Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks Part 31

It may also be served with vegetables around, or with tomato-sauce.

_Another way._--When prepared as above directed, put it on the fire with the same seasonings as the preceding one; simmer four hours and take from the fire; put the tongue on a dish and let it cool, then place it on the spit before a good fire, and finish the cooking; serve it warm with an oil, or _piquante_ sauce.

If any is left of either of the two, put in a pan the next day, wet with a little broth, set on the fire, and when warm serve it on a _puree_; do not allow it to boil.

BRAIN.

Soak it in lukewarm water and clean well, so as to have it free from blood, fibres, and thin skin; then soak it again in cold water for twelve hours in winter and six in summer. Put in a crockery stewpan one ounce of bacon cut in slices, one carrot cut in pieces, two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, a clove, four small onions cut in slices, a teaspoonful of chopped cives, salt, pepper, a pint of white wine, as much of broth, and then the brain; set on a moderate fire for half an hour and take it off; dish the brain and place it in a warm place; then strain the sauce, put it back on the fire with the brain in it, add two or three mushrooms cut in pieces, leave on the fire from ten to fifteen minutes, and serve it, parted in two, with fried parsley around.

_Another way._--When the brain is cleaned and prepared as above, cut it in eight pieces. Mix well together a little flour, chopped parsley and cives, also a pinch of allspice; roll the pieces of brain in it, so as to allow the mixture to adhere to them; have some b.u.t.ter in a frying-pan on the fire, and when hot put the pieces of brain in it; fry gently, and serve with fried parsley around.

HEART.

Soak it in lukewarm water for two hours, free it from blood and skin, drain and wipe dry; then stuff it with sausage-meat, to which you have added three or four onions chopped fine, put it in a rather quick oven, or on the spit before a good fire (if on the spit, envelop it with b.u.t.tered paper), basting from time to time; it takes about an hour and a half to cook a middling-sized one; serve it with a _vinaigrette_, _piquante_, _poivrade_, or _ravigote_ sauce.

It may also be fried with b.u.t.ter, and cut in slices, but it is not as good as in the above way; it generally becomes hard in frying.

KIDNEYS.

First split the kidneys in four pieces, trim off as carefully as possible the sinews and fat that are inside, then cut in small pieces.

_Saute._--The quicker this is done the better the kidney. For a whole one put about two ounces of b.u.t.ter in a frying-pan and set it on a very sharp fire, toss it round so as to melt the b.u.t.ter as fast as possible, but without allowing it to blacken; as soon as melted, turn the cut kidney in, stir now and then with a wooden spoon for about three minutes, then add a tablespoonful of flour, stir again the same as before for about one minute, when add a gill of white wine and about one of broth; stir again now and then till the kidney is rather underdone, and serve immediately.

If the kidney is allowed to boil till perfectly done, it will very seldom be tender.

It may be done with water instead of wine and broth; in that case, add a few drops of lemon-juice just before serving it.

Prepare and serve it also as calf's-kidney, in every way as directed for the same.

LIVER.

Cut the liver in slices a quarter of an inch in thickness, sprinkle on them salt and pepper, place them on a gridiron, and set on a sharp fire; turn over only once, and serve rather underdone, with b.u.t.ter and chopped parsley, kneaded together and spread between the slices.

A few drops of lemon-juice may be added.

_Another way._--When the liver is cut in slices, as above, put a piece of b.u.t.ter in a frying-pan on the fire, and when melted, lay the slices in; turn over only once, then serve, with salt, pepper, vinegar, and chopped parsley.

TAIL.

Cut the tail at the joint, so as to make as many pieces as there are joints; throw the pieces in boiling water for fifteen minutes, and drain them. When cold and dry, put them in a saucepan with a bay-leaf, two onions, with a clove stuck in each, two sprigs of parsley, and one of thyme, a clove of garlic, salt, pepper, half a wine-gla.s.s of white wine, and a few thin slices of salt pork; cover with broth or water, and set on a moderate fire for two hours. Dish the pieces, strain the sauce on them, and serve with a garniture of cabbage, or with any _puree_.

