Title: The Gastronomic Regenerator: A Simplified and Entirely New System of Cookery
Author: Alexis Soyer
Release date: November 23, 2014 [eBook #47444]
Most recently updated: October 24, 2024
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed
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Every attempt has been made to replicate the original as printed. Some typographical errors have been corrected; a list follows the text. Variations in spellings have not been normalized (i.e. sweatbreads / sweetbreads, macaroons / maccarroons, chou-crout / chou-croute, semoulina / semolina, tomata / tomate / tomato, mackarel / mackerel, etc.) In certain versions of this etext, in certain browsers, clicking on this symbol will bring up a larger version of the illustration. (etext transcriber's note) |
A
SIMPLIFIED AND ENTIRELY NEW
SYSTEM OF COOKERY,
WITH NEARLY
TWO THOUSAND PRACTICAL RECEIPTS
SUITED TO THE INCOME OF ALL CLASSES.
ILLUSTRATED WITH
NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS
AND CORRECT AND MINUTE PLANS HOW KITCHENS OF EVERY SIZE, FROM THE
KITCHEN OF A ROYAL PALACE TO THAT OF THE HUMBLE COTTAGE,
ARE TO BE CONSTRUCTED AND FURNISHED.
BY
MONSIEUR A. SOYER,
OF THE REFORM CLUB.
SIXTH EDITION.
LONDON:
SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., STATIONERS’ HALL COURT:
AND SOLD BY
JOHN OLLIVIER, PALL-MALL.
1849.
TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE.
Your Royal Highness,
The gracious condescension which permits of the dedication of this Work to your Royal Highness, adds another to the many claims upon my devotedness and my gratitude.
I have the high honour to be
Your Royal Highness’
Most obedient and humble Servant,
ALEXIS SOYER.
THE FOLLOWING DISTINGUISHED PERSONS HAVE HONOURED THE AUTHOR WITH THEIR APPROBATION, AND THIS VOLUME, WITH THE KITCHEN PLAN OF THE REFORM CLUB, WERE COMMENCED UNDER THEIR PATRONAGE.
H. R. H. the Duke of Cambridge. Ernest reigning Duke of Saxe-Cobourg. H. R. H. the Duke of Sussex. H. R. H. the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Cobourg and Gotha. H. R. H. the Prince of Prussia. Archduke Frederic of Austria. Prince Biron de Courlande. Princess Clementine of France. The Duke of Leinster. The Duke of Bedford. The Duchess of Sutherland. La Duchesse d’Escars. La Duchesse de Lorges. La Duchesse de Valmy. The Countess of Essex. The Countess of Carlisle. The Dowager Marchioness of Downshire. The Countess of Clare. The Countess of Craven. The Baroness de Ludwigsdorff (Sweden.) Lady Eliza Phillips. Lady Flower. Lady Throgmorton. Lady Elibank. The Marquis of Ailsa. The Marquis of Normanby. The Marquis of Lansdowne. The Marquis of Clanricarde. The Marquis of Titchfield. The Marquis of Headfort. The Marquis of Salisbury. Marquieza das Minas. Marquieza das Furjel. The Earl Fortescue. The Earl of Pembroke. The Earl of Chesterfield. The Earl of Devon. The Earl of Yarborough. The Earl of Charlemont. The Count Hatzfeldt (Prussia). Count Woronzow. Countess Woronzow. |
The Earl Grosvenor. The Earl of Clarendon. The Earl of Sefton. Le Baron de Molartie (great Echanson to the King of Hanover). Le Baron Adolphe de Rothschild. La Baronne de Rothschild. La Baronne de Weiber (Baden). Le Comte de Rancher (France). Le Comte de Pradel (France). Lord Ebrington. Lord Dinorben. Lord Maidstone. Lord Marcus Hill, M.P. Le Vicomte de Noailles (France). Viscount Duncannon. Lord James Stuart. Lord Mostyn. Lord Jermyn. Lord Say and Sele. Lord Dudley Coutts Stuart. Lord Panmure. Lord F. Gordon. Lord Hastings. Lord Scarborough. Lord Nugent. Lord Lovat. Lord Templetown. Lord Clement. Lord Augustus Fitzclarence. Lord Vivian. Sir George Chetwynd. Sir Benjamin Hall, M.P. Sir Henry Webb. Sir Andrew Leith Hay, M.P. Sir D. Le Marchant. Sir John Guest, M.P. Sir Hesketh Fleetwood, M.P. Sir James Duke, M.P. Sir John Easthope, M.P. Sir. R. Musgrave. Le Chevalier A. Mongaldi (Venice). Sir John M’Neil. |
Sir Henry Pottinger. The Right Honorable Fox Maule, M.P. The Honorable H. R. Westenra. The Honorable J. O. Murray. Lieutenant-Colonel Westenra. Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon. Major-General Evans. Admiral Dundas, M.P. General Sir Alexander Duff, Bart. General Johnson. Le General Baron de Farincourt (France.) Colonel Sir William Robert Clayton. Colonel White. Colonel Beckwith. Major Richardson. Captain Noble Cæsar de Ladacio (Naples). Lieut. Gen. Baron de Warlington (Bavaria). Capitaine de Vaisseaux F. Gautier (France). Admiral Codrington. El Gen. Martin Joié de Triarte (Spain). Captain Robert Scherger (Cobourg). The Honorable General Mead. The Honorable Captain Vivian, M.P. Daniel O’Connell, Esq., M.P. Maurice O’Connell, Esq., M.P. John O’Connell, Esq., M.P. George Duncan, Esq., M.P. Edward Ellice, Esq., M.P. Robert Archbold, Esq., M.P. The Rev. Charles Turnor, D.D. Captain Wemyss. Alston, Rowland, Esq. Basevi, George, Esq. Bryane, W. C. Esq. (America). |
Bavin Christopher, Esq. Boyd, W. Esq. Buckland, James, Esq. Hawes, B. Esq. M. Dusillion, Architect, Paris. Barry, Charles, Esq. Bonverie, Edward Pleydell, Esq. Collins, William, M.D. Clumy, Thomas, Esq. Clayton, John, Lloyd, Esq. Diwett, Thomas, Esq. Dardel, Monsieur de. Dann, Henry, Esq. Faraday, Professor. Gully, John, Esq. Gunston, John, Esq. Gordon, Robert, Esq. Hoare, Charles, Esq. Harmer, James, Esq. Hope, ——, Esq Hovenden, J. E. Esq. Humphrey, John, Alderman, M.P. Melik, A. Esq., (Turkey). Montefiore, N. Esq. Murphy, Mr. Sergeant. Oliviera, Benjamin, Esq. O’Brien, Stafford, Esq. Perkins, Frederic, Esq. Philips, Mark, Esq., M.P. Prescott, H. Esq. Rushton, E. A. Esq. Strutt, Edward, Esq., M.P. Sampayo, O. H. Esq. F. A. Sarg, Esq. Wolfe, J. L. Esq. |
AT the request of several persons of distinction, who have visited the Reform Club,—particularly the ladies, to whom I have always made it a rule never to refuse anything in my power, for indeed it must have been the fair sex who have had the majority in this domestic argument to gain this gastronomical election,—Why do you not write and publish a Cookery-book? was a question continually put to me. For a considerable time this scientific word caused a thrill of horror to pervade my frame, and brought back to my mind that one day, being in a most superb library in the midst of a splendid baronial hall, by chance I met with one of Milton’s allegorical works, the profound ideas of Locke, and several chefs-d’œuvre of one of the noblest champions of literature, Shakspeare; when all at once my attention was attracted by the nineteenth edition of a voluminous work: such an immense success of publication caused me to say, “Oh! you celebrated man, posterity counts every hour of fame upon your regretted ashes!” Opening this work with intense curiosity, to my great disappointment what did I see,—a receipt for Ox-tail Soup! The terrifying effect produced upon me by this succulent volume made me determine that my few ideas, whether culinary or domestic, should never encumber a sanctuary{viii} which should be entirely devoted to works worthy of a place in the Temple of the Muses.
But you must acknowledge, respected readers, how changeable and uncertain are our feeble ideas through life; to keep the promise above mentioned, I have been drawn into a thousand gastronomic reflections, which have involved me in the necessity of deviating entirely from my former opinion, and have induced me to bring before the public the present volume, under the title of ‘The Gastronomic Regenerator,’ throughout which I have closely followed the plain rules of simplicity, so that every receipt can not only clearly be understood, but easily executed.
I now sincerely hope, Ladies, that I have not only kept my promise, but to your satisfaction paid tribute to your wishes.
You have not forgotten, dear reader, the effect that monstrous volume, the said nineteenth edition, produced upon me, therefore I now sincerely beg of you to put my book in a place suited to its little merit, and not with Milton’s sublime Paradise, for there it certainly would be doubly lost.
THE sale of three editions of the Gastronomic Regenerator in less than nine months, is so gratifying to my feelings, that I should be wanting in courtesy, were I not publicly to express, at this present moment, how grateful I am for the very flattering testimonials I have been honoured with by the press, through whom I have received such great encouragement from the public, who so handsomely repaid the laborious work which I have devoted to the gastronomic art.
In this the Fourth Edition, I have increased and improved the receipts, and corrected those errors which unavoidably occur in so voluminous a work.
The first improvement is a most essential one, being an abbreviated table of contents, referring from number to number or article to article, and giving in a few pages the translation of every comestible, which will much facilitate the making of bills of fare.
The second and still more important improvement is my new Tendon Separator, demonstrated by a scientific woodcut, with full explanations of its valuable use in preparing poultry and game for the table.
I have added several new receipts, communicated by amateurs, which are not deficient in good taste.
There will likewise be found a correct engraving of my{x} Bouquet de Gibier, which met with so much success in London and Paris last Christmas, and offers to noblemen and gentlemen a new and pleasing mode of making presents of game.
The one I presented to His Majesty Louis Philippe, with a copy of this work, met with the highest approbation from the court of France, and was most handsomely acknowledged by his Majesty.
I now most humbly return thanks to the public for their kind encouragement, and trust that the success I have hitherto had may still be continued.
ALEXIS SOYER.
DUBLIN;
St. Patrick’s Day, 1847.
To sustain and deserve the title of “Gastronomic Regenerator,” nothing but an entire change from the system of any other publication on the art of Cookery would be admissible, it is now in the hands of my readers to judge for themselves, and to stamp its character according to its merits, either as an original or a copy; to avoid the last, however, I have closely studied to introduce the greatest novelty in every department, and have entirely omitted all unnecessary confusion, which, in many previous works, have rendered them unintelligible to the uninitiated, and almost impracticable to the initiated; however, many old and useful receipts, too good to be omitted, will be found much simplified—to reduce them to a practical point.
I have also minutely studied the disposing and arranging of the building of all sized kitchens, from the one of the Reform Club and the Kitchen of the Wealthy to the humble one of the cottage, which cannot fail to prove useful when closely followed, as six years of experience in the kitchen of the Reform Club[1] has fully proved to me that those useful departments have not only previously been much neglected, but in many instances at a very great expense still worse arranged for want of practical knowledge, and considering that the pleasures of the table are an every-day enjoyment which reflects good and evil on all classes, my readers I am sure will agree with me that the proper disposing of such an important department deserves some little attention, for food uncomfortably prepared is almost always unsightly, unwholesome, and consequently indigestible, not being cleanly prepared.
I have likewise omitted in this work the placing of a long series of bills of fare, which has been done in every previous publication; although they might have proved useful in some few circumstances, they are seldom referred to, and often create confusion in the composition of a dinner by the difficulty of procuring perhaps the identical comestibles required in the receipts which the bills of fare refer to; and more I would venture to say, that in no circumstances have those bills of fare been correctly followed; the only three I have introduced being one to arrange my pagodatique service to grace the Table of the Wealthy, the other the Lucullusian dinner, and the dinner of my Table at Home, which{xii} will give a general idea of the manner in which I usually compose my bills of fare, which of course may be increased or decreased to any size. To avoid the old-fashioned method of giving ten or twelve for every season in the year, I have made the whole contents of my book one regular bill of fare, which will enable the most inexperienced cook, or young lady just commencing housekeeping, to compose a recherché or economical bill of fare at will, being so distributed, that after a short series of sauces the bill of fare commences, being first the soups, then the fish, then the hors-d’œuvres, or flying dishes, to be handed round the table during the time the removes and entrées are placing upon it; this is the usual manner I serve a dinner, which cannot fail to be very hot; and to prevent confusion, which too often occurs, I place a number on a piece of paper between the cover and the dish, with a corresponding number to the name of the dish upon the bill of fare, which is then forwarded to the steward, who by this means not only understands the better placing it upon the table, but is able to answer to any questions respecting the dinner, thus saving time and confusion; and, above all, the dinner will be very hot and inviting, which would not be the case in the regular system of laying out the whole of the first course first upon the kitchen table, having to uncover every dish unnecessarily, then upon another table in a room adjoining the dining-room, and third and last, upon the dining-table, adding to which the chance of confusion and innumerable delays, in which your dinner is getting quite cold. In a plate service of sixteen entrées, which I was directed by the committee of the Reform Club to order, I introduced silver sand concealed in the heaters; thus by placing them two hours in a hot closet previous to serving, they will retain their heat nearly a couple of hours longer upon the table, but for further details, see Pagodatique Dish at the end of the book. But to return to the arrangement of my book: after the hors-d’œuvres come the removes, flancs, entrées, in succession in the first course, and for the second the roasts, savoury dishes, vegetables, entremets, and removes second course; thus my readers will have but to turn from one series to another in succession to arrange their bills of fare.
For any description of plain joints frequently required in the first course, they will be found at the commencement of the series entitled My Kitchen at Home.
For a public breakfast, luncheon, or suppers, where everything is partly cold, the series of savoury dishes in the second course will be found to facilitate and very much abbreviate the composition of the bill of fare for either of the above purposes.
In the department entitled My Kitchen at Home will be found the same arrangements, and the repetition of many dishes from the Kitchen of the Wealthy, but so much simplified that the industrious classes of society may partake freely of them at a very moderate expense.
I shall also remark that my motive in not making a translation to my index, but merely naming at the commencement of each series the different comestibles, is to avoid the following ridiculous occurrence,{xiii} that is, the making of bills of fare in English from such curious translation, not one of which have I seen deserving publication, being composed of comic French trivialité.
As it is not the name that makes the dish, I have only explained the names of the different articles by way of distinction; I have also mixed several headings in French and English, to instruct by degrees the uninitiated in the art of making a correct bill of fare; I have also, in every place where the heading is in French, endeavoured to place the name of the comestible in the first line of the receipt. The reference by numbers will be found unavoidably repeated in many instances, especially those referring to stocks, sauces, pastes, or any of those articles which are the foundations of any others, which will be easily remembered after a few weeks’ practice without having recourse to the index.
My readers will probably also feel interested in knowing that, although for some time it has been my intention to write a work upon Gastronomy, the laborious and difficult duties which I had to fulfil at the Reform Club, added to the terrific effect which has produced upon me the 19th edition of that monstrous volume mentioned in the preface, have often been the cause of my giving up such an idea, and having destroyed my old manuscripts, it is only within the last ten months that I in reality commenced afresh this work, in which lapse of time I had to furnish 25,000 dinners for the gentlemen of the Reform Club, and 38 dinner parties of importance, comprising above 70,000 dishes, and to provide daily for 60 servants of the establishment, independent of about 15,000 visitors who have seen the kitchen department in that lapse of time.
Although I am entirely satisfied with the composition, distribution, and arrangement of my book, should some few little mistakes be discovered they will be the more excusable under those circumstances, as in many instances I was unable to devote that tedious time required for correction; and, although I have taken all possible care to prescribe, by weight and measure, the exact quantity of ingredients used in the following receipts for the seasoning and preparing of all kinds of comestibles, I must observe that the ingredients are not all either of the same size or quality; for instance, some eggs are much larger than others, some pepper stronger, salt salter, and even some sugar sweeter. In vegetables, again, there is a considerable difference in point of size and quality; fruit is subject to the same variation, and, in fact, all description of food is subject to a similar fluctuation. I am far, however, from taking these disproportions for excuses, but feel satisfied if the medium of the specified ingredients be used, and the receipts in other respects closely followed, nothing can hinder success.
YOU are all aware, honorable readers, of the continual tribulation in carving at table, for appetites more or less colossal, and when all eyes are fixed upon you with anxious avidity. Very few persons are perfect in this useful art, which requires not only grace, but a great deal of skill. Others become very nervous; many complain of the knife, which has not the least objection to be found fault with; or else they say, this capon, pheasant, or poularde is not young, and consequently not of the best quality. You may sometimes be right, but it certainly often happens that the greatest gourmet is the worst carver, and complains sadly during that very long process, saying to himself, “I am last to be served; my dinner will be cold.”
Reproaches of this kind are daily addressed to the culinary artiste, who remembers perfectly well having burned his fingers whilst sending up those important removes. To illustrate this just question I will relate a curious and historic anecdote:—having one day served a petit diner, très recherché, for five persons, in which was a poularde à l’ambassadrice, a new and rather voluminous dish of mine, after the first course a message was sent to me that the gentlemen had found that dish so good they regretted I had not sent two poulardes instead of one; at first I took this message for a pleasantry, but a short time after three parts of the poularde came down in a state that if exposed over a laundry door would have served for a sign, without having recourse to those popular words, “mangling done here;” the sight of a dish so greatly disfigured made me collect a few of my little culinary ideas. Nature, says I to myself, compels us to dine more or less once a day; each of those days you are, honorable reader, subject to meet en tête-à-tête with a fowl, poularde, duck, pheasant, or other volatile species; is it not bad enough to have sacrificed the lives of those animaux bienfaisans to satisfy our indefatigable appetites, without pulling and tearing to atoms the remains of our benefactors? It is high time for the credit of humanity and the comfort of quiet families, to put an end to the massacre of those innocents.
Amongst other tribulations of carving I shall relate a most boufonne anecdote. “If you should, unhappily, be forced to carve at table,” says Launcelot Sturgeon, in his Essays, Moral, Philosophical, and Stomachic, “neither labour at the joint until you put yourself into a heat, nor make such a desperate effort to dissect it as may put your neighbours in fear of their lives; however, if any accident should happen, make no excuses, for they are only an acknowledgment of awkwardness.{xv} We remember to have seen a man of high fashion deposit a turkey in this way in the lap of a lady, but with admirable composure, and without offering the slightest apology, he finished a story which he was telling at the same time, and then, quietly turning to her, merely said, ‘Madam, I’ll thank you for that turkey.’” My conscience will not allow me to swear to the authenticity of the fact, but in the course of twelve months past I have witnessed a very similar instance, only the party not possessing the assurance of the fashionable above mentioned, did not continue the conversation, but in his nervous anxiety, endeavouring to replace it on the dish with vivacity, sent it rolling across the table to his right-hand neighbour, who quickly perceiving the imminent danger in which he was placed, fortunately arrested its further progress with his fork. One hearty laugh of the remaining party terminated this scene of confusion.
After a short consideration I found, by a most simple rule, and with the greatest facility, that a bird that would take ten minutes to carve very badly may be done well in two or three by the most inexperienced person. From this process a number of advantages may be derived: first, you may eat your dinner much hotter; secondly, you can make eight or ten pieces of a fowl, or any other bird, where, previously, great difficulty was experienced in making five or six; and each person will thereby be enabled to choose a favorite piece; a large bird, such as turkey, poularde, capon, &c., will be fit to reappear on your table in a very inviting state. I must also observe that the birds are not in the least disfigured, but, on the contrary, their appearance is much improved.
By the simple process which I have effected for the jointing of game or small poultry, with a long pointed pair of scissors, separating the sinews which join the wings to the breast, making the incision as small as possible, and also jointing the legs, by passing your finger between the skin and the flesh, pressing the legs over the breast with the left hand, the separation of the joints may be easily effected and having thus detached the four principal parts, the carving, when roasted, will be very simple. But for the jointing of large birds, as turkeys, geese, capons, &c., procure an instrument I invented for that purpose from Bramah’s, Piccadilly, with which a very intelligible printed direction will be given for its use; after having jointed the bird, truss it with a packing-needle and string, as usual, but not pressing them so tightly, or they would become deformed, whilst, on the contrary, if merely brought to their usual shape, they will look as plump as possible, and the process they have previously undergone will be totally imperceptible. In many instances where I have sent poultry to table thus previously jointed, the parties carving have been quite surprised at their unexpected progress in that difficult art. Formerly nothing was more difficult to carve than wild fowl, the continual motion (when alive) of the wings and legs making the sinews almost as tough as wires, puzzling{xvi} the best of carvers to separate them; my new method has quite abolished such a domestic tribulation. A long and dry description for the carving of each bird separately would be entirely useless, as every one of my readers will have perceived that almost the whole difficulty is defeated by this simple process; I shall therefore leave the subject, making but the following observation, which is, that in everything I dislike a straight line, and still more so in carving any kind of bird, by doing which you not only spoil their appearance, but cut against the grain, causing them to eat dry and, imperceptibly, obliging you to assist some of the guests to very thick pieces, unless the breast is very full and plump. I have here given a simple woodcut of a small turkey, by which you will easily perceive, that by trussing and carving in my new way, as represented, you will be enabled to carve for more people, assisting each to better slices with a middling-sized fowl, or any other bird, than with a larger one trussed and carved in the usual method. Keep, if possible, the legs in the position indicated in the design; any small birds, such as woodcocks, plovers, snipes, or teal, are generally cut into two or four, being easily carved, but for anything above their size the foregoing plan had better be acted upon.
Respecting the carving of any description of joints, it may be more simply explained. For a saddle of mutton or lamb, proceed precisely as directed for the saddle-back (page 644), and for a round or nitchbone of beef, proceed as scientifically explained (pages 641-3) by the carver of this mighty dish.
For the ribs or sirloin of beef, pass the knife between the chinebone and the flesh to about an inch in depth, but only to about the length you think sufficient to cut as many slices from as you may require; then having a sharp knife, cut off the outside slice very thinly (which, if roasted according to my new plan, will be very good, especially where parties have an objection to their meat the least underdone); hold your knife a little in a slanting direction, and continue cutting thin slices from the chine to the end, especially with the ribs, which are more lean, but it is preferable to leave all the ends of the sirloin in the dish as you carve, if not wanted, or after having carved two or three plates you are forced to dig the lean out, which is not only often, but generally done in a club-house where a scientific carver{xvii} is not employed; if a slice from a fillet of a sirloin is required, the servant must take the joint to the sideboard, and turn it over with a couple of forks; when again placed upon the table, the carver must carefully part some of the fat which covers it, if too much, then cut short slices in a slanting direction, as if from the breast of a fowl, instead of crosswise, for then if clumsily carved and overdone it has a strong resemblance to an old strap.
For a rump of beef, either roasted or stewed, always commence at the fattest end, carving in a slanting direction, by which means you will obtain a correct quantity of that delicate article, if even you should be carving for twenty people, whilst by cutting straight across, some would have the greater proportion fat and the remainder nothing but lean. Any other piece of beef rolled and stewed, and fillets of beef, as served for a remove, all require to be carved in a slanting direction.
For a fillet of veal, proceed in the same manner as directed for a round of beef.
A loin of veal, if cut straight at the commencement, is entirely spoiled, but when carved slantingly (if well done from the best end), and eaten with its own gravy, nothing could be nicer, the remaining is then also very good cold, even the kidney ought to be served the same; and the breasts, either roasted or stewed, require the same style of carving.
For legs of mutton or lamb I also proceed in a new way: the frill, which is placed upon the knuckle-bone, is not only intended to ornament the leg, but likewise to enable you to hold the bone with your left hand, and carving with the right, which would wonderfully facilitate the operation. Instead of cutting across the middle, which opens all parts at once, thus losing a great deal of the succulence, I commence carving at about two inches from the knuckle, beginning with the heel of the knife, drawing it along to the point, cutting six or eight slices at once, more or less if required, then pass the knife beneath the whole, detaching them from the bone, thus helping each person quickly and with very hot meat, the gravy remaining in the meat will keep it moistened in good order for cold, whilst in the general manner you have nothing but dry meat, or if underdone on purpose for cold, the meat will always have a black appearance. This is my way of carving at home, but if objectionable to take the frill with the fingers, make use of the carving-fork; at home I never allow any gravy to be put into the dish, but served separately in a boat, but if the meat is of good quality it will supply (if well roasted) an abundance of good gravy. If for the table of the wealthy, commence carving the leg nearer to the centre, but always in a slanting direction.
For shoulders of mutton or lamb to eat well and delicate, the fat and lean must be well mixed in serving, to accomplish which the joint must be carved in a still more slanting direction than the legs, also beginning rather near to the knuckle.
For necks and loins of mutton, never separate the bones of either with a chopper, or you will partially mutilate the meat, thus losing all the gravy in roasting, and frequently have great difficulty in carving, but separate the joints with a small saw as neatly as possible, cutting in the direction you require to carve.
For ribs of lamb, which should be properly prepared for carving before being roasted, having the centre of the bones broken, with the chine-bone detached; to carve, you must of course follow the bones, which run rather slantingly, helping each person to a cutlet from the neck, with a slice of the breast, but not cut too thick; by following this plan, each person will have partaken of the breast, which, without contradiction, is the most delicate part (but which is most frequently left to be eaten when dry and cold), and if any remain, being evenly carved, will be very presentable to table on the following day.
To carve a ham proceed very similar to the manner directed for the carving of a leg of mutton, commencing two inches from the knuckle, cutting very thin and delicate slices, slanting more and more as you proceed, or you will have nothing but fat left at the extremity.
To carve an ox-tongue, stick your fork into the root, and cut a thin slice off, placing the heel of the knife upon it, which draw along to the point, thus taking the slice off in one cut, leaving it upon the dish, and serving the inner slices cut in the same manner, but very thin and delicate, you will thus have carved the best part of it easily without disfiguring the whole, still having a decent piece remaining for cold, but if you had commenced in the middle you would at once spoil the appearance, and the remainder would eat dry when cold.
Nothing is more creditable to a carver than leaving a piece of either meat, game, or poultry fit to reappear at table in an inviting state.
The above engraving represents a haunch of venison, cooked as No. 540, and ready for carving, the back-bone of the loin being first partly taken out to facilitate the operation, as marked by letters and lines in the drawing. The carving-knife must be sharp; put the point of it an inch deep from letter A to B, and draw it in a slanting direction from letter A to A, so on from B to B, but go a little deeper in, according to the thickness of your haunch, and avoid making a hole through any part of it, as a well must be reserved to give half a spoonful of gravy to every plate, each of two thin slices. If you are to help more than eight or ten persons from the haunch, then carve{xix} the loin at the same time as the thickest part, from C C to D D, and give to each guest a slice from each part, by which you will quickly perceive that you have fairly cut the meat, and that each person will have had his proper quantity of fat, and from first to last each slice will be very inviting; serve on very hot plates of silver if possible. Every amateur of venison knows, that without its due quantity of fat it is hardly eatable; I would therefore advise those who still wish to carve haunches on the old system, to calculate how many plates they have to carve for, otherwise they are sure to be misled, if they do not take the trouble to ascertain the number who are to be helped. My new system possesses an advantage, which is, that if six or eight persons only partake of a haunch, the remains of it are in a fine state, and fit to be cut into large slices for another dinner, by merely putting a few spoonfuls of gravy with the slices into a sautépan, over a sharp fire for three minutes; turn them carefully, season with little salt, a teaspoonful of currant jelly, turn the slices two or three times over until the jelly is dissolved, serve on a very hot dish, but be careful not to let the slices boil in the pan, or else they will become very tough. If any remain, make a hash as No. 784, or pie, No. 785.
When I am called to carve a haunch of venison for eighteen or twenty I proceed as follows: I take off the flat bone, previous to roasting, at the back of the loin, and pass the knife from the knuckle all along the lower part of the flap, which is left about two inches wide; I then begin to cut in a slanting direction, as the drawing represents, from the beginning of the loin, through the leg as far as the knuckle, without reserving a well for gravy, and in fact I have found it to be better, as every slice you cut through the leg produces its own gravy boiling hot, which unavoidably gets cold in the well formed the other way of carving. Do not omit to save some fat for the next day, as your hash or pie would be insipid.
Haunch of mutton or lamb may be carved either way.
For necks of venison, pass your knife across the lower part of the ribs, about four inches below the thickest part, then cut slices in a slanting direction, not interfering with the bone, as I have previously explained. For shoulders, see Shoulder of Mutton, page 645.
Having made a trial with Mr. Grove of Charing Cross of cutting a buck to produce a saddleback of venison, as I have done of mutton (page 644), we succeeded remarkably well, and obtained a most splendid joint that ever could be placed before an epicure; but if cannot be generally adopted, except in the country, where gentlemen{xx} keep their own park of deer, as we found it interfered with both legs, which look like legs of mutton, and deprived them of the best part of the fat, which cannot be dispensed with: in other respects they are excellent for pies.
I have also introduced a saucière, made like a coffee-pot, heated by a spirit-lamp underneath, filled with good veal or beef gravy, to be taken round to each guest; the great heat of the gravy poured over the slices of venison, mixed with the gravy already helped from the haunch, makes a fine thick mixture, by which this delightful and noble joint is really enjoyed; the currant jelly always served ought not to be too sweet or too firm.
French beans, usually served with venison, ought to be very young and green, well dried, and very hot when sent to table; in case they could not be obtained, send up cauliflower or young brocoli with it; however I must here observe, that these vegetables are very unpalatable, as nothing disagrees more with currant jelly than French beans and brocoli. I have substituted tomatas farci, as described No. 1099, when in season, and served on a silver dish: they were much approved of. Plain broiled tomatas must be cut across, with the juice extracted without breaking; then put on the gridiron, with salt and pepper, on a very sharp fire, turn them, when done dish up, add a little butter over each, and send very hot.
A fowl which has been prepared with the Tendon Separator before roasting, can produce afterwards ten very inviting pieces, suitable to the fancy of as many guests.
In the first place you take a carving fork, which you stick in the breast, between figs. 5 and 6, then you give a cut at the fillet, beginning at 1 down to 2, where you make the point of the knife cut through the joint of the wing, which by twisting a little will easily come asunder. The same operation is done from 3 to 4; and without removing the fork, you slide the knife under the leg at 7, and the same at 8, and both legs will immediately separate. The next cut is to be given at 5 to 6, and afterwards the back is divided in the same direction as the last numbers—as each leg is divided at the joint commonly called drumstick, it completes the ten parts.
A Duck. The best part of a duck is the breast, which should be cut in fillets obliquely, then the wings and the legs, the same as the fowl, and the body in two.
A Pheasant. The best parts are the breast and legs, which are carved the same as a fowl.
A Partridge. The wings and the body are the best parts.
A roast Hare must be cut along the spine, from the neck downwards to obtain the fillets, which ought then to be divided in parts, in the same oblique direction as the ribs. The legs and shoulders are seldom carved, but they are, with the body, excellent in a hash or stewed.
The woodcut at p. xxiii represents one of the most serviceable of instruments. Its object is to relieve carvers, more or less proficient, and must become indispensable for the use of all cooks and poulterers in disjointing the volatile species previous to trussing, roasting, or boiling.
To a clever carver, sitting at a homely table or public banquet, it matters little whether all eyes are fixed upon him or a fidgety footman is at his elbow. He quietly distributes the several dainties according to the fancy of the guests, and everything goes on in comfort. But to a person inexperienced, the notion of being placed at either{xxii} end of the table, to stay the ravenous appetite of some of the guests, causes such a nervous excitement, that it is not an uncommon thing to see the splashing of sauce and gravy on those around—perchance the sudden appearance of an unfortunate limb flying with terrific velocity on a lady’s dress, the whole of the company being thus thrown into confusion—the poor carver’s apologies received with black looks, and the harmony of the party placed in jeopardy.
It is with a view to extricate society from such an awkward position that the inventor offers to the public the Tendon Separator, as a medium by which any gentleman may boldly take the carving-knife in hand, and be delighted to comply with the invitation of the Amphytrion: instead of inspiring fear, he will be admired for his ability in gracefully dividing a favorite piece of game or poultry.
The simplicity of the operation will easily convince any one that the Tendon Separator possesses all that is required to remove awkwardness in carving; the only necessity being to divide the tendons in the joints, the toughness of which is the difficulty to be overcome, and often abandoned to make a desperate cut at the bones; hence arise the accidents above mentioned.
The following instructions will enable all cooks and poulterers to prepare game and poultry for the table, perfectly free from opposition to any carver’s knife.
Is represented shut when done with, by merely slipping the brass ring to keep the spring in its place, and open when in the act of being used; the straight part of the handle, with the ring, resting in the palm of the hand between the thumb and the fore-finger. When about separating the tendons and otherwise dividing other parts of your fowl or bird, you begin by turning the skin over the wings and cutting the tendons (No. 1, p. xxiv) in each of the joints; and then by taking hold of that part commonly called the drumstick with your right hand and the skin being already turned, you can easily get at the joint (No. 2) by making it come out, to cut the tendons of each leg; on turning the Separator with the points upwards, you give a cut at the breast-bone (No. 4); and, by holding the instrument with both hands, immediately after turning the points downwards, you also give a cut at the back-bone (No. 5), and then, the four tendons being cut, the limbs are brought back to their former position. Then you introduce the instrument into the body at the other end of the bird, and with your left hand you take hold of the thigh-bone, which you also divide at No. 3, and again turning the points downwards, you give another cut at the back-bone No. 5; with little practice the cuts at the breast and back-bone, are made without interfering in the least with the skin; then you truss the bird in the common way, but a packing-needle and thread are to be preferred, as explained at page xv. When roasted, the appearance of the poultry is vastly improved by this simple operation, it looks more plump on account of the sinews having lost their power of contraction whilst roasting; therefore, when the bird {xxiii}
comes to table, the carver has merely to pass the knife in the usual manner to take up the wings and legs, and finds no resistance; the same at the breast and the back, where it may easily be seen whilst carving that it has already been prepared.
Three minutes is about the time taken by this new process to cut into ten parts an ordinary fowl.
For a Turkey or a Goose, the sinews are divided as above, and in the act of carving, instead of cutting the fillets in a straight line with the breast-bone, you separate them obliquely, and all other parts as usual.
Pheasants, Ducks, and all Wild Fowl especially, must be prepared in a similar manner.
A Hare or Rabbit may also have the sinews and back-bone divided; to effect this you lay the hare upon its back, and give six cuts nearly through the back-bone, holding the Separator with both hands, through the belly part; then you truss it for roasting. If it should happen to be a very large hare, the fillets only are carved, and they ought to be cut in thin slices in an oblique direction, instead of straight along the back.
My motive for introducing the directions for larding at the commencement of this work, is to give it the importance which it deserves, it having in all former works been generally omitted, or lost amongst a multitude of receipts, which has made me desirous of placing it in a conspicuous place, in the hope that many families in the middle classes of society may be able to partake of that very inexpensive luxury.
Nothing but experience and practice would enable a person to lard well, I have, therefore, given the few following directions, so that a person might improve himself after once commencing. I have been induced to do so from the fact of having had many female cooks with me for improvement, many of whom could send up very good dinners, but few of them have scarcely known, or had any idea of larding, being in the habit of having it done by their poulterer whilst in London, and in the country avoiding it entirely: I shall, therefore, endeavour to explain, first, the choice of the bacon; secondly, the manner of cutting it; and lastly, the best mode of larding.
Choose the firmest bacon you can obtain, quite fat, and not at all red, or it would break and cause a deal of trouble. To cut it, take off the piece of lean at the bottom, lay it upon a board with the rind upwards, and beat gently with a cutlet-bat, trim the sides, and cut it into bands the breadth that you may require your lardons in length; if for a fillet of beef, two inches; for fricandeau, turkey, poularde, fowl, pheasant, or sweetbread, an inch and a half; and for lamb’s sweatbreads much smaller. Take one of the bands, place it before you with the rind downwards, and with a sharp knife cut it in slices, (but not separating it from the rind), of the thickness you require for the article you are about to lard, then place your hand at the top, press lightly, and draw your knife straight along as if cutting the bacon in slices, so as to form the lardons square at each end, commencing cutting from the heel of the knife, and finishing at the point.
To lard, the French method is so familiar to me that I cannot but recommend it, especially to inexperienced hands. If a fricandeau, lay it lengthwise upon a clean napkin across your hand, forming a kind of bridge with your thumb at the part you are about to commence at, having previously taken all the skin from the veal with a knife, then with the point of your larding-needle make three distinct lines across, half an inch apart, run your needle into the third line (at the further side of the fricandeau), and bring it out at the first, placing one of the lardons in it, draw the needle through, leaving out a quarter of an inch of the end of the bacon at each line: proceed thus to the end of the row; then make another line half an inch distant, stick in another row of lardons, bringing them out at the second line, leaving the ends of the bacon out all of the same length; make the next row again at the same distance, bringing the ends out between the lardons of the first row, proceeding in like manner until you have larded the whole surface in chequered rows: proceed in a similar way with everything you lard, the difference being only in the size of the lardons, and in the case of poultry or game, previously scald the breasts. By following closely the above simple directions any cook may be able, if not to lard well, at any rate to lard well enough for every-day use, which would give practice, and likewise competence, to lard articles required upon more particular occasions.
A FEW THINGS I OBJECT TO, THAT IS, NOT TO USE IN COOKERY COMESTIBLES WHEN OUT OF, OR BEFORE, THEIR PROPER SEASON.
For Butcher’s Meat, see page 637, Kitchen at Home.
In Poultry. I never use turkeys before Michaelmas, and not after the latter end of March.
Ditto turkey poults before the end of June, and not after September.
Capons, poulardes, pullets, and fowls, I use all the year round. I begin about March with the spring chickens, till the beginning of July.
Geese are in season almost all the year round.
Goslings, or green geese, commence early in the spring, and are called so till the end of September, thus there is hardly any difference between them and the Michaelmas geese.
Ducks and ducklings the same.
Rabbits and pigeons may be used all the year round; but it is only in the early part of the spring that I use tame rabbits.
Guinea-fowls are used when pheasants go out, which is about the latter end of January, and are used till the end of May. Their eggs are very good, more delicate than the common ones.
I never use grouse before the 14th Aug., nor after the 22d December.
Black cocks and gray hens about the same time as grouse, but they are more uncertain.
Ptarmigans are sent from Norway about the middle of January, and continue till March, but that depends upon the weather.
Though the shooting season for partridges is the first of September, and lasts till the end of January, I never cook one before the 3d, except being desired to do so, but I often keep some for three weeks after the shooting season is over.
The same with pheasants, which begins from the 1st of October till the end of January. By hanging them by the necks and putting a piece of garlic in the beak and a little cayenne, I one cold winter kept one six weeks after the shooting time had expired, which I afterwards presented to a party of real gourmets, who said it was the best they had partaken of during the season.
I always use wild ducks, widgeons, teal, pintails, larks, golden plovers, snipes, woodcocks from the commencement of November till the end of March, after which the flesh becomes rank and unfit for table.
Young pea-fowls are very good, and make a noble roast, see p. 401, and are in season from January till June, but they are very uncertain.
Plovers’ eggs, my favorite, an unparalleled delicacy, come about the middle of March, and are not considered good after the latter end of May; but when I can get them fresh in June, I do not discontinue their use, because they are, in my estimation, worthy of the patronage of the greatest gourmet. I have paid for them, at the beginning of the season, three shillings and sixpence each; they are the black plover or peweet’s eggs.
For the last few years there has been quite an alteration in the seasons for these golden and silvery inhabitants of the deep.
Except the Cod-fish, which come in September, and by strictness of rule must disappear in March, the season for all other sea-fish becomes a puzzle; but the method I follow during the season is as follows:
Crimped Gloucester is plentiful in June and part of July, but it may be procured almost all the year round.
Common Salmon from March to July.
Salmon Peale from June to July.
Spey Trout from May to July.
Sturgeon, though not thought much of, is very good in June.
Turbot are in season all the year round.
John Dories depend entirely upon chance, but may be procured all the year round for the epicure, May excepted.
The original season of Yarmouth Mackerel is from the 12th of May till the end of July; now we have Christmas mackerel; then the west of England mackerel, which are good at the beginning of April.
Haddock and Whiting all the year round.
Skate all the winter.
Smelts from the Medway are the best, and are winter fish, the Yarmouth and Carlisle are good, but rather large; the Dutch are also very large, which often lose in the estimation of the epicure.
Brill is like turbot as to season.
Slips are similar to soles, good all the year round.
Gurnets are rather a spring fish.
Flounders and Diamond Plaice, are in full season from June to July.
Red Mullets vary very much now, but the beginning of the season was formerly the 12th of May; we had none this year except at a very extravagant price. I always use them when they are to be obtained.
Fresh Herrings are in season from November to January.
River Eels all the year round.
Lobsters in the spring and part of the summer. Prawns ditto.
Crabs are best in May.
Oysters begin in August, but are not very good till September.
Barrelled Oysters begin on the 15th of September, and last till the end of February.
Barrelled Cod, Lent fish, are best in winter or about March.
Sprats come in about the 8th of November.
Crawfish is a very favorite dish of the greatest epicures of France, and also of a few of the English; the author regrets that in fulfilment of an agreement between himself and M. Sampayo he is restricted from giving the receipt of Crawfish à la Sampayo, which has appeared in his Bill of Fare, No. 609. The reason of the enormous expense of this dish is that two large bottles of truffes du Périgord, which do not cost less than four guineas, are stewed with them in champagne.
The seasons for these delicacies are the principal guide for the epicure; but though either can be obtained by artificial means at a great expense, they do not repay in flavour their exorbitant price.
All clear soup must not be too strong of meat, and must be of a light brown, sherry, or straw colour.
All white or brown thick soups must be rather thinnish, lightly adhering to the back of the spoon.
All purées must adhere little more to the back of the spoon.
Any Italian paste must be very clear, rather strong, and the colour of pale sherry.
All kinds of fish sauce should be thicker for boiled fish than for broiled or fried.
Brown sauce should be a little thinnish and the colour of a horse-chesnut.
White sauce should be of the colour of ivory, and thicker than brown sauce.
Cream, or Dutch sauce, must be rather thick, and cannot be too white.
Demi-glace requires to be rather thin, but yet sufficiently reduced to envelope any pieces of meat, game, poultry, &c., with which it is served.
Every description of fish should be well done, but not over-boiled, broiled, stewed, or fried.
Beef and mutton must be underdone even for joints, removes, and entrees.
Lamb requires to be more done.
Veal and pork must be well done.
Venison must be underdone, red in the middle, and full of gravy, but not raw.
Poultry, either broiled, stewed, boiled, or roasted, must be done thoroughly, not cutting in the least red, but must be still full of gravy.
Pheasants and partridges must be well done through, yet full of gravy.
Grouse, black cocks, gray hens, and ptarmigans, must cut reddish, with plenty of gravy, but not too much underdone.
All kinds of water-fowl must be very much underdone, so that the blood and gravy follow the knife in carving.
Plovers must be rather underdone, but done through.
Rabbits and pigeons must be well done.
Second-course savoury dishes must be rather highly seasoned, but with a little moderation.
Pastry should, when baked, be clear, light, and transparent, and of a beautiful straw colour; the body of a croustade the same.
Large pies, timbales, and casseroles of rice must be of a yellowish brown colour.
Jellies require to be rather white and transparent for fruits, and not too firm, but better so than too delicate.
Orange jellies should be of a deep orange colour, and all fruit jellies as near as possible to the colour of the fruit.
Creams should be very light and delicate, but fruit creams must be kept of the colour of the fruits they are made of.
For all the demi-glacé removes the ice must be firm, but not the least hard.
All kinds of soufflé or fondu must be well done through, or they would be very indigestible, clog the delicate palate, and prevent the degustation of the generous claret which flows so freely after dinner on the table of the real epicure.
I recommend sugar in almost all savoury dishes, as it greatly facilitates digestion and invigorates the palate, but always increase or diminish the quantity according to the taste of your employer.
I often introduce onions, eschalots, or even a little garlic in some of my most delicate dishes, but so well blended with other flavours that I never have a single objection even by those who have a great dislike to it.
Horseradish and herbs of every description may always be used with discretion to great advantage.
Contrary to the expressed opinion of every other previous publication, I say that too much seasoning is preferable to too little, as your employer can correct you by saying there is too much of this or that, and you can soon get it to his taste; but while you fear over-seasoning you produce no flavour at all; by allowing each guest to season for himself, your sauce attains a diversity of flavours. The cook must season for the guest, not the guest for the cook.
I have always found great advantage in dressing the greatest part of my entrées on a thin roll of mashed potatoes;[2] this has never been found objectionable, as it is so thin that it is imperceptible when covered with the sauces, and serves to prevent any entrées dressed in crown from being upset, before going on table, by the carelessness of the servant; for large removes, as turkey à la Nelson (No. 510), &c., after forming the ship (see engraving), egg, bread-crumb, and set in a moderate oven to brown, fix in your croustade, and dish up; the potatoes may be eaten, but not the croustade, which is merely an embellishment. Borders may also be made of forcemeat, as for ris de veau (No. 673), but gives much more trouble without being better; also of rice, by preparing it as for casserole au riz (p. 260); it may be used as mashed potatoes. Make but few preserves, only those that are indispensable; you will have a continual enjoyment of earlier stock, as Nature closely watches our wants and liberally supplies our wishes. The real gourmet, though anxious to produce novelty, never attempts to over-force the produce of the various seasons.
Peel and wash two onions, one carrot, one turnip, cut them in thin slices, also a little celery, a bunch of parsley, two bay-leaves, lay three sheets of paper on the table, spread your vegetables, and pour over them two or three tablespoonfuls of oil; have your turkey, or poularde, trussed the same as for boiling; cover the breast with thin slices of bacon, and lay the back of the bird on the vegetables; cut a few slices of lemon, which you lay on the breast to keep it white, tie the paper round with string, then pass the spit and set it before the fire; pour plenty of fat over to moisten the paper and prevent from burning, roast three hours at a pretty good distance from the fire: capons will take two hours, poulardes one hour and a half, fowls one hour, and chickens half an hour.
Take three fine sweetbreads, clean them well with milk and water, in order to make them as white as possible; do them gradually in a stewpan with good white gravy, some onion, carrot, and celery, with a little mace; then stuff them well with pistachio nuts nicely bruised; put them “en papillote” (that is, to oil or butter a piece of paper, which you fasten round by twisting it along the edge) and give them a nice wholesome colour; they will require from twenty to twenty-five minutes to bring them to a proper state of excellence, with the good, fine, wholesome colour they may be served up, with white endive, or celery sauce aux pistaches, after the above manner.
Make some very good and highly-flavoured calf’s-head soup, with a good abundance of egg and forcemeat balls, and some sausage-meat introduced therein; the pieces of calf’s-head should not be cut larger than an inch square. When this soup is properly prepared and ripe, pour it into several milkpans, to the depth of about two inches; let it stand in this way to cool and stiffen, for the next day’s use.
Dress a nice light salad of mustard and cress, with endive and a slight sprinkle of well-cut celery; take this salad from the bowl (in which it has been dressed), lightly with a fork, and form in a pyramid in the centre of a dish, around which place tastefully-ornamented slices of the cold and substantial soup, cut into slices about the size and thickness of calf’s liver that is usually served up with bacon. Garnish with slices of hard-boiled eggs and lemon. This, if properly managed, forms not only a pretty-looking spring dish, but a most excellent one. {xxx}
N. B.—The Swan must not be skinned.
Take two pounds of rump steak, chop it fine, season well with spice, a piece of onion, or eschalot, and butter. Rub the breast both inside and outside with beaten cloves, then stuff with the above, taking care to sew the bird up carefully, and to tie it very tightly on the spit, so that the gravy may not escape. Inclose the breast of the swan in a meal-paste, after which cover the whole bird with paper well greased with beef dripping. About a quarter of an hour before the bird is taken up, remove the paper and the paste, baste well with butter and flour till brown and frothy. A swan of fifteen pounds weight requires about two hours roasting with a fire not too fierce.
Take the giblets and a piece of beef, with a pint of port wine, and make a good gravy. Pour some of this through the body of the swan when dished. Some red currant jelly and port wine should be made hot and served up likewise.
N. B.—The swan is not to be skinned.
To some good stock made the previous night from an old fowl, or of veal, add three pounds of the white part of the leeks, and let the whole boil slowly for three hours, then add a skinned fowl (old or young), cut into neat pieces, and three dozen of good prunes. Let all simmer together for one hour longer. Season with salt and white pepper, and you will have good cock a leekie.
N. B.—In frost the leeks require less boiling.
This very seasonable novelty originated with M. Soyer, “the Gastronomic Regenerator,” of the Reform Club; and, like everything which emanates from his inventive brain, is distinguished by its taste and utility. This is, indeed, a picturesque mode of keeping game, so as to make them ornamental until they become useful—at table. The lovers of “still life” pictures cannot but admire this “Bouquet;” and it is not unworthy of our painters’ attention. The several articles of game, &c., are secured between branches of laurel and other evergreens, set off with dried and coloured flowers, “everlastings,” &c. The handsome specimen we have engraved bears the following, arranged in the order here denoted:
TWO GOLDEN PLOVERS. | ||
LEVERET. | ||
WILD DUCK. | PHEASANT. | |
WILD RABBIT. | ||
GROUSE. | WIDGEON. | |
FRENCH PARTRIDGE. | ENGLISH PARTRIDGE. | |
WOODCOCK. | TEAL. | |
TWO SNIPES. | ||
TWO LARKS. |
The brilliancy of the plovers and of the pheasant, and the brightness of the wild-duck, backed by the sombre green, and the whole variegated and relieved by multicoloured flowers, is really very effective.
Not many days since, M. Soyer presented one of his “Bouquets de Gibier” to Viscount Melbourne, at Brocket Hall; when his lordship admired the novelty exceedingly, as did also the noble party on a visit at Brocket.
Another “Bouquet” has been presented by M. Soyer to a lady of high fashion and beauty, if we may judge from the triplet which accompanied the offering:
Count d’Orsay, the arbiter elegantiarum of our day, on the “Bouquet” being submitted to him, admired the artistical design, and suggested that Landseer would appreciate its novelty, adding, “What a beautiful trophy it would make for a sideboard or a dining-room!”
The “Bouquet,” we augur, will be popular in the approaching Christmas season; and though there is a musty old proverb about “looking at a gift-horse,” the above novelty will surely throw the old-fashioned baskets into the shade, by presenting much that is agreeable to the eye, with the proximate association of another sense of enjoyment.
A present extraordinary to the King and Queen of the French was forwarded from London to Paris on the 21st of December by the well-known Gastronomic Regenerator, M. Soyer, of the Reform Club, and was presented to their Majesties on the 24th, in the morning, at the Palace of the Tuileries. Their Majesties were so delighted with the novelty and elegance of the composition, that after a long examination the King ordered it to be carried to the apartments of her Majesty the Queen of the Belgians, who was exceedingly pleased with it, and afterwards the whole of the royal family was summoned to see this bouquet; the sight was so new and unexpected that it met with their unanimous approbation. His Majesty then observed that such a welcome and graceful present from a foreign country had never before penetrated through France to the palace of its kings. Immediately after, by the orders of his Majesty, the sporting nosegay was carried by two gentlemen porters to the council of ministers then sitting at the Tuileries, and was admired by every one. It is reported that his Majesty intends to have a similar bouquet carved in wood for ornamenting the grand sideboard of the magnificent banqueting hall of the palace. To give an idea of the composition of this splendid innovation, the following description perhaps will be interesting to the public. The length of it was about ten feet, and wide in proportion. The frame was richly covered with Christmas holly, laurels, mistletoe, and evergreen, with a great variety of winter flowers. There were twenty-two heads of game, consisting of larks, snipes, woodcocks, black peweets, teal, French and English partridges, grouse, widgeons, wild ducks, black cocks, pheasants, a leveret, a hare, and golden plovers; the interstices were lightly filled with wheat and oats, the whole ornamented with tri-coloured ribands and small flags at the top—and to give a still more pleasing effect, fancy birds of beautiful plumage, so abundant in England, were spread in every part of this magnificent nosegay.
The following letter from his Majesty the King of the French, accompanied with a beautiful pin forming a bouquet of diamonds and pearls, was sent by his Majesty’s orders to the French Ambassador, and forwarded to Monsieur Soyer at the Reform Club.
Cabinet du Roi, Château des Tuileries; 1847.
Monsieur,
Le Roi a reçu votre ouvrage sur l’art culinaire, et le groupe de gibier dont vous lui avez fait hommage.
Je suis chargé, Monsieur, de vous transmettre les remercimens de sa Majesté pour cette double attention, et d’y joindre comme témoignage de sa satisfaction, le bijou que je m’empresse de vous remettre.
Recevez je vous prie, Monsieur, mes plus parfaites salutations.
Le Secrétaire du Cabinet,
CAMILLE FAIN.
Monsieur Alexis Soyer.
Utensils. | Reform Club Kitchen. |
Kitchen of the Wealthy. |
Kitchen at Home. |
Kitchen of the Bachelor. |
Cottage Kitchen. |
Stewpans, the sizes fluctuating from six gallons to half a pint | 89 | 36 | 12 | 6, 1 holding a gall. | 4 |
Stock-pots, varying from twelve gallons to two | 8 | 4 | 1 | 6 black saucepans | |
Turbot kettles, one full size, and another two sizes smaller | 2 | 2 | 1 small | ||
Long Fish-kettles, two large and two middling-sized ones | 4 | 2 | 1 rather larger | 1 rather wide. | 1 |
Braising-pans, two large and two middling-sized | 4 | 2 | 1 | .. | |
Preserving-pans (copper), one large round bottome and one large flat bottomed | 2 | 2 | 1 | .. | 1 flat |
Egg bowls, one large and one middling-sized | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | bottomed |
Baba and sponge-cake moulds | 2 | 3 | 1 | ||
Large round copper pie-dishes for servants | 4 | 2 | |||
Thick flat braising-pans with hermetic covers | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | |
Sautépans, twenty deep, with thick bottoms, and ten others | 30 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
Bain-marie-pans, varying from two gallons to a pint | 36 | 18 | 6 | 2 | |
Pie-moulds for raised pies | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |
Jelly and charlotte moulds | 24 | 12 | 4 | 1 | |
Small bordure for aspic jellies | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | |
Freezing-pots, with accessories | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
Baking-sheets of various sizes | 12 | 12 | 2 | 2 | |
Gridirons | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
Salamanders | 2 | 1 | 1 small | 1 do. | 1 |
Spoon drainers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
Spits of various sizes, including two with cradles | 12 | 6 | 2 | 2 | |
Dripping-pans | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
Steam copper cases for puddings and potatoes | 4 | 2 | |||
Round copper fruit bowls with handles | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||
Sugar-pans | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
Soup ladles (small and cheap utensils) | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Copper kitchen spoons, six of which are colander spoons | 36 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 2 |
Wire baskets for frying | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Wire sieves | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
Hair sieves | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Omelette-pans | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Small Jelly and driole moulds | 36 | 18 | 12 | 12 | |
Tartelette-pans | 36 | 12 | 12 | 3 | |
Tammies | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
Jelly bags | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
Wooden spoons | 24 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
Paste brushes | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Scissors | 2prs. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Kitchen knives | 12 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Boxes of cutters for vegetables and pastry | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
Trivets, four common, and two for gas stoves | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
Meat saws, four large and two small | 6 | 3 | 2, 1 small | 2 | 2 |
Cutlet bats | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Meat choppers, large | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
Steak-tongs, two large and two small pairs | 4prs. | 2 | 1 large | 1 | 1 |
Meat-hooks | 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
Rolling-pins | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Kitchen basins | 36 | 24 | 12 | 8 | 6 |
Small pie-dishes for fruit and meat | 24 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
Kitchen table-cloths | 24 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
Rubbers | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
Fish napkins | 24 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
Pudding-cloths | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Round towels | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
OR ABBREVIATED SUMMARY, REFERRING (FROM PAGE TO PAGE) TO THE VARIOUS SERIES OF DISHES, ETC.
(For General Contents see the end of the Volume.)
SAUCES. | |
PAGE | |
Foundation sauces, | 1—9 |
Thin sauces, | 9—14 |
Sauces, | 14—33 |
Sauces, with Garnitures of Vegetables, or garnishing, | 34—48 |
Appendix to the Sauces. | |
Composed of forcemeat of veal, rabbits, fowl, game, whitings, cod-liver, panada, veal-stuffing, boiled rice, branched macaroni, croquettes of potatoes, glaze, | 48—52 |
Potages, or soups, | 53—88 |
FISH—POISSON. | |
Method of cleaning salt-water fish, | 90, 92 |
Method of cleaning fresh-waterfish, | 93—94 |
Fish Dressed. | |
Turbot, | 95—101 |
Brill, | 101—104 |
John Dory, | 104—107 |
Salmon, or saumon, | 107—111 |
Cod-fish, or cabillaud, | 119—122 |
Red mullets, | 122—124 |
Whitings, or merlans, | 125—126 |
Mackerel, or maquereaux, | 126—128 |
Gurnets, | 130—132 |
Haddocks, or merluches, | 128—130 |
Herrings, or harengs, | 31 |
Skate, or raie, | 133 |
Smelts, or éperlans, | 134 |
Flounders, or carrelets, | 135 |
Plaice, or plie, | 135 |
White-bait, | 136 |
Sturgeons, or esturgeons, | 136 |
Shell-fish, | 137—139 |
Fresh-Water Fish. | |
Pike, or brochets, | 139—143 |
Carp, | 143—144 |
Tench, or tanche, | 144—145 |
Perch, | 146 |
Trout, or truite, | 147—148 |
Eels, or anguilles, | 148—149 |
Lampreys, | 149 |
Crawfish, or écrevisses, | 149 |
HORS-D’ŒUVRES, | |
or Dishes to be Handed Round the Table. Composed of— | |
Petits vol-au-vents and petites bouchées, made of beef-marrow, mackerel, skate, liver, oysters, lobsters, fowls, and game{xxxvi}, | 151—155 |
Petits pâtés of oysters, lobsters, and shrimps, | 156 |
Rissoles of oysters, lobsters, shrimps, mackerel, game, and fowls, | 156—159 |
Croustades of butter, | 160 |
Aiguillettes of sweetbread, | 161 |
Escalops of oysters, lobsters, fillets of soles, and fowls, | 161—163 |
REMOVES. First Course. | |
Beef, or bœuf, | 164—176 |
Ox tongue, or langue de bœuf, | 177 |
Veal, or veau, | 177—184 |
Calf’s head, or tête de veau, | 184—188 |
Mutton, or mouton, | 189—196 |
Lamb, or agneau, | 196—201 |
Pork, | 202—204 |
Turkey, or dinde, | 205—206 |
Capon, or poularde, | 203—220 |
Fowls, or poulets, | 215—220 |
Goose, or oie, | 220—221 |
Ducklings, or cannetons, | 221 |
Venison, or venaison, | 221—226 |
Grouse, | 228 |
Black cocks, | 229 |
Hare, or lièvre, | 229 |
FLANCS. Composed of— | |
Fillets of beef, tongue, and Wesphalia hams, | 230—233 |
Loin, knuckle, neck of veal, and calf’s head, | 234—237 |
Neck and loin of mutton, | 238—240 |
Saddle, shoulder, and neck of lamb, | 240—243 |
Chicken and duckling, | 244—248 |
Pheasant, grouse, and partridge, | 249—253 |
Leverets and rabbits, | 254—256 |
Pâté chaud, or hot pie, | 256—260 |
Vol-au-vents and casserole of rice, do. rabbits, lamb’s and calf’s tail, lamb’s and sheep’s trotters, | 260—264 |
ENTREES, or Made Dishes. | |
Beef, or bœuf, | 266—278 |
Veal, or veau, | 279—294 |
Mutton, or mouton, | 294—307 |
Lamb, or agneau, | 308—321 |
Pork, or porc-frais, | 322—325 |
Venison, or venaison, | 325—329 |
ENTREES OF POULTRY. | |
Turkey, or dinde, | 329—331 |
Poulet, or poularde, | 332—340 |
Fowls, or volaille, | 340—347 |
Spring chickens, or poulets, | 348—351 |
QUENELLES, or Forcemeat. Composed of— | |
Quenelles of fowls, | 352—354 |
Boudins, croquettes, and rissolettes, | 355—357 |
Fillets of ducklings, | 358—359 |
ENTREES OF GAME. | |
Hare, or lièvre{xxxvii}, | 360—362 |
Rabbits, or lapins, | 363—366 |
Pheasant, or faisan, | 367—370 |
Grouse, | 371—373 |
Partridges, or perdreaux, | 374—377 |
Wild ducks, or canards sauvages, | 378—379 |
Teal, or cercelles, | 380—381 |
Woodcocks, or bécasses, | 382—385 |
Plovers, or pluviers, | 386—387 |
Quails, or cailles, | 388—389 |
Pigeons, | 389—390 |
Larks, or mauviettes, | 391—392 |
ROASTS for Second Course. | |
Turkey, or dinde, | 393—397 |
Capon, pullet, and chicken, | 398—399 |
Goose, or oie, | 400 |
Duckling, or canneton, | 400 |
Woodcocks, or bécasses, | 401 |
Guinea-fowl, or poule d’Inde, | 401 |
Pea-fowl, or paon, | 401 |
Pigeons, | 402 |
Quails, or cailles, | 402 |
Pheasants, or faisans, | 403 |
Grouse, | 403 |
Ptarmigan, | 404 |
Black cocks and gray hens, | 405 |
Partridge, or perdrix, | 405 |
Dun bird, | 405 |
Wild duck, or canard sauvage, | 405—406 |
Teal, or cercelles, | 406—407 |
Plovers, or pluviers, | 407 |
Woodcock, or bécasse, | 408 |
Larks, or mauviettes, | 408 |
Snipes, or bécassines, | 409 |
Hares, or lièvres, | 409 |
Leverets, or levrauts, | 409 |
Rabbits, or lapins, | 409 |
SAVOURY DISHES for Second Course. Composed of— | |
Boar’s head, ribs and fillets of beef, ox tongue, cold ham, | 410—419 |
Fillet and loin of veal, galantine, and pâtés of veal and ham, cotelettes of veal, and sweetbread, | 420—424 |
Cotelettes, turban, and carbonade of mutton, | 425 |
Balottins and cotelettes of lamb, | 426—427 |
Galantine and pâté of turkey, capon (or poularde), | 428—433 |
Chaud-froid of poularde (or capon), fillets of do., duckling en aspic, salad of fowl, aspic mould, | 434—438 |
Galantine, pâtés, fillet, and chaud-froid of pheasant, | 439—440 |
Galantine and salad of grouse, | 441 |
Galantine and pâtés of partridges, | 442—443 |
Woodcocks and pâtés froid of larks (cold), | 444 |
Lobster salad, mayonnaises of lobster, lobster en aspic au gratin, | 445—446 |
Crabs, oysters en coquilles, salad of fillet of soles, trout and salmon pickled, galantine of eels, | 447—449 |
VEGETABLES for Second Course. | |
Asparagus, sea kale, celery, salsify, cucumbers, and vegetable marrow, | 450—454 |
Jerusalem artichokes, cauliflowers, brocoli, | 455—456 |
Artichokes, peas, French beans, Brussels sprouts, | 457—462 |
Spinach, endive, sorrel, lettuces, | 463—465 |
Windsor beans, white haricot do., | 466—467 |
Tomatas and mushrooms, | 468 |
Carrots, turnips, onions, spring vegetables, | 469 |
Potatoes, lentils, truffles, | 470—474 |
Omelettes fines herbes, ham, truffles, mushrooms, olives, jardinière, oysters, fillets of soles, muscles, lobsters, sugar, preserves, and rum, | 474—477 |
ENTREMETS, or Sweets. | |
Observations on pastry, different sorts of paste, puffpaste, do. with beef suet, do. half puff, confectioner’s paste, almond paste, and gum paste{xxxviii}, | 478—483 |
Vol-au-vents of peaches, apricots, greengages, cherries, pears, apples, oranges, and gateau mille-feuille, | 484—486 |
Turban à la crême, wells of fruit, Pthiviers cakes, | 487—488 |
Tourtes, tartelettes, and fanchonettes à la vanille, | 489—493 |
Dauphines, tartelettes, mirlitons, and petits vol-au-vents, | 494—495 |
Gateaux fourrés with preserves, | 497—499 |
Turban de Condé, and apricot cakes, | 500 |
Petites bouchées, eventail with cherries, petits gateaux royals, | 501 |
A flan of puff paste, do. of apples, do. of pears, do. crême pralinée, | 502—503 |
Pâte à choux, petits choux with cream, almond, petits pains crêmière, | 504—505 |
Madeline with port wine, génoise, darioles, | 506—507 |
Biscatelles, cakes à l’Indienne gauffres aux pistaches, Allemande, vanilla, red nougat, | 508—510 |
Small cups of nougat, nougat with apricots, crisp chesnuts amandes croquantes, meringues, | 510—512 |
Turban of meringues, | 513 |
Meringue iced, do. aux pistaches, mushrooms en surprise, | 514 |
Biscuits manqués with almonds, do. with rum, | 515 |
Calf’s foot jelly, and various other jellies, | 516—524 |
Creams, various, | 524—528 |
Bavaroises, various, | 529—531 |
Charlottes, chartreuses, suédoises, bread and croquettes of apples, | 532—536 |
Apples, pears, and apricots with rice, | 537—538 |
Pommes meringués, miroton, fritters of apples, peaches and apricots, | 539—542 |
Croquettes of rice, cream of rice, macaroni, vermicelli, and cream fried, | 543 |
Beignets soufflés, frangipane, | 544 |
Omelette Célestine, pannequets with preserve, | 545 |
REMOVES, Second Course, | 548—574 |
SOUFFLES, For Removes, | 575—583 |
Appendix, the Second. | |
Aspic, | 585 |
Mayonnaise à la gelée, do. fines herbes, do. ravigote verte, do. ordinaire, do. Provençale, | 586—589 |
Montpellier butter, forcemeat for raised pie, and of liver for do. sponge cake, savoy cake in mould, biscuits, to clarify isinglass, | 591—592 |
Iceing, and chocolate iceing, sugar in grain, and to colour it, | 593 |
Vanilla and lemon sugar, to clarify and boil sugar, sugar thread, | 594—596 |
Iced cream of vanilla, coffee, chocolate, pine apple, lemon, orange, apricot, and strawberry, | 597—599 |
Marmalade of apples, apricot, quince, cherries, strawberries, and raspberries, | 600—602 |
Jelly of apples, quince, currant and raspberries, and to preserve tomatas{xxxix}, | 602—604 |
MY TABLE AT HOME. | |
Plain joints, | 637—649 |
Soups, | 652—656 |
Fish, | 656—660 |
Fresh-water fish, | 660—662 |
Simple hors-d’œuvres, | 663 |
Removes simplified, | 664—672 |
Sauces, | 673—675 |
Economical made dishes, | 676—687 |
Economical made dishes from poultry, | 688—691 |
Game, | 692—695 |
Meat pies and puddings, | 696 |
Second Course, | 698—701 |
Jellies of liqueurs or spirits, | 702 |
Bohemian jelly cream, | 703—710 |
MISCELLANEOUS. | |
Dedication to H. R. H. the Duke of Cambridge, | iii |
List of distinguished Personages who have patronized the work, | v |
Preface, | vii |
Preface to the Fourth Edition, | ix |
Description of the composition of this work, | xi |
Soyer’s new mode of carving, | xiv |
Directions for carving, | xv |
How to carve a haunch of venison, | xviii |
Saddleback of venison, | xix |
Carving of poultry, | xx |
Soyer’s Tendon Separator, | xxi |
Directions for larding, | xxv |
Meat and poultry, | xxvi |
Fish, | xxvii |
Vegetables and fruit, | ib. |
How everything should be in cooking, | xxviii |
Braised roast turkey, capon, or fowl, | xxx |
Amateur Receipts—Ris de Veau aux Pistaches à la Dr. Roots, | ib. |
Potage froid, ou Salade à la Dr. Roots, | ib. |
Roast Swan à la Norwich, | xxxi |
Cock a Leekie à la Wemyss, | ib. |
Bouquet de Gibier, or Sporting Nosegay, | xxxii |
Olive Branch between France and England, | xxxiii |
Number of stewpans and other utensils required, | xxxiv |
Service pagodatique, | 606 |
Table of the wealthy and bill of fare for ten persons, | 607 |
Dîner Lucullusian à la Sampayo, | 608 |
Bill of fare for the same, | 609 |
Dialogue culinaire, | 611 |
Description of the kitchen of the Reform Club, and plan, | 613 |
Reference to the plan, | 614 |
Kitchen of the Reform Club, | 615—629 |
My kitchen at home, | 630—632 |
The bachelor’s kitchen and cottage kitchen, | 633 |
Dinner party at home, | 634 |
Receipts, | 637—710 |
Coffee, | 711 |
Monster bill of fare, | 712 |
Pagodatique entrée dish, | 713 |
Celestial and terrestrial cream of Great Britain, | 719 |
General table of contents Madame Soyer’s biography Criticisms of the press |
at the end — of the book. |
PAGE | |
Portrait of the Author | 1 |
Emblematical woodcut | iv |
A Turkey, prepared according to M. Soyer’s new plan | xvi |
Carving a haunch of venison | xviii |
Carving of poultry | xxi |
The Tendon Separator | xxiii |
Fowl—one half with the flesh on, and the other half dissected | xxiv |
Mutton, pork, and lamb cutlets | 294 |
Table of the wealthy | 607 |
Kitchen of the Reform Club | 612 |
Ground plan of ditto | 614 |
Fifteen engravings representing the fitting-up of the kitchen of the wealthy | 610 to 629 |
Ground plan of my kitchen at home | 632 |
The bachelor’s and the cottage kitchen | 634 |
My table at home | 635 |
Saddle-back of mutton | 644 |
A new mutton cutlet | 677 |
Pagodatique entrée dish | 714 |
Dindonneau à la Nelson, Poularde en diadème, Galantine à la volière, Salade de grouse à la Soyer, Mayonnaise de homard, Croustades of bread for the centre of removes, Croustade for filet de bœuf, Croustades for poularde en diadème, Croustades for turkey à la Nelson, Gateau Britannique, Crême Cerito sultane sylphe à la fille de l’orage, Six jelly moulds, and the Atelettes for Flancs, Removes, &c. | 720 |
Portrait of Madame Soyer, Biography at the end of the book. |
THE first eight sauces are what we term Foundation sauces; but to facilitate and simplify the making of all kinds of made dishes, I have throughout this work principally referred to the Brown Sauce (No. 1), and the White Sauce (No. 7), which are the two sauces I daily and principally use. The others are of course very good, and sometimes necessary; but being more complicated, I would recommend that they be left to culinary artists, who can easily surmount this difficulty. The two above-mentioned sauces require nothing but a little care and attention; if well made, you will have little trouble with the smaller sauces; for the foundation sauces being well made, the smaller ones require little more than the ingredients directed for them, to give them their proper flavour; but if badly made, it would injure the whole dinner. The above-named sauces will keep four or five days in summer, and a week in winter, by adding a quart of light broth, and boiling them up every day in summer, and every other day in winter.
The following proportions in the foundation sauces are sufficient for a large dinner; but of course where so much is not required, a quarter, or even a smaller quantity can be made.{2}
The colour of the brown sauce ought to be as near as possible to that of the horse-chesnut, whilst the white sauce should be of the colour of rich cream. If possible, nothing but the best flour should ever be used for a roux, which is the French culinary term for thickening; for inferior or new flour loses its strength by boiling, and your sauce would become thin and watery: but if such be the case, you should make more roux, to obviate this difficulty, which must be well mixed with a little cold stock, poured into the sauce, and all boiled together till you have obtained the consistency directed.
Put a quarter of a pound of butter in a large thick-bottomed stewpan, rub it all over the bottom, then peel and cut ten large onions in halves, with which cover the bottom; then take two pounds of lean ham cut into slices, which lay over the onions; having ready cut in large slices twenty pounds of leg of beef and veal, put it over the ham, and place the stewpan over a sharp fire; let it remain a quarter of an hour, then with a large wooden spoon move the whole mass round, but keeping the onions still at the bottom. Keeping it over the fire, and stirring it occasionally, until the bottom is covered with a light brown glaze, then prick the meat with a fork, take off the stewpan, and put some ashes upon the fire, to deaden its heat; place the stewpan again over it, and let it stand half an hour longer, stirring it twice during that time; the bottom will then be covered with a thick but clear brown glaze; fill it up with fourteen quarts of water or sixteen of light stock (No. 133), then add three turnips, two carrots, four blades of mace, and a bunch of ten sprigs of parsley, six sprigs of thyme, and four bay-leaves; leave it over the fire until it boils, then place it on the corner, add a quarter of a pound of salt; skim off all the fat, and{3} let it simmer for two hours, adding two quarts of cold water by degrees, to clarify it and keep it to its original quantity; then skim it again, and pass the stock through a fine cloth into a basin, (by filling up the stewpan again with water you will have then an excellent second stock—for filling up stocks for soups or sauces, this remark also applies to every description of stocks;) if by any misfortune the stock should become thick, clarify it as directed (No. 134).
Then proceed as follows: put one pound of butter into a deep stewpan, (which is the best for this purpose,) place it over the fire, stirring it until it melts; then stir in a pound and a half of best flour, mix it well, and keep stirring it over the fire until it assumes a brownish tinge; then take it from the fire, and keep stirring the roux until partly cold, then pour in the stock quickly, still stirring it; place it over a sharp fire, stirring it until it boils, then place it at the corner of the stove, and let it simmer an hour and a half; by keeping it skimmed, you will take off all the butter, and the sauce will become clear and transparent; place it again over a sharp fire, and keep it stirred until it adheres to the back of the spoon, when pass it through a tammie into a basin, stirring it round occasionally until cold, and use it where required. Should the colour of the sauce be too pale, add a few spoonfuls of brown gravy (No. 135).
Put half a pound of butter into a large thick-bottomed stewpan, and cover the bottom with good slices of ham about a quarter of an inch in thickness; then cut up two legs of veal into as large slices as possible, (having twenty pounds of meat,) but reserving the nut, or noix, for flanks or entrées, (see No. 565;) put the meat without any of the bone into the stewpan, which set upon a moderate fire for twenty minutes, then shake it round, to prevent the ham{4} sticking to the bottom; cover it over quite close, then put a few ashes upon the fire; put the stewpan again over it, shaking it round occasionally, and once or twice turning the whole mass round together with a wooden spoon until the bottom is covered with a light glaze; prick the meat with a fork to let out the gravy, and with it remove the bottom pieces to the top; replace it upon the fire, shaking it round occasionally until each piece of meat be covered with a clear brown glaze; then fill up the stewpan with sixteen quarts of light stock (No. 133); add six onions (in one of which you have stuck six cloves), twelve peppercorns, two blades of mace, two carrots, a good bunch of parsley, six sprigs of thyme, and four bay-leaves; when it boils place it on the corner of the stove, skim it, and add two ounces of salt; let it boil rather quickly, adding two quarts of water by degrees, which will facilitate the abstraction of all the fat in skimming; boil it two hours, then pass the stock through a fine cloth into a basin. Make a roux, and terminate your sauce as described in the last.
Knowing by experience the difficulty of getting meat for stock in the country, especially veal, I will, for the convenience of families, give a receipt for brown sauce, to be made from rabbits, poultry, trimmings of mutton, beef, pork, or even venison; (but to every ten pounds of meat required, use twelve, as it is not so succulent as beef or veal.) In Scotland I was compelled to use venison even for beef-tea; this may appear rather strange, but it is no less true; for although the wealth of my employer would have enabled me to have anything required for my use, money could not purchase it at the time required. The mock beef-tea had of course a wild flavour, but it was still very palatable. Butter the bottom of a thick stewpan, upon which lay ten large{5} onions peeled and cut in halves, then put in what trimmings of meat or poultry you may have, proceed exactly with it as directed for brown sauce (No. 1), but using stock or water in proportion to the quantity of meat; the same precaution must be used likewise with the quantity of roux used for thickening.
Make your stock as directed in either of the three last receipts, (according to circumstances;) if sixteen quarts, bake two pounds of the best flour in a moderate oven, without letting it brown; sift it, and when quite cold mix it into a thin paste with two quarts of cold stock; mix it by degrees, getting it as smooth as possible; have the stock for your sauce boiling in a stewpan upon the fire, into which pour in the paste, keeping it stirred until it boils; then set it at the corner of the stove; let it simmer an hour and a half; skim it well, then place it upon a brisk fire, and add a few chopped mushrooms, boil it very quickly, keeping it stirred until it adheres to the back of the spoon; then pass it through a tammie as before, and use it where required.
This sauce has stood for a century as a foundation sauce in the highest class of cookery, and may be admired for its utility, and the delicacy of its flavour; but I have avoided referring to it in almost every receipt on account of the expense attached to it and its tedious fabrication. According to the old system, it requires two days to complete it; one for the simmering of the stock, and the other for the sauce. I have here, however, succeeded in simplifying it, by which the aroma of its component parts are better preserved than when subject to so long boiling.
Put six tablespoonfuls of oil in a large thick-bottomed{6} stewpan, rub it over the bottom, then lay in twenty pounds of veal in large slices, (from knuckles or the under part of legs,) an old fowl, two carrots, six onions, (in one of which you have stuck six cloves,) two blades of mace, four pounds of good ham, and a bunch of parsley, six sprigs of thyme, and four bay-leaves; pour in a pint of water, and place the stewpan upon a sharp fire; when it begins to form large bubbles, stir the whole round with a large wooden spoon; place some ashes upon the fire, and some live charcoal upon the lid of the stewpan; take off the lid occasionally, and stir the meat round, prick it, and when each piece is covered with a light white glaze fill up the stewpan with sixteen quarts of light stock (No. 133), or water, add a quarter of a pound of salt, if water, but only three ounces, if stock; when upon the point of boiling, stand it on the corner of the stove and let it simmer for two hours and a half, keeping it well skimmed, and adding a little cold water every now and then, to clarify it and keep its quantity; pass it through a fine cloth into a basin; then in another stewpan have a pound of fresh butter, which melt upon a slow fire, stirring in one pound and a half of flour, stir it over the fire ten minutes (but do not let it change colour), add the trimmings of half a pottle of mushrooms; stir it round another minute, then take it off the fire and keep stirring it until about half cold; then pour in the stock all at once, keeping it stirred quickly; place it over a sharp fire, and stir it until it boils, then place it at the corner of the fire and let it simmer for two hours, keeping it well skimmed; pass it through a tammie into a basin, and stir it occasionally until cold; when wanted, take the quantity you require, reduce it over a sharp fire, keeping it stirred until it adheres to the back of the spoon; finish with half a pint of cream or boiled milk.
This sauce, when well made, should be as white as ivory;{7} it is used for removes or entrées of poultry, and may be substituted for white sauce in any of these receipts.
Well oil the bottom of a thick stewpan; cut twelve pounds of veal in dice, (lamb trimmings or rabbits may be used with it,) and two pounds of lean ham also cut in dice; put the whole into the stewpan with three onions, a carrot, four cloves, a blade of mace, half a grated nutmeg, and a bunch of parsley, four sprigs of thyme, and two bay-leaves; pour in a pint of water, and set it over a sharp fire, stirring it round occasionally, (the fire should be sharp at first, but very slow at the finish,) until the meat and the bottom of the stewpan is covered with a white glaze; then add a pound of flour, mix it well with the meat, then fill up the stewpan with ten quarts of stock (No. 133), or water; add three ounces of salt, if with water, but two if with stock, and keep moving it round until upon the point of boiling, when place it on the corner of the stove and let it simmer two hours, keeping it well skimmed; then pass it through a hair sieve into a basin, and again through a tammie into another stewpan; add a few chopped mushrooms; stir it over the fire until it is reduced to a proper consistency, (this sauce is quickly done, and full of flavour;) finish with a pint of cream or boiling milk, and use it as directed in the last.
Cut twelve pounds of knuckles of veal into large dice, with two pounds of lean ham; well butter the bottom of a large stewpan, into which put the meat, (some of the bones of the knuckles may be included in the weight of the meat, but not much,) with three large onions, one carrot, a blade of mace, four cloves, and a bunch of parsley, two sprigs of{8} thyme, and two bay-leaves; pour in half a pint of water, and place the stewpan over a sharp fire, stirring it occasionally, until the bottom is covered with a clear white glaze, then fill it up with ten quarts of stock (No. 133), or nine of water; add three ounces of salt, and when upon the point of boiling, place it on the corner of the fire; let it simmer two hours and a half, keeping it skimmed, and adding cold water occasionally, to keep the quantity, then pass it through a fine cloth into a basin;[3] then in another stewpan have one pound of fresh butter, melt it over a slow fire and stir in one pound and a half of flour, stir it over the fire ten minutes, but do not let it change colour; then take it from the fire, stirring it until half cold, then pour in the stock, stirring it quickly all the time; place it over a sharp fire, keep stirring, and boil it for half an hour; add two tablespoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, and a quart of boiling milk; boil it ten minutes longer, then pass it through a tammie into a basin; stir it occasionally until cold, and use it where required.
This sauce is easily made, full of flavour, and has a very good appearance.
Is made from either of the three foregoing sauces. Put three quarts in a stewpan, which place over a sharp fire; reduce it to one third, keeping it stirred the whole time, it will then be very thick; have the yolks of six eggs in a convenient sized basin; mix the sauce with them by degrees, and turn it again into the stewpan; stir it again over the fire until the yolks are quite done, which will take about five minutes; have three pints of stock reserved from the original sauce, with which mix it by degrees; also{9} add a pint of boiling milk, but do not make it too thin; boil it again ten minutes, then pass it through a tammie into a basin, and stir it occasionally until cold.
Use it for entrées or removes of poultry, either hot or cold; but for cold removes of poultry it is best adapted.
This sauce never looks greasy; it will keep four or five days.
Put two quarts of brown sauce (No. 1) into a stewpan with one quart of consommé (No. 134), one ounce of glaze, four tablespoonfuls of tomate sauce (No. 37), place it over the fire, and when boiling place it at the corner, let it simmer very fast, skim it well, and reduce it to a clear light glaze, with sufficient consistence to adhere lightly to the back of the spoon; then put it by in a basin, and use it where directed.
All thin sauces are or will become very much in vogue; they invigorate the appetite without overloading the stomach; and are, consequently, more wholesome; all brown sauces are preferable for meat or game entrées, and in some instances, which you will see, for poultry; but of course the arrangement of your tables would prevent you serving all white or all brown entrées.
For families who have their entrées placed upon the table at the same time as the soup and fish, a thin sauce is much preferable; for if even the sauce should retain the same degree of heat it was served at, it will become much thicker by standing; but a sauce served thick if allowed to remain becomes almost uneatable.
Put two spoonfuls of common vinegar into a stewpan, place it over the fire, and when boiling add eighteen spoonfuls of demi-glace (No. 9), and six of consommé (No. 134),{10} add a quarter of a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, place it over the fire and let it reduce very fast until it adheres lightly to the back of the spoon, then add thirty fresh leaves of tarragon, let it just boil up and it is ready for use. Do not make it too long before you require to use it, or the tarragon would spoil the appearance of the sauce.
Put two tablespoonfuls of common vinegar into a stewpan with a piece of glaze the size of a walnut; place it over the fire, let it boil, then add a quart of consommé (No. 134), and two spoonfuls of brown gravy (No. 135), reduce it to half, season with a little sugar and pepper, finish with leaves of tarragon, as in the last.
Put an onion in slices into a stewpan with two sprigs of thyme, one bay-leaf, half a blade of mace, one clove, four sprigs of parsley, two ounces of lean ham, and one ounce of butter; stir them round over a slow fire until becoming rather brown, then add a spoonful of Chili vinegar, ten of demi-glace (No. 9), and ten of consommé (No. 134), boil altogether about ten minutes, skim it, then add ten spoonfuls of very bright preserved tomates, half a teaspoonful of sugar, and a very little scraped garlic; season with a little cayenne pepper and salt; boil altogether five minutes, rub it through a tammie, put it again into a stewpan, set it upon the fire, boil and skim it. Use it where directed.
Put eighteen spoonfuls of demi-glace, (No. 9), into a stewpan with six of consommé (No. 134), and a little sugar; place it upon the fire and reduce it to a clear light demi-glaze; skim it well, then have chopped six good fresh mushrooms,{11} throw them into the sauce, boil them ten minutes, then rub them through a tammie; put it again into a stewpan, warm it, but do not let it boil; after you have passed it, if made in the morning, warm it in your bain marie when required.
Put eighteen spoonfuls of demi-glace (No. 9) into a stewpan with sixteen of consommé (No. 134), place it over a sharp fire, reduce it to two thirds, skim it, scrape half a clove of garlic with a knife, and put it into the sauce with a little sugar, boil it again two minutes, and it is ready for use.
Put two spoonfuls of chopped eschalots into a stewpan with three of vinegar; reduce it to half over the fire, then add eighteen spoonfuls of demi-glace (No. 9), and six of consommé (No. 134), boil it about a quarter of an hour, skim it well, add half a teaspoonful of sugar, and when again forming a light glaze, add two tablespoonfuls of chopped gherkins, and a little cayenne pepper; it must not boil afterwards.
Put three tablespoonfuls of chopped eschalots in a stewpan with two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, place it over a sharp fire a couple of minutes, then add eighteen spoonfuls of demi-glace (No. 9), and six of consommé (No. 134), boil, skim, and reduce it until it adheres to the back of the spoon, add a little sugar and cayenne pepper. Serve where directed.
Take the rind from an orange as thinly as possible, take off all the pith, and cut it into thin strips, three quarters of{12} an inch in length; boil them five minutes in water, and drain them upon the back of a hair sieve; then put a pint of demi-glace (No. 9) into a stewpan with six spoonfuls of consommé (No. 134), reduce it over the fire to the consistency of demi-glace, then add the rind of the orange and a little sugar, boil it another five minutes, and when ready to serve add a little of the juice of the orange.
Proceed as directed in the last, but substituting a Seville orange for the sweet one, and boiling the rind ten minutes instead of five.
Peel and cut in slices a large onion, some carrot, turnip, two apples, and two ounces of lean ham; put them into a stewpan with two cloves, a blade of mace, a bay-leaf, sprig of thyme, parsley, and one ounce of butter; put the stewpan over a slow fire, stir them round occasionally until they become slightly browned, then add a good tablespoonful of the best curry powder, mix it well, then add ten of consommé (No. 134) and eighteen of demi-glace (No. 9), boil altogether, then rub it through a tammie; put it in another stewpan, place it again upon the fire, skim it well, and reduce it until it adheres to the back of the spoon, when add a little sugar and cayenne if required, but that must depend entirely upon taste.
Prepare three middling-sized cucumbers, as directed (No. 103), then put two ounces of butter with a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, and half one of chopped onions, into a stewpan, place it over the fire, and when the butter is melted add the cucumbers, which pass over the fire until tender{13} and slightly tinged; then put them out upon a cloth, put eighteen spoonfuls of demi-glace (No. 9) into another stewpan with six of consommé (No. 134), reduce it until rather thickish; then add the cucumbers, boil them two minutes, season with a saltspoonful of salt, and the half of one of pepper, skim it, and it is ready to serve.
Put eighteen spoonfuls of demi-glace (No. 9) into a stewpan with ten of consommé (No. 134), reduce it until it becomes again a demi-glace, then add six middling-sized French preserved truffles, cut in thin slices, with a quarter of a teaspoonful of sugar, simmer gently ten minutes, it is then ready to serve.
Put six tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1) into a stewpan with three of consommé (No. 134), and one of brown gravy (No. 135), place it upon the fire, and when boiling stir in two ounces of anchovy butter (No. 78), stir it in quickly, but do not let it boil afterwards. This sauce must be made only at the time of serving.
Put two tablespoonfuls of finely-chopped onions into a stewpan with a piece of butter the size of a walnut; stir them over the fire until lightly browned; then add eighteen spoonfuls of demi-glace (No. 9), and eight of consommé (No. 134), reduce it to two thirds, skim it well, then add a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and one of chopped mushrooms, with a little cayenne pepper, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of powdered sugar; boil altogether five minutes, and finish with the juice of half a lemon; it is then ready for use.{14}
Scoop four large turnips with a scoop about double the size of a pea; when done, wash and well dry them upon a cloth, then put a little powdered sugar into a convenient sized stewpan; place it upon the fire, when it melts and becomes slightly tinged, throw in an ounce of butter and the turnips, place them over a slow fire, tossing them over occasionally until slightly browned; then in another stewpan put ten spoonfuls of demi-glace (No. 9,) and six of consommé, then add your turnips; let it simmer upon the corner of the fire, keeping it skimmed until the turnips are done; add a little more seasoning, if required, and it is ready for use.
No. 25. Jus lié aux Olives.
Put half a tablespoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan with the same of salad oil; pass them five minutes over a slow fire, then add a teaspoonful of port wine, eighteen of demi-glace (No. 9), and six of consommé (No. 134), reduce it to two thirds, skimming it well, then have twenty fine olives, turn them, taking out their stones, so that they resume their original shape, put them into the stewpan with a little sugar, boil them two minutes, and the sauce is ready. Should the olives be too salt, soak them a short time in warm water.
