Directions for Cookery in its Various Branches

2006-09-22T00:42:00.000-07:00

Directions for Cookery in its Various Branches

Soups

Fish

Shellfish

Beef

More Sections Coming Soon!

http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/preface.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/introductory-hints.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/soups-general-remarks.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/family-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/general-contents.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/fine-beef-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/veal-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/mutton-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/rich-veal-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/clear-gravy-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/maccaroni-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/rich-maccaroni-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/soupe-la-julienne.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/rich-brown-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/vermicelli-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/milk-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/venison-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/meg-merrilies-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/hare-or-rabbit-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/mock-turtle-or-calfs-head-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/mullagatawny-soup-as-made-in-india.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/ochra-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/ox-tail-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/peas-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/bean-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/green-peas-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/friars-chicken.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/asparagus-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/catfish-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/lobster-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/oyster-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/plain-oyster-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/clam-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/plain-clam-soup.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/water-souchy.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/index-of-soups.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/fish-general-remarks.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/salmon-baked-in-slices.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-boil-fresh-salmon.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-bake-fresh-salmon-whole.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/salmon-steaks.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/pickled-salmon.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/halibut-cutlets.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-boil-halibut.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/smoked-salmon.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-broil-mackerel.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-boil-salt-codfish.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/boiled-mackerel.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-broil-shad.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-boil-fresh-cod.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/baked-shad.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/boiled-rock-fish.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/pickled-rock-fish.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/fried-perch.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-boil-trout.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/fried-sea-bass.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-fry-trout.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/stewed-carp.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/sturgeon-cutlets-or-steaks.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/index-of-fish.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/chowder.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/fried-oysters.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/pickled-oysters.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/scolloped-oysters.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/oyster-fritters.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/stewed-oysters.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/oyster-pie.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-boil-lobster.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-dress-lobster-cold.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/stewed-lobster.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/potted-lobster.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/fricasseed-lobster.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-boil-prawns.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/lobster-pie.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/hot-crabs.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/cold-crabs.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/soft-crabs.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/terrapins.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/pickled-lobster.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/index-of-shellfish.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/beef-general-remarks.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-roast-beef.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/baked-beef.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-save-beef-dripping.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-boil-corned-or-salted-beef.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-broil-beef-steaks.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-fry-beef-steaks.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/beef-steak-pudding.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/beef-steak-pie.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-stew-beef.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-stew-round-of-beef.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/la-mode-beef.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/beef-bouilli.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/another-way-to-stew-round-of-beef.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/beef-cakes.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/hashed-beef.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-roast-beefs-heart.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-dress-beef-kidney.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-stew-beefs-heart.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-boil-tripe.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/tripe-and-oysters.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-boil-smoked-tongue.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-fry-tripe.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/pepper-pot.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-corn-beef.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-boil-salted-or-pickled-tongue.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/dried-or-smoked-beef.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/to-pickle-beef-or-tongues.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/index-of-beef.html http://directionsforcookery.blogspot.com/2006/09/potted-beef.html

Index of Beef

2006-09-11T01:44:00.001-07:00

POTTED BEEF.

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Take a good piece of a round of beef, and cut off all the fat. Rub
the lean well with salt, and let it lie two days. Then put it into
a jar, and add to it a little water in the proportion of half a
pint to three pounds of meat. Cover the jar as closely as
possible, (the best cover will be a coarse paste or dough) and set
it in a slow oven, or in a vessel of boiling water for about four
hours. Then drain off all the gravy and set the meat before the
fire that all the moisture may be drawn out. Pull or cut it to
pieces and pound it for a long time in a mortar with pepper,
allspice, cloves, mace, nutmeg, and oiled fresh butter, adding
these ingredients gradually, and moistening it with a little of
the gravy. You must pound it to a fine paste, or till it becomes
of the consistence of cream, cheese.

Put it into potting cans, and cover it an inch thick with fresh
butter that has been melted, skimmed, and strained. Tie a leather
over each pot, and keep them closely covered. Set them in a dry
place.

Game and poultry may be potted in this manner

DRIED OR SMOKED BEEF.

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The best part for this purpose is the round, which you must desire
the butcher to cut into four pieces. Wash the meat and dry it well
in a cloth. Grind or beat to powder an equal quantity of cloves
and allspice, and having mixed them together, rub them well into
the beef with your hand. The spice will be found a great
improvement both to the taste and smell of the meat. Have ready a
pickle made precisely as that in the preceding article. Boil and
skim it, and (the meat having been thoroughly rubbed all over with
the spice) pour on the pickle, as before directed. Keep the beef
in the pickle at least six weeks, and then smoke it about three
weeks.

Smoked beef is brought on the tea-table either shaved into thin
chips without cooking, or chipped and fried with a little butter
in a skillet, and served up hot.

This receipt for dried or smoked beef will answer equally well for
venison ham, which is also used as a relish at the tea-table.

Mutton hams may be prepared in the same way.

TO PICKLE BEEF OR TONGUES.

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The beef must be fresh killed, and of the best kind. You must wipe
every piece well, to dry it from the blood and moisture. To fifty
pounds of meat allow two pounds and a quarter of coarse salt, two
pounds and a quarter of fine salt, one ounce and a half of
saltpetre, one pound and a half of brown sugar, and one quart of
molasses. Mix all these ingredients well together, boil and skim
it for about twenty minutes, and when no more scum rises, take it
from the fire. Have ready the beef in a large tub, or in a barrel;
pour the brine gradually upon it with a ladle, and as it cools rub
it well into every part of the meat. A molasses hogshead sawed in
two is a good receptacle for pickled meat. Cover it well with a
thick cloth, and look at it frequently, skimming off whatever may
float on the top, and basting the meat with the brine. In about a
fortnight the beef will be fit for use.

Tongues may be put into the same cask with the beef, one or two at
a time, as you procure them from the butcher. None of them will be
ready for smoking in less than six weeks; but they had best remain
in pickle two or three months. They should not be sent to the
smoke-house later than March. If you do them at home, they will
require three weeks' smoking over a wood fire. Hang them with the
root or large end upwards. When done, sew up each tongue tightly
in coarse linen, and hang them up in a dark dry cellar.

Pickled tongues without smoking are seldom liked.

