1043. A Loin of Mutton
A loin of mutton, from an hour and a half to an hour and three-quarters. The most elegant way of carving this is to cut it lengthwise, as you do a saddle. A neck, about the same time as a loin. It must be carefully jointed to prevent any difficulty in carving.
1044. The Neck and Breast
The neck and breast are, in small families, commonly roasted together. The cook will then crack the bones across the middle before they are put down to roast. If this is not done carefully, the joint is very troublesome to carve. Time for a breast, an hour and a quarter. The breast when eaten by itself is better stewed. It may be boned, rolled, and then roasted. A belly of pork is excellent in this way, when boned, stuffed, and roasted.
1045. A Haunch.
i. e.
, the leg and part of the loin of mutton. Send up two sauce-boats with it; one of rich-drawn mutton gravy, made without spice or herbs, and the other of sweet sauce. A haunch generally weighs about fifteen pounds, and requires about three hours and a half to roast it.
Thought is the Most Swift of All.
1046. Mutton (Venison fashion)
Take a neck of good four or five-year-old Southdown wether mutton, cut long in the bones; let it hang in mild weather, at least a week. Two days before you dress it, take allspice and black pepper, ground and pounded fine, a quarter of an ounce each, rub them together and then rub your mutton well with this mixture twice a day. When you dress it, wash off the spice with warm water, and roast it in paste.
1047. Veal
Veal requires particular care to roast it a nice brown. Let the fire be the same as for beef; a sound large fire for a large joint, and a brisker for a smaller; put it at some distance from the fire to soak thoroughly, and then draw it nearer to finish it brown. When first laid down it is to be basted; baste it again occasionally. When the veal is on the dish, pour over it half a pint of melted butter; if you have a little brown gravy by you, add that to the butter. With those joints which are not stuffed, send up forcemeat in balls, or rolled into sausages, as garnish to the dish, or fried pork sausages. Bacon is always eaten with veal.
1048. Fillet of Veal
Fillet of veal of from twelve to sixteen pounds, will require from four to five hours at a good fire: make some stuffing or forcemeat, and put it under the flap, that there may be some left to eat cold, or to season a hash: brown it, and pour good melted butter over it. Garnish with thin slices of lemon, and cakes or balls of stuffing, or duck stuffing, or fried pork sausages, curry sauce, bacon, &c.
1049. A Loin
A loin is the best part of the calf, and will take about three hours roasting. Paper the kidney fat, and the back: some cooks send it up on a toast, which is eaten with the kidney and the fat of this part, which is more delicate than any marrow, &c. If there is more of it than you think will be eaten with the veal, before you roast it cut it out, it will make an excellent suet pudding: take care to have your fire long enough to brown the ends.
1050. A Shoulder of Veal
A shoulder of veal, from three hours to three hours and a half: stuff it with the forcemeat ordered for the fillet of veal, in the under side.
1051. Neck
Neck, best end, will take two hours. The scrag part is best made into a pie or broth. Breast, from an hour and a half to two hours. Let the caul remain till it is almost done, then take it off to brown the meat; baste, flour, and froth it.
1052. Veal Sweetbread.
Trim a fine sweetbread—it cannot be too fresh; parboil it for five minutes, and throw it into a basin of cold water; roast it plain, or beat up the yolk of an egg, and prepare some fine bread-crumbs. Or when the sweetbread is cold, dry it thoroughly in a cloth, run a lark spit or a skewer through it, and tie it on the ordinary spit; egg it with a paste brush, powder it well with bread-crumbs, and roast it. For sauce, put fried bread-crumbs round it, and melted butter with a little mushroom ketchup and lemon juice, or serve on buttered toast, garnished with egg sauce, or with gravy.
1053. Lamb
Lamb is a delicate, and commonly considered tender meat; but those who talk of tender lamb, while they are thinking of the age of the animal, forget that even a chicken must be kept a proper time after it has been killed, or it will be tough eating. To the usual accompaniments of roast meat, green mint sauce or a salad is commonly added: and some cooks, about five minutes before it is done, sprinkle it with a little minced parsley.
1054. Grass-Lamb
Grass-Lamb is in season from Easter to Michaelmas.
1055. House-Lamb
House-lamb from Christmas to Lady-day.
