First Course.
menu
Spring Soup, removed by Salmon and Lobster Sauce. Fillets of Mackerel. Vase of Flowers. Fried Smelts. Soles à la Crême.
Second Course.
menu
Roast Ribs of Lamb. Larded Capon. Stewed Beef à la Jardinière. Vase of Flowers. Boiled Ham. Spring Chickens. Braised Turkey.
Entrées.
menu Oyster Patties
Lamb Cutlets, Asparagus and Peas. Curried Lobster. Vase of Flowers. Oyster Patties. Grenadines de Veau.
Third Course.
menu
Dessert and Ices.
Ducklings, removed by Cabinet Pudding. Raspberry-Jam Tartlets. Charlotte à la Parisienne. Rhubarb Tart. Clear Jelly. Vase of Flowers. Orange Jelly. Victoria Sandwiches. Cheesecakes. Raspberry Cream. Nesselrode Pudding.
First Course.—Soup à la reine; julienne soup; turbot and lobster sauce; slices of salmon à la genévése.Entrées.—Croquettes of leveret; fricandeau de veau; vol-au-vent; stewed mushrooms.Second Course.—Fore-quarter of lamb; saddle of mutton; boiled chickens, asparagus and peas; boiled tongue garnished with tufts of broccoli; vegetables.Third Course.—Ducklings; larded guinea-fowls; charlotte à la parisienne; orange jelly; meringues; ratafia ice pudding; lobster salad; sea-kale; dessert and ices.
First Course.—Gravy soup; salmon and dressed cucumber; shrimp sauce; fillets of whitings.Entrées.—Lobster cutlets; chicken patties.Second Course.—Roast fillet of veal; boiled leg of lamb; ham, garnished with broccoli; vegetables.Third Course.—Ducklings; compôte of rhubarb; custards; vanilla cream; orange jelly; cabinet pudding; ice pudding; dessert.
First Course.—Spring soup; slices of salmon and caper sauce; fried filleted soles.Entrées.—Chicken vol-au-vent; mutton cutlets and tomato sauce.Second Course.—Roast loin of veal; boiled fowls à la béchamel; tongue; vegetables.Third Course.—Guinea-fowls; sea-kale; artichoke bottoms; cabinet pudding; blancmange; apricot tartlets; rice fritters; macaroni and Parmesan cheese; dessert.
First Course.—Tapioca soup; boiled salmon and lobster sauce.Entrées.—Sweetbreads; oyster patties.Second Course.—Haunch of mutton; boiled capon and white sauce; tongue; vegetables.Third Course.—Soufflé of rice; lemon cream; charlotte à la parisienne; rhubarb tart; dessert.
First Course.—Julienne soup; fried whitings; red mullet.Entrées.—Lamb cutlets and cucumbers; rissoles.Second Course.—Roast ribs of beef; neck of veal à la béchamel; vegetables.Third Course.—Ducklings; lemon pudding; rhubarb tart; custards; cheesecakes; dessert.
First Course.—Vermicelli soup; brill and shrimp sauce.Entrées.—Fricandeau of veal; lobster cutlets.Second Course.—Roast fore-quarter of lamb; boiled chickens; tongue; vegetables.Third Course.—Goslings; sea-kale; plum pudding; whipped cream; compôte of rhubarb; cheesecakes; dessert.
First Course.—Ox-tail soup; crimped salmon.Entrées.—Croquettes of chicken; mutton cutlets and soubise sauce.Second Course.—Roast fillet of veal; boiled bacon-cheek, garnished with sprouts; boiled capon; vegetables.Third Course.—Sea-kale; lobster salad; cabinet pudding; ginger cream; raspberry-jam tartlets; rhubarb tart; macaroni; dessert.
Sunday.—1. Clear gravy soup. 2. Roast haunch of mutton, sea-kale, potatoes. 3. Rhubarb tart, custards in glasses.
Monday.—1. Crimped skate and caper sauce. 2. Boiled knuckle of veal and rice, cold mutton, mashed potatoes. 3. Baked plum-pudding.
Tuesday.—1. Vegetable soup. 2. Toad-in-the-hole, made from remains of cold mutton. 3. Stewed rhubarb and baked custard puddings.
Wednesday.—1. Fried soles, anchovy sauce. 2. Boiled beef and carrots, suet dumplings. 3. Lemon pudding.
Thursday.—1. Pea-soup, made with liquor that beef was boiled in. 2. Cold beef, mashed potatoes, mutton cutlets and tomato sauce. 3. Macaroni.
Friday.—1. Bubble-and-squeak made with remains of cold beef, roast shoulder of veal stuffed, spinach and potatoes. 2. Boiled batter pudding and sweet sauce.
Saturday.—1. Stewed veal with vegetables, made of remains of cold shoulder, broiled rump-steak and oyster sauce. 2. Yeast dumplings.