The last of October is a good time for putting meat into pickle.
If the weather is too warm or too cold, it will not take the salt
well.

In the course of the winter the pickle may probably require a
second boiling with additional ingredients.

Half an ounce of pearl-ash added to the other articles will make
the meat more tender, but many persons thinks it injures the
taste.

The meat must always be kept completely immersed in the brine. To
effect this a heavy board should be laid upon it.

TO CORN BEEF.

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Wash the beef well, after it has lain awhile in cold water. Then
drain and examine it, take out all the kernels, and rub it
plentifully with salt. It will imbibe the salt more readily after
being washed. In cold weather warm the salt by placing it before
the fire. This will cause it to penetrate the meat more
thoroughly.

In summer do not attempt to corn any beef that has not been fresh
killed, and even then it will not keep more than a day and a half
or two days. Wash and dry it, and rub a great deal of salt well
into it. Cover it carefully, and keep it in a cold dry cellar.

Pork is corned in the same manner.

TO BOIL A SALTED OR PICKLED TONGUE.

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Put it into boiling water, and let it boil three hours or more,
according to its size. When you take it out peel and trim it, and
send it to table surrounded with mashed potato, and garnished with
sliced carrot.

TO BOIL A SMOKED TONGUE.

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In buying dried tongues, choose those that are thick and plump,
and that have the smoothest skins. They are the most likely to be
young and tender.

A smoked tongue should soak in cold water at least all night. One
that is very hard and dry will require twenty-four hours' soaking.
When you boil it put it into a pot full of cold water. Set it over
a slow fire that it may heat gradually for an hour before it comes
to a boil. Then keep it simmering from three and a half to four
hours, according to its size and age. Probe it with a fork, and do
not take it up till it is tender throughout. Send it to table with
mashed potato laid round it, and garnish with parsley. Do not
split it in half when you dish it, as is the practice with some
cooks. Cutting it lengthways spoils the flavour, and renders it
comparatively insipid.

If you wish to serve up the tongue very handsomely, rub it with
yolk of egg after you take it from the pot, and strew over it
grated bread crumbs; baste it with butter, and set it before the
fire till it becomes of a light brown. Cover the root (which is
always an unsightly object) with thick sprigs of double parsley;
and (instead of mashed potato) lay slices of currant jelly all
round the tongue.

PEPPER POT.

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Take four pounds of tripe, and four ox feet. Put them into a large
pot with as much water as will cover them, some whole pepper, and
a little salt. Hang them over the fire early in the morning. Let
them boil slowly, keeping the pot closely covered. When the tripe
is quite tender, and the ox feet boiled to pieces, take them out,
and skim the liquid and strain it. Then cut the tripe into small
pieces; put it back into the pot, and pour the soup or liquor over
it. Have ready some sweet herbs chopped fine, some sliced onions,
and some sliced potatoes. Make some small dumplings with flour and
batter. Season the vegetables well with pepper and salt, and put
them into the pot. Have ready a kettle of boiling water, and pour
on as much as will keep the ingredients covered while boiling, but
take care not to weaken the taste by putting too much water. Add a
large piece of butter rolled in flour, and lastly put in the
dumplings. Let it boil till all the things are thoroughly done,
and then serve it up in the tureen.

TO FRY TRIPE.

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Boil the tripe the day before, till it is quite tender, which it
will not be in less than four or five hours. Then cover it and set
it away. Next day cut it into long slips, and dip each piece into
beaten yolk of egg, and afterwards roll them in grated bread
crumbs. Have ready in a frying-pan over the fire, some good beef-dripping.
When it is boiling hot put in the tripe, and fry it
about ten minutes, till of a light brown.

You may serve it up with onion sauce.

Boiled tripe that has been left from the dinner of the preceding
day may be fried in this manner.

TRIPE AND OYSTERS.

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Having boiled the tripe in milk and water, for four or five hours
till it is quite tender, gut it up into small pieces. Put it into
a stew-pan with just milk enough to cover it, and a few blades of
mace. Let it stew about five minutes, and then put in the oysters,
adding a large piece of butter rolled-in flour, and salt and
cayenne pepper to your taste. Let it stew five minutes longer, and
then send it to table in a tureen; first skimming off whatever fat
may float on the surface.

TO BOIL TRIPE.

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Wash it well in warm water, and trim it nicely, taking off all the
fat. Cut it into small pieces, and put it on to boil five hours
before dinner, in water enough to cover it very well. After it has
boiled four hours, pour off the water, season the tripe with
pepper and salt, and put it into a pot with milk and water mixed
in equal quantities. Boil it an hour in the milk and water.

Boil in a sauce-pan ten or a dozen onions. When they are quite
soft, drain them in a cullender, and mash them. Wipe out your
sauce-pan and put them on again, with a bit of butter rolled in
flour, and a wine-glass of cream or milk. Let them boil up, and
add them to the tripe just before you send it to table. Eat it
with pepper, vinegar, and mustard.

TO DRESS BEEF KIDNEY.

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Having soaked a fresh kidney in cold water and dried it in a
cloth, cut it into mouthfuls, and then mince it fine. Dust it with
flour. Put some butter into a stew-pan over a moderate fire, and
when it boils put in the minced kidney. When you have browned it
in the butter, sprinkle on a little salt and cayenne pepper, and
pour in a very little boiling water. Add a glass of champagne or
other wine, or a large tea-spoonful of mushroom catchup, or of
walnut pickle. Cover the pan closely, and let it stew till the
kidney is tender. Send it to table hot in a covered dish. It is
eaten generally at breakfast.

TO STEW A BEEF'S HEART.

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Clean the heart, and cut it lengthways into large pieces. Put them
into a pot with a little salt and pepper, and cover them with cold
water. Parboil them for a quarter of an hour, carefully skimming
off the blood that rises to the top. Then take them out, cut them,
into mouthfuls, and having strained the liquid, return them to it,
adding a head or two of chopped celery, a few sliced onions, a
dozen potatoes pared and quartered, and a piece of butter rolled
in flour. Season with whole pepper, and a few cloves if you like.
Let it stew slowly till all the pieces of heart and the vegetables
are quite tender.

You may stew a beef's kidney in the same manner.

The heart and liver of a calf make a good dish cooked as above.

