Chapter 9

Two pounds of beef (the round, flank, or any cheap part; if there is bone in it, two and a half pounds will be required), one onion, two slices of carrot, two of turnip, two potatoes, three table-spoonfuls of flour, salt, pepper, and a generous quart of water. Cut all the fat from the meat, and put it in a stew-pan; fry gently for ten or fifteen minutes. In the meantime cut the meat in small pieces, and season well with salt and pepper, and then sprinkle over it two table-spoonfuls of flour. Cut the vegetables in very small pieces, and put in the pot with the fat. Fry them five minutes, stirring well, to prevent burning. Now put in the meat, and move it about in the pot until it begins to brown; then add the quart of boiling water. Cover; let it boil up once, skim, and set back, where it will just bubble, for two and a half hours. Add the potatoes, cut in thin slices, and one table- spoonful of flour, which mix smooth with half a cupful of cold water, pouring about one-third of the water on the flour at first, and adding the rest when perfectly smooth. Taste to see if the stew is seasoned enough, and if it is not, add more salt and pepper. Let the stew come to a boil again, and cook ten minutes; then add dumplings. Cover tightly, and boil rapidly ten minutes longer.

Mutton, lamb or veal can be cooked in this manner. When veal is used, fry out two slices of pork, as there will not be much fat on the meat. Lamb and mutton must have some of the fat put aside, as there is so much on these meats that they are otherwise very gross.

Irish Stew.

About two pounds of the neck of mutton, four onions, six large potatoes, salt, pepper, three pints of water and two table-spoonfuls of flour. Cut the mutton in handsome pieces. Put about half the fat in the stew-pan, with the onions, and stir for eight or ten minutes over a hot fire; then put in the meat, which sprinkle with the flour, salt and pepper. Stir ten minutes, and add the water, boiling. Set for one hour where it will simmer; then add the potatoes, peeled, and cut in quarters. Simmer an hour longer, and serve. You can cook dumplings with this dish, if you choose. They are a great addition to all kinds of stews and ragouts.

Toad in the Hole.

This is an English dish, and a good one, despite the unpleasant name. One pound of round steak, one pint of milk, one cupful of flour, one egg, and salt and pepper. Cut the steak into dice. Beat the egg very light; add milk to it, and then half a teaspoonful of salt. Pour upon the flour, gradually, beating very light and smooth. Butter a two- quart dish, and in it put the meat. Season well, and pour over it the batter. Bake an hour in a moderate oven. Serve hot. This dish can be made with mutton and lamb in place of steak.

Scotch Roll.

Remove the tough skin from about five pounds of the flank of beef. A portion of the meat will be found thicker than the rest. With a sharp knife, cut a thin layer from the thick part, and lay upon the thin. Mix together three table-spoonfuls of salt, one of sugar, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of clove and one teaspoonful of summer savory. Sprinkle this over the meat, and then sprinkle with three table-spoonfuls of vinegar. Roll up, and tie with twine. Put away in a cold place for twelve hours When it has stood this time, place in a stew-pan, with boiling water to cover, and simmer gently for three hours and a half. Mix four heaping table- spoonfuls of flour with half a cupful of cold water, and stir into the gravy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer half an hour longer. This dish is good hot or cold.

POULTRY AND GAME.

To Clean and Truss Poultry.

