Miss Parloa's New Cook Book Part 20

Take six or eight pounds of the round or the face of the rump, and lard with quarter of a pound of salt pork. Put six slices of pork in the bottom of the braising pan, and as soon as it begins to fry, add two onions, half a small carrot and half a small turnip, all cut fine.

Cook these until they begin to brown; then draw them to one side of the pan and put in the beef, which has been well dredged with salt, pepper and flour. Brown on all sides, and then add one quart of boiling water and a bouquet of sweet herbs; cover, and cook _slowly_ in the oven for four hours, basting every twenty minutes. Take up, and finish the gravy as for braised tongue. Or, add to the gravy half a can of tomatoes, and cook for ten minutes. Strain, pour around the beef, and serve.

Fricandeau of Veal.

Have a piece of veal, weighing about eight pounds, cut from that part of the leg called the cus.h.i.+on. Wet the vegetable masher, and beat the veal smooth; then lard one side thickly. Put eight slices of pork in the bottom of the braising-pan; place the veal on this, larded side up. Add two small onions, half a small turnip, two slices of carrot, one clove and a bouquet of sweet herbs--these to be at the sides of the meat, not on top; and one quart of white stock or water. Dredge with salt, pepper and flour. Cover, and place in a rather moderate oven. Cook three hours, basting every fifteen minutes. If cooked rapidly the meat will be dry and stringy, but if slowly, it will be tender and juicy. When done, lift carefully from the pan. Melt four table-spoonfuls of glaze, and spread on the meat with a brush. Place in the open oven for five minutes. Add one cupful of hot water to the contents of the braising-pan. Skim off all the fat, and then add one heaping teaspoonful of corn-starch, which has been mixed with a little cold water. Let it boil one minute; then strain, and return to the fire. Add two table-spoonfuls of glaze, and when this is melted, pour the sauce around the fricandeau, and serve. Potato b.a.l.l.s, boiled for twelve minutes in stock, and then slightly browned in the oven, make a pretty garnish for this dish. It is also served on a bed of finely- chopped spinach or mashed potatoes.

Leg of Lamb a la Francaise.

Put a leg of lamb, weighing about eight pounds, in as small a kettle as will hold it. Put in a muslin bag one onion, one small white turnip, a few green celery leaves, three sprigs each of sweet marjoram and summer savory, four cloves and twelve allspice. Tie the bag and place it in the kettle with the lamb; then pour on two quarts of boiling water. Let this come to a boil, and then skim carefully. Now add four heaping table-spoonfuls of flour, which has been mixed with one cupful of cold water, two table-spoonfuls of salt and a speck of cayenne. Cover tight, and set back where it will just simmer for four hours. In the meantime make a pint and a half of veal or mutton force- meat, which make into little b.a.l.l.s and fry brown. Boil six eggs hard.

At the end of four hours take up the Iamb. Skim all the fat off of the gravy and take out the bag of seasoning. Now put the kettle where the contents will boil rapidly for ten minutes. Put three table-spoonfuls of b.u.t.ter in the frying-pan, and when hot, stir in two of flour; cook until a dark brown, but not burned, and stir into the gravy. Taste to see if seasoned enough. Have the whites and yolks of the hard-boiled eggs chopped separately. Pour the gravy over the lamb; then garnish with the chopped eggs, making a hill of the whites, and capping it with part of the yolks. Sprinkle the remainder of the yolks over the lamb. Place the meat b.a.l.l.s in groups around the dish. Garnish with parsley, and serve.

Braised Breast of Lamb.

With a sharp knife, remove the bones from a breast of lamb; then season it well with salt and pepper, and roll up and tie firmly with twine. Put two table-spoonfuls of b.u.t.ter in the braising-pan, and when melted, add one onion, one slice of carrot and one of turnip, all cut fine. Stir for five minutes, and then put in the lamb, with a thick dredging of flour. Cover, and set back, where it will not cook rapidly, for half an hour; then add one quart of stock or boiling water, and place in the oven, where it will cook _slowly_, for one hour. Baste often. Take up the meat, skim all the fat off of the gravy, and then put it where it will boil rapidly for five minutes.

