave hams, braised joints, and various
other prepared meats intended to be served cold, to cool down partially
in the liquor in which they are cooked; and this renders them more
succulent; but for small frugal families the plan does not altogether
answer, because the moisture of the surface (which would evaporate
quickly if they were taken out quite hot) prevents their keeping well
for any length of time. The same objection exists to serving hams laid
upon, or closely garnished with savoury jelly (_aspic_), which becomes
much more quickly unfit for table than the hams themselves.
These considerations, which may appear insignificant to some of our
readers, will have weight with those who are compelled to regulate their
expenses with economy.
TO BAKE A HAM.
Unless when too salt from not being sufficiently soaked, a ham
(particularly a young and fresh one) eats much better baked than boiled,
and remains longer good. The safer plan to ensure its being sufficiently
steeped, is to lay it into plenty of cold water over night. The
following day soak it for an hour or more in warm water, wash it
delicately clean, trim smoothly off all rusty parts, and lay it with the
rind downwards into a large common pie-dish; press an oiled paper
closely over it, and then fasten securely to the edge of the dish a
_thick_ cover of coarse paste; and send the ham to a moderate oven, of
which the heat will be well sustained until it is baked. Or, when more
convenient, lay the ham at once—rind downwards—on the paste, of which
sufficient should be made, and rolled off to an inch in thickness, to
completely envelope it. Press a sheet of oiled foolscap paper upon it;
gather up the paste firmly all round, draw and pinch the edges together,
and fold them over on the upper side of the ham, taking care to close
them so that no gravy can escape. Send it to a well-heated, but not a
fierce oven. A very small ham will require quite three hours baking, and
a large one five. The crust and the skin must be removed while it is
hot. When part only of a ham is dressed, this mode is better far than
boiling it.
TO BOIL BACON.
When very highly salted and dried, it should be soaked for an hour
before it is dressed. Scrape and wash it well, cover it plentifully with
cold water, let it both heat and boil slowly, remove all the scum with
care, and when a fork or skewer will penetrate the bacon easily lift it
out, strip off the skin, and strew raspings of bread over the top, or
grate upon it a hard-crust which has been toasted until it is crisp
quite through; or should it be at hand, use for the purpose the bread
recommended at page 103, then dry it a little before the fire, or set it
for a few minutes into a gentle oven. Bacon requires long boiling, but
the precise time depends upon its quality, the flesh of young porkers
becoming tender much sooner than that of older ones; sometimes too, the
manner in which the animal has been fed renders the meat hard, and it
will then, unless thoroughly cooked, prove very indigestible. From ten
to fifteen minutes less for the pound, must be allowed for unsmoked
bacon, or for pickled pork. Smoked bacon (striped), 2 lbs., from 1-1/4
to 1-1/2 hour; unsmoked bacon or pork, 1 to 1-1/4 hour.
_Obs._—The thickest part of a large side or flitch of bacon will require
from twenty to thirty minutes longer boiling than the thinner side.
BACON BROILED OR FRIED.
Cut it evenly in thin slices or _rashers_, as they are generally called,
pare from them all rind and rust, curl them round, fasten them with
small slight skewers, then fry, broil, or toast them in a Dutch oven;
draw out the skewers before they are sent to table. A few minutes will
dress them either way. They may also be cooked without being curled. The
rind should always be taken off, and the bacon gently toasted, grilled,
or fried, that it may be well done without being too much dried or
hardened: it should be cut _thin_.
DRESSED RASHERS OF BACON.
Slice rather thicker than for frying some cold boiled bacon, and strew
it lightly on both sides with fine raspings of bread, or with a grated
crust which has been very slowly and gradually toasted until brown quite
through. Toast or warm the rashers in a Dutch oven, and serve them with
veal cutlets, or any other delicate meat. The bacon thus dressed is much
more delicate than when broiled or fried without the previous boiling.
4 to 5 minutes.
TONBRIDGE BRAWN.
Split open the head of a pig of middling size, remove the brain and all
the bones, strew the inside rather thickly with fine salt, and let it
drain until the following day. Cleanse the ears and feet in the same
manner: wipe them all from the brine, lay them into a large pan, and rub
them well with an ounce and a half of saltpetre mixed with six ounces of
sugar; in twelve hours, add six ounces of salt; the next day pour a
quarter of a pint of good vinegar over them, and keep them turned in the
pickle every twenty-four hours for a week; then wash it off the ears and
feet, and boil them for about an hour and a half; bone the feet while
they are warm, and trim the gristle from the large ends of the ears.
When these are ready, mix a large grated nutmeg with a teaspoonful and a
half of mace, half a teaspoonful of cayenne, and as much of cloves.
Wash, but do not soak the head; wipe and flatten it on a board; cut some
of the flesh from the thickest parts, and (when the whole of the meat
has been seasoned equally with the spices) lay it on the thinnest;
intermix it with that of the ears and feet, roll it up very tight, and
bind it firmly with broad tape; fold a thin pudding-cloth quite closely
round it, and tie it securely at both ends. A braising-pan, from its
form, is best adapted for boiling it, but if there be not one at hand,
place the head in a vessel adapted to its size, with the bones and
trimmings of the feet and ears, a large bunch of savoury herbs, two
moderate-sized onions, a small head of celery, three or four carrots, a
teaspoonful of peppercorns, and sufficient cold water to cover it well;
boil it very gently for four hours, and leave it until two parts cold in
the liquor in which it was boiled. Take off the cloth, and put the brawn
between two dishes or trenchers, with a heavy weight on the upper one.