First singe, by holding the bird over a blazing paper. It is best to do this over the open stove, when all the particles of burnt paper will fall into the fire. Next open the vent and draw out the internal organs, if this has not been done at the butcher's. Be careful not to break the gall bladder. Wash quickly in one water. If there are large black pin-feathers, take out what you can with the point of a knife, (it is impossible to get out all). Cut the oil bag from the tail. Be sure that you have taken out every part of the wind-pipe, the lights and crop. Turn the skin back, and cut the neck quite short. Fill the crop with dressing, and put some in the body also. With a short skewer, fasten the legs together at the joint where the feet were cut off. [Be careful, in cutting off the feet of game or poultry, to cut in the joint. If you cut above, the ligaments that hold the flesh and bones together will be severed, and in cooking, the meat will shrink, leaving a bare, unsightly bone. Besides, you will have nothing to hold the skewer, if the ligaments are cut off.] Run the skewer into the bone of the tail, and tie firmly with a long piece of twine. Now take a longer skewer, and run through the two wings, fastening them firmly to the sides of the bird. With another short skewer, fasten the skin of the neck on to the back-bone. Place the bird on its breast, and draw the strings, with which the legs were tied, around the skewers in the wings and neck; pass them across the back three times, and tie very tightly. By following these directions, you will have the bird in good shape, and all the strings on the back, so that you will avoid breaking the handsome crust that always forms on properly basted and roasted poultry. When cooked, first cut the strings, then draw out the skewers. The fat that comes from the vent and the gizzard of chickens, should be tried out immediately and put away for shortening and frying. That of geese, turkeys and ducks is of too strong a flavor to be nice in cookery.

To clean the giblets: Cut the gall-bag from the lobe of the liver, cutting a little of the liver with it, so as not to cut into the bag. Press the heart between the finger and thumb, to extract all the blood. With a sharp knife, cut lightly around the gizzard, and draw off the outer coat, leaving the lining coat whole. If you cannot do that (and it does require practice), cut in two, and after removing the filling, take out the lining. When the poultry is to be boiled, and is stuffed, the vent must be sewed with mending cotton or soft twine. Unless the bird is full of dressing, this will not be necessary in roasting.

Fowl and Pork.

Clean and truss, pin in the floured cloth and put into water in which one pound of rather lean pork has been boiling three hours. The time of cooking depends upon the age of the fowl. If they are not more than a year old an hour and a half will be enough, but if very old they may need three hours. The quantity of pork given is for only a pair of fowl, and more must be used if a large number of birds be cooked. Serve with egg sauce. The liquor should be saved for soups.

Boiled Fowl with Macaroni.

Break twelve sticks of macaroni in pieces about two inches long; throw them into one quart of boiling water, add a table-spoonful of salt and half a table-spoonful of pepper. Boil rapidly for twelve minutes; then take up, and drain off all the water. Season with one table-spoonful of butter and one teaspoonful of salt. After the fowl have been singed and cleaned, stuff with the macaroni. Truss them, and then pin in a floured cloth and plunge into enough boiling water to cover them. Boil rapidly for fifteen minutes; then set back where they will just simmer for from one and a half to two and a half hours. The time of cooking depends upon the age of the birds. Serve with an egg or Bechamel sauce. The quantity of macaroni given is for two fowl. Plain boiled macaroni should be served with this dish.

Boiled Turkey with Celery.

Chop half a head of celery very fine. Mix with it one quart of bread crumbs, two scant table-spoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, two heaping table-spoonfuls of butter and two eggs. Stuff the turkey with this; sew up and truss. Wring a large square of white cotton cloth out of cold water, and dredge it thickly with flour. Pin the turkey in this, and plunge into boiling water. Let it boil rapidly for fifteen minutes; then set back where it will simmer. Allow three hours for a turkey weighing nine pounds, and twelve minutes for every additional pound. Serve with celery sauce. The stuffing may be made the same as above, only substitute oysters for celery, and serve with oyster sauce.

Boiled Turkey.

Clean and truss the same as for roasting. Rub into it two spoonfuls of salt, and put into boiling water to cover. Simmer gently three hours, if it weighs nine or ten pounds, and is tender. If old and tough it will take longer. Serve with oyster, celery or egg sauce. Pour some of the sauce over the turkey, and serve the rest in a gravy boat.

Roast Turkey.

Proceed the same with a turkey as with a chicken, allowing one hour and three-quarters for a turkey weighing eight pounds, and ten minutes for every additional pound.

Roast Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing and Sauce.

