BROILED MUSHROOMS.
BROILED MUSHROOMS.
Ingredients.—Mushroom-flaps, pepper and salt to taste, butter, lemon-juice.Mode.—Cleanse the mushrooms by wiping them with a piece of flannel and a little salt; cut off a portion of the stalk, and peel the tops; broil them over a clear fire, turning them once, and arrange them on a very hot dish. Put a small piece of butter on each mushroom, season with pepper and salt, and squeeze over them a few drops of lemon-juice. Place the dish before the fire, and when the butter is melted, serve very hot and quickly. Moderate-sized flaps are better suited to this mode of cooking than the buttons: the latter are better in stews.Time.—10 minutes for medium-sized mushrooms.Average cost, 1d.each for large mushrooms.Sufficient.—Allow 3 or 4 mushrooms to each person.Seasonable.—Meadow mushrooms in September and October; cultivated mushrooms may be had at any time.
Mode.—Wipe them clean, take away the brown part, and peel off the skin; lay them on sheets of paper to dry, in a cool oven, when they will shrivel considerably. Keep them in paper bags, which hang in a dry place. When wanted for use, put them into cold gravy, bring them gradually to simmer, and it will be found that they will regain nearly their usual size.
Ingredients.—Sufficient vinegar to cover the mushrooms; to each quart of mushrooms, 2 blades of pounded mace, 1 oz. of ground pepper, salt to taste.Mode.—Choose some nice young button mushrooms for pickling, and rub off the skin with a piece of flannel and salt, and cut off the stalks; if very large, take out the red inside, and reject the black ones, as they are too old. Put them into a stewpan, sprinkle salt over them, with pounded mace and pepper in the above proportion; shake them well over a clear fire until the liquor flows, and keep them there until they are all dried up again; then add as much vinegar as will cover them; just let it simmer for 1 minute, and store it away in stone jars for use. When cold, tie down with bladder and keep in a dry place: they will remain good for a length of time, and are generally considered delicious.Seasonable.—-Make this the same time as ketchup, from the beginning of September to the middle of October.
Ingredients.—To each quart of mushrooms, allow 3 oz. butter, pepper and salt to taste, the juice of 1 lemon, clarified butter.Mode.—Peel the mushrooms, put them into cold water, with a little lemon-juice; take them out anddrythem very carefully in a cloth. Put the butter into a stewpan capable of holding the mushrooms; when it is melted, add the mushrooms, lemon-juice, and a seasoning of pepper and salt; draw them down over a slow fire, and let them remain until their liquor isboiled away, and they have become quite dry, but be careful in not allowing them to stick to the bottom of the stewpan. When done, put them into pots, and pour over the top clarified butter. If wanted for immediate use, they will keep good a few days without being covered over. To re-warm them, put the mushrooms into a stewpan, strain the butter from them, and they will be ready for use.Average cost, 1d.each.Seasonable.—Meadow mushrooms in September and October; cultivated mushrooms may be had at any time.
Ingredients.—1 pint mushroom-buttons, 3 oz. of fresh butter, white pepper and salt to taste, lemon-juice, 1 teaspoonful of flour, cream or milk, ¼ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg.Mode.—Cut off the ends of the stalks, and pare neatly a pint of mushroom-buttons; put them into a basin of water, with a little lemon juice, as they are done. When all are prepared, take them from the water with the hands, to avoid the sediment, and put them into a stewpan with the fresh butter, white pepper, salt, and the juice of ½ lemon; cover the pan closely, and let the mushrooms stew gently from 20 to 25 minutes; then thicken the butter with the above proportion of flour, add gradually sufficient cream, or cream and milk, to make the sauce of a proper consistency, and put in the grated nutmeg. If the mushrooms are not perfectly tender, stew them for 5 minutes longer, remove every particle of butter which may be floating on the top, and serve.Time.—½ hour.Average cost, from 9d.to 2s.per pint.Sufficientfor 5 or 6 persons.Seasonable.—Meadow mushrooms in September and October.
Ingredients.—1 pint of mushroom-buttons, 1 pint of brown gravy, ¼ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, cayenne and salt to taste.Mode.—Make a pint of brown gravy, cut nearly all the stalks away from the mushrooms and peel the tops; put them into a stewpan, with the gravy, and simmer them gently from 20 minutes to ½ hour. Add the nutmeg and a seasoning of cayenne and salt, and serve very hot.Time.—20 minutes to ½ hour.Average cost, 9d.to 2s.per pint.Sufficientfor 5 or 6 persons.Seasonable.—Meadow mushrooms in September and October.
Ingredients.—Mustard, salt and water.Mode.—Mustard should be mixed with water that has been boiled and allowed to cool; hot water destroys its essential properties, and raw cold water might cause it to ferment. Put the mustard into a cup, with a small pinch of salt, and mix with it very gradually sufficient boiled water to make it drop from the spoon without being watery. Stir and mix well, and rub the lumps well down with the back of a spoon, as well-mixed mustard should be perfectly free from these. The mustard-pot should not be more than half-full, or rather less if it will not be used for a day or two, as it is so much better when it is freshly mixed.
