GRILLING AND DEVILLING.
ByDORA DE BLAQUIÈRE.
I
havetaken the trouble to look in the dictionary for the word “grill,” and I find it is derived from the French word “grille”—a grate or gridiron—and it means to broil on a grate or gridiron. But to-day, in point of fact, grilling is rarely performed in this manner, few people having the gridiron; and if not done in the oven, it is performed in an open frying-pan.
I have begun with this piece of information because some of my readers may say on seeing the word, “Oh, we can’t grill! We have no means of using a gridiron!” And as all devils must be grilled or fried quickly, without burning them in a hot oven, it is well to understand exactly what is meant. To my mind a frying-pan is better than an oven, because you can watch the process and see that the gravy does not waste. And the very first thing you have to guard against with an inexperienced or poor cook is her either wasting all the mixture for the gravy, or else her drying it up and burning the meat, or scorching the bones, and making them uneatable. The operation of grilling must be performed quickly, and needs the best attention of the operator.
Now I must tell you what I daresay you may already know,i.e., that all the great cooks, like Francatelli, give you a recipe for what they generally call “devil’s mixture”; and the following is the composition of that renowned master in the art of cooking. Mix well upon a plate a spoonful of either French or English mustard, a spoonful of Oude sauce or chutney, the same of anchovy, two spoonfuls of olive oil, and a little cayenne pepper. This should be used to cover whatever you are about to grill.
In thePytchley Cookery Book, which is so celebrated, you will find two or three recipes for devil sauce. The first is the simplest. Warm and blend together a teaspoonful of mixed mustard, a tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce, an ounce of glaze, an ounce of butter, a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper, one of salt, and a tablespoonful of chopped parsley. Mix, warm up, and rub the meat well with the mixture, serving it as gravy, should any remain after the broiling.
The second Pytchley recipe is intended to be poured over the meat when broiled. A tablespoonful of mustard, a teaspoonful of curry paste, a tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce, two tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup, a teaspoonful of anchovy sauce, a teaspoonful of salt, the yolk of an egg, and half a pint of thick soup from the night before, if a thin soup. Then thicken it with some brown thickening, boil up, and pour over the broiled bones.
Thus, you see, there are really two methods of devilling; the one first-mentioned when you pour the sauce over the meat before broiling, and the second when you put it over afterwards, which really takes more the form of a gravy, though it is not intended to be too plentiful, nor to surround the devilled meat in the dish. For the first intention of devils is, that they should be dry, rather crisp, and savoury, not wet and soft in the slightest degree. This you must be pleased to remember if you would make them successfully, and one of your great difficulties will be to have the dish dry, yet not dried up, which is the test of a good devil.
What is known as Indian devil mixture is made as follows: To one tablespoonful each of vinegar, ketchup, and chutney paste, add an ounce of dissolved butter, a dessertspoonful of made mustard, salt, and a small cup of good gravy. Mix all together, and rub them into the meat either cooked or uncooked. Make all hot slowly together. They will take ten minutes to make hot. Serve in the dish in which you have cooked them.
This recipe is one which was left to the cooking world by Admiral Ross, and it is an excellent one, quickly and easily made. In all those I have given you will see that either mustard, mixed or unmixed, is made use of; but I myself dispense with it, as I like the mixture better without it for ordinary use.
What is known as a Cambridge devil was given to me long ago by a Fellow of St. John’s, and dates certainly from the very last days of the last century, or the early days of this one—which, if we all live long enough, will soon be spoken of as “the last century” too! This can be employed with any kind of meat, but I have chiefly used it with ham, and it is very excellent in helping to use up the remains of a ham, which is rather difficult to deal with when you do not turn it into potted ham, which is, perhaps, the most sensible way of all.
The rough and ready way of making a Cambridge devil is to take the mustard pot, and with the mustard spoon to smear over the slices of ham on one side as much mustard as you think you are likely to stand, and then to add some vinegar—perhaps two tablespoonfuls—just enough to make a thickened gravy with the mustard you have put in. You have first laid the slices of ham neatly on an old plate, or, at least, on one plate which you do not mind putting into a very hot oven, and when you have added the mustard and the vinegar, you must put the plate into a hot oven. When it gets very hot, take a fork and turn about the slices of ham until they be covered with vinegar, and the vinegar and the mustard have amalgamated in some measure, then put back into the oven, and let it brown well and frizzle up, and then serve in the same plate in which it has been cooked. But you should stand it, of course, on another one, so that it may not do any damage, nor burn people’s fingers.
