STEWED LAMB.--Take a fine quarter of lamb, and for a large dish, cut the
whole of it into steaks; for a small dish, cut up the loin only; or
slice only the leg. Remove the skin, and all the fat. Place at the
bottom of a large stew-pot a fresh lettuce split into long quarters.
Having seasoned the steaks with a little salt and cayenne, and some
powdered nutmeg and mace, lay them upon the lettuce, pour on just
sufficient water to cover the whole, and let it stew gently for an hour,
skimming it occasionally. Then put in a quart or two of young green
peas, (in proportion to the quantity of meat,) a sprig of fresh green
mint, a lump of loaf-sugar, and some bits of fresh butter. Let it cook
slowly about half an hour longer, or till the peas are all soft and
well-done. In sending it to table, place the meat upon the lettuce, and
the peas round it.
Cold ham sliced, and stewed in this manner, will be found excellent. The
ham having been already cooked, half an hour will be sufficient to stew
it with the lettuce, and another half-hour after the peas are in.
LAMB CUTLETS, (_a French dish_.)--Cut a loin of lamb into chops. Remove
all the fat, trim them nicely, scrape the bone, and see that it is the
same length in all the cutlets. Lay them in a deep dish, and cover them
with salad oil. Let them steep in the oil for an hour. Mix together a
sufficiency of finely grated bread-crumbs, and a little minced parsley,
seasoned with a very little pepper and salt, and some grated nutmeg.
Having drained the cutlets from the oil, cover them with the mixture,
and broil them over a bed of hot, live coals, on a previously heated
gridiron, the bars of which have been rubbed with chalk. The cutlets
must be thoroughly cooked. When half done, turn them carefully. You may
bake them in a dutch-oven, instead of broiling them. Have ready some
boiled potatoes, mashed smooth and stiff with cream or butter. Heap the
mashed potatoes high on a heated dish, and make it into the form of a
dome or bee-hive. Smooth it over with the back of a spoon, and place the
lamb cutlets all round it, so that they stand up and lean against it,
with the broad end of each cutlet downward. In the top of the dome of
potatoes, stick a handsome bunch of curled parsley.
FILLET OF MUTTON.--Cut a fillet or round from a leg of mutton; remove
all the fat from the outside, and take out the bone. Beat it well on all
sides with a meat-beetle or a rolling-pin, to make it more tender, and
rub it slightly all over with a very little pepper and salt. Have ready
a stuffing made of finely-minced onions, bread-crumbs, and butter;
seasoned with a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and well-mixed. Fill,
with some of this stuffing, the place of the bone. Make deep incisions
or cuts all over the surface of the meat, and fill them closely with the
same stuffing. Bind a tape round the meat to keep it in shape. Put it
into a stew-pan, with just water enough to cover it, and let it stew
slowly and steadily during four, five, or six hours, in proportion to
its size; skimming it frequently. When done, serve it up with its own
gravy.
Tomato sauce is an excellent accompaniment to stewed mutton.
A thick piece of a round of fresh beef will be found very good, stuffed
and stewed in the above manner. It will require much longer stewing than
the mutton.
STEWED MUTTON CUTLETS.--Having removed all the fat and the bone, beat
the cutlets to make them tender, and season them with pepper, salt, and
nutmeg. Put them into a circular tin kettle, with some bits of fresh
butter that have been rolled in flour. Set the kettle (closely covered)
upon a trivet inside of a flat-bottomed pot or stew-pan. Pour boiling
water all round, but not so as to come up to the top of the inner
kettle. Set the pot over a slow fire, and let the stew simmer for two
hours. Then lift up the meat, and put under it a lettuce cut in four;
and three cucumbers, pared, split, and quartered; two onions sliced; and
four young turnips cut small. Add a few blades of mace, a salt-spoon of
salt, and a little more butter rolled in flour. Set it again in boiling
water, taking care that the water does not reach the top of the inner
kettle, the lid of which must be kept very tight. Let it boil slowly, or
rather simmer, two hours longer. Then dish it, placing the meat upon the
vegetables, and laying all round a ridge of green peas that have been
boiled in the usual way.
The bone (nicely trimmed and scraped) may be left in each cutlet; in
which case, when dishing them, stand them up in a circle, with the ends
of the bones leaning against each other at the top, somewhat as we see
poles placed in circles for lima-bean vines.
VEAL LOAF.--Take a cold fillet of veal, and (omitting the fat and skin)
mince the meat as fine as possible. Mix with it a quarter of a pound of
the fattest part of a cold ham, also chopped small. Add a tea-cupful of
grated bread-crumbs; a grated nutmeg; half a dozen blades of mace
powdered; the grated yellow rind of a lemon; and two beaten eggs. Season
with a salt-spoon of salt, and half a salt-spoon of cayenne. Mix the
whole well together, and make it into the form of a loaf. Then glaze it
over with beaten yolk of egg; and strew the surface evenly, all over,
with bread raspings, or with pounded cracker. Set the dish into a
dutch-oven, and bake it half an hour, or till hot all through. Have
ready a gravy made of the trimmings of the veal, stewed in some of the
gravy that was left when the fillet was roasted the day before. When
sufficiently cooked, take out the meat, and thicken the gravy with
beaten yolk of egg, stirred in about three minutes before you take it
from the fire.
Send the veal loaf to table in a deep dish, with the gravy poured round
it.
Chicken loaf, or turkey loaf, may be made in this manner.
STEWED CALF’S HEAD.--Take a fine, large calf’s head; empty it; wash it
clean, and boil it till it is quite tender, in just water enough to
cover it. Then carefully take out the bones, without spoiling the
appearance of the head. Season it with a little salt and cayenne, and
a grated nutmeg. Pour over it the liquor in which it has been boiled,
adding a jill of vinegar, and two table-spoonfuls of capers, or of
green nasturtian-seeds, that have been pickled. Let it stew very
slowly for half an hour. Have ready some force-meat balls made of
minced veal-suet, grated bread-crumbs, grated lemon-peel, and shred
sweet-marjoram,--adding beaten yolk of egg to bind the other
ingredients together. Put in the force-meat balls, and stew it slowly
a quarter of an hour longer, adding some bits of butter rolled in
flour to enrich the gravy. Send it to table hot.
