CHAPTER X.HOW TO COOK MEAT.

IN boiling meats the temperature of the liquid should be kept at about the boiling point or a few degrees lower; that is, the water should bubble gently at one side of the pot or stewpan. Great care must be taken that the water shall never boil rapidly, and that the temperature shall not be much lower than that indicated by a slight bubbling at the side of the stewpan. The meat and liquid will both be spoiled if kept for any length of time in a closed vessel with the temperature too low. A piece of meat cooked in water that boils rapidly all the time will be hard, dry, and stringy, no matter how long it is cooked or how tender and good it was originally; but even a tough, dry piece will be tender and juicy if cooked at the temperature indicated by the water’s bubbling at one side of the pot. All meats will be juicier if they be allowed to cool, or even partially to cool, in the liquid in which they were boiled. The dish in which a food material is cooling must always beuncovereduntil the substance is perfectly cold.

Wipe carefully with a damp cloth a leg of mutton weighing between eight and ten pounds, and put it in a deep kettle with enough boiling water to cover it. Set the kettle where the water will boil rapidly for a quarter of an hour. Skim the water when it begins to boil. At the end of thefifteen minutes draw the kettle back where the water will only bubble. If the meat be desired very rare, cook it for an hour and a half; but if you want it rather well done, cook it for two hours, being careful that the water only bubbles except during the first fifteen minutes.

When the mutton is done place it on a warm dish. Pour a few tablespoonfuls of butter sauce over it, and, if convenient, garnish with parsley. Send to the table at once with the caper sauce and vegetables.

Of course, this is more meat than three persons would want, but if only half a leg be boiled the result will not be very satisfactory; therefore it would be better to roast or steam a part of the leg, unless the family be large.

When the family is so small that it is necessary to cut a leg of mutton, it is better to steam than to boil it. Place the piece of mutton on a kitchen plate, the cut side down. Set the plate in the steamer and over a kettle of boiling water. Cover closely, and keep the water boiling until the meat is done. A piece weighing about four or five pounds will be cooked rather rare in one hour. If liked well done, cook it longer. Serve the same as boiled leg of mutton.

A piece of corned beef will take about the same time to cook, whether it weigh four pounds or ten. Wash the meat and put it into a stewpan with enough boiling water to cover it generously. When the water begins to boil, skim thoroughly; then draw the stewpan back to a place where the water will just bubble for five hours. Never let the water boil hard, but it must not get much below the boiling point at any time. If the meat is to be pressed, take it from the boiling water and place it on a flat dish. Put atin pan or sheet on top of the hot meat, and on this place two bricks or some other weight. Set away in a cool place. When the meat is cold, trim the edges, using a sharp knife. The trimmings may be used for a corned beef hash.

6 pounds of the plate piece of beef.1 pint of coarse salt.3 pints of water.3 dozen whole allspice.2 dozen whole cloves.

6 pounds of the plate piece of beef.

1 pint of coarse salt.

3 pints of water.

3 dozen whole allspice.

2 dozen whole cloves.

This is a cheap and savory dish for luncheon and tea. Put the water and salt in a stewpan and set on the fire. Stir frequently until the water boils, and then skim carefully. Take from the fire and set away to cool. Remove the bones from the meat by slipping a sharp knife between the flesh and bone and cutting the meat from the bone. Place the beef in a stone jar or earthen bowl, and when the brine is cold pour it over the meat. Cover the dish and set it away in a cool place for six or eight days. At the end of that time remove the meat and wipe it. Spread it on a board and sprinkle the spice over it. Roll up and tie firmly. Place this roll in a kettle and cover it with boiling water. When the water begins to boil, (it will at first be somewhat cooled by the meat,) skim it carefully; then set the kettle back where the water will just bubble for six hours. At the end of that time take the beef from the kettle and place it on a large dish. Put upon it a tin pan and weights, (two bricks will be sufficient,) and set away in a cool place. The meat should be cut in thin slices when served.

In New York many of the marketmen salt and spice beef for their customers. If one can get a plate piece of corned beef that has not been too long in brine, it will answer just as well as a fresh piece, and save the housekeeper the trouble of corning it. Almost any marketman will willingly remove the bones for a customer.

Boiled Ham.

Wash the ham and then soak it in cold water for ten or twelve hours. Put it on to cook in cold water. When the water begins to boil, skim it, and draw the kettle back to a part of the range where the water will only bubble gently. Cook the ham for five hours; then take it up and draw off the skin. Place the skinned ham in a dripping-pan and sprinkle over it one cupful of fine dried crumbs mixed with two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Cook it slowly in the oven for one hour.

