When a goose is well picked, singed, and cleaned, make the stuffing with about two ounces of onion,137-*and half as much green sage, chop them very fine, adding four ounces,i. e.about a large breakfast-cupful of stale bread-crumbs, a bit of butter about as big as a walnut, and a very little pepper and salt (to this some cooks add half the liver,137-†parboiling it first), the yelk of an egg or two, and incorporating the whole well together, stuff the goose; do not quite fill it,but leave a little room for the stuffing to swell; spit it, tie it on the spit at both ends, to prevent its swinging round, and to keep the stuffing from coming out. From an hour and a half to an hour and three-quarters, will roast a fine full-grown goose. Send up gravy and apple sauce with it (see Nos.300,304,329, and341). To hash it, seeNo. 530.
For another stuffing for geese, seeNo. 378.
Obs.“Goose-feeding in the vicinity of the metropolis is so large a concern, that one person annually feeds for market upwards of 5000.” “A goose on a farm in Scotland, two years since, of the clearly ascertained age of 89 years, healthy and vigorous, was killed by a sow while sitting over her eggs; it was supposed she might have lived many years, and her fecundity appeared to be permanent. Other geese have been proved to reach the age of 70 years.”Moubrayon Poultry, p. 40.
It appears in Dr.Stark’sExperiments on Diet, p. 110, that “when he fed upon roasted goose, he was more vigorous both in body and mind than with any other diet.”
The goose at Michaelmas is as famous in the mouths of the million, as the minced-pie at Christmas; but for those who eat with delicacy, it is by that time too full-grown.
The true period when the goose is in its highest perfection, is when it has just acquired its full growth, and not begun to harden. If the March goose is insipid, the Michaelmas goose is rank; the fine time is between both, from the second week in June to the first in September: the leg is not the most tender part of a goose. See Mock Goose (No. 51).
Geese are called green till they are about four months old.
The only difference between roasting these and a full-grown goose, consists in seasoning it with pepper and salt instead of sage and onion, and roasting it for forty or fifty minutes only.
Obs.This is one of the least desirable of those insipid premature productions, which are esteemed dainties.
Mind your duck is well cleaned, and wiped out with a clean cloth: for the stuffing, take an ounce of onion and half an ounce of green sage; chop them very fine, and mix them with two ounces,i. e.about a breakfast-cupful, of bread-crumbs, a bit of butter about as big as a walnut, a very littleblack pepper and salt, (some obtuse palates may require warming with a little Cayenne,No. 404,) and the yelk of an egg to bind it; mix these thoroughly together, and put into the duck. For another stuffing, seeNo. 378. From half to three-quarters of an hour will be enough to roast it, according to the size: contrive to have the feet delicately crisp, as some people are very fond of them; to do this nicely you must have a sharp fire. For sauce, green pease (No. 134), bonne bouche (No. 341), gravy sauce (No. 329), and sage and onion sauce (No. 300).
To hash or stew ducks, seeNo. 530.
N.B. If you think the raw onion will make too strong an impression upon the palate, parboil it. ReadObs.toNo. 59.
To ensure ducks being tender, in moderate weather kill them a few days before you dress them.
To preserve the fat, make a paste of flour and water, as much as will cover the haunch; wipe it with a dry cloth in every part; rub a large sheet of paper all over with butter, and cover the venison with it; then roll out the paste about three-quarters of an inch thick; lay this all over the fat side, and cover it well with three or four sheets of strong white paper, and tie it securely on with packthread: have a strong, close fire, and baste your venison as soon as you lay it down to roast (to prevent the paper and string from burning); it must be well basted all the time.
A buck haunch generally weighs from 20 to 25 pounds; will take about four hours and a half roasting in warm, and longer in cold weather: a haunch of from 19 to 18 pounds will be done in about three or three and a half.
A quarter of an hour before it is done, the string must be cut, and the paste carefully taken off; now baste it with butter, dredge it lightly with flour, and when the froth rises, and it has got a very light brown colour, garnish the knuckle-bone with a ruffle of cut writing-paper, and send it up, with good, strong (but unseasoned) gravy (No. 347) in one boat, and currant-jelly sauce in the other, or currant-jelly in a side plate (not melted): see for sauces, Nos.344,5,6, and7.Mem.“the alderman’s walk” is the favourite part.
Obs.Buck venison is in greatest perfection from midsummer to Michaelmas, and doe from November to January.
Are to be managed in the same way as the haunch; only they do not require the coat or paste, and will not take so much time.
The best way to spit a neck is to put three skewers through it, and put the spit between the skewers and the bones.
Like a sucking-pig, should be dressed almost as soon as killed. When very young, it is trussed, stuffed, and spitted the same way as a hare: but they are better eating when of the size of a house lamb, and are then roasted in quarters; the hind-quarter is most esteemed.
They must be put down to a very quick fire, and either basted all the time they are roasting, or be covered with sheets of fat bacon; when done, baste it with butter, and dredge it with a little salt and flour, till you make a nice froth on it.