Clean the turkey, and lard the breast. Throw fifty large chestnuts into boiling water for a few minutes; then take them up, and rub off the thin, dark skin. Cover them with boiling water, and simmer for one hour; take them up, and mash fine. Chop one pound of veal and half a pound of salt pork very fine. Add half of the chestnuts to this, and add, also, half a teaspoonful of pepper, two table-spoonfuls of salt and one cupful of stock or water. Stuff the turkey with this. Truss, and roast as already directed. Serve with a chestnut sauce. The remaining half of the chestnuts are for this sauce.

Boned Turkey.

Get a turkey that has not been frozen (freezing makes it tear easily). See that every part is whole; one with a little break in the skin will not do. Cut off the legs, in the joints, and the tips of the wings. Do not draw the bird. Place it on its breast, and with a small, sharp boning knife, cut in a straight line through to the bone, from the neck down to that part of the bird where there is but little flesh, where it is all skin and fat. Begin at the neck, and run the knife between the flesh and the bones until you come to the wing. Then cut the ligaments that hold the bones together and the tendons that hold the flesh to the bones. With the thumb and fore-finger, _press_ the flesh from the smooth bone. When you come to the joint, carefully separate the ligaments and remove the bone. Do not try to take the bone from the next joint, as that is not in the way when carving, and it gives a more natural shape to the bird. Now begin at the wish-bone, and when that is free from the flesh, run the knife between the sides and the flesh, always using the fingers to press the meat from the smooth bones, as, for instance, the breast-bone and lower part of the sides. Work around the legs the same as you did around the wings, always using great care at the joints not to cut the skin. Drawing out the leg bones turns that part of the bird inside out. Turn the bird over, and proceed in the same manner with the other side. When all is detached, carefully draw the skin from the breast-bone; then run the knife between the fat and bone at the rump, leaving the small bone in the extreme end, as it holds the skewers. Carefully remove the flesh from the skeleton, and turn it right side out again. Rub into it two table-spoonfuls of salt and a little pepper, and fill with dressing. Sew up the back and neck and then the vent. Truss the same as if not boned. Take a strong piece of cotton cloth and pin the bird firmly in it, drawing very tight at the legs, as this is the broadest place, and the shape will not be good unless this precaution be taken. Steam three hours, and then place on a buttered tin sheet, which put in a baking pan. Baste well with butter, pepper, salt and flour. Roast one hour, basting every ten minutes, and twice with stock. When cold, remove the skewers and strings, and garnish with aspic jelly, cooked beets and parsley. To carve: First cut off the wings, then about two thick slices from the neck, where it will be quite fat, and then cut in thin slices. Serve jelly with each plate.

Filling for a turkey weighing eight pounds: The flesh of one chicken weighing four pounds, one pound of clear veal, half a pound of clear salt pork, one small capful of cracker crumbs, two eggs, one cupful of broth, two and a half table-spoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful of summer savory, one of sweet majoram, one of thyme, half a spoonful of sage, and, if you like, one table-spoonful of capers, one quart of oysters and two table-spoonfuls of onion juice. Have the meat uncooked and free from any tough pieces. Chop _very_ fine. Add seasoning, crackers, etc., mix thoroughly, and use. If oysters are used, half a pound of the veal must be omitted. Where one cannot eat veal, use chicken instead. Veal is recommended for its cheapness. Why people choose boned turkey instead of a plain roast turkey or chicken, is not plain, for the flavor is not so good; but at the times and places where boned birds are used, it is a very appropriate dish. That is, at suppers, lunches and parties, where the guests are served standing, it is impracticable to provide anything that cannot be broken with a fork or spoon; therefore, the advantage of a boned turkey, chicken, or bird, is apparent. One turkey weighing eight pounds before being boned, will serve thirty persons at a party, if there are, also, say oysters, rolls, coffee, ices, cake and cream. If the supper is very elaborate the turkey will answer for one of the dishes for a hundred or more persons. If nothing more were gained in the boning of a bird, the knowledge of the anatomy and the help this will give in carving, pay to bone two or three chickens. It is advisable to bone at least two fowls before trying a turkey, for if you spoil them there is nothing lost, as they make a stew or soup.

