Chapter M: E. James: ‘How to Decorate our Ceilings, Walls, and Floors.’ (19)

(_c_) Roast.--For a 7 o’clock dinner, hang your mutton before the fire, but 3 yd. distance from it, by 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Wind up the jack, and let it just be under the influence of the fire, but no nearer, for 1 hour; then edge it a little nearer, until it is time really to begin roasting it, and then pay it constant attention until it goes to table. Dredge it well, so as to froth it, and preserve the juices, and baste it incessantly. Continue to dredge and baste it, until within 10 minutes of serving; then roll a piece of butter the size of a walnut in flour, and make it into a rich paste, and pick little bits off and stick them all over the leg of mutton, and let them melt over it for 10 minutes. Do not touch it with the basting ladle again. Then dish it on a really hot dish, not one that has been so hastily heated that it as quickly cools, but let dish and plates be heated well through. Never pour the gravy over the joint; if you do, you wash off all the brown and frothy appearance and taste that proper care in roasting should and does produce.

Loin. (_a_) Braised.--Bone and trim off from a loin of mutton all superfluous fat, lard the thin part, and roll it round; lay the joint in a stewpan over some slices of fat bacon, add whole pepper and salt to taste, an onion stuck with cloves, 2 sliced carrots, and a bunch of sweet herbs; moisten with stock, and let it braise gently for an hour or so. When done, strain the gravy, free it from fat, pour it over the joint in the dish, and serve garnished with vegetables plainly boiled.

(_b_) Stewed.--Select a loin with the flap on; it must not be a fat loin. Take off some of the fat, carefully remove the bones, which requires a very sharp knife; see that none of the lean meat is taken off at the same time. When boned, roll it up tightly, tie it round with broad tape, and skewer it also. Before serving, remove the tape; but it will be necessary to keep it skewered together. Place it in a stewpan with ¼ pint port or claret, and something less than 1 qt. stock or water. If the meat is fried a light-brown before stewing it is a great improvement. Add a small bouquet of sweet herbs, a carrot, turnip, an onion, a blade of mace, a tablespoonful of ketchup, a dessertspoonful of anchovy sauce, a teaspoonful of salt, and ½ teaspoonful pepper. Simmer all for 3 hours as gently as possible. Pour the gravy away from the meat, skim off all the fat, add a glass more wine and a tablespoonful of red currant jelly, thicken with a ball of flour and butter, rewarm the meat, and pour the gravy over when it is served. Garnish with carrot, neatly shaped with a vegetable cutter, and sliced lemon.

Minced Mutton.--Take some meat from a joint of roast, boiled, or braised mutton; remove the skin and outside parts, mince it very fine; put a small piece of butter into a stewpan, when melted add ½ tablespoonful flour; stir 2-3 minutes over the fire; add 1 gill well-flavoured stock; when boiling put in the mince; add salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg, chopped parsley, a few leaves of thyme, also finely minced, and the yolk of 1 egg; stir all on the fire for some minutes; then serve with bread sippets or croquettes of potatoes. If put aside until cold this mince can be used in various ways.

Neck of Mutton.--(_a_) A la Duchesse.--Procure a whole neck of mutton, that is, the neck not divided down the middle, but cut entire from the sheep. This will be the scrags united, and will weigh about 3 lb. It must be perfectly fresh. Having well washed the neck, dry, flour, and fry it, turning it about until nicely browned, then place it in a deep stewpan or in the soup kettle. Cover it with nicely seasoned stock, and put in 6 onions, 2 turnips, and 1 carrot. Cover the pot close, and let it simmer until the vegetables are tender, as they will be in 1½-2 hours; take them out and set them aside to garnish the neck, which will take 4-5 hours’ gentle simmering. When done it should be as tender as chicken, and sufficient time for cooking should always be allowed, as it is rather improved than otherwise by standing at a low heat when finished. When the neck is done take it out of the gravy, which set aside to cool in a pan of cold water, in order that all the fat may be readily removed. Keep the neck hot in the meantime, by covering it close in the pot in which it was cooked. Having taken the fat off the gravy put it into a stewpan, and let it boil rapidly without the lid, until reduced to about a pint. If it is not then thick enough, add a teaspoonful of Brown and Polson’s corn flour and one of flour, mixed smooth in 2 tablespoonfuls of cold water or stock. This done, return the neck to its gravy, and let it simmer gently for ½ hour. Mince the vegetables cooked with the meat, place them in a stewpan with a little piece of butter, shake them over the fire until thoroughly hot; arrange them neatly in little heaps on the dish round the neck. Peas, asparagus tops, or sprigs of cauliflower, cooked separately, may be added to the above vegetables. They not only make an improvement, but look pretty. The carver will cut the meat from the bone longitudinally in large handsome slices. A whole neck of mutton gently boiled for 4-5 hours in salted water, with 2 carrots, 2 onions, and 3 turnips, and served with caper is very good.

