Chapter 3

Giblets of fowls are always to be bought at a low price at most poulterers'; when you have a mind to lay out 6_d._ or 1_s._ in this way, first scald the necks and feet, to remove the feathers from the head and the rough skin from the feet; split the gizzard and scrape out the stones, etc., and the yellow skin therefrom, and when the giblets are thoroughly cleaned, put them into a saucepan with some thyme, winter savory, chopped onions, pepper and salt, and about a quart of water, and set them on the fire to stew very gently for an hour, by which time the liquor should be boiled down to half that quantity; then add two ounces of flour and a little mushroom ketchup; stir all together, and put the giblets into a pie-dish; cover this over with a dripping crust, and bake it for about an hour and a quarter.

No. 63. A FISH PIE.

Cut up any kind of fish into pieces the size of an egg; season these with chopped parsley, thyme, a little onion, pepper and salt, and put them into a pie-dish, with a pint of water, well mixed with three ounces of flour and a little mushroom ketchup; cover the pie with a flour crust, or else with stiff mashed potatoes, and bake it for an hour and a quarter.

No. 64. POTATO PIE.

Slice up four onions and boil them in a saucepan with two ounces of butter, a quart of water, and pepper and salt, for five minutes; then add four pounds of potatoes, peeled and cut in slices; stew the whole until the potatoes are done, and pour them into a pie-dish; cover this with stiff mashed potatoes, and bake the pie of a light brown colour.

No. 65. BACON ROLL-PUDDING.

Boil a pound of fat bacon for half an hour, and then cut it up into thin slices. Peel six apples and one onion, and cut them in slices. Make two pounds of flour into a stiff dough, roll it out thin; first lay the slices of bacon out all over this, and then upon the slices of bacon spread out the slices of apples and the slices of onion; roll up the paste so as to secure the bacon, etc., in it; place the bolster pudding in a cloth, tied at each end, and let it boil for two hours in a two-gallon pot, with plenty of water.

No. 66. RABBIT PUDDING.

Skin and wash the rabbit, and cut it up in pieces; fry these brown with a bit of butter, season with chopped onions, parsley, and winter savory, pepper and salt, shake in a good spoonful of flour, moisten with a little ketchup and a gill of water; toss the saucepan about on the fire while the pieces of rabbit boil for about ten minutes, and then pour the whole into a proper sized basin lined with a suet or dripping crust; let the pudding be covered in with some of the paste, put into a baking-dish half full of hot water, and placed in the oven, to bake for an hour and a-half.

No. 67. STEWED OX KIDNEY.

Cut up the kidney in thin slices, fry them brown with a bit of butter or fat in a frying-pan, over a brisk fire, season with chopped parsley, shalot, pepper and salt, shake in a good table-spoonful of flour, add a few drops of vinegar, and nearly half a pint of water; stir the whole on the fire, while it boils, very gently, for a quarter of an hour; this, with a dish of well-boiled or baked potatoes, will produce a cheap and excellent dinner sufficient for six persons.

No. 68. BAKED BULLOCK'S HEART.

Wash and wipe the heart, cut it into four pieces, season these with pepper and salt, chopped thyme, and bay-leaves, add about two ounces of dripping, eight onions cut in slices, and four parsnips cut also in slices; let all this be placed in an earthen pot, with a pint of water, and the lid being put on, set the stew in the oven to bake for two hours.

No. 69. BULLOCK'S HEART STUFFED.

Chop fine four onions and twelve sage-leaves; put these into a saucepan with a bit of fat or butter, and fry them for a few minutes on the fire; then add eight ounces of crumb of bread, soaked in milk or water, pepper and salt; stir this stuffing on the fire for a few minutes, add one egg, put the stuffing inside the bullock's heart, place a round of greased paper on the stuffing, and fasten it on with four wooden twigs. Next, put the stuffed heart upon an iron trivet in a baking dish, containing peeled potatoes, two ounces of dripping or butter, and half a pint of water; season well with pepper and salt, and while baking let the heart be frequently basted with the fat from the dish. In case you have no oven, send it to the baker's.

No. 70. STEWED SHEEP'S TROTTERS.

