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PHILLIPS & COMPY.,
TEA MERCHANTS,
8, KING WILLIAM STREET, CITY, LONDON, E.C.,
Invariably sell
THE BEST AND CHEAPEST
TEAS AND COFFEES IN ENGLAND.
* * * * *
GOOD STRONG USEFUL CONGOU,
2s. 6d., 2s. 8d., 2s. 10d., 3s., and 3s. 4d.
PURE COFFEES,
1s., 1s. 2d., 1s. 4d., 1s. 6d.
A PRICE-CURRENT FREE.
Pure Preserving and other Sugars at Market Prices.
* * * * *
ALL GOODS SENT CARRIAGE FREE WITHIN EIGHT MILES OF LONDON.
Teas and Coffees Carriage Free to all England, if to value of 40s.
* * * * *
PHILLIPS AND COMPANY,
TEA MERCHANTS,
KING WILLIAM STREET, CITY, LONDON, E.C.
The Best Food for Children, Invalids, and Others.
ROBINSON'S PATENT BARLEY,
For making superior Barley Water in Fifteen Minutes, has not only obtained the Patronage of Her Majesty and the Royal Family, but has become of general use to every class of the community, and is acknowledged to stand unrivalled as an eminently pure, nutritious, and light Food for Infants and Invalids; much approved for making a delicious Custard Pudding, and excellent for thickening Broths or Soups.
ROBINSON'S PATENT GROATS,
For more than thirty years have been held in constant and increasing public estimation, as the purest farina of the Oat, and as the best and most valuable preparation for making a pure and delicate GRUEL, which forms a light and nutritious support for the aged, is a popular recipe for colds and influenza, is of general use in the sick chamber, and alternately with the Patent Barley is an excellent Food for Infants and Children. Prepared only by the Patentees,
ROBINSON, BELLVILLE, AND CO., PURVEYORS TO THE QUEEN, 64, RED LION STREET, HOLBORN, LONDON.
* * * * *
EPPS'S COCOA,
(Commonly called Epps's Homoeopathic Cocoa),
IS DISTINGUISHED FOR ITS
DELICIOUS AROMA, GRATEFUL SMOOTHNESS, AND INVIGORATING POWER;
And to these qualities it is indebted for the adoption it now obtains as a
BREAKFAST BEVERAGE,
* * * * *
DIRECTIONS FOR USE.
Mix two tea-spoonfuls of the Powder with as much cold Milk as will form a stiff paste; then add, all at once, a sufficient quantity of boiling Milk, or Milk and Water in equal portions, to fill a breakfast cup.
* * * * *
1/4-lb., 1/2-lb., and 1-lb. Packets, at 1s. 6d. per lb.
Sold by Grocers in every part of London, and by Grocers, Confectioners, and Druggists in the Country.
A PLAIN
COOKERY BOOK
FOR THE
WORKING CLASSES.
BY
CHARLES ELME FRANCATELLI,
LATE MAITRE D'HOTEL AND CHIEF COOK TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN. AUTHOR OF "THE MODERN COOK" AND "THE COOK'S GUIDE."
NEW EDITION.
LONDON: ROUTLEDGE, WARNE, AND ROUTLEDGE, FARRINGDON STREET.
Reprinted from the edition of 1852
Re-issued 1977 by SCOLAR PRESS 39 Great Russell Street, London WC1
Reprinted 1978
ISBN 0 85967 390 1
Printed in England by Shenval Press, London and Harlow
INTRODUCTION.
My object in writing this little book is to show you how you may prepare and cook your daily food, so as to obtain from it the greatest amount of nourishment at the least possible expense; and thus, by skill and economy, add, at the same time, to your comfort and to your comparatively slender means. The Recipes which it contains will afford sufficient variety, from the simple every-day fare to more tasty dishes for the birthday, Christmas-day, or other festive occasions.
In order to carry out my instructions properly, a few utensils will be necessary. Industry, good health, and constant employment, have, in many instances, I trust, enabled those whom I now address to lay by a little sum of money. A portion of this will be well spent in the purchase of the following articles:—A cooking-stove, with an oven at the side, or placed under the grate, which should be so planned as to admit of the fire being open or closed at will; by this contrivance much heat and fuel are economized; there should also be a boiler at the back of the grate. By this means you would have hot water always ready at hand, the advantage of which is considerable. Such poor men's cooking-stoves exist, on a large scale, in all modern-built lodging-houses. Also, a three-gallon iron pot with a lid to it, a one-gallon saucepan, a two-quart ditto, a frying-pan, a gridiron, and a strong tin baking-dish.
Here is a list of the cost prices at which the above-named articles, as well as a few others equally necessary, may be obtained of all ironmongers:—
L s. d.
A cooking-stove, 2 ft. 6 in. wide, with oven only 1 10 0 Ditto, with oven and boiler 1 18 0 A three-gallon oval boiling pot 0 4 6 A one-gallon tin saucepan, and lid 0 2 6 A two-quart ditto 0 1 6 A potato steamer 0 2 0 An oval frying-pan, from 0 0 10 A gridiron, from 0 1 0 A copper for washing or brewing, twelve gallons 1 10 0 A mash-tub, from 0 10 0 Two cooling-tubs (or an old wine or beer cask cut in halves, would be cheaper, and answer the same purpose), each 6s. 0 12 0 —————— L6 12 4 ——————
To those of my readers who, from sickness or other hindrance, have not money in store, I would say, strive to lay by a little of your weekly wages to purchase these things, that your families may be well fed, and your homes made comfortable.
And now a few words on baking your own bread. I assure you if you would adopt this excellent practice, you would not only effect a great saving in your expenditure, but you would also insure a more substantial and wholesome kind of food; it would be free from potato, rice, bean or pea flour, and alum, all of which substances are objectionable in the composition of bread. The only utensil required for bread-making would be a tub, or trough, capable of working a bushel or two of flour. This tub would be useful in brewing, for which you will find in this book plain and easy directions.
I have pointed out the necessity of procuring these articles for cooking purposes, and with the injunction to use great care in keeping them thoroughly clean, I will at once proceed to show you their value in a course of practical and economical cookery, the soundness and plainness of which I sincerely hope you will all be enabled to test in your own homes.
COOKERY BOOK.
No. 1. BOILED BEEF.
This is an economical dinner, especially where there are many mouths to feed. Buy a few pounds of either salt brisket, thick or thin flank, or buttock of beef; these pieces are always to be had at a low rate. Let us suppose you have bought a piece of salt beef for a Sunday's dinner, weighing about five pounds, at 6-1/2d. per pound, that would come to 2s. 8-1/2d.; two pounds of common flour, 4d., to be made into suet pudding or dumplings, and say 8-1/2d. for cabbages, parsnips, and potatoes; altogether 3s. 9d. This would produce a substantial dinner for ten persons in family, and would, moreover, as children do not require much meat when they have pudding, admit of there being enough left to help out the next day's dinner, with potatoes.
No. 2. HOW TO BOIL BEEF.
Put the beef into your three or four gallon pot, three parts filled with cold water, and set it on the fire to boil; remove all the scum that rises to the surface, and then let it boil gently on the hob; when the meat has boiled an hour and is about half done, add the parsnips in a net, and at the end of another half hour put in the cabbages, also in a net. A piece of beef weighing five or six pounds will require about two hours' gentle boiling to cook it thoroughly. The dumplings may, of course, be boiled with the beef, etc. I may here observe that the dumplings and vegetables, with a small quantity of the meat, would be all-sufficient for the children's meal.
No. 3. ECONOMICAL POT LIQUOR SOUP.
A thrifty housewife will not require that I should tell her to save the liquor in which the beef has been boiled; I will therefore take it for granted that the next day she carefully removes the grease, which will have become set firm on the top of the broth, into her fat pot; this must be kept to make a pie-crust, or to fry potatoes, or any remains of vegetables, onions, or fish. The liquor must be tasted, and if it is found to be too salt, some water must be added to lessen its saltness, and render it palatable. The pot containing the liquor must then be placed on the fire to boil, and when the scum rises to the surface it should be removed with a spoon. While the broth is boiling, put as many piled-up table-spoonfuls of oatmeal as you have pints of liquor into a basin; mix this with cold water into a smooth liquid batter, and then stir it into the boiling soup; season with some pepper and a good pinch of allspice, and continue stirring the soup with a stick or spoon on the fire for about twenty minutes; you will then be able to serve out a plentiful and nourishing meal to a large family at a cost of not more than the price of the oatmeal.
No. 4. POTATO SOUP FOR SIX PERSONS.
Peel and chop four onions, and put them into a gallon saucepan, with two ounces of dripping fat, or butter, or a bit of fat bacon; add rather better than three quarts of water, and set the whole to boil on the fire for ten minutes; then throw in four pounds of peeled and sliced-up potatoes, pepper and salt, and with a wooden spoon stir the soup on the fire for about twenty-five minutes, by which time the potatoes will be done to a pulp, and the soup ready for dinner or breakfast.
No. 5. PEA SOUP FOR SIX PERSONS.
Cut up two and a-half pounds of pickled pork, or some pork cuttings, or else the same quantity of scrag end of neck of mutton, or leg of beef, and put any one of these kinds of meat into a pot with a gallon of water, three pints of split or dried peas, previously soaked in cold water over-night, two carrots, four onions, and a head of celery, all chopped small; season with pepper, but no salt, as the pork, if pork is used, will season the soup sufficiently; set the whole to boil very gently for at least three hours, taking care to skim it occasionally, and do not forget that the peas, etc., must be stirred from the bottom of the pot now and then; from three to four hours' gentle boiling will suffice to cook a good mess of this most excellent and satisfying soup. If fresh meat is used for this purpose, salt must be added to season it. Dried mint may be strewn over the soup when eaten.
