Good meat should be firm to the touch, adhere closely to the bones, be streaked with fat, and should have a slight but not unpleasant odour.

Meat becomes much more tender if it can be hung a day or two before it is cooked.

To Bake Meat.

Baking closely resembles roasting. It is more economical, as the joint loses less weight, and if carefully attended to cannot be distinguished from roast meat. A double tin which holds hot water should be used, so that the steam from the water may prevent the dripping from burning. Place the meat on a trivet in the tin, flour the meat, sprinkle it with salt, put it in the hottest part of the oven for the first few minutes, then remove it to a cooler part, baste well, and turn it over occasionally. (For time and gravy see Roast Meat.)

To Boil Meat.

Weigh the meat, allow twenty minutes to each pound, and twenty minutes extra for dishing up. Put the meat into boiling water, boil five minutes, then draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, and simmer; keep the meat well covered with water; serve with a teacupful of its own liquor. Never throw away the liquor in which meat has been boiled; it makes excellent soup.

Have a bright and clear fire; weigh the meat, allow twenty minutes to each pound, and twenty minutes extra for dishing up; flour the joint well, and sprinkle it with salt; let it roast quickly the first ten minutes, then put it farther from the fire, and let it cook more slowly, basting often; flour occasionally. When dishing up, pour the dripping out of the pan, and set it aside. Add one pint or more of boiling water to the brown lumps under the dripping, and put it in the hottest part of the oven. Pour this gravy over the meat and serve.

Beef À la Mode. Time—5 hours.

3 lbs. lean brisket, 1 quart water, ½ gill vinegar, 4 Spanish onions, 2 oz. mustard seed, 1 oz. long pepper, ½ teaspoonful ground ginger; salt to taste; a thickening of flour, sugar, and browning.

Put the beef on in cold water, bring it to the boil, then simmer for three hours, reducing the water to one pint. Add the vinegar, onions, and other ingredients. Stew in the oven (if possible) for two hours, but if the saucepan is too large for the oven, let the meat continue to simmer on the stove. Half an hour before serving, thicken the gravy with flour, sugar, and browning (see page x.).

Smoked Beef.

Soak over-night in cold water; next morning place it in cold water, and simmer till quite tender, reckoning ½ hour to the pound.

Beef Steak. Time—20 minutes.

Heat the gridiron, put in the steak, turn the gridiron four times at intervals of 2 minutes, then eight times at intervals of 1 minute. Sprinkle with pepper and salt, and serve on a hot plate.

Chops are done in the same way, turning the gridiron twice at intervals of 2 minutes, and six times at intervals of 1 minute.

To make steak tender: beat it well, and rub into it a small pinch of carbonate of soda.

1½ lb. beef steak, ¾ lb. flour, ¼ lb. clarified dripping, 1 teaspoonful salt, ½ teaspoonful pepper.

Beat the steak well, cut it up into neat pieces. Mix 1 tablespoonful flour, salt, and pepper on a plate, and dip each piece of meat into the mixture. Put the pieces in a stew-pan, cover with cold water, and simmer gently about ½ hour, then turn the meat and gravy into a pie-dish.

Put the flour into a large basin with half a saltspoonful of salt, rub the dripping into it, and add by degrees enough cold water to make a stiff paste. Flour a board, roll the pastry out rather larger than the pie-dish, about one-third of an inch thick, cut a strip off, wet the edge of the dish, place the strip round it, wet the strip, and press the rest of the pastry on to it, trimming off the rough edges with a sharp knife. Make a hole in the top of the pie to allow the steam to escape whilst baking; ornament the top and edges and brush over with beaten egg. Bake for ¾ hour, putting it into the hottest part of the oven for a few minutes, then remove it to a cooler part.

Beef Steak Pudding. Time—3½ hours.

1 lb. beef, 4 oz. suet, ¾ lb. flour, 1½ gill water, 1 teaspoonful baking-powder; salt and pepper to taste.

Put on a large saucepan of water to boil. Mix on a plate 1 dessertspoonful of flour, some pepper and salt. Beat the steak well, cut it into slices, dip each piece in the mixture, and roll it up. Put the flour, baking-powder, salt, and suet chopped fine, into a basin, and mix to a stiff paste with cold water. Cut off one-third for the top. Grease a basin well, line it with the paste, put in the meat with a little water or gravy, wet the edges, press the top on. Tie a pudding cloth, dipped in boiling water and dredged with flour, over the basin, place it in the saucepan of boiling water, and boil 2½ hours.

Stewed Shin of Beef (with Dumplings). Time—2½ hours.