N.B. We advise our friends to half roast a fawn as soon as they receive it, and then make a hash of it likeNo. 528.
Send up venison sauce with it. See the preceding receipt, orNo. 344, &c.
A young sucking-kid is very good eating; to have it in prime condition, the dam should be kept up, and well fed, &c.
Roast it like a fawn or hare.
“Inter quadrupedes gloria prima lepus.”—Martial.
The first points of consideration are, how old is the hare? and how long has it been killed? When young, it is easy of digestion, and very nourishing; when old, the contrary in every respect.
To ascertain the age, examine the first joint of the forefoot; you will find a small knob, if it is a leveret, which disappears as it grows older; then examine the ears, if they tear easily, it will eat tender; if they are tough, so will be the hare, which we advise you to make into soup (No. 241), or stew or jug it (No. 523).
When newly killed, the body is stiff; as it grows stale, it becomes limp.
As soon as you receive a hare, take out the liver, parboilit, and keep it for the stuffing; some are very fond of it. Do not use it if it be not quite fresh and good. Some mince it, and send it up as a garnish in little hillocks round the dish. Wipe the hare quite dry, rub the inside with pepper, and hang it up in a dry, cool place.
Paunch and skin141-*your hare, wash it, and lay it in a large pan of cold water four or five hours, changing the water two or three times; lay it in a clean cloth, and dry it well, then truss it.
To make the stuffing, seeNo. 379. Do not make it too thin; it should be of cohesive consistence: if it is not sufficiently stiff, it is good for nothing. Put this into the belly, and sew it up tight.
Cut the neck-skin to let the blood out, or it will never appear to be done enough; spit it, and baste it with drippings,141-†(or the juices of the back will be dried up before the upper joints of the legs are half done,) till you think it is nearly done, which a middling-sized hare will be in about an hour and a quarter. When it is almost roasted enough, put a little bit of butter into your basting-ladle, and baste it with this, and flour it, and froth it nicely.
Serve it with good gravy (No. 329, orNo. 347), and currant-jelly. For another stuffing, see receiptNo. 379. Some cooks cut off the head and divide it, and lay one half on each side the hare.
Cold roast hare will make excellent soup (No. 241), chopped to pieces, and stewed in three quarts of water for a couple of hours; the stuffing will be a very agreeable substitute for sweet herbs and seasoning. See receipt for hare soup (No. 241), hashed hare (No. 529), and mock hare, next receipt.
Cut out the fillet (i. e.the inside lean) of a sirloin of beef, leaving the fat to roast with the joint. Prepare some nice stuffing, as directed for a hare inNo. 66, or379; put this on the beef, and roll it up with tape, put a skewer through it, and tie that on a spit.
Obs.If the beef is of prime quality, has been kept till thoroughly tender, and you serve with it the accompaniments that usually attend roast hare (Nos.329,344, &c.), or stew it, and serve it with a rich thickened sauce garnished with forcemeat balls (No. 379), the most fastidious palate will have no reason to regret that the game season is over.
To make this into hare soup, seeNo. 241.
If your fire is clear and sharp, thirty minutes will roast a young, and forty a full-grown rabbit.
When you lay it down, baste it with butter, and dredge it lightly and carefully with flour, that you may have it frothy, and of a fine light brown. While the rabbit is roasting, boil its liver142-*with some parsley; when tender, chop them together, and put half the mixture into some melted butter, reserving the other half for garnish, divided into little hillocks. Cut off the head, and lay half on each side of the dish.
Obs.A fine, well-grown (but young) warren rabbit, kept some time after it has been killed, and roasted with a stuffing in its belly, eats very like a hare, to the nature of which it approaches. It is nice, nourishing food when young, but hard and unwholesome when old. For sauces, Nos.287,298, and329.
Requires a smart fire, but not a fierce one. Thirty minutes will roast a young bird, and forty or fifty a full-grown pheasant. Pick and draw it, cut a slit in the back of the neck, and take out the craw, but don’t cut the head off; wipe the inside of the bird with a clean cloth, twist the legs close to the body, leave the feet on, but cut the toes off; don’t turn the head under the wing, but truss it like a fowl, it is much easier to carve; baste it, butter and froth it, and prepare sauce for it (Nos.321and329). See the instructions in receipts to roast fowls and turkeys, Nos.57and58.
Obs.We believe the rarity of this bird is its best recommendation; and the character given it by an ingenious French author is just as good as it deserves. “Its flesh is naturally tough, and owes all its tenderness and succulence to the long time it is kept before it is cooked;” until it is “bien mortifiée,” it is uneatable142-†. Therefore, instead of “sus per col,” suspendit by one of the long tail-feathers, and the pheasant’s falling from it is the criterion of its ripeness and readiness for the spit.