TO ROAST A BEEF'S HEART.

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Cut open the heart, and (having removed the ventricles) soak it in
cold water to free it from the blood, Parboil it about ten
minutes. Prepare, a force-meat of grated bread crumbs, butter or
minced suet, sweet marjoram and parsley chopped fine, a little
grated lemon-peel, nutmeg, pepper, and salt to your taste, and
some yolk of egg to bind the ingredients. Stuff the heart with the
force-meat, and secure the opening by tying a string around it.
Put it on a spit, and roast it till it is tender throughout.

Add to the gravy a piece of butter rolled in flour, and a glass of
red wine. Serve up the heart very hot in a covered dish. It chills
immediately.

Eat currant jelly with it.

Boiled beef's heart is frequently used in mince pies.

BEEF CAKES.

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Take some cold roast beef that has been under-done, and mince it
very fine. Mix with it grated bread crumbs, and a little chopped
onion and parsley. Season it with pepper and salt, and moisten it
with some beef-dripping and a little walnut or onion pickle. Some
scraped cold tongue or ham will be found an improvement. Make it
into broad flat cakes, and spread a coat of mashed potato thinly
on the top and bottom of each. Lay a small bit of butter on the
top of every cake, and set them in an oven to warm and brown.

Beef cakes are frequently a breakfast dish.

Any other cold fresh meat may be prepared in the same manner.

Cold roast beef may be cut into slices, seasoned with salt and
pepper, broiled a few minutes over a clear fire, and served up hot
with a little butter spread on them.

HASHED BEEF.

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Take some roast beef that has been very much under-done,
and having cut off the fat and skin, put the trimmings
with the bones broken up into a stew-pan with two large
onions sliced, a few sliced potatoes, and a bunch of sweet
herbs. Add about a pint of warm water, or broth if you have
it. This is to make the gravy. Cover it closely, and let it
simmer for about an hour. Then skim and strain it, carefully
removing every particle of fat.

Take another stew-pot, and melt in it a piece of butter,
about the size of a large walnut. When it has melted, shake
in a spoonful of flour. Stir it a few minutes, and then add
to it the strained gravy. Let it come to a boil, and then put
to it a table-spoonful of catchup, and the beef cut either in
thin small slices or in mouthfuls. Let it simmer from five to
ten minutes, but do not allow it to boil, lest (having been
cooked already) it should become tasteless and insipid.
Serve it up in a deep dish with thin slices of toast cut into
triangular or pointed pieces, the crust omitted. Dip the toast in
the gravy, and lay the pieces in regular order round the sides of
the dish.

You may hash mutton or veal in the same manner, adding sliced
carrots, turnips, potatoes, or any vegetables you please. Tomatas
are an improvement.

To hash cold meat is an economical way of using it; but there is
little or no nutriment in it after being twice cooked, and the
natural flavour is much impaired by the process.

Hashed meat would always be much better if the slices were cut
from the joint or large piece as soon as it leaves the table, and
soaked in the gravy till next day.

BEEF BOUILLI.

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Take part of a round of fresh beef (or if you prefer it a piece of
the flank or brisket) and rub it with salt. Place skewers in the
bottom of the stew-pot, and lay the meat upon them with barely
water enough to cover it. To enrich the gravy you may add the
necks and other trimmings of whatever poultry you may happen to
have; also the root of a tongue, if convenient. Cover the pot, and
set it over a quick fire. When it boils and the scum has risen,
skim it well, and then diminish the fire so that the meat shall
only simmer; or you may set the pot on hot coals. Then put in four
or five carrots sliced thin, a head of celery cut up, and four or
fire sliced turnips. Add a bunch of sweet herbs, and a small
table-spoonful of black pepper-corns tied in a thin muslin rag. Let
it stew slowly for four or fire hours, and then add a dozen very
small onions roasted and peeled, and a large table-spoonful of
capers or nasturtians. You may, if you choose, stick a clove in
each onion. Simmer it half an hour longer, then take up the meat,
and place-it in a dish, laying the vegetables round it. Skim and
strain the gravy; season it with catchup, and made mustard, and
serve it up in a boat. Mutton may be cooked in this manner.

ANOTHER WAY TO STEW A ROUND OF BEEF.

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Take a round of fresh beef (or the half of one if it is very
large) and remove the bone. The day before you cook it, lay it in
a pickle made of equal proportions of water and vinegar with salt
to your taste. Next morning take it out of the pickle, put it into
a large pot or stew-pan, and just cover it with water. Put in with
it two or three large onion a few cloves, a little whole black
pepper, and a large glass of port or claret. If it is a whole
round of beef allow two glasses of wine. Stew it slowly for at
least four hours or more, in proportion to its size. It must be
thoroughly done, and tender all through. An hour before you send
it to table take the meat out of the pot, and pour the gravy into
a pan. Put a large lump of butter into the pot, dredge the beef
with flour, and return it to the pot to brown, turning it often to
prevent its burning. Or it will be better to put it into a Dutch
oven. Cover the lid with hot coals, renewing them as they go out.
Take the gravy that you poured from the meat, and skim off all the
fat. Put it into a sauce-pan, and mix with it a little butter
rolled in flour, and add some more cloves and wine. Give it a boil
up. If it is not well browned, burn some sugar on a hot shovel,
and stir it in.

If you like it stuffed, have ready when you take the meat out of
the pickle, a force-meat of grated bread crumbs, sweet herbs,
butter, spice, pepper and salt, and minced parsley, mixed with
beaten yolk of egg. Fill with this the opening from whence you
took the bone, and bind a tape firmly round the meat.

TO STEW A ROUND OF BEEF.

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Trim off some pieces from a round of fresh beef--take out the bone
and break it. Put the bone and the trimmings into a pan with some
cold water, and add an onion, a carrot, and a turnip all cut in
pieces, and a bunch, of sweet herbs. Simmer them for an hour, and
having skimmed it well, strain off the liquid. Season the meat
highly with what is called kitchen pepper, that is, a mixture, in
equal quantities, of black or white pepper, allspice, cinnamon,
cloves, ginger and nutmeg, all finely powdered. Fasten it with
skewers, and tie it firmly round with tape. Lay skewers in the
bottom of the stew-pan; place the beef upon them, and then pour
over it the gravy you have prepared from the bone and trimmings.
Simmer it about an hour and a half, and then turn the meat over,
and add to it three carrots, three turnips, and two onions all
sliced, and a glass of tarragon vinegar. Keep the lid close,
except when you are skimming off the fat. Let the meat stew till
it is thoroughly done and tender throughout. The time will depend
on the size of the round. It may require from five or six to eight
hours.