The next day take off the fillets of tape, and serve the head whole or
sliced with the brawn sauce of Chapter VI.
ITALIAN PORK CHEESE.
Chop, not very fine, one pound of lean pork with two pounds of the
inside fat; strew over, and mix thoroughly with them three teaspoonsful
of salt, nearly half as much pepper, a half-tablespoonful of mixed
parsley, thyme, and sage (and sweet-basil, if it can be procured), all
minced extremely small. Press the meat closely and evenly into a shallow
tin,—such as are used for Yorkshire puddings will answer well,—and bake
it in a very gentle oven from an hour to an hour and a half: it is
served cold in slices. Should the proportion of fat be considered too
much, it can be diminished on a second trial.
Minced mushrooms or truffles may be added with very good effect to all
meat cakes, or compositions of this kind.
Lean of pork, 1 lb.; fat, 2 lbs.; salt, 3 teaspoonsful; pepper, 1-1/2
teaspoonful; mace, 1/2 teaspoonful; nutmeg, 1 small; mixed herbs, 1
large tablespoonful: 1 to 1-1/2 hour.
SAUSAGE-MEAT CAKE, OR, PAIN DE PORC FRAIS.
Season very highly from two to three pounds of good sausage-meat, both
with spices and with sage, or with thyme and parsley, if these be
preferred; press the mixture into a pan, and proceed exactly as for the
veal-cake of Chapter XI. A few minced eschalots can be mixed with the
meat for those who like their flavour.
SAUSAGES.
Common farm-house sausages are made with nearly equal parts of fat and
lean pork, coarsely chopped, and seasoned with salt and pepper only.
They are put into skins (which have previously been turned inside out,
scraped very thin, washed with extreme nicety, and wiped very dry), then
twisted into links, and should be hung in a cool airy larder, when they
will remain good for some time. Odd scraps and trimmings of pork are
usually taken for sausage-meat when the pig is killed and cut up at
home; but the chine and blade-bone are preferred in general for the
purpose. The pork rinds, as we have already stated,[86] will make a
strong and almost flavourless jelly, which may be used with excellent
effect for stock, and which, with the addition of some pork-bones,
plenty of vegetables, and some dried peas, will make a very nutritious
soup for those who do not object to the pork-flavour which the bones
will give. Half an ounce of salt, and nearly or quite a quarter of an
ounce of pepper will sufficiently season each pound of the sausage-meat.
Footnote 86:
See _Soupe des Galles_, Chapter I.
KENTISH SAUSAGE-MEAT.
To three pounds of lean pork, add two of fat, and let both be taken
clear of skin. As sausages are lighter, though not so delicate, when the
meat is somewhat coarsely chopped, this difference should be attended to
in making them. When the fat and lean are partially mixed, strew over
them two ounces and a half of dry salt, beaten to powder, and mixed with
one ounce of ground black pepper, and three large tablespoonsful of
sage, very finely minced. Turn the meat with the chopping-knife, until
the ingredients are well blended. Test it before it is taken off the
block, by frying a small portion, that if more seasoning be desired, it
may at once be added. A full-sized nutmeg and a small dessertspoonsful
of pounded mace, would, to many tastes, improve it. This sausage-meat is
usually formed into cakes, which, after being well floured, are roasted
in a Dutch oven. They must be watched, and often turned, that no part
may be scorched. The meat may also be put into skins, and dressed in any
other way.
Lean of pork, 3 lbs.; fat, 2 lbs.; salt, 2-1/2 oz.; pepper, 1 oz,;
minced sage, 3 large tablespoonsful.
EXCELLENT SAUSAGES.
Chop, first separately, and then together, one pound and a quarter of
veal, perfectly free from fat, skin, and sinew, with an equal weight of
lean pork, and of the inside fat of the pig. Mix well, and strew over
the meat an ounce and a quarter of salt, half an ounce of pepper, one
nutmeg grated, and a _large_ teaspoonful of pounded mace. Turn, and chop
the sausages until they are equally seasoned throughout, and tolerably
fine; press them into a clean pan, and keep them in a very cool place.
Form them, when wanted for table, into cakes something less than an inch
thick; and flour and fry them then for about ten minutes in a little
butter, or roast them in a Dutch or American oven.
Lean of veal and pork, of each 1 lb. 4 oz.; fat of pork, 1 lb. 4 oz.,
salt, 1-1/4 oz.; pepper, 1/2 oz.; nutmeg, 1; mace, 1 _large_
teaspoonful, fried in cakes, 10 minutes.
POUNDED SAUSAGE-MEAT.
(_Very good._)
Take from the best end of a neck of veal, or from the fillet or loin, a
couple or more pounds of flesh without any intermixture of fat or skin;
chop it small, and pound it thoroughly in a large mortar, with half its
weight of the inside, or leaf-fat, of a pig; proportion salt and spice
to it by the preceding receipt, form it into cakes, and fry it as above.
BOILED SAUSAGES. (ENTRÉE.)
In Lincolnshire, sausages are frequently boiled in the skins, and served
upon a toast, as a corner dish. They should be put into boiling water,
and simmered from seven to ten minutes, according to their size.
SAUSAGES AND CHESTNUTS. (ENTRÉE.)