Our president of the committee of taste (who is indefatigable in his endeavours to improve the health, as well as promote the enjoyment, of his fellow-students in the school of good living, and to whom the epicure, the economist, and the valetudinarian are equally indebted for his careful revision of this work, and especially for introducing that salutary maxim into the kitchen, that “the salubrious is ever a superior consideration to the savoury,” and indeed, the rational epicure only relishes the latter when entirely subordinate to the former), has suggested to us, that the detachment of the feather cannot take place until the body of the bird has advanced more than one degree beyond the state of wholesomehaut-goût, and become “trop mortifiée;” and that to enjoy this game in perfection, you must have a brace of birds killed the same day; these are to be put in suspense as above directed, and when one of themdrops, the hour is come that the spit should be introduced to his companion:—
“Ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum.”
If you have only one pheasant, and wish for a companion for it, get a fine young fowl, of as near as may be the same size as the bird to be matched, and make game of it by trussing it like a pheasant, and dressing it according to the above directions. Few persons will discover the pheasant from the fowl, especially if the latter has been kept four or five days.
The peculiar flavour of the pheasant (like that of other game) is principally acquired by long keeping.
Are dressed in the same way as pheasants.
Are cleaned and trussed in the same manner as a pheasant (but the ridiculous custom of tucking the legs into eachother makes them very troublesome to carve); the breast is so plump, it will require almost as much roasting; send up with them rich sauce (No. 321*), or bread sauce (No. 321), and good gravy (No. 329).
***If you wish to preserve them longer than you think they will keep good undressed, half roast them, they will then keep two or three days longer; or make a pie of them.
Are all to be dressed like partridges; the black cock will take as much as a pheasant, and moor game and grouse as the partridge. Send up with them currant-jelly and fried bread-crumbs (No. 320).
For roasting a wild duck, you must have a clear, brisk fire, and a hot spit; it must be browned upon the outside, without being sodden within. To have it well frothed and full of gravy is the nicety. Prepare the fire by stirring and raking it just before the bird is laid down, and fifteen or twenty minutes will do it in the fashionable way; but if you like it a little more done, allow it a few minutes longer; if it is too much, it will lose its flavour.
For the sauce, seeNo. 338andNo. 62.
Are dressed exactly as the wild duck; only that less time is requisite for a widgeon, and still less for a teal.
Woodcocks should not be drawn, as the trail is by the lovers of “haut goût” considered a “bonne bouche;” truss their legs close to the body, and run an iron skewer through each thigh, close to the body, and tie them on a small bird spit; put them to roast at a clear fire; cut as many slices of bread as you have birds, toast or fry them a delicate brown, and lay them in the dripping-pan under the birds to catch the trail;144-*baste them with butter, and froththem with flour; lay the toast on a hot dish, and the birds on the toast; pour some good beef gravy into the dish, and send some up in a boat, seeObs.toNo. 329: twenty or thirty minutes will roast them. Garnish with slices of lemon.
Obs.—Some epicures like this bird very much under-done, and direct that a woodcock should be just introduced to the cook, for her to show it the fire, and then send it up to table.
Differ little from woodcocks, unless in size; they are to be dressed in the same way, but require about five minutes less time to roast them.
For sauce, seeNo. 338.
When the pigeons are ready for roasting, if you are desired to stuff them, chop some green parsley very fine, the liver, and a bit of butter together, with a little pepper and salt, or with the stuffing ordered for a fillet of veal (No. 374orNo. 375), and fill the belly of each bird with it. They will be done enough in about twenty or thirty minutes; send up parsley and butter (No. 261,) in the dish under them, and some in a boat, and garnish with crisp parsley (No. 318), or fried bread crumbs (No. 320), or bread sauce (No. 321), or gravy (No. 329).
Obs.—When pigeons are fresh they have their full relish; but it goes entirely off with a very little keeping; nor is it in any way so well preserved as by roasting them: when they are put into a pie they are generally baked to rags, and taste more of pepper and salt than of any thing else.
A little melted butter may be put into the dish with them, and the gravy that runs from them will mix with it into fine sauce. Pigeons are in the greatest perfection from midsummer to Michaelmas; there is then the most plentiful and best food for them; and their finest growth is just when they are full feathered. When they are in the pen-feathers, they are flabby; when they are full grown, and have flown some time, they are tough. Game and poultry are best when theyhave just done growing,i. e.as soon as nature has perfected her work.
This was the secret of Solomon, the famous pigeon-feeder of Turnham Green, who is celebrated by the poet Gay, when he says,
“That Turnham Green, which dainty pigeons fed,But feeds no more, forSolomonis dead.”
These delicate little birds are in high season in November. When they are picked, gutted, and cleaned, truss them; brush them with the yelk of an egg, and then roll them in bread-crumbs: spit them on a lark-spit, and tie that on to a larger spit; ten or fifteen minutes at a quick fire will do them enough; baste them with fresh butter while they are roasting, and sprinkle them with bread-crumbs till they are well covered with them.