Sheep's trotters are sold ready cleaned and very cheap at all tripe shops. When about to cook them, by way of a treat, for supper, or otherwise, let them be put on in two quarts of water and milk, seasoned with peppercorns, salt, a good sprig of thyme, and a wine-glassful of vinegar, and set them to boil very gently on the fire for three hours, at least. When the trotters are done quite tender, skim off all the grease, and boil down the liquor to a pint; then add two ounces of flour, mixed with a gill of milk, some chopped parsley, and one ounce of butter; stir all together while boiling on the fire for ten minutes, and pour out into the dish.

No. 71. BAKED SHEEP'S HEADS.

Buy a couple of sheep's heads, get the butcher to split them for you, place them in an earthen baking-dish, with two ounces of dripping, some chopped shalots, thyme, bay-leaf, winter savory, pepper and salt, and a good pinch of allspice; moisten with a quart of cider, or water, strew a coating of bread-raspings all over the surface of the heads, and bake them for two hours.

No. 72. SHEEP'S PLUCK.

A sheep's pluck, properly cooked, will furnish a meat dinner enough for twelve persons, at a very moderate cost. Cut the whole of the pluck, consisting of the heart, liver, lights, etc., into rather thick slices, and season them well with pepper, salt, allspice, thyme, and winter savory; grease the bottom of a baking-dish with two ounces of dripping, lay a bed of slices of onions upon this, and then place the slices of pluck, already seasoned, upon the onions; moisten with water enough to reach half-way up the meat, strew a thick coating of bread-raspings all over the top, and bake the savoury mess for an hour and a-half.

No. 73. BELGIAN FAGGOTS.

These may be prepared with sheep's pluck, or even with bullock's liver, and other similar parts of meat; but a pig's pluck is preferable for the purpose. Chop up the heart, liver, lights, and the fat crow; season well with pepper, salt, allspice, thyme, sage, and shalots, and divide this sausage-meat into balls the size of an apple, which must be each secured in shape with a piece of pig's caul fastened with a wooden twig, or skewer, and placed in rows in a tin baking-dish, to be baked for about half an hour in a brisk oven. When the faggots are done, place them on some well-boiled cabbages, chopped up, in an earthen dish, and having poured the grease from the faggots over all, set them in the oven to stew gently for half an hour.

No. 74. FRIED STEAKS AND ONIONS.

Season the steaks with pepper and salt, and when done brown on both sides, without being overdone, place them in a dish before the fire while you fry some sliced onions in the fat which remains in the pan; as soon as the onions are done, and laid upon the steaks, shake a spoonful of flour in the pan, add a gill of water and a few drops of vinegar; give this gravy a boil up on the fire, and pour it over the steaks, etc.

No. 75. STEWED STEAKS.

Fry the steaks brown over a very brisk fire, without allowing them to be hardly half done, and place them in a saucepan with onions, carrots, turnips, and celery, all cut in pieces about the size of a pigeon's egg; season with thyme, pepper, and salt, and two ounces of flour; moisten with a quart of water, and stir the stew on the fire till it boils, and then set it by the side of the fire on the hob, to simmer very gently for an hour and a-half. It will then be ready for dinner.

No. 76. STEWED SAUSAGES.

First, prick your sausages well all over with a fork, and soak them in very hot water, for two or three minutes, to swell them out; next, roll them in flour, and fry them brown without overdoing them, as that renders them dry, and spoils them. When the sausages are done and put on a plate, fry some slices of bread, and put these on a dish; then put the sausages on the fried bread, and shake a spoonful of flour in the pan; add a pennyworth of chopped mixed pickles, a gill of water, and a little pepper and salt; give this gravy a boil up, and pour it over the sausages.

No. 77. PIG'S FRY.

A pig's fry consists of the heart, liver, lights, and some of the chitterlings; these are to be first cut up in slices, then seasoned with pepper and salt, rolled in a little flour, and fried with some kind of grease in the frying-pan. As the pieces are fried, place them on their dish to keep hot before the fire, and when all is done, throw some chopped onions and sage leaves into the pan, to be fried of a light colour; add a very little flour, pepper, and salt, a gill of water, and a few drops of vinegar; boil up this gravy, and pour it over the pig's fry.

