Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Beef Stewed in Beer. —Take eight pounds of the silver-side of the round, hang it some days — as the weather will permit — to make it tender. Beat it with a rolling-pin, and then put it into a stewpan with a liquid composed of part mild beer and water, to nearly cover the meat. Add a few slices of bacon, two onions, some cloves, a bay-leaf, a small cup of ^-inegar, a tablespooonful of treacle, and the same of any sauce, according to taste. Let it simmer for three hours ; remove the scum as it rises, and when done, take out the beef on a dish, strain and thicken the gravy; add pepper and salt, and throw all over the meat. Probable cost, 7s. 6d. BEE (6.5 ) Beef, Stewed, Leg of.— Make a forcemeat of one pound and a quarter of finely-shred suet, some savoury and marjoram, a few cloves pounded, and a little pepper and salt, mixing all well together. Make several good -sized holes in a part of a leg of beef (about six or seven pounds will do) , that has had salt rubbed over it for two or three days previous, and fill them ^\dth the forcemeat. Put it into a deep baking- pan with some of the forcemeat over the top, and the pan more than half full of water. Keep the pan closely covered, and let the meat stew for four hours. The forcemeat from the top will serve to garnish, and may be cut into any form for the purpose. That pressed into the meat, if lightly put in, •will much improve the flavour. Probable cost, 7d. per pound. Sufficient for seven or eight persons. Beef Stock. — Bone a rump of beef and tie it neatly together ; break the bones and place both into a stewpan with two quarts of water to every three pounds of meat. Heat it very gradually and slowly by the side of the fire, removing the scum before and after it boils. Add salt in proportion to the water, about two ounces to the gallon. When all the scum has been removed, throw in thi'ce or four carrots, and the same of turnips, a small head of celery, a few young leeks, an onion stuck with eight cloves, a small tea-spoonful of peppercorns, and a bimch of savoury herbs. Let this stew for five hours very gently, when the beef will be done, but not overdone. It may be served with young cabbages, boiled in the usual way, pressed, and then stewed for seven or eight minutes in some of the beef stock or broth. This broth, in France, is made the basis of all soups and gravies, and with the addition of a knuckle of veal, poultry trimmings, a calf's foot, and a little ham, it will make a strong rich stock. If wanted to be used at the same time with the meat, strain, remove the fat, and serve with toasted bread. Beef Suet for Piecrust.— Shred some suet and clear it from all skin and fibre, put it into a basin, cover it with boiling water, and place it on a hot plate, or near the fire. AMien melted, pass it through a strainer into another vessel containing boiling water, and when cold, pierce the fat and let the water run out. If any sediment remain it will be found on the underside of the caked fat, and can be scraped off with a knife. Suet thus prepared, with the addition of a little lard or oil, can be worked into the consistency of butter, and may be used with success in making crusts for meat pies. Dripping may be cleansed in the same manner. Its adaptation to many purposes will depend on the management in clarifying, &c.