The Country Housewife and Lady's Director in the Management of a House Part 11

The Boars that were put up for Brawn, are now fit to kill. It is to be observ'd, that what is used for Brawn, is the Flitches only, without the Legs, and they must have the Bones taken out, and then sprinkled with Salt, and lay'd in a Tray, or some other thing, to drain off the Blood; when this is done, salt it a little, and roll it up as hard as possible, so that the length of the Collar of Brawn be as much as one side of the Boar will bear, and to be, when it is rolled up, about nine or ten Inches diameter. When you have rolled up your Collar as close as you can, tye it with Linnen Tape, as tight as possible, and then prepare a Cauldron with a large Quant.i.ty of Water to boil it: In this boil your Brawn till it is tender enough for a Straw to pa.s.s into it, and then let it cool; and when it is quite cold, put it in the following Pickle. Put to every Gallon of Water a handful or two of Salt, and as much Wheat-Bran; boil them well together, and then strain the Liquor as clear as you can from the Brawn, and let it stand till it is quite cold, at which time put your Brawn in it; but this Pickle must be renewed every three Weeks. Some put half small Beer and half Water; but then the small Beer should be brewed with pale Malt: but I think the first Pickle is the best. _Note,_ The same Boar's Head being well cleaned, may be boiled and pickled like the Brawn, and is as much esteem'd.

This is a good Season to make what they call Hung-Beef: The way of doing it, is, to take the thin Pieces of the Beef, and salting them with Salt-Petre about two Ounces to a Pound of common Salt, and rubbing it well into the Meat, dry it in a Chimney with Wood Smoke. When this is throughly cured, it will be red quite through, which one may try by cutting; for if there is any of the Flesh green, it is not smoked enough. It is, in my opinion, better than any Bacon to be boiled and eaten hot.

This is what I shall say, concerning the use of such things as are generally found about a Gentleman's Country-Seat, or about a Farm, which I think will be very useful, tho' a little out of the common Road; and so I shall make no Apology for publis.h.i.+ng such Receipts as I am sure are good.

If I do not use proper Terms in some of my Receipts in Cookery, I have at least put my Receipts into such a Method, as I suppose will make them intelligible, and what any one may understand: But I must take notice before I conclude, that the meaning of publis.h.i.+ng this, is to instruct those who may not have had opportunity of observing or collecting so much as I have done, and not any way pretending to inform those who are full enough of Knowledge already. However, I hope my Readers will be contented with what I have here given them, and meet with something that is New and Useful.

FINIS.

THE COUNTRY HOUSEWIFE AND LADY's DIRECTOR, IN THE MANAGEMENT OF A HOUSE, AND THE DELIGHTS AND PROFITS OF A FARM.

PART II.

INCLUDING

A great Variety of the most curious Receipts for Dressing all the Sorts of Flesh, Fish, Fowl, Fruit and Herbs, which are the Productions of a Farm, or from any Foreign Parts.

Contained in Letters, and taken from the Performances of the most polite Proficients in most Parts of _Europe_.

Now publish'd for the Good of the Publick, By R. BRADLEY, _Professor of Botany in the University of_ Cambridge, _and F. R. S._

To which is Added, From a Poulterer in _St. James's_-Market, the Manner of Trussing all Sorts of Poultry. Adorn'd with Cuts: Shewing, how every Fowl, Wild or Tame, ought to be prepared for the Spit; and likewise any kind of Game.

TO Sir _Hans Sloane,_ Bart.

PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL-SOCIETY.

This Piece of Oeconomy, or Management of the Houshold, is most humbly presented, by His _Most humble and most obedient Servant,_ R. BRADLEY

THE INTRODUCTION.

There is nothing induces me so much, to publish this Second Part of Directions to prepare the Things about a Farm or Family, as the Encouragement my first Volume, in this Way, has met with in the World; which being now in the sixth Edition, has brought me many Receipts, from the Curious, which would be detrimental to the Publick if I did not offer them to the World. I must acknowledge my Grat.i.tude, in this Piece, to several Persons of Distinction, and good Oeconomy, who have favoured me with their a.s.sistance; and, as far as their Leave would suffer me, I have given their Names or Signatures. Most of the Receipts I have been Witness to, at some Meal or other with them, or else in Publick Places have purchas'd; for I always thought that there was more satisfaction in eating clean and well, if one had good Provisions in a Place, than to have such Provisions good, and spoiled in their Management.

With the many n.o.blemen I am conversant with, and in the large Tract of Ground I have pa.s.sed over, it may not be surprizing, that I have collected so great a variety of Things in this way; and there is no greater Happiness I enjoy, than to communicate to the World, what I love myself: but as the Proverb says, _there is no disputing about Tastes_, so that every one has still the Liberty of choosing or rectifying any thing as their Palate directs, when they have a good Foundation to go upon.

