Jardinière.—Cut two carrots and two turnips with a vegetable spoon and set on the fire with cold water and salt; boil gently till tender, and drain. Boil also in the same way, in another pan and till tender, two tablespoonfuls of green peas, or string-beans cut in pieces, and drain also. Then put carrots, turnips, peas, or beans, back on the fire, in the same pan with a little gravy and broth, enough to cover them, salt, and pepper; boil gently five minutes; then put the chops in after being fried as directed below; boil another five minutes; take from the fire, place the chops around the dish, one lapping over the other, and so that an empty place is left in the middle; turn the carrots, turnips, and peas, with the sauce in that empty place, and serve. Salt and pepper the chops on both sides; fry them in a little butter till about three-quarters done; then take off and put with the vegetables as directed above. They may be broiled instead of fried, which is better.
A la Princesse.—Trim the chops as usual and salt and pepper both sides. Chop very fine a piece of lean veal about half a pound for six or eight chops, according to size, then pound it and mix it with half a teaspoonful of flour, a pinch of nutmeg, salt, pepper, a yolk of egg, two tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs and one ounce of butter. If too firm the butter must be melted so as to mix better. Put the mixture in a saucepan, set on a good fire, stir for ten minutes, and take off. Then grease the paste-board slightly with butter, put a teaspoonful of the mixture here and there on it, roll and make small balls of it, drop them in boiling broth or water, boiling about fifteen minutes, and take off with a skimmer. Dip the chops in melted butter, then in beaten eggs, and roll in bread-crumbs; fry them with a little butter. Fry the balls also. Place the chops on the dish, the bones toward the edge, and the balls between the chops; serve warm. A few balls may be placed in the middle.
With Mushrooms.—Broil and serve them with a purée of mushrooms, or with a mushroom garniture.
Mutton chops, broiled, may be served with every kind of butter, every garniture, and every sauce, according to taste; they may also be served with every purée.
A French cook once said he could serve mutton chops in three hundred ways, apples in two hundred ways, and eggs in four hundred ways. The culinary science and art is advanced enough to-day to double the above figures, and have plenty to spare.
LEG.
Besides being prepared as directed for roast mutton, a leg of mutton, roasted or baked, may be served in the following ways:
Boil white beans and drain them as directed, then put them on the fire with the drippings of the leg of mutton for ten minutes, stirring now and then, and serve them with it. They may also be kept in the dripping-pan for ten minutes, when boiled and drained, before the leg is done. If the leg of mutton is baked, set them on the fire for about ten minutes, with the gravy, stirring occasionally. Serve either on the same or on a separate dish.
With Currant Jelly.—Roast or bake the leg of mutton, and serve it with currant jelly or with a purée.
Provençale.—With a sharp-pointed knife, make a small cut in the leg of mutton here and there, and large enough to stick into the cut a clove of garlic. Make as many cuts as you please, from six to twenty, according to taste, and in each cut stick a clove of garlic. When prepared thus, roast or bake, and serve it with either of the following sauces: piquante, poivrade, ravigote, rémolade, Robert, shallot, Tartar, tomato, and in vinaigrette.
Decorated.—A leg of mutton may be decorated the same as a fillet of beef.
Stewed.—Take the large bone out, leaving the bone at the smaller end as a handle; cut off also the bone below the knuckle, and fix it with skewers; then put it in a stewpan with a pinch of allspice, four onions, two cloves, two carrots cut in four pieces each, a small bunch of parsley, two bay-leaves, three sprigs of thyme, salt, pepper, two ounces of bacon cut in slices, a quarter of a pint of broth, and water enough just to cover it; set on a good fire, and after one hour of boiling add a liquor-glass of French brandy. Let simmer then for about five hours, in all about six hours; then dish it, strain the sauce on it, and serve.
We would advise those who have never tasted of a leg of mutton cooked as above, to try it.
It may be served also with white beans cooked in water and fried in butter, or on fried potatoes.
The next day.—If you have a piece left for the next day, cut it in thin slices after dinner, place the slices on a dish, with parsley under, in the middle, and above, and keep in a cold place.
A while before dinner you put in a stewpan a piece of butter (the quantity to be according to the quantity of meat), and set it on a good fire; when melted, sprinkle in, gradually, a little flour, stirring with a wooden spoon; when of a proper thickness, and of a brownish color, add a glass of broth, salt, pepper, a few pickled cucumbers cut in slices, and two or three mushrooms; boil ten minutes; lay the slices of meat in, subdue the fire, simmer twenty minutes, and serve.
The same, in another way.—Chop fine the slices of leg of mutton, put a piece of butter in a stewpan, and set it on the fire; when melted, place the chopped meat in, keep stirring with a wooden spoon for about ten minutes; then add two or three tablespoonfuls of broth, salt, pepper, and a pinch of allspice; simmer fifteen minutes, and serve with fried eggs all around the dish.
Boiled.—Set a saucepan on the fire with cold water enough to cover the leg of mutton, add salt; at the first boil put the leg of mutton in, wrapped up in a towel. Boil gently till done. For a middling-sized one, it takes about two hours. Remove the towel, dish the leg of mutton, spread a caper-sauce over it, and serve hot. The sauce may also be served in a boat or saucer.
Cold.—What is left of it may be prepared like cold mutton in vinaigrette.
SHOULDER.
Shoulder boned.—Split the shoulder just in the middle, on the inside, lengthwise and following the middle of the bones; remove the flat bone at the larger end first. This is easily done by scraping the meat off the bone on both sides, and then pulling it off. Do the same with the remaining bone. Spread the shoulder open on the table, the inside up, salt and pepper it, then spread on it the same stuffing as for a chicken stuffed with sausage-meat. Roll the shoulder round, tie it with twine, and roast or bake it. When roasted or baked, serve with the gravy.
On a Purée.—Bone and roll the shoulder as above directed, but do not stuff it; roast or bake it, and serve it on a purée of potatoes, beans, peas, lentils, or any other vegetable; place the shoulder in the middle of a dish, cut it in slices, and place them all around the purée, one lapping over the other; turn the gravy over the whole through a strainer, and serve hot.
With a Sauce.—When baked or roasted as above, with or without stuffing, serve it with a piquante, ravigote, or Robert sauce.
