The profession of cookery, from a French point of view

Large pieces or joints of meat cooked in this way are equally good eaten either hot or cold ; but, as before stated, inferior portions of meat, if stewed in this vessel, may be rendered most excellent and nutritious. Let us first take " Boeuf a la daube.^' The portion of beef used for this is a slice — say, an inch thick — from the shoulder of beef ; either above the blade or under it will do. THE ''DAUBIERE'' OR ''BRAISIERE'' Remove all bone and skin ; if you get a proper slice, there will be little of either. Take a small portion of beef kidney, a slice of fat bacon or salted pork, and a few large white onions ; cat the meat into small squares, the bacon into strips, the kidney into small pieces, and slice the onion finely. Then in your daubiere arrange them in layers, dredging a little flour over each layer of meat, and taking care to have the fat bacon for the final layer. A few peppercorns should be disposed about, and a very little salt. Then, last of all, a glass of red wine should be poured over. Give it three or four hours to cook. It is most excellent. Veal done in this same manner should be left whole, the kidney omitted ; but the meat should be liberally larded through with fat bacon, more placed round it, a clove or two and peppercorns, but no onions. Sweet herbs are an improvement, and white wine instead of red. Of course the wine may be omitted altogether where great economy is to be observed ; the daube will be less rich, but none the less good without it. LLegs of mutton, shanks, thick portions of the -]% THE ''DAUBIERE'' OR ''BRAISIERE'' shoulder, etc., require no addition, save a few sweet herbs and a little fat to give moisture. The same parts of lamb may be cooked in this way also, and the meat will be found to waste less if so treated. True '^booaf a la mode '^ is cooked in the daubiere. When intended to be eaten hot, the vegetables are served with the meat ; but not so intended, they should be lifted out, and the fat over the gravy removed as far as possible, leaving the meat in the vessel until quite cold. It is sometimes well to place a weight over the meat before replacing the lid ; it will slice more evenly if this precaution be observed. A piece of the leg of beef or the '^ round ^' cooked in this manner, and left till cold, makes a capital luncheon dish ; it will absorb the flavour of vegetables, bacon, fat, etc., quite readily. For cooking turkeys, geese or poultry, ^' en daube,^^ the same general directions will suffice. Choose an old bird by preference ; pluck and empty it, saving the heart, liver, and gizzard, also the neck; scald these well. Singe the bird, and scald the inside, then truss as if for roasting. Place some fat bacon or salt pork at the bot- THE ''DAUBIERE'' OR ''BRAISIERE'' 79 torn of the daubiere, your bird upon that, and pack round it the giblets, a calf's foot split and quartered, two or three carrots split and quartered, an onion, some bay-leaves, tliyme, and parsley. Add peppercorns and a little salt, a cupful of good stock, and a glass of wine if liked : then cover up tightly, and cook gently for five or six hours.