Chapter M: E. James: ‘How to Decorate our Ceilings, Walls, and Floors.’ (20)

Ham (_Jambon_) Boiled.--Although the same principles apply to the boiling of hams as do to joints, it is very essential that hams should be soaked in water 24-48 hours, and the water should be changed 2 or 3 times; then they should be washed and scraped and scrubbed perfectly clean, and, being properly trimmed, they should be laid in a boiler filled with cold water, with the addition of carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsley, thyme, marjoram, bay leaves, cloves, and mace--the proportions of which things must be regulated by the size of the ham and the skill or taste of the cook. Many other things are put in by those who like them--coriander seeds, juniper berries, a small wisp of hay, and even leather shavings, which latter, in the words of an ancient authority, are supposed to give the ham a high flavour. A small handful of saltpetre some put in, to give the flesh a good colour. If the ham is a good one, the colour will be good without the addition of saltpetre, neither is it necessary to tie up a ham in cloth; but what is undoubtedly an improvement to a boiled ham is the addition of a bottle of sherry to the water it is boiled in. Great attention must be paid to the removal of the scum, and the temperature of the water should never be allowed to rise above simmering. An ordinary sized ham will take 4-5 hours to cook. When it is done, it should be allowed to remain in the liquor until it is nearly cold, then it is taken out, the skin is removed, and the top is covered with baked breadcrumbs, glazed, or ornamented as fancy may suggest, with lard, aspic, &c. If it is intended to cut a ham hot, then it should only be partly boiled, and finished by braising.

For a glaze, take 4 lb. shin of beef, 4 lb. knuckle of veal, and 1 lb. lean ham; cut them into small pieces, and put them into a stock pot, with about 2 qt. cold water--enough to cover the meat--let it come gradually to the boil, skim carefully, occasionally adding a dash of cold water; when clear, boil it for 8 hours more, and then strain it through a sieve into a pan. Remove the fat when cold. Pour it into a stewpan--be careful not to let the sediment go in--with 1 oz. whole black pepper, ½ oz. salt, and boil it over a clear fire, leaving the pan uncovered; skim, and when reduced to 1 qt. strain it through a tammy into another stewpan; then let it simmer till, on taking out some with a spoon and allowing it to cool, it will set into a jelly; great care is required to keep it from burning. It should be kept in earthenware pots, and when required for use melted by putting the pots into saucepans of boiling water. To glaze the ham and tongue, wash them over with the melted glaze, using a brush kept for the purpose.

Boned.--Boil the ham, remove the bone, then roll it and put it into a basin or large mould. Put a heavy weight over it, and when cold turn it out and garnish. Forcemeat may be inserted before rolling if liked, or it may be well soaked, then boned and braised, and either served hot or treated as above.

Cake.--A capital way of disposing of the remains of a ham, and makes an excellent dish for breakfast: Take 1½ lb. ham, fat and lean together; put it into a mortar, and pound it; or, if you have that invaluable auxiliary to a kitchen, a sausage machine, pass it through the latter; boil a large slice of bread in ½ pint milk, and beat it and the ham well together; add an egg beaten up. Put the whole into a mould, and bake it a rich brown.

Omelet.--Beat up 3 eggs with pepper and salt to taste, a pinch of parsley, the least bit of shallot, but chopped fine, and as much ham, half lean and half fat, cut up in very small dice as will fill a tablespoon. Cook in butter the usual way, but do not over do it.

Sandwiches.--(_a_) Use English mustard, and no salt; but be very careful not to have too much fat on the slices of ham, and, above all, to cut out every particle that is at all rancid.

(_b_) Grate finely as much well-cooked ham as you are likely to require, flavour it with a very little cayenne and some nutmeg. Roll out some good puff paste very thinly, cut it into two perfectly even portions, prick in one or two places to prevent it rising too highly, and bake in a quick oven till of a golden brown. Then take out and let it stand till cool, when spread a little fresh butter lightly over the whole. This should not be done till the paste is perfectly cool. Now spread the grated ham evenly over the paste, lay the second piece of puff paste over it, and with a very sharp knife cut into small-sized sandwiches. This is a charming supper dish.

Toast.--(_a_) Mince finely ¼ lb. cooked ham with an anchovy boned and washed; add to them a little cayenne and pounded mace. Beat up 2 eggs, mix with the mince, and add just sufficient cream to keep it moist; make it quite hot, and serve very hot on small rounds of toast or fried bread.

(_b_) Chop some ham (which has been previously dressed) very small, and to a large tablespoonful of it add an egg well beaten up, a small bit of butter, and a little cream. Mix all together over the fire till quite hot. Have ready some neatly cut pieces of bread, about the size of a crown piece, but a little thicker, fried in good butter; spread the mixture on these, and serve them on a napkin.

Westphalia Loaves.--Mix 4 oz. grated smoked ham with 1 lb. mealy potatoes, well beaten till quite light, a little butter and cream, and 2 eggs. The mixture must not be too moist. Form into small loaves or balls, and fry in butter a light brown. Serve in a napkin, dry; or if preferred, they may be sent up in a dish with brown gravy.

Pigs’ Feet.--(_a_) Put the feet into a stewpan with a thin slice of bacon, 1 blade of mace, 6 peppercorns, 3 sprigs of thyme, 1 onion, and 1 pint good gravy, and stew them till perfectly tender; the time this will take must depend upon the size of the feet. When they are so tender that the bones separate easily from the flesh, strain the liquor; reserve the bacon, chop it up finely, and add it to the sauce with a thickening of butter and flour. Split each foot in two lengthways, and serve with the gravy poured round, and with nicely-cut sippets of fried bread.

