Part 10

There are two distinct methods of frying: One with very little fat in the pan, to practise which successfully the pan and the fat must be hot before the article to be fried is put into it. For instance, in frying chops, if the pan is hot, and only fat enough is used to keep the chops from sticking to it, the heat being maintained so that the chops cook quickly, they will be nearly as nice as if they were broiled. Frying by the other method consists in entirely immersing the article to be cooked in sufficient smoking-hot fat to cover it, and keeping the fat at that degree of heat until the food is brown. It should then be taken up with a skimmer and laid upon brown paper for a moment to free it from grease.

Boiling and Stewing

Fresh meat for boiling should be put into boiling water and boiled very gently about 20 minutes for each pound. A little salt, spice, or vegetables may be boiled in the water with the meat for seasoning. A little vinegar put in the water with tough meat makes it tender. The broth of boiled meat should always be saved to use in soups, stews, and gravies. Stewing and simmering meats means to place them near enough to the fire to keep the water on them bubbling moderately, constantly, and slowly. Salt meats should be put over the fire in cold water, which as soon as it boils should be replaced by fresh cold water, the water to be changed until it remains fresh enough to give the meat a palatable flavor when done. Salted and smoked meats require about 30 minutes’ very slow boiling, from the time the water boils, to each pound. Vegetables and herbs may be boiled with them to flavor them. When they are cooked the vessel containing them should be set where they will keep hot without boiling until required, if they are to be served hot; if they are to be served cold, they should be allowed to cool in the pot liquor in which they were boiled. Very salt meats, or those much dried in smoking, should be soaked overnight in cold water before boiling.

Roasting

Wipe meat with damp cloth. Trim and tie into shape if necessary. In the bottom of pan put some pieces of fat from meat. Arrange meat on rack in pan. Dredge with salt, pepper, and flour. Have oven _very_ hot at first; when meat is half done reduce heat. Baste every 10 or 15 minutes. If there is danger of fat in pan being scorched add a few spoons of boiling water. Allow from 10 to 20 minutes per pound of meat, according as it is desired rare or well done. When done remove to hot platter. Thicken gravy in pan with browned flour, adding more water as necessary and add seasoning.

=Yorkshire Pudding.=-¾ pint flour, 3 eggs, 1½ pints milk, pinch salt, 1½ teaspoons Royal Baking Powder. Sift flour and powder together, add eggs, beaten with milk, stir quickly into rather thinner batter than for griddle cakes, pour into dripping-pan, plentifully greased with beef-dripping, bake in hot oven 25 minutes; serve with roast beef.

=Braised Beef.=—Wipe and trim 6 pounds round or rump of beef without bone. Sear brown on all sides in very hot frying-pan over hot fire. In braising-pan or iron kettle put layers of sliced onions, turnips, and carrots; add bunch of sweet herbs, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper; on this lay meat. Add 1 pint boiling water (or water and stewed tomatoes). Cover closely and cook 4 hours in moderate oven. If water evaporates rapidly add more. Transfer meat to hot platter. Strain, thicken, and season gravy. The vegetables may be served separately if desired.

=Braised Veal Shoulder.=—Have shoulder boned. Fill with stuffing (see Stuffings). Prepare bed of vegetables as for braised beef. Lay veal on it, add 1 pint boiling water, 1 pint stewed tomatoes, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cover and cook 4 hours in moderate oven. Uncover and brown. Serve strained gravy separately.

=Broiled Steak.=—Trim and wipe steak, which should be at least 1 inch thick. Rub broiler with fat, arrange steak with thickest part in center of broiler. Have fire clear and very hot, but without blaze. Hold steak close to fire. Turn every ½ minute, that it may sear quickly. When ½ done season with salt and pepper. Steak 1 inch thick will broil in 4 minutes.

=Panned Steak or Chops.=—Trim and wipe steak. Heat frying-pan until it smokes all over. Rub bottom with a bit of fat. Lay in steak and turn every 10 seconds. Keep pan _very_ hot. Season when ½ done.

Mutton and pork chops, ham and bacon, may be panned in same way.

If hot platter for steak is rubbed with a cut onion it will give a delightful flavor to the meat.

=Broiled Ham and Poached Eggs.=—Cut slices of boiled ham of equal size; broil on a gridiron over a clear fire; lay on a hot dish. Lay on each a poached egg, neatly trimmed, and serve.

