To Bone a Chop or Steah — Begin at the bone end, scrape the meat awa}^ leaving the bone clean and the flesh un- broken. If there be a piece of tenderloin under the bone, remove it, and put it up close to the meat, which was above the bone in the original form. Directions for boning fish are given on page 161. To Bone a Leg of Mutton, — Cut it ofl" at the first joint, insert the knife near the joint, and loosen the fiesh from the bone, leaving all the gristle and tendons on the bone. Then begin at the tail end, and scrape the fat away from the backbone, then follow the bone (you can easily tell by the feeling, if you cannot see it) until you come to the joint ; leave all the gristle and cords on the bone, and con- tinue scraping off* the flesh till the whole bone is out. One could easily cut through from the outside to the bone and remove it in that w^ay ; but the flesh w^ould have to be sewed together, and much of the juice would escape. After removing the bone, stufi* the cavity left the bone, The Boston Cook Book, 27 and sew the skin together at the smaller end. Then bring the edges together at the upper end, crowding all the flesh inside, and sew the skin together tightl3\ This gives a rectangular form of solid meat and stuffing. When salted and floured and exposed to a hot oven, the juices are kept inside ; the meat is more conveniently served, and, when cold, does not become dry and hard. Any other pieces of meat are boned in a similar manner. To Bone a Bird^ Fowl, or Turkey, — In this case the flesh is to be kept in the skin in order to preserve the shape. The skin should be firm and unbroken, and the bird should not be drawn. Remove the head and pin- feathers, singe and wipe carefull3\ Remove the tendons from the legs, and loosen the skin round the end of the drumstick. Make an incision through the skin from the neck to the middle of the back, or near the junction of the side bone. Scrape the flesh with the skin away from the backbone until you feel the end of the shoulder-blade ; loosen the flesh from this, and then follow the bone to the wing joint, and down to the middle joint in the wing. The skin lies very near the bone underneath the joint, and care must be taken to avoid cutting through the skin at these places. Leave the first bone in the wing to aid in keeping the shape ; it ma}^ be removed before serving. In small birds there is so little meat on the wings, that it is just as well to cut them off" at the middle joint. Re- move the bone from the other wing in the same way, then follow the collar bone from the wing down to the breast- bone, loosening the crop from the flesh. In removing the flesh from the breastbone, be careful not to cut through the skin on the ridge. The flesh may be pushed away with the fingers, and the fillets or pieces that are detached from the other fiesh can be laid aside, and iDut in place afterwards. When the breastbone is bare, separate the flesh from the ribs, and be careful not to break through the membrane into the inside. Remove the flesh round the second joint, then the drumsticks, turning the flesh wrong side out as in pulling a glove from the finger. 28 The Boston Cook Book.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

To Bone a Chop or Steak — Begin at the bone end, scrape the meat away leaving the bone clean and the flesh unbroken. If there be a piece of tenderloin under the bone, remove it, and put it up close to the meat, which was above the bone in the original form. Directions for boning fish are given on page 161. To Bone a Leg of Mutton, — Cut it ofl" at the first joint, insert the knife near the joint, and loosen the flesh from the bone, leaving all the gristle and tendons on the bone. Then begin at the tail end, and scrape the fat away from the backbone, then follow the bone (you can easily tell by the feeling, if you cannot see it) until you come to the joint ; leave all the gristle and cords on the bone, and continue scraping off the flesh till the whole bone is out. One could easily cut through from the outside to the bone and remove it in that w^ay ; but the flesh would have to be sewed together, and much of the juice would escape. After removing the bone, stuff the cavity left by the bone, The Boston Cook Book, and sew the skin together at the smaller end. Then bring the edges together at the upper end, crowding all the flesh inside, and sew the skin together tightly.This gives a rectangular form of solid meat and stuffing. When salted and floured and exposed to a hot oven, the juices are kept inside ; the meat is more conveniently served, and, when cold, does not become dry and hard. Any other pieces of meat are boned in a similar manner. To Bone a Bird, Fowl, or Turkey, — In this case the flesh is to be kept in the skin in order to preserve the shape. The skin should be firm and unbroken, and the bird should not be drawn. Remove the head and pinfeathers, singe and wipe carefully.Remove the tendons from the legs, and loosen the skin round the end of the drumstick. Make an incision through the skin from the neck to the middle of the back, or near the junction of the side bone. Scrape the flesh with the skin away from the backbone until you feel the end of the shoulder-blade ; loosen the flesh from this, and then follow the bone to the wing joint, and down to the middle joint in the wing. The skin lies very near the bone underneath the joint, and care must be taken to avoid cutting through the skin at these places. Leave the first bone in the wing to aid in keeping the shape ; it may be removed before serving. In small birds there is so little meat on the wings, that it is just as well to cut them off at the middle joint. Remove the bone from the other wing in the same way, then follow the collar bone from the wing down to the breastbone, loosening the crop from the flesh. In removing the flesh from the breastbone, be careful not to cut through the skin on the ridge. The flesh may be pushed away with the fingers, and the fillets or pieces that are detached from the other fiesh can be laid aside, and put in place afterwards. When the breastbone is bare, separate the flesh from the ribs, and be careful not to break through the membrane into the inside. Remove the flesh round the second joint, then the drumsticks, turning the flesh wrong side out as in pulling a glove from the finger. The Boston Cook Book.

Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book