(_b_) Stew 4 pigs’ feet till perfectly tender; if the feet are small they will only require 3 hours, but if large 4 will not be too long. Take them out of the stewpan most carefully, drain thoroughly, and cover them with some freshly made mustard, pepper and salt to taste, the mustard being laid on rather thickly; then put them in front of a very clear hot fire, and let them toast quickly. If this operation is carried out slowly, the feet will become so tough as to be perfectly uneatable. When they are a rich brown colour serve them on a very hot dish, with a good thick brown gravy. This dish is little known, but is most excellent.

Pigs’ Liver.--Wash and soak a pig’s liver till it is quite clean and free from blood; cut it into slices rather less than ½ in. thick, season with pepper; lay them in the sauté-pan with a little butter, and fry over a good fire. When done on one side turn them; put into the pan, and fry with them some shallots and a few sprigs of parsley. When done drain the liver and lay it on a very hot dish. Mix with the butter in which it was fried ½ wineglassful white wine and 1 teaspoonful flour well beaten up together. Do not let it boil. When the sauce is poured over the liver add the juice of a lemon, and serve very hot and quickly. Should the dish be ready before it is wanted, keep it hot over steam or in a bain-marie, but never put it in an oven.

Pork (Porc). And Kidney Pudding.--For a quart basin, mix a ¼ lb. suet, finely shred, with 1 lb. flour, make it into a paste with 1½ gill water. Roll it out and beat it, in order to break up any lumps of suet; line a greased basin with the paste, reserving sufficient of it to make a cover to the pudding. Cut thick slices from the chump end of a fore loin of pork, put a layer at the bottom of the basin, sprinkle pepper and salt over, then a layer of sausage meat, and a layer of mutton or pork kidneys cut in quarters, and so on until the basin is nearly full. About 1½ lb. pork, 1 lb. sausage meat, and 3 kidneys will be enough for a quart basin. Pour in as much stock, water, or gravy made from the bones of the pork as the basin will hold, put on the lid of paste, and having tied the pudding over with a cloth, boil it for 2 hours.

Chops.--Cut some cutlets from a neck of pork, trim them neatly, and take off the chine bone; give them a few blows with the bat, and grill them on, or in front of the fire; sprinkle them with salt, and arrange them in a circle on a dish with mashed potatoes in the centre and the sauce round them.

Croquettes.--Cold roast pork is the best for this purpose. Take about ½ lb., chop it very finely, mix with it 1 tablespoonful flour, well chop a small onion and a shallot, and boil them in a teacupful of good stock; add to this the floured meat, flavouring it with pepper, salt, and a tiny bit of sage, also well chopped. Make this up in the form of sausages, slightly flattened; egg and breadcrumb them, and fry them a light-brown colour. The remains of any cold meat may be used for croquettes made in the same way, omitting the sage, and adding a little mushroom ketchup or Harvey sauce; in doing so, care must be taken not to make the mixture too moist. A few spoonfuls of cold mashed potato, of bread crumbs, or of cold well-boiled rice may be mixed with the mince; less meat will then be required, and the croquettes will, if anything, be nicer.

Pie.--(_a_) Make a paste with ¼ lb. lard and ½ oz. butter to every lb. of flour. Rub a little of the lard into the flour, and then melt the rest of the butter and lard in hot milk and water. When it rises skim it off and mix it warm with the flour, adding sufficient milk or water to make the paste, and a little salt to taste. Knead it well, and then raise the crust in an oval shape. Take some pork with a little fat, cut it into small square pieces, season them with salt, pepper, and cayenne, a little mace, and some finely-shred sage; fill the pie closely, cover it and decorate with paste ornaments, then bake in a slow oven for about 2 hours or more, according to the size of the pie. When done, pour a little gravy made from the trimmings of the pork in through a hole at the top.

(_b_) For making little pork pies for breakfast, like those sold in the shops: 3½ lb. flour, 1 lb. lard, 1½ pint water, 3 teaspoonfuls pepper, 6 of salt, 5 lb. of meat. Boil the lard and water together, pour boiling on the flour, having first made a hole in the flour; mix well, and let it stand by the side of the fire--it must not be too cold or too hot, or it will not raise nicely; mould it as an ordinary raised pie the size you wish, fill the pies with the meat cut in very small square pieces, season it, pour a little water in, put on the lid, pinch the edges together, trim round with scissors, and ornament with leaves formed with a paste cutter; let the pies stand at least 4 hours before baking, put them in rather a slow oven, bake 1½-2 hours; when brought out of the oven, pour in the hole of the lid of the pies, through a funnel, as much gravy as they will take, previously made from the bones and trimmings of the pork.

Roast.--To ensure the crackling being crisp and eating short, care must be taken not to put the joint too near to the fire at first; it should be placed at some little distance, if not the crackling would harden before the meat would be warmed through. If very lean, a little good salad oil should be rubbed in before putting down to roast, and it must be kept thoroughly well basted during the time of roasting.

Sausages (Saucisses).--(_a_) Take of fat and lean about equal portions, rather less of fat; chop very fine, season with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and mace. When filling up the skins, have some warm water, and put in with the meat by degrees, just to soften the meat and make it go in easily.

