Part 11
Wash it carefully and open it sufficiently to remove the ventricles, then soak it in cold water until the blood is discharged; wipe it dry and stuff it nicely with dressing, as for turkey; roast it about an hour and a half. Serve it with the gravy, which should be thickened with some of the stuffing and a glass of wine. It is very nice hashed. Served with currant jelly.
_Palmer House, Chicago._
STEWED BEEF KIDNEY.
Cut the kidney into slices, season highly with pepper and salt, fry it a light brown, take out the slices, then pour a little warm water into the pan, dredge in some flour, put in slices of kidney again; let them stew very gently; add some parsley if liked. Sheep's kidneys may be split open, broiled over a clear fire and served with a piece of butter placed on each half.
BEEFS HEART STEWED.
After washing the heart thoroughly cut it up into squares half an inch long; put them into a saucepan with water enough to cover them. If any scum rises skim it off. Now take out the meat, strain the liquor and put back the meat, also add a sliced onion, some parsley, a head of celery chopped fine, pepper and salt and a piece of butter. Stew until the meat is very tender. Stir up a tablespoonful of browned flour with a small quantity of water and thicken the whole. Boil up and serve.
BOILED BEEF TONGUE.
Wash a fresh tongue and just cover it with water in the pot; put in a pint of salt and a small red pepper; add more water as it evaporates, so as to keep the tongue nearly covered until done--when it can be easily pierced with a fork; take it out, and if wanted soon, take off the skin and set it away to cool. If wanted for future use, do not peel until it is required. A cupful of salt will do for three tongues, if you have that number to boil; but do not fail to keep water enough in the pot to keep them covered while boiling. If salt tongues are used, soak them over night, of course omitting the salt when boiling. Or, after peeling a tongue, place it in a saucepan with one cup of water, half a cup vinegar, four tablespoonfuls sugar, and cook until the liquor is evaporated.
SPICED BEEF TONGUE.
Rub into each tongue a mixture made of half a pound of brown sugar, a piece of saltpetre the size of a pea and a tablespoonful of ground cloves, put it in a brine made of three-quarters of a pound of salt to two quarts of water and keep covered. Pickle two weeks, then wash well and dry with a cloth; roll out a thin paste made of flour and water, smear it all over the tongue and place in a pan to bake slowly; baste well with lard and hot water; when done scrape off the paste and skim.
TO BOIL TRIPE.
Wash it well in warm water, and trim it nicely, taking off all the fat. Cut into small pieces, and put it on to boil five hours before dinner in water enough to cover it very well. After it has boiled four hours, pour off the water, season the tripe with pepper and salt, and put it into a pot with milk and water mixed in equal quantities. Boil it an hour in the milk and water.
Boil in a saucepan ten or a dozen onions. When they are quite soft, drain them in a colander and mash them. Wipe out your saucepan and put them on again, with a bit of butter rolled in flour and a wine-glass of cream or milk. Let them boil up, and add them to the tripe just before you send it to table. Eat it with pepper, vinegar and mustard.
It is best to give tripe its first and longest boiling the day before it is wanted.
TO FRY TRIPE.
Boil the tripe the day before till it is quite tender, which it will not be in less than four or five hours. Then cover it and set it away. Next day cut it into long slips, and dip each piece into beaten yolk of egg, and afterwards roll them in grated bread crumbs. Have ready in a frying pan over the fire some good beef drippings. When it is boiling hot put in the tripe, and fry it about ten minutes, till of a light brown.
You may serve it with onion sauce.
Boiled tripe that has been left from the dinner of the preceding day may be fried in this manner.
FRICASSEED TRIPE.
Cut a pound of tripe in narrow strips, put a small cup of water or milk to it, add a bit of butter the size of an egg, dredge in a large teaspoonful of flour, or work it with the butter; season with pepper and salt, let it simmer gently for half an hour, serve hot. A bunch of parsley cut small and put with it is an improvement.
Some put in oysters five minutes before dishing up.
TRIPE LYONNAISE.
Cut up half a pound of cold boiled tripe into neat squares. Put two ounces of butter and a tablespoonful of chopped onion in a frying pan and fry to a delicate brown; add to the tripe a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and a little strong vinegar, salt and cayenne; stir the pan to prevent burning. Cover the bottom of a platter with tomato sauce, add the contents of the pan and serve.
