Part 30

Cut them into joints, put the trimmings into a stew pan with a quart of the broth in which they were boiled, and a large onion cut in four; let the whole boil half an hour: strain it through a sieve; then put two tablespoonfuls of flour in a basin, and mix it well by degrees with the hot broth; set it on the fire to boil up, then strain it through a fine sieve: wash out the stewpan, lay the poultry in it, and pour the gravy on it (through a sieve); set it by the side of the fire to simmer very gently (it must not _boil_) for fifteen minutes; five minutes before you serve it up, cut the stuffing in slices, and put it in to warm, then take it out, and lay it round the edge of the dish, and put the poultry in the middle; skim the fat off the gravy, then shake it round well in the stewpan, and pour it over the hash. Garnish the dish with toasted sippets.

1175. Ducks or Geese Hashed.

Cut an onion, into small dice: put it into a stewpan with a bit of butter; fry it, but do not let it get any colour; put as much boiling water into the stewpan as will make sauce for the hash; thicken it with a little flour; cut up the duck, and put it into the sauce to warm; do not let it boil; season it with pepper and salt and ketchup.

1176. Broiled Goose.

_The legs of geese, &c_., broiled, and laid on a bed of apple sauce, form an appetising dish for luncheon or supper.

1177. Grilled Fowl.

Take the remains of cold fowls, and skin them or not, at choice; pepper and salt them, and sprinkle over them a little lemon juice, and let them stand an hour; wipe them dry, dip them into clarified butter, and then into fine bread-crumbs, and broil gently over a clear fire. A little finely minced lean of ham or grated lemon peel, with a seasoning of cayenne, salt, and mace, mixed with the crumbs, will vary this dish agreeably. When fried instead of broiled, the fowls may be dipped into yolk of egg instead of butter.

1178. A Nice Way of serving up a fowl that has been dressed.

Beat the whites of two eggs to a thick froth; add a small bit of butter, or some salad oil, flour, a little lukewarm water, and two tablespoonfuls of beer, beaten altogether till it is of the consistency of very thick cream. Cut up the fowl into small pieces, strew over it some chopped parsley and shalot, pepper, salt, and a little vinegar, and let it lie till dinner-time; dip the fowl in the batter, and fry it in boiling lard, of a nice light brown. Veal that has been cooked may be dressed in the same way.

1179. Curry of any Kind.

Cut up a good fowl; skin it or not, as you please; fry it nicely brown: slice two or three onions, and fry them; put the fried fowl and onions into a stew-pan with a tablespoonful of curry powder, and one clove of garlic: cover it with water or veal gravy: let it stew slowly for one hour, or til very tender; have ready, mixed in two or three spoonfuls of good cream, one teaspoonful of flour, two ounces of butter, juice of a lemon, some salt; after the cream is in, it must only have one boil up, not to stew. Any spice may be added if the curry powder is not highly seasoned. With chicken, rabbit, or fish, observe the same rule. Curry is made also with sweetbreads, breast of veal, veal cutlets, lamb, mutton or pork chops, lobster, turbot, soles, eels, oysters, &c. Any kind of white meat is fit for a curry.

[AND STUDY ALL THE PRECAUTIONS.]

1180. Curried Eggs.

Slice two onions and fry them in butter, add a tablespoonful of curry powder; let the onions and curry powder stew in a pint of good broth till the former are quite tender; mix a cup of cream, and thicken with arrowroot, or rice flour. Simmer a few minutes, then add six or eight hard-boiled eggs cut in slices; heat them thoroughly, but do not let them boil.

1181. Cold Meat Broiled, With Poached Eggs.

The inside of a sirloin of beef or a leg of mutton is the best for this dish. Cut the slices of equal thickness, and broil and brown them carefully and slightly over a clear smart fire, or in a Dutch oven; give those slices most fire that are least done; lay them in a dish before the fire to keep hot, while you poach the eggs and mash the potatoes. This makes a savoury luncheon or supper. The meat should be _underdone_ the first time.

