TO ROAST BEEF

Time for cooking rib roast rare eight to ten minutes per pound; time for cooking rolled roast rare, ten to twelve minutes per pound.

To roast beef on a spit before the fire is unquestionably the best method of cooking it; but as few kitchens are equipped for roasting meats, baking them in the oven is generally practised, and has come to be called roasting. Beef should be well streaked with fat, and have a bright-red color. Place the meat to be baked on a rack which will raise it a little above the bottom of the pan. Dredge the whole, top and sides, with flour. Place in a corner of the pan a half teaspoonful of salt and a quarter teaspoonful of pepper. Do not let them touch the raw meat, as they draw out the juices. Put into the pan also two tablespoonfuls of drippings. Place it in a very hot oven for fifteen or twenty minutes, or until the meat is browned; then shut off the drafts and lower the temperature of the oven, and cook slowly until done; baste frequently; do not put water in the pan, as it makes steam, and prevents browning. A roast has a better appearance if the ribs are not too long. They may be cut off and reserved for the soup pot, or broken and doubled under.

Serve it standing on the ribs, and cut the slices in line with the ribs.For a rolled roast, remove the bones, roll it, and tie securely into good shape; when cooked, cut the cords and run through a fancy skewer holding at the head a slice of lemon or piece of carrot cut into ornamental shape. This piece of beef stands on the dish like a cylinder, and should be cut across horizontally.

If the beef is cooked as directed it will have one quarter of an inch of seared meat; the rest will be of a uniform red color all through. If cooked in too hot an oven the center will be raw, while an inch or two of the outside will be much overdone, hard, and tasteless. (See illustration facing page 152.)

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Put two cupfuls of flour into a bowl, and mix in one half a teaspoonful of salt. Beat up three eggs, and stir them into the flour; then add two cupfuls of milk. Stir until the mixture is smooth, then turn it into a pan containing a little of the drippings from the roast beef. Let the batter be only one inch deep in the pan. Bake thirty to forty minutes. Cut the pudding in squares, and place it around the roast beef.

ROUND OF BEEF

Ten to twelve minutes per pound.

The cut from the upper side of the round is a good roasting piece. It should be cooked very slowly after it is browned in order to make it tender. The under side of the round should be cooked À la mode, or braised.

BRAISED BEEF

Take one half cupful of salt pork, one half cupful each of carrot, turnip, onion, and celery, all cut into dice. Mix them together and spread them on a baking pan, reserving one half cupful for the top of the meat. On the bed of vegetables place a piece of beef cut from the upper or under side of the round, weighing five or six pounds. Dredge it with flour. Place it in hot oven to brown for twenty to twenty-five minutes. Then add two cupfuls of stock or water; a bouquet of herbs, consisting of parsley, six peppercorns, three cloves, one bay-leaf; spread the one half cupful of vegetables over the meat; add a half teaspoonful of salt to the pan, cover it closely with another pan, reduce the heat of the oven, and cook very slowly for four or five hours.Double pans are made which are especially good for braising, where the steam should be confined as much as possible, and the basting is done automatically. These pans should not be used for baking meats. If very close fitting pans are not used, the water must be renewed when necessary, and basting done frequently. The success of this dish depends upon slow cooking. Strain the sauce from the pan, season with salt and pepper; pour a little of the sauce over the meat; serve the rest in a sauce-boat. It is very like a Spanish sauce. The vegetables may be served around the meat if desired. This way of cooking can be done in a pot if more convenient, and is then called a pot roast.

BEEF À LA MODE

Use six or seven pounds of the upper round of beef for this dish. (It is very good cold when properly cooked.) The success depends upon very slow cooking. The vegetables give it a distinctive flavor.

Make several deep incisions into the meat with a thin, sharp knife, or with a steel. Press into them lardoons of salt pork about half an inch square, and two or three inches long. This is called daubing, and the butcher will ordinarily do it if requested. Put trimmings of pork, or two tablespoonfuls of drippings, into the bottom of a large iron pot. When it is hot, put in the meat, and brown it on all sides by turning it to the bottom of the pot. This will take about half an hour. Next dredge it with flour, and brown that also. Then put a small plate under the beef to lift it a little off the bottom of the pot, and prevent its burning. Fill the pot with enough boiling water to half cover the meat. Add a half cupful each of sliced onions, carrots, and turnips, and a sprig of parsley. Cover the pot very tight, so the meat will cook in steam; and simmer it for four or five hours. Add more boiling water when necessary. When the meat is done, place it on a hot dish. Place some of the vegetables around and over it. Make a gravy as follows: put into a saucepan a tablespoonful of butter; when it bubbles, add a tablespoonful of flour, and stir until it is browned; then add a cupful of liquor strained from the pot in which the beef was cooked. If there is not a cupful of liquor in the pot, add enough hot water to make that quantity. Season with pepper and salt. This will resemble a Spanish sauce. It can be poured over the meat, or served separately.

BOUILLI

This dish is prepared usually from the meat used in making soup. Take a piece from the lower side of round; trim, and tie it into good shape; place it in the soup pot with cold water, allowing one quart of water to each pound of meat. Let it come slowly to the boiling point, and then let it simmer for four hours. After it has cooked two hours add a whole carrot, onion, and turnip, parsley, celery, six peppercorns, three cloves, one teaspoonful of salt. The meat will be tender if cooked very slowly, and not allowed to boil; but having been put into cold water, its juices will be extracted. Therefore the water is used as soup, and the meat will depend on a good sauce for flavor. Any rich brown sauce will do. Tomato or horseradish sauce is recommended. Cut the vegetables into fancy shapes with cutters, or into dice, and place them on the dish around the meat.

FILLET OF BEEF

Time, thirty minutes in hot oven.