Boiled.—Boil, and serve it with a caper-sauce, the same as the leg.
SADDLE.
Prepare, cook, and serve the saddle in the same way as the leg—roasted or baked, warm or cold.
COLD MUTTON.
Served cold, à la Vinaigrette.—A shoulder of mutton, roasted or baked, after being boned, makes a handsome dish served cold. Cut any piece of cold mutton that you may have, in thin slices, as evenly as possible. Place a paste-cutter, about an inch and a half in diameter, in the middle of an oval dish; then place the slices of meat all around the dish, one slice lapping over another; the dish being oval, the slices of meat will touch the paste-cutter on two sides, but there will be two empty places on the two other sides, which you fill with hard-boiled white of egg chopped fine, and hard-boiled yolk of egg chopped fine also; they must not be mixed, and the yolk must be farther from the paste-cutter, the white touching it. Put a string of chopped yolk of egg all around the meat, and outside of it one of chopped white of egg around the yolk, and one of chopped parsley around the white. Remove the paste-cutter, and put a rose, or two or three pinks, in its place, or a small bunch of violets. Place one or three capers on each small heap of yolk of egg that is on the middle of the dish, and also some capers here and there on the string of white of egg.
Place a rose at each end of the dish, as indicated in the cut opposite; six radishes around the dish, also as indicated in the cut, and you have a dish as sightly as can be made, and an excellent one, too. Serve with the following sauce in a boat or saucer: Put in a bowl half a teaspoonful of mustard, a little pepper and salt; then pour one or two tablespoonfuls of vinegar on, little by little, beating with a fork at the same time; again, three or four tablespoonfuls of oil, and in the same way; and when the whole is well mixed, serve.
A, two roses, one at each end; B, six radishes around; C, slices of meat; D, eggs; E, yolks of eggs; F, parsley.
SHEEP'S BRAIN.
Prepare, cook, and serve as calf's brain.
FEET.
Broiled.—Throw them in boiling water for ten minutes, clean and scrape off the hair and take out the large bone. Put in a saucepan a bay-leaf, one clove, a tablespoonful of vinegar, a clove of garlic, two sprigs of parsley, two green onions, salt, pepper, a piece of butter the size of two walnuts, half a pint of broth, then a dozen feet on the whole; set on a slow fire, simmer one hour, stir now and then, take from the fire and let cool. Then dip each foot in beaten egg, and roll it in bread-crumbs; place them on a gridiron; turn over to broil both sides properly, and serve them with the sauce in which they have been cooked, after having strained it. They may also be served on a piquante, poivrade, ravigote, or Robert sauce.
In Poulette.—Prepare and clean them as directed above. Put in a saucepan four ounces of salt pork cut in dice, two ounces of lard, salt, and white pepper; when warm, add three sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, a bay-leaf, one clove, four onions, and one carrot, cut in slices, a quarter of a lemon, also cut in slices, free from rind and seed, two tablespoonfuls of flour; this last must be added by sprinkling it little by little, stirring the while with a wooden spoon; five minutes after, place the feet in, cover the whole with warm water, and let simmer gently for five or six hours. After that time see if the meat can be easily detached from the bones, and if so, they are cooked; if not, leave them a little longer, and take from the fire as soon as it is easily detached, but do not detach it. Put in a stewpan a piece of butter the size of two walnuts; when melted, sprinkle in it a tablespoonful of flour, stir with a wooden spoon, then put the feet in, add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and green onions, a little piece of nutmeg, salt, pepper, and two or three mushrooms cut in slices or pieces; wet with broth; simmer half an hour, take from the fire, and throw away the piece of nutmeg; mix with the whole two yolks of eggs well beaten and a tablespoonful of vinegar, and serve.
SHEEP'S KIDNEYS, BROILED.
Split them in two, and put them in cold water for five minutes; trim off the pellicle or thin skin, run a skewer through, sprinkle salt and pepper on, place them on the gridiron, and set on a good fire; turn over, and when broiled, serve them with a piece of butter and chopped parsley kneaded together, and placed on each kidney; add also a few drops of lemon-juice.
You may also, when broiled, serve them on a maître d'hôtel sauce.
The same, in Brochette.—Proceed as above in every particular, except that you place the kidneys on the spit instead of on the gridiron. Serve them in the same way.
The same, with Champagne.—Cut the kidneys in slices, each in ten or twelve pieces. Put in a stewpan a piece of butter the size of two walnuts, and set it on the fire; when melted, add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, same of mushrooms, a pinch of grated nutmeg, salt, pepper, and the kidneys; keep tossing till they become stiff, then sprinkle on them a saltspoonful of flour, stirring with a wooden spoon the while; add also a wine-glass of Champagne, or of good white wine; subdue the fire, and let simmer till cooked; take from the fire, add about one ounce of fresh butter, and the juice of half a lemon, and serve. This is a very delicate dish.
SHEEP'S TAILS.
Put in a stewpan two ounces of bacon cut in slices, with a bay-leaf, two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, one clove, six small onions, one carrot cut in four pieces, then about six tails; cover the whole with broth and white wine, half of each; add salt and pepper. Place the pan in a moderately heated oven; it will take about four hours to cook them. After that time, take the tails from the pan, and put them in a warm place, then strain the sauce in which they have cooked, skim off the fat if too much of it, put the sauce back in the pan, and set on the fire; let it reduce till rather thick, place the tails on a purée, turn the sauce on them, and serve.
SHEEP'S TONGUES.
Soak the tongues in cold water for two hours in winter, and one in summer, and drain. Throw them in boiling water, and leave till you can easily take the skin off; then skin and clean well, split in two lengthwise, and let cool. Put in a stewpan two ounces of bacon cut in thin slices, a bay-leaf, two sprigs of thyme, four of parsley, two cloves, three green onions and six small red or white ones, one carrot cut in four pieces, salt and pepper, then the tongues; add also half a pint of broth, same of water, same of white wine; set in a moderately heated oven, and simmer about four hours; have the stewpan covered as nearly air-tight as possible. Then take the tongues from the pan and drain them; knead well together two ounces of fresh butter, with two teaspoonfuls of chopped parsley, a little salt and allspice; spread some on each of the tongues as soon as they are cold; envelop each in oiled paper, broil them gently on a slow fire, and serve with the paper.