=Beefsteak Pie (French style).=—Take a nice piece of beef, rump or sirloin, cut in small slices; slice also a little raw ham; put both in a frying-pan, with some butter and small quantity chopped onions; let them simmer together a short time on the fire or in the oven; add a little flour and enough stock to make sauce; salt, pepper, chopped parsley, and a little Worcestershire sauce as seasoning; add also a few sliced potatoes, and cook together for about 20 minutes; put this into a pie-dish, with a few slices of hard-boiled eggs on the top, and cover with a layer of common paste. Bake from 15 to 20 minutes in a well-heated oven. All dark-meat pies can be treated precisely in the same way. If poultry, leave the potatoes out.

=To Boil a Ham.=—A blade of mace, a few cloves, a sprig of thyme, and 2 bay-leaves. Well soak ham in large quantity of water for 24 hours, then trim and scrape very clean; put into large stewpan, with more than sufficient water to cover it; put in mace, cloves, thyme, and bay-leaves. Boil 4 or 5 hours, according to weight; when done, let it become cold in liquor in which it was boiled. Then remove rind carefully, without injuring the fat; press cloth over it to absorb as much of the grease as possible. It is always improved by setting in the oven for nearly an hour, till much of the fat dries out, and it also makes it more tender. Shake some bread raspings over the fat. Serve cold garnished with parsley.

=Boiled Mutton or Lamb.=—Trim and wipe the meat. Have ready kettle of rapidly boiling salted water. Immerse meat, boil hard 5 minutes, then reduce to gentle simmer. Allow 12 to 15 minutes per pound. Lamb should always be well done; mutton may be rare. A little rice may be added to water to keep meat white; if a few vegetables are also added the pot liquor will make a good thick soup.

=Boiled Corned Beef and Turnips.=—Select a piece not too salt. The brisket is a good cut for family use when not too fat. Cook beef in plenty cold water. Bring slowly to boil. Cook 18 minutes to the pound after it begins to simmer. When fully ¾ done put in a dozen turnips, peeled and quartered. When both beef and turnips are thoroughly done dish out the beef, and lay the turnips, unmashed, about it. Serve with drawn butter, having as a base the pot liquor. Remaining liquor will make a good soup for next day’s dinner.

=Pork Chops with Tomato Gravy.=—Trim off skin and fat; rub the chops over with a mixture of powdered sage and onion; put small piece butter into a frying-pan; put in the chops and cook slowly, as they should be well done. Lay chops on hot dish; add a little hot water to gravy in pan, 1 large spoon butter rolled in flour, pepper, salt, and sugar, and ½ cup juice drained from can tomatoes. The tomatoes themselves can be used for a tomato omelet. Stew 5 minutes and pour over the chops and serve.

=Sausages.=—Have ¾ lean and ¼ fat pork chopped very fine, 1 pound salt, ¼ pound pepper, and tea-cup sage to every 40 pounds meat. Warm the meat, that you can mix it well with your hands, do up a part in small patties mixed with a little flour, the rest pack in jars. When to be used, do it up in small cakes, flour the outside, fry in butter or alone. They should not be covered while frying, or they will fall to pieces. They should be kept where it is cool, but not damp. To prevent sausages from bursting when cooking, never make a hole in them with a fork while turning them.

=Fried Salt Pork.=—Cut fat salt pork in thin slices and soak in milk for a few hours. Pour boiling water over, drain, and fry until crisp. When partly fried they may be dipped into batter (see Fritters), then finished in the same pan, turning several times.

=Pork and Beans.=—Soak 1 quart white beans overnight in cold water. Drain, add fresh water, and simmer gently till tender. Put in baking-pan and place in center, rind up, gashed, ½ pound fat salt pork parboiled. Mix 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon dry mustard, and 1 tablespoon molasses; add to the beans, with enough boiling water to cover. Bake 8 hours in a moderate oven, adding more water as necessary.

=Liver and Bacon.=—Cut liver in ½-inch slices, soak in cold water 20 minutes, drain, dry, and roll in flour. Have pan very hot. Put in bacon thinly sliced, turn until brown, transfer to hot platter. Fry liver quickly in the hot fat, turning often. When done pour off all but 1 or 2 tablespoons fat, dredge in flour until it is absorbed, and stir till brown. Add hot water gradually to make smooth gravy, season and boil 1 minute. Serve separately.

Few people know that lamb’s liver is as tender and well flavored as calf’s liver; it is much less expensive.