(_b_) Take 2½ lb. lean of pork, 3 lb. fat, 3 tablespoonfuls finely-powdered sage, 1 oz. salt, 1 oz. pounded pepper; having cut the meat and fat into pieces, mix well together, and press it through some well-cleaned skins with a sausage machine, and twist the links into the lengths required.

(_c_) Mix equal quantities veal, pork, and beef suet, chopped up. To every 1 lb. of each add ½ lb. breadcrumbs, a little lemon peel and nutmeg, a few sage leaves, and a very little savory and marjoram. Season highly with pepper and salt, and proceed as in (_b_). Lovelock’s sausage-making machine greatly facilitates operations.

Sucking Pig (Cochon de lait).--Take a sucking pig about 3 weeks old the day it is killed; be particular to see it is well cleansed; when this is done and the stuffing sewed into the belly--before doing which the inside must be well wiped with a clean damp cloth--wipe the outside of the pig, and rub it well all over with some salad oil; while it is roasting baste it well very frequently with dripping, to keep the skin from blistering, till within ¼ hour of its being done, when you must baste it with a little fresh butter. When you serve the pig the 2 sides must be laid back to back in the dish, with half the head on each side, and one ear at each end, all with crackling side upwards; garnish the dish with slices of lemon, and serve it up with a rich brown gravy in the dish, and also a sauceboat of the same, with one likewise of bread sauce with a few currants in it. Some add a little port wine to the gravy. When the pig is baked, which is the best way of dressing it, you must mix the yolk of a raw egg with a tablespoonful of salad oil to rub it well all over with, basting it frequently with 2-3 oz. butter tied in a piece of clean rag. Stuffing for the pig:--4-5 oz. breadcrumbs, 2 oz. chopped sage leaves, one egg, a little butter, pepper, salt, and cayenne.

Tripe.--This requires to be well cooked and nicely served, and it is then both light and nutritious, and can often be eaten by invalids, or persons having a delicate digestion. Choose a nice white piece; wash it well, and put into a stewpan with sufficient milk and water in equal parts to cover it; let it simmer gently for about ½ hour after it has boiled up. Serve with white sauce, made as above, but omitting the parsley, and garnish the dish with slices of beetroot. Onion sauce may be substituted if preferred, or it may be served simply with a little of the liquor in which it has been cooked poured over it, and some plainly boiled Spanish onions handed round in a vegetable dish; but the first recipe is the most appetising way of sending it to table. It should always be remembered that a little time expended in garnishing tastefully goes far towards making economical cookery a success.

_Veal_ (Veau).--Braised Loin.--Take about 2 oz. butter, 1 carrot, 1 onion, a little parsley, sweet herbs, a leaf or two of basil, and a bay leaf; brown a large crust of bread, and put it in a stewpan with the above things, and fry them until they are brown; then flour the meat, and brown it well, putting it back in the saucepan; add a little stock, and baste it in the gravy till done, and keep turning the meat. Simmer 4 lb. for 3-4 hours.

Calves’ Brains (_a_).--Lay the brains in cold water to whiten. Put them in a stewpan with a little water, a tablespoonful of vinegar, an onion, 2 or 3 cloves, a little white wine, salt, and white pepper. Simmer the brains ½ hour, then lay them on a sieve to drain. When cold cut them in slices, and dip them either in butter or egg and breadcrumbs, seasoned with salt and white pepper; fry them in butter. Serve as a side dish or accompaniment to any delicate vegetable.

(_b_) and Tongue.--After the brains have soaked with the head in cold water 6-8 hours, remove the thin pellicle covering them, and let them soak some time longer in cold water. Have ready a saucepan just large enough to hold the brains covered with water. Put into it a sufficiency of boiling water, and the juice of a lemon, salt to taste, and a bay leaf; lay the brains in this, and let them boil gently about 20 minutes. Lay the brains on a dish, with the tongue (previously boiled with the calf’s head) split in two, on either side of them. Serve with tarragon, tomato, or piquante sauce.

Calves’ Feet. Fritters.--If calf’s foot jelly has to be made, the meat remaining after the boiling down may be well utilised in this way. They must not be allowed to boil for jelly until they fall to pieces, nor would it be necessary for the jelly’s sake to do this; but while firm, though well-boiled, remove them from the stock, take out the bones (returning these to the stock to continue boiling for the sweet jelly), and lay the meat flatly on a dish to get cold. When cold cut them into small pieces, dip each in batter, and fry them a light brown colour; these must be well drained from the fat, piled high on a dish, and sent to table as hot as possible, with the following sauce poured round them: Thicken ½ pint stock with corn flour or arrowroot, add 2 tablespoonfuls tarragon vinegar, one of Mogul or other sauce, a little salt, and a lump of sugar, with a little browning, if necessary, to make it a good colour.

Jelly.--(_a_) Add to 2 feet 1½ pint water, and boil them for several hours. To 1 pint of this stock add nearly ½ pint wine and a little brandy, the rind and juice of a lemon, 3 oz. lump sugar, the white and the shell of one egg well beaten, and a small quantity of saffron, which improves the colour. Let all the ingredients boil, then let the stock stand in the saucepan a few minutes to settle, before straining it through a jelly bag till quite clear.