Take the string from the meat. Strain the gravy, and pour over the dish. Serve very hot. Or serve with tomato or Bechamel sauce. The bones should be put in the pan with the meat, to improve the gravy.

Beef Stew.

Two pounds of beef (the round, flank, or any cheap part; if there is bone in it, two and a half pounds will be required), one onion, two slices of carrot, two of turnip, two potatoes, three table-spoonfuls of flour, salt, pepper, and a generous quart of water. Cut all the fat from the meat, and put it in a stew-pan; fry gently for ten or fifteen minutes. In the meantime cut the meat in small pieces, and season well with salt and pepper, and then sprinkle over it two table-spoonfuls of flour. Cut the vegetables in very small pieces, and put in the pot with the fat. Fry them five minutes, stirring well, to prevent burning. Now put in the meat, and move it about in the pot until it begins to brown; then add the quart of boiling water. Cover; let it boil up once, skim, and set back, where it will just bubble, for two and a half hours. Add the potatoes, cut in thin slices, and one table- spoonful of flour, which mix smooth with half a cupful of cold water, pouring about one-third of the water on the flour at first, and adding the rest when perfectly smooth. Taste to see if the stew is seasoned enough, and if it is not, add more salt and pepper. Let the stew come to a boil again, and cook ten minutes; then add dumplings. Cover tightly, and boil rapidly ten minutes longer.

Mutton, lamb or veal can be cooked in this manner. When veal is used, fry out two slices of pork, as there will not be much fat on the meat.

Lamb and mutton must have some of the fat put aside, as there is so much on these meats that they are otherwise very gross.

Irish Stew.

About two pounds of the neck of mutton, four onions, six large potatoes, salt, pepper, three pints of water and two table-spoonfuls of flour. Cut the mutton in handsome pieces. Put about half the fat in the stew-pan, with the onions, and stir for eight or ten minutes over a hot fire; then put in the meat, which sprinkle with the flour, salt and pepper. Stir ten minutes, and add the water, boiling. Set for one hour where it will simmer; then add the potatoes, peeled, and cut in quarters. Simmer an hour longer, and serve. You can cook dumplings with this dish, if you choose. They are a great addition to all kinds of stews and ragouts.

Toad in the Hole.

This is an English dish, and a good one, despite the unpleasant name.

One pound of round steak, one pint of milk, one cupful of flour, one egg, and salt and pepper. Cut the steak into dice. Beat the egg very light; add milk to it, and then half a teaspoonful of salt. Pour upon the flour, gradually, beating very light and smooth. b.u.t.ter a two- quart dish, and in it put the meat. Season well, and pour over it the batter. Bake an hour in a moderate oven. Serve hot. This dish can be made with mutton and lamb in place of steak.

Scotch Roll.

Remove the tough skin from about five pounds of the flank of beef. A portion of the meat will be found thicker than the rest. With a sharp knife, cut a thin layer from the thick part, and lay upon the thin.

Mix together three table-spoonfuls of salt, one of sugar, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of clove and one teaspoonful of summer savory. Sprinkle this over the meat, and then sprinkle with three table-spoonfuls of vinegar. Roll up, and tie with twine. Put away in a cold place for twelve hours When it has stood this time, place in a stew-pan, with boiling water to cover, and simmer gently for three hours and a half. Mix four heaping table- spoonfuls of flour with half a cupful of cold water, and stir into the gravy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer half an hour longer. This dish is good hot or cold.

POULTRY AND GAME.

To Clean and Truss Poultry.

