Chapter 2
Boil six onions in water till tender, strain, and cut them in slices. Put your fish, cut in slices, in a stewpan with a quart of water, salt, pepper, ginger and mace to suit taste; let it boil fifteen minutes; add the onions, and forcemeat balls made of chopped fish, grated bread, chopped onion, parsley, marjoram, mace, pepper, ginger and salt, and five eggs beat up with a spoon into balls, and drop them into the pan of fish when boiling; cover close for ten minutes, take it off the fire, and then add six eggs with the juice of five lemons; stir the gravy very slowly, add chopped parsley, and let it all simmer on a slow fire, keeping the pan in motion until it just boils, when it must be taken off quickly, or the sauce will break. A little butter or sweet oil added to the balls is an improvement. If you meet with good success in the cooking of this receipt, you will often have stewed fish.
PERCH WITH WINE.
Here haddock, hake, and flounders are, And eels, and _perch_, and cod. GREEN.
Having scalded and taken out the gills, put the perch into a stew-pan, with equal quantities of stock and white wine, a bay leaf, a clove of garlic, a bunch of parsley, and scallions, two cloves, and some salt.
When done, take out the fish, strain off the liquor, the dregs of which mix with some butter and a little flour; beat these up, set them on the fire, stewing till quite done, adding pepper, grated nutmeg, and a ball of anchovy butter. Drain the perch well, and dish them with the above sauce.
TO STEW FISH BROWN.
Here stay thy haste, And with the _savory fish_ indulge thy taste. GAY.
Have your fish cleaned, the melts or kows being taken out whole; salt your fish, and let it lay half an hour. Cut your onions in slices, fry them with parsley-root, cut in long thin slices, in half a teacup of sweet oil, till they become a fine brown. Wash and dry your fish, cut it in pieces, put it in your stewpan, layer of fish and layer of browned onion, &c. Take a quart of beer, half a pint of vinegar, quarter pound of sugar, two tablespoonfuls powdered ginger, mixed well together, pour over your fish till covered. When putting your fish in the pan, split the head in two, and place it at the bottom, the smaller pieces on the top, the rows uppermost; let them cook very quick. Take out your fish, lay it nicely on a dish, mix a little flour in your gravy, give it a boil, throw it over the fish, and let it stand to cool.
ROASTED STURGEON.
Your betters will despise you, if they see Things that are far surpassing your degree; Therefore beyond your substance never treat; 'Tis plenty, in small fortune, to be neat; A widow has cold pie, nurse gives you cake, From generous merchants ham or _sturgeon_ take. KING.
Take a large piece of sturgeon, or a whole small one, clean and skin it properly, lard it with eel and anchovies, and marinade it in a white wine marmalade. Fasten it to the spit and roast it, basting frequently with the marinade strained. Let the fish be a nice color, and serve with a pepper sauce.
BOILED SALMON.
Red speckled trouts, the _salmon's_ silver jole, The jointed lobster and unscaly sole, And luscious scallops to allure the tastes Of rigid zealots to delicious feasts; Wednesdays and Fridays, you'll observe from hence, Days when our sins were doomed to abstinence. GAY.
Put on a fish-kettle, with spring water enough to well cover the salmon you are going to dress, or the salmon will neither look nor taste well (boil the liver in a separate saucepan). When the water boils put in a handful of salt, take off the scum as soon as it rises; have the fish well washed, put it in, and if it is thick, let it boil very gently. Salmon requires as much boiling as meat; about a quarter of an hour to a pound of meat; but practice can only perfect the cook in dressing salmon.
A quarter of a salmon will take as long boiling as half a one. You must consider the thickness, not the weight.
_Obs._ The thinnest part of the fish is the fattest, and if you have a "grand gourmand" at table, ask him if he is for thick or thin.
Lobster sauce and rye bread should be eaten with boiled salmon.
BOILED LOBSTER.
But soon, like _lobster boil'd_, the morn From black to red began to turn. BUTLER.
Those of the middle size are best. The male lobster is preferred to eat, and the female to make sauce of. Set on a pot with water, salted in proportion of a tablespoonful of salt to a quart of water. When the water boils, put it in, and keep it boiling briskly from half an hour to an hour, according to its size; wipe all the scum off it, and rub the shell with a little butter or sweet oil, break off the great claws, crack them carefully in each joint, so that they may not be shattered, and yet come to pieces easily, cut the tail down the middle, and send the body whole.