Ingredients.—¼ lb. of the best mustard, ¼ lb. of flour, ½ oz. of salt, 4 shalots, 4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 4 tablespoonfuls of ketchup, ¼ bottle of anchovy sauce.Mode.—Put the mustard, flour, and salt into a basin, and make them into a stiff paste with boiling water. Boil the shalots with the vinegar, ketchup, and anchovy sauce, for 10 minutes, and pour the whole,boiling, over the mixture in the basin; stir well, and reduce it to a proper thickness; put it into a bottle, with a bruised shalot at the bottom, and store away for use. This makes an excellent relish, and if properly prepared will keep for years.
Ingredients.—Horseradish vinegar, cayenne, ½ a teacupful of mustard.Mode.—Have ready sufficient horseradish vinegar to mix with the above proportion of mustard; put the mustard into a cup, with a slight seasoning of cayenne; mix it perfectly smooth with the vinegar, adding this a little at a time; rub down with the back of a spoon any lumps that may appear, and do not let it be too thin. Mustard may be flavoured in various ways, with Tarragon, shalot, celery, and many other vinegars, herbs, spices, &c.
Almost every large city has a particular manner of cutting up, or, as it is called, dressing the carcase. In London this process is very simple, and as our butchers have found that much skewering back, doubling one part over another, or scoring the inner cuticle or fell, tends to spoil the meat and shorten the time it would otherwise keep, they avoid all such treatment entirely. The carcase when flayed (which operation is performed while yet warm), the sheep when hung up and the head removed, presents the profile shown in our cut; the small numerals indicating the parts or joints into which one-half of the animal is cut. After separating the hind from the fore quarters, with eleven ribs to the latter, the quarters are usually subdivided in the manner shown in the sketch, in which the several joints are defined by the intervening lines and figures.Hind quarter: No. 1, the leg; 2, the loin—the two, when cut in one piece, being called the saddle.Fore quarter: No. 3, the shoulder; 4 and 5 the neck; No. 5 being called, for distinction, the scrag, which is generally afterwards separated from 4, the lower and better joint; No. 6, the breast. The haunch of mutton, so often served at public dinners and special entertainments, comprises all the leg and so much of the loin, short of the ribs or lap, as is indicated on the upper part of the carcase by a dotted line.
SIDE OF MUTTON, SHOWING THE SEVERAL JOINTS.
SIDE OF MUTTON, SHOWING THE SEVERAL JOINTS.
[Cold Meat Cookery.]Ingredients.—The remains of any joint of cold roast mutton, 1 or 2 onions, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, pepper and salt to taste, 2 blades of pounded mace or nutmeg, 1 teacupful of gravy, mashed potatoes.Mode.—Mince an onion rather fine, and fry it a light-brown colour; add the herbs and mutton, both of which should be also finely minced and well mixed; season with pepper and salt, and a little pounded mace or nutmeg, and moisten with the above proportion of gravy. Put a layer of mashed potatoes at the bottom of a dish, then the mutton, and then another layer of potatoes, and bake for about ½ hour.Time.—½ hour.Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 4d.Seasonableat any time.
Note.—If there should be a large quantity of meat, use 2 onions instead of 1.
Ingredients.—Breast of mutton, bread-crumbs, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced savoury herbs (put a large proportion of parsley), pepper and salt to taste.Mode.—Cut off the superfluous fat; bone the meat; sprinkle over a layer of bread-crumbs, minced herbs, and seasoning; roll, and bind it up firmly. Boilgentlyfor 2 hours, remove the tape, and serve with caper sauce, a little of which should be poured over the meat.Time.—2 hours.Average cost, 6d.per lb.Sufficientfor 4 or 5 persons.Seasonableall the year.
Ingredients.—Breast of mutton, 2 onions, salt and pepper to taste, flour, a bunch of savoury herbs, green peas.Mode.—Cut the mutton into pieces about 2 inches square, and let it be tolerably lean; put it into a stewpan, with a little fat or butter, and fry it of a nice brown; then dredge in a little flour, slice the onions, and put it with the herbs in the stewpan; pour in sufficient waterjustto cover the meat, and simmer the whole gently until the mutton is tender. Take out the meat, strain, and skim off all the fat from the gravy, andput both the meat and gravy back into the stewpan; add about a quart of young green peas, and let them boil gently until done. 2 or 3 slices of bacon added and stewed with the mutton give additional flavour; and, to insure the peas being a beautiful green colour, they may be boiled in water separately, and added to the stew at the moment of serving.Time.—2½ hours.Average cost, 6d.per lb.Sufficientfor 4 or 5 persons.Seasonablefrom June to August.
[Cold Meat Cookery.]Ingredients.—A few slices of cold mutton, tomato sauce.Mode.—Cut some nice slices from a cold leg or shoulder of mutton; season them with pepper and salt, and broil over a clear fire. Make some tomato sauce, pour it over the mutton, and serve. This makes an excellent dish, and must be served very hot.Time.—About 5 minutes to broil the mutton.Seasonablein September and October, when tomatoes are plentiful and seasonable.
