Title: Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers.
Author: Lea, Elizabeth E.
Publisher: Baltimore: Cushings and Bailey
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DOMESTIC COOKERY,
BY
ELIZABETH E. LEA.
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DOMESTIC COOKERY,
USEFUL RECEIPTS,
AND
HINTS TO YOUNG HOUSEKEEPERS.
>
BY
ELIZABETH E. LEA
"The Source of Liberal Deeds is Wise Economy."
THIRTEENTH EDITION.
BALTIMORE:
CUSHINGS AND BAILEY.
1869.
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ENTERED, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by
JOSEPH CUSHING JR.
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Maryland.
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>
ADVERTISEMENT TO THIRD EDITION.
THIS Work having passed through two editions, and having met with a very favorable reception, the Authoress has been induced to thoroughly revise and re-arrange the whole work. Numerous additions have also been made, particularly under the heads Miscellaneous Receipts and Hints to Young Housekeepers, which she hopes will be found to have enhanced its value.
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INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS.
THE compiler of "Useful Receipts and Hints to Young Housekeepers" having entered early in life upon a train of duties, was frequently embarrassed by her ignorance of domestic affairs. For, whilst receipt books for elegant preparations were often seen, those connected with the ordinary, but far more useful part of household duties, were not easily procured; thus situated, she applied to persons of experience, and embodied the information collected in a book, to which, since years have matured her judgment, she has added much that is the result of her own experiments.
Familiar, then, with the difficulties a young housekeeper encounters, when she finds herself in reality the mistress of an establishment, the Authoress offers to her young countrywomen this Work, with the belief that, by attention to its contents, many of the
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cares attendant on a country or city life, may materially lessened; and hoping that the directions are such as to be understood by the most inexperienced, it is respectfully dedicated to those who feel an interest in domestic affairs.
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DOMESTIC COOKERY,
AND
USEFUL RECEIPTS.
>
MEATS AND POULTRY.
In boiling fresh
meat, care is necessary to have the
water boiling all the time it is in the pot; if the pot is not well scummed, the appearance of the
meat will be spoiled.
Mutton and beef
are preferred, by some, a little rare; but
pork and veal
should always be well done.
A round of beef
that is stuffed, will take more than three hours to boil, and if not stuffed, two hours or more, according to the size; slow boiling is the best.
A leg of mutton
requires from two to three hours boiling, according to the size; a fore-quarter from an hour to an hour and a half; a quarter of lamb, unless very large, will boil in an hour.
Veal and pork
will take rather longer to boil than mutton.
All boiled fresh meat should have drawn butter poured over it, after it is dished, and be garnished with parsley.
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The liquor that fresh meat, or poultry, is boiled in should be saved, as an addition of vegetables, herbs and dumplings make a nourishing soup of it.
A large turkey
will take three hours to boil--a small one half that time; secure the legs to keep them from bursting out; turkeys should be blanched in warm milk and water; stuff them and rub their breasts with butter; flour a cloth and pin them in.
A large chicken
that is stuffed should boil an hour, and small ones half that time. The water should always boil before you put in your meat or poultry. When meat is frozen soak it in cold water for several hours, and allow more time in the cooking.
Have the
turkey well cleaned and prepared for cooking, let it lay in
salt and water a few minutes; fill it with
bread and
butter, seasoned with
pepper, salt, parsley and
thyme; secure the legs and wings; pin it up in a towel; have the
water boiling, and put it in; put a little
salt in the
water; when half done, put in a little
milk. A small
turkey will boil in an hour and a quarter; a middle sized in two hours, and a large one in two and a half or three hours; they should boil moderately all the time; if fowls boil too fast, they break to pieces;--half an hour will cook the
liver and
gizzard, which should be put round the
turkey; when it is dished, have
drawn butter, with an
egg chopped and put in it, and a little
parsley; oyster sauce, and celery sauce are good, with boiled turkey or chicken.
To Boil Beef Tongue, Corned Beef, &c. |
If the
tongue is dry, let it soak for several hours put it to boil in
cold water, and keep it boiling slowly
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for two hours; but if it is just out of the pickle, the
water should boil when it goes in.
Corned or pickled beef, or pork, requires longer boiling than that which is dry; you can tell when it is done by the bones coming out easily. Pour drawn butter over it when dished.
