Chapter 20

This very handsome joint is commonly and easily carved in long thin slices from each side of the bone, with a little additional fat cut from the left side. Or, with a little more care, the newer mode may be followed of carving oblique slices from the centre, beginning at the bone near the tail, and cutting the slices through the joint, thus mingling the fat and lean. A saddle of lamb, a pretty dish in season, must be carved in the same way.

LEG OF MUTTON OR LAMB.

The best part of this joint is in the middle, between the knuckle and farther end, and the best way to carve it is to make a deep cut at 1, and continue to cut thin slices as far as 2, on each side of the first incision; but as more fat is usually required than lies with the slice, a small neat slice may be added from the broad end at 3. The cramp-bone may be extracted, if asked for, by cutting down at 4, and passing the knife under in a semicircle to 5. The delicate fine meat of the under side, which lies beneath the "Pope's eye," is sometimes demanded by epicures.

SHOULDER OF MUTTON OR LAMB.

Make an incision at 1 down to the bone, which will then afford a deep gap, from which on each side you may help thin slices, adding a little fat from the outer edge marked 2. If the demands are more than can be supplied at the first opening, additional slices may be obtained by cutting down to the blade-bone, marked 3, on each side. Some of the party may prefer slices from the under side, the meat of which is juicy, though less fine in grain; these must be cut horizontally.

LOIN OF MUTTON.

A loin of mutton is always brought to table with the joints of the bones divided; it is therefore merely necessary to begin at the narrow end, and cut off one chop at a time, with a small portion of the kidney if required, or of the rich kidney fat.

NECK OF MUTTON.

The joints of a neck of mutton are always divided before cooking in the same way as those of the loin, and the carving is simple. It is only necessary to begin at the long bones, where the best meat lies, the scrag, as it is usually called, being coarse and gristly, and frequently taken off before the joint is dressed for the table.

LAMB.

Lamb is generally carved in the same way as mutton, but rather more sparingly, as there is less meat on the joint; but when sent to table in the quarter, as it commonly is when young, it must be cut up after its own fashion as follows.

FORE QUARTER OF LAMB.

This consists of the shoulder, ribs, and brisket. The shoulder must first be raised from the rest by passing the knife under the knuckle in the direction of 1, 2, 3, leaving a good portion of meat adhering to the ribs. A slice of butter, seasoned with pepper and salt, is laid between them, and the juice of a lemon squeezed over the ribs. This must remain a minute, and the shoulder may then be removed to another dish, for the convenience of carving the rest. The ribs and brisket must then be divided in the line 3, 4, the ribs separated, and brisket cut into small divisions, giving each person the choice of a rib or piece of the brisket. The shoulder, if required, must be cut in the same way as a shoulder of mutton.

BEEF.

SIRLOIN OF BEEF.

The principal joint of beef, the sirloin, must be carved outside or inside, according to the taste of the guests. The rich delicate meat under the bone, called the fillet, is carved in parallel slices across the joint and along the grain, contrary to the usual mode of cutting meat. The outer part is carved in long slices cut down to the bone in the direction 1, 2, beginning at the edge, the brown being the first slice. Many prefer to cut the slices across the joint, beginning in the middle; certainly easier for the carver, but destructive to the future appearance of the joint, nor is the meat so tender thus crossed. A portion of the under fat should be reserved for the upper slices.

RIBS OF BEEF.

Must be carved like the upper part of the sirloin. There is no fillet in this joint. It is usual to begin the slices at the thin end.

ROUND OF BEEF.

With a sharp thin-bladed knife shave off in a horizontal manner the first slice, leaving the round flat and smooth. The meat is disfigured if this smoothness is not preserved; it is therefore necessary that your knife be sharp and your hand steady. It must be served in very thin slices.

THE AITCH-BONE, OR EDGE-BONE

Is usually skewered and boiled with part of the rump, forming a sort of round, to be carved the same way as the round. The soft, marrow kind of fat is at the back of the bone, below 4, and must be supplied when required; the harder fat is at the edge of the meat, 3, and will accompany each slice.