CORNED FILLET OF VEAL.--Take a large fillet of veal, and make deep
incisions or cuts all over it with a sharp knife, and insert a slip of
the fat into each, pressing it down well to keep it in. Mix a
table-spoonful of powdered saltpetre with half a pound of fine salt,
and rub the meat all over with it. Make a brine of salt and water strong
enough to swim an egg on its surface, adding a lump of saltpetre about
the size of a walnut. Put the veal into the brine, (of which there must
be enough to more than cover it,) and let it remain ten days; turning it
every day. Then take it out, wash off the brine, and boil the veal till
thoroughly done and tender all through. It is best to eat it cold, and
sliced thin.
FRENCH WAY OF DRESSING A SHOULDER OF VEAL.--Cut the veal into nice
square pieces or mouthfuls, and parboil them. Put the bone and trimmings
into another pot, and stew them slowly a long time, in a very little
water, to make the gravy. Then put the meat into the dish in which it is
to go to table, and season it with a very little salt and cayenne
pepper, the yellow rind of a large lemon grated, and some powdered mace
and nutmeg. Add some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour, or some cold
dripping of roast veal. Strain the gravy and pour it in. Set it in a hot
dutch-oven, and bake it brown. When nearly done, add two glasses of
white wine, and serve it up hot.
Any piece of veal may be cooked in this way.
EXCELLENT MINCED VEAL.--Take three or four pounds of the lean only of a
fillet or loin of veal, and mince it very finely, adding a slice or two
of cold ham, minced also. Add three or four small young onions, chopped
small, a tea-spoonful of sweet-marjoram leaves rubbed from the stalks,
the yellow rind of a small lemon grated, and a tea-spoonful of mixed
mace and nutmeg powdered. Mix all well together, and dredge it with a
little flour. Put it into a stew-pan, with sufficient gravy of cold
roast veal to moisten it, and a large table-spoonful or more of fresh
butter. Stir it well, and let it stew till thoroughly done. If the veal
has been previously cooked, a quarter of an hour will be sufficient. It
will be much improved by adding a pint or more of small button
mushrooms, cut from the stems, and then put in whole. Also, by stirring
in two table-spoonfuls of cream about five minutes before it is taken
from the fire.
MINCED TURKEY OR CHICKEN.--Take a cold turkey, or one or two cold fowls;
remove all the skin, and cut the flesh from the bones. Then mince it
fine, with two or three thin slices of cold smoked tongue, and from half
a pint to a pint of button mushrooms well chopped. Add some mace and
nutmeg, and put the whole into a stew-pan, with a piece of fresh butter
rolled in flour, and sufficient cream to moisten it well. Let it stew
ten minutes. Then serve it up in a deep dish.
Instead of mushrooms, you may mix two or three dozen oysters, chopped,
and seasoned with pepper and powdered mace.
VEAL WITH OYSTERS.--Take two fine cutlets of about a pound each. Divide
them into several pieces, cut thin. Put them into a frying-pan, with
boiling lard, and let them fry awhile. When the veal is about half done,
add to it a quart of large, fine oysters,--their liquor thickened with a
few grated bread-crumbs, and seasoned with mace and nutmeg powdered.
Continue the frying till the veal and oysters are thoroughly done. Send
it to table in a covered dish.
TERRAPIN VEAL.--Take some cold roast veal (the fillet or the loin) and
cut it into _very small_ mouthfuls. Put into a skillet or stew-pan. Have
ready a dressing made of six or seven hard-boiled eggs minced fine; a
small tea-spoonful of made mustard; a salt-spoonful of salt; and the
same of cayenne pepper; a large tea-cupfull (half a pint) of cream, and
two glasses of sherry or Madeira wine. The dressing must be thoroughly
mixed. Pour it over the veal, and then give the whole a hard stir. Cover
it, and let it stew over the fire for ten minutes. Then transfer it to a
deep dish, and send it to table hot.
Cold roast duck or fowl may be drest as above. Also venison.
VEAL OLIVES.--Take some cold fillet of veal and cold ham, and cut them
into thin square slices of the same size and shape, trimming the edges
evenly. Lay a slice of veal on every slice of ham, and spread some
beaten yolk of egg over the veal. Have ready a thin force-meat, made of
grated bread-crumbs, sweet-marjoram rubbed fine, fresh butter, and
grated lemon-peel, seasoned with nutmeg and a little cayenne pepper.
Spread this over the veal, and then roll up each slice tightly with the
ham. Tie them round securely with coarse thread or fine twine; run a
bird-spit through them, and roast them well. For sauce, simmer in a
small sauce-pan, some cold veal gravy with two spoonfuls of cream, and
some mushroom catchup.
VEAL RISSOLES.--Take as much fine wheat bread as will weigh one pound,
after all the crust is cut off. Slice it; put it into a pan and pour
over it as much rich milk as will soak it thoroughly. After it has
soaked a quarter of an hour, lay it in a sieve and press it dry. Mince
as finely as possible a pound of veal cutlet with six ounces of veal
suet; then mix in gradually the bread; adding a salt-spoonful of salt, a
slight sprinkling of cayenne, and a small tea-spoonful of powdered mace
and nutmeg mixed; also the yellow rind of a lemon grated. Beat two eggs,
and moisten the mixture with them. Then divide it into equal portions,
and with a little flour on your hands roll it into oval balls rather
smaller than an egg. Strew over them some dry bread-crumbs; then fry
them in lard or fresh butter--drain them well, and send them to table
hot. For gravy (which should be commenced before the rissoles) put some
bits and trimmings of veal into a small sauce-pan, with as much water as
will cover them; a very little pepper and salt; and three or four blades
of mace. Cover the sauce-pan closely, and let the meat stew till all the
strength is extracted; skimming it well. Then strain it; return the
liquid to the sauce-pan; add a bit of butter rolled in flour; and
squeeze in the juice of a lemon. Give it a boil up; and then, at the
last, stir in the beaten yolk of an egg. Serve up this gravy in a
sauce-boat, to eat with the rissoles.