For the sauce, fry some grated bread in clarified butter, seeNo. 259, and set it to drain before the fire, that it may harden: serve the crumbs under the larks when you dish them, and garnish them with slices of lemon.
Are dressed in the same way as larks.
See receipt for boiling (No. 176).
We give no receipt for roasting lobster, tongue, &c. being of opinion with Dr. King, who says,
“By roasting that which our forefathers boiled,And boiling what they roasted, much is spoiled.”
122-*This joint is said to owe itsnameto king Charles the Second, who, dining upon a loin of beef, and being particularly pleased with it, asked the name of the joint; said for its merit it should beknighted, and henceforth calledSir-Loin.123-*“In the presentfashionofFATTENING CATTLE, it is more desirable to roast away the fat than to preserve it. If the honourable societies of agriculturists, at the time they consulted a learned professor about the composition of manures, had consulted some competent authority on the nature of animal substances, the public might have escaped the overgrown corpulency of the animal flesh, which every where fills the markets.”—Domestic Management, 12mo. 1813, p. 182.“Game, and other wild animals proper for food, are of very superior qualities to the tame, from the total contrast of the circumstances attending them. They have a free range of exercise in the open air, and choose their own food, the good effects of which are very evident in a short, delicate texture of flesh, found only in them. Their juices and flavour are more pure, and theirfat, when it is in any degree, as in venison, and some other instances, differs as much from that of ourfattedanimals, as silver and gold from the grosser metals. The superiority ofWelch muttonandScotch Beefis owing to a similar cause.”—Ibid., p. 150.If there is moreFATthan you think will be eaten with the meat; cut it off; it will make an excellentPUDDING(No. 554); or clarify it, (No. 84) and use it for frying: for those who like their meat done thoroughly, and use a moderate fire for roasting, the fat need not be covered with paper.If your beef is large, and your family small, cut off the thin end and salt it, and cut out and dress the fillet (i. e.commonly called the inside) next day asMOCK HARE(No. 66*): thus you getthree good hot dinners. See alsoNo. 483, on made dishes. ForSAUCEfor cold beef, seeNo. 359, cucumber vinegar,No. 399, and horseradish vinegar, Nos.399*and458.123-†“This joint is often spoiled for the next day’s use, by an injudicious mode of carving. If you object to the outside, take the brown off, and help the next: by the cutting it only on one side, you preserve the gravy in the meat, and the goodly appearance also; by cutting it, on the contrary, down the middle of this joint, all the gravy runs out, it becomes dry, and exhibits a most unseemly aspect when brought to table a second time.”—FromUde’sCookery, 8vo. 1818, p. 109.124-*Dean Swift’sreceipt to roast mutton.ToGeminiani’sbeautiful air—“Gently touch the warbling lyre.”“Gently stir and blow the fire,Lay the mutton down to roast,Dress it quickly, I desire,In the dripping put a toast,That I hunger may remove;—Mutton is the meat I love.“On the dresser see it lie;Oh! the charming white and red!Finer meat ne’er met the eye,On the sweetest grass it fed;Let the jack go swiftly round,Let me have it nicely brown’d.“On the table spread the cloth,Let the knives be sharp and clean,Pickles get and salad both,Let them each be fresh and green.With small beer, good ale, and wine,O, ye gods! how I shall dine!”124-†See thechapterofADVICE TO COOKS.125-*Common cooks very seldom brown the ends of necks and loins; to have this done nicely, let the fire be a few inches longer at each end than the joint that is roasting, and occasionally place the spit slanting, so that each end may get sufficient fire; otherwise, after the meat is done, you must take it up, and put the ends before the fire.127-*ToMINCEorHASH VEALseeNo. 511, or511*, and to make aRAGOUTof cold veal,No. 512.131-*Priscilla Haslehurst, in herHousekeeper’s Instructor, 8vo. Sheffield, 1819, p. 19, gives us a receipt “to goosify a shoulder of lamb.” “Un grand Cuisinier,” informed me that “to lambify” the leg of a porkling is a favourite metamorphosis in the French kitchen, when house lamb is very dear.133-*Mons. Grimoddesignates this “Animal modeste, ennemi du faste, et le roi des animaux immondes.” Maitland, in p. 758, of vol. ii. of hisHistory of London, reckons that the number ofsucking-pigsconsumed in the city of London in the year 1725, amounted to 52,000.133-†Somedelicately sensitivepalates desire the cook toparboilthe sage and onions (before they are cut), to soften and take off the rawness of their flavour; the older and drier the onion, the stronger will be its flavour; and the learnedEvelynorders these to beedulcoratedby gentle maceration.133-‡An ancient culinary sage says, “When you see a pig’s eyes drop out, you may be satisfied he has had enough of the fire!” This is no criterion that the body of the pig is done enough, but arises merely from the briskness of the fire before the head of it.137-*If you think the flavour of raw onions too strong, cut them in slices, and lay them in cold water for a couple of hours, or add as much apple or potato as you have of onion.137-†Although the whole is rather too luscious for the lingual nerves of the good folks of Great Britain, the livers of poultry are considered a very high relish by our continental neighbours; and the following directions how to procure them in perfection, we copy from the recipe of “un Vieil Amateur de Bonne Chère.”