I learned years ago a very nice and simple method of preparing slices of cold meat of any kind by rubbing them with curry powder and then frying them, or, better still, grilling. When you have cut the slices of meat (mutton, I think, for choice), pour some curry powder on a plate, and roll the slices in it; but if you do not like things very hot and fierce, then mix the curry powder with flour in the proportion of half and half, and this will make the dish more suitable for the family. I am inclined to think that all these dishes of an extremely savoury description are more suitable for the “grown-ups” than the smaller fry.
Cold meat may be also simply devilled by shaking over it a mixture of cayenne, black pepper, and salt, and sometimes a little French mustard is added at the last before the meat is made hot. I have also seen the above mixed with butter into a paste, the meat slightly scored, and the mixture rubbed into the scorings. Amongst the most delightful of breakfast dishes are those made of drumsticks of fowls, turkeys, or ducks. These should be scored lengthways, and the mixture inserted; then you should put on some tiny bits of butter (if you do not use oil) and grill.
Now I must enter on the very important subject of bones (I am sure it ought to have a capital B), grilled and devilled bones constituting one of those delicacies which are always associated with club suppers, or the midnight meals of celebrated eating-houses. In private houses, devilled bones are not so well known, nor so successful, perhaps, when done; and this is generally owing, as I have said before, to the carelessness or to the inexperience of cooks, who may never have been taught how to do them.
The bones most used for grilling and devilling are from the sirloin of beef, or the shoulder or leg of mutton. Of course, when we speak of “bones,” we do not mean that they are “bare bones”; they must of necessity have a certain amount of meat left upon them—that is to say, enough to be scored with a sharp knife, if to be devilled as well as grilled. If to be grilled only, and you be fortunate enough to have a gridiron, they need nothing but a little pepper and salt, and sometimes not even that.
The bones require a fierce, hot, and clear fire, and the epicure of grilled bones prefers that the meat should be black. If the fire be not fierce enough, you can make it more so by throwing a little fat upon it, either in the form of dripping, or of odd pieces of fat that may be cut off from the meat. This will make a sufficient blaze, and you will attain without trouble to the coveted degree of blackness, which really is more smoke and scorch than burn, and gives with the grease that kind of smoky taste to the grill that we enjoy so much with ham and any other smoked meats.
Grilled Kippered Salmon.—Cut some dried salmon into small long pieces—about four inches long and two inches wide; broil them over a clear fire, then rub them over with fresh butter seasoned with lemon-juice and cayenne, and serve very hot.
Grilled Cod Cutlets.—One ancient recipe for grilling will serve to explain the process, and will enable anyone to perform the operation without difficulty. The first thing to do is to dry the cutlets or anything else in a clean cloth, and then to brush them over lightly with fresh olive oil, place them on a hot gridiron, and grill for about ten minutes; turn them on both sides, and, when done, sprinkle with pepper and salt, squeeze lemon-juice over them, and serve very hot. This is the usual process, and everything—fish, mutton, beef, mushrooms, and chicken or turkey—can be done by it.
And now I hope that you will have quite comprehended from what I have written the difference between grilling and devilling, and can see that grills need not be devilled, but that devils must always be grilled. So I will finish up my subject by discoursing on the things to which you may apply the latter process, which are so many that you will find your list of breakfast and supper dishes greatly enlarged.
I hope you are not foolishly prejudiced against tinned foods, because they are very excellent if you do not try to purchase them cheaply, and always go to good and reliable shops for them. Thus the matter is in your own hands completely; and you have no one to blame but yourself if they turn out unsatisfactorily.
I hope you understand also that devils mustnot be black as grills are, and not be placed over a too hot fire; but must be well browned and frizzled. And while there are some people who like dry ones, there are other people who prefer that the devil mixture should be thickened round them like a rather thick gravy. In fact, this process rather repeats that of curry-making, as there are dry curries, wet curries, and very wet ones.
