This fish, though not much thought of by our first-rate epicures, is, according to my opinion, superior to carp; in a matelote it is excellent.
Have your fish prepared for cooking, and put them into a small fish-kettle (with a drainer); and if two middle-sized fish, put two onions, half a carrot, one turnip, three bay-leaves, a bunch of parsley, four cloves, a blade of mace, tenallspice, half a pint of port wine, and half a pint of broth in the kettle with them; place them over a moderate fire, stew them half an hour, or more if required; when done drain them well; dress without a napkin, and pour a matelote sauce (No. 62) over them.
Stew the fish exactly as above, dress them without a napkin, and pour a sauce Beyrout (No. 64) over them.
Stew the fish as before, only use bucellas instead of port wine; then peel thirty button onions, pass them in a stewpan (over a fire) with a little powdered sugar and butter till they are covered with a white glaze; then add two glasses of bucellas wine, boil it three minutes; then put twenty tablespoonfuls of white sauce, and ten of the stock from the fish in with it, and let it simmer on the corner of the fire till the onions are quite done, keeping it well skimmed; then season with a little pepper, salt, and sugar, and add twenty muscles (blanched), a little chopped parsley, and a tablespoonful of lemon-juice; take it off the fire, stir in four tablespoonfuls of liaison, and pour over the fish; serve very hot. The sauce requires to be thick enough to well cover the fish.
Stew the fish as before, dish it up without a napkin, have ready a muscle sauce (No. 70) pour it over the fish, and serve very hot.
Is very good served with anchovy or shrimp sauce in a boat.
Have three middling-sized fishes ready prepared for cooking; then put two ounces of butter, two onions (in slices), one carrot (cut small), some parsley, two bay-leaves, six cloves, and two blades of mace in a stewpan; pass it five minutes over a brisk fire, then add a quart of water, two glasses of vinegar, one ounce of salt, and a little pepper; boil altogether a quarter of an hour, and pass it through a sieve into a small fish-kettle; then lay the fishes into it, and let them stew twenty or thirty minutes over a moderate fire; dress them on a dish without a napkin, and pour a sauce Hollandaise (No. 66) over them.
Prepare and cook your fish as above; then put twenty tablespoonfuls of melted butter in a stewpan, and when it is upon the point of boiling, add a quarter of a pound of Maître d’Hôtel butter (No. 79) and pour the sauce over the fish, which dress on a dish without a napkin.
Cut four small fishes in halves, having previously taken off all the scales, and proceed precisely as for Flounders en water souchet (No. 331).
Scale and well dry six perches, and make incisions here and there on each side of them; then put a quarter of a pound of butter into a sauté-pan, season your fishes with pepper and salt, put them in the sauté-pan and fry them gently, turning them carefully; when done, dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve without sauce.
In my opinion, they are much better cooked this waythan boiled or stewed; large fish may also be done this way, but they require more butter, and must cook very slowly.
Trout that is caught in a river or running stream is preferable to that caught in a lake or pond; although I have had very fine ones from ponds, they have invariably tasted muddy; in fact a running stream is better for all fish in this respect; but still water most affects the flavour of the trout.
Prepare the fish for cooking, and boil it in salt and water; if it weighs two pounds, allow it half an hour, and more in proportion; dress it on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve shrimp-sauce in a boat.
Stew the fish like perch, allowing more time in proportion to the size; dress them on a dish without a napkin, and sauce the same as Perche à la Maître d’Hôtel (No. 365).
Stew the fish as above, dress it on a dish without a napkin, and pour a sauce Genoise (No. 63) over it.
Proceed exactly the same as for baked pike (No. 343.)
Dry your fish with a cloth, flour it, and lay it on the gridiron; broil it nicely over a moderate fire; when done, peel off all the skin; dish it without a napkin, and pour a sauce Beyrout (No. 64) over it.
Fillet a fish, and cut each fillet in halves; fry it in butter, like perch, dress it round on a dish, and pour a sauce Mazarine over them. For sauce, see Turbot à la Mazarine, No. 207, or they may be served with a matelote sauce in change.
Cut the eels in pieces about three inches long, dip them in flour, egg and bread-crumb, and fry them in very hot lard, dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve shrimp-sauce in a boat.
Cut the eels and fry as above, have ready some Tartare sauce (No. 38) upon a cold dish, lay the eels upon it and serve immediately; should the eels be large they must be three parts stewed before they are fried; dry them upon a cloth previous to bread-crumbing them.
Take the bones out of the eels by opening them from head to tail, and cut them in pieces about four inches long, throw them into some flour, then have ready upon a dish about a couple of handfuls of bread-crumbs, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a little dried thyme, and a little cayenne pepper, then egg each piece of eel and bread-crumb them with it, fry them in very hot lard, dish them on a napkin, and serve shrimp-sauce in a boat.
Cut the eels in pieces as before, and tie each piece round with packthread, then put them into a stewpan with anonion, a tablespoonful of white wine, three cloves, three whole allspice, a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, and a little white broth, sufficient to cover them; place them over a moderate fire, and let them stew gently for half an hour or more, if required, (according to the size of the eel,) take them out, drain them on a napkin, dish them without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce: put a teaspoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan with four tablespoonfuls of white wine, and eight ditto of brown sauce (No. 1), let it boil gently for a quarter of an hour, keeping it stirred, then add a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies and a little sugar, and pour over your eels.
Stew the eels as above, dress them without a napkin, and pour a sauce matelote (No. 62) over them. They may also be served with a sauce à la Beyrout (No. 64).
Are fish not so often used as eels, though they are remarkably good eating; but I think they have got out of repute by being so often served underdone; they may be stewed in the same manner as eels, (only a lamprey requires double the time stewing that an eel of the same size would require), and serve with the same sauces, with matelote sauce especially; if you fry or broil them they must be three parts boiled beforehand; to try when done run a trussing needle into them, if it goes in easy they are done.