If only a part of a ham is to be boiled, it would be better to steam it than to put it in the water. Wash and soak it; then steam it the same as mutton, cooking it for six hours. Brown it in the oven if you like.

Wash the tongue and put it in a stewpan with boiling water enough to cover it generously. Add four tablespoonfuls of salt. When the water begins to boil, skim carefully and draw the stewpan back to a place where the water will bubble gently for five hours. Take the tongue from the boiling water and plunge it into cold water. Draw off the rough skin, beginning at the roots of the tongue. Place the tongue on a dish, cover it lightly with a coarse towel, and put it in a cold place.

Cook a smoked tongue exactly the same as a ham, except that it is not to be browned in the oven. It will require five hours’ time to boil it.

Treat a pickled tongue the same as a piece of corned beef. It will require five hours’ cooking.

SCIENCE IN ROASTING MEAT.

A roast of meat, be it rare or well done, should be juicy and tender. One should not roast a tough piece of meat; stewing, braising, or boiling is better, because the cooking can be continued for a long time at a low temperature, and this method will make the toughest piece of meat tender. The meat always should be exposed to a high temperature at first, that the surface may become hardened and the juices protected. If the high temperature be continued all the time of cooking, the meat will become hard, dry, and stringy, as far as the heat has penetrated. It will be seen, therefore, that the high temperature should be kept up only long enough to form a thin, hard crust on the meat. From twenty to thirty minutes will suffice for this. The temperature should then be lowered by closing the draughts of the range.

Basting is another important item in roasting. If one use no water in the dripping-pan, and baste only with the fat that drops from the meat into the bottom of the pan, the roast will have a beautiful glossy brown surface when it is done; but it must be remembered that fat can be heated to a much higher point than water, and that basting with this boiling hot fat will help to harden the piece of meat.

If a small quantity of water be kept in the bottom of the dripping-pan, the drippings from the meat, mingling with it, will be kept at a low temperature, so that, if the meat be freely basted with this mixture every fifteen minutes, the surface of the piece of meat will be kept moist, and at a lower temperature than when basted with the hot fat, or not basted at all. By basting with this mixture of drippings and water, the heat is driven from the surface to the centre of the piece of meat, insuring a roast that will be rare from a point about half an inch from the surface to the centre. Bear these facts in mind when roasting meats.

How to Roast Meat in the Oven.

Have a dripping-pan of Russian iron and a meat-rack three or four inches shorter than the pan.

DRIPPING-PAN.

MEAT-RACK.

Examine the piece of meat, and if there be any places that have become tainted trim them off with a sharp knife. Wipe the meat with a wet towel. Now season with salt and pepper, and dredge lightly with flour.

All the seasoning must be done with the meat resting on the rack, that the stray particles may fall to the bottom of the pan. Dredge flour over the bottom of the pan until the surface is white.

Have the oven very hot (about 400 or 450 degrees), and place the meat in it. Watch closely, and as soon as the flour in the pan turns dark brown pour in enough boiling water to cover the bottom of the pan. The flour may brown in five minutes, yet it may take ten or more for this process, the time depending upon the bottom of the oven. When the meat is brown on one side, baste well, and turn it over to brown the other side. When the meat has been in the oven for about thirty minutes, close the draughts to reduce the heat of the oven.

Baste the meat every fifteen minutes in this manner. With a long spoon, dip up the liquid from the bottom of the pan and pour it over the meat. Continue this until nearly all has been absorbed by the meat; then dredge lightly with salt, pepper, and flour. Now pour into the pan enough hot water to cover the bottom. The last time the meat is basted omit putting the water in the pan, and at the end of fifteen minutes all the liquid will be evaporated. Now take up the meat and place it on a hot platter. Take out the rack, andthen pour all the fat from the pan into a cup. Put half a pint of hot water in the pan and set on top of the range. Scrape all the sediment from the sides and bottom, and thicken this gravy with a teaspoonful of flour smoothly mixed with a gill of cold water. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for two minutes; then strain into a hot dish and serve with the roast meat.

The time of cooking a roast depends upon the shape in which it is cut and whether it is to be rare or well done. The rule of so many minutes for each pound is not a good one; for a long, thin, rib roast might weigh just the same as a short, thick piece cut from the round, rump, or shoulder, and, of course, the thin piece would cook much more quickly than the short thick piece.

A leg of mutton weighing eight or nine pounds should be cooked for an hour and three quarters, if to be served rare; if to be medium rare, two hours, but if well done (a pity it should ever be!) two hours and a quarter. Half a leg of mutton, weighing about four pounds, should be cooked for an hour and a quarter. The meat will be rare.

