HOW TO SELECT
AND COOK MEATS

How to Dress Bacon and Beans—When you dress beans and bacon, boil the bacon by itself, and the beans by themselves, for the bacon will spoil the color of the beans. Always throw some salt into the water and some parsley nicely picked. When the beans are done enough, which you will know by their being tender, throw them into a colander to drain. Take up the bacon and skin it; throw some raspings of the bread over the top, and if you have a salamander, make it red hot, and hold it over it to brown the top of the bacon; if you have not one, set it before the fire to brown. Lay the beans in the dish, and the bacon in the middle on the top, and send them to table, with butter in a tureen.

Corned Beef—Make the following pickle: Water, 2 gallons; salt, 2-1/2 lbs.; molasses, 1/2 lb.; sugar, 1 lb.; saltpetre, 1-1/2 ozs.; pearlash, 1/4 oz. Boil all together; skim, and pour the pickle on about 25 lbs. of beef. Let it stay in a few days. Boil in plenty of water when cooked to remove the salt, and eat with it plenty of vegetables. It is nice to eat cold, and makes excellent sandwiches.

Rolled Beef—Hang three ribs three or four days; take out the bones from the whole length, sprinkle it with salt, roll the meat tight and roast it. Nothing can look nicer. The above done with spices, etc., and baked as hunters' beef is excellent.

Beef, Rolled to equal Hare—Take the inside of a large sirloin, soak it in a glass of port wine and a glass of vinegar mixed, for forty-eight hours; have ready a very fine stuffing, and bind it up tight. Roast it on a hanging spit; and baste it with a glass of port wine, the same quantity of vinegar, and a teaspoonful of pounded allspice. Larding it improves the look and flavor; serve with a rich gravy in the dish; currant-jelly and melted butter in tureens.

Round of Beef—Should be carefully salted and wet with the pickle for eight or ten days. The bone should be cut out first, and the beef skewered and tied up to make it quite round. It may be stuffed with parsley, if approved, in which case the holes to admit the parsley must be made with a sharp pointed knife, and the parsley coarsely cut and stuffed in tight. As soon as it boils, it should be skimmed: and afterwards kept boiling very gently.

Beef Steak, Stewed—Peel and chop two Spanish onions, cut into small parts four pickled walnuts, and put them at the bottom of a stewpan; add a teacupful of mushroom ketchup, two teaspoonfuls of walnut ditto, one of shalot, one of Chile vinegar, and a lump of butter. Let the rump-steak be cut about three-quarters of an inch thick, and beat it flat with a rolling-pin, place the meat on the top of the onions, etc., let it stew for one hour and a half, turning it every twenty minutes. Ten minutes before serving up, throw a dozen oysters with the liquor strained.

Beef Steak and Oyster Sauce—Select a good, tender rump-steak, about an inch thick, and broil it carefully. Nothing but experience and attention will serve in broiling a steaks; one thing, however, is always to be remembered, never malt or season broiled meat until cooked. Have the gridiron clean and hot, grease it with either butter, or good lard, before laying on the meat, to prevent its sticking or marking the meat; have clear, bright coals, and turn it frequently. When cooked, cover tightly, and have ready nicely stewed oysters; then lay the steak in a hot dish and pour over some of the oysters. Serve the rest in a tureen. Twenty-five oysters will make a nice sauce for a steak.

Fricassee of Cold Roast Beef—Cut the beef into very thin slices; shred a handful of parsley very small, cut an onion into quarters, and put all together into a stewpan, with a piece of butter, and some strong broth; season with salt and pepper, and simmer very gently a quarter of an hour; then mix into it the yolks of two eggs, a glass of port wine, and a spoonful of vinegar; stir it quickly, rub the dish with shalot, and turn the fricassee into it.

Brawn—Clean a pig's head, and rub it over with salt and a little saltpetre, and let it lie two or three days; then boil it until the bones will leave the meat; season with salt and pepper, and lay the meat hot in a mold, and press and weigh it down for a few hours. Boil another hour, covering. Be sure and cut the tongue, and lay the slices in the middle, as it much improves the flavor.

Calf's Liver and Bacon—Cut the liver into slices, and fry it first, then the bacon; lay the liver in the dish, and the bacon upon it; serve it up with gravy, made in the pan with boiling water, thickened with flour and butter, and lemon juice; and, if agreeable, a little parsley and onion may be chopped into it, or a little boiled parsley strewed over the liver. Garnish with slices of lemon.

Nice Form of Cold Meats—Remains of boiled ham, mutton, roast beef, etc., are good chopped fine with hard boiled eggs, two heads of lettuce, a bit of onion, and seasoned with mustard, oil, vinegar, and, if needed, more salt. Fix it smoothly in a salad dish, and adorn the edges with sprigs of parsley or leaves of curled lettuce. Keep by the ice or in a cool place until wanted.