Sunday.—Boiled salmon and dressed cucumber, anchovy sauce. 2. Roast fore-quarter of lamb, spinach, potatoes, and mint sauce. 3. Rhubarb tart and cheesecakes.
Monday.—Curried salmon, made with remains of salmon, dish of boiled rice. 2. Cold lamb, rump-steak and kidney pudding, potatoes. 3. Spinach and poached eggs.
Tuesday.—1. Scotch mutton broth with pearl barley. 2. Boiled neck of mutton, caper sauce, suet dumplings, carrots. 3. Baked rice puddings.
Wednesday.—1. Boiled mackerel and melted butter and fennel sauce, potatoes. 2. Roast fillet of veal, bacon and greens. 3. Fig pudding.
Thursday.—1. Flemish soup. 2. Roast loin of mutton, broccoli, potatoes, veal rolls made from remains of cold veal. 3. Boiled rhubarb pudding.
Friday.—1. Irish stew or haricot for cold mutton, minced veal. 2. Half-pay pudding.
Saturday.—1. Rump-steak pie, broiled mutton chops. 2. Baked arrowroot pudding.
Fish.—Brill, carp, cockles, crabs, dory, flounders, ling, lobsters, red and grey mullet, mussels, oysters, perch, prawns, salmon (but rather scarce and expensive), shad, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, tench, turbot, whitings.
Meat.—Beef, lamb, mutton, veal.
Poultry.—Chickens, ducklings, fowls, pigeons, pullets, rabbits.
Game.—Leverets.
Vegetables.—Broccoli, celery, lettuces, young onions, parsnips, radishes, small salad, sea-kale, spinach, sprouts, various herbs.
Fruit.—Apples, nuts, pears, forced cherries, &c. for tarts, rhubarb, dried fruits, crystallized preserves.
Ingredients.—½ lb. of butter, 6 eggs, ½ lb. of flour, 6 oz. of arrowroot, ½ lb. of pounded loaf sugar.Mode.—Beat the butter to a cream; whisk the eggs to a strong froth, add them to the butter, stir in the flour a little at a time, and beat the mixture well. Break down all the lumps from the arrowroot, and add that with the sugar to the other ingredients. Mix all well together, drop the dough on a buttered tin, in pieces the size of a shilling, and bake the biscuits about ¼ hour in a slow oven. If the whites of the eggs are separated from the yolks, and both are beaten separately before being added to the other ingredients, the biscuits will be much lighter.Time.—¼ hour.Average cost, 2s.6d.Sufficientto make from 3 to 4 dozen biscuits.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—4 heaped tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, 1½ pint of milk, 3 laurel-leaves or the rind of ½ lemon, sugar to taste.Mode.—Mix to a smooth batter the arrowroot with ½ pint of the milk; put the other pint on the fire, with laurel-leaves or lemon-peel, whichever may be preferred, and let the milk steep until it is well flavoured; then strain the milk, and add it, boiling, to the mixed arrowroot; sweeten it with sifted sugar, and let it boil, stirring it all the time, till it thickens sufficiently to come from the saucepan. Grease a mould with pure salad-oil, pour in the blancmange, and, when quite set, turn it out on a dish, and pour round it a compôte of any kind of fruit, or garnish it with jam. A tablespoonful of brandy, stirred in just before the blancmange is moulded, very much improves the flavour of this sweet dish.Time.—Altogether, ½ hour.Average cost, 6d.without the garnishing.Sufficientfor 4 or 5 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—2 tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, 1½ pint of milk, 1 oz. of butter, the rind of ½ lemon, 2 heaped tablespoonfuls of moist sugar, a little grated nutmeg.Mode.—Mix the arrowroot with as much cold milk as will make it into a smooth batter, moderately thick; put the remainder of the milk into a stewpan with the lemon-peel, and let it infuse for about ½ hour; when it boils, strain it gently to the batter, stirring it all the time to keep it smooth; then add the butter; beat this well in until thoroughly mixed, and sweeten with moist sugar. Put the mixture into a pie-dish, round which has been placed a border of paste; grate a little nutmeg over the top, and bake the pudding from 1 to 1¼ hour, in a moderate oven, or boil it the same length of time in a well-buttered basin. To enrich this pudding, stir to the other ingredients, just before it is put in the oven, 3 well-whisked eggs, and add a tablespoonful of brandy. For a nursery pudding, the addition of the latter ingredients will be found quite superfluous, as also the paste round the edge of the dish.Time.—1 to 1¼ hour, baked or boiled.Average cost, 7d.Sufficientfor 5 or 6 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—2 small teaspoonfuls of arrowroot, 4 dessertspoonfuls of pounded sugar, the juice of 1 lemon, ¼ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, ½ pint of water.Mode.—Mix the arrowroot smoothly with the water; put this into a stewpan; add the sugar, strained lemon-juice, and grated nutmeg. Stir these ingredients over the fire until they boil, when the sauce is ready for use. A small quantity of wine, or any liqueur, would very much improve the flavour of this sauce: it is usually served with bread, rice, custard, or any dry pudding that is not very rich.Time.—Altogether, 15 minutes.Average cost, 4d.Sufficientfor 6 or 7 persons.