(_b_) Boiled.--Prepare, trim, and tie it back in the same way, but entirely removing the skin, and paring off nearly all the fat; in boiling there is no waste, on the contrary, the fat swells; ¼ in. is therefore quite a sufficient thickness to leave. Put it into a stewpan on the fire with just enough cold water, salted to taste, to cover it. The instant it boils draw it to the side, and let it gently simmer until done, when it should be as tender and delicate as chicken. Allow ¼ hour to the lb. after simmering begins. Serve with plain melted butter, stirring a tablespoonful of slightly chopped capers, and a spoonful or two of milk into it, just before pouring the sauce over the mutton.

(_c_) Braised.--Take a piece of the best end of a neck of mutton, trim off all superfluous fat, lay the joint in a stewpan over a slice of fat bacon; add whole pepper and salt to taste, an onion stuck with cloves, 2 sliced carrots, and a bundle of sweet herbs; moisten with a little stock, and let it braise gently for about 1 hour. When done strain the gravy, free it from fat, pour it over the joint in the dish, and serve garnished with carrots cut as for Julienne, and cooked by being tossed in butter till done.

(_d_) Roast.--Take a piece of the best end of a neck, trim off all superfluous fat, saw off the chine, wrap up the joint in a piece of oiled paper. Roast it at a brisk fire, basting frequently. When it has roasted ½ hour remove the paper, sprinkle the joint freely with salt, and put it nearer the fire, and as soon as it has taken a good colour it is ready. Time of roasting must necessarily vary according to the nature of the fire, the size of the joint, and the taste of those for whom it is cooked for eating meat overdone or underdone. No hard and fast rule can be given for the time of roasting.

(_e_) Rolled.--Take a piece of the best end of a neck of mutton, with a sharp knife remove the skin, taking with it as much meat as possible from the bones except the fillet, which is to form the cutlets; saw off the bones, divide the cutlets, trim them, and gather all the meat from the trimmings and the bones. Lay the best pieces on the skin with a few pieces of bacon, pound the rest in a mortar with any other trimmings of raw or cooked meat that may be at hand, a small piece of butter, half an onion, some sweet herbs, pepper and salt. Pass this through a sieve, and spread it on the skin, fold up ½ inch of both the long sides, then roll up the skin tight from one of the narrow sides, tie it up with thread several times round. Fry an onion with a little bacon fat, put in the meat, turn it round once or twice, and when it has taken colour moisten with a very little stock, and let it simmer till done. Remove the string, and serve with the sauce strained over it. With the cutlets another dish can be made in the ordinary way.

(_f_) Scrag of Mutton à la Russe.--Take about 1½ lb. scrag of mutton in one piece, boil it gently for about 3 hours in 1 qt. water with 1 teaspoonful salt, 2 onions, 1 turnip, 1 carrot, and a pinch of pepper. When the meat is perfectly tender, so that the bones can easily be taken out, brush it over well with yolk of egg, then sprinkle over it a mixture of finely sifted breadcrumbs, raspings, a shake of flower, a little dried and sifted parsley, and sufficient pepper and salt to season it highly. Put the meat into the Dutch oven, baste it until brown with 1 oz. butter, and serve with good gravy or brown caper sauce. The broth may be served with the vegetables minced in it, a little celery being added, and for those who like it a small quantity of chopped parsley put into the tureen and the broth poured boiling on it. Take care to remove all fat from the broth; it will rise very quickly if the basin is set in a larger one containing cold water changed frequently.

(_g_) Scrag of Mutton may be used for yet another dish, either by simmering it gently (after flouring and seasoning it with pepper and salt, using only rice and an onion sliced in rings, and letting it stew in water), or it may be made into an Irish stew, for which it will require to be cut into small pieces, floured and seasoned, and stewed with potatoes and onions in just enough water to cover it for about 2 hours. Half the potatoes to be sent up with it should be cut into quarters, and should not be put in until the stew is half cooked.

Pasty.--The undercut of a shoulder is best for this purpose. With a sharp knife cut the lean meat away from an uncooked shoulder of mutton; let the slices be thin. This will not in the least interfere with the upper side, which may be hung as long as required after the undercut is removed. Lay the slices of meat in a pie-dish, sprinkle pepper and salt over them, and nearly fill the dish with a gravy that will jelly, made from mutton shanks and a little gravy beef, 2 nicely fried onions, a few pepper-corns, and a very small bit of mace. If for eating cold cover the pasty with a good puff paste, and bake in a quick oven. If to be served hot a cover of mashed potatoes, or a crust as for Devonshire pie, is suitable.

Patties.--Make ¼ lb. paste, roll thin, and line with it 4, 6, or 9 patty pans; the pans must be previously buttered, and the paste cut with a crimped cutter; fill them with rice. When baked remove the rice, fill the patties with mince made a little more moist with gravy. Serve on a napkin, arranging them nicely on the dish. Serve very hot. The patties can be ornamented with fried parsley, or in any way you please.