Ingredients.—1 lb. of the scrag end of the neck of mutton, 1 onion, a bunch of sweet herbs, ½ turnip, 3 pints of water, pepper and salt to taste.Mode.—Put the mutton into a stewpan; pour over the water cold, and add the other ingredients. When it boils, skim it very carefully, cover the pan closely, and let it simmer very gently for an hour; strain it, let it cool, take off all the fat from the surface, and warm up as much as may be required, adding, if the patient be allowed to take it, a teaspoonful of minced parsley which has been previously scalded. Pearl barley or rice are very nice additions to mutton broth, and should be boiled as long as the other ingredients. When either of these is added, the broth must not be strained, but merely thoroughly skimmed. Plain mutton broth without seasoning is made by merely boiling the mutton, water, and salt together, straining it, letting the broth cool, skimming all the fat off, and warming up as much as is required. This preparation would be very tasteless and insipid, but likely to agree with very delicate stomachs, whereas the least addition of other ingredients would have the contrary effect.Time.—1 hour.Average cost, 7d.Sufficientto make from 1½ to 2 pints of broth.Seasonableat any time.
Note.—Veal broth may be made in the same manner; the knuckle of a leg or shoulder is the part usually used for this purpose. It is very good with the addition of the inferior joints of a fowl, or a few shank-bones.
Ingredients.—1 or 2 chops from a neck of mutton, 1 pint of water, a small bunch of sweet herbs, ¼ of an onion, pepper and salt to taste.Mode.—Cut the meat into small pieces; put it into a saucepan with the bones, but no skin or fat; add the other ingredients; cover the saucepan, and bring the water quickly to boil. Take the lid off, and continue the rapid boiling for 20 minutes, skimming it well during the process; strain the broth into a basin; if there should be any fat left on the surface, remove it by laying a piece of thin paper on the top; the greasy particles will adhere to the paper, and so free the preparation from them. To an invalid nothing is more disagreeable than broth served with a quantity of fat floating on the top; to avoid this, it is always better to allow it to get thoroughly cool, the fat can then be so easily removed.Time.—20 minutes after the water boils.Average cost, 5d.Sufficientto make ½ pint of broth.Seasonableat any time.
A deep cut should, in the first place, be made quite down to the bone, across the knuckle-end of the joint, along the line 1 to 2. This will let the gravy escape; and then it should be carved, in not too thick slices, along the whole length of the haunch, in the direction of the line from 4 to 3.
HAUNCH OF MUTTON.
HAUNCH OF MUTTON.
This homely, but capital English joint, is almost invariably served at table asshown in the engraving. The carving of it is not very difficult: the knife should be carried sharply down in the direction of the line from 1 to 2, and slices taken from either side, as the guests may desire, some liking the knuckle-end, as well done, and others preferring the more underdone part. The fat should be sought near the line 3 to 4. Some connoisseurs are fond of having this joint dished with the under-side uppermost, so as to get at the finely-grained meat lying under that part of the joint, known as the Pope’s eye; but this is an extravagant fashion, and one that will hardly find favour in the eyes of many economical British housewives and housekeepers.
LEG OF MUTTON.
LEG OF MUTTON.
LOIN OF MUTTON.
LOIN OF MUTTON.
There is one point in connection with carving a loin of mutton which includes every other; that is, that the joint should be thoroughly well jointed by the butcher before it is cooked. This knack of jointing requires practice and the proper tools; and no one but the butcher is supposed to have these. If the bones be not well jointed, the carving of a loin of mutton is not a gracious business; whereas, if that has been attended to, it is an easy and untroublesome task. The knife should be inserted at fig. 1, and after feeling your way between the bones, it should be carried sharply in the direction of the line 1 to 2. As there are some people who prefer the outside cut, while others do not like it, the question as to their choice of this should be asked.
SADDLE OF MUTTON.
SADDLE OF MUTTON.
Although we have heard, at various intervals, growlings expressed at the inevitable “saddle of mutton” at the dinner-parties of our middle classes, yet we doubt whether any other joint is better liked, when it has been well hung and artistically cooked. There is a diversity of opinion respecting the mode of sending this joint to table; but it has only reference to whether or no there shall be any portion of the tail, or, if so, how many joints of the tail. Some trim the tail with a paper frill. The carving is not difficult: it is usually cut in the direction of the line from 2 to 1, quite down to the bones, in evenly-sliced pieces. A fashion, however, patronized by some, is to carve it obliquely, in the direction of the line from 4 to 3; in which case the joint would be turned round the other way, having the tail end on the right of the carver.
SHOULDER OF MUTTON.
SHOULDER OF MUTTON.