You may also when prepared and cooked as above directed, and instead of broiling them, place a purée on a dish, and serve them on a purée, pouring on the whole the sauce in which they have cooked, and straining it at the same time.
They are really more delicate when broiled.
LAMB.
To select.—The flesh must be like that of mutton, rather black, and the fat white.
There is no difference in the wether and ewe. The shorter the quarters are the better the meat, and the fore as well as the hind quarter. With the exception that the breast-piece is prepared also in épigramme, and that it is cut in quarters instead of dividing it like mutton, lamb may be prepared in the same and every way like mutton. The quarters may be prepared like shoulder, leg, and saddle of mutton.
Chops may be cut and prepared the same as mutton-chops.
Fore-Quarter.—According to the opinion of a great many epicures, the fore-quarter is the best part of the lamb; but, as we have previously said, every one to his liking.
Lard it slightly, and envelop it with buttered paper, place it upon the spit before a good fire; when done take from the fire, and take the paper off, sprinkle on it salt, pepper, and chopped parsley; put back on the spit before a sharp fire, just long enough to allow it to take a fine color; then take off, run a knife under the shoulder to make a small hole, pour maître d'hôtel sauce in it, and serve either as it is, with its gravy, or on a purée of sorrel.
To bake it.—Put it in a baking-pan, spread a little salt, pepper, and butter over it; cover it with a piece of buttered paper; have the bottom of the pan covered with cold water and put in a warm oven, baste often till done. If the paper burns, put on another piece. Run a small knife or a skewer into the meat, to ascertain when properly done.
It may be served with the gravy only, after having removed the fat, or with a piquante, poivrade, or maître d'hôtel sauce.
It is also served with a garniture of mushrooms or onions, or with a macédoine, or on a purée of spinach, or of sorrel.
Hind-Quarter.—Throw it in boiling water for five minutes, and drain. Put in a stewpan a piece of butter the size of an egg, and set on the fire; when melted, mix in it a tablespoonful of flour; after which, pour in, little by little, a pint and a half of boiling water, stirring with a wooden spoon all the time; then put the meat in the pan, add four onions, a bay-leaf, two cloves, three sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, salt, and pepper; about fifteen minutes before it is done, add two or three mushrooms cut in slices, take from the fire when cooked, place the meat on a dish with the mushrooms and onions around, or if preferred, without either; strain the sauce on the meat, and serve.
If the sauce is not thick enough, mix the yolk of an egg in it just before serving.
Roasted.—Roast and serve the hind-quarter in the same way as directed for the fore-quarter.
Baked.—Bake and serve it also in the same and every way like the fore-quarter.
Epigramme.—Put a breast of lamb in a saucepan, cover it with cold water, season with a small onion and one clove stuck in it, two stalks of parsley, a piece of carrot, one of turnip, and salt. Boil gently till you can pull off the bones easily. It may also be boiled in the soup-kettle while making broth. When the bones come off easily, take from the fire, pull out all the small bones and cut out the large one. Place the breast in a large bakepan, with some weight over so as to flatten it, and leave it so till perfectly cold. Then cut it in pieces of rhombic shape about four inches long and two inches broad; salt and pepper each piece on both sides; dip them in beaten egg, roll in bread-crumbs and fry them with a little butter, and serve on a tomato, piquante, ravigote, or soubise sauce, or on any purée.
When the sauce is spread on the dish, place the pieces of lamb all around it, one lapping over the other, and forming a kind of oblong string, and serve warm.
Another.—When the épigramme is prepared as above and ready to be served, have as many mutton-chops as you have pieces of meat from the breast; dish in the same way, except that you put one piece of the breast and then a mutton-chop fried in the same way as the pieces of meat; the chops lapping over the pieces of breast, and vice versa.
Broiled.—The same may be broiled instead of fried, and served in the same way.
Roasted entire.—Skewer a lamb properly on the spit, envelop it with buttered paper, place before a good fire, baste often with melted butter first, and then with the drippings; when nearly done take the paper off, let the lamb take a fine color around, and serve it with the gravy. It may be served with a garniture around and decorated with skewers, the same as directed for fillet of beef; it then makes a sightly as well as a delicious dish.
Served with a garniture and decorated as directed for a fillet of beef, it is served as a relevé at a grand dinner, and as an entrée at a family dinner.
Cold.—Cold lamb is served in every way like cold mutton. A part left from a roasted piece may be enveloped in buttered paper, put on the spit just long enough to warm it, and served just in the same way as roast lamb.
Lamb's head, feet, kidneys, etc., are prepared and served like the same parts of the sheep, and as directed in the different receipts.
KID.
Prepare, cook, and serve kid the same as lamb.
VEAL.
Never buy too young veal. It is very easy to know it; when too young, the bones are very tender; they are more like nerves than bones; the meat is gluish, and has little or no taste. Epicures say that if a calf is killed before it is two months old, or at least six weeks, it is not fit for eating. We are of that opinion, although, perhaps, very few are allowed so long a life. We will therefore recommend our readers to beware buying too young veal; many diseases, especially in children, come from eating it.
When you broil or roast a piece of veal, baste often. Veal is better when a little overdone; it is not good, and operates like physic, if underdone.
The best veal is that of a greenish color and very fat. It is fresh when the eyes are full and smooth, and when the meat is firm. If the meat is yellowish or contains yellowish spots, it is not fresh. The veins must be red.
To improve.—Chop fine a tablespoonful of parsley, a teaspoonful of shallots, same of green onions, a bay-leaf, two sprigs of thyme, two or three mushrooms, add to them, salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg; cover the bottom of a tureen with half of each, put on it the piece of veal you wish to improve, cover with the other half of the seasonings; then pour gently on the whole two tablespoonfuls of sweet-oil; leave the veal thus about four or five hours in winter and about two in summer.
ROASTED.
The pieces of veal that are roasted are the loin, leg, and shoulder.
It may be improved as directed above or not, according to taste; but we earnestly recommend it as not a little improvement, but as a marked one, as everybody can try it and judge, veal being naturally tasteless.
There are three ways of roasting veal. We will describe them, so that it can be done according to taste.