RUMP OR BUTTOCK OF BEEF.

In carving the rump, buttock, or other joints of beef, it is merely necessary to observe, that every slice should be as neatly as practicable cut across the grain. Even in the brisket, the slices must be across the bones, and not through.

TONGUE.

The tongue may be sent to table either rolled or in length. If rolled, slices are cut as in a round of beef; if not rolled, it must be cut nearly in the middle, not quite through, and slices taken from each side, with a little of the fat which lies at the root, if liked.

VEAL.

CALF'S HEAD.

The half-head is often sent to table; but when a whole head is served, it is only necessary to know the delicate parts and to distribute them impartially. Long slices of the gelatinous skin, cut down to the bone from 1 to 2, must be served. The throat sweetbread, as it is called, lies at the thick neck end; and slices, from 3 to 4, must be added to the gelatine. The eye is also a delicacy: this must be extracted with the point of the knife, and divided at discretion. The palate, situated under the head, must also be apportioned, and, if necessary, the jaw-bone should be removed, to obtain the lean meat below it.

LOIN OF VEAL

Is usually divided into two portions--the chump end and the kidney end; the latter of which, the most delicate part, must be separated in bones which have been jointed before cooking. Part of the kidney, and of the rich fat which surrounds it, must be given to each. The chump end, after the tail is removed and divided, may be served in slices without bone, if preferred to the richer end.

FILLET OF VEAL.

The fillet of veal, corresponding to the round of beef, must be carved in the same way, in horizontal slices, with a sharp knife to preserve the smooth surface. The first, or brown slice, is preferred by some persons, and it should be divided as required. For the forcemeat, which is covered with the flap, you must cut deep into it between 1 and 2, and help to each a thin slice, with a little of the fat.

BREAST OF VEAL.

The breast is composed of the ribs and brisket, and these must first be separated by cutting through the line 1, 2. The taste of the guests must then be consulted; if the ribs be preferred, the bones are easily divided; if the brisket, which is thick, and contains the gristle, which many like, it must be in small transverse squares. The sweetbread is commonly served with a roast breast of veal, and a small portion of it must be given with every plate.

KNUCKLE OF VEAL.

This part is always boiled or stewed, and the fat and tendons render it a dish much esteemed: some good slices may also be cut, and the marrowy fat which lies between two of the outer bones must be carefully portioned out.

SHOULDER AND NECK OF VEAL.

Though the shoulder of veal may be carved in the same way as mutton, it is usual to turn it over, and cut moderately thick slices from the thick edge opposite to the bone, and parallel with it.

The _neck_, of which the best end only is usually roasted, and stuffed under the skin, must be divided in the same way as a neck of mutton.

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PORK.

LEG OR HAND OF PORK.

Commonly the joints of pork are carved in the same way as the similar joints of mutton, in slices across, cut very deep, as marked 1, 2. In the leg, however, the close, firm flesh about the knuckle is more highly esteemed than in the same part of a leg of mutton, and must be dealt out impartially.

The _hand_ is a delicate joint, and may be carved from the blade-bone as in mutton, or in thin, slices across, near the knuckle.

SPARE-RIB OF PORK

Is usually accompanied by apple sauce to correct the richness of the gravy. The fleshy part is first cut in long slices, and the spare bones are then easily divided.

HAM.

The usual method of carving the ham is by cutting down directly to the bone three or four thin slices in the direction 1, 2; then by passing the knife along the bone, you completely detach them, and give a due portion of fat to each. If you wish to be more economical, you must begin at the knuckle and gradually work onward, leaving a better appearance than when cut in the middle. A more extravagant method is by scooping a hole in the middle, and cutting circular slices round, on the principle of keeping the meat moist and retaining the gravy. This is obviously a wasteful plan.

A SUCKING PIG.