TO CLARIFY BEEF DRIPPINGS.
Drippings accumulated from different cooked meats of beef or veal can be clarified by putting it into a basin and slicing into it a raw potato, allowing it to boil long enough for the potato to brown, which causes all impurities to disappear. Remove from the fire, and when cool drain it off from the sediment that settles at the bottom. Turn it into basins or small jars and set it in a cool place for future use. When mixed with an equal amount of butter it answers the same purpose as clear butter for frying and basting any meats except game and poultry.
Mutton drippings impart an unpleasant flavor to anything cooked outside of its kind.
ROAST LOIN OF VEAL.
Prepare it the same as any roast, leaving in the kidney, around which put considerable salt. Make a dressing the same as for fowls; unroll the loin, put the stuffing well around the kidney, fold and secure with several coils of white cotton twine wound around in all directions; place in a dripping-pan with the thick side down, and put in a rather hot oven, graduated after it commences to roast to moderate; in half an hour add a little hot water to the pan, and baste often; in another half hour turn over the roast, and when about done dredge lightly with flour and baste with melted butter. Before serving carefully remove the twine. A roast of four to five pounds will bake in about two hours. For a gravy, skim off some of the fat if there is too much in the drippings; dredge in some flour, stir until brown, add some hot water if necessary; boil a few minutes, stir in such sweet herbs as fancied, and put in a gravy boat. Serve with green peas and lemon jelly. Is very nice sliced cold for lunch, and Worcestershire or Chili sauce forms a fine relish.
ROAST FILLET OF VEAL.
Select a nice fillet, take out the bone, fill up the space with stuffing, and also put a good layer under the fat. Truss it of a good shape by drawing the fat round and tie it up with tape. Cook it rather moderately at first, and baste with butter. It should have careful attention and frequent basting, that the fat may not burn. Roast from three to four hours, according to the size. After it is dished pour melted butter over it; serve with ham or bacon, and fresh cucumbers if in season. Veal, like all other meat, should be well washed in cold water before cooking and wiped thoroughly dry with a clean cloth. Cold fillet of veal is very good stewed with tomatoes and an onion or two.
In roasting veal, care must be taken that it is not at first placed in too hot an oven; the fat of a loin, one of the most delicate joints of veal, should be covered with greased paper; a fillet, also, should have on the caul until nearly done enough.
BOILED FILLET OF VEAL.
Choose a small, delicate fillet; prepare as for roasting, or stuff it with an oyster force meat; after having washed it thoroughly, cover it with water and let it boil very gently three and a half or four hours, keeping it well skimmed. Send it to the table with a rich white sauce, or, if stuffed with oysters, a tureen of oyster sauce. Garnish with stewed celery and slices of bacon. A boiled tongue should be served with it.
VEAL PUDDING.
Cut about two pounds of lean veal into small collops a quarter of an inch in thickness; put a piece of butter the size of an egg into a very clean frying pan to melt; then lay in the veal and a few slices of bacon, a small sprig of thyme and a seasoning of pepper and salt; place the pan over a slow fire for about ten minutes, then add two or three spoonfuls of warm water. Just boil it up and then let it stand to cool. Line a pudding-dish with a good suet crust, lay in the veal and bacon, pour the gravy over it; roll out a piece of paste to form a lid, place it over, press it close with the thumb, tie the basin in a pudding cloth and put it into a saucepan of boiling water, keeping continually boiling until done, or about one hour.
FRIED VEAL CUTLETS.
Put into a frying pan two or three tablespoonfuls of lard or beef drippings. When boiling hot lay in the cutlets, well seasoned with salt and pepper and dredged with flour. Brown nicely on both sides, then remove the meat, and if you have more grease than is necessary for the gravy put it aside for further use. Reserve a tablespoonful or more and rub into it a tablespoonful of flour, with the back of the spoon, until it is a smooth, rich brown color; then add gradually a cup of _cold water_ and season with pepper and salt. When the gravy is boiled up well return the meat to the pan and gravy. Cover it closely and allow it to stew gently on the back of the range for fifteen minutes. This softens the meat, and with this gravy it makes a nice breakfast dish.