Ingredients.—Two teaspoonfuls of arrowroot, 3 tablespoonfuls of cold water, ½ pint of boiling water.Mode.—Mix the arrowroot smoothly in a basin with the cold water, then pour on it theboilingwater,stirringall the time. The water must beboilingat the time it is poured on the mixture, or it will not thicken; if mixed with hot water only, it must be put into a clean saucepan, and boiled until it thickens; but this occasions more trouble, and is quite unnecessary, if the water is boiling at first. Put the arrowroot into a tumbler, sweeten it with lump sugar, and flavour it with grated nutmeg or cinnamon, or a piece of lemon-peel, or, when allowed, 3 tablespoonfuls of port or sherry. As arrowroot is in itself flavourless and insipid, it is almost necessary to add the wine to make it palatable. Arrowroot made with milk instead of water is far nicer, but is not so easily digested. It should be mixed in the same manner, with 3 tablespoonfuls of cold water, the boiling milk then poured on it, and well stirred. When made in this manner, no wine should be added, but merely sugar, and a little grated nutmeg or lemon-peel.Time.—If obliged to be boiled, 2 minutes.Average cost, 2d.per pint.Sufficientto make ½ pint of arrowroot.
Ingredients.—To each ½ gallon of water,allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt, a piece of soda the size of a shilling; artichokes.Mode.—Wash the artichokes well in several waters; see that no insects remain about them, and trim away the leaves at the bottom. Cut off the stems and put them intoboilingwater, to which has been added salt and soda in the above proportion. Keep the saucepan uncovered, and let them boil quickly until tender; ascertain when they are done by thrusting a fork in them, or by trying if the leaves can be easily removed. Take them out, let them drain for a minute or two, and serve in a napkin, or with a little white sauce poured over. A tureen of melted butter should accompany them. This vegetable, unlike any other, is considered better for being gathered two or three days; but they must be well soaked and washed previous to dressing.Time.—20 to 25 minutes, after the water boils.Sufficient,—a dish of 5 or 6 for 4 persons.Seasonablefrom July to the beginning of September.
ARTICHOKES.
ARTICHOKES.
Ingredients.—5 or 6 artichokes; to each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt, ½ teaspoonful of pepper, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, 2 oz. of butter.Mode.—Cut the ends of the leaves, as also the stems; put the artichokes into boiling water, with the above proportion of salt, pepper, herbs, and butter; let them boil quickly until tender, keeping the lid of the saucepan off, and when the leaves come out easily, they are cooked enough. To keep them a beautiful green, put a large piece of cinder into a muslin bag, and let it boil with them. Serve with plain melted butter.Time.—20 to 25 minutes.Sufficient,—5 or 6 sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.Seasonablefrom July to the beginning of September.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES.
Ingredients.—5 or 6 artichokes, salt and water: for the batter,—¼ lb. of flour, a little salt, the yolk of 1 egg, milk.Mode.—Trim and boil the artichokes, and rub them over with lemon-juice, to keep them white. When they are quite tender, take them up, remove the chokes, and divide the bottoms; dip each piece into batter, fry them into hot lard or dripping, and garnish the dish with crisped parsley. Serve with plain melted butter.Time.—20 minutes to boil the artichokes, 5 to 7 minutes to fry them.Sufficient,—5 or 6 for 4 or 5 persons.Seasonablefrom July to the beginning of September.
Ingredients.—4 or 5 artichokes, salt and butter, about ½ pint of good gravy.Mode.—Trim and cut the artichokes into quarters, and boil them until tender in water mixed with a little salt and butter. When done, drain them well, and lay them all round the dish, with the leaves outside. Have ready some good gravy, highly flavoured with mushrooms; reduce it until quite thick, and pour it round the artichokes, and serve.Time.—20 to 25 minutes to boil the artichokes.Sufficientfor one side-dish.Seasonablefrom July to the beginning of September.
Ingredients.—To each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt; artichokes.Mode.—Wash, peel, and shape the artichokes in a round or oval form, and put them into a saucepan with sufficientcoldwater to cover them salted in the above proportion. Let them boil gently until tender; take them up, drain them, and serve them in a napkin, or plain, whichever mode is preferred; send to table with them a tureen of melted butter or cream sauce, a little of which may be poured over the artichokes when they arenotserved in a napkin.Time.—About twenty minutes after the water boils.Average cost, 2d.per lb.Sufficient,—10 for a dish for 6 persons.Seasonable.—from September to June.
