As to the time the meat will take to roast, that will vary
with its quality, its thickness, and the heat of the fire.
This is one of the points on which a cook cannot go by a
book, but must use her common sense. The great
general rules are a quarter of an hour to the pound, and
a quarter of an hour over for red meats ; and twenty
minutes to the pound, and twenty minutes over for white
14
The Girl’s Own Cookery Book.
meats, — lamb, veal, and pork. These rules, however,
cannot always be followed. A thick, solid piece of meat,
such as rolled ribs of beef, or the top side of the round of
beef, or a loin of mutton boned and rolled, would need to
be roasted longer per pound than a shoulder of mutton
ora loin of mutton that was not rolled ; while a joint that
had a good deal of gristle and bone in it, such as the thin
flank of beef, would need to roast half-an-hour to the
pound. Then the time of the year has something to do
with it. Meat requires longer roasting in winter than it
does in summer time. This is one of the lessons that
only experience can teach.
I
There is one very important point that I must not
forget to mention, and that is — take care of the dripping.
This is a most valuable article. It can be used for a
great many purposes, which we will speak of later ;
therefore we must look after it now. It may be that we
have a dripping-tin made with a well to receive the fat,
and if this is the case it will be kept free from dust and
cinders' without any difficulty. But a very great many
people have merely a shallow tin or wrought-iron pan to
put under the meat. When this is the case, the fat
must be looked after. If any cinders fall in they must
be removed ; and the fat must be poured away once or
twice whilst the joint is roasting, to prevent its getting
burnt. Of course, enough dripping must still be left in
the pan to baste the meat. If dust should fall from the
fire to soil the side of the tin, the opposite side should be
at once turned to the fire.
And now we have kept up our fire and basted our
meat vigorously, and the time is drawing near when it
should be sufficiently roasted. I am quite sure that a
pleasant odour is making itself felt which is enough to
make our mouths water. The dishes and plates are pa
the plate warmer, and everything seems ready.
IS
IL
GRAVY FOR JOINTS.
tT can generally be told, from the look of the gravy
that is served with a joint, whether or not the cook
understands her business. If the gravy is fatty, or cold,
or looks like thin light-coloured gruel, also if there is
a great deal of it in the dish, 1 would advise you to resign
yourself to your fate, and remember that man eats to live,
he does not live to eat. If on the contrary the gravy is
clear, bright, brown, free from fat and small in quantity,
cheerfully leave yourself in the hands of the carver, for it
is probable that you are about to partake of a well-cooked
dinner.
Gravy may either be made a little time before it is
wanted, or it may be prepared from the brown sediment
which is to be found in the dripping-tin under the joint.
The latter method I do not recommend, but it is the more
usual of the two, and therefore 1 will describe it first. ✪ Gravy for Joints
Page 5 · 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
As to the time the meat will take to roast, that will vary with its quality, its thickness, and the heat of the fire. This is one of the points on which a cook cannot go by a book, but must use her common sense. The great general rules are a quarter of an hour to the pound, and a quarter of an hour over for red meats ; and twenty minutes to the pound, and twenty minutes over for white
The Girl’s Own Cookery Book.
meats, — lamb, veal, and pork. These rules, however, cannot always be followed. A thick, solid piece of meat, such as rolled ribs of beef, or the top side of the round of beef, or a loin of mutton boned and rolled, would need to be roasted longer per pound than a shoulder of mutton ora loin of mutton that was not rolled ; while a joint that had a good deal of gristle and bone in it, such as the thin flank of beef, would need to roast half-an-hour to the pound. Then the time of the year has something to do with it. Meat requires longer roasting in winter than it does in summer time. This is one of the lessons that only experience can teach.
There is one very important point that I must not forget to mention, and that is — take care of the dripping. This is a most valuable article. It can be used for a great many purposes, which we will speak of later ; therefore we must look after it now. It may be that we have a dripping-tin made with a well to receive the fat, and if this is the case it will be kept free from dust and cinders without any difficulty. But a very great many people have merely a shallow tin or wrought-iron pan to put under the meat. When this is the case, the fat must be looked after. If any cinders fall in they must be removed ; and the fat must be poured away once or twice whilst the joint is roasting, to prevent its getting burnt. Of course, enough dripping must still be left in the pan to baste the meat. If dust should fall from the fire to soil the side of the tin, the opposite side should be at once turned to the fire.
And now we have kept up our fire and basted our meat vigorously, and the time is drawing near when it should be sufficiently roasted. I am quite sure that a pleasant odour is making itself felt which is enough to make our mouths water. The dishes and plates are on the plate warmer, and everything seems ready.
IS
GRAVY FOR JOINTS.
tT can generally be told, from the look of the gravy that is served with a joint, whether or not the cook understands her business. If the gravy is fatty, or cold, or looks like thin light-coloured gruel, also if there is a great deal of it in the dish, 1 would advise you to resign yourself to your fate, and remember that man eats to live, he does not live to eat. If on the contrary the gravy is clear, bright, brown, free from fat and small in quantity, cheerfully leave yourself in the hands of the carver, for it is probable that you are about to partake of a well-cooked dinner.
Gravy may either be made a little time before it is wanted, or it may be prepared from the brown sediment which is to be found in the dripping-tin under the joint. The latter method I do not recommend, but it is the more usual of the two, and therefore 1 will describe it first.
Records on this page
Gravy for Joints