_An excellent dish._ (_French._)
Roast, and take the husk and skin from forty fine Spanish chestnuts; fry
gently, in a morsel of butter, six small flat oval cakes of fine
sausage-meat, and when they are well browned, lift them out and pour
into a saucepan, which should be bright in the inside, the greater part
of the fat in which they have been fried; mix with it a large
teaspoonful of flour, and stir these over the fire till they are well
and equally browned; then pour in by degrees nearly half a pint of
strong beef or veal broth, or gravy, and two glasses of good white wine;
add a _small_ bunch of savoury herbs, and as much salt and pepper, or
cayenne, as will season the whole properly; give it a boil, lay in the
sausages round the pan, and the chestnuts in the centre; stew them
_very_ softly for nearly an hour; take out the herbs, dish the sausages
neatly, and heap the chestnuts in the centre, strain the sauce over them
and serve them very hot. There should be no sage mixed with the pork to
dress thus.
Chestnuts roasted, 40; sausages, 6; gravy, nearly 1/2 pint; sherry or
Madeira, 2 wineglassesful: stewed together from 50 to 60 minutes.
TRUFFLED SAUSAGES.
(_Saucisses aux Truffes._)
With two pounds of the lean of young tender pork, mix one pound of fat,
a quarter of a pound of truffles, minced very small, an ounce and a half
of salt, a seasoning of cayenne, or quite half an ounce of white pepper,
a nutmeg, a teaspoonful of freshly pounded mace, and a dessertspoonful
or more of savoury herbs dried and reduced to powder. Test a morsel of
the mixture; heighten any of the seasonings to the taste; and put the
meat into delicately clean skins: if it be for immediate use, and the
addition is liked, moisten it, before it is dressed, with one or two
glassesful of Madeira. The substitution of a clove of garlic for the
truffles, will convert these into _Saucisses a l’ Ail_, or garlic
sausages.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XIV.
=Poultry.=
[Illustration]
TO CHOOSE POULTRY.
YOUNG, plump, well-fed, but not over-fatted poultry is the best. The
skin of fowls and turkeys should be clear, white, and finely grained,
the breasts broad and full-fleshed, the legs smooth, the toes pliable
and easily broken when bent back; the birds should also be heavy in
proportion to their size. This applies equally to geese and ducks, of
which the breasts likewise should be very plump, and the feet yellow and
flexible: when these are red and hard, the bills of the same colour, and
the skin full of hairs, and extremely coarse, the birds are old.
White-legged fowls and chickens should be chosen for boiling, because
their appearance is the most delicate when dressed; but the dark-legged
ones often prove more juicy and of better flavour when roasted, and
their colour then is immaterial.
Every precaution should be taken to prevent poultry from becoming ever
so slightly tainted before it is cooked, but unless the weather be
exceedingly sultry, it should not be quite freshly killed; pigeons only
are the better for being so, and are thought to lose their flavour by
hanging even a day or two. Turkeys, as we have stated in our receipts
for them, are very tough and poor eating if not sufficiently long kept.
A goose, also, in winter, should hang some days before it is dressed,
and fowls, likewise, will be improved by it.
All kinds of poultry should be _thoroughly cooked_, though without being
overdone, for nothing in general can more effectually destroy the
appetite than the taste and appearance of their flesh when brought to
table half roasted or boiled.
TO BONE A FOWL OR TURKEY WITHOUT OPENING IT.
After the fowl has been drawn and singed, wipe it inside and out with a
clean cloth, but do not wash it. Take off the head, cut through the skin
all round the first joint of the legs, and pull them from the fowl, to
draw out the large tendons. Raise the flesh first from the lower part of
the back-bone, and a little also from the end of the breast-bone, if
necessary; work the knife gradually to the socket of the thigh; with the
point of the knife detach the joint from it, take the end of the bone
firmly in the fingers, and cut the flesh clean from it down to the next
joint, round which pass the point of the knife carefully, and when the
skin is loosened from it in every part, cut round the next bone, keeping
the edge of the knife close to it, until the whole of the leg is done.
Remove the bones of the other leg in the same manner; then detach the
flesh from the back and breast-bone sufficiently to enable you to reach
the upper joints of the wings; proceed with these as with the legs, but
be especially careful not to pierce the skin of the second joint; it is
usual to leave the pinions unboned, in order to give more easily its
natural form to the fowl when it is dressed. The merrythought and
neck-bones may now easily be cut away, the back and side-bones taken out
without being divided, and the breast-bone separated carefully from the
flesh (which, as the work progresses, must be turned back from the bones
upon the fowl, until it is completely inside out). After the one
remaining bone is removed, draw the wings and legs back to their proper
form, and turn the fowl right side outwards.
A turkey is boned exactly in the same manner, but as it requires a very
large proportion of forcemeat to fill it entirely, the legs and wings
are sometimes drawn into the body, to diminish the expense of this. If
very securely trussed, and sewn, the bird may be either boiled, or
stewed in rich gravy, as well as roasted, after being boned and forced;
but it must be most gently cooled, or it may burst.
ANOTHER MODE OF BONING A FOWL OR TURKEY.