TRIPE.

_How to clean and prepare._--Sc.r.a.pe and wash it well several times in boiling water, changing the water every time, then put in very cold water for about twelve hours, changing the water two or three times; place it in a pan, cover it with cold water; season with parsley, cives, onions, one or two cloves of garlic, cloves, salt, and pepper; boil gently five hours, take out and drain.

In case the water should boil away, add more.

You may save all the trouble of cleaning and preparing, by buying it ready prepared, as it is generally sold in cities.

_Broiled._--When prepared, dip it in lukewarm b.u.t.ter, roll in bread-crumbs, place on a gridiron, and set it on a moderate fire; turn over as many times as is necessary to broil it well, and serve with a _vinaigrette_, _piquante_, or Tartar sauce; also with a tomato-sauce.

_Stewed._--Put in a stewpan two ounces of salt pork, cut in dice, three carrots cut in slices, eight small onions, four cloves, two bay-leaves, two cloves of garlic, a piece of nutmeg, four sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, a dozen stalks of cives, six pepper-corns, the fourth part of an ox-foot cut in four pieces, salt, pepper, about two ounces of ham cut in dice, then three pounds of double tripe on the whole; spread two ounces of fat bacon cut in thin slices on the top; wet with half white wine and half water, or water only if you choose; put the cover on, and if not air-tight, put some paste around; set in a slow oven for six hours, then take the tripe out, strain the sauce, skim off the fat when cool, then put the sauce and tripe again in your pan, warm well, and serve in crockery plates or bowls placed on chafing-dishes, as it is necessary to keep it warm while eating. It is good with water only, but better with half wine. This is also called _a la mode de Caen_.

_In Poulette._--When cleaned and prepared as directed, cut one pound of tripe in strips about one and a half inches broad, then cut again contrariwise, so as to make small fillets. Put one ounce of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan with half a tablespoonful of flour, and mix cold; add two gills of water, mix again, set on the fire, stir now and then, give one boil, put the tripe in, salt and pepper to taste; boil two minutes and dish the whole; put a teaspoonful of chopped parsley all over, and serve hot.

_Aux Fines Herbes._--Broil the tripe, and serve it with sauce _fines herbes_.

Tripe may be bought pickled; it is then served at breakfast and lunch.

SMOKED BEEF'S TONGUE.

Soak the smoked tongue in cold water for at least three hours, change the water once or twice during the process. Then take off the thin skin or strip around if there is any; put the tongue in a saucepan with two sprigs of thyme, two of parsley, a bay-leaf, two cloves, six small onions, and a clove of garlic; fill the pan with cold water, and let simmer about six hours. If the water is boiling away, add more. Take from the fire, let cool as it is, then take it out of the water; clean it, let dry, and serve it when cold.

Cut the tongue, when prepared as above, either in slices or in strips, and use for sandwiches, or serve it whole, with a cuc.u.mber, _piquante_, _poivrade_, or tomato sauce, at breakfast or lunch. It may also be served in _vinaigrette_.

When prepared as directed above, serve it as a fillet of beef _en Bellevue_, for supper, lunch, or breakfast. It makes a fine and delicious dish.

It is used also to stuff boned turkeys and other birds, as directed in those receipts; always boil it as directed above, before using it.

When served with any of the above sauces, it may be decorated with skewers the same as boiled beef.

_Larded._--When boiled, lard it with salt pork, and bake it for about one hour in a moderately heated oven, and serve it with the same sauces as above.

Cut in slices and served with parsley, it is a _hors-d'oeuvre_.

MUTTON.

HOW TO SELECT.

You may be sure that mutton is good when the flesh is rather black, and the fat white; if the fat breaks easily, it is young.

The wether is much superior to the ewe.

You will know if a leg of mutton comes from a wether, if there is a large and hard piece of fat on one side at the larger and upper end; if from a ewe, that part is merely a kind of skin, with a little fat on it.

ROASTED.