Just before you take it up, stir into the gravy a table-spoonful
or two of mushroom catchup, a little made mustard, and a piece of
butter rolled in flour.

Send it to table hot, with the gravy poured round it.

TO STEW BEEF.

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Take a good piece of fresh beef. It must not be too fat. Wash it,
rub it with salt, and put it into a pot with barely sufficient
water to cover it. Set it over a slow fire, and after it has
stewed an hour, put in some potatoes pared and cut in half, and
some parsnips, scraped and split. Let them stew with the beef till
quite tender. Turn the meat several times in the pot. When all is
done, serve up the meat and vegetables together, and the gravy in
a boat, having first skimmed it.

This is a good family dish.

You may add turnips (pared and sliced) to the other vegetables.

Fresh pork may be stewed in this manner, or with sweet potatoes.

A-LA-MODE BEEF.

2006-09-11T01:36:00.000-07:00

Take the bone out of a round of fresh beef, and beat the meat well
all over to make it tender. Chop and mix together equal quantities
of sweet marjoram and sweet basil, the leaves picked from the
stalks and rubbed fine. Chop also some small onions or shalots,
and some parsley; the marrow from the bone of the beef; and a
quarter of a pound, or more of suet. Add two penny rolls of stale
bread grated; and pepper, salt, and nutmeg to your taste. Mix all
these ingredients well, and bind them together with the beaten
yolks of four eggs. Fill with this seasoning the place from whence
you took out the bone; and rub what is left of it all over the
outside of the meat. You must, of course, proportion the quantity
of stuffing to the size of the round of beef. Fasten it well with
skewers, and tie it round firmly with a piece of tape, so as to
keep it compact and in good shape. It is best to prepare the meat
the day before it is to be cooked.

Cover the bottom of a stew-pan with slices of bacon. Lay the beef
upon them, and cover the top of the meat with more slices of
bacon. Place round it four large onions, four carrots, and four
turnips, all cut in thick slices. Pour in from half a pint to a
pint of water, and if convenient, add two calves' feet cut in
half. Cover the pan closely, set it in an oven and let it bake for
at least six hours; or seven or eight, according to the size.

When it is thoroughly done, take out the beef and lay it on a dish
with the vegetables round it. Remove the bacon and calves' feet,
and (having skimmed the fat from the gravy carefully) strain it
into a small sauce-pan; set it on hot coals, and stir into it a
tea-cupful of port wine, and the same quantity of pickled
mushrooms. Let it just come to a boil, and then send it to table
in a sauce-tureen.

If the beef is to be eaten cold, you may ornament it as follows:--
Glaze it all over with beaten white of egg. Then cover it with a
coat of boiled potato grated finely. Have ready some slices of
cold boiled carrot, and also of beet-root. Cut them into the form
of stars or flowers, and arrange them handsomely over the top of
the meat by sticking them on the grated potato. In the centre
place a large bunch of double parsley, interspersed with flowers
cut out of raw turnips, beets, and carrots, somewhat in imitation
of white and red roses, and marygolds. Fix the flowers on wooden
skewers concealed with parsley.

Cold a-la-mode beef prepared in this manner will at a little
distance look like a large iced cake decorated with sugar flowers.

You may dress a fillet of veal according to this receipt. Of
course it will require less time to stew.

A BEEF-STEAK PIE.

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Make a good paste in the proportion of a pound of butter to two
pounds of sifted flour. Divide it in half, and line with one sheet
of it the bottom and sides of a deep dish, which must first be
well buttered. Have ready two pounds of the best beef-steak, cut
thin, and well beaten; the bone and fat being omitted. Season it
with pepper and salt. Spread a layer of the steak at the bottom of
the pie, and on it a layer of sliced potato, and a few small bits
of butter rolled in flour. Then another layer of meat, potato,
&c., till the dish is full. You may greatly improve the flavour by
adding mushrooms, or chopped clams or oysters, leaving out the
hard parts. If you use clams or oysters, moisten the other
ingredients with a little of their liquor. If not, pour in, at the
last, half a pint of cold water, or less if the pie is small.
Cover the pie with the other sheet of paste as a lid, and notch
the edges handsomely, having reserved a little of the paste to
make a flower or tulip to stick in the slit at the top. Bake it in
a quick oven an hour and a quarter, or longer, in proportion to
its size. Send it to table hot.

You may make a similar pie of mutton chops, or veal cutlets, or
venison steaks, always leaving out the bone and fat.

Many persons in making pies stew the meat slowly in a little water
till about half done, and they then put it with its gravy into the
paste and finish by baking. In this case add no water to the pie,
as there will be already sufficient liquid If you half-stew the
meat, do the potatoes with it.

BEEF-STEAK PUDDING.

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For a small pudding take a pound of fresh beef suet. Clear it from
the skin and the stringy fibres, and mince it as finely as
possible. Sift into a large pan two pounds of fine flour, and add
the suet gradually, rubbing it fine with your hands and mixing it
thoroughly. Then pour in, by degrees, enough of cold water to make
a stiff dough. Roll it out into a large even sheet. Have ready
about a pound and a half of the best beef-steak, omitting the bone
and fat which should be all cut off. Divide the steak into small
thin pieces, and beat them well to make them tender. Season them
with pepper and salt, and, if convenient, add some mushrooms. Lay
the beef in the middle of the sheet of paste, and put on the top a
bit of butter rolled in flour. Close the paste nicely over the
meat as if you were making a large dumpling. Dredge with flour a
thick square cloth, and tie the pudding up in it, leaving space
for it to swell. Fasten the string very firmly, and stop up with
flour the little gap at the tying-place so that no water can get
in. Have ready a large pot of boiling water. Put the pudding into
it, and let it boil fast three hours or more. Keep up a good fire
under it, as if it stops boiling a minute the crust will be heavy.
Have a kettle of boiling water at the fire to replenish the pot if
it wastes too much. Do not take up the pudding till the moment
before it goes to table. Mix some catchup with the gravy on your
plate.

