Mrs. Beeton's Dictionary of Every-Day Cookery
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Title: Mrs. Beeton's Dictionary of Every-Day Cookery
Author: Mrs. Beeton
Release date: October 13, 2015 [eBook #50191]
Most recently updated: October 22, 2024
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MRS. BEETON'S DICTIONARY OF EVERY-DAY COOKERY ***
[Transcriber's Note: Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and
italic text is surrounded by _underscores_.]
_MRS. BEETON’S_
DICTIONARY OF EVERY-DAY COOKERY.
_THE “ALL ABOUT IT” BOOKS_
MRS. BEETON’S
DICTIONARY
OF
EVERY-DAY COOKERY.
[Illustration]
LONDON:
WARD, LOCK, AND TYLER,
WARWICK HOUSE, PATERNOSTER ROW.
LONDON:
SAVILL, EDWARDS AND CO., PRINTERS. CHANDOS STREET,
COVENT GARDEN.
PREFACE.
_The reasons for the publication of this Volume—the
First of a Series of Practical Manuals which were
to be called the “All About It” Books—were thus
explained in a Prospectus issued a few months ago,
and approved by the late_ Mrs. S. O. BEETON:—
MANY wishes have been expressed to the Authoress of the “Book of
Household Management” that a volume of Recipes in Cookery should
be written which could be sold at a price somewhere between the
seven-and-sixpenny “Household Management” and the Shilling Cookery
Book. Accordingly Mrs. BEETON has prepared a Collection of Recipes, and
of other Practical Information concerning the Dressing and Serving of
Family Fare, which, when completed, will be published, in serviceable
binding, at the price of Three Shillings and Sixpence.
As Mistress, Cook, and Critic have declared that the details in Mrs.
BEETON’S larger work are _so easy to understand_, the Authoress has
followed, in every Recipe printed in the present Dictionary, the same
simple plan she originally used. Regarding, however, the _arrangement_
of the Recipes, the Authoress has chosen the Dictionary form, believing
an alphabetical arrangement to be the best for a book that is being
constantly referred to. By the adoption of a very intelligible system,
all _cross_ reference, and that very disagreeable parenthesis (_See_
So-and-so) is avoided, except in a very few instances. Where any
warning as to what should _not_ be done is likely to be needed, it is
given, as well as advice as to what ought to be done. No pains have
been thought too great to make _little things_ clearly understood.
Trifles constitute perfection. It is just the knowledge or ignorance of
little things that usually makes the difference between the success of
the careful and experienced housewife or servant, and the failure of
her who is careless and inexperienced. Mrs. BEETON has brought to her
new offering to the Public a most anxious care to describe plainly and
fully all the more difficult and recondite portions of Cookery, whilst
the smallest items have not been “unconsidered trifles,” but each
Recipe and preparation have claimed minute attention.
THE
DICTIONARY OF COOKERY.
ALMOND CAKE.
_Ingredients._—½ lb. of sweet almonds, 1 oz. of bitter almonds, 6 eggs,
8 tablespoonfuls of sifted sugar, 5 tablespoonfuls of fine flour, the
grated rind of 1 lemon, 3 oz. of butter. _Mode._—Blanch and pound the
almonds to a paste; separate the whites from the yolks of the eggs;
beat the latter, and add them to the almonds. Stir in the sugar, flour,
and lemon-rind; add the butter, which should be beaten to a cream; and,
when all these ingredients are well mixed, put in the whites of the
eggs, which should be whisked to a stiff froth. Butter a cake-mould,
put in the mixture, and bake in a good oven from 1¼ to 1¾ hour.
_Time._—1¼ to 1¾ hour. _Average cost_, 2_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable_ at any
time.
ALMOND CHEESECAKES.
_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of sweet almonds, 4 bitter ones, 3 eggs, 2 oz.
of butter, the rind of ¼ lemon, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, 3 oz.
of sugar. _Mode._—Blanch and pound the almonds smoothly in a mortar,
with a little rose or spring water; stir in the eggs, which should be
well beaten, and the butter, which should be warmed; add the grated
lemon-peel and juice, sweeten, and stir well until the whole is
thoroughly mixed. Line some patty-pans with puff-paste, put in the
mixture, and bake for 20 minutes, or rather less, in a quick oven.
_Time._—20 minutes, or rather less. _Average cost_, 10_d._ _Sufficient_
for about 12 cheesecakes.
ALMOND PASTE, for Second-Course Dishes.
_Ingredients._—1 lb. of sweet almonds, 6 bitter ones, 1 lb. of very
finely-sifted sugar, the whites of 2 eggs. _Mode._—Blanch the almonds,
and dry them thoroughly; put them into a mortar, and pound them well,
wetting them gradually with the whites of 2 eggs. When well pounded,
put them into a small preserving-pan, add the sugar, and place the
pan on a small but clear fire (a hot plate is better); keep stirring
until the paste is dry, then take it out of the pan, put it between two
dishes, and, when cold, make it into any shape that fancy may dictate.
_Time._—½ hour. _Average cost_, 2_s._ 8_d._ for the above quantity.
_Sufficient_ for 3 small dishes of pastry. _Seasonable_ at any time.
ALMOND PUDDING, Baked (very rich).
_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of almonds, 4 bitter ditto, 1 glass of sherry, 4
eggs, the rind and juice of ½ lemon, 3 oz. of butter, 1 pint of cream,
2 tablespoonfuls of sugar. _Mode._—Blanch and pound the almonds to a
smooth paste with the water; mix these with the butter, which should be
melted; beat up the eggs, grate the lemon-rind, and strain the juice;
add these, with the cream, sugar, and wine, to the other ingredients,
and stir them well together. When well mixed, put it into a pie-dish
lined with puff-paste, and bake for ½ hour. To make this pudding more
economically, substitute milk for the cream; but then add rather more
than 1 oz. of finely-grated bread. _Time._—½ to ¾ hour. _Average cost_,
3_s._, with cream at 1_s._ 6_d._ per pint. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5
persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
ALMOND PUDDINGS, Small.
_Ingredients._—½ lb. of sweet almonds, 6 bitter ones, ¼ lb. of butter,
4 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of sifted sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream,
1 tablespoonful of brandy. _Mode._—Blanch and pound the almonds to
a smooth paste with a spoonful of water; warm the butter, mix the
almonds with this, and add the other ingredients, leaving out the
whites of 2 eggs, and be particular that these are well beaten. Mix
well, butter some cups, half fill them, and bake the puddings from 20
minutes to ½ hour. Turn them out on a dish, and serve with sweet sauce,
or with sifted sugar only. _Time._—20 minutes to ½ hour. _Average
cost_, 2_s._ _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
[Illustration: SMALL ALMOND PUDDINGS.]
ALMOND PUFFS.
_Ingredients._—2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 oz. of butter, 2 oz. of
pounded sugar, 2 oz. of sweet almonds, 4 bitter almonds. _Mode._—Blanch
and pound the almonds in a mortar to a smooth paste; melt the butter,
dredge in the flour, and add the sugar and pounded almonds. Beat the
mixture well, and put it into cups or very tiny jelly-pots, which
should be well buttered, and bake in a moderate oven for about 20
minutes, or longer, should the puffs be large. Turn them out on a
dish, the bottom of the puff uppermost, and serve. _Time._—20 minutes.
_Average cost_, 8_d._ _Sufficient_ for 2 or 3 persons. _Seasonable_ at
any time.
ALMOND SOUP.
_Ingredients._—4 lbs. of lean beef or veal, a few vegetables as for
Stock (_see_ STOCK), 1 oz. of vermicelli, 4 blades of mace, 6 cloves,
½ lb. of sweet almonds, the yolks of 6 eggs, 1 gill of thick cream,
rather more than 3 quarts of water. _Mode._—Boil the beef or veal,
vegetables, and spices gently in water that will cover them, till the
gravy is very strong, and the meat very tender; than strain off the
gravy, and set it on the fire with the specified quantity of vermicelli
to 2 quarts. Let it boil till sufficiently cooked. Have ready the
almonds, blanched and pounded very fine; the yolks of the eggs boiled
hard; mixing the almonds, whilst pounding, with a little of the soup,
lest the latter should grow oily. Pound them to a pulp, and keep adding
to them, by degrees, a little soup, until they are thoroughly mixed
together. Let the soup be cool when mixing, and do it perfectly smooth.
Strain it through a sieve, set it on the fire, stir frequently, and
serve hot. Just before taking it up, add the cream. _Time._—From 4 to 5
hours to simmer meat and vegetables; 20 minutes to cook the vermicelli.
_Average cost_ per quart, 2_s._ 3_d._ _Seasonable_ all the year.
_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.
ANCHOVY BUTTER.
_Ingredients._—To every lb. of butter allow 6 anchovies, 1 small
bunch of parsley. _Mode._—Wash, bone, and pound the anchovies well in
a mortar; scald the parsley, chop it, and rub through a sieve; then
pound all the ingredients together, mix well, and make the butter into
pats immediately. This makes a pretty dish, if fancifully moulded, for
breakfast or supper, and should be garnished with parsley. _Average
cost_, 1_s._ 8_d._ _Sufficient_ to make 2 dishes, with 4 small pats
each. _Seasonable_ at any time.
ANCHOVY SAUCE, for Fish.
_Ingredients._—4 anchovies, 1 oz. of butter, ½ pint of melted butter,
cayenne to taste. _Mode._—Bone the anchovies, and pound them in a
mortar to a paste, with 1 oz. of butter. Make the melted butter hot,
stir in the pounded anchovies and cayenne; simmer for 3 or 4 minutes;
and, if liked, add a squeeze of lemon-juice. A more general and
expeditious way of making this sauce is to stir in 1½ tablespoonfuls
of anchovy essence to ½ pint of melted butter, and to add seasoning
to taste. Boil the whole up for 1 minute, and serve hot. _Time._—5
minutes. _Average cost_, 6_d._ for ½ pint. _Sufficient_, this quantity,
for a brill, small turbot, 2 soles, &c.
ANCHOVY TOAST.
_Ingredients._—Toast 2 or 3 slices of bread, or, if wanted very
savoury, fry them in clarified butter, and spread on them the paste
made by recipe for potted anchovies. Made mustard, or a few grains of
cayenne, may be added to the paste before laying it on the toast.
ANCHOVIES, Fried.
_Ingredients._—1 tablespoonful of oil, ½ a glass of white wine,
sufficient flour to thicken; 12 anchovies. _Mode._—Mix the oil and wine
together, with sufficient flour to make them into a thickish paste;
cleanse the anchovies, wipe them, dip them in the paste, and fry of a
nice brown colour. _Time._—½ hour. _Average cost_, for this quantity,
9_d._ _Sufficient_ for 2 persons. _Seasonable_ all the year.
ANCHOVIES, Potted, or Anchovy Butter.
_Ingredients._—2 dozen anchovies, ½ lb. of fresh butter. _Mode._—Wash
the anchovies thoroughly; bone and dry them, and pound them in a mortar
to a paste. Mix the butter gradually with them, and rub the whole
through a sieve. Put it by in small pots for use, and carefully exclude
the air with a bladder, as it soon changes the colour of anchovies,
besides spoiling them. To potted anchovies may be added pounded mace,
cayenne, and nutmeg to taste.
APPLE CHARLOTTE, a very simple.
_Ingredients._—9 slices of bread and butter, about 6 good-sized apples,
1 tablespoonful of minced lemon-peel, 2 tablespoonfuls of juice, moist
sugar to taste. _Mode._—Butter a pie-dish; place a layer of bread and
butter, without the crust, at the bottom; then a layer of apples,
pared, cored, and cut into thin slices; sprinkle over these a portion
of the lemon-peel and juice, and sweeten with moist sugar. Place
another layer of bread and butter, and then one of apples, proceeding
in this manner until the dish is full; then cover it up with the peel
of the apples, to preserve the top from browning or burning; bake in
a brisk oven for rather more than ¾ hour; turn the charlotte on a
dish, sprinkle sifted sugar over, and serve. _Time._—¾ hour, or a few
minutes longer. _Average cost_, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLE CHEESECAKES.
_Ingredients._—½ lb. of apple pulp, ¼ lb. of sifted sugar, ¼ lb. of
butter, 4 eggs, the rind and juice of 1 lemon. _Mode._—Pare, core, and
boil sufficient apples to make ½ lb. when cooked; add to these the
sugar, the butter, which should be melted, the eggs, leaving out 2 of
the whites, and the grated rind and juice of 1 lemon; stir the mixture
well; line some patty-pans with puff-paste; put in the mixture, and
bake about 20 minutes.—_Time._—About 20 minutes. _Average cost_, for
the above quantity, with the paste, 1_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for about
18 or 20 cheesecakes. _Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLE CUSTARD, Baked.
_Ingredients._—1 dozen large apples, moist sugar to taste, 1 small
teacupful of cold water, the grated rind of 1 lemon, 1 pint of milk,
4 eggs, 2 oz. of loaf sugar. _Mode._—Peel, cut, and core the apples;
put them into a lined saucepan with the cold water, and, as they heat,
bruise them to a pulp; sweeten with moist sugar, and add the grated
lemon-rind. When cold, put the fruit at the bottom of a pie-dish, and
pour over it a custard, made with the above proportion of milk, eggs,
and sugar; grate a little nutmeg over the top, place the dish in a
moderate oven, and bake from 25 to 35 minutes. The above proportions
will make rather a large dish. _Time._—25 to 35 minutes. _Average
cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._, if fruit has to be bought. _Sufficient_ for 6 or 7
persons. _Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLE DUMPLINGS, Baked (Plain family Dish).
_Ingredients._—6 apples, suet-crust, sugar to taste. _Mode._—Pare and
take out the cores of the apples with a scoop, and make a suet-crust
with ¾ lb. of flour to 6 oz. of suet; roll the apples in the crust,
previously sweetening them with moist sugar, and taking care to join
the paste nicely. When they are formed into round balls, put them on a
tin, and bake them for about ½ hour, or longer, should the apples be
very large; arrange them pyramidically on a dish, and sift over them
some pounded white sugar. These may be made richer by using puff-paste
instead of suet-crust. _Time._—From ½ to ¾ hour, or longer. _Average
cost_, 1½_d._ each. _Sufficient_ for 4 persons. _Seasonable_ from
August to March, but flavourless after the end of January.
APPLE DUMPLINGS, Boiled.
_Ingredients._—6 apples, suet-crust, sugar to taste. _Mode._—Pare and
take out the cores of the apples with a scoop; sweeten, and roll each
apple in a piece of crust, made with ¾ lb. of flour to 6 oz. of suet,
and be particular that the paste is nicely joined. Put the dumplings
into floured cloths, tie them securely, and place them in boiling
water. Keep them boiling from ¾ to 1 hour; remove the cloths, and send
them hot and quickly to table. Dumplings boiled in knitted cloths have
a very pretty appearance when they come to table. The cloths should
be made square, just large enough to hold one dumpling, and should be
knitted in plain knitting, with _very coarse_ cotton. _Time._—¾ to 1
hour, or longer should the dumplings be very large. _Average cost_,
1½_d._ each. _Sufficient_ for 4 persons. _Seasonable_ from August to
March, but flavourless after the end of January.
APPLE FRITTERS.
_Ingredients._—For the batter, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, ½ oz. of
butter, ½ saltspoonful of salt, 2 eggs, milk, 4 medium-sized apples,
hot lard or clarified beef-dripping. _Mode._—Break the eggs, dividing
the whites from the yolks, and beat them separately. Put the flour
into a basin, stir in the butter, which should be melted to a cream;
add the salt, and moisten with sufficient warm milk to make it of a
proper consistency, that is to say, a batter that will drop from the
spoon. Stir this well, rub down any lumps that may be seen, add the
yolks and then the whites of the eggs, which have been previously well
whisked; beat up the batter for a few minutes, and it is ready for use.
Now peel and cut the apples into rather thick whole slices, without
dividing them, and stamp out the middle of each slice, where the core
is, with a cutter. Throw the slices into the batter; have ready a pan
of boiling lard or clarified dripping; take out the pieces of apple one
by one, put them into the hot lard, and fry a nice brown, turning them
when required. When done, lay them on a piece of blotting-paper before
the fire, to absorb the greasy moisture; then dish on a white d’oyley,
piling the fritters one above the other; strew over them some pounded
sugar, and serve very hot. The flavour of the fritters would be very
much improved by soaking the pieces of apple in a little wine, mixed
with sugar and lemon-juice, for 3 or 4 hours before wanted for table;
the batter, also, is better for being mixed some hours before the
fritters are made. _Time._—From 7 to 10 minutes to fry the fritters; 5
minutes to drain them. _Average cost_, 9_d._ _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5
persons. _Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLE JAM.
_Ingredients._—To every lb. of fruit weighed after being pared, cored,
and sliced, allow ¾ lb. of preserving-sugar, the grated rind of 1
lemon, the juice of ½ lemon. _Mode._—Peel the apples, core and slice
them very thin, and be particular that they are all the same sort. Put
them into a jar, stand this in a saucepan of boiling water, and let
the apples stew until quite tender. Previously to putting the fruit
into the jar, weigh it, to ascertain the proportion of sugar that may
be required. Put the apples into a preserving-pan, crush the sugar to
small lumps, and add it, with the grated lemon-rind and juice, to the
apples. Simmer these over the fire for ½ hour, reckoning from the time
the jam begins to simmer properly; remove the scum as it rises, and,
when the jam is done, put it into pots for use. Place a piece of oiled
paper over the jam, and, to exclude the air, cover the pots with tissue
paper dipped in the white of an egg, and stretched over the top. This
jam will keep good for a long time. _Time._—From 3 to 4 hours to stew
in the jar; ½ hour to boil after the jam begins to simmer. _Average
cost_, for this quantity, 5_s._ _Sufficient._—7 or 8 lbs. of apples
for 6 pots of jam. _Seasonable._—Make this in September, October, or
November, when apples can be bought at a reasonable price.
APPLE JELLY.
_Ingredients._—To 6 lbs. of apples allow 3 pints of water; to every
quart of juice allow 2 lbs. of loaf sugar;—the juice of ½ lemon.
_Mode._—Pare, core, and cut the apples into slices, and put them into
a jar, with water in the above proportion. Place them in a cool oven,
with the jar well covered, and, when the juice is thoroughly drawn and
the apples are quite soft, strain them through a jelly-bag. To every
quart of juice allow 2 lbs. of loaf sugar, which should be crushed to
small lumps, and put into a preserving-pan with the juice. Boil these
together for rather more than ½ hour, remove the scum as it rises, add
the lemon-juice just before it is done, and put the jelly into pots
for use. This preparation is useful for garnishing sweet dishes, and
may be turned out for dessert. _Time._—The apples to be put in the
oven over-night, and left till morning; rather more than ½ hour to boil
the jelly. _Average cost_, for this quantity, 3_s._ _Sufficient_ for 6
small pots of jelly. _Seasonable._—This should be made in September,
October, or November.
APPLE JELLY.
_Ingredients._—Apples, water; to every pint of syrup allow ¾ lb. of
loaf sugar. _Mode._—Pare and cut the apples into pieces, remove the
cores, and put them in a preserving-pan with sufficient cold water to
cover them. Let them boil for an hour; then drain the syrup from them
through a hair sieve or jelly-bag, and measure the juice; to every
pint allow ¾ lb. of loaf sugar, and boil these together for ¾ hour,
removing every particle of scum as it rises, and keeping the jelly well
stirred, that it may not burn. A little lemon-rind may be boiled with
the apples, and a small quantity of strained lemon-juice may be put in
the jelly just before it is done, when the flavour is liked. This jelly
may be ornamented with preserved greengages, or any other preserved
fruit, and will turn out very prettily for dessert. It should be stored
away in small pots. _Time._—1 hour to boil the fruit and water; ¾ hour
to boil the juice with the sugar. _Average cost_, for 6 lbs. of apples,
with the other ingredients in proportion, 3_s._ _Sufficient_ for 6
small pots of jelly. _Seasonable._—Make this in September, October, or
November.
APPLE JELLY, Clear, for immediate Eating.
_Ingredients._—2 dozen small apples, 1½ pint of spring-water; to every
pint of juice allow ½ lb. of loaf sugar, ½ oz. of isinglass, the rind
of ½ lemon. _Mode._—Pare, core, and cut the apples into quarters,
and boil them, with the lemon-peel, until tender; then strain off
the apples, and run the juice through a jelly-bag; put the strained
juice, with the sugar and isinglass, which has been previously boiled
in ½ pint of water, into a lined saucepan or preserving-pan; boil all
together for about ½ hour, and put the jelly into moulds. When this
jelly is clear, and turned out well, it makes a pretty addition to the
supper-table, with a little custard or whipped cream round it: a little
lemon-juice improves the flavour, but it is apt to render the jelly
muddy and thick. If required to be kept any length of time, rather a
larger proportion of sugar must be used. _Time._—About 1 hour to boil
the apples; ½ hour the jelly. _Average cost_, 2_s._ _Sufficient_ for
1½-pint mould. _Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLE JELLY, Thick, or Marmalade, for Entremets or Dessert Dishes.
_Ingredients._—Apples; to every lb. of pulp allow ¾ lb. of sugar, ½
teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel. _Mode._—Peel, core, and boil the
apples with only sufficient water to prevent them from burning; beat
them to a pulp, and to every lb. of pulp allow the above proportion of
sugar in lumps. Dip the lumps into water; put these into a saucepan,
and boil till the syrup is thick and can be well skimmed; then add this
syrup to the apple pulp, with the minced lemon-peel, and stir it over
a quick fire for about 20 minutes, or till the apples cease to stick
to the bottom of the pan. The jelly is then done, and may be poured
into moulds which have been previously dipped in water, when it will
turn out nicely for dessert or a side dish; for the latter, a little
custard should be poured round, and it should be garnished with strips
of citron or stuck with blanched almonds. _Time._—From ½ to ¾ hour
to reduce the apples to a pulp; 20 minutes to boil after the sugar
is added. _Sufficient._—1½ lb. of apple pulp sufficient for a small
mould. _Seasonable_ from August to March; but is best and cheapest in
September, October, or November.
[Illustration: APPLE JELLY, STUCK WITH ALMONDS.]
APPLE PUDDING, Rich Baked.
_Ingredients._—½ lb. apple pulp, ½ lb. of loaf sugar, 6 oz. of butter,
the rind of 1 lemon, 6 eggs, puff-paste. _Mode._—Peel, core, and cut
the apples, as for sauce; put them into a stewpan, with only just
sufficient water to prevent them from burning, and let them stew
until reduced to a pulp. Weigh the pulp, and to every ½ lb. add the
sifted sugar, grated lemon-rind, and 6 well-beaten eggs. Beat these
ingredients well together; then melt the butter, stir it to the other
things, put a border of puff-paste round the dish, and bake for rather
more than ½ hour. The butter should not be added until the pudding is
ready for the oven. _Time._—½ to ¾ hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 10_d._
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLE PUDDING, Baked.
_Ingredients._—12 large apples, 6 oz. of moist sugar, ¼ lb. of butter,
4 eggs, 1 pint of bread-crumbs. _Mode._—Pare, core, and cut the apples,
as for sauce, and boil them until reduced to a pulp; then add the
butter, melted, and the eggs, which should be well whisked. Beat up
the pudding for 2 or 3 minutes; butter a pie-dish; put in a layer of
bread-crumbs, then the apple, and then another layer of bread-crumbs;
flake over these a few tiny pieces of butter, and bake for about ½
hour. A very good economical pudding may be made merely with apples,
boiled and sweetened, with the addition of a few strips of lemon-peel.