Pudding.--Get 1½ to 2 lb. scrag of mutton, take off all the fat, boil it gently for 2 hours, meat downwards, in 1 qt. water, with 2 onions and a good seasoning of pepper and salt. Take up the meat; set the broth aside to cool, in order that you may take off the fat. Carefully remove the meat from the bones. Make a crust with the fat from the scrag of mutton or beef suet, in the proportion of 2 oz. fat to 4 oz. flour; line a pudding basin with this, slice in 2 cooked potatoes, lightly pepper and salt them, then the onions cooked with the mutton, then the meat of the scrag, and, as a great improvement to the pudding, a sheep’s kidney sliced, or half an ox kidney; sprinkle pepper and salt over, and put on the top 2 more sliced potatoes. Fill up the basin with some of the broth, put on a lid of paste, and boil the pudding for 2 hours. Return the bones to the remainder of the broth, with an onion; let them boil until the pudding is ready, then serve the broth in a sauce-boat. All meat puddings should be served in the basins in which they are boiled, a napkin being neatly folded round. The carver should remove a round piece from the lid of the pudding, and pour in enough of the broth from the sauce boat to fill it up; this will ensure each person getting the same kind of gravy. This pudding may be made of sheep’s head after it has been boiled. To make the crust for a richer pudding, use equal quantities of suet and flour. Mix a pinch of salt with the flour and suet, make into a paste with cold water in the proportion of ½ pint to 1 lb. of flour. Flour the paste board, and roll out the crust ¼ in. thick. Dissolve a little butter, and brush the inside of a basin thickly with it, then line with the paste.

Rissoles.--Make a short paste with 6 oz. flour, 3 oz. butter, a pinch of salt, 1 whole egg, and 1 yolk; mix all into a paste, roll it out to the thickness of a penny piece; place the mince at equal distances, say 1½ in.; egg lightly, cover with paste of a similar thickness, press the paste around each piece of mince, and cut it out with a crimped cutter. Egg each rissole, and pass it in bread crumbs; fry in hot lard, and serve.

Roast Quarter of Lamb.--Let the fire be clear, but not too fierce. Cover the joint with greased paper, and baste it frequently; ½ hour before serving remove the paper and base the joint with butter and lemon juice, lastly sprinkle a little flour and salt over it. Time of roasting 2-2½ hours.

Roast Saddle of Mutton.--Trim the joint carefully, roast it at a brisk clear fire; baste frequently, and when done dredge it plentifully with salt, and serve with the gravy well freed from fat.

Saddle of Lamb, venison fashion.--Hang a saddle of lamb as long as it will keep, having previously dusted it all over with black pepper. After it has hung, chop together some shallots, a good-sized sprig of green rosemary, a small one of tarragon, or only a few small leaves of tarragon, and a sprig of marjoram. Pound together 6 cloves, 6 juniper berries, and 1 teaspoonful black pepper; mix these with the herbs. Rub the mixture well into the lamb all over, and lay it in a deep dish; sprinkle over any remains of the seasoning; mix a glass of red wine with a glass of vinegar, pour it over the meat, and let it lie in this marinade 2-3 days, turning and basting it every day. Before cooking, wipe off the herbs. Lard the joint if preferred. Put it in an earthen baking-pan and cover it with pieces of butter. Add a little broth or boiling water to the marinade in the picking dish. Put this on the fire to simmer a minute in a little saucepan; then strain and add some by degrees to baste the meat with, and when this is nicely browned, put the rest of the marinade in the baking dish with a good sprinkling of salt in the sauce and over the meat. The latter must be frequently basted to prevent its drying; 1½ hour is long enough to bake it. Pour a cup of cream or good milk over it a few minutes before serving it; stir this well round the crusting of the dish. Skim the fat off the sauce. Put the yolk of an egg in the same tureen, and stir the gravy boiling hot into it. Garnish the meat with slices of lemon.

Sausages.--Prick them lightly with a fork or trussing needle, and fry them in butter or lard, turning them frequently until thoroughly cooked.

Scollops.--Trim the mutton in the same way as for mince, but it must not be cut so small. It should be as thin as possible, about the size of threepenny pieces; make a sauce as for mince, and place it in scallop shells; sprinkle with baked breadcrumbs, pour a little warm butter over; arrange them on a napkin, and serve hot.

Sheep’s brains.--(_a_) Prepare the brains as directed in (_b_); when cold cut them into dice, and dip them into a batter made as follows:--Mix 2 large tablespoonfuls flour with 4 of water, a tablespoonful of dissolved butter or oil, the yolk of an egg and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let it stand for 2 hours. When ready to use beat the white of the egg to a froth, and mix with the batter. Fry in oil or other good fat, taking care that it boils when you drop in the _beignets_ one by one.

(_b_) Wash them thoroughly and boil them very fast so as to harden them, either in water highly seasoned and flavoured with onion or in stock. When done (they will take about 20 minutes), take them up and allow them to stand until cold, then cut them into thin slices, dip them in egg, and afterwards in very finely sifted breadcrumbs with an equal proportion of raspings, a pinch of flour, and enough pepper and salt to season highly. Fry in a little butter, first on one side, until brown and crisp, then on the other until finished. Serve on a hot dish with a little thick rich gravy.

(_c_) Take some lambs’ or sheeps’ brains, and first boil them in milk; then chop them finely, and mix with them a few bread crumbs, a small quantity of cream, seasoning of salt and pepper, and the yolk of an egg to bind the ingredients. Roll this mixture into small round balls, cover them with egg and breadcrumbs, and fry them a light brown. To be served on a napkin, with fried parsley, like rissoles.