=Stew, Irish.=—Time, about 2 hours. 2½ pounds chops, 8 potatoes, 4 turnips, 4 small onions, nearly a quart of water. Take some chops from loin of mutton, place them in a stewpan in alternate layers of sliced potatoes and chops; add turnips and onions cut into pieces, pour in nearly quart cold water; cover stewpan closely, let stew gently till vegetables are ready to mash and greater part of gravy is absorbed; then place in a dish; serve it up hot.

=Brown Beef Stew.=—Cut 2 pounds beef in small pieces. Melt some of the fat in a pan, brown in it ½ the meat. Put rest of meat in kettle with 1 pint cold water, let stand 20 minutes, then heat slowly. Transfer browned meat to kettle; thicken fat with two tablespoons browned flour, add 1 pint boiling water and stir; when thick strain into kettle. Add 1 cup diced carrot, cover, and simmer. When half done add 1 pint diced potatoes. Season well with salt and pepper.

=Mutton Haricot.=—Cut 2 pounds breast mutton in pieces, roll in flour, and brown in drippings. Transfer to a stewpan, add 2 sliced onions, cover with boiling water, and simmer until very tender. Add 1 pint parboiled potatoes or 1 pint boiled macaroni and 1 pint shelled peas; season, simmer till vegetables are done.

=Brown Kidney Stew.=—From a beef kidney cut off the outside meat in bits, rejecting tubes and purplish cores. Cover with cold water; heat slowly till steaming, drain, add cold water, and heat a second and again a third time. To the drained kidneys add 1 cup brown sauce (see Sauces), season very highly with Worcestershire and catsup, and stand over hot water for 10 minutes.

=To Roast a Leg of Pork.=—Choose a small leg of fine young pork; cut a slit in the knuckle with a sharp knife, and fill the space with sage, and onions chopped, and a little pepper and salt. When half done score the skin in slices, but do not cut deeper than the outer rind. Apple sauce and potatoes should be served to eat with it.

=Sweetbreads.=—Scald in salted water; remove stringy parts; put in cold water 5 or 10 minutes; drain in towel; dip in egg and bread or cracker crumbs, fry in butter, or broil them plain.

=Veal Cutlets, Breaded.=—Trim and flatten the cutlets, pepper and salt, and roll in beaten egg, then in pounded cracker. Fry rather slowly in good dripping, turning when the lower side is brown. Drain off the fat, squeeze a little lemon juice upon each, and serve in a hot flat dish.

[Illustration: (Decorative Design)]

Stuffings

=Veal Stuffing.=—3 cups stale bread crumbs, 3 onions chopped fine, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon white pepper, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, ½ cup melted butter or suet.

=Poultry Stuffing.=—1 quart stale bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and dried thyme to season highly, ½ cup melted butter.

=Chestnut Stuffing for Poultry.=—1 pint fine bread crumbs, 1 pint shelled and boiled French chestnuts chopped fine, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley to season, ½ cup melted butter.

=Oyster Stuffing for Poultry.=—Substitute small raw oysters, picked and washed, for chestnuts in foregoing receipt.

=Celery Stuffing.=—Substitute finely cut celery for chestnuts.

=Stuffing for Pork.=—3 large onions parboiled and chopped, 2 cups fine bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons powdered sage, 2 tablespoons melted butter or pork fat, salt and pepper to taste.

=Stuffing for Geese and Ducks.=—2 chopped onions, 2 cups mashed potato, 1 cup bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and powdered sage to taste.

=Stuffing for Tomatoes, Green Peppers, etc.=—1 cup dry bread crumbs, ⅓ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon onion juice, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons melted butter. Hominy, rice, or other cooked cereal may take the place of crumbs.

[Illustration: (Decorative Design)]

Poultry

=To Clean Poultry.=—Put 2 tablespoons alcohol in saucer, ignite, and over this singe the fowl. Cut off head just below bill. Untie feet, break bone, and loosen sinews just _below_ the joint; pull out sinews and cut off feet. Cut out oil-sac. Lay breast down, slit skin down backbone toward head; loosen windpipe and crop and pull them out. Cut off neck close to body. Make small slit below end of breast-bone, put in the fingers, loosen intestines from backbone, take firm grasp of gizzard and draw all out. Cut round the vent so that the intestines are unbroken. Remove heart and lungs. Remove kidneys. See that inside looks clean, then wipe out with wet cloth. Wipe off skin with cloth.