No. 78. BEEFSTEAKS, PLAIN.

When you happen to have a clear fire, the steaks may be cooked on a gridiron over the fire; the steaks must be turned on the gridiron every two or three minutes. This precaution assists very much in rendering the meat more palatable and tender, as it is by this frequent turning over of the meat while broiling, that the juices are not allowed to run off in waste, but are re-absorbed by the meat. When the steaks are cooked, rub them over with a small bit of butter, season with pepper and salt. A little chopped shalot sprinkled over steaks, imparts an extra relish.

No. 79. MUTTON CHOPS, OR STEAKS.

Mutton chops, properly speaking, are an expensive affair; but what I recommend you to buy is, the chump end of the loin of mutton, which is always to be had much cheaper. This weighs about one pound, at 6_d._, and would cut into about three, or perhaps four steaks or chops; let these be broiled in the same manner as recommended for beefsteaks.

No. 80. KIDNEY PUDDING.

Prepare an ox kidney as shown in No. 67, and use this to fill a good sized pudding basin, which you shall have previously lined with a dripping or suet crust; cover the meat in by placing a rolled-out piece of the paste on the top, fasten it by pressing the two edges of the paste together, tie the pudding up in a cloth, and take care to place the bottom of the pudding-basin downward in the pot in which it is to be boiled. It will take about two hours to boil a good sized pudding of this kind; when you take it out of the pot, be very careful not to run the fork through the crust, and pay great attention how you handle the pudding while removing the cloth, so as not to spill or waste the gravy it contains, as that would go very far towards spoiling the pudding you have had all the trouble to prepare.

No. 81. HASHED MEATS.

I strongly recommend that you never allow yourselves to be persuaded, that cold meat dinners are cheap dinners; just the reverse of this assumption is the fact. And, let me tell you, that those who make the former assertion, do so only because they know no better, and as an excuse for their idleness. I am well aware that in your homes it is not a common every-day occurrence for you to dress a large joint of meat, from which enough would be left for one or more days' dinner; but still it may, and does sometimes occur, that you have cold meat at your disposal, upon which you may exercise your knowledge in domestic economy. Besides, some of you who are living close to noblemen and gentlemen's mansions in the country, or otherwise, may perhaps stand a chance of now and then receiving a donation of this kind. And whenever you have any cold meat, I advise you to cook it up into stews of the various kinds described in this work, or else make it into a hash as follows: First, chop two onions fine, and put them to boil with pepper and salt and a pint of water, in a saucepan for ten minutes, then throw in the meat cut in thin slices, mixed with a little flour; boil all together gently for ten minutes longer, and pour the hash into a dish containing either some ready boiled potatoes, or else some slices of toasted bread.

No. 82. BOILED TRIPE.

Tripe is not exactly a cheap commodity for food; yet, as you may feel occasionally inclined to indulge in a treat of this kind, I will give you instructions to cook it in the most economical manner. When you have procured any given quantity of tripe, cut it up in pieces the size of two inches square, put these into a saucepan containing skim milk, or milk and water, enough to swim the tripe; add some peeled onions, pepper, and salt, and a sprig of thyme, and boil gently for at least an hour; and when the tripe is done, eat it with mustard and some well boiled potatoes.

No. 83. BAKED TRIPE.

Cut the tripe up in pieces, and put it into an earthen pot, with some ale, cider, or water, enough to cover it in; add sliced onions, pepper, and salt, and a good pinch of allspice; put the lid on the pot, and set the tripe in the oven to bake for two hours.

No. 84. SAUSAGE DUMPLINGS.

Make one pound of flour and two ounces of dripping, or chopped suet, into a firm paste, by adding just enough water to enable you to knead the whole together. Divide this paste into twelve equal parts, roll each of these out sufficiently large to be able to fold up one of the beef sausages in it, wet the edge of the paste to fasten the sausage securely in it, and, as you finish off each sausage dumpling, drop it gently into a large enough saucepan, containing plenty of _boiling_ water, and when the whole are finished, allow them to boil gently by the side of the fire for one hour, and then take up the dumplings with a spoon free from water, on to a dish, and eat them while they are hot.