These are very favourite little shell-fish, and much used in France, but seldom served as a dish in this country (they are not good when in spawn); for a dish have two dozen of them and wash in several waters (choose them asnear as possible of equal sizes), then put them in a stewpan, with two onions, one carrot, one turnip, one head of celery, six bay-leaves, a bunch of parsley, six cloves, twelve peppercorns, half an ounce of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, a quarter ditto of cayenne, two glasses of vinegar, four of sherry, and half a pint of broth; place them over a very brisk fire for twenty-five minutes, stirring them occasionally, take them off the fire and let them cool in their stock, put them in a basin, cover them with the stock, but strain the vegetables away from them, and use for garnishing where directed; to make a dish dress them on butter in the form of a bush, mingling very green double parsley with them.
There are some few other sorts of fresh-water fish not very frequently used, which may be fried, boiled, or stewed, in some of the ways as described in the foregoing list.
Make a pound of puff paste (No. 1132), roll it half an inch in thickness, then cut out your vol-au-vents with a fluted cutter rather larger than a five-shilling piece; have ready a baking sheet, (on which you have sprinkled some water,) and put your vol-au-vents on it, egg them over with a paste brush, and cut a top with a small plain cutter, which is done by dipping the cutter into hot water, and just marking a ring upon the top of each vol-au-vent, but do not cut it deep, then put them in a very warm oven, and pay particular attention to the baking of them, which will occupy about twenty minutes, keep the oven door shut as much as possible, take them out when done, and with the point of a knife take off the lid without breaking it, and take out the soft paste remaining inside, leaving them quite empty, they are then ready for immediate use; prepare the marrow as follows: take all the marrow from a beef marrow-bone, in as large pieces as possible, have ready on the fire a stewpan of boiling water, into which throw the marrow, and let it boil ten minutes, then take it out carefully and put it in cold water, put a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) into a stewpan, with four spoonfuls of brown gravy (No. 135) and a small piece of glaze, and reduce it till it becomes rather thick, then cut the marrow in dice about a quarter of an inch square, and two minutes before serving throw it into the sauce, with two large quenelles (No. 120) also cut in dice, whilst boiling, previously draining them upon a cloth; warm it quickly, season with a little saltand sugar if required, fill the vol-au-vents, and dress them on a napkin pyramidically; serve very hot.
Make the vol-au-vents as in the previous article, put two ounces of butter into a sauté-pan, rub it over the bottom, have ready four soft roes of mackerel, then put into the sauté-pan with a little pepper, salt, chopped parsley, and a teaspoonful of lemon-juice; set them over a moderate fire five minutes, turn them, and when done cut them in small dice, but let them remain in the sauté-pan, then add eight tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), and two of light broth, a little sugar, and two or three tablespoonfuls of cream; stir it over the fire and mix it well without breaking the roes, fill your vol-au-vents, and serve very hot on a napkin; carp roes may be served in the same manner.
Make the vol-au-vents as above; boil the liver of a skate in salt and water an hour, let it get cold, put six tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with four of light stock, and reduce it till rather thick, then add a little chopped parsley, three tablespoonfuls of cream, a little white pepper, sugar, and salt, if required; cut the liver in small dice, with four quenelles (No. 120), put it in the stewpan, make it hot, but do not stir it much or you will break it, add a little lemon-juice, fill the vol-au-vents, and serve as before. These patties, although seldom served, are very excellent if well done and nicely seasoned.
Prepare the vol-au-vents as before, put eight tablespoonfuls of white sauce in a stewpan, with a little cayenne pepper, a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies, two peppercorns,half a blade of mace, and six tablespoonfuls of liquor from the oysters, reduce it till very thick, have ready, blanched and bearded, two dozen oysters (No. 342), cut each oyster in four pieces, put them in the sauce, (previously taking out the peppercorns and mace,) with a little salt, sugar, and lemon-juice, make it hot over the fire, add a little cream, but do not let it boil, or the oysters would become tough and the sauce very thin: fill the vol-au-vents and serve on a napkin as before.
Prepare the vol-au-vents as usual, put eight tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), and four of light stock, in a stewpan, with a little cayenne pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies, boil it ten minutes, then cut a small hen lobster up in large dice, pound the red spawn from it with one ounce of butter, pass it through a hair sieve and mix with the sauce; put in the lobster, make it hot, fill your vol-au-vent, and serve as before.
N. B. The last four dishes may be made maigre by substituting melted butter or oyster sauce for white sauce.
Are made in the same manner as the petits vol-au-vents, but the paste must not be more than a quarter of an inch in thickness, and the bouchées must be cut with a fluted cutter not larger than half-a-crown piece, bake them in a warmer oven than the vol-au-vents, prepare the beef marrow, fill and serve the same as No. 381.
Make the bouchées as before, and prepare the mackerel roes the same as for petits vol-au-vents (No. 382).
Prepare them as usual, and proceed as for No. 383.
Prepare them as before, and proceed as for vol-au-vents (No. 384).
Prepare them as before, and proceed as for vol-au-vents (No. 385).
Prepare them as usual, pick the meat of the half of a braised chicken, and cut it in very small dice (not larger than peas), cut about the same size one ounce of cooked tongue, six blanched mushrooms, and two middling-sized French truffles; mix altogether, then put twenty tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with eight of milk, reduce it to one half, then add the minced fowl, tongue, &c., season with a little lemon-juice, pepper, salt, sugar, and two spoonfuls of cream; serve them very hot on a napkin.
Prepare them as before, take about half a pound of the flesh of chicken, turkey, or any description of poultry; pound it well in a mortar, with half an ounce of lean boiled ham, then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with half an ounce of butter, pass them over the fire, stirring them with a wooden spoon, then add a little flour, mix it well with the butter and eschalots, then add the pounded meat, four spoonfuls of white sauce, and half a pint of good stock that the bones of the poultry have been previously boiled in, boil altogether a quarter of an hour, season with a little white pepper, salt, and sugar, pass it through a tammie by rubbing it with two wooden spoons, put it into another stewpan, boil it, finish with a tablespoonfulof liaison, fill the bouchées, and serve on a napkin very hot.
Prepare the bouchées as before, put twenty tablespoonfuls of game sauce (No. 60) in a stewpan, then cut up into small dice the flesh of a grouse, partridge, half a pheasant, or the remains of any game you might happen to have by you, put it in the stewpan with the sauce, make it hot but do not let it boil, season with a little sugar and salt, fill and serve as before.
