FoodNetArchive

The new century cookery book

1901

Page 74

Presented as published in 1901. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
The whole is cut into small dice and put into some prepared sauce — Allemande, Bechamel, or brown sauce. The quantity required depends upon the dish it is to be used in. If for croquettes, only a small quantity is used for binding the mixture. Salpicon is mostly used for filling bouchees (small puff-paste patties), when it is heated up in the sauce. Oysters and lobsters, shrimps, and fillets of sole are frequently used for bouchees, in which case the filling is . prepared as above, and is known under the general name of Salpicon, ham or tongue being, of epurse omitted. i 114 THE NEW CENTURY COOKERY BOOK 12. Hints on Cooking Meats. Cutting. — When cutting meat for cooking, always cut across the grain of the muscle. Cleaning. — Meat for roasting or braising should never be washed. Wipe it with a damp cloth, or scrape it, if it requires cleaning or drying. Seasoning . — As a general rule, meat should be seasoned with salt and pepper just before it is taken up. Keeping on Ice. — Never place meat directly on the ice ; put it on a dish or plate on the ice. Boiling. — The art of boiling meat is to put it on in boiling water, with enough water to well cover it. Boil up quickly (this keeps in the juice and flavour). Salt meat should be put on in warm water, not boiling, as this helps to extract some of the salt. When the meat boils draw on to the side of the stove, and let boil slowly, or simmer until done. Time for Boiling. — Fifteen to twenty minutes should be allowed to each pound of fresh meat, according to the kind and size of joint. The time is reckoned from the moment it begins to boil, and not when put into the pan. Salt meat requires longer to boil than fresh meat. 13. To Warm up> Cold Meat. — In re-heating meats for hash, mince, &c., it is very necessary that it should simmer in the sauce or gravy for at least three-quarters of an hour. The slices should not be cut too thin. In simmering the meat it will be found that during the first twenty minutes the fibre becomes somewhat horny and tough, and it will require at least another twenty-five minutes longer to soften the meat and to develop a more palatable flavour. It is quite a mistake to warm up meat in a hurry, for by so doing you will only render it tough and tasteless. Be-dressing viands which have previously appeared on the table is an art in itself, the chief point being to make such dishes tempting in appearance, agreeable to the palate, tender and tasty. 14. To Truss Poultry for Roasting. Turkey. — Break the legs near the toes, fasten on to a hook, and pull off so as to draw the sinews from the legs. Put the bird on to a board, breast downwards, head toward you. Take hold of the head with your left hand, and cut a slit in the back of the neck, with your right hand ; then loosen the skin round the neck, cut off the neck close to the body, also the skin, leaving it about two inches long, so as to fold it over the back. Remove the crop carefully ; put the forefinger in the throat end, and loosen the inside round the carcase. Make an incision at the vent just large enough to put in your fingers, loosen the inside, taking care not to break the gall-bag, then draw out the whole of the inside. Break the breast-bone if necessary, and flatten it ; turn the bird on its back, press the legs downwards, and fasten them with a skewer.