“The liver of a duck, or a goose, which has submitted to the rules and orders that men of taste have invented for the amusement of his sebaceous glands, is a superlative exquisite to the palate of a Parisian epicure; but, alas! the poor goose, to produce this darling dainty, must endure sad torments. He must be crammed with meat, deprived of drink, and kept constantly before a hot fire: a miserable martyrdom indeed! and would be truly intolerable if his reflections on the consequences of his sufferings did not afford him some consolation; but the glorious prospect of the delightful growth of his liver gives him courage and support; and when he thinks how speedily it will become almost as big as his body, how high it will rank on the list of double relishes, and with what ecstasies it will be eaten by the fanciers “des Foies gras,” he submits to his destiny without a sigh. The famousStrasburg piesare made with livers thus prepared, and sell for an enormous price.”However incredible thisordonnancefor the obesitation of a goose’s liver may appear at first sight, will it not seem equally so to after-ages, that in this enlightened country, in 1821, we encouraged a folly as much greater, as its operation was more universal? Will it be believed, that it was then considered theacmeof perfection in beef and mutton, that it should be soover-fattened, that a poor man, to obtain one pound of meat that he could eat, must purchase another which he could not, unless converted into a suet pudding: moreover, that the highest premiums were annually awarded to those who produced sheep and oxen in the most extreme stale ofmorbid obesity?!!——“expensive plansFor deluging of dripping-pans.”141-*This, in culinary technicals, is calledcasingit upon the same principle that “eating, drinking, and sleeping,” are termednon-naturals.141-†Mrs. Charlotte Mason, in her “Complete System of Cookery,” page 283, says, she has “tried all the different things recommended to baste a hare with, and never found any thing so good assmall beer;” others ordermilk; drippings we believe is better than any thing. To roast a hare nicely, so as to preserve the meat on the back, &c. juicy and nutritive, requires as much attention as a sucking-pig.Instead of washing, a “grand Cuisinier” says, it is much better to wipe a hare with a thin, dry cloth, as so much washing, or indeed washing at all, takes away the flavour.142-*Liver sauce, Nos.287and288.142-†“They are only fit to be eaten when the blood runs from the bill, which is commonly about 6 or 7 days after they have been killed, otherwise it will have no more savour than a common fowl.”—Ude’s Cookery, 8vo. 1819, page 216.“Gastronomers, who have any sort of aversion to a peculiar taste in game, properly kept, had better abstain from this bird, since it is worse than a common fowl, if not waited for till it acquires thefumetit ought to have. Whole republics of maggots have often been found rioting under the wings of pheasants; but beingradicallydispersed, and the birds properly washed with vinegar, every thing went right, and every guest, unconscious of the culinary ablutions, enjoyed the excellent flavour of the Phasian birds.”—Tabella Cibaria, p. 55.144-*“This bird has so insinuated itself into the favour ofrefined gourmands, that they pay it the same honours as the grand Lama, making a ragoût of its excrements, and devouring them with ecstasy.”—VideAlmanach des Gourmands, vol. i. p. 56.That exercise produces strength and firmness of fibre is excellently well exemplified in thewoodcockand thepartridge. The former flies most—the latter walks; the wing of the woodcock is always very tough,—of the partridge very tender hence the old doggerel distich,—“If thepartridgehad but thewoodcock’sthigh,He’d be the best bird that e’er doth fly.”Thebreastof all birds is the most juicy and nutritious part.
122-*This joint is said to owe itsnameto king Charles the Second, who, dining upon a loin of beef, and being particularly pleased with it, asked the name of the joint; said for its merit it should beknighted, and henceforth calledSir-Loin.
123-*“In the presentfashionofFATTENING CATTLE, it is more desirable to roast away the fat than to preserve it. If the honourable societies of agriculturists, at the time they consulted a learned professor about the composition of manures, had consulted some competent authority on the nature of animal substances, the public might have escaped the overgrown corpulency of the animal flesh, which every where fills the markets.”—Domestic Management, 12mo. 1813, p. 182.
“Game, and other wild animals proper for food, are of very superior qualities to the tame, from the total contrast of the circumstances attending them. They have a free range of exercise in the open air, and choose their own food, the good effects of which are very evident in a short, delicate texture of flesh, found only in them. Their juices and flavour are more pure, and theirfat, when it is in any degree, as in venison, and some other instances, differs as much from that of ourfattedanimals, as silver and gold from the grosser metals. The superiority ofWelch muttonandScotch Beefis owing to a similar cause.”—Ibid., p. 150.
If there is moreFATthan you think will be eaten with the meat; cut it off; it will make an excellentPUDDING(No. 554); or clarify it, (No. 84) and use it for frying: for those who like their meat done thoroughly, and use a moderate fire for roasting, the fat need not be covered with paper.
