FoodNetArchive

The new practical housekeeping

1890

Page 367

Presented as published in 1890. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Pig^s Feet — Take the fore feet, cut off the hocks, clean and scrape them well ; place two feet together and roll them Tip tightly in common muslin ; tie or sew them so that they will keep in perfect shape, and boil them seven hours on a moderate fire — ^they will then be very soft ; lift out carefully and let cool ; then remove the muslin and they will be found like jelly. Serve with vinegar, or split and roll in bread-crumbs or cracker dust, and fry or broil them. Serve with a little tart sauce. Leave them in the cloths until ready to chop. Some boil them only until tender, not wrapping m cloth,, then split in halves, take out all large bones and fry or broil. Or put the feet into a stewpan with theliver, heart, a thin slice of bacon, an onion, blade of mace, six pepper-corns, three or four sprigs thyme, pint gravy, pepper and salt to taste, and simmer gentlv fifteen min- utes ; then take out heart and liver^ and mince very fine ; stew the feet till quite tender, which will be m from twenty minutes to half an hour, reckoning from the time they boiled up first ; then put back the minced liver, thicken the gravjr with a little butter and flour, season with pepper and salt, and simmer over gentle fire five minutes, stirring occasionally. Dish the mince and split feet, and arrange in a circle alternately with croutons of toasted bread, and pour gravy in the middle. Pig^8 Head Cheese. — Having thoroughly cleaned a nice head,, split in two, take out the eyes and brain ; clean the ears, throw scald- ing water over the head and ears, then scrape them well ; when very clean, put in kettle with water to cover, and set over a rather quick fire : SKim it as any ekum rises ; when boiled so that the fiesh leavea the bones, take it from the water with a skimmer into a large wood- en bowl or tray ] take out every particle of bone, chop meat fine^ , MEATS. 431 season to taste with salt and pepper (a little powdered sage may be .added), spread a cloth over the colander, put the meat in, fold cloth closely over it, lay a weight on it so that it may press the whole equally (if it be lean use a heavy weight, if fat, a lighter one) ; when cold take off weight, remove from colander and place in crock. Some add vinegar in proportion of one pint to a gallon crock. Clarify fat from cloth, colander, and liquor of the pot, and use for frying. Some boil and chop the meat from the feet also. Pow- dered sweet herbs, teaspoon allspice, two of cloves and saltspoon powdered mace make a very nice seasoning, and some like the flavor of onions stuck with cloves boiled with the meat. Instead of press- in a cloth the meat may be packed in molds, moistened or not with a little of its own broth, ana a little vinegar. Boiled heart, part of liver and the tongue are also chopped and added, and sometimes a fourth as much lean beef as meat from head,etc., is added. Sliced tongue and sausages, or whole tongue may be placed in center of moM. This dish is called Brawn by the English, who pack it in molds, without moistening, and press with weignts. Some cook again ten minutes or so after chopping the meat and adding the seasoning before putting in molds, it is nice to pack in small molds, if to be served cold, and slice at table. Garnisn with parsley and barberries or slices of lemon.