For three persons one rib will be enough. Wipe the meat with a damp towel. Place a meat-rack in a dripping-pan and lay the beef on it. Dredge with salt, pepper, and flour, turning the meat over in order that every part shall receive a portion of the coating. Dredge the bottom of the pan lightly with the flour and salt. Set the pan in a very hot oven, and watch carefully to prevent the flour on the bottom of the pan from burning. When the flour turns dark brown, pour in enough water to cover the bottom of the pan; this will be in from two to five minutes after the pan is placed in the oven. After the water has been added let the meat cook awhile, and then baste it. To baste, draw the pan out of the oven and tip it a little, that all the gravy shall flow toone end of the pan. With a long-handled spoon, dip up this gravy and pour it over the meat. Continue this until the entire piece is well moistened. Now dredge the meat lightly with salt, pepper, and flour. Pour into the pan enough boiling water to cover the bottom, and return to the oven. At the end of a quarter of an hour draw the pan out again, turn the meat over, and baste as before. Add some water and then set the pan in the oven. Now reduce the heat by shutting the draughts, and baste every fifteen minutes in the manner described. Do not use any water the last time. The meat should cook in all one hour if wanted rather rare. When the beef is done, take it up and place it on a warm dish. Pour all the fat from the dripping-pan, and, after setting the pan on the range, pour into it half a pint of boiling water. Scrape all the brown sediment from the sides and bottom of the pan. Mix one teaspoonful of flour with three tablespoonfuls of cold water, and gradually pour this mixture into the dripping-pan, stirring all the while. It may not take all the mixture of flour and water to thicken the gravy. Stop when the gravy is about as thick as cream. Season with salt and pepper, and strain into a hot bowl.

If all this work be properly done, the beef will be rare and juicy, and the gravy rich, brown, and smooth.

Lamb, being immature meat, should be rather well done. The spring lambs are so small that a leg will not make a burdensome roast in a small family. The loin and breast make good small roasts. Roast the lamb according to the rule given for roast rib of beef. Serve with the made gravy and mint sauce. Asparagus, peas, young beets, summer squash, and any delicate summer vegetable, may be served with lamb.

Roast Mutton.

Mutton is roasted like beef. For a small roast the loin or breast is good. A leg of mutton may be cut into two parts, using one for a roast and the other for steaming. Mutton should always be cooked rare and served hot. Currant jelly should be provided with a roast. The most appropriate vegetables are potatoes, onions, mashed turnips, rice, squash, tomatoes in any form, sweet potatoes, Lima beans, canned corn, etc.

Make the dressing given for roast veal, substituting a generous tablespoonful of butter for the chopped pork, and adding also one teaspoonful of onion juice. Have the bone removed from half of a leg of mutton. Cut deep incisions in the inside of the leg, and press the dressing into these. Sew up the leg, and roast the same as directed for roast beef, cooking the meat an hour and a half. The same vegetables as suggested for plain roast mutton are suitable for the stuffed leg.

5 pounds of loin or breast of veal.1 pint of stale bread.3 ounces of salt pork.1 gill of cracker crumbs.1 teaspoonful of sweet marjoram.1/2 teaspoonful of sage.Salt, pepper, flour.

5 pounds of loin or breast of veal.

1 pint of stale bread.

3 ounces of salt pork.

1 gill of cracker crumbs.

1 teaspoonful of sweet marjoram.

1/2 teaspoonful of sage.

Salt, pepper, flour.

To make the dressing. Soak the bread in cold water for two or three hours. Press out nearly all the water; then add one ounce of salt pork chopped fine, one teaspoonful of salt, one third of a teaspoonful of pepper, the herbs, and crackers. Let this stand while the meat is being washed and seasoned.

The parts of the veal that are good for roasting are the loin, breast, and fillet. Veal requires a great deal of seasoning, and is almost always stuffed. It must be rememberedthat in the loin and breast there is a great deal of bone. On the other hand, the fillet has not a particle of waste except a small bit of round bone. Veal is delicious cold, and the cold roast meat can be prepared in many savory ways. For these reasons, if the family do not object to the meat in all forms, it would be well to get a roast of good size. This is a kind of meat that must be thoroughly done; not even a pinkish tinge should be seen after it is cooked.

For a family of three get a loin or breast weighing about four or five pounds. Wash it in cold water and wipe it with a clean towel. Rub into it one tablespoonful of salt, and sprinkle lightly with pepper. Stuff it, roll it up, and skewer it. Place on a rack in the dripping-pan, and lay upon it two ounces of salt pork cut in thin slices. Cook for two hours and a half, following the directions given for roasting.