A layer of bread-crumbs should be placed above and below the apples,
and the pudding baked for ½ hour. _Time._—About ½ hour. _Average cost_,
1_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ from August
to March.
APPLE PUDDING, Baked (Very Good).
_Ingredients._—5 moderate-sized apples, 2 tablespoonfuls of
finely-chopped suet, 3 eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of flour, 1 pint of
milk, a little grated nutmeg. _Mode._—Mix the flour to a smooth batter
with the milk, add the eggs, which should be well whisked, and put the
latter into a well-buttered pie-dish. Wipe the apples clean, but do
not pare them; cut them in halves, and take out the cores; lay them in
the batter, rind uppermost; shake the suet on the top, over which also
grate a little nutmeg; bake in a moderate oven for an hour, and cover,
when served, with sifted loaf sugar. This pudding is also very good
with the apples pared, sliced, and mixed with the batter. _Time._—1
hour. _Average cost_, 9_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
APPLE PUDDING, Boiled.
_Ingredients._—Suet crust, apples, sugar to taste, 1 small teaspoonful
of finely-minced lemon-peel, 2 tablespoonfuls of lemon-juice.
_Mode._—Make a butter or suet crust by either of the given recipes,
using for a moderate-sized pudding from ¾ to 1 lb. of flour, with the
other ingredients in proportion. Butter a basin; line it with some
paste; pare, core, and cut the apples into slices, and fill the basin
with these; add the sugar, the lemon-peel and juice; and cover with
crust; pinch the edges together, flour the cloth, place it over the
pudding, tie it securely, and put it into plenty of fast-boiling water;
let it boil from 2½ to 3 hours; then turn it out of the basin and
send to table quickly. Apple puddings may also be boiled in a cloth
without a basin; but, when made in this way, must be served without the
least delay, as the crust soon becomes heavy. Apple pudding is a very
convenient dish to have when the dinner-hour is rather uncertain, as
it does not spoil by being boiled an extra hour; care, however, must
be taken to keep it well covered with water all the time, and not to
allow it to stop boiling. _Time._—From 2½ to 3 hours, according to the
quality of the apples. _Average_ cost, 10_d._ _Sufficient_, made with
1 lb. of flour, for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ from August to March;
but the apples become flavourless and scarce after February.
APPLE SAUCE, for Geese, Pork, &c.
_Ingredients._—6 good-sized apples, sifted sugar to taste, a piece of
butter the size of a walnut; water. _Mode._—Pare, core, and quarter the
apples, and throw them into cold water to preserve their whiteness. Put
them in a saucepan, with sufficient water to moisten them, and boil
till soft enough to pulp. Beat them up, adding sugar to taste, and a
small piece of butter. This quantity is sufficient for a good-sized
tureen. _Time._—According to the apples, about, ¾ hour. _Average cost_,
4_d._ _Sufficient_, this quantity, for a goose or couple of ducks.
APPLE SNOW (a pretty Supper Dish).
_Ingredients._—10 good-sized apples, the whites of 10 eggs, the rind
of 1 lemon, ½ lb. of pounded sugar. _Mode._—Peel, core, and cut the
apples into quarters, and put them into a saucepan with the lemon-peel,
and sufficient water to prevent them from burning,—rather less than ½
pint. When they are tender, take out the peel, beat them into a pulp,
let them cool, and stir them to the whites of the eggs, which should
be previously beaten to a strong froth. Add the sifted sugar, and
continue the whisking until the mixture becomes quite stiff, and either
heap it on a glass dish or serve it in small glasses. The dish may be
garnished with preserved barberries or strips of bright-coloured jelly,
and a dish of custards should be served with it, or a jug of cream.
_Time._—From 30 to 40 minutes to stew the apples. _Average cost_, 1_s._
6_d._ _Sufficient_ to fill a moderate-sized glass dish. _Seasonable_
from August to March.
APPLE SNOWBALLS.
_Ingredients._—2 teacupfuls of rice, apples, moist sugar, cloves.
_Mode._—Boil the rice and milk until three-parts done; then strain it
off, and pare and core the apples without dividing them. Put a small
quantity of sugar and a clove into each apple, put the rice round them,
and tie each ball separately in a cloth. Boil until the apples are
tender; then take them up, remove the cloths, and serve. _Time._—½ hour
to boil the rice separately; ½ to 1 hour with the apple. _Seasonable_
from August to March.
APPLE SOUFFLÉ.
_Ingredients._—6 oz. of rice, 1 quart of milk, the rind of ½ lemon,
sugar to taste, the yolks of 4 eggs, the whites of 6, 1½ oz. of butter,
4 tablespoonfuls of apple marmalade. _Mode._—Boil the milk with the
lemon-peel until the former is well flavoured; then strain it, put
in the rice, and let it gradually swell over a slow fire, adding
sufficient sugar to sweeten it nicely. Then crush the rice to a smooth
pulp with the back of a wooden spoon; line the bottom and sides of a
round cake-tin with it, and put it into the oven to set; turn it out
of the tin dexterously, and be careful that the border of rice is firm
in every part. Mix with the marmalade the beaten yolks of eggs and the
butter, and stir these over the fire until the mixture thickens. Take
it off the fire; to this add the whites of the eggs, which should be
previously beaten to a strong froth; stir all together, and put it into
the rice border. Bake in a moderate oven for about ½ hour, or until the
soufflé rises very light. It should be watched, and served instantly,
or it will immediately fall after it is taken from the oven. _Time._—½
hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 8_d._ _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLE TART or PIE.
_Ingredients._—Puff-paste, apples; to every lb. of unpared apples
allow 2 oz. of moist sugar, ½ teaspoonful of finely-minced lemon-peel,
1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice. _Mode._—Make puff-paste by either of
the given recipes, with ½ lb. of flour; place a border of it round the
edge of a pie-dish, and fill the dish with apples pared, cored, and cut
into slices; sweeten with moist sugar, add the lemon-peel and juice,
and 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of water; cover with crust, cut it evenly
round close to the edge of the pie-dish, and bake in a hot oven from
½ to ¾ hour, or rather longer, should the pie be very large. When it
is three-parts done, take it out of the oven, put the white of an egg
on a plate, and, with the blade of a knife, whisk it to a froth; brush
the pie over with this, then sprinkle upon it some sifted sugar, and
then a few drops of water. Put the pie back into the oven, and finish
baking, and be particularly careful that it does not catch or burn,
_which it is very liable to do after the crust is iced_. If made with
a plain crust, the icing may be omitted. Many things are suggested
for the flavouring of apple pie; some say 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of
beer, others the same quantity of sherry, which very much improve the
taste; whilst the old-fashioned addition of a few cloves is, by many
persons, preferred to anything else, as also a few slices of quince.
_Time._—½ hour before the crust is iced; 10 to 15 minutes afterwards.
_Average cost_, 9_d._ _Sufficient._—Allow 2 lbs. of apples to a tart
for 6 persons. _Seasonable_ from August to March; but the apples become
flavourless after February.
APPLE TART (Creamed).
_Mode._—Make an apple tart by the preceding recipe, with the exception
of omitting the icing. When the tart is baked, cut out the middle of
the lid or crust, leaving a border all round the dish. Fill up with a
nicely-made boiled custard, grate a little nutmeg over the top, and the
pie is ready for table. This tart is usually eaten cold; is rather an
old-fashioned dish, but, at the same time, extremely nice. _Time._—½ to
¾ hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 3_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLE TRIFLE (a Supper Dish).
_Ingredients._—10 good-sized apples, the rind of ½ lemon, 6 oz. of
pounded sugar, ½ pint of milk, ½ pint of cream, 2 eggs, whipped cream.
_Mode._—Peel, core, and cut the apples into thin slices, and put them
into a saucepan with 2 tablespoonfuls of water, the sugar, and minced
lemon-rind. Boil all together until quite tender, and pulp the apples
through a sieve; if they should not be quite sweet enough, add a little
more sugar, and put them at the bottom of the dish to form a thick
layer. Stir together the milk, cream, and eggs, with a little sugar,
over the fire, and let the mixture thicken, but do not allow it to
reach the boiling-point. When thick, take it off the fire; let it cool
a little, then pour it over the apples. Whip some cream with sugar,
lemon-peel, &c., the same as for other trifles; heap it high over the
custard, and the dish is ready for table. It may be garnished as fancy
dictates, with strips of bright apple jelly, slices of citron, &c.
_Time._—From 30 to 40 minutes to stew the apples; 10 minutes to stir
the custard over the fire. _Average cost_, 2_s._, with cream at 1_s._
6_d._ per pint. _Sufficient_ for a moderate-sized trifle. _Seasonable_
from August to March.
APPLES à la Portugaise.
_Ingredients._—8 good boiling apples, ½ pint of water, 6 oz. of sugar,
a layer of apple marmalade, 8 preserved cherries, garnishing of apricot
jam. _Mode._—Peel the apples, and, with a scoop, take out the cores;
boil the fruit in the above proportion of sugar and water, without
being too much done, and take care the apples do not break. Have ready
some apple marmalade; cover the bottom of a glass dish with this, level
it, and lay the apples in a sieve to drain; pile them neatly on the
marmalade, raising them in the centre, and place a preserved cherry in
the middle of each. Garnish with strips of candied citron or apricot
jam, and the dish is ready for table. _Time._—From 20 to 30 minutes
to stew the apples. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 3_d._ _Sufficient_ for 1
entremets. _Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLES, Buttered (Sweet Entremets).
_Ingredients._—Apple marmalade or 7 good boiling apples, ½ pint
of water, 6 oz. of sugar, 2 oz. of butter, a little apricot jam.
_Mode._—Pare the apples, and take out the cores with a scoop; boil
up the sugar and water for a few minutes; then lay in the apples and
simmer them very gently until tender, taking care not to let them
break. Have ready sufficient marmalade made by the recipe for APPLE
MARMALADE, flavoured with lemon, to cover the bottom of the dish;
arrange the apples on this with a piece of butter placed in each, and
in between them a few spoonfuls of apricot jam or marmalade; put the
dish in the oven for 10 minutes, then sprinkle over the top sifted
sugar, and either brown it before the fire or with a salamander, and
serve hot. The syrup that the apples were boiled in should be saved
for another time. _Time._—From 20 to 30 minutes to stew the apples
very gently, 10 minutes in the oven. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._
_Sufficient_ for 1 entremets.
APPLES and RICE (a Plain Dish).
_Ingredients._—8 good-sized apples, 3 oz. of butter, the rind of ½
lemon minced very fine, 6 oz. of rice, 1½ pints of milk, sugar to
taste, ½ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 6 tablespoonfuls of apricot jam.
_Mode._—Peel the apples, halve them, and take out the cores; put them
into a stewpan with the butter, and strew sufficient sifted sugar over
to sweeten them nicely, and add the minced lemon-peel. Stew the apples
very gently until tender, taking care they do not break. Boil the rice,
with the milk, sugar, and nutmeg, until soft, and, when thoroughly
done, dish it, piled high in the centre; arrange the apples on it, warm
the apricot jam, pour it over the whole, and serve hot. _Time._—About
30 minutes to stew the apples very gently; about ¾ hour to cook the
rice. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLES AND RICE (a pretty Dish of).
_Ingredients._—6 oz. of rice, 1 quart of milk, the rind of ½ lemon,
sugar to taste, ½ saltspoonful of salt, 8 apples, ¼ lb. of sugar, ¼
pint of water, ½ pint of boiled custard. _Mode._—Flavour the milk with
lemon-rind, by boiling them together for a few minutes; then take out
the peel, and put in the rice, with sufficient sugar to sweeten it
nicely, and boil gently until the rice is quite soft; then let it cool.
In the meantime pare, quarter, and core the apples, and boil them until
tender in a syrup made with sugar and water in the above proportion;
and, when soft, lift them out on a sieve to drain. Now put a
middling-sized gallipot in the centre of a dish; lay the rice all round
till the top of the gallipot is reached; smooth the rice with the back
of a spoon, and stick the apples into it in rows, one row sloping to
the right, and the next to the left. Set it in the oven to colour the
apples; then, when required for table, remove the gallipot, garnish the
rice with preserved fruits, and pour in the middle sufficient custard,
made by the recipe for boiled custard, to be level with the top of the
rice, and serve hot. _Time._—From 20 to 30 minutes to stew the apples;
¾ hour to simmer the rice; ¼ hour to bake. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLES, Compôte of (Soyer’s Recipe,—a Dessert Dish).
_Ingredients._—6 ripe apples, 1 lemon, ½ lb. of lump sugar, ½ pint of
water. _Mode._—Select the apples of a moderate size, peel them, cut
them in halves, remove the cores, and rub each piece over with a little
lemon. Put the sugar and water together into a lined saucepan, and let
them boil until forming a thickish syrup, when lay in the apples with
the rind of the lemon cut thin, and the juice of the same. Let the
apples simmer till tender; then take them out very carefully, drain
them on a sieve, and reduce the syrup by boiling it quickly for a few
minutes. When both are cold, arrange the apples neatly on a glass
dish, pour over the syrup, and garnish with strips of green angelica
or candied citron. Smaller apples may be dressed in the same manner:
they should not be divided in half, but peeled, and the cores pushed
out with a vegetable-cutter. _Time._—10 minutes to boil the sugar and
water together; from 20 to 30 minutes to simmer the apples. _Average
cost_, 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ from August
to March.
[Illustration: COMPÔTE OF APPLES.]
APPLES, Flanc of; or Apples in a raised Crust. (Sweet Entremets.)
_Ingredients._—¾ lb. of short crust, 9 moderate-sized apples, the rind
and juice of ½ lemon, ½ lb. of white sugar, ¾ pint of water, a few
strips of candied citron. _Mode._—Make a plain stiff short crust, roll
it out to the thickness of ½ inch, and butter an oval mould; line it
with the crust, and press it carefully all round the sides, to obtain
the form of the mould, but be particular not to break the paste. Pinch
the part that just rises above the mould with the paste-pincers, and
fill the case with flour; bake it for about ¾ hour; then take it out of
the oven, remove the flour, put the case back in the oven for another
¼ hour, and do not allow it to get scorched. It is now ready for the
apples, which should be prepared in the following manner: peel, and
take out the cores with a small knife, or a scoop for the purpose,
without dividing the apples; put them into a small lined saucepan, just
capable of holding them, with sugar, water, lemon-juice and rind, in
the above proportion. Simmer them very gently until tender; then take
out the apples, let them cool, arrange them in the flanc or case, and
boil down the syrup until reduced to a thick jelly; pour it over the
apples, and garnish with a few slices of candied citron.
* * * * *
A more simple flanc may be made by rolling out the paste, cutting the
bottom of a round or oval shape, and then a narrow strip for the sides:
these should be stuck on with the white of an egg to the bottom piece,
and the flanc then filled with raw fruit, with sufficient sugar to
sweeten it nicely. It will not require so long baking as in a mould;
but the crust must be made everywhere of an equal thickness, and so
perfectly joined that the juice does not escape. This dish may also be
served hot, and should be garnished in the same manner, or a little
melted apricot jam may be poured over the apples, which very much
improves their flavour. _Time._—Altogether, 1 hour to bake the flanc;
from 30 to 40 minutes to stew the apples very gently. _Average cost_,
1_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 1 entremets or side-dish. _Seasonable_
from August to March.
APPLES, Ginger (a pretty Supper or Dessert Dish).
_Ingredients._—1½ oz. of whole ginger, ¼ pint of whiskey, 3 lbs. of
apples, 2 lbs. of white sugar, the juice of 2 lemons. _Mode._—Bruise
the ginger, put it into a small jar, pour over sufficient whiskey
to cover it, and let it remain for 3 days; then cut the apples into
thin slices, after paring and coring them; add the sugar and the
lemon-juice, which should be strained; and simmer all together _very
gently_ until the apples are transparent, but not broken. Serve cold,
and garnish the dish with slices of candied lemon-peel or preserved
ginger. _Time._—3 days to soak the ginger; about ¾ hour to simmer the
apples very gently. _Average cost_, 2_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 3
dishes. _Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLES Iced, or Apple Hedgehog.
_Ingredients._—About 3 dozen good boiling apples, 1 lb. of sugar,
½ pint of water, the rind of ½ lemon minced very fine, the whites
of 2 eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of pounded sugar, a few sweet almonds.
_Mode._—Peel and core a dozen of the apples without dividing them, and
stew them very gently in a lined saucepan with ½ lb. of the sugar and ½
pint of water, and when tender lift them carefully on to a dish. Have
ready the remainder of the apples, pared, cored, and cut into thin
slices; put them into the same syrup with the other ½ lb. of sugar,
the lemon-peel, and boil gently until they are reduced to a marmalade;
keeping them stirred, to prevent them from burning. Cover the bottom
of the dish with some of the marmalade, and over that a layer of the
stewed apples, in the insides of which, and between each, place some
of the marmalade; then place another layer of apples, and fill up the
cavities with marmalade as before, forming the whole into a raised oval
shape. Whip the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, mix with them
the pounded sugar, and cover the apples very smoothly all over with
the icing; blanch and cut each almond into 4 or 5 strips; place these
strips at equal distances over the icing, sticking up; strew over a
little rough pounded sugar, and put the dish in a very slow oven, to
colour the almonds, and so allow the apples to get warm through. This
entremets may also be served cold, and makes a pretty supper-dish.
_Time._—From 20 to 30 minutes to stew the apples. _Average cost_, 2_s._
to 2_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ from
August to March.
APPLES in Red Jelly (a pretty Supper Dish).
_Ingredients._—6 good-sized apples, 12 cloves, 6 oz. of pounded sugar,
1 lemon, 2 teacupfuls of water, 1 tablespoonful of gelatine, a few
drops of prepared cochineal. _Mode._—Choose rather large apples; peel
them and take out the cores, either with a scoop or a small silver
knife, and put into each apple 2 cloves and as much sifted sugar as
they will hold. Place them, without touching each other, in a large
pie-dish; add more white sugar, the juice of 1 lemon, and 2 teacupfuls
of water. Bake in the oven, with a dish over them, until they are done.
Look at them frequently, and, as each apple is cooked, place it in a
glass dish. They must not be left in the oven after they are done,
or they will break, and so would spoil the appearance of the dish.
When the apples are neatly arranged in the dish without touching each
other, strain the liquor in which they have been stewing into a lined
saucepan; add to it the rind of the lemon, and a tablespoonful of
gelatine which has been previously dissolved in cold water, and, if not
sweet, a little more sugar, and 6 cloves. Boil till quite clear; colour
with a few drops of prepared cochineal, and strain the jelly through a
double muslin into a jug; let it cool a _little_; then pour it into the
dish round the apples. When quite cold, garnish the tops of the apples
with a bright-coloured marmalade, jelly, or the white of an egg beaten
to a strong froth, with a little sifted sugar. _Time._—From 30 to 50
minutes to bake the apples. _Average cost_, 1_s._, with the garnishing.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ from August to March.
APPLES, to preserve, in Quarters (in imitation of Ginger).
_Ingredients._—To every lb. of apples allow ¾ lb. of sugar, 1½ oz.
of the best white ginger; 1 oz. of ginger to every ½ pint of water.
_Mode._—Peel, core, and quarter the apples, and put the fruit, sugar,
and ginger in layers into a wide-mouthed jar, and let them remain
for 2 days; then infuse 1 oz. of ginger in ½ pint of boiling water,
and cover it closely, and let it remain for 1 day: this quantity of
ginger and water is for 3 lbs. of apples, with the other ingredients in
proportion. Put the apples, &c., into a preserving-pan with the water
strained from the ginger, and boil till the apples look clear and the
syrup is rich, which will be in about an hour. The rind of a lemon may
be added just before the apples have finished boiling; and great care
must be taken not to break the pieces of apple in putting them into the
jars. Serve on glass dishes for dessert. _Time._—2 days for the apples
to remain in the jar with sugar, &c.; 1 day to infuse the ginger; about
1 hour to boil the apples. _Average cost_, for 3 lbs. of apples, with
the other ingredients in proportion, 2_s._ 3_d._ _Sufficient._—3 lbs.
should fill 3 moderate-sized jars. _Seasonable._—This should be made in
September, October, or November.
APPLES, Stewed, and Custard (a pretty Dish for a Juvenile Supper).
_Ingredients._—7 good-sized apples, the rind of ½ lemon or 4 cloves, ½
lb. of sugar, ¾ pint of water, ½ pint of custard. _Mode._—Pare and take
out the cores of the apples, without dividing them, and, if possible,
leave the stalks on; boil the sugar and water together for 10 minutes;
then put in the apples with the lemon-rind or cloves, whichever flavour
may be preferred, and simmer gently until they are tender, taking care
not to let them break. Dish them neatly on a glass dish, reduce the
syrup by boiling it quickly for a few minutes, let it cool a little;
then pour it over the apples. Have ready quite ½ pint of custard made
by the recipe for Boiled Custard; pour it round, but not over, the
apples when they are quite cold, and the dish is ready for table. A few
almonds blanched and cut into strips, and stuck in the apples, would
improve their appearance. _Time._—From 20 to 30 minutes to stew the
apples. _Average cost_, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ to fill a large glass dish.
_Seasonable_ from August to March.
APRICOT CREAM.
_Ingredients._—12 to 16 ripe apricots, ½ lb. of sugar, 1½ pint of
milk, the yolks of 8 eggs, 1 oz. of isinglass. _Mode._—Divide the
apricots, take out the stones, and boil them in a syrup made with ¼ lb.
of sugar and ¼ pint of water, until they form a thin marmalade, which
rub through a sieve. Boil the milk with the other ¼ lb. of sugar, let
it cool a little, then mix with it the yolks of eggs which have been
previously well beaten; put this mixture into a jug, place this jug in
boiling water, and stir it one way over the fire until it thickens; but
on no account let it boil. Strain through a sieve, add the isinglass,
previously boiled with a small quantity of water, and keep stirring
it till nearly cold; then mix the cream with the apricots; stir well,
put it into an oiled mould, and, if convenient, set it on ice; at any
rate, in a very cool place. It should turn out on the dish without any
difficulty. In winter-time, when fresh apricots are not obtainable, a
little jam may be substituted for them. _Time._—From 20 to 30 minutes
to boil the apricots. _Average cost_, 3_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ to fill
a quart mould. _Seasonable_ in August, September, and October.
APRICOT JAM, or Marmalade.
_Ingredients._—To every lb. of ripe apricots, weighed after being
skinned and stoned, allow 1 lb. of sugar. _Mode._—Pare the apricots,
which should be ripe, as thinly as possible, break them in half, and
remove the stones. Weigh the fruit, and to every lb. allow the same
proportion of loaf sugar. Pound the sugar very finely in a mortar,
strew it over the apricots, which should be placed on dishes, and let
them remain for 12 hours. Break the stones, blanch the kernels, and put
them with the sugar and fruit into a preserving-pan. Let these simmer
very gently until clear; take out the pieces of apricot singly as they
become so, and, as fast as the scum rises, carefully remove it. Put
the apricots into small jars, pour over them the syrup and kernels,
cover the jam with pieces of paper dipped in the purest salad-oil,
and stretch over the top of the jars tissue paper, cut about 2 inches
larger and brushed over with the white of an egg: when dry, it will be
perfectly hard and air-tight. _Time._—12 hours, sprinkled with sugar;
about ¾ hour to boil the jam. _Average cost._—When cheap, apricots
may be purchased for preserving at about 1_s._ 6_d._ per gallon.