Before it is sent to table, the head is removed and opened, and the body split in two, thus rendering it very easy to carve. First separate the shoulders, then the legs from the body. The triangular piece of the neck between the shoulders is reckoned the most delicate part, and the ribs the next best. The latter are easily divided according to the number of guests, being commonly little more than gristle; there are choice bits also in the shoulders and thighs; the ear also is reckoned a delicacy. The portion of stuffing and gravy must not be forgotten by the carver.

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POULTRY AND GAME.

Be careful first to have your proper carving-knife; and next to consider the number of the company. If a small number, it will only be necessary in carving a goose, turkey, or cluck, to cut deep slices from each side of the breast, without winging the birds. In a large party they must absolutely be cut up.

GOOSE

In carving a goose, the neck must be turned towards you, and the skin below the breast, called the apron, be removed in a semicircular direction, to enable you to reach the stuffing inside. Some carvers choose to pour in a glass of port wine, or claret mixed with mustard, before beginning to cut up. The slices first cut are on each side of the breast-bone, marked _a, b_. Then, if required, the wing may be removed, by putting the fork into the small end of the pinion, and pressing it close to the body until you divide the shoulder-joint at 1, carrying the knife on as far as 2, and then separating by drawing the fork back. The leg must be removed in the same manner in the direction 2, 3, and the thigh, which is by many considered the best part, must be separated from the inferior drumstick. The merry-thought may be removed by raising it a little from the neck, and then passing the knife beneath, and the delicate neck-bones are taken off the same way. The rump is looked on by epicures as a dainty. After each plate has been supplied with the part asked for, a spoon must be introduced at the neck to draw out the proper portion of stuffing.

A green goose is carved much in the same way, but is not stuffed, and only the breast regarded as very delicate.

TURKEY

The prime part of the turkey is the breast, and it is only after this is exhausted that the real cutting up of the bird is required. The knife must be passed down close to the bone and through the forcemeat which fills the breast, and then thin slices, with a due portion of the forcemeat, distributed; and except in a very large party, this usually is sufficient; but if more be required, the pinions and legs must be taken off like those of the goose. The thigh is good; the pinion and drumstick are usually tough, and reserved till the last; the side or neck-bones are delicate; also the small round piece of flesh on each side of the centre of the back called _the oyster_. Beyond these the turkey requires no more carving.

A FOWL.

The fork must be firmly fixed in the centre of the breast, draw the knife along the line 1 to 3, and then proceed to take off the wing, by inserting the knife under the joint at 1, and lifting the pinion with the fork, drawing off the wing with a slice of the breast attached. The leg, cut round, is easily released in the same way. The merry-thought may next be detached by turning it back from the breast; the neck-bones which are beneath the upper part of the wings are easily raised. Then the breast must be divided from the back by cutting through the ribs close under the breast. The back may then be turned uppermost, press the point of the knife in the midst, and raise the lower end to separate it. Then remove the rump, and cut off the side bones which lie on each side of the back by forcing the knife through the rump-bone and drawing them from the back-bone; these side bones include the delicate morsel called the oyster. The breast and wings are the choice parts; the liver, which is trussed under one wing, should be divided to offer part with the other wing, the gizzard being rarely eaten; but the legs in a young fowl, and especially in a boiled fowl, are very good; the merry-thought too is a delicacy. If the fowl be very large, it is commonly carved like a turkey, with slices first cut from the breast. When a fowl is sent to table cold at luncheon or supper, it is often carved first and then neatly tied together with white ribbons. This looks well, and is very convenient in a large party.

DUCK.

A duck, if large, must be carved as directed for a goose, by cutting slices from the breast, and afterwards removing the wings and legs; but if a very young bird, it is commonly disjointed first and then served in the same way as a fowl. The seasoned onions and sage placed under the apron may be removed with a spoon if required, but some have an objection to the strong flavour, and it is necessary to know that it is not disagreeable to them before you place it on the plate.

WILD DUCK.

The choice part of a wild duck is the breast, which is cut in long slices from the neck to the leg. It is rarely the bird is required to be disjointed, but if it be necessary, it can be cut up like a fowl.