The fillet is the tenderloin of beef, and is taken from the underside of the sirloin cut. Remove, taking care not to make the meat ragged, the sinewy skin and the muscle from the top, and most of the fat from the other side. Fold the thin end under, trim it into good shape. Lard it plentifully, letting the whole upper surface be perforated with fine lardoons. Place in a small baking pan thin slices of larding pork, over the pork place a layer of chopped onion, carrot, turnip and celery; lay the tenderloin on top. Pour in the pan a cupful of stock, add one half teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and a bouquet of parsley, one bay-leaf, and two cloves. Bake in a hot oven for thirty minutes, and baste frequently. The fillet should be rare. Remove it when done; strain off the gravy, and skim off the grease. Put into the same pan a tablespoonful each of butter and of flour; stir until they are browned; then add slowly the gravy strained from the pan; if not enough to give a cupful, add enough stock to make that measure. Stir until it boils; then add a canful of mushrooms (which have been drained), and let them simmer for five minutes; not longer, or the mushrooms will harden. Taste to see if the seasoning is right. Add a half teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet to make it brown. The sauce should be of the consistency of cream. A half cupful of Madeira or of sherry may be used in place of the mushrooms if preferred. Spread the sauce on the serving dish, and lay the fillet on it. Arrange the mushrooms top side up, evenly around the fillet. In carving cut the fillet diagonally, instead of straight across; and put a little gravy in the center of each slice. The time for cooking is always thirty minutes, for the weight is in the length, and not in the thickness of the meat.

HOW TO BUY A FILLET

A profitable way to obtain a fillet is to buy a large cut of the sirloin, remove the tenderloin, and have the top cut into two or more roasting pieces. Beef will keep for some time, and the butcher will hold it until called for. In this way it will cost twenty-two to twenty-five cents per pound, while, if bought by itself, it would be from eighty cents to one dollar per pound.

For a moderate sized family it may seem too much beef to buy at one time; but it is the one kind of meat that can be served very often, and there is no waste. It is good hot or cold, warmed over or hashed. The suet is the best fat for frying purposes, and the bones make good soup. Part of the sirloin piece can be cut into steaks, and one of the roasting pieces rolled to give variety. The flank can be made into Hamburg steaks, or into soup. If judiciously cut there will be little left over to cook again.

COLD ROAST BEEF

Roasted and braised beef are both quite as good cold as hot, and in summer are sometimes preferable cold. Serve with cold beef a vegetable salad when it is used for dinner. Make the salad of string beans, asparagus, or a macÉdoine of vegetables. For a supper dish, the rolled rib roast can be made very attractive by garnishing it with aspic jelly cut into fancy forms. Place a large star of the jelly on top, and small timbale forms of jellied vegetables, and broken jelly on the dish around the meat; or a simpler garnishing can be made with lettuce leaves, tomatoes stuffed with mayonnaise, or celery, etc. Use lettuce with any of the salads. Have a fancy skewer stuck in the side.

SCALLOPED MEAT

Spread in a baking dish alternate layers of bread-crumbs, meat chopped very fine, a sprinkling of chopped parsley and onion, pepper and salt. When the dish is nearly full, pour over enough white sauce to moisten it well; cover with crumbs and bits of butter. Set in oven until browned. Soup stock or tomatoes may also be used for moistening a scallop. If uncooked meat is used, it will require longer cooking (one hour in slow oven), and more liquid used, so that it will not get too dry. The coarse ends of steak can be utilized in this way. A scallop made of raw meat and tomatoes makes a good luncheon dish.

HAMBURG STEAKS

Chop one pound of lean raw meat very fine, remove all the fiber possible. To the mince add

• ½ tablespoonful of onion juice.
• ½ teaspoonful salt.
• ¼ teaspoonful pepper.
• Dash of nutmeg.
• 1 egg.

Form it into small balls, and flatten; dredge them with flour, and sautÉ them in butter. Place them on a hot dish, and spread with maÎtre d’hÔtel butter; or make a thick brown sauce by adding a tablespoonful of flour to the butter used in the sautÉ pan. Let it brown; then add slowly a little soup stock. Season with salt and pepper, and lemon juice, or Worcestershire sauce. Drop a teaspoonful of sauce on each cake without spreading it. Garnish with water-cresses. These steaks can be made from the end pieces of steaks, or from the round.

When made for invalids, the best meat is used. They are seasoned only with salt and pepper, and broiled just enough to be thoroughly heated. Another way to serve them is to make them the size of English muffins; on the upper side make a depression or hollow, broil or sautÉ them, and place them on a baking dish; spread them with maÎtre d’hÔtel butter, and drop an egg in the hollow top of each one. Put them in the oven just long enough to set the white of the egg. Place a dash of pepper on the center of the yolk, and serve at once very hot.

BEEF PIE

Lay in a pie dish a few thin slices of onion; then a layer of cold cooked beef cut very thin. Dredge with a little flour, pepper, and salt; fill the dish with these articles in alternate layers, and add any cold gravy there may be at hand. Scald and peel enough tomatoes to cover the top of the dish; have them of uniform size, and place them close together. Spread over them some bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and bits of butter. Place the dish in the oven, and cook until the tomatoes are tender.

Mutton or veal may be used in the same way.

WARMED-OVER BEEF (CHAFING-DISH)

Cut the beef into small thin slices, and trim off the fat. Put into a stew pan one tablespoonful of butter, and one tablespoonful of flour. When cooked, and a little browned, add slowly one cupful of stock, one teaspoonful each of Worcestershire sauce and mushroom catsup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the slices of beef, and let them become thoroughly hot. Then place in the center of a hot dish, and pour the sauce over them. Garnish with croÛtons, and serve with it farina balls (see page 223). Tomato catsup may be substituted for the Worcestershire sauce. When this dish is to be prepared in a chafing-dish, the sauce may be made beforehand; the heating and mixing only being done over the lamp, and croÛtons alone served with it. Any kind of meat or fish may be used in this way.