_Sufficient._—10 lbs. of fruit for 12 pots of jam. _Seasonable._—Make
this in August or September.
APRICOT PUDDING, Baked.
_Ingredients._—12 large apricots, ¾ pint of bread-crumbs, 1 pint of
milk, 3 oz. of pounded sugar, the yolks of 4 eggs, 1 glass of sherry.
_Mode._—Make the milk boiling hot, and pour it on to the bread-crumbs;
when half cold, add the sugar, the well-whisked yolks of the eggs, and
the sherry. Divide the apricots in half, scald them until they are
soft, and break them up with a spoon, adding a few of the kernels,
which should be well pounded in a mortar; then mix the fruit and other
ingredients together, put a border of paste round the dish, fill with
the mixture, and bake the pudding from ½ to ¾ hour. _Time._—½ to ¾
hour. _Average cost_, in full season, 1_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 4 or
5 persons. _Seasonable_ in August, September, and October.
APRICOT TART.
_Ingredients._—12 or 14 apricots, sugar to taste, puff-paste or short
crust. _Mode._—Break the apricots in half, take out the stones, and put
them into a pie-dish, in the centre of which place a very small cup or
jar, bottom uppermost; sweeten with good moist sugar, but add no water.
Line the edge of the dish with paste, put on the cover, and ornament
the pie in any of the usual modes. Bake from ½ to ¾ hour, according
to size; and if puff-paste is used, glaze it about 10 minutes before
the pie is done, and put it into the oven again to set the glaze.
Short crust merely requires a little sifted sugar sprinkled over it
before being sent to table. Green apricots make very good tarts, but
they should be boiled with a little sugar and water before they are
covered with the crust. _Time._—½ to ¾ hour. _Average cost_, in full
season, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ in August,
September, and October; green ones rather earlier.
APRICOTS, Compôte of (an elegant Dish).
_Ingredients._—½ pint of syrup (_see_ SYRUP), 12 green apricots.
_Mode._—Make the syrup by the given recipe, and, when it is ready,
put in the apricots whilst the syrup is boiling. Simmer them very
gently until tender, taking care not to let them break; take them out
carefully, arrange them on a glass dish, let the syrup cool a little,
pour it over the apricots, and, when cold, serve. _Time._—From 15 to 20
minutes to simmer the apricots. _Average cost_, 9_d._ _Sufficient_ for
4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ in June and July, with green apricots.
APRICOTS, Flanc of, or Compôte of Apricots in a Raised Crust (Sweet
Entremets).
_Ingredients._—¾ lb. of short crust (_see_ CRUST), from 9 to 12
good-sized apricots, ¾ pint of water, ½ lb. of sugar. _Mode._—Make a
short crust by the given recipe, and line a mould with it. Boil the
sugar and water together for 10 minutes; halve the apricots, take out
the stones, and simmer them in the syrup until tender; watch them
carefully, and take them up, for fear they should break. Arrange them
neatly in the flanc or case; boil the syrup until reduced to a jelly;
pour it over the fruit, and serve either hot or cold. Greengages,
plums of all kinds, peaches, &c., may be done in the same manner, as
also currants, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, &c.; but with
the last-named fruits, a little currant-juice added to them will be
found an improvement. _Time._—Altogether, 1 hour to bake the flanc,
from 15 to 20 minutes to simmer the apricots. _Average cost_, 1_s._
6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 1 entremets or side-dish. _Seasonable_ in July,
August, and September.
The pretty appearance of this dish depends on the fruit being whole; as
each apricot is done, it should be taken out of the syrup immediately.
APRIL—BILLS OF FARE.
Dinner for 18 persons.
_First Course._
Spring Soup,
removed by Salmon
and Lobster Sauce.
Fillets Vase of Fried
of Mackerel. Flowers. Smelts.
Soles à la Crême.
_Second Course._
Roast Ribs of Lamb.
Larded Capon.
Stewed Beef Vase of Boiled
à la Flowers. Ham.
Jardinière.
Spring Chickens.
Braised Turkey.
_Entrées._
Lamb Cutlets,
Asparagus and Peas.
Curried Vase of Oyster
Lobster. Flowers. Patties.
Grenadines de Veau.
_Third Course._
Ducklings,
removed by
Cabinet Pudding.
Charlotte
Raspberry-Jam à la Parisienne. Rhubarb Tart.
Tartlets.
Clear Vase of Orange
Jelly. Flowers. Jelly.
Victoria Cheesecakes.
Sandwiches.
Raspberry Cream.
Nesselrode Pudding.
Dessert and Ices.
Dinner for 12 persons.
_First Course._—Soup à la reine; julienne soup; turbot and lobster
sauce; slices of salmon à la genévése. _Entrées._—Croquettes of
leveret; fricandeau de veau; vol-au-vent; stewed mushrooms. _Second
Course._—Fore-quarter of lamb; saddle of mutton; boiled chickens,
asparagus and peas; boiled tongue garnished with tufts of broccoli;
vegetables. _Third Course._—Ducklings; larded guinea-fowls; charlotte
à la parisienne; orange jelly; meringues; ratafia ice pudding; lobster
salad; sea-kale; dessert and ices.
Dinner for 10 persons.
_First Course._—Gravy soup; salmon and dressed cucumber; shrimp sauce;
fillets of whitings. _Entrées._—Lobster cutlets; chicken patties.
_Second Course._—Roast fillet of veal; boiled leg of lamb; ham,
garnished with broccoli; vegetables. _Third Course._—Ducklings; compôte
of rhubarb; custards; vanilla cream; orange jelly; cabinet pudding; ice
pudding; dessert.
Dinner for 8 persons.
_First Course._—Spring soup; slices of salmon and caper sauce; fried
filleted soles. _Entrées._—Chicken vol-au-vent; mutton cutlets and
tomato sauce. _Second Course._—Roast loin of veal; boiled fowls à la
béchamel; tongue; vegetables. _Third Course._—Guinea-fowls; sea-kale;
artichoke bottoms; cabinet pudding; blancmange; apricot tartlets; rice
fritters; macaroni and Parmesan cheese; dessert.
Dinners for 6 persons.
_First Course._—Tapioca soup; boiled salmon and lobster sauce.
_Entrées._—Sweetbreads; oyster patties. _Second Course._—Haunch of
mutton; boiled capon and white sauce; tongue; vegetables. _Third
Course._—Soufflé of rice; lemon cream; charlotte à la parisienne;
rhubarb tart; dessert.
* * * * *
_First Course._—Julienne soup; fried whitings; red mullet.
_Entrées._—Lamb cutlets and cucumbers; rissoles. _Second Course._—Roast
ribs of beef; neck of veal à la béchamel; vegetables. _Third
Course._—Ducklings; lemon pudding; rhubarb tart; custards; cheesecakes;
dessert.
* * * * *
_First Course._—Vermicelli soup; brill and shrimp sauce.
_Entrées._—Fricandeau of veal; lobster cutlets. _Second Course._—Roast
fore-quarter of lamb; boiled chickens; tongue; vegetables. _Third
Course._—Goslings; sea-kale; plum pudding; whipped cream; compôte of
rhubarb; cheesecakes; dessert.
* * * * *
_First Course._—Ox-tail soup; crimped salmon. _Entrées._—Croquettes
of chicken; mutton cutlets and soubise sauce. _Second Course._—Roast
fillet of veal; boiled bacon-cheek, garnished with sprouts; boiled
capon; vegetables. _Third Course._—Sea-kale; lobster salad; cabinet
pudding; ginger cream; raspberry-jam tartlets; rhubarb tart; macaroni;
dessert.
APRIL, Plain Family Dinners for.
_Sunday._—1. Clear gravy soup. 2. Roast haunch of mutton, sea-kale,
potatoes. 3. Rhubarb tart, custards in glasses.
_Monday._—1. Crimped skate and caper sauce. 2. Boiled knuckle of veal
and rice, cold mutton, mashed potatoes. 3. Baked plum-pudding.
_Tuesday._—1. Vegetable soup. 2. Toad-in-the-hole, made from remains of
cold mutton. 3. Stewed rhubarb and baked custard puddings.
_Wednesday._—1. Fried soles, anchovy sauce. 2. Boiled beef and carrots,
suet dumplings. 3. Lemon pudding.
_Thursday._—1. Pea-soup, made with liquor that beef was boiled in.
2. Cold beef, mashed potatoes, mutton cutlets and tomato sauce. 3.
Macaroni.
_Friday._—1. Bubble-and-squeak made with remains of cold beef, roast
shoulder of veal stuffed, spinach and potatoes. 2. Boiled batter
pudding and sweet sauce.
_Saturday._—1. Stewed veal with vegetables, made of remains of cold
shoulder, broiled rump-steak and oyster sauce. 2. Yeast dumplings.
* * * * *
_Sunday._—Boiled salmon and dressed cucumber, anchovy sauce. 2. Roast
fore-quarter of lamb, spinach, potatoes, and mint sauce. 3. Rhubarb
tart and cheesecakes.
_Monday._—Curried salmon, made with remains of salmon, dish of boiled
rice. 2. Cold lamb, rump-steak and kidney pudding, potatoes. 3. Spinach
and poached eggs.
_Tuesday._—1. Scotch mutton broth with pearl barley. 2. Boiled neck of
mutton, caper sauce, suet dumplings, carrots. 3. Baked rice puddings.
_Wednesday._—1. Boiled mackerel and melted butter and fennel sauce,
potatoes. 2. Roast fillet of veal, bacon and greens. 3. Fig pudding.
_Thursday._—1. Flemish soup. 2. Roast loin of mutton, broccoli,
potatoes, veal rolls made from remains of cold veal. 3. Boiled rhubarb
pudding.
_Friday._—1. Irish stew or haricot for cold mutton, minced veal. 2.
Half-pay pudding.
_Saturday._—1. Rump-steak pie, broiled mutton chops. 2. Baked arrowroot
pudding.
APRIL, Things in Season.
_Fish._—Brill, carp, cockles, crabs, dory, flounders, ling, lobsters,
red and grey mullet, mussels, oysters, perch, prawns, salmon (but
rather scarce and expensive), shad, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles,
tench, turbot, whitings.
_Meat._—Beef, lamb, mutton, veal.
_Poultry._—Chickens, ducklings, fowls, pigeons, pullets, rabbits.
_Game._—Leverets.
_Vegetables._—Broccoli, celery, lettuces, young onions, parsnips,
radishes, small salad, sea-kale, spinach, sprouts, various herbs.
_Fruit._—Apples, nuts, pears, forced cherries, &c. for tarts, rhubarb,
dried fruits, crystallized preserves.
ARROWROOT BISCUITS, or Drops.
_Ingredients._—½ lb. of butter, 6 eggs, ½ lb. of flour, 6 oz. of
arrowroot, ½ lb. of pounded loaf sugar. _Mode._—Beat the butter to a
cream; whisk the eggs to a strong froth, add them to the butter, stir
in the flour a little at a time, and beat the mixture well. Break down
all the lumps from the arrowroot, and add that with the sugar to the
other ingredients. Mix all well together, drop the dough on a buttered
tin, in pieces the size of a shilling, and bake the biscuits about
¼ hour in a slow oven. If the whites of the eggs are separated from
the yolks, and both are beaten separately before being added to the
other ingredients, the biscuits will be much lighter. _Time._—¼ hour.
_Average cost_, 2_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ to make from 3 to 4 dozen
biscuits. _Seasonable_ at any time.
ARROWROOT BLANCMANGE (an inexpensive Supper Dish).
_Ingredients._—4 heaped tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, 1½ pint of milk,
3 laurel-leaves or the rind of ½ lemon, sugar to taste. _Mode._—Mix to
a smooth batter the arrowroot with ½ pint of the milk; put the other
pint on the fire, with laurel-leaves or lemon-peel, whichever may be
preferred, and let the milk steep until it is well flavoured; then
strain the milk, and add it, boiling, to the mixed arrowroot; sweeten
it with sifted sugar, and let it boil, stirring it all the time, till
it thickens sufficiently to come from the saucepan. Grease a mould with
pure salad-oil, pour in the blancmange, and, when quite set, turn it
out on a dish, and pour round it a compôte of any kind of fruit, or
garnish it with jam. A tablespoonful of brandy, stirred in just before
the blancmange is moulded, very much improves the flavour of this sweet
dish. _Time._—Altogether, ½ hour. _Average cost_, 6_d._ without the
garnishing. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
ARROWROOT PUDDING, Baked or Boiled.
_Ingredients._—2 tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, 1½ pint of milk, 1 oz. of
butter, the rind of ½ lemon, 2 heaped tablespoonfuls of moist sugar,
a little grated nutmeg. _Mode._—Mix the arrowroot with as much cold
milk as will make it into a smooth batter, moderately thick; put the
remainder of the milk into a stewpan with the lemon-peel, and let it
infuse for about ½ hour; when it boils, strain it gently to the batter,
stirring it all the time to keep it smooth; then add the butter; beat
this well in until thoroughly mixed, and sweeten with moist sugar.
Put the mixture into a pie-dish, round which has been placed a border
of paste; grate a little nutmeg over the top, and bake the pudding
from 1 to 1¼ hour, in a moderate oven, or boil it the same length of
time in a well-buttered basin. To enrich this pudding, stir to the
other ingredients, just before it is put in the oven, 3 well-whisked
eggs, and add a tablespoonful of brandy. For a nursery pudding, the
addition of the latter ingredients will be found quite superfluous,
as also the paste round the edge of the dish. _Time._—1 to 1¼ hour,
baked or boiled. _Average cost_, 7_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
ARROWROOT SAUCE, for Puddings.
_Ingredients._—2 small teaspoonfuls of arrowroot, 4 dessertspoonfuls of
pounded sugar, the juice of 1 lemon, ¼ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, ½
pint of water. _Mode._—Mix the arrowroot smoothly with the water; put
this into a stewpan; add the sugar, strained lemon-juice, and grated
nutmeg. Stir these ingredients over the fire until they boil, when
the sauce is ready for use. A small quantity of wine, or any liqueur,
would very much improve the flavour of this sauce: it is usually served
with bread, rice, custard, or any dry pudding that is not very rich.
_Time._—Altogether, 15 minutes. _Average cost_, 4_d._ _Sufficient_ for
6 or 7 persons.
ARROWROOT, to make.
_Ingredients._—Two teaspoonfuls of arrowroot, 3 tablespoonfuls of cold
water, ½ pint of boiling water. _Mode._—Mix the arrowroot smoothly
in a basin with the cold water, then pour on it the _boiling_ water,
_stirring_ all the time. The water must be _boiling_ at the time it
is poured on the mixture, or it will not thicken; if mixed with hot
water only, it must be put into a clean saucepan, and boiled until it
thickens; but this occasions more trouble, and is quite unnecessary,
if the water is boiling at first. Put the arrowroot into a tumbler,
sweeten it with lump sugar, and flavour it with grated nutmeg or
cinnamon, or a piece of lemon-peel, or, when allowed, 3 tablespoonfuls
of port or sherry. As arrowroot is in itself flavourless and insipid,
it is almost necessary to add the wine to make it palatable. Arrowroot
made with milk instead of water is far nicer, but is not so easily
digested. It should be mixed in the same manner, with 3 tablespoonfuls
of cold water, the boiling milk then poured on it, and well stirred.
When made in this manner, no wine should be added, but merely sugar,
and a little grated nutmeg or lemon-peel. _Time._—If obliged to be
boiled, 2 minutes. _Average cost_, 2_d._ per pint. _Sufficient_ to make
½ pint of arrowroot.
ARTICHOKES, Boiled.
_Ingredients._—To each ½ gallon of water, allow 1 heaped tablespoonful
of salt, a piece of soda the size of a shilling; artichokes.
_Mode._—Wash the artichokes well in several waters; see that no insects
remain about them, and trim away the leaves at the bottom. Cut off
the stems and put them into _boiling_ water, to which has been added
salt and soda in the above proportion. Keep the saucepan uncovered,
and let them boil quickly until tender; ascertain when they are done
by thrusting a fork in them, or by trying if the leaves can be easily
removed. Take them out, let them drain for a minute or two, and serve
in a napkin, or with a little white sauce poured over. A tureen of
melted butter should accompany them. This vegetable, unlike any other,
is considered better for being gathered two or three days; but they
must be well soaked and washed previous to dressing. _Time._—20 to 25
minutes, after the water boils. _Sufficient_,—a dish of 5 or 6 for 4
persons. _Seasonable_ from July to the beginning of September.
[Illustration: ARTICHOKES.]
[Illustration: JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES.]
ARTICHOKES, a French Mode of Cooking.
_Ingredients._—5 or 6 artichokes; to each ½ gallon of water allow 1
heaped tablespoonful of salt, ½ teaspoonful of pepper, 1 bunch of
savoury herbs, 2 oz. of butter. _Mode._—Cut the ends of the leaves, as
also the stems; put the artichokes into boiling water, with the above
proportion of salt, pepper, herbs, and butter; let them boil quickly
until tender, keeping the lid of the saucepan off, and when the leaves
come out easily, they are cooked enough. To keep them a beautiful
green, put a large piece of cinder into a muslin bag, and let it boil
with them. Serve with plain melted butter. _Time._—20 to 25 minutes.
_Sufficient_,—5 or 6 sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ from
July to the beginning of September.
ARTICHOKES. Fried (Entremets, or small dish to be served with the
Second Course).
_Ingredients._—5 or 6 artichokes, salt and water: for the batter,—¼
lb. of flour, a little salt, the yolk of 1 egg, milk. _Mode._—Trim and
boil the artichokes, and rub them over with lemon-juice, to keep them
white. When they are quite tender, take them up, remove the chokes,
and divide the bottoms; dip each piece into batter, fry them into hot
lard or dripping, and garnish the dish with crisped parsley. Serve
with plain melted butter. _Time._—20 minutes to boil the artichokes,
5 to 7 minutes to fry them. _Sufficient_,—5 or 6 for 4 or 5 persons.
_Seasonable_ from July to the beginning of September.
ARTICHOKES à l’Italienne.
_Ingredients._—4 or 5 artichokes, salt and butter, about ½ pint of good
gravy. _Mode._—Trim and cut the artichokes into quarters, and boil
them until tender in water mixed with a little salt and butter. When
done, drain them well, and lay them all round the dish, with the leaves
outside. Have ready some good gravy, highly flavoured with mushrooms;
reduce it until quite thick, and pour it round the artichokes, and
serve. _Time._—20 to 25 minutes to boil the artichokes. _Sufficient_
for one side-dish. _Seasonable_ from July to the beginning of September.
ARTICHOKES, Boiled Jerusalem.
_Ingredients._—To each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful
of salt; artichokes. _Mode._—Wash, peel, and shape the artichokes in
a round or oval form, and put them into a saucepan with sufficient
_cold_ water to cover them salted in the above proportion. Let them
boil gently until tender; take them up, drain them, and serve them
in a napkin, or plain, whichever mode is preferred; send to table
with them a tureen of melted butter or cream sauce, a little of which
may be poured over the artichokes when they are _not_ served in a
napkin. _Time._—About twenty minutes after the water boils. _Average
cost_, 2_d._ per lb. _Sufficient_,—10 for a dish for 6 persons.
_Seasonable._—from September to June.
ARTICHOKES, Mashed Jerusalem.
_Ingredients._—To each ½ gallon of water allow 1 oz. of salt, 15 or 16
artichokes, 1 oz. butter, pepper and salt to taste. _Mode._—Boil the
artichokes as in the preceding recipe until tender; drain and press
the water from them, and beat them up with a fork. When thoroughly
mashed and free from lumps, put them into a saucepan with the butter
and a seasoning of _white_ pepper and salt; keep stirring over the fire
until the artichokes are quite hot, and serve. A pretty way of serving
Jerusalem artichokes as an entremets, or second course dish, is to
shape the artichokes in the form of a pear, and to serve them covered
with white sauce, garnished with Brussels sprouts. _Time._—About 20
minutes. _Average cost_, 2_d._ per lb. _Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons.
_Seasonable_ from September to June.
ARTICHOKE (Jerusalem) SOUP, sometimes called Palestine Soup (a White
Soup).
_Ingredients._—3 slices of lean bacon or ham, ½ a head of celery, 1
turnip, 1 onion, 3 oz. of butter, 4 lbs. of artichokes, 1 pint of
boiling milk, or 1 pint of boiling cream, salt and cayenne to taste,
2 lumps of sugar, 2½ quarts of white stock. _Mode._—Put the bacon and
vegetables, which should be cut into thin slices, into the stewpan with
the butter. Braise these for ¼ of an hour, keeping them well stirred.
Wash and pare the artichokes, and after cutting them into thin slices,
add them, with a pint of stock, to the other ingredients. When these
have gently stewed down to a smooth pulp, put in the remainder of the
stock. Stir it well, adding the seasoning, and when it has simmered for
five minutes, pass it through a strainer. Now pour it back into the
stewpan, let it again simmer five minutes, taking care to skim it well,
and stir it to the boiling milk or cream. Serve with small sippets of
bread fried in butter. _Time._—1 hour. _Average cost_ per quart, 1_s._
2_d._ _Seasonable_ from June to October. _Sufficient_ for 8 persons.
ASPARAGUS, Boiled.
_Ingredients._—To each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful
of salt; asparagus. _Mode._—Asparagus should be dressed as soon as
possible after it is cut, although it may be kept for a day or two by
putting the stalks into cold water; yet to be good, like every other
vegetable, it cannot be cooked too fresh. Scrape the white part of the
stems, _beginning_ from the _head_, and throw them into cold water;
then tie them into bundles of about 20 each, keeping the heads all one
way, and cut the stalks evenly, that they may all be the same length;
put them into _boiling_ water, with salt in the above proportion; keep
them boiling quickly until tender, with the saucepan uncovered. When
the asparagus is done, dish it upon toast, which should be dipped in
the water it was cooked in, and leave the white ends outward each way,
with the points meeting in the middle. Serve with a tureen of melted
butter. _Time._—15 to 18 minutes after the water boils. _Average cost_,
in full season, 2_s._ 6_d._ the 100 heads. _Sufficient._—Allow about 50
heads for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable._—May be had forced from January,
but cheapest in May, June and July.
[Illustration: BOILED ASPARAGUS.]
[Illustration: ASPARAGUS TONGS.]
ASPARAGUS-PEAS (Entremets, or to be served as a Side Dish, with the
Second Course).
_Ingredients._—100 heads of asparagus, 2 oz. of butter, a small bunch
of parsley, 2 or 3 green onions, flour, 1 lump of sugar, the yolks of
2 eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls of cream, salt. _Mode._—Carefully scrape the
asparagus, cut it into pieces of an equal size, avoiding that which is
in the least hard or tough, and throw them into cold water. Then boil
the asparagus in salt and water until three-parts done; take it out,
drain, and place it on a cloth to dry the moisture away from it. Put
it into a stewpan with the butter, parsley, and onions, and shake over
a brisk fire for 10 minutes. Dredge in a little flour, add the sugar,
and moisten with boiling water. When boiled a short time and reduced,
take out the parsley and onions, thicken with the yolks of 2 eggs
beaten with the cream; add a seasoning of salt, and when the whole is
on the point of simmering, serve. Make the sauce sufficiently thick to
adhere to the vegetable. _Time._—Altogether, ½ hour. _Average cost_,
1_s._ 6_d._ a pint. _Seasonable_ in May, June, and July.
