FoodNetArchive

The new Kentucky home cook book

1884

Page 18 · 1 recipe record on this page

Presented as published in 1884. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Raw oysters may be served in small oyster plates or upon the lower half-shell. To serve raw oysters, cut small squares of ice, and with a hot flat-iron melt a place large enough in which to lay a raw oyster and a small quantity of chopped celery. Guests can season according" to their own taste. MEATS. Great care should be exercised in the selection of meats. Good "wholesome meat will be firm, and show no signs of dampness, while bad meat will be moist, almost wet. Good meat has very little smell, and will increase in size in boil- ing, while bad meat will shrink very much. All meats are much improved by being kept two or three days before being cooked — in winter, longer would be bet- ter; in summer, so soon as taken off the ice it should be cooked. Put salt meats to cook in cold water. It requires longer to cook salt than fresh meat, and more water. Fresh meats should be put in hot water to cook, which should be done quickly, though they should not be boiled too hard or too long, as it will make them tough. Tough meats and poultry are made more tender by put- ting a little vinegar or a few slices of lemon in the water in which they are boiled. Never boil meats or poultry you wish to bake, as it makes them tasteless. In buying beef to roast or bake, the sirloin and rib are the choicest pieces; to corn, the round is best; for steaks, the porter-house is best for small families, as there is but little bone. A tenderloin is by far the most desirable. Round and rump steaks, if well beaten and cooked quickly, have the best flavor. Never season steak until after it is cooked. For mutton roasts, take the shoulder, saddle, loin, and haunch. The leg is best for boiling. Small rib chops are best, (42) The New Kentucky Home Cook Book. 43 The best veal roasts are the loin, breast, or shoulder, Veal chops are best for frying. Cutlets are apt to be tough. All fowls must be properly dressed, seeing especially that they are carefully drawn, or they will soon become tainted. Fowls and game should be kept at least twenty-four hours after being dressed, before cooking. Frozen meats and fowls must be laid in cold water to thaw. In the receipts given, there will be found many ways of using cold meats and fowls, all of which are excellent, hav- ing been tried by old housekeepers, and rendered so simple that even the most inexperienced can make most appetizing- dishes out of small pieces heretofore wasted in many house- holds. SADDLE OF VENISON. Parboil the venison, if not very young and tender, in salt and water for fifteen minutes, to take away the strong taste. Place it in a baking-pan, underside up ; dredge it over with flour, and salt and pepper ; put half a gallon of water in the pan ; cook for two hours, basting continually, and have it a nice brown. Take it out of the stove, turn it over, and with a sharp knife make incisions an inch long and deep all over the top and sides. Make a dressing of bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and one table-spoonful of butter, and mix well; take a slice of fat middling, five or six inches long and two or three broad, and one bunch of parsley; chop them very fine, and add to the bread crumbs; and fill each incision with the dressing.Saddle of Venison