1. Spread a thin coat of butter around the piece of veal after being salted all around, put on the spit before a good but not very sharp fire; near it, but not too much so: veal being more tender than beef, it would also burn much quicker. Baste often with melted butter first, and then with the drippings, and from the beginning to the end. When done, that is, when overdone, as veal must always be, serve with the gravy only, or in the different ways described below.
2. Lard all the fleshy parts of the piece of veal with a larding-needle and strips of salt pork, the same as a fillet of beef, but which strips you roll in a mixture of parsley chopped, salt and pepper, before running them into the meat, and proceed as above for the rest. Serve also like the above.
3. After the piece of veal is improved as directed, spread the seasonings in which it has been improved all around it, then envelop the whole in buttered paper, which you fasten with twine, put it on the spit, and baste often with melted butter. It must be basted often to prevent the paper from burning. About fifteen minutes before it is done, remove the paper, put the meat a little nearer the fire so as to give it a fine yellow or golden color, finish the cooking till overdone, and serve also like the first, or No. 1.
No matter which of these three ways the piece of veal is roasted, it is served in the same manner.
With Asparagus.—When the roasted piece of veal is dished, put a purée of asparagus all around, and serve warm.
With Peas.—Spread one pint or one quart (according to the size of the piece of meat) of green peas au jus, on a dish; place the meat on the peas, spread the gravy over the whole, and serve as warm as possible.
With Quenelles.—Dish the roasted piece, place around it six or eight quenelles of chicken or of veal, strain the gravy on the whole, and serve warm.
With Vegetables.—When roasted and dished, put any kind of vegetables, prepared au jus, all around the piece of meat, and serve warm.
With Sweetbreads.—Roast the piece of veal as directed, and when dished, place six sweetbreads, prepared au jus, tastefully around the meat; strain the gravy over, and serve very warm.
Decorated.—Every piece of roasted veal may be decorated with skewers, either served au jus or in any of the above ways. The skewers are first run through either of the following and then stuck into the piece of meat: slices of truffles; chicken-combs, prepared as for garniture; slices of sweetbreads or whole ones, prepared au jus; quenelles of chicken or of veal; slices of carrots, turnips, beets, all prepared au jus; and mushrooms. One, two, three, or more to every skewer; for instance: one slice of truffle, then one of turnip, a chicken-comb, then a slice of sweetbread or a whole one, and then stick in the meat. From two to six skewers may be used. On a large piece never put less than two, and no matter how many you use, always have even numbers of them.
BAKED.
All the parts of veal that are roasted, that is, the loin, leg, and shoulder, can be baked. They may be improved in the same way as to roast them. Put the piece of veal in a bakepan; spread salt, pepper, and butter on it; cover the bottom of the pan with cold water, about a quarter of an inch in depth; place a piece of buttered paper on the meat, and put in a warm oven. If the meat has been improved, the seasonings are spread over it before placing the buttered paper. Baste often with the water and juice in the pan and over the paper, which you need not remove till about ten minutes before taking from the oven, or in case it should burn; then you must replace it by another. It keeps the top of the meat moist, and it is more juicy when done.
When properly baked (overdone, as every piece of veal must be), serve either au jus, or with the same garnitures, the same decorations, as directed for roasted veal.
The gravy in the bakepan is strained, the fat skimmed off, and then it is turned over the meat and garnitures when dished, the same as the drippings or gravy of roast meat. In case the water in the bakepan, or the juice, or both, should boil away or be absorbed, put more cold water in it, so as to be able to baste.
BLANQUETTE.—(Also called Poulette.)
Take about two pounds of neck, breast, shoulder, or any other piece, which cut in pieces, two inches square, throw them in boiling water, with a little salt, for five minutes, and drain them. Put in a stewpan a piece of butter the size of an egg, set it on a good fire, and when melted mix in a tablespoonful of flour, stirring all the time, and when turning yellow pour gently and slowly in the pan a pint of boiling water; add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and green onions, salt, pepper, six small white or red onions, two or three mushrooms, and then the meat; boil gently about three hours, and serve.
CROQUETTES.
Proceed as for chicken croquettes in every particular, except that you use cold veal instead of cold chicken.
RAGOUT.
The neck and breast pieces are generally used to make a ragout, but any other piece may be used. Take about three pounds of veal, which cut in pieces about two inches square. Put two ounces of butter in a saucepan, set it on the fire, and as soon as the butter is melted, lay the meat in, stir now and then till of a golden color, and then take the meat from the pan. Leave the pan on the fire, and put in it a tablespoonful of flour, little by little, keep stirring about five minutes; add also half a pint of broth, same of warm water, one onion with a clove stuck in it, a bay leaf, two sprigs of thyme, two of parsley, a clove of garlic, a small carrot cut in two or three pieces, salt and pepper, then the meat, and cover the pan. Half an hour after your meat is in, fry in butter in a frying-pan six small onions, which you also put in the stewpan as soon as fried. When the whole is cooked, place the meat on a dish, strain the sauce on it, surround the whole with the six small onions, and serve warm.
In Scallops.—Take a piece from the loin or leg of veal, cut it in pieces about three inches long, two inches broad, and one-third of an inch thick, as evenly as possible, and flatten them with a chopper. Salt and pepper them on both sides, and fry them with a little butter till about half done, on both sides alike. Add a little broth and chopped parsley, and boil gently till done. Place the pieces of veal all around the platter, one lapping over another, turn the sauce in the middle of them, and serve.
Another.—Cut the veal in pieces as for the above; beat one or two eggs in a plate with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley; dip each piece into it and then roll in bread-crumbs; butter a bakepan, place the veal in with a small lump of butter on each piece, and bake; turn over to bake evenly. Serve as the above, with a piquante or tomato sauce in the middle.
BREAST, STEWED.
Cut in dice two ounces of bacon, put it in a stewpan and set on a good fire; add two ounces of butter, and two onions cut in slices; when melted, lay the breast in, turn it over and leave till of a golden color on both sides; add then two small carrots cut in pieces, one teaspoonful of chopped green onions, three sprigs of parsley, half a turnip, salt, and pepper; moisten with half a pint of warm water; leave thus about three hours on a moderate fire. Strain the juice in a dish, put the meat on it, and serve.