=To Truss Poultry.=—Fill inside with stuffing (see Stuffings). Have at least 1 yard fine twine in trussing-needle. Turn wings across back so that pinions touch. Run needle through thick part of wing _under_ bone, through body and wing on other side; return in same way, but passing needle in _over_ bone, tie firmly, leave several inches of twine. Press legs up against body, run needle through thigh, body, and second thigh, and return, going round bone in same way; tie firmly. Run needle through ends of legs, return, passing needle through rump; if opening is badly torn, 1 or 2 stitches may be needed, otherwise not.

=To Roast Poultry.=—Rub all over with soft butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on rack in roasting-pan and put in _very_ hot oven. Make basting-mixture with ½ cup each of butter or chicken-fat and water; keep hot and baste every 10 or 15 minutes. Roast 3 hours for 8-pound turkey, 1 to 1½ hours for fowls. Keep oven very hot. If fowl is very large and heavy, cover breast and legs with several thicknesses paper to keep from burning.

=Poultry Gravy.=—Pour off excess of fat in pan. Set pan on stove and sprinkle in sufficient flour to absorb fat. Stir until well browned. Gradually add hot water, or the chopped giblets with water in which they were cooked; stir till smoothly thickened. Season, simmer for few minutes, and serve.

=Broiled Chicken.=—Singe, split down backbone, and clean. Grease broiler, arrange chicken on it, crossing legs and turning wings. Rub inside and out with soft butter, and season. Have fire clear and hot. Cook flesh side first, holding up well that it may not brown too quickly. Should cook in about 20 or 25 minutes, then turn and brown skin side.

=Fried Spring Chicken.=—Clean and disjoint, then soak in salt water for 2 hours. Put in frying-pan equal parts of lard and butter—in all enough to cover chicken. Roll each piece in flour, dip in beaten egg, then roll in cracker crumbs, and drop into the boiling fat. Fry until browned on both sides. Serve on flat platter garnished with sprigs of parsley. Pour most of fat from frying-pan, thicken the remainder with browned flour, add to it cup of boiling water or milk. Serve in gravy-boat.

=Chicken Fricassee.=—Clean and disjoint chicken. Wipe each piece. Put in pot, cover with boiling water and simmer till tender. To the liquor add 1 cup or more hot milk, and thicken with flour dissolved in cold water. Season well, boil up for a few minutes. Serve with dumplings or Royal biscuit.

=Brown Fricassee of Chicken.=—Clean and disjoint. Brown in a few spoons hot butter or pork fat. Transfer to a kettle. To fat in pan add sufficient flour to absorb. Stir and brown. Gradually add 1 pint hot water, stir till thickened, strain over chicken. Cover and simmer gently till tender.

=Chicken Pâtés.=—Chop meat of cold chicken coarsely and season well. Make large cup rich drawn butter, and while on fire stir in 2 eggs, boiled hard, minced very fine, also a little chopped parsley, then chicken meat. Let almost boil. Have ready some pâté-pans of good paste, baked quickly to light brown. Slip from pans while hot, fill with mixture and set in oven to heat. Arrange upon dish and serve hot.

=Boned Chicken.=—Boil a chicken in little water as possible until meat will fall from bones; remove all skin, chop together light and dark parts; season with pepper and salt. Boil down liquid in which chicken was boiled, then pour it on meat; place in tin, wrap tightly in cloth, press with heavy weight several hours. Serve cold, cut in thin slices.

=Chicken Pot-pie.=—2 large chickens disjointed and boiled in 2 quarts water; add a few slices salt pork; season. When nearly cooked, add crust made of 1 quart flour, 4 teaspoons Royal Baking Powder, 1 saltspoon salt; stir in stiff batter with water; drop into kettle while boiling; cover close and cook 25 minutes.

