Fat which is not quite pure shouid be clarified before
being used. For this, break up the fat in a basin, pour
boiling water✪ Clarifying Fat over it, and stir it till it is melted, leave it till
cold, then take the cake of fat up, and wdth a knife remove
the impurities, which will have settled at the bottom.
Melt it again gently in tlic oven in order to free it
entirely from w'ater, strain again, and it is once more
ready for use.
Fat does not need to be clarified each time it is used
for frying. It requires only to be strained through a
metal strainer to free it from any little pieces ol meat or
fish that are in it. Care should be taken, however, to
remove it from the fire as soon as it is done with, to
prevent its becoming discoloured, and also to let it cool
The Gridiron.
33
a little before pouring it through the strainer, as otherwise
It may melt the metal. The impurities will always settle
at the bottom of the fat after melting, and they can be
easily removed.
Fat that has been once used for fish is likely to have
a fishy taste, therefore it should be kept exclusively for
that purpose.
Now, perhaps, you will feel inclined to say. Is there
nothing we can fry without a large quantity of fat .? Cer-
tainly there is. We fry pancakes and omelettes and slices
of bacon with a small quantity of fat. Mutton chops and
beefsteaks are often fried in the same way. Strictly
speaking, however, this is not to fry them, but to sauter
them. Chops and steaks, however, are not at their best
when cooked in a frj-ing-pan. They are sure to be greasy
when thus prepared, and are much better broiled over a
clear fire. And of broiling I will speak at our next lesson.
VI.
THE GRIDIRON.
is no more excellent way of cooking small
^ things than broiling them. There are all sorts of
advantages connected with broiling. It is quickly
done, makes meat or fish tasty, and it preserves the
goodness of the meat. When it is well done it is always
approved, and when it is once understood, it is not at all
difficult. The only thing that we need make up our
minds to about it is, that while it is going on it must be
looked after and cared for. We may put meat in the
oven, or hang it on the spit, or place it in a saucepan
and leave it for a while ; but if we tried to attend to any
other business while engaged with the gridiron, most
woeful would be the result.
Therefore, if you make up your minds to broil anythin?
(and their is no greater delicacy than a well-broiled chop
or steak), detennine that you will give your exclusive
attention to it during the ten or twelve minutes that it is
on the fire.
D
34 '-riie Girl’s Own Cookery Book.
And in order that you may do this, you must think
about all the outside details beforehand. The first of
these is the meat. Small portions of food are reserved
for broiling, and as the method adopted for one thing
calls for knowledge that is useful with all, I will take a
steak as a sample of what is to be done. There are
various kinds of beef-steak, but the best kinds of all for
broiling are rump-steak and fillet-steak ; and of these, in
my opinion, rump-steak is to be preferred. Fillet-steak
is exceedingly tender, but it does not contain quite as
much flavour as rump-steak. The beef should have been
well kept, and the steak should be freshly cut from it.
Page 18 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1882. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Fat which is not quite pure should be clarified before being used. For this, break up the fat in a basin, pour boiling water over it, and stir it till it is melted, leave it till cold, then take the cake of fat up, and with a knife remove the impurities, which will have settled at the bottom. Melt it again gently in the oven in order to free it entirely from water, strain again, and it is once more ready for use.
Fat does not need to be clarified each time it is used for frying. It requires only to be strained through a metal strainer to free it from any little pieces of meat or fish that are in it. Care should be taken, however, to remove it from the fire as soon as it is done with, to prevent its becoming discoloured, and also to let it cool [illustration: The Gridiron.]
The Gridiron.
a little before pouring it through the strainer, as otherwise It may melt the metal. The impurities will always settle at the bottom of the fat after melting, and they can be easily removed.
Fat that has been once used for fish is likely to have a fishy taste, therefore it should be kept exclusively for that purpose.
Now, perhaps, you will feel inclined to say. Is there nothing we can fry without a large quantity of fat .? Certainly there is. We fry pancakes and omelettes and slices of bacon with a small quantity of fat. Mutton chops and beefsteaks are often fried in the same way. Strictly speaking, however, this is not to fry them, but to sauter them. Chops and steaks, however, are not at their best when cooked in a frj-ing-pan. They are sure to be greasy when thus prepared, and are much better broiled over a clear fire. And of broiling I will speak at our next lesson. [illustration: THE GRIDIRON.]
THE GRIDIRON.
There is no more excellent way of cooking small things than broiling them. There are all sorts of advantages connected with broiling. It is quickly done, makes meat or fish tasty, and it preserves the goodness of the meat. When it is well done it is always approved, and when it is once understood, it is not at all difficult. The only thing that we need make up our minds to about it is, that while it is going on it must be looked after and cared for. We may put meat in the oven, or hang it on the spit, or place it in a saucepan and leave it for a while ; but if we tried to attend to any other business while engaged with the gridiron, most woeful would be the result.
Therefore, if you make up your minds to broil anything (and there is no greater delicacy than a well-broiled chop or steak), determine that you will give your exclusive attention to it during the ten or twelve minutes that it is on the fire.
D
34 '-riie Girl’s Own Cookery Book.
And in order that you may do this, you must think about all the outside details beforehand. The first of these is the meat. Small portions of food are reserved for broiling, and as the method adopted for one thing calls for knowledge that is useful with all, I will take a steak as a sample of what is to be done. There are various kinds of beef-steak, but the best kinds of all for broiling are rump-steak and fillet-steak ; and of these, in my opinion, rump-steak is to be preferred. Fillet-steak is exceedingly tender, but it does not contain quite as much flavour as rump-steak. The beef should have been well kept, and the steak should be freshly cut from it.
Records on this page
Clarifying Fat