1182. Curried Oysters.

This receipt may be greatly modified, both in quantity and ingredients. Let a hundred of large oysters be opened into a basin without losing one drop of their liquor. Put a lump of fresh butter into a good-sized saucepan, and when it boils, add a large onion, cut into thin slices, and let it fry in the uncovered stewpan until it is of a rich brown: now add a bit more butter, and two or three tablespoonfuls of curry powder. When these ingredients are well mixed over the fire with a wooden spoon, add gradually either hot water, or broth from the stock-pot; cover the stewpan, and let the whole boil up. Meanwhile, have ready the meat of a cocoa-nut, grated or rasped fine, put this into the stewpan with an unripe apple, chopped. Let the whole simmer over the fire until the apple is dissolved, and the cocoa-nut very tender; then add a cupful of strong thickening made of flour and water, and sufficient salt, as a curry will not bear being salted at table. Let this boil up for five minutes.

Have ready also a vegetable marrow, or part of one, cut into bits, and sufficiently boiled to require little or no further cooking. Put this in with a tomato or two. These vegetables improve the flavour of the dish, but either or both of them may be omitted. Now put into the stewpan the oysters with their liquor, and the milk of the cocoa-nut, if it be perfectly sweet; stir them well with the former ingredients; let the curry stew gently for a few minutes, then throw in the strained juice of half a lemon. Stir the curry from time to time with a wooden spoon, and as soon as the oysters are done enough, serve it up with a corresponding dish of rice on the opposite side of the table. This dish is considered at Madras the _ne plus ultra_ of Indian cookery.

1183. Fried Oysters.

Large oysters are the best. Simmer for a minute or two in their own liquor; drain perfectly dry; dip in yolks of eggs, and then in bread-crumbs, seasoned with nutmeg, cayenne, and salt; fry them of a light brown. They are chiefly used as garnish for fish, or for rump steaks; but if intended to be eaten alone, make a little thick melted butter, moistened with the liquor of the oysters, and serve as sauce.

1184. Stewed Oysters.

The beard or fringe is generally taken off. When this is done, set on the beards with the liquor of the oysters, and a little white gravy, rich, but unseasoned; having boiled for a few minutes, strain off the beards, put in the oysters, and thicken the gravy with flour and butter (an ounce of butter to half a pint of stew), a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg, or mace, a spoonful of ketchup, and three of cream; some prefer a little essence of anchovy to ketchup, others the juice of a lemon, others a glass of white wine; the flavour may be varied according to taste. Simmer till the stew is thick, and the oysters warmed through, but avoid letting them boil. Lay toasted sippets at the bottom of the dish and round the edges.

[STUDY THE PRECAUTIONS RESPECTING FIRE.]

1185. Bologna Sausages.

Take equal quantities of bacon, fat and lean, beef, veal, pork, and beef suet; chop them small, season with pepper, salt, &c., sweet herbs, and sage rubbed fine. Have a well-washed intestine, fill, and prick it; boil gently for an hour, and lay on straw to dry. They may be smoked the same as hams.

1186. Oxford Sausages.

To each pound of lean pork allow one pound of lean veal, one pound of fat, part pork and part veal. Chop and beat well with a lard-beater. Allow one pound of bread-crumbs, thyme, a little parsley; an ounce of sage leaves, chopped very small; two heads of leeks, or a little garlic, or shalot, chopped very fine; salt, pepper, and nutmeg. To each pound allow one egg, the yolks and whites separately; beat both well, mix in the yolks, and as much of the whites as is necessary to moisten the bread. Then make the sausages in the usual way.

1187. Worcester Sausages.

Worcester sausages are made of beef, &c.; add allspice, and any other spices and herbs you may choose.