For a large pudding you must have two pounds of suet, three pounds
of flour, and two pounds and a half of meat. It must boil at least
five hours.

All the fat must be removed from the meat before it goes into the
pudding, as the gravy cannot be skimmed when enclosed in the
crust.

You may boil in the pudding some potatoes cut into slices.

A pudding of the lean of mutton chops may be made in the same
manner; also of venison steaks.

TO FRY BEEF-STEAKS.

2006-09-11T01:34:00.000-07:00

Beef-steaks for frying should be cut thinner than for broiling.
Take them from the ribs or sirloin, and remove the bone. Beat them
to make them tender. Season them with salt and pepper.

Put some fresh butter, or nice beef-dripping into a frying pan,
and hold it over a clear bright fire till it boils and has done
hissing. Then put in the steaks, and (if you like them) some
sliced onions. Fry them about a quarter of an hour, turning them
frequently. Steaks, when fried, should be thoroughly done. After
they are browned, cover them with a large plate to keep in the
juices,

Have ready a hot dish, and when they are done, take out the steaks
and onions and lay them in it with another dish on the top, to
keep them hot while you give the gravy in the pan another boil up
over the fire. You may add to it a spoonful of mushroom catchup.
Pour the gravy over the steakes, and send them to table as hot as
possible.

Mutton chops may be fried in this manner.

TO BROIL BEEF-STEAKS.

2006-09-11T01:33:00.001-07:00

The best beef-steaks are those cut from the ribs or from the
inside of the sirloin. All other parts are for this purpose
comparatively hard and tough.

They should be cut about three quarters of an inch thick, and,
unless the beef is remarkably fine and tender, the steaks will be
much improved by beating them on both sides with a steak mallet,
or with a rolling-pin. Do not season them till you take them from
the fire.

Have ready on your hearth a fine bed of clear bright coals,
entirely free from smoke and ashes. Set the gridiron over the
coals in a slanting direction, that the meat may not be smoked by
the fat dropping into the fire directly under it. When the
gridiron is quite hot, rub the bars with suet, sprinkle a little
salt over the coals, and lay on the steaks. Turn them frequently
with a pair of steak-tongs, or with a knife and fork. A quarter of
an hour is generally sufficient time to broil & beef-steak. For
those who like them under-done or rare, ten or twelve minutes will
be enough.

When the fat blazes and smokes very much as it drips into the
fire, quickly remove the gridiron for a moment, till the blaze has
subsided. After they are browned, cover the upper side of the
steaks with an inverted plate or dish to prevent the flavour from
evaporating. Rub a dish with a shalot, or small onion, and place
it near the gridiron and close to the fire, that it may be well
heated. In turning the steak drop the gravy that may be standing
on it into this dish, to save it from being lost. When the steaks
are done, sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper, and lay
them in a hot dish, putting on each a piece of fresh butter. Then,
if it is liked, season them with, a very little raw shalot, minced
as finely as possible, and moistened with a spoonful of water; and
stir a tea-spoonful of catchup into the gravy. Send the steaks to
table very hot, in a covered dish. You may serve up with them
onion sauce in a small tureen.

Pickles are frequently eaten with beef-steaks.

Mutton chops may be broiled in the same manner.

TO BOIL CORNED OR SALTED BEEF.

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The best piece is the round. You may either boil it whole, or
divide it into two, or even three pieces if it is large, taking
care that each piece shall have a portion of the fat. Wash it
well; and, if very salt, soak it in two waters. Skewer it up
tightly and in a good compact shape, wrapping the flap piece
firmly round it. Tie it round with broad strong tape, or with a
strip of coarse linen. Put it into a large pot, and cover it well
with water. It will be found a convenience to lay it on a fish
drainer.

Hang it over a moderate fire that it may heat gradually all
through. Carefully take off the scum as it rises, and when no more
appears, keep the pot closely covered, and let it boil slowly and
regularly, with the fire at an equal temperature. Allow three
hours and a half to a piece weighing about twelve pounds, and from
that to four or five hours in proportion to the size. Turn the
meat twice in the pot while it is boiling. Put in some carrots and
turnips about two hours after the meat. Many persons boil cabbage
in the same pot with the beef, but it is a much nicer way to do
the greens in a separate vessel, lest they become saturated with
the liquid fat. Cauliflower or brocoli (which are frequent
accompaniments to corned beef) should never be boiled with it.

Wash the cabbage in cold water, removing the outside leaves, and
cutting the stalk close. Examine all the leaves carefully, lest
insects should be lodged among them. If the cabbage is large,
divide it into quarters. Put it into a pot of boiling water with a
handful of salt, and boil it till the stalk is quite tender. Half
an hour will generally be sufficient for a small young cabbage; an
hour for a large full-grown one. Drain it well before you dish it.
If boiled separately from the meat, have ready some melted butter
to eat with it.

Should you find the beef under-done, you may reboil it next day;
putting it into boiling-water and letting it simmer for half an
hour or more, according to its size.

Cold corned beef will keep very well for some days wrapped in
several folds of a thick linen cloth, and set away in a cool dry
place.

In carving a round of beef, slice it horizontally and very thin.
Do not help any one to the outside pieces, as they are generally
too hard and salt. French mustard is very nice with corned beef.
[Footnote: French mustard is made of the very best mustard powder,
diluted with vinegar, and flavoured with minced tarragon leaves,
and a minced clove of garlic; all mixed with a wooden spoon.]

This receipt will apply equally to any piece of corned beef,
except that being less solid than the round, they will, in
proportion to their weight, require rather less time to boil.

In dishing the meat, remove the wooden skewers and substitute
plated or silver ones.

Many persons think it best (and they are most probably right) to
stew corned beef rather than to boil it. If you intend to stew it,
put no more water in the pot than will barely cover the meat, and
keep it gently simmering over a slow fire for four, five, or six
hours, according to the size of the piece.

BAKED BEEF.

2006-09-11T01:32:00.001-07:00

This is a plain family dish, and is never provided for company.