If your beef is large, and your family small, cut off the thin end and salt it, and cut out and dress the fillet (i. e.commonly called the inside) next day asMOCK HARE(No. 66*): thus you getthree good hot dinners. See alsoNo. 483, on made dishes. ForSAUCEfor cold beef, seeNo. 359, cucumber vinegar,No. 399, and horseradish vinegar, Nos.399*and458.
123-†“This joint is often spoiled for the next day’s use, by an injudicious mode of carving. If you object to the outside, take the brown off, and help the next: by the cutting it only on one side, you preserve the gravy in the meat, and the goodly appearance also; by cutting it, on the contrary, down the middle of this joint, all the gravy runs out, it becomes dry, and exhibits a most unseemly aspect when brought to table a second time.”—FromUde’sCookery, 8vo. 1818, p. 109.
124-*Dean Swift’sreceipt to roast mutton.
ToGeminiani’sbeautiful air—“Gently touch the warbling lyre.”
“Gently stir and blow the fire,Lay the mutton down to roast,Dress it quickly, I desire,In the dripping put a toast,That I hunger may remove;—Mutton is the meat I love.
“On the dresser see it lie;Oh! the charming white and red!Finer meat ne’er met the eye,On the sweetest grass it fed;Let the jack go swiftly round,Let me have it nicely brown’d.
“On the table spread the cloth,Let the knives be sharp and clean,Pickles get and salad both,Let them each be fresh and green.With small beer, good ale, and wine,O, ye gods! how I shall dine!”
124-†See thechapterofADVICE TO COOKS.
125-*Common cooks very seldom brown the ends of necks and loins; to have this done nicely, let the fire be a few inches longer at each end than the joint that is roasting, and occasionally place the spit slanting, so that each end may get sufficient fire; otherwise, after the meat is done, you must take it up, and put the ends before the fire.
127-*ToMINCEorHASH VEALseeNo. 511, or511*, and to make aRAGOUTof cold veal,No. 512.
131-*Priscilla Haslehurst, in herHousekeeper’s Instructor, 8vo. Sheffield, 1819, p. 19, gives us a receipt “to goosify a shoulder of lamb.” “Un grand Cuisinier,” informed me that “to lambify” the leg of a porkling is a favourite metamorphosis in the French kitchen, when house lamb is very dear.
133-*Mons. Grimoddesignates this “Animal modeste, ennemi du faste, et le roi des animaux immondes.” Maitland, in p. 758, of vol. ii. of hisHistory of London, reckons that the number ofsucking-pigsconsumed in the city of London in the year 1725, amounted to 52,000.
133-†Somedelicately sensitivepalates desire the cook toparboilthe sage and onions (before they are cut), to soften and take off the rawness of their flavour; the older and drier the onion, the stronger will be its flavour; and the learnedEvelynorders these to beedulcoratedby gentle maceration.
133-‡An ancient culinary sage says, “When you see a pig’s eyes drop out, you may be satisfied he has had enough of the fire!” This is no criterion that the body of the pig is done enough, but arises merely from the briskness of the fire before the head of it.
137-*If you think the flavour of raw onions too strong, cut them in slices, and lay them in cold water for a couple of hours, or add as much apple or potato as you have of onion.
137-†Although the whole is rather too luscious for the lingual nerves of the good folks of Great Britain, the livers of poultry are considered a very high relish by our continental neighbours; and the following directions how to procure them in perfection, we copy from the recipe of “un Vieil Amateur de Bonne Chère.”
“The liver of a duck, or a goose, which has submitted to the rules and orders that men of taste have invented for the amusement of his sebaceous glands, is a superlative exquisite to the palate of a Parisian epicure; but, alas! the poor goose, to produce this darling dainty, must endure sad torments. He must be crammed with meat, deprived of drink, and kept constantly before a hot fire: a miserable martyrdom indeed! and would be truly intolerable if his reflections on the consequences of his sufferings did not afford him some consolation; but the glorious prospect of the delightful growth of his liver gives him courage and support; and when he thinks how speedily it will become almost as big as his body, how high it will rank on the list of double relishes, and with what ecstasies it will be eaten by the fanciers “des Foies gras,” he submits to his destiny without a sigh. The famousStrasburg piesare made with livers thus prepared, and sell for an enormous price.”
However incredible thisordonnancefor the obesitation of a goose’s liver may appear at first sight, will it not seem equally so to after-ages, that in this enlightened country, in 1821, we encouraged a folly as much greater, as its operation was more universal? Will it be believed, that it was then considered theacmeof perfection in beef and mutton, that it should be soover-fattened, that a poor man, to obtain one pound of meat that he could eat, must purchase another which he could not, unless converted into a suet pudding: moreover, that the highest premiums were annually awarded to those who produced sheep and oxen in the most extreme stale ofmorbid obesity?!!