(_b_) Ditto.--To 4 calves’ feet, well cleaned and broken, pour 4 qts. of water, and let them stew until the stock is reduced to rather less than 2 qts. Put the stock in a brass pan, and when quite firm and cold clear it from all fat. Add to it a bottle of good sherry (or 1 pint brandy and 1 pint sherry) ¾ lb. white sugar, the juice of 6 lemons, and the whites and shells of 8 eggs, well beaten. Heat this over a clear fire, but do not stir it; just as it boils throw in ¾ oz. isinglass. When it has boiled 16 minutes take it off the fire and let it stand 3 minutes to cool. Put the rinds of 3 lemons, pared thin, into the jelly bag before the fire, and pour the jelly through. Once or twice put through the bag will render the jelly quite clear. The jelly should be put in wet china moulds.

Pie.--Put into a saucepan on the fire as many calves’ feet as you think you shall have occasion for, and water sufficient to cover them, with 2 or 3 blades of mace, and boil them till they are tender; then take out the feet, and strain off the liquor; lay a thin sheet of puff paste at the bottom and round the edge of a deep dish; then pick the flesh off the bones, and lay half of it in, strew ½ lb. currants clean washed and picked, and ½ lb. raisins stoned, overlay on the rest of the meat; skim the liquor, and sweeten as much of it as will nearly fill the pie with ½ pint of white wine, and pour it into the dish. Put on a lid of good puff paste, ornament the top, and bake it 1½ hour.

Pudding.--Take 1 lb. flesh of calves’ feet finely shred, ½ lb. suet shred as small, a nutmeg grated, some candied orange peel minced, some salt and some currants, a little grated bread, and 7 eggs, leaving out the whites of 3; mix all well together, tie up in a floured cloth, and boil 3 hours. The sauce is white wine, sugar, and butter melted.

Calf’s Head (_a_) Boiled.--Take a calf’s head, divested of hair by the butcher, let it be split in two lengthwise, and lay it in cold water to soak for 6-8 hours. On taking it out of the water, remove the tongue and brains, bone the head carefully, and cut it up in comely square pieces, making, say, 3 or 4 out of each half; lay the pieces in a saucepan full of cold water on the fire, and as it comes to the boil remove the scum. When it has boiled 20 minutes, lift up the pieces and lay them in cold water, to remain for an hour or two. Mix in a large saucepan on the fire ½ lb. cooking butter, or clarified beef suet or dripping, with 4 heaped tablespoonfuls flour, fill up with sufficient boiling water to well cover up the pieces of head, add 2 onions stuck with 6 cloves, a good-sized bunch of sweet herbs, and parsley, whole pepper and salt _quant. suf._, and the juice and thin rind of 2 or 3 lemons; stir well, and when the whole boils fast put in the pieces of head tied up in a thin cloth, as well as the tongue, skinned. Let the whole boil slowly for 2-3 hours. Drain the pieces of head, arrange them tastefully on a napkin in a dish, and serve hot or cold, with any of the following sauces in a boat: caper, parsley, piquante, poivrade, ravigote, remoulade, tarragon, tartare, tomato, &c.

(_b_) Fritters.--Cut into small round slices, lay them in a pie dish, strew over them some chopped chives, tarragon, and parsley, the juice of ½ lemon, and 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar. After remaining in this pickle for 2-3 hours--not forgetting to turn them occasionally, so that both sides may obtain the flavouring--take them out, drain them well from the moisture, dip in batter, and fry a light golden colour in enough boiling fat to well cover them. They must be served very hot, piled high in a dish on a napkin.

(_c_) Hashed.--Cut the remnants of a boiled head into uniform pieces the size of half an apple. Melt in a saucepan 1-2 oz. butter, according to the quantity of meat to be hashed; amalgamate with it 1-2 tablespoonfuls flour, then stir in ½ pint, more or less, white stock. Stir well, then add a few button mushrooms, white pepper and salt to taste, and let the sauce boil for 10 minutes. Put the saucepan by the side of the fire, and lay the pieces of calf’s head in it; let them get hot slowly, but not boil. Just before serving stir in off the fire the yolks of 2 eggs, beaten up with the juice of a lemon, and strained; also a small quantity of either tarragon or parsley very finely minced.

(_d_) Pie.--Stew a knuckle of veal till fit for eating, with 2 onions, a few isinglass shavings, a bunch of herbs, a little mace, and a few white peppercorns in 3 pints water; keep the broth from the pie. Half boil the head, and cut it in square pieces; put a layer of ham at the bottom of your dish, then some head, first fat, then lean, with forcemeat balls and hard eggs cut in halves, and so on till the dish be full, but be careful not to place the pieces too close, or there will be no space for the jelly. The meat must be well seasoned, then put a little gravy and a little water in, and cover with rather a thick crust; bake in a slow oven, and when done put in as much gravy as it will possibly hold, and when perfectly cold turn it out. The different colours and clear jelly have a very pretty appearance.

Liver.--Cut up into slices ½ lb. calf’s liver and the same quantity of fat bacon; put first a layer of bacon at the bottom of a pie dish, then one of liver, sprinkle with pepper and salt, add 1 medium-sized onion and 1 apple, both cut up; cover down, and let it stew gently in the oven for about 1¼ hours. No water is required, as the liver makes sufficient gravy.