The pieces of carrots and of bacon may be served with the meat, if you choose.
The same, with Green Peas.—Cut the breast in square pieces about two inches in size. Put in a stewpan a piece of butter the size of an egg, and set it on the fire; when melted, mix in it a teaspoonful of flour, then lay the meat in, and wet with half a glass of broth, same of warm water, also two sprigs of parsley, salt, and pepper; stir now and then. One hour after add green peas, and leave on the fire till the whole is cooked, when skim off the fat on the surface, and serve.
In Matelote.—To make a matelote of veal any piece can be used, but most generally it is made with a breast or neck piece. Cut the veal in square pieces about two inches in size; have in a stewpan and on a good fire a piece of butter about the size of an egg; when melted, put the meat in, stir now and then till of a golden color; then take the meat from the stewpan, which you leave on the fire, and in which you put half a pint of warm water, same of claret wine, same of broth, a bay-leaf, two cloves, two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a clove of garlic, salt, and pepper; when turning brown, put the meat back in the pan, and fifteen minutes before it is cooked add also ten small onions fried in butter beforehand and four or five mushrooms, then have a brisk fire to finish the cooking; place the meat on a dish, strain the sauce on the meat, put the ten small onions around it, and serve.
Broiled.—Salt and pepper both sides of the breast of veal, grease it all over with melted butter, by means of a brush, and broil till overdone. Serve with a maître d'hôtel, piquante, or poivrade sauce.
CUTLETS.
Broiled.—When properly trimmed, they may be improved as directed for veal. Salt and pepper both sides; spread a little melted butter on both sides also by means of a brush; place them on, before, or under the fire (see Broiling); baste now and then with melted butter; turn over one, two, or three times, and when rather overdone serve with a maître d'hôtel sauce spread all over.
The above way of serving them is sometimes called au naturel.
With Crumbs.—When trimmed, dip them in egg beaten with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley, roll them in bread-crumbs, and then broil and serve them as the above, with a maître d'hôtel.
Fines Herbes.—Broil the chops as above, either with or without crumbs, and serve them with sauce aux fines herbes.
A l'Italienne.—When broiled as above, serve them on a layer of macaroni Italienne.
With Mushrooms.—When broiled and dished, surround them with a garniture of mushrooms, and serve warm. When there are several cutlets on the dish, and placed all around overlapping, the garniture may be put in the middle of the chops.
Do the same with the following garnitures: chicken-combs, croutons, duxelle, financière, Macédoine, and onion. They may also be served on any purée.
Baked.—Trim six cutlets. Mix well half a pound of sausage-meat with two eggs. Put a piece of buttered paper large enough to cover the bottom of a bakepan in which the six cutlets may be laid easily. Spread half the sausage-meat on the paper in the pan, then lay the cutlets in it; put the other half of the sausage-meat over the cutlets, and place the whole in a rather quick oven. Baste every five minutes with melted butter and broth, using them alternately, and serve warm with the gravy when done. A few drops of lemon-juice may be added to them when on the dish, if liked.
Sautées.—Trim, and fry them with a little butter. When done on both sides, add a little broth, salt, pepper, and mushrooms and parsley chopped fine; chopped truffles may be added, if handy; boil gently for about ten minutes. Place the cutlets around the dish, one lapping over the other, turn the sauce in the middle, sprinkle some lemon-juice over the whole, and serve warm.
With Sauce.—When broiled, baked, or sautéd, they may be dished and served with either of the following sauces: fines herbes, maître d'hôtel, piquante, poivrade, ravigote, tarragon, tomato, or truffle.
En Bellevue.—Proceed the same as for fillet of beef en Bellevue.
In Papillotes.—Trim six veal-chops, spread salt and pepper on them, and fry them with a little butter till about half done. Take from the fire, and cut a small hole in the middle with a paste-cutter. While they are frying, fry with a little butter one onion chopped fine; as soon as fried, add half a pound of sausage-meat; stir now and then for about five minutes; add also a pinch of cinnamon, same of nutmeg; take off and mix with the whole one yolk of egg, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, salt, and pepper. Cut six pieces of white paper of a heart-like shape, and large enough to envelop a chop; grease them slightly with butter or sweet-oil; place some sausage-meat on one side of the paper (say half a tablespoonful), place a chop on it; put some sausage-meat on the chop and in the hole; fold the paper in two; then, by folding all around the border, the chop and seasonings are perfectly enveloped in the paper; put the chops in a baking-pan, spread a few drops of oil all over, and bake for about fifteen minutes in an oven at about 250 deg. Fahr. Instead of baking them, broil them carefully turning them over often and basting them to prevent the paper from burning, and serve with the paper on. They may be served on a duxelle garniture, or with a purée.
Fricandeau.—Take a piece of veal of any size, from the leg, loin, or cutlet piece, about three-quarters of an inch in thickness, lard one side with salt pork, the same as a fillet of beef. Put in a saucepan (for two pounds of meat) one ounce of butter, half a middling-sized onion, and as much carrot in slices, two or three stalks of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, six or eight pepper-corns, and rind of the pork you have used; spread all these seasonings on the bottom of the saucepan, put the piece of veal on them, the larded side up, set on a good fire for about fifteen minutes; after which you look if the under side of the meat is well browned; if so, add a gill of broth, put in the oven and baste often, if not, leave a little longer on the fire. Add a little broth once in a while, to keep the bottom of the pan wet, and to have enough to baste till a little overdone, and serve with the gravy strained all over it. It is then called au jus.
With Spinach.—Prepare and cook the fricandeau as above; and when done, put some broth in the pan after having taken off the meat; give one boil; turn in the spinach au jus; stir on the fire one minute; dish the spinach; place the fricandeau on it, and serve.
With Sorrel.—Proceed as with spinach in every particular, except that you serve on sorrel au jus instead of spinach. It makes a more delicate dish with sorrel, although excellent with spinach.
It may also be served with green peas au jus or à l'anglaise.
Financière.—When prepared, cooked, and dished as directed, surround it with a financière garniture, and serve warm.
Jardinière.—After being cooked and dished, put a Macédoine garniture around it, and serve warm.
SHOULDER.