No. 6. ONION SOUP FOR SIX PERSONS.
Chop fine six onions, and fry them in a gallon saucepan with two ounces of butter or dripping fat, stirring them continuously until they become of a very light colour; then add six ounces of flour or oatmeal, and moisten with three quarts of water; season with pepper and salt, and stir the soup while boiling for twenty minutes, and when done, pour it out into a pan or bowl containing slices of bread.
No. 7. BROTH MADE FROM BONES FOR SOUP.
Fresh bones are always to be purchased from butchers at about a farthing per pound; they must be broken up small, and put into a boiling-pot with a quart of water to every pound of bones; and being placed on the fire, the broth must be well skimmed, seasoned with pepper and salt, a few carrots, onions, turnips, celery, and thyme, and boiled very gently for six hours; it is then to be strained off, and put back into the pot, with any bits of meat or gristle which may have fallen from the bones (the bones left are still worth a farthing per pound, and can be sold to the bone-dealers). Let this broth be thickened with peasemeal or oatmeal, in the proportion of a large table-spoonful to every pint of broth, and stirred over the fire while boiling for twenty-five minutes, by which time the soup will be done. It will be apparent to all good housewives that, with a little trouble and good management, a savoury and substantial meal may thus be prepared for a mere trifle.
No. 8. THICK MILK FOR BREAKFAST.
Milk, buttermilk, or even skim-milk, will serve for this purpose. To every pint of milk, mix a piled-up table-spoonful of flour, and stir the mixture while boiling on the fire for ten minutes; season with a little salt, and eat it with bread or a boiled potato. This kind of food is well adapted for the breakfast of women and children, and is far preferable to a sloppy mess of tea, which comes to more money.
No. 9. OATMEAL PORRIDGE FOR SIX PERSONS.
To five pints of skim or buttermilk, add a couple of onions chopped fine, and set them to boil on the fire; meanwhile, mix six table-spoonfuls of oatmeal with a pint of milk or water very smoothly, pour it into the boiling milk and onions, and stir the porridge on the fire for ten minutes; season with salt to taste.
No. 10. OX-CHEEK SOUP.
An ox-cheek is always to be bought cheap; let it be thoroughly washed in several waters, place it whole in a three gallon boiling-pot filled up with water, and set it to boil on the fire; skim it well, season with carrots, turnips, onions, celery, allspice, pepper, and salt; and allow the whole to boil very gently by the side of the hob for about three hours and a-half, by which time the ox-cheek, etc., will be done quite tender; the cheek must then be taken out on to a dish, the meat removed from the bone, and after being cut up in pieces, put back into the soup again. Next mix smoothly twelve ounces of flour with a quart of cold water, pour this into the soup, and stir the whole on the fire, keeping it boiling for about twenty-five minutes longer; when it will be ready for dinner. One ox-cheek, properly managed, will, by attending to the foregoing instructions, furnish an ample quantity of substantial and nutritious food, equal to the wants of a large family, for three days' consumption.
No. 11. SHEEP'S-HEAD BROTH.
Get the butcher to split the sheep's head into halves, wash these clean, and put them into a boiling-pot with two gallons of water; set this on the fire to boil, skim it well, add carrots, turnips, onions, leeks, celery, thyme or winter savory, season with pepper and salt; add a pint of Patna rice, or Scotch barley; and all the whole to keep gently boiling by the side of the fire for three hours, adding a little water to make up for the deficiency in quantity occasioned by boiling.
No. 12. COW-HEEL BROTH.
Put a couple of cow-heels into a boiling-pot, with a pound of rice, a dozen leeks washed free from grit and cut into pieces, and some coarsely chopped parsley; fill up with six quarts of water, set the whole to boil on the fire, skim it well, season with thyme, pepper, and salt, and allow the whole to boil very gently on the hob for about two hours. You will thus provide a savoury meal at small cost.
No. 13. BACON AND CABBAGE SOUP.
When it happens that you have a dinner consisting of bacon and cabbages, you invariably throw away the liquor in which they have been boiled, or, at the best, give it to the pigs, if you possess any; this is wrong, for it is easy to turn it to a better account for your own use, by paying attention to the following instructions, viz.:—Put your piece of bacon on to boil in a pot with two gallons (more or less, according to the number you have to provide for) of water, when it has boiled up, and has been well skimmed, add the cabbages, kale, greens, or sprouts, whichever may be used, well washed and split down, and also some parsnips and carrots; season with pepper, but no salt, as the bacon will season the soup sufficiently; and when the whole has boiled together very gently for about two hours, take up the bacon surrounded with the cabbage, parsnips, and carrots, leaving a small portion of the vegetables in the soup, and pour this into a large bowl containing slices of bread; eat the soup first, and make it a rule that those who eat most soup are entitled to the largest share of bacon.
No. 14. STEWED LEG OF BEEF.
Four pounds of leg or shin of beef cost about one shilling; cut this into pieces the size of an egg, and fry them of a brown colour with a little dripping fat, in a good sized saucepan, then shake in a large handful of flour, add carrots and onions cut up in pieces the same as the meat, season with pepper and salt, moisten with water enough to cover in the whole, stir the stew on the fire till it boils, and then set it on the hob to continue boiling very gently for about an hour and a half, and you will then be able to enjoy an excellent dinner.
No. 15. COCKY LEEKY.
I hope that at some odd times you may afford yourselves an old hen or cock; and when this occurs, this is the way in which I recommend that it be cooked, viz.:—First pluck, draw, singe off the hairs, and tie the fowl up in a plump shape; next, put it into a boiling-pot with a gallon of water, and a pound of Patna rice, a dozen leeks cut in pieces, some peppercorns and salt to season; boil the whole very gently for three hours, and divide the fowl to be eaten with the soup, which will prove not only nourishing but invigorating to the system.
No. 16. ROAST FOWL AND GRAVY.
Let us hope that at Christmas, or some other festive season, you may have to dress a fowl or turkey for your dinner. On such occasions I would recommend the following method:—First, draw the fowl, reserving the gizzard and liver to be tucked under the wings; truss the fowl with skewers, and tie it to the end of a skein of worsted, which is to be fastened to a nail stuck in the chimney-piece, so that the fowl may dangle rather close to the fire, in order to roast it. Baste the fowl, while it is being roasted, with butter, or some kind of grease, and when nearly done, sprinkle it with a little flour and salt, and allow the fowl to attain a bright yellow-brown colour before you take it up. Then place it on its dish, and pour some brown gravy over it.
No. 17. THIS IS THE BROWN GRAVY FOR THE FOWL.
Chop up an onion, and fry it with a sprig of thyme and a bit of butter, and when it is brown, add a good tea-spoonful of moist sugar and a drop of water, and boil all together on the fire until the water is reduced, and the sugar begins to bake of a dark brown colour. It must then be stirred on the fire for three minutes longer; after which moisten it with half-a-pint of water, add a little pepper and salt; boil all together for five minutes, and strain the gravy over the fowl, etc.
No. 18. BREAD SAUCE FOR A ROAST FOWL.
Chop a small onion or shalot fine, and boil it in a pint of milk for five minutes; then add about ten ounces of crumb of bread, a bit of butter, pepper and salt to season; stir the whole on the fire for ten minutes, and eat this bread sauce with roast fowl or turkey.
No. 19. EGG SAUCE FOR ROAST FOWLS, ETC.
Boil two or three eggs for about eight minutes; remove the shells, cut up each egg into about ten pieces of equal size, and put them into some butter-sauce made as follows:—viz., Knead two ounces of flour with one ounce and-a-half of butter; add half-a-pint of water, pepper and salt to season, and stir the sauce on the fire until it begins to boil; then mix in the pieces of chopped hard-boiled eggs.
No. 20. PORK CHOPS, GRILLED OR BROILED.
Score the rind of each chop by cutting through the rind at distances of half-an-inch apart; season the chops with pepper and salt, and place them on a clean gridiron over a clear fire to broil; the chops must be turned over every two minutes until they are done; this will take about fifteen minutes. The chops are then to be eaten plain, or, if convenient, with brown gravy, made as shown in No. 17.
No. 21. SHARP SAUCE FOR BROILED MEATS.
Chop fine an onion and a pennyworth of mixed pickles; put these into a saucepan with half-a-gill of vinegar, a tea-spoonful of mustard, a small bit of butter, a large table-spoonful of bread-raspings, and pepper and salt to season; boil all together on the fire for at least six minutes; then add a gill of water, and allow the sauce to boil again for ten minutes longer. This sauce will give an appetizing relish to the coarsest meats or fish when broiled or fried, and also when you are intending to make any cold meat into a hash or stew. In the latter case, the quantity of water and raspings must be doubled.
No. 22. ROAST VEAL, STUFFED.
A piece of the shoulder, breast, or chump-end of the loin of veal, is the cheapest part for you, and whichever of these pieces you may happen to buy, should be seasoned with the following stuffing:—To eight ounces of bruised crumb of bread add four ounces of chopped suet, shalot, thyme, marjoram, and winter savory, all chopped fine; two eggs, pepper and salt to season; mix all these ingredients into a firm compact kind of paste, and use this stuffing to fill a hole or pocket which you will have cut with a knife in some part of the piece of veal, taking care to fasten it in with a skewer. If you intend roasting the veal, and should not possess what is called a bottle-jack, nor even a Dutch oven, in that case the veal should be suspended by, and fastened to, the end of a twisted skein of worsted, made fast at the upper end by tying it to a large nail driven into the centre of the mantelpiece for that purpose. This contrivance will enable you to roast the veal by dangling it before your fire; the exact time for cooking it must depend upon its weight. A piece of veal weighing four pounds would require rather more than an hour to cook it thoroughly before your small fire.