Croquettes.--Take some cold veal, remove carefully all fat and outside parts, and mince it finely; melt a piece of butter in a saucepan, add a little flour, stir; then add a small quantity of stock and the minced meat, with some parsley, finely chopped; season with pepper, salt, and a little powdered spices; stir well, and as soon as the mixture is quite hot remove it from the fire. Beat up and strain into a basin the yolks of 1 or 2 eggs with the juice of half or of a whole lemon, according to the quantity of mince; put 2-3 tablespoonfuls mince into the basin; mix them well with the egg and lemon; then add the whole to the rest of the mince; mix well, and turn it out on a dish. When cold, fashion it in breadcrumbs to the shape of corks, taking care to make them all of a uniform size; then roll them in egg, and again in breadcrumbs. Let them dry a short time; then fry in plenty of hot lard, and serve with fried parsley.

Curried.--Take a 2 qt. saucepan, put into it 2 tablespoonfuls fresh butter, place on the fire, and, when the butter is melted, throw in a middle-sized onion, sliced, and fry it until of a light brown colour. Add 1 tablespoonful curry powder, and 1 teaspoonful salt. Let the curry powder get well mixed with the butter and onions, then add a coffee-cupful of gravy; keep stirring, so that all may be well cooked; then put in the meat cut into small squares, each about the size of a small walnut, and with the most pour in ½ pint good gravy. Keep over a brisk fire for 5 minutes, stirring all the time; then cover up and leave it to stew gently till the meat be quite tender. If necessary, add a little more gravy while thus stewing, unless a dry curry be preferred. Serve hot, with rice in a separate dish. It will be an improvement to fry the pieces of meat in butter before putting them in the curry sauce.

Cutlets.--(_a_) Prepare some thin cutlets, trim them neatly, season with salt and pepper. Take some fat bacon, and some of the trimmings of the cutlets, chop them up very finely, add breadcrumbs, sweet herbs, a little shallot, all finely minced; beat them up with an egg, and cover the cutlets over with the forcemeat; then egg and breadcrumb them and fry to a golden brown colour. Serve with rich brown gravy round them, and garnish them with half-quarters of lemon.

(_b_) Remove every bit of skin, vein, or sinew from the veal, and chop it fine; well salt, pepper, and a little minced parsley, shape like cutlets (use an egg to bind them, if needed), and if you have them use the bones; egg and breadcrumb them twice, and fry in boiling butter; serve with sorrel, spinach, or tomatoes.

Fritters.--For these the remains of cold veal should be cut in small neat pieces; dip each in batter and fry a light brown; in serving pile them high on a dish, pouring over them a good brown sauce, well thickened with tomatoes when in season, or, if not, the gravy must itself be thick and strongly flavoured with tomato sauce. Fritters of cold calves’ head or feet both make a nice savoury dish; for the former, cut the pieces of calves’ head into round slices, laying them in a pie dish, and sprinkling over them chopped parsley, tarragon, and chives; squeeze over them the juice of a lemon, and add 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar. After remaining in this mixture for 2-3 hours, turning them over from time to time, take them out, drain them well from the moisture, dip each piece into batter, and fry them a nice light golden colour, in plenty of hot fat. Serve very hot, and piled high, on a napkin. Fritters from calves’ feet may be made when the feet are being used for making jelly. When the meat is about half cooked, take off some of the best portion of it, returning the bones to the stock for jelly; let it simmer on a dish to get cold; when cold cut it into long or cutlet-shaped pieces, dip them in batter, and fry them a light colour; they must be well drained from the fat and piled high in the centre of the dish, pouring round them the following sauce, which should be ready prepared, and they must be sent to table very hot. For the sauce, take ½ pint stock, add to it 1 tablespoonful Mogul sauce, 2 of tarragon vinegar, a lump of sugar, a little salt, and enough browning to make it a good colour; thicken it with corn flour, and boil the sauce well, so that the flour may be well cooked before using.

Hashed.--Take some remnants of roast or braised veal, trim off all browned parts, and mince it very fine. Fry a shallot chopped small in plenty of butter; when it is a light straw colour add a large pinch of flour and a little stock; then the minced meat, with chopped parsley, pepper, salt, and nutmeg to taste; mix well; add more stock if necessary, and let the mince gradually get hot by the side of the fire. When quite hot stir into it off the fire a yolk of egg and the juice of a lemon strained and beaten up together. Serve with sippets of bread fried in butter round it, and 3 or 4 poached eggs on the top.

Minced.--(_a_) Remove all outside pieces, gristle, and fat from any cold veal, roast or boiled. Mince it finely either with a knife or mincing machine; season with pepper and salt, chopped lemon peel, and a blade of mace. Put it in a stewpan with sufficient white stock to moisten it well, and let it simmer gently until quite hot, but not boiling. Remove the mace, add sufficient cream to make it quite white, stir it over the fire, and serve in a dish with a border of mashed haricot beans, potatoes, or spinach. Poached eggs may be served on the top, or tiny rolls of bacon may be arranged symmetrically, either with or without the eggs.

(_b_) Take some remnants of roast or braised veal, trim off all brown parts, and mince it very finely. Fry a chopped shallot in plenty of butter; when it is a light straw colour, add a large pinch of flour and a little stock; then the minced meat, with chopped parsley, pepper, salt, and nutmeg to taste; mix well; add more stock if necessary, and let the mince gradually get hot by the side of the fire. When quite hot stir into it, off the fire, the yolk of egg and the juice of a lemon strained and beaten up together. Serve with sippets of bread fried in butter round it, and 3-4 poached eggs on the top.

