Elements of the theory and practice of cookery

One flank steak, or one pound of top-round steak one-half inch thick. Suet, 2 or 3 small slices. Carrot, cubed, ^/. cupful. Onion, 1 small one, sliced. Boiling water or stock, 1 cupful. Stuffing made from : — Soft bread crumbs, 1 cupful. Celery cut fine, 2 tablespoonfuls. Melted butter, 2 tablespoonfuls. Salt, y^ teaspoonful. Parsley cut fine, 2 tablespoonfuls. Paprika, }i teaspoonful. Onion juice, % teaspoonful. Trim the edges of the steak, spread over it the stuff- ing, roll and tie it, and lay it on the onion and carrot 1 Top round of beef may be larded, browned, and stewed very slowly for four or five hours. Cooked in this way with vegetables it is called Beef a la Mode. PLATE X. Top Sirloin ready for Roasting. a, \eg of mutton (hind) ; h, fore- quarter of mutton (rib porti:):i separated from shoulder). Rolled Flank of Beef, larded, braised, and arranged on a Bed of Vegetables. THE FLESH OF ANIMALS 169 in a pan, with the suet on top. Pour the water or stock into the pan ; cook closely covered for twenty minutes or more in a hot oven ; then uncover, and cook thirty minutes longer. Serve with Brown Gravy made from the drippings in the pan. The steak may be larded instead of covered with suet. Insert with a larding-needle two rows of salt-pork strips Qardoons) two inches long and one-fourth of an inch thick. Helpful Hints about Braising and Stewing 298. 1. Remnants of cooked meat may be stewed, either by themselves, or with uncooked meat. 2. Only the best portions of stew meat should be browned ; very coarse or gristly pieces may be simmered by themselves, and only the broth added to the stew. 3. To make sure that the stew shall not boil, cook it in a double boiler, allowing half again as much time as for cooking by direct heat. Stew meat that has boiled may look tender because its fibres, loosened by the softening of the connective tissue, fall apart; but the fibres themselves will be found hard to chew and digest. 4. In stewing, add water from time to time, enough to keep the meat covered. If the broth is too watery, boil it down before pouring it over the meat. 5. Braised meat may be cooked uncovered the latter part of the time. 170 THEORY AND PRACTICE OF COOKERY WARMED-OVER DISHES (RECHAUFFieSi) 299. Delicious meat dishes may be prepared from remnants of cooked meat such as thriftless house- keepers throw away and unskilful ones warm over carelessly in a frying-pan. Learn to combine acceptably whatever materials you have on hand, varying the regular recipes to suit the case. For example, you may substitute bread-crumbs or macaroni for potatoes, stewed tomatoes for gravy, rice for macaroni, and so on. Be sure to make the dish look attractive, and if possible find for it an appetizing name. Skill in using up left-overs provides many a dainty and saves many a dollar. 300. How to prepare meat to be used in rechauffes. — Remove all bone and gristle, and, when the meat is to be hashed, trim off the fat. Save the bones for soup- stock, the fat for trying out. Cut the meat in cubes or thin slices, or chop it fine. If tender and well- cooked, take care to reheat it only, not recooh it ; if tough or underdone, simmer it until tender, saving the cooking water to make a sauce. Season it rather highly, since meat after cooling is less savory than when fresh-cooked. Recipes