Another mode is to simply fry the cutlets, and afterwards turning off some of the grease they were fried in and then adding to that left in the pan a few drops of hot water, turning the whole over the fried chops.
FRIED VEAL CHOPS. (Plain.)
Sprinkle over them salt and pepper, then dip them in beaten egg and cracker crumbs, and fry in drippings, or hot lard and butter mixed. If you wish a gravy with them, add a tablespoonful of flour to the gravy they were fried in and turn in cream or milk; season to taste with salt and pepper. Boil up and serve hot with the gravy in separate dish. This dish is very fine accompanied with a few sound fresh tomatoes, sliced and fried in the same grease the cutlets were, and all dished on the same platter.
VEAL COLLOPS.
Cut veal from the leg or other lean part into pieces the size of an oyster. Season with pepper, salt and a little mace; rub some over each piece; dip in egg, then into cracker crumbs and fry. They both look and taste like oysters.
VEAL OLIVES.
Cut up a slice of a fillet of veal, about half an inch thick, into squares of three inches. Mix up a little salt pork, chopped with bread crumbs, one onion, a little pepper, salt, sweet marjoram, and one egg well beaten; put this mixture upon the pieces of veal, fastening the four corners together with little bird skewers; lay them in a pan with sufficient veal gravy or light stock to cover the bottom of the pan, dredge with flour and set in a hot oven. When browned on top, put a small bit of butter on each, and let them remain until quite tender, which will take twenty minutes. Serve with horse-radish.
VEAL CHEESE.
Prepare equal quantities of boiled sliced veal and smoked tongue. Pound the slices separately in a mortar, moistening with butter as you proceed; then pack it in a jar or pail, mixing it in alternate layers; first the tongue and then the veal, so that when cut it will look variegated. Press it down hard and pour melted butter over the top. Keep it well covered and in a dry place. Nice for sandwiches, or sliced cold for lunch.
VEAL CROQUETTES.
Mince a coffee cup of cold veal in a chopping bowl, adding a little cold ham and two or three slices of onion, a pinch of mace, powdered parsley and pepper, some salt. Let a pint of milk or cream come to the boiling point, then add a tablespoonful of cold butter, then the above mixture. Beat up two eggs and mix with a teaspoonful of cornstarch or flour, and add to the rest; cook it all about ten minutes, stirring with care. Remove from the fire, and spread it on a platter, roll it into balls, when cooled flatten each; dip them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in a wire basket, dipped in hot lard.
BROILED VEAL CUTLETS. (Fine.)
Two or three pounds of veal cutlets, egg and bread crumbs, two tablespoonfuls of minced savory herbs, salt and pepper to taste, a little grated nutmeg.
Cut the cutlets about three-quarters of an inch in thickness; flatten them, and brush them over with the yolk of an egg; dip them into bread crumbs and minced herbs, season with pepper and salt, and fold each cutlet in a piece of white letter paper well buttered; twist the ends, and broil over a clear fire; when done remove the paper. Cooked this way, they retain all the flavor.
VEAL POT-PIE.
Procure a nice breast or brisket of veal, well jointed, put the pieces into the pot with one quart of water to every five pounds of meat; put the pot over a slow fire; just before it comes to a boil, skim it well and pour in a teacupful of cold water; then turn over the meat in order that all the scum may rise; remove all the scum, boil quite hard, season with pepper and salt to your taste, always remembering that the crust will take up part of the seasoning; when this is done cut off your crust in pieces of equal size, but do not roll or mould them; lay them on top of the meat, so as to cover it; put the lid on the pot closely, let the whole boil slowly one hour. If the lid does not fit the pot closely, wrap a cloth around it, in order that no steam shall escape; and by no means allow the pot to _stop boiling_.
The crust for pot-pie should be raised with yeast. To three pints of flour add two ounces of butter, a little salt, and wet with milk sufficient to make a soft dough; knead it well and set it away to rise; when quite light, mould and knead it again, and let it stand, in winter, one hour, in summer, one-half hour, when it will be ready to cut.
In summer you had better add one-half a teaspoonful of soda when you knead it the second time, or you may wet it with water and add another bit of butter.
VEAL PIE.