Patties.--Prepare some patties; take some cold veal, trim off all browned parts, gristle, and fat, and mince it very finely with a little fat bacon; add a little cayenne, salt, mace, and the grated rind of half a lemon; mix well, and moisten with some white stock; simmer by the side of the fire till quite hot, then stir in (off the fire) the yolk of an egg and a little strained lemon juice. Fill the patties with the meat, put on the covers, and serve hot.

Pie.--(_a_) Cut the veal into square pieces, and put a layer of them at the bottom of a pie dish. Sprinkle over them a portion of minced savoury herbs, a little spice, lemon peel finely chopped, and some yolk of egg hard boiled, then a layer of ham cut thin. Proceed in this manner until the pie dish is full. Lay a puff paste on the edge of the dish, and pour in ½ pint water; then cover with crust, ornament with leaves, brush over with the yolk of an egg, and bake in a well-heated oven for 1-1½ hour--longer if the pie be very large. When you take it from the oven, pour in at the top, by means of a funnel, ½ pint strong gravy. This should be made sufficiently good that when cold it may be cut in a firm jelly. This pie may be very much enriched by the addition of mushrooms, oysters, or sweetbreads.

(_b_) Cut steaks from a neck or breast of veal, season well, slice 2 sweetbreads, lay a puff paste rim round the dish; then put in the meat, sweetbreads, some yolks of hard-boiled eggs, and some oysters when in season, on the top; lay on the whole some very thin slices of ham, and fill up the dish with water; cover with puff paste; bake, and when taken out of the oven pour in at the top a few spoonfuls of good veal gravy, and some cream to fill up; but first boil it up with a teaspoonful of flour.

(_c_) And Ham Pie.--Cut some thin slices off the leg or neck of veal, free them from skin and gristle, lard them well, and season with salt and pepper. Have some eggs boiled hard and some thin slices of ham. Make some forcemeat balls with fat bacon, the trimmings of the veal, chopped onions, parsley, and sweet herbs, grated lemon peel, salt, cayenne, and pounded mace. Pound all in a mortar, and bind with one or two eggs. Line a pie dish with good paste, and fill it with layers (not too close)--first one of ham, then one of veal--of forcemeat balls, of the eggs (cut in halves), and so on; a few mushrooms may be added; put in some gravy; lastly a layer of thin bacon; and cover all with tolerably thick crust, glaze. Bake for about 4 hours in a moderate oven. Make a hole in the top, and pour in some good savoury jelly, made with ox or calf’s foot, knuckle of veal, and trimming of bacon and ham, well flavoured with onions, more herbs and lemon peel, cleared with the whites of egg.

(_d_) Ditto.--Take 2 lb. veal cutlets, ½ lb. boiled ham, 2 doz. oysters, ½ lb. fresh-made sausages, 2 tablespoonfuls savoury minced herbs, ¼ teaspoonful grated nutmeg, a little mace, pepper and salt to taste, with a strip of lemon peel finely minced, 2 hard-boiled eggs, and ½ pint water; cut the veal into square pieces, put a layer of them at the bottom of a pie-dish. Sprinkle over this a little of the herbs, spice, seasoning, and lemon peel. Cut the eggs into slices, put some of the slices and about 8 oysters with part of the sausages, cut into 3, then a layer of the ham in thin slices. Proceed thus until the dish is full, arranging it so that the ham is at the top. Put puff paste on the edge of the dish, then pour in ½ pint cold water. Cover it with crust, and ornament with leaves, cut from the remaining paste; brush over with yolk of egg, and bake in a well-heated oven for 1-1½ hour. When removed from the oven, pour in at the top, through a funnel, ½ pint rich gravy, so that when cold it will form a jelly. Mushrooms may be added to this pie.

Quenelles.--Remove the skin from 1 lb. veal cutlet, and cut it into small pieces. Put into a stewpan 1 gill water, a pinch of salt, and a small piece of butter; when boiling stir in as much flour as will form a paste; when it is smooth put it away to get cold, then take half the quantity of butter that you have of veal, and half the quantity of paste you have of butter; put the paste into a mortar, pound it well, then add the butter, pound it, then add the veal; pound well for 10 minutes, add one whole egg, 3 yolks of egg, salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg; work well together, pass through a wire sieve, stir in ½ gill cream, shape the quenelles with 2 tablespoons, place them in a well-buttered sauté pan, leaving a clear space on one side; put a good pinch of salt in that space, pour in sufficient boiling water to cover the quenelles, and leave them to poach for 10 minutes; then drain them carefully on a cloth, arrange on a dish, and serve with rich gravy or any sauce you like. (Jane Burtenshaw.)

Roast.--Take 4-6 lb. best end of neck of veal, trim it neatly, and joint the cutlets. Put it to roast at a very moderate fire, and baste it plentifully every 10 minutes, first with butter and then with its own gravy. It will take 1½-2 hours. During the last ¼ hour bring the joint nearer to the fire, and sprinkle it plentifully with salt. Serve with the gravy over, carefully strained and freed from fat, and with the juice of a lemon and a small piece of fresh butter added to it.

