Prepared Oysters

Ingredients

• Separate the oysters from the liquor
• grated bread-crumbs
• pepper
• salt
• celery-seed
• small bits of butter
• a glass of wine or sound cider

Method

1. 1

   Layer oysters in a baking dish, seasoning with bread-crumbs, pepper, salt, celery-seed, and butter.

2. 2

   Pour wine or cider and oyster liquor over.

3. 3

   Bake until hot throughout.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Twentieth century home cook book (1905) by Francis Carruthers, page 127. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

salt and pepper, stuffed and sewn up, the legs and wings carefully skewered in place, put it in the oven, with the giblets, and about a quart of water in the pan. Bake until done, basting often, being careful not to burn it. The browning is done at the last. It will require three hours to roast a large turkey or a goose, and not much less for a brace of large ducks. XV. Baked Ham. The ham is first boiled. Very few persons know how to boil a ham. Wrap the ham in clean straw, or fill in around it in the pot with clean oat-straw. Add a clove or two of garlic (not a whole garlic), cloves, mace, allspice, thyme and pepper to the water in the pot. Add also a quart of cider and boil until done. If the water in which the ham is boiled is one-half old sound cider so much the better. Let it stand in the liquor until cool. If it is to be served without baking, skin and garnish with whole cloves stuck in the fat, and such other garnishing as may suit the taste. But a ham is better if baked after boiling. How to Bake a Ham. — Skin the ham after boiling. Lay two flat pieces of wood in the bottom of the bake pan; lay the ham on them, and cover with a batter of flour and water spread equally. Bake two or three hours slowly, according to the size of the ham, remove the crust of batter, garnish and serve. It is excellent hot or cold, and all the better for having a half-pint of claret poured over it; or it may be eaten with a sauce of which wine is the basis. XVI. Baked Beans. The marrow beans are really best, but the small navy beans are generally used. Put them to soak earlj^ in the evening, change the water before going to bed, and again in the morning. Parboil for two hours, or until they are tender, but will not break up. Pour off nearly all the Avater. Place the beans in a bean-pot — a deep pan will do if unsoldered. Score a piece of salt pork. Sink it into the middle of the beans, so it is just level with the surface, and add a very little molasses. Bake six hours, raising the pork toward the last so it may be well brow'ned. To cook beans in the canq), after boiling, a hole is dug at the foot of the fire, filled with hot coals, the bean-pot is filled around with coals and covered with hot ashes, where it remains from supper-time in the evening until breakfast the following morning- — about fourteen or fifteen hours. This, in fact, is the perfection of art in cooking beans for imparting a fine flavor. XVII. Broiling' and Prying. In broiling and frying the same principle is carried out as in roasting, but it is somewhat different from that of baking. In baking, heat is applied to all sides of the meat during the whole operation. In roasting before the fire, heat is ai^plied alter- nately to every side of the meat; the same thing is done in broiling and fryino-. SOME USEFUL RECIPES. 237 Frying corner nenrer to baking than broiling does, wlien the frying is done in a skillet with little fat. In broiling the meat comes into direct contact with the heat of the fire and is altogether preferable, exeei)t for ham, pork, bacon and fish, which are generally fried. The thing to do, in both broiling and frying, is to have a strong, clear fire, without smoke — hard coal, charcoal, or the coals of hard wood, are indis- pensable for broiling. Now that so many excellent and cheap implements for broiling are manufactured, so that the steak, cutlets, fish, etc., may be clasped between the leaves, thus saving the handling, frying is pretty much discontinued. In fact, in frying now, the articles BROILEU AKU COVEK. are o;enerally seethed in very hot fat, a preferable plan to frying, unless it be dry fryinc. If the fat is hot enough the meat will not absorb the fat, but come out exceediflgly savory. In broilino- or frying, a fork should never be used. It pierces the meat and allows the juices to escape. With the modern broiler, turning with a fork is unneces- sary ; but every cook should have a pair of meat-tongs for turning and handling steaks, cutlets, etc., when necessary. The Thickness for Broiling. — Beefsteaks should never be less than half an inch thick, and if a rich, juicy broil is desired the steak should be three-quarters of an inch thick. Pork and mutton chops, veal cutlets, and lamb chops should never be more than half an inch thick, and less is better. Salt pork, ham and bacon should be cut thin. Youn"' chickens and other birds for broiling, should be cut down the back, pressed out, and pounded or broken down perfectly flat. Flat fish and all small fish are fried whole ; round fish are slit down the back. No broiled or fried meat, except beef, must be rare enough to show the blood. Mutton is often liked 238 TWENTIETH CENTURY HOME COOK BOOK, slightly rare. All other meats must be thoroughly cooked through, especially fowl, pork and fish. All these meats are apt to contain germs, that unless destro^'cd by a seething heat, may bo <l;ingerous, as for instance, trichinae in jjork, fowls and fish. Prying in Boiling Fat. — AVhat we have said will fully cover the ground of boiling and dry frying. Frying, however, is nicely done in boiling fat, using enough to comijletely cover the article cooked. It must be very hot, so as to brown the sub- stance properly. Meat or fish need not be entirely covered up if it be turned, but it is better to frj^ without turning. The fat — sweet drippings — may be used over and over again, but that used for fish should never again be used for other dishes, but the oil that meat has been fried in may be used for fish. oyster broiler. Fried Oysters. — Select large, freshly shelled oysters, dry them in a towel, dip into egg that has been slightly whisked, and then roll in bread-crumbs or pow- dered cracker. Let them dry, and cook in boiling lard until a light brown; or they may be fried in a little butter by turning. Oyster Fritters. — Make a stiff batter of eggs beaten, bread-crumbs, flour and milk, or cream; season with i:)epper and salt. Fry in a pan with butter or lard by dropping in a spoonful of Ijatter, then an oyster or two according to size, and cover with more batter. Cook both sides brown by turning. IMPROVED FRYING-PAN— HANDLE ALWAYS OVAL. XVIII. Prepared Dishes Baked. Oysters. — This is a nice breakfast dish. Separate the oysters from the liquor, and put some of them in a baking platter, or pan. ]\Iake a seasoning of grated bread-crumbs, pepper, salt, celery-seed and small bits of butter. Put this over the oysters, add some seasoning and ao'ain oysters until you have enough. Pour a o-jnss of wine or sound cide

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