(_d_) Well wash the brains and soak them in cold water till white. Parboil them till tender in a small saucepan for about ¼ hour; then thoroughly drain them, and place them on a board. Divide them into small pieces with a knife. Dip each piece into flour, and then roll them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in butter or well clarified dripping. Serve very hot with gravy. Another way of doing brains is to prepare them as above, and then stew them gently in rich stock, like stewed sweetbreads. They are also nice plainly boiled and served with parsley and butter sauce.

(_e_) Take off the skin, and let them soak for 2 hours in lukewarm water; when white blanch them in boiling water, to which salt and a little vinegar have been added; when quite firm lay them in cold water. Line a stewpan just large enough to hold the brains, with bacon, a very small onion stuck with a clove, a sprig or two of parsley, and a slice or two of lemon; cover with more bacon, and pour in a little broth. 15-20 minutes are quite enough to cook them, but they should be cooked an hour or two before dinner to be properly flavoured. When wanted, have ready some fried sippets of bread, and dish with a piece of bread and brains alternately, and in the centre pour some good white sauce, with mushrooms, or truffles if you have them, a tiny onion or two, or any rich flavouring, and serve very hot; or, having dished the brains and the sippets, work a couple of spoonfuls of rich white sauce with a little fresh butter, salt, cayenne, a sprig or two of parsley finely chopped, and the juice of half a lemon, till quite hot over the fire; pour this over the brains and serve quickly. Calves’ brains are very good in the same way, or served with tomato sauce, or brown butter, as follows: Fry some parsley, but keep it as green as possible; also fry some butter till it is a good dark brown; add to this a spoonful of vinegar and a little salt and pepper. Dish the brains, with the fried parsley in the centre, and pour the butter sauce carefully round them (not over), and serve.

Sheep’s heads.--(_a_) Clean the head well, boil it 2 hours, remove the bones; egg and breadcrumb the meat; boil the brains in a piece of muslin ¼ hour, chop with a little parsley and onion, serve round the head; the tongue boiled and served in the dish or separately; or the tongue and brains may be sent in one dish, and the meat served with gravy.

(_b_) Get a perfectly fresh sheep’s head, and having taken out the tongue and brains soak it in tepid water. With a blunt knife break all the soft bones inside the head, and take care most thoroughly to cleanse it. Put it into a saucepan, with enough water to cover it and a tablespoonful of salt. To ensure perfect cleanliness, when it has boiled 5 minutes take the head out and pour away this water. Put the head on again to boil with 2 qts. water, and 6 onions, 2 turnips and carrots, pepper and salt. Let it boil gently for 3-4 hours, or until so tender the meat will readily slip from the bones; having taken them all out carefully, place the meat of the head on a hot dish, and pour over it either a good onion, parsley, or caper sauce. Or take all the vegetables cooked with the head, rub them to a _purée_ through a sieve, have ready a little good butter sauce made with milk, nicely season it, mix the _purée_, pour over the meat, and serve. The broth is very good with the addition of a little celery and chopped parsley, and may be served either with or without the vegetables cooked with it. A slight thickening of corn flour is liked by most persons. Excellent soup of any kind may be made of this broth, and an economical one by merely boiling a few bacon bones in it with any other bones or scraps. Chapman’s wheat flour makes a cheap thickening for plain soups, and tapioca is very good and nourishing.

(_c_) Steep the head for 2-3 hours, then split it, take out the brains and tongue, boil the head gently for 3 hours with a few carrots, onions, a stick of celery, a bundle of sweet herbs, a few cloves, whole pepper and salt to taste, then breadcrumb, and brown the head slightly in front of the fire. Mince the lights, cut the liver in slices, and fry them; boil the brains in a piece of muslin. In dishing up, put the mince on a dish, then the head opened out, the tongue cut in slices, the brains divided into four, and the slices of liver ranged artistically all round; judicious seasoning is essential.

(_d_) To singe.--The way in which this is done in Scotland is by heating an iron bar of any kind red hot (a poker would do quite well), and singeing all the wool off the head with it; 2 pieces of iron would save time, one to replace the other as it cools, but the operation does not take long. A piece of stick is put up the nostrils to hold the head steady by. When there is a smith’s forge convenient, the singeing is generally done there, as it would make an unpleasant smell in a house; but if there is none near, any outhouse would do. The head must be soaked and washed in cold water before boiling.

Sheep’s heart.--(_a_) Place them in boiling water for a few minutes, as it prevents the greasy taste after eating them, stuff with ordinary veal stuffing (suet, herbs, breadcrumbs, lemon, and an egg), place in a pan and bake for 1 hour, and serve on toast with gravy.

(_b_) Make a forcemeat with 2 oz. beef suet and 2 oz. fat bacon finely minced, add ¼ lb. breadcrumbs, pepper, salt, a little chopped parsley and thyme, and a little grated lemon peel; if liked, the very faintest _soupçon_ of onion; this quantity will stuff 2 sheep’s hearts. Let the hearts lie in warm salt and water for ½ hour to disgorge the blood; then cut away as much as possible of the windpipe, and see that no clots of blood remain in the cavities of the heart. Mix your forcemeat with sufficient beaten egg to bind it--one should be sufficient for this quantity. Stuff the hearts with it, pressing it well down into the holes. Secure the flaps of skin over the top with a needle and thread, tie on a spit, and roast, basting constantly. Serve with plain gravy and red currant jelly. A sheep’s heart will take ½ hour.

