In the selection of meat it is most essential that we understand how to choose it; in beef it should be a smooth, fine grain, of a clear bright red color, the fat white, and will feel tender when pinched with the fingers. Will also have abundant kidney fat or suet. The most choice pieces for roast are the sirloin, fore and middle ribs. Veal, to be good, should have the flesh firm and dry, fine grained and of a delicate pinkish color, and plenty of kidney fat; the joints stiff. Mutton is good when the flesh is a bright red, firm and juicy and a close grain, the fat firm and white. Pork, if young, the lean will break on being pinched smooth when nipped with the fingers, also the skin will break and dent; if the rind is rough and hard it is old. In roasting meat, allow from fifteen to twenty minutes to the pound, which will vary according to the thickness of the roast. A great deal of the success in roasting depends on the heat and goodness of the fire; if put into a cool oven it loses its juices, and the result is a tough, tasteless roast; whereas, if the oven is of the proper heat, it immediately sears up the pores of the meat and the juices are retained. The oven should be the hottest when the meat is put into it, in order to quickly crisp the surface and close the pores of the meat, thereby confining its natural juices. If the oven is too hot to hold the hand in for only a moment, then it is right to receive the meat. The roast should first be washed in pure water, then wiped dry with a clean dry cloth, placed in a baking pan without any seasoning; some pieces of suet or cold drippings laid under it, but no water should be put into the pan, for this would have a tendency to soften the outside of the meat. The water can never get so hot as the hot fat upon the surface of the meat, and the generating of the steam prevents its crispness, so desirable in a roast. It should be frequently basted with its own drippings, which flow from the meat when partly cooked, and well seasoned. Lamb, veal and pork should be cooked rather slower than beef, with a more moderate fire, covering the fat with a piece of paper, and thoroughly cooked till the flesh parts from the bone, and nicely browned, without being burned. An onion sliced and put on top of a roast while cooking, especially roast of pork, gives a nice flavor. Remove the onion before serving. Larding meats is drawing ribbons of fat pork through the upper surface of the meat, leaving both ends protruding. This is accomplished by the use of a larding needle, which may be procured at house-furnishing stores. Boiling or stewing meat, if fresh, should be put into boiling water, closely covered and boiled slowly, allowing twenty minutes to each pound, and, when partly cooked, or when it begins to get tender, salted, adding spices and vegetables. Salt meats should be covered with cold water, and require thirty minutes very slow boiling, from the time the water boils, for each pound; if it is very salt, pour off the first water and put it in another of boiling water, or it may be soaked one night in cold water. After meat commences to boil the pot should never stop simmering and always be replenished from the boiling tea-kettle. Frying may be done in two ways. One method, which is most generally used, is by putting one ounce or more (as the case requires) of beef drippings, lard or butter into a frying pan, and when at the boiling point lay in the meat, cooking both sides a nice brown. The other method is to completely immerse the article to be cooked in sufficient hot lard to cover it, similar to frying doughnuts. Broiled meats should be placed over clear, red coals free from smoke, giving out a good heat, but not too brisk, or the meat will be hardened and scorched; but if the fire is dead the gravy will escape and drop upon the coals, creating a blaze, which will blacken and smoke the meat. Steaks and chops should be turned often, in order that every part should be evenly done--never sticking a fork into the lean part, as that lets the juices escape; it should be put into the outer skin or fat. When the meat is sufficiently broiled it should be laid on a hot dish and seasoned. The best pieces for steak are the porterhouse, sirloin and rump.
Take halfe a hundred of Smelts, the biggest you can get, draw them and cut off their Heads, put them into a Pipkin with a Pint of White wine, and a Pint of White wine Vinegar, an Onion shred a couple of Lemons, a Race of Ginger, three or foure blades of Mace, a Nutmeg sliced, whole Pepper, a little Salt, cover them, and let them stand twenty foure houres; if you will keep them three or four dayes, let not your Pickle be to strong of the Vinegar, when you will serve them, take them out one by one, scrape and open them as you do Anchoves, but throw away the bones, lay them close one by one, round a Silver dish, you must have the very utmost rind of a Lemon or Orange so small as grated bread and the Parsley, then mix your Lemon Pill, Orange and Parsley together with a little fine beaten Pepper, and strew this upon the dish of Smelts with the meat of a Lemon minced very small, also then power on excellent Sallet Oile, and wring in the juyce of two Lemons, but be sure none of the Lemon-seed be left in the Sallet, so serve it. To Roast a Fillet of Veal. Take a Fillet of Beefe which is the tenderest part of the Beast, and lieth only in the inward part of the Surloyne next to the Chine, cut it as big as you can, then broach it on a broach not too big, and be carefull you broach it not thorow the best of the meat, roast it leasurely and baste it with sweet butter. Set a Dish under it to save the Gravy while the Beefe is roasting, prepare the Sauce for it, chop good store of Parsley with a few sweet Herbs shred small, and the yolks of three or foure Eggs, and mince among them the pill of an Orange, and a little Onyon, then boyle this mixture, putting into it sweet butter, Vinegar, and Gravy, a spoonfull of strong broth, when it is well boyled, put it into your beef, and serve it very warm, sometimes a little grosse Pepper or Ginger into your sauce, or a pill of an Orange or Lemon.