And now I shall finish with a few more available dishes, which are simple and easily made by any cook, whether good or bad, who can at least read a recipe and follow it.
Devilled Lobsteris one of the things that can be made with tinned lobster. You must first prepare a paste of salt, dry mustard, curry powder, black pepper, and salad oil. Spread it over the lobster, then melt an ounce of butter in a fire-proof dish, put in the fish, and heat it well through, browning the top. If you are using fresh lobster, it will require fully ten minutes in cooking.
Tinned salmon, or the remains of a tinned tongue, may be used in the same manner, and so may the Australian beef.
The remains of a cold roast duck are suitable for a most excellent devil. To make it you must remove the bones and cut the meat into rather small pieces, but not too small. (This is better made in a small enamelled saucepan.) Take a tablespoonful of dry mustard, a teaspoonful of salt, a little cayenne, and two tablespoonfuls of lemon-juice. Mix these ingredients gradually and very thoroughly together, and add two tablespoonfuls of butter melted, and two tablespoonfuls of water. When this gets hot, put in the pieces of duck and also a gill of some white wine—Sauterne—or even a light claret, or, if you do not like wine, use a gill of good stock instead. Place the saucepan over the fire and stir it carefully till smoking hot, then turn it on to a hot-water dish, if you have it, and serve as hot as possible.
Now, the next dish that occurs to me is devilled kidneys. For a large dish, twelve sheep’s kidneys will be required; but, of course, you must be guided by the number of people for whom you are catering. Cut the kidneys in half, remove the centres and white tubes, and then scald them, removing also the skin. Put two ounces of butter into an enamelled saucepan; and, when it is hot, throw in the kidneys and cook them quickly. Dust them over with salt and white pepper, and then pour over them a tablespoonful of onion juice, one of Worcestershire sauce, and four teaspoonfuls of light sherry. Serve smoking hot, and, if possible, in a hot-water dish, for I hope you understand that everything in this way must be served and kept hot while at table.
Sardines may be either grilled or devilled. If the former, scrape them free from skin and oil, and wipe them in a clean cloth. Oil a little butter and roll them in it, powder them with cayenne pepper and salt, and cover them with some finely-chopped parsley and chopped mushrooms. Wrap each sardine in oiled paper, and put in the oven till hot; and serve in the same papers in which they were cooked without unfolding them, and lay each on a slice of toast.
Devilled Sardinesare done in quite the same way. To begin with, they are scraped and wiped, and rolled in a mixture of mustard, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy sauce (be sure to shake both the bottles), and four tablespoonfuls of melted butter, and lay each on a slice of toast in the oven, and serve very hot. It should not take more than five minutes to cook them in a very quick oven.
Eggs devilled with anchovy toast is another good supper dish. You must first put a little butter in the frying-pan, and afterwards a mixture of half a teaspoonful of dry mustard, two tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce, one of Worcester sauce, and one of mushroom ketchup. Put into this four hard-boiled eggs, sliced, salted and peppered, and when heated through, place the egg on toasts which you have previously spread with anchovy paste.
In conclusion, I will say that I find Worcester sauce my greatest reliance in devilling bones, in making that thoroughly delightful dish—a devilled shoulder-bone of either mutton or lamb, or, indeed, where anything in the way of meat is concerned. I do not shake the bottle; but that is a matter of individual taste. I have tried Harvey sauce, which also answers; but we at home prefer the former.
Tomato sauce is very excellent for some things—like pork—and is also good with veal; but you cannot mix other sauces with it. And, unless very very sour, I would counsel you to avoid the sugar so freely recommended in most books on cookery.
And I had nearly omitted to mention a very important item, viz., devilled biscuits, which are so much enjoyed by many people. These are done either dry or buttered. What are called American toast biscuits, or soda biscuits in America, are the nicest; but they need a light hand, as they break easily. Dip them twice into warm water, then pepper them with cayenne pepper, and bake till quite crisp in a slow oven. Serve hot in a toast-rack.
In the other way, you must knead together an ounce and a half of butter, a saltspoonful of cayenne, and a saltspoonful of flour of mustard. Dip the biscuits twice into warm milk, spread them with the mixture, and bake in a slow oven till crisp. Serve very hot.