Cut through the skin down the centre of the back, and raise the flesh
carefully on either side with the point of a sharp knife, until the
sockets of the wings and thighs are reached. Till a little practice has
been gained, it will perhaps be better to bone these joints before
proceeding further; but after they are once detached from it, the whole
of the body may easily be separated from the flesh and taken out entire:
only the neck-bones and merrythought will then remain to be removed. The
bird thus prepared may either be restored to its original form, by
filling the legs and wings with forcemeat, and the body with the livers
of two or three fowls mixed with alternate layers of parboiled tongue
freed from the rind, fine sausage meat, or veal forcemeat, or thin
slices of the nicest bacon, or aught else of good flavour, which will
give a marbled appearance to the fowl when it is carved; and then be
sewn up and trussed as usual; or the legs and wings may be drawn inside
the body, and the bird being first flattened on a table may be covered
with sausage meat, and the various other ingredients we have named, so
placed that it shall be of equal thickness in every part; then tightly
rolled, bound firmly together with a fillet of broad tape, wrapped in a
thin pudding-cloth, closely tied at both ends, and dressed as
follows:—Put it into a braising-pan, stewpan, or thick iron saucepan,
bright in the inside, and fitted as nearly as may be to its size; add
all the chicken bones, a bunch of sweet herbs, two carrots, two
bay-leaves, a large blade of mace, twenty-four white peppercorns, and
any trimmings or bones of undressed veal which may be at hand; cover the
whole with good veal-broth, add salt, if needed, and stew it very
softly, from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half; let it cool in
the liquor in which it was stewed; and after it is lifted out, boil down
the gravy to a jelly and strain it; let it become cold, clear off the
fat, and serve it cut into large dice or roughed, and laid round the
fowl, which is to be served cold. If restored to its form, instead of
being rolled, it must be stewed gently for an hour, and may then be sent
to table hot, covered with mushroom, or any other good sauce that may be
preferred; or it may be left until the following day, and served
garnished with the jelly, which should be firm, and very clear and
well-flavoured; the liquor in which a calf’s foot has been boiled down,
added to the broth, will give it the necessary degree of consistence.
French cooks add three or four onions to these preparations of poultry
(the last of which is called a _galantine_); but these our own taste
would lead us to reject.
Rolled, 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour, galantine, 1 hour.
_Obs._—A couple of fowls, boned and rolled, make an excellent pie.
TO BONE FOWLS FOR FRICASSEES, CURRIES, AND PIES.
First carve them entirely into joints, then remove the bones, beginning
with the legs and wings, at the head of the largest bone; hold this with
the fingers, and work the knife as directed in the receipt above. The
remainder of the birds is too easily done to require any instructions.
TO ROAST A TURKEY.
[Illustration:
Turkey for roasting.
]
In very cold weather a turkey in its feathers will hang (in an airy
larder) quite a fortnight with advantage; and, however fine a quality of
bird it may be, unless sufficiently long kept, it will prove not worth
the dressing, though it should always be _perfectly sweet_ when prepared
for table. Pluck, draw, and singe it with exceeding care; wash, and then
dry it thoroughly with clean cloths, or merely wipe the outside well,
without wetting it, and pour water plentifully through the inside. Fill
the breast with forcemeat (No. 1, Chapter VIII.), or with the finest
sausage meat, highly seasoned with minced herbs, lemon-rind, mace, and
cayenne. Truss the bird firmly, lay it to a clear sound fire, baste it
constantly and bountifully with butter, and serve it when done with good
brown gravy, and well-made bread sauce. An entire chain of delicate
fried sausages is still often placed in the dish, round a turkey, as a
garnish.
It is usual to fold and fasten a sheet of buttered writing paper over
the breast to prevent its being too much coloured: this should be
removed twenty minutes before the bird is done. The forcemeat of
chestnuts (No. 15, Chapter VIII.) may be very advantageously substituted
for the commoner kinds in stuffing it, and the body may then be filled
with chestnuts, previously stewed until tender in rich gravy, or
simmered over a slow fire in plenty of rasped bacon, with a high
seasoning of mace, nutmeg, and cayenne, until they are so; or, instead
of this, well-made chestnut sauce, or a dish of stewed chestnuts, may be
sent to table with the turkey.
_Obs. 1._—Baron Liebig’s improved method of roasting will be found at p.
171, and can be followed always instead of the directions given here.
1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours.
_Obs. 2._—A turkey should be laid at first far from the fire, and drawn
nearer when half done, though never sufficiently so to scorch it; it
should be _well_ roasted, for even the most inveterate advocates of
underdressed meat will seldom tolerate the taste or _sight_ of
partially-raw poultry
TO BOIL A TURKEY.
[Illustration:
Turkey for boiling.
]
A delicate but plump hen-turkey of moderate size should be selected for
boiling. Free the skin most carefully from all the stumps, and draw the
bird, using the greatest precaution not to break the gall bladder; singe
it with writing paper, take off the head and neck, cut through the skin
round the first joint of the legs, and draw them off: this is best
accomplished by fastening the feet to a strong hook, and then pulling
the bird away from it. Wash it exceedingly clean, and then wipe it dry,
fill the breast with the forcemeat No. 1 or 2 of Chapter VIII., or with
the oyster, chestnut, or French forcemeat, of which the receipts are
given in the same chapter. In trussing it draw the legs into the body,
break the breast-bone, and give the turkey as round and plump an
appearance as can be. Put it into plenty of _warm_ water, or into as
much boiling water as will rise about an inch over it, and when it has
quite boiled for ten minutes, cool it down by the addition of cold
water, and then take out a portion of it, leaving only as much as will
keep the bird thoroughly covered until it is ready for table.[87] Clear
off the scum with the greatest care as it is thrown to the surface, and
boil the bird _very gently_ from an hour and a half to two hours and a
quarter. A very large turkey would require a longer time, but it is
unsuited to this mode of cooking. When the oyster-forcemeat is used, a
large tureen of rich oyster sauce should accompany the dish; but celery
sauce, or good white sauce, may otherwise be sent to table with it; and
a boiled tongue or a small ham is usually served in addition. For a
plain family dinner, a delicate cheek of bacon is sometimes substituted
for either of these, and parsley and butter for a more expensive sauce.