ASPARAGUS PUDDING (a delicious Dish, to be served with the Second
Course).
_Ingredients._—½ pint of asparagus peas, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of
flour, 1 tablespoonful of _very finely_ minced ham, 1 oz. of butter,
pepper and salt to taste, milk. _Mode._—Cut up the nice green tender
parts of asparagus, about the size of peas; put them into a basin with
the eggs, which should be well beaten, and the flour, ham, butter,
pepper, and salt. Mix all these ingredients well together, and moisten
with sufficient milk to make the pudding of the consistency of thick
batter; put it into a pint buttered mould, tie it down tightly with
a floured cloth, place it in _boiling water_, and let it boil for 2
hours; turn it out of the mould on to a hot dish, and pour plain melted
butter _round_, but not over, the pudding. Green peas pudding may be
made in exactly the same manner, substituting peas for the asparagus.
_Time._—2 hours. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._ per pint. _Seasonable_ in
May, June, and July.
ASPARAGUS SOUP.
_Ingredients._—100 heads of asparagus, 2 quarts of medium stock (see
STOCK), 1 pint of water, salt. _Mode._—Scrape the asparagus, but do not
cut off any of the stems, and boil it in a pint of water salted, _until
the heads are nearly done_. Then drain the asparagus, cut off the green
heads very neatly, and put them on one side until the soup is ready. If
the stock is not made, add the stems of asparagus to the rest of the
vegetables; if, however, the stock is ready, boil the stems a little
longer in the same water that they were first cooked in. Then strain
them off, add the asparagus water to the stock, and when all is boiling
drop in the green heads (or peas as they are called), and simmer for 2
or 3 minutes. If the soup boils long after the asparagus is put in, the
appearance of the vegetable would be quite spoiled. A small quantity
of sherry, added after the soup is put into the tureen, would improve
this soup very much. Sometimes a French roll is cut up and served in
it. _Time._—_To nearly cook_ the asparagus, 12 minutes. _Average cost_,
1_s._ 9_d._ per quart. _Sufficient_ for 6 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_
from May to August.
ASPIC, or Ornamental Savoury Jelly.
_Ingredients._—4 lbs. of knuckle of veal, 1 cow-heel, 3 or 4 slices of
ham, any poultry trimmings, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 1 faggot of savoury
herbs, 1 glass of sherry, 3 quarts of water; seasoning to taste of
salt and whole white pepper; 3 eggs. _Mode._—Lay the ham on the bottom
of a stewpan, cut up the veal and cow-heel into small pieces, and
lay them on the ham; add the poultry trimmings, vegetables, herbs,
sherry, and water, and let the whole simmer very gently for 4 hours,
carefully taking away all scum that may rise to the surface; strain
through a fine sieve, and pour into an earthen pan to get cold. Have
ready a clean stewpan, put in the jelly, and be particular to leave the
sediment behind, or it will not be clear. Add the whites of 3 eggs,
with salt and pepper, to clarify; keep stirring over the fire till
the whole becomes very white; then draw it to the side, and let it
stand till clear. When this is the case, strain it through a cloth or
jelly-bag, and use it for moulding poultry, &c. Tarragon vinegar may
be added to give an additional flavour. _Time._—Altogether 4½ hours.
_Average cost_ for this quantity, 4_s._
AUGUST—BILLS OF FARE.
Dinner for 18 persons.
_First Course._
Mock-Turtle Soup,
removed by
Broiled Salmon and
Caper Sauce.
Vase of
Red Mullet. Flowers. Perch.
Soup à la Julienne,
removed by
Brill and Shrimp Sauce.
_Second Course._
Haunch of Venison.
Ham, garnished.
Vase of
Capons à la Financière. Flowers. Roast Fowls.
Leveret Pie.
Saddle of Mutton.
_Entrées._
Fricandeau de Veau
à la Jardinière.
Vase of Lamb Cutlets à la Purée
Curried Lobster. Flowers. de Pommes de Terre.
Fillets of Ducks
and Peas.
_Third Course._
Lobster Grouse Cheesecakes.
Salad. removed by
Cabinet Pudding.
Fruit Jelly.
Charlotte Vase of Custards.
à la Flowers.
Vanille.
Vol-au-Vent of
Pears.
Larded Peahen,
Raspberry removed by Prawns.
Tartlets. Iced Pudding.
Dessert and Ices.
Dinner for 12 persons.
_First Course._—Vermicelli soup; soup à la reine; boiled salmon;
fried flounders; trout en matelot. _Entrées._—Stewed pigeons;
sweetbreads; ragoût of ducks; fillets of chickens and mushrooms.
_Second Course._—Quarter of lamb; cotellette de bœuf à la jardinière;
roast fowls and boiled tongue; bacon and beans. _Third Course._—Grouse;
wheatears; greengage tart; whipped cream; vol-au-vent of plums; fruit
jelly; iced pudding; cabinet pudding; dessert and ices.
Dinner for 8 persons.
_First Course._—Julienne soup; fillets of turbot and Dutch sauce; red
mullet. _Entrées._—Riz de veau aux tomates; fillets of ducks and peas.
_Second Course._—Haunch of venison; boiled capon and oysters; ham,
garnished; vegetables. _Third Course._—Leveret; fruit jelly; compôte of
greengages; plum tart; custards, in glasses; omelette soufflé; dessert
and ices.
Dinner for 6 persons.
_First Course._—Macaroni soup; crimped salmon and sauce Hollandaise;
fried fillets of trout. _Entrées._—Tendrons do veau and stewed peas;
salmi of grouse. _Second Course._—Roast loin of veal; boiled bacon,
garnished with French beans; stewed beef à la jardinière; vegetables.
_Third Course._—Turkey poult; plum tart; custard pudding; vol-au-vent
of pears; strawberry cream; ratafia soufflé; dessert.
* * * * *
_First Course._—Vegetable-marrow soup; stewed mullet; fillets of
salmon and ravigotte sauce. _Entrées._—Curried lobster; fricandeau de
veau à la jardinière. _Second Course._—Roast saddle of mutton; stewed
shoulder of veal, garnished with forcemeat balls; vegetables. _Third
Course._—Roast grouse and bread sauce; vol-au-vent of greengages; fruit
jelly; raspberry cream; custards; fig pudding; dessert.
AUGUST, Plain Family Dinners for.
_Sunday._—1. Vegetable-marrow soup. 2. Roast quarter of lamb, mint
sauce; French beans and potatoes. 3. Raspberry-and-currant tart,
custard pudding.
_Monday._—1. Cold lamb and salad, small meat-pie, vegetable marrow, and
white sauce. 2. Lemon dumplings.
_Tuesday._—1. Boiled mackerel. 2. Stewed loin of veal, French beans and
potatoes, 3. Baked raspberry pudding.
_Wednesday._—1. Vegetable soup. 2. Lamb cutlets and French beans;
the remains of stewed shoulder of veal, mashed vegetable marrow. 3.
Black-currant pudding.
_Thursday._—1. Roast ribs of beef, Yorkshire pudding, French beans and
potatoes. 2. Bread-and-butter pudding.
_Friday._—1. Fried soles and melted butter. 2. Cold beef and salad,
lamb cutlets and mashed potatoes. 3. Cauliflowers and white sauce
instead of pudding.
_Saturday._—1. Stewed beef and vegetables, with remains of cold beef;
mutton pudding. 2. Macaroni and cheese.
* * * * *
_Sunday._—1. Salmon pudding. 2. Roast fillet of veal, boiled
bacon-cheek garnished with tufts of cauliflowers, French beans and
potatoes. 3. Plum tart, boiled custard pudding.
_Monday._—1. Baked soles. 2. Cold veal and bacon, salad, mutton cutlets
and tomato sauce. 3. Boiled currant pudding.
_Tuesday._—1. Rice soup. 2. Roast fowls and water-cresses, boiled
knuckle of ham, minced veal garnished with croûtons; vegetables. 3.
College pudding.
_Wednesday._—1. Curried fowl with remains of cold fowl; dish of rice,
stewed rump-steak and vegetables. 2. Plum tart.
_Thursday._—1. Boiled brisket of beef, carrots, turnips, suet
dumplings, and potatoes. 2. Baked bread pudding.
_Friday._—1. Vegetable soup, made from liquor that beef was boiled in.
2. Cold beef and dressed cucumber, veal cutlets and tomato sauce. 3.
Fondue.
_Saturday._—1. Bubble-and-squeak, made from remains of cold beef; cold
veal-and-ham pie, salad. 2. Baked raspberry pudding.
AUGUST, Things in Season.
_Fish._—Brill, carp, chub, crayfish, crabs, dory, eels, flounders,
grigs, herrings, lobsters, mullet, pike, prawns, salmon, shrimps,
skate, soles, sturgeon, thornback, trout, turbot.
_Meat._—Beef, lamb, mutton, veal, buck venison.
_Poultry._—Chickens, ducklings, fowls, green geese, pigeons, plovers,
pullets, rabbits, turkey poults, wheatears, wild ducks.
_Game._—Leverets, grouse, black-cock.
_Vegetables._—Artichokes, asparagus, beans, carrots, cabbages,
cauliflowers, celery, cresses, endive, lettuces, mushrooms, onions,
peas, potatoes, radishes, sea-kale, small salading, sprouts, turnips,
various kitchen herbs, vegetable marrows.
_Fruit._—Currants, figs, filberts, gooseberries, grapes, melons,
mulberries, nectarines, peaches, pears, pineapples, plums, raspberries,
walnuts.
BACON, Boiled.
_Ingredients._—Bacon; water. _Mode._—As bacon is frequently excessively
salt, let it be soaked in warm water for an hour or two previous to
dressing it; then pare off the rusty parts, and scrape the under-side
and rind as clean as possible. Put it into a saucepan of cold water;
let it come gradually to a boil, and as fast as the scum rises to
the surface of the water, remove it. Let it simmer very gently until
it is _thoroughly_ done; then take it up, strip off the skin, and
sprinkle over the bacon a few bread raspings, and garnish with tufts of
cauliflower or Brussels sprouts. When served alone, young and tender
broad beans or green peas are the usual accompaniments. _Time._—1 lb.
of bacon, ¾ hour; 2 lbs., 1½ hour. _Average cost,_ 10_d._ to 1_s._
per lb. for the primest parts. _Sufficient._—2 lbs., when served with
poultry or veal, sufficient for 10 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
[Illustration: BOILED BACON.]
BACON, Broiled Rashers of.
Before purchasing bacon, ascertain that it is perfectly free from rust,
which may easily be detected by its yellow colour; and for broiling,
the streaked part of the thick flank is generally the most esteemed.
Cut it into _thin_ slices, take off the rind, and broil over a nice
clear fire; turn it two or three times, and serve very hot. Should
there be any cold bacon left from the previous day, it answers very
well for breakfast, cut into slices, and broiled or fried. _Time._—3
or 4 minutes. _Average cost_, 10_d._ to 1_s._ per lb. for the primest
parts. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—When the bacon is cut very thin, the slices may be curled round
and fastened by means of small skewers, and fried or toasted before
the fire.
BACON and HAMS, Curing of.
The carcass of the hog, after hanging over-night to cool, is laid on
a strong bench or stool, and the head is separated from the body at
the neck close behind the ears; the feet and also the internal fat are
removed. The carcass is next divided into two sides in the following
manner:—The ribs are divided about an inch from the spine on each side,
and the spine, with the ends of the ribs attached, together with the
internal flesh between it and the kidneys, and also the flesh above it,
throughout the whole length of the sides, are removed. The portion of
the carcass thus cut out is in the form of a wedge—the breadth of the
interior consisting of the breadth of the spine, and about an inch of
the ribs on each side, being diminished to about half an inch at the
exterior or skin along the back. The breastbone, and also the first
anterior rib, are also dissected from the side. Sometimes the whole of
the ribs are removed; but this, for reasons afterwards to be noticed,
is a very bad practice. When the hams are cured separately from the
sides, which is generally the case, they are cut out so as to include
the hock-bone, in a similar manner to the London mode of cutting a
haunch of mutton. The carcass of the hog thus cut up is ready for being
salted, which process, in large curing establishments, is generally as
follows:—The skin side of the pork is rubbed over with a mixture of
fifty parts by weight of salt, and one part of saltpetre in powder, and
the incised parts of the ham or flitch, and the inside of the flitch,
covered with the same. The salted bacon, in pairs of flitches with the
insides to each other, is piled one pair of flitches above another on
benches slightly inclined, and furnished with spouts or troughs to
convey the brine to receivers in the floor of the salting-house, to be
afterwards used for pickling pork for navy purposes. In this state the
bacon remains a fortnight, which is sufficient for flitches cut from
hogs of a carcass weight less than 15 stone (14 lbs. to the stone).
Flitches of a larger size, at the expiration of that time, are wiped
dry and reversed in their place in the pile, having, at the same time,
about half the first quantity of fresh, dry, common salt sprinkled over
the inside and incised parts; after which they remain on the benches
for another week. Hams being thicker than flitches, will require,
when less than 20 lbs. weight, 3 weeks; and when above that weight, 4
weeks to remain under the above described process. The next and last
process in the preparation of bacon and hams, previous to being sent to
market, is drying. This is effected by hanging the flitches and hams
for 2 or 3 weeks in a room heated by stoves, or in a smoke-house, in
which they are exposed for the same length of time to the smoke arising
from the slow combustion of the sawdust of oak or other hard wood. The
latter mode of completing the curing process has some advantages over
the other, as by it the meat is subject to the action of _creosote_,
a volatile oil produced by the combustion of the sawdust, which is
powerfully antiseptic. The process also furnishing a thin covering of
a resinous varnish, excludes the air not only from the muscle, but
also from the fat—thus effectually preventing the meat from becoming
rusted; and the principal reasons for condemning the practice of
removing the ribs from the flitches of pork are, that by so doing the
meat becomes unpleasantly hard and pungent in the process of salting,
and, by being more exposed to the action of the air, becomes sooner
and more extensively rusted. Notwithstanding its superior efficacy
in completing the process of curing, the flavour which smoke-drying
imparts to meat is disliked by many persons, and it is therefore by no
means the most general mode of drying adopted by mercantile curers. A
very impure variety of _pyroligneous_ acid, or vinegar made from the
destructive distillation of wood, is sometimes used, on account of
the highly preservative power of the creosote which it contains, and
also to impart the smoke-flavour; in which latter object, however, the
coarse flavour of tar is given, rather than that derived from the smoke
from combustion of wood. A considerable portion of the bacon and hams
salted in Ireland is exported from that country packed amongst salt,
in bales, immediately from the salting process, without having been in
any degree dried. In the process of salting above described, pork loses
from 8 to 10 per cent of its weight, according to the size and quality
of the meat; and a further diminution of weight, to the extent of 5
to 6 per cent. takes place in drying during the first fortnight after
being taken out of salt; so that the total loss in weight occasioned by
the preparation of bacon and hams in a proper state for market, is not
less on an average than 15 per cent. on the weight of the fresh pork.
BACON, to Cure and Keep it free from Rust (Cobbett’s Recipe).
The two sides that remain, and which are called flitches, are to be
cured for bacon. They are first rubbed with salt on their insides, or
flesh sides, then placed one on the other, the flesh sides uppermost,
in a salting-trough which has a gutter round its edges to drain away
the brine; for, to have sweet and fine bacon, the flitches must not be
sopping in brine, which gives it the sort of vile taste that barrel
and sea pork have. Every one knows how different is the taste of fresh
dry salt from that of salt in a dissolved state; therefore change the
salt often,—once in 4 or 5 days; let it melt and sink in, but not lie
too long; twice change the flitches, put that at bottom which was first
on the top: this mode will cost you a great deal more in salt than the
sopping mode, but without it your bacon will not be so sweet and fine,
nor keep so well. As for the time required in making your flitches
sufficiently salt, it depends on circumstances. It takes a longer time
for a thick than a thin flitch, and longer in dry than in damp weather,
or in a dry than in a damp place; but for the flitches of a hog of five
score, in weather not very dry or damp, about 6 weeks may do; and as
yours is to be fat, which receives little injury from over-salting,
give time enough, for you are to have bacon until Christmas comes
again. The place for salting should, like a dairy, always be cool, but
well ventilated; confined air, though cool, will taint meat sooner than
the midday sun accompanied by a breeze. With regard to smoking the
bacon, two precautions are necessary: first, to hang the flitches where
no rain comes down upon them; and next, that the smoke must proceed
from wood, not peat, turf, or coal. As to the time required to smoke a
flitch, it depends a good deal upon whether there be a constant fire
beneath; and whether the fire be large or small: a month will do, if
the fire be pretty constant and rich, as a farm-house fire usually is;
but over-smoking, or rather too long hanging in the air, makes the
bacon rust; great attention should therefore be paid to this matter.
The flitch ought not to be dried up to the hardness of a board, and
yet it ought to be perfectly dry. Before you hang it up, lay it on the
floor, scatter the flesh side pretty thickly over with bran, or with
some fine sawdust, not of deal or fir; rub it on the flesh, or pat it
well down upon it: this keeps the smoke from getting into the little
openings, and makes a sort of crust to be dried on. To keep the bacon
sweet and good, and free from hoppers, sift fine some clean and dry
wood ashes. Put some at the bottom of a box or chest long enough to
hold a flitch of bacon; lay in one flitch, then put in more ashes, then
another flitch, and cover this with six or eight inches of the ashes.
The place where the box or chest is kept ought to be dry, and, should
the ashes become damp, they should be put in the fireplace to dry, and
when cold, put back again. With these precautions, the bacon will be
as good at the end of the year as on the first day. For simple general
rules, these may be safely taken as a guide; and those who implicitly
follow the directions given, will possess at the expiration of from 6
weeks to 2 months well-flavoured and well-cured bacon.
BACON or HAMS, to Cure in the Devonshire way.
_Ingredients._—To every 14 lbs. of meat allow 2 oz. of saltpetre, 2
oz. of salt prunella, 1 lb. of common salt. For the pickle, 3 gallons
of water, 5 lbs. of common salt, 7 lbs. of coarse sugar, 3 lbs. of bay
salt. _Mode._—Weigh the sides, hams, and cheeks, and to every 14 lbs.
allow the above proportion of saltpetre, salt prunella, and common
salt. Pound and mix these together, and rub well into the meat; lay it
in a stone trough or tub, rubbing it thoroughly, and turning it daily
for two successive days. At the end of the second day, pour on it a
pickle made as follows:—Put the above ingredients into a saucepan, set
it on the fire, and stir frequently; remove all the scum, allow it to
boil for ¼ hour, and pour it hot over the meat. Let the hams, &c., be
well rubbed and turned daily; if the meat is small, a fortnight will
be sufficient for the sides and shoulders to remain in the pickle,
and the hams 3 weeks; if from 30 lbs. and upwards, 3 weeks will be
required for the sides, &c., and from 4 to 5 weeks for the hams. On
taking the pieces out, let them drain for an hour, cover with dry
sawdust, and smoke from a fortnight to three weeks. Boil and carefully
skim the pickle after using, and it will keep good, closely corked,
for 2 years. When boiling it for use, add about 2 lbs. of common salt,
and the same of treacle, to allow for waste. Tongues are excellent put
into this pickle cold, having been first rubbed well with saltpetre and
salt, and allowed to remain 24 hours, not forgetting to make a deep
incision under the thick part of the tongue, so as to allow the pickle
to penetrate more readily. A fortnight or three weeks, according to the
size of the tongue, will be sufficient. _Time._—Small meat to remain in
the pickle a fortnight, hams 3 weeks; to be smoked from a fortnight to
3 weeks.
BACON, to Cure in the Wiltshire way.
_Ingredients._—1½ lb. of coarse sugar, ½ lb. of bay salt, 6 oz. of
saltpetre, 1 lb. of common salt. _Mode._—Sprinkle each flitch with
salt, and let the blood drain off for 24 hours; then pound and mix
the above ingredients well together and rub it well into the meat,
which should be turned every day for a month; then hang it to dry, and
afterwards smoke it for 10 days. _Time._—To remain in the pickle from
three to four weeks, to be smoked 10 days, or rather longer.
BACON, Fried Rashers of, and Poached Eggs.
_Ingredients._—Bacon; eggs. _Mode._—Cut the bacon into thin slices,
trim away the rusty parts, and cut off the rind. Put it into a _cold_
frying-pan, that is to say, do not place the pan on the fire before
the bacon is in it. Turn it 2 or 3 times, and dish it on a very hot
dish. Poach the eggs and slip them on to the bacon without breaking
the yolks, and serve quickly. _Time._—3 or 4 minutes. _Average cost_,
10_d._ to 1_s._ per lb. for the primest parts. _Sufficient._—Allow 6
eggs for 3 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time. _Note._—Fried rashers of
bacon, curled, serve as a pretty garnish to many dishes; and, for small
families, answer very well as a substitute for boiled bacon, to serve
with a small dish of poultry, &c.
* * * * *
=The Bain Marie.=—It is an open kind of vessel, as shown in the
engraving, and is a utensil much used in modern cookery, both in
English and French kitchens. It is filled with boiling or nearly
boiling water; and into this water should be put all the stewpans
containing those ingredients which it is desired to keep hot. The
quantity and quality of the contents of these vessels are not at all
affected; and if the hour of dinner is uncertain in any establishment,
by reason of the nature of the master’s business, nothing is so sure a
means of preserving the flavour of all dishes as the employment of the
bain marie.
[Illustration: THE BAIN MARIE.]
BARBEL.
_Ingredients._—½ pint of port wine, a saltspoonful of salt, 2
tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 2 sliced onions, a faggot of sweet herbs,
nutmeg and mace to taste, the juice of a lemon, 2 anchovies; 1 or 2
barbels, according to size. _Mode._—Boil the barbels in salt and water
till done; pour off some of the water, and to the remainder put the
ingredients mentioned above. Simmer gently for ½ hour or rather more,
and strain. Put in the fish, heat it gradually, but do not let it boil,
or it will be broken. _Time._—Altogether 1 hour. _Sufficient_ for 4
persons. _Seasonable_ from September to November.
BARBERRIES (Berberis vulgaris).
A fruit of such great acidity, that even birds refuse to eat it. In
this respect, it nearly approaches the tamarind. When boiled with
sugar, it makes a very agreeable preserve or jelly, according to the
different modes of preparing it. Barberries are also used as a dry
sweetmeat, and in sugarplums or comfits; are pickled with vinegar, and
are used for various culinary purposes. They are well calculated to
allay heat and thirst in persons afflicted with fevers. The berries,
arranged on bunches of nicely curled parsley, make an exceedingly
pretty garnish for supper dishes, particularly for white meats, like
boiled fowl à la Béchamel, the three colours, scarlet, green, and
white, contrasting well, and producing a very good effect.
BARBERRIES, to preserve in Bunches.
_Ingredients._—1 pint of syrup, barberries. _Mode._—Prepare some small
pieces of clean white wood, 3 inches long and ¼ inch wide, and tie the
fruit on to these in nice bunches. Have ready some clear syrup (_see_
SYRUP); put in the barberries, and simmer them in it for 2 successive
days, boiling them for nearly ½ hour each day, and covering them each
time with the syrup when cold. When the fruit looks perfectly clear it
is sufficiently done, and should be stowed away in pots, with the syrup
poured over, or the fruit may be candied. _Time._—½ hour to simmer each
day. _Seasonable_ in autumn.