No. 23. VEAL CUTLETS AND BACON.
You may sometimes have a chance to purchase a few trimmings or cuttings of veal, or a small piece from the chump end of the loin, which you can cut up in thin slices, and after seasoning them with pepper and salt, and rolling them in flour, they are to be fried in the fat that remains from some slices of bacon which you shall have previously fried; and, after placing the fried veal and bacon in its dish, shake a table-spoonful of flour in the frying-pan; add a few drops of ketchup or vinegar and a gill of water; stir all together on the fire to boil for five minutes, and pour this sauce over the cutlets. A dish of cutlets of any kind of meat may be prepared as above.
No. 24. A PUDDING MADE OF SMALL BIRDS.
Industrious and intelligent boys who live in the country, are mostly well up in the cunning art of catching small birds at odd times during the winter months. So, my young friends, when you have been so fortunate as to succeed in making a good catch of a couple of dozen of birds, you must first pluck them free from feathers, cut off their heads and claws, and pick out their gizzards from their sides with the point of a small knife, and then hand the birds over to your mother, who, by following these instructions, will prepare a famous pudding for your dinner or supper. First, fry the birds whole with a little butter, shalot, parsley, thyme, and winter savory, all chopped small, pepper and salt to season; and when the birds are half done, shake in a small handful of flour, add rather better than a gill of water, stir the whole on the fire while boiling for ten minutes, and when the stew of birds is nearly cold, pour it all into a good-sized pudding basin, which has been ready-lined with either a suet and flour crust, or else a dripping-crust, cover the pudding in with a piece of the paste, and either bake or boil it for about an hour and-a-half.
No. 25. BAKED PIG'S HEAD.
Split the pig's head into halves, sprinkle them with pepper and salt, and lay them with the rind part uppermost upon a bed of sliced onions in a baking dish. Next bruise eight ounces of stale bread-crumb, and mix it with four ounces of chopped suet, twelve sage leaves chopped fine, pepper and salt to season, and sprinkle this seasoning all over the surface of the pig's head; add one ounce of butter and a gill of vinegar to the onions, and bake the whole for about an hour and-a-half, basting the pig's head occasionally with the liquor.
No. 26. BAKED GOOSE.
Pluck and pick out all the stubble feathers thoroughly clean, draw the goose, cut off the head and neck, and also the feet and wings, which must be scalded to enable you to remove the pinion feathers from the wings and the rough skin from the feet; split and scrape the inside of the gizzard, and carefully cut out the gall from the liver. These giblets well stewed, as shown in No. 62, will serve to make a pie for another day's dinner. Next stuff the goose in manner following, viz.:—First put six potatoes to bake in the oven, or even in a Dutch oven; and, while they are being baked, chop six onions with four apples and twelve sage leaves, and fry these in a saucepan with two ounces of butter, pepper and salt; when the whole is slightly fried, mix it with the pulp of the six baked potatoes, and use this very nice stuffing to fill the inside of the goose. The goose being stuffed, place it upon an iron trivet in a baking dish containing peeled potatoes and a few apples; add half-a-pint of water, pepper and salt, shake some flour over the goose, and bake it for about an hour and a-half.
No. 27. BAKED SUCKING PIG.
Let the pig be stuffed in the same manner as directed for a goose, as shown in the preceding Number; score it all over crosswise, rub some grease or butter upon it, place it upon a trivet in a dish containing peeled potatoes and a few sliced onions, season with pepper and salt; add half-a-pint of water, and bake the pig for about two hours, basting it frequently with its own dripping, or, a bit of butter tied up in a piece of muslin.
No. 28. BAKED OR ROAST DUCKS.
These are to be dressed in the same way as directed for dressing geese.
No. 29. HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF A PIG, AFTER IT IS KILLED.
Cottagers sometimes feed a pig for their own consumption, and, therefore, in the hope that many of you may have it in your power to do so, I will give you proper instructions as to the best way to make the most of it. First, when the pig is killed, should the hair or bristles be wet, wipe them dry with a wisp of hay or straw, and having laid it on the ground upon a narrow bed of dry straw three inches in thickness, and laid some loose straw all over it, set fire to it, and as the upper straw burns out, lay on another covering of loose straw, and, by the time this has burnt out, all the hairs of the upper part of the pig will probably be singed off, if not, burn a little more straw upon the remaining parts; and, on turning the pig over, should it be found that any of the hairs yet remain, let them be singed off with a lighted wisp of straw. Throw a pail of water over the pig, and scrape it clean and dry with an old knife. The next thing to be done, is to insert a stout stick, pointed at the ends, into the hocks of the hind legs; fasten a strong cord to the stick, and hoist up the pig so as to enable you to stand up and finish your work with ease to yourself. With a sharp knife rip up the belly, and stretch out the flaps with two sticks to enable you to throw in some water to cleanse the pig's inside, having first removed the guts, etc.; hang up the pluck to cool, and also the chitterlings, and loose fat; and, after thoroughly wiping the pig, let it hang in the draught to become quite cold. You then split the pig in halves, commencing between the hind quarters; and, when this is done, first cut off the hocks, then the hams, and the head; next cleverly remove, slicing away, what is called the spare-rib—that is, the lean meat about the ribs—reaching up about four inches toward the breast part, and lay the spare-ribs aside to be sold or reserved for your own use. The head may be baked as shown in No. 25. The spare-rib may be dressed as in No. 27.
No. 30. HOW TO CURE HAMS.
To six pounds of common salt, add four ounces of saltpetre, eight ounces of treacle, two ounces of salprunella, winter savory, bay-leaves, thyme, marjoram, and a good table-spoonful of allspice, bruise all these things well together, and thoroughly rub them over and into the hams, with very clean hands. The rubbing-in must be repeated four or five successive mornings, and the hams must remain in this pickle for ten days longer.
No. 31. HOW TO SMOKE HAMS.
When the hams have been well pickled, as shown in the preceding Number, they must be pressed between boards with heavy stones to render them flat; the hams should remain in press for twenty-four hours; and, at the end of that time, must be well rubbed all over with peasemeal mixed with a little salt; they are then to be smoked in a close shed or in the chimney, burning for that purpose some branches of juniper or any other wood, and some sawdust. The smoking must last five days. The hams, when sufficiently smoked, must be kept in a cool place. They will not be ripe for cooking before six months after their curing. Remember that a couple of well-cured hams, kept in reserve for a case of need, will always prove a ready means to realize some twenty-five shillings towards paying the rent, etc.
No. 32. HOW TO CURE BACON.
Mind that your pickling-trough is well scalded out before using it for pickling the bacon. Allow at the rate of four ounces of salt to every pound of meat, and to every ten pounds of salt six ounces of saltpetre, two ounces of salprunella, and eight ounces of sugar; rub the salt, etc., well into the bacon every morning for twelve successive days; and at the end of that time, let the sides of bacon be pressed between boards with heavy stones placed upon them to keep them flat; and at the end of twenty-four hours, rub them over with peasemeal in which there has been mixed a little salt, and smoke the bacon in the same manner as the hams; and thus, by timely thriftiness, you will be provided with a meat dinner for a long while.
No. 33. HOW TO DISPOSE OF THE PIG'S PLUCK.
See Nos. 72 and 73.
No. 34. HOW TO MAKE PORK SAUSAGES.
Take equal parts of fat and lean meat, such as the inferior end of the spare-ribs and some of the loose fat; chop these well together, adding a few sage leaves, a little thyme, pepper and salt, and one or two eggs; when the whole is thoroughly mixed and chopped fine, use a sprinkle of flour on a table or dresser, for the purpose of rolling the sausages into shape of the size and form of a man's thumb. These sausages may be fried in the ordinary way.
No. 35. BLACK PUDDINGS.
When a pig is killed, the blood should be caught in a pan, and a little salt must be stirred in with it while yet warm, to prevent its coagulation or thickening. This will serve to make you some hog's puddings, excellent things in their way, and for the preparation of which you must attend to the following instructions, viz.:—To every pound of blood, add eight ounces of fat cut up in small squares, two ounces of rice or grits, boiled quite soft in milk; season with pepper and salt, chopped sage, thyme, and winter savory, and some chopped onions boiled soft in a little milk or water; mix all these things well together, and use a tin funnel for filling in the cleansed guts with the preparation, taking care to tie the one end of each piece of gut with string, to prevent waste. The puddings being thus prepared, tie them in links, each pudding measuring about six inches in length, and when all are tied, let them be dropped into a pot containing boiling-water, just taken off the fire, and allow them to remain in this until they become set, or slightly firm; the puddings must then be carefully lifted out, and hung to a nail driven into the wall, to drain them from all excess of moisture; and before they are fried or broiled, they must be slightly scored with a sharp knife, to prevent them from bursting while they are being cooked.
No. 36. HOW TO MELT DOWN THE SEAM, OR LOOSE FAT.
Cut up the seam in small pieces, put it into a pot with about a gill of water, and set it over a slow fire to melt down, stirring it frequently with a spoon to prevent it from burning; and as soon as all is melted, let it be strained off into a jar for use. This will produce what is called lard, and will serve for making lard cakes, pie or pudding crusts, and also for general cooking purposes, instead of butter, etc.
No. 37. ITALIAN CHEESE.
This is prepared by chopping up the whole of the pig's pluck, the chitterlings, and a couple of pounds of the fat; mix this in a pan with seasoning composed of chopped sage, thyme, winter savory, allspice, pepper, and salt, and with it fill earthen pots or jars having lids to them; bake the contents in moderate heat; or if you have no oven of your own, send them to the baker's. A jar containing two pounds would require about an hour and three-quarters' baking. Italian cheese is to be eaten cold, spread upon bread.
