INGREDIENTS REQUIRED A piece of top-side (or other joints about 3 lbs.).- 2 carrots. 2 turnips. 1 large onion. 2 sticks of celery. Sprig of parsley. Small bunch of herbs. 2 ozs. dripping. About 1 pint stock. Prepare the vegetables and cut into large chunks. Melt the dripping in a saucepan which will go into the oven, or a casserole, and fry the vegetables and herbs in it. Remove the vegetables from the pan and fry the meat quickly so that all surfaces are sealed and brown. Put back the vegetables and let the meat rest on them. Pour in sufficient boiling stock to half cover the vegetables but not touch the meat. Put on a closely fitting lid and place the pan in the oven at No. 5 for about 2 hours (30 minutes per lb.+ 30 minutes). Remove the lid during the last 4 hour so that the meat is nicely browned. ‘The meat is thus partially steamed to make it tender but has a rich roasted flavour. If the meat has been boned, the bones should be fried with the vegetables and used with them as a base for the joint. Boned stuffed breasts or loin of mutton or veal can be cooked in the same way with excellent results. Shallow Frying You will get better results with a good heavy frying-pan than with a thin one, which will probably buckle with the heat and burn the food. Any fat that is free from water will do for shallow frying. The ones generally used are dripping, lard or a mixture of butter 23 ” 24 MEAT and lard. Butter gives a very good flavour, but it is not very often used because it burns rather easily. In this kind of frying the same fat can only be used again for the same kind of food, because it usually takes the flavour of whatever has been fried in it. You should put just enough fat in the frying-pan to cover the ~ bottom of it evenly. Heat the fat until it is quite still and has a faint smoke coming from the centre, then put the food in with the best side downwards first. When this has been browned, turn the food over with a fish slice and fry it until the other side is cooked. You must seal both sides of uncoated food like chops and steak first, and then finish cooking it more slowly. Deep Frying When frying things in deep fat you should always use enough fat to dover the food completely, but do not have the saucepan more than two-thirds full. The best kind of pan is a thick aluminium one or any other unlined type of pan. Never use an enamel one. You will find that clarified dripping, or beef suet, are the best fats to use. ‘They are economical too, because if you strain the fat through some muslin after you have finished cooking, it can be used again and again. Add more fat to it as you want it. Before putting the food in the pan, you should heat the fat — until it is quite still and has a faint smoke coming from the centre. An easy way of testing the heat of the fat is to fry a small bit of bread and see how quickly it browns. For cooked mixtures, like fish-cakes, you can have the fat much hotter than for uncooked food like fillets of fish, which have to be cooked right through before they brown. To see if the fat is hot enough put in a piece of bread ; if the fat is very hot you will find that the bread will brown in about 4 minute. If it is too cool, it will be greasy when you take it out of the pan instead of crisp. Food should always be coated with batter or with egg and breadcrumbs before frying it, otherwise the flavour of the food will spoil the fat, so that you will not be able to use it again. If you coat the food with egg and breadcrumbs it is advisable to use a frying-basket. Lower the basket gently into the fat and do not lift it out until the food is quite ready. Do not put too much food in at once or it will cool the fat, which will make the food turn out greasy instead of crisp and brown. If the pieces of food touch each other they will probably stick and then their shape and colour will be spoiled.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

INGREDIENTS REQUIRED A piece of top-side (or other joints about 3 lbs.).- 2 carrots. 2 turnips. 1 large onion. 2 sticks of celery. Sprig of parsley. Small bunch of herbs. 2 ozs. dripping. About 1 pint stock. Prepare the vegetables and cut into large chunks. Melt the dripping in a saucepan which will go into the oven, or a casserole, and fry the vegetables and herbs in it. Remove the vegetables from the pan and fry the meat quickly so that all surfaces are sealed and brown. Put back the vegetables and let the meat rest on them. Pour in sufficient boiling stock to half cover the vegetables but not touch the meat. Put on a closely fitting lid and place the pan in the oven at No. 5 for about 2 hours (30 minutes per lb.+ 30 minutes). Remove the lid during the last 4 hour so that the meat is nicely browned. ‘The meat is thus partially steamed to make it tender but has a rich roasted flavour. If the meat has been boned, the bones should be fried with the vegetables and used with them as a base for the joint. Boned stuffed breasts or loin of mutton or veal can be cooked in the same way with excellent results. Shallow Frying You will get better results with a good heavy frying-pan than with a thin one, which will probably buckle with the heat and burn the food. Any fat that is free from water will do for shallow frying. The ones generally used are dripping, lard or a mixture of butter ” and lard. Butter gives a very good flavour, but it is not very often used because it burns rather easily. In this kind of frying the same fat can only be used again for the same kind of food, because it usually takes the flavour of whatever has been fried in it. You should put just enough fat in the frying-pan to cover the bottom of it evenly. Heat the fat until it is quite still and has a faint smoke coming from the centre, then put the food in with the best side downwards first. When this has been browned, turn the food over with a fish slice and fry it until the other side is cooked. You must seal both sides of uncoated food like chops and steak first, and then finish cooking it more slowly. Deep Frying When frying things in deep fat you should always use enough fat to dover the food completely, but do not have the saucepan more than two-thirds full. The best kind of pan is a thick aluminium one or any other unlined type of pan. Never use an enamel one. You will find that clarified dripping, or beef suet, are the best fats to use. ‘They are economical too, because if you strain the fat through some muslin after you have finished cooking, it can be used again and again. Add more fat to it as you want it. Before putting the food in the pan, you should heat the fat — until it is quite still and has a faint smoke coming from the centre. An easy way of testing the heat of the fat is to fry a small bit of bread and see how quickly it browns. For cooked mixtures, like fish-cakes, you can have the fat much hotter than for uncooked food like fillets of fish, which have to be cooked right through before they brown. To see if the fat is hot enough put in a piece of bread ; if the fat is very hot you will find that the bread will brown in about 4 minute. If it is too cool, it will be greasy when you take it out of the pan instead of crisp. Food should always be coated with batter or with egg and breadcrumbs before frying it, otherwise the flavour of the food will spoil the fat, so that you will not be able to use it again. If you coat the food with egg and breadcrumbs it is advisable to use a frying-basket. Lower the basket gently into the fat and do not lift it out until the food is quite ready. Do not put too much food in at once or it will cool the fat, which will make the food turn out greasy instead of crisp and brown. If the pieces of food touch each other they will probably stick and then their shape and colour will be spoiled.

Cookery book