PHEASANT.

In the same manner in which you carve a fowl fix your fork in the centre of the breast; cut slices from the breast; remove the leg, which is considered excellent, in a line at 3, and the wing at 3, 5. To draw off the merry-thought, pass the knife through the line 6 beneath it towards the neck, and it will easily be detached. In other respects serve it in the same way as a fowl, the breast and thigh being most valued.

GROUSE.

The first unrivalled bird of game, due on the 12th of August, breaking up the senate of the kingdom, and accessible only to the few whom wealth or privilege give the _entrée_ into the preserved regions, has, when even thrown into the market by the mercenary scions of the great, a considerable value; and perhaps it is only in the North that it is properly cooked and appreciated. A moor bird requires a particular sagacity in carving, which is a secret to the uninitiated. You may carve it like a common fowl; but the epicure alone knows that it is in the back that the true flavour of the heath is found, and in the North the back is recognized as the chief delicacy, and must be carefully proportioned among the guests.

PARTRIDGE.

The partridge is always well received in dinner society; and if the party be large and the supply of game small, the partridges must be jointed like a fowl, to make the most of them, but in a small party it is only necessary to fix the knife in the back, and separate the bird at once into back and breast, dividing it then according to the number of guests, always remembering that the back of a well-fed partridge is by no means a despicable morsel.

WOODSTOCK OR SNIPE.

The great peculiarity in carving the woodcock or snipe is, that the bird is not drawn like other birds, but roasted as it is plucked, suspended by the head, with a toast beneath, on which the _trail_, as it is called, or internal part, is allowed to drop; and when the birds are roasted, which should be rapidly done in twenty minutes, the trail should be spread over each toast and the bird served up on it. It is then only necessary to carve each bird through the breast and back, with its due proportion of the trail and toast. The best part, however, if carved, is the thigh.

PIGEONS.

As the pigeon is too small a bird to disjoint, it is the fairest division to cut it through the middle of the breast and back in two equal parts. Another mode is to insert the knife at 1, and cut on each side to 2 and 3, and forcing them asunder, to divide each portion into two; but this is not needed except in a large party.

SMALL BIRDS.

Fieldfares, larks, corn-crakes, quails, plovers, and ruffs and reeves, should be always cut through the breast, and served only for two helps.

HARE.

The old way of carving a hare, still insisted on at many economical tables, is somewhat elaborate. You must first insert the knife in the point of the shoulder marked 1, and divide it down along the line to the rump, 2; and doing the same at the opposite side, the hare falls into three pieces. Pass the knife under the shoulder, 2--1, and remove it; then the leg, which is really good, in a similar manner. The animal must be beheaded, for it is necessary to divide the head, which must be done by turning the mouth towards you, holding it steadily down with the fork, inserting the knife through the bone between the ears, and forcing it through, entirely dividing it. Half the head is given to any one that requires it, the crisp ears being first cut off, a delicacy some prefer. The back, which is the most tender part, must now be divided through the spine into several pieces; it is only after the back is distributed that it is necessary to have recourse to the shoulders and legs. If the hare be old, it is useless to attempt to carve it entirely at table, the joints become so stubborn with age; and it is then usual to cut long slices on each side of the back-bone. A great deal of the blood usually settles in the shoulders and back of the neck, giving the flesh a richness which epicures like; and these parts, called the sportsman's pieces, are sometimes demanded. The seasoning or stuffing of a hare lies inside, and must be drawn out with a spoon.

RABBIT.

The rules for carving a hare sufficiently direct the mode of carving a rabbit, except that, being so much smaller, the back is never divided into more than two or three pieces, and the head is served whole, if demanded. The wing is thought a choice part by many.

Toasts and Sentiments.

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AMATORY.

British belles and British fashions.

Laughing lovers to merry maids.

Love and opportunity.

Love's slavery.

Love without licentiousness, and pleasure without excess.

Love, liberty, and length of blissful days.

Love without fear, and life without care.