_Fast boiling_ will cause the skin of the bird to break, and must
therefore be especially avoided: it should hang for some days before it
is dressed, for if quite freshly killed it will not be tender, but it
must be _perfectly_ sweet to be fit for table. Truss the turkey by the
directions of introductory chapter on trussing.
Footnote 87:
As we have elsewhere stated, all meat and fish are injured by being
cooked in a much larger quantity of water than is absolutely required
for them.
Moderate-sized turkey, 1-1/2 to 2 hours; large turkey, longer; very
small one, less time.
TURKEY BONED AND FORCED.
(_An excellent dish._)
[Illustration:
Cradle Spit.
]
Take a small, well-kept, but quite sweet hen-turkey, of from seven to
eight pounds weight, and remove, by the receipt for a fowl (page 265),
all the bones except those of the pinions, without opening the bird;
draw it into shape, and fill it entirely with exceedingly fine sausage
meat, beginning with the legs and wings; plump the breast well in
preparing it, and when its original form is quite restored, tie it
securely at both ends, and at the extremities of the legs; pass a slight
iron skewer through these and the body, and another through the wings
and body; then lay a twine over the back of the turkey, and pass it
under the ends of the first skewer, cross it in the centre of the back,
and pass it under the ends of the second skewer; then carry it over the
pinions to keep them firmly in their place, and fasten it at the neck.
When a cradle spit, of which the engraving below shows the form, and
which opens with a joint to receive the roast, is not at hand, a bottle
jack will be found more convenient than any other for holding the
turkey; and after the hook of this is passed through the neck, it must
be further supported by a string running across the back and under the
points of the skewer which confines the pinions to the hook; for,
otherwise, its weight would most probably cause it to fall. Flour it
well, place it far from the fire until it is heated through, and baste
it plentifully and incessantly with butter. An hour and three quarters
will roast it well. Break and boil down the bones for gravy in a pint
and a half of water, or good veal broth, with a little salt, a few
slices of celery, a dozen corns of pepper, and a branch or two of
parsley. Brown gently in a morsel of fresh butter, a couple of ounces of
lean ham, add to them a slight dredging of flour, and a little cayenne,
and pour to them the broth from the bones, after it has boiled for an
hour, and been strained and skimmed; shake the stewpan well round, and
stew the gravy until it is wanted for table; clear it entirely from fat,
strain, and serve it very hot. An eschalot or half an onion may be
browned with the ham when either is liked, but their flavour is not, we
think, appropriate to poultry.
The turkey may be partially filled with the forcemeat No. 1 or 3 of
Chapter VIII., and the sausage-meat may then be placed on either side of
it.
Hen turkey between 7 and 8 lbs. weight, boned, filled with sausage-meat,
3 to 4 lbs.; or with forcemeat No. 1, or with No. 3, Chapter VI., 1 lb.
(that is to say, 1 lb. of bread-crumbs, and the other ingredients in
proportion.) Sausage-meat, 2 to 3 lbs. roasted 1-3/4 hour.
_Obs._—When a common spit is used for the turkey, it must be fastened
_to_, and not put _upon_ it.
Bread sauce can be served with the bird, or not, at pleasure.
It will be found an improvement to moisten the sausage-meat with two or
three spoonsful of water: it should be finely minced, well spiced, and
mixed with herbs, when the common forcemeat is not used in addition. In
preparing it a pound and a quarter of fat should be mixed with each
pound of the lean.
To give the turkey a very good appearance, the breast may be larded by
the directions of page 181.
TURKEY À LA FLAMANDE, OR, DINDE POUDRÉE.
Prepare as for boiling a fine well-kept hen turkey; wipe the inside
thoroughly with a dry cloth, but do not wash it; throw in a little salt
to draw out the blood, let it remain a couple of hours or more, then
drain and wipe it again; next, rub the outside in every part with about
four ounces of fine dry salt, mixed with a large tablespoonful of
pounded sugar; rub the turkey well with these, and turn it every day for
four days; then fill it entirely with equal parts of choice
sausage-meat, and of the crumb of bread soaked in boiling milk or cream,
and wrung dry in a cloth; season these with the grated rind of a large
lemon and nutmeg, mace, cayenne, and fine herbs, in the same proportion
as for veal forcemeat (No. 1, Chapter VIII). Sew the turkey up very
securely, and when trussed, roll it in a cloth, tie it closely at both
ends, put it into boiling water, and boil it very gently between three
and four hours. When taken up, sprinkle it thickly with fine crumbs of
bread, mixed with plenty of parsley, shred extremely small. Serve it
cold, with a sauce made of the strained juice and grated rind of two
lemons, a teaspoonful of made mustard, and one of pounded sugar, with as
much oil as will prevent its being more than pleasantly acid, and a
little salt, if needed; work these together until perfectly mixed, and
send them to table in a tureen.