1188. Mutton Sausages.

The lean of the leg is the best. Add half as much of beef suet; that is, a pound of lean and half a pound of suet (this proportion is good for all sausages). Add oysters, anchovies chopped very fine, and flavour with seasoning. No herbs. These will require a little fat in the pan to fry.

1189. Veal Sausages.

Veal sausages are made exactly as Oxford sausages, except that you add ham fat, or fat bacon; and, instead of sage, use marjoram, thyme, and parsley.

1190. Preparing Sausage Skins.

Turn them inside out, and stretch them on a stick; wash and scrape them in several waters. When thoroughly cleansed, take them off the sticks, and soak in salt and water two or three hours before filling.

1191. Saveloys.

Saveloys are made of salt pork, fat and lean, with bread-crumbs, pepper, and sage; they are always put in skins: boil half an hour slowly. These are eaten cold.

1192. Black Hog Pudding.

Catch the blood of a hog; to each quart of blood put a large teaspoonful of salt, and stir it without ceasing till it is cold. Simmer half a pint or a pint of Embden groats in a small quantity of water till tender; there must be no gruel. The best way of doing it is in a double saucepan, so that you need not put more water than will moisten them. Chop up (for one quart of blood) one pound of the inside fat of the hog, and a quarter of a pint of bread-crumbs, a tablespoonful of sage, chopped fine, a teaspoonful of thyme, three drachms each of allspice, salt, and pepper, and a teacupful of cream. When the blood is cold, strain it through a sieve, and add to it the fat, then the groats, and then the seasoning. When well mixed, put it into the skin of the largest gut, well cleansed; tie it in lengths of about nine inches, and boil gently for twenty minutes. Take them out and prick them when they have boiled a few minutes.

1193. Scotch Woodcock.

Three or four slices of bread; toast and butter well on both sides,--nine or ten anchovies washed, scraped, and chopped fine; put them between the slices of toast,--have ready the yolks of four eggs well beaten, and half a pint of cream--which set over the fire to thicken, but not boil,--then pour it over the toast, and serve it to table as hot as possible.

1194. Sweetbread.

Trim a fine sweetbread (it cannot be too _fresh_); parboil it for five minutes, and throw it into a basin of cold water. Then roast it plain--or beat up the yolk of an egg, and prepare some fine breadcrumbs; or when the sweetbread is cold, dry it thoroughly in a cloth; run a lark-spit or a skewer through it, and tie it on the ordinary spit; egg it with a paste-brush; powder it well with bread-crumbs, and roast it. For sauce, fried bread-crumbs, melted butter, with a little mushroom ketchup, and lemon juice, or serve on buttered toast, garnished with egg sauce, or with gravy. Instead of spitting the sweetbread, you may put it into a tin Dutch oven, or fry it.

[READ THE HINTS TO HUSBANDS AND WIVES.]

1195. Sweetbreads Plain.

Parboil and slice them as before, dry them in a clean cloth, flour them, and fry them a delicate brown; take care to drain the fat well, and garnish with slices of lemon, and sprigs of chervil or parsley, or crisp parsley. Serve with sauce, and slices of ham or bacon, or force-meat balls.

1196. Kidneys.

Cut them through the long way, score them, sprinkle a little pepper and salt on them, and run a wire skewer through to keep them from curling on the gridiron, so that they may be evenly broiled. Broil over a clear fire, taking care not to prick the kidney with the fork, and turning them often till they are done; they will take about ten or twelve minutes, if the fire is brisk. Another mode is to fry them in butter, and make gravy for them in the pan (after you have taken out the kidneys), by putting in a teaspoonful of flour; as soon as it looks brown, put in as much water as will make gravy. Kidneys will take five minutes more to fry than to broil.

1197. Devil.

The gizzard and rump, or legs, &c., of a dressed turkey, capon, or goose, or mutton or veal kidney, scored, peppered, salted, and broiled, sent up for a relish, being made very hot, has obtained the name of a "devil."

