The Virginia Housewife Part 2

AN EXCELLENT METHOD OF DRESSING BEEF.

Take a rib roasting piece that has been hanging ten days or a fortnight, bone it neatly, rub some salt over it and roll it tight, binding it around with twine, put the spit through the inner fold without sticking it in the flesh, skewer it well and roast it nicely; when nearly done, dredge and froth it; garnish with sc.r.a.ped horse-radish.

TO COLLAR A FLANK OF BEEF.

Get a nice flank of beef, rub it well with a large portion of saltpetre and common salt, let it remain ten days, then wash it clean, take off the outer and inner skin with the gristle, spread it on a board, and cover the inside with the following mixture: parsley, sage, thyme chopped fine, pepper, salt and pounded cloves; roll it up, sew a cloth over it, and bandage that with tape, boil it gently five or six hours, when cold, lay it on a board without undoing it, put another board on the top, with a heavy weight on it; let it remain twenty-four hours, take off the bandages, cut a thin slice from each end, serve it up garnished with green pickle and sprigs of parsley.

TO MAKE HUNTERS' BEEF.

Select a fine fat round weighing about twenty-five pounds, take three ounces saltpetre, one ounce of cloves, half an ounce of alspice, a large nutmeg, and a quart of salt; pound them all together very fine, take the bone out, rub it well with this mixture on both sides, put some of it at the bottom of a tub just large enough to hold the beef, lay it in and strew the remainder on the top, rub it well every day for two weeks, and spread the mixture over it; at the end of this time, wash the beef, bind it with tape, to keep it round and compact, filling the hole where the bone was with a piece of fat, lay it in a pan of convenient size, strew a little suet over the top, and pour on it a pint of water, cover the pan with a coa.r.s.e crust and a thick paper over that, it will take five hours baking; when cold take off the tape. It is a delicious relish at twelve o'clock, or for supper, eaten with vinegar, mustard, oil, or sallad. Skim the grease from the gravy and bottle it; it makes an excellent seasoning for any made dish.

A NICE LITTLE DISH OF BEEF.

Mince cold roast beef, fat and lean, very fine, add chopped onion, pepper, salt, and a little good gravy, fill scollop sh.e.l.ls two parts full, and fill them up with potatos mashed smooth with cream, put a bit of b.u.t.ter on the top, and set them in an oven to brown.

BEEF STEAKS.

The best part of the beef for steaks, is the seventh and eighth ribs, the fat and lean are better mixed, and it is more tender than the rump if it be kept long enough; cut the steaks half an inch thick, beat them a little, have fine clear coals, rub the bars of the gridiron with a cloth dipped in lard before you put it over the coals, that none may drip to cause a bad smell, put no salt on till you dish them, broil them quick, turning them frequently; the dish must be very hot, some slices of onion in it, lay in the steaks, sprinkle a little salt, and pour over them a spoonful of water and one of mushroom catsup, both made boiling hot, garnish with sc.r.a.ped horse-radish, and put on a hot dish cover.

Every thing must be in readiness, for the great excellence of a beef steak lies in having it immediately from the gridiron.

TO HASH BEEF.

Cut slices of raw beef, put them in a stew pan with a little water, some catsup, a clove of garlic, pepper and salt, stew them till done, thicken the gravy with a lump of b.u.t.ter rubbed into brown flour. A hash may be made of any kind of meat that has been cooked, but it is not so good, and it is necessary to have a gravy prepared and seasoned, and keep the hash over the fire only a few minutes to make it hot.

BEEF STEAK PIE.

Cut nice steaks, and stew them till half done, put a puff paste in the dish, lay in the steaks with a few slices of boiled ham, season the gravy very high, pour it in the dish, put on a lid of paste and bake it.

BEEF A-LA-DAUBE.

Get a round of beef, lard it well, and put it in a Dutch oven; cut the meat from a shin of beef, or any coa.r.s.e piece in thin slices, put round the sides and over the top some slices of bacon, salt, pepper, onion, thyme, parsley, cellery tops, or seed pounded, and some carrots cut small, strew the pieces of beef over, cover it with water, let it stew very gently till perfectly done, take out the round, strain the gravy, let it stand to be cold, take off the grease carefully, beat the whites of four eggs, mix a little water with them, put them to the gravy, let it boil till it looks clear, strain it, and when cold, put it over the beef.

VEAL.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE PIECES IN THE DIFFERENT QUARTERS OF VEAL.

