Chapter 10

Clean and wash the grouse. Lard the breast and legs. Run a small skewer into the legs and through the tail. Tie firmly with twine. Dredge with salt, and rub the breast with soft butter; then dredge thickly with flour. Put into a quick oven. If to be very rare, cook twenty minutes; if wished better done, thirty minutes. The former time, as a general thing, suits gentlemen better, but thirty minutes is preferred by ladies. If the birds are cooked in a tin-kitchen, it should be for thirty or thirty-five minutes. When done, place on a hot dish, on which has been spread bread sauce. Sprinkle fried crumbs over both grouse and sauce. Garnish with parsley. The grouse may, instead, be served on a hot dish, with the parsley garnish, and the sauce and crumbs served in separate dishes. The first method is the better, however, as you get in the sauce all the gravy that comes from the birds.

Larded Partridges.

Partridges are cooked and served the same as grouse.

Larded Quail.

The directions for cooking and serving are the same as those for grouse, only that quails cook in fifteen minutes. All dry-meated birds are cooked in this way. The question is sometimes asked, Should ducks be larded? Larding is to give richness to a dry meat that does not have fat enough of its own; therefore, meats like goose, duck and mutton are _not_ improved by larding.

Broiled Quail.

Split the quail down the back. Wipe with a damp towel. Season with salt and pepper, rub thickly with soft butter, and dredge with flour. Broil ten minutes over clear coals. Serve on hot buttered toast, garnishing with parsley.

Broiled Pigeons.

Prepare, cook and serve the same as quail They should be young for broiling, squabs being the best.

Broiled Small Birds.

All small birds can be broiled according to the directions for quail, remembering that for extremely small ones it takes a very bright fire. As the birds should be only browned, the time required is very brief.

Small Birds, Roasted.

Clean, by washing quickly in one water after they have been drawn. Season with salt and pepper. Cut slices of salt pork _very thin_, and with small skewers, fasten a slice around each bird. Run a long skewer through the necks of six or eight, and rest it on a shallow baking-pan. When all the birds are arranged, put into a _hot_ oven for twelve minutes, or before a hot fire for a quarter of an hour. Serve on toast.

Potted Pigeons.

Clean and wash one dozen pigeons. Stand them on their necks in a deep earthen or porcelain pot, and turn on them a pint of vinegar. Cut three large onions in twelve pieces, and place a piece on each pigeon. Cover the pot, and let it stand all night In the morning take out the pigeons, and throw away the onions and vinegar. Fry, in a deep stew- pan, six slices of fat pork, and when browned, take them up, and in the fat put six onions, sliced fine. On these put the pigeons, having first trussed them, and dredge well with salt pepper and flour. Cover, and cook slowly for forty-five minutes, stirring occasionally; then add two quarts of boiling water, and simmer gently two hours. Mix four heaping table-spoonfuls of flour with a cupful of cold water, and stir in with the pigeons. Taste to see if there is enough seasoning, and if there is not, add more. Cook half an hour longer. Serve with a garnish of rice or riced potatoes. More or less onion can be used; and, if you like it so, spice the gravy slightly.

Pigeons in Jelly.

Wash and truss one dozen pigeons. Put them in a kettle with four pounds of the shank of veal, six cloves, twenty-five pepper-corns, an onion that has been fried in one spoonful of butter, one stalk of celery, a bouquet of sweet herbs and four and a half quarts of water. Have the veal shank broken in small pieces. As soon as the contents of the kettle come to a boil, skim carefully, and set for three hours where they will just simmer. After they have been cooking one hour, add two table-spoonfuls of salt. When the pigeons are done, take them up, being careful not to break them, and remove the strings. Draw the kettle forward, where it will boil rapidly, and keep there for forty minutes; then strain the liquor through a napkin, and taste to see if seasoned enough. The water should have boiled down to two and a half quarts. Have two moulds that will each hold six pigeons. Put a thin layer of the jelly in these, and set on ice to harden. When hard, arrange the pigeons in them, and cover with the jelly, which must be cold, but liquid. Place in the ice chest for six or, better still, twelve hours. There should be only one layer of the pigeons in the mould.