Any of the following named vegetables may be served with roast veal: potatoes, rice, macaroni, spinach, asparagus, beets, turnips, parsnips, salsify, string beans, shell beans, grated horseradish, etc.

The piece termed the sparerib is the best for roasting. Wipe the meat with a damp towel. Season it with salt, pepper, and sage, using a teaspoonful of powdered sage to four pounds of pork. Follow the directions for roast rib of beef, cooking a four or five pound roast for two hours. Any of the following named vegetables may be served with roast pork: white potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, hominy, squash, turnips, onions, etc.; and apple sauce always is desirable.

Prepare the ham the same as for boiled ham; boiling it for only three hours, however, and baking it slowly for three hours more.

BROILING.

There are several modes of broiling: over clear coals, before the coals, or under a bed of coals; also under a sheet of flame, as in a gas stove. No matter what the fuel may be or the mode of broiling, the principles are the same. A steak or chop, properly broiled, should have a thin, well browned crust. Beyond this crust the meat should be red and juicy; hardly a shade rarer at the centre than near the surface. A common mode of cooking a steak is to keep it over the coals until one side is rather well done; then turn it, and treat the other side in the same manner. The result of following this method is, that as far as the heat has penetrated the meat is hard and dry, and if the steak be thick it will be almost raw in the centre.

DOUBLE-BROILER.

If the broiling is to be done on a range have the fire very bright and clear. Open every draught, that smoke and flame may be drawn up the chimney. Place the piece of meat in the double-broiler, and hold it as near the coals as possible until the surface is brown, turning frequently. It will take three or four minutes for this. Now raise the broiler several inches above the bed of coals, and continue the cooking until the meat is done. The broiler must be turned often. A good rule is to count ten slowly, then turn the broiler. A steak or chop, cut a little more than an inch thick, will cook rare in ten minutes; if liked medium well done, it should be cooked for twelve minutes. A chicken weighing about three pounds will require slow broiling for half an hour; or the chicken may be broiled over the fire until a rich brown,—say about fifteen minutes,—then put it in a shallow pan in a moderate oven for about twenty minutes.

Veal and pork must be broiled slowly until cooked thoroughly. Chops or cutlets cut about half an inch thick will cook in twelve minutes.

Steaks and chops which, before cooking, are dredged lightly with salt, pepper, and flour, will be much richer than those cooked without any seasoning. Both steaks and chops should be served the minute they come from the fire. Season them with salt and butter. Never put them in the oven for the purpose of melting the butter. It spoils the dish. If a steak or chop must wait a little time before it is served, keep it warm, but do not add the butter until serving time.

It sometimes happens that one has no means of broiling over coals or under heat. The next best thing is broiling in a pan. For example, have a steak cut about an inch thick. After making a frying-pan very hot, sprinkle in some fine salt, and lay the steak in the pan. Cook for two minutes; then lift the steak up and sprinkle the pan with salt. Turn the steak and cook for two minutes. Cook the piece of meat ten minutes in all, turning every two minutes. Put the meat on a hot dish, and season with salt and butter.

Bacon that is to be broiled should be boneless and fat, and the slices should be about as thin as the blade of a knife. The bars of the broiler should be very close, what is called an oyster broiler being best.

Place the slices of bacon in the broiler and over a clean fire, having all the draughts open. Cook the meat for about four minutes, turning constantly. The fat will blaze up continually, but will not hurt the bacon if that be turned all the while. Put the cooked bacon on a hot plate, and keep warm until the chops are cooked.

If the chops be cut an inch thick, cook them for nine minutes, turning almost continually. Season with salt and pepper, and place on a hot dish. Lay a slice of bacon on each chop, and arrange the remainder around the dish. Serve hot and on hot plates.

Steak for broiling.1 pint of sliced onions.1 level teaspoonful of salt.3 tablespoonfuls of butter or drippings.

Steak for broiling.

1 pint of sliced onions.

1 level teaspoonful of salt.

3 tablespoonfuls of butter or drippings.

Pare and slice the onions. Put them in a stewpan with two quarts of boiling water and cook for fifteen minutes. Drain off all the water. Put the butter or drippings in a frying-pan and add the drained onions. Cover the frying-pan and place on the range. Cook for half an hour, being careful not to burn. Stir the onions frequently. Broil the steak rare and lay it on the bed of onions for five minutes, having the pan covered; then place the steak on a hot dish, and arrange the onions around it.

The onions need not be boiled, if a strong flavor be liked.

