10 lbs. Thick Brisket of Beef, Corned or Fresh--1s. 6d.
1 fagot of Herbs
1 stalk Celery--1/2d.
1 Onion
2 Carrots
1 Turnip
40 Peppercorns--1 1/2d.
Total Cost--1s. 8d.
Time--Four Hours
Bind the beef with tapes to keep it a good shape. If it is corned, put it on in cold water; if fresh, in hot stock or water, and bring to the boil, then skim carefully and put in the vegetables and peppercorns. Simmer very gently indeed for four hours, then take it up. Take off the tapes, slip out the bones, and put it into a dish; place a piece of board on the top and some heavy weights and leave till the next day, then turn out and serve with a salad. If fresh meat is used for this dish the liquor may be used for soup, or the bones may be put back when removed from the meat and boiled without the lid very quickly for an hour. Then strain off and stand away till the next day; it should then be in a strong jelly. This may be cut into blocks and put round the meat.
When this soup is well made it is a general favourite, but it must be well made, for it is impossible to appreciate the greasy, yellow, dish-water-looking liquid which is sometimes served in that name. Put in a saucepan 2 ozs. butter, and into that shred finely 1/2 or 1 lb. onions. Add half or more of a tin of tomatoes or about 1 lb. fresh ones sliced, and a cup of water or stock. Simmer very gently for an hour and rub through a wire sieve, pressing with the back of a wooden spoon to get all the pulp through. Everything should go through except the skin and seeds. Return to clean saucepan with stock or water, and two tablespoonfuls of tapioca, previously soaked for at least an hour. Stir till it boils and is quite clear. This soup may be varied in many ways, as by substituting for the tapioca, crushed vermicelli, ground rice, cornflour, &c. Some chopped spring onions, chives or leeks, added after straining are a great improvement, also chopped parsley, while many people like the addition of milk or cream.
Take a pound or more of salt pork, and having half boiled it, cut it into slips, and with some of them cover the bottom of a pot. Then strew on some sliced onion. Have ready a large fresh cod, or an equal quantity of haddock, tutaug, or any other firm fish. Cut the fish into large pieces, and lay part of it on the pork and onions. Season it with pepper. Then cover it with a layer of biscuit, or crackers that have been previously soaked in milk or water. You may add also a layer of sliced potatoes. Next proceed with a second layer of pork, onions, fish, &c. and continue as before till the pot is nearly full; finishing with soaked crackers. Pour in about a pint and a half of cold water. Cover it close, set it on hot coals, and let it simmer about an hour. Then skim it, and turn it out into a deep dish. Leave the gravy in the pot till you have thickened it with a piece of butter rolled in flour, and some chopped parsley. Then give it one boil up, and pour it hot into the dish. Chowder may be made of clams, first cutting off the hard part.
This soup is not as expensive as it appears, for the bacon is served as a dish of meat, either after the soup or cold for breakfast or tea. Put two quarts of water into a saucepan; when it boils put in a pound of bacon neither too lean nor too fat. Let it boil slowly for one hour. The bacon must be well washed and scraped before cooking, and when it boils skim the pot thoroughly. Well wash the cabbage and soak it in hot water for half an hour. Take all the water away and put the cabbage into the saucepan with the bacon and vegetables cut up, and the peppercorns tied in a piece of muslin; let them simmer together for two and a half hours, take up the cabbage, and cut it into quarters. Take one quarter and cut it into small pieces and put it into a soup tureen. Cut some stale pieces of bread into thin slices and lay on the top, pour over the boiling liquor, and serve. Dish the bacon, pull off the rind, and put the rest of the cabbage round the dish.
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.
Take the thin part of a brisket of beef, score the skin at the top; cross and take off the under skin, then take out the bones, season it highly with mace, a little salt, and a little whole pepper, rub it on both sides, let it lay all night, make broth of the bones, skim the fat clean off, put in as much water as will cover it well, let it stew over a slow fire four or five hours, with a bunch of sweet herbs and an onion cut in quarters; turn the beef over every hour, and when you find it tender take it out of the broth and drain it very well, having made a little good strong gravy. A ragoo with sweet-breads cut into pieces, pullets tenderly boil'd and cut in long pieces; take truffles and morels, if you have any mushrooms, with a little claret, and throw in your beef, let it stew a quarter of an hour in the ragoo, turning it over sometimes, then take out your beef, and thicken your ragoo with a lump of butter and a little flour. Garnish your dish with horse-radish and pickles, lay the ragoo round your beef, and a little upon the top; so serve it up.
Cut up rump or flank steak into strips two inches long and about an inch wide. Stew them with the bone, in just enough water to cover them, until partly cooked; have half a dozen of cold boiled potatoes sliced. Line a baking-dish with pie paste, put in a layer of the meat with salt, pepper, and a little of thinly-sliced onion, then one of the sliced potatoes, with bits of butter dotted over them. Then the steak, alternated with layers of potato, until the dish is full. Add the gravy or broth, having first thickened it with brown flour. Cover with a top crust, making a slit in the middle; brush a little beaten egg over it, and bake until quite brown.
Cut in slices the remains of any cold meat, such as pork, beef, veal, ham, or mutton. Melt in a pan a bit of salt butter the size of a walnut, and put in it an onion cut into fine slices; let it get brown in the hot butter. In another pan put a larger piece of butter rolled in a soup- spoonful of flour; add to it the onion and butter, and add enough water to prevent the sauce from getting very thick. Add, if you wish it, a teaspoonful of meat-extract and a pinch of salt. Have ready some mashed potatoes, but let them be very light. Place the slices of meat in a fireproof dish, pour the sauce on them, then the mashed potatoes, and put the dish in the oven, all well heated through. This is called in Belgium "un philosophe." [Paquerette.]
Take it and spit it, & lay it down to the fire, and when your Pig is through warme, skin her, and cut her off the Spit as another Pig is, and so divide it in twenty peeces more or lesse as you please; when you have so done, take some White-wine and strong broth, and stew it therein, with an Onion or two mixed very small, a little Time also minced with Nutmeg sliced and grated Pepper, some Anchoves and Elder Vinegar, and a very little sweet Butter, and Gravy if you have it, so Dish it up with the same Liquor it is stewed in, with French Bread sliced under it, with Oranges and Lemons.
Take one pound of meat, cover with water and boil till meat is tender. Boil rice in another pan until it is creamy, when ready to serve, add one beaten egg and juice of half a lemon. Broken rice is best for this dish.