Ingredients.—To each ½ gallon of water allow 1 oz. of salt, 15 or 16 artichokes, 1 oz. butter, pepper and salt to taste.Mode.—Boil the artichokes as in the preceding recipe until tender; drain and press the water from them, and beat them up with a fork. When thoroughly mashed and free from lumps, put them into a saucepan with the butter and a seasoning ofwhitepepper and salt; keep stirring over the fire until the artichokes are quite hot, and serve. A pretty way of serving Jerusalem artichokes as an entremets, or second course dish, is to shape the artichokes in the form of a pear, and to serve them covered with white sauce, garnished with Brussels sprouts.Time.—About 20 minutes.Average cost, 2d.per lb.Sufficientfor 6 or 7 persons.Seasonablefrom September to June.
Ingredients.—3 slices of lean bacon or ham, ½ a head of celery, 1 turnip, 1 onion, 3 oz. of butter, 4 lbs. of artichokes, 1 pint of boiling milk, or 1 pint of boiling cream, salt and cayenne to taste, 2 lumps of sugar, 2½ quarts of white stock.Mode.—Put the bacon and vegetables, which should be cut into thin slices, into the stewpan with the butter. Braise these for ¼ of an hour, keeping them well stirred. Wash and pare the artichokes, and after cutting them into thin slices, add them, with a pint of stock, to the other ingredients. When these have gently stewed down to a smooth pulp, put in the remainder of the stock. Stir it well, adding the seasoning, and when it has simmered for five minutes, pass it through a strainer. Now pour it back into the stewpan, let it again simmer five minutes, taking care to skim it well, and stir it to the boiling milk or cream. Serve with small sippets of bread fried in butter.Time.—1 hour.Average costper quart, 1s.2d.Seasonablefrom June to October.Sufficientfor 8 persons.
BOILED ASPARAGUS.
BOILED ASPARAGUS.
Ingredients.—To each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt; asparagus.Mode.—Asparagus should be dressed as soon as possible after it is cut, although it may be kept for a day or two by putting the stalks into cold water; yet to be good, like every other vegetable, it cannot be cooked too fresh. Scrape the white part of the stems,beginningfrom thehead, and throw them into cold water; then tie them into bundles of about 20 each, keeping the heads all one way, and cut the stalks evenly, that they may all be the same length; put them intoboilingwater, with salt in the above proportion; keep them boiling quickly until tender, with the saucepan uncovered. When the asparagus is done, dish it upon toast, which should be dipped in the water it was cooked in, and leave the white ends outward each way, with the points meeting in the middle. Serve with a tureen of melted butter.Time.—15 to 18 minutes after the water boils.Average cost, in full season, 2s.6d.the 100 heads.Sufficient.—Allow about 50 heads for 4 or 5 persons.Seasonable.—May be had forced from January, but cheapest in May, June and July.
ASPARAGUS TONGS.
ASPARAGUS TONGS.
Ingredients.—100 heads of asparagus, 2 oz. of butter, a small bunch of parsley, 2 or 3 green onions, flour, 1 lump of sugar, the yolks of 2 eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls of cream, salt.Mode.—Carefully scrape the asparagus, cut it into pieces of an equal size, avoiding that which is in the least hard or tough, and throw them into cold water. Then boil the asparagus in salt and water until three-parts done; take it out, drain, and place it on a cloth to dry the moisture away from it. Put it into a stewpan with the butter, parsley, and onions, and shake over a brisk fire for 10 minutes. Dredge in a little flour, add the sugar,and moisten with boiling water. When boiled a short time and reduced, take out the parsley and onions, thicken with the yolks of 2 eggs beaten with the cream; add a seasoning of salt, and when the whole is on the point of simmering, serve. Make the sauce sufficiently thick to adhere to the vegetable.Time.—Altogether, ½ hour.Average cost, 1s.6d.a pint.Seasonablein May, June, and July.
Ingredients.—½ pint of asparagus peas, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 1 tablespoonful ofvery finelyminced ham, 1 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, milk.Mode.—Cut up the nice green tender parts of asparagus, about the size of peas; put them into a basin with the eggs, which should be well beaten, and the flour, ham, butter, pepper, and salt. Mix all these ingredients well together, and moisten with sufficient milk to make the pudding of the consistency of thick batter; put it into a pint buttered mould, tie it down tightly with a floured cloth, place it inboiling water, and let it boil for 2 hours; turn it out of the mould on to a hot dish, and pour plain melted butterround, but not over, the pudding. Green peas pudding may be made in exactly the same manner, substituting peas for the asparagus.Time.—2 hours.Average cost, 1s.6d.per pint.Seasonablein May, June, and July.