Rolled.--Neck of veal, best end, 5 lb.; bacon, a few rashers; parsley, minced, 1 tablespoonful; breadcrumbs, 4-5 oz.; 1 good-sized onion, ¼ nutmeg, 3 cloves, 1 blade of mace, 1 egg, 1 oz. butter, a little glaze, pepper and salt, and little lemon thyme. Get the butcher to bone the veal; lay this on the table, the skin to the table. Split or cut nearly through the thick part of the veal, and turn the upper half over on the thin part, to make it all one thickness. Cut a few thin slices off it, about 5-6 oz., flatten the veal with a chopper or rolling pin, and prepare the forcemeat. Chop very fine the parsley, thyme, a very small bit of onion, and about 1 oz. of the lean of the bacon. Chop all these ingredients separately, and then all together. Next, with a sharp knife scrape the pieces of veal free from skin and fibre, also scrape about 2 oz. of the fat of the bacon; chop this and the veal together very fine, and pound in a mortar, adding to it the other ingredients, with butter, the nutmeg grated, and a little salt and pepper, and the breadcrumbs, and the egg to bind it. Mix well together, then take this forcemeat out of the mortar, and spread it on the veal; over this lay 2 or 3 rashers of bacon out of the back. Roll the veal up tight, sew it up with a needle and thread, and bind round with a piece of tape; place the meat in a stewpan just the size to hold it, and pour into it sufficient water or stock to nearly, but not quite, cover it, put round it any pieces of bacon or trimmings of the veal that may be left, the stalks of the parsley and thyme, the onion and cloves, a little celery, and a couple of bay leaves if you have them. Set the stewpan on the fire, and let the meat stew gently about 2 hours. When done take it from the fire, and let it remain in the stewpan till nearly cold, then take it up on one dish, lay another on it, with some heavy weights on it to press the meat. In the evening remove the top dish and weights, take off the tape, cut and draw out the threads, melt a little glaze, and glaze over the veal, and it will be ready to serve. It will cut and eat well, and the stock will make soup or aspic.

Scallops.--Let the meat be cut into very thin slices and then chopped, but not too finely; put it into a stewpan with a little white sauce, or, if here is none ready made, in another saucepan, thicken a little stock with flour, and add a tablespoonful of cream or good milk (if milk, a little bit of butter must be added); season with salt and pepper, and a very little nutmeg; let this boil, stirring constantly, until thick enough; add this sauce to the meat, and let it remain simmering, stirring it the while, for a few minutes; fill scallop shells with this, cover with fresh breadcrumbs, sprinkle them over with oiled butter, and put them in the oven until they are a light brown colour.

Shape.--Take 1½ lb. veal and stew gently with an onion, a stick of celery, carrot, bunch of herbs tied in muslin, pepper and salt, in water sufficient to cover it. It will take about 1¾ hours to cook, and should not be overdone, or it will lose flavour. While the meat is cooking take a mould, and set 2 cut hard-boiled eggs, some pieces of olive, and diamonds of beetroot, in aspic jelly, allowing about an inch of ornamental jelly to stand until firm. Mince the cooked veal, carefully excluding all fat, mix 1 pint liquid jelly with the veal, ornament with 2 hard-boiled eggs, olive, and beetroot round the sides of the mould, and when the mince is nearly cold place it carefully on the set jelly. Decorate with parsley and rings of finely sliced tongue. If aspic is not at hand, strain 1 pint of the stock from the stewing, dissolve ½ oz. Nelson’s gelatine in ½ tumbler cold water, boil it up, mix it with the mince; add 1 glass sherry and a squeeze of lemon, pour into a mould arranged with hard-boiled egg and a nice savoury shape will be obtained, though it will not look so well as with clear aspic. If the liquor is not wanted, it does for a white stock.

Stewed Breast (Blanquette).--(_a_) Put a breast of veal, after being blanched, into a stewpan, with a bunch of herbs, onions, cloves, pepper, salt, a blade of mace, some lemon peel, a good piece of butter (about 2-3 oz.). Let it simmer gently, then add a pint of veal broth, or hot water; when almost tender take it out, put it in a dish, get out the long bones, and strain the liquor to the veal again. If liked, add some fresh mushrooms, or some oysters blanched in their own liquor. Thicken it when done with a little flour, butter, some very thick cream, and the yolks of 2 eggs; stir it well together. It must not boil, but simmer, for fear the sauce should curdle. Squeeze some lemon juice just as you serve it, and stir it well. Garnish the dish with sliced lemon or fried oysters.

(_b_) Take 3-4 lb. breast of veal, cut it up into pieces 2 in. long, and put them into a saucepan with 2 carrots, an onion, and a head of celery cut into small pieces; add parsley, thyme, bay leaves, cloves, pepper and salt to taste, and sufficient stock or water to cover the meat. Simmer about an hour, or until quite tender. Take out the piece of veal and strain the gravy through a colander. Melt in a saucepan 1 oz. butter, and add 1 oz. flour; mix well, and put in as much liquor from the veal, well freed from fat, as will make sufficient sauce; let it get quite hot, then stir in, off the fire, the yolks of two eggs beaten up with a little lemon juice and strained. Put in the piece of veal, when quite hot add a little chopped parsley and a few mushrooms, and serve.

Suet Pudding (baked or boiled).--Chop ½ lb. veal suet, put it into 1 qt. rich milk, set it upon the fire, and when pretty hot pour it upon 8 oz. bread crumbs and sugar to your taste; add ½ lb. currants washed and dried, and 3 well-beaten eggs; put it into a floured cloth or buttered dish, and either boil or bake it an hour.

Sweetbread (Ris).--(_a_) Prepare the sweetbreads in the usual way for cooking. Place them on the fire in a saucepan with a piece of butter, sprinkle them with flour, stir and moisten with a little water, add salt and pepper, and a bunch of parsley. Cook them gently, and just before serving add some small onions and some mushrooms which have been previously cooked. Thicken the gravy with the yolk of 2 eggs and a little lemon juice, and serve hot.