Cut three slices out of a leg of veal, the length of a finger, the breadth of three fingers, the thickness of a thumb, with a sharp penknife; give it a slit through the middle, leaving the bottom and each side whole, the thickness of a straw; then lard the top with small fine lards of bacon; then make a forc'd-meat of marrow, sweet-breads, and lamb-stones just boiled, and make it up after 'tis seasoned and beaten together with the yolks of two eggs, and put it into your pockets as if you were filling a pincushion; then sew up the top with fine thread, flour them, and put melted butter on them, and bake them; roast three sweet-breads to put between, and serve them with gravy-sauce.
Take a large pike, scale and clean it, draw it at the gills.--To make a pudding for the Pike. Take a large handful of bread-crumbs, as much beef-suet shred fine, two eggs, a little pepper and salt, a little grated nutmeg, a little parsley, sweet-marjoram and lemon-peel shred fine; so mix altogether, put it into the belly of your pike, skewer it round and lie it in an earthen dish with a lump of butter over it, a little salt and flour, so set it in the oven; an hour will roast it.
Cut large collops of a leg of veal, spread them abroad on a dresser, hack them with the back of a knife, and dip them in the yolks of eggs, season them with nutmeg, mace, pepper and salt, then make forc'd- meat with some of your veal, beef-suit, oysters chop'd, and sweet herbs shred fine, and the above spice, strow all these over your collops, roll and tie them up, put them on skewers, tie them to a spit and roast them; and to the rest of your forc'd-meat add the yolk of an egg or two, and make it up in balls and fry them, put them in a dish with your meat when roasted, put a little water in the dish under them, and when they are enough put to it an anchovy, a little gravy, a spoonful of white wine, and thicken it up with a little flour and butter, so fry your balls and lie round the dish, and serve it up. This is proper for a side-dish either at noon or night.
Take a little lean bacon and veal, onion, and the yellow part of a carrot, put it into a stew-pan; set it over a slow fire, and let it simmer till the gravy is quite brown, then put in small gravy, or boiling water; boil it a quarter of an hour, and then it is ready for use. Take two necks of mutton, bone them, lard one with bacon, the other with parsley; when larded, put a little couley over a slow stove, with a slice of lemon whilst the mutton is set, then skewer it up like a couple of rabbits, put it on the spit and roast it as you would any other mutton; then serve it up with ragoo'd cucumbers. This will do for first course; bottom dish.
Fare rather small potatoes, and boil for twelve minutes in salted water. Take up and put on the grate with roast beef. Bake twenty-five or thirty minutes. Arrange on the dish with the beef, or, if you prefer, on a separate dish.
A young duckling may be carved in the same manner as a fowl, the legs and wings being taken off first on either side. When the duck is full size, carve it like a goose; first cutting it in slices from the breast, beginning close to the wing and proceeding upward towards the breast bone, as is represented by the lines 1 to 2. An opening may be made by cutting out a circular slice, as shown by the dotted lines at number 3. Some are fond of the feet, and when dressing the duck, these should be neatly skinned and never removed. Wild duck is highly esteemed by epicures; it is trussed like a tame duck, and carved in the same manner, the breast being the choicest part.
Cut some thin slices of beef and lay them in a saucepan or basin, mix the melted butter sauce, gravy, jelly, and ketchup together, and pour over them. Cover down closely and stand the saucepan in a larger one, half full of boiling water, and steam for half an hour. Put the meat into a dish and pour the sauce over it.
Take a breast of veal, cut off both the ends, and half roast it; then put it into a stew-pan, with a quart of brown gravy, a spoonful of mushroom-powder, a blade or two of mace, and lemon-peel; so let it stew over a slow fire whilst your veal is enough; then put in two or three shred mushrooms or oysters, two or three spoonfuls of white wine; thicken up your sauce with flour and butter; you may lay round your veal some stew'd morels and truffles; if you have none, some pallets stew'd in gravy, with artichoke-bottoms cut in quarters, dipt in eggs and fry'd, and some forc'd-meat-balls; you may fry the sweet-bread cut in pieces, and lay over the veal, or fry'd oysters; when you fry your oysters you must dip them in egg and flour mixed. Garnish your dish with lemon and pickles.