Ingredients.—100 heads of asparagus, 2 quarts of medium stock (seeStock), 1 pint of water, salt.Mode.—Scrape the asparagus, but do not cut off any of the stems, and boil it in a pint of water salted,until the heads are nearly done. Then drain the asparagus, cut off the green heads very neatly, and put them on one side until the soup is ready. If the stock is not made, add the stems of asparagus to the rest of the vegetables; if, however, the stock is ready, boil the stems a little longer in the same water that they were first cooked in. Then strain them off, add the asparagus water to the stock, and when all is boiling drop in the green heads (or peas as they are called), and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes. If the soup boils long after the asparagus is put in, the appearance of the vegetable would be quite spoiled. A small quantity of sherry, added after the soup is put into the tureen, would improve this soup very much. Sometimes a French roll is cut up and served in it.Time.—To nearly cookthe asparagus, 12 minutes.Average cost, 1s.9d.per quart.Sufficientfor 6 or 8 persons.Seasonablefrom May to August.
Ingredients.—4 lbs. of knuckle of veal, 1 cow-heel, 3 or 4 slices of ham, any poultry trimmings, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 1 faggot of savoury herbs, 1 glass of sherry, 3 quarts of water; seasoning to taste of salt and whole white pepper; 3 eggs.Mode.—Lay the ham on the bottom of a stewpan, cut up the veal and cow-heel into small pieces, and lay them on the ham; add the poultry trimmings, vegetables, herbs, sherry, and water, and let the whole simmer very gently for 4 hours, carefully taking away all scum that may rise to the surface; strain through a fine sieve, and pour into an earthen pan to get cold. Have ready a clean stewpan, put in the jelly, and be particular to leave the sediment behind, or it will not be clear. Add the whites of 3 eggs, with salt and pepper, to clarify; keep stirring over the fire till the whole becomes very white; then draw it to the side, and let it stand till clear. When this is the case, strain it through a cloth or jelly-bag, and use it for moulding poultry, &c. Tarragon vinegar may be added to give an additional flavour.Time.—Altogether 4½ hours.Average costfor this quantity, 4s.
Dinner for 18 persons.
First Course.
menu
Mock-Turtle Soup, removed by Broiled Salmon and Caper Sauce. Red Mullet. Vase of Flowers. Perch. Soup à la Julienne, removed by Brill and Shrimp Sauce.
Second Course.
menu
Haunch of Venison. Ham, garnished. Capons à la Financière. Vase of Flowers. Roast Fowls. Leveret Pie. Saddle of Mutton.
Entrées.
menu
Fricandeau de Veau à la Jardinière. Curried Lobster. Vase of Flowers. Lamb Cutlets à la Purée de Pommes de Terre. Fillets of Ducks and Peas.
Third Course.
menu
Dessert and Ices.
Grouse removed by Cabinet Pudding. Lobster Salad. Cheesecakes. Fruit Jelly. Charlotte à la Vanille. Vase of Flowers. Custards. Vol-au-Vent of Pears. Raspberry Tartlets. Larded Peahen, removed by Iced Pudding. Prawns.
First Course.—Vermicelli soup; soup à la reine; boiled salmon; fried flounders; trout en matelot.Entrées.—Stewed pigeons; sweetbreads; ragoût of ducks; fillets of chickens and mushrooms.Second Course.—Quarter of lamb; cotellette de bœuf à la jardinière; roast fowls and boiled tongue; bacon and beans.Third Course.—Grouse; wheatears; greengage tart; whipped cream; vol-au-vent of plums; fruit jelly; iced pudding; cabinet pudding; dessert and ices.
First Course.—Julienne soup; fillets of turbot and Dutch sauce; red mullet.Entrées.—Riz de veau aux tomates; fillets of ducks and peas.Second Course.—Haunch of venison; boiled capon and oysters; ham, garnished; vegetables.Third Course.—Leveret; fruit jelly; compôte of greengages; plum tart; custards, in glasses; omelette soufflé; dessert and ices.
First Course.—Macaroni soup; crimped salmon and sauce Hollandaise; fried fillets of trout.Entrées.—Tendrons do veau and stewed peas; salmi of grouse.Second Course.—Roast loin of veal; boiled bacon, garnished with French beans; stewed beef à la jardinière; vegetables.Third Course.—Turkey poult; plum tart; custard pudding; vol-au-vent of pears; strawberry cream; ratafia soufflé; dessert.
First Course.—Vegetable-marrow soup; stewed mullet; fillets of salmon and ravigotte sauce.Entrées.—Curried lobster; fricandeau de veau à la jardinière.Second Course.—Roast saddle of mutton; stewed shoulder of veal, garnished with forcemeat balls; vegetables.Third Course.—Roast grouse and bread sauce; vol-au-vent of greengages; fruit jelly; raspberry cream; custards; fig pudding; dessert.
Sunday.—1. Vegetable-marrow soup. 2. Roast quarter of lamb, mint sauce; French beans and potatoes. 3. Raspberry-and-currant tart, custard pudding.