Take a nice but not a fat piece of fresh beef. Wash it, rub it
with salt, and place it on a trivet in a deep block tin or iron
pan. Pour a little water into the bottom, and put under and round
the trivet a sufficiency of pared potatoes, either white or sweet
ones. Put it into a hot oven, and let it bake till thoroughly
done, basting it frequently with its own gravy. Then transfer it
to a hot dish, and serve up the potatoes in another. Skim the
gravy, and send it to table in a boat.

Or you may boil the potatoes, mash them with milk, and put them
into the bottom of the pan about half an hour before the meat is
done baking. Press down the mashed potatoes hard with the back of
a spoon, score them in cross lines over the top, and let them,
brown under the meat, serving them up laid round it.

Instead of potatoes, you may put in the bottom of the pan what is
called a Yorkshire pudding, to be baked under the meat.

To make this pudding,--stir gradually four table-spoonfuls of
flour into a pint of milk, adding a salt-spoon of salt. Beat three
eggs very light, and mix them gradually with the milk and flour.
See that the batter is not lumpy. Do not put the pudding under the
meat at first, as if baked too long it will be hard and solid.
After the meat has baked till the pan is quite hot and well
greased with the drippings, you may put in the batter; having
continued stirring it till the last moment.

If the pudding is so spread over the pan as to be but an inch
thick, it will require about two hours baking, and need not be
turned. If it is thicker than an inch, you must (after it is brown
on the top) loosen it in the pan, by inserting a knife beneath it,
and having cut it across into four pieces, turn them all nicely
that the other side may be equally done. But this pudding is
lighter and better if laid so thin as not to require turning.

When you serve up the beef lay the pieces of pudding round it, to
be eaten with the meat.

Veal may be baked in this manner with potatoes or a pudding. Also
fresh pork.

TO SAVE BEEF-DRIPPING.

2006-09-11T01:32:00.000-07:00

Pour off through the spout of the roaster or tin-kitchen, all the
fat from the top of the gravy, after you have done basting the
meat with it. Hold a little sieve under the spout, and strain the
dripping through it into a pan. Set it away in a cool place; and
next day when it is cold and congealed, turn the cake of fat, and
scrape with a knife the sediment from the bottom. Pat the dripping
into a jar; cover it tightly, and set it away in the refrigerator,
or in the coldest place you have. It will be found useful for
frying, and for many other purposes.

Mutton-dripping cannot be used for any sort of cooking, as it
communicates to every thing the taste of tallow.

TO ROAST BEEF.

2006-09-11T01:31:00.000-07:00

The fire should be prepared at least half an hour before the beef
is put down, and it should be large, steady, clear, and bright,
with plenty of fine hot coals at the bottom.

The best apparatus for the purpose is the well-known roaster
frequently called a tin-kitchen.

Wash the meat in cold water, and then wipe it dry, and rub it with
salt. Take care not to run the spit through the best parts of it.
It is customary with some cooks to tie blank paper over the fat,
to prevent it from melting and wasting too fast.

Put it evenly into the roaster, and do not set it too near the
fire, lest the outside of the meat should be burned before the
inside is heated.

Put some nice beef-dripping or some lard into the pan or bottom of
the roaster, and as soon as it melts begin to baste the beef with
it; taking up the liquid with a long spoon, and pouring it over
the meat so as to let it trickle down again, into the pan. Repeat
this frequently while it is roasting; after a while you can baste
it with its own fat. Turn the spit often, so that the meat may be
equally done on all sides.

Once or twice draw back the roaster, and improve the fire by
clearing away the ashes, bringing forward the hot coals, and
putting on fresh fuel at the back. Should a coal fall into the
dripping-pan take it out immediately. An allowance of about twenty
minutes to each pound of meat is the time commonly given for
roasting; but this rule, like most others, admits of exceptions
according to circumstances. Also, some persons like their meat
very much done; others prefer it rare, as it is called. In summer,
meat will roast in a shorter time than in winter.

When the beef is nearly done, and the steam draws towards the
fire, remove the paper that has covered the fat part, sprinkle on
a little salt, and having basted the meat well with the dripping,
pour off nicely (through the spout of the roaster) all the liquid
fat from the top of the gravy.

Lastly, dredge the meat very lightly with a little flour, and
baste it with fresh butter. This will give it a delicate froth. To
the gravy that is now running from the meat add nothing but a tea-cup
of boiling water. Skim it, and send it to table in a boat.
Serve up with the beef in a small deep plate, scraped horseradish
moistened with vinegar.

Fat meat requires more roasting than lean, and meat that has been
frozen will take nearly double the usual time.

Basting the meat continually with flour and water is a bad
practice, as it gives it a coddled parboiled appearance, and
diminishes the flavour.

These directions for roasting beef will apply equally to mutton.

Pickles are generally eaten with roast beef. French mustard is an
excellent condiment for it. In carving begin by cutting a slice
from the side.

BEEF. GENERAL REMARKS

2006-09-11T01:30:00.000-07:00

When beef is good, it will have a fine smooth open grain, and it
will feel tender when squeezed or pinched in your fingers. The
lean should be of a bright carnation red, and the fat white rather
than yellow--the suet should be perfectly white. If the lean looks
dark or purplish, and the fat very yellow, do not buy the meat.

See that the butcher has properly jointed the meat before it goes
home. For good tables, the pieces generally roasted are the
sirloin and the fore and middle ribs. In genteel houses other
parts are seldom served up as _roast-beef_. In small families
the ribs are the most convenient pieces. A whole sirloin is too
large, except for a numerous company, but it is the piece most
esteemed.

The best beef-steaks are those cut from the ribs, or from the
inner part of the sirloin. All other pieces are, for this purpose,
comparatively hard and tough.

The round is generally corned or salted, and boiled. It is also
used for the dish called beef a-la-mode.

The legs make excellent soup; the head and tail are also used for
that purpose.

The tongue when fresh is never cooked except for mince-pies.
Corned or salted it is seldom liked, as in that state it has a
faint sickly taste that few persons can relish. But when pickled
and afterwards smoked (the only good way of preparing a tongue) it
is highly and deservedly esteemed.

The other pieces of the animal are generally salted and boiled. Or
when fresh they may be used for soup or stews, if not too fat.

If the state of the weather will allow you to keep fresh beef two
or three days, rub it with salt, and wrap it in a cloth.

