The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual Part 69

_Obs._ You may mince a little ham or bacon, or an anchovy, sweet or savoury herbs, or an eschalot, and a little tarragon, chervil, or burnet, &c., and pound them with the meat, with a gla.s.s of wine, or some mustard, or forcemeat (No. 376, or Nos. 378 and 399*, &c.); if you wish to have it devilish savoury, add ragout powder (No. 457), curry powder (No. 455), or zest (No. 255), and moisten it with mushroom catchup (No.

439), or essence of anchovy (No. 433), or tincture of allspice (No.

413), or essence of turtle (No. 343*), or, (No. 503*).

It is a very agreeable and economical way of using the remains of game or poultry, or a large joint of either roasted or boiled beef, veal, ham, or tongue, &c. to mince it with some of the fat, (or moisten it with a little b.u.t.ter, or No. 439, &c.) and beat it in a mortar with the seasoning, &c., as in the former receipt.

When either the teeth or stomach are extremely feeble, especial care must be taken to keep meat till it is tender before it is cooked; or call in the aid of those excellent helps to bad teeth, the pestle and mortar. And see Nos. 10, 18, 87, 89, 175, 178; from 185 to 250, 502, 542, and especially 503. Or dress in the usual way whatever is best liked, mince it, put it into a mortar, and pound it with a little broth or melted b.u.t.ter, vegetable, herb, spice, zest (No. 255), &c. according to the taste, &c. of the eater. The business of the stomach is thus very materially facilitated.

"Flesh in small quant.i.ties, bruised to a pulp, may be very advantageously used in fevers attended with debility."--DARWIN'S _Zoonomia_, vol. ii. p. 400.

"Mincing or pounding meat saveth the grinding of the teeth; and therefore (no doubt) is more nourishing, especially in age, or to them that have weak teeth; but b.u.t.ter is not proper for weak bodies, and therefore moisten it in pounding with a little claret wine, and a very little cinnamon or nutmeg."--Lord BACON; _Natural History_, Century 1.

54.

_Obs._--Meat that has been boiled down for gravies, &c. see Nos. 185 and 252, (which has heretofore been considered the perquisite of the cat) and is completely drained of all its succulence, beat in a mortar with salt and a little ground black pepper and allspice, as directed in the foregoing receipt, and it will make as good potted beef as meat that has been baked till its moisture is entirely extracted, which it must be, or it will not keep two days.

MEM.--Meat that has not been previously salted, will not keep so long as that which has.

_Sandwiches_,--(No. 504.)

Properly prepared, are an elegant and convenient luncheon or supper, but have got out of fashion, from the bad manner in which they are commonly made: to cut the bread neatly with a sharp knife seems to be considered the only essential, and the lining is composed of any offal odds and ends, that cannot be sent to table in any other form.

Whatever is used must be carefully trimmed from every bit of skin, gristle, &c. and nothing introduced but what you are absolutely certain will be acceptable to the mouth.

MATERIALS FOR MAKING SANDWICHES.

Cold meat, or poultry.

Potted ditto (No. 503).

Savoury ditto (No. 496).

Potted lobster (No. 178), or shrimp (No. 175).

Potted cheese (No. 542).

Ditto, or grated tongue.

Potted, or grated ham (No. 509).

Anchovy (Nos. 434 and 435).

German sausage Cold pork ditto (No. 87).

Hard eggs, pounded with a little b.u.t.ter and cheese.

Grated ham, or beef.

Various forcemeats, &c. (No. 373), &c.

Curry-powder, zest, mustard, pepper, and salt are added occasionally.

_Meat Cakes._--(No. 504*.)

If you have any cold meat, game, or poultry (if under-done, all the better), mince it fine, with a little fat bacon or ham, or an anchovy; season it with a little pepper and salt; mix well, and make it into small cakes three inches long, half as wide, and half an inch thick: fry these a light brown, and serve them with good gravy, or put it into a mould and boil or bake it.

N.B. Bread-crumbs, hard yelks of eggs, onions, sweet herbs, savoury spices, zest, or curry-powder, or any of the forcemeats. See Nos. 373 to 382.