Cut the veal into rather small pieces or slices, put it in a stewpan with hot water to cover it; add to it a tablespoonful of salt and set it over the fire; take off the scum as it rises; when the meat is tender turn it into a dish to cool; take out all the small bones, butter a tin or earthen basin or pudding-pan, line it with pie paste, lay some of the parboiled meat in to half fill it; put bits of butter in the size of a hickory nut all over the meat; shake pepper over, dredge wheat flour over until it looks white, then fill it nearly to the top with some of the water in which the meat was boiled; roll a cover for the top of the crust, puff-paste it, giving it two or three turns, and roll it to nearly half an inch thickness; cut a slit in the centre and make several small incisions on either side of it, put the crust on, trim the edges neatly with a knife; bake one hour in a quick oven. A breast of veal will make two two-quart basin pies; half a pound of nice corned pork, cut in thin slices and parboiled with the meat, will make it very nice, and very little, if any, butter will be required for the pie; when pork is used not other salt will be necessary. Many are fond of thin slices of sweet ham cooked with the veal for pie.
VEAL STEW.
Cut up two or three pounds of veal into pieces three inches long and one thick. Wash it, put it into your stewpan with two quarts of water, let it boil, skim it well, and when all the scum is removed, add pepper and salt to your taste, and a small piece of butter; pare and cut in halves twelve small Irish potatoes, put them into the stewpan; when it boils, have ready a batter made with two eggs, two spoonfuls of cream or milk, a little salt, and flour enough to make it a little thicker than for pancakes; drop this into the stew, a spoonful at a time, while it is boiling; when all is in, cover the pan closely so that no steam can escape; let it boil twenty minutes and serve in a deep dish.
VEAL LOAF.
Three pounds of raw veal chopped very fine, butter the size of an egg, three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk; if milk use a small piece of butter; mix the eggs and cream together; mix with the veal four pounded crackers, one teaspoonful of black pepper, one large tablespoonful salt, one large tablespoonful of sage; mix well together and form into a loaf. Bake two and one-half hours, basting with butter and water while baking. Serve cut in thin slices.
VEAL FOR LUNCH.
Butter a good-sized bowl, and line it with thin slices of hard-boiled eggs; have veal and ham both in very thin slices; place, in the bowl a layer of veal, with pepper and salt, then a layer of ham, omitting the salt, then a layer of veal, and so on, alternating with veal and ham, until the bowl is filled; make a paste of flour and water as stiff as it can be rolled out; cover the contents of the bowl with the paste, and over this tie a double cotton cloth; put the bowl into a saucepan, or other vessel, with water just up to the rim of the bowl, and boil three hours; then take it from the fire, remove the cloth and paste, and let it stand until the next day, when it may be turned out and served in very thin slices. An excellent lunch in traveling.
VEAL PATTIES.
Cut portions of the neck or breast of veal into small pieces, and, with a little salt pork cut fine, stew gently for ten or fifteen minutes; season with pepper and salt, and a small piece of celery chopped coarsely, also of the yellow top, picked (not chopped) up; stir in a paste made of a tablespoonful of flour, the yolk of one egg, and milk to form a thin batter; let all come to a boil, and it is ready for the patties. Make the patties of a light, flaky crust, as for tarts, cut round, the size of a small sauceplate; the centre of each, for about three inches, cut half way through, to be raised and serve as a cover. Put a spoonful of the stew in each crust, lay on the top and serve. Stewed oysters or lamb may be used in place of veal.
BRAISED VEAL.
Take a piece of the shoulder weighing about five pounds. Have the bone removed and tie up the meat to make it firm. Put a piece of butter the size of half an egg, together with a few shavings of onion, into a kettle or stone crock and let it get hot. Salt and pepper the veal and put it into the kettle, cover it tightly and put it over a medium fire until the meat is brown on both sides, turning it occasionally. Then set the kettle back on the stove, where it will simmer slowly for about two hours and a half. Before setting the meat back on the stove, see if the juice of the meat together with the butter do not make gravy enough, and if not, put in about two tablespoonfuls of hot water. When the gravy is cold it will be like jelly. It can be served hot with the hot meat, or cold with the cold meat.
BAKED CALF'S HEAD.
