1183.  Fried Oysters


Large oysters are the best. Simmer for a minute or two in their own liquor; drain perfectly dry; dip in yolks of eggs, and then in bread-crumbs, seasoned with nutmeg, cayenne, and salt; fry them of a light brown. They are chiefly used as garnish for fish, or for rump steaks; but if intended to be eaten alone, make a little thick melted butter, moistened with the liquor of the oysters, and serve as sauce.

1184.  Stewed Oysters


The beard or fringe is generally taken off. When this is done, set on the beards with the liquor of the oysters, and a little white gravy, rich, but unseasoned; having boiled for a few minutes, strain off the beards, put in the oysters, and thicken the gravy with flour and butter (an ounce of butter to half a pint of stew), a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg, or mace, a spoonful of ketchup, and three of cream; some prefer a little essence of anchovy to ketchup, others the juice of a lemon, others a glass of white wine; the flavour may be varied according to taste. Simmer till the stew is thick, and the oysters warmed through, but avoid letting them boil. Lay toasted sippets at the bottom of the dish and round the edges.

Study the Precautions Respecting Fire.


1185.  Bologna Sausages


Take equal quantities of bacon, fat and lean, beef, veal, pork, and beef suet; chop them small, season with pepper, salt, &c., sweet herbs, and sage rubbed fine. Have a well-washed intestine, fill, and prick it; boil gently for an hour, and lay on straw to dry. They may be smoked the same as hams.

1186.  Oxford Sausages


To each pound of lean pork allow one pound of lean veal, one pound of fat, part pork and part veal. Chop and beat well with a lard-beater. Allow one pound of bread-crumbs, thyme, a little parsley; an ounce of sage leaves, chopped very small; two heads of leeks, or a little garlic, or shalot, chopped very fine; salt, pepper, and nutmeg. To each pound allow one egg, the yolks and whites separately; beat both well, mix in the yolks, and as much of the whites as is necessary to moisten the bread. Then make the sausages in the usual way.

1187.  Worcester Sausages


Worcester sausages are made of beef, &c.; add allspice, and any other spices and herbs you may choose.

1188.  Mutton Sausages


The lean of the leg is the best. Add half as much of beef suet; that is, a pound of lean and half a pound of suet (this proportion is good for all sausages). Add oysters, anchovies chopped very fine, and flavour with seasoning. No herbs. These will require a little fat in the pan to fry.

1189.  Veal Sausages


Veal sausages are made exactly as Oxford sausages, except that you add ham fat, or fat bacon; and, instead of sage, use marjoram, thyme, and parsley.

1190.  Preparing Sausage Skins


Turn them inside out, and stretch them on a stick; wash and scrape them in several waters. When thoroughly cleansed, take them off the sticks, and soak in salt and water two or three hours before filling.

1191.  Saveloys


Saveloys are made of salt pork, fat and lean, with bread-crumbs, pepper, and sage; they are always put in skins: boil half an hour slowly. These are eaten cold.

1192.  Black Hog Pudding


Catch the blood of a hog; to each quart of blood put a large teaspoonful of salt, and stir it without ceasing till it is cold. Simmer half a pint or a pint of Embden groats in a small quantity of water till tender; there must be no gruel. The best way of doing it is in a double saucepan, so that you need not put more water than will moisten them. Chop up (for one quart of blood) one pound of the inside fat of the hog, and a quarter of a pint of bread-crumbs, a tablespoonful of sage, chopped fine, a teaspoonful of thyme, three drachms each of allspice, salt, and pepper, and a teacupful of cream. When the blood is cold, strain it through a sieve, and add to it the fat, then the groats, and then the seasoning. When well mixed, put it into the skin of the largest gut, well cleansed; tie it in lengths of about nine inches, and boil gently for twenty minutes. Take them out and prick them when they have boiled a few minutes.

1193.  Scotch Woodcock


Three or four slices of bread; toast and butter well on both sides,—nine or ten anchovies washed, scraped, and chopped fine; put them between the slices of toast,—have ready the yolks of four eggs well beaten, and half a pint of cream—which set over the fire to thicken, but not boil,—then pour it over the toast, and serve it to table as hot as possible.