Instead of stewing meat for the purpose you may make this gravy with the
drippings of roast veal saved from the day before. You have then only to
melt it over the fire; adding the seasoning; and giving it one boil.
Similar rissoles may be made of minced chicken or turkey.
SWEETBREAD CROQUETTES.--Having trimmed some sweetbreads nicely, and
removed the gristle, parboil them, and then mince them very fine. Add
grated bread, and season with a _very little_ salt and pepper; some
powdered mace and nutmeg; and some grated lemon-rind. Moisten the whole
with cream, and make them up into small cones or sugar-loaves; forming
and smoothing them nicely. Have ready some beaten egg, mixed with grated
bread-crumbs. Dip into it each croquette, and fry them slowly in fresh
butter. Serve them hot; standing up on the dish, and with a sprig of
parsley in the top of each.
Sweetbreads should never be used unless perfectly fresh. They spoil very
rapidly. As soon as they are brought from market they should be split
open, and laid in cold water. Never attempt to keep sweetbreads till
next day, except in cold weather.
Similar croquettes may be made of cold boiled chicken; or cold roast
veal; or of oysters, minced raw, and seasoned and mixed as above.
FRICASSEED SWEETBREADS.--Take half a dozen sweetbreads; clean them
thoroughly, and lay them for an hour or two in a pan of water, having
first removed the strings and gristle. Then put them into a stew-pan
with as much rich milk or cream as will cover them well, and a very
little salt. Stew them slowly, till tender throughout, and thoroughly
done, saving the liquid. Then take them up; cover them; and set them
near the fire to keep warm. Prepare a quarter of a pound of fresh
butter, divided into four pieces, and rolled in flour. Put the butter
into the milk in which the sweetbreads were boiled, and add a few sprigs
of parsley cut small; five or six blades of mace; half a nutmeg grated;
and a very little cayenne pepper. Have ready the yolks of three eggs
well-beaten. Return the sweetbreads to the gravy; let it just come to a
boil; and then stir in the beaten egg _immediately before_ you take the
fricassee from the fire, otherwise it will curdle. Serve it up in a deep
dish with a cover.
Chickens, cut up, may be fricasseed in this manner.
TOMATO SWEETBREADS.--Cut up a quarter of a peck (or more) of fine ripe
tomatoes; set them over the fire, and let them stew with nothing but
their own juice till they go entirely to pieces. Then press them through
a sieve, to clear the liquid from the seeds and skins. Have ready four
or five sweetbreads that have been trimmed nicely, cleared from the
gristle, and laid open to soak in warm water. Put them into a stew-pan
with the tomato-juice, seasoned with a little salt and cayenne. Add two
or three table-spoonfuls of butter rolled in flour. Set the sauce-pan
over the fire, and stew the sweetbreads in the tomato-juice till they
are thoroughly done. A few minutes before you take them off, stir in two
beaten yolks of eggs. Serve up the sweetbreads in a deep dish, with the
tomato poured over them.
SWEETBREADS AND CAULIFLOWERS.--Take four large sweetbreads, and two fine
cauliflowers. Split open the sweetbreads and remove the gristle. Soak
them awhile in lukewarm water. Then put them into a sauce-pan of boiling
water, and let them boil ten minutes over the fire. Afterwards, lay them
in a pan of very cold water. The parboiling will render them white; and
putting them directly from the hot water into the cold will give them
firmness. Having washed and drained the cauliflowers, quarter them, and
lay them in a broad stew-pan with the sweetbreads upon them, seasoned
with a very little cayenne, two or three blades of mace, and some
nutmeg. Add as much water as will cover them; put on closely the lid of
the pan; and let the whole stew for about an hour. Then take a quarter
of a pound of fresh butter, and roll it in a table-spoonful of flour.
Add it to the stew with a tea-cupfull of rich milk or cream; and give it
one boil up--not more, or the milk may curdle. Serve it hot in a deep
dish; the sweetbreads in the middle with the gravy poured over them, and
the quartered cauliflowers laid handsomely round. This stew will be
found delicious.
Broccoli may be thus stewed with sweetbreads.
STEWED SWEETBREADS WITH OYSTERS.--Take four fine sweetbreads; cut them
open; extract the gristle, and lay them in warm water till all the blood
is soaked out. Then transfer them to another vessel, and scald them with
boiling water, to render them white and firm. Cover them closely, and
let them boil ten minutes in the hot water. Then throw them directly
into a pan of cold water. Take them out when quite cold; drain them; and
put them into a stew-pan with the liquor of three dozen large fine
oysters seasoned with half a grated nutmeg, or more; and eight or ten
blades of mace. Add two ounces of fresh butter, mixed very smoothly with
a tea-spoonful of flour. Cover the pan; and let them stew gently for
half an hour or more. Then put in the oysters, and let them stew with
the sweetbreads a little more than five minutes. Lastly stir in a jill
(two wine-glasses) of cream, immediately before you take the stew from
the fire. Sent it to table in a deep dish with a slice of buttered toast
at the bottom.
CLAM SWEETBREADS may be stewed exactly as above, only that clams must be
substituted for oysters; the clams being cut up very small, and put in
at the _beginning_ along with the liquor, &c. The flavour they impart to
the stew is by many persons considered superior to that of oysters.