OYSTERS.
The man had sure a palate cover'd o'er With brass or steel, that on the rocky shore First broke the oozy _oyster's_ pearly coat, And risk'd the living morsel down his throat. GAY.
Common people are indifferent about the manner of opening oysters, and the time of eating them, after they are opened. Nothing, however, is more important in the enlightened eyes of the experienced oyster-eater. Those who wish to enjoy this delicious restorative in its utmost perfection must eat it the moment it is opened, with its own gravy in the under shell. If not eaten while absolutely alive, its flavor and spirit are lost.
FRIED OYSTERS.
You shapeless nothing, in a dish! You, that are but almost a fish! COWPER.
The largest and finest oysters should be chosen for frying. Simmer them in their own liquor for a couple of minutes; take them out, and lay them on a cloth to drain; beard them, and then flour them, egg and breadcrumb them, put them into boiling fat, and fry them a delicate brown.
A much better way is to beat the yolks of eggs, and mix with the grated bread, a small quantity of beaten nutmeg and mace, and a little salt. Having stirred this batter well, dip your oysters into it, and fry them in lard, till they are a light brown color. Take care not to do them too much. Serve them up hot. For grated bread, some substitute crackers pounded to a powder, and mixed with yolk of egg and spice.
STEWED OYSTERS.
By nerves about our palate placed, She likewise judges of the taste. Who would ask for her opinion Between an _oyster_ and an onion? DONNE.
Stew with a quart of oysters, and their liquor strained, a glass of white wine, one anchovy bruised, seasoned with white pepper, salt, a little mace, and a bunch of sweet herbs; let all stew gently an hour, or three quarters. Pick out the bunch of herbs, and add a quarter pound of fresh butter kneaded in a large tablespoonful of flour, and stew them ten or twelve minutes.
Serve them garnished with bread sippets and cut lemon. They may be stewed simply in their own liquor, seasoned with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg, and thickened with cream, flour, and butter.
OYSTER LOAVES.
_'Tis no one thing_; it is not fruit, nor root, Nor poorly limited with head or foot. DONNE.
Cut off the tops of some small French rolls, take out the crumb, fry them brown and crisp with clarified butter, then fry some breadcrumbs; stew the requisite quantity of oysters, bearded and cut in two, in their liquor, with a little white wine, some gravy, and seasoned with grated lemon-peel, powdered mace, pepper and salt; add a bit of butter, fill the rolls with oysters, and serve them with the fried breadcrumbs in a dish.
SCALLOPED OYSTERS.
What will not luxury taste? Earth, sea, and air, Are daily ransack'd for the bills of fare. GAY.
Stew the oysters slowly in their own liquor for two or three minutes, take them out with a spoon, beard them, and skim the liquor, put a bit of butter into a stewpan; when it is melted, add as much fine breadcrumbs as will dry it up; then put to it the oyster liquor, and give it a boil up; put the oysters into scallop shells that you have buttered, and strewed with breadcrumbs, then a layer of oysters, then breadcrumbs, and then again oysters; moisten it with the oyster liquor, cover them with breadcrumbs, put about half a dozen little bits of butter on the top of each, and brown them in a Dutch oven.
Essence of anchovy, ketchup, cayenne, grated lemon-peel, mace, and other spices are added by those who prefer piquance to the genuine flavor of the oyster.
MEATS.
VENISON.
Thanks, my lord, for your _venison_; for finer or fatter Never ranged in a forest or smoked in a platter. The haunch was a picture for painters to study, The fat was so white, and the lean was so ruddy. GOLDSMITH.
The haunch of buck will take about three hours and three quarters roasting. Put a coarse paste of brown flour and water, and a paper over that, to cover all the fat; baste it well with dripping, and keep it at a distance, to get hot at the bones by degrees. When near done, remove the covering, and baste it with butter, and froth it up before you serve. Gravy for it should be put in a boat, and not in the dish (unless there be none in the venison), and made thus: cut off the fat from two or three pounds of a loin of old mutton, and set it in steaks on a gridiron for a few minutes, just to brown one side; put them in a saucepan with a quart of water, cover quite close for an hour, and gently simmer it; then uncover, and stew till the gravy be reduced to a pint. Season only with salt.