A large
ham should boil three or four hours very slowly; it should be put in
cold water, and be kept covered during the whole process; a small
ham will boil in two hours.
All
bacon
requires much the same management,--and if you boil
cabbage or
greens with it, skim all the grease off the pot before you put them in. Ham or dried beef, if very salt, should be soaked several hours before cooking, and should be boiled in plenty of
water.
Cut the upper from the lower jaw, take out the brains and eyes, and clean the
head well; let it soak in
salt and water an hour or two; then put it in a gallon of
boiling water, take off the scum as it rises, and when it is done, take out the bones; dish it, and pour over a sauce, made of
butter and
flour, stirred into half a pint of the
water it was boiled in; put in a chopped
egg, a little
salt, pepper, and fine
parsley, when it is nearly done. You can have soup of the liquor, with dumplings, if you wish.
Have a piece of the
fore-quarter nicely washed and rubbed with
flour; let it boil fast; a piece of five pounds will boil in an hour and a half; dish it up with
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drawn butter. Oyster sauce is an improvement to boiled
veal.
Roasting either meat or poultry requires more attention than boiling or stewing; it is very important to baste it frequently; and if the meat has been frozen, it should have time to thaw before cooking.
Beef, veal, or
mutton, that is roasted in a stove or oven, requires more
flour dredged on it than when cooked before the fire in a tin kitchen. There should be but little
water in the dripping pan, as that steams the meat and prevents its browning; it is best to add more as the
water evaporates, and where there is plenty of
flour on the meat it incorporates with the gravy and it requires no thickening; add a little
seasoning before you take up the gravy. Meat that has been hanging up some time should be roasted in preference to boiling, as the fire extracts any taste it may have acquired. To rub fresh meat with salt and pepper will prevent the flies from troubling it, and will make it keep longer.
To Roast a Turkey--to make Gravy, &c. |
A very large
turkey will take three hours to roast, and is best done before the fire in a tin oven. Wash the
turkey very clean, and let it lay in
salt and water twenty minutes, but not longer, or it changes the color; rub the inside with
salt and
pepper; have ready a stuffing of
bread and
butter, seasoned with
salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, an
onion, if agreeable, and an
egg; if the
bread is dry, moisten it with
boiling water; mix all well together, and fill the
turkey; if you have fresh
sausage, put some in the craw; have a pint of
water in the bottom of the dripping
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pan or oven, with some
salt, and a spoonful of
lard, or
butter; rub
salt, pepper and
butter over the breast; baste it often, and turn it so that each part will be next the fire.
Gravy
may be made from the drippings in the oven by boiling it in a skillet, with thickening and seasoning.
Hash gravy
should be made by boiling the giblets and neck in a quart of water, which chop fine, then season and thicken; have both the gravies on the table in separate tureens.
Cranberry and damson sauce are suitable to eat with roast poultry.
Make a stuffing of
bread, butter, salt, pepper, sage, thyme and
onions; it requires but little
butter, as geese are generally fat; wash it well in
salt and water, wipe it, and rub the inside with
salt and
pepper. A common sized
goose will roast in an hour, and a small one in less time; pour off nearly all the fat that drips from the
goose, as it will make the gravy too rich. Make hash gravy of the giblets the same as for turkey.
Wild ducks
are generally cooked without stuffing; and for those that like them rare, fifteen or twenty minutes will be long enough; for
common ducks, a
stuffing should be made the same as for a goose, they will roast in half an hour. Currant jelly and apple sauce should be eaten with ducks and geese.
A large fowl will roast in an hour, and a small one in half an hour;
boil the
livers and
gizzards in a
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skillet with a pint of
water; thicken and season for
gravy.
The breasts of the
chickens should be rubbed with
butter or
lard to keep them from breaking. Tie the legs in, to keep them from bursting out.
When butter is scarce, it is a good way to make
rich short cake to stuff poultry with; it will require nothing added but
pepper, parsley, &c.
Season the
beef with
pepper and
salt, and put it in the tin kitchen, well skewered to the spit, with a pint of
water in the bottom; baste and turn it frequently, so that every part may have the fire. A very large piece of
beef will take three hours to roast; when it is done, pour the gravy out into a skillet, let it boil, and thicken it with
flour mixed with
water; if it be too fat, skim off the top, which will be useful for other purposes.