In stewing sweetbreads you may either divide them into halves or
quarters.
When cooked with oysters or clams they require no salt.
Sweetbreads should be large, fine, of a delicate colour, and _perfectly
fresh_; otherwise they are unfit to eat. They spoil sooner than any part
of the calf.
SWEETBREAD OMELET.--For an omelet of six or seven eggs, take two fine
sweetbreads. Split them; take out the gristle; and soak them in two
lukewarm waters, to extract all the blood. Then put them into very hot
water; boil them ten minutes; take them out; set them away to cool; and
afterwards mince them small, and season them with a very little salt and
cayenne pepper, and some grated nutmeg. Beat the eggs (omitting the
whites of two) till very light. Then mix in the chopped sweetbreads. Put
three ounces or more of fresh butter into a small frying-pan, and place
it over the fire. Stir the butter with a spoon, as it melts; and when it
comes to a boil, put in the mixture, stirring it awhile after it is all
in. Fry it a rich brown. Heat the plate or dish in which you turn it out
of the pan. An omelet should never be turned while frying. The top may
be well browned by holding about it a salamander or a red-hot shovel.
If you wish it very thick have _three_ sweetbreads.
While frying the omelet, lift the edge occasionally by slipping a
knife-blade under it, that the butter may get well beneath.
If the omelets are cooked too much they will become tough, and
leather-like. Many persons prefer having them sent to table as _soft
omelets_, before they have set, or taken the form of a cake. In this
case, serve up the omelet in a deep dish, and help it with a spoon.
A ROUND OF BEEF STEWED BROWN.--Take a round of fresh beef; the larger it
is the more tender it will be: a small round is always, comparatively,
hard and tough. Remove the fat; with a sharp knife make deep cuts or
incisions all over the meat, and stuff into them a seasoning of finely
minced onions, mixed with powdered mace, nutmeg, and a little pepper and
salt. Then go all over the meat with the drippings or cold gravy of
roast beef, and dredge it slightly with flour. Have ready an iron
dutch-oven and its lid, well heated by standing up both lid and oven
before the fire. Then put the meat into the oven, cover it, and let it
brown on all sides. Have ready, cut into small pieces, two turnips; four
carrots; four oyster plants or salsify; three stalks of celery; two
small onions; and two large tomatoes, or a large table-spoonful of
tomato catchup. After the meat is browned, raise it up, and place the
vegetables underneath it, and pour on three half-pints of water, or more
if the round is very large. Let it cook slowly in the oven, with a
regular fire, for several hours, till it is entirely done all through;
taking care to keep it closely covered. After the meat is taken out,
place it on a large hot dish, with the vegetables round it. Cover it,
and keep it hot while you thicken the gravy with a small tea-spoonful of
flour, and the beaten yolk of an egg. Simmer this gravy a few minutes,
then put it into a sauce-boat, and serve it up with the meat.
What is left will be very good stewed over again the next day, with
fresh vegetables; letting the meat cook no longer than till the
vegetables are sufficiently done. Observe this rule with all stews,
soups, hashes, &c., when cooked the second time.
STEWED BEEF STEAKS.--Take beef steaks from the sirloin. Cut them thin;
remove the fat and bone, and trim them nicely. Beat them well with a
beetle or a rolling-pin. Season them slightly with pepper and salt, and
spread them over some finely minced onions, or some chopped mushrooms.
Lay among them some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Put them into
a stew-pan with a very close cover, and without any water. Set the pan
not on the fire, but before it or beside it, (turning it round
frequently,) and let them stew slowly for two or three hours, or till
they are thoroughly done. Then serve them up in their own gravy.
A BEEF STEAK POT-PIE.--Remove the fat and bone from two pounds or more
of fine, tender beef steaks, and cut them into small pieces. Season them
slightly with a very little salt and pepper; put them into a pot with a
piece of fresh butter rolled in flour, and just water enough to cover
them. Let them stew slowly (skimming them as soon as the water comes to
a boil) for an hour. Boil in another pot some white potatoes, (a dozen
small or eight large ones,) cut into quarters. While the steak is
stewing, make a paste of finely minced beef-suet and flour, in the
proportion of a pound and a half of suet to three pounds of flour. For a
large pot-pie, you should have more than the above quantity of paste;
the paste being always considered the best part of the pie, and much
liked by those who eat it at all. Having rubbed the minced suet into the
pan of flour, add a very little salt, and as little water as will
suffice to make it into a lump of dough. Beat the dough hard on both
sides with the rolling-pin, to assist in making it light and flaky.
Divide the dough into two portions; roll out one sheet thicker than the
other. Line the sides of a clean iron pot about half-way or two-thirds
up with the thin paste. Then, having poured a little of the gravy into
the bottom of the pot, put in a layer of the half-stewed beef; then a
layer of the thick paste, cut into long squares. Then a layer of the
quartered potatoes; then meat; then paste; then potatoes, and so on till
the whole is in. Pour on the remainder of the gravy, and add also a pint
of warm water. Cover the whole with a sheet of thin paste for a top
crust, which must not fit closely round the edge, as there must be room
for the gravy to boil up over it. Then place the pot over a moderate
fire, and boil it for an hour and a half. Send it to table on a large
dish,--the meat, and potatoes, and soft crust in the middle, and the
hard crust cut into pieces and laid round. Serve up the gravy in a boat.
This pie will be much improved by a few fresh mushrooms, cut from the
stalks, peeled, and put in when the stewed meat is transferred to the
pie-pot.
A pot-pie of fowls or rabbits may be made as above.
If you prefer butter to suet for making the paste, allow half a pound of
fresh butter to each pound of flour. Cut up the butter into the pan of
flour, rub it fine with your hands, wet it with as little water as
possible, beat and roll it out as above.