1 lb. shin of beef, 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 turnips, 2 tablespoonfuls flour, 2 oz. dripping or suet; pepper and salt to taste.

Prepare the carrots and turnips and boil them quickly 20 minutes in 1 quart of water. Cut the meat into pieces, fry a light brown in the dripping, then place the pieces in a saucepan. Peel and slice the onions, fry them in the same dripping, then stir in carefully 2 tablespoonfuls of flour to brown. Add the carrots and turnips to the meat, pour the water in which they were boiled into the frying-pan to brown; then add it with the onions, pepper and salt to the meat, etc, and stew slowly 1½ hour.

Dumplings.—½ lb. flour, 2 oz. dripping, 1 teaspoonful baking-powder, 1 teaspoonful salt.

Shred the fat fine and rub it into the flour with the baking-powder and salt. Mix with lukewarm water to a stiff paste. Cut into eight pieces, and roll lightly into dumplings on a floured board. Throw them into a saucepan of boiling water, and boil till they rise to the surface (20 minutes). Add them to the stew 10 minutes before serving.

Beef Stewed with French Beans. Time—3 hours.

5 lbs. lean brisket, 2 lbs. French beans, 4 good-sized onions, 1 pint water, 1 gill vinegar, 1 tablespoonful flour, 2 tablespoonfuls dark moist sugar; pepper and salt to taste.

Stew the beef 3 hours in the water. String the beans, cut them in halves, peel and cut up the onions, and add all to the beef at the end of the first hour. About 10 minutes before serving skim off all the fat; mix smoothly in a separate basin the flour, sugar, vinegar, pepper and salt, and add the mixture to the stew.

Beef Stewed with Haricot Beans. Time—5 hours.

3 lbs. lean brisket, 1 onion, 1 tablespoonful moist sugar, 1 oz. dripping, ¾ pint haricot beans, ¾ pint cold water, 1 tablespoonful flour; pepper, salt and ground ginger to taste.

The beans must be put in soak over-night.

Chop the onion fine, fry in the dripping, add the flour, seasoning, sugar, beans and water. Stew the meat and vegetables, etc., very gently 4 or 5 hours.

1 set brains, 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls bread-crumbs; pepper and salt.

Wash the brains in vinegar and water, then put them into boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. Drain them, chop them, and put them into a basin with 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley, pepper, salt and 1 egg. Add sufficient bread-crumbs to make them into a stiff paste (not exceeding two tablespoonfuls). Form into flat, round cakes, dip into egg and bread-crumbs and fry.

Brazilian Stew. Time—3 hours.

1 lb. beef, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, herbs, pepper and salt to taste, ½ gill vinegar.

Cut the meat into neat pieces, dip each piece in the vinegar, and pack closely in a saucepan. Sprinkle with pepper and salt. Cut the vegetables into slices, and put them with the herbs into the saucepan. Close the lid, and steam 2½ hours, stirring occasionally.

Braised Beef. Time—3 hours.

5 lbs. topside, ½ lb. smoked beef, 3 oz. dripping, 1 medium-sized onion, 1 small carrot, 1 turnip, 3 to 4 sticks celery, 1 pint water, a few whole peppers and allspice, 1 tablespoonful vinegar, 1 tablespoonful flour; salt to taste.

Melt the dripping, cut up the smoked beef into thin wedge-like strips and insert them into the meat with a knife. Brown both sides of the meat in the dripping, add the vegetables, seasoning and water, and let all stew very slowly for 2½ hours. ¼ hour before serving, take out the meat, keep it hot; mix the flour, vinegar and 1 tablespoonful water to a paste, pour it into the stew-pan and thicken it, strain gravy over meat and serve.

To Clarify Dripping.

Pour the dripping from the pan into a basin of cold water. When cool lift off the cake of clarified dripping, scrape away the sediment from the bottom, and wipe dry.

To Clarify Fat.

Cut up any scraps of cooked or uncooked fat into small pieces, place in a saucepan, add just sufficient cold water to cover them, stir often, and simmer with the lid off till nothing is left of the pieces of fat but brownish scraps. Strain into a basin, and when cold, a hard white cake will be formed, which will keep good some time. This fat makes excellent pastry, and can be used for frying.

Irish Stew. Time—2 hours.

1½ lb. breast or scrag of mutton, 2 lbs. of potatoes, 1 pint water, 3 onions, 1 tablespoonful flour, 1 teaspoonful salt, ½ teaspoonful pepper.

