Luncheon. — Scotch Broth and Beef. — The beef may, if liked, be made hot in the soup, or, if preferred, it can be eaten cold with pickles. If broken remnants only are left, they may be made into croquettes. Dinner. — Stewed Eels (January 24th). Boast Leg of Mutton. To Roast Meat. — Meat is best when it is roasted before an open fire, and that is about the only thing for which an open range is to be preferred. The first thing to be looked after is the fire, and this should be made up an hour before it is wanted. The dust must be thoroughly cleared out from the bottom of the grate, the hot coals A YEAR'S COOKERY. 101 Eushed to the front, and fresh coals put at the back. These should not e thrown on, but laid on with the fingers, the pieces being packed rather closely, but still arranged so that air can pass freely between them when the fire is clear, bright, and fierce. Jnst at the same time the hearth should be cleared up, and the cinders, mixed with a little coal-dust slightly wetted, should be thrown at the back. The meat should now be looked over, and any unsightly jagged pieces there may be trimmed away. In a leg of mutton or lamb, the knuckle¬ bone should be cut off, and the piece of flank, as well as the thick piece of skin from the part near the loin, removed. In the sirloin and ribs of beef, the soft pipe that runs down the bone should be cut out. If there is any doubt about the cleanliness of the joint, it should be well scraped, and wiped with a damp cloth. If it can be avoided, however, it should not be washed, as that draws o-ut its goodness. If, however, it is at all tainted, it should be washed quickly with vinegar and water, and wiped dry as quickly as possible. The dripping-tin, with a large lump of dripping in it, should be put before the fire a quarter of an hour before the meat is hung on the spit ; at the same time the meat-screen, if there be one, should be placed ready, and the meat should be so hung that the thickest part catches the heat from the centre of the fire. For the first five minutes or so the joint should be put near the fire, in order that the surface may be quickly hardened, and so the juice may be kept in ; afterwards the joint should be drawn back and roasted more slowly. An exception to this rule should be made with frozen meat, which should at first be hung at a distance from the fire and drawn gradually nearer. Basting with the dripping melted for the purpose should commence almost immediately after the joint is hung on the spit, and should be re¬ peated as frequently as possible, for on constant basting the excellence of a roasted joint greatly depends. Of course, it is the lean part that needs basting. Poultry and game need to be very well basted. The time required for roasting depends upon the quality, nature, and thickness of the meat, and its distance from the fire. As a general rule, brown meats should be allowed a quarter of an hour per pound and a quarter of an hour over ; white meats, twenty minutes to the pound and twenty minutes over ; but even brown meats, when they are boned, or when they are very solid, such as the topside of the round of beef, rolled ribs of beef, or rolled loin of mutton, need twenty minutes to the pound if they are to be well done.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Luncheon. — Scotch Broth and Beef. — The beef may, if liked, be made hot in the soup, or, if preferred, it can be eaten cold with pickles. If broken remnants only are left, they may be made into croquettes. Dinner. — Stewed Eels (January 24th). Roast Leg of Mutton. To Roast Meat. — Meat is best when it is roasted before an open fire, and that is about the only thing for which an open range is to be preferred. The first thing to be looked after is the fire, and this should be made up an hour before it is wanted. The dust must be thoroughly cleared out from the bottom of the grate, the hot coals Pushed to the front, and fresh coals put at the back. These should not be thrown on, but laid on with the fingers, the pieces being packed rather closely, but still arranged so that air can pass freely between them when the fire is clear, bright, and fierce. Just at the same time the hearth should be cleared up, and the cinders, mixed with a little coal-dust slightly wetted, should be thrown at the back. The meat should now be looked over, and any unsightly jagged pieces there may be trimmed away. In a leg of mutton or lamb, the knuckle¬ bone should be cut off, and the piece of flank, as well as the thick piece of skin from the part near the loin, removed. In the sirloin and ribs of beef, the soft pipe that runs down the bone should be cut out. If there is any doubt about the cleanliness of the joint, it should be well scraped, and wiped with a damp cloth. If it can be avoided, however, it should not be washed, as that draws o-ut its goodness. If, however, it is at all tainted, it should be washed quickly with vinegar and water, and wiped dry as quickly as possible. The dripping-tin, with a large lump of dripping in it, should be put before the fire a quarter of an hour before the meat is hung on the spit ; at the same time the meat-screen, if there be one, should be placed ready, and the meat should be so hung that the thickest part catches the heat from the centre of the fire. For the first five minutes or so the joint should be put near the fire, in order that the surface may be quickly hardened, and so the juice may be kept in ; afterwards the joint should be drawn back and roasted more slowly. An exception to this rule should be made with frozen meat, which should at first be hung at a distance from the fire and drawn gradually nearer. Basting with the dripping melted for the purpose should commence almost immediately after the joint is hung on the spit, and should be re¬ peated as frequently as possible, for on constant basting the excellence of a roasted joint greatly depends. Of course, it is the lean part that needs basting. Poultry and game need to be very well basted. The time required for roasting depends upon the quality, nature, and thickness of the meat, and its distance from the fire. As a general rule, brown meats should be allowed a quarter of an hour per pound and a quarter of an hour over ; white meats, twenty minutes to the pound and twenty minutes over ; but even brown meats, when they are boned, or when they are very solid, such as the topside of the round of beef, rolled ribs of beef, or rolled loin of mutton, need twenty minutes to the pound if they are to be well done.

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