Prepare them as before, and proceed as for the petites bouchées à la purée de volaille, (No. 392) only using the flesh of game, and game sauce, instead of the flesh of poultry and white sauce.
Make one pound of puff paste (No. 1132), roll it into a sheet a quarter of an inch in thickness, then cut twenty pieces of the size of a five-shilling piece with a plain round cutter; mix the remains of the paste together, and roll them out to the thickness of the eighth of an inch, and cut twenty more pieces from it with the same cutter, sprinkle a baking sheet with water and lay them on it a little distance apart, wash them over with a little water with a paste brush, then have ready prepared in a basin half a pound of forcemeat of veal, fowl, or game (Nos. 120, 122, 123), with which mix half an ounce of beef marrow chopped very fine, one eschalot, a little parsley also chopped fine, and the yolk of an egg; mix well together with a wooden spoon, then put a little lump of the forcemeat half the size of a walnut on each piece of paste on the baking sheet,cover them over with the twenty pieces of paste you first cut, and close them well at the edges by pressing them down with the top part of a smaller cutter, egg the tops over, but be careful that the egg does not run down the sides, or it would prevent the patties from rising straight, put them in rather a hot oven and bake them about twenty minutes; dish them in pyramid on a napkin and serve; to be good they should be served directly they are taken from the oven; care should be taken not to put too much forcemeat in them, or it will upset them in baking.
Proceed as above, but instead of using forcemeat use some of the salpicon of oysters as prepared for the rissoles aux huîtres (No. 399).
Proceed as above, using some of the salpicon as prepared for the rissoles de homard (No. 400).
As before, using the salpicon of shrimps as prepared for rissoles of shrimps or prawns (No. 401).
Put half a tablespoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan, with half an ounce of butter, place it over the fire, fry the onions, but they must be kept white; then add half a teaspoonful of flour, and twelve of oyster liquor, (mix well) and eight tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), boil altogether ten minutes (or more till it becomes rather thickish), keeping it stirred the whole time, season with a little cayenne pepper, and salt, (it requires to be seasoned rather high,) then have ready blanched three dozen of oysters, cuteach into four pieces, dry them on a cloth, and put them into the sauce, let them boil two minutes, add a few drops of essence of anchovies, and three yolks of eggs, stir again over the fire a minute to set the eggs, then put it out on a dish and set it to get cold; make half a pound of puff paste (No. 1132), roll it ten times, (or the trimmings of paste previously made will do,) roll it out as thin as a shilling, then cut it out with a round cutter the size of the top of a small teacup, lay a teaspoonful of the preparation of oyster on each piece, wet it round with the paste brush, turn one edge over on to the other and close it well, then egg and bread-crumb them, fry in very hot lard (enough for them to swim in), when done dish them on a napkin, garnish with fried parsley and serve very hot; it will take about five minutes to fry them.
Put a teaspoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan with half an ounce of fresh butter, fry them white, then add ten or fifteen tablespoonfuls of white sauce (according to the size of the lobster), stir over the fire and let it boil five minutes, or more, until rather thick, have a fresh lobster cut up into small dice, put it into the sauce, season with cayenne pepper, salt, a little chopped parsley, juice of a lemon, and a few drops of essence of anchovies, let it boil a minute, then add two yolks of eggs, stir it over the fire another minute, to set the eggs, and pour it out on a dish to get cold; make and serve the rissoles as in the last article.
Prepare the salpicon exactly the same as the lobster in the last article, but be careful that the shrimps are not too salt; prawns are better for this purpose than shrimps; they require but very little seasoning; make, fry, and serve the rissoles as before.
Put a quarter of a pound of butter in a sauté-pan, rub it over the bottom, lay in the soft roes of four mackerel, season them with a little white pepper, salt, a teaspoonful of lemon-juice, and a very little chopped parsley; place them over a moderate fire five minutes, turn them, but do not let them get the least brown; when quite done cut them into small dice without breaking, then put half a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots into a stewpan, with a few drops of salad oil; fry them quite white, then mix half a teaspoonful of flour with them, and ten tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), stir it over the fire, and boil till it becomes very thick (as the roes of mackerel are so very delicate), season with a little cayenne pepper, salt, and a little sugar if required; then put in two yolks of eggs, mix well, and add the mackerel roes, stir it very gently over the fire till the eggs become set, then put it on a dish to get cold; make, dress, and serve the rissoles as before. This delicate hors-d’œuvre requires great attention and proper seasoning.
Roast a grouse or any other bird rather underdone, or the remains of some game left from a previous dinner will do, pick the meat off the bones and cut it into very small dice; then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with a quarter of an ounce of butter, fry them rather brown, add ten tablespoonfuls of game sauce (if none, make some with the bones as directed, No. 60), and four of brown ditto (No. 1), reduce over the fire till it becomes rather thick, season with a little cayenne pepper, salt, a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, and a teaspoonful of wine; let it boil, then add the game, with a little sugar andtwo yolks of eggs, stir it gently over the fire just to set the eggs, pour it on a dish to cool; make, dress, and serve the rissoles as before.
Cut half a roast (or boiled) fowl up into very small dice, then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with half an ounce of butter, fry them quite white, then add sixteen tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), put it over the fire to reduce till it is rather thick, put the fowl into the sauce, season with a little salt, white pepper, sugar, a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, and a little chopped parsley; let it boil a few minutes, then stir in the yolks of two eggs, let them set, and pour it on a dish to cool (a little ham or tongue may be mixed with the above, if required;) make, fry, and serve the rissoles as before.
Rissoles may also be made of turkey, pigeons, veal, lamb, sweetbread, &c., by following the above receipt, and using either one or the other of those articles instead of fowl.