INSIDE FLANK

Take the piece of meat called the inside flank; wipe it clean with a wet cloth; carefully remove the skin and fat and lay it flat on a board; moisten three quarters of a cupful of crumbs with stock; add one teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful onion juice or one half onion chopped fine, one tablespoonful chopped parsley. Spread this mixture on the meat evenly; then roll and tie it with white twine; turn in the ends to make it even and shapely.

Cut into dice an onion, turnip, and carrot, and place them in a baking-pan; lay the rolled meat on the bed of vegetables; pour in enough stock or water to cover the pan one inch deep; add a bouquet made of parsley, one bay-leaf and three cloves; cover with another pan, and let cook slowly for four or five hours, basting frequently. It can be done in a pot just as well, and should be covered as tight as possible; when cooked, strain off the vegetables; thicken the gravy with brown roux and serve it with the meat. Long, slow cooking is essential to make the meat tender. If cooked too fast it will not be good.

A thin steak cut from the round may be cooked the same way, and a little ham chopped fine may be added to the stuffing. The cost of this dish is not more than eighteen to twenty-five cents, and is enough for four or five persons.

RAGOUT OF BEEF

Cut two pounds of the upper round of beef into inch squares; dredge them with salt and pepper, and roll them in flour. Put into a saucepan some butter and some drippings, or a little suet, and let it try out, using enough only to cover the bottom of the saucepan; when the grease is hot, turn in the pieces of meat, and let them cook until well browned on all sides. Watch, and turn them as soon as browned; then draw the meat to one side of the pan, and add a tablespoonful of flour; let the flour brown, and add a cupful of stock or water, and stir until it comes to the boiling-point; then add a teaspoonful of salt, a half teaspoonful of pepper, one half teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet; one carrot cut into blocks, and one tablespoonful of onion; cover the saucepan, and let it simmer (not boil) for an hour. Just before serving add two tablespoonfuls of sherry or of Madeira. Serve a border of rice around the ragout.

BEEFSTEAK

TO BROIL A BEEFSTEAK

Time: one inch thick, eight minutes; one and a half inches thick, ten minutes.

Trim a steak into good shape, taking off the end-piece to be used in some other form, as it is not eatable when broiled; take off superfluous fat; make the surface smooth by striking it with the broad blade of knife; heat the broiler very hot. Take a piece of the fat, trimmed off the meat, on a fork and grease the broiler well; lay on the steak with the outside or skin edge toward the handle, so the fat may run on the meat. Place it close to the hot coals and count ten slowly; turn it and do the same; this is to sear the outside and keep the juices in; then hold it farther from the coals to cook more slowly, and turn it as often as you count ten, counting about as fast as the clock ticks. If turned in this way very little fat will run into the fire, and it also cooks slowly, giving an even color all through. The flame from fat does not injure the meat, but the smoke must be avoided. Wrap a napkin around the hand holding the broiler to protect it from the heat. A steak ought not to be less than an inch, but should be one and a half to one and three quarters inches thick. Allow eight to ten minutes for cooking according to the thickness. One two inches thick will take fourteen to eighteen minutes. A steak should be rare but not raw, should have a uniform red color, and be full of juice.

When done it will be puffed between the wires of broiler, and will offer a little resistance to the touch. If experience does not enable one to judge in this way, remove the broiler to a dish on the table, and make a small clean cut on one side. Do not at any time pierce the meat with a fork. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and spread with maÎtre d’hÔtel butter. If the steak has to stand a few minutes before serving, which should be avoided if possible, dredge it at once with salt and pepper, but do not spread with the maÎtre d’hÔtel butter until just before sending it to the table. The heat of the meat must melt the butter, and the parsley should look fresh and bright. Steak, as well as all broiled articles, should be garnished with slices of lemon and with water-cress.

Fried potato-balls, straws, puffed, or Saratoga potatoes may be served on the same dish.

CHATEAUBRIAND

The Chateaubriand is cut from the center of the fillet; but a good substitute is a tenderloin steak cut two inches thick, the bone removed, and the meat then turned so as to make a circle. Flatten it by striking with broad blade of knife or a cleaver. Broil slowly as directed above for eighteen minutes. Serve with maÎtre d’hÔtel butter, mushroom, or olive sauce, placing the mushrooms or olives on top of the steak, the sauce under it. (See illustration facing page 152.)

The Chateaubriand may also be roasted or braised.

MIGNON FILLETS

Cut slices from the end of the fillet of beef about five eighths of an inch thick. Press and trim them into circles; dredge with salt and pepper; sautÉ them in butter; spread BÉarnaise sauce on a hot dish, and lay the mignon fillets on it, or lay the fillets on croÛtons of the same size as the fillet, and place on top of each one a small spoonful of peas, string-beans, or macÉdoine of vegetables.

CORNED BEEF

Put corned beef into cold water; using enough to cover it well; let it come slowly to the boiling-point; then place where it will simmer only; allow thirty minutes or more to each pound. It is improved by adding a few soup vegetables the last hour of cooking. A piece from the round is the best cut, and should have a layer of fat. If cooked very slowly as directed, it will be tender and juicy.

If the piece can be used a second time, trim it to good shape; place it again in the water in which it was boiled; let it get heated through; then set aside to cool in the water and under pressure, a plate or deep dish holding a flat-iron being set on top of the meat. The water need not rise above the meat sufficiently to wet the iron. When cooled under pressure the meat is more firm and cuts better into slices.

Cabbage is usually served with hot corned beef, but should not be boiled with it. The receipt given on page 212 is recommended, and if that method is followed, there will be no odor from the cooking, and the objection to this very good dish will be removed.

CORNED BEEF HASH

Chop cooked corned beef, using some of the fat. Do not make it too fine; chop some cold boiled potatoes (not fine); mix the two together in equal proportions; season with salt, pepper, and onion juice, if liked.