BEEF STEAKS WITH MUSHROOMS.--Take four pounds of the best sirloin
steaks, cut thin. Season them with black pepper, and a very little salt.
Put four table-spoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan, and set it over
the fire. When it is quite hot, put in the steaks and let them brown.
Have ready a quart of mushrooms, stemmed and skinned, and moistened with
a pint of water, seasoned with a little pepper and salt, and thickened
slightly with a good dredging of flour. Pour it over the steaks in the
frying-pan, and then let them cook till thoroughly done.
Venison steaks will be found excellent dressed in this manner, but the
venison must be fresh.
MINCED BEEF.--Take the lean of some cold roast beef. Chop it very fine,
adding a small minced onion; and season it with pepper and salt. Put it
into a stew-pan, with some of the gravy that has been left from the day
before, and let it stew for a quarter of an hour. Then put it
(two-thirds full) into a deep dish. Fill up the dish with mashed
potatoes, heaped high in the centre, smoothed on the surface, and
browned with a salamander or a red-hot shovel.
Cold roast mutton or lamb may be minced as above, adding some
sweet-marjoram to the seasoning, and filling up the dish with mashed
turnips instead of potatoes.
Also, cold roast pork; flavouring the seasoning with a little chopped
sage. Cover the top with sweet potatoe, boiled and mashed, or with
apple-sauce, that has been stewed as thick as possible.
TO STEW COLD CORNED BEEF.--Cut about four pounds of lean from a cold
round of beef, that tastes but little of the salt. Lay it in a stew-pan,
with a quarter of a peck of tomatoes quartered, and the same quantity of
ochras sliced; also, two small onions peeled and sliced, and two ounces
of fresh butter rolled in flour. Add a tea-spoonful of whole
pepper-corns, (_no salt_,) and four or five blades of mace. Place it
over a steady but moderate fire. Cover it closely, and let it stew three
or four hours. The vegetables should be entirely dissolved. Serve it up
hot.
This is an excellent way of using up the remains of a cold round of beef
at the season of tomatoes and ochras, particularly when the meat has
been rather under-boiled the first day of cooking it.
A few pounds of the lean of a _fresh_ round of beef, will be still
better cooked in this manner, increasing the quantity of ochras and
tomatoes, and stewing it six hours.
Cold fillet of veal is very good stewed with tomatoes, ochras, and an
onion or two. Also, the thick or upper part of a cold leg of mutton; or
of pork, either fresh or corned.
TO STEW SMOKED BEEF.--The dried beef, for this purpose, must be fresh
and of the very best quality. Cut it (or rather shave it) into very
thin, small slices, with as little fat as possible. Put the beef into a
skillet, and fill up with boiling water. Cover it, and let it soak or
steep till the water is cold. Then drain off that water, and pour on
some more, but merely enough to cover the chipped beef, which you may
season with a little pepper. Set it over the fire, and (keeping on the
cover) let it stew for a quarter of an hour. Then roll a few bits of
butter in a little flour, and add it to the beef, with the yolk of one
or two beaten eggs. Let it stew five minutes longer. Take it up on a hot
dish, and send it to the breakfast or tea-table.
Cold ham may be sliced thin, and stewed in the same manner. Dried
venison also.
FRENCH BEEF.--Take a circular piece from the round, (having removed the
bone,) and trim it nicely from the fat, skin, &c. Then lard it all over
with long slips of fat pork or bacon. The place from whence the bone was
taken must be filled with a force-meat, made of minced suet; grated
bread-crumbs; sweet-marjoram rubbed fine; and grated lemon-peel; add a
little salt and pepper, and mix in the beaten yolk of an egg to bind
together the other ingredients. Tie a twine or tape closely round the
outside of the beef, to keep it compact, and in shape. Put it into a
broad earthen jar with a cover; or into an iron bake-oven. Add some
whole pepper; a large onion stuck over with a dozen cloves; a bunch of
sweet herbs; three bay-leaves; a quarter of a pound of butter, divided
into small bits, (each piece rolled in flour,) and half a pint of
claret, or port-wine. Bake or stew it thus in its own liquor, for five,
six, or seven hours, (in proportion to its size,) for it must be
thoroughly done, quite tender, and brown all through the inside. Serve
it up hot with the gravy round it. It is also very good when cold.
A fillet of veal may be cooked in this manner. Also a fillet of fresh
pork, cut from the upper part of a hind leg; or a fillet of fresh
venison.
BEEF OLIVES.--Take the lean of some cold roast beef; cut it into slices
about half an inch thick, and four inches square. They must all be of
the same size and shape. Trim the edges nicely. Make a force-meat of
grated bread-crumbs, finely-chopped beef-suet; minced onion; grated
nutmeg or powdered mace; sweet-marjoram leaves rubbed fine; a _very
little_ salt and pepper; and some beaten yolk of egg. Having mixed all
thoroughly together, spread very thickly a portion of the force-meat
upon each slice of the cold beef. Then roll them up, and tie every one
securely round with coarse thread or fine twine. Have ready some
roast-beef gravy left from the day before, or make a fresh gravy by
boiling, or rather stewing the beef bones with as little water as
possible. When the gravy is ready, strain it into a clean stew-pan; put
in the beef olives; cover the pan, and let them stew slowly for half an
hour. Serve them up with their gravy. Remove the strings before the
olives go to table.
Veal olives may be made in the above manner, with a cold roast fillet of
veal, and veal gravy.
A PLAIN STEW.--Cut steaks from a sirloin or a tender round of beef,
omitting the fat and bone. Season them with pepper and a little salt.
Put them into a pot, and to three pounds of meat allow a quart of water.
When it has simmered for an hour, and been well skimmed, mix among it a
dozen potatoes, and half a dozen turnips, all pared and quartered; and
(if you like them) two onions sliced thin. If the stew appears too dry,
pour in a little _boiling_ water from a kettle. Let it stew slowly with
the vegetables another hour, or till the whole is perfectly tender.