Cut the meat into neat pieces, removing some of the fat, peel and slice the potatoes and onions. Mix the flour, pepper and salt on a plate, and dip each piece of meat into this mixture. Put a layer of potatoes at the bottom of the saucepan, then one of meat, then one of onion, covering with a layer of potatoes. Pour the water over the whole and stew slowly, or bake in the oven 1½ hour, stirring occasionally.

Liver. Time—½ hour.

½ lb. liver, 1 gill water, 2 tablespoonfuls flour, 2 oz. dripping; pepper and salt to taste.

Cut the liver into slices about one-third of an inch thick. Dip each piece into one tablespoonful flour mixed with pepper and salt, and fry in hot fat. Take out the liver, put it on a hot dish. Mix one tablespoonful flour carefully with the water in a separate basin. Add this gradually to the contents of the frying-pan; let it boil and thicken. Pour it over the liver and serve.

Liver Fritters. Time—½ hour.

½ lb. liver, 1 shalot, sage, bread-crumbs, 1 slice cold smoked beef (if liked), 1 oz. suet; pepper and salt to taste.

Scrape the liver, chop the suet and shalot and mix all well together with the bread-crumbs and seasoning till the mixture is firm enough to roll into balls. Flatten into cakes, dip in egg and bread-crumbs and fry a golden brown in hot fat or oil.

Sausage meat can also be made into fritters, but should be dipped in batter (page 43) instead of egg and bread-crumbs.

5 lbs. leg of mutton, ¼ lb. smoked beef, 1½ pint stock or water, 1 lb. Brussels sprouts, 3 carrots, 1 turnip, 1 onion, 3 sticks celery, a little thyme and parsley; pepper and salt to taste.

Place the mutton in a stew-pan on a layer of slices of smoked beef, add some pepper and salt, the stock or water, and simmer gently 3½ hours (in the oven, if possible). Prepare and cut up the vegetables, and add all the ingredients, except the sprouts, to the meat 1 hour before serving. Boil the sprouts separately and add them when serving. Thicken and brown the gravy if liked.

Mutton Cutlets. Time—½ hour.

4 lbs. best end of a neck of mutton, 1 egg, bread-crumbs; pepper and salt to taste.

Saw off the upper rib bones, leaving the bones which will form the cutlets about three inches long. Cut off each cutlet, trim neatly, scraping off the fat. Dip each one in the egg, which has been well beaten, sprinkle with bread-crumbs, and fry a golden brown in hot fat or oil. Arrange on a hot dish round mashed potatoes or other vegetables.

The pieces cut off in preparing the cutlets should be used for Irish stew, toad-in-the hole, or any other small dish.

Haricot Mutton. Time—2½ hours.

1 lb. scrag of mutton, ¾ pint water or stock, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, 1 oz. dripping, ½ oz. flour; pepper and salt to taste.

Cut the mutton into neat pieces, fry them brown in the dripping, then take them out and brown the flour carefully. Stir in the water or stock, and put back the meat. Cut the vegetables into dice, and add them with the seasoning. Skim well and simmer 2 hours.

Pillau. Time—2½ hours.

1 lb. mutton, 3 tomatoes, 1 teacupful rice, 1 quart water; salt to taste.

Cut up some pieces of raw fat mutton, add a little water, cover the stew-pan, and place on a slow fire. The meat must consume the water and stew till it becomes a light brown colour. Wash the tomatoes, put them into a stew-pan without water, and stew them soft over a slow fire. Strain the pulp through a sieve and add sufficient water to make 1½ pint of liquor. This must be thrown into the stew-pan over the mutton; add salt and boil it up. Wash and dry the rice well, throw it into the stew-pan, let it boil 5 minutes, and then simmer ½ hour.

Poor Man’s Goose. Time—1½ hour.

4 lbs. bola. Stuffing.—1 onion, 1 teaspoonful sage, a small piece of soaked bread, 1 oz. suet; pepper and salt to taste.

Make holes in the meat with a skewer, and fill them up with the stuffing, made as follows: Chop the suet and onion fine, squeeze the bread dry, and mix all together with the sage, pepper and salt. Flour the meat and roast it (see p. 19). Serve with baked potatoes.

Sausage Rolls. Time—1 hour.

4 sausages, ½ lb. flour, ¼ lb. dripping, 1 egg.

Skin the sausages, make flaky pastry (page 41), after the final rolling, cut the pastry into 4, place a sausage in the centre of each piece of pastry, egg half-way round the edges, fold over, press the edges together, trim neatly, place on a greased baking-tin, brush over with beaten egg and bake in a hot oven about ½ hour.

Sausage and Rice. Time—¾ hour.

½ lb. choriza (sausage), ¼ lb. rice, 1 pint boiling water, a pinch of saffron.