Put a tablespoonful of butter in a frying-pan with as much milk, stock, or hot water as will be required to moisten the hash; add the chopped meat and potatoes; mix them together with care to not mash the potatoes; cover and cook slowly for half an hour, or until a crust has formed on the bottom of the pan; then turn it on to a hot dish, like an omelet. Hash should not be like mush, but the meat and potato quite distinct, and as both ingredients have been already cooked they need only to be well heated and incorporated with the seasoning.

HASH

Unless for brown hash, or corned beef hash, potato is not used. Chop the meat to a fine mince. Put a tablespoonful of butter into a frying-pan with one slice of onion; remove the onion when cooked, and add one tablespoonful of flour, and let it brown, thus making a brown roux, if the hash is to be made of beef or mutton. Do not let it brown if it is to be used for veal or chicken hash. To the brown roux add slowly a cupful of stock or hot water; then a cupful and a half of minced meat; season with salt and pepper; stir until well incorporated, and serve at once on toast. To a white roux add slowly a cupful of milk; then add one and a half cupfuls of veal or chicken chopped fine; season with salt and pepper. Cut toast into large circles with a biscuit-cutter. Spread them with a thick layer of mince, and on this place a poached egg, neatly trimmed to the same size as the toast. It can be cut with the same cutter, or it may be poached in a muffin-ring (see page 263).

Put a dash of pepper on the center of yolk. Garnish with parsley. This makes a very presentable breakfast or luncheon dish.

BROWN HASH

Cut lean meat into small dice; cut also cold boiled potatoes into dice of the same size; mix them together, and place in a small baking-pan; dredge with salt and pepper, and dot plentifully with bits of butter. Put into hot oven to brown; stir them often so all sides will brown alike, and do not let them become too dry.

MARROW-BONES

Have the bones cut into pieces two or three inches long; scrape and wash them very clean; spread a little thick dough on each end to keep the marrow in; then tie each bone in a piece of cloth and boil them for one hour. Remove the cloth and paste, and place each bone on a square of toast; sprinkle with red pepper and serve very hot. Or the marrow-bone can be boiled without being cut, the marrow then removed with a spoon and placed on squares of hot toast. Serve for luncheon. (See illustration facing page 152.)

MUTTON

ROAST LEG OF MUTTON

Time ten minutes per pound (rare); fifteen minutes per pound (moderately well done).

Cut the bone short, place in a hot oven for twenty minutes; then add one cupful of hot water; baste frequently. Allow ten minutes to the pound for cooking rare. When ready to serve conceal the bone with a frill of paper, or a few leaves of parsley.

ROAST LOIN OF MUTTON

Have the joints cracked entirely through, so there may be no trouble in carving. Remove the fat and kidney. Allow nine minutes to the pound; roast the same as the leg.

ROAST SADDLE OF MUTTON

The saddle is the back of the animal. If split it would be called the loin, and when cut gives the chops. It does not furnish very much meat for a roast, so requires to be a large cut. It is esteemed for its handsome appearance, as well as for its flavor. Remove the skin from the top, also the fat and kidneys from the under side. The suet on the top can be lightly cut in points, and a little raised to make decoration. Roll the flaps under, and tie into a well rounded shape. If a large saddle is used, the tail is left on. It should be cooked in a hot oven, basted frequently, and cooked rare, allowing nine minutes to the pound. In carving cut slices the length of the saddle, and parallel to the back bone; then slip the knife under, and separate them from the rib bones. After the top is carved, the saddle is turned, and the tenderloin, which lies on the under side, is cut in the same way.

Serve currant jelly with the saddle of mutton.

ROLLED LOIN (CROWN ROAST)

Have the butcher cut a full loin, split the bone between the chops, trim the rib bones as for French chops, and chop them off to a uniform length; then roll the loin backward into a circle, and tie securely. Have a thick slice of larding pork wrapped around each bone, so it will not burn while cooking. Baste frequently while roasting, and allow nine minutes to the pound. Serve with Saratoga or other fancy fried potatoes in the basket-like top formed by the bones. Place a frill of paper on each bone.

Have the butcher carefully remove the blade from the shoulder, and fill the space with a mixture made of

• 1 cupful of bread-crumbs.
• 2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
• 1 tablespoonful chopped parsley.
• 1 dozen oysters.
• Juice of 1 lemon.
• 1 teaspoonful of salt.
• ¼ teaspoonful of pepper.
• 1 egg.

Sew up the opening, roast in the oven with a little water in the pan; allow fifteen minutes to the pound, and baste frequently. Serve with the gravy from the pan, after the grease is carefully poured off. More oysters may be used, or they may be omitted altogether. A stuffing may be made of chopped meat, celery, onion, mushrooms, crumbs, egg, and seasoning of salt and pepper.

A stuffed shoulder can be pressed into a shape to resemble a fowl or a duck, and garnished so as to make an ornamental dish.

BOILED MUTTON

Time fifteen minutes to the pound.

Put the mutton in just enough boiling water to cover it, and put on the lid of the pot. After fifteen minutes draw it aside, and let it simmer for the required time. Thirty minutes before removing the meat add some soup vegetables. They will give flavor to the meat, and enrich the water, which may be used for soup the next day. Cut the carrot and turnip in half inch thick slices, and stamp with a fluted cutter, so the rims will be scalloped. Place the meat on a hot dish, and rub lightly over it enough of the white sauce (to be used for the caper sauce) to make the surface white and smooth. Sprinkle with chopped parsley or capers. Take the sliced vegetables, cut a hole in the center, and string them alternately on the bone, which will protrude at each end. This will give the effect of skewers, conceal the bone, and make the dish more presentable.

Serve with caper sauce.

CAPER SAUCE

Put two tablespoonfuls of butter into a saucepan; when melted, add a tablespoonful of flour; cook for a few minutes, but not brown; then add one cupful of water in which the mutton was boiled; season with salt and pepper, strain, and add one heaping tablespoonful of capers.

