Poultry, ducks, and geese, are far better braised than
roasted, unless you keep a fowl-yard of your own, and
feed and kill the birds at home. To braise poultry well,
you must make the gravy from the giblets, and trimmings
of the birds, assisted by a little gravy-meat. In fact all
braises are better if you help the gravy with a little extra
meat. The French throw in a glass or two of light white
wine when braising poultry, and Madeira or Marsala is a
sterling aid in cooking mutton or beef in this method. A
slice of bacon is very effective with all braised meat.
If you must roast your little joint, see that it is not
spitted, — that is, thrust through by the spit ; with a little
care, a small Indian joint can easily be tied to it. Do not
let your cook use coarse wooden skewers, but make him
tie a joint into a shape, for every stab inflicted in it, will
rob the piece of meat of its juiciness.
Tastes vary so strangely as to the " doing" of meat, that
it is impossible to give a rule for roasting. It is, however,
essential to use an equal fire throughout the process, and
to guard against cooking the outside too fast. Frequent
basting is a sine qua non, and you should dredge a little
flour over the meat to finish wdth, to produce a crisp,
brown, frothy surface. You should preserve the fat of
your sirloin, or loin of mutton, by tying over it a wrapper
of buttered paper.
The French place their small joints in marinade, a cus-
tom I strongly advocate for the poor meat of this country,
when you intend to roast or grill it. Here is their
method of cooking a loin of mutton en iiapillote : — Trim
the loin nicely, and let it lie from morning till roasting
time 671 marinade, composed of a breakfast-cupful of salad
oil, two onions, and a carrot, sliced fine as for Julienne,
with some whole peppers, salt✪ Braised Meat, chopped parsley, and a
ROASTING AND BRAISING. 107
tea-spoonful of powdered di'ied sweet herbs. Let the
joint be turned several times during the day, and baste
it often. When to be dressed, pack it, with its vegetables
and all, in a well oiled paper, and roast it carefully, bast-
ing it with the oil that composed the marinade : when
nearly done, remove the paper, brush off the vegetables,
baste with melted butter, and serve, when nicely browned,
with other vegetables independently cooked, and some
gravy. Though the inexperienced reader will hardly
believe me, I can assure him that when finally set before
him, he will fail to trace the presence of oil (the hete noir
of Englishmen) whilst he will be surprised at the juici-
ness, and good flavour of the meat.
Page 60 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1885. 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
Poultry, ducks, and geese, are far better braised than roasted, unless you keep a fowl-yard of your own, and feed and kill the birds at home. To braise poultry well, you must make the gravy from the giblets, and trimmings of the birds, assisted by a little gravy-meat. In fact all braises are better if you help the gravy with a little extra meat. The French throw in a glass or two of light white wine when braising poultry, and Madeira or Marsala is a sterling aid in cooking mutton or beef in this method. A slice of bacon is very effective with all braised meat.
If you must roast your little joint, see that it is not spitted, — that is, thrust through by the spit ; with a little care, a small Indian joint can easily be tied to it. Do not let your cook use coarse wooden skewers, but make him tie a joint into a shape, for every stab inflicted in it, will rob the piece of meat of its juiciness.
Tastes vary so strangely as to the " doing" of meat, that it is impossible to give a rule for roasting. It is, however, essential to use an equal fire throughout the process, and to guard against cooking the outside too fast. Frequent basting is a sine qua non, and you should dredge a little flour over the meat to finish wdth, to produce a crisp, brown, frothy surface. You should preserve the fat of your sirloin, or loin of mutton, by tying over it a wrapper of buttered paper.
The French place their small joints in marinade, a custom I strongly advocate for the poor meat of this country, when you intend to roast or grill it. Here is their method of cooking a loin of mutton en iiapillote : — Trim the loin nicely, and let it lie from morning till roasting time 671 marinade, composed of a breakfast-cupful of salad oil, two onions, and a carrot, sliced fine as for Julienne, with some whole peppers, salt, chopped parsley, and a
tea-spoonful of powdered di'ied sweet herbs. Let the joint be turned several times during the day, and baste it often. When to be dressed, pack it, with its vegetables and all, in a well oiled paper, and roast it carefully, basting it with the oil that composed the marinade : when nearly done, remove the paper, brush off the vegetables, baste with melted butter, and serve, when nicely browned, with other vegetables independently cooked, and some gravy. Though the inexperienced reader will hardly believe me, I can assure him that when finally set before him, he will fail to trace the presence of oil (the hete noir of Englishmen) whilst he will be surprised at the juiciness, and good flavour of the meat.
Records on this page
Braised MeatMarinated Loin of Mutton