VENISON PASTY.
And now that I think on't, as I am a sinner! We wanted this venison to make out the dinner. What say you? a _pasty_! it shall and it must, And my wife, little Kitty, is famous for crust. "What the de'il, mon, a pasty!" re-echoed the Scot. "Though splitting, I'll still keep a corner for that." "We'll all keep a corner," the lady cried out; "We will all keep a corner!" was echoed about. GOLDSMITH.
Cut a neck or breast into small steaks, rub them over with a seasoning of sweet herbs, grated nutmeg, pepper and salt; fry them slightly in butter. Line the sides and edges of a dish with puff paste, lay in the steaks, and add half a pint of rich gravy, made with the trimmings of the venison; add a glass of port wine, and the juice of half a lemon or teaspoonful of vinegar; cover the dish with puff paste, and bake it nearly two hours; some more gravy may be poured into the pie before serving it.
ROAST BEEF.
And aye a rowth, a _roast beef_ and claret: Syne wha wad starve! BURNS.
The noble sirloin of about fifteen pounds will require to be before the fire about three and a half to four hours; take care to spit it evenly, that it may not be heavier on one side than on the other; put a little clean dripping into the dripping-pan (tie a sheet of paper over to preserve the fat); baste it well as soon as it is put down, and every quarter of an hour all the time it is roasting, till the last half hour; then take off the paper and make some gravy for it. Stir the fire, and make it clear; to brown and froth it, sprinkle a little salt over it, baste it with butter, and dredge it with flour; let it go a few minutes longer till the froth rises, take it up, put it on the dish, and serve it.
BEEF À LA BRAISE.
In short, dear, "a Dandy" describes what I mean, And Bob's far the best of the gems I have seen, But just knows the names of French dishes and cooks, As dear Pa knows the titles and authors of books; Whose names, think how quick! he already knows pat, _A la braise_, petit patés, and--what d'ye call that They inflict on potatoes? Oh! maître d'hotel. I assure you, dear Dolly, he knows them as well As if nothing but these all his life he had eat, Though a bit of them Bobby has never touched yet. I can scarce tell the difference, at least as to phrase, Between _beef à la Psyché_ and _curls à la braise_. MOORE.
Bone a rump of beef, lard it very thickly with salt pork seasoned with pepper, salt, cloves, mace, and allspice, and season the beef with pepper and salt; put some slices of bacon into the bottom of the pan, with some whole black pepper, a little allspice, one or two bay leaves, two onions, a clove of garlic, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Put in the beef, and lay over it some slices of bacon, two quarts of weak stock, and half a pint of white wine. Cover it closely, and let it stew between six and seven hours. Sauce for the beef is made of part of the liquor it has been stewed in, strained, and thickened with a little flour and butter, adding some green onions cut small, and pickled mushrooms. Pour it over the beef.
BEEF BAKED WITH POTATOES.
The funeral _bak'd meats_ Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. SHAKSPEARE.
Boil some potatoes, peel, and pound them in a mortar with two small onions; moisten them with milk and an egg beaten up, add a little salt and pepper. Season slices of beef or mutton-chops with salt and pepper, and more onion, if the flavor is approved. Rub the bottom of a pudding-dish with butter, and put a layer of the mashed potatoes, which should be as thick as a batter, and then a layer of meat, and so on alternately till the dish is filled, ending with potatoes. Bake it in an oven for an hour.
BEEF RAGOUT.
Is there, then, that o'er his _French ragout_, Looks down wi' sneering, scornful view, On sic a dinner? BURNS.
Take a rump of beef, cut the meat from the bone, flour and fry it, pour over it a little boiling water, about a pint of small-beer, add a carrot or two, an onion stuck with cloves, some whole pepper, salt, a piece of lemon-peel, a bunch of sweet herbs; let it stew an hour, then add some good gravy; when the meat is tender take it out and strain the sauce; thicken it with a little flour; add a little celery ready boiled, a little ketchup, put in the meat; just simmer it up.
BEEF KIDNEYS.
Or one's _kidney_,--imagine, Dick,--done with champagne. MOORE.
