ROAST MUTTON. The pieces mostly used for roasting are the hind-quarter of the sheep, called the loin and leg, the fore-quarter, the shoulder, also the chine or saddle, which is the two loins together. Every part should be trimmed off that cannot be eaten; then wash well and dry with a clean cloth; lay it in your dripping-pan and put in a little water to baste it with at first; then afterward with its own gravy. Allow, in roasting, about twelve minutes to the pound; that is, if your fire is strong, which it should be. It should not be salted at first, as that tends to harden it, and draws out too much of the blood or juices; but salt soon after it begins to roast well. If there is danger of its browning too fast, cover it with a sheet of white paper. Baste it often, and about a quarter of an hour before you think it will be done dredge the meat very lightly with flour and baste it with butter. Skim the gravy well and thicken very slightly with brown flour. Serve with currant jelly or other tart sauce.
Make a very strong infusion of pure coffee that has been roasted a high colour. It will be found best to re-roast coffee berries in the oven if you have not got a proper coffee-roaster. Pound the berries in a pestle and mortar, or grind them very coarsely; then make a strong infusion with a very small quantity of water, and strain it till it is quite bright. This is mixed with the whipped sweetened cream.
Get a turkey that has not been frozen (freezing makes it tear easily). See that every part is whole; one with a little break in the skin will not do. Cut off the legs, in the joints, and the tips of the wings. Do not draw the bird. Place it on its breast, and with a small, sharp boning knife, cut in a straight line through to the bone, from the neck down to that part of the bird where there is but little flesh, where it is all skin and fat. Begin at the neck, and run the knife between the flesh and the bones until you come to the wing. Then cut the ligaments that hold the bones together and the tendons that hold the flesh to the bones. With the thumb and fore-finger, press the flesh from the smooth bone. When you come to the joint, carefully separate the ligaments and remove the bone. Do not try to take the bone from the next joint, as that is not in the way when carving, and it gives a more natural shape to the bird. Now begin at the wish-bone, and when that is free from the flesh, run the knife between the sides and the flesh, always using the fingers to press the meat from the smooth bones, as, for instance, the breast-bone and lower part of the sides. Work around the legs the same as you did around the wings, always using great care at the joints not to cut the skin. Drawing out the leg bones turns that part of the bird inside out. Turn the bird over, and proceed in the same manner with the other side. When all is detached, carefully draw the skin from the breast-bone; then run the knife between the fat and bone at the rump, leaving the small bone in the extreme end, as it holds the skewers. Carefully remove the flesh from the skeleton, and turn it right side out again. Rub into it two table-spoonfuls of salt and a little pepper, and fill with dressing. Sew up the back and neck and then the vent. Truss the same as if not boned. Take a strong piece of cotton cloth and pin the bird firmly in it, drawing very tight at the legs, as this is the broadest place, and the shape will not be good unless this precaution be taken. Steam three hours, and then place on a buttered tin sheet, which put in a baking pan. Baste well with butter, pepper, salt and flour. Roast one hour, basting every ten minutes, and twice with stock. When cold, remove the skewers and strings, and garnish with aspic jelly, cooked beets and parsley. To carve: First cut off the wings, then about two thick slices from the neck, where it will be quite fat, and then cut in thin slices. Serve jelly with each plate. Filling for a turkey weighing eight pounds: The flesh of one chicken weighing four pounds, one pound of clear veal, half a pound of clear salt pork, one small capful of cracker crumbs, two eggs, one cupful of broth, two and a half table-spoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful of summer savory, one of sweet majoram, one of thyme, half a spoonful of sage, and, if you like, one table-spoonful of capers, one quart of oysters and two table-spoonfuls of onion juice. Have the meat uncooked and free from any tough pieces. Chop very fine. Add seasoning, crackers, etc., mix thoroughly, and use. If oysters are used, half a pound of the veal must be omitted. Where one cannot eat veal, use chicken instead. Veal is recommended for its cheapness. Why people choose boned turkey instead of a plain roast turkey or chicken, is not plain, for the flavor is not so good; but at the times and places where boned birds are used, it is a very appropriate dish. That is, at suppers, lunches and parties, where the guests are served standing, it is impracticable to provide anything that cannot be broken with a fork or spoon; therefore, the advantage of a boned turkey, chicken, or bird, is apparent. One turkey weighing eight pounds before being boned, will serve thirty persons at a party, if there are, also, say oysters, rolls, coffee, ices, cake and cream. If the supper is very elaborate the turkey will answer for one of the dishes for a hundred or more persons. If nothing more were gained in the boning of a bird, the knowledge of the anatomy and the help this will give in carving, pay to bone two or three chickens. It is advisable to bone at least two fowls before trying a turkey, for if you spoil them there is nothing lost, as they make a stew or soup. Aspic jelly: One and a half pints of clear stock--beef if for amber jelly, and chicken or veal if for white; half a box of gelatine, the white of one egg, half a cupful of cold water, two cloves, one large slice of onion, twelve pepper-corns, one stalk of celery, salt. Soak gelatine two hours in the cold water. Then put on with other ingredients, the white of the egg being beaten with one spoonful of the cold stock. Let come to a boil, and set back where it will just simmer for twenty minutes. Strain through a napkin, turn into a mould or shallow dish, and put away to harden. The jelly can be made with the bones of the turkey and chicken, by washing them, covering with cold water and boiling down to about three pints; by then straining and setting away to cool, and in the morning skimming off all the fat and turning off the clear stock. The bones may, instead, be used for a soup.