First singe, by holding the bird over a blazing paper. It is best to do this over the open stove, when all the particles of burnt paper will fall into the fire. Next open the vent and draw out the internal organs, if this has not been done at the butcher's. Be careful not to break the gall bladder. Wash quickly in one water. If there are large black pin-feathers, take out what you can with the point of a knife, (it is impossible to get out all). Cut the oil bag from the tail. Be sure that you have taken out every part of the wind-pipe, the lights and crop. Turn the skin back, and cut the neck quite short. Fill the crop with dressing, and put some in the body also. With a short skewer, fasten the legs together at the joint where the feet were cut off. [Be careful, in cutting off the feet of game or poultry, to cut in the joint. If you cut above, the ligaments that hold the flesh and bones together will be severed, and in cooking, the meat will shrink, leaving a bare, unsightly bone. Besides, you will have nothing to hold the skewer, if the ligaments are cut off.] Run the skewer into the bone of the tail, and tie firmly with a long piece of twine. Now take a longer skewer, and run through the two wings, fastening them firmly to the sides of the bird. With another short skewer, fasten the skin of the neck on to the back-bone. Place the bird on its breast, and draw the strings, with which the legs were tied, around the skewers in the wings and neck; pa.s.s them across the back three times, and tie very tightly. By following these directions, you will have the bird in good shape, and all the strings on the back, so that you will avoid breaking the handsome crust that always forms on properly basted and roasted poultry. When cooked, first cut the strings, then draw out the skewers. The fat that comes from the vent and the gizzard of chickens, should be tried out immediately and put away for shortening and frying. That of geese, turkeys and ducks is of too strong a flavor to be nice in cookery.

To clean the giblets: Cut the gall-bag from the lobe of the liver, cutting a little of the liver with it, so as not to cut into the bag.

Press the heart between the finger and thumb, to extract all the blood. With a sharp knife, cut lightly around the gizzard, and draw off the outer coat, leaving the lining coat whole. If you cannot do that (and it does require practice), cut in two, and after removing the filling, take out the lining. When the poultry is to be boiled, and is stuffed, the vent must be sewed with mending cotton or soft twine. Unless the bird is full of dressing, this will not be necessary in roasting.

Fowl and Pork.

Clean and truss, pin in the floured cloth and put into water in which one pound of rather lean pork has been boiling three hours. The time of cooking depends upon the age of the fowl. If they are not more than a year old an hour and a half will be enough, but if very old they may need three hours. The quant.i.ty of pork given is for only a pair of fowl, and more must be used if a large number of birds be cooked.

Serve with egg sauce. The liquor should be saved for soups.

Boiled Fowl with Macaroni.

Break twelve sticks of macaroni in pieces about two inches long; throw them into one quart of boiling water, add a table-spoonful of salt and half a table-spoonful of pepper. Boil rapidly for twelve minutes; then take up, and drain off all the water. Season with one table-spoonful of b.u.t.ter and one teaspoonful of salt. After the fowl have been singed and cleaned, stuff with the macaroni. Truss them, and then pin in a floured cloth and plunge into enough boiling water to cover them. Boil rapidly for fifteen minutes; then set back where they will just simmer for from one and a half to two and a half hours. The time of cooking depends upon the age of the birds. Serve with an egg or Bechamel sauce. The quant.i.ty of macaroni given is for two fowl. Plain boiled macaroni should be served with this dish.

Boiled Turkey with Celery.

Chop half a head of celery very fine. Mix with it one quart of bread crumbs, two scant table-spoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, two heaping table-spoonfuls of b.u.t.ter and two eggs. Stuff the turkey with this; sew up and truss. Wring a large square of white cotton cloth out of cold water, and dredge it thickly with flour. Pin the turkey in this, and plunge into boiling water. Let it boil rapidly for fifteen minutes; then set back where it will simmer. Allow three hours for a turkey weighing nine pounds, and twelve minutes for every additional pound. Serve with celery sauce. The stuffing may be made the same as above, only subst.i.tute oysters for celery, and serve with oyster sauce.

Boiled Turkey.

Clean and truss the same as for roasting. Rub into it two spoonfuls of salt, and put into boiling water to cover. Simmer gently three hours, if it weighs nine or ten pounds, and is tender. If old and tough it will take longer. Serve with oyster, celery or egg sauce. Pour some of the sauce over the turkey, and serve the rest in a gravy boat.

Roast Turkey.

Proceed the same with a turkey as with a chicken, allowing one hour and three-quarters for a turkey weighing eight pounds, and ten minutes for every additional pound.

Roast Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing and Sauce.