I think, if these Receipts had lain still in my Cabinet, they might after my death have been distributed to the World in a wrong Sense; but as I have particularly been present amongst many of them, I have taken the meaning of them in Writing; or if I had left them behind me, they might have been lost, which, I think, are much too good to be bury'd in Oblivion.

THE Country Lady's DIRECTOR.

PART II.

Since I have publish'd the Receipts I gathered together, with regard to the several Preparations of the Products of a Farm, for the Table; ent.i.tled, _The Lady's Monthly Director_, _&c._ (now in its sixth Edition:) I have received a great number of Letters relating to many Improvements that may be made to it, and am desired to publish them, in order to render my first Volume more compleat. And, as I find they will be of public Use, I shall begin with one concerning the Preservation of Flesh, Fowls and Fish from Putrefaction, or Stinking; which is too often the Case, in Summer-time, when it is rare to find any sweet Morsels, although they have undergone the Discipline of Salting. As for the common Notion, that Women cannot lay Meat in Salt, equally with success, at all Times, it is false; it is the Manner of doing it, and not the state of the Women who handle it, that makes it right; there must be a right way of Management to preserve it, and render it fit for the Palate, as the following Letter informs us.

To Mr. _Bradley._

Sir,

I have not only read your Book call'd, _The Lady's Monthly Director_, but have tasted many elegant Dishes of Meat, ordered by the Receipts in it; but I think, as you are a philosophical Gentleman, you should have taken a little more Notice of the preservation of Flesh from Putrefaction: For in many places I have set down to a Dinner which has sent me out of the Room by the very smell of it; even, though I am so much of the _French_ Taste, that I can bear the _Fumette_. The Husband, in this Case, has blamed his Wife; and the Wife has taken the opportunity of whispering to her Husband, that the Maid was not in right Sorts when she salted the Meat: but I am sure, I shall set you to rights in that Point.

I have taken pains in my Family, which consists of thirty Persons, to have my Wife order the Experiment to be made, and I am satisfied from her Arguments, that there is nothing in the Notion above. But now to the purpose. Let your Flesh-Meat be fresh, and take all the bleeding Arteries from it; then sprinkle it with common Salt, and let it lie in the Air for twelve Hours; but salt the Places, where the Arteries were, more particularly: then wipe your Meat dry, and make some Salt very hot, over the Fire, then rub in the Salt very well, and lay the Pieces of salted Meat one upon another, and it will keep for several Months.

Or with common Salt, rub the several Pieces of Meat briskly with it, after the Blood is out, and especially in the hollow Places lay Salt enough. So will you be sure to have your Meat sweet, either Beef or Pork.

To send _Venison_ Sweet in hot Weather.

Give it a little Salt, and have the Haunches parted, taking out the Marrow and all the Veins, as they are called, that bleed; and then wipe all of it quite dry after you have wash'd it with Vinegar, and then powder it with Pepper, and in an open Basket send it up to _London._

Sometimes Venison (meaning a Buck) comes up to _London,_ not fit for the Table; to prevent which, order the Keeper, when he has killed it, to strew three or four Pounds of Pepper, beaten fine, upon it; and especially upon the Neck Parts of the Sides, after he has wash'd them with Vinegar and dried them well.

But if it stinks, when you receive it, wash it with Vinegar, and dry it, then pepper it and wrap it in a dry Cloth, bury it in the Ground, three foot deep at least, and in sixteen Hours it will be sweet, fit for eating; then wash off the Pepper with Vinegar, and dry it with a Cloth, and hang it where the cool Air may pa.s.s, and the blue Flies cannot come at it. _Query._ Is it not strange, that we see daily the Limbs of Horses hung up in Trees, and they do not stink, but remain good a long while fit for Dogs Meat? If any one will say, that Dogs all delight to eat Carrion, I must deny that; but that every sort of Dog will roll himself in Carrion, when he can find it, is certain.

To send _Partridges_ a long way in hot Weather.

When you have killed your Partridges, take out the Crop, and the Artery which bleeds in the Neck, then fill the Place with Pepper; and the Mouths of the Fowls should be fill'd with the same, for these Parts take a taint sooner than the rest; the Vent too, ought to be taken care of, and open'd, and filled with Pepper, beaten grossly. _N.B._ This Pepper may be always wash'd away without leaving any Season or Flavour behind it, and is a certain Antidote against Corruption. So the same may be done with Pheasants, and you should likewise leave on their Feathers.