Have ready a lump of fresh butter very hard and cut it into slices one inch and a half in thickness, lay them upon a table or slab in a cool place; then take a round cutter the size of half-a-crown, and with it cut twelve pieces of the butter out of the slices, beat up three or four eggs on a plate, put the pieces of butter into them, then take them out and throw them into a dish of bread-crumbs, take them out, throw them again into the eggs, and then the bread-crumbs, repeating the process three times, lay them upright upon the table, and mark a ring a little larger than a shilling on the top of each with a smaller cutter, stand them in a wire basket and fry in very hot lard, of a nice light-brown colour, and very crisp, take them out, take off thelids, empty them with care, and you will save nearly all the butter from them, turn them topsy-turvey in a dry place until wanted; when ready to serve put them in the oven a short time to get hot, and fill with any of the preparations for petites bouchées. You may form the croustades in diamonds, or any shape your fancy dictates; they make very beautiful hors-d’œuvres, and very cheap, as with care you may save the butter, which when cold may be applied to any other purpose.
Prépare the croustades as above, and make a good purée of fowl (as for petites bouchées à la purée de volaille, No. 392), then peel a good sized cucumber, cut it in pieces two inches long, and divide each piece into three lengthwise, take out the seeds, and stew the pieces of cucumber till very tender, with a little sugar, onion, and broth, keeping them very white; when cold cut them in small dice, mix with the purée of fowl, fill the croustades, and serve very hot with a plover’s egg upon the top of each.
Prepare a salpicon of lobster the same as for rissoles de homard; when quite cold cut it out in pieces two inches long and three quarters of an inch wide, beat up three or four eggs on a plate, and throw each piece into them and then into a dish of bread-crumbs, take them out, roll them lightly with the hand, beat them gently with a knife to make the crumbs stick, then throw them again into the eggs and bread-crumb, smooth them again with a knife, fry in hot lard, and dress them on a napkin garnished with fried parsley; they may be made in the form of pears or any way that fancy dictates, giving them the shape previous to bread-crumbing them. Croquettes may be madeof any of the preparations for rissoles by following the above direction.
For these kind of hors-d’œuvres it is necessary to have twelve small silver skewers, about four inches long and the thickness of a packing-needle, with a ring or fancy design on the top, they are not very expensive but are very novel for this description of dishes; the persons eating what is served upon them taking the head of the skewer with the fingers of their left hand and picking it off with their fork. Boil three throat sweetbreads in water ten minutes, pour off the water and add one onion, one carrot, one turnip, two bay-leaves, and a pint of white broth, let them simmer about twenty minutes till firm, then take them out of the broth, lay them on a clean cloth, cut them in pieces, with a long round cutter, about the size of a shilling, and season with pepper and salt; then chop two eschalots very fine and put them in a stewpan with an ounce of butter; fry them quite white, add ten tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), and eight of light stock, reduce until rather thick, add two yolks of eggs and the juice of half a lemon, take it off the fire, but do not let it boil after the yolks of eggs are in, then dip each piece of sweetbread into the sauce with a fork, and lay them on a dish till cold, then run the skewers through the centre of each piece, putting two pieces on each skewer, have ready four eggs well beaten on a plate, dip each skewer into the eggs and then into the bread-crumbs twice over, fry in hot lard, and serve them very hot on a napkin.
Put eighteen tablespoonfuls of good oyster sauce (No. 69) into a stewpan, reduce it until rather thick, then add twoyolks of eggs, stir them well in, and take it off the fire; choose rather small oysters, have them ready blanched and bearded, dip them one by one into the sauce with a fork, and lay them on a dish to cool; when quite cold run the skewers through (placing five on each skewer), dip them in eggs and bread-crumbs twice over as before, fry them in hot lard, and serve very hot on a napkin.
Cut forty pieces of lobster the size round of a shilling, and one inch in thickness, then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with a very small piece of butter, fry them quite white, then add eight tablespoonfuls of oyster sauce (No. 69), reduce till rather thick, season with a little sugar, cayenne, and the juice of half a lemon, finish with the yolks of two eggs, dip the pieces of lobster into it and proceed as before; fry, dish, and serve in the same manner; the onions may be avoided if objectionable.
Fillet a sole, butter a sauté-pan, lay in the fillets, season with pepper, salt, and the juice of a lemon, place them over a slow fire and when done lay them flat on a dish, place another dish on them, upon which put a four pounds weight, when cold cut them in pieces with a cutter the size of a shilling, prepare oyster sauce as above, dip each piece in the sauce and proceed exactly as before.
Make a preparation of oysters the same as for rissoles aux huîtres, adding one more yolk of egg; when cold make thin croquettes two inches long, egg and bread-crumb them once, pass a silver skewer through each, then egg andbread-crumb again, fry and serve on a napkin with fried parsley.
Make the preparation as for croquettes de homard (No. 407), and proceed exactly as in the last.
Make a preparation as for croquettes de homard, only using the fillets of soles instead of lobster, and proceed as before.
Make a preparation as for rissoles de volaille (No. 404), but adding tongue, truffles, and pistachios cut in small fillets; when cold make them into croquettes about two inches long, but do not bread-crumb them; pass a silver skewer through, then have ready some batter for frying (No. 1285), hold each skewer by the head, pour some batter over each croquette with a spoon, covering every part of them, and fry in lard, but not too hot, as they must be quite white and crisp; dress them on a napkin and serve very hot.
For Aiguilettes de Gibier à la jolie fille proceed exactly as above, only using game in the preparation instead of fowl.
In France hors-d’œuvres are made of tastefully dressed anchovy salads, olives, &c., to invigorate the appetite, which is unrequired at this almost the commencement of the dinner.
Although it is against my principle to have any unnecessary ornamental work in a dinner, I am rather partial to these croustades, they being simple and very elegant. It would be quite useless my attempting to explain by receipts the manner in which they are made, as so much depends upon the taste and skill of the artist. Having invented several new removes requiring croustades of different designs, I have had them engraved, and think I may say that the whole of the designs there represented are quite original. These croustades are cut out of one or two loaves of bread; when cut in separate pieces they are joined by running a silver skewer (or attelet) through them; the body of the croustades is fried in lard, of a nice straw-colour, and the small ornaments attached are cut with cutters and fried in oil, some must be kept quite white and others allowed to get very black; they are fixed to the body of the croustade with a stiffish paste made of whites of eggs and flour; my reason for departing from the old-fashioned custom of placing them in the centre of a dish and putting them at the head, is that it facilitates the carving, and you are not so subject to get pieces of it in your plate with the sauce, besides which I think it has a more novel appearance, and makes the dish more elegant.