This receipt was given to us abroad, by a Flemish lady, who had had the
dish often served with great success in Paris. We have inserted it on
her authority, not on our own experience; but we think it may be quite
depended on.
TO ROAST A TURKEY POULT.
[The turkey-poult is in season whenever it is of sufficient size to
serve. In the earlier spring months it is very high in price, but in
summer, and as the autumn advances, may be had at a more reasonable
cost. The great demand for turkeys in England towards Christmas, and the
care which they require in being reared, causes them to be brought much
less abundantly into the markets when young, than they are in foreign
countries; in many of which they are very plentiful and very cheap.]
A turkey-poult or half grown turkey, makes a delicate roast, which some
persons much prefer to the full-grown bird. It is served with the head
on, but is generally in other respects trussed like a capon or a large
fowl, except for fashionable tables, for which it is sometimes arranged
with the legs twisted back at the first joint, and the feet brought
close to the thighs in the same manner as those of a woodcock. It should
be well basted with good butter, and will require from an hour to an
hour and a quarter’s roasting. If for the second course, it may be
dished on water-cresses: pour a little gravy round it in the dish, and
send more to table with it in a tureen.
TO ROAST A GOOSE.
[In best season from September to March.]
[Illustration:
Goose for roasting.
]
After it has been plucked and singed with care, put into the body of the
goose two parboiled onions of moderate size finely chopped, and mixed
with half an ounce of minced sage-leaves, a saltspoonful of salt, and
half as much black pepper, or a proportionate quantity of cayenne; to
these add a small slice of fresh butter. Truss the goose, and after it
is on the spit, tie it firmly at both ends that it may turn steadily,
and that the seasoning may not escape; roast it at a brisk fire, and
keep it constantly basted. Serve it with brown gravy, and apple or
tomata sauce. When the taste is in favour of a stronger seasoning than
the above, which occurs we apprehend but seldom, use raw onions for it
and increase the quantity: but should one still milder be preferred, mix
a handful of fine bread-crumbs with the other ingredients, or two or
three minced apples. The body of a goose is sometimes filled entirely
with mashed potatoes, which, for this purpose, ought to be boiled very
dry, and well blended with two or three ounces of butter, or with some
_thick cream_, some salt, and white pepper or cayenne: to these minced
sage and parboiled onions can also be added at pleasure. A teaspoonful
of made-mustard, half as much of salt, and a small portion of cayenne,
smoothly mixed with a glass of port wine, are sometimes poured into the
goose just before it is served, through a cut made in the apron.
1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hour.
_Obs._—We extract, for the benefit of our readers, from a work in our
possession, the following passage, of which we have had no opportunity
of testing the correctness. “Geese, with sage and onions, may be
deprived of power to breathe forth any incense, thus: Pare from a lemon
all the yellow rind, taking care not to bruise the fruit nor to cut so
deeply as to let out the juice. Place this lemon in the centre of the
seasoning within the bird. When or before it is brought to table, let
the flap be gently opened, remove the lemon with a tablespoon; avoid
breaking, and let it instantly be thrown away, as its white pithy skin
will have absorbed all the gross particles which else would have
escaped.”
TO ROAST A GREEN GOOSE.
Season the inside with a little pepper and salt, and roast the goose at
a brisk fire from forty to fifty minutes. Serve it with good brown gravy
only. To this sorrel-sauce is sometimes added at not very modern English
tables, Green geese are never stuffed.
TO ROAST A FOWL.
[Fowls are always in season when they can be procured sufficiently young
to be tender. About February they become dear and scarce; and small
spring chickens are generally very expensive. As summer advances they
decline in price.]
[Illustration:
Fowl for roasting.
]
Strip off the feathers, and carefully pick every stump from the skin, as
nothing can be more uninviting than the appearance of any kind of
poultry where this has been neglected, nor more indicative of
slovenliness on the part of the cook. Take off the head and neck close
to the body, but leave sufficient of the skin to tie over the part that
is cut. In drawing the bird, do not open it more than is needful, and
use great precaution to avoid breaking the gall-bladder. Hold the legs
in boiling water for two or three minutes that the skin may be peeled
from them easily; cut the claws, and then, with a bit of lighted
writing-paper, singe off the hairs without blackening the fowl. Wash,
and wipe it afterwards very dry, and let the liver and gizzard be made
delicately clean, and fastened into the pinions. Truss and spit it
firmly; flour it well when first laid to the fire, baste it frequently
with butter, and when it is done draw out the skewers, dish it, pour a
little good gravy over, and send it to table with bread, mushroom, egg,
chestnut, or olive sauce. A common mode of serving roast fowls in France
is _aux cressons_, that is, laid upon young water-cresses,[88] which
have previously been freed from the outer leaves, thoroughly washed,
shaken dry in a clean cloth, and sprinkled with a little fine salt, and
sometimes with a small quantity of vinegar: these should cover the dish,
and after the fowls are placed on them, gravy should be poured over as
usual.
Footnote 88:
This is done with many other roasts which are served in the second
course but the _vinegar_ is seldom added in this country.