Boned.—Lay the shoulder on the table, the inside up, split it just in the middle, lengthwise, and following the middle of the bones; remove the flat bone at the larger end first. Do the same for the remaining bone. Then spread the shoulder open, and salt and pepper it. Fill the inside with sausage-meat; roll it of a round shape, and when properly tied with twine, roast or bake it, as directed for roasted or baked veal. It is then dished, decorated, and served in the same and every way as directed for roasted pieces of veal.
It is an excellent dish served on either of the following purées: beans, celery, lentils, peas, potatoes, sorrel, spinach, or tomatoes.
When served on a purée, it may be decorated with skewers, the same as when served with a garniture.
It may also be served with a piquante or poivrade sauce.
Stuffed.—Bone the shoulder as directed above; spread it open, and salt and pepper it, also as directed. Spread a coat of sausage-meat on it, about one-third of an inch in thickness, then put a layer of salt pork on the sausage-meat; then a layer of boiled ham; again a layer of sausage-meat; on this a layer of beef or sheep's tongue, boiled. The ham and tongue are cut in square fillets, about one-fourth of an inch broad and about two inches long. The tongues may be fresh or salted, according to taste. When filled, roll it so as to give it a round shape; wrap it up in a towel and drop it in boiling water, to which you have added salt. Boil gently for about four hours, take the kettle from the fire and let cool. When cold take the shoulder off, wipe it dry and serve with meat jelly. The jelly is chopped, or cut in fancy shapes, or both. Some chopped jelly may be placed all around the meat, and some cut in fancy shapes with a paste-cutter or with a knife, and placed over it.
It may also be decorated with skewers, as directed for roasted pieces of veal.
En Bellevue.—When boiled and cold, prepare it like a fillet of beef en Bellevue, and serve.
LOIN OR LEG STEWED.
Have in a stewpan and on a slow fire three or four tablespoonfuls of sweet-oil; when hot put the loin in, turn it over till of a yellow color all around, then add a bay-leaf, salt, pepper, and a pint of warm water; simmer four hours, and serve with the following sauce, which you must have prepared at the same time: Fry in butter till of a golden color ten middling-sized onions, then add to them half a glass of claret wine, two tablespoonfuls of broth, and two of the juice of the loin, ten mushrooms (if handy); simmer till cooked, and strain. Mix the sauce with the juice of the loin, and put it on a dish, place the loin upon it, and serve with the onions and mushrooms around the meat.
In case the juice of the loin should be found too fat, throw in it (and before mixing it with the sauce) a few drops of cold water, and skim off the fat.
The only thing to throw away before mixing is the bay-leaf.
Another way, or prepared with a Garniture of Cabbages.—Put in a stewpan and set on a good fire a piece of butter the size of an egg; when melted, add four onions and two small carrots, cut in slices; fry them two or three minutes, then put the loin in, with half a bay-leaf, wet with warm broth; then subdue the fire, let simmer about two hours and a half; strain the sauce on a dish, place the meat on it, and serve with a garniture of cabbages around.
COLD VEAL.
Cut the meat in slices and serve them on a dish, arranged according to fancy, and serve with a piquante, poivrade, Mayonnaise, Provençale, ravigote, or rémolade sauce. It may also be decorated and served like cold mutton, in vinaigrette.
Another way.—Put a piece of butter the size of an egg in a stewpan and set on a good fire, mix in when melted two teaspoonfuls of flour, stir till of a brownish color, when add a saltspoonful of chopped parsley, four leaves of tarragon, salt, pepper, and half a pint of broth (more or less of the above according to the quantity of meat you have left), boil the whole fifteen minutes; then, if what you have left is from an entire piece, cut it in slices, lay them in the pan, and serve when warm enough, as it is.
If what you have left is in pieces or slices, you merely place them in the pan and serve with the sauce when warm.
BRAIN.
To prepare.—Put the brain in a bowl of cold water and a tablespoonful of vinegar and leave it in from one to two or three hours, that is, till you are ready to use it, but do not leave it more than five or six hours and not less than one hour. Take it off, remove the thin skin and blood-vessels that are all around.
To boil.—When prepared, put the brain in a small saucepan, cover it with cold water; add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, half an onion sliced, three stalks of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, six pepper-corns, one clove, salt, boil about five minutes and take off the fire. Cut each half of the brain in two, from side to side; place the four pieces on a dish, the part cut upward.
Au Beurre Noir.—When dished as above directed, put two ounces of butter in a frying-pan and when melted turn into it two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, boil two or three minutes, then throw into it half a dozen stalks of parsley, take them off immediately with a skimmer, turn the butter and vinegar over the brain; spread the parsley around, and serve.
Stewed, or in Matelote.—When prepared as directed, put it in a small saucepan and cover it with claret wine; add half an onion sliced, one clove of garlic, one clove, two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, salt, a bay-leaf, six pepper-corns, and boil gently for about fifteen minutes. Cut and dish it as directed above; turn the sauce over it through a strainer and serve—it is understood, the sauce in which it has been cooked.
Fried.—Prepare as directed, cut in about six slices, dip them in batter, and fry in hot fat. (See direction for Frying.)
In Poulette.—Prepare and boil it as directed, split each half of the brain in two or four pieces, place them tastefully on a dish, spread a poulette sauce all over, and serve warm. It may also be prepared and served with a piquante sauce. When the piquante sauce is made, put the brain or brains in, boil ten minutes, and serve as it is.
EARS.
They are prepared in every way like calf's head.
FEET.
To boil.—Throw them in boiling water for five minutes, split them in the middle and lengthwise after having taken off the large bone and hair, and tie them with a string. Put a piece of butter the size of two walnuts in a stewpan and set it on the fire, when melted add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and green onions, half of each, a quarter of a lemon cut in slices, salt, and pepper, then the feet; wet with a glass of warm water; boil gently two or three hours, take from the fire and when nearly cold dip them in bread-crumbs, place them on a gridiron and set on a good fire, baste slightly with the juice in which they have cooked, and serve with fried parsley around.
The same, in Poulette.—Prepare and cook them as above. When you take them from the fire, instead of dipping them in bread-crumbs, put them in a poulette sauce, simmer ten minutes, and serve.