Aspic jelly: One and a half pints of clear stock--beef if for amber jelly, and chicken or veal if for white; half a box of gelatine, the white of one egg, half a cupful of cold water, two cloves, one large slice of onion, twelve pepper-corns, one stalk of celery, salt. Soak gelatine two hours in the cold water. Then put on with other ingredients, the white of the egg being beaten with one spoonful of the cold stock. Let come to a boil, and set back where it will just simmer for twenty minutes. Strain through a napkin, turn into a mould or shallow dish, and put away to harden. The jelly can be made with the bones of the turkey and chicken, by washing them, covering with cold water and boiling down to about three pints; by then straining and setting away to cool, and in the morning skimming off all the fat and turning off the clear stock. The bones may, instead, be used for a soup.

Roast Goose.

Stuff the goose with a potato dressing made in the following manner: Six potatoes, boiled, pared and mashed fine and light; one table- spoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of pepper, one spoonful of sage, two table-spoonfuls of onion juice, two of butter. Truss, and dredge well with salt, pepper and flour. Roast before the fire (if weighing eight pounds) one hour and a half; in the oven, one hour and a quarter. Make gravy the same as for turkey. No butter is required for goose, it is so fat. Serve with apple sauce. Many people boil the goose half an hour before roasting, to take away the strong flavor. Why not have something else if you do not like the real flavor of the goose?

Roast Duck.

Ducks, to be good, must be cooked rare: for this reason it is best not to stuff. If, however, you do stuff them, use the goose dressing, and have it very hot. The better way is to cut an onion in two, and put into the body of the bird; then truss, and dredge with salt, pepper and flour, and roast, if before the fire, forty minutes, and if in the oven, thirty minutes. The fire must be very hot if the duck be roasted in the kitchen, and if in the oven, this must be a quick one. Serve with currant jelly and a sauce made the same as for turkey.

Roast Chicken.

Clean the chicken, and stuff the breast and part of the body with dressing made as follows: For a pair of chickens weighing between seven and eight pounds, take one quart of stale bread (being sure not to have any hard pieces), and break up in very fine crumbs. Add a table-spoonful of salt, a scant teaspoonful of pepper, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, half a teaspoonful of powdered sage, one of summer savory and a scant half cupful of butter. Mix well together. This gives a rich dressing that will separate like rice when served. Now truss the chickens, and dredge well with salt. Take soft butter in the hand, and rub thickly over the chicken; then dredge rather thickly with flour. Place on the side, on the meat rack, and put into a hot oven for a few moments, that the flour in the bottom of the pan may brown. When it is browned, put in water enough to cover the pan. Baste every fifteen minutes with the gravy in the pan, and dredge with salt, pepper and flour. When one side is browned, turn, and brown the other. The last position in which the chicken should bake is on its back, that the breast may be nicely frothed and browned. The last basting is on the breast, and should be done with soft butter, and the breast should be dredged with flour. Putting the butter on the chicken at first, and then covering with flour, makes a paste, which keeps the juices in the chicken, and also supplies a certain amount of rich basting that is absorbed into the meat. It really does not take as much butter to baste poultry or game in this manner as by the old method of putting it on with a spoon after the bird began to cook. The water in the pan must often be renewed; and always be careful not to get in too much at a time. It will take an hour and a quarter to cook a pair of chickens, each weighing between three and a half and four pounds; anything larger, an hour and a half. A sure sign that they are done is the readiness of joints to separate from the body. If the chickens are roasted in the tin-kitchen, before the fire, it will take a quarter of an hour longer than in the oven.

Gravy for chickens: Wash the hearts, livers, gizzards and necks and put on to boil in three pints of water; boil down to one pint. Take them all up. Put the liver on a plate, and mash fine with the back of the spoon; return it to the water in which it was boiled. Mix two table-spoonfuls of flour with half a cupful of cold water. Stir into the gravy, season well with salt and pepper, and set back where it will simmer, for twenty minutes. Take up the chickens, and take the meat rack out of the pan. Then tip the pan to one side, to bring all the gravy together. Skim off the fat. Place the pan on top of the stove and turn into it one cupful of water. Let this boil up, in the meantime scraping everything from the sides and bottom of the pan. Turn this into the made gravy, and let it all boil together while you are removing the skewers and strings from the chickens.