Veal should be well seasoned, and rubbed with
lard; when it begins to brown, baste it with
salt and water; a large loin will take from two to three hours to roast, the thin part of the fore-quarter an hour; it should be well done; boil up and thicken the gravy. A
leg of veal or mutton may be stuffed before baking.
Lamb and mutton do not require to be rubbed with lard, as they are generally fatter than veal; make the gravy as for veal. A quarter of lamb will roast in an hour; a loin of mutton in two hours.
To Roast a Pig--Hash Gravy, &c. |
Have a
pig of a suitable size, clean it well, and rub the inside with
pepper and
salt. Make a stuffing of
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bread, butter, parsley, sage and
thyme; if the
bread is stale, pour a little
boiling water on it; mix altogether; fill the
pig, and sew it up with strong thread; put in the skewers and spit, and tie the feet with twine; have a pint and a half of
water in the bottom of the tin kitchen, with a spoonful of
lard and a little
salt, with this baste it; and turn it, so as each part will have the benefit of the fire. It should be basted until the skin begins to get stiff with the heat of the fire; then grease it all over with
butter or
lard, and continue to turn it before the fire, but baste no more, or the skin will blister. A
pig will take from two to three hours to roast, according to the size; when it is done, pour the
water out in a skillet; season it and thicken it with
flour and
water.
To make
hash gravy,
put the
liver and
heart to boil in three pints of
water; after they have boiled an hour, chop them very fine, put them back in the pot, and stir in a thickening of
flour and
water, with
salt, pepper, parsley and
thyme. Have the gravies in separate tureens on either side of the
pig. Apple sauce and cold slaw are almost indispensable with
pig.
After washing the
pork, cut the skin in squares or stripes; season it with
salt and
pepper, and baste it with
salt and water; thicken, and boil up the gravy.
To Bake a Stuffed Leg of Veal. |
Cut off the
shank, and make holes round the bone for stuffing, which should be of
bread and
butter, the
yelk of an egg, and
seasoning; fill the holes with this, and spread it over the top, with little pieces of the
fat of ham; dust
salt and
pepper over, put it in the dutch-
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oven, or dripping pan, and bake it brown; put a pint of
water in the bottom, and if it should dry up, put in more; when it is done, dust in some
flour for the gravy. If done carefully, meat is almost as good roasted in the stove as before the fire. If you let the gravy boil over in the stove, it makes an unpleasant smell through the house, and spoils the flavor of the meat.
The
ham of fresh pork
is good, done in the same way.
Have the
head nicely cleaned, with the eyes taken out, and the ears cut off; season it with
salt and
pepper; rub
crumbs of bread over, with a spoonful of
lard; put it in the dutch-oven, or dripping pan, with a pint of
water; bake it an hour; thicken and season the gravy.
Pigeons should be roasted about fifteen minutes before a quick fire; as the meat is dry, they should have a rich
stuffing, and be basted with
butter.
You may bake them in a dutch-oven or stew them in a pot, with water enough to cover them, and some crumbs of bread or flour dusted over them; let them cook slowly half an hour; mix together flour and water, with salt, pepper, and parsley to season, and a lump of butter; stir this in and let it boil up; put them in a deep dish and pour the gravy over. Pigeons make a very nice pie in the same way as chickens.
Make a dressing of
bread, seasoned with
pepper and
herbs, moisten it with about five
eggs, instead of water. Take a
ham that has been cut at the table, either fresh
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or salt, fill up the place where it has been cut, and cover the top with the dressing, bake it half an hour, and garnish it with
parsley before sending it to the table.
After washing the
heart, make a rich stuffing with
bread and
suet, highly seasoned; fill it with this, and put it in a dutch-oven, or the dripping pan of a stove, with half a pint of
water; let it bake an hour and a half; the gravy will not need any thickening, as some of the stuffing will fall out. Put the gravy in the dish.
Take part of a
round of beef, bone it, and make holes for stuffing, which is made of
bread, suet, thyme, parsley, chopped
onions, mace, cloves, pepper, salt and a
raw egg; stuff the meat, bind it with tape, and put it in a dutch-oven, with a plate in the bottom to keep it from burning; just cover it with
water, and let it stew from three to four hours according to the size.