(_c_) Having washed the hearts, stuff each with an onion parboiled, and then minced fine; add to it 2 tablespoonfuls of breadcrumbs, ½ teaspoonful chopped and dried sage, and sufficient black pepper and salt to season highly. Press the stuffing well into the hearts, and, if necessary, fasten a little muslin over the top to keep it in. Whilst roasting baste very frequently. Sheep’s hearts may be baked stuffed in this manner, but care must be taken not to let them get dry. Any heart that may be left is excellent hashed.

Sheep’s Liver.--(_a_) A fresh liver to be steeped in milk 12 hours, cut in slices, brown with dripping or butter and a dust of flour, onion and pepper. Make a sauce with flour and water, cold, and pour over the liver after it is brown. Let it simmer for an hour, or longer, until quite tender. This is a Polish recipe, and no salt used.

(_b_) À la Française.--Cut some slices of liver ½ in. thick, and lay them neatly in a stewpan slightly buttered, sprinkle pepper and salt over the upper sides. Slice 2 oz. fat bacon as fine as possible, chop a teaspoonful of parsley and a small shallot very fine, and spread them evenly over the liver, cover the stewpan closely, and set it on a fire so moderate that it will draw out all the juices without simmering--the least approach to this hardens the liver and spoils it. If the range is too hot, set the stewpan on an iron stand. When the liver has thus stood for 1½ hour it will be done. Take it up, put it on a hot dish, and cover it close whilst you boil the bacon and the gravy together for 2 minutes, then pour over the liver and serve immediately. Liver cooked in this manner is digestible, and can be eaten by persons who could not venture to do so when it is fried.

(_c_) Pudding.--Take 1 lb. boiled sheep’s liver, grate it, and mix with ½ lb. fat bacon or suet, ½ lb. breadcrusts soaked in water, or breadcrumbs, ¼ lb. flour, pepper and salt, and enough water or milk to make a paste. Grease a pudding basin, put in the mixture, cover with greased paper, and steam 1½ hour. Serve with brown gravy.

Sheep’s pluck.--Cut the liver and lights in thin slices, and put them in a pie-dish or jar with layers of sliced potatoes and onion, chopped sage and herbs, pepper and salt. A few slices of bacon may be added. Cover with a thin piece of suet or with greased paper, and bake 1½ hours. When there is no oven this may be stewed.

Sheep’s tongues.--(_a_) These are very good cooked fresh, with the addition to the water of a little common salt, a pinch of saltpetre, allspice, and black pepper. Boil gently until perfectly tender, and when skinned split them down the middle, dip them in dissolved butter, and then in raspings, and let them brown nicely on the gridiron. When ready to serve pour a little good gravy round them. For eating cold, after skinning, glaze the tongues.

(_b_) Wash and scald the tongues, and stew in some nicely flavoured stock till very tender, drain them on a sieve; then put each tongue in an oiled or buttered paper, with a seasoning over it of sweet herbs and mushrooms chopped finely, and mixed with a good piece of butter, and pepper and salt to taste. Boil or fry them, and serve the papers on a napkin. Great care should be taken that the papers are thoroughly greased, and that each end and side is securely folded twice to prevent the juices and butter from escaping; if this is not attended to, the tongues will be like pieces of indiarubber.

(_c_) Strew salt over the tongues, and let them lie until the next day, then drain off all that has run from them, and put them into a pickle made of a tablespoonful of salt, half a one of bay salt, a tablespoonful of saltpetre, a pinch of allspice and black pepper. Two days afterwards put a teaspoonful of coarse sugar. This quantity will salt 3 or 4 tongues, and can be used many times with the addition of a little common salt. Cook them as directed in (_a_).

Sheep’s trotters.--(_a_) Clean, scald, and skin 4 trotters, boil them in salted water until the large bone can be easily removed. Next put them in a saucepan with fresh water, and salt, and let them boil away till quite tender and glutinous: pour off the water, leaving just enough to make the sauce, add a piece of butter rolled in flour, 1 doz. button mushrooms sliced, and some white pepper, then stir in the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs beaten up with the juice of half a lemon, and strained. Let the whole simmer away gently until wanted, but on no account boil.

(_b_) Stew the trotters for about 3 hours. Take out the bones, so as not to injure the skin, and fill up the places from which the bones have been removed with forcemeat. Put them into a stewpan with sufficient of the water in which they were boiled to cover them, and add a spoonful of ketchup or Harvey’s sauce, and a little pepper and salt. Allow them to stew gently for ½ hour, take them out, strain the gravy, and boil it down to a glaze. With this glaze the trotters. Serve with croutons of fried bread round the dish.