A fillet of beef can only be procured in this country by purchasing a rump and sirloin together, (in France it is sold as a separate joint,) but the rump and sirloin can beused for other dishes, or for the servants’ meals, and in families where they kill their own meat, it is of no consequence. To cut out the fillet lay the rump and sirloin upon the table, the inside uppermost, then pass your knife along close to the chine bone, keeping the knife close to the bone until you get past the fillet, then commence cutting upwards through the fat, which trim from the fillet, except a little at the sides, then with a sharp knife take all the skin from the top of the fillet, beat it lightly, and lard it nicely lengthwise with small lardons of fat bacon, two inches in length, and the thickness of a quill; have prepared and cut in slices six onions, two carrots, two turnips, one head of celery, one leek, a handful of parsley, a few sprigs of thyme, and six bay-leaves, moisten with a teacupful of salad oil, lay your fillet on a large dish and cover with the vegetables, let it remain thus all night; to cook it run a lark spit through the length of the fillet, lay all the vegetables upon four sheets of paper, (or more, for if not sufficient paper it will burst and the vegetables fall in the dripping-pan,) lay the fillet upon them, cover and tie it up surrounded with the vegetables; baste it well when you first put it to the fire, to prevent the paper from burning, roast an hour and a half or a little longer before a good fire; when done, take it from the vegetables, glaze the larded part, brown lightly with the salamander, and it is ready to be sauced and served. It may also be roasted without the vegetables, but then an hour would suffice.
Prepare and cook the fillet as described, then cut a croustade in the form of a breast-plate (see plate), fix it at the head of the dish upon paste, then lay your fillet in the middle of a dish, make a small border of mashed potatoes round, upon which alternately place a small quenelle(No. 120) and a small fillet of tongue, to match; proceed in like manner all the way round, then have ready nicely boiled twenty heads of fine asparagus, cut half of them five inches in length, and the remainder three inches, dress them inside of the croustade on the top to represent arrows, pour a jus d’eschalotte sauce (No. 16) over the fillet, glaze the quenelles and tongue, and serve very hot.
Prepare and dress the fillet as before, then cut a croustade of bread representing the wall of a citadel, form the cannons with stewed carrots, and the balls with truffles, place it on mashed potatoes at the head of the dish, lay the fillet in the centre, make a border of mashed potatoes round, rather high, close to the croustade on each side, but diminishing as you go from it; have ready twenty crawfish, place them on the potatoes, tails upwards, pour a sauce Beyrout (No. 64) round the fillet; glaze and serve.
I must here observe that as crawfish are frequently served to garnish calf’s head, I see no impropriety in using them to garnish beef.
Prepare and dress the fillet as described (No. 417), dish it up plain and serve with jus d’orange sauce (No. 17) over it.
Prepare and dress the fillet as described above, dish it up plain, pour the sauce au jus de tomate (No. 12) round it; glaze and serve very hot.
Prepare and dress the fillet as described (No. 417), place it in the centre of the dish, have ready two croustades, theshape and size of scallop shells, fix one at each end of the fillet on mashed potatoes, and fill them with fresh scraped horseradish, then have ready the following sauce: make a mierpoix of two onions, two turnips, one carrot, one apple, a quarter of a pound of lean ham (cut in thin slices), half a clove of garlic, one bay-leaf, and three tablespoonfuls of salad oil; pass the whole twenty minutes over a slow fire (in a stewpan), then add four tablespoonfuls of Tarragon vinegar, boil it five minutes, add a pint and a half of brown sauce (No. 1), and a pint of consommé (No. 134); reduce it to half, skim off all the oil, then add six tablespoonfuls of very red tomate sauce, one ditto of orange marmalade, and two of currant jelly, let it boil a few minutes longer, pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, season rather high, have ready a quarter of a pound of Smyrna raisins (well soaked in water for one hour), and twelve of the best quality French plums cut in quarters lengthwise, throw them into the sauce, make it hot, pour round the beef, which glaze very nicely and serve.
Prepare and dress your fillets as directed, adding four glasses of sherry to the vegetables you roast it in; prepare two croustades the size and shape of scallop shells, dress your beef in the middle of the dish, placing a croustade (on mashed potatoes) at each end; have ready previously boiled two pounds of Strasburg bacon (which, from its dry nature requires soaking two days and boiling four hours), cut it in slices two inches long, and have an equal number of sliced of fried potatoes to match, make a border of mashed potatoes round the beef, and dress the slices of bacon and fried potatoes alternately upon it, have ready prepared the following sauce: put a tablespoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with three of Tarragon vinegar, let it reduce to half, then add a pint and a half of brownsauce, two spoonfuls of tomate sauce (No. 37), a pint of consommé (No. 134), and half a tablespoonful of sugar, let it boil quickly twenty minutes, skim well, and reduce until it adheres to the back of the spoon, then have ready a lemon, peeled, sliced, blanched in boiling water, and drained on a hair sieve, which throw in the sauce, pour it round the beef, fill one of the croustades with stoned French olives, and the other with Indian pickle made hot in a little demi-glace (No. 9); serve immediately.
Prepare and dress the fillet as directed (No. 417), dress it plain on a dish and have ready prepared the following sauce: cut in thin slices two onions, half a carrot, one turnip, half a head of celery, two bay-leaves, a sprig of thyme, a bunch of parsley, three cloves, one blade of mace, and a quarter of a pound of lean ham; put them into a stewpan with two ounces of butter, stir it over a brisk fire till getting rather brown at the bottom, then add four tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, let it reduce to half, then add a quart of brown sauce (No. 1) and a pint of consommé (No. 134), stir it until boiling, then place it at the corner of the stove to simmer a quarter of an hour, skim it, then add a tablespoonful of chopped mushrooms, a little grated horseradish, and three tablespoonfuls of currant jelly; boil it quickly five minutes, and pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, add a quarter of a pound of Smyrna raisins well washed and soaked, pour the sauce over the beef, garnish with scraped horseradish and hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters lengthwise and laid near the rim of the dish.
