The perfect manner in which the nutriment and flavour of an
infinite variety of viands may be preserved by enclosing and boiling
them in paste, is a great recommendation of this purely English class
of dishes, the advantages of which foreign cooks are beginning to
acknowledge. If really well made, these savoury puddings are
worthy of a place on any table ; though the decrees of fashion—
which in many instances have so much more influence with us than
they deserve — have hitherto confined them almost entirely to the
simple family dinners of the middle classes ; but we are bound to
acknowledge that even where they are most commonly served they
are seldom prepared with a creditable degree of skill ; and they are
equally uninviting and unwholesome when heavily and coarsely
concocted. From the general suggestions which we make here, and
the few detailed receipts which follow, a clever cook will easily com-
pound them to suit the taste and means of her employers ; for they
may be either very rich and expensive, or quite the reverse. Yenisou
(the neck is best for the purpose), intermingled or not with truffles ;
sweetbreads sliced, and oysters or nicely prepared button-mushrooms
in alternate layers, with good veal stock for gravy ; * pheasants,
partridges, moorfowl, woodcocks, snipes, plovers, wheatears, may all
be converted into the first class of these ; and veal kidneys, seasoned
with fine herbs, will supply another variety of them. Many persons
like eels dressed in this way, but they are unsuited to delicate eaters ;
and sausages are liable to the same objection ; and so is a harslet
pudding, which is held in much esteem in certain counties, and
which is made of the heart, liver, kidneys, &c., of a pig. We can
recommend as both wholesome and economical the receipts which
follow, for the more simple kind of savoury puddings, and which
may serve as guides for such others as the intelligence of the cook
may suggest.
BEEF-STEAK, OR JOHN BULL’S PUDDING
All meat puddings are more conveniently made in deep pans,
moulds, or basins having a thick rim, below which the cloths can be
tied without the hazard of their slipping off ; and as the puddings
should by no means be turned out before they are sent to table, one
to match the dinner-service, at least in colour , is desirable.f Roll
* The liquor of the oysters should he added when they are used.
+ It is now customary in some families to have both meat and fruit puddings
boiled and served in pie or tart-dishes. They are lined entirely with very thin
crust, or merely edged with it, according to taste ; then filled, closed, and cooked
In the usual manner. The plan is a good and convenient one, where the light
upper-crust is preferred to the heavy and sodden part which is under the meat.
In Kent and Sussex, shallow pans, in form somewhat resembling a large deep
saucer, are sold expressly for boiling meat puddings.
400
MODERN COOKERY.
[chap. XX.
Page 356
Presented as published in 1884. 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
The perfect manner in which the nutriment and flavour of an infinite variety of viands may be preserved by enclosing and boiling them in paste, is a great recommendation of this purely English class of dishes, the advantages of which foreign cooks are beginning to acknowledge. If really well made, these savoury puddings are worthy of a place on any table ; though the decrees of fashion— which in many instances have so much more influence with us than they deserve — have hitherto confined them almost entirely to the simple family dinners of the middle classes ; but we are bound to acknowledge that even where they are most commonly served they are seldom prepared with a creditable degree of skill ; and they are equally uninviting and unwholesome when heavily and coarsely concocted. From the general suggestions which we make here, and the few detailed receipts which follow, a clever cook will easily compound them to suit the taste and means of her employers ; for they may be either very rich and expensive, or quite the reverse. Yenisou (the neck is best for the purpose), intermingled or not with truffles ; sweetbreads sliced, and oysters or nicely prepared button-mushrooms in alternate layers, with good veal stock for gravy ; * pheasants, partridges, moorfowl, woodcocks, snipes, plovers, wheatears, may all be converted into the first class of these ; and veal kidneys, seasoned with fine herbs, will supply another variety of them. Many persons like eels dressed in this way, but they are unsuited to delicate eaters ; and sausages are liable to the same objection ; and so is a harslet pudding, which is held in much esteem in certain counties, and which is made of the heart, liver, kidneys, &c., of a pig. We can recommend as both wholesome and economical the receipts which follow, for the more simple kind of savoury puddings, and which may serve as guides for such others as the intelligence of the cook may suggest.
BEEF-STEAK, OR JOHN BULL’S PUDDING
All meat puddings are more conveniently made in deep pans, moulds, or basins having a thick rim, below which the cloths can be tied without the hazard of their slipping off ; and as the puddings should by no means be turned out before they are sent to table, one to match the dinner-service, at least in colour , is desirable.f Roll
* The liquor of the oysters should he added when they are used.
+ It is now customary in some families to have both meat and fruit puddings boiled and served in pie or tart-dishes. They are lined entirely with very thin crust, or merely edged with it, according to taste ; then filled, closed, and cooked In the usual manner. The plan is a good and convenient one, where the light upper-crust is preferred to the heavy and sodden part which is under the meat. In Kent and Sussex, shallow pans, in form somewhat resembling a large deep saucer, are sold expressly for boiling meat puddings.
[chap. XX.