1/2 lb. pine kernels, 2 medium-sized tomatoes, 1 medium onion, 2 new- laid eggs. Wash, dry and pick over the pine kernels and put them through the macerating machine. Skin and well mash the tomatoes. Grate finely the onion. Mix all together and beat to a smooth batter. Whisk the eggs to a stiff froth and add to the mixture. Pour into a greased pie-dish. Bake in a moderate oven until a golden-brown colour. It should "rise" like a cake. It may be eaten warm with brown gravy or tomato sauce, or cold with salad. 16. STEWED NUTTOLENE. Slice one half-pound nuttolene into a baking dish, adding water enough to cover nicely. Place it in the oven, and let it bake for an hour. A piece of celery may be added to give flavour, or a little mint. When done, thicken the water with a little flour, and serve.
Remove from the bones all the meat of either cold roast or boiled fowls. Clean it from the skin, and keep covered from the air until ready for use. Boil the bones and skin with three-fourths of a pint of water until reduced quite half. Strain the gravy and let it cool. Next, having skimmed off the fat, put it into a clean saucepan with half a cup of cream, three tablespoonfuls of butter, well mixed with a tablespoonful of flour. Keep these stirred until they boil. Then put in the fowl finely minced, with three hard-boiled eggs, chopped, and sufficient salt and pepper to season. Shake the mince over the fire until just ready to serve. Dish it over hot toast and serve.
Mince very fine a pound of the lean of cold roast veal, and half a pound of cold boiled ham, (fat and lean equally mixed.) Put it into a stew-pan with three ounces of butter divided into bits and rolled in flour, a jill of cream, and a jill of veal gravy. Season it to your taste with cayenne pepper and nutmeg, grated lemon-peel, and lemon-juice. Set the pan on hot coals, and let the ingredients simmer till well warmed, stirring them well to prevent their burning. Have ready baked some small shells of puff-paste. Fill them with the mixture, and eat the patties either warm or cold.
A rib or sirloin roast should be prepared as directed for roasting. When within three-quarters of an hour of being done, have the pudding made. Butter a pan like that in which the meat is being cooked, and pour in the batter. Put the rack across the pan, not in it. Place the meat on the rack, return to the oven, and cook forty-five minutes. If you have only one pan, take up the meat, pour off the gravy and put in the pudding. Cut in squares, and garnish the beef with these. Another method is to have a pan that has squares stamped in it. This gives even squares and crust on all the edges, which baking in the flat pan does not. When the meat is roasted in the tin-kitchen, let the pudding bake in the oven for half an hour, and then place it under the meat to catch the drippings. For the Yorkshire pudding, one pint of milk, two-thirds of a cupful of flour, three eggs and one scant teaspoonful of salt will be needed. Beat the eggs very light. Add salt and milk, and then pour about half a cupful of the mixture upon the flour; and when perfectly smooth, add the remainder. This makes a small pudding--about enough for six persons. Serve it hot.
One pint of shelled chestnuts, one quart of stock, one teaspoonful of lemon juice, one table-spoonful of flour, two of butter, salt, pepper. Boil the chestnuts in water for about three minutes; then plunge them into cold water, and rub off the dark skins. Put them on to cook with the stock, and boil gently until they will mash readily (it will take about an hour). Mash as fine as possible. Put the butter and flour in a sauce-pan and cook until a dark brown. Stir into the sauce, and cook two minutes. Add the seasoning, and rub all through a sieve. This sauce is for roast turkey. When, to be served with boiled turkey, use only a pint and a half of stock; rub the butter and flour together, and stir into the boiling mixture; rub through the sieve as before; add half a pint of cream to the sauce; return to the fire, boil up once, and serve. The chestnuts used are twice as large as the native fruit All first-class provision dealers and grocers keep them.
Take some cold roast beef that has been under-done, and mince it very fine. Mix with it grated bread crumbs, and a little chopped onion and parsley. Season it with pepper and salt, and moisten it with some beef-dripping and a little walnut or onion pickle. Some scraped cold tongue or ham will be found an improvement. Make it into broad flat cakes, and spread a coat of mashed potato thinly on the top and bottom of each. Lay a small bit of butter on the top of every cake, and set them in an oven to warm and brown. Beef cakes are frequently a breakfast dish. Any other cold fresh meat may be prepared in the same manner. Cold roast beef may be cut into slices, seasoned with salt and pepper, broiled a few minutes over a clear fire, and served up hot with a little butter spread on them.
Take a breast of mutton, bone it, and season it with nutmeg, pepper and salt; roll it up tight with coarse incle and roast it upon a spit; when it is enough lay it whole upon the dish. Then take four or six cucumbers, pare them and cut them in slices, not very thin; likewise cut three or four in quarters length way, stew them in a little brown gravy and a little whole pepper; when they are enough thicken them with flour and butter the thickness of cream; so serve it up. Garnish your dish with horse-radish.