To serve: Dip the mould in a basin of warm water for one minute, and turn on a cold dish. Garnish with pickled beets and parsley. A Tartare sauce can be served with this dish.

If squabs are used, two hours will cook them. All small birds, as well as partridge, grouse, etc., can be prepared in the same manner. Remember that the birds must be cooked tender, and that the liquor must be so reduced that it will become jellied.

Roast Rabbit.

First make a stuffing of a pound of veal and a quarter of a pound of pork, simmered two hours in water to cover; four crackers, rolled fine; a table-spoonful of salt, a scant teaspoonful of pepper, a teaspoonful of summer savory, a large table-spoonful of butter and one and a quarter cupfuls of the broth in which the veal and pork were cooked. Chop the meat fine, add the other ingredients, and put on the fire to heat. Cut off the rabbit's head, open the vent, and draw. Wash clean, and season with salt and pepper. Stuff while the dressing is hot, and sew up the opening. Put the rabbit on its knees, and skewer in that position. Rub thickly with butter, dredge with flour, and put in the baking pan, the bottom of which should be covered with hot water. Bake half an hour in a quick oven, basting frequently. Serve with a border of mashed potatoes, and pour the gravy over the rabbit.

Curry of Rabbit.

Cut the rabbit in small pieces. Wash, and cook the same as chicken curry.

Saddle of Venison.

Carefully scrape off the hair, and wipe with a damp towel; Season well with salt and pepper, and roll up and skewer together. Rub thickly with soft butter and dredge thickly with flour. Roast for an hour before a clear fire or in a _hot_ oven, basting frequently. When half done, if you choose, baste with a few spoonfuls of claret. Or, you can have one row of larding on each side of the back-bone. This gives a particularly nice flavor.

To make the gravy: Pour off all the fat from the baking pan, and put in the pan a cupful of boiling water. Stir from the sides and bottom, and set back where it will keep hot. In a small frying-pan put one table-spoonful of butter, a small slice of onion, six pepper-corns and four whole cloves. Cook until the onion is browned, and then add a generous teaspoonful of flour. Stir until this is browned; then, gradually, add the gravy in the pan. Boil one minute. Strain, and add half a teaspoonful of lemon juice and three table-spoonfuls of currant jelly. Serve both venison and gravy very hot. The time given is for a saddle weighing between ten and twelve pounds. All the dishes and plates for serving must be hot. Venison is cooked in almost the same manner as beef, always remembering that it must be served _rare_ and _hot_.

Roast Leg of Venison.

Draw the dry skin from the meat, and wipe with a damp towel. Make a paste with one quart of flour and a generous pint of cold water. Cover the venison with this, and place before a hot fire, if to be roasted in the tin kitchen, or else in a very hot oven. As the paste browns, baste it frequently with the gravy in the pan. When it has been cooking one hour and a half, take off the paste, cover with butter, and dredge thickly with flour. Cook one hour longer, basting frequently with butter, salt and flour. Make the gravy the same as for a saddle of venison, or serve with game sauce. The time given is for a leg weighing about fifteen pounds.

ENTREES.

Fillet of Beef, Larded.

The true fillet is the tenderloin, although sometimes one will see a rib roast, boned and rolled, called a fillet. A short fillet, weighing from two and a half to three pounds (the average weight from a very large rump), will suffice for ten persons at a dinner where this is served as one course; and if a larger quantity is wanted a great saving will still be made if two short fillets are used. They cost about two dollars, while a large one, weighing the same amount, would cost five dollars, Fillet of beef is one of the simplest, safest and most satisfactory dishes that a lady can prepare for either her own family or guests. After a single trial she will think no more of it than of broiling a beef steak. First, remove from the fillet, with a sharp knife, every shred of muscle, ligament and thin, tough skin. If it is not then of a good round shape, skewer it into shape. Draw a line through the centre, and lard with two rows of pork, having them meet at this line. Dredge well with salt, pepper and flour, and put, without water, in a very small pan. Place in a hot oven for thirty minutes. Let it be in the lower part of the oven the first ten minutes, then place on the upper grate. Serve with mushroom, Hollandaise or tomato sauce, or with potato balls. If with sauce, this should be poured around the fillet, the time given cooks a fillet of any size, the shape being such that it will take half an hour for either two or six pounds. Save the fat trimmed from the fillet for frying, and the lean part for soup stock.