Fried.—When boiled and drained dry, dip them in beaten egg, roll in bread-crumbs, fry in hot fat, and serve with green parsley all around.
In Vinaigrette.—Boil them as directed and drain them dry. When perfectly cold, serve them with a vinaigrette.
CALF'S HEAD.
How to prepare.—When the hair is off and the whole head well cleaned (this is generally done by butchers; but if not, throw the head in boiling water for five minutes and scrape the hair off with a knife immediately after taking it from the water), put it then in cold water for twenty-four hours in winter and ten in summer, changing the water two or three times.
To boil.—It may be boiled whole or after it is boned. If boiled whole, cut a hole on the top of the head and take off the brain without breaking it; put it in cold water immediately and as directed. Then set the head on the fire in a saucepan, covered with cold water, salt, one onion sliced, half a lemon, four stalks of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, two cloves, two cloves of garlic, ten pepper-corns, and two tablespoonfuls of vinegar; boil gently till done. Bone it before using it.
When boiled after being boned, the brain is taken off in the same way as above and put in cold water also; then the tongue is cut out and boiled with the skin of the head, etc., with the same seasonings as when boiled whole. It is then ready for use, but leave it in the water till wanted; it would become tough if exposed to the air.
In Poulette.—Put about two ounces of butter in a saucepan, set it on the fire, when melted turn in one tablespoonful of flour; stir, and as soon as it commences to turn yellow add half a pint of broth, stir again, and when thickening, add the calf's head cut in rather large dice, give one boil, take from the fire, add the yolk of an egg and about a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, stir, give another boil, and serve.
In Vinaigrette.—Leave it in the water till perfectly cold; or, if wanted immediately, as soon as boiled, take it off and put in cold water to cool, and use. Cut the head in large dice and serve it with oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard, and parsley chopped.
Broiled.—Prepare and boil the calf's head as directed. As soon as cool, cut it in about half a dozen pieces, dip them in beaten eggs, roll them in bread-crumbs, and broil both sides till turning of a golden color; serve warm with a maître d'hôtel sauce, or with anchovy or horse-radish butter.
Fried.—Calf's head may be fried as soon as prepared and boiled; but most generally, it is only what has been left from the day before that is fried. Cut it in small pieces about two inches square, dip them in melted butter, roll them in bread-crumbs, and fry them in hot fat. Serve hot, adding lemon-juice when the pieces of calf's head are on the dish.
En Tortue, or Turtle-like.—There are two ways of preparing calf's head en tortue:
1. When it is prepared and boiled as directed above, drain it dry, cut it in pieces as for frying it; put them in a saucepan with one ounce of butter, set on the fire, stir for two minutes, add nearly a pint of Madeira wine, simmer gently for about half an hour; dish the meat, add a little lemon-juice all over, and serve warm. Some quenelles of chicken may be placed all around, as a decoration; or a garniture of mushrooms.
2. Prepare and boil the calf's head; drain it dry and cut it in pieces about two inches square. Dish the pieces either mound-like, or around the dish, one lapping over the other, and turn the following over it, and serve warm: Put a financière garniture in a saucepan with a pint of Madeira wine, set on the fire and boil gently for about twenty minutes; take from the fire, spread over the pieces of calf's head, and serve.
Some hard-boiled eggs cut in four or eight pieces, lengthwise, may be placed all around the dish; or some pickled cucumbers, cut in fancy pieces, or some quenelles of veal or chicken.
HEART.
To prepare.—Soak it in lukewarm water for about three hours, trim it and free it from skin, blood, and small fibres; then drain and wipe it dry. Stuff or fill it with sausage-meat, to which you add previously two or three onions chopped fine.
To cook.—When thus prepared, envelop it in buttered paper, set on the spit before a good fire, baste often, remove the paper a few minutes before taking it from the fire, then serve warm with a piquante, poivrade, or ravigote sauce. It may also be served with a vinaigrette.
To bake.—When prepared as directed above, put it in a baking-pan; spread a little butter over, put a little water in the bakepan and set in a quick oven, baste and turn over two or three times, and when done, serve with the gravy and the same sauces as if it were roasted.
In Gratin.—Soak, drain and wipe it dry as directed.
Cut it in slices and put them in a crockery or other pan; turn a white sauce all over, then sprinkle on half a gill of vinegar or the juice of a lemon, dust with bread-crumbs, put half a dozen lumps of butter, each about the size of a hazelnut, all over; bake in a rather quick oven.
KIDNEYS.
Sauté.—When prepared as directed below, cut it in pieces as directed for kidney in brochettes. Then put a piece of butter the size of half an egg in a frying-pan and set it on the fire; when melted, sprinkle in a teaspoonful of flour, stirring with a wooden spoon the while, add half a wine-glass of white wine, a tablespoonful of broth, a pinch of chopped parsley, salt and pepper, boil ten minutes and lay the fillets in; have a quick fire, and as soon as cooked dish them, spread the sauce over, sprinkle on a few drops of lemon-juice, and serve.
To prepare.—Never cook a kidney except it be very fresh. Prepare in the following way, a beef, sheep, or calf's kidney. Pig's kidneys are excellent if they have no disagreeable taste, but it is very often the case. The bad taste may be partly taken away by blanching the kidney, but it makes it tough and tasteless; it is better to throw it away.
In Brochettes.—Split the kidney in four lengthwise, and then cut it in rather small pieces. Cut fat salt pork in pieces of the same size as the pieces of kidney—the fatty part of the kidney must not be used—then salt and pepper the pieces of kidney; take a common skewer and run it through a piece of kidney, then through a piece of salt pork; repeat this till the skewer is full. Fill as many skewers as are necessary till the whole kidney is used; and then roast before a good fire, basting often with melted butter. Serve warm.
Another way.—Prepare as above, and instead of roasting, put the skewers in a bake-pan, spread a little butter over the kidney and salt pork, cover the bottom of the pan only with cold water, and bake. While in the oven, turn over and baste occasionally.
Serve as the above, with its gravy, and warm.
Another.—Skewer the kidney, or rather pieces of kidney and salt pork as above; dip them in beaten egg, roll them in bread-crumbs, and fry them in hot fat. Serve warm, but without gravy.
LIGHTS.