Fish cakes for maigre days, may be made in like manner.

_Bubble and Squeak, or fried Beef or Mutton and Cabbage._--(No. 505.)

"When 'midst the frying pan, in accents savage, The beef, so surly, quarrels with the cabbage."

For this, as for a hash, select those parts of the joint that have been least done; it is generally made with slices of cold boiled salted-beef, sprinkled with a little pepper, and just lightly browned with a bit of b.u.t.ter in a frying-pan: if it is fried too much it will be hard.

Boil a cabbage, squeeze it quite dry, and chop it small; take the beef out of the frying-pan, and lay the cabbage in it; sprinkle a little pepper and salt over it; keep the pan moving over the fire for a few minutes; lay the cabbage in the middle of a dish, and the meat round it.

For sauce, see No. 356, or No. 328.

_Hashed Beef, and roast Beef bones boiled._--(No. 506.)

To hash beef, see receipt, Nos. 484, 5, 6, and Nos. 360, 484, and 486.

The best part to hash is the fillet or inside of the sirloin, and the good housewife will always endeavour to preserve it entire for this purpose. See _Obs._ to No. 19, and mock hare, No. 66*.

Roast beef bones furnish a very relishing luncheon or supper, prepared in the following manner, with poached eggs (No. 546), or fried eggs (No.

545), or mashed potatoes (No. 106), as accompaniments.

Divide the bones, leaving good pickings of meat on each; score them in squares, pour a little melted b.u.t.ter on them, and sprinkle them with pepper and salt: put them in a dish; set them in a Dutch oven for half or three quarters of an hour, according to the thickness of the meat; keep turning them till they are quite hot and brown; or broil them on the gridiron. Brown them, but don't burn them black. For sauce, Nos.

355, or 356.

_Ox-Cheek stewed._--(No. 507.)

Prepare this the day before it is to be eaten; clean it, and put it into soft water just warm; let it lie three or four hours, then put it into cold water, and let it soak all night; next day wipe it clean, put it into a stew-pan, and just cover it with water; skim it well when it is coming to a boil, then put two whole onions, stick two or three cloves into each, three turnips quartered, a couple of carrots sliced, two bay-leaves, and twenty-four corns of allspice, a head of celery, and a bundle of sweet herbs, pepper, and salt; to these, those who are for a "haut gout" may add Cayenne and garlic, in such proportions as the palate that requires them may desire.

Let it stew gently till perfectly tender, _i. e._ about three hours; then take out the cheek, divide it into handsome pieces, fit to help at table; skim, and strain the gravy; melt an ounce and a half of b.u.t.ter in a stew-pan; stir into it as much flour as it will take up; mix with it by degrees a pint and a half of the gravy; add to it a table-spoonful of basil, tarragon, or elder vinegar, or the like quant.i.ty of mushroom or walnut catchup, or cavice, or port wine, and give it a boil.

Serve up in a soup or ragout-dish; or make it into barley broth, No.

204.

_Obs._--This is a very economical, nourishing, and savoury meal. See ox-cheek soup, No. 239, and calf's head hashed, No. 520.

_Ox-Tails stewed._--(No. 508.)

Divide them into joints; wash them; parboil them; set them on to stew in just water enough to cover them,--and dress them in the same manner as we have directed in No. 531, Stewed Giblets, for which they are an excellent subst.i.tute.

N.B.--See Ox-Tail Soup, No. 240.

_Potted Ham, or Tongue._--(No. 509.)

Cut a pound of the lean of cold boiled Ham or Tongue, and pound it in a mortar with a quarter of a pound of the fat, or with fresh b.u.t.ter (in the proportion of about two ounces to a pound), till it is a fine paste (some season it by degrees with a little pounded mace or allspice): put it close down in pots for that purpose, and cover it with Clarified b.u.t.ter, No. 259, a quarter of an inch thick; let it stand one night in a cool place. Send it up in the pot, or cut out in thin slices. See _Obs._ on No. 503.

_Hashed Veal._--(No. 511.)