Put three tablespoonfuls of chopped onions into a stewpan with one ounce of butter, stir them over a moderate fire until getting rather brownish, then add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), half a pint of consommé (No. 134), and two spoonfuls of brown gravy (No. 135), let it simmer ten minutes, skim it well, then stir it over a sharp fire, reducing it until it adheres to the back of the spoon, then add a spoonful of{15} chopped mushrooms, one of chopped parsley, and one of preserved tomates; season with a little sugar, cayenne, and salt, if required. When ready to serve add the juice of half a lemon.
Put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions into a stewpan with four of common vinegar, and a small piece of glaze; let them boil together a few minutes, then add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), with half a pint of consommé (No. 134), stir it quickly over a sharp fire until it adheres to the back of the spoon; then add a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, and a tablespoonful of chopped gherkins; it is then ready for use. This sauce requires to be seasoned rather high with cayenne pepper, sugar, and salt.
Peel and cut up four middling-sized onions into very small dice, put them into a stewpan with two ounces of butter, stir them over a moderate fire until rather brown; then add two tablespoonfuls of common vinegar, let it boil; then add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), with half a pint of consommé (No. 134), let it simmer at the corner of the stove ten minutes; skim it well, then stir it over a sharp fire, reducing it until rather thick; finish it with two tablespoonfuls of French mustard, a little sugar, and salt, if required.
Put the same quantity of onions into a stewpan as in the last, but using two tablespoonfuls of salad oil instead of butter; proceed as in the last, and finish with a piece of scraped garlic the size of a pea. Use this sauce for any purpose you would the preceding one.{16}
Put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions and one of chopped eschalots in a stewpan with three tablespoonfuls of salad oil, stir them ten minutes over a sharp fire; then add a wine-glassful of sherry, a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), and half a pint of consommé (No. 134), set it over a sharp fire until it boils, then place it at the corner, let it simmer ten minutes, skim off all the oil which it will throw up, then place it over the fire, stir with a spoon, reducing it until it adheres to the back of it, then add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, a tablespoonful of chopped mushrooms, a little sugar, salt if required, and finish with the juice of half a lemon.
Italian sauce for any description of fish, white meat, or poultry, must be made white, which is done by following the directions of the preceding receipts, only substituting white sauce (No. 7) for the brown, and finishing with three spoonfuls of cream.
Put two onions, half a carrot, and a turnip, in slices, into a stewpan, with two ounces of butter, a little celery, leek, a sprig of parsley, one of thyme, one bay-leaf, two ounces of lean ham, and eight peppercorns; pass them over a sharp fire until rather brown, add six tablespoonfuls of Tarragon vinegar, just boil it, then add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), and half a pint of consommé (No. 134); simmer a short time, skim it, then reduce quickly until it adheres to the back of the spoon, then pass it through a tammie and use where directed. This sauce requires to be highly seasoned.{17}
Proceed as in the last, but adding two eschalots to the vegetables, which pass[4] in a tablespoonful of oil instead of butter, and finish with a little scraped garlic.
Put a tablespoonful of chopped eschalots, one of chopped tarragon, one of chopped parsley, and four of chopped mushrooms into a stewpan with one blade of mace, three cloves, a wineglassful of vinegar, and one of sherry; set it upon the fire until nearly dry, then add a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), with a pint of consommé, (No. 134), reduce it until it adheres to the back of the spoon, then add a spoonful of chopped gherkins, and one of chopped capers; when ready to serve stir in an ounce of anchovy butter (No. 78). Do not let it boil afterwards.
This sauce is a good zest for any description of broiled meat or poultry.
Cut up two middling-sized onions into thin slices and put them into a stewpan with two sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, two bay-leaves, two ounces of lean uncooked ham, half a clove of garlic, half a blade of mace, and an ounce of fresh butter; stir them ten minutes over a sharp fire, then add two tablespoonfuls of Tarragon vinegar, and one of Chili vinegar, boil it one minute; then add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), or sauce Espagnole (No. 2), three tablespoonfuls of preserved tomates, and eight of consommé (No. 134); place it over the fire until boiling, then put it at the corner, let it simmer ten minutes, skim it well, then place it again over the fire, keeping it stirred, and reduce until it adheres to{18} the back of the spoon; then add a good tablespoonful of red currant jelly, and half do. of chopped mushrooms; season a little more if required with pepper and salt; stir it until the jelly is melted, then pass it through a tammie into another stewpan. When ready to serve, make it hot, and add the white of a hard-boiled egg cut into strips half an inch long, and thick in proportion, four white blanched mushrooms, one gherkin, two green Indian pickles, and half an ounce of cooked ham, or tongue, all cut in strips like the white of egg; do not let it boil afterwards. This sauce must be poured over whatever it is served with.
Put a couple of onions in slices into a stewpan, with half an ounce of butter, a sprig of thyme, and one bay-leaf; pass them over a sharp fire until lightly browned; add two teaspoonfuls of common vinegar, let it boil, and then add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), and half a pint of consommé (No. 134); let it simmer ten minutes at the corner of the fire, skim it well, then place it over the fire, stir and reduce it well, until it adheres lightly to the back of the spoon; then add two tablespoonfuls of red currant jelly; pass it through a tammie, and it is ready to serve with roast hares, fillet, &c., where directed.
Procure two dozen ripe tomates, take out the stalk, squeeze out the juice and the seeds, then put them into a stewpan with a little salt, stew until tender, and drain them upon a sieve; then, in another stewpan, put two onions, part of a carrot, and a turnip, all cut in very thin slices, with a bunch of parsley, two sprigs of thyme, two bay-leaves, two cloves, a blade of mace, a clove of garlic, two ounces of lean uncooked ham, and a quarter of a{19} pound of butter; place the stewpan over a moderate fire, stir the mierepoix round occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, then add the tomates, stir them over the fire another minute, then stir in six ounces of flour, and add two quarts of consommé (No. 134); boil altogether twenty-five minutes, keeping it stirred, season it with a little salt, sugar, and cayenne pepper, then rub it through a tammie; put it into another stewpan, set it over the fire, when boiling place it at the corner, let simmer ten minutes, skim well, then pour it in a basin, and use where directed. If no tomates, use two bottles of preserved tomatas. If too thick, dilute it with a little more consommé.
Rub the yolk of a cold hard-boiled egg through a hair-sieve into a basin, to which add the yolks of two raw eggs, with a little salt and pepper; mix altogether with a wooden spoon; have a pint of good salad oil in a bottle, hold it with the left hand over the basin, dropping it in very gradually, and with the right continue stirring it round until it becomes rather thick, then moisten it with a little Tarragon vinegar, still keeping it stirred, then more oil, and so on until you have used all the oil, keeping it rather thick; then add a tablespoonful of finely-chopped gherkins, half a do. of chopped capers, half a do. of chopped eschalots, and the same of chopped parsley, two of French mustard, a little cayenne pepper, sugar, and more salt if required, it is then ready for use. This sauce requires to be rather highly seasoned.
Scrape two ounces of fat bacon, which put into a stewpan, with two tablespoonfuls of chopped eschalots, and four of chopped mushrooms; stir them over a moderate fire ten{20} minutes, then add half a tablespoonful of flour (mix it well) and a quart of demi-glace (No. 9); let it simmer ten minutes, skim it; then add a spoonful of chopped parsley, a little pepper and salt, half a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, and a little grated nutmeg; mix the whole well together, then place it upon the fire; keep it stirred, and reduce until rather thick, then pour it into a basin, and use where directed. This sauce requires to be thick, but not pasty; it is folded in paper with cotelettes, joints of poultry, game, &c., with which it is also broiled and served, without taking them out of the papers.
Chop six large eschalots, wash and press them in a clean cloth, then put them into a stewpan with two wine-glasses full of Chili vinegar, a piece of garlic, two bay-leaves, and an ounce of glaze; boil all together ten minutes, then add four tablespoonfuls of tomate sauce (No. 37), a little sugar, and ten of good gravy; boil it ten minutes longer, then add a pat of butter; stir it well in, and it is ready for use; serve it with devilled kidneys, poultry, or anything broiled.
Put four chopped gherkins into a stewpan with a tablespoonful of capers, two of red currant jelly, half a teaspoonful of salt, a little cayenne pepper, a little grated nutmeg, a tablespoonful of chopped chalots, one of chopped parsley, a wine-glassful of vinegar, and half a tablespoonful of sugar; boil all together five minutes, then add six tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), and twelve of tomate sauce (No. 37), with six of white broth; boil and skim it well; this peculiar sauce is good for all kinds of broiled meat, game, or poultry, or may be eaten cold, with cold meat.{21}
Put two yolks of egg in a stewpan, with half a tablespoonful of flour, half a clove of garlic well scraped, a small quantity of cayenne pepper, two ounces of butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, and the juice of half a lemon; place it over a moderate fire, and stir it until it becomes rather thick; then take it off the fire, stir in two tablespoonfuls of oil by degrees, then eight of melted butter; if you should require to warm it again, stir it in a bain marie of hot water. Use where required.
Put eight spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with four of white stock or milk; boil it five minutes, then stir in three ounces of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79); stir it quickly over the fire until the butter is melted, but do not let the sauce boil after the butter is in; this sauce should only be made at the time of serving.
Proceed precisely as in the last, only using Ravigote butter (No. 80), instead of the maître d’hôtel butter, as there directed.
The simplicity of the last two sauces is perhaps not greater than their utility or delicacy; they may not only be served with various descriptions of fish where directed, but with fillets of beef, mutton and lamb cutlets, calf’s head, calves’ tails, and many other articles where directed in this work.
Put two good tablespoonfuls of chopped eschalots into a stewpan, with four of white vinegar from a bottle of mild Indian pickles, boil them a couple of minutes, then add a{22} pint of white sauce (No. 7), and three tablespoonfuls of white broth; reduce it over a sharp fire (keeping it stirred) until rather thickish, then add two tablespoonfuls of cream, and pass it through a tammie into another stewpan; when ready to serve make it hot, and add six of the pickles, cut in strips, which serve in it.
Peel four large onions and two apples, slice, and put them into a stewpan, with a quarter of a pound of butter, a blade of mace, six peppercorns, a sprig of thyme, parsley, and two bay-leaves; stir them over a moderate fire until the onions become brown and tender, then add two tablespoonfuls of the best curry-powder, and two of flour; mix it well in, then add half a pint of white sauce (No. 7), and a quart of white stock; season with a little salt, and half a teaspoonful of sugar; boil it a quarter of an hour, keeping it stirred, then rub through a tammie; put it into another stewpan, boil it up, skim and use it where required. Mangoes or curry paste may be used, but then you only require one spoonful of curry powder.
Peel six large onions, which cut in very thin slices, put them into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter, and place them over a slow fire, stirring occasionally until tender, but keeping them quite white; then add an ounce of flour, mix it well in, then half a pint of white sauce (No. 7), and half a pint of milk; boil altogether twenty minutes; season with half a quarter of a teaspoonful of white pepper, half ditto of salt, and three quarters ditto of sugar, a little cream may also be added; rub through a tammie, put it in another stewpan, make it hot, and serve where required. This sauce must be rather thick, but not pasty.{23}
Peel and slice six onions, as in the last, put them into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter, pass them over a moderate fire until tender and of a light brown colour, then mix in one tablespoonful of flour, add a pint of demi-glace (No. 9), and ten tablespoonfuls of brown gravy (No. 135), boil altogether until the onions are quite done, season with a little pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg, rub it through a tammie, put it into another stewpan, make it hot, and serve where directed.
Cut thirty pieces of blanched maccaroni half an inch in length, as many pieces of lean cooked ham of the same size, and an equal quantity of white blanched mushrooms also the same, then put twelve tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), in a stewpan with four of white broth, season with a little cayenne pepper, salt, and sugar; boil it ten minutes, then add the above ingredients with two ounces of grated Parmesan cheese, stir all gently over the fire ten minutes, finish with a tablespoonful of cream, and use where required.
Put a wineglassful of sherry into a stewpan with a piece of glaze the size of a walnut, and a bay-leaf, place it upon the fire, and when it boils add a quart of demi-glace (No. 9); let it boil ten minutes, keeping it stirred; then add twelve fresh blanched mushrooms, twelve prepared cockscombs, a throat sweetbread cut into thin slices, two French preserved truffles also in slices, and twelve small quenelles (No. 120); boil altogether ten minutes, skim it well, thin it with a little consommé if required, but it must be rather thick, and seasoned very palatably.{24}
The above may also be made white by using bechamel, or white sauce (No. 7) instead of brown, and following the above directions and finishing with half a gill of cream; serve in a vol-au-vent or wherever directed.
Put a pint of demi-glace (No. 9) into a stewpan, place it over the fire, keeping it stirred until it has reduced one third; have four middling-sized preserved French truffles cut into slices, which throw into the sauce, add a little sugar, and take it from the fire, not allowing it to boil after the truffles are in; it is then ready to serve where directed: by this simple method you retain the full flavour of the truffles, and keep them tender. Sauce aux truffles may also be made white by using white sauce (No. 7), instead of demi-glace, and finishing with half a gill of cream, but it requires to be rather thicker than the brown. When brown, neither this sauce nor the following must be too thick.
Put a pint of demi-glace (No. 9) into a stewpan, reduce it to one third, keeping it stirred, then add twenty blanched mushrooms (No. 107), a little catsup, and half a teaspoonful of sugar; boil altogether a few minutes, skim it, and it is ready to serve. To make it white put a pint of white sauce (No. 7) into a stewpan with half a teaspoonful of sugar, when it boils add twenty mushrooms, boil altogether ten minutes, then stir in a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with two tablespoonfuls of cream, but do not let it boil afterwards.
Well pound eight middling-sized French preserved truffles, which afterwards rub through a hair sieve with a wooden spoon, then put half an onion, a small piece of{25} carrot and turnip, cut into very thin slices, into a stewpan with a piece of butter the size of a walnut, half a bay-leaf, a sprig of parsley, and an ounce of lean uncooked ham; stir them over the fire until quite tender; then add half a glass of wine and the pounded truffles, with which mix half a teaspoonful of flour; then add eight good tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), boil it ten minutes; then rub it through a tammie, put it into another stewpan, add a little consommé (No. 134), boil it up, season with a little sugar, and salt, if required, and use where directed.
Well pound a pottle of very fresh white mushrooms, then put half an onion, a small piece of carrot, and a small piece of turnip, cut into very thin slices, into a stewpan with a piece of butter the size of a walnut, half a bay-leaf, a sprig of parsley, and an ounce of lean uncooked ham; stir them over the fire until quite tender, then add the mushrooms, and eight tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7); season with a little salt, and sugar, boil it ten minutes, add four tablespoonfuls of cream, and rub it through a tammie, put it into a stewpan, boil it one minute, and it is ready for use.
Put four middling-sized truffles, chopped very fine, into a stewpan with a glass of sherry, boil it one minute, then add a pint of demi-glace (No. 9), season with a little sugar, and salt, if required, boil a minute and it is ready to serve.
Put a pint of bechamel sauce (No. 7), and half a pint of white stock (No. 133), in a stewpan, reduce it over a sharp fire, (keeping it stirred), to one half, then add half a pint of good cream, a little sugar, and salt if required, boil it another minute, and serve where required.{26}
Take the bones of a fowl you have filetted, or the trimmings of any other fowl, either roast or braised, (which is preferable if any,) but if using the bones of a raw fowl lay it in warm water two hours to disgorge, break the bones small and put them into a stewpan with half an ounce of butter, a glass of sherry, one onion with a clove stuck in it, and one ounce of ham; place it over a good fire, keep stirring occasionally until the bottom of the stewpan is covered with a light glaze, then add a quart of light broth (No. 133), let it boil at the corner of the stove, skim and reduce it to one third, pass it through a cloth, (but first carefully take off every particle of fat), into a large stewpan, add a pint of velouté (No. 5), or bechamel (No. 7), reduce it over a sharp fire, keeping it stirred until it adheres to the back of the spoon; then add a little sugar and four tablespoonfuls of cream, boil two minutes longer, pass it through a tammie, and use where required.
Must be made either from pheasant or partridge; (wild rabbit may be introduced); chop up the bones, which put into a stewpan with an onion, the quarter of a carrot, and the quarter of a turnip (cut up small), a little parsley, thyme, and one bay-leaf; add a glass of white wine; pass them a few minutes over the fire, then add a quart of sauce velouté (No. 5), or sauce bechamel (No. 7), and a pint of veal stock; place it again over the fire, and keep stirring until it becomes rather thickish; then add a gill of cream, and a little sugar, boil again until it adheres to the back of the spoon, then pass it through a sieve, and afterwards through a tammie, and use where directed. The bones of two partridges or one pheasant would be sufficient.{27}
Roast a grouse, and separate all the flesh from the bones, make a sauce with the bones as directed in the next; pound the flesh well in a mortar, put it into a stewpan; then add the sauce, boil altogether five minutes, then rub it through a tammie, and serve where directed.
Any description of game, or the remains of some from a previous dinner, may be used for the above purpose; the purée requires to be as thick as bechamel sauce (No. 7).
Roast two grouse, let them get partly cold if time permits, then cut them into joints, which use for a salmi (see No. 876); chop the trimmings up small, with the back bones, and put them into a stewpan with a glass of sherry, an onion, a piece of carrot, and a piece of turnip, all in slices, a little celery, a sprig of thyme, and parsley, a bay-leaf, one clove, and half a blade of mace, stir them over the fire five minutes, then add a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), and a pint of consommé (No. 134); boil quickly upon the corner of the stove twenty minutes, then skim it well, pass it through a sieve, and afterwards through a tammie into a basin, and use where required.
The trimmings of any description of game, or some left from a previous dinner, may be used for making the above sauce, but if you have the choice, the trimmings of grouse are preferable.
Make a sauce as above, when passed put it into a stewpan with a pint of consommé (No. 134), and a tablespoonful of tomate sauce (No. 37); simmer it at the corner of the stove ten minutes, add a little sugar, skim it well,{28} then reduce it quickly until a thinish glaze is formed and adheres to the back of the spoon.
Peel about twenty button onions, then put a teaspoonful of powdered sugar in a stewpan, place it over a sharp fire, and when melted and getting brown, add a piece of butter the size of two walnuts, and your onions, pass them over the fire until rather brown; then add a glass of sherry, let it boil, then add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), and ten spoonfuls of consommé (No. 134), simmer at the corner of the fire until the onions are quite tender, skim it well; then add twenty small quenelles (No. 120), ten heads of mushrooms, a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies, one of catsup, one of Harvey sauce, and a little cayenne pepper. Serve where directed.
Put one tablespoonful of chopped onions and one of chopped eschalots into a stewpan with half an ounce of butter, pass them over the fire until lightly browned, then add four glasses of port wine, two cloves, and half a blade of mace, with two bay-leaves, a sprig of thyme, and one of parsley, boil them a few minutes; then add a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), and ten tablespoonfuls of consommé (No. 134), reduce it until rather thick; then add one tablespoonful of chopped mushrooms, boil it another minute, then pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan; when just ready to serve, boil it up, season it with a little salt, cayenne pepper, and half a teaspoonful of sugar, then stir in one ounce of anchovy butter (No. 78), but do not let it boil after. Serve with any description as directed.
Put a tablespoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan{29} with one of Chili vinegar and one of common vinegar, eighteen spoonfuls of melted butter, four of brown gravy, two of mushroom catsup, and two of Harvey sauce; then place it over the fire, keep stirring until boiling, then place it at the corner of the stove, let it simmer five minutes, skim it well, then place it again over the fire and stir until it adheres to the back of the spoon, then add two tablespoonfuls of essence of anchovies, and half a teaspoonful of sugar; it is then ready to serve.
The above is a fish sauce, but may be used for meat or poultry by substituting white sauce (No. 7) for melted butter (No. 71).
Have the bones of two whitings or soles, (having used the fillets), break them into pieces and put them into a stewpan with an onion in slices, a good bunch of parsley, a little thyme, bay-leaf, two cloves, one glass of sherry, and ten of white broth; place it over the fire and let it reduce until the bottom of the stewpan is covered with a light glaze; then add eighteen tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), and ten of white broth, let it boil twenty minutes, then pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, boil it again, and finish with half a gill of cream and a little pepper and salt if required.
Put two yolks of eggs in the bottom of a stewpan with the juice of half a lemon, a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt, a little white pepper, and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; place the stewpan over a moderate fire, and commence stirring it with a wooden spoon, (taking it off the fire now and then when getting too hot), until the butter becomes melted and thickens with the eggs, (great care must{30} be exercised, for if it should become too hot the eggs would curdle and render the sauce useless); then add a pint of melted butter, stir it together over the fire, but do not let it boil; pass it through a tammie into another stewpan. When wanted stir it over the fire until quite hot.
Put twelve tablespoonfuls of melted butter into a stewpan, place it upon the fire, and when upon the point of boiling, add two ounces of fresh butter and three tablespoonfuls of capers; shake the stewpan round over the fire until the butter is melted, add a little pepper and salt, and serve where directed.
Put twelve tablespoonfuls of melted butter into a stewpan, cut, a middling sized hen lobster into dice, make a quarter of a pound of lobster butter with the spawn, as directed (No. 77); when the melted butter is upon the point of boiling, add the lobster butter, stir the sauce round over the fire, until the butter is melted; season with a little essence of anchovy, the juice of half a lemon and a quarter of a saltspoonful of cayenne, pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, then add the flesh of the lobster. When hot, it is ready to serve where directed. This sauce must be quite red, if no red in the lobster use live spawn.
Mix three ounces of butter in a stewpan with two ounces of flour; then blanch and beard three dozen oysters, as directed (No. 342); put the oysters into another stewpan, and the beards and liquor to the other ingredients, with a pint and a half of milk, a teaspoonful of salt, half a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper, two cloves, half a blade of{31} mace, and six peppercorns; place it over the fire, keep stirring, and boil it ten minutes; then add a tablespoonful of essence of anchovies, and one of Harvey sauce; then pass it through a tammie over the oysters; make the whole very hot, without boiling, when ready to serve.
Another method.
Put a pint and a half of white sauce (No. 7) into a stewpan, with the juice and beards of three dozen oysters, as above, six peppercorns, two cloves, half a blade of mace; boil it ten minutes, then add a spoonful of essence of anchovies, a little cayenne pepper, and salt if required; pass it through a tammie over the oysters, as before.
A plainer method.
Blanch three dozen oysters, take away their beards, and put them, with their liquor, into a stewpan, with half a blade of mace, two cloves, and six peppercorns; place them over the fire, and directly they boil add half an ounce of butter, with which you have mixed half a tablespoonful of flour; shake the stewpan round over the fire two or three minutes, then add a little essence of anchovies; take out the spices, and serve; this sauce is full of flavour, and very simple. If too thick add a little milk.
Proceed exactly the same as for oyster sauce, only using the liquor of muscle (see No. 341), but not the beards, instead of oysters, and serving muscle in the sauce; four dozen would be about the number required.
Mix a quarter of a pound of butter in a stewpan, with two tablespoonfuls of flour, without putting it upon the{32} fire; then add a pint and a half of cold water, place it upon the fire, keep stirring until upon the point of boiling, but do not let it boil; season with a tablespoonful of vinegar, and a teaspoonful of salt, and the eighth of one of pepper; pass it through a tammie into a basin, then add two ounces more of fresh butter; keep stirring till the butter is melted; it is then ready for use where required.
Make the same quantity of melted butter as directed in the last, but finish it with four good tablespoonfuls of essence of anchovies; there should be little or no salt in the melted butter.
Make the melted butter as for the last, but finish with three tablespoonfuls of the essence of shrimps, and serve half a pint of picked shrimps in the boat with it. If no essence of shrimps, the anchovy sauce may be served with shrimps in it as a substitute.
Put half the above quantity of melted butter in a stewpan, and when upon the point of boiling stir in a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79); directly it melts serve, but do not let it boil.
This is a sauce principally used for boiled mackerel; make the same quantity of melted butter as in the last, to which add a good tablespoonful of chopped fennel; serve it in a boat.
Generally served with salt fish or a Dublin-bay haddock; boil six eggs ten minutes, let them get cold, then cut them{33} in pieces about the size of dice; have eight tablespoonfuls of melted butter and three of good cream in a stewpan, season with a little pepper and salt, boil it five minutes, then add the eggs; shake the stewpan round over the fire until the eggs are quite hot, then add two pats of butter; shake it round until the butter is melted, then pour it into a boat, and serve very hot.
Procure a full-sized hen lobster, and quite full of spawn, which take out and pound well in a mortar; then add a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, mix them well together, then rub it through a hair-sieve, and put it on a plate upon the ice or in a cold place until wanted.
Take the bones from ten anchovies, wash the fillets; dry them upon a cloth, and pound them well in a mortar; then add a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; mix well together, and proceed as in the last.
Put a quarter of a pound of fresh butter upon a plate, with two good tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, the juice of two lemons, half a teaspoonful of salt, and half that quantity of white pepper; mix all well together, and put in a cool place till required.
Proceed as in the last, only substituting one spoonful of chopped Tarragon, and one of chopped chervils for the two of parsley, and adding half a spoonful of Chili vinegar.{34}
Trim and boil about thirty heads of Brussel sprouts, very green, in two quarts of water, with which you have put a quarter of a handful of salt; when done, drain them and chop them very fine; then put an onion in a stewpan, in slices, with two ounces of butter, three sprigs of parsley, and an ounce of raw ham; stir them ten minutes over the fire, then add the chopped Brussel sprouts, and half a tablespoonful of flour; mix all well together, then add half a pint of white veal stock (No. 7), and half a pint of milk; stir it until it boils, then add a teaspoonful of powdered sugar; rub it through a tammie, and serve where directed. Season with a little pepper and salt, if required. It must not be too thick.
Trim about thirty small Brussel sprouts; have ready in a stewpan three quarts of boiling water, into which you have put a tablespoonful of salt; put in the sprouts, let them boil twenty minutes, then press them with your finger; if they are soft they are done, but be careful not to break them; lay them upon a sieve to drain, then put ten spoonfuls of Bechamel sauce (No. 7), into a stewpan, with six of boiled milk; let it reduce a few minutes, then add the sprouts, two ounces of fresh butter, a salt-spoonful of salt, half a one of white pepper, half a teaspoonful of sugar, one of chopped parsley, and the juice of half a lemon; keep them moving over the fire until the butter is quite melted, and serve where directed.{35}
Cut about fifty middling sized French beans into diamonds, and boil them very green in salt and water; when done, drain them upon a sieve; then put ten tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with two of white broth (No. 133), one ounce of fresh butter, a salt-spoonful of salt, half a one of white pepper, one of chopped parsley, and the juice of half a lemon; then add the French beans; mix all well together without breaking the beans; when quite hot, stir in two tablespoonfuls of liaison (No. 119), and serve.
Put a pint of young peas, boiled very green, into a stewpan, with three tablespoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7), a quarter of an ounce of sugar, a little salt, and two button onions, with parsley, tied together; boil them ten minutes; add two tablespoonfuls of liaison (No. 119), stir it in quickly, and serve.
Pot a pint of well-boiled peas into a stewpan, with five do. of brown sauce (No. 1), two of brown gravy, a teaspoonful of sugar, two button onions, and a bunch of parsley; let it boil about ten minutes; have ready braised about a pound of lean bacon, cut it in dice about a quarter of an inch square; add it to the peas, take out the onions and parsley, season with an ounce of butter, and half a teaspoonful of sugar; mix well together, stew twenty minutes, and serve.
Put a pint of raw peas into a stewpan, with six button onions, a bunch of parsley, an ounce of lean ham, and one do.{36} of butter; cover the peas with cold water, mix well together with your hands, throw all the water away, put them over a quick fire; when quite tender, add a half tablespoonful of flour; mix well, pound it in the mortar, put it back in the stewpan; add twelve tablespoonfuls of broth (No. 133), season with a salt-spoon of salt, do. of sugar, rub it through a tammie, warm again, add a little cream or milk to give it a proper thickness, and serve.
Peel ten Jerusalem artichokes, scoop them with a cutter the size of a small marble, put them into a stewpan with two ounces of butter, and a quarter of a spoonful of sugar; set them over a moderate fire, toss them over until they are covered with a glaze, then add eighteen tablespoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7), and eight do. of white broth (No. 133); boil gently, and skim well; season with a small quantity of salt; when the artichokes are quite tender, but not broken, add two tablespoonfuls of liaison (No. 119), stir quickly, and serve.
Prepare and cut the artichokes as above; put an ounce of butter, and a quarter do. of sugar into a stewpan with the artichokes, and pass them over a moderate fire, until they are covered with a white glaze; then add half a tablespoonful of flour (mix it well,) and twelve do. of white broth; let it simmer gently until they are quite tender, season with a little salt and two tablespoonfuls of liaison (No. 119), stir it in quickly, and serve.
Cut the artichokes as above (No. 87), pass them in a stewpan with an ounce of butter, and half ditto of sugar, over{37} a moderate fire until they are covered with a white glaze; then add a tablespoonful of flour, and sixteen ditto of boiled milk; let it simmer gently until the artichokes are quite tender, season with a little salt and white pepper; to finish add an ounce of fresh butter, and two tablespoonfuls of liaison, stir it quickly and serve.
If you have not a round scooper any shape will do; but round is preferable, as it is a very tender vegetable, and they are not so liable to break.
Peel, wash, and dry, on a cloth, ten artichokes, which cut in very thin slices, put them into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter, a small bunch of parsley, one bay-leaf, a teaspoonful of salt, a little white pepper, three quarters of a teaspoonful of sugar, and two ditto of broth; cut an ounce of lean ham in dice, set the whole over a slow fire, let it simmer gently for half an hour, when very tender add sixteen tablespoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7); boil it twenty minutes, pass it through a tammie, into a clean stewpan, and before serving add three tablespoonfuls of liaison (No. 119). This sauce requires to be rather thick.
Prepare and stew the artichokes precisely as before; when quite tender add one tablespoonful of flour, and eighteen of ditto of boiling milk; let it boil twenty minutes, rub it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, add a little cream before serving.
Peel six large turnips, scoop them the size of a marble, put one ounce of butter into a stewpan with a quarter of an ounce of sugar, and the turnips, pass them over a moderate fire{38} about twenty minutes, toss them over, when covered with a white glaze add ten tablespoonfuls of bechamel sauce, and four ditto of broth (No. 133), season with a salt-spoonful of salt, a quarter ditto of pepper, finish with two tablespoonfuls of cream. This sauce must not be too thin.
Scoop the same quantity of turnips as above (No. 92), put a quarter of an ounce of sugar into a stewpan, set it on the fire until it becomes rather brown, then add an ounce of butter, and the turnips, pass them until they are a yellow brown; then add twelve tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), four ditto of broth (No. 133), or brown gravy (No. 135), and a bunch of parsley, with one bay-leaf; add a little salt and pepper, skim well and serve.
Peel and cut six small turnips in thin slices, put them into a stewpan with two ounces of butter, a quarter of a spoonful of white sugar, one onion minced, and a bunch of parsley; stir them over a moderate fire until nearly tender, add eighteen tablespoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7), let it boil twenty minutes, pass it through a tammie, put it into a clean stewpan, finish with four tablespoonfuls of cream, and half an ounce of fresh butter.
Put half an ounce of sugar into a stewpan; let it get rather brown, add two ounces of butter, have ready peeled and cut in thin slices six turnips, add them to the butter and sugar, and stir them about until quite tender; then add eighteen tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1); boil it about twenty minutes, rub it through a tammie, put it into{39} a clean stewpan, season with a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter ditto of pepper, and about an ounce of butter.
Observe.—Never let a purée of any kind remain long at the side of the fire, as it gives it a strong and unpleasant flavour; if not wanted immediately set it in a bain marie.
Take two boiled cauliflowers, cut the tops off, so that the flowers will fall to pieces in sprigs, take them up carefully, put eighteen tablespoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7), into a stewpan with four ditto of white broth (No. 133), a little salt and white pepper; boil it about ten minutes, then add the cauliflower and half a teaspoonful of sugar, toss them about until well mixed, and add two tablespoonfuls of liaison (No. 119), and serve.
Cut off the flower of two heads of cauliflower well boiled, put a teaspoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan with a small piece of butter, pass them over a moderate fire about five minutes, then put the cauliflower in and mash them with a wooden spoon, add one tablespoonful of flour, and ten ditto of white broth (No. 133), let it boil about fifteen minutes, season with a teaspoonful of sugar, half ditto of salt, rub it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, add a gill of good cream and serve, if too thick, moisten with a little milk.
Peel four very red carrots, wash them, cut them with a small scooper the size of a large pea, the outside or red part of the carrot only; when ready, put them into a stewpan of boiling water, let them simmer about a quarter of an hour, then put them on a sieve to drain; peel and scoop the same{40} size six turnips, and twenty button onions, put a teaspoonful of sugar into a stewpan with an ounce of butter, and the turnips and onions, pass them over a moderate fire about five minutes, then add the carrots, set them again over the fire until they are covered with a white glaze, add ten tablespoonfuls of white broth (No. 133), let them boil about ten minutes, take off all the butter and scum, then add ten tablespoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7), let it reduce until rather thick, season with a little salt if required; and five minutes before serving add three tablespoonfuls of liaison (No. 119), a few French beans, peas, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, or any green vegetable in season.
Prepare the vegetables and season exactly like the above, using brown sauce instead of white, and omitting the liaison. The two last sauces require to be reduced until the sauce adheres to the vegetables, but not too thick.
Peel four carrots, cut them lengthwise in slices a quarter of an inch thick, have ready a small long round cutter, cut as many pieces as possible out of each slice, boil them in water a quarter of an hour; peel and cut some turnips exactly the same; peel twenty button onions, put a teaspoonful of sugar into a stewpan with an ounce of butter and the turnips and onions; drain the carrots on a sieve and add them; toss the whole over a moderate fire about ten minutes, then put ten tablespoonfuls of consommé (No. 134), to the vegetables, let them simmer until quite tender, reduce and skim them well, then put twelve tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), into another stewpan with six ditto of consommé, reduce until rather thick, then add the vegetables, two spoonfuls of green peas, one ditto of French beans, a few{41} small pieces of cauliflower, and a few heads of asparagus; let the whole simmer twelve or thirteen minutes; season with a little salt and sugar if required; just before serving put in an ounce of butter, toss it about until melted; a bunch of parsley, with a bay-leaf, is a great addition to the flavour if stewed with them.
Get some fresh sprue grass, cut it about a quarter of an inch long, the green part only where it will break off, have ready a stewpan of boiling water with salt in, throw in the sprue and let it boil very fast until tender, which will be a quarter of an hour, or according to the size; then put them on a sieve to drain, put eight tablespoonfuls of the sprue into a stewpan with ten ditto of bechamel sauce (No. 7), a little consommé, half a teaspoonful of sugar, a little salt, and a small quantity of chopped parsley; let it simmer five minutes; to finish add a pat of butter and two tablespoonfuls of liaison (No. 119).
Put twelve spoonfuls of sprue (boiled as No. 101), into a stewpan with two ounces of butter; stir it over a moderate fire until it is mashed, then add half a tablespoonful of flour, mix it well, add eleven spoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7), and ten ditto of broth (No. 135), half a teaspoonful of sugar, a quarter ditto of salt, let it boil five minutes, rub it through a tammie, put it into a clean stewpan; before serving add a pat of butter. When wanted warm it quickly or it will turn yellow; if too thick moisten with a little milk.
Get three best quality fresh cucumbers, cut them in pieces about two inches long, peel each separately, then cut the{42} outside in three slices (or four, if large), leaving the seeds in one piece in the middle, trim off all the edges neatly; put half a tablespoonful of sugar into a stewpan with an ounce of butter, a little chopped eschalots, and the cucumber, pass them over a moderate fire ten minutes without breaking, and keep them quite white, then add a little white broth (No. 133), just enough to cover them, let them simmer until tender, then lay them, with a colander spoon, on a sieve to drain; put twelve tablespoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7) into the stewpan with six of white broth, skim off all the butter, let it reduce until rather thick; season it with a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt, a little pepper, and half a gill of cream; when ready to serve add the cucumbers.
Prepare and stew the cucumbers exactly the same, only brown them slightly, reducing the same quantity of demi-glace (No. 9) instead of the white sauce.
Cut the cucumbers in pieces and stew them as above (No. 103), put all the trimmings, and some of the worst-shaped pieces into a stewpan with an ounce of butter and half a spoonful of chopped onions, pass them over a moderate fire twelve minutes, add three tablespoonfuls of veal stock (No. 7), and let them simmer until quite tender; then put a tablespoonful of flour, mix it well, add four more of stock, and six ditto of bechamel sauce (No. 7), season with half a teaspoonful of sugar, a quarter ditto of salt, and a little pepper, rub it through a tammie. When wanted, warm it very quickly, and add half a gill of cream; put the pieces into the purée and serve; it must not be too thick.{43}
Pick all the stalks off and wash the spinach very dean in several waters, have ready a large stewpan of boiling water, in which you have put a handful of salt, put in the spinach, and let it boil as quickly as possible about twenty minutes; when quite tender put it into a colander and press the water out until there is none remaining, then chop it very fine; put one pound of spinach into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter, stir it with a wooden spoon over a moderate fire until the butter is melted; then add a little flour, eight tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), half a teaspoonful of salt, half ditto of sugar, a little white pepper, and very small quantity of grated nutmeg; a little glaze may be added; finish with two ounces of fresh butter.
Get a pottle of fresh mushrooms, cut off the dirt and like-wise the heads (reserving the stalk for chopping), wash the heads in a basin of clean water, take them out and drain in a sieve; put into a stewpan two wine-glasses of cold water, one ounce of butter, the juice of half a good lemon, and a little salt; turn or peel each head neatly, and put them into the stewpan immediately, or they will turn black; set your stewpan on a brisk fire, let them boil quickly five minutes, put them into a basin ready for use; chop the stalks and peel very fine, put them into a stewpan with three tablespoonfuls of the liquor the mushrooms have been boiled in; let them simmer three minutes, put them into a jar, and use where indicated.
Observe.—Turning or peeling mushrooms is an art that practice alone can attain; if they are very fresh and white wash them quickly, and wipe them on a cloth, throw them into the liquid above mentioned.{44}
Put into a stewpan four good handfuls of sorrel (after being well washed,) with a small piece of butter, put on the cover and set it over a moderate fire without water, until melted; then put it on a sieve, and rub it all through; put half a tablespoonful of very fine chopped onions, and two ounces of butter into a stewpan, pass them over a quick fire two or three minutes, add a tablespoonful of flour, mix well together, add the sorrel and ten tablespoonfuls of broth (No. 133), half a teaspoonful of sugar, a little salt and white pepper; let it boil fifteen minutes, stir in two yolks of eggs quickly, and it is ready to serve. Demi-glace (No. 9) is very good instead of broth.
Peel very thin four carrots and four turnips, cut them flat the thickness of an inch, take a long cutter about three lines diameter, cut as many as possible, blanch the carrots in boiling water five minutes, then put them on a sieve to drain; put a tablespoonful of sugar in a stewpan, set it on the fire until it gets rather brown, then put in an ounce of butter, and the turnips, toss them over the fire until covered with a brown glaze, add the carrots, and eighteen tablespoonfuls of demi-glace (No. 9); let it boil at the corner of the stove until the vegetables are quite tender, then take them out of the sauce with a spoon, and lay them on a clean sieve; reduce the sauce until rather thick, season with a little pepper, pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, add the vegetables carefully, and serve very hot.
Peel carefully fifty young onions, without breaking them, put half an ounce of sugar into a stewpan, set it on the fire until{45} it gets rather brown, add two ounces of butter and the onions, toss them over the fire until forming a glaze; then add fifteen tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), and eight of consommé (No. 134); let them simmer until tender, skim well, season with a small quantity of salt and pepper, and use where indicated; a little piece of glaze may be added.
Peel the same quantity of onions as above, put half an ounce of sugar with two ounces of butter into a stewpan, and the onions, toss them over the fire twenty minutes, then add sixteen tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), and eight of white broth, let them simmer until quite tender; put in a bunch of parsley, season with a little salt and pepper, and finish with two tablespoonfuls of liaison (No. 119).
Boil six artichokes in water and salt until quite tender, take the leaves off and trim the bottom until all the hard part is off and the artichoke has a round appearance; cut each in four pieces, put them in a good demi-glace (No. 9), rather thick, for ten minutes; add a little sugar, two pats of butter, and serve.
Put half a pint of white haricot into a stewpan with a pint of cold water, half a teaspoonful of salt, and an ounce of butter; let it simmer gently about one hour, or until quite tender, then put them on a sieve to drain; have ready a clean stewpan, put in the haricot with three tablespoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7), a little chopped parsley, and salt, three pats of butter, and the juice of half a lemon, mix well together and serve where indicated.{46}
Peel twelve large onions, cut a piece off at the top and bottom to give them a flat appearance, blanch them in four quarts of boiling water twenty minutes, then lay them on a cloth to dry; take the middle out of each onion, and fill them with forcemeat (No. 120), (with a little chopped eschalot, parsley, and mushroom, mixed in it), and put them in a sauté pan well buttered, cover them with white broth (No. 133), let them simmer over a slow fire until covered with a glaze, and tender; turn them over and serve where required.
Get twelve cabbage lettuces, as hard and full as possible; take off the outside leaves and wash them well; put them into a stewpan with four quarts of boiling water, and let them boil about twelve minutes,—this process is to take the bitterness off,—lay them on a cloth to dry, cut each lettuce open and season with salt and pepper, close them again, and tie them separately with a string, put a few cloves in an onion, put it in a stewpan with a few vegetables of all kinds, a bunch of parsley, and a few slices of fat bacon on the top, lay the lettuce in and cover with some very good veal stock (No. 7); put them over a slow fire about an hour, take them carefully out and cut the string, lay the heart upwards, dress them on a dish to form a star, or if they are small do not cut than open. Use for garniture where directed.
Cut two large savoy cabbages in quarters, which trim and wash well, then blanch them twenty minutes in boiling water, then lay them upon a cloth, season them well, and stew them as directed in the last, use where indicated.
Chou-croute. Take three or four pounds, not too sour,{47} and put it into a stewpan, with some slices of fat bacon, six onions cut in halves, three cloves, a blade of mace, half a carrot, half a turnip, four bay-leaves, and a few sprigs of thyme and parsley (laying the vegetables at the bottom and the chou-crout over them, which cover with fat bacon;) add a pint and a half of good stock, and stew it gently for two hours; when ready to serve press them at the rim of the stewpan with a colander spoon, and pour off as much of the grease as possible, it is then ready for use where directed. Chou-croute is generally sufficiently seasoned in the barrel, but it may perhaps require a little more pepper and salt.
Procure twelve very fine heads of red celery, take off the loose branches, and cut the celery into heads five inches in length, blanch them twenty minutes in a stewpan of boiling water, then put them upon a sieve to drain, stew them precisely as directed for the lettuce (No. 115); but before stewing if the heads are too large split them in halves; use where directed. To make celery sauce, or purée of celery, blanch twelve heads of fine white celery in boiling water until tender, then drain them upon a sieve, cut off the roots, chop, and put the celery into a stewpan, with a quarter of a pound of butter, stir it five minutes over a fire, then stir in one ounce of flour, add a pint of milk and half a pint of white sauce (No. 7), boil altogether ten minutes, season with a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter ditto of pepper, and a whole one of powdered sugar; then pass it through a tammie, put it into another stewpan, and make it hot when ready to serve.
Take four heads of cauliflower, cut each in four pieces, trimming the stalks to give them a neat appearance; put half{48} a gallon of water into a stewpan, with two ounces of butter, and a tablespoonful of salt, when boiling, put in the cauliflowers to simmer about twenty minutes; when done, let them remain in their stock until wanted.
Well wash six heads of very white endive, blanch them in boiling water until tender, then drain them upon a sieve, after which chop them very fine, then put a quarter of a pound of butter into a stewpan, with a tablespoonful of flour, mix well together, then add the endive, ten spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), a piece of white glaze the size of a walnut, a little nutmeg, salt, and sugar; place it upon the fire, and when quite hot finish with half a gill of cream, and use where directed.
[Liaison. Break the yolks of three eggs in a basin, with which mix eight tablespoonfuls of cream or six of milk, pass it through a tammie and use where directed.]
Take a pound and a half of lean veal, scrape, pound, and pass it through a fine wire sieve, when passed there should be one pound of meat; then take one pound of beef suet, which shred and chop very fine, put it into a mortar and pound it well, then add six ounces of panade (No. 125), with the suet, pound them well together; then add the veal, season with a little pepper, salt, and a very little grated nutmeg, mix the whole well together; then add three eggs by degrees, then the yolks of three more eggs when well mixed, whisk the whites of the three eggs to a very stiff froth, add{49} to the forcemeat, mix them well in, and it is ready to use where directed. To form this or the following forcemeats into large quenelles, have two silver tablespoons, fill one of them with the forcemeat, dip your knife in hot water with which smooth it over, then dip the other spoon into boiling water, and with it remove the forcemeat from the first spoon and slip it from that into a buttered sauté pan, proceeding thus until you have as many as you require; then cover them with some second stock, and boil them about ten minutes, or until firm, and they are ready for use. Small quenelles are made in the same manner, only using teaspoons instead of tablespoons.
Take the flesh of one or two young rabbits, according to the size, well pound and pass it through a wire sieve; then have ready boiled and cold a good veal udder, skin and pound it well, to a pound of the udder add six ounces of panada (No. 125), and one pound of the flesh of the rabbits; mix the same as the last, adding an eschalot finely chopped, to the seasoning, using three whole and three yolks of eggs, but omitting the whisked whites.
The best forcemeat is made entirely from the breasts of fowls, but should you have no use for the other parts the whole may be used. Take the flesh from your fowl as much as you require, pound it well and pass it through a fine wire sieve, form the flesh into a ball, then have a piece of panada (No. 125), half the size of the ball of meat, scrape some fat bacon, one ounce, in proportion to the pound of meat, and two ounces of fresh butter, put the butter, bacon, and panada, into the mortar together, pound them well, then add the meat, mix all well together, season lightly, and add four whole eggs, mixing them one at a time, then drop a piece of{50} the forcemeat into a little boiling stock, to poach; if too tender, add the yolks of one or even two more eggs; but if, on the contrary, it should be too firm, a little white sauce (No. 7), added cold will rectify it; it is then ready for use.
In giving the last three receipts I have introduced a different method for each description of meat, although the same meat might be made into forcemeat by either process; for myself I give the preference to the former as directed for veal.
Proceed as in the last, only substituting the flesh of one or two birds for the fowl there directed.
Take the fillets of three whitings, take off all the skin and pound them well, then take them from the mortar, and form them into a ball, have a piece of panada (No. 125) one third the size of the ball, put the panada into the mortar, pound it well, then add two ounces of fresh butter, which mix well with the panada, then add the fish, season with pepper, salt, and a little grated nutmeg; mix all well together, then add by degrees three whole eggs and the yolks of two, try it in a little boiling water as directed for the forcemeat of fowl (No. 122), but if too firm use a little melted butter, as these are served generally as a meagre dish with a fish sauce, in Catholic families.
Put two thirds of half a pint of water into a stewpan holding a quart with nearly an ounce of butter, when boiling, stir in a quarter of a pound of flour; keep it moving over the fire until it forms a smooth and toughish paste, take it out of the stewpan and when cold use it where directed.
Chop half a pound of cod’s liver, with which mix a few{51} bread crumbs and the yolks of three eggs, season with a little pepper, salt, and chopped parsley, form it into quenelles as No. 120, which use where directed.
Chop three quarters of a pound of beef suet very fine, which put into a basin with six ounces of bread crumbs, a little chopped parsley, thyme, and marjoram, with a bay-leaf mixed, when chopped, being sufficient to fill three large tablespoons; amalgamate the whole with the yolks of three and three whole eggs; this is likewise used to stuff baked fish or turkeys as well as veal.
If you should have them in the rough as taken from the fowls, put them in lukewarm water for three hours, then have some water boiling in a stewpan, into which throw them for one minute, then take them out, put them upon a rubber with a handful of salt, and rub them well until all the skin comes off, then put them into a basin of cold water for two or three hours, until they become quite white; by cutting off the tips of each they will disgorge much better; then (if about a pound of them) put them into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter, an onion in slices, a little pepper and salt, place them over a fire one minute, then add the juice of a lemon; stew them gently until quite tender, put them by in a basin and use where directed.
Wash well in two separate waters a pound of the best Carolina rice; then have half a gallon of water boiling in a stewpan, into which throw your rice; boil it until about three parts done, then drain it upon a sieve, butter the interior of a stewpan in which put your rice, place the lid on tight and put it in a warm oven upon a trivet until the rice is{52} perfectly tender; serve it separate with currie or any other dish where directed. Prepared thus, every grain will be separate and quite white.
Have half a gallon of water in a stewpan in which put two ounces of butter and an ounce of salt; when boiling throw in a pound of maccaroni, which boil until tender, being careful that it is not too much done, the time of boiling depends principally upon the quality, the Genoa maccaroni taking the longest time, and the Neapolitan the shortest, which last if too much done will fall in purée.
Roast twelve fine potatoes; when done, take out the interior, which form into a ball; when cold put them into a mortar with a piece of butter half the size of the ball; pound them well together, season with a little salt, pepper, chopped eschalots, chopped parsley, and grated nutmeg, mix them with the yolks of six and two whole eggs; then form them into croquettes about the size and shape of a large quenelle egg, and bread-crumb them twice over, and fry them to a light brown colour in a stewpan of hot lard, and serve as garniture where required.
Make a good stock of veal or beef as directed for consommé (No. 134), put the first and second stocks together in a large stewpan, the clearer the stock the better; reduce it by boiling it fast, and when becoming rather thick pour it into a smaller stewpan, stir it over a sharp fire until it has reduced to a proper consistency; use it where required. It may be put by in a bladder and kept a long time. Veal at all times makes the best glaze, but any kind of meat, game, or poultry, will produce more or less.{53}
Cut up sixteen pounds of the trimmings of veal, beef, lamb, or mutton, any kind of meat will do for this stock, as it is entirely used for filling up other stocks, but it is only necessary to be made when you have a dinner party; cut up the meat with the bones, rub a quarter of a pound of butter over the bottom of a large stewpan, into which put the meat, with six large onions, two carrots, two turnips, and two heads of celery; add a quart of water, then place the stewpan over a sharp fire, cover it, and let it remain until the bottom of the stewpan is covered with a light white glaze, stirring it occasionally to prevent its burning, then fill it up with seven gallons of cold water, when it boils place it at the corner, then add a good bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaves; let it simmer three hours, keeping it well skimmed, pass it through a cloth and use it where required. I have here omitted salt, for this stock is only required to fill up others, which correctly describe their proportions of seasoning.
This may be made of all beef or all veal, but an equal quantity of each is the best. Cut up two knuckles of veal and a leg of beef with the bones, the whole being about sixteen pounds; rub a quarter of a pound of butter over the bottom of a large stewpan, into which put the meat, with one pound of lean ham, four onions, four turnips, two middling-sized carrots, six cloves, one blade of mace, and a pint of water; set it over a brisk fire, stirring it round occasionally{54} until the bottom is covered with a clear light glaze, then fill it up with four gallons of light broth (No. 133), or water; when boiling place it at the corner of the stove, skim it well, add a good bunch of parsley, three sprigs of thyme, and two bay-leaves, a quarter of a pound of salt, two leeks, and two heads of celery; let it simmer three hours, skim off all the fat, then pass it through a cloth into a basin, give it the colour of light brown sherry with some brown gravy (No. 135), if sufficiently clear, which it will be if properly attended to. Some soups require to be lighter and some browner than others, which is easily regulated by adding more or less of the gravy. But by placing the stewpan over a slow fire when the stock is drawn down to a glaze, and allowing it to remain a short time, the glaze will become brownish, (but be careful not to let it burn,) then fill it up and your consommé will be sufficiently coloured.
But should it require clarifying, put it into a stewpan and when boiling have the whites of eight eggs with their shells in another stewpan, whisk them half a minute, then add a quart of cold stock, whisk all well together, then whisk the boiling consommé and pour in the whites of eggs; still continue whisking it over a clear fire until it simmers and the eggs separate from the consommé, which will be then quite clear; then pass it through a thin but very fine cloth into a basin and it is ready for use. This is a new mode of clarifying and cannot fail.
For the proportions for smaller quantities of consommé, to four pounds of veal put a quarter of a pound of ham, one ounce of butter, two onions, half a carrot, a turnip, half a leek, half a head of celery, a sprig of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, three cloves, six peppercorns, an ounce and a half of salt and four quarts of water; it will require an hour and three quarters boiling. Or if you have to prepare it from beef, veal, and the trimmings of other meats, and require a{55} larger quantity, take ten pounds of meat, to which add three onions, half a pound of ham, a carrot, two turnips, a leek, head of celery, two sprigs of parsley, thyme, and two bay-leaves, six cloves, six peppercorns, two ounces and a half of salt, a blade of mace, and ten quarts of water; it will require two hours and a half boiling; trimmings of rabbit, poultry, or even game, may be added, but not too much game, especially if at all high. You will here perceive that by increasing the quantity of stock there is a diminution in the quantity of seasonings and vegetables, for the larger quantity requiring a longer ebullition, extracts more flavour from the spices and vegetables; a stock for consommé by gently simmering will lose a pint and a half to every four quarts; I must here also observe that by again filling up a stock with cold water and boiling it the same time over again, you will have an excellent second stock, a little of which may be added to the first, if it should have suffered from over reduction, for vegetable soups are not so palatable when made too strong; the second stock is also very useful to fill up a first stock, whereby some of the meat otherwise required can be saved, and if not required for that it may be converted into glaze by mixing it with other stock and proceeding as directed (No. 132).
Butter the bottom of a thick stewpan, peel six large onions, cut them in three slices, lay them flat on the bottom of the stewpan which you have well buttered; take ten pounds of leg of beef, cut the flesh from the bone in large slices, lay it over the onions with the bones, which must be well chopped; add six cloves, two blades of mace, two carrots, two turnips, two leeks, one head of celery, and a tablespoonful of salt; put it over a brisk fire about ten minutes, shake the stewpan now and then, and when forming{56} a brown glaze at the bottom, cover the stove with ashes; set it on again, and let it remain half an hour, until it gets very brown (but not burning); pour the fat off, which must be very clear; if not, it is not ready to fill up; fill up with ten quarts of cold water; when boiling, let it simmer at the corner of the stove two hours; skim it well, pass it through a cloth, and use it when required. Should any of the brown sauces, large or small, be too pale, use some of this gravy instead of consommé, as directed.
Cut eight pounds of veal, four pounds of scrag of lamb, and one pound of lean ham in dice; butter the bottom of a stewpan, put in the meat, with three onions, two turnips, one carrot, one head of celery, three bay-leaves, a bunch of parsley, and half a pint of broth (No. 7); place it over a slow fire, stirring it occasionally until the bottom is covered with a white glaze; then add eight quarts of light broth or water, and two ounces of salt; when it boils, place it at the corner of the stove for an hour; have ready peeled and washed four apples, eight artichokes, and two anchovies; put them in, and let them boil about an hour; afterwards pass it through a napkin; then put half a pint of pearl barley into a stewpan with the stock; when the barley has boiled quite tender mix three tablespoonfuls of arrow-root with a little cold broth, add it to the barley, pass the whole through a tammie, put it into a clean stewpan, and let it boil ten minutes; if it is too thick, add boiled milk to thin it. Season with half a tablespoonful of sugar, skim it well, have ready thirty cockscombs dressed as No. 128, and half a handful of picked parsley in small sprigs, and blanched; put the cockscombs, parsley, and a gill of good cream into the tureen, pour the soup in, mix well, and serve; the{57} barley must be done sufficiently to give the soup a light consistency.
Make a stock exactly as for the potage à la Victoria, and instead of mixing barley, put two ounces of butter into a stewpan, with three ounces of flour; stir it over a moderate fire about ten minutes, then let it cool; add the whole of the stock, stirring it all the time, until it boils; then put six tablespoonfuls of semolina into it, let it simmer at the corner of the stove until it is quite tender, rub it through a tammie, boil it again; have ready scooped with a small cutter about eighty pieces of turnips, put them into a stewpan with one ounce of butter and a teaspoonful of pounded sugar, pass them over a moderate fire until half done, then throw them into the soup, and let them simmer until quite tender; season with a little salt, and when you serve it, put a gill of cream into the stewpan, mix well, and serve immediately; strew a little chopped chervil, and about sixty heads of sprue grass in the tureen, or, if in season, add thirty small Brussels sprouts, boiled very green.
Cut up twelve pounds of veal with the bones, two pounds of ham, two calves’ feet, with a few pieces of trimmings of game or poultry (if any, if not add two pounds more veal), butter the bottom of a stewpan, put in the meat with six Jerusalem artichokes, two turnips, two onions, four leeks, one head of celery, and a bouquet garni; put about a pint of broth (No. 133) into the stewpan, place it over a brisk fire, stirring it every five minutes until the bottom is covered with white glaze, then add about ten quarts of light broth (No. 133), let it boil an hour, add five middle-sized apples, peeled and cored, with four anchovies, well washed; let{58} it simmer an hour and a half longer, skim it well, pass it through a napkin, and clarify as No. 134; cut eight small long fillets off the breast of a braised fowl, cover them all over with forcemeat (No. 122), have ready a paste-brush dipped in whites of eggs, smooth them over with it, lay them in a sauté-pan, cover them with white broth as No. 133; they must simmer gently about ten minutes. Make a custard thus: get a set of fresh lamb’s brains, wash them well, put an ounce of butter into a sauté-pan, cut the brains in thin slices, and lay them in, seasoned with a little pepper, salt, chopped parsley, and lemon-juice; place them over a moderate fire until they become rather firm; put them by until quite cold, then break six eggs into a basin; beat them well, mix four spoonfuls of good broth, and a little pepper and salt with the eggs; pass it through a tammie into another basin, then mix a teaspoonful of chopped parsley with it; put some into a flat-bottomed mould about half an inch thick; steam it about two minutes; take it out, put a layer of brains upon the custard, and pour the remainder of the custard over; let it steam very quickly about half an hour, take it out, let it get rather cool, then cut your pieces of fowl and custard into middling sized pieces, diamond-shaped, about half an inch thick; have asparagus points cut and boiled in salt and water; put the asparagus, fowl, and custard into the tureen, and pour the stock very gently over, previously adding a teaspoonful of sugar. This potage, though complicated, is very easily made with a little practice; it is entirely new, very stomachic and wholesome. It must be of the colour of light sherry.
Cut in large dice six pounds of veal, six do. of leg of beef, two pounds of lean ham, highly flavoured, two calves’ feet,{59} two heads of white celery, four onions, one carrot, two turnips, three cloves, two blades of mace, and a handful of fresh parsley; put three tablespoonfuls of good salad oil into a stewpan, add the whole of the ingredients, place it over a quick fire, stir it ten minutes with a wooden spoon; then add half a pint of broth (No. 133); when the bottom is nearly dry, add ten quarts of broth, as before; when it boils, place it at the corner of the stove; skim as usual, add a tablespoonful of salt; have ready peeled and washed twelve Jerusalem artichokes, and six middle-sized apples cut in quarters, and the core taken out, which may be added when it has boiled an hour and a half; let it remain half an hour longer, then pass the stock through a napkin into a clean stewpan, replace it on the stove and clarify as No. 134. The acidity of the apples will assist the clarification of the stock and give it the brightness of sherry. Take a spring chicken braised as No. 523, cut it in ten pieces, cover each piece all over lightly with forcemeat (No. 120), butter a sauté-pan, lay them in it, have ready a paste brush dipped in whites of eggs, smooth each piece over with it, cover them with white broth (No. 133), and let them remain simmering gently about a quarter of an hour, take them out of the broth and lay them on a cloth, have ready a little riband maccaroni blanched in salt and water, drain it upon a sieve, put it into the soup and let it boil a few minutes, put the pieces of fowl into the tureen, pour the soup over, (with the maccaroni in it), and serve. This soup requires to be of the colour of pale sherry.
Take all the meat off a roast fowl, pound it well in the mortar, put the bones to boil half an hour in three quarts of boiling stock (No. 7), peel six good cucumbers, cut them in slices; when this is prepared, put into a stewpan a quarter{60} of a pound of butter, two onions sliced, half a pound of lean ham, two bay-leaves, one branch of basil, and the cucumbers; place the whole over a brisk fire, pass them, five minutes, add one pint of broth, let it simmer half an hour, then add the pounded fowl, two ounces of flour, and four spoonfuls of sago, mix the whole well with a wooden spoon, and pour the broth over it; let it boil about twenty minutes, then rub it through a tammie, put it into a clean stewpan and stir it over the fire until it boils; be careful it is not too thick, put into it a quart of boiling milk, and skim directly, add a good spoonful of sugar and as much salt as required; put twenty pieces of cucumber, as No. 103, into the tureen, half a pint of green peas nicely boiled, and half a gill of good cream, pour the soup over, mix well, and serve. This soup must not be too thick; in fact it is much better for all thick soups to be too thin than too thick, but to be correct dip a wooden spoon into it when quite hot and it should very lightly adhere to it.
Put half a pound of fresh butter into a stewpan, half a pound of lean ham, and a large onion sliced very thin, pass it ten minutes over a slow fire; have ready, previously boiled, one hundred small Brussels sprouts, press the water from them, chop them fine, add them to the onions and butter, pass them five minutes over a brisk fire, add two tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well, add four quarts of good stock (No. 134), and a pint of boiled milk; boil it quickly ten minutes, stirring it all the time, season with a teaspoonful of sugar, a little pepper and salt, and pass it through a tammie a quarter of an hour before serving; boil and skim well, it must not be thicker than green pea-soup; put some croutons in the tureen, with twenty very small quenelles de volaille (No. 120), and serve.{61}
Cut half a pound of lean ham, with one onion, in small dice, have a bouquet garni, and six ounces of butter; put the whole into a stewpan over a moderate fire, stirring it about ten minutes; then cut five or six throat sweetbreads in slices (which have been previously blanched in water), put them into the stewpan and add a pint of white broth; let it simmer nearly half an hour, add four tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well, pound it in a mortar, put it into the stewpan again, with about four quarts of veal stock (No. 7), set it over a brisk fire until it boils, season with a teaspoonful of salt, two ditto of sugar, and a little white pepper; rub it through a tammie; when you serve it add a gill of cream, and croutons, cut like sixpences, and fried in half butter and half oil. If too thick moisten it with more stock to make it of the consistency of a purée.
Cut two knuckles of veal and two pounds of ham in dice, butter the bottom of a stewpan, put in the meat, with three onions, one carrot, two turnips, two heads of celery, one leek, a bunch of parsley, thyme, bay-leaves, basil, marjoram, and a pint of white broth (No. 133); let it simmer over a moderate fire about twenty minutes, then add twelve quarts more broth; when it boils have ready half a calf’s head which has been scalded; put it into the stewpan and let it simmer two hours and a half, when done put it on a dish to cool; pass the stock through a cloth into a clean stewpan, and place it over the fire; then mix half a pound of arrow-root, with three glasses of Madeira, and half a pint of cold broth; when the stock boils add the arrow-root, stirring it all the time, (skim it well), about twenty minutes, pass it through a tammie; before serving cut about twenty pieces of the{62} calf’s head, (free from any fat), in large dice about an inch and a half square; put them in the tureen and pour the soup over. Add a little salt and sugar if required; this soup is very delicate, but better made too thin than too thick.
Peel and wash about a dozen Jerusalem artichokes, cut them in slices about a quarter of an inch thick, lay them flat upon the table and cut them through with a cutter about the size of a large pea, wash two heads of celery well, cut them round like sixpences, peel fifty small button onions, and pass the whole in a stewpan with two ounces of butter and a teaspoonful of sugar until no liquor remains with the vegetables and they are covered with a glaze, keeping them quite white; if any liquor remains in your vegetables it will spoil the appearance of the soup; put them into a clean stewpan with four quarts of consommé (No. 134), and half a pint of gravy (No. 135), let it simmer at the corner of the stove about ten minutes, taking care to skim it well, cut about forty pieces of cos lettuce the size of half-a-crown, which boil till done, cut twenty pieces of thin crust of French bread about the size of a shilling, which must be put into the tureen and the soup poured over.
Peel and cut thirty button onions into rings, fry them yellow in butter, cut also about sixty pieces of carrots, the size of a sixpenny piece, boil them in stock until nearly done, then put them on a sieve to drain, put four quarts of consommé (No. 134), and a gill of brown gravy (No. 135), into a stewpan with two ounces of semolina, when boiling add the carrots and onions; let it simmer twenty minutes, add a little pickled chervil, cut a small spring chicken in pieces, which has been previously braised (No. 523), put it into the{63} soup a few minutes previous to serving, and a tablespoonful of sugar, add a little more seasoning if required.
Cut an equal quantity of carrots, turnips, celery, and Jerusalem artichokes with a scoop cutter, as large again as a pea, pass them in sugar and butter, with about a dozen button onions; have ready four quarts of consommé (No. 134), put the vegetables into it, let it boil at the corner of the stove about twenty minutes, add half a cabbage lettuce cut small, ten leaves of sorrel, a few leaves of tarragon and chervil (skim it well), add a little salt if required; serve a few green peas, or asparagus boiled very green, in the tureen with the soup; give it a beautiful colour with a little brown gravy (No. 135) if required.
Have ready the consommé clarified as previously, cut carrots, turnips, and celery, in slices about a quarter of an inch thick, cut them through with a long cutter, add ten button onions, pass them in sugar and butter as usual, put them into four quarts of clarified consommé, let it simmer at the corner of the stove about twenty minutes, or until the vegetables are done, skim it well, add a small quantity of picked tarragon, chervil, and a few white leaves of a cos lettuce; season with a little salt if required; when done and ready to serve put into the tureen a few French beans, peas, cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts according to the season.
Prepare and clean three carrots, three turnips, two onions, two leeks, and one head of celery, wash them all well, cut the carrots an inch in breadth in thin slices, cut them again across into small thin stripe, if the carrots are old the red part only{64} must be used and peeled off like ribands, as fine and regular as possible; all the vegetables must be cut in the same way; put a quarter of a pound of butter into a stewpan, when it is melted, put in the onions and fry them about three minutes, then add the remainder of the vegetables, and pass them quickly with a tablespoonful of sugar, toss them over every minute, when there is no water remaining at the bottom add to them four quarts of clarified consommé, let it boil gently at the corner of the stove about twenty minutes, skim well, add six sorrel leaves, one cabbage lettuce, and a little picked chervil, the lettuce and sorrel must be cut in dice, serve very hot. If not sufficiently coloured add half a pint of gravy (No. 135).
Feel ten fresh turnips, scoop as many as possible out of them with a small cutter, the size of a marble; put a teaspoonful of sugar into a stewpan, when it gets rather brown over the fire, put in about two ounces of butter with the turnips, toss them over the fire until they get a nice yellow colour; have ready nearly boiling four quarts of consommé (No. 134), and half a pint of brown gravy (No. 135), put them into it, let it simmer about twenty minutes, or until the turnips are tender, taking care to skim it well, season with a little salt and sugar if required; the consommé must be a little browner than usual.
Cut a bunch of spring carrots, ditto of turnips, ditto of green spring onions, in thick pieces, splitting the carrots in four, and about half an inch in length, wash them well, dry on a cloth, put them into a stewpan with two ounces of butter and a teaspoonful of sugar, pass them ten minutes over a sharp fire, have ready four quarts of consommé{65} (No. 134), nearly boiling, put in the vegetables and let it boil at the corner of the stove fifteen minutes, skim it well, add a very little chervil and half a pint of young peas, raw, when the peas are tender it is done; put a few French beans, cut in diamonds, into the tureen, and serve.
Have ready two dozen artichokes peeled and washed, scoop them with a cutter, the size of a marble, pass them with butter and sugar over a moderate fire until they are quite dry, put them into four quarts of clarified consommé (No. 134), and let them simmer until tender, skim it well, season with a little salt and sugar if required; a little brown gravy (No. 135), may be added.
Butter the bottom of a stewpan, take three or four pounds of the knuckle of veal, and half a pound of lean ham in dice, (in case you have no veal, beef or mutton may be used instead;) add two onions, three carrots, two turnips, and half a pint of broth (No. 133), let it simmer on a brisk fire, stir it very often, when it forms a thick jelly at the bottom fill it up with a gallon of broth or water; it must simmer on the corner of the stove an hour, taking care to skim it well until reduced to three quarts, which will be sufficient for ten or twelve persons.
Make a Chiffonade as follows:—Cut up four cabbage lettuces, one cos ditto, a handful of sorrel, a little chervil, and tarragon, with two cucumbers finely sliced, the whole being well washed and drained on a colander; put two ounces of butter in a stewpan and the chiffonade over it, place it over a brisk fire until very little liquid remains; add to it two tablespoonfuls of flour, mixing it with the vegetables and stirring it well. Pour the stock over, adding a quart of{66} young fresh peas, skim it well; half an hour’s ebullition will suffice for this delicious soup, and the flavour of the vegetables will be fully preserved; season with a teaspoonful of salt and two of sugar.
Poach ten new laid eggs in saltwater and vinegar, rather hard, trim them, put them into the tureen, with half a pint of sprue grass, put three quarts of clarified consommé (No. 134) to boil; put into it for three minutes a fowl just roasted; when you take it out add twelve leaves of tarragon, skim it well, season with a little salt and sugar, pour it gently over the eggs, and be careful not to break them; your potage will have a most beautiful flavour of fowl, and the fowl will be as good as before for many made dishes. This soup must be of the colour of pale sherry.
Cut two middle-sized carrots, two turnips, and four Jerusalem artichokes into thin slices, lay them separately upon a table and cut each piece through with a small diamond cutter; add one head of celery cut in small diamond-shaped pieces, and about a dozen very small onions peeled; put altogether into a stewpan with three ounces of butter and a teaspoonful of sugar; pass them over a brisk fire until the water from the vegetables is quite dried up, and the butter and sugar form a glaze over them; put them into a clean stewpan with four quarts of clarified consommé (No. 134); toast a piece of French bread very brown, but not burnt, put it into the soup five minutes without breaking; when the vegetables are tender it is ready to serve; add about three tablespoonfuls of brown gravy (No. 135), and put a few pieces of very white cauliflower into the tureen.{67}
Cut an equal quantity of all kinds of vegetable in thin slices, lay them on the table and cut them through with a cutter the shape of a heart, pass them in butter and sugar, have ready four quarts of consommé (No. 134), blanch one ounce of Italian paste in salt and water, put it into the soup ten minutes before serving; skim well, add a little sugar, and put four large quenelles (No. 120) cut in slices, into the tureen.
Cut two onions, half a pound of lean ham, one turnip, one head of celery, two bay-leaves and a sprig of thyme; put the whole into a stewpan with half a pound of butter, let it fry on a slow fire about twenty minutes (stirring it all the time), when forming a white glaze at the bottom, take it off the fire; have ready peeled and washed a dozen and a half of Jerusalem artichokes (if they are large, if small a larger quantity will be required) cut in thin slices; put them into the stewpan with half a pint of white broth (No. 133), let it simmer until tender; add three tablespoonfuls of flour, mix the whole well together; add four quarts of good stock, and a pint of boiled milk; stir it until boiling, season with a teaspoonful of salt, two ditto of sugar, rub it through a tammie, boil it again and skim, fry croutons of bread (cut small) in butter; when ready to serve add a gill of cream and three yolks of eggs made in a liaison in the tureen, pour the soup over; (if too thick add a little more stock); put in the croutons and serve.
Cut half a pound of lean ham in dice, with two onions, one head of celery, put them into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter and a bouquet garni, stir it over a{68} moderate fire about ten minutes, then add half a pint of white broth (No. 133), with three pounds of turnips, peeled, washed and cut in thin slices; place them over a slow fire until they are quite tender; then add three tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well together, add three quarts of broth, stir it until boiling, season with a little white pepper, and a teaspoonful of salt, and two of sugar; skim it well, pass it through a tammie, boil it again, add a pint of boiled milk, skim it well ten minutes; when you serve add a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with a gill of cream, pour the soup in the tureen with small dice of fried bread. It must be rather thin.
Cut two fresh bundles of sprue grass, boil very quickly in salt and water until tender; put four ounces of fresh butter into a stewpan with half a spoonful of chopped onions; when it is melted mix the sprue with it, then add three spoonfuls of flour, and four quarts of veal stock with one pint of boiled milk, let it boil five minutes, stirring it all the time; season with a teaspoonful of salt, two ditto of sugar, and a little white pepper; pass it through a tammie, boil it again in a clean stewpan ten minutes, and skim it well; serve half a pint of sprue grass nicely boiled in it.
Scrape, wash, and cut in thin slices, some carrots; take three pounds and a half of the red part only, lay them on a sieve to drain, put into a stewpan half a pound of lean ham, two onions, and one head of celery sliced, add half a pound of butter, three cloves, one blade of mace, pass it over a moderate fire twenty minutes, then add the carrots with one pint of white broth (No. 133), when quite tender add three tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well, put four quarts of white{69} veal stock; let it simmer nearly an hour, skim it well, rub it through a tammie, boil it again, if too thick add a little more broth, put fried bread into the tureen, season with a tablespoonful of sugar, and a little salt and pepper if required.
Boil three large white cauliflowers in salt and water until quite tender, chop them very fine, put a quarter of a pound of butter into a stewpan, one leek, one head of celery (in slices) a quarter of a pound of ham, and two bay-leaves, pass them ten minutes over a quick fire; add the cauliflower, and three tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well, add three quarts of white stock, and one ditto of boiled milk; stir it until boiling, rub it through a tammie, boil and skim well; season with a teaspoonful of sugar, half ditto of salt; finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with a gill of cream; pour the soup into the tureen, have a cauliflower boiled, and cut into twenty small sprigs, put them into the soup, but be sure not to break them.
Put half a pound of butter into a stewpan, slice two eschalots, six Jerusalem artichokes, (if early in the spring, but they may be omitted,) half a pound of lean ham, and six cucumbers peeled very carefully, as the least green would give a bad flavour; stir it over a slow fire twenty minutes, then add the meat of half a braised fowl (No. 523), well pounded, and three spoonfuls of flour, mix well; add three quarts of veal stock, and a quart of boiled milk, let it boil, keeping it stirred, rub it through a tammie, put it into a clean stewpan, skim it well; season with one teaspoonful of salt, two ditto of sugar, have ready about twenty pieces of cucumber, stewed as (No. 103), put them into the tureen, add half a pint of good cream to the soup, and serve. It must not be too thick.{70}
Cut a quarter of a pound of lean bacon in dice; put it into a stewpan with a good bunch of green onions, ditto of parsley, a small piece of mint, a quarter of a pound of butter, and three quarts of very fresh peas, pour some cold water over, wash the peas well—in mixing the butter with them pour off all the water; place them over a brisk fire until they are quite tender, then pound them in a mortar, put back into the stewpan, add three tablespoonfuls of flour; (mix it well), and about four quarts of good broth; stir it until boiling, skim well; season with a teaspoonful of salt, three ditto of sugar, and a little white pepper, pass it through a tammie and boil again; when you serve it have ready some croutons (small dice of fried bread), put them in the tureen. Do not serve it too thick.
Cut six pounds of knuckle of veal, with the bones, and one pound of lean ham in large dice, have three onions, two turnips, one carrot, two heads of celery, a bouquet garni, and a tablespoonful of salt; butter a stewpan lightly, put in the whole of the ingredients, add six cloves, two blades of mace, and half a pint of water; pass it over a brisk fire about twenty minutes, stirring every two or three minutes; when there is a white glaze upon the spoon add eight quarts of broth (No. 133), or water; directly it boils place it at the corner of the stove, scald the giblets in boiling water five minutes, take them out, and cut them in joints, the gizzard in four pieces; put them into the stock and let them simmer gently until they are quite tender, which will be about two hours and a half; take them out, pass the stock through a cloth, and clarify as (No. 134); have ready some carrots and turnips scooped with a small cutter, two{71} heads of celery cut in small dice, and passed in butter and sugar, put them into the soup, and let them boil gently until quite tender; skim well, season with a little salt and sugar; put the giblets, with some French beans or peas, into the tureen and pour the soup over.
Cut six pounds of leg of beef in large dice, without bones, cut two ox tails in joints, put them into a stewpan with half a pound of ham, one carrot, one head of celery, four onions, two ounces of butter, half a pint of white broth (No. 133), six cloves, one blade of mace, and a tablespoonful of salt; pass it over a moderate fire half an hour, stirring it every five minutes; when getting a yellow glaze at the bottom put some ashes on the stove to slacken the fire, let it remain twenty minutes longer, until the bottom is covered with a brown glaze, then add two gallons of cold water, start it on a quick fire, skim it, and let it simmer on the corner of the stove for two hours, or until the ox tail is quite tender; then take all the pieces of ox tail out and put them by until wanted; pass the stock through a napkin into a clean stewpan, have ready some vegetables cut like for jardinière (No. 147), pass them in sugar and butter, put them into the stock, boil until quite tender; season with a little more salt if required, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a little cayenne; ten minutes previous to serving add a bunch of parsley with a little thyme and bay-leaf, and the ox tails; take out the parsley and serve very hot.
Cut six pounds of trimmings of lamb or veal, half a pound of ham, a large bunch of parsley, thyme, bay-leaves and marjoram, three cloves, one blade of mace; put three tablespoonfuls of salad oil into a stewpan with the ingredients, and half a pint of white broth, cut six lamb’s tails in{72} joints an inch long, put them into the stewpan with one calf’s foot cut in pieces, pass it ten minutes over a brisk fire, then add six quarts of broth (No. 133), or water, and two ounces of salt, when boiling, skim well, and let it simmer on the corner of the stove about an hour; take out the pieces of tails and pass the stock through a napkin into a stewpan, mix two ounces of arrowroot with a gill of cold broth, and a glass of Madeira, throw it into the boiling stock, stir well all the time, skim; season with two teaspoonfuls of sugar, pass through a tammie into a clean stewpan; put in the pieces of tail ten minutes before serving; be careful to take off any fat which may rise from them, add juice of a lemon and serve.
Proceed exactly as in the last, but instead of lamb use veal, for stock, cut four calves’ tails in pieces half an inch long, allow more time to stew, being larger, but finish the same way.
Cut eight pounds of veal, one pound of ham, and one calf’s foot in dice, butter the bottom of a stewpan, put in the meat with two onions, the peel of half a lemon, and half a pint of broth (No. 133); pass the whole over a brisk fire, until forming a white glaze, then add eight quarts of broth, or water, and half a pint of brown gravy (No. 135), when boiling, let it simmer at the corner of the stove about two hours, boil a fowl in it, skim it well, pass through a tammie; put two ounces of arrowroot into a basin, mix with half a pint of cold broth, add it to the boiling stock, skim well, boil twenty minutes, have ready a small spring chicken braised, when cold cut it in nice pieces, have ready also about forty small quenelles de volaille (No. 120), put them into the soup and serve. The fowl that you boil in the stock may be used instead of the chicken.{73}
Cut six pounds of leg of beef in large dice, with two wild rabbits, and one pound of lean ham, butter the bottom of a stewpan, put in the meat, with two calf’s feet, two onions, four leeks, one carrot, two turnips, a bunch of thyme, marjoram, bay-leaves, and parsley, a blade of mace, and six cloves all inclosed in the bunch; set the stewpan over a brisk fire, add one pint of broth (No. 133), stir it until forming a white glaze, then add eight quarts of water, and nearly a pint of brown gravy (No. 135); when boiling about an hour add the trimmings of three grouse which have been previously roasted underdone, (cut the fillets and legs in pieces and reserve for the tureen;) let it simmer one hour longer, pass through a napkin into a clean stewpan when near boiling, add an ounce of arrowroot mixed with two glasses of port wine and a little cold broth; season with a tablespoonful of salt and half ditto of sugar; boil twenty minutes, pour into your tureen over the grouse, and serve very hot. The above quantity would be sufficient for two tureens.
Proceed exactly the same as in the last, being very particular that the birds are young and not over done.
Prepare the soup as before, two young pheasants will be enough, but they must hang until full flavoured, or it would not taste of game. Where pheasants are plentiful some may be used instead of the rabbits.
Roast two or three woodcocks, well wrapped in paper,{74} underdone, let them cool, cut them in pieces like the grouse, put the trimmings into the soup, which must be the same as the grouse soup (No. 168); put the inside of the woodcocks in the mortar, pound well, mix four ounces of forcemeat (No. 122) with it, add one yolk of egg, take a knife, surround every part of the pieces with it, poach them gently in a sauté-pan with a little stock, put them into the tureen and pour the consommé over.
Cut a young hare in small pieces, the legs in two pieces, ditto the shoulders, and the back in six pieces, put them in a stewpan with half a pound of lean ham cut in dice, half a pound of butter, eight cloves, two blades of mace, twenty peppercorns, fry the whole twenty minutes over a moderate fire; when the hare is getting firm throw over it an ounce of arrowroot, mix well, add six quarts of consommé (No. 134) and one of water, let it boil nearly two hours, or until the hare is done, which you may easily ascertain with a fork, if quite tender put into a small stewpan until wanted, pass the stock through a fine sieve; have ready four heads of good white celery washed, cut all the best part in diamonds, pass them in butter and sugar, then add about a pint of the stock and simmer until tender, keeping it well skimmed; before serving add the celery, pieces of hare, one glass of port wine, quarter of a tablespoonful of salt, and one ditto of sugar; serve very hot, pouring it over some of the best pieces of hare which you have reserved for your tureen, nicely trimmed.
Prepare a good stock of eight pounds of veal, half a pound of ham, one carrot, one turnip, four onions, four cloves, two blades of mace, two heads of celery, and half a pint of broth;{75} pass it over a brisk fire twenty minutes, when there is a white glaze at the bottom add two gallons of broth (No. 133), or water, and a tablespoonful of salt, then add a small cod’s head, let it simmer two hours, skim well, pass through a cloth into a clean stewpan, put it again on the stove to reduce one third, have ready scalded and bearded four dozen of fresh oysters and a pint of muscles, fillet one sole, cut it in diamonds; quarter of an hour before serving dinner put into the soup the oysters, muscles, and fillets of soles, with half a handful of picked parsley; let it simmer ten minutes, skim it well, add a little salt if required, and a teaspoonful of sugar with a little cayenne, and serve very hot.
Roast two or three grouse, take off all the flesh, reserving some of the fillets, which cut in thin slices and serve with the soup in the tureen; put the bones in a stewpan with two quarts of first stock (No. 133)—boil them half an hour—place the flesh into a mortar, pound it well, then put two onions, half a carrot, and a turnip, in slices into a stewpan, with half a pound of butter, a few sprigs of parsley, thyme, two bay-leaves, six peppercorns, and half a blade of mace; stir them five minutes over the fire, then add a pint of stock, and stew them until tender, when add the flesh of the birds and four ounces of flour; mix them well together, then add the stock from the bones, half a pint of brown gravy (No. 135) and some consommé (No. 134), making altogether five quarts, boil twenty minutes, keeping it stirred; season with a little salt and a tablespoonful of sugar; pass it through a tammie, then put it into another stewpan, boil it again, skim well, pour it into a tureen in which you have put some croutons and the pieces of fillets; serve very hot.{76}
Prepare this soup exactly as the last, but finishing with milk or cream, and omitting the brown gravy, as this soup must be kept white.
Roast four partridges, and proceed as in the last.
Cut eight pounds of beef and veal, with about a pound of bacon, in large dice, have three onions, two turnips, two carrots, four bay-leaves, a bunch of parsley, four sprigs of thyme, basil, and three heads of celery; butter the bottom of a stewpan, put in the meat and vegetables with a pint of broth, place it over a moderate fire, cut the hare in pieces (rather small), put it into the stewpan, stir it every six minutes until it is covered with a brown glaze, then add three quarters of a pound of flour over the meat, mix well with eight quarts of broth (No. 133), and a pint of brown gravy (No. 135); let it simmer until the hare is quite tender, take it out of the stewpan, then trim about ten or twelve of the best pieces for the tureen, pull all the meat from the remainder, pound it well in the mortar and add it to the purée; pass it through a tammie, put it into a clean stewpan, place it on the stove to boil again; mix the following ingredients in a basin, two tablespoonfuls of flour, eight ditto of port wine, half ditto of salt, a good pinch of cayenne pepper, one ditto of sugar, mix well with half a pint of cold broth (No. 133), add it to the soup when upon the point of boiling; stir it well, serve very hot; two heads of celery may be added cut small, passed in butter, and boiled until tender.{77}
If you have any game from a previous dinner, whether pheasant, partridge, grouse, hare, wild rabbits, or any kind of game, take all the meat from the bones, put the bones in a stewpan to simmer with four quarts of consommé (No. 134) half an hour, pound the meat in the mortar very fine, put it into a clean stewpan with quarter of a pound of butter, half ditto of ham, two heads of celery cut thin, two eschalots, one carrot, one turnip, four cloves, and four peppercorns; pass it over a slow fire twenty minutes, add half a pint of broth, with the meat, (which for that quantity of soup should be about two pounds), and three tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well, pour the stock from the bones over, with half a pint of brown gravy (No. 135), boil twenty minutes, pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, if too thick add more broth season with a little salt and a spoonful of sugar; put some croutons in a tureen cut very thin of the size of a sixpenny piece, and crisp, if not ready to serve it must be kept hot in the bain marie; do not let it boil after it is passed, or it will curdle and have a bad appearance.
Prepare the stock exactly like the clear giblet (No. 163), instead of clarifying it put half a pound of butter into a stewpan with three quarters of a pound of flour, make a light-coloured roux, mix the stock with it, boil it about forty minutes, keeping it stirred, add a large bouquet garni, pass through a tammie into a clean stewpan, have ready about fifty small button onions, passed in butter and sugar, throw them into the soup and let them simmer until tender; ten minutes before serving add a glass of Madeira, and the giblets (which you have well trimmed), season with a little salt and sugar if necessary.{78}
Put a pint of rice into a basin, wash well in three waters, put a quarter of a pound of butter into a stewpan, two minced onions, one turnip, one carrot, four Jerusalem artichokes, half a pound of lean bacon, two cloves, half a blade of mace, and a small bunch of parsley; pass the whole over a slow fire about fifteen minutes, taking care it is not the least brown; add three quarts of white stock (No. 7) and the rice, let it simmer very gently until the rice is quite tender, have ready a fowl roasted, take all the meat off the bones and pound well in the mortar, put the bones in a stewpan with two quarts more stock, boil a quarter of an hour, add the meat to the rice and vegetables, and pound all well together, put it back into the same stewpan, add the broth from the bones, rub through a tammie, boil a quarter of an hour longer, season with a tablespoonful of sugar, skim well, put two yolks of eggs in a small basin, mix well with half a pint of cream and pass through a tammie; two minutes previous to serving throw it in the soup, stir it in quickly, put some croutons in the tureen, add more stock if too thick and serve very hot.
Prepare your soup just as the above; have ready braised a spring chicken, cut in ten nice pieces; put it into the soup ten minutes to warm; put into the tureen four spoonfuls of very green sprue grass, if in season, or green peas, or small Brussels sprouts, and pour the soup gently over.
Cut four onions, four apples, one carrot, two turnips, one head of celery, and half a pound of lean ham in slices; put them into a stewpan with half a pound of butter, pass{79} it twenty minutes over a brisk fire, with four cloves, one blade of mace, a bunch of parsley, thyme, bay-leaves, and a pint of broth (No. 133); let it simmer about twenty minutes, then add three tablespoonfuls of curry powder, one do. of curry paste, and four do. of flour; mix the whole well together, with eight quarts of broth; when boiling, skim it, season with a teaspoonful of sugar, and salt if required; pass it through a tammie, serve with pieces of roast chicken in it, and boiled rice in a separate dish (No. 129.) It must not be too thick, and of a good yellow colour.
Make the stock and stew the calves’ tails precisely as No. 166, instead of clarifying it; put a quarter of a pound of butter into a stewpan with six ounces of flour; stir it over the fire about five minutes; let it cool, then mix the stock with it, stirring it well with a wooden spoon until it boils; then place it at the corner of the stove about twenty minutes; skim, add a bouquet garni, and a glass of madeira or sherry, pass it through a tammie; season with a spoonful of sugar, a little cayenne, and salt if required; put it into another stewpan upon the fire, and ten minutes before serving add half a pint of cream and the calves’ tails to warm.
Put four quarts of mulligatawny soup (No. 182) into a stewpan, and a pint of consommé (No. 134); cut some vegetables as for julienne (No. 148), put ten tablespoonfuls of salad oil into a sauté-pan; when hot, fry the vegetables in it, until rather brown; lay them on a sieve to drain, then add them to the soup, which is in ebullition; skim well, put about fifteen nice pieces of calves’ tail in it, and serve, with some dry boiled rice in a separate dish.{80}
Proceed exactly as above, except, put pieces of cooked calf’s head cut in square pieces, instead of calves’ tail.
Prepare the same stock as No. 184; put about twelve pieces of ox-tail, well stewed, as No. 164, into the soup ten minutes before serving.