This is a joint not difficult to carve. The knife should be drawn from the outer edge of the shoulder in the direction of the line from 1 to 2, until the bone of the shoulder is reached. As many slices as can be carved in this manner should be taken, and afterwards the meat lying on each side of the blade-bone should be served, by carving in the direction of 3 to 4 and 5 to 6. The uppermost side of the shoulder being now finished, the joint should be turned, and slices taken off along its whole length. There are some who prefer this under-side of the shoulder for its juicy flesh, although the grain of the meat is not so fine as that on the other side.
Ingredients.—Loin of mutton, pepper and salt, a small piece of butter.Mode.—Cut the chops from a well-hung tender loin of mutton, remove a portion of the fat, and trim them into a nice shape; slightly beat and level them; place the gridiron over a bright clear fire, rub the bars with a little fat, and lay on the chops. Whilst broiling, frequently turnthem, and in about 8 minutes they will be done. Season with pepper and salt, dish them on a very hot dish, rub a small piece of butter on each chop, and serve very hot and expeditiously.Time.—About 8 minutes.Average cost, 10d.per lb.Sufficient.—Allow 1 chop to each person.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—A few slices of a cold leg or loin of mutton, salt and pepper to taste, 1 blade of pounded mace, 1 small bunch of savoury herbs minced very fine, 2 or 3 shalots, 2 or 3 oz. of butter, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, ½ pint of gravy, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice.Mode.—Cut some very thin slices from a leg or the chump end of a loin of mutton; sprinkle them with pepper, salt, pounded mace, minced savoury herbs, and minced shalot; fry them in butter, stir in a dessertspoonful of flour, add the gravy and lemon-juice, simmer very gently about 5 or 7 minutes, and serve immediately.Time.—5 to 7 minutes.Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 6d.Seasonableat any time.
[Cold Meat Cookery.]Ingredients.—The remains of any joint of cold mutton, 2 onions, ¼ lb. of butter, 1 dessertspoonful of curry-powder, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, salt to taste, ¼ pint of stock or water.Mode.—Slice the onions in thin rings, and put them into a stewpan with the butter, and fry of a light brown; stir in the curry-powder, flour, and salt, and mix all together. Cut the meat into nice thin slices (if there is not sufficient to do this, it may be minced), and add it to the other ingredients; when well browned, add the stock or gravy, and stew gently for about ½ hour. Serve in a dish with a border of boiled rice, the same as for other curries.Time.—½ hour.Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 6d.Seasonablein winter.
Ingredients.—About 3 lbs. of the best end of the neck of mutton, salt and pepper to taste, mashed potatoes.Mode.—Procure a well-hung neck of mutton, saw off about 3 inches of the top of the bones, and cut the cutlets of a moderate thickness. Shape them by chopping off the thick part of the chine-bone; beat them flat with a cutlet-chopper, and scrape quite clean, a portion of the top of the bone. Broil them over a nice clear fire for about 7 or 8 minutes, and turn them frequently. Have ready some smoothly-mashed white potatoes; place these in the middle of the dish; when the cutlets are done, season with pepper and salt; arrange them round the potatoes, with the thick end of the cutlets downwards, and serve very hot and quickly.Time.—7 or 8 minutes.Average cost, for this quantity, 2s.4d.Sufficientfor 5 or 6 persons.Seasonableat any time.
MUTTON CUTLETS.
MUTTON CUTLETS.
Note.—Cutlets may be served in various ways; with peas, tomatoes, onions, sauce piquant, &c.
Ingredients.—The chump end of a loin of mutton, buttered paper, French beans, a little glaze, 1 pint of gravy.Mode.—Roll up the mutton in a piece of buttered paper, roast it for 2 hours, and do not allow it to acquire the least colour. Have ready some French beans, boiled, and drained on a sieve; remove the paper from the mutton, glaze it; just heat up the beans in the gravy, and lay them on the dish with the meat over them. The remainder of the gravy may be strained, and sent to table in a tureen.Time.—2 hours.Average cost, 8½d.per lb.Sufficientfor 4 or 5 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—4 lbs. of the middle or best end of the neck of mutton, 3 carrots, 3 turnips, 3 onions, pepper and salt to taste, 1 tablespoonful of ketchup or Harvey’s sauce.Mode.—Trim off some of the fat, cut the mutton into rather thin chops, and put them into a frying-pan with the fat trimmings. Fry of a pale brown, but do not cook them enough for eating. Cut the carrots andturnips into dice, and the onions into slices, and slightly fry them in the same fat that the mutton was browned in, but do not allow them to take any colour. Now lay the mutton at the bottom of a stewpan, then the vegetables, and pour over them just sufficient boiling water to cover the whole. Give the boil, skim well, and then set the pan on the side of the fire to simmer gently until the meat is tender. Skim off every particle of fat, add a seasoning of pepper and salt, and a little ketchup, and serve. This dish is very much better if made the day before it is wanted for table, as the fat can be so much more easily removed when the gravy is cold. This should be particularly attended to, as it is apt to be rich and greasy if eaten the same day it is made. It should be served in rather a deep dish.Time.—2½ hours to simmer gently.Average cost, for this quantity, 3s.Sufficientfor 6 or 7 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—Breast or scrag of mutton, flour, pepper, and salt to taste, 1 large onion, 3 cloves, a bunch of savoury herbs, 1 blade of mace, carrots and turnips, sugar.Mode.—Cut the mutton into square pieces, and fry them a nice colour; then dredge over them a little flour and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Put all into a stewpan, and moisten with boiling water, adding the onion, stuck with 3 cloves, the mace, and herbs. Simmer gently till the meat is done, skim off all the fat, and then add the carrots and turnips, which should be previously cut in dice and fried in a little sugar to colour them. Let the whole simmer again for 10 minutes; take out the onion and bunch of herbs, and serve.Time.—About 3 hours to simmer.Average cost, 6d.per lb.Sufficientfor 4 or 5 persons.Seasonableat any time.