Fried Ham and Eggs—Cut thin slices, place in the pan, and fry carefully. Do not burn. When done break the eggs into the fat; pepper slightly; keep them whole; do not turn them.

Ham Rushers may be served with spinach and poached eggs.

To Cook Ham—Scrape it clean. Do not put into cold nor boiling water. Let the water become warm; then put the ham in. Simmer or boil lightly for five or six hours; take out, and shave the rind off. Rub granulated sugar into the whole surface of the ham, so long as it can be made to receive it. Place the ham in a baking-dish with a bottle of champagne or prime cider. Baste occasionally with the juice, and let it bake an hour in a gentle heat.

A slice from a nicely cured ham thus cooked is enough to animate the ribs of death.

Or, having taken off the rind, strew bread crumbs or raspings over it, so as to cover it; set it before the fire, or in the oven till the bread is crisp and brown. Garnish with carrots, parsley, etc. The water should simmer all the time, and never boil fast.

Ham and Chicken, in Jelly—This is a nice dish for supper or luncheon. Make with a small knuckle of veal some good white stock. When cold, skim and strain it; melt it, and put a quart of it into a saucepan with the well beaten whites of three eggs; a dessert-spoonful of Chili, or a tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar, and a little salt. Beat the mixture well with a fork till it boils; let it simmer till it is reduced to a little more than a pint; strain it; put half of it into a mold; let it nearly set. Cut the meat of a roast chicken into small thin pieces; arrange it in the jelly with some neat little slices of cold boiled ham, and sprinkle chopped parsley between the slices. When it has got quite cold, pour in the remainder of the jelly, and stand the mold in cold water, or in a cool place, so that it sets speedily. Dip the mold in boiling water to turn it out. Do not let it remain in the water more than a minute, or it will spoil the appearance of the dish. Garnish with a wreath of parsley.

Leg of Lamb—Should be boiled in a cloth to look as white as possible. The loin fried in steaks and served round, garnished with dried or fried parsley; spinach to eat with it; or dressed separately or roasted.

Loin Of Mutton—Take off the skin, separate the joints with the chopper; if a large size, cut the chine-bone with a saw, so as to allow it to be carved in smaller pieces; run a small spit from one extremity to the other, and affix it to a larger spit, and roast it like the haunch. A loin weighing six pounds will take one hour to roast.

Observations on Heat—In all kinds of provisions, the best of the kind goes the farthest; it cuts out with most advantage, and affords most nourishment. Round of beef, fillet of veal, and leg of mutton, are joints of higher price; but as they have more solid meat, they deserve the preference. But those joints which are inferior may be dressed as palatably.

In loins of meat, the long pipe that runs by the bone should be taken out, as it is apt to taint; as also the kernels of beef. Do not purchase joints bruised by the blows of drovers.

Save shank bones of mutton to enrich gravies or soups.

When sirloins of beef, or loins of veal or mutton, come in, part of the suet may be cut off for puddings, or to clarify.

Dripping will baste anything as well as butter; except fowls and game; and for kitchen pies, nothing else should be used.

The fat of a neck or loin of mutton makes a far lighter pudding than suet.

Frosted meat and vegetables should be soaked in cold water two or three hours before using.

If the weather permit, meat eats much better for hanging two or three days before it is salted.

Roast-beef bones, or shank bones of ham, make fine peas-soup; and should be boiled with the peas the day before eaten, that the fat may be taken off.

Boiled Leg of Mutton—Soak well for an hour or two in salt and water; do not use much salt; wipe well and boil in a floured cloth. Boil from two hours to two hours and a half. Serve with caper sauce, potatoes, mashed turnips, greens, oyster sauce, etc.

To preserve the gravy in the leg, do not put it in the water till it boils; for the sudden contact with water causes a slight film over the surface, which prevents the escape of the gravy, which is abundant when carved.

How to Hash Mutton.—Cut thin slices of dressed mutton, fat and lean; flour them; have ready a little onion boiled in two or three spoonfuls of water; add to it a little gravy and the meat seasoned, and make it hot, but not to boil. Serve in a covered dish. Instead of onion, a clove, a spoonful of current jelly, and half a glass of port wine will give an agreeable flavor of venison, if the meat be fine.

Pickled cucumber, or walnut cut small, warm in it for change.

How to Prepare Pig's Cheek for Boiling.—Cut off the snout, and clean the head; divide it, and take out the eyes and the brains; sprinkle the head with salt, and let it drain 24 hours. Salt it with common salt and saltpetre; let it lie nine days if to be dressed without stewing with peas, but less if to be dressed with peas, and it must be washed first, and then simmer till all is tender.