No. 38. PIG'S FEET.
These are to be well salted for about four days, and then boiled in plenty of water for about three hours; they may be eaten either hot or cold.
No. 39. CURRIED RICE.
Boil one or more pounds of rice, as directed in No. 92, and drain all the water from it; slice some onions very thin, and fry them brown with a little butter; then add the boiled rice, a spoonful of curry-powder, and a little salt to season; mix all together. This is excellent with boiled or fried fish.
No. 40. A PLAIN RICE PUDDING.
To every quart of milk add six ounces of rice, one ounce of brown sugar, a pinch of allspice, and ditto of salt; put all these in a proper sized pie-dish, with one ounce of butter, and set the pudding to bake for one hour and-a-half. When the pudding has been in the oven half an hour, stir it round with a fork.
No. 41. A GROUND RICE PUDDING.
Ingredients, eight ounces of ground rice, three pints of skim milk, one ounce of butter, four ounces of sugar, a pinch of allspice or bit of lemon-peel, a pinch of salt, and two or three eggs; mix all the above ingredients (except the eggs) in a saucepan, and stir them on the fire till the batter boils; then beat up the eggs with a fork in a basin, and mix them well into the rice batter, and pour the whole into a well-greased pie-dish, and bake the pudding for an hour.
No. 42. A BREAD PUDDING FOR A FAMILY.
Ingredients, a two-pound loaf, two quarts of milk, two ounces of butter, four ounces of sugar, four ounces of plums or currants, three eggs, a piece of lemon-peel chopped, and a spoonful of salt. Divide the loaf into four equal-sized pieces, and soak them in boiling-water for twenty minutes, then squeeze out the water, and put the bread into a saucepan with the milk, butter, sugar, lemon-peel, and salt, and stir all together on the fire till it boils; next add the beaten eggs and the currants; pour the pudding into a proper sized greased baking-dish, and bake it for an hour and a-quarter.
No. 43. A BATTER AND FRUIT PUDDING.
Ingredients, two quarts of milk, one pound of flour, four eggs, eight ounces of sugar, one quart of fruit (either plums, gooseberries, currants, &c.), one ounce of butter, a good pinch of salt. First, mix the flour, eggs, sugar, salt, and a pint of the milk, by working all together in a basin or pan, with a spoon, and when quite smooth, add the remainder of the milk; work the batter thoroughly, and pour it into a large pie-dish, greased with the butter; add the fruit, and bake the pudding for an hour and a-quarter.
No. 44. A TREACLE PUDDING.
Ingredients, two pounds of flour, twelve ounces of treacle, six ounces of suet or dripping fat, a quarter of an ounce of baking-powder, a pinch of allspice, a little salt, one pint of milk, or water. Mix the whole of the above-named ingredients in a pan, into a firm compact paste; tie it up in a well-greased and floured pudding-cloth; boil the pudding for at least two hours and a-half, and when done, cut it in slices, and pour a little sweetened melted butter over it.
No. 45. APPLE PUDDING.
Ingredients, one pound and a-half of flour, six ounces of suet chopped fine, two pounds of peeled apples, four ounces of sugar, a little salt, and three gills of water. Mix the flour, suet, and salt with three quarters of a pint of water into a firm paste; roll this out with flour shaken over the table, using a rolling-pin to roll it out; and line a greased cloth, which you have spread in a hollow form within a large basin, with the rolled-out paste; fill up the hollow part of the paste with the peeled apples, gather up the sides of the paste in a purse-like form, and twist them firmly together; tie up the pudding in the cloth, boil it in plenty of boiling water for two hours, and when it is turned out of the cloth on to its dish, cut out a round piece from the top, and stir in the sugar.
No. 46. RICE AND APPLES.
Ingredients, one pound of rice, twelve apples, two ounces of sugar. Tie up the rice very loose in a pudding-cloth, so as to admit that while boiling it may have sufficient room to swell out to five times its original quantity. While the rice is boiling, which will take about one hour, peel the apples, and put them in a saucepan with nearly half-a-pint of water, a bit of butter, lemon-peel, and the sugar, and stew them on the fire till dissolved, stirring them while boiling for a few minutes. When your rice pudding is done and turned out on its dish, pour the apple-sauce over it. This cheap kind of rice pudding may also be eaten with all kinds of fruits, prepared in the same manner as herein directed for apples.
No. 47. BROWN AND POLSON PUDDING.
Ingredients, six ounces of Brown and Polson's prepared Indian corn, two quarts of milk, two ounces of sugar, a bit of cinnamon or lemon-peel, a pinch of salt, three eggs. Mix all the above ingredients (except the eggs) in a saucepan, and stir them on the fire till they come to a boil; then add the eggs beat up; mix thoroughly, pour the batter into a pie-dish greased with butter, and bake the pudding for one hour. Brown and Polson's prepared Indian corn is a most excellent and economical article of food, equal to arrow-root, and will prove, on trial, to be both substantial and nutritive, and also easy of digestion to the most delicate stomachs.
No. 48. BROWN AND POLSON FRUIT PUDDING.
Prepare the pudding batter as indicated in the foregoing Number, and when you have poured one-half of it into the greased pie-dish, strew about two pounds of any kind of fruit upon this, such as gooseberries, currants, plums, cherries, etc., and then pour the remainder of the batter all over the fruit. Bake the pudding an hour and a quarter. Peeled apples or pears may be used for the same purpose.
No. 49. BROWN AND POLSON THICK MILK.
Ingredients, three ounces of Brown and Polson's prepared Indian corn, one quart of milk, one ounce of sugar, a bit of cinnamon, a pinch of salt. Mix all the above-named ingredients together in a saucepan, and stir them constantly while boiling on the fire for ten minutes. This thick milk is most excellent for children's breakfast or supper, and would be found both cheaper and better for their health than a sloppy mess of tea.
No. 50. POTATO PUDDING.
Ingredients, three pounds of potatoes, two quarts of milk, two ounces of butter, two ounces of sugar, a bit of lemon-peel, a good pinch of salt, and three eggs. First, bake the potatoes, if you have means to do so, or let them be either steamed or boiled; when done, scoop out all their floury pulp without waste into a large saucepan, and immediately beat it up vigorously with a large fork or a spoon; then add all the remainder of the above-named ingredients (excepting the eggs), stir the potato batter carefully on the fire till it comes to a boil, then add the beaten eggs; pour the batter into a greased pie-dish, and bake the pudding for an hour in your oven, if you have one; if not, send it to the baker's.
No. 51. YEAST DUMPLINGS.
Ingredients, two pounds of flour, a halfpenny worth of yeast, a pinch of salt, one pint of milk or water. Put the flour into a pan, with your fist hollow out a hole in the centre of the flour, place the yeast and salt at the bottom, then add the milk (which should be lukewarm), and with your clean hand gradually mix the whole well together, and work the dough perfectly smooth and elastic. The pan containing the dough must then be covered over with a cloth, and in the winter must be placed on a stool in a corner near the fire, that it may rise, or increase in size to nearly double its original quantity. When the dough has risen in a satisfactory manner, which will take about an hour, dip your hand in some flour and work it, or rather knead it together, without allowing it to stick to your hands; divide it into about twelve equal parts; roll these with flour into balls, and as you turn them out of hand, drop them gently into a pot on the fire, half full of boiling water; allow the water to boil up once as you drop each dumpling in separately, before you attempt to put in another, in order to prevent the dumplings from sticking together, as this accident would produce a very unsatisfactory result, and spoil your dinner. Yeast dumplings must not boil too fast, as then they might boil out of the pot. They will require about half-an-hour's boiling to cook them; they must be eaten immediately, with a little butter or dripping, and salt or sugar.
No. 52. NORFOLK DUMPLINGS.
Ingredients, two pounds of flour, a pint of milk, a good pinch of salt. Let all these ingredients be well mixed in a pan, and after dividing the paste into twelve equal parts, roll these into balls, drop each of them into a pot half full of boiling water on the fire, and allow the dumplings to continue boiling rather fast for half-an-hour, at the end of which time they will be done. They should then be eaten while hot, with a little butter or dripping, and either sugar, treacle, or salt. Norfolk dumplings are most excellent things to eke out an insufficient supply of baked meat for the dinner of a large family of children.
No. 53. STEWED EELS.
First skin, gut, and trim away the fins from the eels, and then cut them into pieces three inches long; put these into a saucepan, add a bit of butter, a spoonful of flour, some chopped parsley, pepper and salt, a little mushroom ketchup, and enough water to cover the pieces of eel; put them on the fire to boil gently for about ten minutes, shaking them round in the saucepan occasionally until they are done.
No. 54. STEWED OYSTERS.
Put the oysters, with their liquor and a little water or milk, into a saucepan; add a bit of butter kneaded, that is, well mixed with a table-spoonful of flour; pepper, and a little salt; stir the oysters over the fire until they have gently boiled for about five minutes, and then pour them into a dish containing some slices of toasted bread.
No. 55. STEWED MUSCLES, OR MUSSELS.
Thoroughly wash the muscles, and pull off any weeds there may be hanging to them; next put them in a clean saucepan with a little water, and salt enough to season, and set them on the fire to boil, tossing them occasionally, until you find that their shells begin to open; they must then be taken off the fire, and their liquor poured off into a basin. Next, after removing one of the shells from each muscle, put them back into the saucepan; add the liquor, a bit of butter, a spoonful of flour, some pepper, chopped parsley, and a little drop of vinegar, toss the whole over the fire until the muscles have boiled five minutes, and then you will enjoy a treat for supper. Cockles and whelks are cooked in the same way.
No. 56. BAKED BEEF AND POTATOES.