Monday.—1. Cold lamb and salad, small meat-pie, vegetable marrow, and white sauce. 2. Lemon dumplings.
Tuesday.—1. Boiled mackerel. 2. Stewed loin of veal, French beans and potatoes, 3. Baked raspberry pudding.
Wednesday.—1. Vegetable soup. 2. Lamb cutlets and French beans; the remains of stewed shoulder of veal, mashed vegetable marrow. 3. Black-currant pudding.
Thursday.—1. Roast ribs of beef, Yorkshire pudding, French beans and potatoes. 2. Bread-and-butter pudding.
Friday.—1. Fried soles and melted butter. 2. Cold beef and salad, lamb cutlets and mashed potatoes. 3. Cauliflowers and white sauce instead of pudding.
Saturday.—1. Stewed beef and vegetables, with remains of cold beef; mutton pudding. 2. Macaroni and cheese.
Sunday.—1. Salmon pudding. 2. Roast fillet of veal, boiled bacon-cheek garnished with tufts of cauliflowers, French beans and potatoes. 3. Plum tart, boiled custard pudding.
Monday.—1. Baked soles. 2. Cold veal and bacon, salad, mutton cutlets and tomato sauce. 3. Boiled currant pudding.
Tuesday.—1. Rice soup. 2. Roast fowls and water-cresses, boiled knuckle of ham, minced veal garnished with croûtons; vegetables. 3. College pudding.
Wednesday.—1. Curried fowl with remains of cold fowl; dish of rice, stewed rump-steak and vegetables. 2. Plum tart.
Thursday.—1. Boiled brisket of beef, carrots, turnips, suet dumplings, and potatoes. 2. Baked bread pudding.
Friday.—1. Vegetable soup, made from liquor that beef was boiled in. 2. Cold beef and dressed cucumber, veal cutlets and tomato sauce. 3. Fondue.
Saturday.—1. Bubble-and-squeak, made from remains of cold beef; cold veal-and-ham pie, salad. 2. Baked raspberry pudding.
Fish.—Brill, carp, chub, crayfish, crabs, dory, eels, flounders, grigs, herrings, lobsters, mullet, pike, prawns, salmon, shrimps, skate, soles, sturgeon, thornback, trout, turbot.
Meat.—Beef, lamb, mutton, veal, buck venison.
Poultry.—Chickens, ducklings, fowls, green geese, pigeons, plovers, pullets, rabbits, turkey poults, wheatears, wild ducks.
Game.—Leverets, grouse, black-cock.
Vegetables.—Artichokes, asparagus, beans, carrots, cabbages, cauliflowers, celery, cresses, endive, lettuces, mushrooms, onions, peas, potatoes, radishes, sea-kale, small salading, sprouts, turnips, various kitchen herbs, vegetable marrows.
Fruit.—Currants, figs, filberts, gooseberries, grapes, melons, mulberries, nectarines, peaches, pears, pineapples, plums, raspberries, walnuts.
Ingredients.—Bacon; water.Mode.—As bacon is frequently excessively salt, let it be soaked in warm water for an hour or two previous to dressing it; then pare off the rusty parts, and scrape the under-side and rind as clean as possible. Put it into a saucepan of cold water; let it come gradually to a boil, and as fast as the scum rises to the surface of the water, remove it. Let it simmer very gently until it isthoroughlydone; then take it up, strip off the skin, and sprinkle over the bacon a few bread raspings, and garnish with tufts of cauliflower or Brussels sprouts. When served alone, young and tender broad beans or green peas are the usual accompaniments.Time.—1 lb. of bacon, ¾ hour; 2 lbs., 1½ hour.Average cost,10d.to 1s.per lb. for the primest parts.Sufficient.—2 lbs., when served with poultry or veal, sufficient for 10 persons.Seasonableat any time.
BOILED BACON.
BOILED BACON.
Before purchasing bacon, ascertain that it is perfectly free from rust, which may easily be detected by its yellow colour; and for broiling, the streaked part of the thick flank is generally the most esteemed. Cut it intothinslices, take off the rind, and broil over a nice clear fire; turn it two or three times, and serve very hot. Should there be any cold bacon left from the previous day, it answers very well for breakfast, cut into slices, and broiled or fried.Time.—3 or 4 minutes.Average cost, 10d.to 1s.per lb. for the primest parts.Seasonableat any time.
Note.—When the bacon is cut very thin, the slices may be curled round andfastened by means of small skewers, and fried or toasted before the fire.