1194.  Sweetbread


Trim a fine sweetbread (it cannot be too _fresh_); parboil it for five minutes, and throw it into a basin of cold water. Then roast it plain—or beat up the yolk of an egg, and prepare some fine breadcrumbs; or when the sweetbread is cold, dry it thoroughly in a cloth; run a lark-spit or a skewer through it, and tie it on the ordinary spit; egg it with a paste-brush; powder it well with bread-crumbs, and roast it. For sauce, fried bread-crumbs, melted butter, with a little mushroom ketchup, and lemon juice, or serve on buttered toast, garnished with egg sauce, or with gravy. Instead of spitting the sweetbread, you may put it into a tin Dutch oven, or fry it.

Read the Hints to Husbands and Wives.


1195.  Sweetbreads Plain


Parboil and slice them as before, dry them in a clean cloth, flour them, and fry them a delicate brown; take care to drain the fat well, and garnish with slices of lemon, and sprigs of chervil or parsley, or crisp parsley. Serve with sauce, and slices of ham or bacon, or force-meat balls.

1196.  Kidneys


Cut them through the long way, score them, sprinkle a little pepper and salt on them, and run a wire skewer through to keep them from curling on the gridiron, so that they may be evenly broiled. Broil over a clear fire, taking care not to prick the kidney with the fork, and turning them often till they are done; they will take about ten or twelve minutes, if the fire is brisk. Another mode is to fry them in butter, and make gravy for them in the pan (after you have taken out the kidneys), by putting in a teaspoonful of flour; as soon as it looks brown, put in as much water as will make gravy. Kidneys will take five minutes more to fry than to broil.

1197.  Devil


The gizzard and rump, or legs, &c., of a dressed turkey, capon, or goose, or mutton or veal kidney, scored, peppered, salted, and broiled, sent up for a relish, being made very hot, has obtained the name of a "devil."

1198.  Bacon


Dr. Kitchiner very justly says:
"The boiling of bacon is a very simple subject to comment upon; but our main object is to teach common cooks the art of dressing common food in the best manner. Cover a pound of nice streaked bacon with cold water, let it boil gently for three quarters of an hour; take it up, scrape the under side well, and cut off the rind: grate a crust of bread not only on the top, but all over it, as you would ham, put it before the fire for a few minutes, not too long, or it will dry and spoil it. Bacon is sometimes as salt as salt can make it, therefore before it is boiled it must be soaked in warm water for an hour or two, changing the water once; then pare off the rusty and smoked part, trim it nicely on the under side, and scrape the rind as clean as possible."

1199.  Ham or Bacon Slices


Ham or bacon slices should not be less than one-eighth or more than a quarter of an inch thick, and, for delicate persons, should be soaked in hot water for a quarter of an hour, and then well wiped and dried before broiling. If you wish to curl a slice, roll it up, and put a wooden skewer through it; then in may be dressed in a cheese-toaster or a Dutch oven.

1200.  Relishing Rashers of Bacon


If you have any _cold bacon_, you may make a very nice dish of it by cutting it into slices about a quarter of an inch thick. Then grate some crust of bread as directed for ham, and powder the slices well with it on both sides; lay the rashers in a cheese-toaster,—they will be browned on one side in about three minutes:—turn them and do the other. These are a delicious accompaniment to poached or fried eggs:—the bacon, having been boiled first, is tender and mellow.—They are an excellent garnish round veal cutlets, sweetbreads, calf's head hash, green peas, or beans, &c.

1201.  Anchovy Sandwiches


Anchovy sandwiches made with the above, will be found excellent.

1202.  Anchovy Toast


Anchovy toast is made by spreading anchovy paste upon bread either toasted or fried.

Fire Is A Good Servant But A Bad Master.


1203.  Scotch Porridge


For four persons
.—Boil three pints of water in a clean saucepan, add a teaspoonful of salt; mix very gradually, while the water is boiling, one pound of fine oatmeal, stirring constantly, while you put in the meal, with a round stick about eighteen inches long, called a "spirtle." Continue stirring for fifteen minutes; then pour into soup plates, allow it to cool a little, and serve with sweet milk. Scotch porridge is one of the most nutritive diets that can be given, especially for young persons, on account of the bone-producing elements contained in oatmeal. It is sometimes boiled with milk instead of water, but the mixture is then rather rich for delicate stomachs.

1204.  Scotch Brose


This favourite Scotch dish is generally made with the liquor in which meat has been boiled. Put half a pint of oatmeal into a porringer with a little salt, if there be not enough in the broth,—of which add as much as will mix it to the consistence of hasty pudding or a little thicker,— lastly, take a little of the fat that swims on the broth and put it on the porridge, and eat it in the same way as hasty pudding.