Fillet of Beef à la Hollandaise.

Trim and cut the short fillet into slices about half an inch thick. Season these well with salt, and then lay in a pan with six table- spoonfuls of butter, just warm enough to be oily. Squeeze the juice of a quarter of a lemon over them. Let them stand one hour; then dip lightly in flour, place in the double broiler, and cook for six minutes over a very bright fire. Have a mound of mashed potatoes in the centre of a hot dish, and rest the slices against this. Pour a Hollandaise sauce around. Garnish with parsley.

Fillet of Beef à l'Allemand.

Trim the fillet and skewer it into a good shape. Season well with pepper and salt. Have one egg and half a teaspoonful of sugar well beaten together; roll the fillet in this and then in bread crumbs. Bake in the oven for thirty minutes. Serve with Allemand sauce poured around it.

Fillet of Beef in Jelly.

Trim a short fillet, and cut a deep incision in the side, being careful not to go through to the other side or the ends. Fill this with one cupful of veal, prepared as for quenelles, and the whites of three hard-boiled eggs, cut into rings. Sew up the openings, and bind the fillet into good shape with broad bands of cotton cloth. Put in a deep stew-pan two slices of ham and two of pork, and place the fillet on them; then put in two calf's feet, two stalks of celery and two quarts of clear stock. Simmer gently two hours and a half. Take up the fillet, and set away to cool. Strain the stock, and set away to harden. When hard, scrape of every particle of fat, and put on the fire in a clean sauce-pan, with half a slice of onion and the whites of two eggs, beaten with four table-spoonfuls of cold water. When this boils, season well with salt, and set back where it will just simmer for half an hour; then strain through a napkin. Pour a little of the jelly into a two-quart charlotte russe mould (half an inch deep), and set on the ice to harden. As soon as it is hard, decorate with the egg rings. Add about three spoonfuls of the liquid jelly, to set the eggs. When hard, add enough jelly to cover the eggs, and when this is also hard, trim the ends of the fillet, and draw out the thread. Place in the centre of the mould, and cover with the remainder of the jelly. If the fillet floats, place a slight weight on it. Set in the ice chest to harden. When ready to serve, place the mould in a pan of warm water for half a minute, and then turn out the fillet gently upon a dish. Garnish with a circle of egg rings, each of which has a stoned olive in the centre. Put here and there a sprig of parsley.

Alamode Beef.

Six pounds of the upper part, or of the vein, of the round of beef, half a pound of fat salt pork, three table-spoonfuls of butter, two onions, half a carrot, half a turnip, two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, one of lemon juice, one heaping table-spoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, two cloves, six allspice, a small piece of stick cinnamon, a bouquet of sweet herbs, two scant quarts of boiling water and four table-spoonfuls of flour. Cut the pork in thick strips-- as long as the meat is thick, and, with a large larding needle (which comes for this purpose), draw these through the meat. If you do not have the large needle, make the holes with the boning knife or the carving steel, and press the pork through with the fingers. Put the butter in a six-quart stew-pan, and when it melts, add the vegetables, cut fine. Let them cook five minutes, stirring all the while. Put in the meat, which has been well dredged with the flour; brown on one aide, and then turn, and brown the other. Add one quart of the water; stir well, and then add the other, with the spice, herbs, vinegar, salt and pepper. Cover tightly, and _simmer gently_ four hours. Add the lemon juice. Taste the gravy, and, if necessary, add more salt and pepper. Let it cook twenty minutes longer. Take up the meat, and draw the stew-pan forward, where it will boil rapidly, for ten or fifteen minutes, having first skimmed off all the fat. Strain the gravy on the beef, and serve. This dish may be garnished with, potato balls or button onions.

Macaronied Beef.