RAGOUT OF MUTTON OR LAMB

One and one half pounds of the neck of mutton or lamb cut into pieces one inch square.

• 1 tablespoonful of butter.
• 1 tablespoonful of flour.
• 1 onion.
• 1 carrot.
• ½ can of peas.
• 1½ cupfuls of water or stock.
• 1 teaspoonful of salt.
• ¼ teaspoonful of pepper.
• Sprig of parsley.
• 1 bay-leaf.
• 1 clove.

Put the butter into a frying-pan; when melted add the flour, and let brown. Then add the carrot and onion cut into dice, and the mutton. Cook, stirring frequently, until all are browned, using care that they do not burn; it will take about twenty minutes. Then add the stock or water, and the seasoning, having the herbs in a bouquet, so they can be removed. Cover closely, and let simmer for two hours. Add the peas ten minutes before removing from the fire.

RAGOUT OF COLD BOILED MUTTON

• 2 cupfuls of cold boiled mutton cut in inch squares.
• 1 onion sliced.
• 1 cupful of stock or water in which mutton was boiled.
• 2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
• ½ can of peas.
• 1 teaspoonful of salt.
• ¼ teaspoonful of pepper.
• 1 head of lettuce.
• Farina balls.

Put all the ingredients, except the lettuce and farina balls, into a saucepan together; cover closely, and simmer very slowly for one hour; stir occasionally, but with care not to break the meat or peas. When ready to serve, taste to see if the seasoning is right, and pour on a hot dish. Lay around the edge, and close to the meat, the crisp leaves of one head of lettuce, and the farina balls (see page 223). This way of utilizing cold mutton will be found very good. The garnishing makes it a presentable dish, and is a good accompaniment in place of other vegetables.

IRISH STEW

Cut the neck of mutton into pieces two and one half or three inches square. Put them into a saucepan with one tablespoonful of butter, and let them brown; stir frequently so they do not burn. When browned add enough water to cover them well, and two or three onions cut into pieces. Cover closely and let simmer two hours. Then add more water if necessary, some parboiled potatoes cut in two, and a few slices of carrot, salt, and pepper to taste; cover and let cook one hour more. A teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce is an improvement. The gravy must be quite thick, so too much water must not be used. The potatoes should be very soft, but not broken.

MUTTON CHOPS

Loin chops should be cut one and one fourth inches thick, and the fat trimmed off, leaving them round; or the end pieces may be pared off thin, wrapped around the chops, and fastened with a skewer, making the chop into the form of a circle.

The breast chops are cut a little thinner, the bones scraped and cut into even lengths. They are called French chops when the bones are bare. Whichever kind of chops are used, they should be all of uniform size and shape.

Broil the chops over or under hot coals, turning the broiler as often as you count ten slowly, using the same method as in broiling steak. When the meat offers a little resistance and is puffy, it is done. If cooked too long the chops will be hard and dry. If properly seared at first the juices are shut in, and the inflation is caused by the confined steam from the juices. It will take eight to ten minutes to broil chops which are one inch thick. When done sprinkle over them a little salt and pepper and butter. Dress them on a hot dish in a circle, the chops overlapping.

Green peas, string-beans, or any small vegetable, or fancy-fried potatoes, such as balls, straws, Saratoga, etc., may be served on the same dish, and placed in the center of the circle, or around the chops. Spinach or mashed potato pressed into form of socle may be used, and the chops rested against it, the bones pointing up or slanting. Paper frills placed on the ends of the bones improve their appearance.

CHOPS IN PAPER CASES

Put into a frying-pan some slices of salt pork; when tried out, lay in neatly trimmed and seasoned lamb or veal chops; let them sautÉ until half cooked; remove the chops, and to the pan add a tablespoonful of onion chopped fine; when the onion is cooked add a cupful of stock and a cupful of mixture containing minced veal or chicken, a little ham, and mushrooms, chopped parsley, and truffles if convenient; salt and pepper to taste. Put a spoonful of this sauce on a well-buttered or oiled paper, cut in heart-shape; lay the chop on the sauce, and on the chop put another spoonful of the sauce. Fold the paper over, and plait the edges together so as to completely enclose the chop. Lay the enclosed chops on a buttered dish, and place them in the oven for ten minutes; serve on the same dish very hot. Chops can also be broiled in well-greased paper, and with a little care it is easily done without burning the paper. Heavy writing paper should be used; the fire should be moderate, and the chops turned frequently. They are served in the papers, and are very good, as they hold all the juices of the meat.

CHOPS À LA MAINTENON

Put one tablespoonful of butter in a frying-pan; when hot add one tablespoonful of flour; let the flour cook a few minutes; then add four tablespoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, one teaspoonful of parsley, one half teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper; moisten with three tablespoonfuls of stock; mix well together and set aside to cool. Have six French chops cut one inch thick. With a sharp knife split the chops in two without separating them at the bone; spread the mushroom mixture between the opened chops; press the edges well together, and broil for eight minutes; serve with an olive sauce.

SPRING LAMB

Spring lamb is best when two months old. It must be used when fresh, and must be thoroughly cooked, but not dried. It is divided into the fore and hind quarters, the whole of either not being too much to serve at one time; the former are less expensive than the latter, but the meat is equally sweet and good. Roast it in a hot oven with a little water in the pan; allow fifteen to eighteen minutes to the pound, and baste frequently; serve with it mint sauce, and green peas or asparagus tips for vegetable.

When using a fore quarter, have the bones well cracked, so that in carving it may be cut into squares, or have the shoulder blade removed. A very good dressing may be made on the table as follows: cut around the shoulder bone; lift and place under it two tablespoonfuls of butter, the juice of one lemon, one teaspoonful of salt, one half teaspoonful of pepper. Press the pieces together, and let stand a minute to melt the butter before carving.