Serve it up with the vegetables round it on a large dish.
Beef stewed with parsnips only is very good.
Lamb or veal cutlets may be stewed in this manner.
A fillet or round of fresh pork is excellent stewed with sweet potatoes,
which must be scraped or pared, and split in half.
BEEF’S TONGUE STEWED.--Take a fresh beef’s tongue of the largest size.
Remove the little bones, skin, &c., from about the root, and trim it
nicely. Take a table-spoonful each of salt, pepper, and powdered cloves,
and mix them all together. Rub the tongue well all over with this
seasoning. Lay it in a deep earthen pan, cover it with the best cider
vinegar, and let it stand three days, turning it frequently, and keeping
it closely covered. Then (having wiped off all the seasoning) put the
tongue into a stew-pot, and add half a pint of water--not more--and stew
it slowly till quite done. Have ready some force-meat balls, made with
minced veal, mixed with the ingredients usual in force-meat. Put in the
balls about twenty minutes before you take up the tongue. When it is
thoroughly done, and tender all through, peel it, and send it to table
with the force-meat balls round it.
BAKED TONGUE.--Take a large smoked tongue, put it into warm water and
soak it all day. Change the water in the evening, and then let it remain
in soak all night. Before you cook it, trim the root handsomely. Make a
coarse paste or dough, merely of flour and water, as it is not to be
eaten. Roll it out thin, and enclose the tongue in it. Put it into an
oven, and bake it slowly. It will require four hours or more. When you
think it is done, break a little of the paste just over the thickest
part, and try it by sticking a fork through it. If not perfectly tender,
let it bake a while longer. When quite done, remove the paste, and
either serve up the tongue, or set it away to get cold. This is the best
way of cooking a tongue to be eaten cold. If to be eaten warm, send it
to table surrounded with mashed potatoes, and the root concealed with
parsley sprigs. The best way to carve a tongue, is to cut it across in
round slices, beginning at the middle. If cut lengthways the flavour
will be impaired. Nevertheless, if you have two tongues, and wish to
make a large handsome-looking dish of them, (having first removed the
root,) split one lengthways, and lay the two halves spread open and near
together on a bed of mashed potatoes; and cut the other tongue into
circular slices. Arrange these slices in a handsome form or pattern all
round the split tongue that occupies the centre of the mashed potatoe;
and decorate the whole with sprigs of double parsley. If the tongues are
cold, instead of mashed potatoe, lay them on a bed of salad-dressed
lettuce, cut or chopped very small; or on chopped celery, dressed as
lettuce.
FILLET OF PORK.--Cut a fillet or round, handsomely and evenly, from a
fine leg of fresh pork. Remove the bone. Make a stuffing or force-meat
of grated bread-crumbs; butter; a tea-spoonful of sweet-marjoram or
tarragon leaves; and sage leaves enough to make a small table-spoonful,
when minced or rubbed fine; all well mixed, and slightly seasoned with
pepper and salt. Add some beaten yolk of egg to bind the whole together;
then stuff it closely into the hole from whence the bone was taken.
Score the skin of the pork in circles to go all round the fillet. These
circles should be very close together, or not quite half an inch apart.
Rub into them, slightly, a little powdered sage. Put it on the spit, and
roast it well, till it is thoroughly done throughout; as pork, if the
least underdone, is not fit to eat. Place it for the first hour not very
close to the fire, that the meat may get well heated all through, before
the skin begins to harden so as to prevent the heat from penetrating
sufficiently. Then set it as near the fire as it can be placed without
danger of scorching. Keep it roasting steadily with a bright, good,
regular fire, for two or three hours, or longer still if it is a large
fillet. It may require near four hours. Baste it at the beginning with
sweet oil (which will make the skin very crisp) or with lard.
Afterwards, baste it with its own gravy. When done, skim the fat from
the gravy, and then dredge in a little flour to thicken it. Send the
pork to table with the gravy in a boat; and a small tureen of
apple-sauce, made very thick, flavoured with lemon, and sweetened well.
A fillet of pork is excellent stewed slowly in a very little water,
having in the same stew-pot some sweet potatoes, peeled, split, and cut
into long pieces. If stewed, put _no sage_ in the stuffing; and remove
the skin of the pork. This is an excellent family dish in the autumn.
ITALIAN PORK.--Take a nice leg of fresh pork; rub it well with fine
salt, and let it lie in the salt for a week or ten days. When you wish
to cook it, put the pork into a large pot with just sufficient water to
cover it; and let it simmer, slowly, during four hours; skimming it
well. Then take it out, and lay it on a large dish. Pour the water from
the pot into an earthen pan; skim it, and let it cool while you are
skinning the pork. Then put into the pot, a pint of good cider vinegar,
mixed with half a pound of brown sugar, and a pint of the water in
which the pork has been boiled, and from which all the fat has been
carefully skimmed off. Put in the pork with the upper side towards the
bottom of the pot. Set it again over the fire, (which must first be
increased,) and heat the inside of the pot-lid by standing it upright
against the front of the fire. Then cover the pot closely, and let the
pork stew for an hour and a half longer; basting it frequently with the
liquid around it, and keeping the pot-lid as hot as possible that the
meat may be well browned. When done, the pork will have somewhat the
appearance of being coated with molasses. Serve up the gravy with it.
What is left of the meat may be sliced cold for breakfast or luncheon.
You may stew with it when the pork is put into the pot a second time,
some large chesnuts, previously boiled and peeled. Or, instead of
chesnuts, sweet potatoes, scraped, split, and cut into small pieces.
PORK OLIVES.--Cut slices from a fillet or leg of cold fresh pork. Make a
force-meat in the usual manner, only substituting for sweet herbs some
sage-leaves chopped fine. When the slices are covered with the
force-meat, and rolled up and tied round, stew them slowly either in
cold gravy left of the pork, or in fresh lard. Drain them well before
they go to table. Serve them up on a bed of mashed turnips or potatoes,
or of mashed sweet potatoes, if in season.