Six pounds of beef from the upper part of the round or the vein, a quarter of a pound of macaroni (twelve sticks), half a cupful of butter, four large onions, one quart of peeled and sliced tomatoes, or a quart can of the vegetable; two heaping table-spoonfuls of flour, salt, pepper and two cloves. Make holes in the beef with the large larding needle or the steel, and press the macaroni into them. Season with salt and pepper. Put the butter and the onions, which have been peeled and cut fine, in a six-quart stew-pan, and stir over the fire until a golden brown; then put in the meat, first drawing the onions aside. Dredge with the flour, and spread the top of the meat with the fried onions. Put in the spice and one quart of boiling water. Cover tightly, and simmer _slowly_ for three hours; then add the tomato, and cook one hour longer. Take up the meat, and strain the gravy over it. Serve hot. The tomato may be omitted if one pint more of water and an extra table-spoonful of flour are used instead. Always serve macaroni with this dish.

Cannelon of Beef.

One thin slice of the upper part of the round of beef. Cut off all the fat, and so trim as to give the piece a regular shape. Put the trimmings in the chopping tray, with a quarter of a pound of boiled salt pork and one pound of lean cooked ham. Chop very fine; then add a speck of cayenne, one teaspoonful of mixed mustard, one of onion juice, one table-spoonful of lemon juice and three eggs. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture over it, and roll up. Tie with twine, being careful not to draw too tightly. Have six slices of fat pork fried in the braising pan. Cut two onions, two slices of carrot, and two of turnip into this, and stir for two minutes over the fire. Roll the cannelon in a plate of flour, and put it in the braising pan with the pork and vegetables. Brown slightly on all sides; then add one quart of boiling water, and place in the oven. Cook three hours, basting every fifteen minutes. When it has been cooking two hours, add half a cupful of canned tomatoes or two fresh ones. Taste to see if the gravy is seasoned enough; if it is not, add seasoning. The constant dredging with flour will thicken the gravy sufficiently. Slide the cake turner under the beef, and lift carefully on to a hot dish. Cut the string in three or four places with a _sharp_ knife, and gently draw it away from the meat. Skim off all the fat. Strain the gravy through a fine sieve on to the meat. Garnish with a border of toast or riced potatoes. Cut in thin slices with a sharp knife.

Cannelon of Beef, No. 2.

Two pounds of the round of beef, the rind of half a lemon, three sprigs of parsley, one teaspoonful of salt, barely one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, a quarter of a nutmeg, two table-spoonfuls of melted butter, one raw egg and half a teaspoonful of onion juice. Chop meat, parsley and lemon rind very fine. Add other ingredients, and mix thoroughly. Shape, into a roll, about three inches in diameter and six in length. Roll in buttered paper, and bake thirty minutes, basting with butter and water. When cooked, place on a hot dish, gently unroll from the paper, and serve with Flemish sauce poured over it. You may serve tomato or mushroom sauce if you prefer either.

Beef Roulette.

Have two pounds of the upper part of the round, cut very thin. Mix together one cupful of finely-chopped ham, two eggs, one teaspoonful of mixed mustard, a speck of cayenne and three table-spoonfuls of stock or water. Spread upon the beef, which roll up firmly and tie with soft twine, being careful not to draw too tightly, for that would cut the meat as soon as it began to cook. Cover the roll with flour, and fry brown in four table-spoonfuls of ham or pork fat. Put it in as small a sauce-pan as will hold it. Into the fat remaining in the pan put two finely-chopped onions, and cook until a pale yellow; then add two table-spoonfuls of flour, and stir three minutes longer. Pour upon this one pint and a half of boiling water. Boil up once, and pour over the roulette; then add two cloves, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper and one heaping teaspoonful of salt. Cover the sauce-pan, and set where it will simmer slowly for three hours. After the first hour and a half, turn the roulette over. Serve hot; with the gravy strained over it. It is also nice to serve cold for lunch or supper. Ham force- meat balls and parsley make a pretty garnish.

Beef Olives.

One and a half pounds of beef, cut very thin. Trim off the edges and fat; then cut in strips three inches wide and four long; season well with salt and pepper. Chop fine the trimmings and the fat Add three table-spoonfuls of powdered cracker, one teaspoonful of sage and savory, mixed, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper and two teaspoonfuls of salt. Mix very thoroughly and spread on the strips of beef. Roll them up, and tie with twine. When all are done, roll in flour. Fry brown a quarter of a pound of pork. Take it out of the pan, and put the olives in. Fry brown, and put in a small sauce-pan that can be tightly covered. In the fat remaining in the pan put one table- spoonful of flour, and stir until perfectly smooth and brown; then pour in, gradually, nearly a pint and a half of boiling water. Stir for two or three minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper, and pour over the olives. Cover the sauce-pan, and let simmer two hours. Take up at the end of this time and cut the strings with a sharp knife. Place the olives in a row on a dish, and pour the gravy over them.