VEAL

The flesh of veal should be pink and firm, the bones hard. If it has a blue tinge and is flabby, it has been killed too young, and is unwholesome. Like lamb, it must be used while perfectly fresh and be thoroughly cooked. It contains less nourishment than other kinds of meat; also, having less flavor, it requires more seasoning. Veal is frequently used as a substitute for chicken. It can be made into croquettes and salads very acceptably.

ROAST FILLET OF VEAL

The fillet is cut from the upper part of the leg, and should be four to six inches thick. Only one good fillet can be cut from the leg. Press and tie it into good round shape. Lay a few slices of larding pork over the top. Place it in very hot oven for fifteen minutes; then lower the heat; baste frequently with water from the pan; allow eighteen to twenty minutes to the pound. It must be thoroughly cooked, but not dried. Remove the slices of pork from top a half hour before it is done, so it may brown. The bone may be removed from the fillet before cooking, and the space filled with stuffing made of crumbs, sweet herbs, pepper and salt, and a little chopped salt pork. Thicken the gravy in pan to serve with the fillet.

STUFFED SHOULDER OF VEAL

Twenty to twenty-five minutes per pound.

Have the blade removed, and fill the space with a stuffing made of bread crumbs, thyme, marjoram, lemon juice, chopped salt pork, salt and pepper, and an egg; also chopped mushrooms, if desired. Sew up the opening, press and tie it into good shape, and roast the same as the fillet. The stuffing may also be made of minced veal cut from the knuckle, highly seasoned.

FRICANDEAU OF VEAL

The fricandeau is the most choice cut of veal. It is taken from the upper round of the leg, and is one side of the fillet. As it destroys that cut, it commands the highest price. It should be cut four inches thick, and is usually larded and braised. Place it in a baking-pan on a layer of sliced salt pork, and chopped carrot, onion, and turnip. Add a bouquet of herbs, a cupful of stock, and enough water to fill the pan one and a half inches deep. Cover closely, and let cook in moderate oven, allowing twenty minutes to the pound; baste frequently. Remove the cover for the last half hour, so the meat may brown. Strain the gravy from the pan to serve with it.

VEAL CUTLETS

Leave the cutlet whole or cut it into pieces of uniform size and shape; dredge with salt and pepper; dip in egg and cover with bread crumbs or with flour; sautÉ cutlets in drippings, or in a frying-pan after slices of salt pork have been tried out. Cook until well browned on both sides; then place them on a hot dish and moisten the top with a little lemon juice; or, omitting the lemon juice, serve with them a tomato or a BÉarnaise sauce, or make a gravy by adding a little flour to the grease in the pan, and diluting to right consistency, after the flour is browned, with stock or water. If the gravy is used, put it in the bottom of the dish and place the cutlets on it.

A PLAIN POT-PIE

Cut veal, chicken, or beef into pieces; put them with strips of pork into boiling water and cook until tender; season with salt, pepper, and butter. There should be enough liquid to make a generous amount of gravy. When the stew is ready cook the dumplings, and place them on the same dish around the stew. If suet dumplings are used, they must be placed in the pot as soon as it boils in order to cook them a sufficient length of time. It is better to cook either kind of dumplings in a separate pot with plenty of water, and not remove them until the stew is dished and ready to be sent to the table.

DUMPLINGS WITH BAKING POWDER

• 2 cupfuls of flour.
• ½ teaspoonful of salt.
• 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder.
• 1 cupful of milk.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder well together, then stir in quickly the milk. Have the dough quite soft. Drop the batter from a spoon into the stew, or into boiling water; or, if preferred, make the dough just consistent enough to roll, and cut it into squares. The stew must not be allowed to stop simmering after the dumplings are in; and they must be served immediately after being taken from the pot, or they will fall. It will take ten minutes to cook them.

DUMPLINGS WITH SUET

• 1 cupful of chopped suet.
• 2 scant cupfuls of flour.
• 1 teaspoonful of salt.
• ½ cupful of cold water.

Mix together lightly the flour, suet and salt; then with a knife stir in quickly the water. The dough must be soft, but not sticky. Put it on a board, and roll it lightly to one inch thickness, and place it on the boiling stew in one cake. The stew must not stop boiling for a moment, or the dumpling will fall. Cook for one hour. The dough may be rolled into balls if preferred. When the dumpling is put in, draw the pot forward where it will heat quickly, and not arrest the boiling. When it is thoroughly hot, place it where it will simmer continually during the hour of cooking. If this rule is observed, it will be light and spongy. Where cooked meat is used, which does not require such long cooking, the dumplings may be boiled in water.This mixture can be used for fruit and for roly-poly puddings (see page 443).

JELLIED VEAL

Wipe a knuckle of veal clean with a wet cloth; have it well broken. Put it in a saucepan with two quarts of water, or enough to cover it. Tie in a piece of cheese-cloth one tablespoonful each of chopped onion, carrot, and turnip, a little parsley and celery, three cloves, and a blade of mace. Put it in the pot. Boil slowly until the veal falls from the bone; then strain it, and put the liquor again in the saucepan; season it with salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice. Reduce it to one quart by boiling with the cover off the saucepan. Cut two hard-boiled eggs into thin slices, and with them ornament the bottom of a plain mold; a brick ice-cream mold, or a small tin basin will do. Put a very little of the liquor in to fix the ornament, but not enough to float the egg slices. When set add a little more of the liquor, enough to make a layer of jelly one quarter of an inch thick. When that is set fill the mold with the veal, and place slices of boiled egg between the layers of meat. Around the sides of the mold lay in slices of egg. Then pour in as much of the liquor as it will hold, and set away to harden. This makes a good cold dish to use with salad.