The word “frying” may mean either of two modes of cooking food: using a common frying-pan, with only a small amount of fat, or immersing the article to be cooked in a deep kettle of hot fat.

The first method is unhealthful, extravagant, and troublesome; the second saves time and is more economical and healthful. When a housekeeper once masters this method of frying, she will not return to the more unsatisfactory and indigestible mode.

There should be enough fat to float the article to be cooked. The fat must be so hot as to harden the surfaceof the article of food the moment it is immersed, making it impervious to the fat or the juices contained in the food itself. Different articles of food brown at different temperatures, so that the frying temperature varies from 345° to 400° Fahrenheit. Most mixtures composed in part of flour, sugar, milk, or eggs—like fritter batters, doughnuts, etc.—may be cooked at 350°; whereas such articles as oysters, white-bait, croquettes, etc., require a heat of at least 400°. French fried and thin fried potatoes need ten minutes’ cooking. The fat must have a temperature of about 370° when they are put into it, because the potatoes should stand in ice-water for some time before they are cooked. Moisture will cling to them; and this, with their chilliness, reduces the fat at least 20° as soon as the frying begins, making it then 350°. At this heat the potatoes may be cooked brown and crisp in ten minutes. As already stated, oysters require a heat of 400°. Drop a piece of stale bread into the fat; and if the temperature be right, the bread will become brown in half a minute. Oysters and white-bait should be cooked brown and crisp in one minute; longer cooking will make them rather tough and dry. A little lower temperature—say 380°—will do for croquettes, which should be fried for about two minutes. If the temperature be too low, croquettes will burst open during the cooking; particularly rice and potato croquettes.

Put the fat into a deep kettle (that called a Scotch bowl being best) and heat it slowly. When the time for frying the food is near at hand, set the kettle on the hottest part of the range, and watch to see the blue smoke rise from the centre of the surface of the liquid. The smoke indicates the temperature to be about 350°. Drop a piece of stale bread into the fat; and if one minute be required to brown it, the fat may be used at once for frying muffins, doughnuts, fritters, breaded chops, and indeed nearly all articles that require three or four minutes’ cooking.

How to keep Fat.

When the frying has been finished, take the fat from the fire and let it cook slightly. Next place a piece of cheese-cloth in a colander or strainer, and, after setting this over a jar or pail, strain the fat through the cloth. This straining never should be omitted; for, with good care, the same fat may be used many times.

Olive oil would be the best liquid to use if the matter of expense were not to be considered. Any pure, clear fat that is free of strong odor will answer. Many folk use mutton and ham fat, and say that they do not find the flavor of the meat in the articles fried; but others would discover the taste at once, and consider it disagreeable.

But the housekeeper will select the material she will use according to her taste and means; and attention may as well be turned now to the conditions which will insure satisfactory and comparatively wholesome fried food. In the first place, the fat must be perfectly clarified. Even the purest and sweetest butter must go through this process before being used for frying. Oil and lard, when pure, already are clarified. When the fat to be clarified is that which has been skimmed from gravies, soups, or the water in which corned beef has been boiled, it will contain water and other impurities. While there is water in fat the latter cannot be heated to a temperature suitable for frying purposes; and if there be other foreign substances present, such as particles of meat, gravy, flour, or starch, they will burn at as high a temperature as 345°, blackening the fat and making it unfit for frying articles of food.

While it is possible to fry food in deep fat without the use of the frying basket, that invention will be found a mostvaluable aid in this branch of cookery. The basket is made of fine wire, and has a bail across the top. Do not get one of coarse wire and open meshes.

THE WAY TO LOWER THE FRYING BASKET.

After the articles to be fried have been put into it, it should be lowered into the fat; gently, because the particles of moisture which cling to the food are instantly converted into steam, and this would expand beneath the surface and force some of the fat from the kettle if the basket were lowered quickly. The operation may be performed safely by hanging the basket on a long spoon or fork, and then letting it settle gently in the fat. Do not crowd into the basket the articles that are to be fried. When the food has been cooked as long as seems necessary, lift the basket with the spoon or fork, and, after allowing the fat to drip from it, place it on a plate. Remove the cooked articles, and lay them on brown paper that has been spread on a warm pan. If properly cooked, they will hardly stain the paper.

Mutton or lamb chops may be breaded and served with tomato or brown sauce. Have the chops cut an inch thick.Trim them, and season with salt and pepper. Dip them in beaten egg and roll in dry bread crumbs. Lay them in deep fat for six minutes if they are to be rare done, and for ten minutes if to be well done. Slices from the leg may be prepared in the same manner.

