It is well to bear in mind that during the hot weather meat
can only be kept for a short time, and freshly-killed meat re-
quires longer to roast than meat which is well hung. The
usual time allowed for a joint of mutton and beef, when meat
is preferred somewhat underdone, is a quarter of an hour for
each pound of meat and a quarter of an hour besides, in a
good steady oven. But when meat is liked well done and also
in the case of a solid piece of meat which has been freed from
bone, such as a rolled rib of beef, or the top-side of the round,
twenty minutes to every pound of weight will not be too much
time to allow. When the meat is cooked in the oven it is a
good plan to put a salt jar containing boiling water into the
oven when the meat is put in; the steam which is given off will
prevent the meat from becoming too dry and the objectionable
odor of burnt fat, which too often pervades the house, will be
prevented. If the water is not exhausted about a quarter of
an hour before the joint is ready, it should be taken out of
the oven so that the meat is nicely browned.
To Roast a Fowl.
Choose a nice fresh fowl and wipe it well all over with a
cloth wrung out of borax and water; dry it thoroughly and
rub it over with dripping and place a small piece the size of a
walnut inside the bird and also a small onion, with two cloves
stuck in it, which will improve the flavor. Place the fowl in a
baking-tin and surround it with plenty of dripping and put it
into a well-heated oven and baste it with plenty of dripping,
and do this frequently during the process of cooking, as it
cannot be kept too moist. The bird, if very young, should take
about forty minutes to cook, but an hour, or even longer,
should be allowed for a fair-sized bird. About ten minutes
before taking the bird from the oven it should be lightly
dredged with flour, seasoned with salt, and basted with melted
butter or dripping to produce the brown blistered appearance
which is usually seen on a fowl prepared in this way. Melted
226 STANDARD COOKERY.
butter is preferred to dripping in that it froths in a way in
which dripping does not and consequently produces a better
result. Should the heat of the oven be really hot at first, the
temperature may be slightly reduced after a little and kept at
a steady heat until the bird is done.
Boiled Corned Beef.
Procure from your butcher about five pounds of silverside
of beef which has been in brine for about twelve days. Wash
the meat, trim off any superfluous fat, and rub it over on the
inside with a seasoning composed of half an ounce of black
pepper, half an ounce of mace, and half an ounce of ground
cloves, unless the flavor of spices is objected to, when they
should be omitted. Then roll up the meat and tie it into shape,
and wrap it in a cloth. Put the meat into a saucepan with
plenty of tepid water; when it boils remove the scum, and add
carrots, turnip, onion, and celery seed and twelve whole pep-
pers tied together in muslin. Cover the saucepan and let the
meat simmer very slowly for five hours. If it is to be served
cold, leave it in the saucepan until the liquor in which it is
cooked is cold, then take it up, tighten the cloth, and place it
between two baking-sheets with weights on the top, and let it
remain all night.
Page 156
Presented as published in 1912. 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
It is well to bear in mind that during the hot weather meat can only be kept for a short time, and freshly-killed meat requires longer to roast than meat which is well hung. The usual time allowed for a joint of mutton and beef, when meat is preferred somewhat underdone, is a quarter of an hour for each pound of meat and a quarter of an hour besides, in a good steady oven. But when meat is liked well done and also in the case of a solid piece of meat which has been freed from bone, such as a rolled rib of beef, or the top-side of the round, twenty minutes to every pound of weight will not be too much time to allow. When the meat is cooked in the oven it is a good plan to put a salt jar containing boiling water into the oven when the meat is put in; the steam which is given off will prevent the meat from becoming too dry and the objectionable odor of burnt fat, which too often pervades the house, will be prevented. If the water is not exhausted about a quarter of an hour before the joint is ready, it should be taken out of the oven so that the meat is nicely browned.
To Roast a Fowl.
Choose a nice fresh fowl and wipe it well all over with a cloth wrung out of borax and water; dry it thoroughly and rub it over with dripping and place a small piece the size of a walnut inside the bird and also a small onion, with two cloves stuck in it, which will improve the flavor. Place the fowl in a baking-tin and surround it with plenty of dripping and put it into a well-heated oven and baste it with plenty of dripping, and do this frequently during the process of cooking, as it cannot be kept too moist. The bird, if very young, should take about forty minutes to cook, but an hour, or even longer, should be allowed for a fair-sized bird. About ten minutes before taking the bird from the oven it should be lightly dredged with flour, seasoned with salt, and basted with melted butter or dripping to produce the brown blistered appearance which is usually seen on a fowl prepared in this way. Melted
butter is preferred to dripping in that it froths in a way in which dripping does not and consequently produces a better result. Should the heat of the oven be really hot at first, the temperature may be slightly reduced after a little and kept at a steady heat until the bird is done.
Boiled Corned Beef.
Procure from your butcher about five pounds of silverside of beef which has been in brine for about twelve days. Wash the meat, trim off any superfluous fat, and rub it over on the inside with a seasoning composed of half an ounce of black pepper, half an ounce of mace, and half an ounce of ground cloves, unless the flavor of spices is objected to, when they should be omitted. Then roll up the meat and tie it into shape, and wrap it in a cloth. Put the meat into a saucepan with plenty of tepid water; when it boils remove the scum, and add carrots, turnip, onion, and celery seed and twelve whole peppers tied together in muslin. Cover the saucepan and let the meat simmer very slowly for five hours. If it is to be served cold, leave it in the saucepan until the liquor in which it is cooked is cold, then take it up, tighten the cloth, and place it between two baking-sheets with weights on the top, and let it remain all night.