1198. Bacon.

Dr. Kitchiner very justly says:

"The boiling of bacon is a very simple subject to comment upon; but our main object is to teach common cooks the art of dressing common food in the best manner. Cover a pound of nice streaked bacon with cold water, let it boil gently for three quarters of an hour; take it up, scrape the under side well, and cut off the rind: grate a crust of bread not only on the top, but all over it, as you would ham, put it before the fire for a few minutes, not too long, or it will dry and spoil it. Bacon is sometimes as salt as salt can make it, therefore before it is boiled it must be soaked in warm water for an hour or two, changing the water once; then pare off the rusty and smoked part, trim it nicely on the under side, and scrape the rind as clean as possible."

1199. Ham or Bacon Slices.

Ham or bacon slices should not be less than one-eighth or more than a quarter of an inch thick, and, for delicate persons, should be soaked in hot water for a quarter of an hour, and then well wiped and dried before broiling. If you wish to curl a slice, roll it up, and put a wooden skewer through it; then in may be dressed in a cheese-toaster or a Dutch oven.

1200. Relishing Rashers of Bacon.

If you have any _cold bacon_, you may make a very nice dish of it by cutting it into slices about a quarter of an inch thick. Then grate some crust of bread as directed for ham, and powder the slices well with it on both sides; lay the rashers in a cheese-toaster,--they will be browned on one side in about three minutes:--turn them and do the other. These are a delicious accompaniment to poached or fried eggs:--the bacon, having been boiled first, is tender and mellow.--They are an excellent garnish round veal cutlets, sweetbreads, calf's head hash, green peas, or beans, &c.

1201. Anchovy Sandwiches.

Anchovy sandwiches made with the above, will be found excellent.

1202. Anchovy Toast.

Anchovy toast is made by spreading anchovy paste upon bread either toasted or fried.

[FIRE IS A GOOD SERVANT BUT A BAD MASTER.]

1203. Scotch Porridge.

_For four persons_.--Boil three pints of water in a clean saucepan, add a teaspoonful of salt; mix very gradually, while the water is boiling, one pound of fine oatmeal, stirring constantly, while you put in the meal, with a round stick about eighteen inches long, called a "spirtle." Continue stirring for fifteen minutes; then pour into soup plates, allow it to cool a little, and serve with sweet milk. Scotch porridge is one of the most nutritive diets that can be given, especially for young persons, on account of the bone-producing elements contained in oatmeal. It is sometimes boiled with milk instead of water, but the mixture is then rather rich for delicate stomachs.

1204. Scotch Brose.

This favourite Scotch dish is generally made with the liquor in which meat has been boiled. Put half a pint of oatmeal into a porringer with a little salt, if there be not enough in the broth,--of which add as much as will mix it to the consistence of hasty pudding or a little thicker,--lastly, take a little of the fat that swims on the broth and put it on the porridge, and eat it in the same way as hasty pudding.

1205. Barley Broth, Scotch.

Dr. Kitchiner, from whose "Cook's Oracle," [1] we take this receipt, after testing it, says:

"This is a most frugal, agreeable, and nutritive meal. It will neither lighten the purse nor lie heavy on the stomach. It will furnish you with a pleasant soup, _and meat_ for eight persons.

Wash three-quarters of a pound of Scotch barley in a little cold water; put it in a soup-pot with a shin or leg of beef, of about ten pounds weight, sawn into four pieces (tell the butcher to do this for you); cover it well with cold water; set it on the fire; when it boils, skim it very clean, and put in two onions, of about three ounces weight each; set it by the side of the fire to simmer very gently for about two hours; then skim all the fat clean off, and put in two heads of celery and a large turnip cut into small squares; season it with salt, and let it boil for an hour and a half longer, and it will be ready: take out the meat carefully with a slice (and cover it up, and set it by the fire to keep warm), and skim the broth well before you put it in the tureen.