1205.  Barley Broth, Scotch


Dr. Kitchiner, from whose "Cook's Oracle,"
1
we take this receipt, after testing it, says:
"This is a most frugal, agreeable, and nutritive meal. It will neither lighten the purse nor lie heavy on the stomach. It will furnish you with a pleasant soup, and meat for eight persons.

Wash three-quarters of a pound of Scotch barley in a little cold water; put it in a soup-pot with a shin or leg of beef, of about ten pounds weight, sawn into four pieces (tell the butcher to do this for you); cover it well with cold water; set it on the fire; when it boils, skim it very clean, and put in two onions, of about three ounces weight each; set it by the side of the fire to simmer very gently for about two hours; then skim all the fat clean off, and put in two heads of celery and a large turnip cut into small squares; season it with salt, and let it boil for an hour and a half longer, and it will be ready: take out the meat carefully with a slice (and cover it up, and set it by the fire to keep warm), and skim the broth well before you put it in the tureen.

Put a quart of the soup into a basin, and about an ounce of flour into a stewpan, and pour the broth to it by degrees, stirring it well together; set it on the fire, and stir it till it boils, then let it boil up, and it is ready. Put the meat in a ragoût dish, and strain the sauce through a sieve over the meat; you may put to it some capers, or minced gherkins, or walnuts, &c. If the beef has been stewed with proper care, in a very gentle manner, and taken up at 'the critical moment when it is just tender,' you will obtain an excellent and savoury meal."



Footnote 1:
  Published by Messrs. Houlston and Suns, Paternoster-square. London, E.C.

return to footnote mark

1206.  Hotch-Potch for Summer


Make a stock from the neck or ribs of lamb or mutton, reserving some chops, which cook for a shorter time and serve in the tureen. Chop small, four turnips, four carrots, a few young onions, a little parsley, and one lettuce; boil for one hour. Twenty minutes before they are done, put in a cauliflower cut small, one quart of shelled peas, and a pint of young beans.

1207.  Hotch-Potch for Winter


This can be made of beef or mutton, or, for those who are partial to Scotch cookery, a sheep's head and feet, one pound of old green peas, steeped all the night previously, one large turnip, three carrots, four leeks, a little parsley, all cut small, with the exception of one carrot, which should be grated; add a small bunch of sweet herbs, pepper, and salt. The peas take two hours and a half to cook; the other vegetables, two hours; the head, three hours; and the feet, four hours.

There is No Balm for Every Wound.


1208.  Beef Broth


Beef broth may be made by adding vegetables to essence of beef —or you may wash a leg or shin of beef, the bone of which has been well cracked by the butcher; add any trimmings of meat, game, or poultry, heads, necks, gizzards, feet, &c.; cover them with cold water; stir the whole up well from the bottom, and the moment it begins to simmer, skim it carefully. Your broth must be perfectly clear and limpid; on this depends the goodness of the soups, sauces, and gravies of which it is the basis. Add some cold water to make the remaining scum rise, and skim it again.


When the scum has done rising, and the surface of the broth is quite clear, put in one moderate sized carrot, a head of celery, two turnips, and two onions,—it should not have any taste of sweet herbs, spice, or garlic, &c.; either of these flavours can easily be added after, if desired,—cover it close, set it by the side of the fire, and let it simmer very gently (so as not to waste the broth) for four or five hours, or more, according to the weight of the meat. Strain it through a sieve in to a clean and dry stone pan, and set it in the coldest place you have, if for after use.

1209.  Beef Tea


Beef extract, by adding water, forms the best beef tea or broth for invalids. (See
Beef Extract
,
par
.
1220
.)

1210.  Clear Gravy Soup


This may be made from shin of beef, which should not be large or coarse. The meat will be found serviceable for the table. From ten pounds of the meat let the butcher cut off five or six from the thick fleshy part, and again divide the knuckle, that the whole may lie compactly in the vessel in which it is to be stewed. Pour in three quarts of cold water, and when it has been brought slowly to boil, and been well skimmed, throw in an ounce and a half of salt, half a large teaspoonful of peppercorns, eight cloves, two blades of mace, a faggot of savoury herbs, a couple of small carrots, and the heart of a root of celery; to these add a mild onion or not, at choice.


