Ducks are chosen by the same rule as geese, and are
firm and thick on the breast.
Pigeons should be fresh, the breast plump, and the feet
elastic. Only experience can make one familiar with
other signs ; and a good butcher can usually be trusted to
tide one over the season of inexperience, though the
sooner it ends the better for all parties concerned.
Boiled Meats and Stews.
All meats intended to be boiled and served whole at
table must be put into boiling water, thus following an
entirely opposite rule from those intended for soups. In
the latter, the object being to extract all the juice, cold
water must always be used first, and then heated with the
meat in. In the former, all the juice is to be kept in ;
and, by putting into boiling water, the albumen of the
meat hardens on the surface and makes a case or coating
for the meat, which accomplishes this end. Where some-
thing between a soup and plain boiled meat is desired, as
in beef bouilli, the meat is put on in cold water, which is
brought to a boil very quickly, thus securing good gravy,
MEATS. 147
yet not robbing the meat of all Its juices. With corned
or salted meats, tongue, &c., cold water must be used,
and half an hour to the pound allowed. If to be eaten
cold, such meats should always be allowed to cool in the
water in which they were boiled ; and this water, if not
too salt, can be used for dried bean or pea soups.
Beef a la Mode.
Six or eight pounds of beef from the round, cut thick.
Take out the bone, trim off all rough bits carefully, and
rub the meat well with the following spicing : One tea-
spoonful each of pepper and ground clove, quarter of a
cup of brown sugar, and three teaspoonfuls of salt. Mix
these all together, and rub thoroughly into the beef, which
must stand over-night.
Next morning make a stuffing of one pint of bread or
cracker crumbs ; one large onion chopped fine ; a table-
spoonful of sweet marjoram or thyme ; half a teaspoonful
each of pepper and ground clove, and a heaping teaspoon-
ful of salt. Add a large cup of hot water, in which has
been melted a heaping tablespoonful of butter, and stir
into the crumbs. Beat an egg light, and mix with it. If
there is more than needed to fill the hole, make gashes in
the meat, and stuff with the remainder. Now bind into
shape with a strip of cotton cloth, sewing or tying it
firmly. Put a trivet or small iron stand into a soup-pot,
and lay the beef upon it. Half cover it with cold water ;
put in two onions stuck with three cloves each, a large
tablespoonful of salt, and a half teaspoonful of pepper ;
and stew very slowly, allowing half an hour to the pound,
and turning the meat twice while cooking. At the end of
this time take off the cloth, and put the meat, which must
148 MEATS.
remain on the trivet, in a roasting-pan. Dredge it quickly
with flour, set into a hot oven, and brown thoroughly.
Baste once with the gravy, and dredge again, the whole
operation requiring about half an hour. The water in the
pot should have been reduced to about a pint. Pour this
into the roasting-pan after the meat is taken up, skimming
off every particle of fat. Thicken with a heaping table-
spoonful of browned flour, stirred smooth in a little cold
water, and add a tablespoonful of catchup and two of
wine✪ Beef a la Mode, if desired, though neither is necessary. Taste, as
a little more salt may be required.
Page 74 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1881. 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
Ducks are chosen by the same rule as geese, and are firm and thick on the breast.
Pigeons should be fresh, the breast plump, and the feet elastic. Only experience can make one familiar with other signs ; and a good butcher can usually be trusted to tide one over the season of inexperience, though the sooner it ends the better for all parties concerned.
Boiled Meats and Stews. All meats intended to be boiled and served whole at table must be put into boiling water, thus following an entirely opposite rule from those intended for soups. In the latter, the object being to extract all the juice, cold water must always be used first, and then heated with the meat in. In the former, all the juice is to be kept in ; and, by putting into boiling water, the albumen of the meat hardens on the surface and makes a case or coating for the meat, which accomplishes this end. Where something between a soup and plain boiled meat is desired, as in beef bouilli, the meat is put on in cold water, which is brought to a boil very quickly, thus securing good gravy,
yet not robbing the meat of all Its juices. With corned or salted meats, tongue, &c., cold water must be used, and half an hour to the pound allowed. If to be eaten cold, such meats should always be allowed to cool in the water in which they were boiled ; and this water, if not too salt, can be used for dried bean or pea soups.
Beef a la Mode.
Six or eight pounds of beef from the round, cut thick. Take out the bone, trim off all rough bits carefully, and rub the meat well with the following spicing : One teaspoonful each of pepper and ground clove, quarter of a cup of brown sugar, and three teaspoonfuls of salt. Mix these all together, and rub thoroughly into the beef, which must stand over-night.
Next morning make a stuffing of one pint of bread or cracker crumbs ; one large onion chopped fine ; a tablespoonful of sweet marjoram or thyme ; half a teaspoonful each of pepper and ground clove, and a heaping teaspoonful of salt. Add a large cup of hot water, in which has been melted a heaping tablespoonful of butter, and stir into the crumbs. Beat an egg light, and mix with it. If there is more than needed to fill the hole, make gashes in the meat, and stuff with the remainder. Now bind into shape with a strip of cotton cloth, sewing or tying it firmly. Put a trivet or small iron stand into a soup-pot, and lay the beef upon it. Half cover it with cold water ; put in two onions stuck with three cloves each, a large tablespoonful of salt, and a half teaspoonful of pepper ; and stew very slowly, allowing half an hour to the pound, and turning the meat twice while cooking. At the end of this time take off the cloth, and put the meat, which must
remain on the trivet, in a roasting-pan. Dredge it quickly with flour, set into a hot oven, and brown thoroughly. Baste once with the gravy, and dredge again, the whole operation requiring about half an hour. The water in the pot should have been reduced to about a pint. Pour this into the roasting-pan after the meat is taken up, skimming off every particle of fat. Thicken with a heaping tablespoonful of browned flour, stirred smooth in a little cold water, and add a tablespoonful of catchup and two of wine, if desired, though neither is necessary. Taste, as a little more salt may be required.
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Beef a la Mode