Book of Household Management — 031 - Recipes. Chapter 13. Part 4.

TO SALT BEEF.

660. INGREDIENTS.

--1/2 round of beef, 4 oz.

of sugar, 1 oz.

of powdered saltpetre, 2 oz.

of black pepper, 1/4 lb.

of bay-salt, 1/2 lb.

of common salt.

_Mode_.

--Rub the meat well with salt, and let it remain for a day, to disgorge and clear it from slime.

The next day, rub it well with the above ingredients on every side, and let it remain in the pickle for about a fortnight, turning it every day.

It may be boiled fresh from the pickle, or smoked.

_Time_.

--1/2 round of beef to remain in pickle about a fortnight.

_Average cost_, 7d.

per lb.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note_.

--The aitch-bone, flank, or brisket may be salted and pickled by any of the recipes we have given for salting beef, allowing less time for small joints to remain in the pickle; for instance, a joint of 8 or 9 lbs.

will be sufficiently salt in about a week.

THE DUTCH WAY TO SALT BEEF.

661. INGREDIENTS.

--10 lbs.

of lean beef, 1 lb.

of treacle, 1 oz.

of saltpetre, 1 lb.

of common salt.

_Mode_.

--Rub the beef well with the treacle, and let it remain for 3 days, turning and rubbing it often; then wipe it, pound the salt and saltpetre very fine, rub these well in, and turn it every day for 10 days.

Roll it up tightly in a coarse cloth, and press it under a large weight; have it smoked, and turn it upside down every day.

Boil it, and, on taking it out of the pot, put a heavy weight on it to press it.

_Time_.

--17 days.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

BEEF SAUSAGES.

662. 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, 1s.

6d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

BEEF-STEAK, Rolled, Roasted, and Stuffed.

663. INGREDIENTS.

--2 lbs.

of rump-steak, forcemeat No. 417, pepper and salt to taste, clarified butter.

_Mode_.

--Have the steaks cut rather thick from a well-hung rump of beef, and sprinkle over them a seasoning of pepper and salt.

Make a forcemeat by recipe No. 417; spread it over _half_ of the steak; roll it up, bind and skewer it firmly, that the forcemeat may not escape, and roast it before a nice clear fire for about 1-1/2 hour, or rather longer, should the roll be very large and thick.

Keep it constantly basted with butter, and serve with brown gravy, some of which must be poured round the steak, and the remainder sent to table in a tureen.

_Time_.

--1-1/2 hour.

_Average cost_, 1s.

per lb.

_Sufficient_ for 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ all the year, but best in winter.

SLICED AND BROILED BEEF--a Pretty Dish (Cold Meat Cookery).

664. 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.

SPICED BEEF (to Serve Cold).

665. INGREDIENTS.

--14 lbs.

of the thick flank or rump of beef, 1/2 lb.

of coarse sugar, 1 oz.

of saltpetre, 1/4 lb.

of pounded allspice, 1 lb.

of common salt.

_Mode_.

--Rub the sugar well into the beef, and let it lay 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_, 7d.

per lb.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

BAKING MEAT.

--Baking exerts some unexplained influence on meat, rendering it less savoury and less agreeable than meat which has been roasted.

"Those who have travelled in Germany and France," writes Mr. Lewis, one of our most popular scientific authors, "must have repeatedly marvelled at the singular uniformity in the flavour, or want of flavour, of the various 'roasts' served up at the _table-d'hôte_."

The general explanation is, that the German and French meat is greatly inferior in quality to that of England and Holland, owing to the inferiority of pasturage; and doubtless this is one cause, but it is not the chief cause.

The meat is inferior, but the cooking is mainly at fault.

The meat is scarcely ever _roasted_, because there is no coal, and firewood is expensive.

The meat is therefore _baked;_ and the consequence of this baking is, that no meat is eatable or eaten, with its own gravy, but is always accompanied by some sauce more or less piquant.

The Germans generally believe that in England we eat our beef and mutton almost raw; they shudder at our gravy, as if it were so much blood.

STEWED BEEF or RUMP STEAK (an Entree).

666. INGREDIENTS.

--About 2 lbs.

of beef or rump steak, 3 onions, 2 turnips, 3 carrots, 2 or 3 oz.

of butter, 1/2 pint of water, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1/2 do.

of pepper, 1 tablespoonful of ketchup, 1 tablespoonful of flour.

_Mode_.

--Have the steaks cut tolerably thick and rather lean; divide them into convenient-sized pieces, and fry them in the butter a nice brown on both sides.

Cleanse and pare the vegetables, cut the onions and carrots into thin slices, and the turnips into dice, and fry these in the same fat that the steaks were done in.

Put all into a saucepan, add 1/2 pint of water, or rather more should it be necessary, and simmer very gently for 2-1/2 or 3 hours; when nearly done, skim well, add salt, pepper, and ketchup in the above proportions, and thicken with a tablespoonful of flour mixed with 2 of cold water.