(_b_) When well washed and cleared from skin, they may be larded with delicate strips of very fresh bacon or not, according to taste. Boil till nearly done, then put them into a thickly buttered deep dish which will stand the oven (metal or earthenware), strewing the bottom of the dish with thin slices of carrot and onion, add a ladlefull of good broth, salt and pepper, and brown in the oven till of a dark golden colour. Take out the sweetbreads, strain the juice, adding some good veal stock and a few drops of lemon juice, and serve.

(_c_) Butter a stewpan or good-sized saucepan thickly, line it with slices of carrot and onion, put in the sweetbreads prepared as above, i.e. washed and freed from skins, and larded, but not boiled. Let them brown well over a brisk oven, shaking occasionally to prevent adherence, and turning. When of a deep golden hue all over, moisten with 3-4 tablespoonsfuls thick cream, or cream of the previous day, slightly on the turn, add enough veal stock to nearly cover the sweetbreads, cover hermetically, and put charcoal on the lid; place over a moderate fire, as it were between 2 fires, which is the French equivalent for our oven-cooking, and let them stew gently for nearly an hour. To serve them, strain the sauce, add a little lemon juice. They are very good done in this way also, and served upon fresh young peas, spinach, or sorrel, done in the French way. It is essential that the stock used should be _blond de veau_ or veal stock, because one of the first rules of all good cookery is that all meats should be cooked in their own sauces, i.e. that the sauce should be of the same meat as the thing cooked.

(_d_) Stewed.--Trim some sweetbreads, and soak them in warm water till quite white, blanch in boiling water, and then put them in cold water for a short time. When cold, dry them, and put them in some well-flavoured white stock, stew for ½ hour. Beat up the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs with some cream, a little finely-minced parsley, and grated nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste; add this to the sauce, put it on the fire to get quite hot; dish the sweetbreads, pour the sauce over, and serve.

Tea.--Cut into small dice 1 lb. lean meat, place on the fire with 2 tablespoonfuls water, 1 teaspoonful salt; stir this gently until the gravy is drawn, then add 1 qt. boiling water, simmer slowly for ¾ hour, skimming off the fat; when done strain through a sieve. It may be made richer and more tasty by adding, when first warming the meat, a little butter, onion, and parsley.

Vol-au-vent.--Roll out a sufficient quantity of good puff paste 1 in. thick, and stamp it out with a fluted cutter to the size of the dish upon which it is to come to table. Mark it out with another of a smaller size, leaving about 1½ in. at the edge of the paste, which brush over with a beaten-up egg. Put it into a quick oven to rise and become a good colour. When done, remove with the point of a knife the piece marked out for the top, and scoop out all the soft part from the inside; then turn upon a piece of writing paper to dry. Fill it with minced veal and a small quantity of white sauce. As it is only a professed cook who can make a vol-au-vent, it is much best to order it from a confectioner’s and only fill it at home.

=Game=, =Poultry=, =&c.=--The cooking of game and poultry demands especial care on the part of the cook, from the delicacy of flavour and tenderness of flesh of these viands. The fine aroma of all feathered game is best developed by roasting, and it may be observed that in the case of young birds a few days “hanging” will be found sufficient to render them tender, while in the case of old ones it is far better to first roast them slightly--to bring out the flavour--and then make them into a _salmis_, or to cut off the breast for fillets and use the remaining portions for making soup. The average time for hanging will vary as follows:--

In Mild In Cold
Weather. Weather.

Capon 3 days. 6 days.
Chickens 2 ” 4 ”
Duck, Goose, Turkey 2 ” 6 ”
Hare 3 ” 6 ”
Partridge 2 ” 6 to 8 ”
Pheasant 4 ” 10 ”
Pigeons, young 2 ” 4 ”
Pullet, young fat 4 ” 10 ”
Rabbit 2 ” 4 ”

When the weather is moist or rainy, the articles must be kept somewhat less time. Keeping may be prolonged by putting a little finely powdered charcoal in a muslin bag inside the game, changing the charcoal daily.

The following general methods of dressing game may conveniently precede special recipes for each kind.

_Aspic._--Cut the breast of a brace of birds into fillets, cook them in the oven, smothered in butter, in a tin with pepper and salt, and put them between 2 plates under a weight to get cold. With the rest of the flesh of the birds make a forcemeat as follows: Pound it in a mortar with an equal quantity of lean veal; add as much butter as there is game meat, and as much breadcrumbs soaked in stock and squeezed dry; mix the whole thoroughly well in the mortar, then pass the mixture through a sieve; return it to the mortar; work into it 1 tablespoonful Spanish sauce or chaudfroid sauce, pepper and salt, a little powdered sweet herbs or spices, then the yolks of 2 and the white of 1 egg. Put this composition into a plain buttered mould, steam it for ½ hour, and turn it out. When cold cut it in slices, and cut the slices into rounds all of a shape; cut all the fillets to the same size; cut also some ready-cooked truffles into slices; set some white of egg in a jam pot placed in a saucepan full of boiling water, turn it out, cut it in slices, and from them cut pieces all of a size. Pour a little well-flavoured aspic jelly into a mould: when it begins to set arrange the above materials, filling it up with jelly until the mould is full, and when quite set turn it out.