The cheapest pieces of beef, suitable for baking or roasting, consist of the thick part of the ribs, cut from towards the shoulder, the mouse buttock and gravy pieces, and also what is commonly called the chuck of beef, which consists of the throat boned and tied up with string in the form of a small round. Whichever piece of beef you may happen to buy, it should be well sprinkled over with pepper, salt, and flour, and placed upon a small iron trivet in a baking dish containing peeled potatoes and about half-a-pint of water, and either baked in your own oven or else sent to the baker's. If you bake your meat in your own oven, remember that it must be turned over on the trivet every twenty minutes, and that you must be careful to baste it all over now and then with the fat which runs from it into the dish, using a spoon for that purpose. It would be very economical if, when you have baked meat for dinner, you were always to make a Yorkshire pudding to be baked under it. There are baking dishes made with a parting down the middle which just suit this purpose. In this case the potatoes are put in one part and the pudding in the other part.
No. 57. YORKSHIRE PUDDING.
To one pound of flour add three pints of skim milk, two eggs, nutmeg and salt; mix smoothly, and pour the pudding into the greased dish, and bake it under the meat, as recommended above.
No. 58. BAKED SUET PUDDING.
To one pound of flour add six ounces of chopped suet, three pints of skim milk, nutmeg and salt; mix thoroughly and smoothly, and bake the pudding in the dish under the meat.
No. 59. TOAD IN THE HOLE.
To make this a cheap dinner, you should buy 6d. or 1s. worth of bits or pieces of any kind of meat, which are to be had cheapest at night when the day's sale is over. The pieces of meat should be first carefully overlooked, to ascertain if there be any necessity to pare away some tainted part, or perhaps a fly-blow, as this, if left on any one piece of meat, would tend to impart a bad taste to the whole, and spoil the dish. You then rub a little flour, pepper, and salt all over the meat, and fry it brown with a little butter or fat in the frying-pan; when done, put it with the fat in which it has been fried into a baking-dish containing some Yorkshire or suet pudding batter, made as directed at Nos. 57 and 58, and bake the toad-in-the-hole for about an hour and a half, or else send it to the baker's.
No. 60. BOILED SHOULDER OF MUTTON WITH ONIONS.
Put the shoulder of mutton to boil in your two-gallon pot, with a handful of salt and plenty of water, allow it to boil gently for about two hours, and when done, and placed on its dish, smother it over with the following sauce:—Chop six or eight large onions, and boil them with a pint of water for twenty minutes, by which time the water must be reduced to half a pint; then add two ounces of butter, a pint of milk, four ounces of flour, pepper, and salt, and stir the sauce whilst boiling for ten minutes. A shoulder of mutton for boiling is all the better for its being salted for two or three days previous to its being cooked.
No. 61. MEAT PIE.
Of whatever kind, let the pieces of meat be first fried brown over a quick fire, in a little fat or butter, and seasoned with pepper and salt; put these into a pie-dish with chopped onions, a few slices of half-cooked potatoes, and enough water just to cover the meat. Cover the dish with a crust, made with two pounds of flour and six ounces of butter, or lard, or fat dripping, and just enough water to knead it into a stiff kind of dough or paste, and then bake it for about an hour and a-half.
No. 62. GIBLET PIE.
Giblets of fowls are always to be bought at a low price at most poulterers'; when you have a mind to lay out 6d. or 1s. in this way, first scald the necks and feet, to remove the feathers from the head and the rough skin from the feet; split the gizzard and scrape out the stones, etc., and the yellow skin therefrom, and when the giblets are thoroughly cleaned, put them into a saucepan with some thyme, winter savory, chopped onions, pepper and salt, and about a quart of water, and set them on the fire to stew very gently for an hour, by which time the liquor should be boiled down to half that quantity; then add two ounces of flour and a little mushroom ketchup; stir all together, and put the giblets into a pie-dish; cover this over with a dripping crust, and bake it for about an hour and a quarter.
No. 63. A FISH PIE.
Cut up any kind of fish into pieces the size of an egg; season these with chopped parsley, thyme, a little onion, pepper and salt, and put them into a pie-dish, with a pint of water, well mixed with three ounces of flour and a little mushroom ketchup; cover the pie with a flour crust, or else with stiff mashed potatoes, and bake it for an hour and a quarter.
No. 64. POTATO PIE.
Slice up four onions and boil them in a saucepan with two ounces of butter, a quart of water, and pepper and salt, for five minutes; then add four pounds of potatoes, peeled and cut in slices; stew the whole until the potatoes are done, and pour them into a pie-dish; cover this with stiff mashed potatoes, and bake the pie of a light brown colour.
No. 65. BACON ROLL-PUDDING.
Boil a pound of fat bacon for half an hour, and then cut it up into thin slices. Peel six apples and one onion, and cut them in slices. Make two pounds of flour into a stiff dough, roll it out thin; first lay the slices of bacon out all over this, and then upon the slices of bacon spread out the slices of apples and the slices of onion; roll up the paste so as to secure the bacon, etc., in it; place the bolster pudding in a cloth, tied at each end, and let it boil for two hours in a two-gallon pot, with plenty of water.
No. 66. RABBIT PUDDING.
Skin and wash the rabbit, and cut it up in pieces; fry these brown with a bit of butter, season with chopped onions, parsley, and winter savory, pepper and salt, shake in a good spoonful of flour, moisten with a little ketchup and a gill of water; toss the saucepan about on the fire while the pieces of rabbit boil for about ten minutes, and then pour the whole into a proper sized basin lined with a suet or dripping crust; let the pudding be covered in with some of the paste, put into a baking-dish half full of hot water, and placed in the oven, to bake for an hour and a-half.
No. 67. STEWED OX KIDNEY.
Cut up the kidney in thin slices, fry them brown with a bit of butter or fat in a frying-pan, over a brisk fire, season with chopped parsley, shalot, pepper and salt, shake in a good table-spoonful of flour, add a few drops of vinegar, and nearly half a pint of water; stir the whole on the fire, while it boils, very gently, for a quarter of an hour; this, with a dish of well-boiled or baked potatoes, will produce a cheap and excellent dinner sufficient for six persons.
No. 68. BAKED BULLOCK'S HEART.
Wash and wipe the heart, cut it into four pieces, season these with pepper and salt, chopped thyme, and bay-leaves, add about two ounces of dripping, eight onions cut in slices, and four parsnips cut also in slices; let all this be placed in an earthen pot, with a pint of water, and the lid being put on, set the stew in the oven to bake for two hours.
No. 69. BULLOCK'S HEART STUFFED.
Chop fine four onions and twelve sage-leaves; put these into a saucepan with a bit of fat or butter, and fry them for a few minutes on the fire; then add eight ounces of crumb of bread, soaked in milk or water, pepper and salt; stir this stuffing on the fire for a few minutes, add one egg, put the stuffing inside the bullock's heart, place a round of greased paper on the stuffing, and fasten it on with four wooden twigs. Next, put the stuffed heart upon an iron trivet in a baking dish, containing peeled potatoes, two ounces of dripping or butter, and half a pint of water; season well with pepper and salt, and while baking let the heart be frequently basted with the fat from the dish. In case you have no oven, send it to the baker's.
No. 70. STEWED SHEEP'S TROTTERS.
Sheep's trotters are sold ready cleaned and very cheap at all tripe shops. When about to cook them, by way of a treat, for supper, or otherwise, let them be put on in two quarts of water and milk, seasoned with peppercorns, salt, a good sprig of thyme, and a wine-glassful of vinegar, and set them to boil very gently on the fire for three hours, at least. When the trotters are done quite tender, skim off all the grease, and boil down the liquor to a pint; then add two ounces of flour, mixed with a gill of milk, some chopped parsley, and one ounce of butter; stir all together while boiling on the fire for ten minutes, and pour out into the dish.
No. 71. BAKED SHEEP'S HEADS.
Buy a couple of sheep's heads, get the butcher to split them for you, place them in an earthen baking-dish, with two ounces of dripping, some chopped shalots, thyme, bay-leaf, winter savory, pepper and salt, and a good pinch of allspice; moisten with a quart of cider, or water, strew a coating of bread-raspings all over the surface of the heads, and bake them for two hours.
No. 72. SHEEP'S PLUCK.
A sheep's pluck, properly cooked, will furnish a meat dinner enough for twelve persons, at a very moderate cost. Cut the whole of the pluck, consisting of the heart, liver, lights, etc., into rather thick slices, and season them well with pepper, salt, allspice, thyme, and winter savory; grease the bottom of a baking-dish with two ounces of dripping, lay a bed of slices of onions upon this, and then place the slices of pluck, already seasoned, upon the onions; moisten with water enough to reach half-way up the meat, strew a thick coating of bread-raspings all over the top, and bake the savoury mess for an hour and a-half.
No. 73. BELGIAN FAGGOTS.
These may be prepared with sheep's pluck, or even with bullock's liver, and other similar parts of meat; but a pig's pluck is preferable for the purpose. Chop up the heart, liver, lights, and the fat crow; season well with pepper, salt, allspice, thyme, sage, and shalots, and divide this sausage-meat into balls the size of an apple, which must be each secured in shape with a piece of pig's caul fastened with a wooden twig, or skewer, and placed in rows in a tin baking-dish, to be baked for about half an hour in a brisk oven. When the faggots are done, place them on some well-boiled cabbages, chopped up, in an earthen dish, and having poured the grease from the faggots over all, set them in the oven to stew gently for half an hour.
No. 74. FRIED STEAKS AND ONIONS.
Season the steaks with pepper and salt, and when done brown on both sides, without being overdone, place them in a dish before the fire while you fry some sliced onions in the fat which remains in the pan; as soon as the onions are done, and laid upon the steaks, shake a spoonful of flour in the pan, add a gill of water and a few drops of vinegar; give this gravy a boil up on the fire, and pour it over the steaks, etc.
