ONE of the most comico-pathetico true
stories I know is that of a boy, the
youngest of a large family, who, having always
sat at the second table, knew nothing experi-
mentally of the choicer portions of chicken or
turkey. Being invited out to dinner as the
guest of a playmate, he was asked, first of all
present, "what part of the turkey he pre-
ferred."
"The carker'' (carcass), "and a little of the
stuff^' (stuffing), "if you please," replied the
poor little fellow, with prompt politeness.
It was his usual ration, and in his igno-
rance, he craved nothing better.
MEATS. 95
The pupil in cookery who enjoys tossing up
entrieSy and devising dainty rechauffes^ but can-
not support the thought of handling raw
chickens and big-boned joints of butcher's
meat, is hardly wiser than he.
It is a common fallacy to believe that this
branch of the culinary art is uninteresting
drudgery, fit only for the hands of the very
plain hired cook.
Another mistake, almost as prevalent, lies in
supposing that she can, of course, perform the
duty properly. There is room for intelligent
skill in so simple a process as roasting a
piece of meat, nor is the task severe or
repulsive. Practically, it is far more important
to know how to do this well, than to be profi-
cient in cake, jelly, and pudding making.
Soast Beef.
Have a steady, moderate 'fire in the stove-
grate. Increase the heat when the meat is
thoroughly warmed.
96 COOKERY FOR BEGINNERS.
Lay the beef, skin side uppermost, in a clean
baking-pan, and dash all over it two cups
of boiling water in which a teaspoonful of salt
has been dissolved. This sears the surface
slightly, and keeps in the juices.
Shut the oven door, and do not open again
for twenty minutes. Then, with a ladle or
iron spoon dip up the salted water and pour
it over the top of the meat, wetting every
part again and again. Eight or ten ladlefuls
should be used in this "basting/* which should
be repeated every fifteen minutes for the next
hour. Allow twelve minutes to each pound of
meat in roasting beef.
Do not swing the oven door wide while you
bast.e, but slip your hand (protected by an old
glove or a napkin) into the space left by the
half-open door, and when you have wet the
surface of the roast quickly and well, shut it
up again to heat and steam.
A little care in this respect will add much
to the flavor and tenderness of the beef.
MEATS. 97
Should one side of it, or the back, brown
more rapidly than the rest, turn the pan in
the oven, and should the water dry up
to a few spoonfuls, pour in another cupful
from the tea-kettle.
About twenty minutes before the time for
the roasting is up, draw the pan to the oven-
door, and sift flour over the meat from a flour
dredger or a small sieve. Shut the door until
the flour browns, then baste abundantly, and
dredge again.
In five minutes, or when this dredging is
brown, rub the top of the meat with a good
teaspoonful of butter, dredge quickly and close
the door.
If the fire is good, in a few minutes a
nice brown froth will encrust the surface of
the cooked meat. Lift the pan to the side
table, take up the beef by slipping a strong
cake-turner or broad knife under it, holding it
firmly with a fork, and transfer to a heated
platter.
98 COOKERY FOR BEGINNERS.
Set in the plate-warmer, or over boiling
water, while you make the gravy.
Gravy (brown).
Set the pan in which the meat was roasted,
on the range when the beef has been removed
to a dish. Scrape toward the centre the
browned flour from sides and bottom and dust
in a little more from your dredger as you
stir. If the water has boiled away until the
bottom of the pan is exposed, add a little,
boiling hoty directly from the teakettle and
stir until the gravy is of the consistency of
rich cream.
Pepper to taste and pour into a gravy boat. ✪ Roast Beef
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Presented as published in 1884. 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
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ONE of the most comico-pathetico true
stories I know is that of a boy, the
youngest of a large family, who, having always
sat at the second table, knew nothing experi-
mentally of the choicer portions of chicken or
turkey. Being invited out to dinner as the
guest of a playmate, he was asked, first of all
present, "what part of the turkey he pre-
ferred."
"The carker'' (carcass), "and a little of the
stuff^' (stuffing), "if you please," replied the
poor little fellow, with prompt politeness.
It was his usual ration, and in his igno-
rance, he craved nothing better.
MEATS. 95
The pupil in cookery who enjoys tossing up
entrieSy and devising dainty rechauffes^ but can-
not support the thought of handling raw
chickens and big-boned joints of butcher's
meat, is hardly wiser than he.
It is a common fallacy to believe that this
branch of the culinary art is uninteresting
drudgery, fit only for the hands of the very
plain hired cook.
Another mistake, almost as prevalent, lies in
supposing that she can, of course, perform the
duty properly. There is room for intelligent
skill in so simple a process as roasting a
piece of meat, nor is the task severe or
repulsive. Practically, it is far more important
to know how to do this well, than to be profi-
cient in cake, jelly, and pudding making.
Soast Beef.
Have a steady, moderate 'fire in the stove-
grate. Increase the heat when the meat is
thoroughly warmed.
96 COOKERY FOR BEGINNERS.
Lay the beef, skin side uppermost, in a clean
baking-pan, and dash all over it two cups
of boiling water in which a teaspoonful of salt
has been dissolved. This sears the surface
slightly, and keeps in the juices.
Shut the oven door, and do not open again
for twenty minutes. Then, with a ladle or
iron spoon dip up the salted water and pour
it over the top of the meat, wetting every
part again and again. Eight or ten ladlefuls
should be used in this "basting/* which should
be repeated every fifteen minutes for the next
hour. Allow twelve minutes to each pound of
meat in roasting beef.
Do not swing the oven door wide while you
bast.e, but slip your hand (protected by an old
glove or a napkin) into the space left by the
half-open door, and when you have wet the
surface of the roast quickly and well, shut it
up again to heat and steam.
A little care in this respect will add much
to the flavor and tenderness of the beef.
MEATS. 97
Should one side of it, or the back, brown
more rapidly than the rest, turn the pan in
the oven, and should the water dry up
to a few spoonfuls, pour in another cupful
from the tea-kettle.
About twenty minutes before the time for
the roasting is up, draw the pan to the oven-
door, and sift flour over the meat from a flour
dredger or a small sieve. Shut the door until
the flour browns, then baste abundantly, and
dredge again.
In five minutes, or when this dredging is
brown, rub the top of the meat with a good
teaspoonful of butter, dredge quickly and close
the door.
If the fire is good, in a few minutes a
nice brown froth will encrust the surface of
the cooked meat. Lift the pan to the side
table, take up the beef by slipping a strong
cake-turner or broad knife under it, holding it
firmly with a fork, and transfer to a heated
platter.
98 COOKERY FOR BEGINNERS.
Set in the plate-warmer, or over boiling
water, while you make the gravy.
Gravy (brown).
Set the pan in which the meat was roasted,
on the range when the beef has been removed
to a dish. Scrape toward the centre the
browned flour from sides and bottom and dust
in a little more from your dredger as you
stir. If the water has boiled away until the
bottom of the pan is exposed, add a little,
boiling hoty directly from the teakettle and
stir until the gravy is of the consistency of
rich cream.
Pepper to taste and pour into a gravy boat.