Love for one.

Life, love, liberty, and true friendship.

Love in every breast, liberty in every heart, and learning in every head.

Love at liberty, and liberty in love.

Love: may it never make a wise man play the fool.

Artless love and disinterested friendship.

All that love can give, and sensibility enjoy.

A speedy union to every lad and lass.

Beauty's best companion--Modesty.

Beauty, innocence, and modest merit.

Beauty without affectation, and virtue without deceit.

Community of goods, unity of hearts, nobility of sentiment, and truth of feeling to the lovers of the fair sex.

Charms to strike the sight, and merit to win the heart.

Constancy in love, and sincerity in friendship.

Here's a health to the maid that is constant and kind, Who to charms bright as Venus's adds Diana's mind. I'll toast Britain's daughters--let all fill their glasses-- Whose beauty and virtue the whole world surpasses. May blessings attend them, go wherever they will, And foul fall the man that e'er offers them ill.

Love without deceit, and matrimony without regret.

Love's garlands: may they ever entwine the brows of every true-hearted lover.

Lovely woman--man's best and dearest gift of life.

Love to one, friendship to a few, and good-will to all.

Long life, pure love, and boundless liberty.

May love and reason be friends, and beauty and prudence marry.

May the lovers of the fair sex never want the means to defend them.

May the sparks of love brighten into a flame.

May the joys of the fair give pleasure to the heart.

May we be loved by those whom we love.

May we kiss whom we please, and please whom we kiss.

May the bud of affection be ripened by the sunshine of sincerity.

May a virtuous offspring succeed to mutual and honourable love.

May the presence of the fair curb the licentious.

May the confidence of love be rewarded with constancy in its object.

May the honourable lover attain the object of his wishes.

May the lovers of the fair be modest, faithful, and kind.

May the wings of love never lose a feather.

May the blush of conscious innocence ever deck the faces of the British fair.

May the union of persons always be founded on that of hearts.

May the generous heart ever meet a chaste mate.

May the temper of our wives be suited to those of their husbands.

May true passion never meet with a slight.

May every woman have a protector, but not a tyrant.

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BACCHANALIAN.

May we act with reason when the bottle circulates.

May good fortune resemble the bottle and bowl, And stand by the man who can't stand by himself.

May we never want wine, nor a friend to partake of it.

May our love of the glass never make us forget decency.

May the juice of the grape enliven each soul, And good humour preside at the head of each bowl.

May mirth exalt the feast.

May we always get mellow with good wine.

May the moments of mirth be regulated by the dial of reason.

Champagne to our real friends, and real pain to our sham friends.

Come, every man now give his toast-- Fill up the glass--I'll tell you mine: Wine is the mistress I love most! This is my toast--now give me thine.

Cheerfulness in our cups, content in our minds, and competency in our pockets.

Come, fill the glass and drain the bowl: May Love and Bacchus still agree; And every Briton warm his soul With Cupid, Wine, and Liberty.

Good-humour: and may it ever smile at our board.

Full bags, a fresh bottle, and a beauty.

Good wine and good company to the lovers of reasonable enjoyment.

A friend and a bottle to give him.

A hearty supper, a good bottle, and a soft bed to every man who fights the battles of his country.

A full purse, a fresh bottle, and beautiful face.

A full bottle and a friend to partake of it.

A drop of good stuff and a snug social party, To spend a dull evening, gay, social, and hearty.

A mirth-inspiring bowl.

A full belly, a heavy purse, and a light heart.

A bottle at night and business in the morning.

Beauty, wit, and wine.

Clean glasses and old corks.

Wine: may it be our spur as we ride over the bad roads of life

While we enjoy ourselves over the bottle, may we never drive prudence out of the room.

Wine--for there's no medicine like it.

Wine--the parent of friendship, composer of strife, The soother of sorrow, the blessing of life.

Wine: the bond that cements the warm heart to a friend.

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COMIC.

May the tax-gatherer be forgiven in another world.

To the early bird that catches the worm.