Prepare and lard the fillet as before, then make a stiffish paste of flour and water, roll it about half an inch in thickness and fold the fillet in it, fold it again in three sheets ofpaper, tie it up at both ends, run a lark spit through it, and just as you are going to put it down to roast open the paste, pour in three glasses of Madeira wine, close the paste well, tie it up securely, roast it two hours, take it up and remove from the paste, glaze it, brown lightly with the salamander, dish it plain, and have ready the following sauce: cut half a pound of blanched maccaroni into pieces an inch long, likewise two ounces of very red cooked tongue, six large blanched mushrooms, and four middling-sized French truffles, put twenty spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, stir it over the fire five minutes, season with half a teaspoonful of salt, a small quantity of cayenne, and a little sugar, add all the other ingredients, with half a pound of grated Parmesan, stir the whole over the fire to get hot, but do not break the pieces; moisten with a little cream, pour the sauce in the dish, lay the fillet upon it, glaze and serve.
Trim and lard a fillet as directed, cut in thin slices six onions, two carrots, three turnips, three heads of celery, and a leek; put them into a dish large enough to hold the fillet, then put a quart of vinegar into a stewpan, with a pint of broth; when it boils put in a few peppercorns, nine cloves, two blades of mace, four bay-leaves, a sprig of thyme and sweet marjoram, a small bunch of parsley, half a pound of brown sugar, and a little salt, let it boil twenty minutes and pour it over the vegetables; when it gets cold lay in the fillet of beef, covering it over with the vegetables, let it remain in this pickle six days, turning it every day; when ready to cook roast it in paste as in the previous article, brown it with the salamander, serve it in the middle of the dish, make a low border of mashed potatoes round it, have ready potatoes fried (and cut in slices in the shapeof cotelettes) dish them upon the border of mashed potatoes round the beef, have ready the following sauce: put a quart of poivrade sauce (No. 32) in a stewpan, when it boils add twenty French olives (stoned), twenty small pickled onions, and twenty pickled mushrooms; pour the sauce round the beef but not over the potatoes; an ounce of anchovy butter may be added to the sauce if approved of. You can also braise the fillet in a baking dish in the oven with the marinade it is pickled in.
Trim your fillet and lard it through the thick part with large pieces of cooked tongue and fat bacon, twelve pieces of each, tie it up with a piece of string, put half a pound of butter in a large stewpan, and lay in the beef with a pound of bacon cut in slices, two onions, two bayleaves, two cloves, and ten peppercorns; place it on a sharp fire, when getting a little brown and forming a glaze, put in six glasses of sherry and a pint of consommé, (No. 134), set it over a very slow fire for two hours, moving it round with a wooden spoon occasionally; have ready blanched one pound of the best small maccaroni (No. 136); put it in a stewpan, after it is well drained from the water take up the beef, skim the fat off the gravy it is cooked with, and pass it through a sieve upon the maccaroni, add six tablespoonfuls of tomata sauce, and place it over the fire; when it simmers add half a pound of grated Parmesan and half a pound of grated Gruyer cheese, move it round quickly, (it must not be too liquid, so if too much gravy from the beef reserve some of it;) season with a little cayenne pepper, salt, and sugar, put a layer of maccaroni upon your dish, then a layer of grated cheese, then the remainder of the maccaroni, egg and bread-crumb the top, sprinkle more grated cheese over, brown it with the salamander, lay thefillet on the top, glaze, and serve very hot. Should any gravy remain pour it round.
Choose a rump of beef from twenty-five to thirty pounds, in weight, the meat dark and well covered with fat, bone and lard it slantwise through and through with very large lardons of fat bacon six inches long, chop up the bone, which put into a large stewpan, with five or six pounds of the trimmings of any other meat, one pound of lean ham, three onions, two turnips, one carrot, one head of celery, one leek, a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaves, eight peppercorns, and a blade of mace: put a pint of water in the stewpan, cover and stand it over a brisk fire, stirring it occasionally till the bottom is covered with glaze, then lay in the beef, fill the stewpan with water, skim when boiling, and let it simmer on the corner of the fire for six hours; to try when it is done run a trussing-needle into it, if it goes in easy it is done; have ready prepared eighteen middling-sized onions, butter a sauté-pan, put half an ounce of powdered sugar in it, cut a piece of the top and bottom of each onion, blanch them in boiling water ten minutes, drain well, stand them in the sauté-pan, cover with stock, place them over the fire, stew till tender and the stock has become a thin glaze, have ready eighteen pieces of carrots, and eighteen turnips cut in the form of small pears, which dress in the same way as the onions, lay the rump of beef on your dish, and arrange the onions and vegetables with taste around it, using for variety any green vegetables that may happen to be in season with them; for the sauce put a quart of brown sauce in a stewpan, with the glaze from the onions and vegetables, and half a pint of good stock; season with a little pepper and salt if required, reduce a quarter of anhour, or till it becomes rather thick, pour the sauce over the vegetables, glaze the top of the beef, brown it lightly in the oven, or with the salamander, and serve. To carve, cut it in thin slices slantingly through the thickest end, where there is most fat; if underdone it is uneatable.
Stew the beef as directed in the last, likewise thirty-six onions, stewed in the same way as there directed; make a border of mashed potatoes round the dish, place the beef in the centre, and dress the onions round upon the potato; place a fine Brussels sprout on the top of each onion (or a little sprue grass or green peas if in season), then put a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), in a stewpan, with four spoonfuls of tomata sauce and the glaze the onions were cooked in; boil well five minutes, keeping it stirred and well skimmed, pour over the onions, glaze the beef, brown it with the salamander, and serve. You may put a very white cauliflower at each end of the dish, if you have any. In making the border of mashed potatoes on your dish, be sure and leave sufficient room for the beef, as you can (and it is the best way) dress the onions and garniture on it first, and not place the beef on till ready to serve; for the fat running from the beef it would spoil the appearance of the sauce if it remained long on the dish before serving.