When the whole has stewed very softly for four hours, probe the large bit of beef, and, if quite tender, lift it out for table; let the soup he simmered from two to three hours longer, and then strain it through a fine sieve, into a clean pan. When it is perfectly cold, clear off every particle of fat: heat a couple of quarts; stir in, when it boils, half an ounce of sugar, a small tablespoonful of good soy, and twice as much of Harvey's sauce, or, instead of this, of clear and fine mushroom ketchup. If carefully made, the soup will be perfectly transparent, and of good colour and flavour. A thick slice of ham will improve it, and a pound or so of the neck of beef with an additional pint of water, will likewise enrich its quality. A small quantity of good broth may be made of the fragments of the whole, boiled down with a few fresh vegetables.

1211.  Beef Glaze


Beef glaze, or portable soup, is simply the essence of beef condensed by evaporation. It may be put into pots, like potted meats, or into skins, as sausages, and will keep for many months. If further dried in cakes or lozenges, by being laid on pans or dishes, and frequently turned, it will keep for years, and supply soup at any moment.

1212.  Vermicelli Soup


To three quarts of gravy soup, or stock, add six ounces of vermicelli. Simmer for half an hour; stir frequently.

1213.  Vegetable Soup


Peel and cut into very small pieces three onions, three turnips, one carrot, and four potatoes, put them into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter, the same of lean ham, and a bunch of parsley, pass them ten minutes over a sharp fire; then add a large spoonful of flour, mix well in, moisten with two quarts of broth, and a pint of boiling milk; boil up, keeping it stirred; season with a little salt and sugar, and run it through a hair sieve; put it into another stewpan, boil again, skim, and serve with fried bread in it.

1214.  Asparagus Soup


Two quarts of good beef or veal stock, four onions, two or three turnips, some sweet herbs, and the white parts of a hundred young asparagus,—if old, half that quantity,—and let them simmer till fit to be rubbed through a tammy; strain and season it; have ready the boiled green tops of the asparagus, and add them to the soup.

Books and Thought;—They Should Not Supersede It.


1215.  Carrot Soup


Scrape and wash half a dozen large carrots; peel off the red outside (which is the only part used for this soup); put it into a gallon stewpan, with one head of celery, and an onion cut into thin pieces; take two quarts of beef, veal, or mutton broth, or liquor in which mutton or beef has been boiled, as the foundation for this soup. Stock that is equally good may be made by boiling down some cold roast mutton or beef bones. When you have put the broth to the roots, cover the stewpan close, and set it on a slow stove for two hours and a half, when the carrots will be soft enough. At this stage some cooks put in a teacupful of bread-crumbs. Next boil the soup for two or three minutes; rub it through a tammy or hair sieve, with a wooden spoon, and add as much broth as will make it a proper thickness,
i. e.
, almost as thick as pea soup; put it into a clean stewpan, make it hot and serve.

1216.  Cock-a-Leekie


Boil from four to six pounds of good shin of beef well broken, until the liquor is very good. Strain it and add a good-sized fowl, with two or three leeks cut in pieces about an inch long, put in pepper and salt to taste, boil slowly about an hour, then put in as many more leeks, and give it three-quarters of an hour longer. A somewhat similar soup may be made of good beef stock, and leeks cut up and put in without a fowl, though this cannot be called Cock-a-Leekie with propriety.

1217.  Mince Meat


Take seven pounds of currants well picked and cleaned; of finely chopped beef suet, and finely chopped apples (Kentish or golden pippins), each three and a half; pounds; citron, lemon peel, and orange peel cut small, each half a pound; fine moist sugar, two pounds; mixed spice, an ounce; the rind of four lemons and four Seville oranges; mix well, and put in a deep pan. Mix a bottle of brandy, another of white wine, and the juice of the lemons and oranges that have been grated, together in a basin; pour half over and press down tight with the hand, then add the other half and cover closely. This may be made one year so as to be used the next.

1218.  Minced Collops


Two pounds of good rump steak, chopped very fine; six good-sized onions, also chopped small; put both into a stewpan, with as much water or gravy as will cover the meat; stir it without ceasing till the water begins to boil; then set the stewpan aside, where the collops can simmer, not boil, for three-quarters of an hour. Just before serving, stir in a tablespoonful of flour, a little pepper and salt, and boil it up once. Serve with mashed potatoes round the dish. The above quantity will be enough for four persons.

1219.  Forcemeat Balls


(For turtle, mock turtle, or made dishes.)— Pound some veal in a marble mortar, rub it through a sieve with as much of the udder as you have veal, or about n third of the quantity of butter: put some bread-crumbs into a stewpan, moisten them with milk, add a little chopped parsley and shalot, rub them well together in a mortar, till they form a smooth paste; put it through a sieve, and when cold, pound, and mix all together, with the yolks of three eggs boiled hard; season the mixture with salt, pepper, and curry powder, or cayenne; add to it the yolks of two raw eggs, rub it well together, and make it into small balls which should be put into the soup or hash, as the case may be, ten minutes before it is ready.