BARLEY SOUP.
_Ingredients._—2 lbs. of shin of beef, ¼ lb. of pearl barley, a large
bunch of parsley, 4 onions, 6 potatoes, salt and pepper, 4 quarts of
water. _Mode._—Put in all the ingredients, and simmer gently for 3
hours. _Time._—3 hours. _Average cost_, 2½_d._ per quart. _Seasonable_
all the year, but more suitable for winter.
BARLEY-SUGAR, to make.
_Ingredients._—To every lb. of sugar allow ½ pint of water, ½ the white
of an egg. _Mode._—Put the sugar into a well-tinned saucepan, with the
water, and, when the former is dissolved, set it over a moderate fire,
adding the well-beaten egg before the mixture gets warm, and stir it
well together. When it boils, remove the scum as it rises, and keep it
boiling until no more appears, and the syrup looks perfectly clear;
then strain it through a fine sieve or muslin bag, and put it back into
the saucepan. Boil it again like caramel, until it is brittle, when a
little is dropped in a basin of cold water: it is then sufficiently
boiled. Add a little lemon-juice and a few drops of essence of lemon,
and let it stand for a minute or two. Have ready a marble slab or large
dish, rubbed over with salad-oil; pour on it the sugar, and cut it into
strips with a pair of scissors: these strips should then be twisted,
and the barley-sugar stored away in a very dry place. It may be formed
into lozenges or drops, by dropping the sugar in a very small quantity
at a time on to the oiled slab or dish. _Time._—¼ hour. _Average cost_,
7_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 sticks.
BARLEY-WATER, to make.
_Ingredients._—2 oz. of pearl barley, 2 quarts of boiling water, 1
pint of cold water. _Mode._—Wash the barley in cold water; put it into
a saucepan with the above proportion of cold water, and when it has
boiled for about ¼ hour, strain off the water, and add the 2 quarts
of fresh boiling water. Boil it until the liquid is reduced one half;
strain it, and it will be ready for use. It may be flavoured with
lemon-peel, after being sweetened, or a small piece may be simmered
with the barley. When the invalid may take it, a little lemon-juice
gives this pleasant drink in illness a very nice flavour; as does also
a small quantity of port wine. _Time._—To boil until the liquid is
reduced one half. _Sufficient_ to make 1 quart of barley-water.
BATTER PUDDING, Baked.
_Ingredients._—1½ pint of milk, 4 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 oz. of
butter, 4 eggs, a little salt. _Mode._—Mix the flour with a small
quantity of cold milk; make the remainder hot, and pour it on to
the flour, keeping the mixture well stirred; add the butter, eggs,
and salt; beat the whole well, and put the pudding into a buttered
pie-dish; bake for ¾ hour, and serve with sweet sauce, wine sauce, or
stewed fruit. Baked in small cups, very pretty little puddings may
be made; they should be eaten with the same accompaniments as above.
_Time._—¾ hour. _Average cost_, 9_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
BATTER PUDDING, Baked, with Dried or Fresh Fruit.
_Ingredients._—1½ pint of milk, 4 tablespoonfuls of flour, 3 eggs,
2 oz. of finely-shredded suet, ¼ lb. of currants, a pinch of salt.
_Mode._—Mix the milk, flour, and eggs to a smooth batter; add a
little salt, the suet, and the currants, which should be well washed,
picked, and dried; put the mixture into a buttered pie-dish, and
bake in a moderate oven for 1¼ hour. When fresh fruits are in season,
this pudding is exceedingly nice, with damsons, plums, red currants,
gooseberries, or apples; when made with these, the pudding must be
thickly sprinkled over with sifted sugar. Boiled batter pudding, with
fruit, is made in the same manner, by putting the fruit into a buttered
basin, and filling it up with batter made in the above proportion,
but omitting the suet. It must be sent quickly to table, and covered
plentifully with sifted sugar. _Time._—Baked batter pudding, with
fruit, 1¼ to 1½ hour; boiled ditto, 1½ to 1¾ hour, allowing that both
are made with the above proportion of batter. Smaller puddings will be
done enough in ¾ or 1 hour. _Average cost_, 10_d._ _Sufficient_ for 7
or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time, with dried fruits.
BATTER PUDDING, Boiled.
_Ingredients._—3 eggs, 1 oz. of butter, 1 pint of milk, 3
tablespoonfuls of flour, a little salt. _Mode._—Put the flour into a
basin, and add sufficient milk to moisten it; carefully rub down all
the lumps with a spoon, then pour in the remainder of the milk, and
stir in the butter, which should be previously melted; keep beating
the mixture, add the eggs and a pinch of salt, and, when the batter
is quite smooth, put it into a well-buttered basin, tie it down very
tightly, and put it into boiling water; move the basin about for a few
minutes after it is put into the water, to prevent the flour settling
in any part, and boil for 1¼ hour. This pudding may also be boiled in
a floured cloth that has been wetted in hot water: it will then take
a few minutes less than when boiled in a basin. Send batter puddings
very quickly to table, and serve with sweet sauce, wine sauce, stewed
fruit, or jam of any kind: when the latter is used, a little of it may
be placed round the dish in small quantities, as a garnish. _Time._—1¼
hour in a basin, 1 hour in a cloth. _Average cost_, 7_d._ _Sufficient_
for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BATTER PUDDING, with Orange Marmalade.
_Ingredients._—4 eggs, 1 pint of milk, 1½ oz. of loaf sugar, 3
tablespoonfuls of flour. _Mode._—Make the batter with the above
ingredients, put it into a well-buttered basin, tie it down with a
cloth, and boil for 1 hour. As soon as it is turned out of the basin,
put a small jar of orange marmalade all over the top, and send the
pudding very quickly to table. It is advisable to warm the marmalade
to make it liquid. _Time._—1 hour. _Average cost_, with the marmalade,
1_s._ 3_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time;
but more suitable for a winter pudding.
BEANS, Boiled Broad or Windsor.
[Illustration: BROAD BEANS.]
_Ingredients._—To each ½ gallon of water, allow 1 heaped tablespoonful
of salt; beans. _Mode._—This is a favourite vegetable with many
persons, but, to be nice, should be young and freshly gathered. After
shelling the beans, put them into _boiling_ water, salted in the above
proportion, and let them boil rapidly until tender. Drain them well in
a colander; dish, and serve with them separately a tureen of parsley
and butter. Boiled bacon should always accompany this vegetable, but
the beans should be cooked separately. It is usually served with the
beans laid round, and the parsley and butter in a tureen. Beans also
make an excellent garnish to a ham, and when used for this purpose, if
very old, should have their skins removed. _Time._—Very young beans, 15
minutes; when a moderate size, 20 to 25 minutes, or longer. _Average
cost_, unshelled, 6_d._ per peck. _Sufficient._—Allow one peck for 6 or
7 persons. _Seasonable_ in July and August.
BEANS, Broad, à la Poulette.
_Ingredients._—2 pints of broad beans, ½ pint of stock or broth, a
small bunch of savoury herbs, including parsley, a small lump of
sugar, the yolk of 1 egg, ¼ pint of cream, pepper and salt to taste.
_Mode._—Procure some young and freshly-gathered beans, and shell
sufficient to make 2 pints; boil them, as in the preceding recipe,
until nearly done; then drain them and put them into a stewpan with the
stock, finely-minced herbs, and sugar. Stew the beans until perfectly
tender, and the liquor has dried away a little; then beat up the yolk
of an egg with the cream, add this to the beans, let the whole get
thoroughly hot, and when on the point of simmering, serve. Should the
beans be very large, the skin should be removed previously to boiling
them. _Time._—10 minutes to boil the beans, 15 minutes to stew them in
the stock. _Average cost_, unshelled, 6_d._ per peck. _Seasonable_ in
July and August.
BEANS, Boiled French.
_Ingredients._—To each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful
of salt, a very small piece of soda. _Mode._—This vegetable should
always be eaten young, as when allowed to grow too long it tastes
stringy and tough when cooked. Cut off the heads and tails, and a thin
strip on each side of the beans to remove the strings; then divide each
bean into 4 or 6 pieces, according to size, cutting them lengthways in
a slanting direction, and as they are cut put them into cold water,
with a small quantity of salt dissolved in it. Have ready a saucepan
of boiling water, with salt and soda in the above proportion; put in
the beans, keep them boiling quickly, with the lid uncovered, and
be careful that they do not get smoked. When tender, which may be
ascertained by their sinking to the bottom of the saucepan, take them
up, pour them into a colander, and when drained, dish and serve with
plain melted butter. When very young, beans are sometimes served whole:
thus dressed, their colour and flavour are much better preserved, but
the more general way of sending them to table is to cut them into
thin strips. _Time._—Very young beans, 10 to 12 minutes; moderate
size, 15 to 20 minutes, after the water boils. _Average cost_, in
full season, 1_s._ 4_d._ per peck, but when forced very expensive.
_Sufficient._—Allow ½ peck for 6 or 7 persons. _Seasonable_ from the
middle of July to the end of September, but may be had forced from
February to the beginning of June.
BEANS, French Mode of Cooking French.
_Ingredients._—A quart of French beans, 3 oz. of fresh butter, pepper
and salt to taste, the juice of ½ lemon. _Mode._—Cut and boil the beans
by the preceding recipe, and when tender, put them into a stewpan, and
shake over the fire, to dry away the moisture from the beans. When
quite dry and hot, add the butter, pepper, salt, and lemon-juice; keep
moving the stewpan, without using a spoon, as that would break the
beans; and when the butter is melted, and all is thoroughly hot, serve.
If the butter should not mix well, add a tablespoonful of gravy, and
serve very quickly. _Time._—About ¼ hour to boil the beans; 10 minutes
to shake them over the fire. _Average cost_, in full season, about
1_s._ 4_d._ per peck. _Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons. _Seasonable_
from the middle of July to the end of September.
BEANS, to Boil Haricots Blancs, or White Haricot.
_Ingredients._—1 quart of white haricot beans, 2 quarts of soft water,
1 oz. of butter, 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt. _Mode._—Put the beans
into cold water, let them soak from 2 to 4 hours, according to their
age; then put them into cold water salted in the above proportion,
bring them to boil, and let them simmer very slowly until tender; pour
the water away from them, let them stand by the side of the fire, with
the lid of the saucepan partially off, to allow the beans to dry; then
add 1 oz. of butter and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Shake the beans
about for a minute or two, and serve: do not stir them with a spoon,
for fear of breaking them to pieces. _Time._—After the water boils,
from 2 to 2½ hours. _Average cost_, 4_d._ per quart. _Sufficient_ for 4
or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ in winter, when other vegetables are scarce.
_Note._—Haricots blancs, when new and fresh, should be put into boiling
water, and do not require any soaking previous to dressing.
BEANS, Haricots Blancs & Minced Onions.
_Ingredients._—1 quart of white haricot beans, 4 middling-sized onions,
¼ pint of good brown gravy, pepper and salt to taste, a little flour.
_Mode._—Peel and mince the onions not too finely, and fry them in
butter of a light brown colour; dredge over them a little flour, and
add the gravy and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Have ready a pint
of haricot beans well boiled and drained; put them with the onions and
gravy, mix all well together, and serve very hot. _Time._—From 2 to 2½
hours to boil the beans; 5 minutes to fry the onions. _Average cost_,
4_d._ per quart. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ in
winter.
BEANS, Haricots Blancs à la Maître d’Hôtel.
[Illustration: HARICOT BEANS.]
_Ingredients._—1 quart of white haricot beans, ¼ lb. of fresh butter,
1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, pepper and salt to taste, the juice
of ½ lemon. _Mode._—Should the beans be very dry, soak them for an hour
or two in cold water, and boil them until perfectly tender, as in the
preceding recipe. If the water should boil away, replenish it with a
little more cold, which makes the skin of the beans tender. Let them
be very thoroughly done; drain them well; then add to them the butter,
minced parsley, and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Keep moving the
stewpan over the fire without using a spoon, as this would break the
beans; and, when the various ingredients are well mixed with them,
squeeze in the lemon-juice, and serve very hot. _Time._—From 2 to 2½
hours to boil the beans. _Average cost_, 4_d._ per quart. _Sufficient_
for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ in winter.
BÉCHAMEL, or French White Sauce.
_Ingredients._—1 small bunch of parsley, 2 cloves, ½ bay-leaf, 1
small bunch of savoury herbs, salt to taste; 3 or 4 mushrooms, when
obtainable; 2 pints of white stock, 1 pint of milk or cream, 1
tablespoonful of arrowroot. _Mode._—Put the stock into a stewpan, with
the parsley, cloves, bay-leaf, herbs, and mushrooms; add a seasoning of
salt, but no pepper, as that would give the sauce a dusty appearance,
and should be avoided. When it has boiled long enough to extract the
flavour of the herbs, &c., strain it, and boil it up quickly again,
until it is nearly half reduced. Now mix the arrowroot smoothly with
the milk or cream, and let it simmer very gently for 5 minutes over
a slow fire; pour to it the stock, and continue to simmer slowly for
10 minutes, if the sauce be thick. If, on the contrary, it be too
thin, it must be stirred over a sharp fire till it thickens. Always
make it thick, as it can easily be thinned with cream, milk, or
white stock. This sauce is excellent for pouring over boiled fowls.
_Time._—Altogether, 2 hours. _Average cost_, 3_s._ per quart, with
cream at 1_s._ 6_d._ per pint.
BÉCHAMEL MAIGRE, or Without Meat.
_Ingredients._—2 onions, 1 blade of mace, mushroom trimmings, a small
bunch of parsley, 1 oz. of butter, flour, ½ pint of water, 1 pint of
milk, salt, the juice of ½ lemon, 2 eggs. _Mode._—Put in a stewpan
the milk and ½ pint of water, with the onions, mace, mushrooms,
parsley, and salt. Let these simmer gently for 20 minutes. In the
meantime, rub on a plate 1 oz. of flour and butter; put it to the
liquor, and stir it well till it boils up; then place it by the side
of the fire, and continue stirring until it is perfectly smooth. Now
strain it through a sieve into a basin, after which put it back in
the stewpan, and add the lemon-juice. Beat up the yolks of the eggs
with about 4 dessertspoonfuls of milk; strain this to the sauce, keep
stirring it over the fire, _but do not let it boil, or it will curdle_.
_Time._—Altogether, ¾ hour. _Average cost_, 5_d._ per pint.
This is a good sauce to pour over boiled fowls when they are a bad
colour.
BEEF, Aitchbone of, Boiled.
_Ingredients._—Beef, water. _Mode._—After this joint has been in salt 5
or 6 days, it will be ready for use, and will not take so long boiling
as a round, for it is not so solid. Wash the meat, and, if too salt,
soak it for a few hours, changing the water once or twice, till the
required freshness is obtained. Put into a saucepan, or boiling-pot,
sufficient water to cover the meat; set it over the fire, and when it
boils, plunge in the joint, and let it boil up quickly. Now draw the
pot to the side of the fire, and let the process be very gradual,
as the water must only simmer, or the meat will be hard and tough.
Carefully remove the scum from the surface of the water, and continue
doing this for a few minutes after it first boils. Carrots and turnips
are served with this dish, and sometimes suet dumplings, which may be
boiled with the beef. Garnish with a few of the carrots and turnips,
and serve the remainder in a vegetable-dish. _Time._—An aitchbone of
10 lbs., 2½ hours after the water boils; one of 20 lbs., 4 hours.
_Average cost_, 6_d._ per lb. _Sufficient._—10 lbs. for 7 or 8 persons.
_Seasonable_ all the year, but best from September to March.
[Illustration: AITCH-BONE OF BEEF.]
_Note._—The liquor in which the meat has been boiled may be easily
converted into a very excellent pea-soup. It will require very few
vegetables, as it will be impregnated with the flavour of those boiled
with the meat.
BEEF À LA MODE.
_Ingredients._—6 or 7 lbs. of the thick flank of beef, a few slices of
fat bacon, 1 teacupful of vinegar, black pepper, allspice, 2 cloves
well mixed and finely pounded, making altogether 1 heaped teaspoonful;
salt to taste, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, including parsley, all finely
minced and well mixed; 3 onions, 2 large carrots, 1 turnip, 1 head
of celery, 1½ pint of water, 1 glass of port wine. _Mode._—Slice
and fry the onions of a pale brown, and cut up the other vegetables
in small pieces, and prepare the beef for stewing in the following
manner:—Choose a fine piece of beef, cut the bacon into long slices,
about an inch in thickness, dip them into vinegar, and then into a
little of the above seasoning of spice, &c., mixed with the same
quantity of minced herbs. With a sharp knife make holes deep enough
to let in the bacon; then rub the beef over with the remainder of the
seasoning and herbs, and bind it up in a nice shape with tape. Have
ready a well-tinned stewpan (it should not be much larger than the
piece of meat you are cooking), into which put the beef, with the
vegetables, vinegar, and water. Let it simmer _very gently_ for 5
hours, or rather longer, should the meat not be extremely tender, and
turn it once or twice. When ready to serve, take out the beef, remove
the tape, and put it on a hot dish. Skim off every particle of fat from
the gravy, add the port wine, just let it boil, pour it over the beef,
and it is ready to serve. Great care must be taken that this does not
boil fast, or the meat will be tough and tasteless; it should only just
bubble. When convenient, all kinds of stews, &c. should be cooked on
a hot plate, as the process is so much more gradual than on an open
fire. _Time._—5 hours, or rather more. _Average cost_, 7_d._ per lb.
_Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ all the year, but more
suitable for a winter dish.
BEEF À LA MODE (Economical).
_Ingredients._—About 3 lbs. of clod or sticking of beef, 2 oz. of
clarified dripping, 1 large onion, flour, 2 quarts of water, 12 berries
of allspice, 2 bay-leaves, ½ teaspoonful of whole black pepper, salt to
taste. _Mode._—Cut the beef into small pieces, and roll them in flour;
put the dripping into a stewpan with the onion, which should be sliced
thin. Let it get quite hot; lay in the pieces of beef, and stir them
well about. When nicely browned all over, add _by degrees_ boiling
water in the above proportion, and, as the water is added, keep the
whole well stirred. Put in the spice, bay-leaves, and seasoning, cover
the stewpan closely, and set it by the side of the fire to stew very
_gently_, till the meat becomes quite tender, which will be in about
3 hours, when it will be ready to serve. Remove the bay-leaves before
it is sent to table. _Time._—3 hours. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 3_d._
_Sufficient_ for 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Baked.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY. 1.] _Ingredients._—About 2 lbs. of cold roast beef,
2 small onions, 1 large carrot or 2 small ones, 1 turnip, a small bunch
of savoury herbs, salt and pepper to taste, quite ½ pint of gravy, 3
tablespoonfuls of ale, crust or mashed potatoes. _Mode._—Cut the beef
in slices, allowing a small amount of fat to each slice; place a layer
of this in the bottom of a pie-dish, with a portion of the onions,
carrots, and turnips, which must be sliced; mince the herbs, strew
them over the meat, and season with pepper and salt. Then put another
layer of meat, vegetables, and seasoning; and proceed in this manner
until all the ingredients are used. Pour in the gravy and ale (water
may be substituted for the former, but it is not so nice), cover with
a crust or mashed potatoes, and bake for ½ hour, or rather longer.
_Time._—Rather more than ½ hour. _Average cost_, exclusive of the meat,
6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—It is as well to parboil the carrots and turnips before adding
them to the meat, and to use some of the liquor in which they were
boiled as a substitute for gravy; that is to say, when there is no
gravy at hand. Be particular to cut the onions in very _thin_ slices.
* * * * *
[COLD MEAT COOKERY. 2.] _Ingredients._—Slices of cold roast beef,
salt and pepper to taste, 1 sliced onion, 1 teaspoonful of minced
savoury herbs, 12 tablespoonfuls of gravy or sauce of any kind, mashed
potatoes. _Mode._—Butter the sides of a deep dish, and spread mashed
potatoes over the bottom of it; on this place layers of beef in thin
slices (this may be minced, if there is not sufficient beef to cut into
slices), well seasoned with pepper and salt, and a very little onion
and herbs, which should be previously fried of a nice brown; then put
another layer of mashed potatoes, and beef, and other ingredients, as
before; pour in the gravy or sauce, cover the whole with another layer
of potatoes, and bake for ½ hour. This may be served in the dish, or
turned out. _Time._—½ hour. _Average cost_, exclusive of the cold
beef, 6_d._ _Sufficient._—A large pie-dish full for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF-BONES, Broiled.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—The bones of ribs or sirloin; salt,
pepper and cayenne. _Mode._—Separate the bones, taking care that the
meat on them is not too thick in any part; sprinkle them well with the
above seasoning, and broil over a very clear fire. When nicely browned,
they are done; but do not allow them to blacken.
BEEF, Brisket of, à la Flamande.
_Ingredients._—About 6 or 8 lbs. of the brisket of beef, 4 or 5 slices
of bacon, 2 carrots, 1 onion, a bunch of savoury herbs, salt and pepper
to taste, 4 cloves, 4 whole allspice, 2 blades of mace. _Mode._—Choose
that portion of the brisket which contains the gristle, trim it,
and put it into a stewpan with the slices of bacon, which should be
placed under and over the meat. Add the vegetables, herbs, spices,
and seasoning, and cover with a little weak stock or water; shut the
stewpan-lid as closely as possible, and simmer very gently for 4 hours.
Strain the liquor, reserve a portion of it for sauce, and the remainder
boil quickly over a sharp fire until reduced to a glaze, with which
glaze the meat. Garnish the dish with scooped carrots and turnips, and,
when liked, a little cabbage; all of which must be cooked separately.
Thicken and flavour the liquor that was saved for sauce, pour it round
the meat, and serve. The beef may also be garnished with glazed onions,
artichoke-bottoms, &c. _Time._—4 hours. _Average cost_, 7_d._ per lb.
_Sufficient_ for 6 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Brisket of, Stewed.
_Ingredients._—7 lbs. of the brisket of beef, vinegar and salt, 6
carrots, 6 turnips, 6 small onions, 1 blade of pounded mace, 2 whole
allspice pounded, thickening of butter and flour, 2 tablespoonfuls of
ketchup; stock, or water. _Mode._—About an hour before dressing it,
rub the meat over with vinegar and salt; put it into a stewpan, with
sufficient stock to cover it (when this is not at hand, water may be
substituted for it), and be particular that the stewpan is not much
larger than the meat. Skim well, and when it has simmered very gently
for 1 hour, put in the vegetables, and continue simmering till the meat
is perfectly tender. Draw out the bones, dish the meat, and garnish
either with tufts of cauliflower or braised cabbage cut in quarters.
Thicken as much gravy as required, with a little butter and flour; add
spices and ketchup in the above proportion, give one boil, pour some of
it over the meat, and the remainder send in a tureen. _Time._—Rather
more than 3 hours. _Average cost_, 7_d._ per lb. _Sufficient_ for 7 or
8 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—The remainder of the liquor in which the beef was boiled may be
served as a soup, or it may be sent to table with the meat in a tureen.
BEEF, Broiled, and Mushroom Sauce.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—2 or 3 dozen small button
mushrooms, 1 oz. of butter, salt and cayenne to taste, 1 tablespoonful
of mushroom ketchup, mashed potatoes, slices of cold roast beef.