——“expensive plansFor deluging of dripping-pans.”
141-*This, in culinary technicals, is calledcasingit upon the same principle that “eating, drinking, and sleeping,” are termednon-naturals.
141-†Mrs. Charlotte Mason, in her “Complete System of Cookery,” page 283, says, she has “tried all the different things recommended to baste a hare with, and never found any thing so good assmall beer;” others ordermilk; drippings we believe is better than any thing. To roast a hare nicely, so as to preserve the meat on the back, &c. juicy and nutritive, requires as much attention as a sucking-pig.
Instead of washing, a “grand Cuisinier” says, it is much better to wipe a hare with a thin, dry cloth, as so much washing, or indeed washing at all, takes away the flavour.
142-*Liver sauce, Nos.287and288.
142-†“They are only fit to be eaten when the blood runs from the bill, which is commonly about 6 or 7 days after they have been killed, otherwise it will have no more savour than a common fowl.”—Ude’s Cookery, 8vo. 1819, page 216.
“Gastronomers, who have any sort of aversion to a peculiar taste in game, properly kept, had better abstain from this bird, since it is worse than a common fowl, if not waited for till it acquires thefumetit ought to have. Whole republics of maggots have often been found rioting under the wings of pheasants; but beingradicallydispersed, and the birds properly washed with vinegar, every thing went right, and every guest, unconscious of the culinary ablutions, enjoyed the excellent flavour of the Phasian birds.”—Tabella Cibaria, p. 55.
144-*“This bird has so insinuated itself into the favour ofrefined gourmands, that they pay it the same honours as the grand Lama, making a ragoût of its excrements, and devouring them with ecstasy.”—VideAlmanach des Gourmands, vol. i. p. 56.
That exercise produces strength and firmness of fibre is excellently well exemplified in thewoodcockand thepartridge. The former flies most—the latter walks; the wing of the woodcock is always very tough,—of the partridge very tender hence the old doggerel distich,—
“If thepartridgehad but thewoodcock’sthigh,He’d be the best bird that e’er doth fly.”
Thebreastof all birds is the most juicy and nutritious part.
Putyour dripping into a clean sauce-pan over a stove or slow fire; when it is just going to boil, skim it well, let it boil, and then let it stand till it is a little cooled; then pour it through a sieve into a pan.
Obs.—Well-cleansed drippings,147-*and the fat skimmings147-†of the broth-pot, when fresh and sweet, will baste every thing as well as butter, except game and poultry, and should supply the place of butter for common fries, &c.; for which they are equal to lard, especially if you repeat the clarifying twice over.
N.B. If you keep it in a cool place, you may preserve it a fortnight in summer, and longer in winter. When you have done frying, let the dripping stand a few minutes to settle, and then pour it through a sieve into a clean basin or stone pan, and it will do a second and a third time as well as it did the first; only the fat you have fried fish in must not be used for any other purpose.
Cut beef or mutton suet into thin slices, pick out all the veins and skins, &c., put it into a thick and well-tinned sauce-pan, and set it over a very slow stove, or in an oven, till it is melted; you must not hurry it; if not done very slowly it will acquire a burnt taste, which you cannot get rid of; then strain it through a hair-sieve into a clean brownpan: when quite cold, tie a paper over it, and keep it for use. Hog’s lard is prepared in the same way.
Obs.—The waste occasioned by the present absurd fashion of over-feeding cattle till the fat is nearly equal to the lean, may, by good management, be in some measure prevented, by cutting off the superfluous part, and preparing it as above, or by making it into puddings; see Nos.551and554, or soup,No. 229.
Cut the steaks rather thinner than for broiling. Put some butter, orNo. 83, into an iron frying-pan, and when it is hot, lay in the steaks, and keep turning them till they are done enough. For sauce, seeNo. 356, and for the accompaniments,No. 94.
Obs.Unless the fire be prepared on purpose, we like this way of cooking them; the gravy is preserved, and the meat is more equally dressed, and more evenly browned; which makes it more relishing, and invites the eye to encourage the appetite.
Fry the steaks according to the directions given in the preceding receipt; and have ready for them some onions prepared as directed inNo. 299.
For stewed rump-steaks, see Nos.500and501.
Are best when quite fresh made. Put a bit of butter, or dripping (No. 83), into a clean frying-pan; as soon as it is melted (before it gets hot) put in the sausages, and shake the pan for a minute, and keep turning them (be careful not to break or prick them in so doing); fry them over a very slow fire till they are nicely browned on all sides; when they are done, lay them on a hair-sieve, placed before the fire for a couple of minutes to drain the fat from them. The secret of frying sausages is, to let them get hot very gradually; they then will not burst, if they are not stale.
The common practice to prevent their bursting, is to prick them with a fork; but this lets the gravy out.
You may froth them by rubbing them with cold fresh butter, and lightly dredge them with flour, and put them in a cheese-toaster or Dutch oven for a minute.