There is Something to be Learned from the Merest Trifle.


1220.  Beef Extract


(As recommended by Baron Liebig).—Take a pound of good juicy beef from which all the skin and fat has been cut away, chop it up like sausage meat; mix it thoroughly with a pint of cold water, place it on the side of the stove to heat very slowly, and give it an occasional stir. It may stand two or three hours before it is allowed to simmer, and will then require but fifteen minutes of gentle boiling. Salt should be added when the boiling commences, and this for invalids in general, is the only seasoning required. When the extract is thus far prepared, it may be poured from the meat into a basin, and allowed to stand until any particles of fat on the surface can he skimmed off, and the sediment has subsided and left the soup quite clear, when it may be poured off gently, heated in a clean saucepan, and served. The scum should be well cleared as it accumulates.

1221.  Potted Beef


Take three or four pounds, or any smaller quantity, of lean beef, free from sinews, and rub it well with a mixture made of a handful of salt, one ounce of saltpetre, and one ounce of coarse sugar; let the meat lie in the salt for two days, turning and rubbing it twice a day. Put it into a stone jar with a little beef gravy, and cover it with a paste to keep it close. Bake it for several hours in a very slow oven till the meat is tender; then pour off the gravy, which should be in a very small quantity, or the juice of the meat will be lost; pound the meat, when cold, in a marble mortar till it is reduced to a smooth paste, adding by degrees a little fresh butter melted. Season it as you proceed with pepper, allspice, nutmeg, pounded mace, and cloves, or such of these spices as are thought agreeable. Some flavour with anchovy, ham, shalots, mustard, wine, flavoured vinegar, ragoût powder, curry powder, &c., according to taste. When it is thoroughly beaten and mingled together, press it closely into small shallow pots, nearly full, and fill them up with a layer a quarter of an inch thick of clarified butter, and tie them up with a bladder, or sheet of Indian rubber. They should be kept in a cool place.

1222.  Strasburg Potted Meat


Take a pound and a half of rump of beef, cut into dice, and put it in an earthen jar, with a quarter of a pound of butter at the bottom; tie the jar close up with paper, and set over a pot to boil; when nearly done, add cloves, mace, allspice, nutmeg, salt, and cayenne pepper to taste; then boil till tender, and let it get cold. Pound the meat, with four anchovies washed and boned; add a quarter of a pound of oiled butter, work it well together with the gravy, warm a little, and add cochineal to colour. Then press into small pots, and pour melted mutton suet over the top of each.

1223.  Brown Stock (1)


Put five pounds of shin of beef, three pounds of knuckle of veal, and some sheep's trotters or cow-heel into a closely-covered stewpan, to draw out the gravy very gently, and allow it to become nearly brown. Then pour in sufficient boiling water to entirely cover the meat, and let it boil up, skimming it frequently; seasoning it with whole peppers, salt, and roots, herbs, and vegetables of any kind. That being done, let it boil gently five or six hours, pour the broth off from the meat, and let it stand during the night to cool. The following morning take off the scum and fat, and put it away in a stone jar for further use.

1224.  Brown Stock (2)


Brown stock may be made from all sorts of meat, bones, remnants of poultry, game, &c. The shin of beef makes an excellent stock.

1225.  Brown Gravy


Three onions sliced, and fried in butter to a nice brown; toast a large thin slice of bread until quite hard and of a deep brown. Take these, with any piece of meat, bone, &c., and some herbs, and set them on the fire, with water according to judgment, and stew down until a rich and thick gravy is produced. Season, strain, and keep cool.

1226.  Goose or Duck Stuffing


Chop very fine about two ounces of onion, of _green_ sage leaves about an ounce (both unboiled), four ounces of bread-crumbs, a bit of butter about as big as a walnut, &c., the yolk and white of an egg, and a little pepper and salt; some add to this a minced apple.

Strive to Learn from All Things.


1227.  Bacon


Bacon is an extravagant article in housekeeping; there is often twice as much dressed as need be; when it is sent to table as an accompaniment to boiled poultry or veal, a pound and a half is plenty for a dozen people, A good German sausage is a very economical substitute for bacon; or fried pork sausage.