Cut them in four pieces, soak and wash them three or four times in lukewarm water, changing the water each time; press them with the hands to extract all the blood. Place the lights in a stewpan, cover them with cold water, and set on a good fire; boil two minutes, take them off, throw them in cold water, and drain them; cut the lights in dice. Have butter in a stewpan on the fire, and when melted, lay the lights in, fry five minutes, keeping them tossed the while, then sprinkle on a tablespoonful of flour, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon; pour on, little by little, about a pint of warm broth, also a saltspoonful of chopped parsley, a pinch of allspice, salt, pepper, a bay-leaf, and sprig of thyme; have a brisk fire, and when about half done, add four or five mushrooms, and eight small onions. When the whole is cooked, take off bay-leaf and thyme, then take from the fire, beat two yolks of eggs with a tablespoonful of vinegar, and mix with the whole, turn on a dish, and serve.
CALF'S LIVER.
How to prepare.—Have water, with a little salt, on the fire, and at the first boiling, throw the liver in for about five minutes, and drain it.
How to improve the Liver before cooking it.—Put in a tureen two tablespoonfuls of sweet-oil, a bay-leaf broken in four pieces, two sprigs of thyme, four of parsley chopped fine, a green onion also chopped fine, salt, and pepper; lay the liver on the whole, and leave it from four to six hours, turning it over two or three times.
How to cook, roasted.—Envelop the liver with buttered paper, place it on the spit before a good fire, baste often with the oil from the tureen, after having taken off bay-leaf and thyme. A few minutes before it is done, take the paper off, baste continually with the drippings till well cooked, and serve it with the gravy.
It may also be served with a piquante or poivrade sauce.
It takes from thirty-five to forty-five minutes to roast it.
The same, sauté.—Put two ounces of butter in a frying-pan, and set it on a sharp fire; when melted, add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and green onions, then the liver cut in slices (after having been prepared as above); sprinkle on a saltspoonful of flour, then half a wine-glass of warm broth, same of claret wine, salt, pepper, and a pinch of allspice; serve when done.
It takes only from ten to twelve minutes for the whole process.
The same, in the Oven.—Put two ounces of butter in a frying-pan on a sharp fire; when hot, put the liver in (after having been boiled as directed above, and after having cut it in pieces); fry it five minutes, turning over once only; then take from the fire, salt both sides of the slices, place them on a warm dish, putting on each slice a little butter kneaded with chopped parsley, salt, and pepper; put two or three minutes in a warm oven, take off, sprinkle on the whole the juice of half a lemon, and serve in the dish in which it has cooked.
The same, stewed.—Boil the liver as directed above, and when drained and cold, lard it well. Have butter in a frying-pan on a brisk fire; when hot, put the liver in for about five minutes, turning it over on every side. Have in a stewpan four ounces of bacon cut in dice; set it on a good fire, and when hot, lay the liver in; then add a glass of warm broth, same of white wine, a bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme, two of parsley, a clove of garlic, two cloves, and a small carrot cut in two; cover the stewpan, subdue the fire, and let simmer three hours; stir now and then, place the liver on a dish, strain the sauce on it, and serve.
CALF'S PLUCK.
Put the pluck in cold water for twelve hours in winter and four in summer; change the water once, drain, and throw it in boiling water for ten or fifteen minutes; take off and throw in cold water to cool, and drain it. Cut the pluck in pieces, and cook it like calf's head, and serve with the same sauce.
CALF'S TAIL.
Take two tails, cut each in two, throw them in boiling water for three minutes, and drain. Cut a cabbage in two, trim off the stump, throw the two halves in boiling water, with a little salt, for fifteen minutes, and drain it. Put in a tureen the tails, cabbage, six ounces of lean bacon, two sprigs of parsley chopped fine, same quantity of green onions, two cloves, a little piece of nutmeg, a clove of garlic, salt, and pepper; cover the whole with half broth and half water, and boil gently till cooked. Then take off cloves, nutmeg, and garlic, turn the remainder on a dish, and serve.
TONGUE.
Prepare, cook, and serve a calf's tongue, in the same and every way like a fresh beef's tongue. The only difference is, that, being smaller, it is seldom decorated.
It may be split in two, lengthwise and nearly through, opened and served thus, with slices of pickled cucumbers.
SWEETBREADS.
To prepare.—Soak them in cold water for about an hour. Take off and remove the skin and bloody vessels that are all around. For two sweetbreads set about one pint of water on the fire in a small saucepan with salt, a tablespoonful of vinegar, a few slices of onion, six pepper-corns, a clove of garlic, two cloves, six sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, and a bay-leaf; boil two minutes, drop the sweetbreads in, boil one minute and take them off. Drop them immediately in cold water and leave them in for from two minutes to an hour. Put them on a flat surface with a board over, and leave them thus till they are perfectly cold and rather flattened.
Au Jus.—Trim them a little, so as to give them a better appearance. Lard the top or smooth side, then butter the bottom of a pan, spread a few slices of onion on the butter; add a bay-leaf, a clove, two stalks of parsley; place the sweetbreads on the whole, the larded side up, cover the pan and set on a good fire, or in a rather warm oven; about ten minutes after, add two or three tablespoonfuls of broth, baste now and then till done. If the broth is absorbed before the sweetbreads are done, add some more. Dish the sweetbreads, turn the gravy over them through a strainer, and serve.
Another way.—Prepare as above directed; then, instead of larding it, you knead well together two ounces of butter, a teaspoonful of shallots and parsley well chopped, half a clove of garlic, salt, and pepper; place the whole in a stewpan, with the sweetbreads on it, and thin slices of bacon on the sweetbreads; set the pan on a good fire, and add then half a glass of broth, same of white wine; simmer till cooked; dish the sweetbreads, throw a few drops of cold water in the sauce, skim off the fat, strain the sauce on the sweetbreads, and serve.
When the sweetbreads au jus are dished as directed, place tastefully, all around, either of the following garnitures: cauliflower, chicken-combs, duxelle, financière, mushrooms, liver, Macédoine, quenelles, and truffles. Besides these garnitures, the sweetbreads may be decorated with small skewers, run through a boiled craw-fish and a small quenelle of chicken or of veal. One or two skewers may be stuck in each sweetbread.