Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Beef (a la Mode), No. 4. Bath Recipe.— Take three pounds of beef (any part will do, but the rump is the best), cut away all fat, and trim nicely. Take a few cloves, a tea-spoonful of black pepper, a blade of mace, and a salt-spoonful of allspice. Pound them thoroughly, and add half a small tea-spoonful of cayenne pepper, some minced sweet herbs, and shalot. Put these ingredients into a dish, previously rubbed with garlic, and cover them with vinegar. Cut fat bacon into long strips, and lard the beef, on both sides if necessary, first dipping each strip of bacon into the vinegar, and well covering them v/ith the seasoning. Put BEE (51 ) BEE the meat into a baking-pan, with the remainder of the herbs and spice, a bit of butter rolled in floui', and one pint of water. Cover the toj) of the pan, and bake in an oven. When tender, strain the gravy, and serve the beef with pickles on the top. It makes an excellent cold dish, but should be served hot with the gravy at first. Probable cost. Is. per pound. Sufficient for five or six persons. Beef (a la Mode), No. 5. French Recipe. — Take a large, flat stewpan, and put into it two ounces of good butter. When the butter begins to froth, add a table-spoonful of flour, and stir until the two are well mixed and of a fine golden colour. Next lay in a piece of rump of beef, or any other tender part, three pounds in weight. Fry gently, being very careful that the meat does not stick to the pan. Add by degrees a pint of rich stock, well flavoured with carrots, savouiy herbs, onions, bay-leaves, salt, and pepper. When preferred, the vegetables may be put in whole, instead of merely flavouring the gravy with them, and they look very nice when used to garnish the meat. In France, they greatly increase the quantity of vegetables by adding tomatoes, when in season, small cucumbers, mushrooms, and green peas. Veal dressed this way, with the addition of nev.^ potatoes, is excellent, and is generally preferred to beef. Time to stew, foiu- or five hours. Probable cost, 4s. Sufficient for four or five persons. Beef (a la Mode), or Brazilian Stew. Dip some pieces of beef, cut from the shin, about three ounces in weight each, in vinegar, and place them in a stewpan (without any water) on a very slow fire. Let them gradually get hot. In about three hours it will be found that the meat has yielded sufficient gravy, and will be e.xcecdingly tender. Add a dessert-spoonful of musliroom ketchup, a tablespoonful of port or clayet, and half a tea-spoonful of brown thickening (or, failing this, a small piece of butter, about the size of a walnut, rolled in flour, with a little salt and cayenne). Simmer a few minutes longer, and serve. Probable cost, 7d. per pound. Sufficient for three or four persons. Beef (a la Polonaise). — Mix some breadcrumbs with minced onion, a little butter, pepper, and salt. Get a piece of beef, about four or five jDounds, beat well, and inseit the above stuffing into incisions made in the meat. These incisions should not be through, or the forcemeat will fall out into the stewpan. Put the meat into a stewpan, with a little butter and very little water, and stew until tender. Thicken the gravy with a tea-spoonful of brown thickening; or, failing this, with a quarter of an ounce of butter rolled in flour. Time to stew, three hours. Probable cost, 4s. 6d.