1056. Mint
When green mint cannot be got, mint vinegar is an acceptable substitute for it.
1057. Roasting a Hind-Quarter
Hind-quarter of eight pounds will take from an hour and three-quarters to two hours; baste and froth it.
1058. Roasting a Fore-Quarter
Fore-quarter of ten pounds, about two hours.
1059. Preparation
It is a pretty general custom, when you take off the shoulder from the ribs, to rub them with a lump of butter, and then to squeeze a lemon or Seville orange over them, and sprinkle them with a little pepper and salt.
Hope is the Most Common of All.
1060. Roasting a Leg
Leg of five pounds, from an hour to an hour and a half.
1061. Roasting a Shoulder
Shoulder, with a quick fire, an hour.
1062. Roasting Ribs
Ribs, about an hour to an hour and a quarter; joint it nicely; crack the ribs across, and bend them up to make it easy for the carver.
1063. Roasting Loin, Neck or Breast
Loin, an hour and a quarter. Neck an hour. Breast, three-quarters of an hour.
1064. Poultry, Game, &c.
1065. Effectiveness of Roasting
Roasting, by causing the contraction of the cellular substance which contains the fat, expels more fat than boiling. The free escape of watery particles in the form of vapour, so necessary to produce flavour, must be regulated by frequent basting with the fat which has exuded from the meat, combined with a little salt and water—otherwise the meat would burn, and become hard and tasteless. A brisk fire at first will, by charring the outside, prevent the heat from penetrating, and therefore should only be employed when the meat is half roasted.
1066. The Loss by Roasting (General)
The loss by roasting is said to vary from 14-3/8ths to nearly double that rate per cent. The average loss on roasting butcher's meat is 22 percent.: and on domestic poultry, 20-1/2.
1067. The Loss by Roasting (Specific)
The loss per cent, on roasting beef, viz., on sirloins and ribs together is 19-1/6th; on mutton, viz., legs and shoulders together, 24-4/5ths, on fore-quarters of lamb, 22-1/3rd; on ducks, 27-1/5th; on turkeys, 20-1/2; on geese, 19-1/2; on chickens, 14-3/5ths. So that it will be seen by comparison with the percentage given of the loss by boiling, that roasting is not so economical; especially when we take into account that the loss of weight by boiling is not actual loss of economic materials, for we then possess the principal ingredients for soups; whereas, after roasting, the fat only remains. The average loss in boiling and and roasting together is 18 per cent. according to Donovan, and 28 per cent. according to Wallace—a difference that may be accounted for by supposing a difference in the fatness of the meat, duration and degree of heat, &c., employed.
1068. Boiling
This most simple of culinary processes is not often performed in perfection; it does not require quite so much nicety and attendance as roasting; to skim your pot well, and keep it really boiling, or rather, simmering, all the while—to know how long is required for doing the joint, &c., and to take it up at the critical moment when it is done enough—comprehends almost the whole art and mystery. This, however, demands a patient and perpetual vigilance, of which, unhappily, few persons are capable.
The cook must take especial care that the water really boils all the while she is cooking, or she will be deceived in the time; and make up a sufficient fire (a frugal cook will manage with much less fire for boiling than she uses for roasting) at first, to last all the time, without much mending or stirring, and thereby save much trouble. When the pot is coming to a boil, there will always, from the cleanest meat and clearest water, rise a scum to the top of it; proceeding partly from the foulness of the meat, and partly from the water: this must be carefully taken off, as soon as it rises. On this depends the good appearance of all boiled things—an essential matter.
When you have skimmed well, put in some cold water, which will throw up the rest of the scum. The oftener it is skimmed, and the clearer the surface of the water is kept, the cleaner will be the meat. If let alone, it soon boils down and sticks to the meat, which, instead of looking delicately white and nice, will have that coarse appearance we have too often to complain of, and the butcher and poulterer will be blamed for the carelessness of the cook, in not skimming her pot with due diligence.
Many put in milk, to make what they boil look white, but this does more harm than good; others wrap it up in a cloth; but these are needless precautions; if the scum be attentively removed, meat will have a much more delicate colour and finer flavour than it has when muffled up. This may give rather more trouble—but those we wish to excel in their art must only consider how the processes of it can be most perfectly performed: a cook who has a proper pride and pleasure in her business will make this her maxim and rule on all occasions.
