Domestic and economical cookery recipes

Bone the larks and stuff with sausage meat, tie in a cloth and boil gently in stock pot for twenty minutes, take them up, remove the cloth, and brown the larks in the oven for a few minutes. Make a bed of mashed potatoes on a dish, with a column in the centre, place the larks round the column with the feet upwards. Put the heads in boiling water to loosen the feathers, pick quite clean, cover the heads with a little glaze, and place on the top of each a small round piece of orange peel ; place the heads on the top of the larks, and pour a rich brown sauce round the dish. No. 128. LARKS (a la Comtesse). METHODS FOR COOKING VARIOUS JOINTS OF BEEF, MUTTON LAMB, VEAL, ETC. t3^ TO CHOOSE MEAT. Beef should be a deep red colour, nicely marbled with fat and firm to the touch. F Mutton is rather paler and the fat whiter, also firm to the touch. Veal. — The lean should be pale pink, the fat white, the flesh firm. Pork.- — The lean pale red, fat white and clear, and the skin thin. If any kernels are to be seen in the flesh it is not good. No. 129. BOILING MEAT. Boiling is cooking over the fire in deep water, by putting the meat in at boiling point, boiling five or ten minutes, and then simmering until done. Put salt meat into warm and fresh meat into boiling water. N.B. — Fresh meat needs salt in the water. Boil five to ten minutes to close the pores, then simmer. Skim well. Keep on the lid. Time, 20 minutes to 1 lb. and 20 minutes over. No. 130. ROASTING AND BAKING MEAT Are practically the same in a gas oven. Light the gas and turn it on full for ten minutes before putting in the joint ; then allow the gas to remain on full for ten minutes afterwards to coagulate the surface albumen of the meat, and keep in the juices. Then lower the gas and cook more slowly until the meat is done, according to the following rules : — Time in a gas oven — Beef and Mutton — Every lb. 10 min. and 15 min. over. If a thick piece ditto 15 ,, 15 ,, Veal and Pork ditto 20 ,, 15 ,, If a thick piece ditto 25 ,, 15 ,, When the meat is cooked, place on a hot dish, pour the dripping out of the tin and some boiling water over the brown sediment left ; dredge in a little flour, if liked, cook over the fire a few minutes — add one teaspoonful Liebig Company's extract of meat, season, strain, and pour round meat. No. 131. STEAMING MEAT. Steamed meat is much more economical and much more palatable than boiled meat, and also more nourishing. Boiled meat loses a great deal of its goodness in the liquid in which it is cooked, and unless this liquid be afterwards used as stock for soups, etc., it is very wasteful. Meat for steaming should be placed in a steamer over a stewpan of boiling water and steamed according to the size of the joint, allowing a little over 20 minutes to the lb., and 15 minutes extra for the whole joint. No. 132. GRILLING MEAT. Light the grilling burner for three minutes before you wish to use it, with the gas turned on full, then lower the gas a little and allow from three to five minutes for each side of the meat, a little longer if a very thick piece Steaks and chops are most suitable for grilling, and are very delicious when cooked in this manner. No. 133. STEWING MEAT.