The body of a fowl may be filled with very small mushrooms prepared as
for partridges (see partridges with mushrooms), then sewn up, roasted,
and served with mushroom-sauce: this is an excellent mode of dressing
it. A little rasped bacon, or a bit or two of the lean of beef or veal
minced, or cut into dice, may be put inside the bird when either is
considered an improvement; but its own liver, or that of another fowl,
will be found to impart a much finer flavour than any of these last; and
so likewise will a teaspoonful of _really good_ mushroom-powder smoothly
mixed with a slice of good butter, and a seasoning of fine salt and
cayenne.[89]
Footnote 89:
We cannot much recommend these _mere superfluities_ of the table.
Full-sized fowl, 1 hour: young chicken, 25 to 35 minutes.
_Obs._—As we have already observed in our general remarks on roasting,
the time must be regulated by various circumstances which we named, and
which the cook should always take into consideration. A buttered paper
should be fastened over the breast, and removed about fifteen minutes
before the fowl is served: this will prevent its taking too much colour.
ROAST FOWL.
(_A French Receipt._)
Fill the breast of a fine fowl with good forcemeat, roast it as usual,
and when it is very nearly ready to serve take it from the fire, pour
lukewarm butter over it in every part, and strew it thickly with very
fine bread-crumbs; sprinkle these again with butter, and dip the fowl
into more crumbs. Put it down to the fire, and when it is of a clear,
light brown all over, take it carefully from the spit, dish, and serve
it with lemon-sauce, and with gravy thickened and mixed with plenty of
minced parsley, or with brown gravy and any other sauce usually served
with fowls. Savoury herbs shred small, spice, and lemon-grate, may be
mixed with the crumbs at pleasure. Do not pour gravy over the fowl when
it is thus prepared.
TO ROAST A GUINEA FOWL.
Let the bird hang for as many days as the weather will allow; then
stuff, truss, roast, and serve it like a turkey, or leave the head on
and lard the breast. Send gravy and bread-sauce to table with it in
either case: it will be found excellent eating.
3/4 to 1 hour.
FOWL À LA CARLSFORS. (ENTRÉE.)
Bone a fowl without opening the back, and restore it to its original
form by filling the vacant spaces in the legs and wings with forcemeat;
put a roll of it also into the body, and a large sausage freed from the
skin on either side; tie it very securely at both ends, truss it with
fine skewers, and roast it for a full hour, keeping it basted
plentifully with butter. When appearance is not regarded, the pinions
may be taken off, and the legs and wings drawn inside the fowl, which
will then require a much smaller proportion of forcemeat:—that directed
for veal will answer quite well in a general way, but for a dinner of
ceremony, No. 17 or 18 of the same Chapter, should be used in
preference. The fowl must be _tied_ securely to the spit, not put upon
it. Boned chickens are excellent when entirely filled with well-made
mushroom forcemeat, or very delicate and nicely seasoned sausage-meat,
and either roasted or stewed. Brown gravy, or mushroom sauce should then
be sent to table with them.
BOILED FOWLS.
[Illustration:
Fowl for boiling.
]
White-legged poultry should always be selected for boiling as it is of
better colour when dressed than any other. Truss the fowls firmly and
neatly, with the legs drawn into the bodies, and the wings twisted over
the backs; let them be well covered with water, which should be hot, but
not boiling when they are put in. A full-sized fowl will require about
three quarters of an hour from the time of its beginning to simmer; but
young chickens not more than from twenty to twenty-five minutes: they
should be _very gently_ boiled, and the scum should be removed with
great care as it gathers on the surface of the water. Either of the
following sauces may be sent to table with them: parsley and butter,
_béchamel_, English white sauce, oyster, celery, or white-mushroom
sauce. The fowls are often dished with small tufts of delicately boiled
cauliflower placed round them; or with young vegetable marrow scarcely
larger than an egg, merely pared and halved after it is dressed: white
sauce must be served with both of these. The livers and gizzards are
not, at the present day, ever served in the wings of boiled fowls. The
livers may be simmered for four or five minutes, then pressed to a
smooth paste with a wooden spoon, and mixed very gradually with the
sauce, which should not boil after they are added.
Full-sized fowl, 3/4 hour: young chickens, 20 to 25 minutes.
_Obs._—Rather less than half a gallon of cold added to an equal quantity
of boiling water, will bring it to the proper degree of heat for putting
in the fowls, or the same directions may be observed for them as those
given for a boiled turkey. For richer modes of boiling poultry, see
_Blanc_ and _Poêlée_, Chapter IX.
TO BROIL A CHICKEN OR FOWL.
Either of these, when merely split and broiled, is very dry and
unsavoury eating; but will be greatly improved if first boiled gently
from five to ten minutes and left to become cold, then divided, dipped
into egg and well seasoned bread-crumbs, plentifully sprinkled with
clarified butter, dipped again into the crumbs, and broiled over a clear
and gentle fire from half to three quarters of an hour. It should be
served very hot, with mushroom-sauce or with a little good plain gravy,
which may be thickened and flavoured with a teaspoonful of
mushroom-powder mixed with half as much flour and a little butter; or
with some _Espagnole_. It should be opened at the back, and evenly
divided quite through; the legs should be trussed like those of a boiled
fowl; the breast-bone, or hat of the back may be removed at pleasure,
and both sides of the bird should be made as flat as they can be that
the fire may penetrate every part equally: the inside should be first
laid towards it. The neck, feet and gizzard may be boiled down with a
small quantity of onion and carrot, previously browned in a morsel of
butter to make the gravy; and the liver, after having been simmered with
them for five or six minutes, may be used to thicken it after it is
strained. A teaspoonful of lemon-juice, some cayenne, and minced parsley
should be added to it, and a little arrow-root, or flour and butter.