No. 75. STEWED STEAKS.
Fry the steaks brown over a very brisk fire, without allowing them to be hardly half done, and place them in a saucepan with onions, carrots, turnips, and celery, all cut in pieces about the size of a pigeon's egg; season with thyme, pepper, and salt, and two ounces of flour; moisten with a quart of water, and stir the stew on the fire till it boils, and then set it by the side of the fire on the hob, to simmer very gently for an hour and a-half. It will then be ready for dinner.
No. 76. STEWED SAUSAGES.
First, prick your sausages well all over with a fork, and soak them in very hot water, for two or three minutes, to swell them out; next, roll them in flour, and fry them brown without overdoing them, as that renders them dry, and spoils them. When the sausages are done and put on a plate, fry some slices of bread, and put these on a dish; then put the sausages on the fried bread, and shake a spoonful of flour in the pan; add a pennyworth of chopped mixed pickles, a gill of water, and a little pepper and salt; give this gravy a boil up, and pour it over the sausages.
No. 77. PIG'S FRY.
A pig's fry consists of the heart, liver, lights, and some of the chitterlings; these are to be first cut up in slices, then seasoned with pepper and salt, rolled in a little flour, and fried with some kind of grease in the frying-pan. As the pieces are fried, place them on their dish to keep hot before the fire, and when all is done, throw some chopped onions and sage leaves into the pan, to be fried of a light colour; add a very little flour, pepper, and salt, a gill of water, and a few drops of vinegar; boil up this gravy, and pour it over the pig's fry.
No. 78. BEEFSTEAKS, PLAIN.
When you happen to have a clear fire, the steaks may be cooked on a gridiron over the fire; the steaks must be turned on the gridiron every two or three minutes. This precaution assists very much in rendering the meat more palatable and tender, as it is by this frequent turning over of the meat while broiling, that the juices are not allowed to run off in waste, but are re-absorbed by the meat. When the steaks are cooked, rub them over with a small bit of butter, season with pepper and salt. A little chopped shalot sprinkled over steaks, imparts an extra relish.
No. 79. MUTTON CHOPS, OR STEAKS.
Mutton chops, properly speaking, are an expensive affair; but what I recommend you to buy is, the chump end of the loin of mutton, which is always to be had much cheaper. This weighs about one pound, at 6d., and would cut into about three, or perhaps four steaks or chops; let these be broiled in the same manner as recommended for beefsteaks.
No. 80. KIDNEY PUDDING.
Prepare an ox kidney as shown in No. 67, and use this to fill a good sized pudding basin, which you shall have previously lined with a dripping or suet crust; cover the meat in by placing a rolled-out piece of the paste on the top, fasten it by pressing the two edges of the paste together, tie the pudding up in a cloth, and take care to place the bottom of the pudding-basin downward in the pot in which it is to be boiled. It will take about two hours to boil a good sized pudding of this kind; when you take it out of the pot, be very careful not to run the fork through the crust, and pay great attention how you handle the pudding while removing the cloth, so as not to spill or waste the gravy it contains, as that would go very far towards spoiling the pudding you have had all the trouble to prepare.
No. 81. HASHED MEATS.
I strongly recommend that you never allow yourselves to be persuaded, that cold meat dinners are cheap dinners; just the reverse of this assumption is the fact. And, let me tell you, that those who make the former assertion, do so only because they know no better, and as an excuse for their idleness. I am well aware that in your homes it is not a common every-day occurrence for you to dress a large joint of meat, from which enough would be left for one or more days' dinner; but still it may, and does sometimes occur, that you have cold meat at your disposal, upon which you may exercise your knowledge in domestic economy. Besides, some of you who are living close to noblemen and gentlemen's mansions in the country, or otherwise, may perhaps stand a chance of now and then receiving a donation of this kind. And whenever you have any cold meat, I advise you to cook it up into stews of the various kinds described in this work, or else make it into a hash as follows: First, chop two onions fine, and put them to boil with pepper and salt and a pint of water, in a saucepan for ten minutes, then throw in the meat cut in thin slices, mixed with a little flour; boil all together gently for ten minutes longer, and pour the hash into a dish containing either some ready boiled potatoes, or else some slices of toasted bread.
No. 82. BOILED TRIPE.
Tripe is not exactly a cheap commodity for food; yet, as you may feel occasionally inclined to indulge in a treat of this kind, I will give you instructions to cook it in the most economical manner. When you have procured any given quantity of tripe, cut it up in pieces the size of two inches square, put these into a saucepan containing skim milk, or milk and water, enough to swim the tripe; add some peeled onions, pepper, and salt, and a sprig of thyme, and boil gently for at least an hour; and when the tripe is done, eat it with mustard and some well boiled potatoes.
No. 83. BAKED TRIPE.
Cut the tripe up in pieces, and put it into an earthen pot, with some ale, cider, or water, enough to cover it in; add sliced onions, pepper, and salt, and a good pinch of allspice; put the lid on the pot, and set the tripe in the oven to bake for two hours.
No. 84. SAUSAGE DUMPLINGS.
Make one pound of flour and two ounces of dripping, or chopped suet, into a firm paste, by adding just enough water to enable you to knead the whole together. Divide this paste into twelve equal parts, roll each of these out sufficiently large to be able to fold up one of the beef sausages in it, wet the edge of the paste to fasten the sausage securely in it, and, as you finish off each sausage dumpling, drop it gently into a large enough saucepan, containing plenty of boiling water, and when the whole are finished, allow them to boil gently by the side of the fire for one hour, and then take up the dumplings with a spoon free from water, on to a dish, and eat them while they are hot.
No. 85. SAUSAGE ROLLS.
Procure a quartern of dough from the baker's, knead this with four ounces of butter, dripping, or chopped suet; divide it into twelve equal parts, and use each piece of paste to enfold a beef sausage in it; place these rolls on a baking-tin, and bake them in the oven for about twenty minutes or half an hour.
No. 86. ROAST PORK.
Let us suppose, or rather hope, that you may sometimes have a leg of pork to cook for your dinner; it will eat all the better if it is scored all over by cutting the rind, or rather slitting it crosswise, at short distances, with the point of a sharp knife; it is to be well sprinkled all over with salt, and allowed to absorb the seasoning during some hours previously to its being cooked. Prepare some stuffing as follows:—Chop six onions and twelve sage leaves fine, fry these with a bit of butter, pepper, and salt, for five minutes; then add six ounces of bread soaked in water; stir all together on the fire for five minutes, and use this stuffing to fill up a hole or pocket, which you will make by running the point of a knife down between the rind and the flesh of the joint of pork; secure this by sewing it up, or else fasten it securely in with a small wooden skewer or twig. The joint of pork, so far prepared, must then be placed upon a trivet in a baking-dish containing plenty of peeled potatoes, and, if possible, a few apples for the children; add half a pint of water, pepper and salt, and if the joint happens to be a leg, it will require about two hours to bake it.
No. 87. BUBBLE AND SQUEAK.
When you happen to have some cold boiled salt beef, cut this up in slices; fry it on both sides, and dish it up round some cabbages or any dressed vegetables ready to hand, which must be chopped up, seasoned with pepper and salt, and fried.
No. 88. JUGGED HARE.
It does sometimes happen that when you are living in the country, in the neighbourhood of considerate gentlefolks who possess game preserves, that they now and then make presents of a hare and a few rabbits to the poor cottagers in their vicinity. And when you are so fortunate as to have a hare given to you, this is the way to cook it:—First, cut the hare up into pieces of equal size, then cut up a pound of bacon into small squares, and fry these in a saucepan for five minutes; next, add the pieces of hare, and, stirring them round in the pot with a spoon, fry them brown; add a good handful of flour, some pepper and allspice, carrots and onions, and a sprig of winter savory; moisten the stew with nearly three pints of water, and stir it all together on the fire till it boils, and then set it on the hob to continue gently simmering for about an hour and a-half or two hours; the jugged hare will then be ready for dinner.
No. 89. BOILED BACON AND CABBAGES.
Put a piece of bacon in a pot capable of containing two gallons; let it boil up, and skim it well; then put in some well-washed split cabbages, a few carrots and parsnips also split, and a few peppercorns; when the whole has boiled gently for about an hour and a-half, throw in a dozen peeled potatoes, and by the time that these are done, the dinner will be ready. And this is the way in which to make the most of this excellent and economical dinner. First, take up the bacon, and having placed it on its dish, garnish it round with the cabbages, carrots, parsnips, and potatoes, and then add some pieces of crust, or thin slices of bread, to the liquor in which the bacon-dinner has been cooked, and this will furnish you with a good wholesome soup with which to satisfy the first peremptory call of your healthy appetites.
No. 90. ECONOMICAL VEGETABLE POTTAGE.
In France, and also in many parts of Europe, the poorer classes but very seldom taste meat in any form; the chief part of their scanty food consists of bread, vegetables, and more especially of their soup, which is mostly, if not entirely, made of vegetables, or, as is customary on the southern coasts of France, Italy, and Spain, more generally of fish, for making which kinds of soup see Nos. 4, 6, 118, etc.
The most common as well as the easiest method for making a good mess of cheap and nutritious soup is the following:—If you are five or six in family, put a three-gallon pot on the fire rather more than half full of water, add four ounces of butter, pepper and salt, and small sprigs of winter savory, thyme, and parsley; and when this has boiled, throw in any portion or quantity, as may best suit your convenience, of such of the following vegetables as your garden can afford:—Any kind of cabbages cleaned and split, carrots, turnips, parsnips, broad beans, French beans, peas, broccoli, red cabbages, vegetable marrow, young potatoes, a few lettuce, some chervil, and a few sprigs of mint. Allow all this to simmer by the side of the hob for about two hours, and then, after taking up the more considerable portion of the whole vegetables on to a dish, eat one half, or as much as you may require, of the soup with bread in it, and make up your dinner with the whole vegetables and more bread. The remainder will serve for the next day. Let me persuade you, my friends, to try and persevere in adopting this very desirable kind of food, when in your power, for your ordinary fare. I, of course, intend this remark more particularly for the consideration of such of my readers as are or may be located in the country, and who may have a little garden of their own.