Clean the turkey, and lard the breast. Throw fifty large chestnuts into boiling water for a few minutes; then take them up, and rub off the thin, dark skin. Cover them with boiling water, and simmer for one hour; take them up, and mash fine. Chop one pound of veal and half a pound of salt pork very fine. Add half of the chestnuts to this, and add, also, half a teaspoonful of pepper, two table-spoonfuls of salt and one cupful of stock or water. Stuff the turkey with this. Truss, and roast as already directed. Serve with a chestnut sauce. The remaining half of the chestnuts are for this sauce.

Boned Turkey.

Get a turkey that has not been frozen (freezing makes it tear easily).

See that every part is whole; one with a little break in the skin will not do. Cut off the legs, in the joints, and the tips of the wings. Do not draw the bird. Place it on its breast, and with a small, sharp boning knife, cut in a straight line through to the bone, from the neck down to that part of the bird where there is but little flesh, where it is all skin and fat. Begin at the neck, and run the knife between the flesh and the bones until you come to the wing. Then cut the ligaments that hold the bones together and the tendons that hold the flesh to the bones. With the thumb and fore-finger, _press_ the flesh from the smooth bone. When you come to the joint, carefully separate the ligaments and remove the bone. Do not try to take the bone from the next joint, as that is not in the way when carving, and it gives a more natural shape to the bird. Now begin at the wish-bone, and when that is free from the flesh, run the knife between the sides and the flesh, always using the fingers to press the meat from the smooth bones, as, for instance, the breast-bone and lower part of the sides. Work around the legs the same as you did around the wings, always using great care at the joints not to cut the skin. Drawing out the leg bones turns that part of the bird inside out. Turn the bird over, and proceed in the same manner with the other side. When all is detached, carefully draw the skin from the breast-bone; then run the knife between the fat and bone at the rump, leaving the small bone in the extreme end, as it holds the skewers. Carefully remove the flesh from the skeleton, and turn it right side out again. Rub into it two table-spoonfuls of salt and a little pepper, and fill with dressing.

Sew up the back and neck and then the vent. Truss the same as if not boned. Take a strong piece of cotton cloth and pin the bird firmly in it, drawing very tight at the legs, as this is the broadest place, and the shape will not be good unless this precaution be taken. Steam three hours, and then place on a b.u.t.tered tin sheet, which put in a baking pan. Baste well with b.u.t.ter, pepper, salt and flour. Roast one hour, basting every ten minutes, and twice with stock. When cold, remove the skewers and strings, and garnish with aspic jelly, cooked beets and parsley. To carve: First cut off the wings, then about two thick slices from the neck, where it will be quite fat, and then cut in thin slices. Serve jelly with each plate.

Filling for a turkey weighing eight pounds: The flesh of one chicken weighing four pounds, one pound of clear veal, half a pound of clear salt pork, one small capful of cracker crumbs, two eggs, one cupful of broth, two and a half table-spoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful of summer savory, one of sweet majoram, one of thyme, half a spoonful of sage, and, if you like, one table-spoonful of capers, one quart of oysters and two table-spoonfuls of onion juice. Have the meat uncooked and free from any tough pieces. Chop _very_ fine. Add seasoning, crackers, etc., mix thoroughly, and use. If oysters are used, half a pound of the veal must be omitted.

Where one cannot eat veal, use chicken instead. Veal is recommended for its cheapness. Why people choose boned turkey instead of a plain roast turkey or chicken, is not plain, for the flavor is not so good; but at the times and places where boned birds are used, it is a very appropriate dish. That is, at suppers, lunches and parties, where the guests are served standing, it is impracticable to provide anything that cannot be broken with a fork or spoon; therefore, the advantage of a boned turkey, chicken, or bird, is apparent. One turkey weighing eight pounds before being boned, will serve thirty persons at a party, if there are, also, say oysters, rolls, coffee, ices, cake and cream.

If the supper is very elaborate the turkey will answer for one of the dishes for a hundred or more persons. If nothing more were gained in the boning of a bird, the knowledge of the anatomy and the help this will give in carving, pay to bone two or three chickens. It is advisable to bone at least two fowls before trying a turkey, for if you spoil them there is nothing lost, as they make a stew or soup.