[Cold Meat Cookery.]Ingredients.—The remains of cold neck or loin of mutton, 2 oz. of butter, 3 onions, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, ½ pint of good gravy, pepper and salt to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of port wine, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, 2 carrots, 2 turnips, 1 head of celery.Mode.—Cut the cold mutton into moderate-sized chops, and take off the fat; slice the onions, and fry them with the chops, in a little butter, of a nice brown colour; stir in the flour, add the gravy, and let it stew gently nearly an hour. In the mean time boil the vegetables untilnearlytender, slice them, and add them to the mutton about ¼ hour before it is to be served. Season with pepper and salt, add the ketchup and port wine, give one boil, and serve.Time.—1 hour.Average cost, exclusive of the cold meat, 6d.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—The remains of cold roast shoulder or leg of mutton, 6 whole peppers, 6 whole allspice, a faggot of savoury herbs, ½ head of celery, 1 onion, 2 oz. of butter, flour.Mode.—Cut the meat in nice even slices from the bones, trimming off all superfluous fat and gristle; chop the bones and fragments of the joints, put them into a stewpan with the pepper, spice, herbs, and celery; cover with water, and simmer for 1 hour. Slice and fry the onion of a nice pale-brown colour, dredge in a little flour to make it thick, and add this to the bones, &c. Stew for ¼ hour, strain the gravy, and let it cool; then skim off every particle of fat, and put it, with the meat, into a stewpan. Flavour with ketchup, Harvey’s sauce, tomato sauce, or any flavouring that may be preferred, and let the meat gradually warm through, but not boil, or it will harden. To hash meat properly, it should be laid in cold gravy, and only left on the fire just long enough to warm through.Time.—1½ hour to simmer the gravy.Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 4d.Seasonableat any time.
HAUNCH OF MUTTON.
HAUNCH OF MUTTON.
Ingredients.—Haunch of mutton, a little salt, flour.Mode.—Let this joint hang as long as possible without becoming tainted, and while hanging dust flour over it, which keeps off the flies, and prevents the air from getting to it. Ifnot well hung, the joint, when it comes to table, will do credit neither to the butcher nor the cook, as it will not be tender. Wash the outside well, lest it should have a bad flavour from keeping; then flour it and put it down to a nice brisk fire, at some distance, so that it may gradually warm through. Keep continually basting, and about ½ hour before it is served, draw it nearer to the fire to get nicely brown. Sprinkle a little fine salt over the meat, pour off the dripping, add a little boiling water slightly salted, and strain this over the joint. Place a paper ruche on the bone, and send red-currant jelly and gravy in a tureen to table with it.Time.—About 4 hours.Average cost, 10d.per lb.Sufficientfor 8 to 10 persons.Seasonable.—In best season from September to March.
Ingredients.—Mutton, water, salt.Mode.—A leg of mutton for boiling should not hang too long, as it will not look a good colour when dressed. Cut off the shank-bone, trim the knuckle, and wash and wipe it very clean; plunge it into sufficient boiling water to cover it; let it boil up, then draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, where it should remain till the finger can be borne in the water. Then place it sufficiently near the fire, that the water may gently simmer, and be very careful that it does not boil fast, or the meat will be hard. Skim well, add a little salt, and in about 2¼ hours after the water begins to simmer, a moderate-sized leg of mutton will be done. Serve with carrots and mashed turnips, which may be boiled with the meat, and send caper sauce to table with it in a tureen.Time.—A moderate-sized leg of mutton of 9 lbs., 2¼ hours after the water boils; one of 12 lbs., 3 hours.Average cost, 8½d.per lb.Sufficient.—A moderate-sized leg of mutton for 6 or 8 persons.Seasonablenearly all the year, but not so good in June, July, and August.
Note.—When meat is liked verythoroughlycooked, allow more time than stated above. The liquor this joint was boiled in should be converted into soup.