No. 91. HOW TO MAKE A FISH CURRY.
Slice up six onions fine, and fry them with a little butter or grease over a slow fire until they become very lightly coloured; then add three or four green apples in slices, and when these are dissolved, place your pieces of any kind of fish, which you have previously fried in a frying-pan, on the top of the onions, etc., sprinkle a spoonful of curry powder all over the fish, put the lid on the saucepan, and set the whole on the hob of a moderate fire, or in the oven, if you have one, to remain simmering for about half an hour; the curry will then be ready to be eaten with well-boiled rice.
No. 92. THIS IS THE WAY TO BOIL RICE.
I recommend you to buy Patna rice, as it is the cheapest; it is best to soak it in water over-night, as it then requires less time to boil it, and moreover, when soaked, the rice becomes lighter, from the fact that the grains separate more readily while boiling. Put the rice on to boil in plenty of cold water, stirring it from the bottom of the saucepan occasionally while it is boiling fast; when the grains separate at the ends, and thus appear to form the letter X, the rice will be done; it requires about half an hour's gentle boiling. When the rice is done, drain it in a colander, and place it before the fire, stirring it now and then with a fork.
No. 93. RICE DUMPLINGS.
Boil one pound of rice as directed in the foregoing Number, and when thoroughly drained free from excess of moisture, knead the rice with a spoon in a basin into a smooth, compact kind of paste, and use this to cover some peeled apples with in the same way as you would make an ordinary apple dumpling. In order the better to enable you to handle the rice-paste with ease, I recommend that each time previously to shaping one of the dumplings, you should first dip your clean hands in cold water. Let the dumplings, when finished, be tied up in small cloths, and boiled in plenty of hot water for about three-quarters of an hour. The cloths used for these dumplings must be greased.
No. 94. PLUM OR CURRANT DOUGH PUDDING.
Ingredients, two pounds of dough from the baker's, four ounces of plums or currants, a pinch of allspice, ditto of salt, a gill of milk. Mix all the above ingredients together in a pan; tie up the pudding in a well-greased pudding-cloth, and place it in a pot containing boiling water, and allow it to continue boiling for two hours; at the end of this time the pudding will be done, and may be turned out on its dish.
No. 95. CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING.
Ingredients, two pounds of flour, twelve ounces of raisins, twelve ounces of currants, twelve ounces of peeled and chopped apples, one pound of chopped suet, twelve ounces of sugar, four eggs, one pint and a-half of milk or beer, one ounce of salt, half an ounce of ground allspice. Boil the pudding four hours. First, put the flour, suet, and all the fruit in a large pan; mix these well together, and having made a deep hole in the middle thereof with your fist, add the salt, sugar, and allspice, and half a pint of the milk, or beer, to dissolve them; next, add the four eggs, and the remaining pint of milk, or beer; mix all vigorously together with the hand, tie up the pudding in a well-greased and floured cloth, boil it for at least four hours, taking care that the water boils before the pudding is put into the pot to boil. When done, turn the pudding out on its dish, and, if you can afford it, pour over it the following sauce:—
No. 96. SWEET PUDDING SAUCE.
Ingredients, two ounces of common flour, ditto of butter, ditto of sugar, chopped lemon-peel, half a gill of any kind of spirits, and half a pint of water. First mix the flour, butter, and sugar in a small saucepan by kneading the ingredients well together with a wooden spoon, then add the water, spirits, and lemon-peel; stir the sauce on the fire till it comes to a boil, and then pour it all over the pudding.
No. 97. JAM PUDDING.
Ingredients, one pound of flour, six ounces of suet, half a pint of water, a pinch of salt, one pound of any kind of common jam, at 7d. Mix the flour, suet, water, and salt into a firm, compact kind of paste; roll this out with a rolling-pin, sprinkling some flour on the table to prevent the paste from sticking to either; fold up the paste, and roll it out again; repeat the rolling-out and folding three times; this operation will make the paste lighter. Next, roll out the paste one foot long by eighteen inches wide, spread the jam all over this, roll up the pudding in the form of a bolster, roll it up in a well-greased and floured cloth, tie it up tightly at both ends; put the pudding into a pot of boiling water, and boil it for nearly two hours; when done, turn out carefully on to its dish, without breaking the crust.
No. 98. RHUBARB PIE.
A bundle of rhubarb, one pound of flour, six ounces of butter, or lard, or dripping, half a pint of water, a pinch of salt, ditto of baking-powder, eight ounces of moist sugar. First, cut up the rhubarb in pieces about an inch long, wash them in plenty of water, and drain them in a colander, or sieve. Next, place the flour in a pan, or on the table, make a hollow in the middle with your fist, place the salt and the baking-powder in it, pour in the water to dissolve them, then add the butter; mix all together by working the ingredients with the fingers of both hands, until the whole has become a firm, smooth, compact kind of paste. You now put the cleaned rhubarb into a pie-dish, with the sugar and a gill of water, roll out the paste to the exact size of the dish, and after wetting the edges of the dish all round, place the rolled-out paste upon it, and by pressing the thumb of the right hand all round the upper part of the edge, the paste will be effectually fastened on, so as to prevent the juice from running out at the sides; a small hole the size of a sixpence must be made at the top of the pie, for ventilation, or otherwise the pie would burst. Bake the pie for an hour and a quarter.
No. 99. FRUIT PIES IN GENERAL.
All kinds of fruit pies are made as shown in the foregoing Number.
No. 100. A CHEAP KIND OF MINCE-MEAT.
Ingredients, eight ounces of stoned raisins, eight ounces of washed and dried currants, one pound of tripe, one pound of apples, one pound of chopped suet, four ounces of shred candied peel, one pound of moist sugar, one ounce of allspice, the juice and the chopped rind of three lemons, half a gill of rum. First chop the raisins, currants, apples, and the tripe all together, or separately, until well mixed; then place these in a pan, add the remainder of the ingredients, mix them thoroughly until well incorporated with each other; put the mince-meat into a clean dry stone jar, tie some thick paper, or a piece of bladder over the top, and keep it in a cool place till wanted for use.
No. 101. MINCE-PIE PASTE.
Ingredients, one pound of flour, eight ounces of butter or lard, three gills of water, half an ounce of salt, a tea-spoonful of baking-powder. Place the flour on the table, hollow out a hole or well in the centre with your fist, place the salt and baking-powder in this, add the water and the butter, work all together lightly with the fingers, without positively absorbing or entirely uniting the butter with the flour, but, on the contrary, keeping the butter in distinct pieces here and there; then roll up the paste in the form of a ball of dough, spread it out on the floured table, and, with a rolling-pin, roll it out to the extent of eighteen inches in length, by eight inches wide; then fold the paste in three equal folds, roll it out the reverse way, fold it up again as before, and after repeating the rolling out and folding up a third time, the paste will be ready for use.
No. 102. TO MAKE A MINCE-PIE.
Having prepared the paste according to the directions given in the foregoing Number, divide it in two equal parts, roll these out either round or square, place one of the flats on a tin baking-dish, wet all round the edge of the paste, spread some of the mince-meat about half an inch thick all over the paste to within an inch of its edge, then cover all in by laying the other flat of paste evenly upon the whole, press all round the edge of the pie with your thumb to secure the mince-meat from running out at the sides, score the pie neatly over the surface, in the form of reversed strokes, and bake it for an hour.
No. 103. JAM TART.
Prepare some paste, as in No. 101, and use this to make a jam tart, as directed for making a mince-pie, using any kind of common jam, instead of mince-meat, for the purpose.
No. 104. BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS.
Ingredients, one pound of flour, four ounces of chopped suet, half a pint of water, a pinch of salt, eight or ten large apples peeled. With the above ingredients prepare some suet paste, as directed in No. 97; divide the paste into about eight equal parts, first make these into balls with the hand, and then roll them out with a rolling-pin to the size of a large saucer, envelop an apple in each flat of paste, and, wetting the edges with water, gather them round in a purse-like form, and twist the ends tightly together to fasten them securely. The dumplings, thus formed, must be placed on the twisted end, at equal distances of three inches apart from each other, upon a tin baking-dish, and baked in the oven for about three-quarters of an hour.
No. 105. PANCAKES FOR SHROVE TUESDAY.
Ingredients, twelve ounces of flour, three eggs, one pint of milk, a tea-spoonful of salt, a little grated nutmeg, and chopped lemon-peel. First, put the flour into a basin, hollow out the centre, add the salt, nutmeg, lemon-peel, and a drop of milk, to dissolve them; then break in the eggs, work all together, with a spoon, into a smooth soft paste, add the remainder of the milk, and work the whole vigorously until it forms a smooth liquid batter. Next, set a frying-pan on the fire, and, as soon as it gets hot, wipe it out clean with a cloth, then run about a tea-spoonful of lard all over the bottom of the hot frying-pan, pour in half a small tea-cupful of the batter, place the pan over the fire, and, in about a minute or so, the pancake will have become set sufficiently firm to enable you to turn it over in the frying-pan, in order that it may be baked on the other side also; the pancake done on both sides, turn it out on its dish, and sprinkle a little sugar over it: proceed to use up the remaining batter in the same manner.
No. 106. RAISINET—A PRESERVE FOR WINTER.