Boil a calf's head (after having cleaned it) until tender, then split it in two, and keep the best half (bone it if you like); cut the meat from the other in uniform pieces, the size of an oyster; put bits of butter, the size of a nutmeg, all over the best half of the head; sprinkle pepper over it, and dredge on flour until it looks white, then set it on a trivet or muffin rings in a dripping-pan; put a cup of water into the pan, and set it in a hot oven; turn it that it may brown evenly; baste once or twice. Whilst this is doing, dip the prepared pieces of the head in wheat flour or batter, and fry in hot lard or beef drippings a delicate brown; season with pepper and salt and slices of lemon, if liked. When the roast is done put it on a hot dish, lay the fried pieces around it, and cover it with a tin cover; put the gravy from the dripping-pan into the pan in which the pieces were fried, with the slices of lemon, and a tablespoonful of browned flour, and, if necessary, a little hot water. Let it boil up once, and strain it into a gravy boat, and serve with the meat.
CALF'S HEAD CHEESE.
Boil a calf's head in water enough to cover it, until the meat leaves the bones; then take it with a skimmer into a wooden bowl or tray; take from it every particle of bone; chop it small; season with pepper and salt, a heaping tablespoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of pepper will be sufficient; if liked, add a tablespoonful of finely chopped sweet herbs; lay in a cloth in a colander, put the minced meat into it, then fold the cloth closely over it, lay a plate over, and on it a gentle weight. When cold it may be sliced thin for supper or sandwiches. Spread each slice with made mustard.
BRAIN CUTLETS.
Well wash the brains and soak them in cold water until white. Parboil them until tender in a small saucepan for about a quarter of an hour; then thoroughly drain them and place them on a board. Divide them into small pieces with a knife. Dip each piece into flour, and then roll them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry them in butter or well-clarified drippings. Serve very hot with gravy. Another way of doing brains is to prepare them as above, and then stew them gently in rich stock, like stewed sweetbreads. They are also nice plainly boiled and served with parsley and butter sauce.
CALFS HEAD BOILED.
Put the head into boiling water and let it remain about five minutes; take it out, hold it by the ear, and with the back of the knife scrape off the hair (should it not come off easily dip the head again in boiling water.) When perfectly clean take out the eyes, cut off the ears and remove the brain, which soak for an hour in warm water. Put the head to soak in hot water a few minutes to make it look white, and then have ready a stewpan, into which lay the head; cover it with cold water and bring it gradually to boil. Remove the scum and add a little salt, which increases it and causes it to rise to the top. Simmer it very gently from two and a half to three hours, or until the bones will slip out easily, and when nearly done, boil the brains fifteen or twenty minutes; skin and chop them (not too finely), add a tablespoonful of minced parsley which has been previously scalded; also a pinch of pepper, salt; then stir into this four tablespoonfuls of melted butter; set it on the back of the range to keep it hot. When the head is done, take it up and drain very dry. Score the top and rub it over with melted butter; dredge it with flour and set it in the oven to brown.
When you serve the head, have it accompanied with a gravy boat of melted butter and minced parsley.
CALF'S LIVER AND BACON.
Slice the liver a quarter of an inch thick; pour hot water over it and let it remain for a few minutes to clear it from blood; then dry it in a cloth. Take a pound of bacon, or as much as you require, and cut the same number of thin slices as you have of liver; fry the bacon to a nice crisp; take it out and keep it hot; then fry the liver in the same pan, having first seasoned it with pepper and salt and dredged in a little flour; lay it in the hot bacon fat and fry it a nice brown. Serve it with a slice of bacon on the top of each slice of liver.
If you wish a gravy with it, pour off most of the fat from the frying pan, put in about two ounces of butter, a tablespoonful of flour well rubbed in, add a cup of water, salt and pepper, give it one boil and serve in a gravy boat.
_Another Way._--Cut the liver in nice thin slices, pour boiling water over it and let it stand about five minutes; then drain and put in a dripping-pan with three or four thin slices of salt pork or bacon; pepper and salt and put in the oven, letting it cook until thoroughly done, then serve with a cream or milk gravy poured over it.
Calf's liver and bacon are very good broiled after cutting each in thin slices. Season with butter, pepper and salt.
CROQUETTES OF SWEETBREADS.