No. 85. SAUSAGE ROLLS.

Procure a quartern of dough from the baker's, knead this with four ounces of butter, dripping, or chopped suet; divide it into twelve equal parts, and use each piece of paste to enfold a beef sausage in it; place these rolls on a baking-tin, and bake them in the oven for about twenty minutes or half an hour.

No. 86. ROAST PORK.

Let us suppose, or rather hope, that you may sometimes have a leg of pork to cook for your dinner; it will eat all the better if it is scored all over by cutting the rind, or rather slitting it crosswise, at short distances, with the point of a sharp knife; it is to be well sprinkled all over with salt, and allowed to absorb the seasoning during some hours previously to its being cooked. Prepare some stuffing as follows:--Chop six onions and twelve sage leaves fine, fry these with a bit of butter, pepper, and salt, for five minutes; then add six ounces of bread soaked in water; stir all together on the fire for five minutes, and use this stuffing to fill up a hole or pocket, which you will make by running the point of a knife down between the rind and the flesh of the joint of pork; secure this by sewing it up, or else fasten it securely in with a small wooden skewer or twig. The joint of pork, so far prepared, must then be placed upon a trivet in a baking-dish containing plenty of peeled potatoes, and, if possible, a few apples for the children; add half a pint of water, pepper and salt, and if the joint happens to be a leg, it will require about two hours to bake it.

No. 87. BUBBLE AND SQUEAK.

When you happen to have some cold boiled salt beef, cut this up in slices; fry it on both sides, and dish it up round some cabbages or any dressed vegetables ready to hand, which must be chopped up, seasoned with pepper and salt, and fried.

No. 88. JUGGED HARE.

It does sometimes happen that when you are living in the country, in the neighbourhood of considerate gentlefolks who possess game preserves, that they now and then make presents of a hare and a few rabbits to the poor cottagers in their vicinity. And when you are so fortunate as to have a hare given to you, this is the way to cook it:--First, cut the hare up into pieces of equal size, then cut up a pound of bacon into small squares, and fry these in a saucepan for five minutes; next, add the pieces of hare, and, stirring them round in the pot with a spoon, fry them brown; add a good handful of flour, some pepper and allspice, carrots and onions, and a sprig of winter savory; moisten the stew with nearly three pints of water, and stir it all together on the fire till it boils, and then set it on the hob to continue gently simmering for about an hour and a-half or two hours; the jugged hare will then be ready for dinner.

No. 89. BOILED BACON AND CABBAGES.

Put a piece of bacon in a pot capable of containing two gallons; let it boil up, and skim it well; then put in some well-washed split cabbages, a few carrots and parsnips also split, and a few peppercorns; when the whole has boiled gently for about an hour and a-half, throw in a dozen peeled potatoes, and by the time that these are done, the dinner will be ready. And this is the way in which to make the most of this excellent and economical dinner. First, take up the bacon, and having placed it on its dish, garnish it round with the cabbages, carrots, parsnips, and potatoes, and then add some pieces of crust, or thin slices of bread, to the liquor in which the bacon-dinner has been cooked, and this will furnish you with a good wholesome soup with which to satisfy the first peremptory call of your healthy appetites.

No. 90. ECONOMICAL VEGETABLE POTTAGE.

In France, and also in many parts of Europe, the poorer classes but very seldom taste meat in any form; the chief part of their scanty food consists of bread, vegetables, and more especially of their soup, which is mostly, if not entirely, made of vegetables, or, as is customary on the southern coasts of France, Italy, and Spain, more generally of fish, for making which kinds of soup see Nos. 4, 6, 118, etc.