Ingredients, twelve pounds of fruit, consisting of peeled apples, pears, plums, and blackberries, in equal proportion; six pounds of raw sugar, at 4-1/2d. per pound; one quart of water. Bake three hours in a slack or slow oven. First, prepare the fruit, and put it in mixed layers of plums, pears, berries, apples, alternating each other, in stone jars. Next, put the six pounds of sugar in a clean saucepan, with the quart of water, and stir it with a spoon on the fire till it comes to a gentle boil; remove the dirty scum from the surface of the sugar; and, after allowing it to boil for ten minutes, pour it in equal proportions into the jar or jars containing the fruits, and place them in a moderate heat to bake slowly for three hours at least. When boiling the sugar for this purpose, remember that it is most prudent to use a saucepan capable of containing double the quantity, as sugar is very liable to boil over and waste. When the fruit is nearly dissolved, the raisinet will be done; it must then be removed to a cool place until it has become thoroughly cold and partially set firm; the jars should then be tied down with thick paper, or bladder, and kept in the cellar for winter use, either for making puddings or tarts, or for spreading on bread for the children.
No. 107. CURRANT JAM.
Ingredients, twelve pounds of picked currants, either red, black, or white, or, if agreeable, mixed; eight pounds of raw sugar, three pints of water. If you could borrow what is called a preserving-pan from a neighbour, it would suit the purpose better than a pot; but, failing the preserving-pan, put the eight pounds of sugar in a four-gallon iron pot, with the three pints of water; stir these on the fire till the sugar boils; remove the scum from the surface, and, when it has boiled for about ten minutes, add the currants, and keep stirring the jam, while it boils for half an hour; and then, if it presents the appearance of being rather thick, and the currants partly dissolved, it will be ready to pour into stone jars, which, after being allowed to cool all night, are to be tied down with paper, and kept in a cold place for winter's use. All kinds of seed fruit can be prepared in the same manner, as well as all kinds of plums.
No. 108. HOW TO PRESERVE RHUBARB.
Free the rhubarb from leaves, cut it up in inch lengths, wash and drain it in a sieve or colander. Next, put the rhubarb into a sufficiently large pot, or preserving-pan, with a little water—say a pint of water to ten pounds of rhubarb, and put this on the fire, with the lid on, to boil until dissolved to a pulp, stirring it occasionally; as soon as all the rhubarb is dissolved, add six pounds of moist sugar, and stir the whole continuously on the fire while boiling fast, until reduced to a rather stiff paste or marmalade—this will require about half an hour's boiling; the preserve or jam must then be immediately put into jars, or gallipots, and, when cold, is to be covered with stiff paper, and tied round with string. Keep the jam in a cold place, for use.
No. 109. HOW TO MAKE GOOSEBERRY JAM.
Pick ten pounds of ripe gooseberries, put them in a covered pot, with a pint of water, and set them on the fire to boil to a pulp, stirring them frequently, and, when they are thoroughly dissolved, add six pounds of sugar, and stir the whole continuously while boiling on the fire, until the jam is reduced to a rather stiff paste; it must then be poured into gallipots, and, when cold, is to be covered with paper, and tied round with string.
No. 110. BAKED PEARS.
Put the pears, standing up side by side in rows, with their stalks uppermost, in an earthenware baking dish; add a sprinkle of moist sugar, a few cloves, and a pint of cider or water, and bake them until they are done. The time for cooking them depends upon their size and kind.
No. 111. BAKED APPLES.
Put the apples on a baking-dish, with a sprinkle of sugar, and a drop of cider or water, and set them in the oven to bake. Baked apples or pears, with bread, form a cheap, wholesome, and proper kind of supper for children.
No. 112. TO MAKE ELDER WINE.
Ingredients, two gallons of elderberries, two quarts of damsons, eight pounds of raw sugar, at 4-1/2d. per pound, two gallons of water, two ounces of ginger, one ounce of cloves, and half a pint of fresh yeast. To make this quantity of elder wine, you must have a copper, a tub, a large canvas or loose flannel bag, and a five-gallon barrel. First, crush the elderberries and damsons thoroughly in the pot or copper in which they are to be boiled; then add the water, and keep stirring all together as it boils, until the fruit is well dissolved; then use a wooden bowl or a basin to pour the whole into a loose flannel bag, steadily fixed across two stout sticks, resting safely on two chairs, or, if you have one, a large coarse sieve instead. When all the liquor has passed through into the tub, put the dregs back into the copper, to be boiled up with a couple of quarts of water, and then to be strained to the other liquor. The next part of the process is to put the whole of the elderberry juice back into the clean pot or copper, with the sugar, and the spice, well bruised with a hammer; stir all together, on the fire, and allow the wine to boil gently for half an hour, then pour it into the clean tub to cool; the half-pint of yeast must then be added, and thoroughly mixed by stirring. At the end of two days, skim off the yeast which, by that time, will have risen to the surface. The elder wine must now be put into the barrel, and kept in the cellar with the bung-hole left open for a fortnight; at the end of this time, a stiff brown paper should be pasted over the bung-hole, and after standing for a month or six weeks, the wine will be ready for use. To be obliged to buy all the ingredients for making elder wine, would render it a matter of great difficulty—perhaps, in some cases, an impossibility; but, remember, that when living in the country, where in some parts elderberries grow in the hedge-rows, you may have them for the trouble of gathering them, in which case the elder wine would be cheaper, and more easily within your means.
No. 113. VEGETABLE PORRIDGE.
Scrape and peel the following vegetables:—six carrots, six turnips, six onions, three heads of celery, and three parsnips; slice up all these very thinly, and put them into a two-gallon pot, with four ounces of butter, a handful of parsley, ditto of chervil, and a good sprig of thyme, and fill up with water or pot liquor, if you happen to have any; season with pepper and salt, and put the whole to boil very gently on the fire for two hours; at the end of this time the vegetables will be done to a pulp, and the whole must be rubbed through a colander with a wooden spoon, and afterwards put back into the pot and stirred over the fire, to make it hot for dinner.
No. 114. PUMPKIN PORRIDGE.
I am aware that pumpkins are not generally grown in this country as an article of food for the poorer classes, and more is the pity, for they require but little trouble to rear, and yield an abundance of nutritious and cooling food, at a small cost; the chief reason for the short supply is, I imagine, the want of knowledge for turning the pumpkin to good account as an article of food. I am now about to supply easy instruction to convey that knowledge to whomsoever may stand in need of it. Peel and slice up as much pumpkin as will produce about eight ounces for each person, and put this into a boiling pot, with two ounces of butter, and a quart of water; set the whole to boil very gently on the fire, until the pumpkin is reduced to a pulp, and then add half-a-pint of buttermilk, or skim milk, to every person who is to partake of the porridge. You then stir the porridge over the fire for about fifteen minutes longer, taking care that it does not boil over; season with salt and a little nutmeg, and eat it with toasted bread for breakfast, or any other meal.
No. 115. RICE-MILK FOR SIX PERSONS.
Put one pound of Patna rice into a boiling pot with two ounces of butter, two quarts of water, a small bit of cinnamon or lemon-peel, and a little salt; put the lid on, and set the rice to boil very gently indeed close to the hob, until the rice is done quite soft; this will take about one hour and a quarter; then add three pints of skim milk, and after having stirred the rice-milk over the fire for ten minutes longer, it may be sweetened with a little honey or sugar, and will produce an excellent breakfast for at least six persons.
No. 116. KNUCKLE OF VEAL AND RICE.
A small knuckle, or scrag-end of neck of veal, is sometimes to be purchased very cheap; I will therefore suppose that you may, once in a way, provide such a thing, and this is the way you should cook it to the best advantage. Put the knuckle of veal into a boiling pot, with a pound of bacon, two pounds of rice, six onions, three carrots cut in pieces, some peppercorns, and salt in moderation on account of the bacon; add three or four quarts of water, and set the whole to stew very gently over a moderate fire for about three hours. This will produce a good substantial dinner for at least ten persons.
No. 117. IRISH STEW.
Inferior parts of any kind of meat make a good Irish stew. Let the meat be cut in pieces the size of an egg, well rubbed all over with pepper and salt, and placed in a good-sized pot or saucepan; add peeled onions in the proportion of six to the pound of meat, and enough water just to cover in the whole. Next, set the stew on the fire to boil very gently for an hour and a-half, then add such quantity of peeled and split potatoes as you may think will suffice for the number of persons about to dine off the stew, and put the whole back on the fire to boil briskly until the potatoes are thoroughly done soft; the Irish stew will then be ready to eat.
No. 118. FISH SOUP.
Cod-fish cuttings, Dutch plaice, skate, dabs, haddocks, cod's-heads, cod's-tails, or any fresh-water fish you may happen to catch when fishing, conger eels cut in slices, and almost any kind of fish which may come within reach of your means, are all more or less fit for making a good mess of soup for a meal. First, chop fine some onions, and put them into a pot with enough water to furnish about half a pint for each person to be provided for, and set this on the fire to boil for ten minutes; then add your pieces of fish, of about four ounces each; season with thyme, pepper, and salt, and boil the soup for about fifteen minutes longer, when it will be ready for dinner. Some well-boiled potatoes will prove a welcome addition to this soup.
Note.—This kind of fish soup will prove the more advantageous near the sea-coast, where inferior kinds of fish are always very cheap.
No. 119. SOUSED MACKEREL.
When mackerel are to be bought at six for a shilling, this kind of fish forms a cheap dinner. On such occasions, the mackerel must be placed heads and tails in an earthen dish or pan, seasoned with chopped onions, black pepper, a pinch of allspice, and salt; add sufficient vinegar and water in equal proportions to cover the fish. Bake in your own oven, if you possess one, or send them to the baker's. |
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