Pig's Feet and Ears.—Clean carefully, and soak some hours, and boil them tender; then take them out; boil some vinegar and a little salt with some of the water, and when cold put it over them. When they are to be dressed, dry them, cut the feet in two, and slice the ears; fry, and serve with butter, mustard and vinegar. They may be either done in batter, or only floured.

Pork, Loin Of.—Score it, and joint it, that the chops may separate easily; and then roast it as a loin of mutton. Or, put it into sufficient water to cover it; simmer till almost enough; then peel off the skin, and coat it with yolk of egg and bread crumbs, and roast for 15 or 20 minutes, till it is done enough.

How to Pickle Pork.—Cut the pork in such pieces as will lie in the pickling tub; rub each piece with saltpetre; then take one part bay salt, and two parts common salt, and rub each piece well; lay them close in the tub, and throw salt over them.

Some use a little sal prunnella, and a little sugar.

Pork Pie, to Eat Cold.—Raise a common boiled crust into either a round or oval form, which you choose, have ready the trimmings and small bits of pork cut off a sweet bone, when the hog is killed, beat it with a rolling-pin, season with pepper and salt, and keep the fat and lean separate, put it in layers quite close to the top, lay on the lid, cut the edge smooth, round, and pinch it; bake in a slow-soaking oven, as the meat is very solid. Observe, put no bone or water in the pork pie; the outside pieces will be hard if they are not cut small and pressed close.

How to Roast a Leg of Pork.—Choose a small leg of fine young pork; cut a slit in the knuckle with a sharp knife; and fill the space with sage and onion chopped, and a little pepper and salt. When half done, score the skin in slices, but don't cut deeper than the outer rind.

Apple sauce and potatoes should be served to eat with it.

Pork, Rolled Neck of.—Bone it; put a forcemeat of chopped sage, a very few crumbs of bread, salt, pepper and two or three berries of allspice over the inside; then roll the meat as tight as you can, and roast it slowly, and at a good distance at first.

Chine of Pork.—Salt three days before cooking. Wash it well; score the skin, and roast with sage and onions finely shred. Serve with apple sauce.—The chine is often sent to the table boiled.

How to Collar Pork.—Bone a breast or spring of pork; season it with plenty of thyme, parsley and sage; roll it hard; put in a cloth, tie both ends, and boil it; then press it; when cold, take it out of the cloth, and keep it in its own liquor.

Pork as Lamb.—Kill a young pig of four or five months old: cut up the forequarter for roasting as you do lamb, and truss the shank close. The other parts will make delicate pickled pork; or steaks, pies, etc.

Pork Sausages.—Take 6 lbs. of young pork, free from gristle, or fat; cut small and beat fine in a mortar. Chop 6 lbs. of beef suet very fine; pick off the leaves of a hand-full of sage, and shred it fine; spread the meat on a clean dresser, and shake the sage over the meat; shred the rind of a lemon very fine, and throw it, with sweet herbs, on the meat; grate two nutmegs, to which put a spoonful of pepper, and a large spoonful of salt: throw the suet over, and mix all well together. Put it down close in the pot; and when you use it, roll it up with as much egg as will make it roll smooth.

Sausage Rolls.—One pound of flour, half a pound of the best lard, quarter of a pound of butter, and the yolks of three eggs well beaten. Put the flour into a dish, make a hole in the middle of it, and rub in about one ounce of the lard, then the yolks of the eggs, and enough water to mix the whole into a smooth paste. Roll it out about an inch thick; flour your paste and board. Put the butter and lard in a lump into the paste, sprinkle it with flour, and turn the paste over it; beat it with a rolling-pin until you have got it flat enough to roll; roll it lightly until very thin; then divide your meat and put it into two layers of paste, and pinch the ends. Sausage rolls are now usually made small. Two pounds of sausage meat will be required for this quantity of paste, and it will make about two and a half dozen of rolls. Whites of the eggs should be beaten a little, and brushed over the rolls to glaze them. They will require from twenty minutes to half an hour to bake, and should be served on a dish covered with a neatly-folded napkin.

Spiced Beef.—Take a round of an ox; or young heifer, from 20 to 40 lbs. Cut it neatly, so that the thin flank end can wrap nearly round. Take from 2 to 4 ounces salpetre, and 1 ounce of coarse sugar, and two handfuls of common salt. Mix them well together and rub it all over. The next day salt it well as for boiling. Let it lie from two to three weeks, turning it every two or three days. Take out of the pickle, and wipe it dry. Then take cloves, mace, well powdered, a spoonful of gravy, and rub it well into the beef. Roll it up as tightly as possible; skewer it, and tie it up tight. Pour in the liquor till the meat is quite saturated, in which state it must be kept.

Stewed Beef.—Take five pounds of buttock, place it in a deep dish; half a pint of white wine vinegar, three bay leaves, two or three cloves, salt and pepper; turn it over twice the first day, and every morning after for a week or ten days. Boil half a pound or a quarter of a pound of butter, and throw in two onions, chopped very small, four cloves, and some pepper-corns; stew five hours till tender and a nice light brown.