Some over-economical cooks insist that no butter or lard,&c. is required, their own fat being sufficient to fry them: we have tried it; the sausages were partially scorched, and had that piebald appearance that all fried things have when sufficient fat is not allowed.
Obs.Poached eggs (No. 548), pease-pudding (No. 555), and mashed potatoes (No. 106) are agreeable accompaniments to sausages; and sausages are as welcome with boiled or roasted poultry or veal, or boiled tripe (No. 18); so are ready-dressed German sausages (seeMem.toNo. 13); and a convenient, easily digestible, and invigorating food for the aged, and those whose teeth are defective; as is alsoNo. 503. For sauceNo. 356; to make mustard, Nos.369and370.
N.B. Sausages, when finely chopped, are a delicate “bonne bouche;” and require very little assistance from the teeth to render them quite ready for the stomach.
Parboil them, and let them get cold; then cut them in pieces, about three-quarters of an inch thick; dip them in the yelk of an egg, then in fine bread-crumbs (some add spice, lemon-peel, and sweet herbs); put some clean dripping (No. 83) into a frying-pan: when it boils, put in the sweetbreads, and fry them a fine brown. For garnish, crisp parsley; and for sauce, mushroom catchup and melted butter, or anchovy sauce, or Nos.356,343, or343*, or bacon or ham, as Nos.526and527.
Parboil and slice them as before, dry them on a clean cloth, flour them, and fry them a delicate brown; take care to drain the fat well from them, and garnish them with slices of lemon, and sprigs of chervil or parsley, or crisp parsley (No. 318). For sauce,No. 356, orNo. 307, and slices of ham or bacon, asNo. 526, orNo. 527, or forcemeat balls made as Nos.375and378.
***Take care to have a fresh sweetbread; it spoils sooner than almost any thing, therefore should be parboiled as soon as it comes in. This is called blanching, or setting it; mutton kidneys (No. 95) are sometimes broiled and sent up with sweetbreads.
Let your cutlets be about half an inch thick; trim them,and flatten them with a cleaver; you may fry them in fresh butter, or good drippings (No. 83); when brown on one side, turn them and do the other; if the fire is very fierce, they must change sides oftener. The time they will take depends on the thickness of the cutlet and the heat of the fire; half an inch thick will take about fifteen minutes. Make some gravy, by putting the trimmings into a stew-pan with a little soft water, an onion, a roll of lemon-peel, a blade of mace, a sprig of thyme and parsley, and a bay leaf; stew over a slow fire an hour, then strain it; put an ounce of butter into a stew-pan; as soon as it is melted, mix with it as much flour as will dry it up, stir it over the fire for a few minutes, then add the gravy by degrees till it is all mixed, boil it for five minutes, and strain it through a tamis sieve, and put it to the cutlets; you may add some browning (No. 322), mushroom (No. 439), or walnut catchup, or lemon pickle, &c.: see also sauces, Nos.343and348.Or,
Cut the veal into pieces about as big as a crown-piece, beat them with a cleaver, dip them in eggs beat up with a little salt, and then in fine bread-crumbs; fry them a light brown in boiling lard; serve under them some good gravy or mushroom sauce (No. 307), which may be made in five minutes. Garnish with slices of ham or rashers of bacon (Nos.526and527), or pork sausages (No. 87).
Obs.Veal forcemeat or stuffing (Nos.374,375, and378), pork sausages (No. 87), rashers of bacon (Nos.526and527), are very relishing accompaniments, fried and sent up in the form of balls or cakes, and laid round as a garnish.
Are dressed in the same way, and garnished with crisp parsley (No. 318) and slices of lemon.
If they are bread-crumbed and covered with buttered writing-paper, and then broiled, they are called “maintenon cutlets.”
Cut the chops about half an inch thick; trim them neatly (few cooks have any idea how much credit they get by this); put a frying-pan on the fire, with a bit of butter; as soon as it is hot, put in your chops, turning them often till brown all over, they will be done enough in about fifteen minutes;take one upon a plate and try it; if done, season it with a little finely-minced onion, powdered sage, and pepper and salt. For gravy and sauce, see Nos.300,304,341, and356.
Obs.A little powdered sage, &c. strewed over them, will give them a nice relish, or the savoury powder inNo. 51, or forcemeat sausages likeNo. 378.
Do not have them cut too thick, about three chops to an inch and a quarter; trim them neatly, beat them flat, have ready some sweet herbs, or sage and onion chopped fine, put them in a stew-pan with a bit of butter about as big as a walnut, let them have one fry, beat two eggs on a plate with a little salt, add to them the herbs, mix it all well together, dip the chops in one at a time all over, and then with bread-crumbs fry them in hot lard or drippings till they are a light brown.
Obs.Veal, lamb, or mutton chops, are very good dressed in like manner.
To fry fish, seeNo. 145.
N.B. To fry eggs and omelets, and other things, seeNo. 545, and theIndex.