Meat, to be in perfection, should be kept a number of days, when the
weather will admit of it. Beef and mutton should be kept at least a
week in cold weather and poultry three or four days. In the summer
meat should be kept in a cool, airy place, away from the flies, and if
there is any danger of its spoiling, a little salt should be rubbed over it.
Or it may be kept sweet, even in very warm weather, by covering it
lightly with bran and hanging it in a draught in a shady, cool room.
Meat can also be preserved by washing the meat, drying it and laying
in strong vinegar, or by being boiled in the vinegar, leaving it in until
cold, and then setting aside in a cool cellar.
To thaw frozen meat, place it for a few hours in cold water, the ice
which forms on the surface as it thaws being easily removed. If
cooked before entirely thawed, it will be tough. Meat once frozen
should not be allowed to thaw until just before cooking.
Boiling fresh meat is a science, for if not properly boiled it is tough
and tasteless. To make fresh meat nutritious and to confine its rich
juices, place it in a kettle of boiling water — pure soft water is best —
placing it where it will slowly but constantly boil. Skim it well the
first time it boils up, and keep the meat constantly turned and under the
water, adding fresh hot water as it evaporates in boiling. Do not let
the meat remain long in the water after it is done, as it injures it, and
add salt when the meat is nearly done, as it extracts the juices of the
meat if added too soon.
Salt meat should be put on in cold water so that it may freshen in
cooking. Allow twenty-five minutes for the fresh and thirty-five for the
salt meat ; the time for boiling to be modified by the quality and quan-
tity of the meat. A pod of red pepper in the water will prevent the
unpleasant odor of boiling from filling the house.
The liquor in which any kind of meat is boiled makes a good soup
when thickened and seasoned.
Baking meats is a very cheap and convenient way of dressing a din-
ner for a small family. Legs and loins of pork, legs of mutton, fillets
of veal, and many other joints will bake to great advantage, if the meat
be good or rather fat ; but if poor no baking will give satisfaction.
Have the fire bright and the oven hot, wipe the meat dry with a towel,
then, if not thoroughly clean, dash over cold water and quickly wipe
dry. Have the pan hot when you put the meat in. If it is beef, put it
in the hot pan and let it stand a half moment and then turn it over,
thus searing both sides and preventing the juices from running so
BEEF TURNOVERS.
POTTED BEEF.
1. ROAST SIRLOIN OF BEEF.
2. BAKED OX HEART.
3. ROAST RIBS OF BEEF.
BEEF BALLS.
STUFFED BEEFSTEAK.
GENERAL REMARKS. 521 ✪ Beef Balls
Page 435 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1886. 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
Meat, to be in perfection, should be kept a number of days, when the weather will admit of it. Beef and mutton should be kept at least a week in cold weather and poultry three or four days. In the summer meat should be kept in a cool, airy place, away from the flies, and if there is any danger of its spoiling, a little salt should be rubbed over it. Or it may be kept sweet, even in very warm weather, by covering it lightly with bran and hanging it in a draught in a shady, cool room. Meat can also be preserved by washing the meat, drying it and laying in strong vinegar, or by being boiled in the vinegar, leaving it in until cold, and then setting aside in a cool cellar.
To thaw frozen meat, place it for a few hours in cold water, the ice which forms on the surface as it thaws being easily removed. If cooked before entirely thawed, it will be tough. Meat once frozen should not be allowed to thaw until just before cooking.
Boiling fresh meat is a science, for if not properly boiled it is tough and tasteless. To make fresh meat nutritious and to confine its rich juices, place it in a kettle of boiling water — pure soft water is best — placing it where it will slowly but constantly boil. Skim it well the first time it boils up, and keep the meat constantly turned and under the water, adding fresh hot water as it evaporates in boiling. Do not let the meat remain long in the water after it is done, as it injures it, and add salt when the meat is nearly done, as it extracts the juices of the meat if added too soon.
Salt meat should be put on in cold water so that it may freshen in cooking. Allow twenty-five minutes for the fresh and thirty-five for the salt meat ; the time for boiling to be modified by the quality and quantity of the meat. A pod of red pepper in the water will prevent the unpleasant odor of boiling from filling the house.
The liquor in which any kind of meat is boiled makes a good soup when thickened and seasoned.
Baking meats is a very cheap and convenient way of dressing a dinner for a small family. Legs and loins of pork, legs of mutton, fillets of veal, and many other joints will bake to great advantage, if the meat be good or rather fat ; but if poor no baking will give satisfaction. Have the fire bright and the oven hot, wipe the meat dry with a towel, then, if not thoroughly clean, dash over cold water and quickly wipe dry. Have the pan hot when you put the meat in. If it is beef, put it in the hot pan and let it stand a half moment and then turn it over, thus searing both sides and preventing the juices from running so
BEEF TURNOVERS. POTTED BEEF.
1. ROAST SIRLOIN OF BEEF.
2. BAKED OX HEART.
3. ROAST RIBS OF BEEF.
BEEF BALLS. STUFFED BEEFSTEAK.
GENERAL REMARKS. 521
Records on this page
Beef Balls