_Mode._—Wipe the mushrooms free from grit with a piece of flannel, and
salt; put them in a stewpan with the butter, seasoning, and ketchup;
stir over the fire until the mushrooms are quite done, when pour it in
the middle of mashed potatoes, browned. Then place round the potatoes
slices of cold roast beef, nicely broiled over a clear fire. In making
the mushroom sauce the ketchup may be dispensed with, if there is
sufficient gravy. _Time._—¼ hour. _Average cost_, exclusive of the
meat, 8_d._ _Seasonable_ from August to October.
BEEF, Broiled, and Oyster Sauce.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—2 dozen oysters, 3 cloves, 1 blade
of mace, 2 oz. of butter, ½ teaspoonful of flour, cayenne and salt to
taste, mashed potatoes, a few slices of cold roast beef. _Mode._—Put
the oysters in a stewpan, with their liquor strained; add the cloves,
mace, butter, flour, and seasoning, and let them simmer gently for
5 minutes. Have ready in the centre of a dish round walls of mashed
potatoes, browned; into the middle pour the oyster sauce quite hot,
and round the potatoes place, in layers, slices of the beef, which
should be previously broiled over a nice clear fire. _Time._—5 minutes.
_Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._, exclusive of the cold meat. _Sufficient_
for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ from September to April.
BEEF BUBBLE-AND-SQUEAK.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—A few thin slices of cold boiled
beef; butter, cabbage, 1 sliced onion, pepper and salt to taste.
_Mode._—Fry the slices of beef gently in a little butter, taking care
not to dry them up. Lay them on a flat dish, and cover with fried
greens. The greens may be prepared from cabbage sprouts or green
savoys. They should be boiled till tender, well drained, minced, and
placed till quite hot in a frying-pan, with butter, a sliced onion,
and seasoning of pepper and salt. When the onion is done it is ready
to serve. _Time._—Altogether, ½ hour. _Average cost_, exclusive of the
cold beef, 3_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF CAKE.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—The remains of cold roast beef;
to each pound of cold meat allow ¼ lb. of bacon or ham; seasoning to
taste of pepper and salt, 1 small bunch of minced savoury herbs, 1 or
2 eggs. _Mode._—Mince the beef very finely (if underdone it will be
better), add to it the bacon, which must also be chopped very small,
and mix well together. Season, stir in the herbs, and bind with an egg,
or 2 should 1 not be sufficient. Make it into small square cakes, about
½ inch thick, fry them in hot dripping, drain them, and serve in a
dish with good gravy poured round. _Time._—10 minutes. _Average cost_,
exclusive of the cold meat, 6_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Collared.
[Illustration: COLLARED BEEF.]
_Ingredients._—7 lbs. of the thin end of the flank of beef, 2 oz. of
coarse sugar, 6 oz. of salt, 1 oz. of saltpetre, 1 large handful of
parsley, minced, 1 dessertspoonful of minced sage, a bunch of savoury
herbs, ½ teaspoonful of pounded allspice; salt and pepper to taste.
_Mode._—Choose fine tender beef, but not too fat; lay it in a dish, rub
in the sugar, salt, and saltpetre, and let it remain in the pickle
for a week or ten days, turning and rubbing it every day. Then bone
it, remove all the gristle and the coarse skin of the inside part,
and sprinkle it thickly with parsley, herbs, spice, and seasoning in
the above proportion, taking care that the former are finely minced,
and the latter well pounded. Roll the meat up in a cloth as tightly
as possible; bind it firmly with broad tape, and boil it gently for
6 hours. Immediately on taking it out of the pot put it under a good
weight, without undoing it, and let it remain until cold. This dish is
a very nice addition to the breakfast-table. _Time._—6 hours. _Average
cost_, for this quantity, 4_s._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—During the time the beef is in pickle it should be kept cool,
and regularly rubbed and turned every day.
BEEF COLLOPS.
_Ingredients._—2 lbs. of rump-steak, ¼ lb. of butter, 1 pint of gravy
(water may be substituted for this), salt and pepper to taste, 1
shalot, finely minced, ½ pickled walnut, 1 teaspoonful of capers.
_Mode._—Have the steak cut thin, and divide it in pieces about 3 inches
long; beat these with the blade of a knife, and dredge with flour.
Put them in a frying-pan with the butter, and let them fry for about
3 minutes; then lay them in a small stewpan, and pour over them the
gravy. Add a piece of butter kneaded with a little flour, put in the
seasoning and all the other ingredients, and let the whole simmer,
but not boil, for 10 minutes. Serve in a hot covered dish. _Time._—10
minutes. _Average cost_, 1_s._ per lb. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF CARVING.
=Beef, Aitchbone of.=—A boiled aitchbone of beef is not a difficult
joint to carve, as will be seen on reference to the accompanying
engraving. By following with the knife the direction of the line from
1 to 2, nice slices will be easily cut. It may be necessary, as in a
round of beef, to cut a thick slice off the outside before commencing
to serve.
[Illustration]
=Beef, Brisket of.=—There is but little description necessary to add
to show the carving of a boiled brisket of beef beyond the engraving
here inserted. The only point to be observed is, that the joint should
be cut evenly and firmly quite across the bones, so that on its
reappearance at table it should not have a jagged and untidy look.
[Illustration]
=Beef, Ribs of.=—This dish resembles the sirloin, except that it has no
fillet or undercut. As explained in the recipes, the end piece is often
cut off, salted and boiled. The mode of carving is similar to that of
the sirloin, viz., in the direction of the dotted line from 1 to 2.
This joint will be the more easily cut if the plan be pursued which is
suggested in carving the sirloin; namely, the inserting of the knife
immediately between the bone and the meat, before commencing to cut it
into slices. All joints of roast beef should be cut in even and thin
slices. Horseradish, finely scraped, may be served as a garnish; but
horseradish sauce is preferable for eating with the beef.
[Illustration]
=Beef, a Round of.=—A round of beef is more easily carved than any
other joint of beef, but, to manage it properly, a thin-bladed and very
sharp knife is necessary. Off the outside of the joint, at its top,
a thick slice should first be cut, so as to leave the surface smooth:
then thin and even slices should be cleverly carved in the direction of
the line 1 to 2; and with each slice of the lean a delicate morsel of
the fat should be served.
[Illustration]
=Beef, Sirloin of.=—This dish is served differently at various tables,
some preferring it to come to table with the fillet, or, as it is
usually called, the undercut, uppermost. The reverse way, as shown in
the cut, is that most usually adopted. Still the undercut is best eaten
when hot; consequently, the carver himself may raise the joint, and
cut some slices from the under side, in the direction of from 1 to 2,
as the fillet is very much preferred by some eaters. The upper part of
the sirloin should be cut in the direction of the line from 5 to 6, and
care should be taken to carve it evenly and in thin slices. It will be
found a great assistance, in carving this joint well, if the knife be
first inserted just above the bone at the bottom, and run sharply along
between the bone and meat, and also to divide the meat from the bone in
the same way at the side of the joint; the slices will then come away
more readily. Some carvers cut the upper side of the sirloin across, as
shown by the line from 3 to 4; but this is a wasteful plan, and one not
to be recommended. With the sirloin, very finely-scraped horseradish
is usually served, and a little given, when liked, to each guest.
Horseradish sauce is preferable, however, for serving on the plate,
although the scraped horseradish may still be used as a garnish.
[Illustration]
=Beef Tongue.=—Passing the knife down in the direction of from 1 to 2,
a not too thin slice should be helped; and the carving of a tongue may
be continued in this way until the best portions of the upper side are
served. The fat which lies about the root can be served by turning the
tongue, and cutting in the direction of from 3 to 4.
[Illustration]
BEEF, Curried.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—A few slices of tolerably lean
cold roast or boiled beef, 3 oz. of butter, 2 onions, 1 wineglassful
of beer, a dessertspoonful of curry powder. _Mode._—Cut up the beef
into pieces about 1 inch square, put the butter into a stewpan with the
onions sliced, and fry them of a light-brown colour. Add all the other
ingredients, and stir gently over a brisk fire for about 10 minutes.
Should this be thought too dry, more beer, or a spoonful or two of
gravy or water, may be added; but a good curry should not be very thin.
Place it in a deep dish, with an edging of dry boiled rice, in the
same manner as for other curries. _Time._—10 minutes. _Average cost_,
exclusive of the meat, 4_d._ _Seasonable_ in winter.
BEEF, Roast Fillet of (Larded).
_Ingredients._—About 4 lbs. of the inside fillet of the sirloin, 1
onion, a small bunch of parsley, salt and pepper to taste, sufficient
vinegar to cover the meat, glaze, Spanish sauce (_see_ SAUCE).
_Mode._—Lard the beef with bacon, and put it into a pan with sufficient
vinegar to cover it, with an onion sliced, parsley, and seasoning, and
let it remain in this pickle for 12 hours. Roast it before a nice clear
fire for about 1¼ hour, and, when done, glaze it. Pour some Spanish
sauce round the beef, and the remainder serve in a tureen. It may be
garnished with Spanish onions boiled and glazed. _Time._—1¼ hour.
_Average cost_, exclusive of the sauce, 4_s._ _Sufficient_ for 6 or 8
persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Fricandeau of.
_Ingredients._—About 3 lbs. of the inside fillet of the sirloin (a
piece of the rump may be substituted for this), pepper and salt to
taste, 3 cloves, 2 blades of mace, 6 whole allspice, 1 pint of stock
(_see_ STOCK), or water, 1 glass of sherry, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, 2
shalots, bacon. _Mode._—Cut some bacon into thin strips, and sprinkle
over them a seasoning of pepper and salt, mixed with cloves, mace, and
allspice, well pounded. Lard the beef with these, put it into a stewpan
with the stock or water, sherry, herbs, shalots, 2 cloves, and more
pepper and salt. Stew the meat gently until tender, when take it out,
cover it closely, skim off all the fat from the gravy, and strain it.
Set it on the fire, and boil, till it becomes a glaze. Glaze the larded
side of the beef with this, and serve on sorrel sauce, which is made as
follows:—Wash and pick some sorrel, and put it into a stewpan with only
the water that hangs about it. Keep stirring, to prevent its burning,
and when done, lay it in a sieve to drain. Chop it, and stew it with
a small piece of butter and 4 or 5 tablespoonfuls of good gravy, for
an hour, and rub it through a sieve. If too acid, add sugar; a little
cabbage-lettuce boiled with the sorrel will be found an improvement.
_Time._—2 hours to gently stew the meat. _Average cost_, for this
quantity, 4_s._ _Sufficient_ for 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Fried Salt.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—A few slices of cold salt beef,
pepper to taste, ½ lb. of butter, mashed potatoes. _Mode._—Cut any
part of cold salt beef into thin slices, fry them gently in butter,
and season with a little pepper. Have ready some very hot mashed
potatoes, lay the slices of beef on them, and garnish with 3 or 4
pickled gherkins. Cold salt beef, warmed in a little liquor from mixed
pickle, drained, and served as above, will be found good. _Time._—About
5 minutes. _Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 4_d._ _Seasonable_ at
any time.
BEEF FRITTERS.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—The remains of cold roast beef,
pepper and salt to taste, ¾ lb. of flour, ½ pint of water, 2 oz. of
butter, the whites of 2 eggs. _Mode._—Mix very smoothly, and, by
degrees, the flour with the above proportion of water; stir in 2 oz. of
butter, which must be melted but not oiled, and, just before it is to
be used, add the whites of two well-whisked eggs. Should the batter be
too thick, more water must be added. Pare down the cold beef into thin
shreds, season with pepper and salt, and mix it with the batter. Drop
a small quantity at a time into a pan of boiling lard, and fry from 7
to 10 minutes, according to the size. When done on one side, turn and
brown them on the other. Let them dry for a minute or two before the
fire, and serve on a folded napkin. A small quantity of finely-minced
onions, mixed with the batter, is an improvement. _Time._—From 7 to 10
minutes. _Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 6_d._ _Seasonable_ at
any time.
BEEF, Hashed.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY. 1.] _Ingredients._—Gravy saved from the meat, 1
teaspoonful of tomato sauce, one teaspoonful of Harvey’s sauce, one
teaspoonful of good mushroom ketchup, ½ glass of port wine or strong
ale, pepper and salt to taste, a little flour to thicken, 1 onion
finely minced, a few slices of cold roast beef. _Mode._—Put all the
ingredients but the beef into a stewpan with whatever gravy may have
been saved from the meat the day it was roasted; simmer these gently
for 10 minutes, then take the stewpan off the fire; let the gravy cool
and skim off the fat. Cut the beef into thin slices, dredge them with
flour, and lay them in the gravy; let the whole simmer gently for 5
minutes, but not boil, or the meat will be tough and hard. Serve very
hot, and garnish with sippets of toasted bread. _Time._—20 minutes.
Average cost, exclusive of the cold meat, 4_d._ _Seasonable_ at any
time.
* * * * *
[COLD MEAT COOKERY. 2.] _Ingredients._—The remains of ribs or sirloin
of beef, 2 onions, 1 carrot, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, pepper and salt
to taste, ½ blade of pounded mace, thickening of flour, rather more
than 1 pint of water. _Mode._—Take off all the meat from the bones of
ribs or sirloin of beef; remove the outside brown and gristle; place
the meat on one side, and well stew the bones and pieces, with the
above ingredients, for about 2 hours, till it becomes a strong gravy,
and is reduced to rather more than ½ pint; strain this, thicken with a
teaspoonful of flour, and let the gravy cool; skim off all the fat; lay
in the meat, let it get hot through, but do not allow it to boil; and
garnish with sippets of toasted bread. The gravy should be flavoured
as in the preceding recipe. _Time._—Rather more than 2 hours. _Average
cost_, exclusive of the cold meat, 6_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—Either of the above recipes may be served in walls of mashed
potatoes browned; in which case the sippets should be omitted. _Be
careful that hashed meat does not boil, or it will become tough._
BEEF, Hunter’s.
_Ingredients._—For a round of beef weighing 25 lbs. allow 3 oz. of
saltpetre, 3 oz. of coarse sugar, 1 oz. of cloves, 1 grated nutmeg, ½
oz. of allspice, 1 lb. of salt, ½ lb. bay-salt. _Mode._—Hang the beef
for 2 or 3 days, and remove the bone. Pound spices, salt, &c. in the
above proportion, and let them be reduced to the finest powder. Put the
beef into a pan, rub all the ingredients well into it, and turn and
rub it every day for rather more than a fortnight. When it has been
sufficiently long in pickle, wash the meat, bind it up securely with
tape, and put it into a pan with ½ pint of water at the bottom; mince
some suet, cover the top of the meat with it, and over the pan put a
common crust of flour and water; bake for 6 hours, and when cold remove
the paste. Save the gravy that flows from it, as it adds greatly to the
flavour of hashes, stews, &c. The beef may be glazed and garnished with
meat jelly. _Time._—6 hours. _Seasonable_ all the year.
_Note._—In salting or pickling beef or pork for family consumption, it
not being generally required to be kept for a great length of time,
a less quantity of salt and a larger quantity of other matters more
adapted to retain mellowness in meat, may be employed, which could not
be adopted by the curer of the immense quantities of meat required to
be preserved for victualling the shipping of this maritime country.
Sugar, which is well known to possess the preserving principle in a
very great degree, without the pungency and astringency of salt, may
be, and is, very generally used in the preserving of meat for family
consumption. Although it acts without corrugating or contracting the
fibres of meat, as is the case in the action of salt, and, therefore,
does not impair its mellowness, yet its use in sufficient quantities
for preservative effect, without the addition of other antiseptics,
would impart a flavour not agreeable to the taste of many persons. It
may be used, however, together with salt, with the greatest advantage
in imparting mildness and mellowness to cured meat, in a proportion of
about one part by weight to four of the mixture; and, perhaps, now that
sugar is so much lower in price than it was in former years, one of the
obstructions to its more frequent use is removed.
BEEF KIDNEY, to Dress.
_Ingredients._—1 kidney, clarified butter, pepper and salt to taste,
a small quantity of highly-seasoned gravy, 1 tablespoonful of
lemon-juice, ¼ teaspoonful of powdered sugar. _Mode._—Cut the kidneys
into neat slices, put them into warm water to soak for two hours, and
change the water 2 or 3 times; then lay them on a clean cloth to dry
the water from them, place them in a frying-pan with some clarified
butter, and fry them of a nice brown; season each side with pepper
and salt, put them round the dish, with the gravy in the middle.
Before pouring the gravy in the dish, add the lemon-juice and sugar.
_Time._—From 5 to 10 minutes. _Average cost_, 9_d._ each. _Seasonable_
at any time.
BEEF KIDNEY, to Dress.
_Ingredients._—1 kidney, 1 dessertspoonful of minced parsley, 1
teaspoonful of minced shalot, salt and pepper to taste; ¼ pint of
gravy (follow one of the gravy recipes), 3 tablespoonfuls of sherry.
_Mode._—Take off a little of the kidney fat, mince it very fine, and
put it in a frying-pan; slice the kidney, sprinkle over it parsley
and shalots in the above proportion, add a seasoning of pepper and
salt, and fry it of a nice brown. When it is done enough, dredge over
a little flour, and pour in the gravy and sherry. Let it just simmer,
but not boil any more, or the kidney would harden; serve very hot, and
garnish with croûtons. Where the flavour of the shalot is disliked
it may be omitted, and a small quantity of savoury herbs substituted
for it. _Time._—From 5 to 10 minutes, according to the thickness of
the slices. _Average cost_, 9_d._ each. _Sufficient_ for 3 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF KIDNEY, to Dress (a more simple method).
Cut the kidneys into thin slices, flour them, and fry of a nice brown.
When done, make a gravy in the pan by pouring away the fat, putting in
a small piece of butter, ¼ pint of boiling water, pepper and salt,
a dessertspoonful of lemon-juice, and a tablespoonful of mushroom
ketchup. Let the gravy just boil up, pour over the kidney, and serve.
BEEF MARROW-BONES, Boiled.
[Illustration: MARROW-BONES.]
_Ingredients._—Bones, a small piece of common paste, a floured cloth.
_Mode._—Have the bones neatly sawed into convenient sizes, and cover
the ends with a small piece of common crust, made with flour and water.
Over this tie a floured cloth, and place them upright in a saucepan
of boiling water, taking care there is sufficient to cover the bones.
Boil the bones for 2 hours, remove the cloth and paste, and serve them
upright on a napkin with dry toast. Many persons clear the marrow from
the bones after they are cooked, spread it over a slice of toast, and
add a seasoning of pepper; when served in this manner, it must be very
expeditiously sent to table, as it so soon gets cold. _Time._—2 hours.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—Marrow-bones may be baked after preparing them as in the
preceding recipe; they should be laid in a deep dish, and baked for 2
hours.
BEEF, Minced.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—1 oz. of butter, 1 small onion, 12
tablespoonfuls of gravy left from the meat, 1 tablespoonful of strong
ale, 1 teaspoonful of flour, salt and pepper to taste, a few slices
of lean roast beef. _Mode._—Put into a stewpan the butter with an
onion chopped fine; add the gravy, ale, and a teaspoonful of flour to
thicken; season with pepper and salt, and stir these ingredients over
the fire until the onion is a rich brown. Cut (but do not chop) the
meat _very fine_, add it to the gravy, stir till quite hot, and serve.
Garnish with sippets of toasted bread. Be careful in not allowing the
gravy to boil after the meat is added, as it would render it hard and
tough. _Time._—About ½ hour. _Average cost_, exclusive of the meat,
3_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Minced Collops of (an Entrée).
_Ingredients._—1 lb. of rump-steak, salt and pepper to taste, 2 oz. of
butter, 1 onion minced, ¼ pint of water, 1 tablespoonful of Harvey’s
sauce, or lemon-juice, or mushroom ketchup; 1 small bunch of savoury
herbs. _Mode._—Mince the beef and onion very small, and fry the latter
in butter until of a pale brown. Put all the ingredients together in a
stewpan, and boil gently for about 10 minutes; garnish with sippets of
toasted bread, and serve very hot. _Time._—10 minutes. _Average cost_,
1_s._ per lb. _Sufficient_ for 2 or 3 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Miroton of.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—A few slices of cold roast beef,
3 oz. of butter, salt and pepper to taste, 3 onions, ½ pint of gravy.
_Mode._—Slice the onions and put them into the frying-pan with the cold
beef and butter; place it over the fire, and keep turning and stirring
the ingredients to prevent them burning. When a pale brown, add the
gravy and seasoning; let it simmer for a few minutes, and serve very
hot. The dish is excellent and economical. _Time._—5 minutes. _Average
cost_, exclusive of the meat, 6_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF OLIVES.
_Ingredients._—2 lbs. of rump-steak, 1 egg, 1 tablespoonful of minced
savoury herbs, pepper and salt to taste, 1 pint of stock, 2 or 3
slices of bacon, 2 tablespoonfuls of any kind of store sauce, a slight
thickening of butter and flour. Mode.—Have the steaks cut rather thin,
beat them to make them level, cut them into 6 or 7 pieces, brush over
with egg, and sprinkle with herbs, which should be very finely minced;
season with pepper and salt, roll up the pieces tightly, and fasten
with a small skewer. Put the stock in a stewpan that will exactly hold
the ingredients, for, by being pressed together, they will keep their
shape better; lay in the rolls of meat, cover them with the bacon, cut
in thin slices, and over that put a piece of paper. Stew them very
_gently_ for full 2 hours; for the slower they are done the better.
Take them out, remove the skewers, thicken the gravy with butter and
flour, and flavour with any store sauce that may be preferred. Give
one boil, pour over the meat, and serve. _Time._—2 hours. _Average
cost_, 1_s._ per pound. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_
at any time.
BEEF OLIVES (Economical).
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—The remains of underdone cold
roast beef, bread-crumbs, 1 shalot finely minced, pepper and salt
to taste, gravy made from the beef bones, thickening of butter and
flour, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup. _Mode._—Cut some slices of
underdone roast beef about half an inch thick; sprinkle over them some
bread-crumbs, minced shalot, and a little of the fat and seasoning;
roll them, and fasten with a small skewer. Have ready some gravy made
from the beef bones; put in the pieces of meat, and stew them till
tender, which will be in about 1¼ hour, or rather longer. Arrange the
meat in a dish, thicken and flavour the gravy, and pour it over the
meat, when it is ready to serve. _Time._—1½ hour. _Average cost_,
exclusive of the beef, 2_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF PALATES, to Dress (an Entrée).
_Ingredients._—4 palates, sufficient gravy to cover them, cayenne
to taste, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, 1 tablespoonful of
pickled-onion liquor, thickening of butter and flour. _Mode._—Wash
the palates, and put them into a stewpan, with sufficient water to
cover them, and let them boil until perfectly tender, or until the
upper skin may be easily peeled off. Have ready sufficient gravy to
cover them; add a good seasoning of cayenne, and thicken with a little
butter kneaded with flour; let it boil up, and skim. Cut the palates
into square pieces, put them in the gravy, and let them simmer gently
for ½ hour; add ketchup and onion-liquor, give one boil, and serve.
_Time._—From 3 to 5 hours to boil the palates. _Sufficient_ for 4
persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—Palates may be dressed in various ways with good onion sauce,
tomato sauce, &c., &c., and may also be served in a _vol-au-vent_; but
the above will be found a more simple method of dressing them.
BEEF PICKLE. (This may also be used for any kind of Meat, Tongues, or
Hams.)