Shoulder of Mutton.--(_a_) Rub it over with salt and pepper, fill the inside with a savoury forcemeat of herbs, with plenty of parsley and no eggs; roll it up and skewer it into a neat oval form, or bind it with a tape; lay it in a stewpan with 2 onions, 2 carrots, some herbs, a bay leaf, pepper, salt and a little broth or water; stew it gently over a slow fire or in the oven, basting it often. When nearly done, take off the cover, and let the meat brown in the oven. Before serving, take up the meat carefully, remove the binding, and place it on a dish to keep warm while you strain the gravy; take all the fat off, and boil it down to a strong glazing. Pour this over the meat. Tomato or sorrel sauce may be put round the dish, or cucumber sauce served with it.

(_b_) First take out the blade bone. Have a pointed knife, a French boning knife is best; make an incision all round the thin end of the bone, keep the knife close to it, and mark all round the bone first one way and then the other, being careful not to go through the flesh or skin. When you get to the joint, take hold of the bone with a cloth and twist it round, and it will come out. The sinews may want cutting here and there. It is much more difficult to take the bone out entire, but it can be done; yet it is seldom needful to take out more than the bladebone. Now make a forcemeat with the following ingredients: 3 oz. breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoonful chopped parsley, 1 teaspoonful chopped onion, 1 teaspoonful lemon thyme (green, if possible), a slice or two of lean ham chopped fine, 2 oz. butter, 2 yolks of eggs, a little grated nutmeg, a little salt and pepper; make this into forcemeat or stuffing. Use this forcemeat to fill the place of the bone; fasten the end with 2 small skewers. Now put the mutton before a sharp fire or in a brisk oven to brown without cooking through. When done, take from the fire, lay the joint in a shallow pot that will take it, pour off the fat from the dripping-pan, and put into it a little hot water; stir the gravy, and put it in with the joint, and a little water if necessary; the stock should reach half-way up the joint. Add an onion, a blade of mace, a carrot, and a little lemon rind pared thin. Let it stew about two hours, basting it now and then. When the joint has stewed about an hour, turn it over on the other side, and, when done, take it up on the dish in which it is to be served; take a little of the stock in which the mutton has been cooked, and thicken it with a little butter rolled in flour, adding 1 tablespoonful mushroom ketchup, a little lemon juice, pepper, and salt; pour this over the mutton, and serve. The stock would make a very good soup the next day, with the addition of a little sago or vermicelli. (E. A. Robbins.)

(_c_) Boned.--Take a shoulder of mutton not too fat, remove the bone as far as the first joint from the knuckle, sprinkle the incision with pepper and salt. Make a stuffing the same as for veal, with ½ lb. breadcrumbs, 4 oz. beef suet chopped fine, a little chopped parsley and thyme, a little onion minced, salt and pepper, also a little grated nutmeg, and one egg; place the stuffing into the above incision, fold over the meat into its former place, and tie it up tightly with string. Shoulder of mutton done in this way may be roasted, but should properly be braised--that is, first fried of a golden colour in oil or clarified butter, and then put into a stewpan with 1½ pint stock, and any trimmings of vegetables at hand; 4 or 5 cloves, 6 peppercorns, salt, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Leave it to boil gently for 2 hours, strain off the stock, remove the fat, let it reduce on the fire until it becomes like glaze poured over the mutton, and serve. Another very nice stuffing can be made by putting butter instead of suet; a little shallot and garlic may also be used. Another way of doing a shoulder of mutton when boned and stuffed as above is to tie it tightly in a cloth before putting it to braise, care being taken to arrange the shank bone and first joint so as to appear like a duck’s head, the shank bone making the beak. This is more appropriate for a cold dish, as it can be very prettily ornamented with white of eggs and beetroot, aspic and parsley. The shoulder should be glazed before being ornamented. (Jane Burtenshaw.)

(_d_) Cavalier’s Broil.--Half roast, or stew, or parboil a moderate-sized shoulder of mutton, lift it into a hot dish, score it on both sides down to the bone, season it well with fine salt and cayenne or pepper, and finish cooking it upon the gridiron over a brisk fire. Skim the fat from any gravy that may have flowed from it, and keep the dish which contains it quite hot to receive the joint again. Warm a cupful of pickled mushrooms, let a part of them be minced, and strew them over the broil; when it is ready to be served arrange the remainder round it, and send it to table instantly.

Squab Pie.--(_a_) Season mutton chops (those from the neck are best) pretty highly with pepper and salt, and place them in dish in layers, with plenty of sliced apples sweetened, and chopped onions; cover with a good suet crust and bake. When done pour out all the gravy at the side, take off the fat, and add a spoonful of mushroom ketchup, then return it to the pie.

(_b_) The quantities depend on the size of the pie. The following are the ingredients: Take the best end of the neck of mutton, cut it into chops, trim the fat; pare, core, and slice as for a tart 6 or 8 apples; chop up a small onion; put a layer of apples and a little onion at the bottom of the dish, then a layer of chops, next a layer of apples and onions, and so on till the dish is full. Scatter among the apples ½ teacupful moist sugar, and shake a very little pepper and salt over the meat. Put on a crust and bake as an ordinary meat pie. It may be eaten with either sugar or salt.