The carcass of the hog, after hanging over-night to cool, is laid on a strong bench or stool, and the head is separated from the body at the neck close behind the ears; the feet and also the internal fat are removed. The carcass is next divided into two sides in the following manner:—The ribs are divided about an inch from the spine on each side, and the spine, with the ends of the ribs attached, together with the internal flesh between it and the kidneys, and also the flesh above it, throughout the whole length of the sides, are removed. The portion of the carcass thus cut out is in the form of a wedge—the breadth of the interior consisting of the breadth of the spine, and about an inch of the ribs on each side, being diminished to about half an inch at the exterior or skin along the back. The breastbone, and also the first anterior rib, are also dissected from the side. Sometimes the whole of the ribs are removed; but this, for reasons afterwards to be noticed, is a very bad practice. When the hams are cured separately from the sides, which is generally the case, they are cut out so as to include the hock-bone, in a similar manner to the London mode of cutting a haunch of mutton. The carcass of the hog thus cut up is ready for being salted, which process, in large curing establishments, is generally as follows:—The skin side of the pork is rubbed over with a mixture of fifty parts by weight of salt, and one part of saltpetre in powder, and the incised parts of the ham or flitch, and the inside of the flitch, covered with the same. The salted bacon, in pairs of flitches with the insides to each other, is piled one pair of flitches above another on benches slightly inclined, and furnished with spouts or troughs to convey the brine to receivers in the floor of the salting-house, to be afterwards used for pickling pork for navy purposes. In this state the bacon remains a fortnight, which is sufficient for flitches cut from hogs of a carcass weight less than 15 stone (14 lbs. to the stone). Flitches of a larger size, at the expiration of that time, are wiped dry and reversed in their place in the pile, having, at the same time, about half the first quantity of fresh, dry, common salt sprinkled over the inside and incised parts; after which they remain on the benches for another week. Hams being thicker than flitches, will require, when less than 20 lbs. weight, 3 weeks; and when above that weight, 4 weeks to remain under the above described process. The next and last process in the preparation of bacon and hams, previous to being sent to market, is drying. This is effected by hanging the flitches and hams for 2 or 3 weeks in a room heated by stoves, or in a smoke-house, in which they are exposed for the same length of time to the smoke arising from the slow combustion of the sawdust of oak or other hard wood. The latter mode of completing the curing process has some advantages over the other, as by it the meat is subject to the action ofcreosote, a volatile oil produced by the combustion of the sawdust, which is powerfully antiseptic. The process also furnishing a thin covering of a resinous varnish, excludes the air not only from the muscle, but also from the fat—thus effectually preventing the meat from becoming rusted; and the principal reasons for condemning the practice of removing the ribs from the flitches of pork are, that by so doing the meat becomes unpleasantly hard and pungent in the process of salting, and, by being more exposed to the action of the air, becomes sooner and more extensively rusted. Notwithstanding its superior efficacy in completing the process of curing, the flavour which smoke-drying imparts to meat is disliked by many persons, and it is therefore by no means the most general mode of drying adopted by mercantile curers. A very impure variety ofpyroligneousacid, or vinegar made from the destructive distillation of wood, is sometimes used, on account of the highly preservative power of the creosote which it contains, and also to impart the smoke-flavour; in which latter object, however, the coarse flavour of tar is given, rather than that derived from the smoke from combustion of wood. A considerable portion of the bacon and hams salted in Ireland is exported from that country packed amongst salt, in bales, immediately from the salting process, without having been in any degree dried. In the process of salting above described, pork loses from 8 to 10 per cent of its weight, according to the size and quality of themeat; and a further diminution of weight, to the extent of 5 to 6 per cent. takes place in drying during the first fortnight after being taken out of salt; so that the total loss in weight occasioned by the preparation of bacon and hams in a proper state for market, is not less on an average than 15 per cent. on the weight of the fresh pork.