The most common as well as the easiest method for making a good mess of cheap and nutritious soup is the following:--If you are five or six in family, put a three-gallon pot on the fire rather more than half full of water, add four ounces of butter, pepper and salt, and small sprigs of winter savory, thyme, and parsley; and when this has boiled, throw in any portion or quantity, as may best suit your convenience, of such of the following vegetables as your garden can afford:--Any kind of cabbages cleaned and split, carrots, turnips, parsnips, broad beans, French beans, peas, broccoli, red cabbages, vegetable marrow, young potatoes, a few lettuce, some chervil, and a few sprigs of mint. Allow all this to simmer by the side of the hob for about two hours, and then, after taking up the more considerable portion of the whole vegetables on to a dish, eat one half, or as much as you may require, of the soup with bread in it, and make up your dinner with the whole vegetables and more bread. The remainder will serve for the next day. Let me persuade you, my friends, to try and persevere in adopting this very desirable kind of food, when in your power, for your ordinary fare. I, of course, intend this remark more particularly for the consideration of such of my readers as are or may be located in the country, and who may have a little garden of their own.

No. 91. HOW TO MAKE A FISH CURRY.

Slice up six onions fine, and fry them with a little butter or grease over a slow fire until they become very lightly coloured; then add three or four green apples in slices, and when these are dissolved, place your pieces of any kind of fish, which you have previously fried in a frying-pan, on the top of the onions, etc., sprinkle a spoonful of curry powder all over the fish, put the lid on the saucepan, and set the whole on the hob of a moderate fire, or in the oven, if you have one, to remain simmering for about half an hour; the curry will then be ready to be eaten with well-boiled rice.

No. 92. THIS IS THE WAY TO BOIL RICE.

I recommend you to buy Patna rice, as it is the cheapest; it is best to soak it in water over-night, as it then requires less time to boil it, and moreover, when soaked, the rice becomes lighter, from the fact that the grains separate more readily while boiling. Put the rice on to boil in plenty of cold water, stirring it from the bottom of the saucepan occasionally while it is boiling fast; when the grains separate at the ends, and thus appear to form the letter X, the rice will be done; it requires about half an hour's gentle boiling. When the rice is done, drain it in a colander, and place it before the fire, stirring it now and then with a fork.

No. 93. RICE DUMPLINGS.

Boil one pound of rice as directed in the foregoing Number, and when thoroughly drained free from excess of moisture, knead the rice with a spoon in a basin into a smooth, compact kind of paste, and use this to cover some peeled apples with in the same way as you would make an ordinary apple dumpling. In order the better to enable you to handle the rice-paste with ease, I recommend that each time previously to shaping one of the dumplings, you should first dip your clean hands in cold water. Let the dumplings, when finished, be tied up in small cloths, and boiled in plenty of hot water for about three-quarters of an hour. The cloths used for these dumplings must be greased.

No. 94. PLUM OR CURRANT DOUGH PUDDING.

Ingredients, two pounds of dough from the baker's, four ounces of plums or currants, a pinch of allspice, ditto of salt, a gill of milk. Mix all the above ingredients together in a pan; tie up the pudding in a well-greased pudding-cloth, and place it in a pot containing _boiling_ water, and allow it to continue boiling for two hours; at the end of this time the pudding will be done, and may be turned out on its dish.

No. 95. CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING.

Ingredients, two pounds of flour, twelve ounces of raisins, twelve ounces of currants, twelve ounces of peeled and chopped apples, one pound of chopped suet, twelve ounces of sugar, four eggs, one pint and a-half of milk or beer, one ounce of salt, half an ounce of ground allspice. Boil the pudding four hours. First, put the flour, suet, and all the fruit in a large pan; mix these well together, and having made a deep hole in the middle thereof with your fist, add the salt, sugar, and allspice, and half a pint of the milk, or beer, to dissolve them; next, add the four eggs, and the remaining pint of milk, or beer; mix all vigorously together with the hand, tie up the pudding in a well-greased and floured cloth, boil it for at least four hours, taking care that the water boils before the pudding is put into the pot to boil. When done, turn the pudding out on its dish, and, if you can afford it, pour over it the following sauce:--

No. 96. SWEET PUDDING SAUCE.

Ingredients, two ounces of common flour, ditto of butter, ditto of sugar, chopped lemon-peel, half a gill of any kind of spirits, and half a pint of water. First mix the flour, butter, and sugar in a small saucepan by kneading the ingredients well together with a wooden spoon, then add the water, spirits, and lemon-peel; stir the sauce on the fire till it comes to a boil, and then pour it all over the pudding.

No. 97. JAM PUDDING.