Ingredients.—A small leg of mutton, weighing 6 or 7 lbs., forcemeat, 2 shalots finely minced.Mode.—Make a forcemeat, to which add 2 finely-minced shalots. Bone the leg of mutton, without spoiling the skin, and cut off a great deal of the fat. Fill the hole up whence the bone was taken with the forcemeat, and sew it up underneath, to prevent its falling out. Bind and tie it up compactly, and roast it before a nice clear fire for about 2½ hours or rather longer; remove the tape and send it to table with a good gravy. It may be glazed or not, as preferred.Time.—2½ hours, or rather longer.Average cost, 4s.8d.Sufficientfor 6 or 7 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—1 small leg of mutton, 4 carrots, 3 onions, 1 faggot of savoury herbs, a bunch of parsley, seasoning to taste of pepper and salt, a few slices of bacon, a few veal trimmings, ½ pint of gravy or water.Mode.—Line the bottom of a braising-pan with a few slices of bacon, put in the carrots, onions, herbs, parsley, and seasoning, and over these place the mutton. Cover the whole with a few more slices of bacon and the veal trimmings, pour in the gravy or water, and stew verygentlyfor 4 hours. Strain the gravy, reduce it to a glaze over a sharp fire, glaze the mutton with it, and send it to table, placed on a dish of white haricot beans boiled tender, or garnished with glazed onions.Time.—4 hours.Average cost, 5s.Sufficientfor 6 or 7 persons.Seasonableat any time.
LEG OF MUTTON.
LEG OF MUTTON.
Ingredients.—Leg of mutton, a little salt.Mode.—As mutton, when freshly killed, is never tender, hang it almost as long as it will keep; flour it, and put it in a cool airy place for a few days, if the weather will permit. Wash off the flour, wipe it very dry, and cut off theshank-bone; put it down to a brisk clear fire, dredge with flour, and keep continually basting the whole time it is cooking. About 20 minutes before serving, draw it near the fire to get nicely brown; sprinkle over it a little salt, dish the meat, pour off the dripping, add some boiling water slightly salted, strain it over the joint, and serve.Time.—A leg of mutton weighing 10 lbs., about 2¼ or 2½ hours; one of 7 lbs., about 2 hours, or rather less.Average cost, 8½d.per lb.Sufficient.—A moderate-sized leg of mutton sufficient for 6 or 8 persons.Seasonableat any time, but not so good in June, July, and August.
Ingredients.—Loin of mutton, a little salt.Mode.—Cut and trim off the superfluous fat, and see that the butcher joints the meat properly, as thereby much annoyance is saved to the carver, when it comes to table. Have ready a nice clear fire (it need not be a very wide large one), put down the meat, dredge with flour, and baste well until it is done. Make the gravy as for roast leg of mutton, and serve very hot.Time.—A loin of mutton weighing 6 lbs., 1½ hour, or rather longer.Average cost, 8½d, per lb.Sufficientfor 4 or 5 persons.Seasonableat any time.
LOIN OF MUTTON.
LOIN OF MUTTON.
Ingredients.—About 6 lbs. of a loin of mutton, ½ teaspoonful of pepper, ¼ teaspoonful of pounded allspice, ¼ teaspoonful of mace, ¼ teaspoonful of nutmeg, 6 cloves, forcemeat, 1 glass of port wine, 2 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup.Mode.—Hang the mutton till tender, bone it, and sprinkle over it pepper, mace, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg in the above proportion, all of which must be pounded very fine. Let it remain for a day, then make a forcemeat, cover the meat with it, and roll and bind it up firmly. Half bake it in a slow oven, let it grow cold, take off the fat, and put the gravy into a stewpan; flour the meat, put it in the gravy, and stew it till perfectly tender. Now take out the meat, unbind it, add to the gravy wine and ketchup as above, give one boil, and pour over the meat. Serve with red-currant jelly; and, if obtainable, a few mushrooms stewed for a few minutes in the gravy, will be found a great improvement.Time.—1½ hour to bake the meat, 1½ hour to stew gently.Average cost, 4s.9d.Sufficientfor 5 or 6 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Note.—This joint will be found very nice if rolled and stuffed, as here directed, and plainly roasted. It should be well basted, and served with a good gravy and currant jelly.
Ingredients.—4 lbs. of the middle, or best end of the neck of mutton; a little salt.Mode.—Trim off a portion of the fat, should there be too much, and if it is to look particularly nice, the chine-bone should be sawn down, the ribs stripped half-way down, and the ends of the bones chopped off; this is, however, not necessary. Put the meat into sufficientboilingwater to cover it; when it boils, add a little salt and remove all the scum. Draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, and let the water get so cool that the finger may be borne in it; then simmer veryslowlyand gently until the meat is done, which will be in about 1½ hour, or rather more, reckoning from the time that it begins to simmer. Serve with turnips and caper sauce, and pour a little of it over the meat. The turnips should be boiled with the mutton; and when at hand, a few carrots will also be found an improvement. These, however, if very large and thick, must be cut into long thinnish pieces, or they will not be sufficiently done by the time the mutton is ready. Garnish the dish with carrots and turnips, placed alternately round the mutton.Time.—4 lbs. of the neck of mutton, about 1½ hour.Average cost, 8½d.per lb.Sufficientfor 6 or 7 persons.Seasonableat any time.