Put your meat into cold water, in the proportion of about a quart of water to a pound of meat; it should be covered with water during the whole of the process of boiling, but not drowned in it; the less water, provided the meat be covered with it, the more savoury will be the meat, and the better will be the broth in every respect. The water should be heated gradually, according to the thickness, &c., of the article boiled; for instance, a leg of mutton of ten pounds weight should be placed over a moderate fire, which will gradually make the water hot without causing it to boil, for about forty minutes; if the water boils much sooner, the meat will be hardened, and shrink up as if it was scorched—by keeping the water a certain time heating without boiling, its fibres are dilated, and it yields a quantity of scum, which must be taken off as soon as it rises, for the reasons already mentioned.
"If a vessel containing water be placed over a steady fire, the water will grow continually hotter, till it reaches the limit of boiling; after which, the regular accessions of heat are wholly spent in converting it into steam: the water remains at the same pitch of temperature, however fiercely it boils. The only difference is, that with a strong fire it sooner comes to boil, and more quickly boils away, and is converted into steam."
Such are the opinions stated by Buchanan in his "Economy of Fuel." There was placed a thermometer in water in that state which cooks call gentle simmering—the heat was 212°,
i. e.
, the same degree as the strongest boiling. Two mutton chops were covered with cold water, and one boiled fiercely, and the other simmered gently, for three-quarters of an hour; the flavour of the chop which was simmered was decidedly superior to that which was boiled; the liquor which boiled fast was in like proportion more savoury, and, when cold, had much more fat on its surface; this explains why quick boiling renders meat hard, &c.—because its juices are extracted in a greater degree.
A Scraper at the Door Keeps Dirt from the Floor.
1069. Time of Boiling
Reckon the time from the water first coming to a boil. The old rule, of fifteen minutes to a pound of meat, is, perhaps, rather too little; the slower the meat boils, the tenderer, the plumper, and whiter it will be. For those who choose their food thoroughly cooked (which all will who have any regard for their stomachs), twenty minutes to a pound will not be found too much for gentle simmering by the side of the fire; allowing more or less time, according to the thickness of the joint and the coldness of the weather; always remembering, the slower it boils the better. Without some practice it is difficult to teach any art; and cooks seem to suppose they must be right, if they put meat into a pot, and set it over the fire for a certain time—making no allowance, whether it simmers without a bubble, or boils at a gallop.
A Letter-box Saves Many Knocks.
1070. Before Boiling
Fresh killed meat will take much longer time boiling than that which has been kept till it is what the butchers call ripe, and longer in cold than in warm weather. If it be frozen it must be thawed before boiling as before roasting; if it be fresh killed, it will be tough and hard, if you stew it ever so long, and ever so gently. In cold weather, the night before you dress it, bring it into a place of which the temperature is not less than forty-five degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer.
The size of the boiling-pots should be adapted to what they are to contain; the larger the saucepan the more room it takes upon the fire; and a larger quantity of water requires a proportionate increase of fire to boil it. In small families block tin saucepans are best, as being lightest and safest: moreover, if proper care is taken of them, and they are well dried after they are cleansed, they are by far the cheapest; the purchase of a new tin saucepan being little more than the expense of tinning a copper one. Take care that the covers of your boiling-pots fit close, not only to prevent unnecessary evaporation of the water, but that the smoke may not insinuate itself under the edge of the lid, and give the meat a bad taste.
1071. Average Boiling Times.
The following Table will be useful as an average of the time required to boil the various articles:
1072. Remove Immediately
If you let meat or poultry remain in the water after it is done enough, it will become sodden and lose its flavour.
1073. Degree of Cooking
Beef and mutton is preferred by some people a little underdone. Very large joints if slightly underdone, will make the better hash or broil. Lamb, pork, and veal are uneatable if not thoroughly boiled—but these meats should not be overdone. A trivet, a fish-drainer, or an American contrivance called a "spider"—which is nothing more than a wire dish raised on three or four short legs—put on the bottom of the boiling-pot, raising the contents about an inch and a half from the bottom, will prevent that side of the meat which comes next the bottom being done too much; and the lower part will be as delicately done as the upper; and this will enable you to take out the meat without inserting a fork, &c., into it. If you have not a trivet, a drainer, or a "spider," use a soup-plate laid the wrong side upwards.
