Cookery

Entrecote. — Take a suitably-sized piece and turn it about in a frying or saucepan containing a little cut fat ; add salt and pepper to taste, cover and leave it over the fire till tender, then put it aside in a warm place ; in the meantime remove the fat from the liquor which was left in the pan, and add to this equal quantities of white wine and water (according to the amount of sauce you require). Put it over the fire in a small saucepan and let it slightly reduce ; thicken with a little brown sauce, add some chopped mushroom, and let it boil ; finally stir in an eggspoonful of Maggi essence, pour it over the meat, and serve very hot. This can be varied by using olives instead of mushrooms and different kinds of brown sauces, which in every case almost are more suitable to beef than white ones. Ox Tongue. — Scald it and remove the skin ; put it into a suitable utensil with some fat, small onions, and a few slices of bacon; set it over the fire until the tongue has become slightly coloured ; remove the fat, season to taste, sprinkle the tongue with flour, cover it up again, and after half an hour add equal quantities of ordinary red wine and water ; let this simmer quite slowly, well covered up, and over a slack fire for from two to three hours according to the size of the tongue. Remember that the fire, though slack, must he kept absolutely even, or every time it goes down the contents of the saucepan will run the risk of becoming tough. Take the onions, etc., out of the gravy, and send the latter in either in the dish or in a sauce-boat. BEEF. The white and red wines recommended in the foregoing and following recipes are cooking wines which can be had at a very moderate price, and which are intended in many cases to take the place of more extravagant ingredients. Ox Tongue, To Salt and Smoke. — Wash and wipe a tongue, cut off the roughest parts of the roots, rub it well with salt, pepper, and a little saltpetre all mixed together, and put it into a deep dish with two large handfuls of coarse salt, an onion, and a garlic root. Leave it for a week in this salt in a cold place, and turn it over every day ; then hang it up for a day and night to allow the moisture to drip off, after which it must hang in a wood fire chimney to smoke. If it is intended to be kept for future use it should smoke about eight days, but if it is to be eaten at once from one to three days will be quite sufficient. Thus prepared the tongue may be plainly boiled, and when cold garnished with jelly ; or boil it in some peasoup, remove the skin while quite hot, cover it with bread raspings, and garnish with jelly. When salted and smoked in this way, the tongue, unless it be exceptionally small, should be allowed to simmer slowly from three to four hours. Rolled Beef. Remove the bone from a large rib, trim the meat carefully, beat it well and lay it in pickle, i.c., vinegar to cover, salt, peppercorns, parsley, and onions. Leave it for four days in the larder or cellar, turning it every day, then let the moisture drain off, lard the meat thickly, roll it up