Butter the bottom of a middling-sized stewpan, into which put six pounds of leg of beef, two ox-tails cut in joints, four onions, two heads of celery, two turnips, one carrot, ten peppercorns, a blade of mace, six cloves, and a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaves; then add half a pint of water, place it over the fire, stirring it round occasionally, until the bottom of the stewpan is covered with a brownish glaze; then fill up the stewpan with eight quarts of first stock (No. 133), and two ounces of salt; when boiling, place it at the corner of the fire, skim it, and let it simmer until the pieces of ox-tails are perfectly tender, when take them out, and put them into a basin; then pass the stock through a cloth, in another stewpan, make a roux with half a pound of butter, and three quarters of a pound of flour; then add the stock, which should not exceed seven quarts; stir it over the fire until it boils, then add a salt-spoonful of cayenne, two glasses of port wine, and four heads of celery (cut fine and passed ten minutes, in butter, over a sharp fire,) let the soup simmer an hour at the corner; skim it well, and put by until wanted; this quantity is sufficient for two tureens, so when ready to serve, put half of it in a stewpan, with{81} ten pieces of the tails, and when quite hot, pour it into your tureen. If too thick, add a little consommé.
Blanch four dozen oysters until rather firm (they must not nearly boil) drain them on a sieve; save the liquor in which they are blanched. Put a quarter of a pound of butter into a stewpan; when it is melted mix with it six ounces of flour; stir it over a slow fire a short time; afterwards let it cool, then add the liquor of the oysters, a quart of milk, and two quarts of good veal stock (No. 7); season as follows: a teaspoonful of salt, half a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper, five peppercorns, half a blade of mace, a tablespoonful of Harvey sauce, and half do. of essence of anchovy; strain it through a tammie; boil it again ten minutes, skim well; beard the oysters, and put them in the tureen; add a gill of cream to the soup, when it is served, and pour it over the oysters.
Put a quarter of a pound of butter, with six ounces of flour into a stewpan; make a white roux; when cold, mix well with two quarts of veal stock (No. 7), and one quart of milk; set it on the stove, stir until boiling; have ready filleted two very fresh soles; trim the fillets, and put the bones and trimmings into the soup, with four cloves, two blades of mace, two bay-leaves; two spoonfuls of essence of anchovy, one do. of Harvey sauce, one do. of sugar, half a saltspoonful of cayenne, and a little salt if required; skim well, pass through a sieve into a clean stew pan, boil again; put in ten small pieces of salmon cut half an inch long, and a quarter do. wide; cut the fillets of the soles the same size, put them into the boiling soup with half a handful of picked parsley; boil ten minutes; finish with two yolks of eggs{82} and half a pint of cream mixed together; throw them into the soup. The pieces of soles are to be added five minutes before serving; the salmon may be omitted.
Blanch two dozen oysters, four dozen very fresh muscles blanched and bearded; put a quarter of a pound of butter into a stewpan, with six ounces of flour, make a white roux; when cool, add the liquor of the oysters, muscles, and bone of the sole, with two quarts of broth, and three pints of milk; season with a spoonful of salt, one do. of sugar, a sprig of thyme, parsley, two bay-leaves, four cloves, and two blades of mace; pass through a tammie into a clean stewpan, boil and skim well; cut about ten pieces of salmon into thin slices, half an inch long, a quarter do. wide; cut the fillet of the sole the same size; put all into the boiling soup, with half a handful of picked parsley, and a gill of good cream; put the oysters and muscles in the tureen and serve.
Bone two large eels from head to tail, cut the meat off in slanting dice the size of a teaspoon; put a quarter of a pound of butter into a stewpan, with a spoonful of chopped eschalots, to which add a quarter of a pound of flour; stir it over a moderate fire five minutes, let it cool, then add three quarts of good consommé (No. 134); when it boils throw in the bones of the eels, a small bunch of turtle herbs; let it boil a few minutes; skim it well, pass through a tammie into a clean stewpan; put the raw eel into it, with two spoonfuls of Harvey sauce, one do. essence of anchovy, a quarter of a handful of picked parsley, two glasses of port wine, a little salt and sugar; place it again over the fire, boil five minutes, skim, and serve.{83}
Take all meat from a hen lobster, break up the shell and small claws in a mortar, and put them into a stewpan, with five pints of consommé, place it at the corner of the fire to simmer half an hour; then mix the red spawn with a quarter of a pound of butter, as directed (No. 77); then put two onions, a piece of carrot, and half a turnip, in slices, into a stewpan, with a few sprigs of parsley and thyme, two bay-leaves, a blade of mace, four cloves, and a quarter of a pound of butter; stir them ten minutes over a moderate fire, then add the flesh of the lobster, previously well pounded, reserving a few slices for the tureen, and half a pint of second stock; boil it a minute, then add a quarter of a pound of flour; mix it well, and moisten with the stock from the shells which strain into it; season with a little cayenne pepper and essence of anchovies; boil it five minutes, then rub it through a tammie, and put it into a clean stewpan; let it boil ten minutes at the corner of the fire, skim it well, and when upon the point of serving, stir in the quarter of a pound of lobster butter; do not let it boil afterwards; pour it into the tureen over the fillets of lobster, and serve very hot. This soup requires to be quite a red colour.
Make a white roux of a quarter of a pound of butter and six ounces of flour; add five pints of white consommé (No. 134) and three pints of milk; when boiling, skim well: add three tablespoonfuls of essence of anchovy, two do. of Harvey sauce, a bunch of thyme, parsley, bay-leaf, half a spoonful of salt, do. of sugar, and a little cayenne pepper; pass through a tammie; have ready the soft roes of three mackarel, cut in square pieces, and passed in butter,{84} as directed (No. 382); throw them in the soup; have ready likewise twenty small quenelles of fish (No. 124); finish with two ounces of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79) in which you have introduced a little chopped tarragon; put the whole into the soup five minutes previous to serving; add the juice of a lemon.
Put four tablespoonfuls of various shaped small Italian paste in a quart of boiling water, with a little salt in it, boil it a few minutes; put it on a sieve to drain; have about three quarts of clarified consommé (No. 134), quite boiling; put the paste into it, and boil a quarter of an hour; it must be of a pale sherry colour; consommé of fowl is the best for this kind of potage; season with a little salt and sugar. A piece of good glaze may likewise be introduced.
Put three quarts of consommé to boil, throw in a good handful of vermicelli; let it simmer gently about fifteen minutes; season with salt and a little sugar.
Put about six tablespoonfuls of semoulina into three quarts of consommé (No. 134); when it boils, set it at the corner of the stove to simmer about twenty minutes; season with a little salt and sugar; serve very hot.
Steep half a pint of rice (previously well washed) in boiling water five minutes, drain it on a sieve, put it into three quarts of boiling consommé (No. 134), let it simmer half an hour; when the rice is quite done, but not in puree, it is quite ready to serve, with the addition of a piece of glaze{85} and a little sugar if required. The consommé must be very strong for this soup.
Boil twenty sticks of macaroni in two quarts of water where you have put salt, and a piece of butter; when tender, cut each stick in three pieces; have ready three quarts of consommé (No. 134) put the macaroni in, simmer twenty minutes; and serve with grated Parmesan cheese separate.
Prepare and serve as above, but using the tape maccaroni instead of the other, and only blanching it five minutes in the water.
This soup, the delight of civic corporations, the friend of the doctors, and enemy of the alderman, has been, and perhaps ever will be, the leading article of English cookery. Its great complication has rendered it difficult in private establishments; I shall here, however, simplify it so as to render it practicable. Make choice of a good turtle, weighing from one hundred and forty to one hundred and eighty pounds, hang it up by the hind fins securely, cut off the head and let it hang all night, then take it down, lay it upon its back, and with a sharp knife cut out the belly, leaving the fins, but keeping the knife nearly close to the upper shell; take out the interior, which throw away, first collecting the green fat which is upon it, then remove the fins and fleshy parts, leaving nothing but the two large shells, saw the top shell into four and the bottom one in halves; then put the whole of the turtle, including the head, into a large turbot kettle, and cover them with cold water, (or if no kettle large enough blanch it in twice), place it upon a sharp fire and let{86} boil five minutes, to sufficiently scald it, then put the pieces into a tub of cold water, and with a pointed knife take off all the scales, which throw away, then take out carefully the whole of the green fat, which reserve, place the remainder back in the turbot kettle, where let it simmer until the meat comes easily from the shells and the fins are tender, then take them out and detach all the glutinous meat from the shells, which cut into square pieces and reserve until required. Fricandeau and a few other entrées were sometimes made from the fleshy parts, but the stringy substance of that mock meat is not worth eating, and few stomachs can digest it.
The Stock.—For a turtle of the above size (which is considered the best, for in comparison with them the smaller ones possess but little green fat,) cut up sixty pounds of knuckles of veal, and twenty pounds of beef, with six pounds of lean ham; well butter the bottom of three large stewpans, and put an equal proportion of meat in each, with four onions, one carrot, twenty peppercorns, ten cloves, two blades of mace, an ounce of salt, and a pint of water; place them upon sharp fires, stirring them round occasionally until the bottom of each is covered with a brownish glaze, when fill them up with the water in which you blanched the turtle, taking more water if not sufficient; when boiling place them at the corners of the fires, let them simmer two hours, keeping them always well skimmed; then pass the stock through a fine cloth into basins to cool. The stock after being drawn down in the three separate stewpans, may be turned into a large stock pot, but my reason for doing it in smaller quantities is, that it requires less ebullition, and consequently the aroma of the different ingredients is better preserved; after having passed the stock, fill them up again with water, let them simmer four hours, when pass it and convert it into glaze as directed (No. 132).{87}
The Soup.—Put three pounds of butter into a large stewpan with ten sprigs of winter savory, ten of thyme, ten of basil, ten of marjoram, and ten bay-leaves; place it a few minutes over a moderate fire, but do not let it change colour, then mix in four pounds and a half of flour to form a roux, which keep stirring over the fire until it becomes lightly tinged, when take it off the fire and stir it occasionally until partly cold, then add the stock which should amount to ten gallons, place it again over the fire and stir it until boiling, then place it at the corner, let it simmer two hours, keeping it well skimmed, then pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, add the pieces of turtle, place it at the corner of the fire and let it simmer until the meat is nearly tender, when add the green fat, and let it remain upon the fire until the meat is quite tender, add a little more salt if required, and put it by in basins until ready for use; when ready to serve warm the quantity required, and to each tureenful add half a saltspoonful of cayenne, and a quarter of a pint of Madeira wine; serve a lemon separate. To make soup of a smaller sized turtle you must of course reduce the other ingredients in proportion. The remains of the soup put in jars will keep a considerable time.
Is now perhaps held in the highest estimation among real epicures, and when artistically prepared is indeed worthy the name of a luxury; it is easier digested and does not dog the palate so much as when made thick, indeed a pint of this soup may be taken before a good dinner (with the assistance of milk punch not too much iced or too sweet) where half a pint of the other might spoil the remainder of your dinner. I shall here describe it in that simple manner which will render it easy for any cook not only to understand but to do it well. Prepare the turtle precisely as{88} in the last, as also the stocks, merely filling them up when the bottom of the stewpan is covered with a white glaze instead of brown, thus keeping the stock white and very clear; when done, pass them through a cloth into a clean stewpan, place it over the fire and reduce it one third, having previously thrown in a bunch containing ten sprigs of winter savory, ten of marjoram, ten of thyme, ten of basil, and ten bay-leaves, then mix three quarters of a pound of the best arrow root with a quart of cold stock and a pint of wine, (sherry), pour it into the boiling soup, keeping it stirred five minutes, then pass it through a cloth into another stewpan, add the pieces of meat from the turtle and proceed as for the thick turtle, but omitting the cayenne; this soup ought to be quite clear and of a greenish hue.
Put a quarter of a pound of butter at the bottom of a large stewpan, then cut up twenty pounds of knuckles of veal in large dice, with two pounds of uncooked ham; put them into a stewpan with six onions, two carrots, two heads of celery, twenty peppercorns, two blades of mace, two ounces of salt, and a pint of water; set it over a sharp fire, stirring it round occasionally until the bottom of the stewpan is covered with a light brown glaze, then lay in the half of a scalded calf’s head, the cheek downwards, and fill up the stewpan with fourteen quarts of water; when boiling, place it at the corner of the fire, where let it simmer two hours and a half, keeping it well skimmed, but taking out the half head as soon as it becomes flexible to the touch, (which will take about the time the stock requires to simmer), remove all the bone and press the head flat between two dishes until cold, then pass the stock through a cloth into a basin, put a pound of butter into another stewpan, with four sprigs of winter savory, four of thyme, four{89} of marjoram, four of basil, and four bay-leaves, fry them a few minutes in the butter, but do not let it change colour, then mix in a pound and a half of flour, stir it a few minutes over the fire until becoming slightly tinged, take it from the fire, stirring it round occasionally until partly cold, when pour in the stock, place it again upon the fire, keeping it stirred until it boils, then place it at the corner and let it simmer for half an hour, keeping it well skimmed, season with a little cayenne pepper, and more salt if required, and pass it through a tammie into a basin until wanted. When the calf’s head is cold take off all the meat and fat, leaving nothing but the glutinous part, which cut into pieces an inch square; when ready to serve the soup put about three quarts (to each tureen), into a stewpan with twenty of the pieces of head and a glass of sherry, boil altogether fifteen minutes, when skim and serve very hot. This soup may likewise be thickened without a roux, as directed for brown sauce (No. 4). Forcemeat and egg-balls were formerly served in this soup, the latter in imitation of turtles’ eggs, but better imitations of bullets, and almost as indigestible; the omission of them will, I am certain, prove beneficial, for whether the stomach be strong or delicate it will not bear loading with ammunition of that description. The above soup requires to be a light brown colour, and for thickness it must adhere lightly to the back of the spoon.{90}
Turbot.
Take the gills out carefully, and make an incision close to the head (on the back of the fish) from which take out the inside, and wash it well with salt and water. Observe that the middle-sized fish are the best; if too large, they sometimes eat tough and thready; this fish is better kept a day or two after it is caught, particularly in winter.
Brill.
Take the scales off the belly, and proceed the same as for turbot, but cut off the fins.
John Dory.
Cut off the fins, take out the gills, and open the fish at the breast, from whence take out the inside; wash it but as little as possible. The liver of this fish is very delicate; but cannot be obtained except by parties living near where they are caught, as it dissolves in a very short time if kept.
Cod-fish.
Cut and pull out the gills, then open the belly and take out the inside; wash it in spring water; if this fish is required crimped, you must clean it before it is quite dead (that is to say, whilst life remains in the muscles of the fish);{91} cut it up in slices three inches in thickness, and lay them in spring water for a quarter of an hour; or if the fish is wanted to be served whole, merely cut incisions upon each side to the bone, about two inches apart, and lay it in spring water three quarters of an hour.
Whitings.
Cut out the gills, and open the belly; wash them and cut off the fins; if for frying, cut off the flaps under the neck of the fish, then pass your knife lightly from the head to the tail, down the back, merely cutting through the skin; then detach the skin at the head, and pull it all off one side together, and then the other; then put the tail into the mouth, and run a peg through the nose and tail, to keep it in that position.
Haddocks.
Are cleaned in the same manner as whitings, but not skinned or trussed, as they are seldom fried.
Salmon.
Cut out the gills, open the belly, and take out the inside, which wash lightly; scrape off the scales, and cut it in slices, or serve whole; if it is to be crimped, you must let the scales remain; crimp it in the same manner as cod-fish. Clean salmon-trout in the same way as salmon.
Soles.
Take out the gills, and make a small opening in the belly of the fish; take out the interior, leaving the roe; then detach the skin of the back at the head; pull it all off the fish together, and cut off the fins.{92}
Mackerel.
Cut the gills, and pull them out carefully, so that the inside of the fish comes with them; wipe it well, cut off the fins, and trim the tail.
Red Mullets.
Scale them very lightly, or you will destroy all the bloom; pull out the gills, and part of the inside will come with them.
Gurnets.
Scrape off all the scales, cut the fins off close, pull out the gills, open the bellies, and take out the inside; wash it well, and scrape the parts where the blood rests, or when cooked it will look like a bruise.
Herrings.
Scrape them, pull out the gills, and the inside with them, leaving the roe unbroken; wipe them well.
Smelts.
This fish is so very delicate, that it requires every attention in cleaning them: pull out the gills, and the inside will come with them; wipe very lightly.
Carp.
Have a sharp-pointed kitchen knife, put the point carefully under the scales (between the scales and the skin); at{93} the tail of the fish pass the knife gently up the back to the head, dividing the scales from the skin carefully; you may then take off the whole of the scales in one piece from each side, and your fish will look very white; (most cooks are acquainted with this mode, but should it be too difficult for some, they can scrape it in the common way; it will not look so white, but will eat equally good;) then make a small incision in the belly, close to the bladder; pull out the gills with a cloth, and the inside with them; but if any remains, take it out of the incision, but be careful not to disturb the roe or break the gall; lay it in spring water half an hour to disgorge; dry it with a cloth.
Pike.
Take off the scales as you would a carp; make two incisions in the belly, a small one close to the bladder, and a larger one above; pull one of the gills at the time with a strong cloth, and if the inside does not come with them, take them out of the incisions, and wash it well; the cutting of the fins is a matter of taste, but it is usually done.
Trout
Are sometimes served with the scales on, but they are usually taken off; clean like salmon.
Tench
Are very difficult fish to clean; the best way is to form them in the shape of the letter S, and instead of scraping them from the tail to the head, like other fish, scrape upwards from the belly to the back with an oyster knife, the scales running that way, take out the gills, open the belly, take out the inside, and wash it clean.{94}
Perch
Are very difficult to scrape; they must be done almost alive: form the fish like an S, and scrape it with an oyster-knife; open the belly and take out the inside; pull out the gills, and wash well; when large, they are often boiled with the scales on, and they are taken off afterwards, which is much easier; but it depends upon how they are to be cooked.
Eels.
Kill them by knocking their heads upon a block or anything hard; then take the head in your hand with a cloth, and just cut through the skin round the neck, and turn it down about an inch; then pull the head with one hand and the skin with the other, it will come off with facility; open the belly and take out the inside; cut off the fins and those bristles that run up the back; if the eel is large and oily, hold it over a charcoal fire, moving it quickly all the while; but the small ones will not require it. Nothing is harder to kill than eels; and it is only by killing, or rather stunning them in the manner above described that they suffer the least.
Lampreys
Are cleaned in the same manner as eels, but do not require skinning.{95}
A turbot must be well rubbed over with salt and lemon before it is put in the water; have ready a large turbot-kettle half full of cold water, and to every six quarts of water, put one pound of salt, lay the fish in and place it over a moderate fire; a turbot of eight pounds may be allowed to simmer twenty minutes or rather more, thus it will be about three quarters of an hour altogether in the water; when it begins to crack very slightly, lift it up with the drainer and cover a clean white napkin over it; if you intend serving the sauce over your fish, dish it up without a napkin; if not, dish it upon a napkin and have ready some good sprigs of double parsley to garnish it with, and serve very hot.
Cook the turbot as above and dish it without a napkin, (but be careful that it is well drained before you place it on the dish, and absorb what water runs from the fish with a napkin, for that liquor would spoil your sauce, and cause it to lose that creamy substance which it ought to retain; this remark applies to all kinds of fish that is served up with the sauce over it); then put one pint of cream on the fire in a good sized stewpan, and when it is nearly simmering add half a pound of fresh butter, and stir it as quickly as possible until the butter is melted, but the cream must not boil; then add a liaison of three yolks of eggs, season with a little salt, pepper, and lemon juice, pour as much over the turbot as will cover it, and serve the remainder in a boat; or if not approved of, dish the fish on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve the sauce in a boat. This sauce must not be made until the moment it is wanted.{96}
Cook the turbot as before, then take an ounce of lobster spawn and pound it in a mortar with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, rub it through a hair sieve with a wooden spoon upon a plate, have ready a pint of good melted butter nearly boiling, into which put the red butter, and season with a teaspoonful of essence of anchovy, a little Harvey sauce, cayenne pepper, and salt, then cut up the flesh of the lobster in dice and put in the sauce; serve it in a boat very hot.
Cook the turbot as before, and dish without a napkin; then put the yolks of four eggs in a stewpan with half a pound of fresh butter, the juice of a lemon, half a teaspoonful of salt and a quarter of one of white pepper; set it over a slow fire stirring it the whole time quickly; when the butter is half melted take it off the fire for a few seconds, (still keeping it stirred), till the butter is quite melted, then place it again on the fire till it thickens, then add a quart of melted butter, stir it again on the fire, (but do not let it boil, or it would curdle and be useless), then pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, make it hot in the bain marie, stirring all the time pour it over the fish or serve in a boat. The sauce must be rather sharp, add more seasoning if required.
Cook the fish as above, then have all the spawn from two fine hen lobsters; if not sufficient get some live spawn from the fishmonger’s, making altogether about two ounces, pound it well in the mortar and mix it with half a pound of fresh butter, rub it through a hair sieve, place it upon{97} ice until firm, then put it in a stewpan with the yolks of four eggs, a little pepper, half a teaspoonful of salt, and four tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, place it over the fire and proceed as for the sauce Hollandaise, adding the same quantity of melted butter, and two teaspoonfuls of essence of anchovy, pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan to make it hot, dish the fish without a napkin, soaking up the water in the dish with a clean cloth, and pour the sauce over it; be careful the sauce does not boil or it will curdle.
This dish is one of the most elegant, and is the best way of dressing a turbot, for I have always remarked that notwithstanding its simplicity, it has given the greatest satisfaction, both for its delicateness and appearance, causing no trouble only requiring care.
Procure a smallish turbot, one weighing about ten pounds would be the best, cut off part of the fins and make an incision in the back, butter a sauté-pan, (large enough to lay the turbot in quite flat), and put three tablespoonfuls of chopped eschalots, three glasses of sherry or Madeira, half a teaspoonful of salt, a little white pepper, and about half a pint of white broth into it, then lay in the turbot and cover it over with white sauce (No. 7), start it to boil over a slow fire, then put it into a moderate oven about an hour, try whether it is done with a skewer, if the skewer goes through it easily it is done, if not, bake it a little longer, then give it a light brown tinge with the salamander, place the fish upon a dish to keep it hot, then put a pint of white sauce in the sauté-pan and boil it fifteen minutes, stirring it all the time, then pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, and add a little cayenne pepper, two tablespoonfuls of essence of anchovies, two dozen of oysters, (blanched), two{98} dozen of small mushrooms, two dozen quenelles (No. 120), six spoonfuls of milk, and a teaspoonful of sugar, reduce it till about the thickness of bechamel sauce, then add eight tablespoonfuls of cream and the juice of a lemon, pour over the turbot; have ready twenty croûtons of bread cut triangularly from the crust of a French roll, and fried in butter; place them round the dish and pass the salamander over it and serve.
Boil a turbot as before, dish it up without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce; chop two onions very fine and put them in a stewpan with four glasses of sherry, a sole cut in four pieces, two cloves, one blade of mace, a little grated nutmeg, some parsley, and one bay-leaf; boil altogether five minutes, then add a quart of white sauce (No. 7), boil twenty minutes stirring all the time, then put a tammie over a clean stewpan, and colander over the tammie, pass the sauce, take the meat off the sole and rub it through the tammie with two spoons into the sauce, add half a pint of broth, boil it again until it is rather thick, season with a teaspoonful of salt, one of sugar, the juice of a lemon, and finish with half a pint of cream whipped, mix it quickly and pour over the fish; garnish with white-bait and fried oysters (that have been egged and bread-crumbed,) or, if there is no white-bait, smelts will do.
Dress the turbot as before, and cover with Hollandaise sauce (No. 66); chop some Tarragon chervil, and one French truffle, which sprinkle over it; garnish with hard-boiled eggs cut in four lengthwise and laid round.{99}
Put a quarter of a pound of flour in a stewpan, mix it gently with a quart of milk, be careful that it is not lumpy, then add two eschalots, a bunch of parsley, one bay-leaf, and a sprig of thyme tied together, for if put in loose it would spoil the colour of your sauce, (which should be quite white,) then add a little grated nutmeg, a teaspoonful of salt and a quarter ditto of pepper, place it over a sharp fire and stir it the whole time, boil it till it forms rather a thickish paste, then take it off the fire and add half a pound of fresh butter and the yolks of two eggs, mix them well into the sauce and pass it through a tammie, then having the remains of a turbot left from a previous dinner, you lay some of the sauce on the bottom of a dish, then a layer of the turbot, (without any bone,) season it lightly with pepper and salt, then put another layer of sauce, then fish and sauce again until it is all used, finishing with sauce; sprinkle the top lightly with bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese; put it in a moderate oven half an hour, give it a light brown colour with the salamander and serve it in the dish it is baked on.
Boil a turbot as before, and take it up when only one third cooked, then put in a large sauté-pan or baking sheet forty button onions peeled and cut in rings, two ounces of butter, two glasses of port wine, the peel of half a lemon, and four spoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, then lay in the turbot and cover with a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), set it in a slow oven for an hour, then take it out and place it carefully on a dish, place the fish again in the oven to keep hot, then take the lemon peel out of the sauce and pour the sauce into a stewpan, reduce it till rather thick,{100} then add twenty muscles, (blanched), twenty heads of mushrooms, and about thirty fine prawns; when ready to serve add one ounce of anchovy butter, a tablespoonful of sugar, and a little cayenne pepper, stir it in quickly but do not let it boil; pour the sauce over the fish and serve very hot.
Boil the turbot and dish it without a napkin, then pour the following sauce over it and serve immediately: put a quart of melted butter into a stewpan, place it on the fire and when nearly boiling add six ounces of anchovy butter (No. 78), and four spoonfuls of whipped cream, mix it quickly but do not let it boil; when poured over the fish sprinkle some chopped capers and gherkins over it.
Crimp the turbot by making incisions with a sharp knife, about an inch apart, in the belly part of the fish, then rub two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions and four of salt into the incisions, pour a little salad oil over it and dip it in flour, then put it on a gridiron a good distance from the fire—the belly downwards—let it remain twenty minutes, then turn it by placing another gridiron over it, and turning the fish over on to it, place it over the fire for about twenty-five minutes, or longer if required; when done place it upon a dish and have ready the following sauce: put six ounces of butter in a stewpan, with ten spoonfuls of melted butter, place it over the fire, moving the stewpan round when very hot, but not quite in oil, add a liaison (No. 119) of two yolks of eggs, a little pepper, salt, and the juice of a lemon, mix it quickly and pour over the fish; serve directly and very hot. The fish must be kept as white as possible. For the above purpose the turbot should not exceed eight pounds in weight.{101}
This dish is made from fish left from a previous dinner; pot two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions, and two of chopped mushrooms into a stewpan with two tablespoonfuls of salad oil; place it over a moderate fire five minutes, stirring it with a wooden spoon; then add three pints of brown sauce (No. 1), and reduce it one third, then add a clove of scraped garlic, a teaspoonful of Harvey sauce, one of essence of anchovy, a little sugar, a little cayenne, and two yolks of eggs, pour a little sauce on the dish you serve it on, then a layer of fish lightly seasoned with pepper and salt, then more sauce and fish again, finishing with sauce, sprinkle bread crumbs over it and place it in a moderate oven half an hour, or till it is very hot through, brown it lightly with the salamander and serve very hot. The garlic may be omitted if objected to, but it would lose the flavour from which it is named.
This fish though not so much thought of as turbot is very delicate eating, and being cheaper may be more freely used for fillets, &c., and may be recommended cooked in the following ways:—Boil a brill as you would a turbot, but the flesh being softer than that fish you put it in boiling water; if the fish weighs from four to five pounds put it into six quarts of water in which there is one pound of salt, draw the kettle to the corner of the fire and let it simmer for half an hour, try whether it is done as you would a turbot, drain it and dish it on a napkin; garnish with parsley, and serve with shrimp sauce (No. 73).
Take a very fresh fish, and an hour before cooking rub a{102} good handful of salt on it, then boil it as before, dish it without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce:—put a pint and a half of melted butter into a stewpan, then have ready prepared three tablespoonfuls of capers, and two of gherkins, with a little boiled spinach pounded in a mortar with four ounces of fresh butter, and passed through a hair sieve, and when the melted butter is nearly boiling stir it quickly into it; finish it with a little essence of anchovy, a little cayenne pepper, and a little sugar, and pour over the fish when ready to serve. The butter requires to lay upon ice until quite hard.
Boil the fish as above and proceed as for turbot à la Hollandaise; see that article.
Boil the fish and put twelve tablespoonfuls of melted butter into a stewpan, place it on the fire and when nearly boiling mix two ounces of fresh butter and three tablespoonfuls of capers with a little pepper and salt, dish on a napkin and pour the sauce over or serve in a boat.
Proceed as for Turbot à la meûnière, (No. 214,) allowing sufficient time according to the size of the fish.
Proceed as for turbot sauce homard, (No. 205.)
Broil the fish as for brill à la meûnière and dish it without a napkin; then have ready the following sauce;—blanch a pint of muscles, beard them and take out the black spots,{103} then put two chopped eschalots in a stewpan with one ounce of butter, pass it over the fire five minutes, then add half a tablespoonful of flour, mix with it the liquor from the muscles, half a pint of milk, and half a gill of cream, a saltspoonful of salt, a little white pepper, and some grated nutmeg, boil it until rather thick, pass it through a tammie, then add two pats of butter, a few drops of essence of anchovy and the muscles; pour over the fish and serve very hot.
See turbot à la crème gratiné (No. 211,) and proceed in the same manner.
Proceed as for turbot à la crème d’anchois (No. 213.)
Fillet a brill by passing a good knife from the head to the tail of the fish close to the middle bone, hold your knife in a slanting direction keeping it close to the bone (without cutting the bone) until you reach the fins, proceed in like manner until you have got off all the meat from the bones, then cut each fillet in halves, or in four pieces if they are large, egg and bread-crumb each piece, then dip them in clarified butter and again bread-crumb them; when ready fry them of a yellowish brown in salad oil, dish them upon a napkin, and have a good lot of fried parsley, which place in the middle, dishing your fillets round it, serve with a sauce Hollandaise (see Turbot à la Hollandaise, No. 206,) in which you introduce a tablespoonful of the best salad oil. To fry fish in oil you merely require to cover the bottom of your sauté-pan and let it get very hot before you put the fish in it.{104}
Fillet and fry the fish as above, dish it on a border of mashed potatoes, and place the following sauce in the centre:—peel about forty button onions, and pass them in a stewpan with two ounces of butter and a little sugar; when of a light brown colour add two tablespoonfuls of wine, set it on the fire five minutes, then add a quart of brown sauce and eight tablespoonfuls of stock, set it on the corner of the fire to boil forty minutes, skim it, then add twenty quenelles (No. 120), twenty heads of mushrooms, a teaspoonful of essence of anchovy, one of Harvey sauce, and one of mushroom catsup, with a little cayenne pepper.
Of all fish this one is perhaps the most delicious, although but recently in vogue; their appearance has been a great objection to them; considering this I have studied to discover several ways of dressing them to improve their appearance and flavour; to dress them plain you boil them in the same way as brills, allowing about the same time for the same weight, and ascertain when done by the same means; serve on a napkin; garnish the parts that are broken with double parsley, and serve anchovy sauce in a boat.
Procure a very fresh dory about five pounds in weight, then have ready half a pound of forcemeat of fish (No. 124), in a basin, with which mix a little chopped thyme and parsley, season rather high, stuff your dory with it, lay it in a fish kettle with three onions, a carrot, turnip, head of celery, a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, one tablespoonful of salt, four cloves, two glasses of port wine, two of vinegar, and four quarts of water, set it over{105} a slow fire for an hour to stew, drain it well and dish it without a napkin, have ready the following sauce:—put four yolks of eggs in a stewpan with half a pound of butter, a saltspoonful of salt, a little white pepper, and three tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar; stir it over the fire (with a wooden spoon,) till the butter is melted and thickens, then add an ounce of lobster spawn (that has been pounded with an ounce of butter and passed through a hair sieve), mix it well together, then add eighteen spoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7), stir it over the fire till it becomes red and thickish, then add a few drops of essence of anchovy, and a little cayenne pepper, with a pinch of sugar, pass it through a tammie, then add six gherkins cut in large fillets, and thirty fillets of boiled beet-root the same size as the fillets of gherkin; pour it over the fish, and garnish with craw fish, and sprigs of parsley laid between.
Flour the fish and boil or stew it as above, dish it without a napkin, then have ready a matelotte sauce (see fillets of brill en matelotte, No. 226,) to which add three dozen of oysters that have been blanched and bearded; pour the sauce over the fish and serve very hot.
Boil the fish, put a pint of milk with the water you boil it in, dish it on a napkin, garnish with some large sprigs of double parsley, have ready the following sauce: put half a pint of double cream in a stewpan, and when it is nearly boiling, add a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; shake the stewpan round with your hand till the butter is melted, then add the juice of a lemon, a saltspoonful of salt, and half ditto of white pepper; serve in a boat very hot.{106}
Boil the fish as above, and dish it up without a napkin; have ready the following sauce: put three yolks of eggs in a stewpan, with six ounces of fresh butter, three tablespoonfuls of Tarragon vinegar, a saltspoonful of salt, and a little white pepper; stir it over the fire for a few minutes until the butter melts, and it becomes thickish; then add eighteen spoonfuls of melted butter, stir it over the fire, but do not let it boil; pass it through a tammie, then add a tablespoonful of chopped tarragon and chervil mixed; place it again over the fire, keeping it stirred, and when very hot pour it over the fish, and garnish with a few sprigs of chervil. This sauce requires to be rather thick, to mask the fish.
Boil the fish as usual, and dish without a napkin; have ready the following sauce: pick and wash a pint of fresh prawns, pound them in a mortar with half a pound of fresh butter, and rub them through a sieve; then put twelve spoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with twelve of melted butter; place it over the fire, and when it boils, stir the butter and prawns into it; pour the sauce over the fish, and strew chopped lobster over.
Boil the fish as usual, and dish it up without a napkin; have ready the following sauce: peel fifty button onions, pass them in a stewpan with a little sifted sugar and butter, but keep them quite white; then add a glass of sherry, twenty spoonfuls of bechamel sauce, and a bunch of parsley; set it on the corner of the stove to simmer till the onions are quite done (if the sauce is too thick, add a few spoonfuls{107} of white stock); then throw in twenty heads of mushrooms, a dozen of blanched oysters, and a tablespoonful of essence of anchovies; take out the bunch of parsley, finish with a little cream, pour the sauce over the fish, and salamander of a light colour.
Proceed as for Turbot à la crème gratiné (No. 211).
Proceed as for Turbot à la Hollandaise (No. 206).
The Thames salmon used to be reckoned the most recherché; but since so many steam-boats have been introduced upon the surface of that noble river, and the tunnel has been built, introducing their greatest enemies, human beings, both above and below their liquid habitation, they have fled to the ocean for protection, and are now no longer discernible from their once commoner brethren. But the Severn salmon is now esteemed the best; the crimped is in the highest favour with the gourmets. It would be useless to make any observations about this fish, as it is well known to range as one of the highest order.
Put your fish in cold water (using a pound of salt to every six quarts of water), let it be well covered with water, and set it over a moderate fire; when it begins to simmer, set it on the side of the fire. If the fish weighs four pounds, let it simmer half an hour; if eight pounds, three quarters of an hour, and so on in proportion; dish it on a napkin, and serve lobster or shrimp sauce in a boat. (See those sauces, Nos. 68 and 73.){108}
Have two quarts of water boiling in a stewpan, with half a pound of salt, in which place two slices of crimped salmon (if more than two required, put more water in proportion), boil them quickly for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes; try the bone in the centre, and if it leaves easily, the fish is done; avoid leaving the fish in water after it is done, as it destroys its aroma; but if not ready, cover it over with a wet napkin, and stand it in the hot closet; dish on a napkin, and serve either lobster or shrimp sauce with it. (See Nos. 68 and 73.)
Rub two or three large slices of salmon with oil, and dip them in flour; then put them on a gridiron over a moderate fire; when one side is done turn them carefully, and when the bone will leave easily, they are done; dish them without a napkin, and pour a matelote sauce (No. 62) over them.
240. Saumon à la Mazarine.
Boil the salmon in slices, as previously; dish it without a napkin, and pour a Mazarine sauce over them (see Turbot à la Mazarine, No. 207.)
Boil the salmon as before; if in slices, dish them without a napkin, and pour the sauce over them; if a whole salmon serve it in a boat. (See Turbot à la Hollandaise, No. 206.)
Stuff the belly of the salmon with forcemeat of fish (No. 124) and braise as directed for John Dorée à l’Orléannaise (No. 228); when done dish it without a napkin, and cover{109} it with a mazarine sauce (No. 207), sprinkle truffles and gherkins cut in diamonds over it.
Truss a small salmon in the form of the letter S, and boil it as previously; dish it without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce: peel four large onions, cut them in slices, and put them into a stewpan with six tablespoonfuls of salad oil; fry them a light brown colour, then pour off the oil, and add two glasses of port wine, three cloves, one blade of mace, a sprig of thyme, a bay-leaf, one teaspoonful of salt, two of sugar, twenty spoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), and six of brown gravy (No. 135); reduce it over a sharp fire a quarter of an hour, rub it through a tammie, and place it again in a stewpan; boil it again a short time, and finish with one ounce of anchovy butter (No. 78), and two spoonfuls of Harvey sauce; then place a border of mashed potatoes round the fish, upon which dish a border of quenelles of whiting (No. 124); and upon every other quenelle stick a prawn, pour the sauce over the fish, and a mazarine sauce over the quenelles; serve very hot.
Boil a small salmon as in the last article, and dish without a napkin; have ready some small legs of lobster, bend them at the joints and stick the ends into the back of the salmon, from head to tail, make the sauce as for turbot à la poissonière (No. 212), and pour over the fish, then have ready some fillets of sole (cut in strips as fine as white-bait,) nicely bread-crumbed and fried in lard, with which garnish your fish.
Broil two slices, of salmon in oiled paper over a moderate{110} fire; when they are done peel the skin from the edge and lay them on a dish without a napkin; have ready the following sauce: put one tablespoonful of chopped onions in a stewpan with one ditto of Chili vinegar, one of common vinegar, two ditto of Harvey sauce, two ditto mushroom catsup, and twenty tablespoonfuls of melted butter; let it reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, then add two tablespoonfuls of essence of anchovy and a small quantity of sugar, pour it over the fish and serve very hot.
Take a slice of thick salmon and make an incision upon each side, cutting it to the bone, put plenty of salt and chopped onions upon it and rub it well in, then oil a sheet of white paper, lay the salmon on it, fold the paper over and crimp it at the edges to keep the steam from escaping, put it on a gridiron over a slow fire, and when done serve it in the paper with pats of butter separate; the person that serves this dish at table should open the paper and place two pats of butter on each slice; it requires to be eaten very hot.
Boil three large slices of salmon, place them upon a dish, then have ready the following sauce: put a teaspoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan, with a very small quantity of salad oil, pass it over a moderate fire three or four minutes, but keep them quite white, then cut in small dice the tender part of four dozen of oysters, put them in the stewpan with the onions, stir them over the fire till the oysters are warmed through, then add half a tablespoonful of flour, (mix all well together,) two tablespoonfuls of oyster sauce (No. 69), half a teaspoonful of salt, and two ditto of sugar, with a little cayenne pepper and essence of anchovies, place it again over the fire, keeping it stirred, and when it{111} has boiled two minutes stir in the yolks of four eggs very quickly, keep it over the fire another half minute till it begins to set, then pour it on a dish and when cold spread it upon the slices of salmon, then egg and bread-crumb over, and put in a warm oven twenty minutes, salamander of a good colour, dish them without a napkin, and pour a lobster sauce (No. 68) with oysters in it round them.
Boil two slices of salmon, dish without a napkin, and pour the sauce over them (see Turbot à la crème d’anchois, No. 213).
Should you have any salmon left from a previous dinner it is very good served in this manner (for description, see Turbot au gratin à la provençale, No. 215.)
Proceed as for Turbot (No. 211). Many of my readers will probably make some remarks and think it singular that so many different fishes are served with the same sauces, but I must here observe that each fish brings with it its own flavour; and again, it is not to be supposed that any cook would send two different fishes the same day with the same sauce, when there is such a variety to choose from.
Cut the fins off a fine fresh sole and make an incision down the back close to the bone, in which put some forcemeat of fish (No. 124), well seasoned with chopped eschalots and parsley, then butter a sauté-pan very lightly and put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots into it with two glasses of white wine, lay the sole into it and season with{112} a little pepper and salt, then cover it with some bechamel sauce (No. 7), and put it into a moderate oven for about twenty minutes or half an hour, (but try whether it is done with a skewer,) brown it lightly with the salamander, then take up the sole, dish it without a napkin, and make the sauce as follows: put six spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in the sauté-pan with six ditto of milk, let it boil four minutes, keeping it stirred, then add one dozen oysters blanched, one dozen quenelles of whiting (No. 124), one dozen mushrooms, half a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies, and four tablespoonfuls of cream, with a little cayenne pepper and sugar; pour the sauce over and round the fish, pass the salamander again over it and garnish round with fried bread cut in small triangles. The sauce may be passed though a tammie before the garniture is added if required. Fried smelts are frequently served as garniture around it.
Cut the fins off a fine fresh sole, make an incision in the back, then butter a sauté-pan and put two teaspoonfuls of chopped onions in it with half a glass of white wine, then lay in the sole, cover it with a brown sauce (No. 1), and sprinkle some brown bread-crumbs over it, with a few small pieces of butter; then place it in a moderate oven twenty minutes or half an hour (try when done as before), take it out of the sauté-pan and dish without a napkin; then put four spoonfuls of stock and two of brown sauce in the sauté-pan, boil it five minutes, keeping it stirred, then add the juice of half a lemon, a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, one of chopped parsley, one of essence of anchovies, and a little sugar and cayenne pepper; pour the sauce round the fish, place it again in the oven for a quarter of an hour, pass the salamander over it and serve very hot.{113}
Trim a fine sole and make an incision down the back clearing the meat from the bone, then melt two ounces of butter, and mix with it a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots, one of chopped mushrooms, one of chopped parsley, and a glass of sherry; put the sole in a dish and pour the butter, etc., over it, sprinkle a few bread crumbs on it and put it in the oven twenty minutes or half an hour; when done pour a little anchovy sauce (No. 72) over it, and brown it lightly with the salamander.
Plain boil a sole in salt and water and pour the sauce over it (see Turbot à la Hollandaise, No. 206).
Boil a sole as before (if the sole is very fresh it may be put in boiling water, but it is best to let it only simmer) in salt and water, and dish it without a napkin; have ready the following sauce: put in a stewpan six teaspoonfuls of chopped onions and a piece of butter, fry the onions a light brown, then add eight tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), and let it boil at the corner of the stove ten minutes, then add a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, half ditto of chopped parsley, one ditto of essence of anchovies, and the juice of a quarter of a lemon; pour it over the fish and serve. This sauce must be rather thick but not too much so.
Boil the sole as above and dish it without a napkin; then put four tablespoonfuls of melted butter, and four ditto of bechamel sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with four of broth, when it boils add two ounces of fresh butter, a teaspoonful{114} of chopped parsley, the juice of a lemon, and a little pepper and salt; pour the sauce over the fish and serve.
Boil a sole as usual, then have ready the following sauce: put two teaspoonfuls of chopped eschalots in a stewpan with a very little salad oil, fry them a few minutes, but keep them quite white, drain off the oil, and add two tablespoonfuls of white wine, ten ditto of white sauce (No. 7), four ditto of boiled milk, and let it simmer ten minutes at the corner of the fire, skim it well, then add a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, a little chopped parsley, the juice of half a lemon, and two tablespoonfuls of cream; mix the whole well together, season it a little more if required and pour it over the fish.
Lard and oil together is much better to fry in than butter, for the milk that remains in the butter is sure to burn; the only way to use butter is to clarify it, but that is very expensive, lard by itself being as good as anything, but be careful that it is clean and not burnt; cut off the fins of the sole and dip it in flour, then egg and bread-crumb it, but do not put it in the lard unless it is quite hot, which you may easily ascertain by throwing a drop of water in it; if it is hot enough it will make a hissing noise; allow the sole ten minutes to fry, or less, according to the size, dish it upon a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve shrimp sauce (No. 73) in a boat.
Observe the above receipt, to fry all kinds of fish, as eels, smelts, whitings, flounders, perch, gudgeons, &c. Four pounds of lard would be sufficient, and would do for several occasions.{115}
Make an incision in the back of a sole from the head nearly to the tail, then break the bone in three pieces, bread-crumb it and fry as before; when done, take out the pieces of bone and fill with the following: lay two ounces of butter on a plate with half a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, half ditto of chopped tarragon and chervil, two ditto of lemon juice, and a little pepper and salt; put about three parts of it into the sole and mix the remainder with two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, pour round the fish, which is dished without a napkin; put it in the oven a few minutes and serve very hot.
Cut the fins off a sole and crimp it on each side by making incisions across it; then rub half a tablespoonful of salt and chopped onions well into it, dip it in flour and broil it over a slow fire; then have ready four pats of butter mixed with the juice of a lemon and a little cayenne pepper; rub it over the sole, which is previously dished up without a napkin, turn the sole over once or twice, put it in the oven a minute and serve very hot.
Boil a sole as usual, and dish it without a napkin; have ready the following sauce: put six spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with four of white broth; let it reduce a few minutes; then add an ounce of anchovy butter, and two spoonfuls of whipped cream; mix it well, and pour over the fish.
Fillet two soles in the manner described (see Fillets of brill à la juive, No. 225), cut each fillet in halves, flour and{116} egg, and bread-crumb them; fry them of a nice colour in salad oil; when done, dish them on a border of mashed potatoes, and fill the centre with a matelote sauce (see Fillets of brill en matelote, No. 226), and serve very hot.
Fillet two soles; egg and bread-crumb, and fry as above; dish them on a thin border of mashed potatoes, pour the following sauce over them, and cover with bread-crumbs: put twelve tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1) in a stewpan, and when it boils add a tablespoonful of chopped mushrooms, one do. of Harvey sauce, and one do. of essence of anchovies; let it boil five minutes, season with a little sugar; add two yolks of eggs, put it in the oven ten minutes, pass the salamander over it, and serve very hot.
Fillet a pair of soles as before (but neither cut them or bread-crumb them), rub an ounce of butter into a sauté-pan, then lay in the fillets, the skin side downwards, and sprinkle chopped parsley, pepper, salt, and the juice of a lemon over them; then place them over a slow fire; turn them when about half done (they must be kept quite white); when done, lay the fillets on a cloth, cut them in halves slantingly, and dish them round without a napkin; then place them in a hot closet; then put ten tablespoonfuls of melted butter, and two do. of white sauce (No. 7) into the same sauté-pan, with a little more lemon-juice and chopped parsley; boil it two minutes; then add two pats of butter, a little sugar and salt, and four tablespoonfuls of milk; pour over the fillets, and serve directly.
Fillet two soles and lay them in a sauté-pan, well buttered,{117} sprinkle a little pepper, salt, and the juice of half a lemon over them; place them on the fire, and cook them quite white; when done, lay them on a cloth, cut them in halves slantingly, and dish them round; when ready to serve, pour some sauce Hollandaise over them (No. 66).
Fillet two soles, and cook them as in the last; dish them up in the same manner; place them in the hot closet; then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in the sauté-pan, with two spoonfuls of white wine; stir it over the fire a minute, then add six tablespoonfuls of melted butter, two of white sauce, and four of white broth, with a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, half do. chopped parsley, a little lemon-juice, and two spoonfuls of cream; when ready to serve, pour the sauce over the fish.
Fillet and dress the soles as for Filet de soles à l’Italienne; then put ten tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), and six of white broth in the sauté-pan; then mix half a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, half do. of chopped chervil, and half do. of chopped tarragon, with two ounces of fresh butter, a little pepper and salt, and two teaspoonfuls of tarragon vinegar; boil the sauce in the sauté-pan three minutes, keeping it stirred, then add the butter thus prepared with it; stir it over the fire another minute, and when ready to serve, pour it over the fillets.
Fillet two soles and cut them in halves lengthwise, then lay them in a basin with an onion cut in slices, a little parsley, thyme, bay-leaf, two wine-glasses of vinegar, and a little pepper and salt; let it remain thus two hours, then{118} dry them in a cloth; flour, egg, and bread-crumb them, and fry in oil; dish them round without a napkin; then put four tablespoonfuls of tomata sauce (No. 37) in a stewpan, with one of Harvey sauce, and two of good stock; boil three minutes; finish with a little sugar, and pour it in the dish, but not over the fish. This sauce requires to be rather thin.
No. 269. Filets de Soles à la Réform.
Fillet two soles, beat each fillet flat; have ready a dozen oysters, blanched and chopped, which mix with four tablespoonfuls of forcemeat of whitings (No. 124), and a little chopped eschalots; spread some on one fillet, then cover another over it, and so on till they are all done; put a little oil in a sauté-pan, with a little chopped eschalots, and a glass of white wine; lay your fillets in, season with a little pepper and salt, and put them in a moderate oven until tender; turn them over, and cut each into large diamonds, dress them round (points upwards) upon a dish, and put them in the hot closet; put ten tablespoonfuls of melted butter, and six do. of milk into the sauté-pan; place it over the fire, and when it boils pass it through a tammie; place it again on the fire, boil it a few minutes, add two pats of butter, and stir it till quite smooth; pour the sauce over the fillets, sprinkle some gherkins and ham (cut in strips half an inch long) over, and serve very hot.
No. 270. Filets de Soles aux Huîtres.
Fillet and dress two soles as for Filets de sole à la Hollandaise (No. 265), dish them round, then put a dozen and a half of oysters lightly blanched in the sauté-pan, with ten tablespoonfuls of oyster sauce (No. 69), and four do. of milk; boil five minutes, season with a little cayenne pepper and salt, if required, and pour over the fillets.{119}
Crimped cod, like crimped salmon, is preferable to the plain, and is better cut in slices and cooked, than to cook the whole fish; to boil it well you should have the water boiling (with one pound of salt to every six quarts of water); when you put in the fish, then draw it to the corner of the stove, and let it simmer twenty minutes or half an hour; when it is done, the bone in the centre will leave with facility; be careful you do not boil it too much, for it would cause the fish to eat tough and stringy, and observe in boiling cod that is not crimped, to put more salt in the water, it will make the fish eat firmer.
Boil your fish as above, dress it on a napkin, and garnish with some nice sprigs of double parsley, and serve the oyster sauce (No. 69) in a boat.
Boil two slices of cod as before, dish them without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce: put nearly a quart of Bechamel sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with a quarter of a pint of white stock; stir it over the fire, to reduce ten minutes, then add two teaspoonfuls of essence of anchovies, a little cayenne pepper and sugar; finish with a gill of whipped cream, and pour over the fish.
Boil the fish as before, and dish it without a napkin; then have ready the following sauce: put an ounce and a half of butter in a stewpan, and mix two ounces of flour with it over the fire; then add a quart of milk, with two eschalots peeled, an anchovy well washed, a little salt and{120} cayenne pepper; let it boil fifteen minutes, keeping it stirred, and pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan; then add a pint of muscles (that have been blanched and bearded), two hard boiled eggs cut in dice, and three teaspoonfuls of lemon-juice; season rather high, and when ready to serve pour over the fish.
Boil two slices of cod as before, dish them without a napkin, and pour a good Hollandaise sauce (No. 66) over them; then have ready two soles filleted, each fillet cut in halves which egg and bread-crumb, and fry (of a light brown colour) in oil; dress them round the cod-fish to garnish it, and sprinkle a few sprigs of chervil over it; this dish is very good, and looks exceedingly well if nicely done.
Put into a large stewpan four tablespoonfuls of chopped onions, twenty do. of melted butter, two of Harvey sauce, two of essence of anchovies, and one of Chili vinegar; put in two slices of cod, start them over a sharp fire, and, when boiling, place them to simmer for half an hour; then turn them, and let them simmer another quarter of an hour; dress them on a dish, without a napkin; then put a little sugar in the stewpan, and reduce the sauce till rather thick; pour it over the fish, and serve.
Procure a crimped cod-fish about ten pounds in weight, cover it over with salt on a dish, and let it remain six hours; then put it in a fish-kettle, and pour two gallons of boiling water over it; let it simmer an hour very gently; take it up, drain it well, and dish it without a napkin, garnish with twenty very white young potatoes; then{121} put half a pound of fresh butter in a stewpan; place it over the fire, and when it is melted add a saltspoonful of salt, a little white pepper, the juice of a lemon, and pour it over the fish.
Salt a crimped cod as above, then put it into a large baking dish, with four tablespoonfuls of chopped onions, and three glasses of Madeira wine (but previously fill the incisions of the fish with a forcemeat of cod’s liver, No. 126); put it in a moderate oven, and when half done, take it out; egg it over and bread-crumb, then put it in the oven again; it will require an hour and a quarter to bake; when done, dish it without a napkin, and pour a Beyrout sauce (see Saumon à la Beyrout, No. 245) over it without garniture.
Boil two slices of cod, and let it get cold; then cover them with forcemeat of cod’s liver (No. 126), egg and bread-crumb them, put them in the oven half an hour, and brown them lightly with the salamander; dish them without a napkin, and pour anchovy sauce (No. 72) round them.
See Turbot, (No. 211.)
See Turbot au gratin à la Provençale (No. 215).
Put four tablespoonfuls of chopped onions, and two do. of salad oil in a stewpan; pass them over a fire five minutes; then add twenty tablespoonfuls of melted butter, two do. of Harvey sauce, two do. of essence of anchovies, and two of{122} Chili vinegar; lay in two slices of cod, and proceed as for stewed cod à l’Ecossaise; reduce the sauce, and pour over them; garnish with quenelles of cod’s liver (No. 126), and onions sliced and boiled.
Boil the fish, dress it without a napkin, pour a sauce Hollandaise (No. 66) over, and sprinkle some chopped parsley upon it.
Choose the fish with a black skin, and be particular in soaking it well; to boil, put it in a fish-kettle with plenty of cold water, place it over the fire, and the moment it boils take it off, put the cover on the kettle and let it simmer a few minutes, but if it boils the fish would be hard and thready, when done dish it on a napkin, garnish with plain boiled parsnips and parsley, and serve egg sauce (No. 76) in a boat.
Boil a nice square piece of fish as above directed, dish it without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce: put twenty tablespoonfuls of melted butter in a stewpan, and when it boils add a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79), stir it till it becomes smooth, and pour the sauce over.
Boil a square piece of fish as above, dish it without a napkin, then melt a quarter of a pound of fresh butter in a stewpan over the fire, and when half melted add a little pepper, a little scraped garlic, the juice of half a lemon, and when very hot four hard-boiled eggs cut in slices, pour over the fish.{123}
Of all fish this is one of the most recherché when in good order, it is of a nice red colour, and the eyes look very bright.
Make a paper box the length of the fish, then oil the box and lay in the fish, season it with a little pepper, salt, chopped parsley, and lemon juice, and pour two tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) over each, then put it or them, (if more than one) in a moderate oven and bake twenty minutes or half an hour, according to the size, and when done, slightly brown them with the salamander; serve them in the paper boxes with an Italian sauce (No. 31) poured over them.
Put into a deep sauté-pan a tablespoonful of chopped eschalots, one ditto of chopped parsley, one ditto of chopped tarragon, one of chopped mushrooms, two of salad oil, and four of sherry; then lay in four nice mullets, (well cleaned), season with a little pepper and salt, cover them with a sheet of white paper, and place them in a slow oven for an hour, turn them over and dress them in a dish without a napkin; then put twelve tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), with one of essence of anchovy, and a little sugar, boil it about ten minutes and pour over the fish.
Put the mullets in boxes and dress as for Italienne, but make the sauce thus: place a quarter of a pound of fresh butter on a plate with a tablespoonful of chopped tarragon, one ditto of chopped chervil, one ditto of lemon juice, and a little pepper, salt, and sugar, mix all well together; have ten tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) boiling in a{124} stewpan, and throw the other ingredients into it, stir it over the fire till quite smooth, and pour over your mullets in the paper boxes. If too thick add a little milk.
Take four fish and fillet them by passing the knife from the back of the head to the tail, keeping close to the bone, then cut each fillet in halves, then rub a quarter of a pound of butter on the bottom of a deep sauté-pan and lay in the fillets; season with a little pepper, salt, chopped parsley, the juice of a lemon, and a glass of sherry; place them over a brisk fire five minutes, then turn them gently and place them again on the fire for five minutes, dress them round on a border of mashed potatoes, but be careful not to break them, as they are very delicate; put ten spoonfuls of melted butter in the sauté-pan, with four of milk, and a little sugar and salt; set it over the fire, boil it three minutes, keeping it stirred, and then pour over the fillets.
Take four fish, fillet and dress as above, serve an Italian sauce (No. 31) over them.
Fillet and dress the fillets as above, and sauce as for mullet à la Vénitienne (No. 288.)
Fillet and dress the fish as before, with the exception of the sherry and sauce, as for mullets à la Ravigote.
Fillet and dress the fish as in the last, and pour a sauce Mazarine, (see turbot à la Mazarine, No. 207) over them.{125}
Every person knows the delicacy of this fish, and its lightness as food, especially invalids; it is generally well received at all tables: to fry them well, dry them in a cloth, then throw them in flour, egg and bread-crumb, fry them in hot lard, observing the directions for frying soles; serve them on a napkin with shrimp sauce in a boat, and garnish with parsley.
Have the whitings skinned, with their tails turned into their mouths; butter a sauté-pan and put in the whitings, with a tablespoonful of chopped onions and four tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1) over each; sprinkle bread crumbs over them, and a little clarified butter, and put them in a moderate oven half an hour; take them out and dress them on a dish without a napkin; then put twelve tablespoonfuls more brown sauce into the sauté-pan, with a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, one ditto chopped parsley, one ditto essence of anchovy, a little pepper, salt, and sugar, boil ten minutes, pour round the fish, and pass the salamander over them. (See note to No. 252.)
Have the fish skinned and curled round, flour it, and lay it on the gridiron over a moderate fire; it will take about twenty minutes; dish it on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve plain melted butter in a boat. Season when near done.
Broil the fish as above, dish them without a napkin, have six tablespoonfuls of melted butter in a stewpan, put it to boil, then add two ounces of maître d’hôtel butter{126} (No. 79), stir it till it is melted, but do not let it boil, and pour over the fish.
Take the fillets of six small whitings which have not been skinned, dip them in flour, egg, and bread-crumb them, and fry in very hot lard; garnish with fried parsley, and serve with sauce Hollandaise (No. 66) in a boat.
Fillet six whitings as above, cut them in halves, then butter a sauté-pan, and lay in the fillets skin side downwards; season with a little pepper, salt, and lemon juice, place them over a slow fire five minutes, turn them and place them again on the fire; when done, dish them round on a dish, and pour some sauce Hollandaise (No. 66) over them.
Fillet and dress the fish as in the last, adding chopped parsley to the seasoning, and make the sauce as for Filets de soles à l’Italienne (No. 266).
Fry the whiting in very hot salad oil, instead of lard, of a very light brown colour; dish it on a napkin, garnish with fried parsley, and serve shrimp sauce in a boat.
The mackerel is a useful fish, and makes its appearance upon the tables of all classes; for whilst its delicious flavour makes it a favourite of the rich, its cheapness frequently renders it economical food for the poor. To plain boil them put them in boiling salt and water, let them simmer twenty minutes or half an hour, according to the size; dish{127} on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve fennel sauce (No. 75) in a boat.
Cut a mackerel up the back close to the bone, season it with pepper and salt, (a little cayenne if approved,) butter the skin well, and lay it on the gridiron; it will take about twenty minutes over a moderate fire to broil; when it is done have ready a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79), place the mackerel on a dish without a napkin, put half the butter in the incision at the back, and spread the rest over it; place it in the oven a few minutes and serve very hot.
Fillet your mackerel as you would whitings by passing the knife down the back bone, lay your fillets in a buttered sauté-pan, (the skin side upwards), with two tablespoonfuls of oil, two of port wine, and season with a little pepper and salt; place them over a sharp fire ten minutes, then turn them and place them over again five minutes longer, or till they are done, take them out, cut each fillet in halves, and dish them round on a dish without a napkin; then put twelve tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1) into the sauté-pan, let it boil five minutes, then add a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, half ditto of chopped parsley, a little lemon juice, and a small quantity of sugar; chop the roe of the mackerel and put in the sauce, let it simmer five minutes, pour it over the fillets, cover them lightly with bread-crumbs, brown lightly with the salamander and serve very hot. The sauce must not be too thick.
Open your mackerel at the back, season with pepper and{128} salt, butter all over, and lay quite flat on the gridiron, broil it about a quarter of an hour over a moderate fire, and place it in a dish without a napkin, then put half a pound of butter in a stewpan, place it over a sharp fire till it becomes black, (but not burnt,) throw in half a handful of picked parsley, fry it crisp, and pour it over the fish, then put four tablespoonfuls of common vinegar into the stewpan, boil it half a minute, season with pepper and salt, and pour likewise over the fish, put it in the oven five minutes and serve very hot.
Fillet your mackerel and cut each fillet in halves, butter a sauté-pan and lay them in skin-side downwards; season with a little pepper, salt, and chopped eschalots; place them on a slow fire five minutes, then turn them, and place them again on the fire ten minutes longer, but keep them quite white; dress them on a dish without a napkin in the form of a star; put ten tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1) in the sauté-pan, with half a teaspoonful of chopped tarragon and chervil, half ditto of chopped truffles, and a tablespoonful of port wine; let it boil a few minutes, pour over the fillets and serve.
This fish used to be very difficult to procure fresh in London, but the rapidity of steam conveyance by sea and land, brings it almost alive into the London markets. I must highly recommend this both for its firmness and its lightness; it is usually cooked in one of the two following ways, but it may be plain boiled and served with shrimp, maître d’hôtel, Hollandaise, or any other sauces: cut four or five incisions on each side of a Dublin Bay haddock, about an inch deep, put it in a deep dish and cover it well{129} with salt, let it remain so about twelve hours, then put it in boiling water and let it simmer thirty or forty minutes, (if the fish weighs six or seven pounds,) dish it on a napkin, garnish with parsnips plain boiled, and parsley, and serve egg sauce (No. 76) in a boat.
Fill the belly of the fish with stuffing (No. 127), sew it up with packthread, and truss it with its tail in its mouth; rub a quarter of a pound of butter over it, set it on a baking sheet, put it in a warmish oven and bake it three quarters of an hour; when done, dress it on a dish without a napkin, and pour a Beyrout sauce round it—(for sauce, see No. 64).
This is a very serviceable, light, wholesome fish, and may be obtained like soles or whitings, at any time of the year; to dress them plain put them in boiling water well salted, and let them simmer about twenty minutes, (or according to the size,) dress on a napkin and serve shrimp sauce in a boat.
Cut the fish open at the back on each side of the bone, season it with pepper and salt, dip it in flour, and lay it on a gridiron over a moderate fire, turning it very carefully; it will take about twenty minutes to cook, dress it on a dish without a napkin; then have ready a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 69), put half of it in the back of the fish, and put the fish in the oven, put the remainder of the butter in the stewpan with six tablespoonfuls of rather thin melted butter; when quite hot pour it round the fish and serve.{130}
Put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions, one ditto of Harvey sauce, one ditto of catsup, one ditto of sherry, and twenty ditto of melted butter into a middling-sized stewpan, place it over the fire and let it boil fifteen minutes, keeping it stirred, then have ready a good sized haddock, cut it in four pieces, put it into the stewpan with the sauce, place it over a slow fire for twenty minutes, or longer if necessary, when done, dress it on a dish without a napkin; reduce the sauce a little more if required, then add a little sugar and essence of anchovy, pour it over the fish and serve.
Fillet your fish the same as a whiting, dip the fillets in flour, egg, and bread-crumb, and fry in hot lard, or oil, in a sauté-pan, dress them on a napkin, garnish with fried watercress, and serve with two ounces of anchovy butter melted, but not boiled, in a boat.
Fillet your fish as above, and proceed as for fillets of whiting à la Hollandaise (see No. 300).
Though this fish is not much appreciated, I must say it is deserving of more repute than it possesses in the opinion of epicures, for when fresh and well dressed it deserves to rank as one of the first of the second-class fishes; to dress it plain it is put in boiling water, and simmered twenty or thirty minutes or more, according to the size; dress it on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve anchovy sauce in a boat.{131}
Fill the belly of the fish with stuffing (No. 127), sew it up with packthread, and truss the fish with its tail in its mouth, butter a sauté-pan, and put two tablespoonfuls of chopped eschalots and a glass of sherry into it, egg the fish with a paste brush, bread-crumb, and lay a few pieces of butter upon it; then put it in the sauté-pan, and place it in the oven half an hour, or more if required; when done, dish it without a napkin, first drawing out the packthread, then put twelve tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1) in the sauté-pan, with four ditto of broth, a quarter ditto of sugar, and a half ditto of essence of anchovy; boil it five minutes, pour it round the fish, pass the salamander over it and serve.
Skin and fillet four small gurnets (in the same manner as you would whitings), cut each fillet in halves, egg and bread-crumb, and fry them in oil in a sauté-pan; dress them on a border of mashed potatoes, and serve a sauce matelote (No. 262) in the centre.
Skin and fillet the fish as above, then butter a sauté-pan and lay the fillets in it, season with a little pepper, salt, chopped parsley, and lemon juice; place them on a slow fire five minutes, turn them and put them again on the fire till done, dress them round on a dish without a napkin, and finish the sauce as for fillets of soles à la maître d’hôtel (No. 264), and pour over the fillets.
Skin, fillet, cook, and dress the fish as before for sauce, (see fillets of soles à la Italienne, No. 266.){132}
These fish are fresh when the eyes look bright, the gills red, and the scales glossy; the delicacy of these fish prevent them being dressed in any other way than broiled or boiled, they may certainly be bread-crumbed and fried, but very few persons like them; they are best in the following way: wipe them well and cut three incisions on each side, dip them in flour, and broil them over a moderate fire; when done, sprinkle a little salt over them, dish them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve the following sauce in a boat: put eight tablespoonfuls of melted butter in a stewpan, with two ditto of French mustard, two pats of butter, and a little pepper and salt, when boiling and the pats are melted, pour the sauce into the boat and serve.
Put two quarts of water to boil (in a stewpan), with half a pound of salt; when boiling put in six or eight herrings, stand them on the corner of the fire to simmer for a quarter of an hour, take them up, dish them on a napkin, and serve shrimp, anchovy, or sauce Hollandaise in a boat; these fish require to be served the moment they are dressed, or they become heavy and indigestible.
Boil the herrings as above, and dish them without a napkin; have ready the following sauce: put six tablespoonfuls of the best cream in a stewpan, with a little pepper and salt, and when nearly boiling add two ounces of fresh butter and the juice of half a lemon; stir it quick and pour over the fish.
{133}This fish with some persons is a great favourite; it is usually crimped, cut in slices, and rolled round, but very seldom dressed whole; to boil it put in salt and water as usual when the water boils, and let it simmer twenty minutes, then take it up, dish it on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve with anchovy sauce in a boat.
Boil the skate as above, drain it well, and dish it without a napkin; put half a pound of butter in a stewpan and set it on the fire till it gets quite black, then fry half a handful of parsley (that has been well washed and picked) in it quite crisp, and pour over the fish, then put five tablespoonfuls of vinegar, with a little pepper and salt, into the same stewpan, boil it a minute, pour over the fish, put it in the oven five minutes and serve very hot.
Boil the fish as previously, dish it up without a napkin, then put twelve tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, and when it boils add a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79) to it; stir it till the butter is melted and pour over the fish.
Select these fishes very fresh, they being so very delicate they must not be kept more than one day in summer or two in winter; their appearance when fresh is very silvery, the eyes are very bright, and they smell like violets or cucumbers, but if the belly looks at all black they are not fresh, and consequently not wholesome; the most common method of dressing them is to fry them; dry them well in a cloth, and dip them in flour; then have half an ounce of butter melted in a stewpan, into which break the yolks of two eggs, with which wash the smelts over with a paste{134} brush, dip them in bread-crumbs, fry in very hot lard, dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve with shrimp sauce in a boat.
Egg and bread-crumb the fish as before, fry in salad oil (very hot), dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve without sauce.
Dry the fish in a napkin, dip them in very thick cream, and immediately afterwards in flour, so that it forms a paste round them; fry them in very white hot lard, dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve without sauce.
Put ten smelts upon a silver skewer, dry them in flour, then oil your gridiron and lay the fish upon it, broil them ten minutes over a clear fire, dress them on a dish without a napkin, and pour some butter clarified, with a little pepper, salt, and lemon-juice, over them. In France these fishes are served for second course in the following way: have four small silver skewers, (atelettes,) and run them through the eyes of the fish, egg and bread-crumb them, and fry in very hot lard five minutes; serve them on a napkin without any sauce; they take the place of a roast.
Truss the fishes by putting their tails into their mouths, season them with pepper and salt, egg and bread-crumb and fry them in very hot lard, dress them on a napkin pyramidically, garnish with fried parsley, and serve plain melted butter in a boat.{135}
Put a pint of water into a deep sauté-pan, with half a tablespoonful of salt, and a little pepper, and forty small sprigs of parsley; when nearly boiling have ready six small flounders, (cut in halves in a slanting direction), and put them into the sauté-pan, let them simmer about twelve minutes, take them up and dress them on a dish without a napkin; then add a little sugar to the liquor they were boiled in, reduce it five minutes, and pour over the fish; half broth may be used with half a pint of water instead of a pint.
Dry them on a cloth, then dip the white part of them in yolks of eggs, then in flour and bread-crumbs mixed together, fry them in hot lard, dress them on a napkin, with fried parsley in the middle; serve anchovy sauce in a boat; six small fish are enough for this dish.
Dry them, dip in flour, egg, and bread-crumb, and fry them in hot lard; dress them on a napkin, garnished with parsley, and serve shrimp sauce (No. 73) in a boat.
Dry them and dip them in flour, put them on a gridiron over a moderate fire, when done dress them on a napkin, and serve shrimp sauce in a boat.
May be dressed like soles, (au gratin,) but the usual way is to boil or fry, and serve on a napkin with anchovy sauce in a boat. It is a watery fish and seldom admitted in the kitchens of the wealthy.{136}
This very delicate little fish is cooked in the most simple manner; dry them in a couple of cloths, shake the cloths at the corner, but do not touch the fish with your hands; then have ready an equal quantity of bread-crumbs and flour on a dish, throw the fish into it, toss them lightly over with the hands, take them out immediately, put them in a wire basket, and fry them in very hot lard; one minute will cook them; turn them out on to a cloth, sprinkle a little salt over them, dish them on a napkin and serve very hot.
These Liliputian fishes never can be had at home in the perfection you get them at Greenwich or Blackwall, where they are obtained as soon as caught, and dressed by persons in constant practice.
The flesh of this fish is or ought to be absolutely white; if red, nothing can be done with it; though this fish is much in vogue in France, in England it is thought nothing of, for which reason I shall only give two receipts how to dress it; no fish requires so much cooking; to dress it plain it is merely boiled in salt and water, a pound of the fish requiring half an hour, dish on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve anchovy sauce in a boat. It is cut in slices an inch in thickness to boil.
Procure two pieces of middling-sized fish about five inches in thickness, then prepare the following marinade: put two onions, one carrot, one turnip, six eschalots, four bay-leaves (cut up very small,) six cloves, two blades of mace, and two tablespoonfuls of oil, in a stewpan, pass it over the fire ten minutes, keeping it stirred, then add four{137} wineglassfuls of vinegar, four of sherry, and three pints of broth; boil altogether twenty minutes, then lay in the fish, cover the stewpan, and put it in a slow oven for four hours; let it remain in the stock till ready to serve, dish it without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce: put twenty tablespoonfuls of thick white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan with twenty of the stock the fish was cooked in, let it reduce to two thirds, then pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, and add twenty blanched muscles, twenty olives, twenty mushrooms, two spoonfuls of essence of anchovies, half a one of sugar, and a little cayenne; when hot pour over the fish. The fish dressed this way may be served with matelote, maître d’hôtel, or Mazarine sauce.
The middling-sized ones are preferable to the very large ones; the meat is more delicate; plain boiling in salt and water is all they require, or sea water if it can be obtained; though the dressing of this fish is so very simple you very seldom meet with them boiled to perfection; often they are over done, then they have lost their succulence, and eat tough and thready; but if, on the contrary, they are under done, they are very unwholesome and unpalateable; to avoid this mistake I will here give the proper time to boil them; put a lobster weighing one pound into boiling water and let it boil a quarter of an hour; if the lobster weighs two pounds it will require half an hour, and so on in proportion;{138} this is one of the most useful shell fish employed in cooking, as may be seen by the different receipts for fish.
This is also a very delicate fish; it is boiled in the same manner as a lobster, only allowing five minutes longer to each pound, but small ones are useless; they are usually eaten cold with oil and vinegar; to send them to table, dress the meat in the back shell by mixing the soft part with a few bread-crumbs, seasoning it with a little pepper and salt, and putting it in the centre of the shell; then pick the flesh from the large claw with a fork, and filling up the two ends, separating it from the other with some red spawn, place it upon a dish, surround it with the small claws in a circle, and garnish with parsley.
Though very little in use, the flavour of this fish is very delicious in many sauces; many people are afraid to eat them, but with care there is not the slightest danger if prepared in the following manner: wash them well in several waters, and be particular in taking off all the threads that hang to the joints of the shell, put them in a stewpan with two onions (sliced), four cloves, two bay-leaves, and a handful of parsley; set them on a brisk fire and cover them over, toss them over now and then, and when they open of themselves they are done; turn them out of the stewpan, lift off the top shells and take out the fish, beard them and be particular that no small crabs remain in them (as they are supposed to be the unwholesome part), put them in a basin, strain their own liquor over them, and put them by for use. In July and August these fish may be omitted.{139}
The English green oysters are the best that are known; the latter end of August is about the time an epicure would begin to eat them; the small ones are the best for table, and the large ones for culinary purposes; to blanch them open them with care, and put them in a stewpan with their own liquor; let them set, but they must not boil; beard them, strain their own liquor over them in a basin, put them by and use where described.
This fish in France is found daily upon the tables of the first epicures, but the quality of this fish there appears much more delicate than here. But perhaps the reason of its being more in vogue there is, that other fish are more scarce; not being so much in use here, (that is, in London,) but in the country, where gentlemen have sport in catching them, they are much more thought of, and to them, perhaps, the following receipts may be the most valuable. To dress it plain it is usually baked, as follows: having well cleaned the fish stuff it with the stuffing for fish (No. 127), and sew the belly up with packthread; butter a sauté-pan, put the fish into it and place it in the oven for an hour or more, according to the size of it; when done dish it without a napkin and pour anchovy sauce round it; this fish, previous to its being baked, must be trussed with its tail in its mouth, four incisions cut on each side, and well buttered over.
The large fish are the only ones fit for this dish (which is much thought of in France). Have the fish well cleaned, and lard it in a square on one side with bacon, put it in a fish-kettle, the larded side upwards, and prepare the following{140} marinade: slice four onions, one carrot, and one turnip, and put them in a stewpan with six bay-leaves, six cloves, two blades of mace, a little thyme, basil, a bunch of parsley, half a pound of lean ham, and half a pound of butter; pass it over a slow fire twenty minutes, keeping it stirred; then add half a bottle of Madeira wine, a wineglassful of vinegar, and six quarts of broth; boil altogether an hour, then pass it through a sieve and pour the liquor into the kettle over the fish; set the fish on the fire to stew for an hour or more, according to the size, but take care the marinade does not cover the fish, moisten the larded part now and then with the stock, and put some burning charcoal on the lid of the kettle; when done glaze it lightly, dish it without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce: put a pint of the stock your fish was stewed in (having previously taken off all the fat) into a stewpan, with two glasses of Madeira wine, reduce it to half, then add two quarts of brown sauce (No. 1), keep it stirred over the fire till the sauce adheres to the back of the wooden spoon, then add the roes of four carp or mackarel (cut in large pieces, but be careful not to break them), twenty heads of very white mushrooms, twenty cockscombs, twelve large quenelles of whiting (No. 124), and finish with a tablespoonful of essence of anchovies and half a one of sugar, pour the sauce round the fish, arranging the garniture with taste, add twelve crawfish to the garniture, having previously taken off all the small claws; serve very hot.
This dish I dare say will be but seldom made in this country, on account of its complication, but I thought proper to give it on account of the high estimation in which it is held in France; I must however observe that I have omitted some of the garniture which would make it still more expensive, and if there should be any difficulty in getting what remains, the sauce is very good without.{141}
Stuff and bake the fish as before; when done, dress it without a napkin, and pour a sauce matelote (see Saumon en matelote marinière, No. 239) in the middle and round the fish, and serve very hot. Or the fish may be stewed as in the last.
Boil the fish in salt and water, in the same manner as cod-fish; drain it well, dish it without a napkin, pour a sauce Hollandaise over it. (For sauce, see Turbot à la Hollandaise, No. 206.)
Crimp a small pike, it must not weigh more than two pounds, but smaller if you can get it, and proceed exactly as for Sole à la meunière (No. 260), but allow it more time.
Boil the fish as before, and have ready caper sauce made as follows: put fifteen tablespoonfuls of melted butter in a stewpan, and when it boils add a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; when it melts, add two tablespoonfuls of liaison (No. 119); let it remain on the fire to thicken, but do not let it boil; moisten with a little milk if required, then add two tablespoonfuls of capers, and pour over the fish.
Boil the fish as usual, and dish it without a napkin; then put twelve tablespoonfuls of melted butter in a stewpan; and when it is upon the point of boiling, add a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter, and when it melts pour over and round the fish; serve very hot.{142}
Cut two onions, two turnips, one carrot, one head of celery, and one leek into slices; put them into a large stewpan with some parsley, thyme, bay-leaves, and a pint of port wine; then have your fish ready trussed, with its tail in its mouth; put it into the stewpan, with the vegetables; add three pints of broth, and set it on a slow fire to stew, with some live charcoal upon the lid; try, when done, by running the knife close in to the back bone; if the meat detaches easily, it is done; take it out, and place on a baking sheet; dry it with a cloth, then egg and bread-crumb it; put it in the oven, and salamander it a light brown; then put twenty tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with eight of milk, and reduce it five minutes; then add four gherkins, the whites of four hard-boiled eggs, and two truffles, cut in very small dice; finish with two tablespoonfuls of essence of anchovies, the juice of half a lemon, and four pats of butter; dress the fish without a napkin, and sauce over.
Fillet three small pike and dress them in the manner described in Fillets of mackerel à la Vénitienne (No. 307); dress them round on a dish without a napkin, and sauce over with the same sauce as Pike à la maître d’hôtel.
If for a dinner for twelve, fillet four small pike; egg and bread-crumb, and fry in oil; dish them round on a border of mashed potatoes (previously cutting each fillet in halves) and serve sauce matelote (No. 62) in the centre.{143}
Fillet four pike as above, cut each fillet in halves, rub some chopped eschalot into them, dip them in flour, broil them; when done, sauce as for Sole à la meunière (No. 260). Observe, if you happen to live in the country where pike is plentiful, you may dish the fillets in as many ways as soles or any other fish; but I have omitted giving them here, thinking it useless to fill a useful book with so many repetitions; we have several ways of dressing pike to be eaten cold in France, which I have also omitted, as they would be quite useless in this country.
Have your fish ready cleaned, and make four or five incisions on each side; then put two sliced onions, three sprigs of thyme and parsley, and half a pint of port wine in a stewpan, or small fish-kettle; season the fish with pepper and salt, lay it in the stewpan, add four pints of broth, and place it on a slow fire to stew for an hour (which will be sufficient for a fish of five pounds weight), or more in proportion to the size; when done, dress it on a dish, without a napkin; drain it well, and serve a matelote sauce (No. 62) over it, only use some of the stock from the fish (having previously taken off all the fat) instead of plain broth, as directed in that article.
Prepare your fish as above, and lay it in your fish-kettle, with two ounces of salt, half a bottle of port wine, two onions, two turnips, one leek, one carrot (cut in slices), three bay-leaves, six cloves, two blades of mace, and a sprig of parsley, cover the fish with white broth; stew it as before, dress it without a napkin, prepare a sauce Genoise (No. 63), and pour over it.{144}
Cook the fish as above, and when done, dress it on a dish without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce: put twenty tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, reduce it over a fire until rather thick, then add a gill of whipt cream, two tablespoonfuls of capers, and two of chopped gherkins; pour over the fish, then sprinkle two tablespoonfuls of chopped beet-root over it, and serve.
Cook the fish as above, and dress it without a napkin; then put twenty-five tablespoonfuls of melted butter into a stewpan, and when nearly boiling add a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; stir it till the butter melts, then add four tablespoonfuls of capers, and pour over. This sauce must be rather thick.
Open the fish down the back with a sharp knife from the head to the tail, cutting off half the head, so that the fish is quite flat; break the backbone in three places, but allow the roe to remain; then dip the fish in flour, and fry it in hot lard; dress it on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve plain melted butter, well seasoned, in a boat.
This fish, though not much thought of by our first-rate epicures, is, according to my opinion, superior to carp; in a matelote it is excellent.
Have your fish prepared for cooking, and put them into a small fish-kettle (with a drainer); and if two middle-sized fish, put two onions, half a carrot, one turnip, three bay-leaves, a bunch of parsley, four cloves, a blade of mace, ten{145} allspice, half a pint of port wine, and half a pint of broth in the kettle with them; place them over a moderate fire, stew them half an hour, or more if required; when done drain them well; dress without a napkin, and pour a matelote sauce (No. 62) over them.
Stew the fish exactly as above, dress them without a napkin, and pour a sauce Beyrout (No. 64) over them.
Stew the fish as before, only use bucellas instead of port wine; then peel thirty button onions, pass them in a stewpan (over a fire) with a little powdered sugar and butter till they are covered with a white glaze; then add two glasses of bucellas wine, boil it three minutes; then put twenty tablespoonfuls of white sauce, and ten of the stock from the fish in with it, and let it simmer on the corner of the fire till the onions are quite done, keeping it well skimmed; then season with a little pepper, salt, and sugar, and add twenty muscles (blanched), a little chopped parsley, and a tablespoonful of lemon-juice; take it off the fire, stir in four tablespoonfuls of liaison, and pour over the fish; serve very hot. The sauce requires to be thick enough to well cover the fish.
Stew the fish as before, dish it up without a napkin, have ready a muscle sauce (No. 70) pour it over the fish, and serve very hot.
Is very good served with anchovy or shrimp sauce in a boat.{146}
Have three middling-sized fishes ready prepared for cooking; then put two ounces of butter, two onions (in slices), one carrot (cut small), some parsley, two bay-leaves, six cloves, and two blades of mace in a stewpan; pass it five minutes over a brisk fire, then add a quart of water, two glasses of vinegar, one ounce of salt, and a little pepper; boil altogether a quarter of an hour, and pass it through a sieve into a small fish-kettle; then lay the fishes into it, and let them stew twenty or thirty minutes over a moderate fire; dress them on a dish without a napkin, and pour a sauce Hollandaise (No. 66) over them.
Prepare and cook your fish as above; then put twenty tablespoonfuls of melted butter in a stewpan, and when it is upon the point of boiling, add a quarter of a pound of Maître d’Hôtel butter (No. 79) and pour the sauce over the fish, which dress on a dish without a napkin.
Cut four small fishes in halves, having previously taken off all the scales, and proceed precisely as for Flounders en water souchet (No. 331).
Scale and well dry six perches, and make incisions here and there on each side of them; then put a quarter of a pound of butter into a sauté-pan, season your fishes with pepper and salt, put them in the sauté-pan and fry them gently, turning them carefully; when done, dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve without sauce.
In my opinion, they are much better cooked this way{147} than boiled or stewed; large fish may also be done this way, but they require more butter, and must cook very slowly.
Trout that is caught in a river or running stream is preferable to that caught in a lake or pond; although I have had very fine ones from ponds, they have invariably tasted muddy; in fact a running stream is better for all fish in this respect; but still water most affects the flavour of the trout.
Prepare the fish for cooking, and boil it in salt and water; if it weighs two pounds, allow it half an hour, and more in proportion; dress it on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve shrimp-sauce in a boat.
Stew the fish like perch, allowing more time in proportion to the size; dress them on a dish without a napkin, and sauce the same as Perche à la Maître d’Hôtel (No. 365).
Stew the fish as above, dress it on a dish without a napkin, and pour a sauce Genoise (No. 63) over it.
Proceed exactly the same as for baked pike (No. 343.)
Dry your fish with a cloth, flour it, and lay it on the gridiron; broil it nicely over a moderate fire; when done, peel off all the skin; dish it without a napkin, and pour a sauce Beyrout (No. 64) over it.{148}
Fillet a fish, and cut each fillet in halves; fry it in butter, like perch, dress it round on a dish, and pour a sauce Mazarine over them. For sauce, see Turbot à la Mazarine, No. 207, or they may be served with a matelote sauce in change.
Cut the eels in pieces about three inches long, dip them in flour, egg and bread-crumb, and fry them in very hot lard, dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve shrimp-sauce in a boat.
Cut the eels and fry as above, have ready some Tartare sauce (No. 38) upon a cold dish, lay the eels upon it and serve immediately; should the eels be large they must be three parts stewed before they are fried; dry them upon a cloth previous to bread-crumbing them.
Take the bones out of the eels by opening them from head to tail, and cut them in pieces about four inches long, throw them into some flour, then have ready upon a dish about a couple of handfuls of bread-crumbs, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a little dried thyme, and a little cayenne pepper, then egg each piece of eel and bread-crumb them with it, fry them in very hot lard, dish them on a napkin, and serve shrimp-sauce in a boat.
Cut the eels in pieces as before, and tie each piece round with packthread, then put them into a stewpan with an{149} onion, a tablespoonful of white wine, three cloves, three whole allspice, a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, and a little white broth, sufficient to cover them; place them over a moderate fire, and let them stew gently for half an hour or more, if required, (according to the size of the eel,) take them out, drain them on a napkin, dish them without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce: put a teaspoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan with four tablespoonfuls of white wine, and eight ditto of brown sauce (No. 1), let it boil gently for a quarter of an hour, keeping it stirred, then add a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies and a little sugar, and pour over your eels.
Stew the eels as above, dress them without a napkin, and pour a sauce matelote (No. 62) over them. They may also be served with a sauce à la Beyrout (No. 64).
Are fish not so often used as eels, though they are remarkably good eating; but I think they have got out of repute by being so often served underdone; they may be stewed in the same manner as eels, (only a lamprey requires double the time stewing that an eel of the same size would require), and serve with the same sauces, with matelote sauce especially; if you fry or broil them they must be three parts boiled beforehand; to try when done run a trussing needle into them, if it goes in easy they are done.
These are very favourite little shell-fish, and much used in France, but seldom served as a dish in this country (they are not good when in spawn); for a dish have two dozen of them and wash in several waters (choose them as{150} near as possible of equal sizes), then put them in a stewpan, with two onions, one carrot, one turnip, one head of celery, six bay-leaves, a bunch of parsley, six cloves, twelve peppercorns, half an ounce of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, a quarter ditto of cayenne, two glasses of vinegar, four of sherry, and half a pint of broth; place them over a very brisk fire for twenty-five minutes, stirring them occasionally, take them off the fire and let them cool in their stock, put them in a basin, cover them with the stock, but strain the vegetables away from them, and use for garnishing where directed; to make a dish dress them on butter in the form of a bush, mingling very green double parsley with them.
There are some few other sorts of fresh-water fish not very frequently used, which may be fried, boiled, or stewed, in some of the ways as described in the foregoing list.{151}
Make a pound of puff paste (No. 1132), roll it half an inch in thickness, then cut out your vol-au-vents with a fluted cutter rather larger than a five-shilling piece; have ready a baking sheet, (on which you have sprinkled some water,) and put your vol-au-vents on it, egg them over with a paste brush, and cut a top with a small plain cutter, which is done by dipping the cutter into hot water, and just marking a ring upon the top of each vol-au-vent, but do not cut it deep, then put them in a very warm oven, and pay particular attention to the baking of them, which will occupy about twenty minutes, keep the oven door shut as much as possible, take them out when done, and with the point of a knife take off the lid without breaking it, and take out the soft paste remaining inside, leaving them quite empty, they are then ready for immediate use; prepare the marrow as follows: take all the marrow from a beef marrow-bone, in as large pieces as possible, have ready on the fire a stewpan of boiling water, into which throw the marrow, and let it boil ten minutes, then take it out carefully and put it in cold water, put a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) into a stewpan, with four spoonfuls of brown gravy (No. 135) and a small piece of glaze, and reduce it till it becomes rather thick, then cut the marrow in dice about a quarter of an inch square, and two minutes before serving throw it into the sauce, with two large quenelles (No. 120) also cut in dice, whilst boiling, previously draining them upon a cloth; warm it quickly, season with a little salt{152} and sugar if required, fill the vol-au-vents, and dress them on a napkin pyramidically; serve very hot.