Dress the beef as before, then blanch two white winter cabbages (savoys) in salt and water ten minutes; take them out, and lay them on a sieve to drain; then make a mierpoix of two onions, half a carrot, one turnip, one head of celery, one leek, a little parsley, thyme, one bay-leaf, and half a pound of lean ham, all cut up very small; put them into a stewpan with two ounces of butter, fry fiveminutes, keeping them stirred; then squeeze the cabbage quite dry, lay it in the stewpan with the vegetables and a quart of veal stock, place it over a slow fire to stew for one hour, or till quite tender, take out the cabbage (save the stock), lay it on a cloth, turn the end of the cloth over it, squeeze it rather dry, and make a long roll of it (about the size round of half-a-crown piece), cut it in pieces about an inch in length, and dress them on the dish round the beef; a small onion dressed as before may be placed on the top of each piece with a nice Brussels sprout between; and surround the whole with small fried sausages; for sauce, skim off the fat from the broth the cabbage was stewed in; put half a pint of it in a stewpan, with a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), place it on the fire, and reduce it to one-half; add a quarter of a teaspoonful of sugar, and pour the sauce over the cabbage, glaze and salamander the beef, and serve; this remove is very good, and a similar dish is reputed to have been a great favourite of the celebrated man from whom I have named it.
Stew the beef as before, peel eight Portugal onions, boil them in a gallon of water till nearly tender, take them out and drain them; butter a convenient sized stewpan, put in the onions with two ounces of sugar, just cover them with good veal stock, and stew them until the stock is reduced to a thinnish glaze, and adheres to them; place the beef on the dish, and dress the onions round it at equal distances apart, and between each onion place a small but nice white cauliflower; for the sauce, add a quart of brown sauce, with the glaze from the onions; reduce it to half over the fire, pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, let it boil, throw in forty French olives ready stoned, pour the sauce over the vegetable, glaze the beef, salamander, and serve.
Stew the beef as before, and proceed the same as for Fillet of beef à la Joan d’Arc (No. 418).
Stew the beef as before, and proceed as for Filet de bœuf à la Beyrout (No. 419).
Stew the rump as before, then peel forty young carrots, the same number of young turnips; tie up ten small bunches of green spring onions, butter a sauté-pan, place them in it with a tablespoonful of sugar (leave the stalks of the onions about an inch and a half in length), half cover them with some good stock, and let them simmer until quite tender; cook the turnips and carrots in the same manner, but separate, make a low border of mashed potatoes round the dish, leaving room for the beef in the centre; dress the carrots, onions, and turnips on the potatoes tastefully, and variegate them with peas, cauliflowers, asparagus, French beans, and stewed cucumbers (No. 1064); glaze and salamander the beef on a separate dish, place it in the middle of the vegetables, and have ready the following sauce: put a quart of brown sauce in a stewpan, with the stocks the vegetables were cooked in, reduce until it becomes thickish, pour over the vegetables, and serve.
Prepare and stew the rump of beef as before, and prepare the following sauce: put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions in a stewpan, with six do. of common vinegar, and half an ounce of glaze; let it reduce to half, then add a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), and half a pint of consommée (No. 134); let it simmer half an hour, skim, and seasonwith a little cayenne pepper, salt, sugar, a tablespoonful of chopped mushrooms, one do. of chopped gherkins, and one do. of sliced gherkins; glaze and salamander the beef, pour the sauce round, and serve.
Prepare and stew the beef as before, glaze and salamander, pour some tomata sauce (No. 37) round, and serve. If you should have part of a rump of beef left from a previous dinner you can cut it in slices a quarter of an inch thick, and warm them in a little consommée in a sauté-pan; serve with any of the foregoing sauces, but especially the two last; the best way to warm them is to glaze them well and put them in a moderate oven about twenty minutes; do not let them boil, or they would eat very hard.
The sirloin, after having been deprived of its fillet, is of no use for roasting, but is equally as good as the rump when stewed; bone it carefully and lard the thick part with fat bacon, like the rump; roll it up, and tie it well with string, to keep its shape; stew it in the same manner as the rump, trim it at each end, wipe off the greasy fat lightly from the top with a clean cloth, glaze it lightly, and put it in the oven until it has obtained a light gold colour; serve with any of the sauces or garnitures used for stewed rumps of beef.
Prepare and stew a sirloin as described, glaze and salamander it, place a low border of mashed potatoes round the dish, and at each end put a croustade of bread cut in the shape of flat vases; then have ready boiled and cut three inches in length, fifty fine heads of asparagus; dish themin, crown upon the potatoes; then have a quart of very young peas, nicely boiled; put them into a stewpan with a teaspoonful of sugar, a little pepper and salt, and four pats of butter; toss them over the fire till the butter is melted; put them in the croustade at each end of the dish, place the beef in the centre, pour a sauce aux concombres (No. 103) round the beef and serve. (For the sauce aux concombres, see No. 103).
Take four ribs of beef, and saw the rib bones asunder in the middle; pass your knife under, and detach them from the flap; then take the chine bones from the fleshy part, sawing them off the ribs so as to leave but about four inches of the flat rib bones underneath; then lard the thick part through and through with fat bacon like the sirloin, fold the flap over so as to form a nice square piece, tie it with string to keep its shape, and roast three hours in vegetables, in the same manner as described for fillet of beef; when done, take off the string, glaze and salamander, place it on your dish, with a square croustade of bread, with a cannon and anchor also cut from bread upon it, at the head of the dish, and have ready the following sauce: chop very fine ten eschalots, ten fresh mushrooms, and half a pound of lean ham, put them into a stewpan with four glasses of sherry and two of Chili vinegar, add a bunch of parsley, two bay-leaves, the rind of half a lemon, and four cloves; put them into the stewpan, let all simmer ten minutes, then add fifteen spoonfuls of tomata sauce (No. 37), twenty of white sauce (No. 7), and ten do. of consommée; reduce the sauce until rather thick, but it must be transparent, season with a little cayenne pepper, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a little salt, if required; pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, boil it up, and pour round the beef.
May be served plain boiled; if a good-sized tongue, allow it from three to four hours to boil; put it in cold water, take off the skin, trim off a great part of the root, put it in hot water again a short time, dress it on a dish garnished with vegetables as for stewed rump of beef à la Flamande (No. 428), or served with spinach or a Milanaise sauce (see Fillet of Beef à la Milanaise); but when used as a remove, they are mostly served as part of the garniture of another dish.