In summer do not attempt to keep it more than twenty-four hours;
and not then unless you can conveniently lay it in ice, or in a
spring-house.

In winter if the beef is brought from market frozen, do not cook
it that day unless you dine very late, as it will be impossible to
get it sufficiently done--meat that has been frozen requiring
double the usual time. To thaw it, lay it in cold water, which is
the only way to extract the frost without injuring the meat. It
should remain in the water three hours, or more.

Index of Shellfish

2006-09-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

Pickled Oysters

***

Fried Oysters

***

Scolloped Oysters

***

Stewed Oysters

***

Oyster Fritters

***

Oyster Pie

***

To Boil a Lobster

***

To Dress Lobster Cold

***

Stewed Lobster

***

Fricasseed Lobster

***

Potted Lobster

***

Lobster Pie

***

To Boil Prawns

***

Hot Crabs

***

Cold Crabs

***

Soft Crabs

***

Terrapins

***

Pickled Lobster

PICKLED LOBSTER.

2006-09-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

Take half a dozen fine lobsters. Put them into boiling salt and
water, and when they are all done, take them out and extract all
the meat from the shells, leaving that of the claws as whole as
possible, and cutting the flesh of the body into large pieces
nearly of the same size. Season a sufficient quantity of vinegar
very highly with whole pepper-corns, whole cloves, and whole
blades of mace. Put the pieces of lobster into a stew-pan, and
pour on just sufficient vinegar to keep them well covered. Set it
over a moderate fire; and when it has boiled hard about five
minutes, take out the lobster, and let the pickle boil by itself
for a quarter of an hour. When the pickle and lobster are both
cold, put them together into a broad flat stone jar. Cover it
closely, and set it away in a cool place.

Eat the pickled lobster with oil, mustard, and vinegar, and have
bread and butter with it.

TERRAPINS.

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Have ready a pot of boiling water. When it is boiling very hard
put in the terrapins, and let them remain in it till quite dead.
Then take them out, pull off the outer skin and the toe-nails,
wash the terrapins in warm water and boil them again, allowing a
tea-spoonful of salt to each terrapin. When the flesh becomes
quite tender so that you can pinch it off, take them out of the
shell, remove the sand-bag, and the gall, which you must be
careful not to break, as it will make the terrapin so bitter as to
be uneatable. Cut up all the other parts of the inside with the
meat, and season it to your taste with black and cayenne pepper,
and salt. Put all into a stew-pan with the juice or liquor that it
has given out in cutting up, but not any water. To every two
terrapins allow a quarter of a pound of butter divided into pieces
and rolled in flour, two glasses of Madeira, and the yolks of two
eggs. The eggs must be beaten, and not stirred in till a moment
before it goes to table. Keep it closely covered. Stew it gently
till every thing is tender, and serve it up hot in a deep dish.

Terrapins, after being boiled by the cook, may be brought to table
plain, with all the condiments separate, that the company may
dress them according to taste.

For this purpose heaters or chafing-dishes must be provided for
each plate.

SOFT CRABS.

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These crabs must be cooked directly, as they will not keep till
next day.

Remove the spongy substance from each side of the crab, and also
the little sand-bag. Put some lard into a pan, and when it is
boiling hot, fry the crabs in it. After you take them out, throw
in a handful of parsley, and let it crisp; but withdraw it before
it loses its colour. Strew it over the crabs when you dish them.

Make the gravy by adding cream or rich milk to the lard, with some
chopped parsley, pepper and salt. Let them all boil together for a
few minutes, and then serve it up in a sauce-boat.

COLD CRABS.

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Having taken all the meat out of the shells, make a dressing with
sweet oil, salt, cayenne pepper, mustard and vinegar, as for
lobster. You may add to it some hard-boiled yolk of egg, mashed in
the oil. Put the mixture into the back shells of the crabs, and
serve it up. Garnish with the small claws laid nicely round.

HOT CRABS.

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Having boiled the crabs, extract all the meat from the shell, cut
it fine, and season it to your taste with nutmeg, salt, and
cayenne pepper. Add a bit of butter, some grated bread crumbs, and
sufficient vinegar to moisten it. Fill the back-shells of the crab
with the mixture; set it before the fire, and brown it by holding
a red-hot shovel or a salamander a little above it.

Cover a large dish, with small slices of dry toast with the crust
cut off. Lay on each slice a shell filled with the crab. The shell
of one crab will contain the meat of two.

TO BOIL PRAWNS.

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Throw a handful of salt into a pot of boiling water. When it boils
very hard, put in the prawns. Let them boil a quarter of an hour,
and when you take them out lay them on a sieve to drain, and then
wipe them on a dry cloth, and put them aside till quite cold.

Lay a handful of curled parsley in the middle of a dish. Put one
prawn on the top of it, and lay the others, all round, as close as
you can, with the tails outside. Garnish with parsley.

Eat them with salt, cayenne, sweet oil, mustard and vinegar, mixed
together as for lobsters.

CRABS

Crabs are boiled in the same manner, and in serving up may be
arranged like prawns.

LOBSTER PIE.

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Put two middle-sized lobsters into boiling salt and water. When
they are half boiled, take the meat from the shell, cut it into
very small pieces, and put it into a pie dish. Break up the
shells, and stew them in a very little water with half a dozen
blades of mace and a wine-glass of vinegar. Then strain off the
liquid. Beat the coral in a mortar, and thicken the liquid with
it. Pour this into the dish of lobster to make the gravy. Season
it with cayenne, salt, and mushroom catchup, and add bits of
butter. Cover it with a lid of paste, made in the proportion of
half a pound of butter to a pound of flour, notched handsomely,
and ornamented with paste leaves. Do not send it to table till it
has cooled.

POTTED LOBSTER.

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Parboil the lobster in boiling water well salted. Then pick out
all the meat from the body and claws, and beat it in a mortar with
nutmeg, mace, cayenne, and salt, to your taste. Beat the coral
separately. Then put the pounded meat into a large potting can of
block tin with a cover. Press it down hard, having arranged it in
alternate layers of white meat and coral to give it a marbled or
variegated appearance. Cover it with fresh butter, and put it into
a slow oven for half an hour. When cold, take off the butter and
clarify it, by putting it into a jar, which, must be set in a pan
of boiling water. Watch it well, and when it melts, carefully skim
off the buttermilk which will rise to the top. When no more scum
rises, take it off and let it stand for a few minutes to settle,
and then strain it through a sieve.

