Calf's Head

Ingredients

• a calf's head
• a cupful of boiling water
• a piece of butter the size of a large egg
• a dessert-spoonful of flour
• a large breakfast-cupful of boiling stock
• the beaten yolks of two eggs
• the juice of half a lemon
• a dozen good-sized mushrooms
• a little pepper
• a little cayenne

Method

1. 1

   Order a calf's head, scrape the hair off, and wash it.

2. 2

   Remove the brains and boil them in salt water.

3. 3

   Wash the head again and soak it in cold water.

4. 4

   Cook the head until tender, slice it, and serve with a sauce made from butter, flour, stock, and mushrooms.

5. 5

   Add the meat and finish with egg yolks and lemon juice.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Cassell's dictionary of cookery (1892) by Cassell & Company, page 294. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

a cupful of boiling water over it, and placing a piece of blotting paper on the top after you have taken it off to insm-e its being quite free from grease. Eemember to leave the sediment behind when you use the stock. Time to boil the feet, six or seven hours. Calf's Head. — It is better to order a calf's head a day or two before wanted, especially if only half a one is required, and a half is sufficient for a dinner for a small family. The heads are sold by butchers either skinned or unskinned, and if they are sent home unskinned great care must be taken to scrape the haii- off as closely as possible. To do this the head must be put into water which is just upon the point of boiling, and remain there for a few minutes after it does so, then taken out and the hair scraped off with a blunt knife, the head divided, and the brains and tongue taken out. The head must be most carefully washed. The first thing to do, on receiving a calf's head, is to remove the brains, tlrrow them into cold water for an hour, drain them, and boil them in salt and water for a quarter of an hour, and put them on one side. Put the head into cold water and wash it well, clearing the cavities inside with the fingers, lay it in fresh cold water, and leave it there to draw out the blood, &c. One of the choice bits of a calf's head lies deep in the socket of the eye. It is always best to cook a calf's head as soon as possible, and while it should be thoroughly cooked, it should not be overdone. It ought to be served in slices ; and to secure this it should be bound with a little broad tape. When it is to be ser\«d, lay it, cheek upwards, on the dish as it "Jomes from the water, or brush it over with beaten egg, dust bread-crumbs over it, and bro^^^l it. The Ijrains and tongue should be sent to table, with it on a separate dish ; and a dish of ham or bacon is considered by many persons an im- provement. Calf's head is usually garnished with sliced lemon. Probable cost, 5s. to 9s. Calf's Head (a la Poulette). — Take a dozen good-sized mushrooms, cut oft" the end of the stalks, and rub the tops with a piece of flannel dipped in salt. Put a piece of butter the size of a large egg into a stewpan, let it melt, and put in the mushi'ooms. Shake them over a hot fire for a few minutes, turn them into a basin, and keep them covered until they are wanted for use. Cut the remains of a cold calf's head into nicely-shaped slices, and lay them on one side. Put a piece of butter the size of an egg into a saucepan, let it melt, mix with it very smoothly a dessert-spoonful of flour. iStir it until it is lightly browned ; add to it very gradually, stirring all the time, a large breakfast-cupful of boiling stock, and a little pepper and cayenne. Let this boil up, add the mushrooms, and boil the sauce gently for a quarter of an hour. Put in the meat, and let it boil for one minute ; draw the sauce - pan to the side of the fire, let it cool for two minutes, when the beaten yolks of two eggs may be mixed with it. Stir the preparation over the fire till it thickens, but on no account allow it to boil, and at the last squeeze in the juice of half a lemon

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.