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Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book

1884

Page 148 · 1 recipe record on this page

Presented as published in 1884. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Take the gristly part of the pig's head, but not the fat ; also the ears and feet. Remove the hard part from the feet. Scald or singe the hairs, soak in warm water, and scrape thoroughly. Let them remain in salt and water for ten hours. Scrape, and clean again, and put them a second time in freshly salted water. With proper care they will be perfectl}^ clean. Put them in a kettle and cover with cold w^ater ; skim when it begins to boil ; set back and let it simmer till the bones slip out easily. Skim out the meat, and remove the hard gristle, bones, and any superfluous fat. Season with salt^ pepper^ and vinegar^ and pack in stone jars. When hard, cut in slices, and brown in the oven. Head Cheese, — Prepare the same as souse, omitting the vinegar^ and season with sage. Put into a strainer cloth, The Boston Cook Book, 249 and press out the fat. Pack it in jars or moulds. Serve cold, or brown slightly in a frjing-pan. Though seldom seen on modern tables, these dishes when carefuU}^ prepared are very acceptable to many who have pleasant recollections of them as served at -'grand- mother's table." To Try out Lard. Cut the leaves into small pieces ; remove all flesh and membrane ; put a few pieces in a kettle on the back of the stove, and when they are heated through, put in the remainder. Cook slowly until the scraps are crisp ; strain through a fine cloth into tin pails or pans, and press that obtained from the scraps into a separate pail. Never put water with the leaves, as the object is to expel that w^hicli they already contain, and there is no danger of burning if only a few pieces be put in at first, and the kettle be not over the hot fire. The kettle should not be covered until the scraps are crisp ; then cover it, and if no steam condenses on the cover, the water is evaporated. Baked Pork and Beans. Soak one quart of pea beans in cold water over night. In the morning put them into fresh cold water, and simmer till soft enough to pierce with a pin, being careful not to let them boil enough to break. If you like, boil one onion with them. When soft, turn them into a colander, and pour cold water through them. Place them with the onion in a bean-pot. Pour boiling water over one quarter of a 'pound of salt porh^ part fat and part lean ; scrape the rind till white. Cut the rind in half-inch strips ; bury the pork in the beans, leaving only the rind exposed. Mix one teaspoonful of salt — more, if the pork is not very salt — and one teaspoonful of mustard w^ith one quarter of a cup of molasses. Fill the cup with hot water, and when well mixed pour it over the beans ; add enough more water to cover them. Keep them covered with water until the 250 The Boston Cook Book. last hour ; ^then lift the pork to the surface and let it crisp. Bake eight hours in a moderate oven. Use more salt and one third of a cup of butterBaked Pork and Beans if 3'ou dislike pork, or use half a pound of fat and lean corned heef. The mustard gives the beans a delicious flavor, and also renders them more wholesome. Many add a tea- spoonful of soda to the water in which the beans are boiled, to destroy the acid in the skin of the beans. Yellow-eyed beans and Lima beans are also good when baked.