Put a quart of the soup into a basin, and about an ounce of flour into a stewpan, and pour the broth to it by degrees, stirring it well together; set it on the fire, and stir it till it boils, then let it boil up, and it is ready. Put the meat in a ragoût dish, and strain the sauce through a sieve over the meat; you may put to it some capers, or minced gherkins, or walnuts, &c. If the beef has been stewed with proper care, in a very gentle manner, and taken up at 'the critical moment when it is just tender,' you will obtain an excellent and savoury meal."

[Footnote 1: Published by Messrs. Houlston and Suns, Paternoster-square. London, E.C.]

1206. Hotch-Potch for Summer.

Make a stock from the neck or ribs of lamb or mutton, reserving some chops, which cook for a shorter time and serve in the tureen. Chop small, four turnips, four carrots, a few young onions, a little parsley, and one lettuce; boil for one hour. Twenty minutes before they are done, put in a cauliflower cut small, one quart of shelled peas, and a pint of young beans.

1207. Hotch-Potch for Winter.

This can be made of beef or mutton, or, for those who are partial to Scotch cookery, a sheep's head and feet, one pound of old green peas, steeped all the night previously, one large turnip, three carrots, four leeks, a little parsley, all cut small, with the exception of one carrot, which should be grated; add a small bunch of sweet herbs, pepper, and salt. The peas take two hours and a half to cook; the other vegetables, two hours; the head, three hours; and the feet, four hours.

[THERE IS NO BALM FOR EVERY WOUND.]

1208. Beef Broth.

Beef broth may be made by adding vegetables to essence of beef--or you may wash a leg or shin of beef, the bone of which has been well cracked by the butcher; add any trimmings of meat, game, or poultry, heads, necks, gizzards, feet, &c.; cover them with cold water; stir the whole up well from the bottom, and the moment it begins to simmer, skim it carefully. Your broth must be perfectly clear and limpid; on this depends the goodness of the soups, sauces, and gravies of which it is the basis. Add some cold water to make the remaining scum rise, and skim it again.

When the scum has done rising, and the surface of the broth is quite clear, put in one moderate sized carrot, a head of celery, two turnips, and two onions,--it should not have any taste of sweet herbs, spice, or garlic, &c.; either of these flavours can easily be added after, if desired,--cover it close, set it by the side of the fire, and let it simmer very gently (so as not to waste the broth) for four or five hours, or more, according to the weight of the meat. Strain it through a sieve in to a clean and dry stone pan, and set it in the coldest place you have, if for after use.

1209. Beef Tea.

Beef extract, by adding water, forms the best beef tea or broth for invalids. (See BEEF EXTRACT, _par._ 1226.)

1210. Clear Gravy Soup

This may be made from shin of beef, which should not be large or coarse. The meat will be found serviceable for the table. From ten pounds of the meat let the butcher cut off five or six from the thick fleshy part, and again divide the knuckle, that the whole may lie compactly in the vessel in which it is to be stewed. Pour in three quarts of cold water, and when it has been brought slowly to boil, and been well skimmed, throw in an ounce and a half of salt, half a large teaspoonful of peppercorns, eight cloves, two blades of mace, a faggot of savoury herbs, a couple of small carrots, and the heart of a root of celery; to these add a mild onion or not, at choice.

When the whole has stewed very softly for four hours, probe the large bit of beef, and, if quite tender, lift it out for table; let the soup he simmered from two to three hours longer, and then strain it through a fine sieve, into a clean pan. When it is perfectly cold, clear off every particle of fat: heat a couple of quarts; stir in, when it boils, half an ounce of sugar, a small tablespoonful of good soy, and twice as much of Harvey's sauce, or, instead of this, of clear and fine mushroom ketchup. If carefully made, the soup will be perfectly transparent, and of good colour and flavour. A thick slice of ham will improve it, and a pound or so of the neck of beef with an additional pint of water, will likewise enrich its quality. A small quantity of good broth may be made of the fragments of the whole, boiled down with a few fresh vegetables.

1211. Beef Glaze.