Make the vol-au-vents as in the previous article, put two ounces of butter into a sauté-pan, rub it over the bottom, have ready four soft roes of mackerel, then put into the sauté-pan with a little pepper, salt, chopped parsley, and a teaspoonful of lemon-juice; set them over a moderate fire five minutes, turn them, and when done cut them in small dice, but let them remain in the sauté-pan, then add eight tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), and two of light broth, a little sugar, and two or three tablespoonfuls of cream; stir it over the fire and mix it well without breaking the roes, fill your vol-au-vents, and serve very hot on a napkin; carp roes may be served in the same manner.
Make the vol-au-vents as above; boil the liver of a skate in salt and water an hour, let it get cold, put six tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with four of light stock, and reduce it till rather thick, then add a little chopped parsley, three tablespoonfuls of cream, a little white pepper, sugar, and salt, if required; cut the liver in small dice, with four quenelles (No. 120), put it in the stewpan, make it hot, but do not stir it much or you will break it, add a little lemon-juice, fill the vol-au-vents, and serve as before. These patties, although seldom served, are very excellent if well done and nicely seasoned.
Prepare the vol-au-vents as before, put eight tablespoonfuls of white sauce in a stewpan, with a little cayenne pepper, a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies, two peppercorns,{153} half a blade of mace, and six tablespoonfuls of liquor from the oysters, reduce it till very thick, have ready, blanched and bearded, two dozen oysters (No. 342), cut each oyster in four pieces, put them in the sauce, (previously taking out the peppercorns and mace,) with a little salt, sugar, and lemon-juice, make it hot over the fire, add a little cream, but do not let it boil, or the oysters would become tough and the sauce very thin: fill the vol-au-vents and serve on a napkin as before.
Prepare the vol-au-vents as usual, put eight tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), and four of light stock, in a stewpan, with a little cayenne pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies, boil it ten minutes, then cut a small hen lobster up in large dice, pound the red spawn from it with one ounce of butter, pass it through a hair sieve and mix with the sauce; put in the lobster, make it hot, fill your vol-au-vent, and serve as before.
N. B. The last four dishes may be made maigre by substituting melted butter or oyster sauce for white sauce.
Are made in the same manner as the petits vol-au-vents, but the paste must not be more than a quarter of an inch in thickness, and the bouchées must be cut with a fluted cutter not larger than half-a-crown piece, bake them in a warmer oven than the vol-au-vents, prepare the beef marrow, fill and serve the same as No. 381.
Make the bouchées as before, and prepare the mackerel roes the same as for petits vol-au-vents (No. 382).
Prepare them as usual, and proceed as for No. 383.{154}
Prepare them as before, and proceed as for vol-au-vents (No. 384).
Prepare them as before, and proceed as for vol-au-vents (No. 385).
Prepare them as usual, pick the meat of the half of a braised chicken, and cut it in very small dice (not larger than peas), cut about the same size one ounce of cooked tongue, six blanched mushrooms, and two middling-sized French truffles; mix altogether, then put twenty tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with eight of milk, reduce it to one half, then add the minced fowl, tongue, &c., season with a little lemon-juice, pepper, salt, sugar, and two spoonfuls of cream; serve them very hot on a napkin.
Prepare them as before, take about half a pound of the flesh of chicken, turkey, or any description of poultry; pound it well in a mortar, with half an ounce of lean boiled ham, then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with half an ounce of butter, pass them over the fire, stirring them with a wooden spoon, then add a little flour, mix it well with the butter and eschalots, then add the pounded meat, four spoonfuls of white sauce, and half a pint of good stock that the bones of the poultry have been previously boiled in, boil altogether a quarter of an hour, season with a little white pepper, salt, and sugar, pass it through a tammie by rubbing it with two wooden spoons, put it into another stewpan, boil it, finish with a tablespoonful{155} of liaison, fill the bouchées, and serve on a napkin very hot.
Prepare the bouchées as before, put twenty tablespoonfuls of game sauce (No. 60) in a stewpan, then cut up into small dice the flesh of a grouse, partridge, half a pheasant, or the remains of any game you might happen to have by you, put it in the stewpan with the sauce, make it hot but do not let it boil, season with a little sugar and salt, fill and serve as before.
Prepare them as before, and proceed as for the petites bouchées à la purée de volaille, (No. 392) only using the flesh of game, and game sauce, instead of the flesh of poultry and white sauce.
Make one pound of puff paste (No. 1132), roll it into a sheet a quarter of an inch in thickness, then cut twenty pieces of the size of a five-shilling piece with a plain round cutter; mix the remains of the paste together, and roll them out to the thickness of the eighth of an inch, and cut twenty more pieces from it with the same cutter, sprinkle a baking sheet with water and lay them on it a little distance apart, wash them over with a little water with a paste brush, then have ready prepared in a basin half a pound of forcemeat of veal, fowl, or game (Nos. 120, 122, 123), with which mix half an ounce of beef marrow chopped very fine, one eschalot, a little parsley also chopped fine, and the yolk of an egg; mix well together with a wooden spoon, then put a little lump of the forcemeat half the size of a walnut on each piece of paste on the baking sheet,{156} cover them over with the twenty pieces of paste you first cut, and close them well at the edges by pressing them down with the top part of a smaller cutter, egg the tops over, but be careful that the egg does not run down the sides, or it would prevent the patties from rising straight, put them in rather a hot oven and bake them about twenty minutes; dish them in pyramid on a napkin and serve; to be good they should be served directly they are taken from the oven; care should be taken not to put too much forcemeat in them, or it will upset them in baking.
Proceed as above, but instead of using forcemeat use some of the salpicon of oysters as prepared for the rissoles aux huîtres (No. 399).
Proceed as above, using some of the salpicon as prepared for the rissoles de homard (No. 400).
As before, using the salpicon of shrimps as prepared for rissoles of shrimps or prawns (No. 401).
Put half a tablespoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan, with half an ounce of butter, place it over the fire, fry the onions, but they must be kept white; then add half a teaspoonful of flour, and twelve of oyster liquor, (mix well) and eight tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), boil altogether ten minutes (or more till it becomes rather thickish), keeping it stirred the whole time, season with a little cayenne pepper, and salt, (it requires to be seasoned rather high,) then have ready blanched three dozen of oysters, cut{157} each into four pieces, dry them on a cloth, and put them into the sauce, let them boil two minutes, add a few drops of essence of anchovies, and three yolks of eggs, stir again over the fire a minute to set the eggs, then put it out on a dish and set it to get cold; make half a pound of puff paste (No. 1132), roll it ten times, (or the trimmings of paste previously made will do,) roll it out as thin as a shilling, then cut it out with a round cutter the size of the top of a small teacup, lay a teaspoonful of the preparation of oyster on each piece, wet it round with the paste brush, turn one edge over on to the other and close it well, then egg and bread-crumb them, fry in very hot lard (enough for them to swim in), when done dish them on a napkin, garnish with fried parsley and serve very hot; it will take about five minutes to fry them.
Put a teaspoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan with half an ounce of fresh butter, fry them white, then add ten or fifteen tablespoonfuls of white sauce (according to the size of the lobster), stir over the fire and let it boil five minutes, or more, until rather thick, have a fresh lobster cut up into small dice, put it into the sauce, season with cayenne pepper, salt, a little chopped parsley, juice of a lemon, and a few drops of essence of anchovies, let it boil a minute, then add two yolks of eggs, stir it over the fire another minute, to set the eggs, and pour it out on a dish to get cold; make and serve the rissoles as in the last article.
Prepare the salpicon exactly the same as the lobster in the last article, but be careful that the shrimps are not too salt; prawns are better for this purpose than shrimps; they require but very little seasoning; make, fry, and serve the rissoles as before.{158}
Put a quarter of a pound of butter in a sauté-pan, rub it over the bottom, lay in the soft roes of four mackerel, season them with a little white pepper, salt, a teaspoonful of lemon-juice, and a very little chopped parsley; place them over a moderate fire five minutes, turn them, but do not let them get the least brown; when quite done cut them into small dice without breaking, then put half a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots into a stewpan, with a few drops of salad oil; fry them quite white, then mix half a teaspoonful of flour with them, and ten tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), stir it over the fire, and boil till it becomes very thick (as the roes of mackerel are so very delicate), season with a little cayenne pepper, salt, and a little sugar if required; then put in two yolks of eggs, mix well, and add the mackerel roes, stir it very gently over the fire till the eggs become set, then put it on a dish to get cold; make, dress, and serve the rissoles as before. This delicate hors-d’œuvre requires great attention and proper seasoning.
Roast a grouse or any other bird rather underdone, or the remains of some game left from a previous dinner will do, pick the meat off the bones and cut it into very small dice; then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with a quarter of an ounce of butter, fry them rather brown, add ten tablespoonfuls of game sauce (if none, make some with the bones as directed, No. 60), and four of brown ditto (No. 1), reduce over the fire till it becomes rather thick, season with a little cayenne pepper, salt, a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, and a teaspoonful of wine; let it boil, then add the game, with a little sugar and{159} two yolks of eggs, stir it gently over the fire just to set the eggs, pour it on a dish to cool; make, dress, and serve the rissoles as before.
Cut half a roast (or boiled) fowl up into very small dice, then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with half an ounce of butter, fry them quite white, then add sixteen tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), put it over the fire to reduce till it is rather thick, put the fowl into the sauce, season with a little salt, white pepper, sugar, a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, and a little chopped parsley; let it boil a few minutes, then stir in the yolks of two eggs, let them set, and pour it on a dish to cool (a little ham or tongue may be mixed with the above, if required;) make, fry, and serve the rissoles as before.
Rissoles may also be made of turkey, pigeons, veal, lamb, sweetbread, &c., by following the above receipt, and using either one or the other of those articles instead of fowl.
Have ready a lump of fresh butter very hard and cut it into slices one inch and a half in thickness, lay them upon a table or slab in a cool place; then take a round cutter the size of half-a-crown, and with it cut twelve pieces of the butter out of the slices, beat up three or four eggs on a plate, put the pieces of butter into them, then take them out and throw them into a dish of bread-crumbs, take them out, throw them again into the eggs, and then the bread-crumbs, repeating the process three times, lay them upright upon the table, and mark a ring a little larger than a shilling on the top of each with a smaller cutter, stand them in a wire basket and fry in very hot lard, of a nice light-brown colour, and very crisp, take them out, take off the{160} lids, empty them with care, and you will save nearly all the butter from them, turn them topsy-turvey in a dry place until wanted; when ready to serve put them in the oven a short time to get hot, and fill with any of the preparations for petites bouchées. You may form the croustades in diamonds, or any shape your fancy dictates; they make very beautiful hors-d’œuvres, and very cheap, as with care you may save the butter, which when cold may be applied to any other purpose.
Prépare the croustades as above, and make a good purée of fowl (as for petites bouchées à la purée de volaille, No. 392), then peel a good sized cucumber, cut it in pieces two inches long, and divide each piece into three lengthwise, take out the seeds, and stew the pieces of cucumber till very tender, with a little sugar, onion, and broth, keeping them very white; when cold cut them in small dice, mix with the purée of fowl, fill the croustades, and serve very hot with a plover’s egg upon the top of each.
Prepare a salpicon of lobster the same as for rissoles de homard; when quite cold cut it out in pieces two inches long and three quarters of an inch wide, beat up three or four eggs on a plate, and throw each piece into them and then into a dish of bread-crumbs, take them out, roll them lightly with the hand, beat them gently with a knife to make the crumbs stick, then throw them again into the eggs and bread-crumb, smooth them again with a knife, fry in hot lard, and dress them on a napkin garnished with fried parsley; they may be made in the form of pears or any way that fancy dictates, giving them the shape previous to bread-crumbing them. Croquettes may be made{161} of any of the preparations for rissoles by following the above direction.
For these kind of hors-d’œuvres it is necessary to have twelve small silver skewers, about four inches long and the thickness of a packing-needle, with a ring or fancy design on the top, they are not very expensive but are very novel for this description of dishes; the persons eating what is served upon them taking the head of the skewer with the fingers of their left hand and picking it off with their fork. Boil three throat sweetbreads in water ten minutes, pour off the water and add one onion, one carrot, one turnip, two bay-leaves, and a pint of white broth, let them simmer about twenty minutes till firm, then take them out of the broth, lay them on a clean cloth, cut them in pieces, with a long round cutter, about the size of a shilling, and season with pepper and salt; then chop two eschalots very fine and put them in a stewpan with an ounce of butter; fry them quite white, add ten tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), and eight of light stock, reduce until rather thick, add two yolks of eggs and the juice of half a lemon, take it off the fire, but do not let it boil after the yolks of eggs are in, then dip each piece of sweetbread into the sauce with a fork, and lay them on a dish till cold, then run the skewers through the centre of each piece, putting two pieces on each skewer, have ready four eggs well beaten on a plate, dip each skewer into the eggs and then into the bread-crumbs twice over, fry in hot lard, and serve them very hot on a napkin.
Put eighteen tablespoonfuls of good oyster sauce (No. 69) into a stewpan, reduce it until rather thick, then add two{162} yolks of eggs, stir them well in, and take it off the fire; choose rather small oysters, have them ready blanched and bearded, dip them one by one into the sauce with a fork, and lay them on a dish to cool; when quite cold run the skewers through (placing five on each skewer), dip them in eggs and bread-crumbs twice over as before, fry them in hot lard, and serve very hot on a napkin.
Cut forty pieces of lobster the size round of a shilling, and one inch in thickness, then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with a very small piece of butter, fry them quite white, then add eight tablespoonfuls of oyster sauce (No. 69), reduce till rather thick, season with a little sugar, cayenne, and the juice of half a lemon, finish with the yolks of two eggs, dip the pieces of lobster into it and proceed as before; fry, dish, and serve in the same manner; the onions may be avoided if objectionable.
Fillet a sole, butter a sauté-pan, lay in the fillets, season with pepper, salt, and the juice of a lemon, place them over a slow fire and when done lay them flat on a dish, place another dish on them, upon which put a four pounds weight, when cold cut them in pieces with a cutter the size of a shilling, prepare oyster sauce as above, dip each piece in the sauce and proceed exactly as before.
Make a preparation of oysters the same as for rissoles aux huîtres, adding one more yolk of egg; when cold make thin croquettes two inches long, egg and bread-crumb them once, pass a silver skewer through each, then egg and{163} bread-crumb again, fry and serve on a napkin with fried parsley.
Make the preparation as for croquettes de homard (No. 407), and proceed exactly as in the last.
Make a preparation as for croquettes de homard, only using the fillets of soles instead of lobster, and proceed as before.
Make a preparation as for rissoles de volaille (No. 404), but adding tongue, truffles, and pistachios cut in small fillets; when cold make them into croquettes about two inches long, but do not bread-crumb them; pass a silver skewer through, then have ready some batter for frying (No. 1285), hold each skewer by the head, pour some batter over each croquette with a spoon, covering every part of them, and fry in lard, but not too hot, as they must be quite white and crisp; dress them on a napkin and serve very hot.
For Aiguilettes de Gibier à la jolie fille proceed exactly as above, only using game in the preparation instead of fowl.
In France hors-d’œuvres are made of tastefully dressed anchovy salads, olives, &c., to invigorate the appetite, which is unrequired at this almost the commencement of the dinner.{164}
Although it is against my principle to have any unnecessary ornamental work in a dinner, I am rather partial to these croustades, they being simple and very elegant. It would be quite useless my attempting to explain by receipts the manner in which they are made, as so much depends upon the taste and skill of the artist. Having invented several new removes requiring croustades of different designs, I have had them engraved, and think I may say that the whole of the designs there represented are quite original. These croustades are cut out of one or two loaves of bread; when cut in separate pieces they are joined by running a silver skewer (or attelet) through them; the body of the croustades is fried in lard, of a nice straw-colour, and the small ornaments attached are cut with cutters and fried in oil, some must be kept quite white and others allowed to get very black; they are fixed to the body of the croustade with a stiffish paste made of whites of eggs and flour; my reason for departing from the old-fashioned custom of placing them in the centre of a dish and putting them at the head, is that it facilitates the carving, and you are not so subject to get pieces of it in your plate with the sauce, besides which I think it has a more novel appearance, and makes the dish more elegant.
A fillet of beef can only be procured in this country by purchasing a rump and sirloin together, (in France it is sold as a separate joint,) but the rump and sirloin can be{165} used for other dishes, or for the servants’ meals, and in families where they kill their own meat, it is of no consequence. To cut out the fillet lay the rump and sirloin upon the table, the inside uppermost, then pass your knife along close to the chine bone, keeping the knife close to the bone until you get past the fillet, then commence cutting upwards through the fat, which trim from the fillet, except a little at the sides, then with a sharp knife take all the skin from the top of the fillet, beat it lightly, and lard it nicely lengthwise with small lardons of fat bacon, two inches in length, and the thickness of a quill; have prepared and cut in slices six onions, two carrots, two turnips, one head of celery, one leek, a handful of parsley, a few sprigs of thyme, and six bay-leaves, moisten with a teacupful of salad oil, lay your fillet on a large dish and cover with the vegetables, let it remain thus all night; to cook it run a lark spit through the length of the fillet, lay all the vegetables upon four sheets of paper, (or more, for if not sufficient paper it will burst and the vegetables fall in the dripping-pan,) lay the fillet upon them, cover and tie it up surrounded with the vegetables; baste it well when you first put it to the fire, to prevent the paper from burning, roast an hour and a half or a little longer before a good fire; when done, take it from the vegetables, glaze the larded part, brown lightly with the salamander, and it is ready to be sauced and served. It may also be roasted without the vegetables, but then an hour would suffice.
Prepare and cook the fillet as described, then cut a croustade in the form of a breast-plate (see plate), fix it at the head of the dish upon paste, then lay your fillet in the middle of a dish, make a small border of mashed potatoes round, upon which alternately place a small quenelle{166} (No. 120) and a small fillet of tongue, to match; proceed in like manner all the way round, then have ready nicely boiled twenty heads of fine asparagus, cut half of them five inches in length, and the remainder three inches, dress them inside of the croustade on the top to represent arrows, pour a jus d’eschalotte sauce (No. 16) over the fillet, glaze the quenelles and tongue, and serve very hot.
Prepare and dress the fillet as before, then cut a croustade of bread representing the wall of a citadel, form the cannons with stewed carrots, and the balls with truffles, place it on mashed potatoes at the head of the dish, lay the fillet in the centre, make a border of mashed potatoes round, rather high, close to the croustade on each side, but diminishing as you go from it; have ready twenty crawfish, place them on the potatoes, tails upwards, pour a sauce Beyrout (No. 64) round the fillet; glaze and serve.
I must here observe that as crawfish are frequently served to garnish calf’s head, I see no impropriety in using them to garnish beef.
Prepare and dress the fillet as described (No. 417), dish it up plain and serve with jus d’orange sauce (No. 17) over it.
Prepare and dress the fillet as described above, dish it up plain, pour the sauce au jus de tomate (No. 12) round it; glaze and serve very hot.
Prepare and dress the fillet as described (No. 417), place it in the centre of the dish, have ready two croustades, the{167} shape and size of scallop shells, fix one at each end of the fillet on mashed potatoes, and fill them with fresh scraped horseradish, then have ready the following sauce: make a mierpoix of two onions, two turnips, one carrot, one apple, a quarter of a pound of lean ham (cut in thin slices), half a clove of garlic, one bay-leaf, and three tablespoonfuls of salad oil; pass the whole twenty minutes over a slow fire (in a stewpan), then add four tablespoonfuls of Tarragon vinegar, boil it five minutes, add a pint and a half of brown sauce (No. 1), and a pint of consommé (No. 134); reduce it to half, skim off all the oil, then add six tablespoonfuls of very red tomate sauce, one ditto of orange marmalade, and two of currant jelly, let it boil a few minutes longer, pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, season rather high, have ready a quarter of a pound of Smyrna raisins (well soaked in water for one hour), and twelve of the best quality French plums cut in quarters lengthwise, throw them into the sauce, make it hot, pour round the beef, which glaze very nicely and serve.
Prepare and dress your fillets as directed, adding four glasses of sherry to the vegetables you roast it in; prepare two croustades the size and shape of scallop shells, dress your beef in the middle of the dish, placing a croustade (on mashed potatoes) at each end; have ready previously boiled two pounds of Strasburg bacon (which, from its dry nature requires soaking two days and boiling four hours), cut it in slices two inches long, and have an equal number of sliced of fried potatoes to match, make a border of mashed potatoes round the beef, and dress the slices of bacon and fried potatoes alternately upon it, have ready prepared the following sauce: put a tablespoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with three of Tarragon vinegar, let it reduce to half, then add a pint and a half of brown{168} sauce, two spoonfuls of tomate sauce (No. 37), a pint of consommé (No. 134), and half a tablespoonful of sugar, let it boil quickly twenty minutes, skim well, and reduce until it adheres to the back of the spoon, then have ready a lemon, peeled, sliced, blanched in boiling water, and drained on a hair sieve, which throw in the sauce, pour it round the beef, fill one of the croustades with stoned French olives, and the other with Indian pickle made hot in a little demi-glace (No. 9); serve immediately.
Prepare and dress the fillet as directed (No. 417), dress it plain on a dish and have ready prepared the following sauce: cut in thin slices two onions, half a carrot, one turnip, half a head of celery, two bay-leaves, a sprig of thyme, a bunch of parsley, three cloves, one blade of mace, and a quarter of a pound of lean ham; put them into a stewpan with two ounces of butter, stir it over a brisk fire till getting rather brown at the bottom, then add four tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, let it reduce to half, then add a quart of brown sauce (No. 1) and a pint of consommé (No. 134), stir it until boiling, then place it at the corner of the stove to simmer a quarter of an hour, skim it, then add a tablespoonful of chopped mushrooms, a little grated horseradish, and three tablespoonfuls of currant jelly; boil it quickly five minutes, and pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, add a quarter of a pound of Smyrna raisins well washed and soaked, pour the sauce over the beef, garnish with scraped horseradish and hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters lengthwise and laid near the rim of the dish.
Prepare and lard the fillet as before, then make a stiffish paste of flour and water, roll it about half an inch in thickness and fold the fillet in it, fold it again in three sheets of{169} paper, tie it up at both ends, run a lark spit through it, and just as you are going to put it down to roast open the paste, pour in three glasses of Madeira wine, close the paste well, tie it up securely, roast it two hours, take it up and remove from the paste, glaze it, brown lightly with the salamander, dish it plain, and have ready the following sauce: cut half a pound of blanched maccaroni into pieces an inch long, likewise two ounces of very red cooked tongue, six large blanched mushrooms, and four middling-sized French truffles, put twenty spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, stir it over the fire five minutes, season with half a teaspoonful of salt, a small quantity of cayenne, and a little sugar, add all the other ingredients, with half a pound of grated Parmesan, stir the whole over the fire to get hot, but do not break the pieces; moisten with a little cream, pour the sauce in the dish, lay the fillet upon it, glaze and serve.
Trim and lard a fillet as directed, cut in thin slices six onions, two carrots, three turnips, three heads of celery, and a leek; put them into a dish large enough to hold the fillet, then put a quart of vinegar into a stewpan, with a pint of broth; when it boils put in a few peppercorns, nine cloves, two blades of mace, four bay-leaves, a sprig of thyme and sweet marjoram, a small bunch of parsley, half a pound of brown sugar, and a little salt, let it boil twenty minutes and pour it over the vegetables; when it gets cold lay in the fillet of beef, covering it over with the vegetables, let it remain in this pickle six days, turning it every day; when ready to cook roast it in paste as in the previous article, brown it with the salamander, serve it in the middle of the dish, make a low border of mashed potatoes round it, have ready potatoes fried (and cut in slices in the shape{170} of cotelettes) dish them upon the border of mashed potatoes round the beef, have ready the following sauce: put a quart of poivrade sauce (No. 32) in a stewpan, when it boils add twenty French olives (stoned), twenty small pickled onions, and twenty pickled mushrooms; pour the sauce round the beef but not over the potatoes; an ounce of anchovy butter may be added to the sauce if approved of. You can also braise the fillet in a baking dish in the oven with the marinade it is pickled in.
Trim your fillet and lard it through the thick part with large pieces of cooked tongue and fat bacon, twelve pieces of each, tie it up with a piece of string, put half a pound of butter in a large stewpan, and lay in the beef with a pound of bacon cut in slices, two onions, two bayleaves, two cloves, and ten peppercorns; place it on a sharp fire, when getting a little brown and forming a glaze, put in six glasses of sherry and a pint of consommé, (No. 134), set it over a very slow fire for two hours, moving it round with a wooden spoon occasionally; have ready blanched one pound of the best small maccaroni (No. 136); put it in a stewpan, after it is well drained from the water take up the beef, skim the fat off the gravy it is cooked with, and pass it through a sieve upon the maccaroni, add six tablespoonfuls of tomata sauce, and place it over the fire; when it simmers add half a pound of grated Parmesan and half a pound of grated Gruyer cheese, move it round quickly, (it must not be too liquid, so if too much gravy from the beef reserve some of it;) season with a little cayenne pepper, salt, and sugar, put a layer of maccaroni upon your dish, then a layer of grated cheese, then the remainder of the maccaroni, egg and bread-crumb the top, sprinkle more grated cheese over, brown it with the salamander, lay the{171} fillet on the top, glaze, and serve very hot. Should any gravy remain pour it round.
Choose a rump of beef from twenty-five to thirty pounds, in weight, the meat dark and well covered with fat, bone and lard it slantwise through and through with very large lardons of fat bacon six inches long, chop up the bone, which put into a large stewpan, with five or six pounds of the trimmings of any other meat, one pound of lean ham, three onions, two turnips, one carrot, one head of celery, one leek, a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaves, eight peppercorns, and a blade of mace: put a pint of water in the stewpan, cover and stand it over a brisk fire, stirring it occasionally till the bottom is covered with glaze, then lay in the beef, fill the stewpan with water, skim when boiling, and let it simmer on the corner of the fire for six hours; to try when it is done run a trussing-needle into it, if it goes in easy it is done; have ready prepared eighteen middling-sized onions, butter a sauté-pan, put half an ounce of powdered sugar in it, cut a piece of the top and bottom of each onion, blanch them in boiling water ten minutes, drain well, stand them in the sauté-pan, cover with stock, place them over the fire, stew till tender and the stock has become a thin glaze, have ready eighteen pieces of carrots, and eighteen turnips cut in the form of small pears, which dress in the same way as the onions, lay the rump of beef on your dish, and arrange the onions and vegetables with taste around it, using for variety any green vegetables that may happen to be in season with them; for the sauce put a quart of brown sauce in a stewpan, with the glaze from the onions and vegetables, and half a pint of good stock; season with a little pepper and salt if required, reduce a quarter of an{172} hour, or till it becomes rather thick, pour the sauce over the vegetables, glaze the top of the beef, brown it lightly in the oven, or with the salamander, and serve. To carve, cut it in thin slices slantingly through the thickest end, where there is most fat; if underdone it is uneatable.
Stew the beef as directed in the last, likewise thirty-six onions, stewed in the same way as there directed; make a border of mashed potatoes round the dish, place the beef in the centre, and dress the onions round upon the potato; place a fine Brussels sprout on the top of each onion (or a little sprue grass or green peas if in season), then put a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), in a stewpan, with four spoonfuls of tomata sauce and the glaze the onions were cooked in; boil well five minutes, keeping it stirred and well skimmed, pour over the onions, glaze the beef, brown it with the salamander, and serve. You may put a very white cauliflower at each end of the dish, if you have any. In making the border of mashed potatoes on your dish, be sure and leave sufficient room for the beef, as you can (and it is the best way) dress the onions and garniture on it first, and not place the beef on till ready to serve; for the fat running from the beef it would spoil the appearance of the sauce if it remained long on the dish before serving.
Dress the beef as before, then blanch two white winter cabbages (savoys) in salt and water ten minutes; take them out, and lay them on a sieve to drain; then make a mierpoix of two onions, half a carrot, one turnip, one head of celery, one leek, a little parsley, thyme, one bay-leaf, and half a pound of lean ham, all cut up very small; put them into a stewpan with two ounces of butter, fry five{173} minutes, keeping them stirred; then squeeze the cabbage quite dry, lay it in the stewpan with the vegetables and a quart of veal stock, place it over a slow fire to stew for one hour, or till quite tender, take out the cabbage (save the stock), lay it on a cloth, turn the end of the cloth over it, squeeze it rather dry, and make a long roll of it (about the size round of half-a-crown piece), cut it in pieces about an inch in length, and dress them on the dish round the beef; a small onion dressed as before may be placed on the top of each piece with a nice Brussels sprout between; and surround the whole with small fried sausages; for sauce, skim off the fat from the broth the cabbage was stewed in; put half a pint of it in a stewpan, with a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), place it on the fire, and reduce it to one-half; add a quarter of a teaspoonful of sugar, and pour the sauce over the cabbage, glaze and salamander the beef, and serve; this remove is very good, and a similar dish is reputed to have been a great favourite of the celebrated man from whom I have named it.
Stew the beef as before, peel eight Portugal onions, boil them in a gallon of water till nearly tender, take them out and drain them; butter a convenient sized stewpan, put in the onions with two ounces of sugar, just cover them with good veal stock, and stew them until the stock is reduced to a thinnish glaze, and adheres to them; place the beef on the dish, and dress the onions round it at equal distances apart, and between each onion place a small but nice white cauliflower; for the sauce, add a quart of brown sauce, with the glaze from the onions; reduce it to half over the fire, pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, let it boil, throw in forty French olives ready stoned, pour the sauce over the vegetable, glaze the beef, salamander, and serve.{174}
Stew the beef as before, and proceed the same as for Fillet of beef à la Joan d’Arc (No. 418).
Stew the beef as before, and proceed as for Filet de bœuf à la Beyrout (No. 419).
Stew the rump as before, then peel forty young carrots, the same number of young turnips; tie up ten small bunches of green spring onions, butter a sauté-pan, place them in it with a tablespoonful of sugar (leave the stalks of the onions about an inch and a half in length), half cover them with some good stock, and let them simmer until quite tender; cook the turnips and carrots in the same manner, but separate, make a low border of mashed potatoes round the dish, leaving room for the beef in the centre; dress the carrots, onions, and turnips on the potatoes tastefully, and variegate them with peas, cauliflowers, asparagus, French beans, and stewed cucumbers (No. 1064); glaze and salamander the beef on a separate dish, place it in the middle of the vegetables, and have ready the following sauce: put a quart of brown sauce in a stewpan, with the stocks the vegetables were cooked in, reduce until it becomes thickish, pour over the vegetables, and serve.
Prepare and stew the rump of beef as before, and prepare the following sauce: put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions in a stewpan, with six do. of common vinegar, and half an ounce of glaze; let it reduce to half, then add a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), and half a pint of consommée (No. 134); let it simmer half an hour, skim, and season{175} with a little cayenne pepper, salt, sugar, a tablespoonful of chopped mushrooms, one do. of chopped gherkins, and one do. of sliced gherkins; glaze and salamander the beef, pour the sauce round, and serve.
Prepare and stew the beef as before, glaze and salamander, pour some tomata sauce (No. 37) round, and serve. If you should have part of a rump of beef left from a previous dinner you can cut it in slices a quarter of an inch thick, and warm them in a little consommée in a sauté-pan; serve with any of the foregoing sauces, but especially the two last; the best way to warm them is to glaze them well and put them in a moderate oven about twenty minutes; do not let them boil, or they would eat very hard.
The sirloin, after having been deprived of its fillet, is of no use for roasting, but is equally as good as the rump when stewed; bone it carefully and lard the thick part with fat bacon, like the rump; roll it up, and tie it well with string, to keep its shape; stew it in the same manner as the rump, trim it at each end, wipe off the greasy fat lightly from the top with a clean cloth, glaze it lightly, and put it in the oven until it has obtained a light gold colour; serve with any of the sauces or garnitures used for stewed rumps of beef.
Prepare and stew a sirloin as described, glaze and salamander it, place a low border of mashed potatoes round the dish, and at each end put a croustade of bread cut in the shape of flat vases; then have ready boiled and cut three inches in length, fifty fine heads of asparagus; dish them{176} in, crown upon the potatoes; then have a quart of very young peas, nicely boiled; put them into a stewpan with a teaspoonful of sugar, a little pepper and salt, and four pats of butter; toss them over the fire till the butter is melted; put them in the croustade at each end of the dish, place the beef in the centre, pour a sauce aux concombres (No. 103) round the beef and serve. (For the sauce aux concombres, see No. 103).
Take four ribs of beef, and saw the rib bones asunder in the middle; pass your knife under, and detach them from the flap; then take the chine bones from the fleshy part, sawing them off the ribs so as to leave but about four inches of the flat rib bones underneath; then lard the thick part through and through with fat bacon like the sirloin, fold the flap over so as to form a nice square piece, tie it with string to keep its shape, and roast three hours in vegetables, in the same manner as described for fillet of beef; when done, take off the string, glaze and salamander, place it on your dish, with a square croustade of bread, with a cannon and anchor also cut from bread upon it, at the head of the dish, and have ready the following sauce: chop very fine ten eschalots, ten fresh mushrooms, and half a pound of lean ham, put them into a stewpan with four glasses of sherry and two of Chili vinegar, add a bunch of parsley, two bay-leaves, the rind of half a lemon, and four cloves; put them into the stewpan, let all simmer ten minutes, then add fifteen spoonfuls of tomata sauce (No. 37), twenty of white sauce (No. 7), and ten do. of consommée; reduce the sauce until rather thick, but it must be transparent, season with a little cayenne pepper, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a little salt, if required; pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, boil it up, and pour round the beef.{177}
May be served plain boiled; if a good-sized tongue, allow it from three to four hours to boil; put it in cold water, take off the skin, trim off a great part of the root, put it in hot water again a short time, dress it on a dish garnished with vegetables as for stewed rump of beef à la Flamande (No. 428), or served with spinach or a Milanaise sauce (see Fillet of Beef à la Milanaise); but when used as a remove, they are mostly served as part of the garniture of another dish.
Procure a nice white loin of veal, saw off the chump, cut off the thick skin from the thick part, then cut some lardon of fat bacon and lean raw ham, a quarter of an inch square and three inches long, with which lard the thickest end on the top; skewer the flap underneath, butter the bottom of a large flat stewpan, cover with thin slices of fat bacon, and lay the veal on the top of them, the larded side uppermost; add two onions with four cloves stuck in them, one carrot, one turnip, a bunch of parsley, thyme and bay-leaves (tied together), half a pint of bucellas wine, and a quart of stock; place it over a sharp fire a quarter of an hour to boil, skim and place it in a moderate oven for two hours (according to the size), basting it every quarter of an hour with the stock; when done glaze and salamander the larded part, but put the cover of the stewpan over the other part (whilst salamandering it) as it must be kept quite white; make a low border of mashed potatoes on the dish you intend serving it on, and have ready the following garniture: you have previously boiled a Russian ox-tongue; take off the skins, and cut it in escalopes the size of five-shilling pieces; then cut up six very large French truffles, and stew two{178} cucumbers; cut in escalopes of the same size as the tongue, make them hot in separate stewpans, in a little stock, and dress them alternately on the border of mashed potatoes all round the dish; place the veal in the centre, and have ready the following sauce: put two tablespoonfuls of chopped mushrooms in a stewpan with a glass of Madeira wine, two quarts of white sauce (No. 7), and a pint of boiling milk; reduce it over the fire till it becomes rather thick; pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, season with a little sugar, salt, and the juice of half a lemon; pour a little over each piece of truffle and cucumber, and the rest in the dish; glaze the pieces of tongue carefully, and serve.
Prepare and braise the veal as before, garnish and sauce as for stewed rump of beef à la Macédoine de légumes (No. 434).
Prepare and braise the veal as before, without larding it; make a border of mashed potatoes on the dish, then have twenty good heads of celery, cut off the tops within two inches of the bottom, make a purée of celery (No. 117) with the tops, and stew the bottoms in a quart of white stock, with a quarter of an ounce of sugar, until tender; dress them upright upon the border of potatoes, place the veal in the centre, and pour the purée of celery round; serve very hot; the sauce must be rather thinner than usual.
Roast a loin of veal in vegetables in the manner as described for Fillets of Beef (No. 417), allowing it longer time according to the size; dress it on the dish with a border of mashed potatoes round, then have ready thirty pieces of{179} Strasburg bacon, cut in the shape and size of cutlets; dress them on the potatoes round the veal, pour a sauce poivrade (No. 32) into the dish, but not over the bacon; glaze the bacon, and serve. The Strasburg bacon being very dry, requires soaking at least twenty-four hours; it most be allowed to simmer until very tender; place it between two dishes, with a weight upon it, and when cold cut it into the shapes required, and make them hot in good white stock. Good streaky bacon may be used instead of the Strasburg, if it is difficult to obtain.
Procure a good leg of veal, cut off the knuckle just above the joint, then cut out the bone from the middle of the fillet; have ready two pounds of forcemeat (No. 120), cut half a pound of cooked ham and twenty mushrooms into very small dice, mix them with the forcemeat; season rather high with cayenne pepper, salt, and nutmeg, put the forcemeat in the place the bone was taken from, pull the udder of the fillet round, and skewer it up, but not too tight; tie it up with string, put it on a spit, and roast it four hours in vegetables, in the same manner as described for fillets of beef; when done take it from the paper and vegetables, cut off the string, and run three or four silver skewers through it in the place of those you have taken out; the fillet must be quite white; place it on the dish, make a border of mashed potatoes round it, upon which dress alternately a piece of tongue and a piece of bacon, each piece cut in the form of a heart, and not more than a quarter of an inch in thickness; glaze the garniture, and have ready the following sauce: put two quarts of white sauce into a stewpan, stir it over the fire until it becomes thick, then add nearly a pint of thin cream; poor the sauce in the dish, but not over the garniture, and serve immediately; the first slice must be cut off the veal previous to its going to table.{180}
Cut your fillet as before, have ready boiled an ox-tongue, trim it, cut off the root and about two inches of the tip, put it in the middle of the fillet from where you have taken the bone, and fill up the cavities round the tongue with some forcemeat (No. 120), skewer up the fillet and roast it as before; when done lay it on the dish with a border of mashed potatoes round it, upon which dress alternately a quenelle of veal and a slice of stewed cucumber (No. 1064), then put two quarts of white sauce in a stewpan, with a pint of broth, reduce it, and add nearly half a pint of cream, pour the sauce over the garniture, and sprinkle a little chopped tarragon and chervil over it; serve as soon as possible after you have poured the sauce over, which requires to be seasoned rather high.
Prepare and dress the fillet exactly as before, then peel fifty Jerusalem artichokes, and turn them in the shape of small pears; boil them nicely in salt and water, lay your fillet on a dish with a border of mashed potatoes round it, upon which dress the artichokes, the round part uppermost, between each artichoke place a fine Brussels sprout; sauce the same as the last and serve.
Prepare the fillet as before, but place a piece of boiled bacon in the centre instead of the tongue, roast it in vegetables as before, pour a sauce jardinière (No. 100) upon a dish, sprinkle a pint of young green peas plain boiled upon it, dress a cauliflower at each end and another on each side, place the fillet in the middle upon the sauce and serve.{181}
Prepare the fillet as before, then lard it through and through with pieces of fat bacon a quarter of an inch square and six inches long, skewer it up tight, put it on a spit and roast it as before, but twenty minutes before it is done take it out of the vegetables but not off the spit, and let it remain before the fire to brown; have ready prepared twenty middle-sized onions, and as many pieces of carrots turned in the form of pears, stew them as directed in stewed rump of beef à la Flamande (No. 428), place the fillet in the dish, make a border of mashed potatoes round it, upon which dress the onions and carrots, with a cauliflower at each end; have ready the following sauce: put two quarts of brown sauce in a stewpan, with half a pint of consommé and half the stock the carrots and onions were cooked in, boil it till it becomes like a thin glaze, pour over the vegetables, sprinkle about a pint of young peas nicely boiled over them if in season, and serve.
Prepare and roast the fillet exactly as the preceding, then put a pint of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, let it boil; have ready a quart of young peas nicely boiled, put them into the stewpan, with the white sauce, a little salt, and half an ounce of pounded sugar, let it boil up, then add two ounces of fresh butter, toss them together over the fire, pour them out into the dish, lay the fillet over, and serve as soon as possible.
Take the best end of a neck of veal with about seven bones in it, cut off the chine bones to give it a nice square appearance, and roast it in vegetables as the fillets, but of{182} course it will not require so long; when done, dress it on a dish with a piece of boiled bacon about three inches broad at each end, make a border of mashed potatoes round, upon which dress the bottoms of fifteen heads of stewed celery (No. 117), and sauce with a purée of celery made from the tops, as there directed; serve very hot, but glaze the veal and bacon the last thing before going to table.
Prepare a neck of veal, leaving it as long as possible, take off the skin and the chine bones, lard and braise it as for loin of veal à la Cambacères (No. 441); when done, put three tablespoonfuls of oil into a stewpan, with two of chopped eschalots, two of chopped raw mushrooms, and two of chopped parsley, pass them ten minutes over the fire, then pour off the greater part of the oil, add half a teaspoonful of flour, mix it well, and put in eighteen tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), stir it over the fire till it becomes rather thick, then add a little salt, half a teaspoonful of sugar, and the yolks of two eggs, mix all well together, and spread it over the larded part of the veal, egg and bread-crumb it, brown it lightly with the salamander, and serve a jus d’échalotte sauce (No. 16) with mushrooms in it, pour it in the dish round the veal.
Braise the veal precisely as (No. 441), prepare a Milanaise sauce (see fillet of beef à la Milanaise, No. 425) which pour into the dish and dress the veal upon it.
Dress the veal the same as for neck of veal à la purée de céleri (No. 451), then have about one hundred Brussels sprouts, nicely boiled, put them into a stewpan, with two{183} ounces of butter, a little pepper, salt, sugar, and the juice of half a good lemon, stir them gently over the fire but do not break the sprouts, pour them upon your dish, dress the veal upon them with a piece of bacon at each end, glaze them, pour half a pint of thin white sauce (No. 7) round over the Brussels sprouts and serve.
I do not consider that a breast of veal is good without the tendron (which is usually cut out and braised for entrées), yet it would be impossible to roast it with the breast, for it would not be a quarter done by the time the other was; I therefore recommend the following new method: cut out the tendron, braise it as described (No. 685), let it get cold, take the other bones out of the breast, lay some forcemeat of veal (No. 120) down the centre, upon which place the tendron, roll it up, sew it with string and your trussing-needle, oil some paper, tie the veal up in it, and roast it two hours, place a sauce Soubise (No. 47); or jardinière (No. 100) on the dish; take the veal from the paper and lay it upon the sauce, or if preferred you may serve with a plain veal sauce made thus: put ten spoonfuls of brown sauce, and the same quantity of melted butter into a stewpan, place it on the fire, let it boil ten minutes, skim it, add three tablespoonfuls of Harvey sauce, and it is ready to serve.
Dress the veal exactly as before, have ready boiled a quart of fresh young peas, put them into a stewpan, with eight spoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a small bunch of parsley, boil them ten minutes, season with a little salt if required, pour them into your dish, glaze the veal and serve it upon them.{184}
Dress the veal as before, and serve with a purée of celery (No. 117) under it.
Dress the veal as before and serve with a sauce tomate (No. 37) under it. Breasts of veal may be stewed like the necks, or roasted with vegetables, but they are best roasted as before described.
Procure a nice white calf’s head that has been well scalded, saw it in halves, taking out the tongue (whole) and the brains, make a white stock as follows: put two carrots, two turnips, two heads of celery, (cut up small), a quarter of a pound of butter, six cloves, four blades of mace, and a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaves, pass it over the fire twenty minutes in a long brasier large enough to lay the head in, then add a pint of water with which when boiled mix a quarter of a pound of flour, add a gallon of water, two lemons in slices, and a quarter of a pound of salt; let it boil up, then lay the head in, take care that it is well covered or the part exposed would become quite black, when boiling set it on the corner of the stove to simmer for two hours, or until it is done, which you can ascertain by pressing the cheek on the thickest part with your finger, if it gives easily it is done; let it remain in the broth until ready to serve, take it up, drain it on a clean cloth, break off the jaw-bone, lay it on your dish, surround it with six nice boiled potatoes cut in halves, and pour sauce Hollandaise (No. 66) over it, or sauce piquante (No. 27), or sauce tomate (No. 37), if preferred.
To serve calf’s head for a remove for a large dinner,{185} when the head is done cut off the ears, take out all the bone, and set it on a large dish, place another dish upon it and press it lightly with a seven pounds weight till it gets cold, then lay it out on the table and cut it into oval pieces two inches wide and three long, make a border of mashed potatoes, warm the pieces in the stock it was boiled in, drain them on a cloth, then dish them alternately with quarters of boiled potatoes round the dish, trim the gristly part of the ears, then cut incisions in them longways without separating the edges, turn them over and they will form a frill, place a little of the brains inside of each, and the remainder with the tongue cut in halves in the centre, upon which place the ears at each end, sauce with Hollandaise as before, but if required with other sauce the quarters of potatoes must be omitted.
Although calf’s head is seldom if ever dressed this way in England it is about the best method; the glutinous substance of the head being so relishing with this sauce, all French epicures patronise it. Take a small calf’s head, lay it upon its skull on the table, open the under part without cutting the tongue, take out the under jaw-bones carefully, fold the cheeks under, tie it round with string, boil it three hours, (as described in the last), when done lay it upon a cloth to drain, untie the string, take out the tongue, peel it, put the point of a knife in the middle of the skull bone, it will open with facility, take off the two pieces of bone that cover the brains, and leave them exposed, place the head upon a dish with one half of the tongue on each side, (each person that partakes of it should be served with tongue and brains); serve the following sauce in a boat: put two tablespoonfuls of chopped eschalots, one of chopped parsley, one of chopped tarragon and chervil, a quarter{186} ditto of salt, a little pepper, six tablespoonfuls of salad oil, and three ditto of common vinegar; mix all well together and serve; each person should stir the sauce previous to helping themselves to it, for by standing the oil will come to the top; the head requires to be very hot, but the sauce quite cold.
Procure half a calf’s head, pass your knife under the skin upon the top of the skull and saw off about two inches of the skull bone, boil it as described in the last, when done drain it on a cloth, lay it in a sauté-pan, and spread the following forcemeat over it: having previously well washed the brains, cut them in slices, put two ounces of butter in a sauté-pan, let it melt, then lay in the brains, sprinkle a little chopped parsley, pepper, salt, and the juice of half a lemon; put them over a slow fire, turn them, and when done chop them fine and put them in a basin, with four tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs, one of chopped mushrooms, a little more pepper and salt, a little grated nutmeg, and chopped lemon peel; mix altogether, with the yolks of two eggs; after it is spread wash it over with eggs, with a paste-brush, sprinkle some bread-crumbs over it, place it in the oven half an hour, salamander a light brown, place it on a dish, and have ready the following sauce: put into a stewpan four tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, one blade of mace, two cloves, one spoonful of scraped horseradish, and a glass of brandy; let it boil five minutes, add three pints of brown sauce (No. 1), and one ditto of consommé (No. 134); when it boils set it at the corner of the stove, skim it well and reduce it to two-thirds, pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, and add two dozen of pickled mushrooms, and two dozen very small gherkins; warm altogether, finish with an ounce of anchovy butter, and{187} half a teaspoonful of sugar, pour the sauce round the head and serve; you may dress the whole head, cutting it up as described (No. 459), cover each piece with the forcemeat, dress them on a border of mashed potatoes, and serve the sauce in the centre.
Dress the head, and when cold cut it in oval pieces, as described (No. 459), make a small elevated casserole of rice in the shape of an oval vase (see No. 626), which place in the centre of the dish, make the pieces hot and dish them on a border of mashed potatoes round it, placing an ear at each end; have ready the following garniture and sauce: make a mierepoix of two onions, one turnip, half a carrot, a quarter of a pound of lean ham, all cut up in slices; put them into a stewpan, with two cloves, half a blade of mace, a sprig of thyme, marjoram, winter savory, basil, a little parsley, a bay-leaf, and two ounces of butter; pass it over a fire till it becomes a little brown, then add four glasses of Madeira, two quarts of brown sauce (No. 1), half a pint of tomata sauce (No. 37), and half a pint of broth, reduce it on a quick fire twenty minutes, skim it well, pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, boil it again till it adheres to the back of the spoon, season with half a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper, and a little sugar, add twenty prepared cockscombs (No. 128), six French truffles sliced, twenty blanched mushrooms, and twenty small quenelles (No. 120); when very hot lay the garniture in the rice casserole, and pour the sauce over the pieces of calf’s head; an attelet with a crawfish, truffle, and large quenelle upon it, may be stuck at each end of the casserole of rice in a slanting direction.{188}
Dress and cut a head in pieces as before, make two croustades of bread, one in the shape of a cushion, and the other like a scallop-shell, make the pieces of head hot, and dress them in your dish on a border of rice (prepared as No. 626), put the croustade in the form of a cushion at one end of the dish, and the other elevated upon a piece of fried bread at the other end, in which put the brains, at each side of the dish dress an ear cut to form a frill, with a plover’s egg in each; have ready the following sauce: put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions into a stewpan, with six of the vinegar from Indian pickles, let it boil a few minutes, then add three pints of white sauce (No. 7), and a pint of white stock, let it boil until it adheres to the back of the spoon, pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, add twenty mild Indian pickles, the same number of small gherkins, and thirty cockscombs (No. 128), when hot pour the sauce over the head, stick three attelets prepared as in the last in the croustade resembling a cushion very tastefully, and serve.
Prepare and dish the head as in the last, boil a pound of rice (see No. 129), and dish it in a pyramid in the middle, leaving a place at the top to lay in the brains; have ready prepared the following sauce: put four onions, two apples (cut in slices), a sprig of thyme, a little parsley, a blade of mace, and six cloves into a stewpan, with two ounces of butter, fry them of a light brown, add one tablespoonful of curry powder, mix it well, then add three pints of white sauce (No. 7), and a pint of broth; boil altogether twenty minutes, pass it through a tammie, put it again into a stewpan, let it boil, season with a little salt and sugar,{189} pour over the head and serve very hot. If the currie is preferred browner, use a little brown gravy (No. 135); more currie powder may be added if required very hot.
Roast a saddle of mutton quite plain (see kitchen at home), for the sauce wash and soak well a pint of young dry French haricots, put them into a large stewpan with three quarts of water (cold), an ounce of salt, and an ounce of butter; set them over a brisk fire till they boil, then set them at the corner and let them simmer for five hours, or till tender, drain them on a sieve, cut four onions in thin slices, put them in a stewpan, with three ounces of butter, stir them over the fire till they are a light brown colour, then add half a tablespoonful of flour (mix it well), and a pint of good gravy; when it boils put in the haricots, mix them well, and season with a saltspoonful of pepper, and four ditto of salt, add the gravy from the mutton, with half an ounce of glaze, pour them on the dish, dress the saddle on the top and serve. Care must be taken not to have this sauce either too thick or too thin.
Roast the saddle quite plain, put two pounds of fresh laver in a stewpan, with two tablespoonfols of catsup, four ounces of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, a little pepper, four tablespoonfuls of brown sauce, and one ounce of glaze, make it very hot, pour in the dish, dress the saddle upon it and serve.
Roast a middling-sized saddle of mutton, and let it get cold, then cut off all the meat, leaving the bone and flaps uncut, stand it on a strong dish that will bear the oven; have ready some mashed potatoes rather stiff with which{190} build a wall round the bone and flaps, to shape it, again like the saddle, mince the meat you have cut out very fine, put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions in a middling-sized stewpan, with half an ounce of butter, fry them a very light brown, then add half a tablespoonful of flour (mix well), a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), and half a pint of stock, let it boil ten minutes, then add the mutton (mix well), season with pepper, salt, and two tablespoonfuls of catsup, make it quite hot, then add three yolks of eggs, stir well over the fire for three minutes to set the eggs, put it into the saddle, egg all over with a paste-brush, cover the top with bread-crumbs, melt a little butter, which sprinkle over the bread-crumbs, put it in a moderate oven half an hour, salamander a light brown, serve in the same dish, and pour the following sauce round; put a pint of brown sauce in a stewpan, with half a pint of broth, a spoonful of catsup, half a teaspoonful of sugar, and the smallest piece of garlick imaginable scraped on the tip of a knife, boil altogether five minutes, it is then ready. This dish may be made of the remains of a saddle of mutton left from a previous dinner, by procuring sufficient mutton for mincing, and is equally as good.
Prepare the saddle of mutton exactly as for Polonaise, only when you put in the mince, which you have made rather stiffer, have ready prepared the following purée: cut six onions in small dice, put them into a stewpan with two ounces of butter, let them simmer gently until quite tender, then add half a tablespoonful of flour (mix well), four ditto of white sauce (No. 7), and ten of milk, let it boil twenty minutes, season with a little pepper, salt, and sugar, stir in the yolks of three eggs, stir over the fire a minute to set the eggs, let it cool a little, and spread it over the mince, egg over and bread-crumb the top, put it in a moderate{191} oven half an hour, salamander a light brown, and serve with a sauce Soubise (No. 47) rather thinnish round it.
Trim a nice saddle of mutton (South Down are the best, from four to five years old), take off the skin and skewer the flaps underneath, roast it in vegetables as directed for fillet of beef (No. 417), about two hours and a half will be sufficient, take it from the vegetables, glaze and salamander nicely, place it on your dish and serve with the following sauce: put a quart of poivrade sauce (No. 32) in a stewpan, and when boiling add a teaspoonful of sugar, four of chopped gherkins, and two ounces of boiled beetroot cut in dice; sauce over and serve.
Roast the saddle in vegetables as in the last, glaze and salamander, dress on your dish with a border of mashed potatoes round, upon which dress your vegetables prepared as for stewed rump of beef à la Flamande (No. 428), pouring the same sauce over them.
This delicate joint is generally plain roasted (see Kitchen at Home); when of the first quality and properly kept it is by many compared to venison, although there is not the least resemblance, the fat of venison being so very delicate and palatable that nothing can equal it, but both are very estimable. I shall give but a few simple receipts in order to preserve the flavour of this delicate joint.
Roast the haunch quite plain, put twenty tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1) in a stewpan, with ten of consommé (No. 134), one of tomata sauce (No. 37), and an{192} ounce of glaze, boil it gently half an hour, then add four tablespoonfuls of red currant jelly, boil up, pour it on the dish, and the moment you serve lay the haunch upon it; should you dish the haunch too soon the fat would run from it and spoil the sauce; it should be carved in the same way as a haunch of venison, then you keep the gravy from running into the sauce, and can serve it separately.
Plain roast the haunch, and proceed as for saddle of mutton à la Bretonne (No. 465).
Roast a haunch, and when cold cut out all the meat from the middle, leaving the edges (or the mashed potatoes would not stand), mince the meat, shape the haunch with mashed potatoes, and proceed as for the saddle (No. 467). You can use a haunch left from a previous dinner, if not too much cut.
Procure a small haunch of mutton of about twelve pounds in weight, beat it well with a rolling-pin, lay it in an earthen pan, and cover with a marinade as prepared for fillet of beef (No. 426), let it remain a week, roast it in paste in the same manner as for the haunch of venison (see No. 540); roast it three hours, take it out of the paste, glaze and salamander of a nice brown colour, put a frill of paper to the knuckle, and dress upon your dish with the following sauce round it: pass half a pint of the marinade it was pickled in through a sieve into a stewpan, add a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), let it boil till it becomes rather thick, skim well, add one tablespoonful of red currant jelly, pass through a tammie into a clean stewpan, then add twenty blanched mushrooms, twenty small{193} pickled onions, and twenty French olives (stoned); let them warm in the sauce, which slightly flavour with a little scraped garlick sauce over.
Proceed as directed for the saddle (No. 470).
Proceed as directed for the haunch (No. 475), but of course it will not require so much time to roast (for which see Kitchen at Home).
See saddle of mutton (No. 465).
See saddle of mutton (No. 466).
Procure a nice delicate leg of mutton, beat it well with a rolling-pin, make an incision at the knuckle in which push four cloves of garlick as deep into the fleshy part of the leg as you can, roast it quite plain, and serve a thin sauce à la Brétonne (No. 465) under it, into which you have put a small piece of scraped garlick.
What! seven hours to cook a leg of mutton! exclaims John Bull; shade of the third George protect us, why ‘tis nonsense; to which I must answer you are right, it would rob it of its flavour; but still it gains another flavour which is far from being bad; and you must observe that, although there will be less nourishment it will be much easier of digestion. Well, well, methinks I hear him say, if you{194} are determined upon publishing that destructive receipt (which absurdity I am sure no one upon this soil will ever follow, or disgrace their tables with), write it in French and offend no one; but for heaven’s sake never invite me to dine with you on the day you find room for such a dish upon your table, so taking the hint I give it in my native tongue:—Désosse un assez gros gigot de mouton jusqu’à la moitié du manche; vous assaisonnerez des lardons de sel, de gros poivre, de thyme et de laurier pilés, et vous piquerez le dedans de votre gigot; ne faites pas sortir vos lardons par-dessous. Quand il est bien piqué, vous lui ferez prendre sa forme première; vous le ficellerez de manière qu’on ne s’aperçoive pas qu’on l’ait désossé; vous mettrez ensuite des bardes de lard au fond de votre braisière, quelques tranches de jambon, les os concassés, quelques tranches de mouton, quatre carottes, six oignons, trois feuilles de laurier, un peu de thyme, trois clous de girofle, un bouquet de persil et de ciboule, deux cuillerées à pot de bouillon: vous mettrez à cuire votre gigot pendant sept heures, et le ferez aller à très petit feu; vous en mettrez aussi sur le couvercle de la braisière. Au moment de servir vous l’égoutterez, vous le déficellerez, le glacerez, et le servirez avec le mouillement réduit dans lequel il aura cuit; ayant soin de bien-écumer toute la graisse que votre fond est susceptible d’avoir.
Cut off the scrags and take the chine bones from two necks of mutton, lard the lean parts with lardons of fat bacon about three inches long, roast them in vegetables as for fillet of beef (No. 417); when done, dress them on a dish, placing fillet to fillet, so as to form a saddle; fill up the crevice between them with mashed potatoes, upon which dress small pieces of cauliflower and small bunches of asparagus, or Brussels sprouts; make a border of mashed potatoes{195} round the mutton, upon which dress some onions, with pieces of carrots and turnips stewed (see stewed rump of beef à la Flamande, No. 428), place four onions at each end of the dish, and stick a fine head of asparagus in each; glaze the mutton, and pour a demi-glace (No. 9) over the vegetables.
Trim the necks as above, roast them quite plain (see Kitchen at Home), and sauce as for saddle of mutton à la Bretonne, (No. 465.)
Proceed as for haunch of mutton (No. 475), only three days in the marinade will be sufficient.
Trim a neck of mutton, lard it, and put it into a convenient sized stewpan, with two onions, one carrot, one turnip (cut in slices), six cloves, a blade of mace, and a bunch of parsley, thyme and bay-leaves; cover with white broth, and set it on the fire; when boiling, set it on the corner to simmer for two hours; take it out, and lay it on a sauté-pan, spread a purée of onions as for cotelettes de mouton à la Provençale (No. 701) over the top, egg and bread-crumb it, put it in the oven a quarter of an hour, salamander a light brown, sauce with demi-glace as for the cotelettes.
Trim two necks of mutton as before, lard and braise as in the last article; then peel some young turnips, and cut about a pint of scoops from them the size of marbles (with an iron scoop); put a teaspoonful of powdered sugar into a stewpan, place it over a sharp fire, and just as it begins to{196} brown, add two ounces of butter, and the scooped turnips; pass them ten minutes over the fire, then add a pint and a half of brown sauce (No. 1), and half a pint of consommée; let it simmer till the turnips are quite done; take them out, and put them into another stewpan, skim and reduce the sauce until it becomes rather thickish, season a little more if required and pass it through a tammie upon the turnips, dress the necks upon a dish fillet to fillet to form a saddle; glaze, pour the sauce and turnips round, have twelve pieces of turnips cut in the form of pears and stewed as (No. 1105), dress six of them, one upon the other, in pyramids at each end of the dish, and serve very hot.
Procure two breasts of mutton cut as large as possible, which put in a stewpan, and braise three hours in the same manner as described for neck of mutton Provençale (No. 485), previous to placing them in the stewpan tie them well up with string; when done take up, lay them on a dish, take all the string and bones from them, which will leave with facility, place another dish upon them, and press till quite cold with a fourteen pounds weight; about half an hour before serving trim, egg and bread-crumb, beat gently with a knife, melt a little butter in a stewpan, and with a paste-brush butter the mutton all over, throw them again into bread-crumbs, beat gently again with your knife, and put them on the gridiron over a moderate fire; when lightly browned on one side, turn them by placing another gridiron over and turning both gridirons together; when done, take them from the gridiron with a fish-slice, lay on your dish, and serve sauce piquante (No. 27) round, or you may serve them with dressed spinach (No. 1087), sauce Soubise (No. 47) or fines herbes (No. 26).{197}
Roast a saddle of lamb in vegetables, as described for fillet of beef (No. 417); when done glaze and salamander a light brown colour; put a quart of young peas boiled very green into a stewpan, quite hot, with two ounces of butter, half a tablespoonful of sugar, a little salt, and six tablespoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7); shake them round over the fire a few minutes, pour them in your dish, and dress the saddle over. A saddle will require about two hours roasting.
Roast the saddle with vegetables as before, make a purée d’asperges (No. 102), cut two large cucumbers in pieces about two inches and a half in length; cut each piece lengthwise in three, take out the cores, cut them in the shape of the bowl of a spoon, and stew them as described (No. 103), have ready some quenelles de volaille (No. 120), place a roll of mashed potatoes at each end of the dish; at the bottom dress half a circle, with the cucumber and quenelles, by laying them alternately in a slanting position, and at the top of the dish lay nine quenelles upon a roll of potatoes, formed like the bows of a boat, so that the first quenelle stands out in a point, and the others are brought gradually in to the ends; place a piece of stewed cucumber cut like a diamond between each quenelle, and dress some nice heads of sprue grass in the centre, at each end of the dish; place the saddle in the middle, and pour the purée d’asperges (quite hot) on each side.
Roast the saddle in vegetables as before, then put a quart of sauce à l’Indienne (No. 45) into a stewpan; when{198} boiling and ready to serve, add thirty very mild green Indian pickles. When hot, sauce round and serve.
Roast the saddle with vegetables as before; cut six large onions in small dice, which put into a stewpan with three tablespoonfuls of oil; stir over a slow fire till they are quite tender, then add half a tablespoonful of flour (mix well) and twelve do. of white sauce (No. 7); boil ten minutes, season with half a teaspoonful of salt, one do. of sugar, and a quarter do. of pepper; add the yolks of three eggs, stir it over the fire half a minute, lay it out on a dish, and when nearly cold spread it over the saddle a quarter of an inch in thickness; egg and bread-crumb over, put it in a sharp oven ten minutes, salamander of a light brown, and serve with sauce demi-glace (No. 9) round it.
Plain roast a saddle[6] and allow it to get cold, cut out all the meat, leaving the flaps untouched, shape round the saddle a wall of stiff mashed potatoes, cut the meat up in square thin slices, then put a quart of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan; let it boil up, put in your meat, season with lemon-juice, pepper, and salt; moisten with a little white broth, and when it is quite hot add the yolks of two eggs, mixed with four spoonfuls of cream; place it within the saddle, egg all over, sprinkle bread-crumbs on the top, and put it in a sharp oven upon the dish you intend serving it on a quarter of an hour; have ready poached eight eggs, lay them on the top, garnish round with peas, Brussels sprouts, or asparagus, nicely boiled, and pour a white demi-glace (No. 7) round; serve immediately; ham or tongue, with mushrooms cut in slices, may be added with the lamb.{199}
Like the haunch of mutton, this joint is usually plain roasted, but for a change it may be roasted with vegetables, and served with any of the sauces, as used for the saddle in the foregoing receipts. It will require nearly two hours roasting.
The fore-quarter may likewise be dressed the same ways.
Roast a fore-quarter well covered with oiled paper, and a good distance from the fire, when done it must be a light gold colour, then put a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79) in a stewpan, and when beginning to melt add half a pint of good cream; shake the stewpan round till hot, but not near boiling, and the moment you serve pour it upon the dish, and dress the fore-quarter upon it.
Roast the lamb exactly as in the last, have ready a sauce aux pointes d’asperges (No. 101), pour it hot on your dish, lay the lamb upon it, and serve. It will take about an hour roasting.
Roast a fore-quarter of lamb with vegetables (see No. 417), and when done cut out the shoulder very round, cut off all the meat from it, and mince it very fine, with half a pound of cooked ham, twenty button mushrooms, and six middling-sized French truffles; then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalot in a stewpan, with a teaspoonful of salad oil; fry them of a light yellow colour, add a quarter of a tablespoonful of flour (mix well), half a pint of stock, and a pint{200} of white sauce; let it boil, keeping it stirred, add your meat and the other ingredients, season with pepper and salt, and when boiling add the yolks of two eggs; stir them in quickly, and pour the whole into the place you cut the shoulder from; egg it over with a paste-brush, sprinkle bread-crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese over, brown it lightly with the salamander, dress upon your dish, pour a sauce bechamel à la crème (No. 56), rather thin, round and serve.
Roast the leg in vegetables as described (see No. 417); an hour and a half would be sufficient; when done, place a paper frill on the knuckle, and lay it in your dish; have ready prepared the following sauce: put the yolks of three eggs in a stewpan, with half a pound of fresh butter, the juice of half a lemon, a little pepper, salt, and two tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar; place it over a moderate fire, keeping it stirred with a wooden spoon, and when the butter has melted and begins to thicken (great care must be taken that the eggs do not curdle, which they will do if you allow it to get too hot before the butter is melted, or allow it to boil in the least), add a pint of white sauce (No. 7), and a little sugar; mix all well together, pass through a tammie into a clean stewpan, place again over the fire to get hot (but not to boil), keeping it stirred; add half a gill of cream, and if too thick a little milk, pour it over the lamb, have ready a few pistachios each cut in eight lengthwise, sprinkle over, and serve very hot.
Roast a leg of lamb quite plain, have ready boiled, very green, two quarts of young peas, put them hot into a stewpan, with three pats of butter, a tablespoonful of sugar, a little pepper, salt, and six spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7),{201} mix all well together over the fire, without breaking the peas; pour them in a dish, dress the leg over and serve.
Boil a leg of lamb quite plain, which will take from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half (add a little milk to the water you boil it in), have ready dressed sufficient spinach to cover the bottom of the dish an inch and a half in thickness, dress the lamb upon it, and serve; to dress spinach, see No. 106.
Boil a leg of lamb, dress it on your dish, and pour a sauce Palestine (No. 87) over it.
Plain roast the lamb, have ready a sauce jardinière (No. 100) pour it on the dish, and dress the leg upon it.
The shoulder may be dressed exactly as the leg.
Roast a shoulder of lamb with vegetables, and serve with sauce as for neck of veal à la Bruxellaise (No. 454).
Cut all the meat from the top of the shoulder and a little from the bottom, so as not to spoil the shape; build a wall of mashed potatoes about two inches high round it, and proceed as for saddle of mutton (No. 467).{202}
Pork is a great favourite with some persons but scarcely ever used for removes, except plain roasted stuffed with sage and onions, that I shall describe in my Kitchen at Home, but I shall here give six new ways of dressing pork for removes; it must be of the best quality, small, and, above all, in season.
Score the skin of the leg with a sharp knife, oil some paper, wrap the leg up in it, and roast about two hours and a half of a nice yellow colour; have ready the following sauce: put four tablespoonfuls of chopped onions into a stewpan, with two ounces of butter, stir over a moderate fire till the onions are nicely browned, then add three tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar (let it boil), a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), half a pint of consommé, and a little brown gravy; let it boil at the corner of the stove about twenty minutes, skim it well, reduce it till it adheres to the spoon, season with a little cayenne pepper, salt, and two tablespoonfuls of French mustard; when ready to serve add twenty small gherkins, twenty pickled mushrooms, twenty small quenelles (No. 120), pour the sauce in the dish, dress the leg upon it, put a paper frill on the knuckle and serve.
Roast the leg as before, and prepare the sauce thus: put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions into a stewpan, with four of Indian pickle vinegar, let boil a few minutes, then add twenty tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), and ten ditto of consommé, let boil twenty minutes, skim well,{203} season with a little cayenne pepper, sugar, and salt, pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, stone forty French olives, put them into the sauce, glaze the pork and pour the sauce round.
Trim a small loin of pork, cut off all the rind, wrap it in oiled paper, and roast of a nice yellow colour; have ready the following preparation: cut six large onions in small dice and put them in a stewpan, with two ounces of butter; let them stew over a slow fire till quite tender and rather brown, then add half a tablespoonful of flour (mix well), and fifteen of brown sauce (No. 1); boil twenty minutes, season with a teaspoonful of chopped sage, half ditto of sugar, and half of salt, finish with the yolks of three eggs, stir over the fire half a minute to set the eggs, and spread it over the pork half an inch in thickness, egg and bread-crumb over it, place it in the oven ten minutes, salamander a light brown, and serve the following sauce round it: put fifteen spoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1) and six of consommé in a stewpan, with two of Harvey sauce, one of catsup, and half a one of Chili vinegar, boil altogether ten minutes, and finish with a little sugar, salt, and pepper, if required.
Trim the neck, but do not take off the rind, wrap it in oiled paper and roast as previously; make a good sauce remoulade (No. 717), to which add three tablespoonfuls of chopped Indian pickle, pour the sauce in the dish and dress the pork upon it.
Put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions into a stewpan, with an ounce of butter, fry rather brown, then add half a{204} tablespoonful of flour (mix well), and twelve ditto of brown sauce, reduce it until thick, add half a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, one ditto of chopped mushrooms, and season with half a teaspoonful of sugar, a little salt, and cayenne pepper; let it cool, open part of the neck lengthwise between the skin and the flesh, put in the above preparation, tie up the neck in oiled paper and roast it, then prepare the following sauce: put two chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with a spoonful of salad oil, two tablespoonfuls of common vinegar, and a small piece of glaze; boil five minutes, then add six tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), six of consommé, and six ditto of tomata sauce (No. 37); boil altogether ten minutes, pour the sauce on your dish and serve the pork upon it.
Procure a sucking pig of from eight to nine pounds, wash the inside and wipe it well with a dry cloth, prepare the stuffing thus: boil four large onions until quite tender, chop them very fine, with six leaves of sage, a little thyme and parsley, season with a little cayenne pepper and salt, add three tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs, and mix it with three eggs, stuff the pig quite full, sew up the belly, put it on the spit, place it at a distance from a moderate fire (folded in buttered paper) for half an hour, then put it closer, allowing it two hours to roast, but ten minutes before it is done take off all the paper to allow it to become brown and crisp; serve plain gravy in the dish, and bread sauce with currants in it in a boat; before sending it to table take off the head and cut the pig in halves down the back.
Take a very delicate sucking pig and prepare the{205} following stuffing: put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions in a stewpan, with a teaspoonful of oil, pass them over a moderate fire five minutes, add half a pound of rice previously well boiled in stock, half a pound of sausage-meat, four pats of butter, a little chopped parsley, pepper, salt, and three eggs; mix all well together, stuff the pig, and roast it in oiled paper, as in the last; prepare the sauce thus: put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions in a stewpan, with one of salad oil and fry them quite white, add a wineglassful of sherry or Madeira, a pint of white sauce (No. 7), and six tablespoonfuls of milk, let it boil a quarter of an hour, skim well, add a good tablespoonful of chopped mushrooms, half ditto of chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of sugar, ditto of salt, and a little white pepper; dress the pig in the dish, pour the sauce round, and garnish with small fried sausages.
Make a croustade resembling the head of a ship, as represented in the design; procure a very white nice young turkey, truss it as for boiling, leaving as much of the skin of the neck attached to the breast as possible, have ready the following stuffing: scrape an ounce of fat bacon (with a knife), put it into a stewpan, with a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots, pass five minutes over a moderate fire, then add twenty tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), let it reduce till thick, add twenty small heads of mushrooms, six French truffles cut in slices, and twelve cockscombs; mix all well together over the fire, season with a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, half ditto of salt, and a little white pepper; finish with the yolks of two eggs, stir over the fire a minute to set the eggs, and lay it out on a dish to get cold, then detach the skin on the breast from the flesh without breaking, and force some of the stuffing under the{206} skin; put the remainder in the interior of the breast, roast it in vegetables as described for fillet of beef (No. 417), but just before it is done take away the paper and vegetables, and let it remain before the fire till of a fine gold colour. Fix the croustade at the head of the dish with a paste made of white of egg and flour, make a border of mashed potatoes round the dish, place the turkey in the centre, and have ready the following garniture: fillet three fowls, lard and braise the fillets as No. 792, form the legs into little ducklings as described (No. 1024), prepare six slices of tongue of the size and shape of the fillets, and dress them round the turkey upon the mashed potatoes to form a ship. For the sauce put two glasses of Madeira wine in a stewpan, with a tablespoonful of Chili vinegar, two minced apples, a small bunch of parsley, a spoonful of chopped mushrooms, and half an ounce of glaze; let it boil a few minutes, add ten tablespoonfuls of tomata sauce (No. 37), a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), and a pint of consommé, let it boil quickly until it adheres to the spoon, stirring it the whole time, finish with a tablespoonful of red currant jelly, pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, season with a little salt and pepper, boil it another minute, glaze the turkey, pour the sauce in the dish, glaze the pieces of tongue and serve.
Procure a good-sized turkey, very white and well covered with fat, truss it as for boiling, hold the breast over a charcoal fire till the flesh is set, then lard it with fat bacon very neatly, lay the turkey in a braising-pan breast upwards, and pour in as much good veal stock as will nearly reach the larded part, start it to boil, skim, then place it over a slow fire to simmer for three hours, keeping some live charcoal upon the cover of the braising-pan, and now and then{207} moistening the breast with a little of the stock; when done take it up, give a nice yellow colour to the bacon on the breast, put it on your dish, and have ready the following garniture: prepare six large quenelles de volaille (No. 122), truss and roast four pigeons (No. 959), lard and cook four fine veal sweetbreads (No. 671), arrange them with taste round the turkey, and have ready the following sauce: strain half the stock the turkey was dressed in through a cloth into a stewpan, let it boil, put it on the corner of the stove, skim till you get off every particle of grease, reduce it to half, add a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), and half a pint of tomata sauce (No. 37), let boil, keeping it stirred till becoming a thickish demi-glace, add two dozen cockscombs, and a teaspoonful of sugar, with a little cayenne and salt if required, pour it in the dish but not over the garniture, and serve. Attelets of cockscombs and truffles are sometimes stuck in the breast, but it is an impediment to the carving, and it looks as well without.
Although this dish has been degusted by our great great grandfathers, and has been for upwards of a century one of the strongest pillars of the art, I shall here describe it, as an old proverb justly reminds me that a good thing can never get old. Truss the turkey as for boiling, and to modernize it, lard neatly the right breast, roast thirty good chesnuts which mix in a basin with one pound of sausage-meat highly seasoned, stuff the breast of the turkey with it, and braise as in the last article, when done place it upon your dish, and have ready the following ragout: cut two pounds of lean bacon in long square pieces about the size of walnuts, blanch them ten minutes in boiling water, put two ounces of butter in a middling-sized stewpan, with the bacon, fry till becoming rather yellowish, then add a tablespoonful{208} of flour, mix well, add by degrees three pints of good white stock, with a quart of white sauce, stir over the fire till boiling, then put in forty button onions, twenty fine heads of mushrooms, a bunch of parsley, one bay-leaf, and two cloves; boil altogether, and when the onions are done take them with the mushrooms and bacon out of the sauce with a colander spoon, put them into a clean stewpan, with thirty chestnuts roasted white, and eight sausages broiled, each one cut in three, reduce the sauce, keeping it stirred till it becomes the thickness of brown sauce, previously having simmered, and skimmed off all the grease, pass the sauce through a tammie upon the other ingredients, make all hot together, finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs, and pour over and round the turkey (except over the breast), which serve very hot. The old style used to be brown, in that case substitute brown sauce for white and omit the liaison.
Procure a small nice turkey, truss it as for boiling, and roast it in vegetables as usual, keeping it quite white, place it upon your dish with a border of mashed potatoes round, upon which dress twenty-five quenelles (No. 120), and twelve slices of tongue (cut in the same shape as the quenelles), have ready boiled very green some French beans cut in diamond shapes, which sprinkle over the breast of the turkey, and sauce over with a purée de concombres (No. 105).
Procure a nice white poularde, cut it open down the back, and bone it without breaking the skin, make two pounds of forcemeat (No. 120), with which mix six large French truffles cut in slices, spread the forcemeat half an{209} inch in thickness upon the inside of the poularde, then have ready boiled and nicely trimmed a small ox tongue, cover it with the forcemeat, fold a slice of fat bacon round, and put it in the middle of the poularde, which roll up and sew from end to end, fold the poularde in slices of fat bacon, and tie it up in a cloth, have ready prepared some vegetables of all kinds cut in slices, put them in a convenient-sized stewpan, lay the poularde upon them, the breast downwards, but first moisten the vegetables with a little salad oil, add half a pint of Madeira wine, and sufficient white broth to cover the poularde, set on a sharp fire to boil, skim, and let it simmer for three hours, prepare the following garniture: braise two spring chickens (trussed as for boiling) three quarters of an hour in the braise with the poularde, have ready prepared a croustade as represented in the design, upon which place a larded sweetbread nicely cooked and glazed, place a fine cockscomb and a large truffle upon a silver attelet, and run it through the sweetbread, sticking it upright in the croustade, then take the poularde out of the cloth, take off the bacon, pull out the string it was sewed up with, dry it with a cloth, and place it upon your dish with the garniture arranged tastefully around it; have ready the following sauce: chop half a pottle of fresh mushrooms very fine, put them into a stewpan, with one ounce of butter and the juice of half a lemon, boil over a sharp fire five minutes, add two quarts of white sauce (No. 7), with one of the braise, let boil, keeping it stirred, until it adheres to the back of the spoon, rub it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, adding a few spoonfuls of white broth if too thick, season with a teaspoonful of sugar and a little salt, cut a few very black truffles in slices, and chop a couple very fine, place them on a plate in the hot closet ten minutes; put your sauce again on the fire, and when boiling add a gill of whipped cream,{210} pour the sauce over the poularde and chickens, lay the slices of truffles here and there upon them, and sprinkle the chopped truffles lightly over, the blackness of the truffles contrasting with the whiteness of the sauce has a pleasing effect; serve directly you have poured the sauce and sprinkled the truffles over. The bones being taken out of the poularde they must be carved crosswise, thus carving through tongue and all.
Make a croustade representing a diadem, stick three silver attelets upon it, on which you have stuck a crawfish, a large truffle, and a large quenelle, roast two poulardes quite white in vegetables, and have an ox tongue nicely boiled and trimmed, place them on the dish with their tails to the croustade and the tongue between; upon the root of the tongue and at the end of each poularde place a nice larded sweetbread well cooked and glazed (or a fine head of cauliflower nicely boiled), make a border of mashed potatoes round, upon which dress alternately truffles and fine cockscombs, previously dressed (No. 128); have ready the following sauce: peel four middling-sized cucumbers, mince and put them into a stewpan with an ounce of butter, a quarter of a pound of lean ham, two chopped eschalots, and a little powdered sugar, pass the whole over a slow fire, and stew them gently half an hour, or till quite tender, then mix in half an ounce of flour, add two quarts of white sauce (No. 7), which moisten with a pint of white broth, let boil till it adheres to the spoon, stirring the whole time, rub through a tammie and put it into a clean stewpan, place over the fire, and when boiling add a gill of cream and two pats of butter; season with the juice of a lemon, a little salt and sugar if required; pour the sauce over the poulardes and cockscombs, glaze the tongue,{211} truffles, and sweetbreads and serve immediately; do not pour the sauce over until quite ready to serve.
Make a croustade as represented in the plate (fig. 5), roast two poulardes in vegetables as in the last; place the croustade in the middle of the dish, and upon each gradation of it stick an attelet, upon which you have placed two plover’s eggs warmed in stock; place the poulardes on the dish breast to breast, and at the tail of each lay three larded lambs’ sweetbreads (No. 671), make a border of mashed potatoes round, upon which dress slices of cooked ham warmed in stock, and cut in the shape of fillets of fowls; have ready prepared the following sauce: cut into thin slices a little carrot, turnip, onion, and celery, put them into a stewpan, with an ounce of butter, three cloves, half a blade of mace, a bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme and parsley, pass them over a brisk fire until lightly browned, add four tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, and one ditto of common vinegar, let boil, add two quarts of brown sauce (No. 1), and one of consommé, boil it twenty minutes, keeping it stirred, pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, add half a pint of tomata sauce (No. 37), and two tablespoonfuls of red currant jelly; boil altogether till it adheres to the spoon, season with a little salt and pepper if required, sauce over the poulardes; glaze the pieces of ham and serve immediately.
Roast the poulardes in vegetables as before, and dress them with croustade, garniture, and sauce as described in fillet of beef à la Jeanne d’Arc (No. 418).{212}
Bone two nice poulardes as for poularde à l’ambassadrice (No. 514), lay them on a cloth, have ready prepared four pounds of forcemeat (No. 120), spread some half an inch in thickness over the inside of the poulardes; have ready boiled a Russian tongue, which cut in halves lengthwise, trim each half, lay one upon the middle of each poularde, cut twelve pieces of fat bacon four inches in length and the thickness of your finger, lay three pieces upon each side of the tongue at equal distances apart, and between each piece lay rows of small very green gherkins, season with a little salt and pepper, cover with a little more of the forcemeat, roll and sew up the poulardes, tie them in cloths and braise two hours, as directed for poulardes à l’ambassadrice; when done take them out of the cloths, pull out the packthread you sewed them up with, dress them on your dish in a slanting direction, make a border of mashed potatoes round, have ready twenty small croustades de beurre à la purée de volaille (No. 405), which dress upon the mashed potatoes at equal distances apart, and upon the top of each place a plover’s egg (from which you have peeled off all the shell) warmed in broth, between each croustade lay small bunches of asparagus (previously boiled), cut an inch and a half in length, and six or eight in a bunch; have ready the following sauce: put three quarts of white sauce (No. 7), and one of white stock in a stewpan, the sauce strongly flavoured with mushrooms, place it over the fire, keep stirring, reduce to two-thirds, add a gill of whipped cream, season with a little salt and sugar if required; pour the sauce over the poulardes, and upon the breast of each sprinkle a few heads of sprue grass nicely boiled and cut very small; in carving they must be cut across, it will resemble marble.{213}
Roast two poulardes in vegetables as usual; have ready boiled two ox tongues, trim them, nicely cutting off part of the tip; when the poulardes are done dress them up on your dish tail to tail, dress the two tongues crosswise, that is, the tips of the tongues touching the tails of the poulardes, have a very fine larded sweetbread nicely cooked and glazed, which place in the centre (this way of dishing them is very simple but very elegant); have ready the following ragout: put twenty dressed cockscombs, twenty heads of mushrooms, four truffles cut in slices, twelve pieces of sweetbread the size of half-crowns (well blanched), and twenty small quenelles (No. 120), in a stewpan, in another stewpan put two glasses of sherry, half an ounce of glaze, a little cayenne pepper, and a bay-leaf; reduce to half over a good fire, then add three quarts of espagnole or brown sauce (No. 1), and twenty spoonfuls of consommé (No. 134), boil and skim, reduce, keeping it stirred till it becomes a good demi-glace and adheres to the back of the spoon, pass it through a tammie into the stewpan containing the garniture, add a little powdered sugar, make all hot together, pour over and round the poulardes, glaze the tongues and serve.
Roast two large poulardes in vegetables, and let them get cold, then take all the meat from the breast, but be careful to leave a rim half an inch in thickness, cut up the flesh in small dice, put it into a stewpan with fifteen spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), two truffles cut in slices, and twelve pieces of stewed cucumber (No. 103); season with a little sugar, salt, and a very little grated nutmeg; stir all very gently over the fire (being careful not to break the{214} pieces of cucumber), when it boils add the yolks of two eggs mixed with two spoonfuls of cream, stir them in quickly; have ready warmed in stock the carcasses of the poulardes, place the mince in the breasts, egg over, and bread-crumb round the rims, place them in the oven twenty minutes to set, then dress them breast to breast on your dish; poach twelve plovers’ eggs very nicely, lay six upon each poularde, that is, three upon each side of the breast to form a diamond, then place a small larded lamb’s sweetbread upon the top between the two poulardes and in the centre of the eggs, place a fine cauliflower on each side, and sauce over with a sauce béchamel, or maître d’hôtel (No. 43); glaze the sweetbread and serve.
Roast two poulardes in vegetables as before, then with a sharp knife turn forty young carrots and forty young turnips, keeping them in their shape as much as possible, wash and place them in separate stewpans, with a pint of veal stock and half a teaspoonful of sugar, boil until the stock is reduced to glaze, by which time they will be well done, place them in a bain marie to keep hot, peel also forty young onions the same size as your turnips, butter a sauté-pan, put in half an ounce of sugar (sifted), over which place the onions, cover with veal stock and let them stew until the stock forms a thickish glaze, place them in the hot closet until wanted, then take up the poulardes, dress tail to tail on your dish, make a border of mashed potatoes round, and at each end place a fine head of cauliflower nicely boiled, then place alternately an onion and a turnip with a carrot upon the top between, making a pyramid in the middle of the border on each side; for sauce put the glaze from the vegetables and onions into a stewpan together, boil and skim off all the butter, add two quarts of{215} brown sauce, reduce quickly, keeping it stirred all the time, until it adheres to the back of the spoon, add a little salt if required; pour the sauce over the whole and serve.
Roast the poulardes in vegetables as usual, then take ten large turnips, cut each in halves exactly in the centre, peel them thin without leaving the marks of the knife, and scoop out the centres to form them into cups, with a round cutter the size of half-a-crown-piece, cut twenty pieces of turnip one inch in thickness to form stands, stew them nicely in stock as in the last, but not too much done, and place them in the bain marie till ready to serve, then place a border of mashed potatoes round the interior of the dish, leaving sufficient room for your poulardes, and at each end stick a croustade of bread cut in cups but larger than those of turnips, place the turnip cups upon their stands at equal distances apart upon the mashed potatoes, place a nice head of cauliflower upon each croustade, have ready boiled some very young peas and heads of asparagus, fill the cups alternately with each, place your poulardes in the centre, and have ready the following sauce: put two quarts of white sauce (No. 7) and a pint of white stock in a stewpan, with the glaze from the turnips, reduce to two-thirds, skim, season with a little salt and sugar, finish with a gill of cream, sauce all over, but lightly over the vegetables, and serve.
Capons may of course be dressed in the same manner as poulardes for removes, but to give a second series would only be a useless repetition.
Procure four very nice spring chickens trussed as for boiling, roast them in vegetables, as described (No. 417), have also ready boiled and nicely trimmed two deer tongues,{216} place one at each end of the dish making the tips meet in the centre, place a chicken at each corner, its tail in the centre, and between each lay a bunch of fine boiled asparagus; you have made a round fluted croustade of bread about four inches high, and the same in diameter, ornament it on the top with rings the size of a shilling, fried very white, and scoop out the middle of the croustade to form a cup; place it in the centre of your dish, with some fine heads of asparagus cut about four inches in length standing upright in it, glaze the tongues nicely, have two quarts of sauce purée d’asperges (No. 102) ready, which pour over the chickens and serve very hot.
Scrape four ounces of fat bacon, which put into a stewpan, with two bay-leaves, three cloves, and a blade of mace, set over the fire to melt, and when quite hot take out the spice and bay-leaves, add ten large truffles cut in slices, and four chopped very fine, with a quart of white sauce (No. 7), place it over the fire to reduce, keeping it stirred until becoming very thick, finish with two yolks of eggs and place it on a dish to cool; procure four nice spring chickens, detach the skin from the breasts without breaking, force the above preparation under the skins, sew the skin down (but not too tight, or it would burst in roasting), roast them in vegetables as usual; have ready a croustade in the form of a vase, which place in the centre of your dish filled with fine truffles warmed in strong stock, dress the chickens with taste around it, first draining them upon a cloth, glaze lightly, and have ready the following sauce: put two quarts of white sauce (No. 7) into a stewpan, with a pint of good veal broth, place it on the fire and when boiling add six large French truffles cut in thin slices, and half a teaspoonful of sugar, reduce, keeping it stirred until becoming{217} thickish, add half a gill of whipped cream; pour the sauce round the chickens and serve very hot.
Procure four spring chickens, roast them in vegetables, but just before they are done take off all the paper and vegetables and let them get a nice gold colour; prepare and poach a piece of forcemeat (No. 120) four inches square, and another two inches square, place the smaller one upon the larger in the centre of the dish, dress the chickens by placing the tails upon the forcemeat and the breasts towards the edges of the dish; you have previously peeled and turned twelve Jerusalem artichokes in the shape of pears, and stewed in white stock, place three at the breast of each chicken, and a piece of boiled cauliflower between each at the tail, build some Brussels sprouts pyramidically at the top, and sauce with macédoine de légumes à brun (No. 99).
Fowls may be dressed in the same manner as the chickens and are used when chickens cannot be obtained.