1 pound of veal, cut from the leg.1 egg.1 teaspoonful of salt.1/8 teaspoonful of pepper.Dried bread crumbs.Fat for frying.

1 pound of veal, cut from the leg.

1 egg.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

1/8 teaspoonful of pepper.

Dried bread crumbs.

Fat for frying.

Have the cutlets about one fourth of an inch thick, and cut into pieces about four inches long and three wide. Season them with half the salt and pepper. Beat the egg in a soup plate, and season with the remainder of the salt and pepper. Dip the cutlets in the egg and roll them in the bread crumbs. Fry them in deep fat for ten minutes. Serve with tomato or brown sauce.

If you prefer, the cutlets may be fried in pork fat. In that case fry two ounces of fat salt pork. Take up the pork and put the cutlets into the fat remaining in the pan. When brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. They should be cooked for fifteen minutes.

1 slice of mutton from the leg, or five chops.1 tablespoonful of butter.1-1/2 teaspoonfuls of salt.1/4 teaspoonful of pepper.1 tablespoonful of flour.1 gill of stewed and strained tomato.

1 slice of mutton from the leg, or five chops.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1-1/2 teaspoonfuls of salt.

1/4 teaspoonful of pepper.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

1 gill of stewed and strained tomato.

Trim most of the fat from the chops, and season them with half the salt and pepper. Put them in a hot frying-pan and cook them for four minutes, turning often. Sprinkle the flour over them and cook for two minutes longer, turning them twice in that time. Now add the tomato, butter,and the remainder of the salt and pepper. Cook for three minutes longer, and serve very hot.

6 small sausages.1/2 pint of dried bread crumbs.The yolk of one egg.1 tablespoonful of milk.Fat for frying.

6 small sausages.

1/2 pint of dried bread crumbs.

The yolk of one egg.

1 tablespoonful of milk.

Fat for frying.

Beat the yolk of the egg in a soup plate, then beat into it the milk. Prick the sausages with a fork and roll them, one by one, in the egg, and then in the bread crumbs. Arrange them in the frying basket and cook for ten minutes in smoking hot fat. Drain and serve.

4 pounds of shin of beef.1 small onion.1 bay leaf.1 whole clove.1 sprig of parsley.1 small slice of carrot.1/2 tablespoonful of salt.1/2 teaspoonful of pepper.1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of butter.1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of flour.2 quarts of boiling water.

4 pounds of shin of beef.

1 small onion.

1 bay leaf.

1 whole clove.

1 sprig of parsley.

1 small slice of carrot.

1/2 tablespoonful of salt.

1/2 teaspoonful of pepper.

1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of flour.

2 quarts of boiling water.

Have the butcher cut the bone into six parts. Wash the shank carefully, being sure to remove any particles of meat or gristle that are not perfectly sweet. They will be found at the small end, if at all. Put the shin in a stewpan with the onion, carrot, bay leaf, parsley, clove, salt, pepper, and water.

Place the stewpan on the fire, and when its contents begin to boil, skim the liquid carefully, and set the pan back where the meat will only simmer for six hours. At the end of five hours and a half, dip out one pint of the liquid; and after allowing this partially to cool, skim off the fat.

Put the butter in a saucepan and place it on the stove. When the butter begins to bubble, add the flour, and stir the mixture until it is smooth and brown; then gradually add three gills of the cold liquid. Cook for three minutes, stirring all the time. Season with salt and pepper, and set back where it will keep hot.

Take up the meat, removing it from the bones; also remove the marrow from the bones. Put the meat and marrow into the stewpan with the sauce. Draw the pan forward and let its contents boil up once. Serve on a hot dish with a garnish of potato cubes.

The remainder of the liquor in which the shin was boiled may be used for a soup the next day.

To prepare the potatoes, pare raw ones, and cut them into inch cubes. Put these in a stewpan, and cover with boiling water. Cook them for fifteen minutes, counting from the time the cover is placed on the stewpan. At the end of that time pour off all the water and sprinkle salt over the potatoes,—half a teaspoonful to a pint of the cubes. Place the stewpan on the fire for about one minute; then shake well. For three persons cook a pint and a half of cubes.

3 pounds of a tough piece of beef.1-1/2 teaspoonfuls of salt.1/4 teaspoonful of pepper.2 level tablespoonfuls of flour.1 whole clove.1 pint of boiling water,1 gill of cold water.

3 pounds of a tough piece of beef.

1-1/2 teaspoonfuls of salt.

1/4 teaspoonful of pepper.

2 level tablespoonfuls of flour.