_Ingredients._—6 lbs. of salt, 2 lbs. of fine sugar, 3 oz. of powdered
saltpetre, 3 gallons of spring water. _Mode._—Boil all the ingredients
gently together, so long as any scum or impurity arises, which
carefully remove; when quite cold, pour it over the meat, every part of
which must be covered with the brine. This may be used for pickling any
kind of meat, and may be kept for some time, if boiled up occasionally
with an addition of the ingredients. _Time._—A ham should be kept in
pickle for a fortnight; a piece of beef weighing 14 lbs., 12 or 15
days; a tongue, 10 days or a fortnight.
_Note._—For salting and pickling meat, it is a good plan to rub in only
half the quantity of salt directed, and to let it remain for a day or
two to disgorge and effectually to get rid of the blood and slime; then
rub in the remainder of the salt and other ingredients, and proceed as
above. This rule may be applied to all recipes for salting and pickling
meat.
BEEF, Potted.
[Illustration: JAR FOR POTTED MEATS.]
[COLD MEAT COOKERY. 1.] _Ingredients._—2 lbs. of lean beef, 1
tablespoonful of water, ¼ lb. of butter, a seasoning to taste of salt,
cayenne, pounded mace, and black pepper. _Mode._—Procure a nice piece
of lean beef, as free as possible from gristle, skin, &c., and put
it into a jar (if at hand, one with a lid) with 1 tablespoonful of
water. Cover it _closely_, and put the jar into a saucepan of boiling
water, letting the water come within 2 inches of the top of the jar.
Boil gently for 3½ hours, then take the beef, chop it very small with
a chopping-knife, and pound it thoroughly in a mortar. Mix with it by
degrees all, or a portion, of the gravy that will have run from it,
and a little clarified butter; add the seasoning, put it in small pots
for use, and cover with a little butter just warmed and poured over.
If much gravy is added to it, it will keep but a short time; on the
contrary, if a large proportion of butter is used, it may be preserved
for some time. _Time._—3½ hours. _Average cost_, for this quantity,
1_s._ 10_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
* * * * *
[COLD MEAT COOKERY. 2.] _Ingredients._—The remains of cold roast or
boiled beef, ¼ lb. of butter, cayenne to taste, 2 blades of pounded
mace. _Mode._—The outside slices of boiled beef may, with a little
trouble, be converted into a very nice addition to the breakfast-table.
Cut up the meat into small pieces and pound it well, with a little
butter, in a mortar; add a seasoning of cayenne and mace, and be very
particular that the latter spice is reduced to the finest powder.
When all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, put them into glass
or earthen potting-pots, and pour on the top a coating of clarified
butter. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—If cold _roast_ beef is used, remove all pieces of gristle and
dry outside pieces, as these do not pound well.
BEEF RAGOÛT.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—About 2 lbs. of cold roast beef,
6 onions, pepper, salt, and mixed spices to taste; ½ pint of boiling
water, 3 tablespoonfuls of gravy. _Mode._—Cut the beef into rather
large pieces, and put them into a stewpan with the onions, which must
be sliced. Season well with pepper, salt, and mixed spices, and pour
over about ½ pint of boiling water, and gravy in the above proportion
(gravy saved from the meat answers the purpose); let the whole stew
very gently for about 2 hours, and serve with pickled walnuts,
gherkins, or capers, just warmed in the gravy. _Time._—2 hours.
_Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 4_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Rib-bones of (a pretty Dish).
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—Ribs of beef bones, 1 onion chopped
fine, a few slices of carrot and turnip, ¼ pint of gravy. _Mode._—The
bones for this dish should have left on them a slight covering of
meat; saw them into pieces 3 inches long; season them with pepper and
salt, and put them into a stewpan with the remaining ingredients.
Stew gently, until the vegetables are tender, and serve on a flat
dish within walls of mashed potatoes, _Time._—¾ hour. _Average cost_,
exclusive of the bones, 2_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Roast Ribs of.
_Ingredients._—Beef, a little salt. _Mode._—The fore-rib is considered
the primest roasting piece, but the middle-rib is considered the most
economical. Let the meat be well hung (should the weather permit),
having previously cut off the ends of the bones, which should be
salted for a few days, and then boiled. Put the meat down to a nice
clear fire, with some clean dripping in the pan, dredge the joint with
a little flour, and keep continually basting it all the time it is
cooking. Sprinkle some fine salt over it (this must never be done until
the joint is dished, as it draws the juices from the meat); pour the
dripping from the pan, put in a little boiling water, and _strain_ the
gravy over the meat. Garnish with tufts of scraped horseradish, and
send horseradish sauce to table with it. A Yorkshire pudding (_see_
PUDDINGS) sometimes accompanies this dish, and, if lightly made and
well cooked, will be found a very agreeable addition. _Time._—10 lbs.
of beef, 2½ hours; 14 to 16 lbs., from 3½ to 4 hours. _Average cost_,
9_d._ per lb. _Sufficient._—A joint of 10 lbs. sufficient for 8 or 9
persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Roast Ribs of, Boned and Rolled (a very convenient Joint for a
small Family).
_Ingredients._—1 or 2 ribs of beef. _Mode._—Choose a fine rib of beef,
and have it cut according to the weight you require, either wide or
narrow. Bone and roll the meat round, secure it with wooden skewers,
and, if necessary, bind it round with a piece of tape. Spit the beef
firmly, or, if a bottle-jack is used, put the joint on the hook, and
place it _near_ a nice clear fire. Let it remain so till the outside
of the meat is set, when draw it to a distance, and keep continually
basting until the meat is done, which can be ascertained by the steam
from it drawing towards the fire. As this joint is solid, rather more
than ¼ hour must be allowed for each lb. Remove the skewers, put in
a plated or silver one, and send the joint to table with gravy in
the dish, and garnish with tufts of horseradish. Horseradish sauce
is a great improvement to roast beef. _Time._—For 10 lbs. of the
rolled ribs, 3 hours (as the joint is very solid, we have allowed an
extra ½ hour); for 6 lbs., 1½ hour. _Average cost_, 9_d._ per lb.
_Sufficient._—A joint of 10 lbs. for 6 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ all
the year.
_Note._—When the weight exceeds 10 lbs., we would not advise the above
method of boning or rolling; only in the case of 1 or 2 ribs, when the
joint cannot stand upright in the dish, and would look awkwardly. The
bones should be put on with a few vegetables and herbs, and made into
stock.
BEEF RISSOLES.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—The remains of cold roast
beef; to each pound of meat allow ¾ lb. of bread-crumbs, salt and
pepper to taste, a few chopped savoury herbs, ½ a teaspoonful of
minced lemon-peel, 1 or 2 eggs, according to the quantity of meat.
_Mode._—Mince the beef very fine, which should be rather lean, and mix
with this bread-crumbs, herbs, seasoning, and lemon-peel, in the above
proportion, to each pound of meat. Make all into a thick paste with 1
or 2 eggs; divide into balls or cones, and fry a rich brown. Garnish
the dish with fried parsley, and send to table some good brown gravy in
a tureen. Instead of garnishing with fried parsley, gravy may be poured
in the dish round the rissoles; in this case, it will not be necessary
to send any in a tureen. _Time._—From 5 to 10 minutes, according to
size. _Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 5_d._ _Seasonable_ at any
time.
BEEF, Rolled, to eat like Hare.
_Ingredients._—About 5 lbs. of the inside of the sirloin, 2 glasses
of port wine, 2 glasses of vinegar, a small quantity of forcemeat, 1
teaspoonful of pounded allspice. _Mode._—Take the inside of a large
sirloin, soak it in 1 glass of port wine and 1 glass of vinegar, mixed,
and let it remain for 2 days. Make a forcemeat (_see_ FORCEMEAT), lay
it on the meat, and bind it up securely. Roast it before a nice clear
fire, and baste it with 1 glass each of port wine and vinegar, with
which mix a teaspoonful of pounded allspice. Serve, with a good gravy
in the dish, and send red-currant jelly to table with it. _Time._—A
piece of 5 lbs., about 1½ hour before a brisk fire. _Average cost_, for
this quantity, 5_s._ 4_d._ _Sufficient_ for 4 persons. _Seasonable_ at
any time.
BEEF ROLLS.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—The remains of cold roast or boiled
beef, seasoning to taste of salt, pepper, and minced herbs; puff paste.
_Mode._—Mince the beef tolerably fine with a _small_ amount of its
own fat; add a seasoning of pepper, salt, and chopped herbs; put the
whole into a roll of puff paste, and bake for ½ hour, or rather longer,
should the roll be very large. Beef patties may be made of cold meat,
by mincing and seasoning beef as directed above, and baking in a rich
puff paste in patty-tins. _Time._—½ hour. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Boiled Round of.
_Ingredients._—Beef, water. _Mode._—As a whole round of beef, generally
speaking, is too large for small families, and very seldom required,
we here give the recipe for dressing a portion of the silver side of
the round. Take from 12 to 16 lbs., after it has been in salt about
10 days; just wash off the salt, skewer it up in a nice round-looking
form, and bind it with tape to keep the skewers in their places. Put
it in a saucepan of boiling water, set it upon a good fire, and when
it begins to boil, carefully remove all scum from the surface, as, if
this is not attended to, it sinks on to the meat, and, when brought
to table, presents a very unsightly appearance. After it is well
skimmed, draw the pot to the corner of the fire, allow the liquor to
cool, then let the beef simmer very gently until done. Remove the tape
and skewers, which should be replaced by a silver one; pour over a
little of the pot-liquor, and garnish with carrots. Carrots, turnips,
parsnips, and sometimes suet dumplings, accompany this dish; and these
may all be boiled with the beef. The pot-liquor should be saved, and
converted into pea-soup; and the outside slices, which are generally
hard, and of an uninviting appearance, may be cut off before being
sent to table, and potted. These make an excellent relish for the
breakfast or luncheon table. _Time._—Part of a round of beef weighing
12 lbs., about 3 hours after the water boils. _Average cost_, 8_d._ per
lb. _Sufficient_ for 10 persons. _Seasonable_ all the year, but more
suitable for winter.
* * * * *
=Soyer’s Recipe for Preserving the Gravy in Salt Meat, when it is to
be served Cold.=—Fill two tubs with cold water, into which throw a few
pounds of rough ice; and when the meat is done, put it into one of the
tubs of ice-water; let it remain 1 minute, when take out, and put it
into the other tub. Fill the first tub again with water, and continue
this process for about 20 minutes; then set it upon a dish, and let
it remain until quite cold. When cut, the fat will be as white as
possible, besides having saved the whole of the gravy. If there is no
ice, spring water will answer the same purpose, but will require to be
more frequently changed.
_Note._—The brisket and rump may be boiled by the above recipe; of
course allowing more or less time, according to the size of the joint.
BEEF, Miniature Round of (an excellent Dish for a small Family).
_Ingredients._—From 5 to 10 lbs. of ribs of beef, sufficient brine to
cover the meat. _Mode._—Choose a fine rib, have the bone removed, rub
some salt over the inside, and skewer the meat up into a nice round
form, and bind it with tape. Put it into sufficient brine to cover it
(_see_ BEEF PICKLE), and let it remain for 6 days, turning the meat
every day. When required to be dressed, drain from the pickle, and put
the meat into very hot water; boil it rapidly for a few minutes, then
draw the pot to the side of the fire, and simmer the beef very gently
until done. Remove the skewer, and replace it by a plated or silver
one. Carrots and turnips should be served with this dish, and may be
boiled with the meat. _Time._—A small round of 8 lbs., about 2 hours
after the water boils; one of 12 lbs., about 3 hours. _Average cost_,
9_d._ per lb. _Sufficient_ for 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—Should the joint be very small, 4 or 5 days will be sufficient
time to salt it.
BEEF, to Pickle part of a Round, for Hanging.
_Ingredients._—For 14 lbs. of a round of beef allow 1½ lb. of salt, ½
oz. of powdered saltpetre; or, 1 lb. of salt, ½ lb. of sugar, ½ oz. of
powdered saltpetre. _Mode._—Rub in, and sprinkle either of the above
mixtures on 14 lbs. of meat. Keep it in an earthenware pan, or a deep
wooden tray, and turn twice a week during 3 weeks; then bind up the
beef tightly with coarse linen tape, and hang it in a kitchen in which
a fire is constantly kept, for 3 weeks. Pork, hams, and bacon may be
cured in a similar way, but will require double the quantity of the
salting mixture; and, if not smoke-dried, they should be taken down
from hanging after 3 or 4 weeks, and afterwards kept in boxes or tubs,
amongst dry oat-husks. _Time._—2 or 3 weeks to remain in the brine, to
be hung 3 weeks. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—The meat may be boiled fresh from this pickle, instead of
smoking it.
BEEF SAUSAGES.
_Ingredients._—To every lb. of suet allow 2 lbs. of lean beef;
seasoning to taste of salt, pepper, and mixed spices. _Mode._—Clear
the suet from skin, and chop that and the beef as finely as possible;
season with pepper, salt, and spices, and mix the whole well together.
Make it into flat cakes, and fry of a nice brown. Many persons pound
the meat in a mortar after it is chopped, but this is not necessary
when the meat is minced finely. _Time._—10 minutes. _Average cost_, for
this quantity, 1_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Roast Sirloin of.
[Illustration: ROAST SIRLOIN OF BEEF.]
_Ingredients._—Beef, a little salt. _Mode._—As a joint cannot be well
roasted without a good fire, see that it is well made up about ¾ hour
before it is required, so that when the joint is put down, it is
clear and bright. Choose a nice sirloin, the weight of which should
not exceed 16 lbs., as the outside would be too much done, whilst the
inside would not be done enough. Spit it or hook it on to the jack
firmly, dredge it slightly with flour, and place it near the fire at
first. Then draw it to a distance, and keep continually basting until
the meat is done. Dish the meat, sprinkle a small quantity of salt over
it, empty the dripping-pan of all the dripping, pour in some boiling
water, stir it about, and _strain_ over the meat. Garnish with tufts of
horseradish, and send horseradish sauce and Yorkshire pudding to table
with it. _Time._—A sirloin of 10 lbs., 2½ hours; 14 to 16 lbs., about 4
or 4½ hours. _Average cost_, 8½_d._ per lb. _Sufficient._—A joint of 10
lbs. for 8 or 9 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time. The rump, round, and
other pieces of beef are roasted in the same manner, allowing for solid
joints ¼ hour to every lb.
_Note._—The above is the usual method of roasting meat; but to have it
in perfection and the juices kept in, the meat should at first be laid
_close_ to the fire, and when the outside is set and firm, drawn away
to a good distance, and then left to roast very slowly. Where economy
is studied, this plan would not answer, as the meat requires to be at
the fire double the time of the ordinary way of cooking; consequently,
double the quantity of fuel would be consumed.
BEEF, Sliced and Broiled (a pretty Dish).
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—A few slices of cold roast beef, 4
or 5 potatoes, a thin batter, pepper and salt to taste. _Mode._—Pare
the potatoes as you would peel an apple; fry the parings in a thin
batter seasoned with salt and pepper, until they are of a light brown
colour, and place them on a dish over some slices of beef, which should
be nicely seasoned and broiled. _Time._—5 minutes to broil the meat.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Spiced (to serve Cold).
_Ingredients._—14 lbs. of the thick flank or rump of beef, ½ lb. of
coarse sugar, 1 oz. of saltpetre, ¼ lb. of pounded allspice, 1 lb. of
common salt. _Mode._—Rub the sugar well into the beef, and let it lie
for 12 hours; then rub the saltpetre and allspice, both of which should
be pounded, over the meat, and let it remain for another 12 hours; then
rub in the salt. Turn daily in the liquor for a fortnight, soak it for
a few hours in water, dry with a cloth, cover with a coarse paste, put
a little water at the bottom of the pan, and bake in a moderate oven
for 4 hours. If it is not covered with a paste, be careful to put the
beef into a deep vessel, and cover with a plate, or it will be too
crisp. During the time the meat is in the oven it should be turned once
or twice. _Time._—4 hours. _Average cost_, 7_d._ per lb. _Seasonable_
at any time.
BEEF, Stewed. (A Polish Dish.)
_Ingredients._—A thick beef or rump-steak of about 2 lbs., an onion,
some bread-crumbs, pepper and salt, ¼ lb. of butter. _Mode._—Mince
the onion fine, mix it with the bread, pepper, and salt; make deep
incisions in the beef, but do not cut it through; fill the spaces
with the bread, &c. Roll up the steak and put it in a stewpan with
the butter; let it stew very gently for more than two hours; serve it
with its own gravy, thickened with a little flour, and flavoured, as
may be required, either with tomato sauce, ketchup, or Harvey’s sauce.
_Time._—About 2 hours, or rather more. _Average cost_, 2_s._ 6_d._
_Sufficient_ for 4 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF, Stewed Rump of.
_Ingredients._—½ rump of beef, sufficient stock to cover it, 4
tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 2 tablespoonfuls of ketchup, 1 bunch
of savoury herbs, 2 onions, 12 cloves, pepper and salt to taste,
thickening of butter and flour, 1 glass of port wine. _Mode._—Cut
out the bone, sprinkle the meat with a little cayenne (this must be
sparingly used), and bind and tie it firmly up with tape; put it into a
stewpan with sufficient stock to cover it, add vinegar, ketchup, herbs,
onions, cloves, and seasonings in the above proportions, and simmer
very gently for 4 or 5 hours, or until the meat is perfectly tender,
which may be ascertained by piercing it with a thin skewer. When done,
remove the tape, lay it into a deep dish, which keep hot; strain and
skim the gravy, thicken it with butter and flour, add a glass of
port wine and any flavouring to make the gravy rich and palatable;
let it boil up, pour over the meat, and serve. This dish may be very
much enriched by garnishing with forcemeat balls, or filling up the
space whence the bone is taken with a good forcemeat; sliced carrots,
turnips, and onions boiled with the meat are also a great improvement,
and, where expense is not objected to, it may be glazed. This, however,
is not necessary where a good gravy is poured round and over the meat.
_Time._—½ rump stewed gently from 4 to 5 hours. _Average cost_, 10_d._
per lb. _Sufficient_ for 8 or 10 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—A stock or gravy in which to boil the meat may be made of the
bone and trimmings, by boiling them with water, and adding carrots,
onions, turnips, and a bunch of sweet herbs. To make this dish richer
and more savoury, half-roast the rump, and afterwards stew it in strong
stock and a little Madeira. This is an expensive method, and is not,
after all, much better than a plainer-dressed joint.
BEEF, Stewed Shin of.
_Ingredients._—A shin of beef, 1 head of celery, 1 onion, a faggot of
savoury herbs, ½ teaspoonful of allspice, ½ teaspoonful of whole black
pepper, 4 carrots, 12 button onions, 2 turnips, thickening of butter
and flour, 3 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup, 2 tablespoonfuls of
port wine; pepper and salt to taste. _Mode._—Have the bone sawn into 4
or 5 pieces, cover with hot water, bring it to a boil, and remove any
scum that may rise to the surface. Put in the celery, onion, herbs,
spice, and seasoning, and simmer very gently until the meat is tender.
Peel the vegetables, cut them into any shape fancy may dictate, and
boil them with the onions until tender; lift out the beef, put it on a
dish, which keep hot, and thicken with butter and flour as much of the
liquor as will be wanted for gravy; keep stirring till it boils, then
strain and skim. Put the gravy back in the stewpan, add the seasoning,
port wine, and ketchup, give one boil, and pour it over the beef;
garnish with the boiled carrots, turnips and onions. _Time._—The meat
to be stewed about 4 hours. _Average cost_, 5_d._ per lb. with bone.
_Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BEEF-TEA.
_Ingredients._—1 lb. of lean gravy-beef, 1½ pint of water, 1
saltspoonful of salt. _Mode._—Have the meat cut without fat and bone,
and choose a nice fleshy piece. Cut it into small pieces about the size
of dice, and put it into a clean saucepan. Add the water _cold_ to
it; put it on the fire, and bring it to the boiling-point; then skim
well. Put in the salt when the water boils, and _simmer_ the beef-tea
_gently_ from ½ to ¾ hour, removing any more scum should it appear on
the surface. Strain the tea through a hair sieve, and set it by in a
cool place. When wanted for use, remove every particle of fat from
the top; warm up as much as may be required, adding, if necessary, a
little more salt. This preparation is simple beef-tea, and is to be
administered to those invalids to whom flavourings and seasonings are
not allowed. When the patient is very weak, use double the quantity
of meat to the same proportion of water. Should the invalid be able
to take the tea prepared in a more palatable manner, it is easy to
make it so by following the directions in Soyer’s recipe, which is an
admirable one for making savoury beef-tea. Beef-tea is always better
when made the day before it is wanted, and then warmed up. It is a
good plan to put the tea into a small cup or basin, and to place this
basin in a saucepan of boiling water. When the tea is hot, it is
ready to serve. _Time._—½ to ¾ hour. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per pint.
_Sufficient._—Allow 1 lb. of meat for a pint of _good_ beef-tea.
BEEF-TEA, Baked.
_Ingredients._—1 lb. of fleshy beef, 1 pint of water, ½ saltspoonful
of salt. _Mode._—Cut the beef into small square pieces, after trimming
off all the fat, and put it into a baking-jar (these jars are sold
expressly for the purpose of making soups, gravies, &c., in the oven,
and are arranged with tightly-fitting lids), with the above proportion
of water and salt; close the jar well, place it in a warm but not
hot oven, and bake for 3 or 4 hours. When the oven is very fierce in
the day-time, it is a good plan to put the jar in at night, and let
it remain till next morning, when the tea will be done. It should be
strained, and put by in a cool place until wanted. It may also be
flavoured with an onion, a clove, and a few sweet herbs, &c., when the
stomach is sufficiently strong to take these. _Time._—3 or 4 hours,
or to be left in the oven all night. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per pint.
_Sufficient._—Allow 1 lb. of meat for 1 pint of good beef-tea.
BEEF-TEA, Savoury (Soyer’s Recipe).
_Ingredients._—1 lb. of solid beef, 1 oz. of butter, 1 clove, 2 button
onions or ½ a large one, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1 quart of water.
_Mode._—Cut the beef into very small dice; put it into a stewpan with
the butter, clove, onion, and salt; stir the meat round over the fire
for a few minutes until it produces a thin gravy, then add the water,
and let it simmer gently from ½ to ¾ of an hour, skimming off every
particle of fat. When done, strain it through a sieve, and put it by in
a cool place until required. The same, if wanted quite plain, is done
by merely omitting the vegetables, salt, and clove; the butter cannot
be objectionable, as it is taken out in skimming. _Time._—½ to ¾ hour.
_Average cost_, 8_d._ per pint. _Sufficient._—Allow 1 lb. of beef to
make 1 pint of good beef-tea.
_Note._—The meat left from beef-tea may be boiled a little longer, and
pounded with spices, &c., for potting. It makes a very nice breakfast
dish.
BEETROOT, Boiled.
_Ingredients._—Beetroot; boiling water. _Mode._—When large, young, and
juicy, this vegetable makes a very excellent addition to winter salads,
and may easily be converted into an economical and quickly-made pickle.
(_See_ BEETROOT, PICKLED.) Beetroot is more frequently served cold than
hot: when the latter mode is preferred, melted butter should be sent
to table with it. It may also be stewed with button onions, or boiled
and served with roasted onions. Wash the beets thoroughly; but do not
prick or break the skin before they are cooked, as they would lose
their beautiful colour in boiling. Put them into boiling water, and
let them boil until tender, keeping them well covered. If to be served
hot, remove the peel quickly, cut the beetroot into thick slices, and
send to table melted butter. For salads, pickle, &c., let the root
cool, then peel, and cut it into slices. _Time._—Small beetroot, 1½ to
2 hours; large, 2½ to 3 hours. _Average cost_, in full season, 2_d._
each. _Seasonable._—May be had at any time.