Having soaked a fresh kidney in cold water and dried it in a cloth, cut it into mouthfuls, and then mince it fine; dust it with flour. Put some butter into a stewpan over a moderate fire, and when it boils put in the minced kidneys. When you have browned it in the butter, sprinkle on a little salt and cayenne, and pour in a very little boiling water. Add a glass of champagne, or other wine, or a large teaspoonful of mushroom ketchup or walnut pickle; cover the pan closely, and let it stew till the kidney is tender. Send it to table hot, in a covered dish. It is eaten generally at breakfast.
BROILED BEEFSTEAKS.
_Time was_, when John Bull little difference spied 'Twixt the foe at his feet or the friend at his side; When he found, such his humor in fighting and eating, His foe, like _beefsteak_, the sweeter for beating. MOORE.
If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well, It were done quickly. SHAKSPEARE.
Cut the steaks off a rump or the ribs of a fore quarter. Have the gridiron perfectly clean, and heated over a clear quick fire, lay on the steaks, and with meat-tongs, keep turning them constantly, till they are done enough; throw a little salt over them before taking them off the fire. Serve as hot as possible, plain or with a made gravy and sliced onions, or rub a bit of butter on the steaks the moment of serving. Mutton-chops are broiled in the same manner.
SCOTCH HAGGIS.
Fair fa' your honest sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin' race; Aboon them a' ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm, Weel are ye wordy of a grace As langs my arm. His knife see rustic labor dight, An' cut you up with ready slight, Trenching your gushing entrail bright Like onie ditch, And then, O! what a glorious sight, Warm reekin' rich. Ye powers wha mak mankind your care, And dish them out their bill of fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware That jaups in luggies, But if ye wish her grateful pray'r, Gie her a _Haggis_. BURNS.
Make the haggis bag perfectly clean; parboil the draught, boil the liver very well, so as it will grate, dry the meal before the fire, mince the draught and a pretty large piece of beef, very small; grate about half the liver, mince plenty of the suet and some onions small; mix all these materials very well together with a handful or two of the dried meal; spread them on the table, and season them properly with salt and mixed spices; take any of the scraps of beef that are left from mincing, and some of the water that boiled the draught, and make about a choppin (_i. e._ a quart) of good stock of it; then put all the haggis meat into the bag, and that broth in it; then sew up the bag; put out all the wind before you sew it quite close. If you think the bag is thin, you may put it in a cloth.
If it is a large haggis, it will take at least two hours boiling.
N. B. The above is a receipt from Mrs. MacIver, a celebrated Caledonian professor of the culinary art, who taught and published a book of cookery, at Edinburgh, A. D. 1787.
SALT BEEF.
The British fleet, which now commands the main, Might glorious wreaths of victory obtain, Would they take time, would they with leisure work, With care would _salt their beef_, and cure their pork. There is no dish, but what _our_ cooks have made And merited a charter by their trade. KING.
Make a pickle of rock salt and cold water strong enough to bear an egg, let a little salt remain in the bottom of the tub; two quarts of molasses and a quarter pound of saltpetre is sufficient for a cwt. of beef. It is fit for use in ten days. Boil the beef slowly until the bones come out easily, then wrap it in a towel, and put a heavy weight on it till cold.
TO PICKLE TONGUES FOR BOILING.
Silence is commendable only In a _neat's tongue_ dried. SHAKSPEARE.
Cut off the root, leaving a little of the kernel and fat. Sprinkle some salt, and let it drain till next day; then for each tongue, mix a large spoonful of common salt, the same of coarse sugar, and about half as much of saltpetre; rub it well in, and do so every day. In a week add another heaped spoonful of salt. If rubbed every day, a tongue will be ready in a fortnight; but if only turned in the pickle daily, it will keep four or five weeks without being too salt. Smoke them or plainly dry them, if you like best. When to be dressed, boil it extremely tender; allow five hours, and if done sooner, it is easily kept hot. The longer kept after drying, the higher it will be; if hard, it may require soaking three or four hours.
ROASTED CALF'S LIVER.
Pray a slice of your _liver_. GOLDSMITH.