VEAL LOAF

• 3 pounds of veal.
• ½ pound of ham, or
• ¼ pound of salt pork.
• 2 eggs.
• 1 cupful of fine bread or cracker crumbs.
• 1 teaspoonful of salt.
• ½ teaspoonful of pepper.
• 1 teaspoonful of onion juice.
• ½ teaspoonful of ground mace.
• ½ teaspoonful of allspice.

Chop the veal and ham very fine, mix into it the other ingredients, and mold it into a loaf; or press it into a mold or tin to form a loaf; then turn it on a baking dish. Baste it with beaten egg, and sprinkle it with bread crumbs. Cook in moderate oven for two hours, basting it several times with melted butter and water. This dish is to be served cold.

VEAL SCALLOP

Chop veal to a fine mince. Put into a baking-dish alternate layers of veal and bread crumbs, sprinkling the meat with salt and pepper, the crumbs with bits of butter. Over the top pour a white sauce made of one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, and one cupful of milk. Spread over it a layer of crumbs, and put in the oven to brown.

Rice may be used instead of the crumbs, and tomatoes instead of the white sauce.

LIVER AND BACON

Cut the liver into slices one half inch thick; lay them in boiling water for a few minutes, then dry and cover them with flour and a little pepper and salt. Lay in a hot frying-pan very thin slices of bacon. When tried out enough for the bacon to be crisp, remove it and put the slices of liver in the same frying pan. Cook until thoroughly done, but not dried. Remove the liver, and to the fat in the pan add a spoonful of flour; when the flour is brown, add enough water slowly to make a thick sauce. Pour the sauce over the liver, and place the bacon around it. Liver is generally cut thin, but it will be found much better when cut a half inch or more thick. The bacon should be cut thin, and cooked quickly; the liver cut thick, and cooked slowly.

BROILED LIVER

Slice the liver. Let it soak in hot water a few minutes to draw out the blood. Dry it, rub it with butter, and broil five to eight minutes, turning it constantly. It should not be cooked until dry. When done, spread it with butter, and serve at once.

BRAISED LIVER

Use a calf’s or lamb’s liver.

Lard it in two or three rows. Cut into dice one carrot, one turnip, one onion, a stalk of celery, and the bits left from the lardoons of salt pork; put them in a baking pan, and on this bed of vegetables place the larded liver. Add two cupfuls of stock or hot water, and a bouquet of one sprig of parsley, one bay-leaf, and two cloves. Cover with another pan, and cook in moderate oven for two hours; baste occasionally. Serve with the vegetables from the pan, on the same dish, placed around the liver. Pour over the liver a sauce made as follows: Put in a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter; when melted, add one tablespoonful of flour, and stir until browned; then add slowly the strained liquor from the pan. If there is not enough to make one cupful, add water to make that quantity. Season with salt and pepper, and add, if convenient, one tablespoonful each of Worcestershire sauce and mushroom catsup.

STEWED KIDNEYS

Beef, calf or lamb kidneys may be used. Be sure they are very fresh. Remove the fat and white center, then soak them for one hour in salted water. Cut them in slices one half inch thick, cover the slices with flour, and sautÉ them for five minutes in one tablespoonful of butter. Add to the frying-pan one thin slice of onion and one half cupful of water, and simmer for ten minutes, not longer. The kidneys will be tough and hard if cooked too long. Just before serving, add one quarter cupful of sherry; salt and pepper to taste. One tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce may be used instead of the sherry.

TRIPE

Soak the tripe for several hours, then scrape it thoroughly clean, put it in salted water, and simmer it for three or four hours, until it is like jelly. Drain off the water, and put the tripe aside until ready to use. Put a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan; when hot add a tablespoonful of flour, and cook for a few minutes, but do not brown. Then add slowly one cupful of milk, and stir until smooth. Add a half teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper, and a half teaspoonful of onion juice; then add one cupful of the boiled tripe. Stir until the tripe is heated, and serve immediately.

CALF’S HEART

Wash the heart, but do not let it soak, or stand in water. Fill it with a stuffing made of minced meat or of bread, either one of them seasoned with onion, sage, thyme, marjoram, pepper and salt, and an egg to bind it. Bake it for two hours, basting it frequently with water from the pan. When the heart is cooked remove it, and add to the pan a tablespoonful of flour; stir until it has browned. Then, if there is not enough liquor in the pan, add to it just enough water to make a thick sauce. Strain this over the heart, and serve on the same dish some boiled and browned onions.

BEEF’S TONGUE

If a smoked tongue is used, soak it over night. Put it in cold water, and let it come to the boiling point. Then simmer for four hours, or until tender.

Boil a fresh tongue in salted water one and a half hours. A few soup vegetables may be added to the water if convenient. Before putting it in the water, trim it carefully, and skewer it into good shape. When it is boiled remove the skin. If it is to be used cold, replace the skewer, put it again in the water in which it was boiled, and let it remain there until cold; then cover it with a meat glaze colored red. If served hot, pour over it a white sauce, and garnish with parsley and sliced pickle; or serve with it a piquante sauce. Spinach is a good vegetable to serve with tongue.

HOT SLICED TONGUE

Make a piquante sauce (see page 283). Lay slices of boiled tongue cut one half inch thick into it, and let them remain until well heated. Arrange the hot slices in a circle, the slices overlapping, and pour the sauce in the center. Garnish with capers, slices of hard-boiled eggs, and gherkins; or make a form of spinach by pressing into a bowl well-chopped and seasoned spinach. Turn it on the center of a dish, and lay the slices around or against it. Serve with piquante or with pickle sauce.

COLD TONGUE

Lay thick slices of tongue in a circle, the pieces overlapping. Place in the center a bunch of nasturtium blossoms and lettuce leaves. Serve with Tartare or cold BÉarnaise sauce.

JELLIED TONGUE

Cut tongue into slices. Lay them together to look like a solid piece, and place them in a square or brick-shaped mold. Sprinkle a few capers in the bottom of the mold before putting in the tongue. Have the mold only large enough for the tongue to fit in easily, but be held in place. Fill with aspic jelly (see page 321).

