First, rub the tongue — after cleansing and wiping it thoroughly — with the bazar salt and " spiced pepper :" the operation will expend about a quarter of a pound of the former. When satisfactorily salted, put the tongue aside, and let it drain for the rest of the day to get rid of any blood that it may still contain. After rubbing in the salt, proceed to make the brine as follows : — Take a roomy enamelled sauce-pan and put in- to it the remaining bazar salt (about a pound) the bay- salt, saltpetre, the lime juice, and vinegar, and a pint and a half of cold water. Boil these over a low fire, removing all scum as it rises, when clear of scum and well boiled, the liquor may be set to get cold. Make a separate syrup with the sugar, diluting it with water in a small sauce-pan, and heating it gently till free from scum and smooth, then let it get cold. When the salt liquor and syrup are cold, they should be amalgamated, the work being done with a wooden spoon, and the brine being then completed should be poured into the tub. NOTES ON THE CURING OF MEAT. 253 The tongue, having been drained for six or eight hours, should be placed in the brine in the evening, where it ought to remain for a couple of days, being frequently turned over and basted during that period. On the evening of the second day's soaking, the tongue must be drained from the brine, and then hung to dry in the smoke of the kitchen fire for a couple of days, after which it may be considered fit to use. Wrap it in paper during the smoking stage, and soak it a little before cook- ing in cold water. The above process can, of course, be depended upon for preserving tongues for much longer periods. I can recom- mend it to sportsmen who, after killing deer or bison in the jungle, hardly know what to do with the good meat thrown upon their hands. A brine tub for tongues and humps would not seriously increase their impedimenta, and a moderately quick servant could soon master the secret of curing. Artificial smoking can easily be manag- ed out in camp, and the ingredients I have named can be carried out of cantonment without much trouble. Never mind if a tongue seem to shrivel up after the smoking stage ; after the soaking which it must receive before cooking, it will revive wonderfully, and regain its original proportions. A tongue that has merely lain in brine for a couple of days may be cooked at once without smoking ; soaking is then unnecessary ; but a well smoked tongue requires soaking, according to the degree of dryness it may have attained, from two hours upwards. Tongues have an annoying habit of curling themselves round, contracting, that is to say, as they get cold after cooking. To combat this unsightliness, and straighten the tongue, Ramasamy is wont to thrust a good thick wooden skewer straight throngh it from end to end, which 23 254 CULINARY JOTTINGS FOR MADRAS.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

First, rub the tongue — after cleansing and wiping it thoroughly — with the bazar salt and " spiced pepper :" the operation will expend about a quarter of a pound of the former. When satisfactorily salted, put the tongue aside, and let it drain for the rest of the day to get rid of any blood that it may still contain. After rubbing in the salt, proceed to make the brine as follows : — Take a roomy enamelled sauce-pan and put into it the remaining bazar salt (about a pound) the baysalt, saltpetre, the lime juice, and vinegar, and a pint and a half of cold water. Boil these over a low fire, removing all scum as it rises, when clear of scum and well boiled, the liquor may be set to get cold. Make a separate syrup with the sugar, diluting it with water in a small sauce-pan, and heating it gently till free from scum and smooth, then let it get cold. When the salt liquor and syrup are cold, they should be amalgamated, the work being done with a wooden spoon, and the brine being then completed should be poured into the tub. NOTES ON THE CURING OF MEAT. 253 The tongue, having been drained for six or eight hours, should be placed in the brine in the evening, where it ought to remain for a couple of days, being frequently turned over and basted during that period. On the evening of the second day's soaking, the tongue must be drained from the brine, and then hung to dry in the smoke of the kitchen fire for a couple of days, after which it may be considered fit to use. Wrap it in paper during the smoking stage, and soak it a little before cooking in cold water. The above process can, of course, be depended upon for preserving tongues for much longer periods. I can recommend it to sportsmen who, after killing deer or bison in the jungle, hardly know what to do with the good meat thrown upon their hands. A brine tub for tongues and humps would not seriously increase their impedimenta, and a moderately quick servant could soon master the secret of curing. Artificial smoking can easily be managed out in camp, and the ingredients I have named can be carried out of cantonment without much trouble. Never mind if a tongue seem to shrivel up after the smoking stage ; after the soaking which it must receive before cooking, it will revive wonderfully, and regain its original proportions. A tongue that has merely lain in brine for a couple of days may be cooked at once without smoking ; soaking is then unnecessary ; but a well smoked tongue requires soaking, according to the degree of dryness it may have attained, from two hours upwards. Tongues have an annoying habit of curling themselves round, contracting, that is to say, as they get cold after cooking. To combat this unsightliness, and straighten the tongue, Ramasamy is wont to thrust a good thick wooden skewer straight through it from end to end, which

Culinary jottings