[cold Meat Cookery.]Ingredients.—The remains of a cold neck or loin ofmutton, 2 oz. of butter, a little flour, 2 onions sliced, ½ pint of water, 2 small carrots, 2 turnips, pepper and salt to taste.Mode.—Cut the mutton into small chops, and trim off the greater portion of the fat; put the butter into a stewpan, dredge in a little flour, add the sliced onions, and keep stirring till brown; then put in the meat. When this is quite brown, add the water, and the carrots and turnips, which should be cut into very thin slices; season with pepper and salt, and stew till quite tender, which will be in about ¾ hour. When in season, green peas may be substituted for the carrots and turnips: they should be piled in the centre of the dish, and the chops laid round.Time.—¾ hour.Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 4d.Seasonable, with peas, from June to August.
Ingredients.—Neck of mutton; a little salt.Mode.—For roasting, choose the middle, or the best end, of the neck of mutton, and if there is a very large proportion of fat, trim off some of it, and save it for making into suet puddings, which will be found exceedingly good. Let the bones be cut short, and see that it is properly jointed before it is laid down to the fire, as they will be more easily separated when they come to table. Place the joint at a nice brisk fire, dredge it with flour, and keep continually basting until done. A few minutes before serving, draw it nearer the fire to acquire a nice colour, sprinkle over it a little salt, pour off the dripping, add a little boiling water slightly salted; strain this over the meat and serve. Red-currant jelly may be sent to table with it.Time.—4 lbs. of the neck of mutton, rather more than 1 hour.Average cost, 8½d.per lb.Sufficientfor 4 or 6 persons.Seasonableat any time.
NECK OF MUTTON.1-2.Best end.2-3.Scrag.
NECK OF MUTTON.1-2.Best end.2-3.Scrag.
[Cold Meat Cookery.]Ingredients.—The remains of a cold leg, loin, or neck of mutton, pepper and salt to taste, 2 blades of pounded mace, 1 dessertspoonful of chopped parsley, 1 teaspoonful of minced savoury herbs; when liked, a little minced onion or shalot; 3 or 4 potatoes, 1 teacupful of gravy; crust.Mode.—Cold mutton may be made into very good pies if well seasoned and mixed with a few herbs; if the leg is used, cut it into very thin slices; if the loin or neck, into thin cutlets. Place some at the bottom of the dish; season well with pepper, salt, mace, parsley, and herbs; then put a layer of potatoes sliced, then more mutton, and so on till the dish is full; add the gravy, cover with a crust, and bake for 1 hour.Time.—1 hour.Seasonableat any time.
Note.—The remains of an underdone leg of mutton may be converted into a very good family pudding, by cutting the meat into slices, and putting them into a basin lined with a suet crust. It should be seasoned well with pepper, salt, and minced shalot, covered with a crust, and boiled for about three hours.
Ingredients.—2 lbs. of the neck or loin of mutton, weighed after being boned; 2 kidneys, pepper and salt to taste, 2 teacupfuls of gravy or water, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced parsley; when liked, a little minced onion or shalot; puff crust.Mode.—Bone the mutton, and cut the meat into steaks all of the same thickness, and leave but very little fat. Cut up the kidneys, and arrange these with the meat neatly in a pie-dish; sprinkle over them the minced parsley and a seasoning of pepper and salt; pour in the gravy, and cover with a tolerably good puff crust. Bake for 1½ hour, or rather longer, should the pie be very large, and let the oven be rather brisk. A well-made suet crust may be used instead of puff crust, and will be found exceedingly good.Time.—1½ hour, or rather longer.Average cost, 2s.Sufficientfor 5 or 6 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—About 2 lbs. of the chump end of the loin of mutton, weighed afterbeing boned; pepper and salt to taste, suet crust made with milk, in the proportion of 6 oz. of suet to each pound of flour; a very small quantity of minced onion (this may be omitted when the flavour is not liked).Mode.—Cut the meat into rather thin slices, and season them with pepper and salt; line the pudding-dish with crust; lay in the meat, and nearly, but do not quite, fill it up with water; when the flavour is liked, add a small quantity of minced onion; cover with crust, and proceed in the same manner as directed in recipe forrump steak and kidney pudding.Time.—About 3 hours.Average cost, 1s.9d.Sufficientfor 6 persons.Seasonableall the year, but more suitable in winter.
Ingredients.—Saddle of mutton; a little salt.Mode.—To insure this joint being tender, let it hang for ten days or a fortnight, if the weather permits. Cut off the tail and flaps, and trim away every part that has not indisputable pretensions to be eaten, and have the skin taken off and skewered on again. Put it down to a bright, clear fire, and, when the joint has been cooking for an hour, remove the skin and dredge it with flour. It should not be placed too near the fire, as the fat should not be in the slightest degree burnt, but kept constantly basted, both before and after the skin is removed. Sprinkle some salt over the joint; make a little gravy in the dripping-pan; pour it over the meat, which send to table with a tureen of made gravy and red-currant jelly.Time.—A saddle of mutton weighing 10 lbs., 2½ hours; 14 lbs., 3¼ hours. When liked underdone, allow rather less time.Average cost, 10d.per lb.Sufficient.—A moderate-sized saddle of 10 lbs. for 7 or 8 persons.Seasonableall the year; not so good when lamb is in full season.