BOILED CALF’S HEAD

Have the head split open, and the gristle about the nose and eyes, and the eyes and ears, removed by the butcher. Wash thoroughly the head; remove the tongue and brains; parboil the brains, and set them aside with the tongue to use on another occasion (see page 307). Blanch the head by putting it into cold water; when it comes to the boiling point, pour off the hot water, and cover it with cold water. When cold, rub it with lemon. Put it into boiling water, enough to cover it; add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar or white wine, twelve peppercorns, one bay-leaf, one onion, one carrot, and a sprig of parsley. Cover the pot, and let boil for two hours, or until tender, but not ready to fall apart. When done, take out the bones carefully, and lay the meat on a baking dish in compact shape. Rub over the top with egg, sprinkle it with bread crumbs and bits of butter, and set in the oven to brown. Serve with it a Poulette or an Allemande sauce.

Put any of the meat left over after being served in this manner into a mold; fill it up with water in which the head was boiled; season to taste. This will make a jellied meat very good to use with salad.

The water from the pot will make a good soup. (See mock turtle soup.) Four separate dishes can be made from one head, viz.: boiled calf’s head, cold jellied calf’s head, mock turtle soup, tongue and brains, with white, Poulette, or Vinaigrette sauce.

CALF’S HEAD WITH VINAIGRETTE SAUCE

After the calf’s head is boiled as directed above, take it from the water, remove the meat, and press it into a square mold or tin, and let it get entirely cold. It can then be cut into uniform pieces. When ready to serve, heat some of the liquor in which the head was boiled, cut some long slices from the form of cold calf’s head, lay them in the hot liquor to become hot only. Remove them carefully, and place them on a hot dish. Pour over them a Vinaigrette sauce. (For sauce, see page 307.)

PORK

Salt pork and bacon should be kept always at hand; the former for larding, spreading in thin slices over baked meats, poultry, and birds, and various other uses as directed in many receipts. Bacon is an appetizing accompaniment to many breakfast dishes. Fresh pork is used only in cold weather, and must be thoroughly cooked.

ROAST PORK

The roasting pieces are the leg, loin, spare-rib, and shoulder. If the skin is left on cut it through in lines both ways, forming small squares. Put a cupful of water in the pan with the meat; bake in a moderate oven, allowing twenty to twenty-five minutes to the pound. Pork must be thoroughly cooked. Serve with apple sauce or fried apples.

FRIED APPLES

Cut slices one half inch thick across the apple, giving circles. Do not remove the skin or core.

Or cut the apples in quarters, leaving on the skin and removing the core. SautÉ the apples in butter or drippings until tender, but not soft enough to lose form.

Serve the fried apples on the same dish with pork as garnishing.

PORK CHOPS

Cut pork chops not more than one half inch thick. Trim off most of the fat, dredge them with flour, and sautÉ them until thoroughly cooked, and well browned. It will take about twenty-five minutes. Serve with fried apples.

BOILED HAM

Soak the ham over night, or for several hours. Thoroughly wash and scrape it. Put it into cold water; let it come to the boiling point; then simmer, allowing twenty minutes to the pound. Pierce the ham with a fine skewer. If done the skewer can be withdrawn easily without sticking. Let the ham partly cool in the water; then remove and draw off the skin. Sprinkle the top plentifully with cracker crumbs and brown sugar, or brush it with egg. Press into it a number of whole cloves, and set it in the oven a few minutes to brown. Or the ham may be left white, and dotted with pepper, a clove stuck in the center of each spot of pepper. Soup vegetables and a bouquet of herbs boiled with a ham improve its flavor. A ham boiled in cider is especially good. Trim the meat around the bone, and conceal the bone with a paper frill or vegetable cut into shape of rose. Ornament the ham with dressed skewers, or with parsley and lemon.

BAKED HAM

Soak and prepare the ham as directed above. Let it simmer for two hours; then remove it and take off the skin, and bake it in a moderate oven for two hours; baste it frequently, using a cupful of sherry, two spoonfuls at a time, until all is used; then baste with drippings from the pan. When done, cover it with a paste made of browned flour and brown sugar moistened with sherry, and replace in the oven for a few minutes to brown.

BROILED HAM AND EGGS

Cut the ham very thin. If very salt, place it in boiling water for a few minutes. Then dry and broil it over hot coals for three or four minutes.

Put a few pieces of salt pork into a frying pan. When tried out, add the eggs, one at a time, from a saucer. Baste the top of the eggs with fat from the pan. Let them brown a little on the edges, but not blacken, and serve them around the slices of ham.

Boiled ham may be broiled. If so, cut it into thin, small pieces, and after broiling it, place on each piece a fried egg.

HAM AND EGGS À L’AURORE

Chop fine some cold boiled ham. Boil six or eight eggs very hard (see page 262). With a sharp knife cut them in quarters lengthwise. Remove the yolks, and press them through a coarse sieve or strainer; lay the white segments in warm water. Make a white sauce, using two tablespoonfuls of butter; when melted, add two tablespoonfuls of flour, and let cook for a few minutes; then add slowly two cupfuls of milk. Stir constantly, and when a smooth, consistent sauce, season with salt and white pepper.

Moisten the chopped ham with a little of the sauce, and place it on the fire just long enough to become well heated. Stir constantly so the sauce will not brown. Make a smooth, rounded mold of the ham in the center of a hot dish. Pour over it the white sauce. Sprinkle thickly over the top the yolk crumbs; then range evenly around it the white segments of the eggs.

BACON

Cut bacon very thin, as shown on page 78. Lay the slices on a hot frying-pan. When clear turn them over. Tip the pan a little, so the fat will run to one side. If not wanted crisp and dry, turn the slices before they look clear, and remove before all the fat is tried out.

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