1/2 to 3/4 hour.
FRICASSEED FOWLS OR CHICKENS. (ENTRÉE.)
To make a fricassee of good appearance without great expense, prepare,
with exceeding nicety, a couple of plump chickens, strip off the skin,
and carve them very neatly. Reserve the wings, breasts, merrythoughts,
and thighs; and stew down the inferior joints with a couple of blades of
mace, a small bunch of savoury herbs, a few white peppercorns, a pint
and a half of water, and a small half-teaspoonful of salt. When
something more than a third part reduced, strain the gravy, let it cool,
and skim off every particle of fat. Arrange the joints which are to be
fricasseed in one layer if it can be done conveniently, and pour to them
as much of the gravy as will nearly cover them; add the very thin rind
of half a fine fresh lemon, and simmer the fowls gently from half to
three quarters of an hour; throw in sufficient salt, pounded mace, and
cayenne, to give the sauce a good flavour, thicken it with a large
teaspoonful of arrow-root, and stir to it the third of a pint of rich
boiling cream; then lift the stewpan from the fire, and shake it briskly
round while the beaten yolks of three fresh eggs, mixed with a spoonful
or two of cream, are added; continue to shake the pan gently above the
fire till the sauce is just set, but it must not be allowed to boil, or
it will curdle in an instant.
1/2 to 3/4 hour.
ENGLISH CHICKEN CUTLETS. (ENTRÉE).
Skin and cut into joints one or two young chickens, and remove the bones
with care from the breasts, merrythoughts, and thighs, which are to be
separated from the legs. Mix well together a teaspoonful of salt, nearly
a fourth as much of mace, a little grated nutmeg, and some cayenne;
flatten and form into good shape, the boned joints of chicken, and the
flesh of the wings; rub a little of the seasoning over them in every
part, dip them into beaten egg, and then into very fine bread-crumbs,
and fry them gently in fresh butter until they are of a delicate brown.
Some of the bones and trimmings may be boiled down in half a pint of
water, with a roll of lemon-peel, a little salt, and eight or ten white
peppercorns, to make the gravy which, after being strained and cleared
from fat, may be poured hot to some thickening made in the pan with a
slice of fresh butter and a dessertspoonful of flour: a teaspoonful of
mushroom-powder would improve it greatly, and a small quantity of
lemon-juice should be added before it is poured out, with salt and
cayenne if required. Pile the cutlets high in the centre of the dish,
and serve the sauce under them, or in a tureen.
CUTLETS OF FOWLS, PARTRIDGES, OR PIGEONS. (ENTRÉE.)
(_French Receipt._)
Take closely off the flesh of the breast and wing together, on either
side of the bone, and when the _large fillets_, as they are called, are
thus raised from three birds, which will give but six cutlets, take the
strips of flesh that lie under the wings, and that of the merrythoughts,
and flatten two or three of these together, that there may be nine
cutlets at least, of equal size. When all are ready, fry to a pale brown
as many diamond-shaped sippets of bread as there are fillets of fowl,
and let them be quite as large; place these before the fire to dry, and
wipe out the pan. Dip the cutlets into some yolks of eggs, mixed with a
little clarified butter, and strew them in every part with the finest
bread-crumbs, moderately seasoned with salt, cayenne, and pounded mace.
Dissolve as much good butter as will be required to dress them, and fry
them in it of a light amber-colour: arrange them upon the sippets of
bread, pile them high in the dish, and pour a rich brown gravy or
_Espagnole_ round, but not _over_ them.
FRIED CHICKEN À LA MALABAR. (ENTRÉE.)
This is an Indian dish. Cut up the chicken, wipe it dry, and rub it well
with currie-powder mixed with a little salt; fry it in a bit of butter,
taking care that it is of a nice light brown. In the mean time cut two
or three onions into thin slices, draw them out into rings, and cut the
rings into little bits about half an inch long; fry them for a long time
gently in a little clarified butter, until they have gradually dried up
and are of a delicate yellow-brown. Be careful that they are not burnt,
as the burnt taste of a single bit would spoil the flavour of the whole.
When they are as dry as chips, without the least grease or moisture upon
them, mix a little salt with them, strew them over the fried chicken,
and serve up with lemon on a plate.
We have extracted this receipt from a clever little work called the
“Hand-Book of Cookery.”
HASHED FOWL. (ENTRÉE.)
After having taken off in joints, as much of a cold fowl or _fowls_ as
will suffice for a dish, bruise the bodies with a paste roller, pour to
them a pint of water, and boil them for an hour and a half to two hours,
with the addition of a little pepper and salt only, or with a small
quantity of onion, carrot, and savoury herbs. Strain, and skim the fat
from the gravy, put it into a clean saucepan, and, should it require
thickening, stir to it, when it boils, half a teaspoonful of flour
smoothly mixed with a small bit of butter; add a little mushroom catsup,
or other store-sauce, with a slight seasoning of mace or nutmeg. Lay in
the fowl, and keep it near the fire until it is heated quite through,
and is at the point of boiling: serve it with fried sippets round the
dish. For a hash of higher relish, add to the bones when they are first
stewed down a large onion minced and browned in butter, and before the
fowl is dished, add some cayenne and the juice of half a lemon.
FRENCH AND OTHER RECEIPTS FOR MINCED FOWL. (ENTRÉE.)