Wash and wipe it, then cut a long hole in it, and stuff it with crumbs of bread, chopped, an anchovy, a good deal of fat bacon, onion, salt, pepper, a bit of butter, and an egg; sew the liver up, lard it, wrap it in a veal caul, and roast it. Serve with good brown gravy and currant jelly.
SCOTCH COLLOPS.
A cook has mighty things professed; Then send us but two dishes nicely dressed,-- One called _Scotch Collops_. KING.
Cut veal in thin bits, about three inches over and rather round, beat with a rolling-pin; grate a little nutmeg over them; dip in the yolk of an egg, and fry them in a little butter of a fine brown; have ready, warm, to pour upon them, half a pint of gravy, a little bit of butter rubbed into a little flour, to which put the yolk of an egg, two large spoonfuls of cream, and a little salt.
Do not boil the sauce, but stir until of a fine thickness to serve with the collops.
STEWED FILLET OF VEAL.
In truth, I'm confounded And bothered, my dear, 'twixt that troublesome boy's (Bob's) cookery language, and Madame Le Roi's. What with fillets of roses and _fillets of veal_, Things garni with lace, and things garni with eel, One's hair and one's cutlets both en papillote, And a thousand more things I shall ne'er have by rote. MOORE.
Bone, lard, and stuff a fillet of veal; half roast and then stew it with two quarts of white stock, a teaspoonful of lemon pickle, and one of mushroom ketchup. Before serving strain the gravy, thicken it with butter rolled in flour, add a little cayenne, salt, and some pickled mushrooms; heat it and pour it over the veal. Have ready two or three dozen forcemeat balls to put round it and upon the top. Garnish with cut lemon.
CALF'S HEAD SURPRISED.
And the dish set before them,--O dish well devised!-- Was what Old Mother Glasse calls "_a calf's head surprised_." MOORE.
Clean and blanch a calf's head, boil it till the bones will come out easily, then bone and press it between two dishes, so as to give it a headlong form; beat it with the yolks of four eggs, a little melted butter, pepper and salt. Divide the head when cold, and brush it all over with the beaten eggs, and strew over it grated bread, which is put over one half; a good quantity of finely minced parsley should be mixed; place the head upon a dish, and bake it of a nice brown color. Serve it with a sauce of parsley and butter, and with one of good gravy, mixed with the brains, which have been previously boiled, chopped, and seasoned with a little cayenne and salt.
CALF'S HEAD ROASTED.
Good L--d! to see the various ways Of dressing a calf's head. SHENSTONE.
Wash and clean it well, parboil it, take out the bones, brains, and tongue; make forcemeat sufficient for the head, and some balls with breadcrumbs, minced suet, parsley, grated ham, and a little pounded veal or cold fowl; season with salt, grated nutmeg, and lemon-peel; bind it with an egg beaten up; fill the head with it, which must then be sewed up, or fastened with skewers and tied; while roasting baste it well with butter; beat up the brains with a little cream, the yolk of an egg, some minced parsley, a little pepper and salt; blanch the tongue and cut it into slices, and fry it with the brains, forcemeat balls, and thin slices of bacon.
Serve the head with white or brown thickened gravy, and place the tongue and forcemeat balls round it. Garnish with cut lemon. It will require one hour and a half to roast.
SALMIS OF WILD DUCK.
Long as, by bayonets protected, we Watties May have our full fling at their _salmis_ and patés. MOORE.
Cut off the best parts of a couple of roasted wild ducks, and put the rest of the meat into a mortar, with six shallots, a little parsley, some pepper, and a bay leaf; pound all these ingredients well, and then put into a saucepan, with four ladlesful of stock, half a glass of white wine, the same of broth, and a little grated nutmeg; reduce these to half, strain them, and having laid the pieces on a dish, cover them with the above; keep the whole hot, not boiling, until wanted for table.
STEWED DUCK AND PEAS.
I give thee all my kitchen lore, Though poor the offering be; I'll tell thee how 'tis cooked, before You come to dine with me. The duck is truss'd from head to heels, Then stew'd with butter well, And streaky bacon, which reveals A most delicious smell.
When duck and bacon, in a mass, You in a stewpan lay, A spoon around the vessel pass, And gently stir away; A tablespoonful of flour bring, A quart of water plain, Then in it twenty onions fling, And gently stir again.