1 whole clove.

1 pint of boiling water,

1 gill of cold water.

Wipe the meat and season it with the salt and pepper. Put it in an iron or granite-ware stewpan, and set it on a part of the range where it will brown slowly. Turn it frequently. Cook the meat in this manner for thirty minutes. Now add a gill of boiling water, and draw the stewpan to a part of the range where the contents will cook slowly for four hours. Add a gill of boiling water whenever the liquidin the stewpan becomes low. When the meat has been cooking for three hours, mix the flour smoothly with a gill of cold water, and turn into the gravy in the stewpan. Add enough boiling water now to make the full pint; the whole clove also may be added. Cook the meat an hour longer; then serve on a warm platter, with a part of the gravy poured over it. Serve the remainder of the gravy in a bowl.

3 pounds of beef.2 ounces of fat salt pork.2 tablespoonfuls of flour.3 teaspoonfuls of salt.1/2 teaspoonful of pepper.1-1/2 pints of water.2 tablespoonfuls of minced onion.2 tablespoonfuls of minced carrot.2 whole cloves.1 sprig of parsley.

3 pounds of beef.

2 ounces of fat salt pork.

2 tablespoonfuls of flour.

3 teaspoonfuls of salt.

1/2 teaspoonful of pepper.

1-1/2 pints of water.

2 tablespoonfuls of minced onion.

2 tablespoonfuls of minced carrot.

2 whole cloves.

1 sprig of parsley.

Cut the pork into thin slices and fry until brown and crisp. Take out the pork, and, putting the vegetables into the fat remaining in the pan, cook slowly for fifteen minutes.

Rub half the pepper and two teaspoonfuls of the salt into the piece of meat, and place it in a deep granite-ware pan. When the vegetables are cooked, put them with the meat, first pressing from them as much fat as possible. Into the fat remaining in the pan put the flour, and stir until it becomes a dark brown. Add the water gradually, stirring all the while. Season this gravy with the remainder of the salt and pepper, and boil for five minutes; then pour over the meat in the pan. Add the cloves and parsley. Cover the pan and set in a very moderate oven. Cook for five hours, basting every half-hour with the gravy in the pan. The oven must never be so hot that the gravy will bubble.

This long, slow cooking will make the toughest piece of meat tender; but if it be cooked too fast, the meat will become hard, dry, and stringy. Any of the tough pieces can be used for this dish.

Veal, mutton, chicken, and turkey all can be cooked in this manner. With the light meats use a little celery, if convenient.

1/2 pint of strained tomato.1 egg.1-1/2 pounds of round steak.4 tablespoonfuls of pork fat or beef drippings.1 tablespoonful of butter.1/2 cupful of cracker crumbs.1-1/4 pints of water.2 tablespoonfuls of flour.1/2 teaspoonful of thyme.1-1/2 teaspoonfuls of salt.1/3 teaspoonful of pepper.1 tablespoonful of minced onion.

1/2 pint of strained tomato.

1 egg.

1-1/2 pounds of round steak.

4 tablespoonfuls of pork fat or beef drippings.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1/2 cupful of cracker crumbs.

1-1/4 pints of water.

2 tablespoonfuls of flour.

1/2 teaspoonful of thyme.

1-1/2 teaspoonfuls of salt.

1/3 teaspoonful of pepper.

1 tablespoonful of minced onion.

Have the steak cut thin. Make a dressing by mixing together the cracker crumbs, thyme, half a teaspoonful of the salt, half the pepper, the butter, a little more than a gill of cold water, and the egg, well beaten. Season the slice of steak with half a teaspoonful of salt, and a little of the pepper. Spread the dressing on it, and roll up. Wind soft darning cotton around the roll, to keep it in place.

Put the pork fat in a frying-pan, and set on the fire. Dredge the roll with flour, and place it in the hot fat. Cook until brown on all sides, then place it in a stewpan. Put the onion and a tablespoonful of flour into the fat remaining in the pan. Stir until brown; then gradually add the scant pint of water, and stir until the sauce boils up. Add the remainder of the salt and pepper, and half a pint of strained tomato. Strain this on the beefsteak roll. Cover the stewpan, and place where the sauce will bubble at one side for three hours. When done, take up, remove the strings, and place the roll on a warm dish. Pour the sauce over it, and serve.

This dish is suitable for luncheon or dinner. Any of the following named vegetables may be served with it: potatoes, rice, hominy, carrots, turnips, cabbage, or macaroni.

Beef Olives.