SADDLE OF MUTTON.
SADDLE OF MUTTON.
Ingredients.—Shoulder of mutton; a little salt.Mode.—Put the joint down to a bright, clear fire; flour it well, and keep continually basting. About ¼ hour before serving, draw it near the fire, that the outside may acquire a nice brown colour, but not sufficiently near to blacken the fat. Sprinkle a little fine salt over the meat, empty the dripping-pan of its contents, pour in a little boiling water slightly salted, and strain this over the joint. Onion sauce, or stewed Spanish onions, are usually sent to table with this dish, and sometimes baked potatoes.Time.—A shoulder of mutton weighing 6 or 7 lbs., 1½ hour.Average cost, 8d.per lb.Sufficientfor 5 or 6 persons.Seasonableat any time.
SHOULDER OF MUTTON.
SHOULDER OF MUTTON.
Note.—Shoulder of mutton may be dressed in a variety of ways; boiled, and served with onion sauce; boned, and stuffed with a good veal forcemeat; or baked, with sliced potatoes in the dripping-pan.
Ingredients.—A neck of mutton about 5 or 6 lbs., 3 carrots, 3 turnips, 2 onions, a large bunch of sweet herbs, including parsley; salt and pepper to taste; a little sherry, if liked; 3 quarts of water.Mode.—Lay the ingredients in a covered pan before the fire, and let them remain there the whole day, stirring occasionally. The next day put the whole into a stewpan, and place it on a brisk fire. When it commences to boil, take the pan off the fire, and put it on one side to simmer until the meat is done. When ready for use, take out the meat, dish it up with carrots and turnips, and send it to table; strain the soup, let it cool, skim off all the fat, season and thicken it with a tablespoonful, or rather more, of arrowroot; flavour with a little sherry, simmer for 5 minutes, and serve.Time.—15 hours.Average cost, including themeat, 1s.3d.per quart.Seasonableat any time.Sufficientfor 8 persons.
Ingredients.—To each pint of vinegar, 1 oz. of salt, 6 peppercorns, nasturtiums.Mode.—Gather the nasturtium pods on a dry day, and wipe them clean with a cloth; put them in a dry glass bottle, with vinegar, salt, and pepper, in the above proportion. If you cannot find enough ripe to fill a bottle, cork up what you have got until you have some more fit; they may be added from day to day. Bung up the bottles, and seal or rosin the tops. They will be fit for use in 10 or 12 months; and the best way is to make them one season for the next.Seasonable.—Look for nasturtium-pods from the end of July to the end of August.
Ingredients.—To every lb. of sugar allow ¼ pint of water; nectarines.Mode.—Divide the nectarines in two, take out the stones, and make a strong syrup with sugar and water in the above proportion. Put in the nectarines, and boil them until they have thoroughly imbibed the sugar. Keep the fruit as whole as possible, and turn it carefully into a pan. The next day boil it again for a few minutes, take out the nectarines, put them into jars, boil the syrup quickly for five minutes, pour it over the fruit, and, when cold, cover the preserve down. The syrup and preserve must be carefully skimmed, or it will not be clear.Time.—10 minutes to boil the sugar and water; 20 minutes to boil the fruit the first time, 10 minutes the second time; 5 minutes to boil the syrup.Seasonablein August and September, but cheapest in September.
Ingredients.—1 lb. of raisins, 3 lemons, 2 lbs. of loaf sugar, 2 gallons of boiling water.Mode.—Cut the peel of the lemons very thin, pour upon it the boiling water, and, when cool, add the strained juice of the lemons, the sugar, and the raisins, stoned and chopped very fine. Let it stand 4 or 5 days, stirring it every day; then strain it through a jelly-bag, and bottle it for present use.Time.—4 or 5 days.Average cost, 1s.9d.Sufficientto make 2 gallons.
Ingredients.—To every pint of port wine allow 1 quart of boiling water, ¼ lb. of sugar, 1 lemon, grated nutmeg to taste.Mode.—As this beverage is more usually drunk at children’s parties than at any other, the wine need not be very old or expensive for the purpose, a new fruity wine answering very well for it. Put the wine into a jug, rub some lumps of sugar (equal to ¼ lb.) on the lemon-rind until all the yellow part of the skin is absorbed, then squeeze the juice, and strain it. Add the sugar and lemon-juice to the port-wine, with the grated nutmeg; pour over it the boiling water, cover the jug, and, when the beverage has cooled a little, it will be fit for use. Negus may also be made of sherry, or any other sweet white wine, but is more usually made of port than of any other beverage.Sufficient.—Allow 1 pint of wine, with the other ingredients in proportion, for a party of 9 or 10 children.
Dinner for 18 persons.