Put one pound of rice nicely boiled (No. 129) in a basin with a quarter of a pound of suet, a little pepper, salt, cayenne, grated nutmeg, chopped parsley, two spoonfuls of bread-crumbs, one of currie powder, and three or four eggs, mix all well together, then have four spring chickens untrussed, fill them with the above, and truss them as for boiling, stew them one hour gently in a braise as No. 514, make a round croustade of the form of a cup, five inches high, fill with some beautiful white rice in pyramid, with seven or eight mild Indian pickles interspersed, dress the chickens round the croustade, with a piece of boiled bacon three inches long and two broad between each, pour about two quarts of sauce à l’Indienne (No. 45) over, and serve very hot.{218}
Roast three spring chickens in vegetables, the same as for petits poulets à la macédoine de légumes, dress them on your dish, and pour a sauce au jus d’estragon (No. 10) round.
Procure four spring chickens trussed as for boiling, detach carefully part of the skin from the breasts, and lay slices of French truffles under the skin, shaping a heart upon the breasts of each, prepare half a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79), divide it in four parts, and place one on the top of the truffles under the skin of each breast, covering with the skin, then put half a pound of butter, two onions, two bay-leaves, and two wine-glasses of pale brandy, with a little stock into a flat stewpan, lay in the chickens, place a sheet of buttered paper over, put on the cover, place it ten minutes over a sharp fire, then set in a moderate oven for an hour, when done take out the string, lay them on a clean cloth to drain; have ready a croustade in the form of a pyramid, which place in the centre of your dish entirely enveloped with mashed potatoes half an inch in thickness; have ready some fine heads of asparagus boiled very green, and cut about an inch in length, stick them upon the pyramid with a small nice white head of cauliflower at the top, dish your chickens round and sauce with a thin purée of truffles (No. 53) round them.
Have ready three parts roasted in vegetables six very young spring chickens trussed as for boiling, cover them all over with forcemeat (No. 120), throw some chopped truffles and ham lightly over, and pat them into a flat stewpan just covered{219} with some good veal stock, set them in a moderate oven twenty minutes, with the cover over, and when done dress them at the corners of the dish upon a little mashed potatoes, place a small croustade in the centre, upon which place a nicely-cooked larded sweetbread, glaze well, and have ready the following sauce: put two quarts of demi-glace (No. 9) into a stewpan, with a little sugar, and when boiling have ready a tongue (ready boiled) cut in slices the size of half-a-crown-piece, and six large truffles also sliced, put them into the sauce, and when very hot pour into your dish, but not over the chickens; serve very hot.
Roast four spring chickens in vegetables, have ready some young carrots, turnips, and onions, stewed as directed (No. 428); make a small border of mashed potatoes round the dish, dress the vegetables with taste upon it, variegating them with peas or asparagus heads boiled very green, dress the chickens in the centre and have ready the following sauce: put two quarts of demi-glace (No. 9) into a stewpan, reduce well over the fire, keeping it stirred, add half a teaspoonful of sugar and the glaze from the vegetables, reduce again till it adheres to the back of the spoon, pour over the chickens and vegetables, and serve very hot.
Procure four very young spring chickens, not trussed, cut off the feet below the joints, break the bone in each leg, then cut an incision in the thigh of the chicken and turn the legs into it, cut the chickens open down the back-bone, and beat them flat, fry five minutes in butter in a sauté-pan, season with a little pepper and salt, egg and bread-crumb them all over, lay them on a gridiron over a moderate fire, and broil a nice light-brown colour; for sauce put ten tablespoonfuls{220} of white sauce (No. 7) and six of consommé in a stewpan, and when it has boiled ten minutes add ten spoonfuls of sauce tartare (No. 38), stir altogether till quite hot, but do not let it boil, pour it on your dish, garnish the edges of the dish with slices of Indian pickle, dress the chickens upon the sauce and serve directly; the sauce tartare may also be served cold with the chickens glazed and served hot upon it.
Truss and broil four chickens precisely as in the last, and have ready the following sauce: put three tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar into a stewpan, with a small piece of glaze, half a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), and twenty tablespoonfuls of consommé (No. 134), reduce ten minutes until forming a demi-glace, pour the sauce in the dish, glaze the chickens, dish them upon the sauce and serve.
Truss your goose nicely, and lard the breast (with lardons of fat bacon three inches long) here and there slantwise, then proceed exactly as for turkey à la chipolata (No. 512).
Procure a fine goose, truss it, chop the liver very fine, cut an onion in small dice, put them in a stewpan, with the liver, and a quarter of a pound of scraped fat bacon, pass them over a slow fire for ten minutes or a little longer, have ready roasted and peeled thirty fine chesnuts, put them in the stewpan, with two bay-leaves, let them stew slowly over the fire half an hour, season with pepper, salt, and sugar, and when nearly cold stuff the inside of the goose, which sew up at both ends; roast an hour and a half in vegetables, and just before it is done take away the paper{221} and vegetables and let it get a nice light-brown colour, dress on a dish and serve a sauce au jus de tomates (No. 12), in which you have introduced two tablespoonfuls of apple jelly; a little sage may be added to the above preparation if approved of.
Prepare your goose, then peel four Portugal onions, cut them in thin slices and put them into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter; let them simmer over a slow fire until quite tender, then add a tablespoonful of flour, a little pepper, salt, grated nutmeg, and sugar, with half a pint of white sauce (No. 7); boil altogether twenty minutes, then stir in the yolks of two eggs and put it out on a dish to cool, stuff the goose with it, which roast as in the last, dress upon your dish with ten stewed Portugal onions and sauce as directed for stewed rump of beef à la Portugaise (No. 431).
Roast four small ducklings in vegetables; have ready a croustade cut in the shape of a vase, set it on a few mashed potatoes in the centre of the dish, dress the ducklings with their tails towards it, and have ready the following sauce: put two quarts of demi-glace (No. 9) in a stewpan, when it boils have ready turned sixty French olives, which throw into it, season with half a tablespoonful of sugar, when very hot put the olives on the top of the croustade, pour the sauce over and serve directly.
Roast four ducklings as in the previous article, dress a croustade in the centre of the dish, upon which place a fine Seville orange with a silver attelet through it, dress the{222} ducklings round, and serve with a jus d’orange sauce (No. 17).
Roast them as above, and serve as directed for the poulardes (No. 521).
Roast your ducklings as before, have ready fifty young turnips turned in the shape of pears, put half an ounce of sifted sugar into a convenient-sized stewpan, set over the fire, and when it melts and assumes a brownish tinge add half a pound of butter and the turnips, toss them over every now and then, and when about three parts done and a light-brown colour turn them out on a cloth to drain the butter from them, likewise drain all the butter from the stewpan, put your turnips again into it, with a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), half a pint of white stock, and a bunch of parsley, boil altogether ten minutes, or till the sauce adheres to the spoon, dress a croustade in the form of a vase in the centre of the dish, dress the ducklings round, take the parsley from the sauce, dress some of the turnips with taste upon the croustade and the remainder between each duckling; pour the sauce round and serve.
May be decidedly called the second great pedestal; turtle soup and haunch of venison certainly being the two great pedestals, or Gog and Magog of English cookery. It is appreciated from the independent citizen to the throne; for where is there a citizen of taste, a man of wealth, or a gourmet, who does not pay due homage to this delicious and recherché joint, which ever has and ever will be in vogue; but even after all that nature has done in point of{223} flavour, should it fall into the hands of some inexperienced person to dress, and be too much done, its appearance and flavour would be entirely spoilt, its delicious and delicate fat melted, and the gravy lost; of the two it would be preferred underdone, but that is very bad and hardly excusable, when it requires nothing but attention to serve this glorious dish in perfection.
A good haunch of venison weighing from about twenty to twenty-five pounds will take from three to four hours roasting before a good solid fire; trim the haunch by cutting off part of the knuckle and sawing off the chine bone, fold the flap over, then envelope it in a flour and water paste rather stiff, and an inch thick, tie it up in strong paper, four sheets in thickness, place it in your cradle spit so that it will turn quite even, place it at first very close to the fire until the paste is well crusted, pouring a few ladlefuls of hot dripping over occasionally to prevent the paper catching fire, then put it rather further from the fire, which must be quite clear, solid, and have sufficient frontage to throw the same heat on every part of the venison; when it has roasted the above time take it up, remove it from the paste and paper, run a thin skewer into the thickest part to ascertain if done, if it resists the skewer it is not done, and must be tied up and put down again, but if the fire is good that time will sufficiently cook it, glaze the top well, salamander until a little brown, put a frill upon the knuckle, and serve very hot with plenty of plain boiled French beans separate. For the mode of carving a haunch of venison, see preface.
Trim your haunch and lard the fillet of the loin and the leg as you would a fricandeau, put it for a week in a marinade (No. 426), turning it over every other day; place it on a spit, tied up in oiled paper, and roast it two hours,{224} but just before taking up, take off all the paper, to give a nice colour; dress it on your dish with a frill at the knuckle, and have ready the following sauce: well wash and pick half a pound of fine currants, soak them in water two hours, dry them well on a sieve, put half a pint of the marinade through a sieve into a stewpan, with two glasses of port wine, and two chopped eschalots, reduce to half, add a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, add a tablespoonful of currant jelly, pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, add your currants, season with a little cayenne pepper, and salt if required, pour the sauce round the haunch, and serve.
Trim two necks of venison by cutting out the shoulders, not too deep, cut the breast off rather narrow, slip your knife between the rib bones and the flesh to half way up, saw off the bones, skewer the flap over, detach the chine bones from the flesh, saw them off, and lard the fillets; put them in marinade (No. 426) one day (they must be well covered), tie them up in oiled paper, and roast for one hour; when done glaze and salamander the tops, dress them fillet to fillet on your dish, and sauce the same as for haunch à la Corinthienne.
Proceed as above, and sauce as for fillet of beef à la Bohémienne (No. 426.)
Procure three young pheasants, truss them as for boiling, chop the livers very fine, and put them into a basin with a quarter of a pound of chopped suet, one pound of bread-crumbs, a little pepper, salt, grated nutmeg, chopped parsley,{225} and thyme; mix the whole well together with four eggs, put in a mortar, pound it well, stuff the birds with it, and roast them in vegetables; make a croustade shaped like the bows of a ship, dress it at the head of the dish, make a large quenelle (No. 120), which ornament with truffles to fancy; run a silver attelet through it lengthwise, and stick it at the top of the croustade, dress the pheasants on the dish, the tails of two of them touching the croustade, and the other between, with its breast towards the end of the dish; have ready the following sauce: put two quarts of the sauce à l’essence de gibier (No. 60) in a stewpan, with half a pint of white broth; reduce till it adheres to the spoon, then add twenty dressed cockscombs and twenty heads of mushrooms; sauce over the pheasants and serve.
Procure four very young hen pheasants, truss them for roasting, merely cut off the tips of the claws, make a small incision in the leg at the knuckles, and truss them with their claws resting on their thighs, and their knuckles over their tails; stuff them with the same preparation as in the last, but adding a glass of brandy and half a gill of double cream; put them on your spit, have ready washed and cut from the roots a few good handfuls of heather from the mountain, surround the birds with it, and tie them in oiled paper; roast them three quarters of an hour, take them up, and dress them on your dish in the form of a cross; have four large quenelles of game (No. 123), and place one between each pheasant; have ready the following sauce: put two glasses of port wine in a stewpan, with a teaspoonful of sugar, and an ounce of glaze; boil three minutes, then add a quart of the sauce à l’essence de gibier (No. 60); boil altogether ten minutes, skim, add two ounces of fresh{226} butter, stir it in with a wooden spoon; when quite melted pour the sauce over the birds, and serve.
Procure four young pheasants as above, but they must be quite fresh, stuff the breasts of them with half a pound of truffles prepared as for poularde à la Périgord (No. 524), only using half oil and half bacon, and adding half a clove of garlic scraped; show as much truffles as possible under the skin; they must be kept in that way a week or more (according to the weather), before they are fit for dressing; roast nearly an hour in oiled paper of a light gold colour, dress upon your dish in the form of a cross, have ready the following sauce: put two quarts of clear aspic (No. 1360) in a stewpan, reduce twenty minutes, cut six raw or preserved truffles in slices, put them into the aspic with a glass of champagne, hock, or madeira, and a little sugar; stew them twenty minutes, sauce over your birds, and serve very hot.
This is a very elegant remove, and can be made where woodcocks are plentiful, but to the economiser it would appear a most extravagant extravaganza; procure two large pheasants and six woodcocks, fillet the woodcocks and cut each fillet in halves lengthwise, put two ounces of scraped bacon in a sautépan with a tablespoonful of chopped eschalots and half a pottle of chopped mushrooms; lay the fillets over them, season with pepper and salt, set them over the fire five minutes, turn the fillets, set them again on the fire five minutes longer, add twenty tablespoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7), half a pound of cockscombs previously cooked, a little grated nutmeg, and half a spoonful of sugar; it must be rather highly seasoned; add three yolks of eggs, stir a minute over the fire till the egg sets,{227} then put it on a dish to cool; when firm divide it in two, and stuff the pheasants with it, having previously extracted all the breast bone, sew the skin of the neck over on the back, but do not draw it too tight, or it would burst on the breast; surround with fat bacon, and tie them in oiled paper; roast them one hour, but just before they are done take off the paper and bacon; shake flour over, and they will become brown and crisp; have ready prepared the following sauce: put the remainder of the woodcocks in a stewpan, with two glasses of sherry, a pint of white stock, two eschalots (cut in slices), a little parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, two cloves, and half a blade of mace, let simmer a quarter of an hour, add a quart of brown sauce, let the whole boil together twenty minutes at the corner of the stove, take out the pieces of woodcock, and pass the sauce through a tammie into a clean stewpan, take the flesh and trails of the woodcocks from the bones, which pound well in the mortar, then put it in the sauce, boil it up again, season with a little pepper, salt, and half a teaspoonful of sugar, and rub it through a tammie with two wooden spoons, the sauce is then ready; for garniture cut twenty-four pieces of bread in the form of hearts, cover them on one side with forcemeat (No. 123) rather thick in the middle, and fix a cockscomb ready dressed upon each; butter a sauté-pan, and lay them in it; cover them over with a sheet of buttered paper, and place them half an hour in a moderate oven; make a border of forcemeat (No. 120), poached in pieces an inch broad and half an inch thick, which lay on your dish, upon which dress them, place the pheasants in the centre, pour the sauce round, glaze the birds and cockscombs, and serve.
The way to carve pheasants dressed this way is as follows: the breast being free from bone, detach the legs with a knife, and cut the breast in slices in a slanting direction;{228} the scraped bacon will escape in roasting, keeping the birds moist; they will not cut greasy, but will have a marbled appearance like gallantine.
Grouse are the most favourite birds in this country, and certainly the most welcome; they make their first appearance on the 12th of August, a time when most delicate palates are fatigued with domestic volatile productions, at that period they are very properly used for roasts only; but when more plentiful they are very excellent dressed in the manners I have here described, though seldom or ever used for removes; I have, for the sake of variety which is said to be charming, given a few new methods. Pick, draw, and truss four grouse, make a stuffing like for the pheasants (No. 544), using the liver of the grouse, stuff and place them on the spit, surrounded with fat bacon and sprigs of heather, moistened with a glass of whiskey, tie them up in paper and roast three quarters of an hour, dress on a dish in the form of a cross, and have ready the following sauce: put a quart of good melted butter in a stewpan on the fire, and just as it begins to boil, add a quarter of a pound of butter; stir the sauce till the butter is melted, season rather high, and pour over your birds; (the sauce must be rather thick, but not too thick;) under each bird place a piece of toasted bread well glazed; serve very hot.
See Faisan (No. 544).
See Faisan (No. 546).
Of Black Cocks and Grey Hens.
These birds are a similar flavour to the grouse, only much larger, and may be dressed just in the same manner, only two cocks will be sufficient for a remove of ten or twelve persons if well garnished with quenelles, cockscombs, mushrooms, truffles, &c.
Skin a fine young hare, and truss it as for roasting, stuff with a forcemeat made of the liver (see faisan à la corsaire, No. 544), put it on the spit, rub well with oil, and while roasting sprinkle a little flour over now and then; have ready the fillets of three other hares skinned and nicely larded, put some butter in a sauté-pan, and fry them gently of light brown colour, rather underdone; cut each fillet in halves, and have twelve pieces of toasted bread cut in the form of hearts, of the same size as the fillets; dress them alternately on your dish upon a border of mashed potatoes, dress the hare in the centre, glaze the fillets and bread, and pour a quart of sauce poivrade (No. 33), in which you have introduced a spoonful of mild orange marmalade instead of the currant jelly, over the hare, and serve very hot.
Skin and draw two leverets just caught by the dogs, save the blood in a basin, truss them for roasting, lard the fillets, roast half an hour before a quick fire, put a quart of poivrade sauce (No. 32) in a stewpan; when boiling stir quickly with a wooden spoon, and pour in the blood; add a little salt, cayenne pepper, a tablespoonful of currant jelly, four pats of butter, and the juice of a lemon; sauce over the leverets and serve immediately.{230}
Flancs are required in every dinner where there are more than four entrées; they are served upon oval dishes of from eighteen inches in length to nine in width, and require a little depth; for flancs being made dishes, like removes, the dish must contain the sauce. My readers will perceive by the Index that many of them are like the removes; but these I shall merely give references to, my object in placing them with the flancs being to show that by being reduced in size they will do for flancs in large dinners, and also be an assistance in the making of bills of fare.
Flancs are to be made of one or two solid pieces of poultry, game, butcher’s meat, or pastry, and keep everything which is divided into many pieces, as cotelettes, fillets, escalopes, fricassées, salmis, &c., for entrées as much as possible, by doing which you will add more importance to your dinner, and cause more harmony in the arrangement.
Procure a piece of fillet of beef fifteen inches in length, lard, trim, and dress it as directed (No. 417); when ready to serve dress a border of mashed potatoes on your dish; have ready twenty young carrots, twenty young turnips, with twenty small onions, dressed as directed for poulardes (No. 521); dish them upon the mashed potatoes with a small cauliflower nicely boiled at each end of the dish, place your fillet in the centre, glaze it, and sauce with a demi-glace, made also as directed for the poulardes, but half the quantity will be sufficient.{231}
Procure and lard a piece of fillet of beef the same size as in the last, pickle it four or five days, as directed for filet de bœuf (No. 426); when wanted take it from the marinade, dry it, and roast it in paper, but ten minutes before it is done take off the paper to allow it to colour a little; place it on your dish, and have ready the following sauce: run half a pint of the marinade through a sieve into a stewpan, add an ounce of glaze, place it on the fire, reduce it to half, add a quart of brown sauce, and again reduce it till it becomes a clear demi-glace; skim it when required, add half the rind of a lemon, the peelings of a few mushrooms, a little scraped garlic, the size of a pea, and a spoonful of very bright currant jelly; stir it two minutes over the fire, season it rather high, pass it through a tammie, sauce over the fillet, and serve.
Procure but a piece of fillet the same size as in the last, and proceed as directed (No. 419).
For Filet de Bœuf à la Milanaise,
Do. au jus d’orange, and
Do. au jus de tomates,
see Removes, Nos. 425, 420, 421, merely substituting a piece of the fillet when serving them as flancs.
Boil a nice ox-tongue three hours, when done take the skin off carefully; by allowing it to get cold, you can cut any design upon it your fancy may dictate, but I prefer sending them plain, merely trimming it. You have previously filleted and dressed three chickens, as described for suprème de volaille, (see No. 808), then make a border of{232} mashed potatoes round your dish, and dress half the fillets of chicken on each side, one upon the other in a slanting direction; have ready dressed four nice larded sweetbreads, place two at each end, and the tongue in the centre, have ready the following sauce: put a pint and a half of white sauce (No. 7) in the sauté-pan in which you cooked your fillets of chickens, with twelve spoonfuls of good veal stock, stir it over the fire till it becomes rather thick, then add a gill of cream and a little powdered sugar, mix all well together, pass it through a tammie into a stewpan when hot, sauce over the fillets, glaze the sweetbreads and tongue, and serve very hot.
Boil the tongue as in the last, then have ready twenty-four quenelles of veal (No. 120), dress a low border of mashed potatoes round the dish, upon which dress the quenelles, making them go quite round, then have ready the following sauce: put twenty spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), and ten of veal stock in a stewpan; let it boil ten minutes, then add a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79), mix it very quick over the fire, and when melted sauce over the quenelles; put a nicely boiled Brussels sprout between each quenelle, glaze the tongue, and serve.
Cook the tongue as before, and when done fix it on the dish upon mashed potatoes; have ready the following ragout: cut four middling-sized cucumbers into pieces about an inch and a half in length, split each piece in three, take out the seeds from each piece, peel them and trim them at the corners, put them in a stewpan with an ounce of butter, half a spoonful of powdered sugar, and two chopped eschalots; stew the cucumbers very gently till quite tender, but not to{233} break them, then cut the breast of a cooked fowl into slices the size of the pieces of cucumber and add with them; then add a quart of hot bechamel sauce (No. 7) and a little white stock, shake the stewpan over the fire, but do not stir it with a spoon, or you would break the contents; finish with a liaison made from the yolk of one egg, pour it round the tongue, and serve.
Cook the tongue as before, fix it in your dish upon mashed potatoes, and serve with a jardiniere sauce (No. 100) round it.
Cook as before, and serve with a sauce à la Milanaise (No. 49) under it, to which has been added some fillets of fowl cut the same size as the pieces of macaroni.
Ox-tongues may also be served with sauce piquante (No. 27) or sauce à l’Italienne (No. 30), and they are frequently served as a flanc, quite plain, especially when the opposite flanc is composed of veal or poultry.
These hams require to be well soaked in water, and scraped previous to dressing; boil from three to four hours, and when done take off the skin, leaving a little on the knuckle, which you cut as fancy may direct; glaze it nicely, put a paper frill upon the knuckle-bone, and serve it plain, or it may be served with any of the following sauces: poivrade (No. 32), jardinière (No. 100), Milanaise (No. 49), or dressed spinach (No. 1087); but when it is intended to be eaten with a remove of poultry, it is as well served plain.{234}
For this see Removes (No. 441), only in this instance substitute the thin end of the loin only, and that not too large.
Procure part of a loin about the size your dish will conveniently hold, place it on a spit and have ready some vegetables of all kinds cut small; lay them on two or three sheets of thickish paper, moisten them with half a pint of cream, tie the veal up in them and roast it two hours, make a border of mashed potatoes round your dish, upon which dress twelve nice poached eggs; take up the veal, clear it from the vegetables, and dress it in the centre; have ready the following sauce: put a quart of bechamel sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with a little grated nutmeg, salt, and sugar; stir it over a quick fire, boil it ten minutes, then add a gill of cream, the juice of a lemon, and an ounce of fresh butter, pour it over the eggs and veal, and serve; the sauce requires to be rather thick, but if too much so, thin it with a little milk; if sprue grass is in season, a few of the heads boiled, and lard between the eggs, would have a pleasing effect.
For Loins à la purée de céleri,
Do. macédoine de légumes, and
Do. à la Strasbourgienne
See Removes, Nos. 443, 442, and 444.
Procure a very white leg of veal from a cow calf, saw off the knuckle, lay the fillet on the table and cut it open without cutting through the meat, that is cut from the bone in the centre under the udder until you cut through the skin, take out the bone, and lay it out, there will be three separate lumps of meat, the largest of which is the{235} noix (or nut); to cut it out press your hand upon it and with a sharp knife cut down close to the skin, separating it from the skin till it comes to the udder, then bring the knife up, lay the piece upon the table the best side downwards and beat it well, trim it of a nice shape, and lard it with pieces of fat bacon two inches long and slender in proportion, cut off the udder and sew it to the side, put a few slices of bacon in a flat stewpan, with two or three onions cut in slices, half a bunch of parsley, two bay-leaves, and a sprig of thyme, lay in the noix, add a pint of white broth, then put the lid on the stewpan, and place it in a moderate oven for three hours, occasionally looking at it, taking care that the gravy does not become dry or burnt, if it becomes dry add a little water to moisten it, but not enough to cover the veal, which moisten now and then with the gravy; when done, glaze it nicely, slightly colour it with the salamander if required, and lay it on a dish, keep it hot, then pass the gravy through a tammie into a smaller stewpan, set it on the corner of the fire, skim off all the fat, pour it in your dish, and lay the noix in the last moment of serving, or the fat would run, and give the gravy a bad appearance.
Procure and dress a noix de veau as in the last, excepting the udder, which is not required, and you need not be particular about its being the leg of a cow calf; when cooked make a border of mashed potatoes round your dish, upon which dress several pieces of nice cauliflowers, (about the size of eggs,) which you have previously boiled, place the noix in the centre the last thing before serving, and have ready the following sauce: put thirty spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan with ten of the gravy from the noix, (free from fat,) boil ten minutes, then add{236} half a gill of cream and a little sugar, pour the sauce over the cauliflowers, glaze the noix and serve immediately, throwing a few green peas, well boiled, round.
Prepare and dress the noix as in the last, then wash and peel two dozen middling-sized Jerusalem artichokes, give them the shape of pears, boil them in salt and water in which you have put a piece of butter, boil them till tender, make a small border of mashed potatoes upon your dish, on which dress the artichokes, the thick part uppermost, scoop a piece out of the top of each, and stick in a nicely-boiled Brussels sprout, place the noix in the centre, glaze it and pour a thin sauce à la purée d’artichaut (No. 90) over the artichokes and serve.
Prepare and dress the noix as in the last, then have prepared twenty young carrots, twenty young turnips, and twenty young onions, prepared as described in the article stewed rump of beef à la Flamande (No. 428), dress them tastefully upon your dish upon a thin border of mashed potatoes, place the noix in the centre and have ready the following sauce: mix the glaze from the vegetables with a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), and half a pint of the gravy from the noix, (but quite free from fat,) in a stewpan, place it over the fire and reduce till it becomes a thickish demi-glace, keeping it well skimmed, sauce over the vegetables, glaze the noix and serve.
Prepare and dress the noix as before, and have ready a sauce à la purée de champignons (No. 54), pour it on your dish, lay the noix over, glaze and serve immediately.{237}
Prepare and dress the noix as before, have likewise ten lambs’ sweetbreads larded and dressed (see No. 746), also ten plovers’ eggs, which peel and warm in white stock, make a thin border of mashed potatoes round your dish, and dress the sweetbreads and plovers’ eggs alternately upon it; place the noix in the centre, place a ring of truffles upon each plover’s egg, and have ready the following sauce: pass the gravy from the noix and sweetbreads through a sieve into a stewpan, set it on the fire, skim off all the fat, add a quart of brown sauce (No. 1) and a pint of consommé (No. 134), reduce it quickly over the fire, keeping it stirred with a wooden spoon, and when reduced to a thinnish glaze take it off the fire, add a little sugar, and two pats of butter; glaze the sweetbreads and noix, sauce round and serve immediately.
Trim the best end of a very nice neck of veal, see Removes (No. 451), roast it in vegetables, and give it a nice gold colour; make a border of mashed potatoes round your dish, upon which dress a number of slices of fried ham, (each cut in the shape of a long heart,) to form a crown, place the veal in the centre, and pour some very thin tomata sauce (No. 37) (in which you have mixed half an ounce of anchovy butter) round, and serve. For neck of veal à la purée de celeri, ditto à la macédoine de légumes, and ditto à la crèmière, (see Nos. 451, 422 and 564.)
Cook half a calf’s head as directed (No. 459), and when done lay it on a dish with another dish upon it, on which place a fourteen pounds weight, when cold cut twelve nice{238} oval pieces out of it, egg each piece over with a paste-brush, and throw it into bread-crumbs mixed with chopped lean ham; set them in the oven and when quite hot and of a nice gold colour dress them in a crown round your dish upon a border of mashed potatoes, place the brains at each end of the dish, and have ready the following sauce: make a quart of sauce au jus d’échalotte (No. 16), well seasoned, add to it twenty pickled mushrooms and forty very small white pickled onions, warm them five minutes in the sauce, then pour the sauce in the centre, glaze the pieces of calf’s head and serve very hot. For calf’s head en tortue, ditto à la Hollandaise, and ditto à l’amiral, see Nos. 462, 459 and 463.
Prepare and braise a neck of mutton as described for the Removes, see that it is not too fat; you have prepared a purée of onions like for the cotelettes (see No. 701), spread some over the neck about a quarter of an inch thick, egg and bread-crumb it lightly, then put it in a hot oven twenty minutes, if not sufficiently coloured pass the salamander over it, then have ready the following sauce: put a pint of brown sauce in a stewpan, with half the quantity of good stock, reduce it over the fire till it comes to a nice demi-glace, add a little scraped garlic the size of a couple of peas, dress the neck in a dish and pour the sauce over; serve very hot; a little seasoning may be added to the sauce if required.
Prepare, lard, and braise a neck of mutton as described in the Removes (No. 482), when done glaze it well, pass the salamander over, place it in your dish, and serve with a sauce Soubise (No. 47) poured round it.{239}
Procure a large neck of mutton, trim it as before, and lard the lean part with fine cut bacon, like for the noix de veau, make two quarts of marinade (see fillet of beef à la Bohémienne, No. 426), and lay the neck in it for three days, then run a skewer through it and fix it on your spit, roast it about an hour, giving it a very good colour; have ready the following sauce: strain half a pint of the marinade into a stewpan, add a pint of brown sauce and a small piece of glaze, reduce it till forming a thickish demi-glace; you have previously soaked twenty very nice French plums in boiling water twenty minutes, drain them on a sieve, and when dry throw them into the sauce, season with a little salt and cayenne pepper, pour the sauce in your dish, dress the neck upon it and serve.
Prepare, lard, and braise a neck of mutton as before, then peel six middling-sized Portugal onions, blanch them twenty minutes in boiling water, then lay them on a cloth to drain, put a quarter of a pound of butter in a flat stewpan, let it melt, lay in the onions, add one ounce of sugar, and a little salt, and just cover them with a little white stock, let them simmer gently for one hour or more until quite tender, take them out carefully, lay on a cloth, cut them in halves, dress in a border round the dish, and lay the neck in the centre, then take the butter from the stock the onions were stewed in, put half a pint of it in a stewpan, with a quart of white sauce (No. 7) and half a pint of stock, reduce it till it becomes again thickish, and pour it over the onions round the mutton, which glaze and serve very hot.{240}
For neck of mutton à la légumière, ditto à la Brétonne, and ditto à la Chartre, see Removes, Nos. 482, 483, and 486.
Bone a loin of mutton carefully, leaving the small fillet attached, lard it well with pieces of lean ham and fat bacon, season with chopped eschalots, chopped parsley, pepper and salt, roll it up as tight as possible, previously putting in some forcemeat (No. 120), tie it up with string, put in a stewpan, with some white stock and vegetables, let it stew gently two hours and a half, then take it up, cut off the string, trim it at each end, glaze the top, pass the salamander over to give it a nice colour, and serve with dressed spinach (No. 1088), sauce Soubise (No. 47), or sauce piquante (No. 27).
Prepare a loin of mutton as in the last, then peel one hundred button onions, put half an ounce of pounded sugar in a stewpan, set it over the fire and as soon as it is melted add half an ounce of butter and the onions, place them over a slow fire, tossing them every now and then, when getting tender add a pint and a half of white sauce (No. 7), and a pint of white stock, with a small bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, set it on the fire till the onions are quite done, take them out with a colander spoon and put them in a clean stewpan, reduce the sauce till it becomes rather thickish, pass it through a tammie upon the onions, warm altogether, pour the sauce in your dish, place the carbonade in the centre, which glaze and serve very hot.
For breast of mutton à la Soubise, sauce piquante, tomate, &c., see Removes No. 487.{241}
Procure a very small saddle of very white lamb, trim it according to the size of your dish, roast it in vegetables as described in the Removes (No. 417), then boil two lambs’ frys in water five minutes, drain it on a sieve, egg and bread-crumb it, and fry in very hot lard, set the saddle in the centre of your dish, dress the fry around it, and garnish with parsley fried nice and crisp, put a quart of consommé in a stewpan, let it reduce to more than half, add a little sugar and chopped mint, and pour it in the dish but not over the fry.
For saddle of lamb aux petits pois, ditto à la Sévigné, ditto à la menagère, and ditto demi Provençale, see Removes Nos. 488, 489, 492, and 491.
Take the blade bone carefully out of a shoulder of lamb without bursting the skin, lard the under part with pieces of fat bacon about an inch and a half long and a quarter of an inch in thickness, lay it upon a cloth, season it, and spread some forcemeat about an inch in thickness down the centre in a line with the knuckle, cut some long strips of cooked ham or tongue and lay upon it, with some truffles cut in as long strips as possible, then roll the flaps over and sew it up, giving a nice oval appearance, tie it up in a cloth and put it in a stewpan, with two large onions, two carrots, two turnips, a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, some trimmings of veal, beef, or mutton, cover the whole with some white stock (or water, but then you must put more meat), let it simmer for three hours, skim it well, add half a pint of bucellas wine, take up the lamb, untie it, pull out all the string, drain upon a cloth, lay it on your dish, place a paper frill upon the knuckle bone, keep hot, and prepare{242} the following sauce: take one quart of the stock it was cooked in, which pass through a tammie into a stewpan, take off all the grease, add a pint of demi-glace (No. 9), reduce it to a demi glaze, season with a little sugar and salt if required, pour it round the lamb and serve very hot; to carve it cut it in slices crosswise, it will have a marbled appearance.
Proceed exactly as in the last, but serve with a ragout financière (No. 50) instead of the sauce.
Proceed as before, but omit the truffles, and serve with a purée of green peas (No. 86).
Plain roast a small shoulder of lamb, then put a gill of good cream in a stewpan, place it over the fire, and when boiling add a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79), stir it till melted and pour it over the lamb.
Trim a nice white neck of lamb in the manner described for mutton (No. 482), keep it nice and square, run a skewer through and roast it with vegetables, make a border of young vegetables on your dish prepared as for fillet of beef (No. 554), dish the lamb in the centre, sauce over the vegetables, and serve sauce the same as for the filet de bœuf.
Proceed as in the last, when roasted prepare a quart of peas as directed (No. 84), pour them on your dish and dress the lamb upon it.{243}
Trim and braise a neck of lamb as before, keeping it as white as possible, make a very nice green purée of Brussels sprouts (as directed No. 81), pour the purée in your dish and dress the lamb upon it.
Trim and braise a neck of lamb as above, have twelve lambs’ sweetbreads, six hearts, and six throats, blanch them, lard the six heart-breads, and dress them as (No. 674), cut the six throat-breads in slices and put them in a stewpan, with half an ounce of butter, three chopped eschalots, a little pepper, salt, and the juice of a lemon; let them simmer ten minutes, then add a quart of white sauce (No. 7), twenty tablespoonfuls of white stock, and a small bunch of parsley, simmer twenty minutes, take out the parsley, add twelve fine cockscombs ready dressed, (see No. 128), and finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with a gill of cream; do not let it boil after the liaison is in, pour the sauce on your dish, lay the neck upon it, glaze the larded sweetbreads, dress them round the neck and serve; keep the neck as white as possible.
Plain roast a neck of lamb and proceed as directed for shoulder (No. 583).
Truss two chickens as for boiling, dip the breasts in boiling water one minute, and lard them very nicely, braise them thus: put some slices of fat bacon at the bottom of a flat stewpan, lay in the chickens breast upwards, put in two onions, one carrot, one turnip, four cloves, and a small{244} bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, add as much white stock as will come up to the larded part of the chicken, cover with a sheet of buttered paper, put the cover on the stewpan and place it over a slow fire, let them simmer very gently about half an hour, a short time before they are done lay some red hot charcoal upon the cover of the stewpan to colour the larded part of the chickens; have ready the following sauce: you have previously boiled a very nice Russian tongue, with a sharp knife trim it and cut it into long thin slices, cut also ten large gherkins in thin slices lengthwise, put two tablespoonfuls of finely chopped onions in a stewpan, with four of the vinegar from the gherkins, reduce it to half, then add three pints of white sauce (No. 7), and a pint of white stock, boil it a quarter of an hour, or till it becomes rather thickish, pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, warm it, season with a little cayenne and a teaspoonful of pounded sugar, add the slices of tongue and gherkins, and when quite hot add a gill of cream; pour the sauce on the dish upon which lay the chickens, slantwise, the breasts pointing contrarywise.
Roast two spring chickens in vegetables as directed in the Removes; you have previously boiled an ox tongue, which cut in halves lengthwise, trim each piece to imitate two small tongues, fix them on mashed potatoes on your dish, the points in the centre and the thick parts at the ends, then dress the chickens tail to tail to form with the tongues a cross; have ready boiled five small heads of cauliflower, place one of them in the centre upon the tails of the chickens, and one between the chickens and tongue in each space; have ready the following sauce: put three pints of white sauce in a stewpan, with a pint of white stock, boil till rather thick, season with a little sugar and{245} salt, finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs, mixed with a gill of cream, sauce over the chickens and cauliflowers, glaze the tongue and serve.
Roast two spring chickens in vegetables as before, prepare forty Jerusalem artichokes and dress in a border round the dish, as directed for noix de veau à la Palestine (No. 567), dress the chickens in the centre, and sauce the same as in the last article.
Truss, lard, and braise two chickens as before, dress them on a dish, and have ready the following sauce: put two tablespoonfuls of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with one of salad oil, pass them a few minutes over the fire, then add two glasses of sherry, reduce to half, add a pint and a half of white sauce (No. 7), and half a pint of white stock, reduce it till it comes to a proper consistency, add one tablespoonful of chopped mushrooms, one of chopped truffles, and one of chopped parsley; season with a little sugar and salt, throw in twelve fine cockscombs ready dressed, squeeze a little lemon-juice in, and finish with half a gill of cream, sauce over and serve.
Truss and braise two chickens as above, then have eight lambs’ sweetbreads, and eight plovers’ eggs, as directed for noix de veau à la Prince Albert (No. 570), make a border as there described, and dress the chickens in the centre; have ready the following sauce: put a quart of good veal stock in a stewpan, with the trimmings and bones of a cooked fowl, reduce it to half, pass it through a sieve into another stewpan, skim it, then add a pint of tomata sauce{246} (No. 37), half a pint of white sauce, and half a teaspoonful of sugar; boil altogether ten minutes, finish with two pats of butter, and when melted pour it over the chickens; glaze the sweetbreads and serve.
Braise two chickens as directed for à la Moscovite (No. 589), but they will not require larding, and completely cover them with stock; when done pass the stock through a tammie into another stewpan, place it on the fire, skim off all the fat, and clarify it as directed (No. 134), place it again on the fire and reduce it to a very thin glaze, add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, and half a one of sugar, throw in twenty leaves of tarragon, boil altogether two minutes, dress the chickens on a dish, sauce over and serve.
For petits poussins à la maréchale, and ditto à la tartare, see Removes, Nos. 532, 531.
Truss, lard, and braise the chickens as directed for à la Moscovite (No. 589), only let them stew rather longer, dress on your dish, and have ready the following sauce: peel about forty button onions, put a quarter of an ounce of powdered sugar in a stewpan, place it on the fire, and when the sugar melts add an ounce of butter and the onions, pass them over a slow fire till they become tender, but they must be kept quite white, add a quart of white sauce (No. 7), half a pint of veal stock, and a good bunch of parsley; let it simmer until the onions are quite done, take them out with a colander spoon and put them in another stewpan, reduce the sauce until it becomes sufficiently thick, then pass it through a tammie over the onions, add twenty heads of mushrooms, boil up, and finish with two pats of butter, a little sugar, and a liaison of two yolks of{247} eggs; pour the sauce on your dish, dress the chickens over and serve; you can lard and dress the fillets of two chickens as directed (No. 792), and garnish your chickens with them.
Take two spring chickens and truss them as directed for poulet à la maréchale (No. 532), put four tablespoonfuls of oil in a flat stewpan, lay in the chickens, previously seasoned with pepper and salt, place them over a moderate fire, put the cover on the stewpan, let them go ten minutes till they become brown, then turn them and let remain till the other side is browned, pour off the oil, then add a pint of brown sauce, one bay-leaf, and a pint of good consommé, place it over the fire for a quarter of an hour, take out the chickens, lay them on your dish and keep hot, throw about forty heads of mushrooms into the stewpan, with a little sugar and a clove of scraped garlick, reduce the sauce till it becomes rather thickish; pour it over the chickens and serve.
Poulet à la Marie Stuart (No. 528),
Do. à la Périgord (No. 524),
Do. à la macédoine de legumes (No. 525),
Do. à l’Indienne (No. 526),
which are given in the Removes, may also be served for flancs, reducing the quantity to the size of the dish.
Truss two ducklings with their legs turned inside, roast them in vegetables, but just before they are done take away the vegetables and let them obtain a little colour; have ready boiled three pints of young peas, which put in a stewpan, with half a teaspoonful of salt, three of sugar, a bunch of ten spring green onions tied up with a few sprigs of parsley, one bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme, ten{248} spoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), and two of consommé; you have boiled half a pound of lean bacon, which cut into neat square pieces the size of small walnuts, put them in the stewpan with the peas and simmer altogether ten minutes, take out the bunch of herbs, place your ducklings in a flat stewpan, pour the peas over and place them in your bain marie for half an hour before serving, then dress your ducklings on a dish, pour the peas over and serve.
Truss and roast two ducklings as above, and serve on a dish with a sauce au jus d’orange (No. 17) round them. Ducklings aux olives and ducklings à la Chartre are dressed the same as above, but they are given in full in the Removes, No. 539.
Procure two young pheasants, pluck, draw, and truss them with their legs turned inside, lard the best part of the breast in a square, lay some thin slices of fat bacon at the bottom of a flat stewpan, put your pheasants upon it breasts upwards; have ready blanched twelve fine cabbage lettuces, take off the outside leaves and place them in the stewpan with the pheasants, put in also two large onions with three cloves stuck in each, and a bunch of parsley with two bayleaves, pour in sufficient white stock to come up to the larded part of the birds, lay eight pork sausages on the top of the lettuces, cover the whole with a sheet of buttered paper, cover the stewpan and stew gently for an hour, glaze and salamander the breasts of the birds, take the lettuces and sausages carefully out and lay them on a clean cloth to extract the grease, then lay two pieces of lettuce in the centre of your dish, just large enough to dress the birds upon, place one upon each piece, and with the remainder{249} make a flat border near the edge of the dish, cut the sausages into three pieces and dress them upon the border of lettuce, pass the stock from the stewpan through a sieve into another stewpan, set it to boil, skim off all the fat, add a pint and a half of brown sauce (No. 1), reduce it to a nice demi-glace, add half a teaspoonful of sugar, sauce over the birds and serve.
The cabbage lettuces must be rather highly seasoned when put in the pan to stew.
Truss, lard, and braise two pheasants in the same manner as in the last, omitting the lettuces and sausages; when done, have ready prepared two thick pieces of toast, which cover with a stuffing made from the livers of the birds, as directed for faisans à l’amiral (see Removes, No. 544); put them in a sauté-pan in the oven twenty minutes, shape them tastefully, place them in your dish, and dress the birds upon them; have ready prepared the following sauce: roast a grouse, partridge, or any bird you have, or the remains of some game left from another dinner, pick off all the flesh, which pound well in a mortar, put two teaspoonfuls of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with a small piece of butter, pass them a minute or two over the fire, then add the pounded game with a quart of the demi-glace de gibier (No. 61), and a gill of stock. Boil altogether ten minutes, rub it through a tammie, put it into another stewpan, season with a little pepper, salt, and half a teaspoonful of sugar; if too thick, add a little broth, warm it, but do not let it boil, sauce round the birds, glaze the larded part, and serve.
Proceed as directed in the Removes, using only two small pheasants or one large one.{250}
Proceed as directed for the remove, but one large pheasant will be quite sufficient, diminish the quantity of garniture and sauce in proportion.
Two small grouse will be quite sufficient for a flanc; they are dressed in any of the ways as described for pheasants, but though dressed in the same manner, they might be served in a large dinner, where pheasants were dressed the same, as the flavour of the two would be very different, the grouse being so much wilder would give a different flavour to the garniture and sauces. For grouse à la Rob Roy (see Removes, No 548).
Truss two nice partridges with the legs turned inside, stick about ten small pieces of fat bacon two inches in length and the size of a quill through the breasts lengthwise, then cut two nice savoy cabbages in quarters, and boil five minutes, throw them into plenty of cold water; when cold lay them on a sieve, squeeze quite dry with a cloth, season well with pepper and salt, cut out the stalk, and put them into a stewpan, with two onions, three cloves, a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaves, one carrot, and three quarters of a pound of streaky bacon; cover with a quart of white stock, and let stew an hour or more, till the stock has reduced to a thin glaze; take it off the fire, roast your partridges, take out the skewers and string, bury them in the stewed cabbage whilst hot, and let them remain till wanted; then butter a large plain oval mould, paper it, and again butter the paper; have ready peeled sixty small{251} button onions, which stew in a little white stock and sugar till tender, cut about a hundred pieces of carrots, half an inch in length, and the thickness of a large quill; stew them in the same manner as the onions, have also cut of the same size the same quantity of turnips (do not stew them too much or they would be useless), place a row of onions round the bottom of the mould, then above them a row of carrots, slantwise, but one touching the other, then a row of the turnips, then carrots, proceeding in like manner till you reach the top; drain the cabbage, and squeeze it till it is somewhat firm, put some of it at the bottom of the mould an inch in thickness, and line the sides not quite so thick, put the partridges in the centre with slices of the bacon, finish filling up with the cabbage, place in a stewpan of water over the fire to get hot, but do not let the water get into it; when ready to serve turn out on your dish, and take the paper carefully from it; have ready the following sauce: put the stock from the vegetables and a little of the stock from the cabbage into a stewpan, add a quart of brown sauce (No. 1), boil to the consistence of demi-glace, add a little sugar, sauce carefully all over, and serve.
No. 605. Chartreuse de Perdreaux à l’Impérial.
Prepare the chartreuse just as above, and when turned out have thirty small quenelles de volaille (No. 120), made in a dessert-spoon; make very carefully a border of mashed potatoes on the top of it about half an inch from the rim, upon which dress the quenelles in the form of a crown, place a fine larded sweetbread dressed (No. 674) in the centre, through which run an atelette of vegetables, sauce as in the last article, and serve; the cabbage, if possible, requires to be drier than in the last.{252}
Prepare a chartreuse as before, then have twenty young carrots turned in the shape of pears, but not too small, put them in a stewpan with a little sugar and white stock, and boil till tender; turn out the chartreuse on your dish, make a thin border of mashed potatoes on the top about half an inch from the rim, cut off a piece from the thick part of each carrot, and stand them upright upon the potatoes, fill the centre with a pint of fresh boiled green peas dressed in pyramid, upon the top place a small white cauliflower, nicely boiled, sauce as before, and serve; this makes a very pretty dish.
In case you could not procure a mould as required, you could turn your vegetables, and dress as the carrots above; lay the cabbage, bacon, and partridges in the centre of your dish, dress the vegetables on mashed potatoes tastefully around, finish on the top in either of the two last ways, sauce the same, and serve; although not so handsome it takes less time, and the exercise of a little taste on the part of the cook will render it a very pretty dish.
Take three large young partridges, draw, and leave the skin upon the neck as long as possible, put half a pound of the forcemeat of game (No. 123) in a basin, add two finely-chopped fresh French plums, two ounces of chopped tongue or ham (cooked) some chopped parsley, two yolks of eggs, a little cream, and a little grated nutmeg, mix all together, and stuff the breasts of your birds with it, tie them up in thin slices of bacon, and in two or three sheets of oiled paper, put them into a stewpan with half a pint of bucellas wine, a pint of good stock, two large onions, an apple, and a good bunch of parsley; place the stewpan on the fire, and{253} when it begins to boil place it in a moderate oven for three quarters of an hour, take the birds out of the papers, take off the bacon and place them on your dish, keep hot, and prepare the following sauce: pass the stock from the stewpan through a fine cloth into another stewpan, skim off all the fat and reduce it to half, mix a dessertspoonful of arrowroot with a glass of cold stock, put it into the stewpan, with two spoonfuls of tomata sauce (No. 37); boil till forming a demi-glace, put a piece of toast beneath each bird, sauce over and serve; but the last thing before serving add half a spoonful of red currant jelly to the sauce, which season a little high.
Proceed exactly as for the faisan à la purée de gibier (No. 600), the only difference being that the partridges will not require so long to braise as the pheasants.
Draw three partridges carefully, then prepare a stuffing of truffle as directed for poulardes truffés à la Périgord (No. 524), stuff the inside and breasts well, and leave them a week to take the flavour of the truffles; when ready to roast pass a thin flat iron skewer through them, passing it through the pinions and thighs, tie them in oiled paper, fix the skewer to the spit and roast them before a good fire for half an hour, letting them get a little colour through the paper; in taking them off the skewer be careful not to break the breast, or they would look unsightly; dress them on a dish and sauce as for the poulardes; serve very hot.
A young leveret may be occasionally served for a flanc; truss it as for roasting, and lard the fillets very fine, roast it{254} nicely, keeping it rather underdone, dress it on your dish, and serve with a sauce poivrade (No. 32) round it.
Truss and lard a young leveret as above, then prepare a marinade as for filet de bœuf à la Bohémienne (No. 426), put in the leveret for three days; when ready dry it in a cloth and roast before a sharp fire, keep it moist, serve with a demi-glace (No. 9), in which you have put two spoonfuls of currant jelly, a little cayenne pepper, and two dozen of stoned olives.
Tame and even wild rabbits are extremely useful in cooking, though very little used for flancs; they may be served with propriety in the ways I have here described, particularly in the country, where they are so plentiful, and your resources frequently so limited.
Skin and truss two young rabbits as for roasting, then put two ounces of butter in a flat stewpan, (large enough to contain the rabbits,) cut half a pound of mild lean ham into large dice, put them into the stewpan, with the butter, and fry them gently ten minutes, then put in the rabbits, put the cover over the stewpan and place it over a slow fire, turn them round now and then until they take a light-brown colour, add fifty button onions, which also colour, take out the rabbits, add two ounces of flour to the ingredients in the stewpan (mix well) and a quart of white stock; place the stewpan over the fire, keep it stirred until boiling, put back the rabbits, with a good bunch of parsley, thyme, bay-leaf, and four cloves; let it simmer, skim off the fat, which will rise to the top, take out the rabbits, you have previously taken out the onions with a spoon and deposited them in a clean stewpan, with the pieces of ham; reduce{255} the sauce to the thickness required, pass it through a tammie into the stewpan containing the onions and ham, add twenty heads of mushrooms, dress your rabbits on a dish slantingly, the heads pointing different ways, sauce over and serve. Finish the sauce with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of cream.
Procure two young rabbits and proceed as in the last, but at the time you add the onions also add the same quantity of pieces of carrot and turnip cut with a scoop of the same size as the onions, skim well, and when done take them out, put them as before in a clean stewpan, take up the rabbits, pass the sauce through a tammie upon them, add half a teaspoonful of sugar and a few heads of asparagus or peas, make it quite hot; sauce over the rabbits and serve.
Dress the rabbits as directed for lapereaux à la tavernière, but putting only half the quantity of onions; when you take out the rabbits add a quart of fresh boiled young green peas, (you do not take out the onions as previously,) season with a little sugar and salt, dress the rabbits on a dish, and sauce over; the sauce requires to be rather thick, but yet not too thick; if too thin it would have a bad appearance, and if too thick it would be unpleasant eating.
Skin and truss two young rabbits, make a stuffing of the livers as directed in faisan à la corsaire (No. 544); stuff the rabbits and roast them, baste them well whilst roasting by throwing flour over them and moistening with butter, and when roasted have ready the following sauce: put two teaspoonfuls{256} of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with a small piece of butter, pass them for five minutes over a slow fire, then add half a pint of melted butter (No. 71), keep it stirred over the fire, and when beginning to boil add two ounces of fresh butter, a little salt, pepper, and the juice of a lemon, shake the stewpan over the fire till the butter is melted; dress your rabbits upon a dish, sauce over and serve.
Truss and stuff two very fine young rabbits as above, lard the fillets and roast a nice colour; you have previously filleted three young rabbits, take off the skin of the fillets and lard them with very fine bacon, then put some thin slices of bacon and onions cut in slices in a sauté-pan, put your fillets upon them, cover with white stock, lay a sheet of buttered paper over and put them in the oven for half an hour, give your fillets a good colour, dress your rabbits in the centre, the fillets around upon a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with a sauce Soubise (No. 47) poured round.
Truss two young rabbits as usual, and put them in a stewpan, with a quart of water and a pint of milk, stew them half an hour or till tender, place them on a dish and serve them up covered with onion sauce (No. 47).
Procure an oval raised-pie mould, about four inches in height, five in breadth, and nine in length; then make the following paste: put two pounds of flour on your pastry slab, make a hole in the middle, put a quarter of a pound of chopped suet and a quarter of a pound of butter in a{257} stewpan, with half a pint of water, let it boil one minute, pour it into the flour, mix with a spoon until cool enough to work with the hands, work it smooth, and when nearly cold roll out a sheet three quarters of an inch in thickness, with which line the mould, pressing the paste equally at all parts; you have cut twelve or more lambs’ cutlets, leave them thick and take away the bones, lay the cutlets in the pie alternately with slices of potatoes about a quarter of an inch in thickness until it is quite full, season highly as you proceed with pepper, salt, chopped onions, and chopped parsley, make a cover with the trimmings of the paste, ornament it to fancy, work up the edges with the fingers, and crimp it nicely with the paste-nippers, let it stand two hours to get dry, egg the top and bake it three hours in a moderate oven; when done cut out the lid, take as much fat from the top as possible, put half a pint of good stock in a stewpan, with a pint of white sauce (No. 7), and a small piece of glaze, reduce till rather thick, add a little sugar, pour in the sauce, take out of the mould, put on the cover and serve very hot; if care be taken in baking the crust will be a bright yellow colour.
Line a mould with paste as in the last, fill it as there described, using mutton cutlets instead of lamb, and more onions in the seasoning, give it half an hour longer to bake, and use brown instead of white sauce to fill it up; serve in the same manner as the last.
Line a mould with the paste as before, have twenty or more pieces of fillet of beef, in slices a quarter of an inch in thickness, season them on a dish with pepper, salt, and onions, dip each piece in flour, and grate a little nutmeg{258} over them, have also ready twenty thin slices of lean ham, but the same size as the pieces of beef, and twenty slices of potatoes one inch in thickness, put a layer of beef at the bottom of the pie, then a layer of the ham, then potatoes, proceeding in like manner till it is full, cover and bake as before; when ready to serve pour in a brown sauce as in the last.
Line a mould with paste as before, take a piece of veal from the leg, from which cut twenty-four escalopes the thickness of three five-shilling-pieces, but rather larger, have also two large throat sweetbreads, boil them in water a quarter of an hour, and cut them into escalopes the same size as the veal, cut also thirty very thin escalopes of streaky bacon the same size, season the whole very highly with pepper, salt, nutmeg, chopped parsley, and chopped eschalots, proceed to fill the pie, first lay in a piece of veal, then bacon, then sweetbread, bacon and veal again, proceeding in like manner till full, cover and bake three hours, when done sauce as for the pâté d’agneau and serve. You may place a couple of bay-leaves upon the top of each pie previous to covering, it is an improvement to all, especially lamb or veal.
Line a mould with paste as before, then cut up two chickens into neat pieces, taking off the wings with good fillets, leaving sufficient on the breast, which divide in two pieces, bone the legs, and divide the backs into two, put a quarter of a pound of butter in a stewpan, when it melts add your pieces of chicken, season with a little pepper, salt, and chopped eschalots, add two bay-leaves and place the stewpan twenty minutes over a very slow fire, then pour off{259} the butter and add a pint of white sauce (No. 7), stew ten minutes and pour them on a dish till cold, fill up the pie, placing the pieces of the back at the bottom, then the legs, then breast, finishing at the tops with the wings, have also twenty pieces of cooked ham about the size of five-shilling-pieces, which intersperse with the chicken, put a cover on and bake one hour and a half in a very warm oven, when done cut off the cover and take off as much of the fat as possible, put a pint of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with four spoonfuls of white stock, when it boils add about forty heads of mushrooms and half a teaspoonful of sugar, boil ten minutes, finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with a gill of cream, pour the sauce into the pie, put on the cover and serve.
Line a mould with paste as before, then take six young pigeons trussed with their legs inside, cut each pigeon in halves lengthwise, pass them in butter the same as the chickens, proceeding in the same manner, but using brown instead of white sauce, put them on a dish to cool, have the yolks of eight hard-boiled eggs (which cut in halves), and twelve slices of boiled streaky bacon, lay a slice of bacon and half a pigeon alternately in the pie, interspersing the hard-boiled yolks here and there, when filled cover and bake two hours in a moderate oven, when done take off the cover and as much fat as possible, then put a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) in a stewpan, with half a pint of good stock and an ounce of glaze, reduce to two thirds, pour into the pie which cover and serve as before.
Pâtés chauds may be made of all kinds of birds as pheasants, grouse, partridges, woodcocks, snipes, or larks, by following either of the two last recipes, but they are usually served as entrées, where I intend placing them.{260}
Line a mould with paste as before, then procure two or three young rabbits, according to the size, which cut into neat pieces, and place in a stewpan of boiling water for one minute, take them out, pass in butter, and proceed precisely as for pâté chaud de volaille (No. 622).
Vol-au-vents are usually served for entrées, but by cutting one larger and of an oval shape they may be served for flancs with any of the garnitures as directed in the entrées.
Wash in several waters two pounds of the best Carolina rice; when very clean put it into a stewpan, with two quarts of water, half a pound of butter, two large onions, and half an ounce of salt, set on a fire, and when boiling place it to simmer very gently on a slow fire for one hour; when done it must appear quite dry and tender to the finger, take out the onions and mix the rice well with a wooden spoon; if sufficiently done it will clog together, then put it in a mortar and pound it well till it forms but one mass, butter a baking-sheet, lay the rice upon it and you will be able to form it into any shape you please, but for flancs form it of an oval shape in imitation of a raised pie, (should the rice stick to your fingers dip them in cold water,) when of a proper shape and well elevated cut a piece of carrot or turnip in the form of a wedge, with which make impressions all round according to fancy, melt some butter, and with a paste-brush rub it all over the rice, put it in a very hot oven and bake it a light yellow colour; if well made it will retain its shape, and any design you may have impressed upon it; when well done make an incision with your knife{261} half an inch from the edge all round, and empty it to within half an inch from the bottom; it is then ready to serve with any of the ingredients as directed in the following.
Procure six house lambs’ tails, blanch them ten minutes in boiling water, then cut them in pieces an inch long; put a quarter of a pound of chopped suet in a stewpan, with two onions, a carrot cut up small, one turnip, three bay-leaves, six cloves, and a little thyme; pass the whole upon a slow fire ten minutes, add two tablespoonfuls of flour (mix well), two quarts of white stock, and a little salt; then add the tails, let simmer gently forty minutes or more till tender, take them out and drain upon a clean cloth, put into another stewpan a quart of white sauce and half a pint of white stock, reduce till rather thick, then add the tails, with twenty heads of mushrooms, a little chopped parsley, pepper, and salt, add the liaison from two yolks of eggs and a gill of cream; shake it over the fire, but do not let it boil, finish with a little lemon-juice, pour it in the casserole and serve.
Scald and cut four calves’ tails into pieces an inch long, dress them precisely as the lambs’ tails in the previous article, only allowing them longer to stew, terminate and serve as in the last.
Procure twelve lambs’ feet, throw them into boiling water for two minutes, extract the long bone by holding the feet in a cloth and moving the bone gently till it leaves the socket; when they are all done proceed as for the lambs{262}’ tails (No. 627), boiling them rather longer, sauce and serve precisely the same.
Procure ten small sheeps’ feet, dress them precisely as the lambs’ feet, but of course they will take more time; when tender divide each foot in two lengthwise, sauce and serve as directed for queues d’agneau (No. 627). Sheeps’ feet, commonly called sheeps’ trotters, are seldom used in this country to any real advantage, although in Paris they have made the fortunes of more than one restaurateur; one house was so famed for them, that its proprietor named it Restaurant du Pied de Mouton. About sixteen years ago epicures were seen from all parts of Paris trotting after a dinner of trotters, until the proprietor saved an immense fortune; but they are even now much thought of in Paris, both for their lightness and delicacy, and are always to be had in any of the first houses.
For my part I really think they deserve a better fate than that of being trotted about from bar to bar in palaces certainly containing the choicest spirits, and to be exposed on a cloth (semi-blanche) in a basket, and from thence to the honest, but not very delicate fingers of a London coalheaver or dustman; I must, however, observe that it is not my desire to deprive them of their luxury, but a mere wish to find a resting-place for the unfortunate trotters upon the tables of the affluent in this country, where they would be eaten and admired for their delicacy.
Have ready a casserole of rice as directed, then boil half a pound of riband macaroni in water ten minutes, strain it and put it in a stewpan, cut up a braised fowl, (or the{263} remains of some poultry from a previous dinner,) in as large pieces as possible, which put in the stewpan, with the macaroni and a quarter of a pound of lean ham, cover with a pint of very strong beef gravy; let all boil together a few minutes, then add a quarter of a pound of grated Parmesan cheese, a tablespoonful of tomata sauce (No. 37), and a little cayenne pepper, pour it in the casserole, egg and bread-crumb the top, put it in the oven twenty minutes and serve.
Prepare a casserole of rice as before, then mince the flesh of a fowl (or the remains of several) with two ounces of lean cooked ham and a few mushrooms, or truffles; put two spoonfuls of chopped onions in a stewpan, with two pats of butter; stir them over the fire two minutes, add half a spoonful of flour, (mix well) and a quart of white sauce (No. 7); boil altogether a short time, then add the mince, season with a little pepper and salt, finish with three tablespoonfuls of cream, and pour it in your casserole; you have previously boiled eight eggs in water five minutes, then put them in cold water, peel off the shells, warm them again in broth, and dress them on the mince at equal distances, the ends pointing to the centre; have also eight pieces of cooked tongue cut in the shape of cockscombs, warm them and place a piece upright between each egg; have ready a nice larded sweetbread, nicely cooked, which place in the centre, glaze the sweetbread and tongue, and pour a little white sauce over the eggs; serve very hot.
Prepare a casserole of rice, mince a fowl, with ham and truffles, and proceed as in the last; when done fill your{264} casserole; have ready twelve plovers’ eggs, peel off the shells, warm them in broth, and place them round on the mince points upwards at equal distances, apart; have previously boiled some nice asparagus, cut off the heads about an inch and a half in length, and stand a bunch of five or six heads between each plover’s egg, making them stand a little above the eggs; have also twelve very fine cockscombs ready cooked (see No. 128), which dress in the middle, put fifteen tablespoonfuls of white sauce in a stewpan, and when boiling add two pats of butter and a little lemon-juice, finish with a liaison of one yolk of egg, pour over the cockscombs and serve.
Prepare a casserole as before, prepare two chickens as directed in the entrée à la chevalière (No. 818); fill your casserole, by placing the pieces of back at the bottom, then the legs and pinions, pour the sauce and garniture over, dress the four larded fillets to meet in a point, and finish by placing a small white head of cauliflower, nicely boiled, on the top, in the centre of the fillets, and serve.
When you serve a dinner where four entrées and two flancs are required, it is the object of the host to see his table well garnished; and no hors-d’œuvres being served, you may make flancs of them, although, I must repeat, flancs ought to be composed of one solid piece, or, at any rate, not more than two or three pieces, but circumstances may require a deviation from this rule; I have therefore given a list of those hors-d’œuvres which may be used for flancs, by adding to the number required for a dish, and making them rather larger; the croustades de beurre and timbales must be dressed in a circle on a border of mashed potatoes, and the petits vol-au-vents in pyramid on a napkin.{265}
I will here give but the list; for directions you must refer to the chapter devoted to Hors-d’œuvres
Croustade de beurre aux huîtres.
Do. aux laitances de maquereaux.
Do. purée de volaille.
Do. purée de gibier.
Petits timbales aux œufs de pluviers.
Do. de volaille aux truffes.
Do. purée de riz de veau.
Do. quenelles de gibier.
Petits vol-au-vents aux huîtres.
Do. aux filets de soles.
Do. de homard.
Do. of crab.
Entrées require to be small and elegant, as well as tasty; those which can be dressed in a crown like cotelettes, quenelles, or fillets of any description, are preferable, and more graceful, the garniture being placed in the centre; they are also more likely to be partaken of on account of the facility of serving, they being already carved, and much better than large pieces, such as whole fowls, vol-au-vents, or pâtés chauds; where you require flancs, by all means reserve them for that purpose; but in a dinner of four entrées only, you require to send two entrées light, and two (what I term) solid, for the sake of variety, for if you had four light entrées upon the table without flancs, there would not appear sufficient dinner for the assembled guests, but the solid entrées may be made to look exceedingly light if carried to a height corresponding to their breadth; in dishing your entrées always allow an inch between the entrée and the rim of the dish, or if the dishes are large leave more space; the round entrée dishes are the most preferable, and should not be more than an inch and a half, or less than an inch in depth.
No. 635. Of Beef for Entrées.
Of all kinds of butchers’ meat, beef, though so useful in cooking, presents the least variation for entrées, the fillet being the only part that can be used to any advantage.
No. 636. Escalopes de Filet de Bœuf à la Reform.
Take out the fillet from beneath a rump of beef, take off all the fat, and cut it into slices (lengthwise) half an inch{267} in thickness, beat them well with the cutlet-bat, which previously dip in water, then cut them into ten or twelve escalopes, the size and shape of fillets of chickens, lay each piece upon the table, season with pepper, salt, and a little chopped eschalots, cut two very thin slices of fat bacon to each escalope of beef, trim the bacon to the same size and shape, egg over the escalopes of beef, and stick a piece of the bacon upon each side of them, then egg all over and throw them into a dish of bread-crumbs mixed with chopped lean cooked ham; take them out, beat lightly with your knife, put a little oil in a sauté-pan, place it over a moderate fire, when quite hot put in your escalopes, fry a nice colour, and dress in crown upon a thin border of mashed potatoes, glaze nicely; sauce over with a sauce reforme (No. 35), and serve.
Cut twelve escalopes of beef as described in the last, scrape a quarter of a pound of fat bacon, melt it in a stewpan, and pass it through a sieve into a well-tinned sauté-pan, then lay in your escalopes, season them with a tablespoonful of chopped eschalots, and a little pepper and salt, pass them over the fire five minutes, and leave them to get cold in the sauté-pan; you have procured half a pound of pork sausage-meat, which place in a mortar, add to it three tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), a little chopped parsley, also a little thyme, and one bay-leaf, chopped very fine, pound all well together and mix it with one egg; you have also procured a pig’s caul, cut it in twelve square pieces, each the size of a small hand, lay a little of the sausage-meat in the centre a quarter of an inch in thickness, upon which lay one of the escalopes, with the bacon and seasoning which is attached, cover with a little more of the sausage-meat and wrap them up in the caul, keeping the{268} same shape as the pieces of beef and as flat as you can, proceed in like manner till they are all finished; put them in a cool place ten minutes, before serving put them over a good fire upon a gridiron, broil them a nice colour, dress them in a crown, fill the centre with some very white stewed choucroute (No. 116), and serve very hot.
Prepare twelve escalopes of beef as before, and cook them precisely as in the last; have ready prepared two Portugal onions, which peel and blanch ten minutes in boiling water, then put them into a stewpan just large enough to contain them, cover with some white veal stock, add a bunch of parsley, and stew for an hour or more till quite tender, the smallest one will of course be the first done, take it off and keep it hot till the second one is done, then place the largest upon a piece of mashed potatoes in the centre of your dish, dress the escalopes around upon a small border of mashed potatoes, the points inclining inwards; dress the smaller onion upon the larger, and run a silver attelet through them both; pass the stock the onions were stewed in through a tammie into another stewpan, reduce it to a demi-glace, skim it well, add four tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), boil altogether a minute, sauce over and serve.
Cut twenty-four escalopes of beef as before, but not half so thick, put four tablespoonfuls of forcemeat (No. 120) in a basin with two spoonfuls of chopped lean ham and the yolk of an egg, mix well together, then lay twelve of the escalopes of beef upon the table, put a little of the forcemeat on each, spread it all over with a knife, lay a very thin slice of cooked ham, fat and lean, upon each, spread a little{269} more of the forcemeat over, then lay one of the other twelve escalopes upon each, season with a little pepper and salt; egg over with a paste-brush, and throw them into bread-crumbs and chopped parsley mixed, take them out, beat lightly with your knife, and fry carefully in a sauté-pan with lard, dress them in a crown, glaze and have ready the following sauce: put an ounce of glaze in a sauté-pan, with two spoonfuls of broth and two of white sauce; when boiling, add half an ounce of very fresh butter, half a teaspoonful of sugar, and a little lemon-juice (do not let it boil after you have put in the butter), sauce over and serve.
Cut twenty escalopes as in the last article, then blanch and beard two or three dozen of Ostend or small oysters, and cut them up in small dice, then put half a teaspoonful of chopped onions in a stewpan with a small piece of butter, pass them over the fire three minutes, add half a tablespoonful of flour (mix well), four tablespoonfuls of the juice of the oysters, and four of white sauce, boil altogether five minutes, keeping it stirred, then add the oysters with a little essence of anchovies and cayenne pepper; place it again on the fire, and just as it begins to boil add the yolk of an egg, stir it well in and set it on a dish to cool, then lay ten of the escalopes upon the table, and spread a little of the above upon each, cover the ten other escalopes over them, season with a little pepper and salt, egg, bread-crumb, and fry as in the last; glaze, dress them in crown, and have ready the following sauce: put half an ounce of glaze in a stewpan with six tablespoonfuls of good stock and four of brown sauce, place it on the fire, and when it boils add half an ounce of anchovy butter, pour the sauce in the dish and serve.{270}
Cut ten escalopes as described for à la reform, but rather thicker, lard each piece with bacon one inch long and narrow in proportion, but do not let the bacon show far out of the beef, then prepare two quarts of marinade (see filet de bœuf à la Bohémienne, No. 426); lay your escalopes in a dish, and strain the marinade over, let them remain about twenty-four hours, take them out and lay them on a cloth, cover the bottom of the sauté-pan with thin slices of fat bacon, lay the escalopes over, add a little of the liquor, but not sufficient to cover them; place a sheet of buttered paper over the sauté-pan and put them in a slow oven for half an hour or more, moisten them now and then with their stock, and when nearly done glaze and give them a little colour with the salamander, take them out, drain on a cloth, and dress in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes; have ready the following sauce: pass the stock they were cooked in through a tammie into a stewpan, boil it at the corner of the stove, skim off all the grease, add half a pint of brown sauce, and reduce it till it forms a good demi-glaze, then add a spoonful of currant jelly and a pat of butter, mix it quickly and sauce over, season a little more if required.
Take the best part of a fillet of beef, that is, about the middle, cut eighteen slices three quarters of inch in thickness, and beat them with your small chopper to the thickness of half an inch; cut each slice into an oval piece, cut also six oval pieces of suet from the kidney, about half the size, and not so thick as the fillet, dip the pieces of fillet in flour, previously seasoning them with pepper and salt; fry in clarified butter in a sauté-pan over a sharp fire, egg and{271} bread-crumb the pieces of fat, fry them after the pieces of fillet, dress them alternately with the fillets in a crown, and serve with any of the following sauces:
Sauce piquante (No. 27),
Do. à l’Italienne (No. 30),
Do. tomate (No. 37),
Do. poivrade (No. 32),
Do. à la Hollandaise (No. 66),
or any of the sauces described for fillets of beef in the Removes, but of course preparing a smaller quantity; you can also convert the remains of a fillet of beef left from a remove into an entrée, by cutting it into slices and trimming it into oval pieces, not cutting the larded part; lay the pieces in a sauté-pan and just cover them with a good strong gravy, place a sheet of paper over, and put them in a moderate oven till they are quite hot through, take them out and serve with any of the sauces mentioned for fillets of beef in the Removes.
Boil a salt ox-tongue three hours, and when cold cut ten pieces from the best part, of the shape of a fillet of fowl, and half an inch in thickness, then put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions in a sauté-pan with one of oil, place the pan over a sharp fire, keeping it stirred with a wooden spoon; when the onions become tender (but not to change colour) pour off all the oil, add a spoonful of chopped mushrooms, one of chopped parsley, and a pint of white sauce (No. 7), moisten with a little white stock, and reduce it till it becomes very thick, then add the pieces of tongue, toss over in the sauce, and leave them to get cold; have cut ten pieces of white paper in the shape of hearts, and large enough to fold a piece of the tongue in each, spread a little of the cold sauce upon the paper, then a slice of the tongue,{272} which cover with more of the sauce, twist up the papers and broil them gradually ten minutes, serve them in the papers dressed in a crown, with a sauce Italienne (No. 30) under them; the tongues of any other animals, whether pickled or not, may be served in this manner, but of course the sauce must be more highly seasoned for the fresh tongue than for the pickled one.
Boil two tongues separately, one pickled very red, and the other not pickled; cut six pieces from the thick part of each, about the size and shape of fillets of fowl, place the twelve pieces in a sauté-pan with an ounce of glaze and four tablespoonfuls of consommé (No. 134), place over the fire, and let it remain till the pieces are quite hot, but do not let it boil; dress them alternately on a border of mashed potatoes in crown, and prepare a sauce thus: place the sauté-pan again on the fire, and add ten tablespoonfuls of tomata sauce (No. 37), with four of consommé and a little sugar, boil a few minutes, pour over the tongue, glaze the red pieces, and serve.
Proceed with the tongues precisely as in the last, and prepare the following sauce: cut about fifty scoops of carrots and fifty of turnips (with an iron scoop) a little larger than a pea, peel also forty very small onions, put them altogether in a stewpan with an ounce of butter and a quarter of an ounce of powdered sugar, pass them for ten minutes over a sharp fire, tossing them over now and then; add half a pint of good white stock, let them stew till tender and the broth is reduced to glaze, then turn them into the sauté-pan with the stock you warmed the tongue in, stir all round together, dress the vegetables in the centre,{273} pour the glaze over the tongue, and serve; if the carrots are old they require to be stewed separately, as they take so much longer than the turnip or onion.
Prepare twelve pieces of tongue as before, either pickled or fresh, dress them round upon your dish, put a pint of sauce piquante (No. 27) in the sauté-pan with a little sugar, boil altogether a minute, sauce over, and serve immediately; you can also serve dressed spinach or endive (Nos. 106 and 119) with it; if you serve an entrée of pickled tongue, it should be placed near an entrée of fowl or veal, or near to a remove of the same description, with which they eat much better, and for entrées of fresh tongue, season the sauces rather high.
A few very nice entrées may be made of ox-tails; they certainly do not make handsome ones, but their delicate flavour supplies their deficiency in appearance.
For one entrée take two fine tails, cut them at the joints into pieces, or saw them into pieces an inch thick, which last way in my opinion is best, the pieces not being so clumsy; when cut put them into a stewpan, with three large onions, one carrot, one turnip, six cloves, a blade of mace, four bay-leaves, four sprigs of thyme, and a tablespoonful of salt; cover them with second stock or water, place the stewpan over the fire, and let it boil at the corner till the pieces are tender, and leave the bone easily; when done lay them on a cloth to drain, put a little mashed potatoes upon the bottom of your dish, build up the pieces pyramidically, and have ready the following sauce: scoop fifty pieces of turnips the size of small marbles, put them in a stewpan with half a tablespoonful of powdered sugar{274} and half an ounce of butter, pass them ten minutes over a sharp fire, add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) and a few tablespoonfuls of broth or brown gravy (No. 135), with a bunch of parsley and a bay-leaf, let them simmer at the corner of the stove until the turnips are tender, take them out with a colander spoon and put them into a clean stewpan, reduce and skim the sauce well, and when of a proper thickness, pass it through a tammie over the turnips, make all hot together, sauce over the tails, and serve.
Cook and dress the tails as before, then cut some carrots and turnips with button onions, as directed for the tongue à la jardinière (No. 645), pass them in a stewpan, with a little butter and powdered sugar, ten minutes over a sharp fire, add a pint of brown sauce, with a quarter of a pint of stock, boil on the corner of the stove (skim well) until the vegetables are tender, and the sauce attains a good consistency; season with a little salt and sugar if required, sauce over, and serve.
Cook and dress the tails as before, have ready a quart of sauce au jus d’échalotte (No. 16), but not quite so acid as there directed, reduce till rather thick; have ready a good tablespoonful of chopped gherkins, and when the sauce is boiling throw them in, season with a little sugar and salt, sauce over, and serve. The sauce requires to be thick enough to adhere to the pieces of tails.
Cook the tails as before, have ready about a quart of currie sauce (No. 46), moisten it with twenty spoonfuls of stock, stir in a stewpan over the fire, and reduce it till it{275} adheres to the back of the spoon; then put in your ox-tails, and stand the stewpan in a bain marie till wanted, dress them in pyramid upon your dish, add twenty mushrooms to the sauce, which boil and skim, pour over, and serve with some boiled rice very dry (No. 129) upon a separate dish, to be placed on the side table.
Cook the tails as before, select ten of the best pieces, which drain well upon a cloth, have ready prepared about half a pint of sauce Durcelle (No. 704), let it get cold, then spread some over each piece of tail to entirely cover it, egg and bread-crumb, and place them in a warm oven twenty minutes, salamander a nice brown colour, dress in pyramid on your dish, and serve with some sauce aux fines herbes (No. 26) round.
Cook and select ten of the best pieces as above, but instead of surrounding them with a sauce Durcelle spread a purée of onions, as for cotelettes à la Provençale (No. 701), a quarter of an inch in thickness over them, egg and bread-crumb twice each, and just before serving fry in very hot lard; then put a pint of brown sauce in a stewpan, with a quarter of a pint of consommé (No. 134), and a little piece of scraped garlic the size of a pea; reduce and skim till becoming a nice demi-glace, dress in pyramid, and pour the sauce round.
Palates of beef, if properly dressed, are very delicate eating, being of a gelatinous substance, they are much to be recommended; the reason, I believe, they are so seldom used, is the difficulty of giving them a graceful appearance{276} in the dish; to obviate which, I have introduced one or two new receipts; I never expect it will be a fashionable dish, yet I think they are likely to bring them more in vogue.
For one entrée take four palates, put them in a large stewpan with lukewarm water for four or five hours to disgorge, then pour off the water, cover again with fresh water and put them on the fire till the palates begin to get hard, take one out and put it in cold water, scrape it with a knife, and if the skin comes off easily, take out the rest, but if not leave them a little longer, scrape them until you have got off all the skin, and nothing but the white, half-transparent substance remains, when done, prepare a white stock (No. 133), in which boil them three or four hours till very tender; try them with a knife, take them up and lay them flat upon a dish, put a little of the stock in the dish with them, then place another dish of the same size over them, and let them remain till quite cold, they are then ready for use.
Having prepared four palates as in the last, cut each in three, of an oval shape, each piece to be about the size of a fillet of fowl, then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan with a very small piece of butter, stir a few minutes over a slow fire, add a quart of white sauce (No. 7), and reduce it till becoming thick, keeping it stirred, then take it off the fire, add the yolk of two eggs, stir very quickly, and season with a little pepper, salt, and chopped parsley; then take each piece of palate singly on a fork and dip in the sauce, when well covered lay it on a dish to get cold; when all done, and half an hour before dinner-time, dip them into three eggs well beaten together, then into bread-crumbs, then into the eggs and bread-crumbs again, beat lightly with a knife, and fry them a nice colour in very{277} hot lard; serve with a sauce ravigote (No. 44) under, and dress them in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes.
Have four palates prepared, which cut into thirty pieces with a round cutter, the size of a shilling, dip each piece into sauce, but a little thinner than above, and lay them on a dish to cool; cut twenty pieces of dressed tongue of the same size, and twenty slices of large truffles, with twenty of mushrooms, then have eight small silver skewers (or attelets), upon which place the pieces of palates, placing either a slice of tongue, truffle, or mushroom between each; when you have stuck them all on the skewers, have a little of the sauce you dipped the palates in, spread a little over the crevices between to make them look like one, dip each attelet in eggs and bread-crumbs twice over, and fry a nice colour in hot lard; dress them three at the bottom, then three above, the reverse of the others to form a square, and the other two across, garnish with plenty of fried parsley, and serve very hot.
Proceed, fry, and dress them as directed for à la ravigote; serve with the following sauce: chop two large onions very fine and put them in a stewpan with an ounce of butter, place them over the fire, keeping stirred till they become rather yellow, then pour off as much butter as you can; add a glass of port wine and a piece of glaze the size of a walnut, let simmer five minutes, add twelve tablespoonfuls of brown sauce and six of consommé (No. 134), reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, season with a little cayenne pepper and sugar, pour the sauce in the centre and round your palates, have a good handful of fried parsley, which place in a pyramid in the centre, and serve very hot.{278}
Prepare four palates of beef as before, which cut into twelve oval pieces, have ready some forcemeat (No. 120), place a little on the bottom of a sauté-pan in a circle (the size you require your entrée), then cover each piece of palate with the remainder, and dress them in a crown upon the forcemeat in the sauté-pan; egg and bread-crumb, place them in a moderate oven for three quarters of an hour, if getting too much colour cover some paper over; when done, detach it from the sauté-pan with a thin long knife, and with a fish-slice remove it into your dish, sauce over with a sauce Italienne (No. 30), and serve. Should you have a silver dish for au gratins, it would be preferable to dress it upon that, as it would not require moving.
Make a vol-au-vent as described (No. 1140), have ready prepared four palates, which cut into pieces with a round cutter the size of half-a-crown, put them into a stewpan with ten mushrooms, a quart of white sauce (No. 7), and six spoonfuls of white stock; when boiling, add a bunch of parsley, let simmer on the corner of the stove half an hour, skim, take out the parsley if too thick, add a little more stock, throw in a pat of butter, a little chopped parsley, pepper, salt, sugar, and a little lemon-juice, finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs, let it set over the fire, but not boil, fill the vol-au-vent and serve.
It may be served also in a casserole of rice (No. 626), or flat, as a blanquette, in an entrée-dish garnished with croutons of bread.
Have prepared four palates, which cut into twelve oval{279} pieces, put two tablespoonfuls of salad-oil in a deep sauté-pan, with four of chopped onions, stir with a wooden spoon five minutes over a sharp fire, then pour off as much of the oil as possible, add a quart of white sauce (No. 7), a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and one of chopped mushrooms, with six of white stock, boil altogether five minutes, keeping it stirred; add a little grated nutmeg, then put in your pieces of palates, boil a few minutes longer, and turn the whole on a dish to get cold; finish dressing, and serve as directed for aiguillettes de langue de bœuf (No. 643).
Cook and prepare a calf’s head as directed in the Removes (No. 462); only for entrees you must cut much smaller pieces, and of course you require a much smaller quantity of sauce. I have merely repeated it here to show that it may be served as an entrée; but great care must be taken in boiling the head, for if not done enough it is not eatable, and if done too much it would be impossible to dress them on your dish. Care must also be taken in dishing up to make it look graceful, and it cannot be served too hot.
Prepare your calf’s head as in the last, and dress the pieces in crown upon mashed potatoes, have ready the following sauce: put a pint of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with eight spoonfuls of good white stock, boil ten minutes, keeping it stirred, add two ounces of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79), very highly seasoned, let it melt, but do not let the sauce boil after the butter is in, sauce over and serve immediately.{280}
Prepare and dish the calf’s head as before, serve with a sauce Hollandaise (No. 66) over it.
Prepare and dish as before, have ready the following sauce: put half a pint of white sauce (No. 7) with a pint of white stock, thirty small button-onions, a bunch of parsley, a sprig of thyme, and one bay-leaf, tied together, into a stewpan, simmer at the corner of the stove nearly an hour, skim and take out the bunch of herbs, then with a colander-spoon take out the onions, which put in a clean stewpan, reduce the sauce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, pass through a tammie over the onions, add twelve nice white blanched mushrooms, set again on the fire, and when nearly boiling, add a liaison of one yolk of egg (mixed with two tablespoonfuls of cream), stir in quickly, place over the fire another minute, keeping it stirred, but do not let it boil, add a little lemon-juice and chopped parsley, sauce over and serve immediately.
Prepare and dress the head as usual, and serve with a sauce à l’Indienne (No. 45).
Great care should be taken in choosing Indian pickles, no sort are of any service in cooking but the green prickly sort, when good they are milder eating, a good flavour, and firm to the touch, but if very hot and soft they are fit for nothing whatever.
Calf’s head may be served for entrées dressed as directed with sauce currie (No. 46), and rice, separate, or sauce poivrade, piquante, or tomates (Nos. 32, 27 and 37).{281}
It requires four ears to make an entrée, trim rather small and set them in warm water to disgorge for several hours, then prepare a white stock like for calf’s head (No. 459), put them in and stew for an hour or more till tender, leave them to get cold in their stock, then take half a pound of forcemeat (No. 120), to which add a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms; mix altogether with the yolk of an egg, take out the ears, which dry on a cloth, fill the inside with the forcemeat but not too full, have some eggs well beaten in a basin, dip the ears in, then throw them into bread-crumbs, fry in lard but not too hot as the forcemeat takes some time to cook, dress upon mashed potatoes on your dish and serve a sauce aux fines herbes (No. 26) under them.
Cook the ears as above, but do not stuff them, cut each ear in five or six pieces the long way, and put them in a basin with pepper, salt, two onions in slices, a little parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, eight cloves, three spoonfuls of vinegar, and two of oil; let them remain six hours or more, then take out the pieces of ear, wipe each piece with a cloth, have ready some batter (No. 1285), dip the pieces in separately, let them be covered in every part, and drop them into hot lard, they will take five minutes to fry, dress them on a dish with a sauce au jus de tomates (No. 12) under them; garnish with fried parsley and serve. Two ears will be sufficient for the above.
Procure four tongues, which put in warm water to disgorge, then put them in a stewpan, with two onions, one carrot, one turnip, two bay-leaves, one blade of mace, and{282} six cloves; cover with white broth or water, if water add a scrag of veal, half a pound of lean ham, and a little salt; place on the fire, and when it commences boiling skim it and place it at the corner of the stove till the tongues are done, which you can ascertain by pricking them with a packing-needle; if it goes in easy they are done; take them up and peel off the skin, cut each tongue into three slices of the shape of cotelettes, dress them in a crown upon mashed potatoes, glaze well, and serve with a sauce aux champignons (No. 52). If the tongues are boiled the day previous, warm them as directed langue de bœuf (No. 644).
Calves’ tongues dressed this way may also be served with sauce à la jardinière (No. 100), sauce piquante, or sauce poivrade (Nos. 27 and 32).
Procure two sets of brains, leave them four hours in water to disgorge, take off the skin which covers them, and put them in a stewpan, with a pint of water, one wineglass of vinegar, some salt, two onions sliced, a carrot, a few cloves, and a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf; let boil gently from twenty minutes to half an hour, take them up, lay on a cloth, and cut each one in halves, place them in the dish and serve with a sauce Hollandaise (No. 66), matelote (No. 62), maître d’hôtel (No. 43), or piquante (No. 27), or beurre noir (No. 306).
Four calves’ tails are quite sufficient for an entrée, procure them as large and as white as possible; cut them in pieces an inch and a quarter in length, and put them into a stewpan, with a quart of good white stock, two onions, half a carrot, head of celery, three cloves, a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf; set on the fire to boil, skim, and place{283} it at the corner to simmer for two hours, or until the tails are done, which you can tell by pressing them with your finger, drain them on a cloth, lay a little mashed potatoes on the bottom of your entrée dish, stand the larger pieces perpendicularly upon it, then again other pieces upon them, till they form a pyramid; have ready a good ravigote sauce (No. 44), rather highly seasoned, which pour over and serve; the sauce should be thick enough to adhere to the pieces.
Cook and dress the tails as before, and sauce as directed for turban de tête de veau à la poulette (No. 663).
The middle-sized heart-breads are to be preferred to the over large or small, the throat-bread is rarely used to dress and serve whole, but may be served in blanquettes, vol-au-vents, or ragouts. Sweetbreads cannot be too white, if red when brought in leave them four or five hours in warm water to disgorge, put them in a stewpan well covered with water to blanch, (if you put them in cold water they will be blanched enough as soon as the water begins to boil), throw them a minute in cold water, then lay them on a dish face downwards, place the bottom of another dish upon them, on which place a four pounds weight, they are then ready for use where directed; three sweetbreads are sufficient for an entrée if rather large, and four if small.
Take three good sweetbreads, blanch as directed, then lard them (with very thin strips of fat bacon an inch and a half in length) from top to bottom an inch and a half in width, and again from one side to the other to form a cross; have thirty-six pieces of truffles cut in the shape of cloves, but much thicker and rather longer, (twelve for each sweetbread{284}), make a hole with a larding-needle in the centre of the cross in which place a piece of the truffle, proceeding in like manner in the centre of the bacon at equal distances apart, cover the bottom of a flat stewpan with fat bacon, lay the sweetbreads upon it, cover the bottom of the stewpan about the depth of two inches with stock, place it over the fire till the stock boils, put it in the oven about half an hour will be sufficient to cook them, (but that depends upon their size and the heat of the oven,) try them with a larding-needle, if quite tender through they are done; but if soft in the middle and toughish leave them a little longer, glaze them lightly and salamander a nice gold colour, drain them on a cloth and have ready the following sauce: blanch one ounce of riband macaroni in water till tender, dry, and put it in a stewpan, with ten spoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), and two of tomata sauce (No. 37), with a piece of glaze, reduce till rather thick, then add twenty heads of mushrooms and two tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese; season with a little sugar and cayenne, pour the sauce in your dish, dress the sweetbreads over and serve very hot.