1074. Stock
Take care of the liquor you have boiled poultry or meat in, as it is useful for making soup.
1075. Using the Stock
The good housewife never boils a joint without converting the broth into some sort of soup.
1076. Reducing Salt
If the liquor be too salt, use only half the quantity, and add some water; wash salted meat well with cold water before you put it into the boiler.
1077. The Process of Boiling
Boiling extracts a portion of the juice of meat, which mixes with the water, and also dissolves some of its solids; the more fusible parts of the fat melt out, combine with the water, and form soup or broth. The meat loses its red colour, becomes more savoury in taste and smell, and more firm and digestible. If the process is continued
too long
, the meat becomes indigestible, less succulent, and tough.
1078. Loss by Boiling (General)
The loss by boiling varies from 6-1/4 to 16 per cent. The average loss on boiling butcher's meat, pork, hams, and bacon, is 12; and on domestic poultry, is 14-3/4.
1079. Loss by Boiling (Specific)
The loss per cent, on boiling salt beef is 15; on legs of mutton, 10; hams, 12-1/2; salt pork, 13-1/3; knuckles of veal, 8-1/3; bacon, 6-1/4; turkeys, 16; chickens, 13-1/2.
1080. Economy of Fat
In most families many members are not fond of fat—servants seldom like it: consequently there is frequently much wasted; to avoid which, take off bits of suet fat from beefsteaks, &c., previous to cooking; they can be used for puddings. With good management there need be no waste in any shape or form.
A Bell Hung Well its Tale will Tell.
1081. Broiling
Broiling requires a brisk, rapid heat, which by producing a greater degree of change in the affinities of the raw meat than roasting, generates a higher flavour, so that broiled meat is more savoury than roast. The surface becoming charred, a dark-coloured crust is formed, which retards the evaporation of the juices; and, therefore, if properly done, broiled meat may he as tender and juicy as roasted meat.
1082. Baking
Baking does not admit of the evaporation of the vapours so rapidly as by the processes of broiling and roasting; the fat is also retained more, and becomes converted, by the agency of the heat, into an empyreumatic oil, which renders the meat less fitted for delicate stomachs, and more difficult to digest. The meat is, in fact, partly boiled in its own confined water, and partly roasted by the dry, hot air of the oven. The loss by baking has not been estimated and reduced to a tabular form.
1083. Frying
Frying is of all methods the most objectionable, from the foods being less digestible when thus prepared, as the fat employed undergoes chemical changes. Olive oil in this respect is preferable to lard or butter. The crackling noise which accompanies the process of frying meat in a pan is occasioned by the explosions of steam formed in fat, the temperature of which is much above 212 degrees. If the meat is very juicy it will not fry well, because it becomes sodden before the water is evaporated; and it will not brown, because the temperature is too low to scorch it. To fry fish well the fat should be
boiling hot (600 degrees),
and the fish
well dried
in a cloth; otherwise, owing to the generation of steam the temperature will fall so low that it will be boiled in its own steam, and not be browned. Meat, or indeed any article, should be frequently turned and agitated during frying to promote the evaporation of the watery particles. To make fried things look well, they should be done over
twice
with egg and stale bread-crumbs.
1084. Bastings
1085. Dredgings
1086. Estimating Meat for Cooking
The housewife who is anxious to dress no more meat than will suffice for the meal, should remember that beef loses about one pound in four in boiling, but in roasting, loses in the proportion of one pound five ounces, and in baking about two ounces less, or one pound three ounces; mutton loses in boiling about fourteen ounces in four pounds; in roasting, one pound six ounces.
1087. Caution on Charcoal
Cooks should be cautioned against the use of charcoal in any quantity, except whore there is a free
current of air
; for charcoal is highly prejudicial in a state of ignition, although it may be rendered even actively beneficial when boiled, as a small quantity of it, if boiled with
meat on the turn
, will effectually cure the unpleasant taint.
An Ill-Fixed Blind No One Can Wind.
1088. Preparation of Vegetables