BEETROOT, Pickled.
_Ingredients._—Sufficient vinegar to cover the beets, 2 oz. of whole
pepper, 2 oz. of allspice to each gallon of vinegar. _Mode._—Wash the
beets free from dirt, and be very careful not to prick the outside
skin, or they would lose their beautiful colour. Put them into boiling
water, let them simmer gently, and when about three parts done, which
will be in 1½ hour, take them out and let them cool. Boil the vinegar
with pepper and allspice, in the above proportion, for 10 minutes, and
when cold, pour it on the beets, which must be peeled and cut into
slices about ½ inch thick. Cover with bladder to exclude the air, and
in a week they will be fit for use.
BISCUITS, Crisp.
_Ingredients._—1 lb. of flour, the yolk of 1 egg, milk. _Mode._—Mix
the flour and the yolk of the egg with sufficient milk to make the
whole into a very stiff paste; beat it well, and knead it until it is
perfectly smooth. Roll the paste out _very thin_; with a round cutter
shape it into small biscuits, and bake them a nice brown in a slow oven
from 12 to 18 minutes. _Time._—12 to 18 minutes. _Average cost_, 4_d._
_Seasonable_ at any time.
BISCUITS, Dessert, which may be flavoured with Ground Ginger, Cinnamon,
&c.
_Ingredients._—1 lb. of flour, ½ lb. of butter, ½ lb. of sifted
sugar, the yolks of 6 eggs, flavouring to taste. _Mode._—Put the
butter into a basin; warm it, but do not allow it to oil; then with
the hand beat it to a cream. Add the flour by degrees, then the sugar
and flavouring, and moisten the whole with the yolks of the eggs,
which should previously be well beaten. When all the ingredients are
thoroughly incorporated, drop the mixture from a spoon on to a buttered
paper, leaving a distance between each cake, for they spread as soon
as they begin to get warm. Bake in rather a slow oven from 12 to 18
minutes, and do not let the biscuits acquire too much colour. In making
the above quantity, half may be flavoured with ground ginger and the
other half with essence of lemon or currants, to make a variety. With
whatever the preparation is flavoured, so are the biscuits called,
and an endless variety may be made in this manner. _Time._—12 to 18
minutes, or rather longer, in a very slow oven. _Average cost_, 1_s._
6_d. Sufficient_ to make from 3 to 4 dozen cakes. _Seasonable_ at any
time.
BISCUITS, Simple Hard.
_Ingredients._—To every lb. of flour allow 2 oz. of butter, about ½
pint of skimmed milk. _Mode._—Warm the butter in milk until the former
is dissolved, and then mix it with the flour into a very stiff paste;
beat it with a rolling-pin until the dough looks perfectly smooth.
Roll it out thin; cut it with the top of a glass into round biscuits;
prick them well, and bake them from 6 to 10 minutes. The above is
the proportion of milk which we think would convert the flour into a
stiff paste; but should it be found too much, an extra spoonful or two
of flour must be put in. These biscuits are very nice for the cheese
course. _Time._—6 to 10 minutes. _Seasonable_ at any time.
BLACK-COCK, to Roast.
_Ingredients._—Black-cock, butter, toast. _Mode._—Let these birds hang
for a few days, or they will be tough and tasteless, if not well kept.
Pluck and draw them, and wipe the insides and outsides with a damp
cloth, as washing spoils the flavour. Cut off the heads, and truss
them, the same as a roast fowl, cutting off the toes, and scalding
and peeling the feet. Trussing them with the head on, as shown in the
engraving, is still practised by many cooks, but the former method is
now considered the best. Put them down to a brisk fire, well baste
them with butter, and serve with a piece of toast under, and a good
gravy and bread sauce. After trussing, some cooks cover the breast with
vine-leaves and slices of bacon, and then roast them. They should be
served in the same manner and with the same accompaniments as with the
plainly-roasted birds. _Time._—45 to 50 minutes. _Average cost_, from
5_s._ to 6_s._ the brace; but seldom bought. _Sufficient_,—2 or 3 for a
dish. _Seasonable_ from the middle of August to the end of December.
[Illustration: ROAST BLACK-COCK.]
BLACK-COCK, to Carve.
[Illustration: BLACK-COCK.]
Skilful carving of game undoubtedly adds to the pleasure of the guests
at a dinner-table; for game seems pre-eminently to be composed of such
delicate limbs and tender flesh that an inapt practitioner appears to
more disadvantage when mauling these pretty and favourite dishes, than
larger and more robust _pièces de résistance_. This bird is variously
served with or without the head on; and, although we do not personally
object to the appearance of the head as shown in the woodcut, yet it
seems to be more in vogue to serve it without. The carving is not
difficult, but should be elegantly and deftly done. Slices from the
breast, cut in the direction of the dotted line from 2 to 1, should be
taken off, the merrythought displaced, and the leg and wing removed
by running the knife along from 3 to 4, reserving the thigh, which is
considered a great delicacy, for the most honoured guests, some of whom
may also esteem the brains of this bird.
BLANCMANGE (a Supper Dish).
_Ingredients._—1 pint of new milk, 1¼ oz. of isinglass, the rind
of ½ lemon, ¼ lb. of loaf sugar, 10 bitter almonds, ½ oz. of sweet
almonds, 1 pint of cream. _Mode._—Put the milk into a saucepan, with
the isinglass, lemon-rind, and sugar, and let these ingredients stand
by the side of the fire until the milk is well flavoured; add the
almonds, which should be blanched and pounded in a mortar to a paste,
and let the milk just boil up; strain it through a fine sieve or muslin
into a jug, add the cream, and stir the mixture occasionally until
nearly cold. Let it stand for a few minutes, then pour it into the
mould, which should be previously oiled with the purest salad-oil, or
dipped in cold water. There will be a sediment at the bottom of the
jug, which must not be poured into the mould, as, when turned out,
it would very much disfigure the appearance of the blancmange. This
blancmange may be made very much richer by using 1½ pint of cream, and
melting the isinglass in ½ pint of boiling water. The flavour may also
be very much varied by adding bay-leaves, laurel-leaves, or essence
of vanilla, instead of the lemon-rind and almonds. Noyeau, Maraschino,
Curaçoa, or any favourite liqueur, added in small proportions, very
much enhances the flavour of this always favourite dish. In turning
it out, just loosen the edges of the blancmange from the mould, place
a dish on it, and turn it quickly over: it should come out easily,
and the blancmange have a smooth glossy appearance when the mould is
oiled, which it frequently has not when it is only dipped in water. It
may be garnished as fancy dictates. _Time._—About 1½ hour to steep the
lemon-rind and almonds in the milk. _Average cost_, with cream at 1_s._
per pint, 3_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ to fill a quart mould. _Seasonable_
at any time.
[Illustration: BLANC-MANGE MOULD.]
BLANCMANGE, Cheap.
_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of sugar, 1 quart of milk, 1½ oz. of isinglass,
the rind of ½ lemon, 4 laurel-leaves. _Mode._—Put all the ingredients
into a lined saucepan, and boil gently until the isinglass is
dissolved; taste it occasionally to ascertain when it is sufficiently
flavoured with the laurel-leaves; then take them out, and keep stirring
the mixture over the fire for about 10 minutes. Strain it through a
fine sieve into a jug, and, when nearly cold, pour it into a well-oiled
mould, omitting the sediment at the bottom. Turn it out carefully on a
dish, and garnish with preserves, bright jelly, or a compôte of fruit.
_Time._—Altogether, ½ hour. _Average cost_, 8_d._ _Sufficient_ to fill
a quart mould. _Seasonable_ at any time.
[Illustration: BLANC-MANGE.]
BOUDIN à la REINE (an Entrée; M. Ude’s Recipe).
_Ingredients._—The remains of cold roast fowls, 1 pint of Béchamel,
salt and cayenne to taste, egg and bread-crumbs. _Mode._—Take the
breasts and nice white meat from the fowls; cut it into small dice of
an equal size, and throw them into some good Béchamel (_see_ BÉCHAMEL);
season with salt and cayenne, and put the mixture into a dish to cool.
When this preparation is quite cold, cut it into 2 equal parts, which
should be made into boudins of a long shape, the size of the dish they
are intended to be served on; roll them in flour, egg and bread-crumb
them, and be careful that the ends are well covered with the crumbs,
otherwise they will break in the frying-pan; fry them a nice colour,
put them before the fire to drain the greasy moisture from them, and
serve with the remainder of the Béchamel poured round: this should be
thinned with a little stock. _Time._—10 minutes to fry the boudins.
_Average cost_, exclusive of the fowl, 1_s._ 3_d._ _Sufficient_ for 1
entrée.
BRAWN, to make.
_Ingredients._—To a pig’s head weighing 6 lbs. allow 1½ lb. lean beef,
2 tablespoonfuls of salt, 2 teaspoonfuls of pepper, a little cayenne,
6 pounded cloves. _Mode._—Cut off the cheeks and salt them, unless the
head be small, when all may be used. After carefully cleaning the head,
put it on in sufficient cold water to cover it, with the beef, and skim
it just before it boils. A head weighing 6 lbs. will require boiling
from 2 to 3 hours. When sufficiently boiled to come off the bones
easily, put it into a hot pan, remove the bones, and chop the meat with
a sharp knife before the fire, together with the beef. _It is necessary
to do this as quickly as possible to prevent the fat settling in it._
Sprinkle in the seasoning, which should have been previously mixed.
Stir it well and put it quickly into a brawn-tin if you have one; if
not, a cake-tin or mould will answer the purpose, if the meat is well
pressed with weights, which must not be removed for several hours. When
quite cold, dip the tin into boiling water for a minute or two, and
the preparation will turn out and be fit for use. _Time._—From 2 to 3
hours. _Average cost_, for a pig’s head, 4½_d._ per lb. _Seasonable_
from September to March.
_Note._—The liquor in which the head was boiled will make good pea
soup, and the fat, if skimmed off and boiled in water, and afterwards
poured into cold water, answers the purpose of lard.
BREAD-MAKING.
PANIFICATION, or bread-making, consists of the following processes,
in the case of Wheaten Flour. Fifty or sixty per cent. of water is
added to the flour, with the addition of some leavening matter, and
preferably, of yeast from malt and hops. All kinds of leavening
matter have, however, been, and are still used in different parts of
the world: in the East Indies, “toddy,” which is a liquor that flows
from the wounded cocoa-nut tree; and in the West Indies, “dunder,” or
the refuse of the distillation of rum. The dough then undergoes the
well-known process called _kneading_. The yeast produces fermentation,
a process which may be thus described:—The dough reacting upon the
leavening matter introduced, the starch of the flour is transformed
into saccharine matter, the saccharine matter being afterwards changed
into alcohol and carbonic acid. The dough must be well “bound,” and yet
allow the escape of the little bubbles of carbonic acid which accompany
the fermentation, and which, in their passage, cause the numerous
little holes which are seen in light bread.
The yeast must be good and fresh, if the bread is to be digestible and
nice. Stale yeast produces, instead of vinous fermentation, an acetous
fermentation, which flavours the bread and makes it disagreeable. A
poor thin yeast produces an imperfect fermentation, the result being a
heavy, unwholesome loaf.
When the dough is well kneaded, it is left to stand for some time, and
then, as soon as it begins to swell, it is divided into loaves; after
which it is again left to stand, when it once more swells up, and
manifests for the last time the symptoms of fermentation. It is then
put into the oven, where the water contained in the dough is partly
evaporated, and the loaves swell up again, while a yellow crust begins
to form upon the surface. When the bread is sufficiently baked, the
bottom crust is hard and resonant if struck with the finger, while the
crumb is elastic, and rises again after being pressed down with the
finger. The bread is, in all probability, baked sufficiently if, on
opening the door of the oven, you are met by a cloud of steam, which
quickly passes away.
One word as to the unwholesomeness of new bread and hot rolls. When
bread is taken out of the oven, it is full of moisture; the starch is
held together in masses, and the bread, instead of being crusted so as
to expose each grain of starch to the saliva, actually prevents their
digestion by being formed by the teeth into leathery poreless masses,
which lie on the stomach like so many bullets. Bread should always be
at least a day old before it is eaten; and, if properly made, and kept
in a _cool dry_ place, ought to be perfectly soft and palatable at
the end of three or four days. Hot rolls, swimming in melted butter,
and new bread, ought to be carefully shunned by everybody who has the
slightest respect for that much-injured individual—the Stomach.
AËRATED BREAD.—It is not unknown to some of our readers that Dr.
Dauglish, of Malvern, has recently patented a process for making
bread “light,” without the use of leaven. The ordinary process of
bread-making by fermentation is tedious, and much labour of human hands
is requisite in the kneading, in order that the dough may be thoroughly
interpenetrated with the leaven. The new process impregnates the bread,
by the application of machinery, with carbonic acid gas, or fixed air.
Different opinions are expressed about the bread; but it is curious to
note, that, as corn is now reaped by machinery, and dough is baked by
machinery, the whole process of bread-making is probably in course of
undergoing changes which will emancipate both the housewife and the
professional baker from a large amount of labour.
In the production of Aërated Bread, wheaten flour, water, salt, and
carbonic acid gas (generated by proper machinery), are the only
materials employed. We need not inform our readers that carbonic acid
gas is the source of the effervescence, whether in common water coming
from a depth, or in lemonade, or any aërated drink. Its action, in the
new bread, takes the place of fermentation in the old.
In the patent process, the dough is mixed in a great iron ball, inside
which is a system of paddles, perpetually turning, and doing the
kneading part of the business. Into this globe the flour is dropped
till it is full, and then the common atmospheric air is pumped out, and
the pure gas turned on. The gas is followed by the water, which has
been aërated for the purpose, and then begins the churning or kneading
part of the business.
Of course, it is not long before we have the dough, and very “light”
and nice it looks. This is caught in tins, and passed on to the
floor of the oven, which is an endless floor, moving slowly through
the fire. Done to a turn, the loaves emerge at the other end of the
apartment,—and the Aërated Bread is made.
It may be added, that it is a good plan to change one’s baker from time
to time, and so secure a change in the quality of the bread that is
eaten.
MIXED BREADS.—Rye bread is hard of digestion, and requires longer and
slower baking than wheaten bread. It is better when made with leaven of
wheaten flour rather than yeast, and turns out lighter. It should not
be eaten till two days old. It will keep a long time.
A good bread may be made by mixing rye-flour, wheat-flour, and
rice-paste, in equal proportions; also by mixing rye, wheat, and
barley. In Norway, it is said that they only bake their barley bread
once a year, such is its “keeping” quality.
Indian-corn flour mixed with wheat-flour (half with half) makes a nice
bread, but it is not considered very digestible, though it keeps well.
Rice cannot be made into bread, nor can potatoes; but one-third
potato-flour to three-fourths wheaten flour makes a tolerably good loaf.
A very good bread, better than the ordinary sort, and of a delicious
flavour, is said to be produced by adopting the following recipe:—Take
ten parts of wheat-flour, five parts of potato-flour, one part of
rice-paste; knead together, add the yeast, and bake as usual. This is,
of course, cheaper than wheaten bread.
Flour, when freshly ground, is too glutinous to make good bread, and
should therefore not be used immediately, but should be kept dry for a
few weeks, and stirred occasionally until it becomes dry, and crumbles
easily between the fingers.
Flour should be perfectly dry before being used for bread or cakes; if
at all damp, the preparation is sure to be heavy. Before mixing it with
the other ingredients, it is a good plan to place it for an hour or two
before the fire, until it feels warm and dry.
Yeast from home-brewed beer is generally preferred to any other: it is
very bitter, and on that account should be well washed, and put away
until the thick mass settles. If it still continues bitter, the process
should be repeated; and, before being used, all the water floating at
the top must be poured off. German yeast is now very much used, and
should be moistened, and thoroughly mixed with the milk or water with
which the bread is to be made.
The following observations are extracted from a valuable work on
Bread-making, and will be found very useful to our readers:—
The first thing required for making wholesome bread is the utmost
cleanliness; the next is the soundness and sweetness of all the
ingredients used for it; and, in addition to these, there must be
attention and care through the whole process.
An almost certain way of spoiling dough is to leave it half-made, and
to allow it to become cold before it is finished. The other most common
causes of failure are using yeast which is no longer sweet, or which
has been frozen, or has had hot liquid poured over it.
Too small a proportion of yeast, or insufficient time allowed for the
dough to rise, will cause the bread to be heavy.
Heavy bread will also most likely be the result of making the dough
very hard, and letting it become quite cold, particularly in winter.
If either the sponge or the dough be permitted to overwork itself,
that is to say, if the mixing and kneading be neglected when it has
reached the proper point for either, sour bread will probably be the
consequence in warm weather, and bad bread in any. The goodness will
also be endangered by placing it so near the fire as to make any part
of it hot, instead of maintaining the gentle and equal degree of heat
required for its due fermentation.
MILK OR BUTTER.—Milk which is not perfectly sweet will not only injure
the flavour of the bread, but, in sultry weather, will often cause it
to be quite uneatable; yet either of them, if _fresh and good_, will
materially improve its quality.
To keep bread sweet and fresh, as soon as it is cold it should be put
into a clean earthen pan, with a cover to it: this pan should be placed
at a little distance from the ground, to allow a current of air to pass
underneath. Some persons prefer keeping bread on clean wooden shelves
without being covered, that the crust may not soften. Stale bread may
be freshened by warming it through in a gentle oven. Stale pastry,
cakes, &c., may also be improved by this method.
The utensils required for making bread on a moderate scale, are a
kneading-trough or pan, sufficiently large that the dough may be
kneaded freely without throwing the flour over the edges, and also to
allow for its rising; a hair sieve for straining yeast, and one or two
strong spoons.
Yeast must always be good of its kind, and in a fitting state to
produce ready and proper fermentation. Yeast of strong beer or ale
produces more effect than that of milder kinds; and the fresher the
yeast, the smaller the quantity will be required to raise the dough.
As a general rule, the oven for baking bread should be rather quick,
and the heat so regulated as to penetrate the dough without hardening
the outside. The oven door should not be opened after the bread is
put in until the dough is set, or has become firm, as the cool air
admitted, will have an unfavourable effect on it.
Brick ovens are generally considered the best adapted for baking bread:
these should be heated with wood faggots, and then swept and mopped
out, to cleanse them for the reception of the bread. Iron ovens are
more difficult to manage, being apt to burn the surface of the bread
before the middle is baked. To remedy this, a few clean bricks should
be set at the bottom of the oven, close together, to receive the tins
of bread. In many modern stoves the ovens are so much improved that
they bake admirably; and they can always be brought to the required
temperature, when it is higher than is needed, by leaving the door open
for a time.
BREAD, to make good Home-made (Miss Acton’s Recipe).
[Illustration: COTTAGE LOAF.]
[Illustration: TIN BREAD.]
_Ingredients._—1 quartern of flour, 1 large tablespoonful of solid
brewer’s yeast, or nearly 1 oz. of fresh German yeast, 1¼ to 1½ pint
of warm milk-and-water. _Mode._—Put the flour into a large earthenware
bowl or deep pan; then, with a strong metal or wooden spoon, hollow
out the middle; but do not clear it entirely away from the bottom of
the pan, as, in that case, the sponge, or leaven (as it was formerly
termed) would stick to it, which it ought not to do. Next take either
a large tablespoonful of brewer’s yeast which has been rendered solid
by mixing it with plenty of cold water, and letting it afterwards
stand to settle for a day and night; or nearly an ounce of German
yeast; put it into a large basin, and proceed to mix it, so that it
shall be as smooth as cream, with ¾ pint of warm milk-and-water, or
with water only; though even a very little milk will much improve the
bread. Pour the yeast into the hole made in the flour, and stir into
it as much of that which lies round it as will make a thick batter, in
which there must be no lumps. Strew plenty of flour on the top, throw
a thick clean cloth over, and set it where the air is warm; but do not
place it upon the kitchen fender, for it will become too much heated
there. Look at it from time to time: when it has been laid for nearly
an hour, and when the yeast has risen and broken through the flour,
so that bubbles appear in it, you will know that it is ready to be
made up into dough. Then place the pan on a strong chair, or dresser,
or table, of convenient height; pour into the sponge the remainder of
the warm milk-and-water; stir into it as much of the flour as you can
with the spoon; then wipe it out clean with your fingers, and lay it
aside. Next take plenty of the remaining flour, throw it on the top of
the leaven, and begin, with the knuckles of both hands, to knead it
well. When the flour is nearly all kneaded in, begin to draw the edges
of the dough towards the middle, in order to mix the whole thoroughly;
and when it is free from flour and lumps and crumbs, and does not stick
to the hands when touched, it will be done, and may be covered with
the cloth, and left to rise a second time. In ¾ hour look at it, and
should it have swollen very much and begin to crack, it will be light
enough to bake. Turn it then on to a paste-board or very clean dresser,
and with a large sharp knife divide it in two; make it up quickly into
loaves, and despatch it to the oven: make one or two incisions across
the tops of the loaves, as they will rise more easily if this be done.
If baked in tins or pans, rub them with a tiny piece of butter laid on
a piece of clean paper, to prevent the dough from sticking to them.
All bread should be turned upside down, or on its side, as soon as it
is drawn from the oven: if this be neglected, the under part of the
loaves will become wet and blistered from the steam, which cannot then
escape from them. _To make the dough without setting a sponge_, merely
mix the yeast with the greater part of the warm milk-and-water, and wet
up the whole of the flour at once after a little salt has been stirred
in, proceeding exactly, in every other respect, as in the directions
just given. As the dough will _soften_ in the rising, it should be made
quite firm at first, or it will be too lithe by the time it is ready
for the oven. _Time._—To be left to rise an hour the first time, ¾ hour
the second time; to be baked from 1 to 1¼ hour, or baked in one loaf
from 1½ to 2 hours.
BREAD, to make a Peck of good.
_Ingredients._—3 lbs. of potatoes, 6 pints of cold water, ½ pint of
good yeast, a peck of flour, 2 oz. of salt. _Mode._—Peel and boil
the potatoes; beat them to a cream while warm; then add 1 pint of
cold water, strain through a colander, and add to it ½ pint of good
yeast, which should have been put in water over-night to take off its
bitterness. Stir all well together with a wooden spoon, and pour the
mixture into the centre of the flour; mix it to the substance of cream,
cover it over closely, and let it remain near the fire for an hour;
then add the 5 pints of water, milk-warm, with 2 oz. of salt; pour this
in, and mix the whole to a nice light dough. Let it remain for about 2
hours; then make it into 7 loaves, and bake for about 1½ hour in a good
oven. When baked, the bread should weigh nearly 20 lbs. _Time._—About
1½ hour.
BREAD-AND-BUTTER FRITTERS.
_Ingredients._—Batter, 8 slices of bread and butter, 3 or 4
tablespoonfuls of jam. _Mode._—Make a batter, the same as for apple
fritters; cut some slices of bread and butter, not very thick; spread
half of them with any jam that may be preferred, and cover with the
other slices; slightly press them together, and cut them out in square,
long, or round pieces. Dip them in the batter, and fry in boiling
lard for about 10 minutes; drain them before the fire on a piece of
blot
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