Procure a nice white loin of veal, saw off the chump, cut off the thick skin from the thick part, then cut some lardon of fat bacon and lean raw ham, a quarter of an inch square and three inches long, with which lard the thickest end on the top; skewer the flap underneath, butter the bottom of a large flat stewpan, cover with thin slices of fat bacon, and lay the veal on the top of them, the larded side uppermost; add two onions with four cloves stuck in them, one carrot, one turnip, a bunch of parsley, thyme and bay-leaves (tied together), half a pint of bucellas wine, and a quart of stock; place it over a sharp fire a quarter of an hour to boil, skim and place it in a moderate oven for two hours (according to the size), basting it every quarter of an hour with the stock; when done glaze and salamander the larded part, but put the cover of the stewpan over the other part (whilst salamandering it) as it must be kept quite white; make a low border of mashed potatoes on the dish you intend serving it on, and have ready the following garniture: you have previously boiled a Russian ox-tongue; take off the skins, and cut it in escalopes the size of five-shilling pieces; then cut up six very large French truffles, and stew twocucumbers; cut in escalopes of the same size as the tongue, make them hot in separate stewpans, in a little stock, and dress them alternately on the border of mashed potatoes all round the dish; place the veal in the centre, and have ready the following sauce: put two tablespoonfuls of chopped mushrooms in a stewpan with a glass of Madeira wine, two quarts of white sauce (No. 7), and a pint of boiling milk; reduce it over the fire till it becomes rather thick; pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, season with a little sugar, salt, and the juice of half a lemon; pour a little over each piece of truffle and cucumber, and the rest in the dish; glaze the pieces of tongue carefully, and serve.
Prepare and braise the veal as before, garnish and sauce as for stewed rump of beef à la Macédoine de légumes (No. 434).
Prepare and braise the veal as before, without larding it; make a border of mashed potatoes on the dish, then have twenty good heads of celery, cut off the tops within two inches of the bottom, make a purée of celery (No. 117) with the tops, and stew the bottoms in a quart of white stock, with a quarter of an ounce of sugar, until tender; dress them upright upon the border of potatoes, place the veal in the centre, and pour the purée of celery round; serve very hot; the sauce must be rather thinner than usual.
Roast a loin of veal in vegetables in the manner as described for Fillets of Beef (No. 417), allowing it longer time according to the size; dress it on the dish with a border of mashed potatoes round, then have ready thirty pieces ofStrasburg bacon, cut in the shape and size of cutlets; dress them on the potatoes round the veal, pour a sauce poivrade (No. 32) into the dish, but not over the bacon; glaze the bacon, and serve. The Strasburg bacon being very dry, requires soaking at least twenty-four hours; it most be allowed to simmer until very tender; place it between two dishes, with a weight upon it, and when cold cut it into the shapes required, and make them hot in good white stock. Good streaky bacon may be used instead of the Strasburg, if it is difficult to obtain.
Procure a good leg of veal, cut off the knuckle just above the joint, then cut out the bone from the middle of the fillet; have ready two pounds of forcemeat (No. 120), cut half a pound of cooked ham and twenty mushrooms into very small dice, mix them with the forcemeat; season rather high with cayenne pepper, salt, and nutmeg, put the forcemeat in the place the bone was taken from, pull the udder of the fillet round, and skewer it up, but not too tight; tie it up with string, put it on a spit, and roast it four hours in vegetables, in the same manner as described for fillets of beef; when done take it from the paper and vegetables, cut off the string, and run three or four silver skewers through it in the place of those you have taken out; the fillet must be quite white; place it on the dish, make a border of mashed potatoes round it, upon which dress alternately a piece of tongue and a piece of bacon, each piece cut in the form of a heart, and not more than a quarter of an inch in thickness; glaze the garniture, and have ready the following sauce: put two quarts of white sauce into a stewpan, stir it over the fire until it becomes thick, then add nearly a pint of thin cream; poor the sauce in the dish, but not over the garniture, and serve immediately; the first slice must be cut off the veal previous to its going to table.
Cut your fillet as before, have ready boiled an ox-tongue, trim it, cut off the root and about two inches of the tip, put it in the middle of the fillet from where you have taken the bone, and fill up the cavities round the tongue with some forcemeat (No. 120), skewer up the fillet and roast it as before; when done lay it on the dish with a border of mashed potatoes round it, upon which dress alternately a quenelle of veal and a slice of stewed cucumber (No. 1064), then put two quarts of white sauce in a stewpan, with a pint of broth, reduce it, and add nearly half a pint of cream, pour the sauce over the garniture, and sprinkle a little chopped tarragon and chervil over it; serve as soon as possible after you have poured the sauce over, which requires to be seasoned rather high.
Prepare and dress the fillet exactly as before, then peel fifty Jerusalem artichokes, and turn them in the shape of small pears; boil them nicely in salt and water, lay your fillet on a dish with a border of mashed potatoes round it, upon which dress the artichokes, the round part uppermost, between each artichoke place a fine Brussels sprout; sauce the same as the last and serve.
Prepare the fillet as before, but place a piece of boiled bacon in the centre instead of the tongue, roast it in vegetables as before, pour a sauce jardinière (No. 100) upon a dish, sprinkle a pint of young green peas plain boiled upon it, dress a cauliflower at each end and another on each side, place the fillet in the middle upon the sauce and serve.
Prepare the fillet as before, then lard it through and through with pieces of fat bacon a quarter of an inch square and six inches long, skewer it up tight, put it on a spit and roast it as before, but twenty minutes before it is done take it out of the vegetables but not off the spit, and let it remain before the fire to brown; have ready prepared twenty middle-sized onions, and as many pieces of carrots turned in the form of pears, stew them as directed in stewed rump of beef à la Flamande (No. 428), place the fillet in the dish, make a border of mashed potatoes round it, upon which dress the onions and carrots, with a cauliflower at each end; have ready the following sauce: put two quarts of brown sauce in a stewpan, with half a pint of consommé and half the stock the carrots and onions were cooked in, boil it till it becomes like a thin glaze, pour over the vegetables, sprinkle about a pint of young peas nicely boiled over them if in season, and serve.