1-1/2 pounds of round of beef.1/2 pint of cracker crumbs.1-1/2 teaspoonfuls of salt.1/3 teaspoonful of pepper.3 tablespoonfuls of flour.3 ounces of salt pork.1/3 teaspoonful of thyme.1/3 teaspoonful of summer savory.

1-1/2 pounds of round of beef.

1/2 pint of cracker crumbs.

1-1/2 teaspoonfuls of salt.

1/3 teaspoonful of pepper.

3 tablespoonfuls of flour.

3 ounces of salt pork.

1/3 teaspoonful of thyme.

1/3 teaspoonful of summer savory.

Have the beef cut in a thin slice. Cut all the fat from this and chop it fine. Mix together the cracker crumbs, chopped fat, half a teaspoonful of salt, one sixth of a teaspoonful of pepper, the herbs, and a gill of cold water. Cut the slice of beef in pieces about four inches long and three wide. Season the meat with the remainder of the salt and pepper. Spread the cracker dressing on these strips of meat and then roll them up. Tie them with soft darning cotton and then roll them in the flour. Cut the pork in slices and fry until crisp and brown. Take out the pork and lay the olives in the fat remaining in the pan. Fry on all sides until brown; then put the olives in a small stewpan. Put into a frying-pan such flour as remained after the olives were rolled, and stir until brown. Gradually pour upon this one pint of cold water. Stir until it boils and then pour over the olives. Cover the stewpan and place where the contents will just bubble at one side for two hours. At serving time take up the olives, remove the strings, and arrange in the centre of a warm platter. Free the gravy from fat and pour over the olives. The dish may be served plain or with a border of either boiled rice, mashed potatoes, or strips of toast.

1 pound of round, shoulder, or flank of beef.1/4 teaspoonful of pepper.1 teaspoonful of salt.

1 pound of round, shoulder, or flank of beef.

1/4 teaspoonful of pepper.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

Have the butcher chop the meat very fine. Season it with the salt and pepper and make it into small cakes abouthalf an inch thick. Rub the bars of the broiler with a bit of fat and lay the cakes in it. Broil over clear coals for six minutes, if the steaks be liked rare; or eight minutes, if to be well done. Place on a hot dish and season with butter and salt. Another method is to put into a frying-pan about a tablespoonful of butter or pork fat and cook the steaks for eight minutes. Place the steaks on a hot dish, and into the pan in which they were cooked put one tablespoonful of butter and half a tablespoonful of flour. Stir until smooth and brown; then add a gill of cold water, stirring all the time. Season this sauce with half a teaspoonful of salt and a little pepper. A gill of strained tomatoes will be an improvement. Pour the sauce over the steaks and serve at once.

The bones of the roast.About a pound and a quarter of meat.5 tablespoonfuls of liquid fat.1 large onion.2 tablespoonfuls of minced carrot.2 tablespoonfuls of minced celery.1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of flour.2 level teaspoonfuls of salt.1/4 teaspoonful of pepper.1 pint of boiling water.1 pint of sliced potatoes.

The bones of the roast.

About a pound and a quarter of meat.

5 tablespoonfuls of liquid fat.

1 large onion.

2 tablespoonfuls of minced carrot.

2 tablespoonfuls of minced celery.

1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of flour.

2 level teaspoonfuls of salt.

1/4 teaspoonful of pepper.

1 pint of boiling water.

1 pint of sliced potatoes.

Take the bones and the tough pieces left from a cold roast of beef. After cutting all the meat from the bones, remove all the fat from the meat and put it on the fire in a frying-pan. Cut the lean meat into small pieces. Place the bones in a stewpan and lay the meat on top of them. Take from the frying-pan five tablespoonfuls of liquid fat and put it in another frying-pan. Add the minced vegetables, and cook slowly for half an hour. At the end of that time draw the pan forward to a hotter part of the range and cook rapidly for three minutes, stirring all the time. Now draw the vegetables to one side of the pan and press out the fat, then put the vegetables in the stewpan. Put the flour into the fat remaining in the pan, and stiruntil it becomes smooth and brown; then add the water, and stir until it boils. Add the salt and pepper and cook for three minutes. Pour this gravy into the stewpan, and, covering the pan, set it back where the contents will just bubble at one side for two hours and a half. The potatoes are then to be added and the stewpan brought forward to a hotter place. At the end of half an hour the stew will be done. Remove the bones and serve the stew on a warm dish. It may be garnished with a circle of small baking powder biscuit, or with dumplings.

With the bones and tough pieces of cold lamb or mutton a stew can be made the same as beef stew with cold roast beef. If you have the small white turnips use a gill of these cut in cubes and fried with the other vegetables.

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