How to Boil Tongue.—If the tongue be a dry one, steep in water all night. Boil it three hours. If you prefer it hot, stick it with cloves. Clear off the scum, and add savory herbs when it has boiled two hours; but this is optional. Rub it over with the yolk of an egg; strew over it bread crumbs; baste it with butter; set it before the fire till it is of a light brown. When you dish it up, pour a little brown gravy, or port wine sauce mixed the same way as for venison. Lay slices of currant jelly around it.

How to Fricassee Tripe.—Cut into small square pieces. Put them into the stewpan with as much sherry as will cover them, with pepper, ginger, a blade of mace, sweet herbs and an onion. Stew 15 minutes. Take out the herbs and onion, and put in a little shred of parsley, the juice of a small lemon, half an anchovy cut small, a gill of cream and a little butter, or yolk of an egg. Garnish with lemon.

How to Fry Tripe.—Cut the tripe into small square pieces; dip them in yolks of eggs, and fry them in good dripping, till nicely brown; take out and drain, and serve with plain melted butter.

Veal Cutlets, Maintenon.—Cut slices about three quarters of an inch thick, beat them with a rolling-pin, and wet them on both sides with egg; dip them into a seasoning of bread crumbs, parsley, thyme, knotted marjoram, pepper, salt and a little nutmeg grated; then put them in papers folded over, and broil them; and serve with a boat of melted butter, with a little mushroom ketchup.

Veal Cutlets.—Another way.—Prepare as above, and fry them; lay into a dish, and keep them hot; dredge a little flour, and put a bit of butter into the pan; brown it, then pour some boiling water into it and boil quickly; season with pepper, salt and ketchup and pour over them.

Another Way.—Prepare as before, and dress the cutlets in a dutch oven; pour over them melted butter and mushrooms.

Fillet Of Veal.—Veal requires a good, bright fire for roasting. Before cooking, stuff with a force-meat, composed of 2 ozs. of finely-powdered bread crumbs, half a lemon-peel chopped fine, half a teaspoonful of salt, and the same quantity of mixed mace and cayenne pepper, powdered parsley, and some sweet herbs; break an egg, and mix all well together. Baste your joint with fresh butter, and send it to table well browned. A nice bit of bacon should be served with the fillet of veal, unless ham is provided.

Veal Patties.—Mince some veal that is not quite done with a little parsley, lemon-peel, a scrape of nutmeg, and a bit of salt; add a little cream and gravy just to moisten the meat; and add a little ham. Do not warm it till the patties are baked.

Veal Pie.—Take some of the middle, or scrag, of a small neck; season it; and either put to it, or not, a few slices of lean bacon or ham. If it is wanted of a high relish, add mace, cayenne, and nutmeg, to the salt and pepper; and also force-meat and eggs; and if you choose, add truffles, morels, mushrooms, sweet-bread, cut into small bits, and cocks'-combs blanched, if liked. Have a rich gravy ready, to pour in after baking. It will be very good without any of the latter additions.

Common Veal Pie.—Cut a breast of veal into pieces; season with pepper and salt, and lay them in the dish. Boil hard six or eight yolks of eggs, and put them into different places in the pie; pour in as much water as will nearly fill the dish; put on the lid, and bake. Lamb Pie may be done this way.

Stewed Veal.—Cut the veal as for small cutlets; put into the bottom of a pie-dish a layer of the veal, and sprinkle it with some finely-rubbed sweet basil and chopped parsley, the grated rind of one lemon with the juice, half a nut-meg, grated, a little salt and pepper; and cut into very small pieces a large spoonful of butter; then another layer of slices of veal, with exactly the same seasoning as before; and over this pour one pint of Lisbon wine and half a pint of cold water; then cover it over very thickly with grated stale bread; put this in the oven and bake slowly for three-quarters of an hour, and brown it. Serve it in a pie-dish hot.

Breast of Veal Stuffed—Cut off the gristle of a breast of veal, and raise the meat off the bones, then lay a good force-meat, made of pounded veal, some sausage-meat, parsley, and a few shalots chopped very fine, and well seasoned with pepper, salt, and nutmeg; then roll the veal tightly, and sew it with fine twine to keep it in shape, and prevent the force-meat escaping; lay some slices of fat bacon in a stew-pan, and put the veal roll on it; add some stock, pepper, salt, and a bunch of sweet herbs; let it stew three hours, then cut carefully out the twine, strain the sauce after skimming it well, thicken it with brown flour; let it boil up once, and pour it over the veal garnish with slices of lemon, each cut in four. A fillet of veal first stuffed with force-meat can be dressed in the same manner, but is must first be roasted, so as to brown it a good color; and force-meat balls, highly seasoned, should be served round the veal.