The two sides that remain, and which are called flitches, are to be cured for bacon. They are first rubbed with salt on their insides, or flesh sides, then placed one on the other, the flesh sides uppermost, in a salting-trough which has a gutter round its edges to drain away the brine; for, to have sweet and fine bacon, the flitches must not be sopping in brine, which gives it the sort of vile taste that barrel and sea pork have. Every one knows how different is the taste of fresh dry salt from that of salt in a dissolved state; therefore change the salt often,—once in 4 or 5 days; let it melt and sink in, but not lie too long; twice change the flitches, put that at bottom which was first on the top: this mode will cost you a great deal more in salt than the sopping mode, but without it your bacon will not be so sweet and fine, nor keep so well. As for the time required in making your flitches sufficiently salt, it depends on circumstances. It takes a longer time for a thick than a thin flitch, and longer in dry than in damp weather, or in a dry than in a damp place; but for the flitches of a hog of five score, in weather not very dry or damp, about 6 weeks may do; and as yours is to be fat, which receives little injury from over-salting, give time enough, for you are to have bacon until Christmas comes again. The place for salting should, like a dairy, always be cool, but well ventilated; confined air, though cool, will taint meat sooner than the midday sun accompanied by a breeze. With regard to smoking the bacon, two precautions are necessary: first, to hang the flitches where no rain comes down upon them; and next, that the smoke must proceed from wood, not peat, turf, or coal. As to the time required to smoke a flitch, it depends a good deal upon whether there be a constant fire beneath; and whether the fire be large or small: a month will do, if the fire be pretty constant and rich, as a farm-house fire usually is; but over-smoking, or rather too long hanging in the air, makes the bacon rust; great attention should therefore be paid to this matter. The flitch ought not to be dried up to the hardness of a board, and yet it ought to be perfectly dry. Before you hang it up, lay it on the floor, scatter the flesh side pretty thickly over with bran, or with some fine sawdust, not of deal or fir; rub it on the flesh, or pat it well down upon it: this keeps the smoke from getting into the little openings, and makes a sort of crust to be dried on. To keep the bacon sweet and good, and free from hoppers, sift fine some clean and dry wood ashes. Put some at the bottom of a box or chest long enough to hold a flitch of bacon; lay in one flitch, then put in more ashes, then another flitch, and cover this with six or eight inches of the ashes. The place where the box or chest is kept ought to be dry, and, should the ashes become damp, they should be put in the fireplace to dry, and when cold, put back again. With these precautions, the bacon will be as good at the end of the year as on the first day. For simple general rules, these may be safely taken as a guide; and those who implicitly follow the directions given, will possess at the expiration of from 6 weeks to 2 months well-flavoured and well-cured bacon.
Ingredients.—To every 14 lbs. of meat allow 2 oz. of saltpetre, 2 oz. of salt prunella, 1 lb. of common salt. For the pickle, 3 gallons of water, 5 lbs. of common salt, 7 lbs. of coarse sugar, 3 lbs. of bay salt.Mode.—Weigh the sides, hams, and cheeks, and to every 14 lbs. allow the above proportion of saltpetre, salt prunella, and common salt. Pound and mix these together, and rub well into the meat; lay it in a stone trough or tub, rubbing it thoroughly, and turning it daily for two successive days. At the end of the second day, pour on it a pickle made as follows:—Put the above ingredients into a saucepan, set it on the fire, and stir frequently; remove all the scum, allow it to boil for ¼ hour, and pour it hot over the meat. Let the hams, &c., be well rubbed and turned daily; if the meat is small, a fortnight will be sufficient for the sides and shoulders to remainin the pickle, and the hams 3 weeks; if from 30 lbs. and upwards, 3 weeks will be required for the sides, &c., and from 4 to 5 weeks for the hams. On taking the pieces out, let them drain for an hour, cover with dry sawdust, and smoke from a fortnight to three weeks. Boil and carefully skim the pickle after using, and it will keep good, closely corked, for 2 years. When boiling it for use, add about 2 lbs. of common salt, and the same of treacle, to allow for waste. Tongues are excellent put into this pickle cold, having been first rubbed well with saltpetre and salt, and allowed to remain 24 hours, not forgetting to make a deep incision under the thick part of the tongue, so as to allow the pickle to penetrate more readily. A fortnight or three weeks, according to the size of the tongue, will be sufficient.Time.—Small meat to remain in the pickle a fortnight, hams 3 weeks; to be smoked from a fortnight to 3 weeks.
Ingredients.—1½ lb. of coarse sugar, ½ lb. of bay salt, 6 oz. of saltpetre, 1 lb. of common salt.Mode.—Sprinkle each flitch with salt, and let the blood drain off for 24 hours; then pound and mix the above ingredients well together and rub it well into the meat, which should be turned every day for a month; then hang it to dry, and afterwards smoke it for 10 days.Time.—To remain in the pickle from three to four weeks, to be smoked 10 days, or rather longer.
Ingredients.—Bacon; eggs.Mode.—Cut the bacon into thin slices, trim away the rusty parts, and cut off the rind. Put it into acoldfrying-pan, that is to say, do not place the pan on the fire before the bacon is in it. Turn it 2 or 3 times, and dish it on a very hot dish. Poach the eggs and slip them on to the bacon without breaking the yolks, and serve quickly.Time.—3 or 4 minutes.Average cost, 10d.to 1s.per lb. for the primest parts.Sufficient.—Allow 6 eggs for 3 persons.Seasonableat any time.Note.—Fried rashers of bacon, curled, serve as a pretty garnish to many dishes; and, for small families, answer very well as a substitute for boiled bacon, to serve with a small dish of poultry, &c.
The Bain Marie.—It is an open kind of vessel, as shown in the engraving, and is a utensil much used in modern cookery, both in English and French kitchens. It is filled with boiling or nearly boiling water; and into this water should be put all the stewpans containing those ingredients which it is desired to keep hot. The quantity and quality of the contents of these vessels are not at all affected; and if the hour of dinner is uncertain in any establishment, by reason of the nature of the master’s business, nothing is so sure a means of preserving the flavour of all dishes as the employment of the bain marie.