Blanch four small heart-sweetbreads as directed, and lard them nicely from end to end lengthwise, with fat bacon an inch and a half in length, and breadth in proportion, braise as directed in the last; have ready a ring of forcemeat (No. 120) made in a round plain mould[7] well buttered, with a round piece of bread in the centre; lay the forcemeat round the bread an inch and a half in thickness, place the mould in a stewpan of boiling water, (but do not let the{285} water get into the mould), place the stewpan over the fire till the forcemeat is set, then take it out, detach the bread from the centre and turn out the forcemeat, which will be a complete ring, place it on the dish, cut each of the sweetbreads in halves and dress them upon it, the cut part towards the middle; then have ready blanched half a pound of good rice as directed (No. 129), put it in a stewpan, with six pats of butter, two spoonfuls of cream, a little saffron powder, pepper, salt, and sugar; mix all together and dress in pyramid in the centre, place a fine (dressed) cockscomb between each half sweetbread, sauce over the rice with sauce au suprème (No. 57), glaze the sweetbreads and serve.
Blanch, lard, and braise three sweetbreads as before; have ready a ragout à la financière (No. 50), which pour in the dish, dress your sweetbreads over, glaze lightly and serve.
Blanch, lard, and braise three sweetbreads as before, but keep them a more delicate colour and drain them well upon a cloth; when you take them from the stewpan have ready a purée of asparagus (No. 102), which pour into the dish, dress the sweetbreads over and serve.
Larded sweetbreads may be also served with a truffle sauce (No. 51), Palestine, jardinière, aux concombres, dressed spinach, or endive (see Nos. 87, 100, 103, 106, and 119.)
Heart-sweetbreads are also preferable for roasting, although the throat-breads may be used; blanch as before and let them cool, place them in a stewpan, with two onions, two cloves, a blade of mace, a carrot, quarter of a pound of lean ham, a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf,{286} just cover with a good stock, and place them on the fire to boil twenty minutes, take them out, dry on a cloth, egg and bread-crumb them twice over, then run a long flat skewer through them lengthwise, which tie up on a spit, roast before a fierce fire till they become a nice light brown, keeping them basted with butter; pass the stock they were boiled in through a sieve into another stewpan, boil and skim well, place the sweetbreads in a dish, pour some of the stock round and serve; it may also be served with sauce piquante, poivrade, or tomata (Nos. 27, 32, 37).
Roast four sweetbreads as directed in the last, and let them remain till cold, then open and empty them, thus making a case, leaving it a quarter of an inch in thickness; cut up what you have taken from them in slices, have also twenty small pieces of cucumber, prepared as directed for sauce (No. 103), put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with a very small piece of butter, pass over the fire a few minutes, but keep them quite white, then add three parts of a pint of white sauce (No. 7) and a little milk, reduce till thickish, keeping it stirred, add the sweetbread and cucumber, season with a little sugar and salt, and when it boils add a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with half a gill of cream; do not let it boil afterwards, fill the cases and cover the opening with a little very thick fritter butter (No. 1285), place them in a sharp oven, and as soon as the batter is baked sufficient, dress them on your dish, three at the bottom and one on the top; serve with a thin bechamel sauce (No. 7) under.
Blanch three sweetbreads twenty minutes, and when cold cut each bread into four slices lengthwise, and trim in{287} the shape of fillets of fowl, well butter the bottom of a sauté-pan, lay in the escalopes, keeping them in their shapes, season over with a little white pepper, salt, and the juice of half a lemon, place over a slow fire, ten minutes will be sufficient to cook them; when done on one side turn, keep them quite white, lay them on a cloth to drain, and dress in crown on a border of mashed potatoes; serve with a sauce au suprème (No. 57) poured over.
Dress three sweetbreads as in the last, and serve a sauce aux pointes d’asperges (No. 101) in the centre.
Dress three sweetbreads as in the two last, but keep them rather underdone; when cold egg and bread-crumb them twice over, put six spoonfuls of oil in a sauté-pan, place it over the fire, and when hot lay in the escalopes, which fry a nice light brown colour, dress in a crown on a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with a nice white Indian sauce (No. 45) in the centre, previously glazing the escalopes lightly.
Blanch four throat-sweetbreads, and cut them in slices one size larger and three times the thickness of a shilling, butter the bottom of a sauté-pan and put in two tablespoonfuls of chopped eschalots, lay the pieces of sweetbread over, season with a little salt and pepper, and place them over a slow fire; when done add a spoonful of chopped mushrooms, one of chopped parsley, half a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), a little glaze, half a pint of broth, a little powdered sugar and grated nutmeg; let simmer altogether ten minutes, moving them round by shaking the sauté-pan,{288} have six or eight small paper boxes, or cases, fill each of them three parts full with the above, egg the top with a paste-brush, sprinkle bread-crumbs over and place them in a warm oven twenty minutes, pass the salamander over, dress them in pyramid on your dish, and serve with plenty of fried parsley.
Prepare the sweetbreads precisely as in the last, but add a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with four tablespoonfuls of cream, and leave them to get cold in the sauce, have six silver skewers (atelettes), and run six or eight pieces of sweetbread upon each, with as much sauce as possible adhering to them, smooth round with a knife, dip them in eggs well beaten in a basin, then into bread-crumbs, beat lightly with a knife, dip them again into the bread-crumbs, fry in hot lard, dress them as described for atelettes de palates de bœuf (No. 655), and serve a sauce Italienne (No. 30) under.
Blanch three throat-sweetbreads twenty minutes, cut them in slices the size and double the thickness of half-crown-pieces, cut also into thin slices six good-sized truffles, then put a tablespoonful of chopped eschalots in a convenient-sized stewpan, with a small piece of butter, pass them a few minutes over a sharp fire, keeping them quite white, add a pint of white sauce (No. 7), reduce three minutes, then add the sweetbread and truffles, season with a little salt and sugar, simmer gently five minutes, finish with a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with half a gill of cream, pour it out in your dish and garnish with eight large triangular croutons of bread (in the form of a star) fried in butter, which glaze and serve.{289}
Make a vol-au-vent as directed (No. 1140), cook two sweetbreads with truffles as in the last, and when ready to serve fill your vol-au-vent, which glaze lightly and serve very hot.
Sweetbreads may also be served either in blanquettes or vol-au-vents, with cucumbers, stewed mushrooms, slices of tongue or ham, instead of truffles.
For one entrée you will require the tendrons from two breasts of veal, which are cut out without injuring the breasts, and afterwards stewed (see breast of veal in the Removes); tie the two tendrons together and put them in a deep stewpan, with two carrots, four onions, six cloves, a good bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf; cover with a second stock, place them on the fire, and when boiling draw it on the corner, skim, and let stew gently for six or seven hours; when done (which you may ascertain by running the point of your knife through them, if tender they are done, if not stew them till they are,) lay them on a dish, take away the string, pull out the small bones which may remain, and place another dish of the same size upon them, on which place a seven pounds weight; when quite cold and set, cut twelve pieces out of them either of an oval or diamond shape, but not too large, egg and bread-crumb the sides but not the edges twice over, and fry them gently of a light-brown colour in a sauté-pan. Serve with any of the sauces directed for the sweetbreads.
Prepare two tendrons as before, and when quite cold cut out twelve pieces of any shape you please, but one third{290} less than in the previous article, put a quart of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with six spoonfuls of white stock and two of chopped mushrooms; reduce till thick enough to cover the back of the spoon, take it off the fire and stir in the yolks of two eggs very quickly, take your pieces of tendrons one at a time with a fork, dip them in the sauce so that they are covered on every part, and lay them on a dish to get cold; have ready some fritter batter (No. 1285), dip each piece of tendron with as much sauce as adheres to it, and fry in very hot lard, dress them in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, fill the centre with fried watercresses, for sauce put a gill of cream in a stewpan, and when boiling add two pats of butter and a little salt; when the butter is quite melted sauce round and serve.
Proceed precisely as in the last, but instead of dipping them in the batter, egg and bread-crumb twice over and fry in very hot lard of a fine yellow colour; serve with a sauce tomate (No. 37) poured round.
Veal cotelettes require to be cut from the neck in the same shape as mutton cutlets, four are sufficient for an entrée, they must be very nicely larded on one side, like a sweetbread, braise in the same kind of manner until very tender, glaze lightly, and salamander of a light-brown colour; have ready boiled a pint of young peas, which put in a stewpan, with two pats of butter, a little salt, and a teaspoonful of powdered sugar; when boiling finish with a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with a tablespoonful of cream, pour into the dish and dress the cotelettes over in a square, glaze lightly and serve; dressed in the above manner they may also be served with sauce à la jardinière, aux navets au brun,{291} aux pointes d’asperges, aux concombres, sauce poivrade, or sauce tomate.
Cut six small veal cotelettes, do not lard them, put six tablespoonfols of oil in a sauté-pan, in which fry the cotelettes; when done pour off a little of the oil, put four tablespoonfuls of chopped onions, one of chopped parsley, one of chopped mushrooms, and twenty of brown sauce (No. 1) seasoned rather high, moisten with a little stock and simmer altogether twenty minutes, place the cotelettes on a dish in the sauce to get cold, cut six pieces of paper in the shape of hearts, oil them, and put a cotelette in each with as much of the sauce as possible around, fold each one up, plaiting it at the edges, broil them twenty minutes over a slow fire, and dress them in a circle on your dish without removing the papers.
Cut four large cotelettes, which season well, dip them in a basin containing two eggs well beaten, then throw them into a dish of bread-crumbs, in which you have mixed some finely chopped eschalots and parsley, beat them with your knife, dip them into warm clarified butter, and again into the bread-crumbs, beat again with your knife, and broil them nicely over a sharp fire; have in a stewpan six or eight well boiled mealy potatoes, add four pats of butter and a little pepper and salt, mash them well with a fork, adding a gill of cream by degrees, mixing quickly they will be very light, dress them in a pyramid on your dish, glaze the cotelettes, which stand upright against the potatoes, and serve; this is an excellent dish for luncheon.{292}
Are prepared exactly in the same manner as described for the flancs (No. 565), only they are not required so large, half the noix being quite sufficient, that is, cut into two slices, trim it of a nice shape, lard, dress, and serve, with the sauces as described for the flancs.
Cut twelve fillets from a noix de veau the size and shape of fillets of fowl, lard them nicely with very finely cut bacon, cover the bottom of a convenient-sized sauté-pan with thin slices of fat bacon, upon which lay the grenadins, add a little veal stock but not enough to cover them, place a sheet of buttered paper over and stand them in a moderate oven for an hour or till tender, moistening occasionally with a little of the stock; when done glaze them lightly and salamander of a light colour, then have prepared twenty young carrots and twenty young turnips, which cook as directed (No. 109), dish the grenadins in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes, place a pyramid of the potatoes in the centre of the dish, upon which dress the carrots and turnips in rotation; have ready the following sauce: put the glaze from your vegetables in a stewpan, with half a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), and a little good stock, place it on the fire, skim, and reduce until rather thick; sauce over your vegetables and serve.
Grenadins may be served with any of the sauces as described for noix de veau or sweetbreads.
The kidney being part of the loin is usually served with it, and a loin of veal roasted without it would be considered worthless, but still the loins may be dressed, as directed in{293} the Removes, without the kidneys; to stew them proceed as follows: cut three kidneys into thin slices, put an ounce of butter into a convenient-sized stewpan, place over the fire, and just as it begins to get brown throw in the kidneys, stir them over the fire with a wooden spoon, and when they become firm add half a tablespoonful of flour, stir it in, then add a glass of sherry, eight spoonfuls of broth, and twenty mushrooms, let all boil together five minutes, season with a little pepper, salt, nutmeg, and the juice of half a lemon, if too thick add more broth, pour them on a dish and serve, or they would look better served in a croustade of bread (No. 416) fried a nice yellow colour.
Proceed exactly as described for ris de veau en caisses (No. 681).
Make two pounds of veal forcemeat as directed (No. 120), cover the sides of a plain round mould with vegetables, precisely as directed for a Chartreuse (No. 604), then cut a piece of bread quite round, the depth of the mould, cover the bread with white buttered paper, and stand it in the centre of the mould,[8] leaving the space of an inch and a half all round, which fill up with the forcemeat, being careful not to disarrange the vegetables; when well filled, put the mould in a stewpan, cover with a piece of stiff paper, put water enough in the stewpan to come three parts of the way up the mould, place the stewpan over the fire and let it simmer gently (keeping it covered) nearly an hour, turn it out on your dish, take the bread and paper from the centre, sauce over with a good demi-glace (No. 9), and serve.{294}
Butter a plain round mould rather thickly, have five or six good-sized truffles chopped very fine, throw them in the mould, which roll round until the sides are quite covered with them; then prepare a piece of bread as in the last, fill the space up with the same forcemeat, blanch it in a stewpan as before, turn out on your dish, take away the bread, and serve with a sauce Périgueux (No. 55) over it.
For entrées the small South Down mutton is much to be preferred, the principal entrées made from mutton are cotelettes, which never will be out of vogue; I shall therefore give a numerous list of receipts for the dressing of them, but the manner of cutting them requires particular attention; the most simple method is to take the chine-bone off from the neck neatly with a saw, but not quite detaching all the meat from the bone, then cut it into chops, leaving a bone to each; with a knife cut off the skinny part from each side of the bone and a piece of the meat at the end of the bone, so as to leave a piece of bone about half an inch in length, then with a cotelette-bat beat them nearly to the same thickness as the bone, take the rough parts of the bone off with your chopper, and trim the cotelettes of a good shape, taking off a greater part of the fat and rounding the lean part nicely; but in cutting cotelettes to look well, much depends upon the taste of the person, they require to be cut some time previous to cooking, or they would shrink and loose their shape.
Chop a quarter of a pound of lean cooked ham very fine,
and mix it with the same quantity of bread-crumbs, then have ten very nice cotelettes, lay them flat on your table, season lightly with pepper and salt, egg over with a paste-brush, and throw them into the ham and bread-crumbs, then beat them lightly with a knife, put ten spoonfuls of oil in a sauté-pan, place it over the fire, and when quite hot lay in the cotelettes, fry nearly ten minutes (over a moderate fire) of a light brown colour; to ascertain when done, press your knife upon the thick part, if quite done it will feel rather firm; possibly they may not all be done at one time, so take out those that are ready first and lay them on a cloth till the others are done; as they require to be cooked with the gravy in them, dress upon a thin border of mashed potatoes in a crown, with the bones pointing outwards, sauce over with a pint of the sauce reform (No. 35), and serve. If for a large dinner you may possibly be obliged to cook the cotelettes half an hour before, in which case they must be very underdone, and laid in a clean sauté-pan, with two or three spoonfuls of thin glaze; keep them in the hot closet, moistening them occasionally with the glaze (with a paste-brush) until ready to serve; the same remark applies to every description of cotelettes.
Cut, bread-crumb, and fry ten mutton cotelettes as in the last, but let them be rather underdone, then have ready six large quenelles of veal (No. 120) quite cold, mash them in a basin with a wooden spoon, then add a teaspoonful of very finely chopped eschalots, two of chopped parsley, and a little grated nutmeg, with a tablespoonful of cold white sauce (No. 7) and the yolk of an egg; mix all well together, and put a piece of the size of a walnut upon each cotelette, spread it even, then have ten thin small slices of cooked ham, place a slice upon each cotelette, which again cover with{296} the forcemeat, forming a flattish dome, but not too thick; egg over with a paste-brush, sprinkle with bread-crumbs, put again into the sauté-pan, and place them in a moderate oven ten minutes, salamander a light colour, dress in crown on a thin border of mashed potatoes, and have ready the following sauce: put two yolks of eggs in a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter, a little pepper and salt, a tablespoonful of vinegar from India pickles, and a little lemon-juice, stir it quickly over the fire with a wooden spoon until beginning to thicken, then add ten tablespoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 7) with four of milk, stir over the fire, but do not let it boil, then pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, stir it another minute over the fire, sauce over, have two firm green India pickles and half an ounce of lean cooked ham chopped very fine, which sprinkle over and serve very hot.
Prepare ten cotelettes as in the last, mixing chopped Westphalia ham with the bread-crumbs instead of the common ham, likewise sprinkling ham over the forcemeat instead of bread-crumbs, place them in the oven as before, and salamander a nice colour, dress in crown as in the last, and have ready the following sauce: pound a quarter of a pound of lean Westphalia cooked ham very fine, add two ounces of butter and pass it through a hair sieve with a wooden spoon, then put a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) in a stewpan with six spoonfuls of consommé (No. 134) and a piece of glaze the size of a walnut; reduce and skim till becoming a good demi-glace, add two tablespoonfuls of tomata sauce, a little sugar, and the butter with the ham, stir over the fire until the butter is melted, sauce over and serve.{297}
Have ready ten cotelettes, season with a little pepper and salt, egg with a paste-brush, and dip them into bread-crumbs, beat lightly with a knife and fry in oil, but very much underdone, lay them on a cloth, and have ready the following: chop six middling-sized onions very fine and put them in a stewpan with two tablespoonfuls of oil, pass them over a moderate fire ten minutes, keeping stirred with a wooden spoon, then add half a tablespoonful of flour (mix well), half a pint of white sauce (No. 7), and four tablespoonfuls of good stock, boil altogether a quarter of an hour or till the onions are quite tender, season with a little pepper, salt, and nearly a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, draw the stewpan off the fire and stir in the yolks of two eggs, place over the fire another minute, pour it out on a dish to get cold, place a piece the size of a large walnut upon each cotelette, spread it over with a knife, leaving it thickest in the middle; egg them with a paste-brush, sprinkle bread-crumbs over, drop a little oil on each, put them in the same sauté-pan, place in the oven ten minutes, salamander a light brown, and dress them on your dish as before; have ready the following sauce: put nearly a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) in a stewpan with a piece of glaze the size of a walnut, and eight spoonfuls of consommé (No. 134); reduce and skim well till it adheres to the back of the spoon, add a little scraped garlic the size of a couple of peas, sauce over and serve; more garlic may be added if approved of.
Have twelve good cotelettes well-trimmed, lay them in a basin and pour a quart of good marinade hot over them (see filet de bœuf à la Bohémienne, No. 426), let them remain four or five days, turning them occasionally; when{298} wanted take them out, dry on a cloth, dip in flour and broil them quickly over a sharp fire, dress in crown like the cotelettes reform, and have ready the following sauce: a gill of the marinade in a stewpan, with two spoonfuls of tomata sauce (No. 37), six of brown sauce, and a piece of glaze the size of a walnut, reduce till it becomes half glaze again, then add a spoonful of red-currant jelly, three anchovies well washed, and cut into small diamond-shaped pieces, also twenty pieces of gherkins cut in the same shape, let warm in the sauce, which pour over and serve. The cotelettes may be bread-crumbed if required.
Prepare twelve cotelettes, season with a little pepper and salt, egg over with a paste-brush, and throw them into bread-crumbs, beat lightly with a knife, and fry them in clarified butter in a sauté-pan, dress on your dish as before, and serve with a sauce Soubise (No. 47) under, glaze lightly when dressing them on your dish.
Egg, bread-crumb, and fry twelve cotelettes in oil, when done take out and lay them on a cloth, put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots and two of chopped onions in the sauté-pan, fry them a light brown colour, pour off as much oil as possible, add half a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) and a little consommé, let boil quickly ten minutes, then add a little sugar, cayenne pepper, half a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, the same of chopped parsley, and one teaspoonful of Harvey sauce, put the cotelettes into the sauce to get hot, have ready four paper cases six inches long, lay three cotelettes in each, pour the sauce over, place them in a moderate oven ten minutes, dress on your dish in the cases and serve immediately.{299}
Prepare and fry twelve cotelettes as directed for cotelettes à la Soubise, dress in crown and proceed as for the grenadins de veau (No. 692), glaze them lightly and serve.
Dress the cotelettes as above, glaze lightly and serve with sauce piquante (No. 27) over them.
Dress twelve cotelettes as before described, dish as usual, have ready a sauce jardinière (No. 100), place the vegetables, and sauce in the centre, glaze the cotelettes lightly, and serve.
Dress and dish twelve cotelettes as in the last, and have ready the following sauce: put a pint of demi-glace (No. 9) in a stewpan, with a little consommé, reduce it a little, and skim; then add thirty mushrooms, season with a little pepper and sugar, add a small piece of glaze half the size of a walnut, and boil altogether ten minutes; pour the sauce in the middle of the cotelettes, which glaze and serve.
Dress and dish twelve cotelettes as in the last, have prepared forty scoops of turnips, each the size of a marble, put them in a stewpan with an ounce of butter, and a teaspoonful of sugar, pass over a fire ten minutes, keeping them tossed, to prevent their burning, then add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) and half a do. of consommé, stand it on the corner of the stove, skim well, and let it remain till the turnips are tender, and the sauce becomes rather{300} thick; then pour it in the centre of the cotelettes, which glaze and serve; should the turnips be done before the sauce is thick, take them out with a colander spoon until it has sufficiently reduced.
Dress and dish twelve cotelettes as before, have ready the following sauce: scoop forty scoops of Jerusalem artichokes the size of the turnips in the last, and proceed exactly the same, using white sauce (No. 7), and white stock instead of brown, and finishing with a good tablespoonful of liaison; serve as before; they must not be boiled too quickly, or they will break to pieces.
Prepare and dress the cotelettes as before, have ready boiled, very green, half a bundle of sprue grass cut into pieces a quarter of an inch in length, put eight tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), with four of white stock in a stewpan, and when a little reduced add the sprue, with half a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, and a little salt; let boil a minute, and finish with a liaison of half a yolk of egg mixed with two tablespoonfuls of cream, sauce in the centre of the cotelettes, which glaze lightly, and serve. When sprue grass is cheap, dress it thus for cotelettes: you have cut and boiled a bunch very green; drain it upon a sieve, and whilst hot put them into a stewpan, with six pats of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, and the half of one of sugar; place over the fire, stirring round gently until the butter is melted, then dress them in a pyramid in the centre of the cotelettes, pour a thin bechamel sauce round, glaze the cotelettes, and serve. By this simple method you retain the full flavour of the grass.{301}
Proceed exactly as before, using some French beans cut in diamonds and nicely boiled, instead of the sprue grass, dress the beans in either of the above methods.
Dress and dish your cotelettes as usual, have ready, nicely boiled, a pint of young peas (No. 1075) which put in a stewpan with an ounce of fresh butter, two spoonfuls of white sauce, a bunch of green onions, half a teaspoonful of sugar, and a little salt; keep them moving over the fire by shaking the stewpan till they are quite hot; take out the onions, finish with a liaison of a yolk of egg and two tablespoonfuls of cream, dress the peas in the centre, glaze the cotelettes, and serve. The peas may also be dressed in either of the methods directed in the two last.
Dress the cotelettes as before, have nicely boiled two small cauliflowers, put ten tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with half a teaspoonful of sugar and a little salt; divide each cauliflower into eight pieces, and when the sauce boils add them to it, finish with a liaison of half the yolk of an egg, mixed with three tablespoonfuls of cream, and serve as before. The cauliflower must not be too much done, or it would break to pieces.
Proceed with the cotelettes as before, put a pint of demi-glace (No. 9) in a stewpan, with a little consommé, and reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon; have six middling-sized preserved truffles cut in thin slices, which throw into the sauce whilst boiling, season with a little{302} sugar, boil all together a few minutes, glaze the cotelettes, sauce over, and serve.
Have twelve cotelettes nicely cut, lay them on the table and season lightly, put two tablespoonfuls of oil in a sauté-pan, lay in your cotelettes, and fry over a moderate fire till three parts done, take them out, and put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions in the sauté-pan; fry till of a light brown colour, pour off as much of the oil as possible, add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), and two tablespoonfuls of tomata sauce (No. 37), with a little consommé, a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms, one of chopped parsley, a little sugar, grated nutmeg, pepper, and salt; reduce till rather thick, then throw in the cotelettes for a few minutes, turn out on a dish, and leave them to get cold in the sauce; have twelve pieces of white paper, each cut in the shape of a heart and large enough to fold a cotelette in, rub a little oil over, and place a cotelette in each with as much of the sauce as possible; fold them up, and broil ten minutes over a moderate fire, dress them in a crown on your dish, without taking them out of the papers, which must well cover the cotelettes, or they would be very dry.
Dress twelve cotelettes as for sauce Soubise (No. 703), then put six tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with three of veal stock or consommé, place it over the fire, and when boiling add an equal quantity of sauce tartare (No. 38) stir over the fire till hot, but do not let it boil, sauce under, and serve.
Proceed with the cotelettes as before, and serve the{303} ragout à la financière (No. 50) in the centre, only observe that the garniture must be very small, or it would look clumsy with such an entrée as cotelettes.
For cotelettes de mouton à l’Italienne, ditto, sauce poivrades, ditto, aux fines herbes, and ditto, aux jus d’échalotte, dress the cotelettes as usual, and sauce over with either of the above-named sauces (see Nos. 30, 32, 26 and 27).
Proceed with the cotelettes as before described, then put eight tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with two of cream and two of broth; when boiling add one ounce of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79), shake the stewpan round till the butter melts, then pour the sauce under the cotelettes; have ready some fried potatoes very crisp, cut thin, and of the size of six penny-pieces, which build in pyramid in the centre, glaze the cotelettes and serve.
Proceed precisely as for the last, only using some sauce Hollandaise (No. 66) instead of the sauce maître d’hôtel, fried potatoes the same. For the two last entrées the sauce must not be too thick.
Prepare twelve nice cotelettes, which season nicely, egg and bread-crumb them, beat lightly with a knife, have some hot clarified butter in a stewpan, dip each cotelette in, then throw them into bread-crumbs, beat again with your knife, and place them on the gridiron over a moderate fire, turning them now and then, ten minutes will be sufficient, dress in crown with a little plain gravy, or with any of the foregoing sauces.{304}
Braised cotelettes are much more in vogue in France than in England, for in the former they prefer meat stewed, whilst in the latter the meat is more succulent and tender, and even for Soubise or Provençale the cotelette sauté is preferred, although properly they ought to be braised; I shall, therefore, describe the manner of braising them and leave the choice to my readers.
Prepare a neck of mutton by cutting off the chine-bone, and cut the cotelettes as before, but let them remain nearly of the same thickness you cut them from the neck, which will be nearly an inch, then stick five or six pieces of fat bacon about the size of a quill through the lean of each cotelette, cutting off the ends, then cover the bottom of a stewpan with thin slices of fat bacon and lay twelve cotelettes over, all laying on the same side, just cover them with stock, to which add an onion, three cloves, and a bunch of parsley, place a sheet of buttered paper over them, and place them over a slow fire to simmer between two and three hours, try them and if very tender place them upon an oval dish, with a little of their stock, place another dish over them upon which put a seven pounds weight; when quite cold trim nicely of equal sizes and put them in a sauté-pan with their stock to warm, dress them in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with a sauce Soubise (No. 47), or any other sauce as directed for the cotelettes sautés. Although these cotelettes are required to be tender they must not be too much done or the bones would fall from them.
Cook your cotelettes as directed in the last, but cut them rather small; when cold cover all over with the preparation{305} of onion as for cotelettes à la Provençale, egg and bread-crumb all over and place them in the oven for a quarter of an hour, dress in crown, previously giving them a nice colour with a salamander, and serve with a sauce Soubise (No. 47) much thinned, with cream under them.
Prepare a loin of mutton as a carbonade (see flancs No. 577), and when cold cut it in slices rather more than half an inch in thickness, reduce the stock the carbonade was boiled in to a thin glaze, put the slices in a sauté-pan and pour it over them, place them over a slow fire till quite hot, dress them in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with any of the sauces named for cotelettes.
Braise and press a breast of mutton as directed (No. 487), and when cold cut ten pieces out of it in the shape of cotelettes, one third fat and two thirds lean, but not too large, egg, bread-crumb, and broil as for cotelettes panées grillées (No. 721), dress in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, glaze and serve with sauce piquante (No. 27) in the centre. They may also be served with sauce Soubise (No. 47), poivrade (No. 32), jus d’échalotte (No. 16), or fines herbes (No. 26).
Mutton kidneys dressed in this manner are usually served for breakfast or luncheon, but they may be served as an entrée for dinner. Procure nine fresh kidneys, cut them open and run silver or wooden skewers through to keep them open, season well, egg over with a paste-brush, and dip them into a dish of bread-crumbs, broil over a moderate fire, about ten minutes will be sufficient; when done dress{306} them on your dish in pyramid, place a piece of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79) in each, half the size of a walnut, place them in the oven two minutes, glaze lightly and serve very hot.
Broil nine kidneys as above, and serve with a good sauce à la tartare (No. 38) under them.
Cut ten fresh kidneys in halves the long way, take off the skins and cut out the roots, or they would shrink in cooking; put two ounces of butter in a sauté-pan, with a spoonful of chopped eschalots, place the pan on the fire and as soon as the butter melts place in the kidneys, fry about five minutes, and when half done turn them, dress them in a crown on a border of mashed potatoes, and put them somewhere to keep hot; pour as much of the butter as possible from the sauté-pan, and put in a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) and six spoonfuls of consommé; boil altogether ten minutes, then add half an ounce of anchovy butter (No. 78) and the juice of half a lemon, mix it well in, sauce over the kidneys and serve.
Skin eight kidneys and cut them into thin slices, put an ounce of butter in a stewpan, place it over the fire, and when the butter begins to brown throw in the kidneys, stir round with a wooden spoon and when they become firm add a small tablespoonful of flour, mix well, add two wineglasses of champagne with two of white broth and twenty blanched mushrooms; let all boil very gently a few minutes, season with the juice of half a lemon, a little pepper, salt, and chopped parsley; pour them out on your dish and{307} serve. The sauce requires to be rather thick, sherry or hock may be used instead of champagne.
Proceed as directed for the flanc (No. 630) and serve them in a small casserole of rice, according to the size of your entrée dish.
Cook the feet as directed (No. 630), and have ready prepared the following purée: peel and cut in dice four large onions, which put in a stewpan, with a quarter of a pound of butter over the fire, keeping them stirred with a wooden spoon till tender, then add a tablespoonful of flour, mix well, a pint of milk and a little broth, season with pepper, salt, and sugar, keep boiling till the onions are quite done, then put in the feet, which let simmer a few minutes, finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of cream, stir well, and place it over the fire a minute, keeping it stirred to thicken, serve either on a dish or in a casserole of rice (No. 626). They require to be seasoned rather highly.
Lambs’ feet are cooked in the same manner as the sheeps’ but do not require quite so long to stew; having previously cooked ten feet put a pint of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with half a pint of white stock and four button onions; reduce to half, then pass it through a tammie over the feet into another stewpan, season with a little pepper,{308} salt, and sugar, add twenty heads of mushrooms and a little chopped parsley; simmer altogether two or three minutes, add a little lemon-juice, and finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of cream, mix quickly and serve in a pâté chaud (No. 618), or casserole of rice (No. 626), made according to the size of your dish.
Have eight feet ready cooked and cold, then have prepared a quarter of a pound of veal forcemeat (No. 120), with which add a little chopped parsley, chopped eschalots, and the yolk of an egg, fill the part of the feet with it from which you took the large bone, put them again into the stock they were cooked in and simmer twenty minutes, take them out, drain on a cloth, and dress them in pyramid by placing a little mashed potato upon the bottom of the dish, laying four at the bottom and finishing with one at the top, sauce over with a sauce Hollandaise (No. 66), and serve with chopped gherkins sprinkled over them.
Having cooked eight feet, cut each one in halves lengthwise and put in a basin with two onions sliced, two bayleaves, a sprig of thyme, a bunch of parsley, a glass of vinegar, two spoonfuls of oil, and a little salt and pepper, let them remain four hours, drain upon a cloth, and dip them into fritter batter (No. 1285), fry a nice light brown colour, dress on a napkin, garnish with fried parsley, and serve with some tomata sauce (No. 37) in a boat.
Have cooked eight feet, which dry upon a cloth, make a sauce like for the cotelettes durcelle (No. 704), stew the feet in it twenty minutes, then leave them to get cold{309} in the sauce, have eight pieces of cartridge paper, (each piece large enough to fold a foot in,) oil them and lay in a foot with as much of the sauce as you think sufficient, roll them round and fold the paper at each end to imitate a cartridge, broil them over a slow fire, dress in pyramid and serve with a little gravy in a boat.
Procure eight or ten lambs’ ears and put them into lukewarm water to disgorge for two or three hours, then make a blanc (No. 459), in which put the ears to stew; let them be well covered or they will turn black, boil gently about an hour, if done the thick part of the ears will feel tender, if not ready to serve let them remain in the stock until wanted, make a border of forcemeat as described for the ris de veau à la Turque (No. 673), place it on your dish, take out the ears, make five or six incisions in the thin part of each ear and turn them back to imitate a frill, dress upon the forcemeat to imitate a vase, by turning the curl of the ears outwards, put some mashed potatoes in the centre of the dish, upon which place a fine green bunch of asparagus well-boiled, and not more than four inches in length, standing upright; sauce over with a thin sauce à la purée d’asperges (No. 102), and serve.
Cook and dress eight or ten lambs’ ears, as above, on a border of forcemeat, only turning the ears half reverse way, they will then form a crown; place a plover’s egg peeled and warmed in stock in the hollow of each ear, and have ready the following sauce: put a pint of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan with eight tablespoonfuls of white stock or milk, reduce one-third, then in another stewpan have ten cockscombs nicely dressed and ten button mushrooms, pass{310} the sauce through a tammie upon them, place over the fire, add a gill of cream and the juice of half a lemon, season with a little pepper, salt, and sugar; when hot put the garniture in the centre of the dish, sauce over and serve.
Cook and dress ten ears precisely as in the last, omitting the eggs, put half a pint of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan with half the quantity of white stock, and let it reduce one third; then have ready two ounces of butter, with which you have mixed a teaspoonful of chopped tarragon, one of chopped chervil, one of chopped parsley, and two of tarragon vinegar; season with a little pepper and salt, mix it with the sauce, stir over the fire till hot, but do not let it boil, sauce over and serve.
Proceed exactly as above, only using two ounces of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79) instead of the butter there described.
When cooked cut each ear in halves, lengthwise, and proceed exactly as for the pieds d’agneau (No. 734).
Have eight ears cooked as before, dry them well with a cloth, then put half a pound of veal forcemeat (No. 120) in a basin, with a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots and one of chopped mushrooms, mixed with the yolk of one egg; put a spoonful of the forcemeat in the hollow of each ear, egg and bread-crumb them all over and fry twenty minutes in lard, not too hot, or they would be too brown before they were sufficiently done; dress them on a border of{311} mashed potatoes and serve with a sauce Italienne (No. 30) under.
Lambs’ tails are extremely delicate, cut four into pieces an inch and a half in length, and cook them as directed (No. 627); when tender take them out, put sixteen spoonfuls of white sauce in a stewpan, with four of veal stock, boil five minutes, season with a little salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, and sugar; when boiling put in the tails, and two minutes before serving add half an ounce of butter and the juice of half a lemon, move the stewpan round over the fire till the butter is melted, add two spoonfuls of whipped cream, and when quite hot pour into your dish and serve, or they may be served in a vol-au-vent, casserole of rice, or croustade. Lambs’ tails may be dressed in any of the methods directed for lambs’ feet, and require to be rather highly seasoned.
Procure eight lambs’ tongues, let them disgorge twelve hours in lukewarm water, cover the bottom of a stewpan with thin slices of fat bacon, lay the tongues over and cover them with stock, add two onions, one carrot, and a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf; when boiling draw them to the corner of the stove to simmer, skim well, try when done with a trussing-needle; if they feel tender take them up, take off the skin, trim a little on each side, cut them in halves lengthwise in the shape of cotelettes, and dress them on a border of mashed potatoes; have ready the following sauce: put a tablespoonful of chopped onions in a stewpan with the half of one of salad-oil, pass them a few minutes over the fire, add a glass of sherry, boil a minute, then add a pint of white sauce (No. 7) and six spoonfuls of white{312} stock, reduce till rather thick, add a teaspoonful of chopped mushrooms and one of chopped parsley, season rather high, draw it off the fire, put in the yolks of two eggs, mix quickly, stir over the fire another minute to thicken, then put it on a dish until cold; with a knife spread it over the tongues half an inch in thickness, so as to form one mass, egg and bread-crumb over and place it in the oven half an hour, salamander a light brown colour and serve very hot, with the following sauce round: put four spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with four of white broth, let it boil a few minutes, then add two spoonfuls of cream; boil all together, season and serve.
Calf’s tongue may also be dressed as in the last, but instead of being covered in the manner there described, serve it with a sauce matelote (No. 62) in the centre and glaze the tongue lightly.
Procure eight or ten lambs’ brains and put them in lukewarm water to disgorge, take off the skins, put the brains in a stewpan with two minced onions, a bunch of parsley, and a little carrot, cover with water, add a glass of vinegar, and a little salt, and boil them ten minutes, then lay them on a cloth and divide each piece in two thin slices, have eight paper cases in which lay the slices of brains, seasoning separately, place a piece of butter on the top of each, with a little chopped parsley, lemon-juice, and a spoonful of white sauce (No. 7); egg and bread-crumb the top, and place them in a hot oven to brown, dress upon the dish in the cases pyramidically and serve.
Procure two sets of lambs’ fry, which blanch ten minutes in boiling water, drain them on a sieve, and when quite{313} dry egg over with a paste-brush, throw them into bread-crumbs, with which you have mixed some chopped parsley, fry them in very hot lard of a nice light-brown colour, dress pyramidically upon a napkin, garnish with fried parsley and serve.
Procure ten lambs’ heart-sweetbreads, if not very white lay them in lukewarm water to disgorge, put them in a stewpan of boiling water to blanch, two minutes will be sufficient; throw them into a basin of cold water, and when cold, lard very neatly with very thin strips of bacon, when larded cover the bottom of the stewpan with thin slices of fat bacon, two onions sliced, and a little parsley, thyme, and bay-leaves, lay the sweetbreads over, and put in sufficient broth to come up to their sides, set them in a sharp oven for about twenty minutes, glaze and salamander very lightly; then have ready prepared a border of forcemeat as directed for ris de veau à la Turque (No. 673), which place in the centre of your dish, dress the sweetbreads upon it, then have a pint of young peas nicely boiled, put them in a stewpan with three pats of butter and a teaspoonful of sugar, pass over the fire five minutes, and finish with a liaison of half the yolk of an egg mixed with a tablespoonful of cream, place them in the centre, glaze the sweetbreads lightly and serve.
Lard, cook, and dress eight nice sweetbreads as above, then have nicely cooked nine very fine cockscombs (No. 128), and place one between each sweetbread; have also the following garniture and sauce: prepare thirty very small quenelles of fowl (No. 122), poach them in stock, drain on a cloth, and put them in a stewpan, with six truffles{314} turned to the size of small marbles, and twelve fine olives (stoned) in another stewpan, put half a glass of sherry, a bay-leaf, half a teaspoonful of chopped onions, and a piece of glaze the size of a nut, boil two minutes, then add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) and eight spoonfuls of consommé, reduce to a good thickness, and add the trimmings of some fresh mushrooms, then pass it through a tammie over the garniture, boil all together one minute, add a quarter of a teaspoonful of sugar, and pour the sauce in the middle of the dish, building the garniture in a dome, and placing the remaining cockscombs on the top, glaze the sweetbreads lightly and serve.
Lard, cook, and dress ten sweetbreads as before, and serve a sauce aux concombres (No. 103) in the centre; they may also be served with a sauce à la jardinière (No. 100), pointes d’asperges (No. 101), sauce tomate (No. 37), &c.
Blanch ten nice sweetbreads, trim them well, cut a deep incision in the centre of each, in which stick a very fine cockscomb (No. 128); surround each sweetbread with a slice of fat bacon, place them in a stewpan and braise as before, but they must be kept quite white, braise half an hour, take off the bacon and dress them upon a border of forcemeat as the last, the cockscombs will be quite firm, then have ready the following sauce: peel and mince the half of a very small cucumber and put it in a stewpan with a chopped eschalot and a pat of butter, let them go gently over the fire, stirring occasionally, until it has become quite a purée, add a quarter of a pound of the flesh of a cooked fowl well pounded in a mortar, season with a little salt and{315} pepper, boil all together five minutes, rub it through a tammie, put into a clean stewpan, and when boiling finish with a tablespoonful of whipped cream, sauce over and serve. The sauce must not be too thick.
For atelettes de ris d’agneau, see atelettes de ris de veau (No. 682), and proceed in the same manner.
Procure the ribs of a lamb, saw off the breast as large as possible, leaving the bones of the neck long enough to cut cotelettes, braise and press as directed for breast of mutton (No. 487); the day before you want to use it, cut seven nice cotelettes from the neck, then cut seven pieces from the breast, rather small, and the shape of hearts, egg and bread-crumb the cotelettes, which also fry in the same sauté-pan, the whole of them to be of a nice light-brown colour, make a border of mashed potatoes upon your dish, on which dress the cotelettes upon one side and the pieces of breast on the other, have one hundred French beans cut in diamonds and boiled very green, drain them quite dry on a sieve, put them into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, a little pepper, salt, a teaspoonful of sugar, and the juice of a lemon; set over the fire till very hot, dress them in the centre, glaze the cotelettes and breast lightly, pour nearly half a pint of thin white sauce round and serve very hot.
Proceed with the breast and cotelettes exactly as in the last, using peas instead of French beans, and omitting the lemon-juice; or they may be served with the petits pois à la Française (No. 84), or petits pois au lard (No. 85); experience has taught me that the above is not only the most simple method, but the peas eat much nicer than in either{316} of the other ways; the peas must be young and perfectly fresh, if the reverse stew them by all means.
Proceed exactly as before, using a sauce aux concombres (No. 103) instead of the other vegetables.
Prepare your cotelettes and breast as before, but dress them alternately on the dish; you have previously roasted a shoulder of lamb, when cold cut half a pound of the best part out, which cut into slices the size of half-a-crown, cut also ten fine heads of blanched mushrooms in two slices and put them into a stewpan with the lamb; in another stewpan put a pint of white sauce (No. 7), six spoonfuls of white stock, with four of boiled milk and a bunch of parsley, reduce to a proper thickness, pass it through a tammie over the lamb and mushrooms, place over the fire to boil, season lightly with a little pepper, salt, sugar, and the juice of half a lemon; let simmer a few minutes, add a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with half a gill of cream, move the stewpan gently over the fire till the sauce thickens, pour the sauce in the centre, glaze the cotelettes and serve.
Although this way of serving an epigramme is good, yet I give the preference to the other, for the lamb coming in season with the vegetables they look so much more inviting; the epigramme à l’ancienne I consider fitter for a winter dish.
Lamb cotelettes require great attention, both in cutting, bread-crumbing, and frying. Cut twelve cotelettes of the same size and shape as represented in the engraving, lay them upon a dish, season lightly with white pepper and salt, put three yolks of eggs upon another plate, which mix{317} with a tablespoonful of cream, rub each cotelette in it and afterwards into very fine bread-crumbs, beat them lightly with your knife, keeping them in their shapes, have a quarter of a pound of butter in a small stewpan, let it boil at the corner of the stove, skimming it until perfectly clarified, then pour it into a thick flat-bottomed sauté-pan over a brisk fire, lay in the cotelettes (turning them two or three times, which will cause them to be a light brown colour); fry very crisp, not doing them too much; if properly done they will be very full of gravy; to ascertain when done press them lightly with the point of your knife; if beginning to feel a little firm they are done; take them out, glaze very lightly, dress them in your dish upon a border of mashed potatoes the reverse way, the bones pointing outwards, and serve the peas dressed as for epigramme (No. 750) in the centre. My object in using mashed potatoes is to keep the cotelettes in their places in being carried to table. Why I recommend a thick-bottomed sauté-pan is that the thin ones by the action of the fire frequently rise in the centre, which would cause the cotelettes to burn and completely spoil this delicate entrée.
Prepare and dress twelve lamb cotelettes as above, and serve with the garniture aux pointes d’asperges.
Prepare and dress the cotelettes as before, and serve with the garniture aux haricots vert.
Prepare your cotelettes as above, dress them on a small border of mashed potatoes, then have ready the young vegetables and sauce as directed for grenadins de veau aux{318} racines nouvelles (No. 692), dress the vegetables in pyramid in the centre, sauce round, glaze lightly and serve.
In a large dinner where you are obliged to cook your cotelettes some time before serving, put them into a sauté-pan, half cover them with thin glaze, and keep hot till wanted. This remark applies to every description of cotelettes.
Prepare and dress twelve lamb cotelettes as before; have ready the following sauce: peel fifty spring onions nearly as large as marbles, put half a teaspoonful of sugar into a stewpan, place it over the fire and when melted add two pats of butter and your onions, pass over a slow fire twenty minutes or till tender, tossing them occasionally, then add fifteen spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), with eight of white stock and a small bunch of parsley, simmer at the corner of the fire a few minutes, skim well, take out the parsley, make a liaison of one yolk of an egg mixed with two tablespoonfuls of cream, stir in quickly, stir another minute over the fire to thicken, sauce in the middle of the cotelettes, which glaze and serve; should the onions be too much done take them out with a colander spoon, place them in a clean stewpan, reduce the sauce and pass it through a tammis over them.
Proceed exactly as for cotelettes de mouton (No. 710), but scooping the artichokes a size smaller.
Proceed as for cotelettes de mouton à la vicomtesse (No. 699).{319}
Prepare twelve lamb cotelettes as usual, and have ready the following purée: put six large French truffles in a mortar and pound them very fine, then put a pint of demi-glace (No. 9) in a stewpan, with four spoonfuls of consomme, reduce a few minutes, keeping it stirred, add the pounded truffles and a little sugar, simmer a couple of minutes, rub it through a tammie with a couple of wooden spoons, put it again into a stewpan to make hot, sauce under the cotelettes, which glaze and serve.
The French raw truffles are the best, but if you cannot obtain them use the preserved, or raw English truffles if most handy, but choose the blackest you can get.
Prepare twelve cotelettes as usual, which glaze and serve with a sauce à la purée de champignons (No. 54) under them.
Prepare the cotelettes as usual, and have ready the following purée: peel and slice eight large Jerusalem artichokes, and one small onion, put the onion into a stewpan, with an ounce of butter, two ounces of raw ham, a sprig of thyme, ditto parsley, and one bay-leaf; stir over the fire five minutes, then add the artichokes, with a very little white stock, cover the stewpan and place it over a slow fire, stirring round occasionally; let them remain till quite tender, then add a tablespoonful of flour, mix well, and nearly a pint of white stock; boil altogether, keeping it stirred, rub it through a tammie, place it in another stewpan, add a little sugar, pepper, and salt, boil and skim well, finish with two tablespoonfuls of good cream, sauce{320} under the cotelettes, which glaze and serve; these purées require to be rather thick, yet not so thick as to eat pasty and disagreeable.
Lamb cotelettes may also be served with a purée of cauliflowers (No. 97), cucumbers, (No. 105), or asparagus (No. 102).
Cut, lard, and braise twelve lamb cotelettes as described for mutton (No. 722), but they will not require so long stewing, press them between two dishes until cold, trim them nicely, then make a purée of truffles as directed (No. 53), but thicker, take it off the fire whilst boiling, and stir in the yolks of two eggs very quickly, place it a moment on the fire to set, and pour on a dish to get cold, then take the cotelettes by the bones and surround them with the purée, spreading it over with a knife, egg and bread-crumb twice over, and put them in a wire basket; have four pounds of lard in a stewpan over the fire and very hot, put in the wire basket and cotelettes, fry of a nice light-brown colour, dress them in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with a little clear demi-glace (No. 9) in the dish.
Prepare your cotelettes as above, make a purée of mushrooms as directed (No. 54), but thicker, and adding the two yolks of eggs as in the last, spread it over the cotelettes, bread-crumb, fry, and serve exactly as in the last.
Lamb côtelettes farcis may also be made with purée of asparagus (No. 102), cauliflower (No. 97), artichokes (No. 90), or cucumbers (No. 105), by following the above articles.
For cotelettes d’agneau à la reform, Provençale, maître d’hôtel, Hollandaise, poivrade, piquante, or tomates, see cotelettes de mouton, with the same sauces, and proceed as there directed.{321}
Roast a shoulder of lamb, and when cold cut the best part of it into thin slices about the size of half-crown-pieces, cut also about half the quantity of cooked ham or tongue into pieces of the same size as the lamb, put them together in a stewpan; you have previously boiled in another stewpan a pint of good white sauce (No. 7), and half a pint of stock with a bunch of fresh parsley in it, which pass through a tammie over the meat, season with pepper, salt, and the juice of half a lemon, simmer gently, pour on a dish and serve; truffles or mushrooms may likewise be added, and it may be served in a croustade of bread, casserole of rice (No. 626), or vol-au-vent (No. 1140); if you have the remains of any joint of lamb it may be used for the above purpose.
Roast a shoulder of lamb and when cold cut it up in very small dice with one fourth the quantity of cooked ham or tongue; put a tablespoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan, with an ounce of butter, pass it over a fire till the onion becomes yellowish, then add a little flour, mix well, put in your mince, with about a pint of white sauce (No. 7), season with a little pepper, salt, and sugar; boil all together five minutes, keeping it stirred, if too thick add a little more sauce, then add two yolks of eggs, stir them in quickly over the fire for one minute, add the juice of a lemon, and pour it out on a dish to cool; when quite cold take twelve pieces of it rather larger than walnuts, roll them about two inches in length, egg and bread-crumb twice over and fry in very hot lard; dress them on your dish in crown upon a small border of mashed potatoes, and serve with some of the blanquette d’agneau above, in the centre.{322}
Very few entrées are made of pork, the cotelettes being the principal; they require a sharp high-seasoned sauce; the small pork only can be used.
Cut twelve cotelettes from a neck of pork, similar to the manner directed for mutton cotelettes, only you will be able to cut four cotelettes without bones, by cutting a cotelette from between the rib-bones, as they require little or no beating, you cut them from the neck of the same thickness you require your cotelettes, egg and bread-crumb and fry them a nice colour in clarified butter; they require to be well done, for underdone pork is very unwholesome; dress in a crown upon a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with a sauce à l’Indienne (No. 45) under them; if for a dinner of any importance omit the cotelettes without bones, using two necks to obtain the quantity.
Prepare and dress the cotelettes as above, and proceed as for the mutton cotelettes, sauce remoulade (No. 717).
Pork cotelettes are also served with their original sauce Robert (No. 28), sauce piquante (No. 27), au jus d’échalotte (No. 16), or poivrade (No. 33) over, and with a sauce tomate (No. 37) beneath them; the cotelettes require glazing, especially where the sauce is served under them.
Prepare twelve cotelettes as before, dress them on your dish, and have ready the following sauce: peel forty button{323} onions, then put half a teaspoonful of sugar in a stewpan, and place it over the fire; when melted and beginning to brown, add two ounces of butter and the onions; keep tossing them over the fire until they get rather brown, add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), and half the quantity of consommé; let boil on the corner of the stove till the onions are done, keeping it well skimmed, the onions must be tender but not broke, take them out carefully with a colander spoon and place them in a clean stewpan; reduce the sauce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, add a tablespoonful of French mustard, and pass it through a tammie over the onions; have also twenty little balls the size of marbles, cut from some gherkins, which put in the sauce, warm altogether, but do not boil, dress the onions and gherkins in the centre, sauce over and serve.
Prepare twelve cotelettes as before, but mixing some grated Parmesan cheese with the bread-crumbs, and frying them in oil; then cut eighty pieces of blanched macaroni (No. 130), about three quarters of an inch long, with twenty pieces of cooked ham or tongue, and twenty mushrooms the same size as the macaroni; put them into a stewpan, with two spoonfuls of tomata sauce (No. 37), and a piece of glaze the size of a walnut; place over the fire and when quite hot add two ounces of grated Parmesan, and two of grated Gruyere cheese, mix well together by shaking the stewpan round, season with a little salt, pepper, and cayenne, if approved of, and pour in the centre of your cotelettes, which glaze and serve with nearly half a pint of demi-glace (No. 9) poured round and over the garniture.
Prepare twelve cotelettes as before, but cook them rather{324} underdone, have ready the preparation of onions as for cotelettes à la Provençale (No. 701), with a spoonful of French mustard added, cover the cotelettes all over with it about a quarter of an inch in thickness, egg, bread-crumb, and fold each one in a piece of pig’s caul to keep its shape, put a little oil in the sauté-pan, lay in the cotelettes, put it over the fire for two or three minutes, then in the oven to give them a good colour, if not sufficient colour pass the salamander over, take them out, lay upon a clean cloth to drain, dress in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with a demi-glace (No. 9) round.
Procure four small fillets of pork from under the loins, take off all the skin and beat them flat, lard neatly with fine bacon as for a sweetbread, cover the bottom of stewpan with thin slices of bacon, two onions in slices and a little parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, lay the fillets over, add about a pint of stock, stand it over the fire five minutes, then put it in the oven; when done they will be quite tender, glaze and salamander a nice colour, place them on a clean cloth to drain, and cut each fillet in halves, dress upon a border of mashed potatoes in crown, have ready some very white stewed choucroute (No. 116), which dress in pyramid in the centre, put twelve spoonfuls of brown sauce in a stewpan with four of consommé, a small piece of glaze, and a little powdered sugar, reduce till rather thick, sauce round and serve. Your choucroute must be very white.
Fillets of pork may also be served with dressed spinach (No. 106), ditto endive (No. 119), sauce tomata (No. 37), Robert (No. 28), or Indienne (No. 45).
Procure four fillets from the loin as in the last, but do{325} not lard them, cut them into pieces the size and shape of a fillet of fowl, egg, bread-crumb, and fry in clarified butter, dress in crown on your dish, sauce over with a brown Soubise (No. 48), sprinkle bread-crumbs over, salamander and serve.
Escalopes may also be served with any of the sauces as served with the cotelettes.
Have three fillets of pork larded, and braise as (No. 773), and cut each fillet in halves to make six pieces, boil also three small pigs’ tongues, split each one in half, skin and trim nicely, make a border of mashed potatoes on your dish, upon which dress the fillets and tongues alternately in crown, glaze lightly and serve with a sauce tomate (No. 37).
Pigs’ tongues may be dressed in the same manner as calves’ or sheep, but they are not such delicate eating.
The flesh of the doe or roebuck is a kind of black meat, and possesses a wild gamey taste; it is seldom used without being pickled in a marinade, and is sent to the table with a sharp and savoury sauce.
Cut twelve cotelettes from the necks, the same as you would mutton, but they will be rather larger, make two quarts of the marinade as for filet de bœuf à la Bohémienne (No. 426), and lay in the cotelettes, let them remain four days; when ready for use take them out, dry{326} upon a cloth, season with a little pepper and salt, dip in flour, egg and bread-crumb afterwards, dip them in clarified butter, and again in the bread-crumbs, beat them lightly with a knife, place them on a gridiron, broil nicely, dress them in crown, and have ready the following sauce: put six tablespoonfuls of the marinade in a stewpan, with a piece of glaze the size of a walnut, reduce it a little, then add twelve spoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1) and six of consommé, reduce again until it adheres to the back of the spoon, season a little high, add half a tablespoonful of currant jelly, sauce round and serve. Garniture as for cotelettes de mutton may be introduced.
Having cut twelve cotelettes, season with pepper and salt, put a quarter of a pound of butter in a sauté-pan, melt it and lay in the cotelettes, put them over a sharp fire and when partly done turn, keeping them underdone; take all the butter away without disturbing the cotelettes, then pour a pint of thin poivrade sauce (No. 32) and half a pint of consommé over, let them simmer about ten minutes till the meat has taken the flavour of the sauce, dress the cotelettes as before, reduce the sauce till it adheres to the spoon, add twenty pickled mushrooms, sauce over and serve.
With the remains of a haunch or any other part from a previous dinner, take the meat and cut it up in very thin slices, have ready boiling on the fire about a pint of sauce piquante (No. 27), throw in the meat, but do not let it boil; after the meat is in, season rather high, and finish with a spoonful of currant jelly, it requires to be rather thick, turn it out on your dish and garnish round with triangular scippets of bread fried in butter, serve immediately.{327}
The principal and most recherché part of this ferocious animal is the head, which is eaten cold, stuffed the German fashion; it is, however, a second course dish, and will be given in that series. The cotelettes are dressed exactly as the chevreuil, it may also be minced, but as it is seldom or ever eaten in this country, I shall content myself with these few remarks (see Boar’s Head, No. 984).
The haunches and necks are usually roasted, its high price would prevent its being cut up for entrées, as that would only be spoiling a noble dish to make a small one, and then would not be so delicious as the joint nicely roasted, but in large families in the country, where venison is very plentiful, the receipts for a few entrées may be very acceptable.
A neck of venison requires to be hung a fortnight or three weeks before it is ready; cut the cotelettes as described for mutton, but of course they will be larger, and you must leave as much of the fat as possible, and be careful in beating it flat not to detach the fat from the lean, as the fat is so delicate; put two ounces of butter in a sauté-pan to melt, lay the cotelettes over and place them on a brisk fire, when half done turn them, fry them a good colour, (they are done when they feel firm to the touch,) lay upon a cloth, dress in crown on a small border of mashed potatoes, and place them in the oven to keep hot, pour off the fat from the sauté-pan, and put in a glass of port wine, let reduce a little, then add a pint of demi-glace (No. 9) and four spoonfuls of consommé, reduce till it adheres to the{328} spoon, add a little sugar and a pat of butter, mix well, and sauce over the cotelettes, which serve as hot as possible.
Proceed exactly as above, but just before pouring the sauce over add about twenty stoned olives, dress them in the centre, sauce over and serve; truffles or mushrooms may likewise be introduced.
Sauté and dress your cotelettes as above, then put a pint of thin sauce poivrade (No. 32) in the sauté-pan with a little consommé, reduce till thickish, skim a little, add a spoonful of currant jelly, sauce over and serve.
The remains of a haunch of venison when cold is much thought of as hash, under which humble name it makes its appearance amongst the most sumptuous dishes, and is a great favourite with epicures, but if no fat remains do not attempt to dress it; but a good haunch well-carved will supply sufficient fat to hash the remainder.
Put a quart of good brown sauce (No. 1) in a stewpan with a pint of consommé (No. 134), a piece of glaze, and a good bunch of parsley, let reduce to a good demi-glace, skim, then have as much venison as you require cut in thin slices, the fat thicker than the lean, put it into the sauce, season with pepper and salt, put it over a sharp fire to get hot as quick as possible, but do not let it boil or it would get hard and become very greasy, serve as hot as possible, with red currant jelly separate, make only sufficient for one entrée.{329}
May also be made from the remains of a haunch in a common pie-dish or silver soufflée-dish; put some thin slices of venison at the bottom of the dish, season with pepper, salt, and little chopped eschalot, then a layer of fat, proceeding alternately till the dish is full, building it up to form a dome and give the pie a good appearance, put in a piece of glaze the size of a walnut, a few spoonfuls of gravy, and four of brown sauce, cover with puff-paste (No. 1132), make a hole in the top, egg over, and bake in a hot oven; when done pour about six spoonfuls of demi-glace (No. 9) into it with a funnel, shake it about a little and serve very hot. Should you require to make a pie with raw venison pass it a few minutes in butter in a sauté-pan upon the stove.
Many entrées may be made of turkey, but it is usually served as a remove, being too large, and consequently too expensive to cut up; but several entrées may be made from the remains of one previously served, for the following choose very young small turkeys.
Have a young turkey well plucked and drawn, with a sharp knife cut off the whole of the breast, leaving nothing but the legs and backbone, then carefully skin and bone the breast without separating the fillets, it will then be in the form of a heart; lard one of the fillets as you would a sweetbread, and cover the other with a slice of fat bacon, put three onions, one carrot, and one turnip, in slices, into a convenient-sized{330} stewpan, with a little parsley, thyme, and two bay-leaves, cover them with half a pint of stock, lay the breast over and start it to boil over the fire, then place it in a moderate oven till tender, glaze and salamander the larded fillet a light yellow colour, but keep the other white, drain upon a clean cloth, and serve with a sauce à la purée de truffes (No. 53) under them.
Prepare the breast as above, only larding and glazing both fillet; you have previously roasted the legs tied up in vegetables, take off all the flesh, which pound well in a mortar and pass through a wire sieve, then put a spoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan with two pats of butter, place it over the fire a few minutes till the eschalots become a little yellow, then add a quarter of a tablespoonful of flour (mix well,) and the purée of turkey, which cover with half a pint of white sauce (No. 7) and six spoonfuls of white broth, stir over the fire until boiling, season with a little sugar, pepper, and salt, and pass it through a tammie with a couple of wooden spoons, put it in a clean stewpan, boil a few minutes, then add two tablespoonfuls of cream and a pat of butter, which stir in quickly, pour it in your dish, dress the breast over and serve. The above purée requires to be rather thick, but at the same time delicate, if there is more than you require, reserve some of it, as too much sauce would spoil the look of the entrée.
Take out the two fillets of a turkey, and take off all the skin, then beat them to the thickness of a five-shilling-piece, and from each fillet cut five escalopes in a slanting direction, put two ounces of fresh butter in a sauté-pan, place it over the fire, and when melted lay in the escalopes, season{331} lightly with a little white pepper, salt, and the juice of half a lemon, place them on a slow fire, turn them, pour off all the butter from the sauté-pan, and cover with fifteen spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) and four of milk, place over the fire, let it simmer a few minutes, take it off and stir in quickly a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with three spoonfuls of cream, stir over the fire another half minute, but do not let it boil, dress them garnished with croutons on your dish and serve; a few mushrooms and slices of cooked tongue might also be introduced.
Fillet a turkey as before, and cut each escalope into an oval shape, season with a little salt and pepper, egg and bread-crumb, fry a light brown colour in clarified butter, dress them on a border of mashed potatoes in crown, with a large dressed cockscomb (No. 128) between each, sauce in the middle and round as for estomac de dinde (No. 787), and serve very hot.
Is made with the remains of a turkey from a previous dinner, cut large slices from the breast-part, as much as you may require, and put them into a stewpan with six gherkins cut in long slices, have ready a pint of good sauce Italienne (No. 31), and when boiling pour it over; warm them gently, but do not let them boil, and serve in a dish with very small croquettes de pommes de terre (No. 131) round.
Cut up the remains of a turkey as above, and put it in a stewpan, with a quarter of a pound of lean ham (cooked) also in slices, in another stewpan, have a pint of white{332} sauce (No. 7) and half a pint of white stock, which boil with a few trimmings of mushrooms, then pass it through a tammie over the slices of turkey, place it on the fire, let simmer a few minutes, season with a little sugar and salt, add the juice of half a lemon, and finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs, mixed with three tablespoonfuls of cream, serve plain in your dish, or in a vol-au-vent or casserole of rice (No. 626).
Croquettes, rissolettes, and boudins are made with the remains of turkey, in the same manner as described for fowls (No. 840).
Poulardes being smaller than capons, are better adapted for entrées, but both are dressed in the same manner.
Have previously roasted in vegetables and quite white two small poulardes; when cold, with a sharp knife cut out the fillets, which again cut into two equal slices, beat them slightly with the blade of a strong knife, then have ready half a pound of delicate forcemeat of fowl (No. 122), with which put a couple of finely chopped truffles, cover each piece of fillet the eighth of an inch thick, and all over, then have chopped finely two more truffles, the same quantity of lean ham, mix the same quantity of bread-crumbs with each, egg the fillets over, then dip them into the chopped ham and truffles, four into each, and sauté them in clarified butter very gently, turn them when half done, and when done dress them in crown upon your dish; have ready a thin sauce à la purée de concombres (No. 105), to which when boiling add twelve fine cockscombs (No. 128) and a little cream, sauce in the middle, and serve.
Fillet a poularde by splitting the skin up the breast, and{333} passing your knife down the bone, keeping close to the ribs until you have scooped them out, then lay them flat on a board, and with a thin knife take off the inner skin, leaving the upper one untouched; then cut off the legs, with as much skin as possible attached, bone them, and prepare the following stuffing: scrape half an ounce of fat bacon, and put it in a stewpan, with four cloves, a blade of mace, six peppercorns and a bay-leaf, pass them over the fire five minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, take out the spice and bay-leaf, add six large truffles cut in thin slices, pass them three minutes over the fire, then add twelve spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), boil altogether ten minutes, keeping it stirred, season with a little salt, pepper, sugar, and a little nutmeg; take it off the fire, and stir in the yolk of an egg very quickly; when cold stuff the legs, braise, and give them the form of little ducks; then stuff the fillets with the best slices of truffles under the skin, and put them in a sauté-pan, with half a pound of butter, season with a little pepper, salt, and lemon-juice, sauté them very white over a slow fire, then make a little pyramid of mashed potatoes in the middle of your dish, lay the two fillets almost upright against it, opposite to each other, and the two legs on the other sides, surmount them with a very nice, white, dressed calf’s ear (No. 665) cut as a frill, with a plover’s egg (shelled) placed in the centre, make a good stock with the bones of the poularde (see No. 6), skim off all the fat, and reduce it very nearly to a glaze, then add six spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) and half a gill of cream; boil altogether a minute, sauce over, and serve. The entrée will stand best upon a pyramid of mashed potatoes, but a pyramid of forcemeat blanched in stock may be used.
Fillet two poulardes as described in the last, then take{334} off the filet mignon, or small fillet, from the under part of each, lard the large fillet neatly as you would a sweetbread, and braise them as described for the estomac de dinde (No. 786), then have twelve French beans boiled nice and green, cut pieces from them in half circles, beat the small fillets gently, make incisions in them, in which stick the pieces of French beans, sauté them in a sauté-pan, keeping them quite white, then have ready some spinach dressed (No. 106) rather stiff, make a pyramid of it in the centre of the dish, dress the fillets almost perpendicular against it, with the smaller fillets between, the points uppermost, and on the top place a quenelle de volaille (No. 122), in which you have stuck a fine cockscomb, pass the braise in which you dressed the fillets through a sieve, skim off all the fat, and place it in a stewpan, with ten spoonfuls of brown sauce, and reduce it till it adheres to the back of the spoon, add a little sugar, sauce over, glaze your fillets and serve.
Prepare a little rice as for a casserole de riz (No. 626), with which form a small pyramid to stand in the centre of your dish, egg over and stand it in the oven to set, then cut a piece off the top, and empty a space large enough to hold a quarter of a pint; at the top of the pyramid there requires a space the size of half-a-crown, after you have emptied it put the top on again, and keep it hot; then fillet two poulardes as above, take off the small fillets, which form into rings by bringing the two ends together, butter a sauté-pan, in which lay the fillets, with the rings, season with a little white pepper, salt, and lemon-juice; place them over the fire, when half done turn them, but keep them quite white, have also previously boiled a Russian tongue, from the thick part cut four pieces the size and shape of the fillets of fowl, but not quite so thick, place the rice in{335} the centre of your dish, and dress the fillet of poulardes and pieces of tongue, (which you have made hot in a little white stock,) alternately round it, put twenty stewed mushrooms in the rice croustade, and have ready the following sauce: put a pint of white sauce (No. 7) in the sauté-pan, with the broth you warmed the tongue in and six spoonfuls of veal stock; boil altogether ten minutes, pass it through a tammie into a stewpan, boil again till it becomes rather thick, then add a little sugar and a gill of cream, sauce over the mushrooms till the croustade is full, then over the fillets, glaze the tongue, place the rings on the top of the pyramid, pour the remainder of the sauce round and serve; the person that carves should be acquainted that the croustade of rice contains mushrooms, that he might carve the croustade and serve with the entree.
Fillet two poulardes as in the last, and when about three parts cooked lay them on a cloth, and with a thin sharp knife divide each fillet into two; have previously boiled a Russian tongue as in the last, cut also four pieces from the thick part, and pound the remaining tender part very fine; rub it through a wire sieve, then put a tablespoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with a small piece of butter, stir over the fire a few minutes, add a teaspoonful of flour, mix well, and a pint of white sauce (No. 7), reduce it a little, then add the pounded tongue and two yolks of eggs, stir them in quickly, and season a little more if required, stir over the fire a short time longer, till the eggs begin to set, then with a fork dip in each fillet, let them be well covered, and lay them on a dish to get cold, when egg and bread-crumb them twice over, and fry a good colour in four pounds of very hot lard, warm the four pieces of tongue in a little stock, make a border of mashed potatoes on your{336} dish, dress the fillets in crown with the pieces of tongue interspersed; you have previously made a stock with the bones of the poulardes (No. 6), which reduce to a thin glaze, add a teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar, and sauce round; fry two bunches of watercresses very crisp, sprinkle a little salt over, dress them in the middle and serve very hot.
Fillet two poulardes and divide the fillets as in the last; when three parts cooked have ready the following puree: peel and cut in thin slices a very fresh cucumber, which put in a stewpan, with a spoonful of chopped eschalots and three pats of butter, pass gently over a slow fire twenty minutes, keeping them stirred, then add half a tablespoonful of flour and a pint of white sauce (No. 7); season with a little sugar and salt, rub it through a tammie, previously boiling five minutes, put it into another stewpan, with two yolks of eggs, stir quickly over the fire till the yolk sets, then dip in the fillets and proceed as in the last, dress the same and serve with a puree of cucumbers (No. 105), in which you have put three spoonfuls of cream. These entrées should be served immediately or they become soft.
Poulardes and capons may also be served in escalopes or blanquettes, as directed for the turkey (Nos. 788 and 789), especially any fillets that may be left neither larded or fried.
Roast a large poularde in vegetables (see No. 417), and when cold cut the breast out carefully, and afterwards into thin slices, make a stock with the bones as directed (No. 6), then peel two cucumbers, which cut into pieces two inches in length, split each piece into four and take out the seeds if any, trim them at the corners and put them into a stewpan, with a spoonful of chopped eschalots and two pats of{337} butter, place them over a slow fire tossing them occasionally; when a little tender pour off the butter and place in the pieces of poularde, then put the stock from the bones in a stewpan, not more than a pint, and reduce it to half, add a pint of white sauce (No. 7) and a little sugar, reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, then take it off the fire, and stir in a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of cream, pass it through a tammie over the pieces of poularde and cucumbers, and stand in the bain marie to get hot, serve plain in a deep entrée dish.
This dish is much thought of by great epicures, the eyes are certainly not treated, but the palate is delighted. The same description of entrée may be made the next day from the legs.
Bone the legs of two poulardes, leaving as much skin as possible on them, then stuff and braise them as directed for poularde à la Marie Stuart (No. 528), only place slices of truffles between the flesh and the skin, then poach a square piece of forcemeat (No. 120) three inches high, and smaller at the top than the bottom; when cold place it on a cloth and cut it in the shape of a pyramid according to the size of your dish, make it hot in some stock, take it out carefully and fix it in the centre of your dish upon a piece of mashed potato, then take up the legs, draw out the thread and place them on a cloth to drain; have four very small silver skewers, or atelettes, place a nice truffle warmed in stock on each, dress a leg upon each side of the pyramid upon a piece of mashed potato, perpendicular, and run an atelette through each at the top, fixing it to the forcemeat, they being nearly upright; then have ready the following sauce: chop four small truffles and put them in a stewpan, with half a glass of Madeira wine, reduce a minute, then{338} add the stock the legs were braised in (having previously passed it through a cloth and taken off the whole of the fat), and twelve spoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1); reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, add a little sugar, sauce over and serve.
To simplify the above they may be cooked as described, and dressed plain on the dish with the sauce over.
Bone the legs of two poulardes, leaving as much skin on as possible, season them with a little pepper and salt inside, then have ready a quarter of a pound of forcemeat (No. 120), chop two ounces of lean cooked ham, mix it with the forcemeat, stuff the legs with it, sew them up with a piece of packthread, then hold them a quarter of a minute over a charcoal fire to make the skin firm, have some bacon cut very fine, and with it lard a circle very neatly (forming rays), upon the top of each, braise them as directed (No. 793), have also ready a pyramid of forcemeat as in the last, when the legs are done prick a hole in the centre of the larded circle, in which place a piece of truffle to resemble a clove but six times the size of one, prepare four little silver atelettes or skewers with a dressed cockscomb upon each, dish the legs precisely as in the last, and serve with a purée of mushrooms (No. 54) round. This may also be simplified by serving the legs plain in the dish with the puree under.
Bone and season four legs as above, have ready a quarter of a pound of forcemeat (No. 120), with which mix ten well blanched oysters cut in quarters, and the yolk of an egg, stuff the legs, sew them with packthread, and braise them as before; prepare also a pyramid of forcemeat as before, have four little atelettes and place a craw-fish (No. 380){339} upon each, dress the legs with the atelettes as before, and have ready the following sauce: put a pint of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with six spoonfuls of oyster liquor; reduce it to a proper thickness, add half a gill of cream, mix well, and pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, into which put two dozen blanched oysters, season with a little cayenne pepper; warm altogether, sauce over and serve.
Bone and season four legs as before, stuff them with a quarter of a pound of forcemeat (No. 120), and braise them as before, make a pyramid of mashed potatoes in the centre of your dish and dress a leg on each side; you have previously turned twenty young carrots and twenty young turnips in the shape of small pears, and stewed with sufficient stock to cover them, in which you put half a teaspoonful of sugar; when tender dry them on a cloth, and stick them alternately in the potatoes above and around the legs very tastefully; then put a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) with the stock you stewed your vegetables in, add a bunch of parsley and half a bay-leaf, with six spoonfuls of consommé; reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, take out the parsley and bay-leaf, add a pat of butter, sauce over and serve.
Bone, stuff, and braise as before four legs of poulardes, make a pyramid of mashed potatoes in the centre of your dish, draw out the packthread, drain the legs on a cloth, dress them round, place a fine craw-fish on the top, and have ready the following sauce: peel fifty small button onions and put them in a stewpan, with a pint of white sauce and half a pint of white stock, add a small bunch of{340} parsley and half a bay-leaf; let simmer till the onions are tender, keeping it skimmed, then take out the parsley and bay-leaf, and with a colander spoon take out all the onions, which deposit in another stewpan, reduce the sauce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, season with a little salt, sugar, and lemon-juice, and finish with a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with two tablespoonfuls of cream, pass it through a tammie over the onions, warm altogether without letting it boil, sauce over and serve.
Procure four legs of poulardes and take out the thigh-bone, leaving the one in the leg, but cut off above the knuckle; then put four spoonfuls of salad oil in a stewpan, season the legs with a little pepper and salt, and lay them in, place the stewpan over a slow fire, cover it, and let them remain till they get a yellowish colour, turn, and when three parts done add thirty button onions cut in rings, set it over a sharp fire to give a tinge to the onions, pour off as much oil as possible, add a pint of white sauce (No. 7), and half the quantity of white stock, let simmer until it becomes rather thick, then take out the legs, which dress flat on your dish; season the sauce a little more if required, add the yolks of two eggs, stir them in quickly, sauce over, sprinkle bread-crumbs upon them, place a small piece of butter on each leg, place them in the oven a quarter of an hour, salamander a light brown and serve.
The number of entrées which may be made of this kind of poultry is immense, but to abbreviate and avoid repetition I have classified the three sorts together, so that the following entrées may be made from either of the three sorts, but for many entrées the spring chickens are preferable; the{341} pullets are generally most used, especially for fillets, for if the fillets are very small the least neglect would make them very dry and uneatable, two large fillets are again awkward, however tender, there being too much for one and not enough for two; but I have made this observation merely to state that the same entrées may be made from either where you happen to have them in the house.
Take two nice plump pullets, fillet them as directed for the poularde (No. 792), detach the filet mignon, or small fillet, from each, lay the fillets on a board, dip your cotelette-bat in water, beat one of the small fillets flat, then another and lay on the top of it, thus making two large fillets of the four small, then with a thin knife detach the skin from the large ones, melt two ounces of butter in a sauté-pan, lay in the fillets, which season lightly with white pepper, salt, and juice of a lemon; stand it by till ready, then make some forcemeat with the legs as directed (No. 122), from which make six flat long quenelles with two tablespoons, and poach them in a little stock, place the fillets over the fire, turning them when half done, but keeping them quite white, (the two small fillets will be done before the others,) be sure and not do them too much, they are done as soon as they feel firm to the touch; then make a small border of mashed potatoes on your dish, dress the fillets half way round and the quenelles the other, making them stand as high as possible, sauce over with a thin purée of cucumbers (No. 105); have ready a handful of green peas nicely boiled, which sprinkle over and serve.
Fillet and dress two fowls as above, likewise make the{342} forcemeat and six quenelles with the legs, when the quenelles are partly cold dip them in a basin containing two eggs well beaten, take them out with a fork, and sprinkle some chopped boiled Russian tongue over, place them in an entrée-dish, cover and put them in a hot closet for an hour, cook the fillets as before; make a small border of mashed potatoes on your dish, dress the fillets and quenelles alternately to form a crown, and have ready prepared the following sauce: break up all the bones of the fowls and put into a stewpan with a glass of Madeira wine, an onion in slices, one bay-leaf, two cloves, a little carrot and celery, place it over the fire two minutes, then cover the bones with two quarts of white stock, and let them simmer gently one hour, skim well and pass it through a cloth into another stewpan, add six spoonfuls of good brown sauce (No. 1) and reduce it to a clear demi-glace, then add ten heads of white mushrooms and ten pieces of boiled Russian tongue cut the size of half-crown-pieces, place the garniture in the centre, sauce over and serve; if you cannot obtain the Russian tongue for any of the above purposes, the English pickled tongue may be used instead.
Fillet three fowls as before, making nine fillets from the three, sauté the same, dress them in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, sauce over with a sauce suprême (No. 57) and serve; should you require a larger entrée use four fowls instead of three.
Fillet three fowls as before, sauté the same, then have a pint of the sauce suprême (No. 57) in a stewpan, boil the sauce, and when boiling throw in four preserved truffles in slices, add a tablespoonful of thick cream, sauce over and serve.{343}
Proceed with the fillets as before, put fifteen spoonfuls of sauce béchamel (No. 7) in a stewpan, with eight of white stock, reduce till rather thick, then add four truffles in slices, with a little salt and sugar, when again boiling add two tablespoonfuls of good thick cream, sauce over and serve.
Prepare the fillets of three fowls as before, sauté and dress them as usual; wash and turn half a pottle of mushrooms, pass the heads in a stewpan with a little butter, salt, lemon-juice, and two tablespoonfuls of water, boil three minutes, then in another stewpan have a pint of the sauce suprême (No. 57), add the mushrooms with their stock, skim well, boil altogether ten minutes, add two tablespoonfuls of good thick cream and a little sugar, sauce over and serve.
Proceed as before with the fillets, and likewise prepare half a pottle of white mushrooms as in the last, but saving the trimmings, which put in another stewpan with half the liquor from the mushrooms and a pint of béchamel sauce (No. 7), reduce till rather thick, then pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, add a little sugar and your mushrooms, previously drained on a cloth, boil altogether two minutes, add half a gill of boiling milk, sauce over and serve.
Roast three fowls in vegetables as directed in the Removes, cut out the fillets and proceed exactly as for filets de poulardes à l’ambassadrice (No. 792).{344}
Roast two large fowls in vegetables, and when cold take out the fillets, and with a thin knife divide each fillet in halves, to form two out of one, then pound two ounces of foie gras de Strasbourg (a small tureen of which can be purchased at any respectable Italian warehouse in London) in a mortar, and rub it through a hair sieve, put a spoonful of chopped onions in a stewpan with half a pat of butter, stir them a few minutes over the fire, then add half a pint of white sauce (No. 7), reduce till rather thick, add the foie gras, and when ready to boil take it off the fire and stir in the yolks of two eggs very quickly, leave it to get cold, then spread it over the fillets the eighth of an inch in thickness, have three eggs in a basin well-beaten, take each fillet on a fork, dip them into the eggs, throw them in a dish of bread-crumbs, take them out, pat them gently with a knife and repeat the operation, have four pounds of hot lard in a stewpan, in which fry them a light brown colour, dress in crown on a small border of mashed potatoes, and serve with fried water-cresses in the centre quite dry, with a little gravy separate.
Fillet three fowls, with the filets mignons making nine fillets, lard four of the fillets neatly and braise them as you would a sweetbread, then sauté the remainder of the fillets as usual; dress them alternately on a border of mashed potatoes, two larded, and the other plain, and have ready the following sauce: put a pint of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan with six spoonfuls of white stock, a small bunch of parsley, and the trimmings of some fresh mushrooms, boil till it becomes thick, keeping it stirred, add half a pint of cream and pass it through a tammie into another stewpan{345} in which you have placed a dozen of dressed cockscombs (No. 128), boil it up, then sauce over the plain fillets, put the cockscombs in the centre, glaze the larded fillets lightly and serve. If too thick, add a little stock to the sauce.
Prepare and cook the fillets of three fowls as above, cut also four pieces from a cooked tongue the size and shape of your fillets, warm them in stock, make a small border of mashed potatoes on your dish, dress the larded fillets first, then the plain, then the tongue to form a crown, sauce with a thin purée of green peas (No. 86) in the centre, glaze the tongue and larded fillets, and serve.
Fillet three fowls as usual, place them in a sauté-pan with butter, season and put by until ready; have two fine cucumbers cut in pieces three inches in length, split each piece in halves, take out the seeds and peel so as not to leave a mark of green upon it, trim each piece as near the size and shape of the fillets as possible, blanch them three minutes in boiling water with salt, drain them on a sieve, put them in a sauté-pan with a little sugar and some good white stock, set them on the fire till the cucumber is tender and the stock has reduced to demi-glace, then sauté your fillets, and dress upon a small border of mashed potatoes alternately with a piece of the cucumber, add the remainder of the cucumber and the demi-glace to a demi-purée of cucumbers (No. 105) (but keep it quite white), with which sauce over and serve. The cucumbers must be the best for this purpose and fresh, or you will not be able to succeed.
Fillet two fowls but leave the pinions of the wings attached{346} to them, lard and braise as directed for filets de poulardes à la Marie Stuart (No. 793), cut off the legs nicely, and take out the thigh-bone, leaving the leg-bone, but cutting it off above the knuckle; cut each back also into two pieces and trim neatly, put the legs and pieces of back into a stewpan, just cover them with one pint of water and two of stock, add a little pepper, salt, and a small bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, with an onion in slices, and two cloves, set them over the fire, let simmer twenty minutes, and skim well; then take out the pieces and put them on a cloth to dry, trim neatly and place them into another stewpan with two ounces of fresh butter, pass them five minutes over the fire, then add one tablespoonful of flour, mix well; you have previously passed the stock you boiled the fowl in through a cloth, pour it over the fricassée, which keep stirred till boiling, then stand it at the corner to simmer, skim well, it requires to be rather thin, let simmer nearly an hour, then take out the pieces very carefully and place them in another stewpan, put a spoonful of chopped mushrooms in the sauce, reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, pass it through a tammie over the pieces of fowl, place it again on the fire, add twelve cockscombs, twelve mushrooms, and twelve slices of truffles, let simmer a minute, finish with a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with three tablespoonfuls of milk, take it off the fire immediately, put a little mashed potatoes in the bottom of your dish, take out the four pieces of back, place two in the centre of the dish and two others over to form a square, stand the four legs upright around, drain the four fillets on a cloth, (let them be a nice colour,) and dress them over; place the garniture from the sauce on the top to form a pyramid, sauce over the legs and round, glaze the fillets lightly and serve.{347}
Cut two fowls into eight pieces each, that is, two legs, two wings, with a piece of the fillet, two pieces of back, and two pieces of breast, put them into a stewpan with two quarts of warm water, let them remain ten minutes to disgorge, pour off all the water, then just cover them with cold water, add a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, and one of salt, parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, with an onion in slices, and two cloves, simmer gently twenty minutes, skim well, take out the pieces, lay them on a cloth, and trim them into neat pieces, then place them in a stewpan with two ounces of butter, pass over the fire five minutes keeping them moved; add two tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well, pass the stock the pieces were boiled in through a cloth over, stir all together, then have peeled forty button onions, throw them in and boil altogether nearly an hour very gently (keeping it skimmed), till the sauce is sufficiently thick, then finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of milk, stir it in quick and do not let it boil afterwards, put a little mashed potatoes on the bottom of the dish, dress the pieces in pyramid, commencing with the backs, and finishing with the breasts upon the top, sauce all over and serve.
Procure two spring chickens, cut each one in halves, then again divide the wings from the legs, thus making eight pieces of the two; cut off the legs just above the knuckle, break the back-bones with a knife, put half a pound of butter in a flat stewpan, let it melt, lay in the pieces of chicken, let them remain over a slow fire until they become rather brown, then turn them, let them remain until the other side is browned, then pour off as much of the butter{348} as possible, and add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) with ten spoonfuls of consommé, place it again over the fire, and when boiling throw in four large truffles cut in thin slices and a little sugar, keep moving them round gently till the sauce adheres to the pieces; then take them out, dress as elevated as possible, sauce over and serve. Poulet printanier sauté aux champignons, and ditto aux olives, are done precisely the same, only substituting twenty stoned olives, or thirty heads of mushrooms, for the truffles.
Roast a spring chicken very white in vegetables, as directed in the Removes, when done draw out the string, place it in the centre of an entrée-dish, and serve with a sauce financière (No. 50) over, they may also be served with a sauce à la béchamel (No. 7) or any of the sauces directed for the flancs.
Take out the back-bone of a good-sized chicken, cut the legs off at the knuckles, break the leg-bone, then make an incision in the thigh and draw the legs through to the inside; break the joints of the wings, and beat the chicken rather flat, then put a piece of butter in a sauté-pan, when melted lay in your chicken, pass it over a slow fire ten minutes, turn it and place it again over till it becomes slightly coloured, then lay it on a dish, season well with pepper and salt; egg all over, throw it into bread-crumbs, cover all over, place it on a gridiron over a slow fire and broil it a nice yellow colour; have ready the following sauce: put six tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan with four of white stock, place it over the fire, and when boiling add six spoonfuls of well-seasoned sauce remoulade (No. 38), stir it quickly over the fire until hot, but do not let{349} it boil, pour it in your dish, garnish the edge with fillets of gherkins, lay the chicken over, which glaze lightly and serve.
Prepare and broil a chicken exactly as in the last, put the juice from a small bottle of pickled mushrooms, not too salt, in a stewpan with a spoonful of chopped eschalots; reduce to half, then add twelve spoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), season with a little cayenne pepper and sugar, boil till rather thick, add the mushrooms from the bottle, when hot pour the sauce in the dish, dress the fowl over, which glaze and serve. Spring chickens broiled may also be served with sauce piquante (No. 27), poivrade (No. 33), tomate (No. 37), fresh mushrooms (No. 52), or à la maréchal (No. 532).
After having used the fillets of fowls or chickens, the legs may be dressed in any of the methods given for legs of poulardes or capons, of course their not being so large, they will not require so long to cook, but there being six instead of four legs, they will require the same quantity of sauce; they may also be served in any of the following ways.
Cut off the six legs with as much of the skin as possible attached, giving them a round shape, take out the thigh-bone, and cut off the leg above the knuckle, then stuff the round part with a preparation of truffles, as for poularde à la Marie Stuart (No. 528), showing the truffles under the skin, sew them up, and braise as directed for that article; when done put a thin oval border of mashed potatoes on your dish, and dress the legs upon it, three on each side; place a small paper frill upon each bone, and serve with a{350} purée of truffles (No. 53) in the centre and round; the purée must be rather thin.
Prepare, stuff, and braise six legs as in the last, also have a fine larded sweetbread (No. 671) which braise with the legs, glaze and salamander of a nice gold colour, then have poached an oval piece of forcemeat (No. 120), an inch and a half high, three inches long, and two inches broad, place the sweetbread on the top, and dress the legs round, three upon each side, place a fine cockscomb between each leg to hide the forcemeat, fix them there by running little pegs made of stiff paste through them, sauce over the legs with a sauce à l’Italienne (No. 31), glaze the sweetbread, and serve very hot.
Prepare and bone six legs as above, season them with a little pepper, salt, and very finely-chopped eschalots, then have ready half a pound of forcemeat of fowl, with which stuff them, sew them round and braise as before; when done dress them on your dish as described for cuisses de volaille truffés à la Périgord (No. 824), sauce in the middle and round with a garniture and sauce aux concombres (No. 103), and serve.
Prepare, bone, stuff, and braise as the last, dress the same, and serve with stewed peas round and in the centre. For stewed peas (see No. 1077.)
The legs braised as above may also be served with a sauce Palestine (No. 87) or à la jardiniere (No. 100.){351}
See (No. 819) and proceed exactly the same; dress them on the dish, and serve as above.
Cut off the legs neatly as before, taking out the thigh-bone, and proceed as directed for petits poussins à la Marengo (see Flancs, No. 596), dress them pyramidically, sauce over, and serve. The whole of a fowl may be dressed in this manner by cutting it up as directed for poulet printanier (No. 820), and proceeding as described where above directed.