A loin of veal must always be roasted: the fillet or leg may be dressed in various ways, the knuckle or knee is proper for soup or for boiling; these are the pieces that compose the hind quarter. In the fore quarter, the breast and rack admit variety in cooking; the shoulder and neck are only fit for soup.

VEAL CUTLETS FROM THE FILLET OR LEG.

Cut off the flank and take the bone out, then take slices the size of the fillet and half an inch thick, beat two yelks of eggs light, and have some grated bread mixed with pepper, salt, pounded nutmeg and chopped parsley; beat the slices a little, lay them on a board and wash the upper side with the egg, cover it thick with the bread crumbs, press them on with a knife, and let them stand to dry a little, that they may not fall off in frying, then turn them gently, put egg and crumbs on in the same manner, put them into a pan of boiling lard, and fry them a light brown; have some good gravy ready, season it with a tea-spoonful of curry powder, a large one of wine, and one of lemon pickle, thicken with b.u.t.ter and brown flour, drain every drop of lard from the cutlets, lay them in the gravy, and stew them fifteen or twenty minutes, serve them up garnished with lemon cut in thin slices.

VEAL CHOPS.

Take the best end of a rack of veal, cut it in chops, with one bone in each, leave the small end of the bone bare two inches, beat them flat, and prepare them with eggs and crumbs, as the cutlets, b.u.t.ter some half-sheets of white paper, wrap one round each chop, skewer it well, leaving the bare bone out, broil them till done, and take care the paper does not burn; have nice white sauce in a boat.

VEAL CUTLETS.

Cut them from the fillet, put them in a stew pan with a piece of nice pork, a clove of garlic, a bundle of thyme and parsley, pepper and salt, cover them with water and let them stew ten or fifteen minutes, lay them on a dish, and when cold cover them well with the crumb of stale bread finely grated, mixed with the leaves of parsley chopped very small, some pepper, salt and grated nutmeg; press these on the veal with a knife, and when a little dried, turn it and do the same to the other side; put a good quant.i.ty of lard in a pan, when it boils lay the cutlets in carefully that the crumbs may not fall; fry them a little brown, lay them on a strainer to drain off the grease, do the same with the crumbs that have fallen in the pan: while this is doing, simmer the water they were boiled in to half a pint, strain it and thicken with four ounces of b.u.t.ter and a little browned flour; add a gill of wine and one of mushroom catsup, put in the cutlets and crumbs, and stew till tender; add forcemeat b.a.l.l.s.

KNUCKLE OF VEAL.

Boil a half pint of pearl barley in salt and water till quite tender, drain the water from it and stir in a piece of b.u.t.ter, put it in a deep dish; have the knuckle nicely boiled in milk and water, and lay it on the barley, pour some parsley and b.u.t.ter over it.

BAKED FILLET OF VEAL.

Take the bone out of the fillet, wrap the flap around and sew it, make a forcemeat of bread crumbs, the fat of bacon, a little onion chopped, parsley, pepper, salt, and a nutmeg pounded, wet it with the yelks of eggs, fill the place from which the bone was taken, make holes around it with a knife and fill them also, and lard the top; put it in a Dutch oven with a pint of water, bake it sufficiently, thicken the gravy with b.u.t.ter and brown flour, add a gill of wine and one of mushroom catsup, and serve it garnished with forcemeat b.a.l.l.s fried.

SCOTCH COLLOPS OF VEAL.

They may be made of the nice part of the rack, or cut from the fillet, rub a little salt and pepper on them, and fry them a light brown; have a rich gravy seasoned with wine, and any kind of catsup you choose, with a few cloves of garlic, and some pounded mace, thicken it, put the collops in and stew them a short time, take them out, strain the gravy over, and garnish with bunches of parsley fried crisp, and thin slices of middling of bacon, curled around a skewer and boiled.

VEAL OLIVES.

Take the bone out of the fillet and cut thin slices the size of the leg, beat them flat, rub them with the yelk of an egg beaten, lay on each piece a thin slice of boiled ham, sprinkle salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, chopped parsley, and bread crumbs over all, roll them up tight, and secure them with skewers, rub them with egg and roll them in bread crumbs, lay them on a tin dripping pan, and set them in an oven; when brown on one side, turn them, and when sufficiently done, lay them in a rich highly seasoned gravy made of proper thickness, stew them till tender, garnish with forcemeat b.a.l.l.s and green pickles sliced.