Chicken à la Matelote.

Cut up an uncooked chicken. Rub in butter and flour, and brown in an oven. Fry in four table-spoonfuls of chicken fat or butter, for about twenty minutes, a small carrot, onion and parsnip, all cut into dice. When the chicken is browned, put it in a stew-pan with the cooked vegetables and one quart of white stock. Then into the fat in which the vegetables were fried, put two table-spoonfuls of flour, and cook until brown. Stir this in with the chicken. Add the liver, mashed fine, one table-spoonful of capers and salt and pepper to taste. Cook very gently three-quarters of an hour; then add one-fourth of a pound of mushrooms, cut in small pieces. Cook fifteen minutes longer. Serve with a border of boiled macaroni, mashed potatoes or rice.

Chicken à la Reine.

Clean, stuff and truss a pair of chickens, as for roasting. Dredge well with salt, pepper and flour. Cut a quarter of a pound of pork in slices, and put part on the bottom of a deep stew-pan with two slices of carrot and one large onion, cut fine. Stir over the fire until they begin to color; then put in the chickens, and lay the remainder of the pork over them. Place the stew-pan in a hot oven for twenty minutes; then add white stock to half cover the chicken (about two quarts), and a bouquet of sweet herbs. Dredge well with flour. Cover the pan and return to the oven. Baste about every fifteen minutes, and after cooking one hour, turn over the chickens. Cook, in all, two hours. Serve with Hollandaise sauce or with the sauce in which the chickens were cooked, it being strained over them.

Chicken à la Tartare.

Singe the chicken, and split down the back. Wipe thoroughly with a damp cloth. Dredge well with salt and pepper, cover thickly with softened butter, and dredge thickly on both sides with fine, dry bread crumbs. Place in a baking pan, the inside down, and cook in a very hot oven thirty minutes, taking care not to bum. Serve with Tartare sauce.

Broiled Chicken.

Singe the chicken, and split down the back, if not already prepared; and wipe with a damp cloth. Never wash it. Season well with salt and pepper. Take some soft butter in the right hand and rub over the bird, letting the greater part go on the breast and legs. Dredge with flour. Put in the double broiler, and broil over a moderate fire, having the breast turned to the heat at first. When the chicken is a nice brown, which will be in about fifteen minutes, place in a pan and put into a moderate oven for twelve minutes. Place on a hot dish, season, with salt, pepper and butter, and serve immediately. This rule is for a chicken weighing about two and a half pounds. The chicken is improved by serving with _maître d' hôtel_ butter or Tartare sauce.

Chicken Stew with Dumplings.

One chicken or fowl, weighing about three pounds; one table-spoonful of butter, three of flour, one large onion, three slices of carrot, three of turnip, three pints of boiling water and salt and pepper. Cut the chicken in slices suitable for serving. Wash, and put in a deep stew-pan, add the water, and set on to boil. Put the carrot, turnip and onion, cut fine, in a sauce-pan, with the butter, and cook slowly half an hour, stirring often; then take up the vegetables in a strainer, place the strainer in the stew-pan with the chicken, and dip some of the water into it. Mash the vegetables with the back of a spoon, and rub as much as possible through the strainer. Now skim two spoonfuls of chicken fat from the water, and put in the pan in which the vegetables were cooked. When boiling hot, add the three table- spoonfuls of flour. Stir over the fire until a dark brown; then stir it in with the chicken, and simmer until tender. Season well with pepper and salt. The stew should only simmer all the while it is cooking. It must not boil hard. About two hours will be needed to cook a year old chicken. Twelve minutes before serving draw the stew-pan forward, and boil up; then put in the dumplings, and cook _ten_ minutes. Take them up, and keep in the heater while you are dishing the chicken into the centre of the platter. Afterwards, place the dumplings around the edge. This is a very nice and economical dish, if pains are taken in preparing. One stewed chicken will go farther than two roasted.

Larded Grouse.