Cut up a large fowl or a small poularde into eight pieces, that is, the two legs, the two wings, with a piece of the fillet attached, two pieces of breast and two pieces of back, put them into a sauté-pan with eight spoonfuls of oil and six onions, peeled and cut in thin slices, season with a little pepper and salt, place it over a slow fire, move and turn them occasionally; when done, lay them on a cloth, to drain off all the oil, put a little mashed potatoes on the bottom of your dish, dress the inferior pieces at the bottom, and the better one at the top, dressing them as tastefully as possible, put the stewpan again on the fire, pour off as much oil as possible, and mix a quarter of a tablespoonful of flour with the onions, then twelve spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), and eight of white stock, add a little scraped garlic the size of a pea, and a little more sugar, take it off the fire, stir in the yolks of two eggs, sauce over, egg and bread-crumb all over, set it in a very hot oven ten minutes, salamander, and serve.{352}
Take the flesh of a nice delicate large fowl, and with it make some forcemeat as directed (No. 122); when done make eight large quenelles with two silver tablespoons, by filling one of them with forcemeat, dip your knife in hot water, and smooth it over in a slight dome, then dip the other spoon in hot water, and scoop the quenelle from the first spoon with it, taking it into the hot spoon, from which it will easily slip, place them in a buttered sauté-pan, and cover with good second broth, place them over a quick fire, boil twenty minutes, and lay them out on a cloth; cut also eight pieces from a boiled Russian tongue, the size of the quenelles and the thickness of two five-shilling pieces which warm in a little consommé; make a border of mashed potatoes, cut a little piece off the bottom of each quenelle, and dress them alternately with a piece of the tongue in crown; break the bones of the fowl up very small, and put them in a stewpan with a glass of sherry, one minced onion, one bay-leaf, a little thyme, and one clove; boil it two minutes, then add a quart of white stock, reduce it to half, skim off all the fat, and pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, add a pint of white sauce (No. 7), and reduce it till it adheres to the back of the spoon; finish with two tablespoonfuls of good thick cream, and a little sugar, sauce over the quenelles, glaze the tongue, and serve with the remainder of the sauce round and in the centre.
Proceed precisely as above, using plain ox-tongue instead of the Russian.
Make eight quenelles as before, then procure a fine hothouse{353} cucumber, from which cut and trim eight pieces the size of your quenelles, put them in a stewpan with a pat of butter and a little sugar, pass them over a slow fire ten minutes, then add six spoonfuls of white broth, and let them simmer very gently till quite done, but not too much so, or it would be impossible to dress them; then poach the quenelles and lay them on a cloth to drain with the cucumber, have ready a border of mashed potatoes on your dish, cut a little piece off the bottom of each quenelle, and dress them alternately with the cucumber in crown; have ready the following sauce: add half a pint of white sauce (No. 7) to the stock the cucumber was dressed in, reduce it till it adheres to the spoon, add a tablespoonful of cream, sauce over, and serve.
Make twelve quenelles as before, poach them and lay them on a cloth, have ready chopped two or three very black truffles, dip six of the quenelles in some egg well-beaten, roll them in the chopped truffles, place them in a dish, cover them up and stand them in the hot closet an hour; place the other six in some fresh stock in a stewpan and keep hot in the bain-marie, have ready a border of mashed potatoes on your dish, cut a piece off the bottom of each of the quenelles, dress the six black ones on one side and the white ones on the other to form a crown, put ten spoonfuls of milk in a stewpan, boil it, and add a pint of white sauce (No 7); reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, then add two pats of butter and the juice of a lemon, sauce over the white quenelles; you will probably have a few chopped truffles left, which sprinkle over, and serve the remainder of the sauce in the centre.{354}
Make and poach twelve quenelles as before, dip them in egg, and then roll them in some finely chopped cooked lean York ham, place them on a dish, cover and put them in the hot closet to dry; make a border of mashed potatoes on your dish, and dress one red and one white quenelle alternately, put twelve good spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with ten of boiled milk and a little sugar, let reduce till it adheres to the spoon, add about forty strips of the cooked ham cut the size of julienne-roots, sauce over and serve; finish the sauce with a little cream.
Make eight quenelles as before, and when laying in the sauté-pan make a long incision in each, in which put a very white middle-sized dressed cockscomb, cover them with white stock, and poach very gently for a quarter of an hour; have also poached a solid piece of forcemeat four inches in diameter and two and a half in height, with a long round cutter cut four holes near the centre, large enough to stand in four plovers’ eggs, which peel and warm in a little stock, and between the four on the top place a fifth; cut a small piece off the bottom of each quenelle, and stand them upright upon a little mashed potatoes against the centre piece, the cockscombs facing outwards, sauce over with a very white thin purée of artichokes (No. 90), and serve with a little chopped chervil sprinkled over them.
Pass a tablespoonful of chopped onions in butter in a stewpan over a sharp fire, and when they begin to colour add a teaspoonful of flour, mix well in, then add half a pint of brown sauce, a piece of glaze the size of a walnut,{355} two teaspoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, and one of chopped parsley, reduce five minutes, take it off the fire and stir in the yolks of two eggs very quickly; you have previously poached ten quenelles as before, and when cold dip them into the above sauce, covering them all over, (previously cutting a small piece off the bottom,) then dip them into some egg well-beaten, and then into bread-crumbs, pat them a little with your knife and repeat the operation; fry them a nice colour in a stewpan containing four pounds of very hot lard, dress them in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes, and have ready the following sauce: put a pint of consommé free from salt in a stewpan, with some bones of a raw or cooked fowl and a bunch of parsley, boil it till reduced to half, squeeze in the juice of twelve grapes, pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, reduce to a thin glaze, add half a teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar and a little sugar, pour it in the centre of your dish and serve very hot.
Make sufficient of the above forcemeat, for twelve quenelles, lay a little flour on your dresser, upon which place twelve pieces of the forcemeat, each of the size of a quenelle, roll each a little with the hand, then with a knife form them into pieces two inches long and nearly an inch wide, place them in a buttered sauté-pan as you do them, and poach exactly as for the quenelles, dress them in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, sauce over with a sauce Périgueux (No. 55) and serve.
Make the same quantity of forcemeat as for the last, lay it on your dresser and divide it into five pieces, flatten them with your knife, having sufficient flour on the board to prevent{356} them sticking; have a salpicon as for croquettes (see next), place a little of it upon the centre of each piece of forcemeat, roll them up, place them in a buttered sauté-pan, cover with stock and poach them twenty minutes, drain on a cloth, cut off the ends, and lay them on your dish, three at the bottom and two across, sauce the same as the last and serve.
Cut up a small braised fowl (or the remains of two or three left from a previous dinner) into very small dice (or mince), cut also two large truffles of the same size, put half a tablespoonful of chopped eschalots into a stewpan with half an ounce of butter, pass them three minutes over the fire, add a quarter of a tablespoonful of flour, mix well, then put in the fowl and truffles and half a pint of white sauce (No. 7)—or more if not sufficiently moist, boil all together ten minutes, season with a little white pepper, salt, and sugar, then stir in the yolks of two eggs very quickly, stir another minute over the fire, turn it out on a dish to cool; when cold take twelve pieces, each the size of a very large walnut, roll them about an inch and a half in length, egg and bread-crumb twice over and fry a good colour in hot lard, dress them in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with a sauce aux truffes (No. 51) in the centre. The remainder of a previous dinner of any kind of poultry may be used for croquettes.
Are made in the same manner as in the last, only using cooked lean ham instead of truffles, and serving a little blanquette de volaille au jambon (see blanquette de dinde, No. 88) in the centre; croquettes de volaille à l’écarlate are made the same, merely substituting some cooked tongue{357} and adding tongue to the blanquette; when made larger they are called boudins, but the croquettes are preferable, being more crisp.
Make half a pound of forcemeat (No. 122), then have ready two buttered sauté-pans, place half of the forcemeat in the centre of each, then spread it over the bottom to the thickness of half-a-crown piece with a spoon, occasionally dipping the spoon in white of egg; then cover them over with stock and place them on a moderate fire, let them simmer for five minutes, take off as much of the stock as possible, and leave them in the sauté-pans to get half cold, take them out with a fish-slice, place one of them on a dish, then have prepared a salpicon as for the croquettes aux truffes (No. 840), cover the sheet of forcemeat with it a quarter of an inch in thickness, then cover the other sheet over it, press them lightly together; when cold cut it out in diamond shapes (with a knife) about two inches long and one wide; then have ready the following sauce: put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan with a quarter of a pat of butter, pass them over the fire two minutes, add a pint of white sauce (No. 7) and half a gill of milk, boil altogether five minutes, keeping it stirred; then take it off the fire and stir in the yolks of two eggs very quickly, stir it over the fire another half a minute, then take each piece upon a fork and dip it into the sauce, cover it all over and place it upon a plate; proceed in like manner till they are all done, put them by till quite cold, have ready some good fritter-batter (No. 1285) made with milk, dip each rissolette in with a fork and drop it into a stewpan of rather hot lard, fry five minutes, dress them on a napkin, and serve with plenty of fried parsley the moment they are done.{358}
They may also be served with sauce (omitting the napkin) as follows: put eight spoonfuls of white sauce into a stewpan, with six of cream, place it over the fire a few minutes, add a little sugar and salt, sauce round and serve.
Roast four ducklings in vegetables as directed in the Removes, take away the vegetables just before they are done, to give the breasts a slight colour; then cut out the fillets very neatly, dress them on a small border of mashed potatoes with a thin crouton of fried bread between each, put a pint and a half of young green peas (previously boiled) in a stewpan, with the gravy that has run from the ducklings, two ounces of fresh butter, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a little salt, keep tossing them over the fire till quite hot, then add a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with two tablespoonfuls of cream, stir it in quickly, place them in the centre of the dish in pyramid and serve.
Proceed with the ducklings precisely as above, fillet and dress the same, serve with some endive prepared as directed (No. 119) in the centre, but not too much nor too thick.
Roast and fillet four ducklings as before, then prepare a stand of vegetables as directed for Chartreuse (No. 604), but not more than two inches in height, fill it with stewed cabbage well pressed and almost dry, and turn it out on your dish; when perfectly hot and the vegetables sufficiently cooked, dress the fillets in crown on the top, have ready a Macédoine de legume (No. 98), which dress in pyramid in the centre and serve.{359}
Roast and fillet four ducklings as before, dress them in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, and have ready the following sauce: put twenty spoonfuls of brown sauce in a stewpan with ten of white stock, place it over the fire to boil, with some bones from the breast of the ducklings, boil to a demi-glace, keeping it skimmed, take out the bones and pass the sauce through a tammie, then add the rind of an orange free from pith, which you have previously cut in fillets and blanched five minutes in boiling water, boil the sauce a few minutes, keeping it stirred, and finish with the juice of half the orange, sauce over and serve. This sauce requires to be quite transparent, but to have consistence enough to adhere to the fillets; filets de canetons à la bigarade are the same as above, merely substituting a Seville or real bigarade for a sweet orange.
Bone a duckling by placing it on your board and opening it at the back-bone, which is first to be taken out, then lay it out flat: take out the other bones singly, and cover the interior with forcemeat of fowl (No. 122), filling up every cavity and making it perfectly level on the top, put some thin slices of bacon at the bottom of a deep sauté-pan with a bunch of parsley and a few onions in slices, lay the duckling over and cover with white stock, lay a sheet of buttered paper over and put it in a slow oven for one hour or more till tender, take it up, lay it on a dish free from the bacon or onions, place another dish over and press it till cold, then cut it into pieces the size and shape of the other fillets above, warm them in a sauté-pan in a little good stock, dress them in crown and serve in any of the preceding ways.{360}
Procure three good-sized but young hares, when skinned lay them on a table and pass a knife down the back-bone, from the shoulder to the leg, keeping it close to the ribs till you have extracted the fillet, when done lay the fillets on a board the skin side downwards, and with a thin knife cut off the whole of the skin, by pressing your hand upon the fillet and drawing the knife along from the thin end to the thick; cut each fillet in halves, beat them lightly, trim them of a nice shape, and lard them neatly, then cover the bottom of a stewpan with thin slices of fat bacon, lay the fillets over, add three onions in slices with a bunch of parsley, a blade of mace, and a couple of cloves, put in a little broth, but not to cover them, place the lid on the stewpan and place them in a moderate oven till tender, glaze and salamander a nice colour, take them out, drain them a minute on a cloth, trim nicely, and dress them in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with a sauce reforme (No. 35) over, previously placing a thin piece of toasted bread the same size as the fillets between each.
Proceed exactly as in the last, dress them in crown without the pieces of toast, and serve with a sauce poivrade (No. 32) over, dressed in the same manner, they may be served with a sauce tomate (No. 37).
Proceed and dress your fillets exactly as before, and have ready the following sauce: peel forty button onions, then{361} put a little pounded sugar in a stewpan, which place over the fire, when it melts and turns yellowish put in a pat of butter and your onions, keep moving them over a slow fire till they become rather brown, then add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) and six tablespoonfuls of consommé, place it at the corner of the stove, and skim well, let simmer till the onions are done; then take them out with a colander spoon and place them in another stewpan, reduce the sauce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, pass it through a tammie over the onions, have twenty pieces of cooked streaky bacon in diamonds the size of the onions, put them in the sauce, which make hot, but not to boil, sauce over and serve.
Prepare and lard twelve pieces of fillets as usual, have ready a quart of marinade, see filet de bœuf à la Bohemienne (No. 426), and put them into it for three days; when wanted dry them on a cloth, butter a sauté-pan, lay in the fillets, cover them with a sheet of buttered paper, and stand them twenty minutes in a moderate oven, glaze and salamander a light brown, and dress in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, then pour as much of the butter off from the sauté-pan as possible, and put eight spoonfuls of the marinade and a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) into it, reduce over the fire, keeping it stirred till it adheres to the back of the spoon, add a small piece of glaze and a teaspoonful of currant jelly; sauce over and serve.
Fillet three hares as before and cut each fillet into four escalopes in a slanting direction; beat them into an oval shape, put an ounce of butter in a deep sauté-pan, with a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots; when the butter is melted{362} lay in the escalopes, season them with a little pepper and salt, and place them on a sharp fire; when half done turn them over, be careful not to do them too much; when done dress in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes, pour off the butter, then put a glass of port wine in the sauté-pan, with fifteen spoonfuls of demi-glace (No. 9), a little salt, and sugar, reduce it three minutes, keeping it stirred, sauce over and serve.
Fillet two hares as before, and out of each fillet cut three cotelettes by cutting each fillet in halves, making one of the thin end and cutting the thick into two equal slices, thus making twelve pieces of the four fillets; beat them of an equal thickness, boil the rib-bones of one of the hares till all the flesh comes off, and stick a bone in each piece to imitate the bone of a cotelette, egg, bread-crumb, and fry them in oil a nice colour, but not too much done, dress in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes, and sauce over with a sauce piquante (No. 27) in which you have introduced a few chopped olives.
Fillet one large hare and make six cotelettes out of the two fillets as in the last, egg and bread-crumb them with a little chopped ham mixed with the bread-crumbs, and fry in oil as before; you have previously made forcemeat of the legs as described (No. 123), with which make six large quenelles, poach, and dish them on a border of mashed potatoes alternately with the cotelettes; have ready the following sauce: put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with two of tarragon vinegar and a piece of glaze half the size of a walnut, place over the fire two minutes, add a pint of white sauce and eight spoonfuls{363} of white stock, reduce till rather thick, then add a little sugar and twenty small pickled onions; sauce over the quenelles, glaze the cotelettes and serve.
For boudins de lièvre, or quenelles, proceed the same as for boudins or quenelles de volaille, only using forcemeat made from the legs of the hare instead of the forcemeat of fowl; and for jugged hare and civet de lièvre, see Kitchen at Home. They may be made from the legs after you have taken the fillets for other purposes.
For entrées the tame rabbits are the best, and most preferable; but the wild are very good and may be dressed in any of the following ways.
Take three or four young rabbits, skin and fillet them the same as the hares; if the fillets are sufficiently large cut each one in halves forming each piece in the shape of a small cotelette, beat them lightly and of equal thickness, place them in a buttered sauté-pan, season with a little white pepper, salt, and the juice of half a lemon, place them over a moderate fire and when half done turn them; they are done as soon as they feel firm to the touch, and must be kept quite white, dress in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes, put eighteen spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in the sauté-pan, with ten of white stock, stir over the fire till it adheres to the back of the spoon, add a little pepper and salt if required, finish with two tablespoonfuls of cream and the juice of half a lemon; sauce over and serve.
Fillet three rabbits and so cut the fillets as to have nine pieces, which cook as in the last, then cut nine slices of cooked ham of the same size and shape as the fillets, and{364} make them hot in a little stock, dress them alternately with the fillets in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes, then put a pint of white sauce (No. 7) and half a pint of white stock in the sauté-pan, stir over the fire until nearly thick enough, then add twenty heads of blanched mushrooms and a little sugar, boil another minute, and finish with two tablespoonfuls of cream; sauce over the fillets, glaze the tongue and serve.
Fillet three good-sized rabbits and cut each fillet in halves, making twelve pieces, six of which lard neatly; dress the six plain as before, but the six larded ones must be braised like sweetbreads, and glazed, and salamander a good colour, make a border of mashed potatoes on your dish, upon which dress the fillets alternately, (one larded and one plain,) in crown, put a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) in the sauté-pan, with half a pint of consommé, boil and skim, add half a glass of sherry, and a little salt, pepper, and sugar, with two spoonfuls of tomata sauce (No. 37) and twenty small quenelles from forcemeat made with the legs of the rabbits, as described (No. 121); when hot, sauce over the plain fillets, glaze the larded ones, put all the quenelles in the centre and serve.
Proceed precisely as in the last, only dressing the six plain fillets on one side and the larded ones on the other instead of alternately, and add twelve dressed cockscombs and twelve blanched mushrooms to the garniture in the sauce; or they may be served with a blanquette made from the legs of the rabbits, previously braised, proceeding as described for blanquette de dinde (No. 791).{365}
Lard twelve pieces of fillets from three or four rabbits, braise them as you would sweetbreads; when done glaze and salamander of a light colour, and dress in crown as high as possible; you have boiled half a pound of good rice (No. 129), season it with a little salt, and mix four pats of butter and a pinch of saffron with it, dress it in pyramid in the centre of your dish, serve with a thin currie sauce (No. 46) round the fillets, and some separate in a boat; serve very hot.
Fillet three rabbits, cut each fillet in halves and shape them in the form of cotelettes, sticking a piece of the rib-bone of the rabbit in at the thin end, egg, bread-crumb, and fry them in oil of a light brown colour, dress in crown, glaze them lightly, and sauce as directed for grenadins de veau (No. 692).
The legs and shoulders may be used for pies, curries, or fricassées, which I give in my Kitchen at Home.
Procure two nice young rabbits, which cut into twelve pieces, being two legs, two shoulders, and two nice pieces from the back of each; put four ounces of butter in a thick-bottomed sauté-pan; when melted lay in the pieces and proceed as directed for petits poulets sauté aux truffes (No. 820). Lapereau sauté aux champignons is done the same, using mushrooms instead of truffles, and lapereau sauté aux fines herbes, by using a sauce fines herbes (No. 26) instead of the brown sauce, and omitting both the truffles and mushrooms.{366}
Cut up two rabbits precisely as above, and proceed as directed for poulet printanier à la Marengo (No. 829), dress them as high as possible on the dish, pyramidically, sauce over and serve.
Cut up two rabbits as before, and cook them as for sauté aux truffes (No. 861); when done and nicely browned pour off as much butter as possible and pour a quart of currie sauce (No. 46) over, add twenty button onions, previously stewed in a little broth, and twenty pieces of cooked streaky bacon cut in small diamonds, stand them over a slow fire twenty minutes, keeping it stirred occasionally; then build the pieces up in your dish, sauce over and serve with rice (No. 129) in a separate dish; should the sauce be too thick moisten it with a drop of broth, but it requires to be thick enough to adhere to the rabbit.
Cut up two young rabbits as before, and put them two hours in warm water to disgorge, then put them in a stewpan just covered with clear water, add two onions, one carrot, a bunch of parsley, two cloves, and a little salt, boil half an hour at the corner of the stove, and skim well, take out the pieces and pass the stock through a cloth, trim each piece of rabbit nicely, and put it in another stewpan, with a quarter of a pound of butter, pass them over the fire three minutes, then mix one ounce of flour with them, pour the stock over and add fifty peeled button onions, stir round gently until boiling, then draw it to the corner of the fire and let simmer till the rabbit is very tender, then take them out, with the onions, and put them in another stewpan, reduce{367} the sauce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, pass it through a tammie over the rabbit and onions, add a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of cream, stir it in gently, place it over the fire but do not let it boil, dress the rabbit in your dish and sauce over; mushrooms may be added, and the onions ought to be kept as whole as possible.
Roast two small young pheasants in vegetables as directed for the Removes, let them get cold, then cut off neatly the two wings, two legs, and two pieces from the breasts of each, which will make twelve very nice pieces, take off the skin and place them in a stewpan, cover them with a little stock and six spoonfuls of velouté (No. 6), put them in the bain marie to warm gently, then put a quart of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with half a pint of white stock and the backs and trimmings of the pheasants cut up very small, reduce till it adheres lightly to the back of the spoon, pour off the stock from the pieces of pheasants, place a tammie over the stewpan, over which hold a colander, pour the sauce through the colander, and then squeeze it through the tammie, add a little sugar and a little cream, place the stewpan over the fire but do not let its contents boil, dress the pieces of pheasants in pyramid, placing a little mashed potatoes on the bottom of the dish to keep them in their place; sauce over and serve.
Cut up two small pheasants as above, dress them in pyramid on your dish and serve with a sauce à la purée de gibier (No. 59) over, have about fifty very small croutons of bread, diamond shape, and fried in oil, which sprinkle over the last thing before serving.{368}
Fillet two full-grown young pheasants as you would a fowl, lard and braise them exactly the same, have half boiled in water sixty very fine Brussels sprouts, drain them in a colander and put them in a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of streaky bacon, season with a little pepper and salt, add a pint of good stock and stew them over a moderate fire till the stock is reduced to glaze, take out the sprouts, squeeze them together between two dishes, and dress them as a perfect pyramid in the centre of your dish, glaze and salamander the fillets nicely, and dress a fillet on each side with a thin slice of the bacon at each corner, place a quenelle at the top, and sauce round with the sauce fumée de gibier (No. 60); serve immediately.
Lard and braise six fillets from three pheasants as above, have a fine fresh cucumber, cut six pieces from it of the same size as the fillets, which stew in a little stock in which you have put half a teaspoonful of sugar; when tender but not too much done drain them on a cloth; make a border of mashed potatoes on your dish, upon which dress the fillets and pieces of cucumber alternately in crown; have ready a small jardinière sauce (No. 100) to which you have added a few blanched mushrooms, put the vegetables in the centre with a piece of boiled (or a small) cauliflower on the top, sauce round, glaze the fillets and serve.
Roast two pheasants in vegetables as directed in the Removes, cut them into quarters, that is, the four breasts with the wings and the legs with a piece of the back-bone, beat and trim them lightly, cut off the pinion from the{369} wings, and make the breasts and legs nearly of the same shape, place them in a stewpan, cover them with a little stock, put the lid on the stewpan and set in the bain marie to get hot, make a border of forcemeat (see ris de veau à la Turque No. 673); when done place it in the centre of your dish and dress the pieces in crown upon it, sauce over with a sauce fumée de gibier (No. 60) in which you have put four large truffles in slices, or twenty button mushrooms; serve very hot.
Fillet four young pheasants, lard and braise four of the fillets, (as for the filets aux légumes), egg the other four over with a paste-brush and throw them into a plate in which you have chopped ham and bread-crumbs mixed, cover them well, beat gently with a knife, and fry a light brown in a little clarified butter, make a small border of mashed potatoes upon your dish and dress the fillets alternately upon it; you have previously prepared a sauce velouté de gibier (No. 58), rather more than a pint, add twenty very white dressed cockscombs, when hot sauce round and garniture in the centre; glaze your fillets and serve; a spoonful of whipped cream would also be a great improvement added to the sauce when finished.
Prepare eight small or four large fillets divided into two separate slices, put them in a sauté-pan with two tablespoonfuls of oil, place them over a sharp fire, sauté them very underdone, and lay them on a cloth, put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions in the sauté-pan, fry them till turning yellow, then add a pint of white sauce (No. 7), two spoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, two of chopped parsley, a little grated nutmeg, pepper, salt, and sugar,{370} reduce till rather thick, keeping it stirred, lay in the fillets to warm, and leave them to get cold in the sauce, have eight pieces of paper each cut in the shape of a heart, and large enough to fold a fillet in, place a fillet in each with the sauce equally divided amongst them, fold the papers over, twisting them up at the edges, and place them on the gridiron to broil over a slow fire; when done dress in crown on your dish leaving them in the papers, and serve with a little plain gravy.
After having used the fillets of pheasants one day the legs may be used the next, by roasting in vegetables and trimming them nicely; serve either à la Brabant (No. 867), or en salmi (No. 869); but the legs of large pheasants being so stringy will not make a very delicate entrée, and it is much better to convert them into a sauce à la purée de gibier (No. 59), soup, (No. 175), or forcemeat (No. 123).
Proceed exactly as for the quenelles de volaille, only using a forcemeat made from the flesh of pheasants instead of fowl, dress them in crown, and serve with a sauce velouté de gibier (No. 58), purée de gibier (No. 59), or sauce fumée de gibier, either of which may be garnished with cockscombs, truffles, or mushrooms, as directed for the entrées of pheasants.
Boudins de faisans are served the same way only shaping them as directed for boudins de volaille à la Richelieu (No. 838), with which sauce they may also be served.
Prepare two young but full-grown grouse, roast one of them underdone, and make forcemeat (No. 123) of the other; when the roasted one is cold cut it into eight pieces, that is, two wings, two legs, two pieces of the back, and{371} two pieces of the breast; cover each piece all over with the forcemeat the sixth of an inch in thickness, egg each piece over and place them in a buttered sauté-pan, just cover them with a little white stock and boil gently ten minutes, lay them on a cloth to drain, put a little mashed potatoes on the bottom of your dish, build the pieces in pyramid, and have ready the following sauce: chop the bone of the grouse very small and put them into a stewpan, with three pints of consommé free from salt, an onion, and a little celery, with a bunch of parsley and two cloves, boil gently half an hour, pass the stock through a cloth into a stewpan, reduce to a very thin glaze, then mix a tablespoonful of the best arrow-root with half a glassful of wine and a little cold broth; pour it into the gravy, keeping it stirred, season a little more if required, and when boiling sauce over and serve.
Roast four young grouse in vegetables as described for the Removes, take out the breasts or fillets carefully, have ready a pound of forcemeat (No. 123), with which cover each fillet nearly a quarter of an inch in thickness all over, put them in a buttered sauté-pan, just covered with a little white stock, boil gently ten minutes and lay them on a cloth; have ready eight croutons or pieces of bread, the shape of the fillets and the thickness of a crown-piece, fried in oil a light brown and very crisp, dress the fillets and croutons alternately in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes, glaze the croutons, sauce over with a demi-glace de gibier (No. 61), sprinkle a few chopped olives over, and serve very hot.
Fillet four young grouse, trim the fillets as directed for{372} filet de poularde (No. 792), butter a sauté-pan with two ounces of butter, lay in your fillets, season with a little pepper, salt, and lemon-juice, add a piece of glaze the size of a walnut, place them on the fire, sauté underdone, pour off as much butter as possible, add a pint of demi-glace (No. 9) and twenty small quenelles (No. 120); shake the sauté-pan round over the fire two minutes, take out the fillets, which dress in crown on a border of mashed potatoes; sauce over, put the fillets and quenelles in the centre and serve.
No. 876. Salmi de Grouse aux truffes.
Plain roast two grouse and cut each one up into eight neat pieces (whilst hot, as for à la commodore), place them in a stewpan, cover them with a thin brown sauce (No. 1), put the cover on the stewpan and place it in the bain marie till the pieces are hot, in another stewpan have a pint and a half of the sauce fumée de gibier, reduce it a third, then add six middling-sized truffles cut in thin slices, and a little sugar; have also six croutons or scippets of fried bread (as for à la Paoli), dress the pieces of grouse in pyramid on your dish, with the croutons well glazed resting upon them round the dish; sauce over and serve.
Roast two grouse, cut them into quarters, that is, the wings with the breasts, and the legs with the back-bone, pound the back and trimmings well in a mortar and put them in a stewpan, with a pint of the sauce fumée de gibier (No. 60), boil five minutes, then pass it through a hair sieve into another stewpan, season with a little salt and sugar if required, and add the yolks of two eggs, stir over the fire till it becomes thickish but do not let it boil, then put in the pieces of grouse; when half cold dress them{373} upon a border of mashed potatoes, sauce and sprinkle bread-crumbs over and place them in a moderate oven half an hour; serve with a demi-glace de gibier (No. 61) round.
No. 878. Turban de Quenelles de Grouse à la Moderne.
Make and poach twelve quenelles from a forcemeat of grouse (see No. 123), poach them as for quenelles de volaille (No. 831), dress in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes, sauce over with a sauce fumée de gibier (No. 60), have ready the yolk of a hard-boiled egg chopped very fine, which sprinkle over and serve.
Black cocks and gray hens being larger birds are generally used for roasting, but the gray hen if well kept may be dressed in any of the preceding ways; the ptarmigan also which makes its appearance in February, (a Swedish bird as well as Scotch,) may be used for the same purposes as grouse, the flavour is similar but not quite so good.
Procure three young partridges, pluck and draw them and cut each bird in halves, cut off each leg below the knuckle, break the part of the leg above the knuckle, make an incision in the thigh and turn the leg inside, break the back-bone (in three) the thigh-bone and the joint of the wing in each, place the six halves in a sauté-pan, in which you have put eight tablespoonfuls of oil, fry gently till three parts done, then egg, bread-crumb, and place them on a gridiron over a slow fire, broil them a good colour, and dress in crown upon your dish, then pour off the oil from the sauté-pan, add two glasses of port wine, a spoonful of chopped eschalots and one of chopped mushrooms, pass them over the fire two minutes, add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1,) ten spoonfuls of consommé, and a little pepper, salt, and sugar, reduce till rather thick, finish with{374} the juice of half a lemon, sauce round and serve, slightly glazing the partridges.
Prepare and broil three partridges as in the last; you have previously roasted an old one and made a purée of it as directed (No. 59), dress the partridges in crown, glaze and serve with the purée round and in the centre.
Procure two partridges trussed as for boiling, and lard them with fat bacon lengthwise up the breast; have ready two white-heart savoy cabbages, cut them in quarters and blanch them ten minutes in boiling water; drain them quite dry on a cloth, season well with white pepper and salt, cut off all the stalk and place them in a stewpan with half a pound of streaky bacon; cover with a good white stock and place them over a slow fire to stew until the stock has reduced to a thin glaze and the cabbage is quite tender; you have roasted the two partridges, thrust them quite hot into the cabbage, and place the stewpan containing them in a bain marie to keep hot for one hour, or till ready for use, then drain and press the cabbage in a colander, saving the stock that comes from it; dress in a dome on your dish, take the skewers and strings from the birds and dress them upon the top with slices of the bacon round, broil three sausages, which cut in halves lengthwise and lay round at the bottom, put a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) in a stewpan, with twelve spoonfuls of stock from the cabbage, skim off all the fat, reduce to a demi-glace, sauce over and serve.
Proceed as directed in the Flancs (Nos. 604, 605, and{375} 606), but using a round mould not too large for the dish instead of oval moulds as there directed.
Roast six young partridges underdone and when nearly cold cut out the breasts or fillets as neatly as possible, place them in a sauté-pan, with a piece of glaze the size of a walnut and a little white stock, warm them and reduce the stock to glaze, dress them in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes, have prepared some carrots, turnips, and button onions as for sauce à la jardinière (No. 100), pass them over the fire in a little butter and sugar, cover them with a pint of the sauce fumée de gibier (No. 60), six spoonfuls of consommé, and the glaze from the sauté-pan; simmer at the corner of the stove till the vegetables are quite done, skim it well, dress the vegetables in the centre, glaze the fillets and serve.
Roast six partridges and fillet them as in the last, warm and dress them precisely the same, then have a pint of demi-glace de gibier (No. 61) in a stewpan, reduce it a third, then add twelve blanched mushrooms, twelve dressed cockscombs, and twelve very small French preserved truffles; add a little sugar, place the garniture in the centre, sauce over and serve.
Procure six young partridges, fillet them, take a rib-bone and stick in the small end of each fillet, beat them lightly with a thin knife, take off the skin, season with a little pepper and salt, egg, bread-crumb, and fry of a light brown colour in salad oil, but not too much done, dress them in crown on a small border of mashed potatoes, have ready a pint of{376} the sauce velouté de gibier (No. 58), which you have made from the legs and bones of the birds, which put in a stewpan, with a pint of white stock (No. 138), reduce, and when it adheres to the back of the spoon add fifty Smyrna raisins previously soaked in hot water two hours, and the juice of ten large Portugal grapes, sauce in the centre, glaze the cotelettes and serve. I have served this curious entrée with English grapes whole in it, and very good it is, being refreshing to the palate, but a person requires to be used to them before they can appreciate.
Prepare twelve cotelettes as above, fry them in oil and dress them the same on your dish; have a pint of demi-glace de gibier (No. 61) in a stewpan, reduce it one third, have forty small quenelles made from forcemeat from the legs, (see No. 123), the quenelles must be made with very small egg-spoons, as directed for the quenelles (No. 120); when poached lay them on a cloth to drain, put them into the sauce; when hot dress the quenelles in the centre; sauce over and serve.
Prepare and dress twelve cotelettes or fillets as before, dress them on a dish and have ready the following sauce: have fifty scoops of turnips the size of small marbles, put them in a stewpan, with an ounce of butter and half a teaspoonful of sugar, pass over the fire five minutes, keeping them moved, then add a pint of demi-glace de gibier (No. 61), place it on the corner of the stove, let simmer, keeping it skimmed till the turnips are done, finish with a little orange-juice, sauce in the centre, glaze the cotelettes and serve.{377}
Fillet six young partridges, lard six of the fillets, and braise them as for filets de faisans à la Brabant (No. 867), place the other six in a sauté-pan well buttered, season with a little pepper, salt, and lemon-juice, sauté them gently over a moderate fire, make a thin border of mashed potatoes on your dish, dress the six larded fillets first, then the six plain ones to form a crown; glaze nicely, sauce over with a demi-glace de gibier and serve (see Sauce, No. 61).
Proceed exactly as in the last, merely adding thirty heads of blanched mushrooms to the sauce and a little sugar.
Fillet three young partridges, make likewise half a pound of forcemeat from the legs as directed (No. 123), from which make six quenelles with two tablespoons (No. 831); sauté your fillets as in the last, plain, then poach your quenelles, make a border of mashed potatoes on your dish, and dress the fillets in crown, alternately with the quenelles, put three parts of a pint of demi-glace de gibier (No. 61) in a stewpan, reduce it a third, add four large French truffles chopped very fine, with a little sugar, sauce over and serve.
Make a pound of forcemeat from the flesh of one or two partridges as directed (No. 123), and with two tablespoons make twelve large quenelles, poach them in white stock (see quenelles de volaille, No. 831) and lay them on a clean cloth to drain a moment, make a border of mashed potatoes on your dish, upon which dress the quenelles in{378} crown, then put a pint of the sauce velouté de gibier (No. 58) in a stewpan, with half the quantity of white stock, reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, then add a tablespoonful of whipped cream, sauce over, sprinkle a few pistachios chopped very fine upon the top of each quenelle and serve.
Wild ducks are best after frosty weather, the middling-sized ones are the best for entrées.
Roast four young ones underdone well wrapped up in vegetables, when done cut the fillets out neatly, and dress them in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, have prepared the following sauce: put a spoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan with a glass of port wine, the back-bones of two of the ducks and a piece of glaze the size of a walnut, boil two minutes, then add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) and ten spoonfuls of consommé, simmer a few minutes, take out the bones, skim, reduce it fast till it adheres to the back of the spoon, pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, add a little cayenne pepper and lemon-juice, when hot sauce over and serve.
Prepare six fillets from three wild ducks as in the last, have six croutons of fried bread (or scippets), chop the livers of the ducks up very fine, mix with a little chopped parsley, pepper, salt, and a small pat of butter, spread some upon each of the croutons, thicker in the middle than at the sides; set them ten minutes in a warm oven and salamander, dress them alternately with the fillets upon a border of mashed potatoes in crown, sauce the same as in the last, with the addition of twenty mild stoned olives just before serving.{379}
Cook and fillet four wild ducks as in the last, dress upon your dish and put them into the hot closet to keep hot with a cover over them; chop up the legs and back very fine and put them in a stewpan with a glass of sherry and a bunch of parsley, boil five minutes, then add a pint of consommée, boil ten minutes, skim and pass through a cloth into another stewpan, reduce to half glaze, then add ten tablespoonfuls of brown sauce (No. 1), a little sugar, and half the yellow rind of a large orange, cut in fine strips and blanch five minutes, boil altogether a few minutes, finish with a teaspoonful of juice from the orange, sauce over and serve.
Cook and fillet four wild ducks as before, dress them in crown on your dish and serve with a sauce fumée de gibier over, made from the legs and bones of the ducks as described (No. 60).
Proceed exactly as for salmi de grouse (No. 876), only cutting up two wild ducks in neat pieces instead of the grouse, but the wild ducks require to be more underdone.
Roast and fillet four wild ducks as before, dress them in crown, and serve with a sauce à la purée de grouse (No. 59) over.
Widgeons are rather smaller than the wild ducks, but are dressed exactly the same; care should be taken in roasting any kind of water-fowl that it should be rather underdone, and if there is a necessity for warming them in sauce{380} when cut up for entrées, care should be taken that they do not boil in it, for it would give the sauce a greasy appearance, and cause the fillets to eat tough and altogether very unpalatable.
Teal are much smaller than either of the two last, but of the same species, though more delicate and excellent for entrées.
Roast eight teal twenty minutes in vegetables, cut out the fillets, which must be underdone with the gravy in them, have ready half a pound of game forcemeat (No 123), when cold cover each of the fillets very thinly with it, dress them in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes, set them in a very hot oven for ten minutes till the forcemeat is cooked, sauce over with a sauce fumée de gibier (No. 60) and serve.
Roast and fillet eight teal as in the last, dress them on a border of mashed potatoes, then put eight spoonfuls of game sauce (No. 60), eight of consommé, and eight of tomata sauce (No. 37) in a stewpan, boil them together a few minutes, add twenty pickled mushrooms, sauce over and serve.
Roast six teal as before, cut them in halves, chop off the pinions of the wings, beat them a little and dress in crown, sauce over with au jus d’orange (No. 17) and serve.
Teal may be dressed in any way as directed for the wild ducks.{381}
Bone four teal by cutting the skin through down the back, separating the skin on each side of it until you have cleared it, lay the bird open, take out the back-bone, and with a knife you will find no difficulty in taking out all the rest; half fill them with forcemeat (No. 120) and sew them up with packthread, then put them into a stewpan with three glasses of sherry, a pint of white stock, half a pound of lean uncooked ham, two onions, one head of celery, a bunch of parsley, a little carrot, turnip, two cloves, and a blade of mace; put the cover on the stewpan and place it in a moderate oven for an hour, try with a larding-needle, and if tender they are done; lay them on a cloth to drain, make three croutons of bread each in the shape of a cockscomb, but a great deal thicker and larger, put three of the teal at the bottom of the dish, and stand a crouton (nicely fried) between each to form six points, place the remaining teal upon the top, and have ready the following sauce: strain the stock the teal was cooked in through a cloth into another stewpan, skim off all the fat, add half a pint of white sauce (No. 7), reduce it till it adheres to the back of the spoon, add a little cream sauce over and serve.
Roast four teal in vegetables, cut them in halves, dress in crown on a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with a white sauce macédoine de légumes (No. 98) in the centre.
Proceed as in the last, but serve with a purée of mushrooms (No. 54) in the centre.{382}
Roast six woodcocks underdone, take the fillets out carefully, have ready half a pound of very white forcemeat of chicken (No. 122), cover each fillet all over about the eighth of an inch in thickness, egg them over when done and place them in a buttered sauté-pan, cover them with white stock, and simmer ten minutes, drain them on a cloth and dress in crown upon a small border of toasted bread; you have previously pounded all the flesh from the legs with the trail in a mortar, pass through a sieve, and put it in a stewpan with ten spoonfuls of game sauce (No. 60) made from the bones, boil until thick, keeping it stirred, then take it off the fire and stir in the yolks of two eggs very quickly, stir another minute over the fire to thicken, and dress in the middle of the dish as high as possible, sauce over with a demi-glace de gibier (No. 61) and serve.
Roast four woodcocks, fillet them, cover each fillet with forcemeat as in the last, poach them the same, have eight croutons of bread the same size as the fillets, and the thickness of a five-shilling-piece, pound the trails from the woodcocks in a mortar, season them lightly, and mix them with the yolk of one egg, spread it upon the croutons (which you have previously fried), give them the shape of a dome, put them ten minutes in the oven, salamander a light colour, make a thin border of mashed potatoes on your dish, dress the fillets half way round, then the croutons, put a pint of game sauce (No. 60) in a stewpan with six spoonfuls of consommé, reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, then add six middling-sized truffles chopped very fine with a little sugar, sauce over and serve.{383}
Roast five woodcocks, fillet as usual, surround each fillet with the forcemeat, and poach as before, dress them on a small border of mashed potatoes, and place a fine dressed cockscomb warmed in a little stock between each, sauce over with a sauce velouté de gibier (No. 58) and serve.
Roast five woodcocks, cut them in halves, and dress them in crown, breasts upwards, upon a border of mashed potatoes; put a pint of demi-glace de gibier (No. 61) in a stewpan, reduce it, then add forty very fine blanched mushrooms, with two spoonfuls of thin liquor, boil two minutes, then add a little salt, sugar, the juice of half a lemon, and two pats of butter, take it off the fire, shake it round till the butter is melted, sauce over and serve.
Roast three woodcocks underdone, and when cold cut them into neat pieces, that is, two wings, two legs, and the breasts; chop the trails from the interior very fine and spread them upon six croutons of fried bread in the shape of fillets, place them in the oven three minutes, and salamander lightly; make a game sauce with the bones as directed (No. 60), when you have reduced it to a good consistency, put in the pieces of woodcocks, cover the stewpan, stand it in the bain marie till they are quite hot, then build them up as high as possible on your dish, dress the croutons round, sauce over and serve; truffles or mushrooms may be added to the sauce.
Roast two woodcocks underdone, cut them up and proceed{384} exactly as in the last, make ten quenelles de gibier (No. 123), poach them, lay them on a cloth to drain, egg over with a paste-brush, and roll them in chopped ham and truffles, place them in a dish, which put in the hot closet with the cover over for half an hour, then put a border of mashed potatoes upon your dish, dress the quenelles in crown with the woodcocks in the centre and over, as elevated as possible, sauce over with a demi-glace de gibier, dress the croutons round and serve.
Roast your woodcocks in vegetables, separate the breasts from the legs, take off the flesh from the legs and pound it in a mortar with the trails, make a purée as for the filets à la Lucullus, then have ready a croustade of bread two inches high, rather oval, and fluted round, not too large for the dish, make an incision round the top a quarter of an inch from the edge, fry a nice colour, scoop out the top, place it on your dish, pour in the purée; you have kept the breasts hot in a stewpan in the bain marie, dress them over the purée with the points to meet in the centre, place two fine dressed cockscombs warmed in the sauce between each breast, and a quenelle upon the top, sauce over with a demi-glace de gibier (No. 61) and serve.
Roast three woodcocks nicely before a sharp fire, put a piece of toasted bread under them whilst roasting to catch the trails, when done cut the toast into three pieces, diamond shapes, place them in your dish and place the woodcocks upon them, their tails to meet in the centre of the dish, sauce over as for filets à la Talleyrand (No. 905) and serve.{385}
Roast three woodcocks as in the last, dish them the same, and serve with a sauce à l’essence made from some bones or remains of woodcock, as directed (No. 60).
Proceed precisely as in the last, but adding ten blanched mushrooms, ten fine dressed cockscombs, ten small quenelles (No. 123) of game, and as many slices of truffles to the sauce.
Roast three woodcocks as before, having previously roasted one, with which make a purée as directed (No. 59), sauce round and serve.
915. Snipes or Bécassines.
Snipes may be dressed in any way as directed for the woodcocks, but being much smaller you cut them in halves instead of filleting them, dress round to form a crown, only you require more of them.
Plovers, like other game, require to be kept a short time before they are cooked; they are dressed similar to woodcocks, although not quite so recherché; when well dressed they are very delicious.
Roast eight plovers well wrapped up in thin slices of bacon, and tied up in paper; when done leave them to get cold in the bacon, then cut out the fillets as for woodcocks,{386} and stick the pilon of the leg at the point of each fillet; let a piece of the bacon remain over each fillet, egg and bread-crumb twice over, and fry them a nice colour in salad oil; chop up the legs, bones, and trimmings of the birds, and put them in a stewpan with a glass of sherry, an onion in slices, and a little raw ham minced; place it on the fire a couple of minutes, then add a pint and a half of good white stock; place it again on the fire, and let it simmer half an hour, skim, and pass it through a cloth into another stewpan, reduce to a thin glaze, then mix a little arrow-root with three spoonfuls of white stock and the juice of half a lemon, pour it into the sauce, keeping it stirred till boiling, dress the fillets in crown on a circle of mashed potatoes, sauce round, and serve very hot and crisp.
Proceed with the fillets exactly as in the last, make ten croutons of bread, upon which put the trail, see woodcocks (No. 905), dress the fillets round alternately with the croutons, put a pint and a half of demi-glace de gibier (No. 61), and a gill of consommé in a stewpan, reduce to half, then add six middling-sized truffles in slices, and a little sugar, sauce over and serve.
Proceed exactly as in the last, only using mushrooms instead of truffles.
Roast three plovers in bacon as before, and when done have three larded lambs’ sweetbreads nicely cooked, dress them alternately on a border of mashed potatoes in a ring, put half a pint of demi-glace de gibier (No. 61) in a stewpan, boil it a minute, then add twelve stoned French olives,{387} season with a little sugar, sauce in the centre, glaze the sweetbreads, and serve.
Make a paste as directed for pâté chaud, see Flancs (No. 618), build up a crust with the hand or in a small round mould to match your dish, then fillet twelve plovers, season them with a little pepper, salt, and chopped eschalots, cut some thin slices of fat bacon, with which line the interior of your crust, which has stood a good hour after building to get firm, lay the fillets round, placing a thin slice of fat bacon between each; the pâté must not be more than three inches in height when filled; add four spoonfuls of game sauce, and a few raw mushrooms, cover with a thin sheet of the paste, and ornament the exterior to your fancy, forming a lid with a round piece of puff paste (No. 1132); bake it an hour and a half in a moderate oven, take off the lid and as much fat as possible from the top, add half a pint of game sauce (No. 60) quite hot, and serve either with or without the lid.
The climate of this country is far from being advantageous for these delicate birds, which migrate even from France at the end of the autumn; the quails in this country must be fed in confinement to fatten, before they are fit to be eaten, which destroys much of that beautiful flavour they possess in France, where they feed in their native vineyards.
Truss eight quails, fold each one up in a vine-leaf, and then in a thin slice of bacon, run a skewer through them sideways, which tie upon the spit; then have some vegetables of all kinds, cut up in thin slices, which moisten with{388} a little oil, have then some sheets of paper, upon which lay the vegetables, lay the quails on the spit over them, breasts downwards, cover well with the vegetables, fold the paper round, and tie them up; roast from twenty-five to thirty minutes before a sharp fire; you have prepared a border of vegetables as for Chartreuse (No. 604), but not to stand more than two inches in height; fill it with stewed cabbage and boiled French beans, turn it out on your dish, and dress the quails upon it, their tails towards the centre and their breasts outside; make a pyramid of boiled green peas on the top, and serve a white jardinière sauce (No. 98) round.
Proceed exactly as above with the quails, but make the stand entirely of green peas nicely boiled; have ready a pint of stewed peas (No. 1077) with which you have put the quails a few minutes, fill the centre with them, dress the quails round as above, and pour the remainder of the peas in the dish.
Roast eight quails in vegetables, but without the vine-leaf and bacon, make a border of forcemeat as for ris de veau à la Turque (No. 673), stand it in your dish, then make a ragout financière (No. 50), but using game sauce instead of brown sauce; put your quails five minutes in the sauce, then dress them round on the border of forcemeat; garniture in the centre, sauce over, and serve.
Roast seven quails as before, cut each one in halves lengthwise, have also fourteen pieces of cucumbers the same size, stewed as No. 103, dress them alternately with the halves of quails upon a border of mashed potatoes, and{389} serve with a sauce à la purée de concombres (No. 105) in the centre.
Proceed as above, using ten quails instead of seven, and serving with a purée de truffes (No. 53), omit the cucumbers.
Roast and cut them in halves if for vol-au-vents, put them in a white financière sauce (No. 50), but if for pâtés chauds, in a brown financière twenty minutes before serving.
Procure six large pigeons, fillet and form them into cotelettes (see cotelettes de perdreaux, No. 885), stuff with a little forcemeat of fowl, egg and bread-crumb them, and fry a light yellow colour in oil; fry also twelve croutons of bread the size and shape of the cotelettes, and dress them alternately upon a border of mashed potatoes, to form a crown; sauce with a purée de concombres (No. 105) made brown instead of white, and serve, glazing the cotelettes lightly.
Proceed as in the last, only serving with a ragout à la financière (No. 50) instead of the purée.
Proceed as before, and serve with a pint of green peas, prepared as for cotelettes de mouton aux pois (No. 713). They may also be served with a sauce aux truffes (No. 51), Italienne (No. 30), jardinière (No. 100), or sauce piquante (No. 27).{390}
Prepare the cotelettes as usual, season them well with chopped parsley, do. eschalots, and a little pepper and salt; procure a pig’s caul, cut into twelve pieces, in each of which fold a cotelette, place them in a sauté-pan, and fry them in oil a nice colour, but rather underdone; dress on a border of plain boiled rice, which you have made hot and seasoned with a little salt and pepper, and moistened with a piece of butter; serve very hot with a sauce à l’Indienne (No. 45) in the centre.
Larks when in good order and fat are excellent for entrées. Bone eighteen fine ones with a penknife, lay a little forcemeat of game (No. 123), in the interior of each, with a few fillets of truffles, sew them with packthread, giving them their first shape as near as possible; cover the bottom of a stewpan with thin slices of fat bacon, then lay in the larks, which again cover with sheets of fat bacon; add a few vegetables of each sort in slices, with a bunch of parsley, two glasses of Madeira wine, and half a pint of consommé; cover the stewpan, and place it in a moderate oven; when the birds feel tender they are done; take them out, and lay them on a dish; lay another dish over, and press them lightly till cold; pass the stock they were cooked in through a cloth into a stewpan, and skim off all the fat; use it with the bones of the larks to make a sauce (No. 60); when the sauce is of a proper consistence, add twenty small quenelles (No. 120), put it in the bain-marie to keep hot, pull all the packthread from the larks, and put them in a stewpan with a little consommé, warm them gently, have ready a border of forcemeat as for turban de cailles{391} (No. 925), dress the larks in crown upon it, garniture in the centre, sauce over, and serve.
Proceed with the larks as in the last, dress them on a border of forcemeat, and make the sauce the same; put a tablespoonful of chopped onions in a stewpan, with half a one of oil, fry a light yellow colour, keeping them stirred; add one of parsley and two of chopped mushrooms, with which mix a quarter of one of flour, and twelve of the sauce; stir it over the fire twenty minutes, season with a little pepper, salt, and nutmeg, take it off the fire, and stir in the yolk of an egg very quickly; pour all over the larks, let them get cold, egg and bread-crumb over, and place them twenty minutes in a moderate oven, salamander a nice colour and sauce as in the last, omitting the quenelles, and pouring round instead of over; serve very hot.
Prepare eight larks as for à la Parisienne; have also prepared eight quenelles de gibier (No. 123) of the same size as the larks, dress them alternately upon a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with a sauce au fumée de gibier (No. 60) over.
Prepare a crust as for the pâté chaud de pluviers, bone twenty-four larks, stuff them with forcemeat, but do not sew them, fold a slice of fat bacon round each, fill your pâté, and proceed exactly as in No. 623.
Proceed as above, but when you have filled the pâté have half a pound of forcemeat (No. 120), with which mix some{392} chopped eschalots, do. parsley, and do. mushrooms; cover all over the larks, and again cover that with slices of fat bacon; bake an hour and a half; when done take off the lid, and the fat bacon, salamander the forcemeat a nice brown, and serve with some clear strong consommé (in which you have boiled the bones of the larks reduced to a demi-glaze), poured over.
Bone twelve or eighteen larks according to the size of your vol-au-vent, which you have previously made (see No. 1137), stuff them lightly, place a leg-bone in the breast of each, and form them in the shape of a pear; place them in a stewpan covered with slices of fat bacon, add a glass of sherry, with a little stock and a few vegetables, stew them gently one hour, then in another stewpan have a pint of sauce velouté de gibier made as directed (No. 58) from the bones of the larks; take the larks out of the braise, drain them on a cloth, then put them into the sauce, with ten blanched mushrooms; when hot fill the vol-au-vent, and serve directly.{393}
In London the poultry and game are sent in so nicely prepared for cooking that any remark upon the method of killing, plucking, and drawing them would appear almost unnecessary, but remembering the manner that I have seen poultry and game mutilated in some parts of the country, I have been induced to give the following simple directions.
The best way of killing poultry is to take the bird by the neck, placing the thumb of the right hand just at the back of the head, closing the head in your hand, your left hand holding the bird, then press your thumb down hard and pull the head and neck contrariwise, the neck will break instantaneously, and the bird will be quite dead in a few seconds, when hang it a short time by the legs for the blood to flow into the head, which renders the flesh much whiter. In France we usually kill them by cutting the throat close to the head; both methods are good with regard to the whiteness of the flesh, but I prefer the English method, not being so barbarous.
To pluck either game or poultry have the bird upon a board with its head towards you, and pull the feathers away from you, which is the direction they lay in; many persons pull out the feathers in a contrary direction, by which means they are likely to tear the skin to pieces, which would very much disfigure the bird for the table.
To draw poultry after it is well plucked, cut a long incision at the back of the neck, cut the neck bone off close to the body of the bird, but leave the skin a good length over,{394} then take out the thin skin from under the outer with the crop, cut an incision under the tail just large enough for the gizzard to pass through, no larger, then put your finger into the bird at the breast and detach all the intestines, squeeze the body of the bird and force out the whole from the incision at the tail; it is then ready for trussing, the method of doing which will be given in the various receipts throughout this series. The above method of drawing poultry is equally applicable to game.
To make a gravy for roasts well butter the bottom of a convenient-sized stewpan, upon which lay three onions in thick slices, over which lay a few slices of lean bacon and three pounds of lean beef; place it over a good fire and add two cloves and six peppercorns, with a few sprigs of parsley; when the onions begin to brown stir the meat round with a wooden spoon, keeping the onions still at the bottom, stir occasionally until the onions are well browned but not burnt, then fill up with two quarts of water and half an ounce of salt; when boiling place it at the corner of the fire, skim and let it simmer an hour, skim again, pass it through a cloth into a basin and use when required.
The simplicity of roasting is so generally known by all classes of cooks that but very little attention is often paid to it; the simplicity of the arrangement for roasting being such as with many to leave it to attend to itself; but I shall here in a very few words show my readers the facility of roasting well and with little trouble, which I consider of the greatest importance, especially in a dinner-party where, after the entrées have been well degusted, nothing refreshes the palate or disposes it better for the second course than a fillet or cut from the fillet of a well-roasted capon, chicken, or some description of game, but if badly roasted it would lose its effect.
In roasting much depends upon the fire which requires{395} to be solid and to throw out a great heat, as it is always easy to keep anything a good distance from it, but a bad fire would be the destruction of anything placed before it, for if you had a couple of good fowls or a brace of birds, and were to put one down before a slow fire and the other before a brisk, you would be so astonished at the difference in flavour that did you not know different you would declare that one was of an inferior quality; I am also very much against the improper manner of basting, which would give any birds or poultry the appearance of having been first roasted and afterwards stewed; I have never during the last six years suffered any bird to be basted in my kitchen with the exception of rubbing a piece of butter over the breast of poultry or game as soon as the skin becomes set; any kind of game or poultry is done when you perceive a great smoke arising from it, and if not taken up immediately you lose the flavour and the bird its appearance, for instead of going to table nice and plump it will present a mean and shrivelled object, loudly bespeaking the cook’s inattention, unless it has been kept in a screen or hot closet, by the party having kept the dinner waiting.
By following the above simple method great benefit will be derived in this simple branch of the art, but the most universally useful, for I think we may say without hesitation that near two thirds of our animal and volatile food is daily roasted, which has made me so desirous of impressing the necessity of attention, which is all that is required to roast well.
For second course a turkey should be very small and well trussed, the breast thrown out, the sinews of the legs cut and the feet chopped off, run a skewer through the pinion of the right wing, passing it beneath the thigh-bones and through the pinion of the left wing, run your spit{396} through the body, passing it between the skewer and the back-bone, and tie the legs upon a rest (made by folding a thick piece of carrot about two inches long and one broad in buttered paper) upon the spit to keep the legs upon a level with the thighs; have a good clear fire, put down the turkey at a short distance from it, five minutes after it is down rub it over the breast a minute with a piece of butter which being hard and cold you have pressed into a large wooden spoon, (made with a very long handle, by which means you can rub it over the bird whilst turning without approaching too near the fire,) about a quarter of a pound would be sufficient for six or eight; then place it a little further back, (according to the heat and size of your fire,) the butter will form a froth over it; if the skin should blister you must put it still further from the fire, keep it of a nice gold colour, and when done serve with gravy in the dish and garnish with nice fresh water-cresses.
A turkey weighing five pounds will require about three quarters of an hour to roast, and so on in proportion, but one of that size is quite large enough for a roast second course; but if before a small fire an hour and a quarter, or if a larger turkey an hour and twenty minutes.
Truss a turkey as described in the last, have a square piece of fat bacon the eighth of an inch in thickness and large enough to cover the breast, upon which tie it with packthread; roast and serve as in the last, taking away the packthread but leaving the bacon; it will require a little longer to roast as the bacon prevents the fillets from being done so soon.
Lard the breast of a young turkey as you would a noix de veau (No. 565), (only cut the bacon finer), to facilitate{397} the larding, dip the breast in a stewpan of boiling water, or pass it a minute over the flame of a charcoal fire to set the skin to the flesh, place it down to roast but do not butter it over the larded part; serve with gravy and water-cresses in a dish as before.
This dish is sometimes served as a roast in the second course, but very seldom in this country. Proceed exactly as for the remove (No. 524), but choose a very small turkey, for what would look noble in the first course would appear vulgar in the second.
Have a young turkey, but do not let its weight exceed six pounds, have ready one pound of veal forcemeat with which mix six truffles in small dice and half a pound of fat livers previously blanched, season well, then stuff the breast and interior of the turkey, fasten the skin over to the backbone, (but not too tight,) with a packing-needle and string, and roast in vegetables as for the removes; about a quarter of an hour before it is finished take the vegetables from it, and place it closer to the fire to take a nice gold colour; serve with a little gravy in the dish. It will require one hour to roast.
Have a young turkey, stuff the breast with some veal stuffing (No. 127), roast it plain as directed, and serve with a little gravy and water-cresses; a few small country sausages broiled very crisp should be handed round the table.
Turkey poults, so called from being used when about the size of a large poulet, are trussed with the legs turned{398} at the knuckle and the feet pressing upon the thighs, the neck is skinned and the head fixed under the wing; roast them the same as directed for turkeys, about twenty-five minutes or half an hour, according to their size, and in the same modes, but they are usually served, one larded and the other barded, with gravy and water-cresses in the dish.
Roast and serve a capon in any of the ways directed for turkeys, roast of a nice gold colour and serve with water-cresses round; a capon weighing five pounds requires about three quarters of an hour to roast. Poularde au cresson exactly as above.
Put a pint and a half of sauce béchamel (No. 7) in a stewpan, place it over the fire and reduce until becoming thick, keeping it stirred, then add twenty dressed cockscombs and twelve small French truffles, season with a little pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg, take it off the fire and stir in two yolks of eggs very quickly, stir it another minute over the fire to set, and put it away to get cold, then have a nice poularde trussed with the legs turned inside, cutting off the feet, which stick into the apertures where you turned in the legs, fix them in with string and a packing-needle, as also the legs and wings, using no skewers, and giving the poularde a handsome appearance, take out the breast-bone, stuff the poularde with the above preparation, roast it in vegetables as for the removes; when nearly done take away the vegetables and give it a nice colour; have ready the following sauce: put a pint and a half of white veal stock in a stewpan, with six spoonfuls of bechamel sauce, and reduce it to a white demi-glace, then add a little sugar and four spoonfuls of good cream; sauce round and serve.{399}
Roast a nice poularde in vegetables as above, when nearly done take away the vegetables, let it turn a few minutes before the fire, then rub it all over with butter, have some bread-crumbs and flour mixed together in a flour-box, which shake over the poularde by degrees whilst roasting, it will form a white crust over, take it up and serve with a demi-glace de volaille (No. 6) under.
For a dinner of four entrées you would require two fowls, but not too large, truss and roast them as directed for a turkey, judging the time required according to their size, serve with gravy and watercresses; they may be larded, barded, or served in any way mentioned in the foregoing receipts; a fowl weighing two pounds and a half would require half an hour roasting, or three quarters of an hour if larger.
Are served like fowls, generally plain roasted, but they may be larded or dressed à la Stäel (No. 948) as the poularde. Be particular in tying the legs upon paper to the spit, as directed for the turkey, as it so improves their appearance when roasted. About twenty-five minutes would be sufficient to roast them.
Truss them as directed for poularde (No. 947), but roast them quite plain, not very brown; have two good handfuls of very fresh water-cresses, pick off all the stalks, and one of small salad mixed well together, and completely cover the chickens with it, serve a little gravy on the dish with some separate, and a boat of bread sauce.{400}
A green goose roasted plain and served with a little gravy is generally sent up for second courses; but if the larger ones are used they must be stuffed with sage and onions, but very few would choose such a thing for a roast second course, whilst green geese in their season are great favourites, truss them by cutting off the leg at the knuckle, and the wing at the first pinion, fixing them at the side with skewers to throw the breast up; a full-grown goose will take one hour to roast, but a green one not more than half an hour.
Make a very favourite roast in the London season, they must have good fillets, white and plump, and require to be a little more underdone than any other description of poultry; if too much done the fat catches and gives a rank flavour to the flesh, besides causing the fillets to eat dry, they are usually served plain roasted for a second course, but I have served them differently upon some occasions for the sake of variety, but it must be with a very thin sauce and one that invigorates the palate, although they never can be better than when served plain roasted, I shall here give one or two deviations; truss them by twisting the legs at the knuckles and resting the feet upon the thighs, cut the wing off at the first pinion, and run a skewer through the bird, fixing the pinion and legs with it, place them upon a spit and roast twenty minutes.
Roast them plain, but just before they are done shake a little potato-flour over them mixed with a little common flour, dress them on your dish, and have ready the following{401} sauce: put three spoonfuls of chopped olives and one of chopped eschalots in a stewpan with two glasses of Madeira wine, reduce it a minute, then add half a pint of demi-glace (No. 9) with a little cayenne, sugar, and six spoonfuls of consommé, reduce it till it adheres lightly to the back of the spoon, then add the juice of half a lemon, sauce under and serve.
Roast two ducklings plain, and serve with a sauce au jus d’orange (No. 17) over.
Roast as in the last and serve with a sauce au jus d’eschalotte (No. 16) under.
These birds must be very young, for being naturally very dry, they are not eatable if more than twelve months old; they are generally larded or barded, and served plain roasted, rather well-done, they are trussed like the common fowls, and require nearly three quarters of an hour to roast.
These magnificent birds make a noble roast, and when young are very excellent, they are larded, plain roasted, and served with the tail stuck into them, which you have preserved, the head with its feathers being left folded up in paper and tucked under the wing; roast about an hour and a half, take the paper from the head and neck, dress it upon your dish with water-cresses and a border of tulips or roses round, and the gravy separate in a boat.
In large families where these volatile demi-gods are plentiful, I would recommend them to have one of the finest peacock’s tails mounted in silver, and made to easily fix{402} upon the dish, by means of a slide, in which the fowl is served, it would look splendid upon table, and remind us of the ancient Roman banquets, where Lucullus, Tiberius, and Horace used to feast and sing their love.
Are trussed as a fowl to roast, and served plain roasted, with a little gravy in the dish, or roasted with a vine-leaf upon the breast, over which you have tied a square piece of bacon, they will take a quarter of an hour to roast, but serve them with the bacon and leaf over; my new way of cooking them is to cut up a head or two of celery into very thin layers, lay some on the breast of each, and tie pieces of fat bacon over, roast and serve with a little gravy as usual; this method has been much approved of.
Eight quails are sufficient for a dish, they should be killed if possible forty-eight hours before dressing, draw and truss them by cutting off the wings at the first pinion, leaving the feet, and fixing the pinion of the wing and legs with a very small skewer; cover the breasts with vine-leaves, over which tie a thin square slice of fat bacon, then pass a long skewer through the pinions and thighs of each, tie them on a spit and roast them nearly twelve minutes at a convenient distance from a sharp fire of a nice gold colour, serve with a little gravy in the dish.
Prepare eight quails with the bacon and vine-leaves as before, then have a pig’s caul, cut it into eight square pieces and fold a quail in each, roast them a minute longer than in the last, and serve with a very thin sauce béchamel (No. 7) which you have finished with a spoonful of whipped cream under.{403}
For second course are usually served plain, you require two of them for a dish in a four entrée dinner, truss them the same as a fowl, leaving the head and neck on, which skin, and fix round at the side with the skewer you have fixed the wing and legs with; a middling-sized one will take about half an hour before a brisk fire, they are also good larded, or one larded and the other barded.
Roast a couple of pheasants, and when done cut the breasts in slices without detaching them; put six spoonfuls of consommé of game in a stewpan, with a piece of glaze the size of a walnut, boil two minutes, then add two pats of butter, a little cayenne pepper, and the juice of half a lemon, pour over and serve.
Are generally served plain roasted upon a piece of toast, with gravy separate in a boat; they may also be served à la Rob Roy, as directed for the Remove (No. 548), but two birds will be sufficient for a roast, truss them as you would a fowl to roast.
Truss them rather roughly, roast them before a brisk fire rather underdone, if young a quarter of an hour will be sufficient, and serve them upon toast, crisp and well-buttered, made from brown bread, and serve with a rather thick and boiled melted butter (No. 71) over.
Grouse may likewise be served for a change with a thin sauce à l’essence de gibier, with which you may add a few truffles or mushrooms, but this will of course much depend{404} upon the first course, or, at least, of what the first course consists, although, as I have before stated, they are better plain roasted; yet in some parts of the country where they are plentiful a change may be desired.
Ptarmigans
Are Swedish birds, but many are found in Scotland, much of the same species as grouse, and are very plentiful about the month of February; they are dressed precisely in the same way as the grouse. A curious anecdote of the celebrated Charles the Twelfth, relating to what he used to call a fête, or repas champêtre, gave me the idea of inventing the following roast, and calling it
Ptarmigan à la Charles the Twelfth.
Kill them by accident, pluck them immediately, draw them, and save the feathers and interior, put three guns in bivouac, and hang the ptarmigans on one side with string or green twigs, light a wood fire beneath, upon which put the feathers and interior, let remain, turning them the whole time, till done, and serve them au naturel, with a good bit of salt sprinkled over them; many people would object to this method, but the flavour is excellent to a scientific palate, and more so to a hungry stomach.
The anecdote is as follows: crossing a mountain in Sweden with a small part of his army, the King was unexpectedly attacked by a numerous body of Russians, and a skirmish took place, but the King was as usual victorious; having lost several of his braves, a search was made for them in the heather, where they found one hundred and fifty-one killed and thirty wounded, being fifteen of the enemy, two Swedish officers, one lieutenant, seven privates, one hundred and thirty ptarmigans, and twenty-five black cocks, all killed by accident, the birds were, by command{405} of his Majesty, plucked and roasted, to the no small satisfaction of his troops, who were short of provisions at the time; so great was the treat that they hoped his Majesty would often repeat the fête champêtre.
These birds, like pheasants, must be well kept; they are excellent eating, and are usually served plain roasted, trussed like grouse, but may be served à la Stockholm as follows: lard one side of the breast, and cover the other side with vine-leaves and fat bacon, which tie on, roast from half to three quarters of an hour according to the size, and serve with toast under, and gravy in the dish.
Make a very nice roast, truss them in the same manner as directed for grouse, obtain them young if possible, the old ones although not the best for stewing eat much better dressed that way; four will be sufficient for a roast, put them upon the spit, and when the first course goes to table place them before a sharp fire fifteen minutes, or according to the size, and serve with a gill of clear gravy upon the dish and bread sauce in a boat; you may also lard or bard them with fat bacon, or lard two and bard two, allowing them a little longer to roast, it will give them a very nice appearance.
Are very seldom sent to table, but plain roasted is the usual way, and a little or no improvement can be made; serve them in a dish with gravy and a lemon separate, not too much underdone.
Must not be too old, they require keeping two or three{406} days or longer before they are dressed; they are trussed by twisting each leg at the knuckle, and resting the claws on each side of the breast, fixing them with a skewer run through the thighs and pinion of the wings (No. 953), rub the liver over the breasts, and roast them from fifteen to twenty minutes rather brown, serve three for a roast, as the breast is the only part eatable, a little gravy on the dish and lemons separate.
Truss them as before, rub the liver over, and roast underdone, cut the breast in slices without detaching them, catch the gravy that escapes in a sauté-pan, add a piece of glaze the size of a walnut, place it on the fire, and when hot add four pats of butter, half a glass of port wine, a little mignonette, pepper, and the juice of half a lemon, shake altogether over the fire, and when the butter is melted sauce over and serve. Although I have directed that they should be roasted underdone they must have no appearance of rawness.
Require but very little keeping before they are dressed, if well roasted they are nearly equal to the wild duck, and are served the same; it requires rather more than a quarter of an hour to roast them to perfection.
Make a beautiful roast as well as entrée, and when in good order are very delicious, after a frost they are generally very fat; truss them with care, leaving the breast the same as ducklings, six will be sufficient for a dish, keep them a very light brown colour and rather crisp, serve with a little gravy and water-cresses, if approved of, serve lemon separate; these birds being tender are easily cut in halves by the{407} carver, to one half of which he can assist each guest; they will require about eight minutes roasting.
Roast as above, and serve with a sauce au jus d’orange (No. 17) over them, or they may be served with a sauce au jus de bigarade (No. 18), or a demi-glace de gibier (No. 61).
Are good when well kept, and excellent as a roast, truss, but do not draw them, and put six on a skewer, set some toast underneath to catch the trail which may escape from them whilst roasting, about ten minutes is sufficient; cut the toast in diamond shapes, place them in your dish with the plovers over, and gravy separate in a boat, they may also be served barded with the vine-leaf as for pigeons or quails, but the bacon must be very thin, and when roasted quite crisp, black plovers are dressed in the same way, but the golden ones are the most delicate.
These birds are one of the greatest luxuries, they must not be too fresh or too stale when dressed; they are fit for cooking when they look black between the legs and the feathers become rather loose; pluck and truss them with the legs twisted at the knuckles and the feet pressing upon the thighs; bring the pinion of the wing to the thigh, you have previously skinned the head and neck, bring the beak round under the wing, which pass through the pinions of the wings and thighs, place about four upon a skewer, tie them upon a spit and roast them from ten to fifteen minutes before a sharp fire with a piece of toasted bread beneath to catch the trail that falls from them; when done cut the toast in diamond shapes, each piece large enough to{408} stand a bird upon, dress them slantwise on your dish with gravy sufficient to lightly moisten the toast, and some separate in a boat; they may also be barded with a piece of bacon tied over the breast not too thick, but they will require rather longer to roast. The beak may be made to form the skewer.
Truss as before, put them down to roast, when down two minutes rub butter over, and shake flour gently but continually over them till done, it will give them quite a new appearance, and are by many preferred to plain roasted; serve them on a toast as before.
Roast as before and serve with a sauce fumée de gibier (No. 60), which you have finished with a pat of butter. Although I recommend that this delicate bird should be served plain roasted, yet it may be served with advantage as above directed.
Roast as before then cut four large truffles in slices, fry them a few minutes in oil, then pour off the oil, add ten tablespoonfuls of sauce fumée de gibier and a little sugar, boil altogether two minutes, dress the birds on toast, sauce over and serve.
Are very delicious little birds, about twelve or fifteen are sufficient for a dish; they are usually roasted plain, or with a thin slice of fat bacon tied over them, and served with a little gravy in the dish and crumbs of fried bread round; they require about eight minutes to roast them well.{409}
Are somewhat similar to woodcocks, and dressed exactly the same, but you require eight or ten for a dish; they do not require more than ten minutes roasting.
One is sufficient for a roast, skin and truss it nicely, stuff the belly with a good veal stuffing, sew it up, then put it on the spit, rub butter over the back and shake flour over it, roast it about forty minutes before a sharp fire, but that depends upon the size of course; serve them with plain gravy in the dish and currant jelly separate. They are also served with a sauce poivrade (No. 32), or sauce au jus d’groseilles (No. 36), they may also be larded.
Are plain roasted and do not require stuffing, nor so long roasting being smaller; they are usually served with plain gravy, but may be served with either of the sauces mentioned in the last; you require two for a roast. They will take from twenty-five to thirty minutes roasting.
You require two for a roast; they may be stuffed with a good veal stuffing or forcemeat of veal, plain roasted, and served with a little gravy on the dish. Wild rabbits are dressed precisely the same; they may be stuffed with a forcemeat of game instead of veal, both require butter and flour rubbed over them, and will take from twenty to twenty-five minutes roasting.{410}
These dishes are divided into three classes, and in England all belong to the second course, but in France they are very frequently served in the first with a dinner of four or six entrées, that is, one or two of them, and are very commendable in the summer months; for breakfasts, luncheons, or suppers, they are invaluable. The large pieces, such as pâtés of game, galantine of turkey, poulardes, boars’ heads, &c., are in smaller dinners placed at the bottom of the table to face the roasts, but in a dinner of six or ten entrées they are served as flancs. All others, such as small galantine of game à la volière, pâtés, chaud froids, salads, mayonnaise, &c., by making them smaller may be served as savoury entremets, in a corner dish.
Has in all times ornamented the tables and even the walls of ancient epicures;—a princely dish is a boar’s head, its ferocious appearance giving it such noble dignity when brought to table that it has not only been recognized as one of the first and most recherché dishes of antiquity, but has been immortalized by some of the oldest masters; never has an antique banquet been represented without the introduction of either a black or white servant in the act of bringing or placing a boar’s head upon the table of a wealthy amphytrion. Sneiders, Weenix, and Rubens, have{411} often traced it upon their immortal canvasses, which were eagerly bought by the greatest epicureans to embellish their banqueting halls, and to show their children, from generation to generation, how their great forefathers used to live.
Procure a head with as much of the neck attached to it as possible, singe it well, holding it over a charcoal fire, and keeping it moved, then wipe it with a cloth, scrape well with a knife without scratching the skin, and place it on a cloth upon its skull, open it with your knife from one end to the other, and bone it very carefully without piercing the skin, leaving no flesh whatever upon the bones, bone the two necks of the boar, which cut into long fillets two inches square, place the head in a salting-tub, over which put ten pounds of salt, one of brown sugar, ten bay-leaves, half an ounce of peppercorns, a quarter ditto of cloves, six blades of mace, eight minced onions, twenty sprigs of thyme, ten ditto of winter savoury, and two sliced carrots; mix all well together and leave it eight or ten days, (rubbing the head every other day,) until well salted, then take it out, dry it well upon a cloth, lay the head straight before you, skin side downwards, have ready ten pounds of forcemeat (No. 120,) (but using the flesh of the wild boar instead of veal,[9]) with which cover the interior of the head an inch in thickness at the thinnest parts, roll the fillets cut from the neck in pieces of the rind, (both salted with the head and dried upon a cloth,) place a layer of them lengthwise in the head, with{412} a long piece of fat bacon half an inch square between each, sprinkle a little chopped eschalots, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg over, and place here and there about a pound of the best preserved truffles, with one of very green pistachios blanched and skinned, and continue filling with forcemeat and the other ingredients until you have used the whole, finishing by covering forcemeat over; join the two cheeks together with the above in the interior, sew it up with packthread giving it the shape of the head as much as possible and fold it in one or two large thin cloths leaving the ears out and upright; braise as follows: put half a pound of butter in a large braising-pan or stock-pot, over which put fifteen pounds of trimmings of pork or knuckles of veal, eight onions, two carrots, four turnips, eight bay-leaves, a tablespoonful of peppercorns, twelve cloves, ten sprigs of thyme, ten of marjoram, four blades of mace, a bottle of bucellas wine, and four calves’ feet, place it upon a sharp fire stirring it occasionally until the bottom is covered with a clearish glaze, then add six gallons of water and a pound of salt, when boiling draw it to the corner of the stove, skim, and put in the head the ears uppermost and let simmer seven or eight hours, perhaps more, according to the size and age of the boar, but the better plan would be to try it with a trussing-needle; if tender it is done; skim the stock, in which leave the head until half cold, when take it out, partly undo the cloths, and tie it again tighter if possible, and press it in a cover or upon a baking sheet with three flat pieces of wood, one at each side with a weight against them, and one upon the top between the ears, on which place a fourteen pounds weight, let it remain all night until quite cold, when take it out of the cloths, detach the thread it was sewn up with, cut a piece an inch in thickness from behind the ears, (from which part it must be carved in as thin slices as{413} possible,) it will have a marbled appearance, trim the head a little, setting the ears in a proper position, glaze it with a brownish glaze, form the eyes with a little lard and round pieces of truffles, and the tusks with pâté d’office (No. 1137) baking them, have some very fresh tulips and roses, which stick tastefully in the ears and some around, but leaving space to carve, garnish boldly with croutons aspic made from the stock clarified as directed (No. 1360).
A black hog’s head may be dressed exactly the same with the greatest success; pig’s heads also, but more simplified, proceeding as for galantine (No. 998), but having the meat pickled.
A plain pickled boar’s head is also very much thought of, and is a noble dish: singe the head as before, but leaving a few bristles round the eyes and ears, tie it up in a cloth, and braise as before until quite tender. It must not be boned.
The head of the young boar or marcassin is very delicate dressed in either method, so likewise are the legs, necks, shoulders and saddles, pickled and roasted, or braised and served with a poivrade or any other highly-seasoned sauce, cotelettes may also be cut from the necks.
The following is the German method of making a sauce to be eaten with boar’s head: cut the rind (free from pith) of two Seville oranges into very thin strips half an inch in length, which blanch in boiling water, drain them upon a sieve and put them into a basin, with a spoonful of mixed English mustard, four of currant jelly, a little pepper, salt, (mix well together,) and half a pint of good port wine.
Beef, as for entrées, offers but very little variation for second course dishes, the ribs, fillets, and tongue being the{414} only parts to be recommended; and even these are more fit for luncheons or suppers.
Take a piece of ribs of beef with five bones, well covered, but not too fat nor too large, bone it and lard the thick part with long pieces of fat bacon and lean ham or tongue, well seasoned with pepper, salt, and chopped parsley, then lay the beef on a dish, with a little pepper, salt, fifty peppercorns, six blades of mace, ten eschalots in slices, half a pint of Madeira, and a little thyme and bay-leaves, let remain thus five days in winter, and but three in summer, turn and rub it every day; when ready to dress clear away the ingredients, roll and tie it up, then put two pounds of lean ham cut in dice in a large stewpan, with two ounces of butter and six large Portugal onions, pass gently over a slow fire, keeping stirred, put in the beef, let it braise gently until becoming a good colour, add water sufficient to reach half way up the beef, with half a pint of Madeira, two calves’ feet, a good bunch of parsley, and twenty pieces of carrots, turned the size and shape of young carrots, let it remain over a slow fire and place some live charcoal upon the lid, let stew gently four or five hours, or until tender, which try with a trussing-needle, but take out the carrots and onions as soon as done; when done take out the feet and skim off all the fat, leave it in the stock till three parts cold, then take it up, place it in a deep dish-cover, take off the string, and strain the stock through a sieve over it, then lay another dish upon the beef, upon which place a twenty-eight pounds weight, and leave it till quite cold, warm the stock and pass it through a napkin, season a little more if required, and place it in a mould upon ice, dress the beef on a dish, glaze it nicely, dress the onions at each end and the carrots in pyramid at each side, cut the stock when firm in croutons, with which garnish the beef tastefully and serve;{415} should the stock be thick clarify it as directed for consommé (No. 134); it is not, however, required to be very clear. To carve it must be cut in slices crosswise.
Proceed with the beef just as in the last, but put a roll of veal stuffing (No. 127) in the centre, the carrots and onions only being required for flavour are cut in small slices; press your beef as in the last, but thicken the stock with a little roux to form a thin brown sauce, with which make a good sauce piquante (No. 27), which flavour slightly with a little scraped garlic, place the beef in your dish, and the sauce upon ice, when nearly cold and ready to set pour it over, sprinkling the top with grated crust of bread, with which you have mixed some chopped gherkins, it is then ready to serve.
Prepare and lard a fillet of beef as directed for the Removes (No. 417), then put it in a basin in which you have put the following marinade: four onions in slices, one carrot, a head of celery, ten sprigs of thyme, eight bay-leaves, two cloves of garlic, and a little parsley, which pass in half a pound of butter in a stewpan over a sharp fire five minutes, then add one quart of vinegar, one of water, two ounces of salt, and half a pound of brown sugar, with twenty peppercorns, ten cloves, and two blades of mace, boil half an hour, but do not put in the fillet till the marinade is cold, let remain a week, and when wanted put it in a braising-pan with one quart of the marinade and two of veal stock or consommé (No. 134), place it over a slow fire, and stew gently for two or three hours, depending upon the size, take it out and place it in a dish to cool, with a little stock over it, skim the remainder and pass it through a napkin{416} into a stewpan, place it upon the fire, reduce it to half, skim it well, add a little clarified isinglass (No. 1372) sufficient to set it as a delicate aspic, six spoonfuls of tomata sauce, and a little red currant jelly; having trimmed and dished the fillet, sauce over, when quite cold garnish with a border of plovers’ eggs, and decorate three silver atelettes, by placing a fine dressed cockscomb at the top, a fine truffle beneath, and a plover’s egg, ornamented with truffles at the bottom, stick them in the fillet, one slanting at each end, and the other upright in the centre, it is then ready to serve.
Trim a nice small fillet about fifteen inches long, and cut off the thickest part of the thin end, then with a long knife cut a deep incision down the thin side, lengthwise, which fill with a pound of veal forcemeat (No. 120), with which you have mixed some ox-tongue, truffles, and hard-boiled whites of eggs, cut into good-sized fillets, season with a little chopped eschalots, then cover the fillet with leaves of celery as large as you can get them, over which also lay slices of cooked ham, and envelope the whole in thin slices of fat bacon, tie it up with string, then place it in a braising-pan with two calves’ feet, and half cover it with good stock, place it on a slow fire and stew it two hours and a half, or until tender, which try with a trussing-needle, take it up and leave it on a dish to get cold; then pass the stock through a sieve into a stewpan, and place it upon the ice to set, when firm take off all the fat, wash the top with hot water to take off all the grease, then clarify it as directed for aspic (No. 1360), and pass it through a napkin, trim the fillet at each end lightly, leaving the top untouched, when quite cold have ready a long mould and pour a little of the clarified stock into it half an inch in depth, place it on the{417} ice, and when set ornament it with fillets of truffles, tongue, and whites of hard-boiled eggs, which cover carefully with more of the clarified stock half an inch thick; when quite set lay in the fillet of beef, the top downwards, and fill the mould with the remainder of the jelly; when set turn it out of the mould upon a dish by dipping the mould in warm water, garnish round with stoned olives and the remainder of the clarified stock; you may also stick atelettes on the top, ornamented tastefully. If you cannot procure a mould place the fillet upon a dish, and garnish it tastefully with croutons of aspic.
Dress them as described for flancs in first course, but as soon as they are cooked skin them and cut off nearly all the root, truss it of a good shape by placing the root end against some fixture, and running a fork through the middle of the thin part into the board; when cold trim it. Although I disapprove of ornamented hot tongues for first course, I must confess that a bold design carved upon a fine tongue is pleasing to the eyes on a luncheon or supper-table, and even for dinners in a second course, although seldom used there; the design must be left entirely to the taste of the artist, but one of the most simple and yet tasty designs, is the imitation of a long escalope shell, commencing at the thin end and terminating at the thick; glaze well with light glaze, a sheet of aspic a quarter of an inch in thickness may be laid over it, which will produce a pleasing effect, dress it upon your dish with croutons of aspic round. Tongues for second course, as for the first, are seldom served by themselves, but are usually intended to be eaten with veal or poultry upon the table.{418}
Boil, truss, and trim the tongue as above, dress it on your dish, and have ready the following garniture: boil gently four very fine cauliflowers, not too much done, when cold cut three of them into small bunches, have ready a good sauce mayonnaise à la gelée (No. 1361) in which you have introduced a little whipped cream, dip each piece of cauliflower in the sauce and lay them on a dish, which set upon the ice, dip also the whole cauliflower in; when the sauce has set firm place the cauliflower upon the root of the tongue with an atelette, dress the bunches round the tongue, variegating them with a few stoned olives; the tongue may also be carved in any design your fancy may dictate and nicely glazed.
Trim and carve the tongue when cold in the shape of a palm-branch; have some aspic (No. 1360) flavoured rather strongly with tarragon, have also twenty young carrots and twenty middle-sized onions, dressed as directed in No. 428, let them get cold in their glaze, place the tongue in the centre of the dish, glaze lightly, dress the vegetables alternately round upon a thin border of fresh butter, and just as the aspic is on the point of setting pour it over the vegetables, which will look quite transparent, set the dish on ice till ready to serve, a few green peas if in season may be thrown over the onions.
Truss and trim the tongue as usual, carving a comic mask upon it, glaze lightly, and place it upon your dish, have ready prepared the following garniture: put two tablespoonfuls{419} of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with one of Chili and one of common vinegar, a piece of glaze the size of a walnut, a pint of white sauce (No. 7), half ditto of tomata sauce (No. 37), with double the quantity of aspic gelée, reduce over a sharp fire, keeping it stirred till becoming rather thick, then add a spoonful of capers and the same of chopped gherkins, oil a sauté-pan lightly, pour in the sauce, set it on the ice just before serving, turn out on a cloth, cut it in croutons and garnish tastefully.
Procure a very nice Westmoreland ham of about nine pounds in weight, soak it ten hours in cold water, and simmer three hours[10] in plenty of water; when done take it out and let remain until cold, when cut off the skin as thinly as possible (but without leaving the marks of it), leaving a piece about two inches and a half broad upon the knuckle, which either festoon or vandyke, carve the fat into the form of a shell, branch, or any other design your fancy may direct, glaze lightly, and serve garnished with aspic (No. 1360), chopped and in croutons, or with any of the garnitures directed for the tongues.
Procure a small leg of veal from a cow calf, cut off the knuckle so as to leave the fillet about eight inches in height, take the bone from the centre, have ready some good veal stuffing (No. 127) in which you have introduced some lean chopped ham and chopped eschalots, season rather high and put it in the place the bone came from, envelope the fillet with large thin slices of fat bacon, tie it up well with string, wrap it in three or four sheets of oiled paper, place it on a{420} spit and roast three hours before a moderate fire, take up, tie it tight in a napkin; place it on a dish to cool, put another dish upon the top, upon which place a fourteen pounds weight, let remain till cold, then take off the paper and bacon, the fillet will be quite white, cut a slice off the top, glaze the sides, and serve with a thin sauce tartare (No. 38) round it.
Cut a fillet as in the last, have also ready boiled a nice ox-tongue very red; you have also prepared about two pounds of good veal forcemeat (No. 120), run about twenty pieces of fat bacon right through the thickest part of the fillet, surround the tongue (trimmed accordingly) with the forcemeat, and place in the centre of the fillet, but not to protrude out of it, surround it with slices of fat bacon and roast it in vegetables (see Removes, No. 417); when done place it on a dish till cold, without taking away the paper and vegetables, when cold take it out; trim and glaze as in the last, dress on your dish, and garnish with croutons of aspic (No. 1360), cut according to taste, surmount it with six small atelettes, upon each of which you have placed a crawfish (No. 380), truffle, and quenelle de veau (No. 120), it is then ready to serve; the atelettes must be fixed upon the rim of the fillet, leaning outwards to give it a graceful appearance, some of them, however, must be taken out to carve.