Wash and drain the rice well, put it in a saucepan with the saffron and boiling water. Skin the sausage, place it on the top of the rice, and simmer very gently till the rice swells and soaks up all the water. Serve the sausage in a ring of rice. Sausage cooked alone should simmer about 20 minutes.

1 sheep’s head, 3 onions, 3 turnips, a small bunch parsley, 1 tablespoonful pearl barley, 2 teaspoonfuls salt, ½ teaspoonful pepper, sufficient cold water to cover the head, ½ oz. flour, 1 oz. dripping.

Soak the head for one hour in lukewarm water. Then remove the tongue, brains, and all the thin soft bones from the inside of the head. Tie it together put it in a saucepan, cover with water, adding the salt, and bring it slowly to the boil; take off the scum. Prepare the vegetables, wash the barley, and add all to the head. Let the whole simmer gently for 3 hours. About ½ hour before it is done, tie the brains in a little piece of muslin, and throw them into the saucepan. Boil the tongue separately. When done, place the head on a hot dish. Mash the turnips with a little dripping, pepper and salt, form into little balls, and place round the dish alternately with the carrots. Halve the tongue, and lay it across the head. Pour over all a sauce made of the flour browned in the dripping, half a pint of the stock in which the head has been boiled, the brains, slightly chopped, and a little finely-chopped parsley. The broth may be used as it is, or made into a soup of any kind.

Roast Sheeps’ Hearts. Time—¾ hour.

2 sheeps’ hearts, 2 oz. dripping. Stuffing—2 oz. suet, 1 tablespoonful herbs, 2 tablespoonfuls bread-crumbs, rind of 1 lemon grated, 1 egg; pepper and salt to taste.

Put the hearts into boiling water for a few minutes. Meanwhile make the stuffing as follows:—Chop the suet, mix with the herbs, bread-crumbs, lemon-rind, pepper, salt and beaten egg. Take the hearts out of the water, dry them, stuff them, skewer them up, flour them, put them in a saucepan with a little dripping, baste occasionally, and turn them over. When done pour a little stock into the saucepan, stir it well, boil it up, and pour over the hearts.

Stewed Steak. Time—2½ hours.

1 lb. beef steak, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, ½ saltspoonful salt, ¼ saltspoonful pepper, 1 dessertspoonful chopped parsley, 2 oz. dripping, 1 dessertspoonful flour.

Melt the dripping, cut the steak into 3 pieces, and fry them. Then take out the meat, cut the onion and carrot into thin slices, the turnip into thick blocks, and fry these in the dripping. When they are browned, lay the meat on top of them, add the seasoning and ½ pint of warm water. Close the lid and simmer 2 hours. Thicken with the flour ¼ hour before serving; add the chopped parsley at the last minute.

Smoked or Salt Tongue.

Smoked tongues must be soaked over-night in cold water. Salt tongues do not require this. Tongues must be placed in boiling water and simmered till tender, then skinned and replaced in the liquor to get hot again.

Toad-in-the-Hole. Time—¾ hour.

½ lb. scraps of cooked or uncooked meat, 3 gills water, ½ lb. flour, salt, 2 eggs.

Grease a pie-dish or baking-tin; lay the pieces of meat in it; make a batter by stirring the water gradually into the flour and salt, beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat all together, pressing out any lumps against the sides of the basin, let it stand two hours if possible, then pour it over the meat and bake in a quick oven about ½ hour.

Stewed Knuckle of Veal. Time—2¼ hours.

4 lbs. knuckle of veal, ¼ lb. rice, 1 onion, 1 teaspoonful salt, ¼ teaspoonful pepper, 1 tablespoonful chopped parsley, 3 pints water, 1 oz. flour, juice of 1 lemon.

Simmer the veal for 2 hours in the salt and water. After it has simmered 1 hour add the onion, peeled and cut up, and the rice well washed. Simmer again for 1 hour, add the flour mixed to a cream with the lemon-juice, then add the chopped parsley, cook for 10 minutes, and serve the meat in the middle of the rice and gravy.

Breast of Veal or Mutton Stuffed. Time—2 hours.

Cut breast in half and stuff; or bone, stuff and roll round. Bake for 1½ hour, basting well.

Forcemeat: 2 oz. smoked beef, ¼ lb. suet, rind of ½ lemon, 1 teaspoonful chopped herbs, and parsley, salt, cayenne and pounded mace to taste, 4 oz. bread-crumbs, and 1 egg.

Shred the smoked beef, chop the suet, lemon-rind, and herbs, mincing all very finely. Add seasoning to taste, and mix well with the bread-crumbs before wetting with the egg. Work all together and use.