PIGS’ FEET FRIED.--Pigs’ feet are frequently used for jelly, instead of
calves’ feet. They are very good for this purpose, but a larger number
is required (from eight to ten or twelve) to make the jelly sufficiently
firm. After they have been boiled for jelly, extract the bones, and put
the meat into a deep dish; cover it with some good cider-vinegar,
seasoned with sugar and a little salt and cayenne. Then cover the dish,
and set it away for the night. Next morning, take out the meat, and
having drained it well from the vinegar, put it into a frying-pan in
which some lard has just come to a boil, and fry it for a breakfast
dish.
CONNECTICUT SAUSAGE-MEAT.--To fifteen pounds of the lean of fresh pork,
allow five pounds of the fat. Having removed the skin, sinews, and
gristle, chop both the fat and lean as fine as possible, and mix them
well together. Rub to a powder sufficient sage-leaves to make four
ounces when done. Mix the sage with three ounces of fine salt, two
ounces of brown sugar, an ounce of powdered black pepper, and a quarter
of an ounce of cayenne. Add this seasoning to the chopped pork, and mix
it thoroughly. Pack the sausage-meat down, hard and closely, into stone
jars, which must be kept in a cool place, and well covered. When wanted
for use, make some of it into small, flat cakes, dredge them with flour,
and fry them well. The fat that exudes from the sausage-cakes, while
frying, will be sufficient to cook them in.
A FINE VENISON PIE.--Cut steaks from a loin, or haunch of venison, which
should be as freshly killed as you can get it. The strange prejudice in
favour of hard, black-looking venison, that has been kept till the
juices are all dried up, is fast subsiding; the preference is now given
to that which has been newly killed, whenever it can be obtained. Those
who have eaten venison fresh from the woods, will never again be able to
relish it in the state in which it is brought to the Atlantic cities.
Having removed the bones, and seasoned it with a little salt and pepper,
put the venison into a pot, with barely as much water as will cover it,
and let it stew till perfectly tender, skimming it occasionally. Then
take it out, and set it to cool, saving the gravy in a bowl. Make a
light paste, in the proportion of three quarters of a pound of fresh
butter to a pound and a half of flour. Divide the paste into two
portions, and roll it out rather thick. Butter a deep dish, and line it
with one of the sheets of paste. Then put in the venison. Season the
gravy with a glass of _very good_ wine, either red or white, a few
blades of mace, and a powdered nutmeg. Stir into it the crumbled yolks
of some hard-boiled eggs. Pour the gravy over the meat, and put on the
other sheet of paste as the lid of the pie. Notch it handsomely round
the edges, and bake it well. If a steady heat is kept up, it will be
done in an hour. Send it to table hot.
Instead of wine, you may put into the gravy a glass of currant-jelly.
Any sort of game may be made into a pie, in the above manner.
A VERY PLAIN VENISON PIE.--Cut from the bone some good pieces of fresh
venison; season them a little with salt and pepper, and put them into a
pot, with plenty of sliced potatoes, (either white or sweet,) and barely
as much water as will cover the whole. Set it over the fire, and let it
stew slowly, till the meat is tender, and the potatoes also. Make a
paste of flour shortened with cold gravy, or drippings saved from roast
venison. The fat must be removed from the surface of the cold gravy, of
which you may allow half a pint to each pound of flour. Mix half the
shortening with the flour, using a broad knife or a spoon for the
purpose, and adding gradually sufficient cold water to make it into a
stiff dough. Beat the lump of dough well on all sides, with the
rolling-pin. Then take it out of the pan, roll it into a thick sheet,
and spread evenly over it with a knife the remainder of the drippings.
Flour it, fold it up, beat it with the rolling-pin, let it rest a short
time, and then roll it out again. Divide it into two sheets; grease a
pie-dish, and line the bottom and sides with one sheet. Put in the
venison and potatoes, with a portion of the gravy. Lay on the other
sheet of paste, as a lid, and crimp the edges. Set the pie into the
oven, and bake it brown. Eat it either hot or cold.
If you have no cold venison drippings, use drippings of cold roast-beef;
or an equal mixture of lard and butter.
A beef-pie may be made as above.
Mutton-pies are not recommended; as mutton cooked in a pie is entirely
too strong. The fat or drippings of mutton should _never_ be used in any
sort of cooking, as it tastes exactly like tallow, which it really is.
The above quantity of paste is only sufficient for a small pie. Paste
for meat-pies should be made very thick.
An excellent pot-pie may be made with venison and potatoes previously
stewed together. Boiled paste is always best when shortened with minced
suet. Beef-suet is superior to any other.
A VENISON PUDDING.--Take nice steaks of _fresh_ venison; season them
slightly with salt and pepper; put them into a pot, with a piece of
fresh butter, and stew them in barely sufficient water to keep them from
scorching. When they are quite tender, take them, up; cut all the meat
from the bones, and set it to cool. Save the gravy, and when cold
carefully remove all the fat from the surface. Prepare a paste, in the
proportion of three quarters of a pound of beef-suet, finely minced, to
two pounds of flour. Rub the suet thoroughly into the flour, adding a
small salt-spoon of salt, and sufficient cold water to moisten it into
a stiff dough. Beat the lump of dough, on all sides, with the
rolling-pin, to increase the lightness of the paste. Roll it out thick;
put the venison into it; and pour on enough of the gravy to wet the meat
all through. Then close over the paste, so as to form a large dumpling,
with the venison in the middle. Have ready a thick pudding-cloth, that
has been dipped in boiling water, shaken out, dredged with flour, and
spread open in a broad pan. Place the pudding in the cloth, tie it
firmly, leaving room for the pudding to swell; and, to prevent the water
getting in, stop up the tying-place with a bit of coarse dough. Lay an
old plate at the bottom of a large pot of boiling water; put in the
pudding, and keep it boiling steadily for an hour or more, turning it
several times. When done, dip it into cold water, untie the cloth, and
turn out the pudding. Send it to table hot.