(_c_) Take 1½ lb. scrag of mutton, cut it up into convenient pieces, and put it into a stewpan with ½ pint water, 2 large pinches of salt and 1 of pepper, and 2 large onions sliced. Let it simmer for 2 hours or until perfectly tender, then set the gravy to cool. Draw all the bones out of the meat, and arrange it neatly in a pie dish, place on the top the onions cooked with it, sprinkle lightly with pepper and salt, and spread over a thin layer of nicely sweetened apple sauce or marmalade, and having removed the fat from the gravy pour it over the whole. Make a crust as follows: use suet finely shred, not chopped, in the proportion of 3 oz. to 5 oz. flour, and water in that of ½ pint to 1 lb. flour. Having mixed these ingredients with a pinch of salt into a smooth paste, roll it out and beat it until the suet and flour are thoroughly incorporated. Then roll it out in the usual manner and put it on the pie. This crust is very good eaten hot, and is wholesome and digestible. If a richer crust is desired, 1 oz. butter or lard may be added to the given proportions, which are about sufficient to make a crust for 1½ lb. mutton. If pie-crust is objected to, a layer of well mashed potatoes may be substituted, or slices of bread fried a light brown and laid on as a cover are very good. The whole of the contents of the pie having been thoroughly cooked it will be ready so soon as the crust, of whatever kind, is nicely baked.

_Pork, &c._ Bacon. With cabbage.--Take equal quantities of onion and bacon (fat and lean), chopped finely; fry the onion in butter, and before it takes colour add the bacon; when this is cooked, add some cabbage, parboiled and shredded; then put in pepper to taste, and toss the whole on the fire till quite done. Serve as a garnish, more particularly to goose or duck.

With potatoes.--(_a_) Mash some cold (previously boiled) potatoes roughly (not too fine) with a lump of butter and a little pepper, form them into a flat round cake about 2 in. thick; fry it in a frying-pan to a rich brown, turning both sides, and place slices of fried bacon round it in the dish. Serve hot; a little beef gravy put into it when done will give a good flavour. The bacon may be inserted into the mass of potato as in a pie, instead of being set round the edges.

(_b_) Slice up raw potatoes into round slices ¼ in. thick (or chop them into moderately sized dice), fry with butter, and serve hot with bacon, in same way as (_a_).

Boiled.--Take a square piece of bacon, scrape the rind quite clean, and cut off any part that is the least tainted or rusty. Soak the bacon for 2 hours in water, then turn it, and set it on the fire in a saucepan with plenty of cold water. Let it boil very slowly by the side of the fire, removing any scum as it rises. When thoroughly done drain it, remove the skin (to be preserved to flavour the stock pot), and cover the bacon with baked breadcrumbs.

Broiled.--(_a_) Cut thin slices from a piece of streaky bacon, trim them carefully, put them in a double gridiron, and broil them a few minutes on or in front of a clear fire, turning them frequently.

(_b_) Cut the slices all of a size, roll them up one by one on a thin skewer; then either broil them before the fire, or put them in a tin in the oven for a few minutes.

Fat.--The fat of cold boiled bacon is much better than anything else in which to fry onions for making curry. It should be cut into small pieces, and when melted in the frying-pan the slices of onions should be added and fried in the usual way. The flavour is much better for curry than when dripping or even butter is used. If there be not enough bacon to do the entire frying, whatever there may be should be added to the fat used. Cold bacon fat is also much better than when uncooked for wrapping round oyster or small balls of mince for frying, it is so much more delicate, and less greasy. It should be cut as thin as possible. The fat in which bacon has been fried is the best thing in which to fry liver, veal cutlets, or anything with which bacon is to be served. Slices of bread fried in it are excellent for breakfast, served quite hot with a slight shake of pepper over each; and if neatly cut and dished up, and garnished with a little parsley, they look as appetising as they taste.

Fried.--(_a_) Trim some slices of bacon, dip them in hot water, dry them in a cloth, then put them in a frying-pan, and turn them frequently till done.

(_b_) Slices from a piece of boiled bacon can be cooked as in (_a_), or broiled, and are better than those cut from raw bacon.

(_c_) Cut some thin slices of streaky bacon, cut off the rind, and trim them. Put them into a frying-pan on the fire, and turn them often, until quite hot; then roll up each slice, and garnish the dish.

With spinach.--Line a pudding-shape all through with thin slices of bacon. Take some boiled spinach, seasoned and chopped as if for table. Cut some carrot and turnips into square pieces, and a few small onions (if liked); whip up the yolk of an egg with a little pepper and salt. Mix the carrots and turnips well with the egg and seasoning, stick them thickly alternately at the bottom and round the sides of the tin, and fill up the middle with the dressed spinach. When the tin is full cover it with thin slices of bacon, steam it one hour, turn it out in a corner dish, and lift up the bacon whilst you pour in some rich brown gravy, then replace the bacon neatly.