Veal Olives.

These are made in the same manner, except that a dressing, like chicken dressing, is made for them. For one and a half pounds of veal take three crackers, half a table-spoonful of butter, half a teaspoonful of savory, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of sage, a teaspoonful of salt, a very little pepper and an eighth of a cupful of water. Spread the strips with this, and proceed as for beef olives.

Fricandelles of Veal.

Two pounds of clear veal, half a cupful of finely-chopped cooked ham, one cupful of milk, one cupful of bread crumbs, the juice of half a lemon, one table-spoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one cupful of butter, a pint and a half of stock, three table-spoonfuls of flour. Chop the veal fine. Cook the bread crumbs and milk until a smooth paste, being careful not to burn. Add to the chopped veal and ham, and when well mixed, add the seasoning and four tablespoonfuls of the butter. Mix thoroughly, and form into balls about the size of an egg. Have the yolks of three eggs well beaten, and use to cover the balls. Fry these, till a light brown, in the remainder of the butter, being _very_ careful not to burn. Stir the three table-spoonfuls of flour into the butter that remains after the balls are fried. Stir until dark brown, and then gradually stir the stock into it. Boil for two minutes. Taste to see if seasoned enough; then add the balls, and cook _very slowly_ for one hour. Serve with a garnish of toast and lemon.

Fricandelles can be made with chicken, mutton, lamb and beef, the only change in the above directions being to omit the ham.

Braised Tongue.

Wash a fresh beef tongue, and, with a trussing needle, run a strong twine through the roots and end of it, drawing tightly enough to have the end meet the roots; then tie firmly. Cover with boiling water, and boil gently for two hours; then take up and drain. Put six table- spoonfuls of butter in the braising pan, and when hot, put in half a small carrot, half a small turnip and two onions, all cut fine. Cook five minutes, stirring all the time, and then draw to one side. Roll the tongue in flour, and put in the pan. As soon as browned on one side, turn, and brown the other. Add one quart of the water in which it was boiled, a bouquet of sweet herbs, one clove, a small piece of cinnamon and salt and pepper. Cover, and cook two hours in a slow oven, basting often with the gravy in the pan, and salt, pepper and flour. When it has been cooking an hour and a half, add the juice of half a lemon to the gravy. When done, take up. Melt two table- spoonfuls of glaze, and pour over the tongue. Place in the heater until the gravy is made. Mix one table-spoonful of corn-starch with a little cold water, and stir into the boiling gravy, of which there should be one pint. Boil one minute; then strain, and pour around the tongue. Garnish with parsley, and serve.

Fillets of Tongue.

Cut cold boiled tongue in pieces about four inches long, two wide and half an inch thick. Dip in melted butter and in flour. For eight fillets put two table-spoonfuls of butter in the frying-pan, and when hot, put in the tongue. Brown on both sides, being careful not to burn. Take up, and put one more spoonful of butter in the pan, and then one heaping teaspoonful of flour. Stir until dark brown; then add one cupful of stock, half a teaspoonful of parsley and one table- spoonful of lemon juice, or one tea-spoonful of vinegar. Let this boil up once, and then pour it around the tongue, which has been dished on thin strips of toast. Garnish with parsley, and serve. For a change, a table-spoonful of chopped pickles, or of capers, can be stirred into the sauce the last moment.

Escaloped Tongue.

Chop some cold tongue--not too fine, and have for each pint one table- spoonful of onion juice, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, one heaping teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of capers, one cupful of bread crumbs, half a cupful of stock and three table-spoonfuls of butter. Butter the escalop dish, and cover the bottom with bread crumbs. Put in the tongue, which has been mixed with the parsley, salt, pepper and capers, and add the stock, in which has been mixed the onion juice. Put part of the butter on the dish with the remainder of the bread crumbs, and then bits of butter here and there. Bake twenty minutes, and serve hot.

Tongue in Jelly.