A beef-steak pudding may be made as above.
You may make the crust of fresh butter, instead of suet; allowing a
pound of butter to two pounds, or two quarts of flour.
VENISON CHESNUT PUDDING.--Take some steaks of fresh-killed venison;
season them slightly with pepper and salt. Have ready a sufficient
quantity of large chesnuts, boiled and peeled. Make a crust of flour and
suet, in the proportion of three quarters of a pound of finely minced
suet to two pounds of flour. Roll it out thick, in two pieces, and place
on one piece the venison and chesnuts, in alternate layers. Pour on a
little water. Cover it with the other piece of paste, uniting it closely
round the edges. Put it into a strong pudding-cloth; tie it tightly, and
plaster the tying-place with a lump of flour and water. Put the pudding
into a pot of boiling water, and boil it four hours.
For the chesnuts, you may substitute cold, boiled sweet potatoes, cut
into round, thick slices.
This is an excellent pudding in a venison country; but the meat must be
very fresh and juicy. The paste may be made with butter.
FRENCH STEW OF RABBITS.--Having cut up the rabbits, lay the pieces in
cold water, to soak out the blood. Then wash them through another water.
Season them with a little pepper, some powdered mace and nutmeg, and the
yellow rind of a lemon grated. Put them into a jar, or a wide-mouthed
pitcher, adding some chopped celery, sweet-marjoram, and tarragon
leaves. Intersperse them with a few small thin slices of cold ham or
smoked tongue, and add a tea-cup full of water and two glasses of white
wine. Cover the jar very closely, so that none of the flavour may escape
with the steam; set it over the fire in a large kettle of cold water,
and let it stew slowly two hours. When nearly done, add some pieces of
butter rolled in flour.
Hares may be stewed in the same manner; also, fresh venison.
For the wine, you may substitute two wine-glasses of rich cream.
TONGUE TOAST.--Take a cold smoked tongue that has been well boiled; and
grate it with a coarse grater, or mince it fine. Mix it with cream, and
beaten yolk of egg; and give it a simmer over the fire. Having first cut
off all the crust, toast very nicely some slices of bread; and then
butter them rather slightly. Lay them in a flat dish that has been
heated before the fire; and cover each slice of toast thickly with the
tongue-mixture, spread on hot; and send them to table covered. This is a
nice breakfast or supper dish.
For tongue, you may substitute cold ham finely minced.
BISCUIT SANDWICHES.--Split some light _soft_ milk biscuits (or small
French rolls) and butter them. Cover the lower half thickly with grated
ham, or smoked tongue; pressing it down upon the butter. Then put on the
upper half or lid; pressing that on, to make it stick. Pile the biscuits
handsomely in a pyramid upon a flat dish, and place among them, at
regular distances, green sprigs of pepper-grass, corn-salad,
water-cresses, or curled parsley, allowing four or six to each biscuit.
Put in the sprigs between the upper and lower halves of the biscuits, so
that they may stick out at the edges.
To make more space for the grated ham, you may scoop out a little of the
inside of the upper-half of each milk biscuit or roll. They should be
fresh, of that day’s baking.
This is a nice supper-dish.
POTTED HAM.--Take some cold ham, slice it, and mince it small, fat and
lean together. Then pound it in a mortar; seasoning it as you proceed
with cayenne pepper, powdered mace, and powdered nutmeg. Then fill with
it a large deep pan, and set it in an oven for half an hour. Afterwards
pack it down hard in a stone jar, and fill up the jar with lard. Cover
it closely, and paste down a thick paper over the jar. If sufficiently
seasoned, it will keep well in winter; and is convenient for sandwiches,
or on the tea-table. A jar of this will be found useful to travellers in
remote places.
A FRENCH HAM PIE.--Having soaked and boiled a small ham, and taken out
the bone, trim the ham nicely so as to make it a good shape; and of the
bone and trimmings make a rich gravy, by stewing them in a sauce-pan
with a little water; carefully skimming off the fat. Make a sufficient
quantity of force-meat, out of cold roast chicken or veal, minced suet,
grated bread-crumbs, butter, pepper, chopped sweet-marjoram or tarragon;
and grated lemon-peel, adding the lemon-juice, and some beaten egg. Mix
the ingredients thoroughly. You may add some chopped oysters.
Having made a standing crust, allowing to two pounds of flour half a
pound of butter, and a pound of minced suet, wetted to a paste with
boiling water, put in the ham, (moistening it with the gravy,) and fill
in all the vacancies with the force-meat, having a layer of force-meat
at the bottom and top. Then put on the lid, pinching the edges together
so as to close them well. Brush the paste all over with beaten yolk of
egg; then put on the ornamental flowers and leaves that have been cut
out of the dough. Bake it three or four hours. It may be eaten warm, but
is generally preferred cold. It keeps well, if carefully secluded from
the air.
TONGUE PIE is made as above; only substituting a smoked tongue for the
ham. The tongue must be nicely trimmed and peeled, and the root minced
fine, and mixed with the veal or chicken force-meat.
Either of these pies may be made and baked in deep dishes, and with
paste made in the usual way of butter and flour, wetted with a little
cold water.
HAM TOAST.--Grate a sufficiency of the lean of cold ham. Mix some beaten
yolk of egg with a little cream, and thicken it with the grated ham.
Then put the mixture into a sauce-pan over the fire, and let it simmer
awhile. Have ready some slices of bread nicely toasted (all the crust
being pared off) and well buttered. Spread it over thickly with the ham
mixture, and send it to table warm.