Roast a nice loin in vegetables, in which let it remain till cold, have also a good ham nicely boiled, from which cut twenty-four croutons, the size and shape of small fillets of fowls, dress the veal in the centre and the ham round; fill a large sauté-pan with aspic (No. 1360), which set upon{421} the ice, when firm dip the bottom of the pan in warm water and turn the jelly in one piece over the loin, have also some chopped, with which garnish the ham.
Roast a nice loin of veal as in the last, and when cold have ready the following sauce: put six tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar in a stewpan with a blade of mace, six cloves, six peppercorns, one bay-leaf, and two ounces of raw ham; boil altogether three minutes, then add two quarts of sauce béchamel (No. 7) and a pint of aspic (No. 1360), reduce till rather thick over a sharp fire, keeping it stirred, pass it through a tammie into a stewpan, which place upon the ice, keep it stirred, and just as it is beginning to set stir in half a pint of whipped cream, pour over the loin, which stand upon the ice till the sauce is firm, cut six mild Indian pickles into pieces of equal sizes, which strew carelessly over the top.
Bone a breast of veal about fifteen inches in length, cut off the end where the shoulder was taken out, and cut out some of the meat in large pieces from the other, so as to leave the skin about half an inch in thickness; then cut the meat in strips the thickness of your finger, and as long as possible, with a corresponding number of strips of fat bacon and cooked ham; have also ready three pounds of forcemeat (No. 120), lay the skin of the breast downwards, open on the dresser, spread some of the forcemeat down the centre half an inch in thickness, leaving good room at the ends and sides, then put a layer of the strips alternately, season with pepper and salt rather high, cover again with forcemeat, then again a layer of the strips, cover the whole with forcemeat, then cover the flaps over and sew it up tight, fold it in a sheet of{422} paper and tie it up in a cloth, place it in a stewpan, cover with good stock (or put it into a stewpan in which you are preparing a stock), place the stewpan over the fire, and when boiling draw it to the corner, where let simmer three hours and a half, then take it up, untie the cloth, and turn the galantine over, from which take off the paper, fold again in the cloth, but be careful to keep the sewn side uppermost, place it in a deep dish surrounded with the stock, place a flat dish upon it, upon which stand a fourteen pounds weight; let remain till quite cold, take it up, trim, draw out the string it was sewn with, cut off the ends, dress it in the centre of your dish, garnish with chopped aspic (No. 1360) in a roll, round outside of which place croutons of the same, and upon the top of the galantine dress smaller croutons of aspic, brown and white alternately. Gherkins quartered lengthwise may be used for the interior of the galantine. The aspic may be made from the stock the galantine is cooked in, by making an addition of two calf’s feet, and clarifying it as directed.
Have ready buttered a large raised pie mould,[11] make also a paste with five pounds of flour mixed with a pint and a half of hot water in which you have dissolved a pound of fresh butter, work the paste very smooth with the hand; when cold line your mould with it three quarters of an inch in thickness, and bringing it more than an inch above the top, reserving the trimmings for a cover, line the inside of the pie with forcemeat (No. 120) half an inch in thickness; then have ready larded with fat bacon four pounds of lean veal, which you have cut in pieces the length of the interior of your pie and two inches square,{423} which place in a stewpan, with a quarter of a pound of butter, well seasoned with pepper, salt, and four bay-leaves, and pass them twenty minutes over the fire until well covered with their own glaze; use them when cold, pouring the gravy from them into the pie; have also two pounds of cooked ham, fat and lean, which cut as near as possible of the same size as the veal, lay two pieces of the veal at the bottom of the pie with a piece of ham between, cover with the forcemeat, and proceed in like manner till you have filled the crust, finishing as a dome above the edges of the pie, which raise gracefully with your fingers, and crimp with a pair of paste pincers, after having placed on a cover of paste a quarter of an inch in thickness, making a hole at the top; then lay an oval piece upon the top to form a lid, which ornament with leaves or as fancy directs, bake five hours in a slow oven, then cut off the lid, lay an oval piece of tin (made for that purpose) upon the meat, upon which place a four pounds weight, let remain till the pie is cold, then take out of the mould, glaze the top and garnish with chopped aspic and croutons of the same; serve either with or without the cover. By filling the pie with strong gravy upon taking it from the oven, shaking it well, you will have no occasion to open or press it to carve it, then it must be cut in thin slices through crust and all.
Cut six nice cotelettes from a neck of veal, of a nice shape, lard them through and through the fillets with thickish pieces of fat bacon and cooked tongue, place them in a sauté-pan, and cover with a good veal stock, stew gently over a slow fire till tender, lay them flat in a dish, pour their stock over, then lay another dish upon them and press lightly till cold, have six moulds the shape and large enough to contain a cotelette, have also some aspic jelly (No. 1360),{424} pour a little in each mould about a quarter of an inch deep, place them on a dish of ice, and when partly set form a rosette or star upon each, with fillets of hard-boiled white of egg and truffles, cover them with a little more aspic to keep them in their places, and when set firm lay a côtelette upon each, fill the moulds up with aspic and place them on the ice till firm, then dip them in hot water and turn them out on your dish, one to follow the other in a circle, if no moulds place them in a sauté-pan, cover them with aspic, and when set turn them out upon a cloth by dipping the bottom of the pan in warm water, and with the point of a knife cut them out of equal sizes.
Cut, braise, and press six côtelettes as above, make a good sauce mayonnaise à la gelée (No. 1361), and when getting stiff dip each côtelette in so that it is well covered, and place them in a dish upon the ice, dress salad in pyramid in the centre of a flanc dish, against which lay the côtelettes with a small paper frill upon the bone of each, garnish round with croutons of aspic (No. 1360).
Lard six small sweetbreads as directed for the entrée (No. 671), which braise, keeping them a very light colour, when cold have some very white aspic (No. 1360), and six small plain round moulds; cover the bottoms of the moulds a quarter of an inch deep with aspic, when partly set garnish round with rows of stoned olives and pickled mushrooms, or pieces of beetroot, boiled carrots, turnips, &c., according to fancy, and make a star or rosette of whites or hard-boiled eggs in the centre, cover with a little more of the aspic and when set firm place in the sweetbreads (topsy-turvy) and fill up with aspic, have some rice well boiled{425} and dry, (see No. 129), put it in a stewpan, with six pats of butter and some pepper and salt, when the butter is melted mix well together and place it to get cold on the ice, dress it in pyramid in the centre of a flanc dish, dip the moulds in warm water, and turn them out in an oval circle round the rice, placing a fine cabbage lettuce upon the top.
Cut, lard, and braise twelve mutton cotelettes as directed (No. 722), press them in their stock lightly like the veal cotelettes, when cold trim them of a nice shape, you have prepared a good poivrade sauce (No. 32), to which you have added half a pint of aspic (No. 1360), and when nearly cold dip in the cotelettes, holding them by the bones, until they are quite enveloped, dress them (when quite cold) upon a thin border of fresh butter, garnish with croutons of aspic, and serve a ragout of turnips (No. 93) cold in the centre.
Braise, press, and trim the cotelettes as in the last, but instead of a poivrade reduce a good maître d’hôtel sauce (No. 43), to which add half a pint of cream; when nearly cold dip the cotelettes in the sauce, place them on the ice till somewhat firm, dress them in crown as in the last, then prepare a salad with half a beetroot, one cucumber, one lettuce, season with a little oil, vinegar, pepper, salt, chopped tarragon and chervil; mix all well together, dress in pyramid in the centre of your cotelettes, which garnish with shoes of cucumber and serve.
Proceed as directed (No. 577), and when the carbonade is cold cut it in slices, which trim and dress as directed in either of the two foregoing receipts.{426}
Take two very white small shoulders of lamb, bone them completely, cut off some of the meat at the thickest part, so as to give only a quarter of an inch in thickness, season the inside with a little mixed spice, pepper, salt, and chopped eschalots, have ready some forcemeat as directed (No. 120), cover the shoulders half an inch in thickness with it, then lay alternately small fillets of cooked tongue, fat bacon, and lamb cut from a loin, season with pepper and salt, cover with the forcemeat, then another layer of the fillets, then forcemeat, fold it over and sew it up, giving it the form of an egg; when both done tie them in napkins and braise in good stock, try when done with a larding-pin, if tender take them out, press all ways alike to keep the shape of eggs, when cold take them out of the napkins, draw out the string and dress the two on one dish in a slanting direction, stick an atelette at each end, have ready some aspic (No. 1360), or it may be made from the stock by adding two calf’s feet to it, cover the bottom of a sauté-pan with some of it, let set on the ice, then arrange fifty pickled mushrooms and fifty stoned olives over, fill up the sauté-pan and place it on the ice, when set cut it in croutons, with which garnish the ballottins.
Prepare them exactly as in the last, when cold put a quart of sauce béchamel (No. 7) in a stewpan, with a glass of white wine, half a glass of vinegar, and half a pint of consommé, reduce till rather thick, add a little isinglass dissolved in water and pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, place the stewpan upon the fire, and when boiling add a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79), in which you have introduced a tablespoonful of{427} chopped tarragon and chervil; when the butter is melted finish with a little cream, place it by to cool, and when upon the point of setting pour it over the ballottins, place them upon the ice till the sauce is quite firm, then garnish tastefully with croutons of aspic (No. 1360) and place an atelette at each end.
Take the chine bones from two necks of lamb and saw the ribs rather short, the length you would require your cotelettes, lard the fillets and roast them in vegetables, do not take them out until quite cold, cut your cotelettes from them of a nice shape, reduce a good demi Provençale sauce (No. 34), with which envelope each cotelette, when cold and the sauce is set dress them in crown upon your dish with chopped aspic (No. 1360) in the centre and croutons of the same round.
Prepare two necks of lamb as above, from which cut the cotelettes, glaze, dress them in crown the reverse way, sauce over with a very white mayonnaise sauce (No, 1364), sprinkle chopped gherkins and chopped ham over.
Pluck and draw a turkey, bone it as directed for the poulardes (No. 514), spread it open upon the dresser, have ready some forcemeat as directed (No. 120), spread some down the centre of the turkey, (you have previously turned the legs inside,) half an inch in thickness, have ready some long strips of lean veal the thickness of your finger and the length of the turkey, have also strips of lean cooked ham and fat bacon, lay them alternately upon the forcemeat, season with pepper and salt, then cover with a layer of{428} forcemeat, and so on till you have as much as the bird will contain, finishing with forcemeat, pull the flaps over and sew it up with packthread, tie it up in a napkin and roll it, to press it of the same proportions, put it in a stewpan, with a few vegetables of each sort, and cover with good stock, (or stew it in a veal stock you may be preparing for a white sauce or soup,) stew two hours and a half or till tender, which try with a larding-pin, take it up, untie the string, open the cloth, see that the part where it is sewn up is at the top, wrap it again in the napkin but tie it only at each end, set it in a deep dish surrounded with some of the stock, set another dish upon it and press it till cold with a fourteen pounds weight, make an aspic, using some of the stock it was cooked in as directed (No. 1360), dress the galantine upon a dish, surround it with the aspic chopped and in croutons, and form a star of aspic upon the top, or garnish in any other design your fancy may direct.
Proceed exactly as above, using fillets of rabbits instead of veal, and interspersing eight fat livers of poulardes in the interior.
Bone a very young turkey, and proceed exactly as in the last, using two ounces of pistachios, blanched and skinned, and half a pound of truffles cut into thick fillets, instead of the livers, when stuffed and sewn up roll it very tight in a cloth, which also tie very tight, especially at the tail, which requires to be made so much narrower; stew as before, when done take it out of the napkin, see that the part where it is sewn shall be at the bottom, tie it again in the napkin, but only at the ends, lay it in a deep dish surrounded with the stock it was stewed in, place a dish slantwise{429} upon it (to press the tail thinner), upon which place a ten pounds weight; when cold take it from the napkin, draw out the string and place it upon a dish; you have saved one of the legs of the turkey, cut the foot off an inch and a half below the knuckle, with which form the head and neck of the bird; should the leg of the bird not be of sufficient length make it higher by fixing it upon a wooden skewer, place it at the thickest end of the galantine, covering it with some of the forcemeat (which you have blanched and mixed with a little hot glaze), make of the size and as nearly as possible in imitation of the real head and neck, stick the two claws of a convenient-sized lobster in the sides for wings, and with the tail of the lobster form the tail of the bird; surround it with chopped aspic (No. 1360) in rolls, over which lay thin slices of it to imitate waves, and surround with croutons of the same; it is then ready to serve.
Bone a small turkey and line the interior with forcemeat (No. 120), you have prepared a mould as for pâté de veau (No. 999), but using pâte à fine, or pâte à dresser (Nos. 1135, 1136), instead of the pâte there directed, the interior of which also line with forcemeat, trim a nice red ox-tongue (cooked), cut it about the length of the turkey, cover with thickish slices of fat bacon, roll it up in the turkey, which place in the pie, cover with a slice of fat bacon, and again with forcemeat in a dome, finish the pie and bake as directed (No. 999), make a stock with the bones of the turkey, with which make a sauce as directed (No. 57), do not press the meat in the pie, but when three parts cold pour in the sauce, put it in the larder till quite cold, and serve either with or without aspic (No. 1360) on the top.
Galantines may also be made of geese (when young) or{430} pâtés, by following the receipts for the galantines or pâtés of turkey, and adding a little sage and onion to the forcemeat.
Poulardes, capons, and fowls are also used for galantines in either of the ways directed for turkey.
Make a galantine as directed (No. 998), have ready some grated crust of bread, with which mix an ounce of chopped pistachios; when the galantine is cold glaze it well, and throw the crumbs and pistachios all over, have ready some aspic (No. 1360), put a little in a plain oval mould, about half an inch in depth, when set form a rosette of hard-boiled whites of eggs and truffles, by cutting them with cutters; cover with a little more jelly, so as to make it an inch and a quarter in thickness, the mould must not be quite so large an oval as the galantine; when the aspic is set turn it out of the mould upon the top of the galantine, and precisely in the centre, dress also croutons of aspic around, and stick an atelette at each end, upon each of which you have placed a crawfish and a small hard-boiled egg, shelled and ornamented with wreaths of truffles.
But galantines may be ornamented in several elegant ways, entirely depending upon the taste of the individual; for instance, the aspic may not only be cut in different shaped croutons, but you may have them variegated, (see aspics;) besides the number of tasty designs which may be worked with egg, truffle, pistachios, anchovies, and various things of that description with which aspics may be ornamented; but in all cases let neatness be your object, and avoid confusion or multiplicity of colours.
With the remains of a galantine of any description you may make an excellent and elegant dish, by cutting twenty pieces the size and shape of fillets of fowl; put some aspic a quarter of an inch in depth into a large sauté-pan, stand{431} it on the ice to set, then form twenty stars, or rosettes, with truffles, lay a piece of the galantine over each, which again cover with aspic; when firm dip the pan in warm water, and turn out its contents upon a clean cloth, cut out each fillet with a cutter dipped in hot water, dress them in crown round your dish upon a thin border of anchovy butter, have ready a salad prepared thus: half a dressed beetroot cut in slices, a sliced cucumber, the white of two nice lettuces, and six fillets of anchovies, season with a little oil, vinegar, pepper, salt, and chopped tarragon and chervil, mix well together, dress it in pyramid in the centre of the dish, dress a border of hard-boiled eggs around upon the top of the galantine, and finish the top with chopped aspic, the galantine may also be cut as above, and dressed plain with the salad in the centre, and garnished round with croutons of aspic.
Line a raised pie-mould with pâte fine (No. 1136) as directed, but you will not require so large a mould; line the pie with forcemeat (No. 120), you have previously boned a small fowl, which stuff as for galantine à la volière (No. 1032), seasoning it rather highly, but it will not require sewing up; having filled it, place it in your pie, cover with forcemeat, forming a dome, finish the pie as directed for pâté de veau, bake two hours and a half in a slow oven, take it out, cut off the lid, lay a sheet of tin upon the meat (made for that purpose), upon which place a seven pounds weight, let remain until cold, then take your pie out of the mould and serve with croutons and chopped aspic (No. 1360) upon the top.
Procure two nice poulardes, which roast in vegetables, (with which you have mingled two glasses of sherry,) as{432} for the removes in first course, when done take them up and keep them in the vegetables till quite cold, which will keep them white; you have previously boiled, trussed, and carved a branch of laurel or palm upon a tongue (No. 991), fix an elegant Greek croustade of bread at the head of the dish; you have previously made two quarts of sauce béchamel à la crème (No. 56), very savoury and well reduced; when three parts cold dip the poulardes into it with a fork, take them out quite enveloped with the sauce and put them in the larder till cold, then dress them on your dish their tails to the croustade, their breasts protruding outwards, place the tongue between, the root facing the other end of the dish; you have prepared three atelettes with a crawfish, cockscomb, and truffle upon each, stick one upright in the croustade, and the other two in the root of the tongue, glaze the tongue nicely, and garnish round with bold croutons of aspic (No. 1360) of a very light colour.
Prepare two poulardes and tongue as in the last; you have reduced a quart of good demi-glace (No. 9), with a pint of sauce tomate (No. 37) and a pint of aspic (No. 1360), keeping it stirred; when about three parts cold dip in the poulardes, place them on your dish and pour the remainder of the sauce over, let get cold, then place on the tongue and croustade with the atelettes garnished similar to the last; you have previously procured thirty fine cockscombs, thirty button mushrooms, as many small truffles, as many small quenelles (No. 120), and two throat-breads cut in as many slices; when quite cooked have ready a quart of bechamel sauce (No. 7) well reduced with half a pint of aspic, add a gill of whipped cream, and when three parts cold dip the above garniture into it, one piece at a time, and lay them on a dish in the ice, when set rather firm garnish{433} the poulardes very tastefully with them, placing here and there the heart of a young cos lettuce.
Procure four spring chickens nicely trussed as for boiling, lard the breast of each with cooked tongue and truffles to form a cross, tie them in oiled paper and roast, leave them in the paper till cold; you have also boiled two Russian ox tongues, split each one in halves lengthwise and trim them neatly to give them the shape of small tongues, prepare also a croustade of bread in the form of a pyramid, eight inches in height and three in width at the bottom, place it in the centre of your dish with an atelette upon the top, place a chicken resting upon the breast, tail uppermost, at each side upon a little cold mashed potatoes, and the tongue at the four corners, pour a red sauce mayonnaise (No. 1363) over the chickens but not to cover the cross, glaze the tongues lightly, and garnish round the edges with rolls of chopped aspic.
Prepare your chickens and tongues as in the last, but do not lard them, dish them the same, make a border of plovers’ eggs round, placing little heads of cos lettuce between, sauce over the chickens with a very white mayonnaise sauce and lightly glaze the tongues.
Procure a fine poularde, bone it carefully, season the interior with chopped eschalots, pepper, and salt, cover with a little forcemeat (No. 120); you have previously boiled a tongue, when cold cut off the root, trim and cut it in large dice, which mix with forcemeat and stuff the poularde with it, cover over the flaps and sew the poularde{434} in its original shape, tie it up in a napkin and braise it in good stock, to which you have added two calf’s feet, stew two hours and a half, take it up and press it lightly, when cold draw out the packthread, reduce the stock to a demi-glace but keep it as clear as possible, procure a mould large enough to contain the poularde, and an inch higher, place it on the ice, pour in a little of the stock a quarter of an inch in thickness, when it sets throw in some truffles and hard-boiled whites of eggs cut in dice, then lay in the poularde, which cover with the remainder of the stock, when set firm dip the mould in warm water and turn it out on your dish, garnish round with chopped aspic and croutons, and stick three atelettes ornamented upon the top, two slantingly at the ends, and one upright in the centre.
Cut a nice capon or poularde into two fillets, two good wings, two legs, and two pieces of back, lay them in lukewarm water one hour to disgorge, wash well, then put them in a stewpan, cover with two quarts of good veal stock, add two middling-sized onions, with a clove stuck in each, a bunch of parsley, and a blade of mace, set on the fire till boiling, then set it on the corner, skim, and let simmer very gently nearly an hour; take them out, and drain them upon a cloth, then in another stewpan make a white roux (No. 7), as for white sauce, with two ounces of butter, and when partly cold add the stock to it; boil well, keeping it stirred all the time; if too thick, add a little more good stock; but it requires to be rather thickish; add a little sugar, four pats of butter, and a gill of cream; put the pieces of poularde in a deep dish, with thirty button onions, which you have previously peeled and stewed in a little white stock, pass the sauce through a tammie over, and let{435} them remain till quite cold, dress a little salad upon a flanc dish, upon which dress the pieces pyramidically, forming small pyramids here and there with the onions, and placing a small sprig of parsley upon each, garnish with croutons of aspic (No. 1360) cut rather bold.
Proceed as above, adding twenty button mushrooms with the onions you have chopped, a good-sized truffle, and a piece of very red tongue, which sprinkle over each piece as you dish them up.
Prepare as above, dress in a bordure upon the salad, sauce over with a mayonnaise à la gelée (No. 1361), and place a large truffle, with a cockscomb upon it, at the top.
This dish may also be made with the remains of poulardes from a previous dinner, by cutting them in neat pieces and dipping them into a good bechamel sauce (No. 7), well reduced and half cold; when the sauce is set, proceed as before.
Take the four fillets from two poulardes, as directed (No. 792), lay them in a sauté-pan with plenty of butter, season with a little pepper, salt, and lemon-juice, and sauté them gently over a slow fire; when done place them on a dish, with another dish upon them, till quite cold, then with a thin knife split each fillet into two; have ready a quart of good bechamel sauce (No. 7), add a pint of white stock, in which you have stewed the bones from the poulardes, reduce again to a quart, then stir in a liaison of one yolk of egg, mixed with two tablespoonfuls of cream; stir over the fire half a minute, then pass it through a tammie; dip each{436} fillet in the sauce, and lay them, when perfectly enveloped, upon a dish till cold; you have previously soaked and boiled two Russian pickled tongues; when cold cut eight pieces from them the size of the fillets, which glaze lightly; dress a border of eggs (hard boiled) upon a flanc dish, which tastefully ornament with small fillets of anchovies upon the top of each piece of egg, and rings of beetroot around, surround it with croutons of aspic, fill the centre with some salad nicely seasoned, dress the fillets and tongue alternately upon the top in crown, and sauce mayonnaise (No. 1361) in the centre.
Fillet three poulardes and dress them as in the last, but add two ounces of ravigote butter (No. 80) with the sauce you dip them in, dish them the same but omit the tongue, and sauce with a green mayonnaise (No. 1363).
After having used the fillets for either of the preceding dishes, take off the legs with as much of the skin as possible, bone and spread them out before you, have ready some forcemeat (No. 120), to which add two chopped truffles, put a good tablespoonful upon each leg, then sew them round with packthread; when done place them in a stewpan, with two onions sliced, a little lean ham, a sprig of thyme, parsley, and bay-leaf, add rather more than a pint of stock, and stew them very gently one hour over a slow fire; when done place them in a dish with their stock, place another dish upon them and press very lightly; you have saved and half stewed the bones from the legs, with which you may easily form the heads and neck, stick them into the thicker end of the birds, form the wings and tails with the claws and tails of crawfish, in imitation of little{437} ducklings, dress them to form a cross upon a round dish, and garnish with aspic chopped and in croutons; four will be sufficient for an entremet, and eight for a flanc; they likewise make handsome garniture for larger dishes.
Roast a poularde or large fowl in vegetables; when done and quite cold cut it into ten fine pieces, place it in a basin, with a large onion sliced, a little oil, vinegar, pepper, and salt, toss them over occasionally, allowing them to remain an hour; you have dressed a border of hard-boiled eggs upon a thin border of butter, garnish round with half slices of cucumber, gherkins, and beetroot, and place a fillet of anchovy upon each piece of egg, fill the interior with salad cut rather fine, upon which build the pieces of fowl in pyramid, (dipping each piece into the sauce,) the best pieces at the top, and just as you send it to table sauce over with a sauce mayonnaise (No. 1363).
Gut the flesh from a poularde into slices as near as possible the size of half-crown pieces, cut also some slices of cucumber, which stew in white stock with a little sugar till quite tender; when done drain upon a sieve, and add them to the slices of fowl, also a few peas well boiled, if in season; put a pint of bechamel sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with a pint of aspic (No. 1360) and a little sugar, boil altogether until rather thick, keeping it stirred, then add the blanquette of fowl with the vegetables, shake the stewpan round and pour the whole into a sauté-pan, which place upon the ice; when quite set dip it in warm water and turn it out on a clean cloth, cut it in middling-sized pieces of a diamond shape and dress upon a salad prepared as in the last; dress them in crown and sauce tartare (No. 38){438} in the centre, making the sauce white by using English mustard instead of French, and adding a spoonful of whipped cream.
Bone two spring chickens without opening them at the back, have some good veal forcemeat (No. 120) and an ox-tongue well boiled, which cut into two pieces, trim them and place one piece in each chicken, fill the remaining space up with forcemeat, tie them in a thin cloth and stew them an hour or rather more in good veal stock (No. 7), lay them on a dish breasts downwards and press them lightly, place a little aspic (No. 1360) at the bottom of a plain oval mould large enough to contain one of the chickens; when it sets lay in the chicken and cover with more aspic, dip the other chicken into a sauce béchamel à la crème (No. 56); when the sauce is about half cold and quite set place a croustade of bread (representing a fishing-boat) in the centre, with a chicken on each side; having turned out the one in the aspic, stick three atelettes in the croustade ornamented with a large quenelle de volaille, a truffle, and a cockscomb; sauce round with a very white mayonnaise sauce. The mast in the croustade must be made of pâte d’office (see plate containing the designs for croustades).
Cut the flesh from the breast of a poularde or large fowl into slices the size of half-crown pieces as near as possible, cut also a large truffle in slices, have about twenty very white button mushrooms, and ten dressed cockscombs, boil a quart of sauce béchamel (No. 7) with a pint of aspic, keeping it stirred until rather thick, add a little sugar and the above ragout, shake the stewpan round and pour the{439} whole into a sauté-pan, which place upon the ice till firm, dip the pan in warm water and turn it out upon a clean cloth,—it should be about a quarter of an inch in thickness,—with an oval cutter an inch and a half long and one broad, cut it into as many pieces as possible; have ready a flat round mould with a cylinder, put a little aspic at the bottom, which decorate with whites of eggs (hard-boiled) and truffles, place it on the ice and when set dress in the fillets in crown, fill the mould with the aspic, keep it on the ice till ready, when dip the mould in warm water and turn it out upon your dish.
Bone two pheasants if for a flanc, one if for a cold entrée, lay it out before you and proceed exactly as for a galantine of turkey, only using the forcemeat for game (No. 123) as directed, and fillets of hare or rabbit instead of veal, braise and press the same, allowing for the difference in size, serve garnished with aspic (No. 1360) chopped and in croutons.
Proceed as in the last, but press and garnish them as directed for galantine de dinde (No. 1010), but the claws must be from a very small lobster.
Bone a couple of pheasants and fill each one as for a galantine, but not too tight, they will not require sewing up; you have lined a raised pie-mould with pâte fine (No. 1136), as directed (No. 997), line the pie with forcemeat (No. 120), place one of the pheasants at the bottom, cover it with forcemeat, then put in the other which also cover with forcemeat, finishing in a dome; finish the pie as before directed, bake it four hours in a slow oven, press it{440} till cold and serve with aspic (No. 1360) chopped and in croutons upon the top; by filling the pie up with good strong stock when taken from the oven there would be no necessity for pressing it.
Roast three pheasants in vegetables quite white, take out the fillets, cut each one in halves to form two, making twelve, pound well the meat from the legs, and put it into a stewpan, with a quart of white sauce (No. 7) and half a pint of good white stock, boil till rather thick, then rub it through a tammie, pour into a stewpan, place over the fire, and stir until boiling, then add a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of whipped cream, stir in quickly but do not let it boil afterwards, place it by in a basin, and when half cold dip each fillet in with a fork, let it be quite enveloped and place them by till quite cold; you have prepared a border of forcemeat as directed for ris de veau à la turque (No. 673), place it on your dish and dress the fillets in crown upon it, have ready turned and blanched a pottle of good white button mushrooms, mix them with the remainder of the sauce, whip half a pint of aspic (No. 1360) upon the ice till becoming very light and white, mix it with the sauce, which dress in the centre of your fillets and garnish round with a light border of the hearts of lettuces.
Fillets of pheasants may also be served with a sauce macédoine de légumes as directed (No. 98) but cold.
Proceed with the pheasants precisely as in the last, only using a sauce gibier (No. 60) instead of the sauce béchamel, dress them in turban in the centre of your dish, pour{441} a little more of the sauce over, and garnish with a border of hard-boiled eggs, placing a sprig of parsley between.
Like pheasants make excellent galantines and pies by following the same receipts. They may also be dressed in either of the methods directed for pheasants, but requiring rather less time to cook.
Form two small grouse into galantines as directed for à la volière (No. 1032) into the shape of birds; have ready three parts cold a good sauce à la purée de grouse (No. 59), with which envelope them, leaving it upon them rather rough, sprinkle brown bread-crumbs and chopped pistachios all over, dress croutons of aspic (No. 1360) round, and garnish with a little of the heather from the mountains.
Make a very thin border of fresh butter upon a convenient-sized dish, upon which stand a very elevated border of hard-boiled eggs, (by cutting a piece off the bottoms when quite cold and cutting each one into four lengthwise,) fill the centre with some nice fresh salad, and ornament the eggs with fillets of anchovies, beetroot, gherkins, &c., according to taste; you have previously roasted three grouse rather underdone; when quite cold cut them into neat pieces, that is, into legs, wings, part of the backs, and each breast into six slices, then have ready the following sauce: put two tablespoonfuls of finely chopped eschalots in a basin, with two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, the yolks of two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of chopped tarragon and chervil, a saltspoonful of white pepper, and two of salt, with which mix by degrees twelve tablespoonfuls of salad oil and three of{442} Chili vinegar; mix well together and place it upon the ice; when ready to serve whip half a pint of cream rather stiff, which add to the sauce, pour a little over the salad, upon which lay some of the worst pieces of grouse, over which put more sauce, proceeding in like manner to the top, dressing them pyramidically. When it is for the flanc of a large dinner I only use the fillets, roasting four or five grouse instead of three, and when you have dressed three parts of the pieces of grouse upon the salad, build a second row of eggs upon it, having formed a level with the pieces for that purpose, and terminate exactly as the design represents. I must observe that the salad is better adapted for gentlemen than ladies, though if less eschalot were used it might also meet their approbation.[12]
Partridges being smaller birds are mostly used for cold entrées, but four will make an excellent flanc; draw them and extract the breast-bone, have ready one pound of forcemeat of game (No. 123), with which mix six truffles cut in fillets, and thirty pieces of fat bacon the size and shape of dice; stuff the birds, sew them up, and place them in a stewpan with three onions in slices, a head of celery, and a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaves, nearly cover them with stock, simmer over a slow fire nearly an hour, leave them to get cold in the stock, drain them on a cloth, and dress on your dish in the form of a cross, with the heart of{443} a nice cos lettuice in the centre; pass and clarify the stock they were cooked in, adding a little isinglass, reduce to demi-glace, and when nearly cold pour it over, but do not serve till quite cold, garnish round with some nice fresh water-cresses.
Proceed as directed for the pheasants (No. 1032), only using the claws and tails of large crawfish instead of lobsters as there directed, dress them with the four tails in the centre, and aspic (No. 1360) round; one hour and a half would be sufficient to stew them.
Fillets of partridges are dressed in the same manner as the fillets of pheasant (Nos. 1034 and 1035).
Have a round mould about five inches in height and four in diameter, which line with pâte fine (No. 1136), which again line with forcemeat (No. 123), you have previously boned two partridges, which fill as for galantine à la volière, fold each one in a slice of bacon, lay one at the bottom, which cover with forcemeat, then the other, which also cover, finishing in a dome, cover with the paste, work up the edges, and crimp as for the pâté de veau; bake it two hours in a moderate oven, take off the cover and pour in a pint of stock in which you have stewed the bones of the partridges, and boil half an ounce of isinglass, previously passing it through a napkin; serve neatly garnished upon the top with aspic (No. 1360) chopped and in croutons. It must be quite cold previous to garnishing.
Roast four woodcocks underdone, catching their trails upon toasted bread, with two others make a purée as directed{444} (No. 59), into which dip the four roasted ones, and let them remain till nearly cold, then take them out and sprinkle all over with chopped ham and whites of hard-boiled eggs; you have prepared a croustade in the form of a vase, which stand in the centre of your dish, cut the toast in four pieces, each the form of a diamond, dress the woodcocks round the croustade upon each piece, dress hard-boiled eggs in a border upon the croustade, and garnish with aspic jelly, whipped (No. 1360), chopped, and quite white, in the interior, and in croutons round.
Pâtés of woodcocks are excellent, they are made the same as for partridges, keeping their trails for the interior of the birds after they are boned.
Plovers and snipes may be dressed precisely as directed for the woodcocks.
Is also a very favourite dish for second course, and when well prepared stands high in the estimation of a gourmet; the following receipt is exactly as they are prepared at Pithiviers: pluck and bone six dozen of larks, take out the interior, extract the gizzard, and pound the intestines with two pounds of forcemeat (No. 123), place a little in each bird, roll them up, and envelope them in very thin slices of fat bacon; you have lined a raised pie-mould with paste as for pâté de veau (No. 999), which again line with the forcemeat, place a layer of the larks at the bottom, then a layer of forcemeat, then larks again, till quite full, and finish with a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79), a thin slice of fat bacon, and three bay-leaves, cover with paste and bake in a moderate oven two hours and a half, place it by, and when half cold add a pint of good game sauce (No. 60), shake it well in; when quite cold take off the lid, and garnish with some fresh sprigs of parsley. At{445} Pithiviers the pies are made square, and crimped from top to bottom, but the shape has nothing to do with the quality, and I consider those made in moulds look the handsomest.
Pâtés as above may be made of all small birds that are eatable.
Prepare a border of hard-boiled eggs as directed for salade de grouse (No. 1038), dress some nice fresh salad in the centre, then take the flesh from a very fine lobster, or two middling-sized ones, cut it in as large slices as possible, put it in a basin, and season with a little tarragon, and chervil, pepper, and salt; dress them in pyramid upon the salad, interspersing six mild Indian pickles in slices, and serving with a good white sauce mayonnaise (No. 1364) over.
Prepare a border of half hard-boiled eggs and half croutons of strong aspic (No. 1360), cut the same height as the eggs, and triangular, dress some salad in the centre as in the last, and the lobster well seasoned upon the top, and sauce over with a sauce mayonnaise à la gelée (No. 1361).
Cut the flesh of a large lobster into slices as large as possible, and nearly an equal size; reduce a pint of white sauce (No. 7) (with which you have mixed two tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar) to two thirds; then dip half the pieces of lobster into it with a fork, and place them on a dish to cool, add two ounces of red lobster butter (No. 77) to the remainder of the sauce, stir it well in, and dip in the remainder of the pieces; when cold and set, dress them in crown upon salad, with a white mayonnaise in the centre.{446}
Cut twenty slices of lobster as above, of equal sizes, dip them into the white sauce as there directed, and put them by until cold; then put a little clear aspic jelly (No. 1360) in the bottom of a flat cylinder mould, ornament it with the whites of hard-boiled eggs cut in diamonds, squares, leaves, and crescents, arranged in the form of wreaths, branches, &c.; just cover with a little more jelly, and when set lay in the slices of lobster slanting, one resting upon the other, and fill up the mould with aspic, place it on the ice, and when firm dip the mould in warm water, and turn the aspic out upon your dish; fill the centre with some finely cut salad, upon which build some more lobster, which sauce over with a sauce mayonnaise à la gelée (No. 1361), but not to run over the aspic.
Procure three small lobsters, cut them down the centre, save all the shells, and cut the flesh into small slices, put a spoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan, with a small piece of butter, pass them over a sharp fire a few minutes, keeping them stirred; then add a pint of white sauce, reduce one-third, keeping it stirred, add the flesh of the lobster, season with a little pepper, salt, cayenne, and essence of anchovies; stir gently over a sharp fire, and when boiling take it off, stir in the yolks of two eggs, put it into the shells, egg and bread-crumb over, place them in a warm oven ten minutes, salamander of a good colour, and serve very hot, dressed upon a napkin, garnished with a few sprigs of fresh parsley.
Lobsters au gratin may also be served in silver, escalope shells if handy are preferred.{447}
May be dressed in salad, like lobster, cutting the hard part into as large slices as possible, and passing the soft through a hair sieve, and mixing it with the sauce.
Procure the deep shells of twelve oysters, which well clean, butter the interior slightly, and as many bread-crumbs as will adhere to the butter; you have previously blanched and bearded four dozen of oysters, lay them on a cloth to drain, then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalot into a stewpan with a small piece of butter, pass them a few minutes over the fire, stir in a quarter of a tablespoonful of flour, add a pint of oyster sauce (No. 69), reduce one third, then add your oysters, season with a little pepper, salt, cayenne, chopped parsley, and essence of anchovies, stir gently over the fire, and when quite hot stir in the yolks of two eggs, stir over the fire a short time till it thickens, but do not let it boil, then fill the shells, egg and bread-crumb over, place in a hot oven ten minutes, salamander a nice colour, dress in pyramid, and garnish with fried parsley.
Fillet two or three soles, then well butter a sauté-pan, lay in your fillets, which season with a little white pepper, salt, chopped parsley, and the juice of a lemon, place them over a slow fire, and when half done turn them over (they must be kept quite white), when done lay them flat upon a dish with another dish upon them till cold; cut each fillet in halves, trim them of nice shapes, and put them in a basin with a little chopped tarragon and chervil, chopped eschalots, pepper and salt; then dress a salad as directed (No. 1038), dress the fillets in crown upon the{448} salad, and sauce over with a good mayonnaise sauce (No. 1364).
Fillet two soles and dress them as above, cut each fillet in halves, then have sixteen pieces of cucumber the same size as the fillets, but thinner, dress them in turban alternately with the fillets upon a thin border of fresh butter, sauce over the fillets only with a sauce mayonnaise (No. 1364) in which you have added a little whipped cream, and dress a good salad cut rather fine in the centre. The remains of turbot or John Dorée, may be cut into fillets and served in either of the above methods.
Fillets of soles may also be served in aspic, or miroton à la cardinale, as directed for lobster (Nos. 1047 and 1046).
Put three onions sliced in a stewpan with two ounces of butter, one turnip, one carrot (in slices), a head of celery (cut small), a good handful of parsley, and two bay-leaves; pass the whole ten minutes over a sharp fire, add a pint of vinegar, a blade of mace, and half a dozen peppercorns; let simmer, then add three pints of water; you have cleaned three fine freshwater trout, which put in the above marinade and let them simmer half an hour; let them get cold in the marinade, take them out, drain upon a cloth, and dress them on your dish, the head of the centre one pointing with the tails of the others; sauce over with a very white mayonnaise sauce (No. 1364) into which you have put extra chopped tarragon and chervil and a little whipped cream.
Cut two good slices from the middle of a fine salmon, four inches in thickness, and dress them in a marinade, as{449} for the trout, first tying them up; stew one hour, and leave them in the marinade to cool; when quite cold drain them on a cloth; dress on your dish, fill the centre with Montpelière butter (No. 1366), garnish with a border of eggs, and sauce round with a very white Tartare sauce (No. 38), and sprinkle a little chopped gherkins over.
Procure two fine eels, skin and bone them, have ready prepared some forcemeat of whiting (No. 124), lay the eel open before you and spread some of the forcemeat down the centre, upon which lay small fillets of truffle, pistachios, cooked tongue, and whiting, cover with more of the forcemeat, and sew the eel up in its original shape, cut it into two equal parts and envelope each in thin slices of fat bacon, tie in a napkin and place them in a stewpan in which you have prepared a marinade as for the trout, but using half a pint of Madeira wine instead of vinegar, stew gently half an hour or until tender, and leave it to get cold in the stock, take out and remove them from the napkin, glaze and place them on your dish side by side upon a stand of Montpellier butter (No. 1366), and a little between them to hold them together; garnish round with craw-fish and croutons of aspic (No. 1360). Six rolls of them, each three inches high, may be dressed into what we term a bastion, that is standing them up on end in a circle, joining them together with Montpellier butter, and placing the half of a hard-boiled egg cut across (to form a cap) upon each, decorated with fillets of anchovies and very green gherkins.{450}
Where a dish of vegetables are required for second course, if there should be two flancs contrive to let the vegetables make one of them; but if there should only be four dishes in the second course they may be dressed upon one of them, as also in larger dinners, and especially when there are a great many vegetables in season.
Is one of the most favourite vegetables we have, and is generally served plain; the large grass is preferred, although the smaller is, in my opinion, the fullest flavour for a dish; you require a hundred large ones or a hundred and a half of small, scrape and cut them of equal lengths, (about eight inches,) and tie them in bundles of fifteen; about twenty minutes before ready to serve have a gallon of water, in which you have put two ounces of salt, boiling in a stewpan, put in your grass, let boil quickly, and when tender take it up, dress in pyramid as high as possible upon a piece of toasted bread, and serve melted butter (No. 71) or sauce Hollandaise in a boat.
Procure a bunch of small green asparagus, or sprue, break off the green tops carefully, avoiding the white parts, cut the tops into pieces the size of large peas, boil them in half a gallon of water into which you have put an ounce of salt: when tender strain them off, but be careful they{451} are not too much done, or they would go in purée and taste watery; drain them dry upon a sieve and put them into a stewpan, with eight spoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7), a little pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg, with a teaspoonful of powdered sugar; place the stewpan upon the fire, move them round gently, add four pats of butter, and when melted finish with a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with a quarter of a gill of cream; move it round over the fire, and when it thickens pour them upon your dish and dress croutons of fried bread round; or they may be served in a croustade of bread.
The short thick kale is the best, trim it nicely, about sixteen heads will be sufficient for a dish, boil till tender in a gallon of water, with two ounces of salt, take them out, place them on a clean cloth to drain, and dress them pyramidically upon a piece of toasted bread; serve plain melted butter separate in a boat.
Procure ten fine heads of celery, cut them to about seven inches in length, (the red celery is the best,) if too thick take off some of the outside sticks, wash and trim them nicely, blanch ten minutes in boiling water, drain them on a cloth, put them into a convenient-sized stewpan just covered with a good white stock, in which let them stew gently till tender, drain them, dress upon toast, place four large pieces of marrow round, (which you have boiled in water,) and sauce over with a pint of good brown sauce (No. 1), which you have reduced with half a pint of the stock the celery was stewed in, and seasoned with a little sugar.{452}
Trim and blanch ten fine heads of red celery, as in the last, blanch also twelve middling-sized onions twenty minutes, place them in a stewpan with the celery, cover with veal stock (No. 7), and stew gently till tender, dress the celery upon toast with the onions round and sauce over with a good white bechamel sauce (No. 7) which you have reduced with half a pint of the stock the vegetables were cooked in till becoming thickish, then add half a gill of very thick cream, a little sugar, and sauce over.
Salsifis although a very favourite vegetable on the continent and very plentiful in England, is seldom used, but I hope the following recipes will tend to bring it more in vogue.
Choose fifteen or twenty young ones, scrape the black skin, cut them into pieces three inches long, rub each piece with lemon and throw them into water, then put two onions, a carrot, one turnip, and a head of celery, all cut small into a stewpan, with a handful of parsley, a quarter of a pound of lean ham, a little thyme, two bay-leaves, and a quarter of a pound of beef suet chopped fine, stir it over a sharp fire ten minutes, then add two ounces of flour, (stir well in,) fill up with two quarts of water, with the juice of a lemon, stir it till it boils, then put in your salsifis which stew gently till tender, take them out and lay them upon a cloth to drain, then put a pint of white sauce (No. 7) into another stewpan, with half a pint of white stock, stir over a sharp fire till boiling, then add twenty button mushrooms and a teaspoonful of chopped parsley; season with a little pepper, salt, grated nutmeg, and powdered sugar, put in the salsifis, let simmer gently for half{453} an hour, (the sauce must be rather thick,) take out and dress it in two rows upon a border of mashed potatoes, finish the sauce with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with a gill of cream, stir over the fire till it thickens but do not let it boil; sauce over and serve.
Prepare the salsifis as above; when very tender dress it upon your dish, have four large pieces of beef marrow (well boiled in water), sauce over with a good demi-glace (No. 9), garnish with croutons of fried bread in the shape of hearts, and serve with a piece of marrow upon each.
Cook the salsifis as before, let them get cold in the stock, then take them out, drain upon a cloth, and trim them all of equal sizes, then put them in a basin, with a spoonful of vinegar, four of salad oil, and a little pepper and salt, let them marinade six hours, turning over occasionally a quarter of an hour before serving, dip each piece separately in a fritter batter (No. 1285) and fry them in a stewpan of hot lard, when done lay them on a cloth and dress in pyramid upon a napkin, garnish with fried parsley, and serve.
Salsifis well cooked and tender, when cold, is very good in salad or to ornament a mayonnaise.
Procure four very fine cucumbers, which cut into pieces three inches in length, peel them and take out the seeds with a long round cutter, then have ready some very nice forcemeat of veal (No. 120), into which you have put a little chopped basil, thyme, and laurel leaf, put a piece of bacon at each end, which tie on, place them in a stewpan, with a little stock, and stew gently three quarters of an hour{454} or till tender, then drain them upon a cloth, trim each end, and dress in pyramid upon a border of mashed potatoes, but be careful not to break them; sauce over with a good demi-glace (No. 9) and serve; the forcemeat must not be too delicate.
Proceed with the cucumbers as in the last, but sauce over with a celery sauce à la Chetwynd (No. 1060).
Prepare a plain croustade according to the size of your dish, and three inches in height, then have four cucumbers, which cut into pieces two inches and a half long, peel them, split each piece into three, take out the seeds and trim them neatly, put them in a stewpan with an ounce of butter, a teaspoonful of sugar, and cover with white stock, let them stew till tender, drain them upon the back of a sieve; in another stewpan have a pint of good bechamel sauce (No. 7), which reduce till rather thick, then add the cucumber and a little powdered sugar, place on the fire, and when boiling finish with a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with two tablespoonfuls of cream: place the croustade upon your dish, pour the ragout into it, and serve.
Are excellent when young and about the size of turkeys’ eggs; peel fifteen and boil them in half a gallon of water, into which you have put two ounces of butter and two ounces of salt, boil twenty minutes, or till quite tender, drain them upon a cloth, and dress upon a border of mashed potatoes, in the form of an oval dome; sauce over with a pint of good melted butter (No. 71), with which you have{455} introduced a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of cream. All sauces for vegetables require to be rather thick, as it is impossible to drain the vegetables quite dry to serve them hot. Vegetable marrows dressed as above may also be served with a white sauce à l’Italienne (No. 31).
Are very useful vegetables when judiciously employed, as my readers will perceive by many of the foregoing recipes; they are good five months in the year, from October till March, and some seasons much longer; when they become too rough they have lost their succulence, and are only fit to flavour stocks: take about thirty of the best shaped ones and as near as possible of the same size; turn them into the shape of pears, boil in salt and water, with which you have put a quarter of a pound of butter; when tender take them out, drain them upon a cloth, and dress in the form of a dome; sauce over with melted butter (No. 71), sauce Hollandaise (No. 66), sauce bechamel (No. 7), sauce ravigote (No. 44), or sauce tomate (No. 37).
Both vegetables are very excellent and universally employed; they require great particularity in cleaning; the best way is to throw plenty of salt over them and put them in cold water till ready to cook, boil them in salt and water till tender, but not too much done or they will not hold together; the heads should not be too large, and the best are close and firm; when done dress some nice green Brussels sprouts upon a border of mashed potatoes with the cauliflowers in the centre, mix nearly half a pint of good white sauce (No. 7), with the same quantity of melted butter (No. 71), and when hot add a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with two spoonfuls of cream; sauce over and serve;{456} they may also be served with a sauce à la maître d’hôtel (No. 43).
Boil three cauliflowers as before, and when done drain them upon a cloth, then put a pint of good white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with half a pint of milk, season with a little pepper, salt, and cayenne, reduce it over a sharp fire till getting thick, add half a pound of grated Parmesan cheese and a quarter of a pound of grated Gruyer, mix well and stir in two yolks of eggs, then put a little at the bottom of your dish, dress some of the cauliflower in pieces upon it, which again cover with sauce, proceeding thus till you have formed a dome, finishing with the sauce all over, egg and bread-crumb lightly, put it in a warm oven a quarter of an hour, salamander of a light brown colour, and serve.
Are very great favourites with most epicures, and their flavour renders them worthy of so high an appreciation.
Have six not over large but of a very good size, trim the bottoms rather close till it shows the white streak, cut also an inch from the top with a pair of scissors, and a little off the point of each leaf, have a gallon of water (into which you have put half a pound of salt,) boiling, put in the artichokes and boil one hour, or till you can pull out a leaf with facility, take them up, lay them upon a cloth to drain, upside down, dress them upon a napkin, and serve with melted butter separate in a boat; they may be boiled previously and kept in cold water till wanted, and are ready by merely dipping them in boiling water.{457}
Trim your artichokes as above and blanch twenty minutes, place them in cold water, then scoop out the interior with the handle of a spoon and your fingers, taking out every particle from the interior, have some fat in a stewpan very hot, into which dip the tops of the artichokes till of a yellow colour, then put them back upon the cloth; you have scraped a quarter of a pound of fat bacon, which put into a stewpan, with four tablespoonfuls of oil, four of chopped onions and eschalots, two of chopped mushrooms, and one of chopped parsley, a little thyme, two bay-leaves, and a little pepper, salt, and sugar; pass the whole ten minutes over a moderate fire, then add a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), boil twenty minutes, stir in two spoonfuls of bread-crumbs and set it in a cold place; when cold mix it again and put an equal proportion in each artichoke; tie a square piece of fat bacon a quarter of an inch in thickness upon each, tie them across with string and put them into a flat stewpan, with three pints of good stock, set them in a moderate oven to braise for about three quarters of an hour, or till you can take a leaf out with facility, then take them out, drain them on a cloth, take off the string and bacon, and dress them upon your dish four at the bottom and two at the top, with two spoonfuls of demi-glace (No. 9) in each. For the amateur who does not object to the flavour of onions, dressed in the above manner they are most appreciated.
Proceed exactly as above, but filling them with the following sauce (instead of the sauce there mentioned): peel thirty large button onions and cut them in rings, put them in a stewpan with a little oil, and fry of a light yellow{458} colour, add half a pint of white sauce (No. 7), and two tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs, mix well, then add eighteen stoned olives, and the fillets of four anchovies well washed, stew till all is well cooked, then season with a little pepper, sugar, and a piece of scraped garlic the size of a pea, fill the artichokes, and when done serve with a little white sauce in each.
Take four good artichokes, cut them in quarters and trim them well, cutting all the green from the bottoms and taking out all the fur from the interior, put them in a stewpan of boiling water (to blanch) a quarter of an hour; then take them out, drain them upon a cloth, put a tablespoonful of chopped onions in a sauté-pan with a tablespoonful of oil, and one of wine, pass them one minute over the fire, then put in the artichokes, which cover with brown sauce and a little stock, stew them gently over a moderate fire till you can pull out a leaf with facility, take them out and dress in turban upon a border of mashed potatoes, put a tablespoonful of chopped mushrooms into the sauté-pan, reduce the sauce to a proper consistency, season with a little sugar and salt if required, sauce over and serve.
Prepare the artichokes as above, and blanch them, put an ounce of butter in a sauté-pan, lay in the artichokes, which cover with a good white sauce (No. 7); place a lid upon the sauté-pan, and put them in a moderate oven till done, then take out the artichokes, which dress in turban as above; put a little milk in the sauté-pan, reduce the sauce till rather thickish, add a little sugar, and finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with a gill of cream, pass through a tammie and sauce over.{459}
Dress a border of artichokes as in the last, upon a border of mashed potatoes, and have ready a quart of very nice Brussel sprouts dressed à la maître d’hôtel (No. 1083), which dress in pyramid in the centre. This dish can only be served in the autumn season of the year, as it is only then both vegetables can be obtained.
The best of all green vegetables, and the delight of millions, whilst their profusion renders them attainable by all; like the asparagus, they belong to that season of flavour, the spring of the year, but remain in season till a much later period; when young the English method of cooking them is good, because the more succulence there is in a vegetable the less zest they require to make them palatable. To describe the different sorts would be almost an endless, and to a certain extent a useless task, but the Prussian blues are, in my opinion, the very best; to plain boil them, have two quarts of fresh-shelled peas, with a sprig of young mint, about ten leaves (the greatest fault with most people is putting too much), have a gallon of water boiling upon the fire, in which you have put two ounces of salt, when boiling put in your peas, let them boil as fast as possible from ten to fifteen minutes, try whether they are tender, if so strain them through a cullender, dress them upon your dish with two pats of butter upon the top and serve; or when drained put them into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, and a good teaspoonful of powdered sugar, place over a fire, and keep tossing them until the butter is melted, dress them either plain upon your dish or in a bread croustade.{460}
When you have boiled and drained two quarts of young peas, put them in a stewpan with six young green onions in a bunch, six spoonfuls of white sauce, a little pepper and salt, and two teaspoonfuls of powdered sugar, let simmer ten minutes, then stir in a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of cream, do not let them boil, but when the sauce becomes thickish and hangs to the peas turn them out upon your dish and serve, previously taking out the onions.
The manner of dressing peas directed in the last keeps them very green, which the French style does not, unless very young, but to balance, their flavour is superior; and although the eye must be pleased to a certain extent, my principal business is with the palate.
Put two quarts of young peas in a good-sized stewpan with six young onions, a bunch of parsley, and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; just cover the peas with cold water and rub them well together with the hands, pour off all the water, add a good bunch of parsley, a tablespoonful of sugar, and a teaspoonful of salt; set the stewpan upon a sharp fire, moving them round very often, if young twenty minutes is quite sufficient, but when tender they are done (if they should become too dry add a very little water), when done take out the onions and the bunch of parsley; you have previously mixed a tablespoonful of flour with two ounces of fresh butter, mix well with the peas, stir them over the fire till they become thickish, then add a liaison of two yolks of eggs (mixed with half a pint of milk or cream), season a little more if required, stir the liaison in quickly, do not let it boil, and when it thickens they are ready to serve, they must not, however, be too thick or too thin.{461}
Cut enough young beans into strips to make a good flanc dish; have a stewpan with a gallon of water in which you have put a quarter of a pound of salt, when boiling put in the beans, which boil very fast till tender; when done strain them off, lay a bed of them upon your dish, upon which lay two pats of butter, sprinkle them over with pepper and salt, then more beans, proceeding thus till you have formed a pyramid, serve very hot.
When boiled as above, put them in a stewpan with six ounces of fresh butter, season with a little chopped parsley, sugar, pepper, and salt; toss them over a sharp fire, and when quite hot dress them in pyramid.
Boil the beans as before, when boiled put two spoonfuls of chopped onions in a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter, pass them a few minutes over the fire, keeping them quite white, add a spoonful of flour (stir well in) and a pint of good white stock, boil until it adheres to the back of a spoon; then add your beans, toss them well together, add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, the juice of a lemon, a little pepper, salt, and sugar, finish with six pats of butter, and four spoonfuls of liaison (No. 119), dress them as high as possible upon the dish, or in a croustade of bread.
Boil the beans as before, when done drain them quite dry, put them into a stewpan with three parts of a pint of béchamel sauce (No. 7), six spoonfuls of stock, pepper, salt,{462} sugar, a bunch of green onions, and parsley; stew gently ten minutes, take out the bunch, add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with a gill of cream, stir in quickly, and when it begins to thicken serve as in the last.
The small firm ones are the best; boil a sufficient quantity in salt and water about twenty minutes, or till tender, as directed for the beans; when done put them in a stewpan, with a little pepper, salt, and sugar, a quarter of a pound of butter, and the juice of a lemon, when quite hot dress them as high as possible upon your dish.
Boil a sufficient quantity of sprouts as before, and dress them upon your dish in pyramid; then put a pint of melted butter in a stewpan, let boil, and whilst boiling add a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79), stir it in quickly and sauce over, or sauce them in layers as you dress them up.
Make a turban of cucumbers, cut and dressed as directed (No. 103), form the turban upon a border of mashed potatoes; boil sufficient Brussel sprouts, which dress in pyramid, sauce over the cucumbers with a good sauce Hollandaise (No. 66), and over the sprouts with a good sauce béchamel (No. 7), but not too thick, so that the Brussel sprouts may show through it; they may likewise be dressed in a border of Jerusalem artichokes, which gives a great variety to those favourite vegetables; peas and French beans may also be dressed in a turban of the above description.{463}
Is a very wholesome and digestible vegetable, excellent for invalids, but still more so for those in good health, because an invalid can only have it plain-dressed, whilst a person in health can enjoy it in any of the tasty ways in which it is dressed. Pick and wash it very clean in three or four waters, for as nothing is worse than spinach when gritty, so likewise there is nothing more troublesome to get quite clean, from its growing so near the earth; boil in plenty of salt and water about a quarter of an hour, then drain it through a sieve, and squeeze quite dry with a cloth, chop very fine (which I consider is better than passing through a wire sieve), put it in a stewpan with half a pound of fresh butter, pepper, salt, half a teaspoonful of sugar, and a little grated nutmeg, stir five minutes over a sharp fire, pour it out upon your dish, and serve with croutons of fried bread round; the above proportion is for half a sieve.
Proceed exactly as above, adding half a tablespoonful of flour, and when well mixed half a pint of good demi-glace (No. 9), glaze the croutons which you garnish with and serve.
When your spinach is well chopped put it into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, stir over the fire till quite hot, then add a tablespoonful of flour; season with a little pepper, salt, sugar, and grated nutmeg, mix well, then add half a pint of good stock, stir ten minutes over the fire, add a quarter of a pound more butter, after taking it from the fire; when melted pour it out upon your dish and serve as before. The old system was to make a{464} roux, which frequently got rather overdone, and gave the spinach more the flavour of sauce, thus destroying the aroma; but the flour, if added proportionably, gives no flavour, and slightly thickens.
Prepare the spinach as before and put it into a stewpan, with a quarter of a pound of butter and a little pepper and salt; when quite hot add a tablespoonful of flour, mix well, moisten with half a pint of milk, boil a few minutes, and when ready to serve stir in a quarter of a pound of butter and a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, serve as before.
In France this vegetable (which is mostly used in England for salads) is as popular for entrées and entremets as spinach, its bitterness rendering it very wholesome. Procure twelve heads, pick off all the green leaves, wash each head in two or three waters, and boil them in salt and water till tender, then put them in a basin of cold water, press every one; cut off the roots and chop the remainder fine, but not quite so fine as spinach, put it in a stewpan, place over the fire, and stir until becoming rather dry; then add half a pint of good brown sauce, and a piece of veal glaze the size of a walnut, season with a little pepper, salt, sugar, and grated nutmeg, and dress in a croustade of bread, or within a border of croutons of fried bread, which you have stuck upright upon your dish with a stiffish paste made from whites of eggs and flour; put the dish in the oven till the paste is set, and if desired, serve poached eggs upon the top.
Is more used as a sauce for entrées than as an entremet,{465} the spring of the year is the only time it can be used for second course; pick and well wash a sufficient quantity of sorrel, drain and put it into a stewpan without any water, stir over the fire till it is melted, then lay it upon the back of a hair sieve, and with a wooden spoon rub it through into a dish; then put it into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter and a spoonful of flour, mix well, season with a little pepper and salt, and half a pint of good stock, let boil; then take it from the fire and stir in four new-laid eggs separately, stirring a minute over the fire after each, then add three pats of butter, and serve as in the last, or in a deep silver dish, with eight poached eggs upon the top, or use for entrées if required.
Procure twenty fine young cabbage-lettuces, pick off some of the outside leaves, wash the lettuces well, and blanch them in plenty of water till tender, then throw them into cold water, press in a cloth; tie up, put them in a stewpan with a little good stock, and braise in a moderate oven or over a moderate fire half an hour, then take them out and drain them upon a cloth, turn half the point of the green leaf over to give an oval shape, arrange them in a sauté-pan, cover with a good demi-glace (No. 9), and put them into the oven; poach twelve eggs, then make a border of mashed potatoes upon your dish, upon which dress the eggs and lettuces alternately, showing a little of the white, sauce over with a good sauce fines herbes (No. 26) and serve.
Prepare twenty fine lettuces, blanch them ten minutes in boiling water, throw them in cold water, press them in a cloth, then take out some of the interior, and fill with some{466} forcemeat (No. 120) with which you have mixed some chopped parsley and mushrooms; tie them up and braise as above three quarters of an hour, take them up, drain, and serve with a sauce demi-glace (No. 9) over them.
When young are very delicate, take two quarts directly they are shelled and boil them nearly ten minutes in salt and water, try if done, drain them upon a sieve, then put them in a stewpan, pour half a pint of good sauce maître d’hôtel (No. 43) over, and add a little chopped tarragon and powdered sugar, and serve. They are also very good plain boiled, with a few pats of butter laid over them.
There is perhaps no white vegetable more in vogue in France than this, but although so well appreciated there and eaten by many English gourmets, they never think of having them dressed at home; it is true that the haricot in France is what the potato is in England, when in their prime and just taken from their shells, there are a great many epicures who would not dine without them. The reason I so strongly recommend them is because I have seen thousands of them in noblemen’s gardens, many of which are quite spoiled, and some dried for the winter season, when they might be dressed and eaten in their prime; I think, however, that when my readers know the simplicity of dressing them, and their moderate expense, they will at least give them a trial. They are very numerous about the month of September, but when old and dry I do not recommend them, they being very hard of digestion, and only fit to be used dry as directed in other parts of this work.
Have one quart of them fresh shelled, have also two{467} quarts of water boiling, in which you have put two ounces of butter and a little salt, put in your beans and boil them about half an hour, or till tender, drain quite dry upon a sieve, then put them in another stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter, a little pepper and salt, toss them a few minutes over the fire, and when very hot turn them out upon your dish and serve.
Boil the beans as in the last, then put two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions in a stewpan with an ounce of butter, stir over the fire till they become rather yellowish, then add half a pint of brown sauce (No. 1) and a piece of glaze the size of a walnut; boil a few minutes, then add the beans, drain quite dry, season rather high, and when quite hot pour them upon your dish and serve.
Boil the beans as before, and when done drain quite dry and put them into a stewpan with six ounces of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79); toss them over, add a little more seasoning if required, and serve when quite hot. They may also be served plain boiled with a little butter upon them.
Take ten fine tomatas not too ripe, cut a little from the top of each, press out the pips and juice, but do not break the skins or press away any of the flesh; fill the interior with a sauce as directed for artichauts à la barigoule (No. 1072), stand them in a sauté-pan, egg and bread-crumb all over, stand them in a hot oven a quarter of an hour, salamander of a good colour, and dress them pyramidically upon your dish.{468}
Proceed as above, but using a little garlic (scraped) in the sauce, likewise put a little salad-oil in the sauté-pan which serve under them.
Choose them rather large and black underneath, peel the skin from the top, and broil over a sharp fire, seasoning with pepper and salt; when done, place a small piece of butter upon each and serve; ten minutes is sufficient time to broil good-sized ones.
Procure twelve middling-sized mushrooms, scoop out part of the interior, make a good sauce aux fines herbes (No. 26) very thick, to which add the interior of the mushrooms, and a few bread-crumbs; fill your mushrooms, egg and bread-crumb over, place them in a sauté-pan in the oven twenty minutes, salamander a light colour and serve on a napkin.
Procure a very fresh pottle of white mushrooms, which peel and trim, pass a few chopped onions in a stewpan with a small piece of butter (do not let them get brown), add a pint of sauce béchamel (No. 7); when boiling put in the mushrooms (raw), let simmer half an hour, season with a little salt, pepper, and sugar, and finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of cream, move round over the fire till it thickens, dress them upon your dish in the crust of a French roll, scooped out and fried for that purpose, and sauce over.{469}
Scrape forty young carrots, which put into a stewpan with a teaspoonful of sugar, four young onions, a bunch of parsley, and a bay-leaf; just cover with a good white stock and stew till the carrots are tender, then take them out and dress in the form of a dome by sticking them into mashed potatoes; strain the stock they were stewed in through a napkin into a stewpan, add to it half a pint of brown sauce (No. 1), and reduce till it adheres to the back of the spoon, then add two pats of butter, sauce all over and serve.
Proceed exactly as for the carrots, only using white sauce instead of brown, and finishing with a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with a spoonful of cream.
Peel about forty spring onions, each about the size of a walnut, put them into a stewpan, with one ounce of butter and one of powdered sugar, toss them occasionally over the fire, (but be careful not to break the outer skin,) until covered with a light glaze; cover with a white stock and stew very gently till quite done, drain them upon a cloth, dress neatly upon a border of mashed potatoes, reduce and skim the stock till nearly a glaze, add two pats of butter, sauce over and serve.
Stew ten onions, ten carrots, and ten turnips, as directed in the preceding articles, dress them upon a border of mashed potatoes in three separate rows, have ready a white macédoine de légumes (No. 98), in which you have introduced some peas and asparagus heads nicely blanched,{470} which dress in the centre as high as possible, and sauce over the vegetables with their stock reduced to a thin glaze.
For dressing in sauce there is no potato to equal the French red kidney potato, which will keep as it is cut, whilst a round mealy potato would crumble to pieces, but being rather difficult to procure obtain some waxy kidney potatoes, which boil and stand by to get cold, then peel and cut them in slices, which put in a stewpan, with a little pepper, salt, and about half a pint of stock, set them upon the fire, let them boil two or three minutes, then add (if a sufficient quantity for a flanc dish) three quarters of a pound of fresh butter, keep shaking the stewpan round over the fire till the butter is melted, it will thus form its own sauce, finish with a tablespoonful of chopped parsley and the juice of a lemon, turn out upon your dish and serve. The potatoes require to be cut in slices the size of a halfpenny, but double the thickness; if not able to obtain the proper potatoes use melted butter instead of stock to boil them in, or having no consistence they would form a purée.
Cut your potatoes after boiling them as above, put half a pound of butter in a sauté-pan, let it melt, then put in the potatoes, fry a light yellow colour, season with a little pepper, salt, and lemon-juice; dress them upon a napkin and serve.
Cut your potatoes as above, then put three quarters of a pound of butter in a sauté-pan, with thirty button onions cut in rings, place them upon the fire and when becoming{471} yellowish put in your potatoes, season with chopped parsley, salt, lemon-juice, and a good pinch of black pepper; when rather yellow and quite hot, serve.
Are only used in the winter, they are dried; put one quart of them in warm water, and let them soak two hours, then put them in a stewpan, with three quarts of water, a quarter of a pound of butter, and a little salt, let them simmer two hours, but they may require either more or less time, as that depends entirely upon the quality, there being two sorts, the smaller ones being the best. This perhaps is the only dish of vegetables that we have inherited from the ancients. Century after century have they been in vogue; they are mentioned in Scripture, and several of our great masters have immortalized that ancient dish in some of their most celebrated pictures; although not much in vogue in England, in France and upon the continent they are much used, especially in Lent. When boiled tender drain them upon a sieve, put them into a stewpan, with a little pepper, salt, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and a quarter of a pound of butter, with which you have mixed a teaspoonful of flour; keep tossing them over upon a sharp fire, and when quite hot dress in a croustade or within a border of mashed potatoes, as they would not look well dressed flat.
Cook your lentils as above, then put four pats of butter in a stewpan, with two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions, pass them a few minutes over the fire, then add half a tablespoonful of flour, mix well and moisten with a little of the liquor from the lentils, boil two minutes keeping it stirred, then add your lentils and a little chopped parsley,{472} boil altogether and finish with a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of cream, stir in quickly and when it thickens serve as in the last.
Périgord is the only place renowned throughout the world as the favourite soil for this recherché vegetable, and our celebrated diplomatist, Talleyrand de Périgord, was indeed a worthy owner, for he was not only a great diplomatist but likewise a great gourmet. Having an interview with any distinguished personage upon any question of political importance, after patiently hearing, his usual reply was, I will consider of it after dinner; perhaps your excellency will favour me with a call to-morrow morning;—and ringing the bell often call for his bill of fare and order some of his most favourite dishes. But in eulogizing Talleyrand and the produce of his estate I must not forget to mention that the truffles of Piedmont though partly white are very excellent, likewise in Burgundy, and many very good ones are now found in the southern counties of England, especially in Hampshire, but none are equal to those from Périgord. The white are dressed the same as the black.
Soak twelve large truffles in lukewarm water two hours, then with a rather hard scrubbing-brush clean them well in two or three waters, picking the dirt from the eyes with a small pointed knife, when thoroughly clean cover the bottom of a stewpan with slices of fat bacon, one carrot, one turnip, two onions, (cut in slices,) a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, six cloves, and one blade of mace, put in the truffles, which half cover with some good white stock, let simmer half an hour, then add half a pint of{473} champagne, simmer another half hour, but be sure the cover of the stewpan fits tight, take off the stewpan and surround it with ice with a weight upon the cover; when quite cold drain and serve upon a napkin. None but the black truffles ought to be dressed in the above manner. I generally serve their liquor, which is excellent, in a sauce-boat with them. Season a little more if required.
Wash them as in the last and peel lightly with a knife, cut them into thin slices, put two ounces of butter in a sauté-pan, then your truffles, which season rather highly with pepper, salt, and two glasses of sherry, set them over a slow fire, turning them over occasionally; when tender and becoming glazy add a pint of demi-glace (No. 9), shake all round together over the fire a few minutes, add a little sugar, and serve them over four crusts, thus: cut two French rolls in halves lengthwise, scoop out the crumb, butter the crusts and broil them, glaze, lay them upon your dish and pour the truffles over.
Cut and fry a very pretty croustade of bread, dress it upon your dish, sauté your truffles as in the last, pour them into the croustade and sauce over with a white Italienne sauce (No. 31).
Procure some truffles as large as possible, wash and peel as before, cut them in slices and put them into a sauté-pan, with six tablespoonfuls of salad oil, fry very gently, add two pieces of bruised garlic, a glass of sherry, and six spoonfuls of tomata sauce (No. 37), mix altogether well, boil gently, add a little sugar and juice of lemon, and serve them in your dish upon a piece of toasted bread.{474}
If you should have some of the truffes au vin de champagne left from a previous dinner, scoop out the interior so as to leave them quite shells, chop what you have taken from them rather coarse, with a few mushrooms, mix them with a quarter of a pound of forcemeat of fowl (No. 122), season well, and fill each truffle with it, egg them all over and cover with some chopped truffles, braise them slowly in some good stock for one hour, and serve with a sauce à la purée de truffes (No. 53) under them.
Break eight eggs in a stewpan, to which add a teaspoonful of very finely chopped eschalots, one of chopped parsley, half ditto of salt, a pinch of pepper, and three good tablespoonfuls of cream, beat them well together, then put two ounces of butter in an omelette pan, stand it over a sharp fire, and as soon as the butter is hot pour in the eggs, stir them round quickly with a spoon until delicately set, then shake the pan round, leave it a moment to colour the omelette, hold the pan in a slanting position, just tap it upon the stove to bring the omelette to a proper shape, and roll the flap over with a spoon, turn it upon your dish, glaze lightly, and serve with a quarter of a pint of good demi-glace (No. 9) round; omelettes must not be too much done, and must be served as soon as done.
Break eight eggs, season, beat and fry as above, but adding two ounces of lean cooked ham, minced and chopped with the eggs, and using but half the quantity of salt, glaze and sauce round precisely as above.{475}
Make an omelette as for fines herbes, with the addition of two preserved truffles chopped very fine, have also three middling-sized truffles cut in slices, reduce half a pint of sauce demi-glace (No. 9) one third, add a little sugar and the truffles, boil three minutes, have the omelette fried in the pan, and when just ready to turn out upon the dish, put the truffles in the centre, with some of the sauce, turn the flap over with a spoon, turn on to your dish, glaze, and pour the remainder of the sauce round.
Proceed exactly as for the last, merely substituting mushrooms for the truffles.
Boil half a pint of sauce demi-glace (No. 9) in a stewpan, reduce it one third, then add twelve stoned olives, and a little sugar; make an omelette as for fines herbes, put the olives in the interior, glaze, and sauce round.
Prepare rather more than half a pint of sauce à la jardinière (No. 100), have it hot in a stewpan, then make an omelette as before, and when ready to turn upon your dish put some of the sauce in the centre; glaze the omelette, pour the remainder of the sauce round, and serve.
Put half a pint of good oyster sauce (No. 69) in a stewpan, let it be well seasoned, reduce it one third, add twelve or sixteen blanched oysters, let boil up, then stir in a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with a tablespoonful of{476} cream; do not let it boil; when it thickens have an omelette as in the last; pour the sauce over, glaze, and serve.
Put half a pint of good thick oyster sauce in a stewpan upon the fire; you have previously filleted a middling-sized sole, cut each fillet into six or eight small pieces, and when the sauce boils throw them in, boil three minutes, finish the sauce with a liaison, and proceed as in the last.
Proceed exactly as for omelette aux huîtres, but using muscles and sauce (see No. 70) instead of oysters.
Make about half a pint of nice red lobster sauce (No. 68), into which put the flesh of a small lobster cut in dice; when hot have ready an omelette as before, put some of the sauce in the interior, turn out upon your dish, glaze, and pour the remainder of the sauce round.
Break eight eggs into a stewpan, into which put a teaspoonful of sugar and four tablespoonfuls of cream; put two ounces of butter in an omelette-pan when quite hot, but not discoloured, pour in the eggs, and proceed as for the omelette aux fines herbes (No. 1119), turn out upon your dish, shake some powdered sugar over, salamander a nice colour, and serve.
Make an omelette precisely as in the last, and just before turning it upon your dish put two or three spoonfuls of jam or marmalade in the centre, sugar over, salamander, and serve.{477}
The same as the last, but the moment of going to table pour three glasses of rum round and set it on fire.
Sweet omelettes may also be served with apricots passed in sugar or rhubarb, as directed in Nos. 1142, 1184; for the remainder of entremets of eggs, see Kitchen at Home.{478}
Although the art of making pastry is very nearly as old as the world, having been the delight of the ancients, and of the sensual inhabitants of Asia, it is only within the last twenty years that it has attained any degree of perfection, which is partly due to the talent and intelligence of my illustrious compatriot and confrère, Careme, who has left little or no room for innovation in that vast field of culinary delight; but I shall endeavour as much as possible to simplify the present excellent system, and introduce as much novelty as I can into that department, which is considered the greatest ornament of the second course; I must here likewise observe that as ages change so also do the fashions. Fifteen years ago large ornamental pieces, (or pièces montées,) were very much in vogue, but at the present time I know many epicures that would object to sit down before those once favorite monuments, or colossal sugar ornaments, the modern table embellishments having very properly fallen into the hands of the silversmith. Simplicity, the mother of elegance, being now the order of the day.
The variety of pastes is to the pastry what first stocks are to soups and sauces, and must be very properly first described, particularly as it is here to which I must refer my readers for paste even used for the hors-d’œuvres and entrées; to succeed you must be particular in your proportions, and very careful in the mixing, for although there is{479} nothing more simple if pains be taken, so will the least neglect produce a failure, nor is it only with the making of the paste that pains must be taken, but likewise with the baking, for as paste badly made would not improve in baking, neither will paste, however well made, be good if badly baked; should the oven be too hot the paste would become set and burn before it was done; and, again, if too cold it would give the paste a dull heavy appearance, but an oven properly heated (which can be readily known by a little attention on the part of those in the habit of using it) will give it a clear brilliant appearance.
For every description of pastry made from puff paste, try if the oven is hot by placing your hand about half way in, and hold it there about a quarter of a minute, if you can hold it there that time without inconvenience it would not be hot enough, but if you cannot judge of the heat, the safest method would be, try a piece of the paste previous to baking the whole; I apply these few observations to all my readers, but particularly to the uninstructed, as a person of continual practice cannot fail to be aware of the truth of them.
Put one pound of flour upon your pastry slab, make a hole in the centre in which put the yolk of one egg and the juice of a lemon, with a pinch of salt, mix it with cold water (iced in summer, if convenient) into a softish flexible paste, with the right hand dry it off a little with flour until you have well cleared the paste from the slab, but do not work it more than you can possibly help, let remain two minutes upon the slab; then have a pound of fresh butter from which you have squeezed all the buttermilk in a cloth, bringing it to the same consistency as the paste, upon which place it; press it out with the hand, then fold the{480} paste in three so as to hide the butter, and roll it with the rolling-pin to the thickness of a quarter of an inch, thus making it about two feet in length, fold over one third, over which again pass the rolling-pin; then fold over the other third, thus forming a square, place it with the ends top and bottom before you, shaking a little flour both under and over, and repeat the rolls and turns twice again as before; flour a baking-sheet, upon which lay it, upon ice or in some cool place (but in summer it would be almost impossible to make this paste well without ice) for half an hour, then roll twice more, turning it as before, place again upon the ice a quarter of an hour, give it two more rolls, making seven in all, and it is ready for use when required, rolling it whatever thickness (according to what you intend making) directed in the following receipts. When I state that upwards of a hundred different kinds of cakes may be made from this paste, I am sure it will be quite sufficient to urge upon every cook the necessity of paying every attention to its fabrication, as it will repay for the study and trouble.
Where you cannot obtain good butter for making paste, the following is an excellent substitute: skin and chop one pound of kidney beef suet very fine, put it into a mortar and pound it well, moistening with a little oil, until becoming as it were one piece, and about the consistency of butter, proceed exactly as in the last using it instead of butter.
Put one pound of flour upon your pastry slab with two ounces of butter, rub well together with the hands, make a hole in the centre, in which put a pinch of salt and the yolk{481} of an egg with the juice of a lemon; mix with water as before, then roll it out thin and lay half a pound of butter (prepared as for puff paste) rolled into thin sheets over, fold it in three, roll and fold again twice over, lay it in a cold place a quarter of an hour, give another roll and it is ready for use where required; this paste is mostly used for fruit tarts, for which it is well adapted.
Put three pounds of the best flour upon your pastry slab, make a hole in the centre, in which put a pound of butter, half an ounce of salt, and the yolks of six eggs; the butter must not be too firm, add half a pint of water, squeeze all well together with your hand, mixing the flour in by degrees, tearing well to pieces with the right hand, holding it with the left until it forms a smooth but stiffish paste, but if so stiff that you cannot work it without cracking, press out flat with your hand, sprinkle water upon it, fold over, press out again, proceeding in like manner until you have obtained the consistency required; you must also be careful not to make it too soft, as in either case you would not be able to use it. This paste must not be too much worked after it is mixed or it would become greasy; more care must be exercised in summer than in winter in this respect, it is used for raised pies either hot or cold.
Put three pounds of best flour upon your pastry slab, make a hole in the centre, in which put an ounce of salt, two pounds of fresh butter, six eggs, and sufficient water to form it into a rather stiffish paste (it will require about half a pint), mix well together, drawing in the flour by degrees;{482} when well mixed, roll out four times as for puff paste, let remain half an hour and it is ready for use where directed.
Weigh one pound and a half of flour, which put upon your slab, make a hole in the centre, in which put one pound of sifted sugar, mix it well with twelve eggs into a stiffish paste, having first well dissolved the sugar with the eggs, work it well, it is then ready for use.
This paste was very much used when pièces montées were so much in vogue, but in the several receipts in which it is referred to, it is used upon quite a new principle, and very much simplified; this paste, with the above proportions, ought to be very stiff, but still pliable enough to be worked without breaking; should it be too stiff add more eggs, or too soft more flour, the half or quarter of the above quantity may of course be made.
Blanch a pound of almonds, put one fourth of them into a mortar, pound well, moistening with a little water to prevent them oiling; when pounded to a paste take it out, add another fourth, and proceed in like manner till they are all done, then rub them through a hair sieve and put them into a preserving pan with one pound and a half of sifted sugar, set over a slow but equal fire, keep stirring for about five-and-twenty minutes, clearing it from the sides of the pan, press with your finger and if it feels tough take it out and put in the mortar with the eighth of an ounce of gum tragacanth, soaked and squeezed through a napkin; add the juice of a lemon, and pound well together till quite cold, it is then ready for use, but if not used directly roll it up in a ball and place it upon a plate under a basin to keep moist, it will keep for weeks if{483} moist. Of this paste you can form stands, or convert it into any ornament your fancy may direct. Low stands are the best for entremets, being much better than the old-fashioned ones, that were made eight or ten inches in height, and when a jelly or cream served upon it was cut even by the most experienced person as soon as the first spoonful was taken the remainder was often seen dancing upon the table, to the horror of all persons of good taste. For myself I never use anything of the description, except for cold luncheon or supper, and even then of the most simple construction.
Put two ounces of gum tragacanth into a small basin, pour a quart of filtered water over it, and cover the basin with a sheet of paper to keep it free from dust; let soak twenty-four hours, then pour off the water and place the gum in a strong cloth, through which squeeze it on to a plate, not leaving a particle in the cloth; then place it upon your pastry slab, work it round with your hand until as white as cream, have an equal quantity of starch-powder, and powdered sugar, which you have passed through a silk sieve, work it in by degrees, keeping it well worked with the hand until it becomes a stiffish paste, firm enough to roll and cut into any shape required. It may be used instead of pâté d’amande.
Of all things in pastry require the most care and precision; they that can make a good vol-au-vent may be stamped as good pastrycooks, although many variations in working puff paste, all others are of a secondary importance. Make a pound of puff paste (No. 1132) giving it only six rolls and a half instead of seven, leave it an inch in thickness, make a mark upon the top either round or oval, and according to the size of your dish, then with a sharp-pointed{484} knife cut it out from the paste, holding the knife with the point slanting outwards; turn it over, mark the edges with the back of your knife, and place it upon a baking sheet, which you have sprinkled with water; egg over the top, then dip the point of the knife into hot water, and cut a ring upon the top a quarter of an inch deep, and half an inch from the edge of the vol-au-vent, set in a rather hot oven, if getting too much colour cover over with a sheet of paper, do not take it out before done, or it would fall, but when quite set cut off the lid and empty it with a knife; if for first course it is ready, but if for second, sift sugar all over, which glaze with the salamander. Regulate the thickness of the paste from which you cut the vol-au-vent, according to the size you require it, the smaller ones of course requiring thinner paste. A vol-au-vent for entrées will take about half an hour to bake, and as the common iron ovens often throw out more heat upon one side than the other, it will require turning two or three times to cause it to rise equal; it ought to be when baked of a light gold colour.
Put three quarters of a pound of sugar in a sugar-pan, with the juice of a lemon and about half a pint of water, place it upon the fire and boil till becoming a thickish syrup; then have twelve peaches not quite ripe, which cut in halves, break their stones and blanch the kernels, throw six halves with the kernels into the syrup, boil three minutes, take them out with a skimmer, lay them upon a dish and take off their skins, stew the rest in syrup in like manner, six at a time; when all done pour what liquor runs from them again into the syrup, which reduce to a good thickness, pass it through a tammie into a basin, when cold pour a little over the peaches and leave until ready to serve, dress the peaches in your vol-au-vent with the syrup over,{485} served as a compote with small pastry around it; in stewing the fruit, be careful that it does not catch in the least, a round-bottomed pan or regular sugar-pan is the best to use for this purpose, but if not convenient a common stewpan may be used.
Cut twelve apricots, not quite ripe, in halves, break their stones and blanch their kernels, which with the apricots put into a sugar-pan with three quarters of a pound of lump sugar broken into small pieces, the juice of a lemon, and a glass of sherry; stew them ten minutes over a quick fire, moving them round occasionally, then pour them into a basin, which stand upon the ice, when quite cold fill your vol-au-vent and serve; should the apricots be quite ripe, proceed as directed for the peaches, but leaving their skins on.
Proceed exactly as in the last, only using twenty or twenty-four greengages instead of the apricots.
Pick and stone four pounds of cherries, which put into a pan with three quarters of a pound of powdered sugar, stew them about twenty minutes over a sharp fire, moving them occasionally, place them upon the ice till cold, when fill your vol-au-vent and serve. Should the syrup be too thick, reduce it until thick enough to envelop the fruit.
Take twelve middling-sized ripe pears, which cut in halves, peel them neatly, and take out the cores; throw them into a pan, in which you have put the juice of two lemons, and the thin rind of one cut in thin strips and three{486} quarters of a pound of sugar broken small; pass them over a sharp fire, moving them occasionally till tender, put them upon the ice to get cold; when ready, fill your vol-au-vent, and serve.
Procure twenty small golden pippins, peel them neatly, and take out the cores with a long round vegetable cutter; rub them over with lemon, and stew till tender in syrup made from three quarters of a pound of sugar as for the peaches (No. 1141); when cold dress them as high as possible in a vol-au-vent, and when ready to serve, pour the syrup over.
Take ten fine oranges, cut them in halves, peel them, but not to lose their shapes, have a rather thicker syrup than usual, simmer the oranges five minutes, ten at a time, lay them upon a dish, reduce the syrup, and when cold dress in pyramid in a vol-au-vent, and pour the syrup over.
Make a pound of puff paste, give it nine rolls, roll out to the thickness of two penny-pieces, from which cut ten round pieces, each about five inches in diameter, sprinkle water over two baking-sheets, upon which lay them, wet lightly with water, and sprinkle a little rough sugar over them, but not too coarse; bake very crisp in a moderate oven, keeping them as white as possible; when baked lay one upon your dish, which cover with apricot marmalade; then another, which cover with orange marmelade; then another, which cover with currant jelly, proceeding thus to the top; when finished mask the whole{487} over with apricot marmalade, sprinkling plenty of very finely chopped pistachios round, and decorate the top with what dessert fruits you have in season, cherries, strawberries, or raisins, dressed in pyramid.
Give half a pound of puff paste (No. 1132) ten rolls, and from it cut eight round pieces of the same size as in the last; then with the same cutter cut three pieces out of each in the form of middling-sized leaves, wet lightly upon the top, and dip them into some coarse sugar (pounded and sifted through a coarse wire sieve), place them upon a wet baking-sheet, and bake in a moderate oven as white as possible; then have ready a round board a quarter of an inch thick, and, according to the size of your dish, made of pâte d’office (No. 1137) and baked in a moderate oven; boil also half a pound of sugar au cassé (No. 1379), dip the ends of the pieces of pastry singly into it, and build them in crown upon the rim of your board, one row surmounted by another, dressed the reverse way; make a meringue mixture with two whites of eggs (see No. 1218), which lay in fillets, with a paper cornet upon the top; sprinkle over with some very green chopped pistachios, and set in a warm place to dry, but not any longer than necessary; whip a pint of good double cream very stiff, with which mix a little sugar, a quarter of a pound of crushed ratafias, and a glass of good noyeau; put the cream in the turban when ready to serve.
Make half a pound of puff paste (No. 1132) give it nine rolls, from it cut eight round pieces half an inch in thickness, then with a cutter, four sizes smaller, cut a piece from the centre of each, so as to form rings; place them upon a{488} baking-sheet, wet the tops lightly, and sprinkle a little coarse sugar over; bake them in a moderate oven as white as possible, dress one upon the bottom of your dish, cover it with a sweetmeat of some description, and proceed in like manner to the top; fill with any of the fruits as described for the vol-au-vents, have a little cream whipped very stiff lay it in piping with a paper cornet, between each ring, and garnish the top tastefully with fillets of red currant jelly or green angelica.
Blanch and pound well half a pound of almonds, moistening them with a little white of egg to keep them from oiling; put a quarter of a pound of butter in a basin, with a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar, beat well together till it becomes smooth and creamy, then add the yolks of four eggs; beat two minutes longer, add the pounded almonds, with two ounces of crushed ratafias, and half a gill of whipped cream; you have previously made half a pound of puff paste (No. 1132), divide it nearly in halves, having one piece larger than the other, mould them gently into two balls, roll out the smallest to the thickness of a penny, keeping it quite round, lay it upon a baking-sheet, put the above mixture in the centre, and spread it over, leaving the space of half an inch from the edge all round, roll out the other piece of paste rather larger and thicker than the former, wet the first sheet round the edges with a paste-brush, and cover the other over, closing it carefully, trim and notch round, egg over the top, and with the back of your knife sketch some design upon it; bake three quarters of an hour in a warm oven, but when the paste is sufficiently coloured, cover with a sheet of paper; when done sift a little sugar over, and glaze with the salamander.
The original cake is baked quite white by using water{489} instead of eggs, and throwing sugar over; my objection to which is, that many people in this country, from its appearance, fancy it is not sufficiently baked, and must be indigestible; it may, however, be baked either way, according to fancy.
Make a piece of paste thus: place six ounces of flour upon your slab, with three ounces of butter, rub well together, make a hole in the centre, in which put one egg, a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, and a very little water, mix well together, then mix the whole into a stiffish paste; roll it out of the size and shape you want your tourte, and place it upon a baking-sheet, then have ready a pound of puff paste, roll it to about three quarters of an inch in thickness, cut out a piece exactly of the same size and shape as the other, cut out the centre, so as to leave a band of about an inch in breadth, wet the piece of paste upon the baking-sheet, and place the band upon it at the rim, pressing down lightly; egg it upon the top, but do not let it touch the side; mark round with the back of your knife every q