Boar’s Head (_Hure de sanglier_).--To cure and prepare an ordinary pig’s head to have the appearance of a wild boar’s head, the head should be cut off deep into the shoulders before the pig is scalded. The bristles must be singed off with lighted straw. Bone it carefully, beginning under the throat; spread the head out on a large dish, and rub it well with the following ingredients, previously mixed together: 5 lb. common salt, 3½ oz. saltpetre, 5 oz. coarse brown sugar, rather less than ½ oz. juniper berries, 4 bay leaves, cloves, mace, marjoram, basil, and a small handful of thyme. Rub the head thoroughly with this, then pour over it a bottle of port wine (port wine lees will do as well), and let it remain in this pickle a fortnight, taking care to turn it over every day; it will then be ready for dressing. Take it out of the brine, wash it well and then thoroughly dry it with a clean cloth. Prepare a forcemeat as follows: Chop up about 1 lb. veal, and the same of fat bacon, season with chopped mushrooms, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and parsley. When all are finely chopped, put them into a mortar, and pound them together with the yolks of 3 eggs to make it bind. When pounded, remove the forcemeat into a basin. A boiled red tongue and about 2 lb. cold boiled fat bacon will also be wanted, and some truffles. Spread the head out on a board, pare off all the uneven pieces from the cheeks, cut these pieces into narrow slips, cut the tongue up into pieces of a similar shape, avoiding the skin and gristle. Spread the inside of the head with a thick layer of forcemeat, then place on it the fillets of tongue, fat bacon, &c., inserting rows of sliced truffles between, and here and there some pistachio nuts, of which the skin must have been removed by scalding; again spread a layer of forcemeat above these, then another layer of the fillets and truffles, and so on, until there is enough to completely fill up the head and keep it in shape; then close it, sew it up with fine twine, for which use a trussing needle, being sure to take up enough of the skin with each stitch to prevent the possibility of the forcemeat escaping. Spread a strong clean cloth with butter, sew the head up in this, giving it as much as possible its original form. Put it into a large braising pan together with 2 prepared cowheels cut into pieces, and any trimmings of meat there may be; if there should be any bones or remains of cold game in the house, especially grouse, they should be added and would much improve the flavour. Over this pour a sauce prepared in the following manner, and of which there should be enough to cover the head. Chop about 1 lb. beef suet, and the same of fat bacon; put them into a stewpan with a handful of parsley, 6 green onions, a bay leaf, and a sprig of thyme, these all being tied together, 2 carrots, 2 onions, each stuck with 4 cloves, the pulp of two lemons, salt, and a teaspoonful of whole pepper. Stir all these over the fire for about 10 minutes, watching that they do not get brown; then add a bottle of sherry or Madeira, and about 1 qt. or more of good broth; boil this by the side of the fire gently for 1½ hour, then strain it through a tammy, pressing it well to extract all the goodness, and pour the whole over the boar’s head. Set the braising pan over the fire, and as soon as it boils draw it to the side and allow it to gently simmer for about 5 hours. When nearly done, take the pan off the fire, and when the steam has passed off a little remove the head on to a dish. It will be probably found that it has shrunk a good deal in the cloth, so it will be necessary to tighten this to keep it in shape; having done this, put it back into the broth, and let it remain there until it has become quite cold and firm. The head must then be taken out of the stock, which will have set into a jelly; place it on a large baking dish, and put it in the oven for a few minutes to melt the jelly which has adhered to the cloth; when this has melted, at once take it out of the oven and remove the cloth carefully. Glaze the head with some rich brown glaze; place it on a dish standing on a bed of chopped aspic jelly. Garnish with slices of hard-boiled white of egg, and black truffles cut into diamonds, or any other shapes, also some sprigs of parsley. A little of the chopped aspic may also be put on the top of the head, small slices of cut lemon and cucumber are an improvement placed on the border of the dish beyond the chopped aspic.

Brawn (_Fromage de cochon_).--(_a_) The head, feet, tongue, and ears of a pig, having been salted, are boiled with the outside skin of a loin, also salted for a few days. Boil very gently for a long time, till the bones will easily slip out. Take great care that every one is carefully picked out. Keep the skin of the loin whole, but cut the rest into pieces about 2 in. square. Line the brawn mould with the skin, then roll each piece lightly in mixed spice and powdered herbs, flavoured to taste. Pack them tightly in the brawn tin, put on the top, and press it with a heavy weight 24 hours. It is then ready for turning out. Keep it in the following pickle:--Take a sufficient quantity of water (more than will be enough to cover your brawn), add to every gallon of water 2 handfuls of whole malt, and salt enough to give it a strong relish. Let the mixture boil for 1 hour; then strain it into a clean vessel. When quite cold, pour it off into another vessel, keeping back the white sediment; then put in your brawn. A little vinegar may be added, if liked. Fresh pickle should be made about once in 8 days, if the brawn is to be kept long. A common brawn tin is a cylinder of tin without top or bottom, but with 2 round pieces of tin which fit loosely inside it. The tin is about 5 in. in diameter and 1 ft. in height. A heavy weight must fit inside it.

(_b_) Take 4 pigs’ feet, the ears, the tongue, and any pieces you may have, and soak them in salt and water overnight till thoroughly cleansed. Boil them gently for 3 hours, with only enough water to moisten the meat and prevent it from burning; then take out all the bones, cut the tongue into slices, and the ears and bits of skin into strips. Season with pepper, salt, and allspice, and boil in the same liquor for an hour; 6-7 minutes before finished, add a carrot cut into small pieces and a little parsley, chopped fine and scalded. Put into moulds when done.