=Chicken Pot-pie, 2.=—Disjoint 2 fowls and cook in 2 quarts water till very tender. Slip out bones and season. Line sides of clean kettle with rich biscuit crust (see Biscuits). Add chicken and thickened liquor. Stand on moderately hot fire. Build fire of dry cobs or small sticks round kettle, and keep burning till crust is well browned. Put chicken on platter and lay crust on it. _Old-fashioned receipt._

Make thick dumpling batter (see Dumplings). Drop by spoonfuls into thickened boiling liquor, cover closely for 20 minutes. _New receipt._

=Chicken Pie.=—Take 2 full-grown chickens, or more if small, disjoint them, cut backbone, etc., small as convenient. Boil them with few slices of salt pork in water enough to cover them, let boil quite tender, then take out breast-bone. After they boil and scum is taken off, put in a little onion out very fine—not enough to taste distinctly, just enough to flavor a little; rub some parsley very fine when dry, or cut fine when green—this gives pleasant flavor. Season well with pepper and salt, and few ounces good fresh butter. When all is cooked well, have liquid enough to cover chicken, then beat 2 eggs and stir in some sweet cream. Line 5-quart pan with crust made like Royal Baking Powder biscuit, only more shortening, put in chicken and liquid, cover with crust same as lining. Bake till crust is done, and you will have a good chicken pie.

=Creamed Chicken.=—Make 1 cup cream sauce (see Sauces). Prepare 2 cups diced cooked chicken. Add to sauce, season well, simmer 10 minutes.

[Illustration: (Decorative Design)]

Meat and Fish Sauces

=White or Cream Sauce.=—Put 1 tablespoon each of butter and flour in saucepan over fire. When mixed without browning add ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, then, gradually, 1 cup hot milk. Stir until smoothly thickened, and simmer for 3 minutes.

=Thick White or Cream Sauce.=—Make as above, but use double quantities of flour and butter.

=Bechamel Sauce.=—1 tablespoon each of flour and butter, ½ cup each thin cream and white stock—chicken or veal—salt and pepper to taste. Prepare same manner as white sauce.

=Allemande Sauce.=—Same as white sauce, with addition of 2 raw egg yolks added as taken from fire.

=Egg Sauce (for Fish).=—1 cup white sauce, 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar. Add parsley after taking from fire.

=Caper Sauce.=—2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon flour; mix well; pour on boiling water till it thickens; add 1 hard-boiled egg chopped fine, and 2 tablespoons capers.

=Drawn Butter.=-½ cup butter, 2 tablespoons flour; rub thoroughly together, then stir into pint boiling water; little salt; parsley if wished.

=Curry Sauce.=—Slowly cook 1 tablespoon chopped onion in 1 tablespoon butter 5 minutes without coloring. Add 1 teaspoon curry powder, cook 2 minutes, add 1 cup white sauce, cook 2 minutes longer.

=Soubise Sauce.=—Peel 3 large white onions; boil very soft in salted water. Drain, rub through sieve, add 1 cup white sauce.

=Bread Sauce.=—Cook in double boiler for 15 minutes 1 pint milk, 2 tablespoons chopped onion; add 1 tablespoon butter, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and rub through sieve. Brown ½ cup coarse dry bread crumbs in 1 tablespoon butter in frying-pan. Add these to sauce as it goes to table.

=Brown Sauce.=—In saucepan brown 1 tablespoon butter until dark, but not burned. Add 1 tablespoon flour, stir and brown again. Add gradually 1 cup good stock (beef is best) or hot water and stir until smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 5 minutes.

=Sauce Piquante.=—To 1 cup brown sauce add 1 tablespoon each of chopped capers and pickles and simmer 5 minutes.

=Mushroom Sauce.=—Make 1 cup brown sauce, using equal quantities stock and liquor from canned mushrooms. Season, add 2 tablespoons chopped mushrooms, simmer 5 minutes.

=Sharp Brown Sauce.=—1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon flour, 3 tablespoons vinegar, 1 tablespoon tomato catsup, ⅔ cup stock. Make same way as brown sauce, add salt and pepper to taste.

=Sauce Robert.=—1 cup brown sauce made with stock, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon made mustard, 1 tablespoon vinegar. Simmer 5 minutes.

=Olive Sauce.=—1 cup brown sauce, 24 stoned olives, 1 tablespoon sherry. Simmer olives in hot water 10 minutes. Drain, add sauce, simmer 5 minutes; take from fire and add sherry.

=Spanish Sauce.=—Boil 1 quart strong stock down one half. Make as directed for brown sauce, and add 2 tablespoons sherry.

=Currant Jelly Sauce.=—Melt ½ glass currant jelly over slow fire. Add 1 cup hot brown sauce; stir well and simmer 1 minute.

=Tomato Sauce.=—Simmer ½ can tomatoes, 1 chopped onion, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, 1 clove together 10 minutes. Rub through sieve. Cook together 1 tablespoon each of flour and butter 1 minute, add tomato gradually, stir till smooth, and simmer 5 minutes.