Put the lobster into small potting-cans, pressing it down very
hard. Pour the clarified butter over it, and secure the covers
tightly.

Potted lobster is used to lay between thin slices of bread as
sandwiches. The clarified butter that accompanies it is excellent
for fish sauce.

Prawns and crabs may be potted in a similar manner.

FRICASSEED LOBSTER.

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Put the lobster into boiling salt and water, and let it boil
according to its size from a quarter of an hour to half an hour.
The intention is to have it parboiled only, as it is afterwards to
be fricasseed. Extract the meat from the shell, and cut it into
small pieces. Season it with white pepper, salt, and nutmeg; and
put it into a stew-pan with as much cream as will cover it. Keep
the lid close; set the pan on hot coals, and stew it slowly for
about as long a time as it was previously boiled. Just before you
take it from the fire, stir in the beaten yolk of an egg. Send it
to table in a small dish placed on a larger one, and arrange the
small claws nicely round it on the large dish.

STEWED LOBSTER.

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Having boiled the lobster, extract the meat from the shell, and
cut it into very small pieces. Season it with a powdered nutmeg, a
few blades of mace, and cayenne and salt to your taste. Mix with
it a quarter of a pound of fresh butter cut small, and two glasses
of white wine or of vinegar. Put it into a stew-pan, and set it on
hot coals. Stew it about twenty minutes, keeping the pan closely
covered lest the flavour should evaporate. Serve it up hot.

If you choose, you can send it to table in the shell, which must
first be nicely cleaned. Strew the meat over with sifted bread-crumbs,
and brown the top with a salamander, or a red hot shovel
held over it.

TO DRESS LOBSTER COLD.

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Put a table-spoonful of cold water on a clean plate and with the
back of a wooden spoon mash into it the coral or scarlet meat of
the lobster, adding a salt-spoonful of salt, and about the same
quantity of cayenne. On another part of the plate mix well
together with the back of the spoon two table-spoonfuls of sweet
oil, and a tea-spoonful of made mustard. Then mix the whole till
they are well incorporated and perfectly smooth, adding, at the
last, three table-spoonfuls of vinegar.

This quantity of seasoning is for a small lobster. For a large
one, more of course will be required. Many persons add a tea-spoonful
of powdered white sugar, thinking that it gives a
mellowness to the whole.

The meat of the body and claws of the lobster must be carefully
extracted from the shell and minced very small When the dressing
is smoothly and thoroughly amalgamated mix the meat with it, and
let it be handed round to the company.

The vinegar from a jar of Indian pickle is by some preferred for
lobster dressing.

You may dress the lobster immediately _before_ you send it to
table. When the dressing and meat are mixed together, pile it in a
deep dish, and smooth it with the back of a spoon. Stick a bunch
of the small claws in the top, and garnish with curled parsley.

Very large lobsters are not the best, the meat being coarse and
tough.

TO BOIL A LOBSTER.

2006-09-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

Put a handful of salt into a large kettle or pot of boiling water.
When the water boils very hard put in the lobster, having first
brushed it, and tied the claws together with a bit of twine. Keep
it boiling from half an hour to an hour in proportion to its size.
If boiled too long the meat will be hard and stringy. When it is
done, take it out, lay it on its claws to drain, and then wipe it
dry. Send it to table cold, with the body and tail split open, and
the claws taken off. Lay the large claws next to the body, and the
small ones outside. Garnish with double parsley.

It is scarcely necessary to mention that the head of a lobster,
and what are called the lady-fingers are not to be eaten.

OYSTER PIE.

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Make a puff-paste, in the proportion of a pound and a half of
fresh butter to two pounds of sifted flour. Roll it out rather
thick, into two sheets. Butter a deep dish, and line the bottom
and sides of it with paste. Fill it up with crusts of bread for
the purpose of supporting the lid while it is baking, as the
oysters will be too much done if they are cooked in the pie. Cover
it with the other sheet of paste, having first buttered the flat
rim of the dish. Notch the edges of the pie handsomely, or
ornament them with leaves of paste which you may form with tin
cutters made for the purpose. Make a little slit in the middle of
the lid, and stick firmly into it a paste tulip or other flower.
Put the dish into a moderate oven, and while the paste is baking
prepare the oysters, which should he large and fresh. Put them
into a stew-pan with half their liquor thickened with yolk of egg
boiled hard and grated, enriched with pieces of butter rolled in
bread crumbs, and seasoned with mace and nutmeg. Stew the oysters
five minutes. When the paste is baked, carefully take off the lid,
remove the pieces of bread, and put in the oysters and gravy.
Replace the lid, and send the pie to table warm.

OYSTER FRITTERS.

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Have ready some of the finest and largest oysters; drain them from
the liquor and wipe them dry.

Beat six eggs very light, and stir into them gradually six table-spoonfuls
of line sifted flour. Add by degrees a pint and a half
of rich milk and some grated nutmeg, and beat it to a smooth
batter.

Make your frying-pan very hot, and put into it a piece of butter
or lard. When it has melted and begins to froth, put in a small
ladle-full of the batter, drop an oyster in the middle of it, and
fry it of a light brown. Send them to table hot.

If you find your batter too thin, so that it spreads too much in
the frying-pan, add a little more flour beaten well into it. If it
is too thick, thin it with some additional milk.

STEWED OYSTERS.

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Put the oysters into a sieve, and set it on a pan to drain the
liquor from them. Then cut off the hard part, and put the oysters
into a stew-pan with some whole pepper, a few blades of mace, and
some grated nutmeg. Add a small piece of butter rolled in flour.
Then pour over them about half of the liquor, or a little more.
Set the pan on hot coals, and simmer them gently about five
minutes. Try one, and if it tastes raw cook them a little longer.
Make some thin slices of toast, having cut off all the crust.
Butter the toast and lay it in the bottom of a deep dish. Put the
oysters upon it with the liquor in which they were stewed.

The liquor of oysters should never be thickened by stirring in
flour. It spoils the taste, and gives them a sodden and
disagreeable appearance, and is no longer practised by good cooks.