Do not put meat too near the fire at first —
the larger the joint, the farther it must be kept
from the fire. If once it gets scorched, the out-
side wiU become hard, and acquire a disagree-
able empyreumatic taste ; and the fire being
prevented from penetrating into it, the meat
will appear done before it is more than half
done, besides losing the pale brown colour,
which is the beauty of roasted meat.
From 14 to 10 inches is the usual distance at
which meat is put from the grate when first
put down : it is extremely difficult to offer any-
thing like an accurate general rule for this,
it depends so much upon the size of the fire, and
on that of the thing to be roasted.
Be very careful to place the dripping-pan at
such a distance from the fire as just to catch
the dripijings — if it is too near, the ashes wiU
fall into it, and spoil the drippings. If it is too
far from the fire to catch them, you will not
only lose your drippings, but the meat will be
blackened and spoiled by the f cetid smoke which
will arise when the fat falls on the live cinders.
A large dripping-pan is convenient for several
purposes— it should not be less than twenty-
eight inches long, and twenty inches wide, and
have a covered well at the side from the fire to
collect the diippings — this will preserve them
in the most delicate state ; in a pan of the above
size you may set fried fish and various dishes
to keep hot.
The time meat will take roasting will vary
according to the time it has been kept and the
temperature of the weather — the same weight
will be twenty nunutes or half an hour longer in
cold weather than it wiU be in warm, and if fresh
killed than if it has been kept till it is tender.
A good meat screen is a great saver of coals.
It should be on wheels, have a flat top, and
not be less than about three feet and a half
wide, and with shelves in it, about one foot
deep — it will then answer aU the purposes of a
large Dutch oven, plate-warmer, hot hearth, «S:c.
Some are made Avith a door behind; this is con-
venient, but the great heat they are exposed to
soon shrinks the materials, and the currents of
air through the cracks cannot be prevented, so
they are better without the door.
Everybody knows the advantage of slow
boiling — slow roasting is equally important.
It is difficult to give any specific rule for
time, but if your fire is made as above di-
rected, your meat screen sufficiently large
to guard what you are dressing from currents
of air, and the meat is not frosted, you
cannot do better than follow the old general
rule of allowing rather more than a quarter
of an hour to the pound — a little more or
less, according to the temperature of the
weather, in proportion as the piece is thick
or thin, the strength of the fire, the nearness
of the meat to it, and the frequency with which
you baste it; the more it is basted the less
time it will take, as it keeps the meat soft
and mellow on the outside, and the fire acts
with more force upon it.
Reckon the time, not to the hour when
dinner is ordered, but to the moment the roasts
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Page 1580
Presented as published in 1892. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Do not put meat too near the fire at first — the larger the joint, the farther it must be kept from the fire. If once it gets scorched, the outside will become hard, and acquire a disagreeable empyreumatic taste ; and the fire being prevented from penetrating into it, the meat will appear done before it is more than half done, besides losing the pale brown colour, which is the beauty of roasted meat.
From 14 to 10 inches is the usual distance at which meat is put from the grate when first put down : it is extremely difficult to offer anything like an accurate general rule for this, it depends so much upon the size of the fire, and on that of the thing to be roasted.
Be very careful to place the dripping-pan at such a distance from the fire as just to catch the drippings — if it is too near, the ashes will fall into it, and spoil the drippings. If it is too far from the fire to catch them, you will not only lose your drippings, but the meat will be blackened and spoiled by the fetid smoke which will arise when the fat falls on the live cinders. A large dripping-pan is convenient for several purposes— it should not be less than twenty-eight inches long, and twenty inches wide, and have a covered well at the side from the fire to collect the drippings — this will preserve them in the most delicate state ; in a pan of the above size you may set fried fish and various dishes to keep hot.
The time meat will take roasting will vary according to the time it has been kept and the temperature of the weather — the same weight will be twenty minutes or half an hour longer in cold weather than it will be in warm, and if fresh killed than if it has been kept till it is tender.
A good meat screen is a great saver of coals. It should be on wheels, have a flat top, and not be less than about three feet and a half wide, and with shelves in it, about one foot deep — it will then answer all the purposes of a large Dutch oven, plate-warmer, hot hearth, &c.. Some are made with a door behind; this is convenient, but the great heat they are exposed to soon shrinks the materials, and the currents of air through the cracks cannot be prevented, so they are better without the door.
Everybody knows the advantage of slow boiling — slow roasting is equally important.
It is difficult to give any specific rule for time, but if your fire is made as above directed, your meat screen sufficiently large to guard what you are dressing from currents of air, and the meat is not frosted, you cannot do better than follow the old general rule of allowing rather more than a quarter of an hour to the pound — a little more or less, according to the temperature of the weather, in proportion as the piece is thick or thin, the strength of the fire, the nearness of the meat to it, and the frequency with which you baste it; the more it is basted the less time it will take, as it keeps the meat soft and mellow on the outside, and the fire acts with more force upon it.
Reckon the time, not to the hour when dinner is ordered, but to the moment the roasts
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