Let it boil up for a minute or two after the thickening is added, and serve.

When a vegetable-scoop is at hand, use it to cut the vegetables in fanciful shapes, and tomato, Harvey's sauce, or walnut-liquor may be used to flavour the gravy.

It is less rich if stewed the previous day, so that the fat may be taken off when cold; when wanted for table, it will merely require warming through.

_Time_.

--3 hours.

Average cost, 1s.

per lb.

_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

STEWED BEEF AND CELERY SAUCE (Cold Meat Cookery).

667. INGREDIENTS.

--3 roots of celery, 1 pint of gravy, No. 436, 2 onions sliced, 2 lbs.

of cold roast or boiled beef.

_Mode_.

--Cut the celery into 2-inch pieces, put them in a stew-pan, with the gravy and onions, simmer gently until the celery is tender, when add the beef cut into rather thick pieces; stew gently for 10 minutes, and serve with fried potatoes.

_Time_.

--From 20 to 25 minutes to stew the celery.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 6d.

_Seasonable_ from September to January.

STEWED BEEF WITH OYSTERS (Cold Meat Cookery).

668. INGREDIENTS.

--A few thick steaks of cold ribs or sirloin of beef, 2 oz.

of butter, 1 onion sliced, pepper and salt to taste, 1/2 glass of port wine, a little flour to thicken, 1 or 2 dozen oysters, rather more than 1/2 pint of water.

_Mode_.

--Cut the steaks rather thick, from cold sirloin or ribs of beef;

brown them lightly in a stewpan, with the butter and a little water; add 1/2 pint of water, the onion, pepper, and salt, and cover the stewpan closely, and let it simmer very gently for 1/2 hour; then mix about a teaspoonful of flour smoothly with a little of the liquor; add the port wine and oysters, their liquor having been previously strained and put into the stewpan; stir till the oysters plump, and serve.

It should not boil after the oysters are added, or they will harden.

_Time_.

--1/2 hour.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 1s.

4d.

_Seasonable_ from September to April.

STEWED BRISKET OF BEEF.

669. INGREDIENTS.

--7 lbs.

of a 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_, 7d.

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.

STEWED RUMP OF BEEF.

670. INGREDIENTS.

--1/2 rump of beef, sufficient stock to cover it (No. 105), 4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 2 tablespoonfuls of ketchup, 1 large 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, and add vinegar, ketchup, herbs, onions, cloves, and seasoning in the above proportion, 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_.

--1/2 rump stewed gently from 4 to 5 hours.

_Average cost_, 10d.

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.

THE BARON OF BEEF.

--This noble joint, which consisted of two sirloins not cut asunder, was a favourite dish of our ancestors.

It is rarely seen nowadays; indeed, it seems out of place on a modern table, as it requires the grim boar's head and Christmas pie as supporters.

Sir Walter Scott has described a feast at which the baron of beef would have appeared to great advantage.

We will quote a few lines to remind us of those days when "England was merry England," and when hospitality was thought to be the highest virtue.

"The fire, with well-dried logs supplied, Went roaring up the chimney wide;

The huge hall-table's oaken face, Scrubb'd till it shone, the day to grace, Bore then, upon its massive board, No mark to part the squire and lord.

Then was brought in the lusty brawn, By old blue-coated serving-man;

Then the grim boar's head frown'd on high, Crested with bays and rosemary.

Well can the green-garb'd ranger tell How, when, and where the monster fell;

What dogs before his death he tore, And all the baiting of the boar;

While round the merry wassel bowl, Garnish'd with ribbons, blithe did trowl.

There the huge sirloin reek'd; hard by Plum-porridge stood, and Christmas pie;

Nor fail'd old Scotland to produce, At such high tide, her savoury goose."

When a lord's son came of age, in the olden time, the baron of beef was too small a joint, by many degrees, to satisfy the retainers who would flock to the hall; a whole ox was therefore generally roasted over a fire built up of huge logs.

We may here mention, that an ox was roasted entire on the frozen Thames, in the early part of the present century.

STEWED SHIN OF BEEF.

671. INGREDIENTS.

--A shin of beef, 1 head of celery, 1 onion, a faggot of savoury herbs, 1/2 teaspoonful of allspice, 1/2 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_, 4d.

per lb.

with bone.

_Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE (a Homely but Savoury Dish).

672. INGREDIENTS.

--1-1/2 lb.

of rump-steak, 1 sheep's kidney, pepper and salt to taste.

For the batter, 3 eggs, 1 pint of milk, 4 tablespoonfuls of flour, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt.

_Mode_.

--Cut up the steak and kidney into convenient-sized pieces, and put them into a pie-dish, with a good seasoning of salt and pepper; mix the flour with a small quantity of milk at first, to prevent its being lumpy; add the remainder, and the 3 eggs, which should be well beaten;

put in the salt, stir the batter for about 5 minutes, and pour it over the steak.

Place it in a tolerably brisk oven immediately, and bake for 1-1/2 hour.

_Time_.

--1-1/2 hour.

_Average cost_, 1s.

9d.

_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note_.

--The remains of cold beef, rather underdone, may be substituted for the steak, and, when liked, the smallest possible quantity of minced onion or shalot may be added.

BOILED TONGUE.

673. INGREDIENTS.

--1 tongue, a bunch of savoury herbs, water.

_Mode_.

--In choosing a tongue, ascertain how long it has been dried or pickled, and select one with a smooth skin, which denotes its being young and tender.

If a dried one, and rather hard, soak it at least for 12 hours previous to cooking it; if, however, it is fresh from the pickle, 2 or 3 hours will be sufficient for it to remain in sock.

Put the tongue in a stewpan with plenty of cold water and a bunch of savoury herbs; let it gradually come to a boil, skim well and simmer very gently until tender.

Peel off the skin, garnish with tufts of cauliflowers or Brussels sprouts, and serve.

Boiled tongue is frequently sent to table with boiled poultry, instead of ham, and is, by many persons, preferred.

If to serve cold, peel it, fasten it down to a piece of board by sticking a fork through the root, and another through the top, to straighten it.

When cold, glaze it, and put a paper ruche round the root, and garnish with tufts of parsley.

_Time_.

--A large smoked tongue, 4 to 4-1/2 hours; a small one, 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

A large unsmoked tongue, 3 to 3-1/2 hours; a small one, 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

_Average cost_, for a moderate sized tongue, 3s.

6d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

TO CURE TONGUES.

I.

674. INGREDIENTS.

--For a tongue of 7 lbs.

, 1 oz.

of saltpetre, 1/2 oz.

of black pepper, 4 oz.

of sugar, 3 oz.

of juniper berries, 6 oz.

of salt.

_Mode_.

--Rub the above ingredients well into the tongue, and let it remain in the pickle for 10 days or a fortnight; then drain it, tie it up in brown paper, and have it smoked for about 20 days over a wood fire; or it may be boiled out of this pickle.

_Time_.

--From 10 to 14 days to remain in the pickle; to be smoked 24 days.

_Average cost_, for a medium-sized uncured tongue, 2s.

6d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note_.

--If not wanted immediately, the tongue will keep 3 or 4 weeks without being too salt; then it must not be rubbed, but only turned in the pickle.

II.

675. INGREDIENTS.

--9 lbs.

of salt, 8 oz.

of sugar, 9 oz.

of powdered saltpetre.

_Mode_.

--Rub the above ingredients well into the tongues, and keep them in this curing mixture for 2 months, turning them every day.

Drain them from the pickle, cover with brown paper, and have them smoked for about 3 weeks.

_Time_.

--The tongues to remain in pickle 2 months; to be smoked 3 weeks.

_Sufficient_.

--The above quantity of brine sufficient for 12 tongues, of 5 lbs.

each.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

[Illustration: BEEF TONGUE.

] THE TONGUES OF ANIMALS.

--The tongue, whether in the ox or in man, is the seat of the sense of taste.

This sense warns the animal against swallowing deleterious substances.

Dr. Carpenter says, that, among the lower animals, the instinctive perceptions connected with this sense, are much more remarkable than our own; thus, an omnivorous monkey will seldom touch fruits of a poisonous character, although their taste may be agreeable.

However this may be, man's instinct has decided that ox-tongue is better than horse-tongue; nevertheless, the latter is frequently substituted by dishonest dealers for the former.

The horse's tongue may be readily distinguished by a spoon-like expansion at its end.

TO PICKLE AND DRESS A TONGUE TO EAT COLD.

676. INGREDIENTS.

--6 oz.

of salt, 2 oz.

of bay-salt, 1 oz.

of saltpetre, 3 oz.

of coarse sugar; cloves, mace, and allspice to taste; butter, common crust of flour and water.

_Mode_.

--Lay the tongue for a fortnight in the above pickle, turn it every day, and be particular that the spices are well pounded; put it into a small pan just large enough to hold it, place some pieces of butter on it, and cover with a common crust.

Bake in a slow oven until so tender that a straw would penetrate it; take off the skin, fasten it down to a piece of board by running a fork through the root and another through the tip, at the same time straightening it and putting it into shape.

When cold, glaze it, put a paper ruche round the root, which is generally very unsightly, and garnish with tufts of parsley.

_Time_.

--From 3 or 4 hours in a slow oven, according to size.

_Average cost_, for a medium-sized uncured tongue, 2s.

6d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

TO DRESS TRIPE.

677. INGREDIENTS.