Make gravy
with some of the water it was stewed in, seasoned with claret and butter, and thickened with flour. If you wish it to taste of any other sort of wine, add a glass to the gravy.
Choose the tenderest part of
beef, cut it an inch thick, broil it gently over good coals, covered with a plate; have
butter, salt, pepper, and a little
water in a dish; and when you turn the
beef, dip it in this; be careful to have as much of the juice as you can. When done, put it in a warm dish, and pour the basting over, with some more
butter.
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Cut some pieces of
mutton, either with or without bone, about an inch thick; have the gridiron hot, first rubbing it with a little
suet; put on the chops, turning them frequently, and
butter and season them with
pepper and
salt as you cook them; then dish them on a hot dish and add more
butter.
Rabbits and
squirrels, or
birds, may be fried as chickens, or stewed in a pot with a little
water. If you make a pie of
rabbits or
squirrels, they should be stewed first to make them tender, and then made in the same way as chicken pie.
Rabbits are very good cooked with chopped
onions, in a pot with a little
water, and thickening of
milk and
flour stirred in when they are nearly done.
Squirrels make very good soup.
Slice the
ham, and if it is very salt, pour
boiling water on it, and let it soak a while; then fry it with a small piece of
lard; when done, dish it; mix together
flour, milk, parsley and
pepper, let it boil, and pour it over the
ham.
Cut the
kidney in small pieces; take out all the strings, and let it soak several hours in
salt and water; wash and drain it; season some pieces of
beef and
kidney, and put them in a frying pan, with hot
lard or
drippings of any kind; dust a little
flour over; when it is fried on both sides, take it up in a dish; mix a spoonful of
flour in some
water with
salt and
pepper, and pour in; when it has boiled, pour it over the
beef.
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Liver should be cut across the grain in slices about half an inch thick; pour
boiling water over it, drain and season it with
pepper and
salt; flour each piece and drop it in a frying-pan of hot
bacon drippings; do not fry it any longer than it is done, or it will be hard; take it up in a dish, make
gravy as for beef, and pour over it.
Cut the
veal in slices near an inch thick; wash, drain, and season it; beat up an
egg, and have ready some
pounded crackers or
bread crumbs; dip the slices first in the
egg, and then in the
bread, and fry them in hot
lard; mix a gravy of
flour and
water, with
salt, pepper and
parsley; when the
veal is taken up, pour it in; let it boil a few minutes and pour it over the dish, and grate a little
nutmeg over.
To Fry Veal, Lamb or Pork. |
Cut up the
meat in thin slices, and season it; dip it in
flour and drop it in a pan of hot
lard; when brown, take it up, and make gravy with
flour, milk, parsley, pepper and
salt, which stir in.
To Stew Veal, Lamb or Pork. |
Cut the
meat small, season it, and put it in a pot with
water enough to cover it; let it cook for half an hour; then pour in thickening of
flour and
milk, with
parsley and
thyme, and a piece of
butter, (if the
meat is not fat;) take it up in a deep dish.
Pour
boiling water on the
brains, and skin them; tie them tight in a cloth, and boil them and the
tongue
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with the
head; when done put them on a plate, chop three leaves of
green sage fine, and beat up with the
brains; spread them round a small dish, and after skining the
tongue, place it in the middle.
Take the
lights, heart, and some of the
liver; boil them in a pint of
water; when done, take them out and chop them fine; season it with
salt, pepper and a little
sweet marjoram; put it back in the pot, and thicken it with
butter and
flour; let it boil a few minutes, and dish it in a small tureen.
When the head is cloven, take out the
brains and clear them of strings, beat them up with the
yelks of two eggs, some
crumbs of bread, pepper, salt, fine
parsley, a spoonful of
cream, and a spoonful of
flour; when they are well mixed, drop them with a spoon into a frying-pan with a little hot
butter, and fry them of a light-brown color.
Take a pound of
veal, half a pound of
suet, two slices of
ham, and some crumbs of
bread, chop them very fine, and put in the
yelks of two
eggs; season it with
parsley, thyme, mace, pepper and
salt; roll it into small balls, and fry them brown.
They are nice to garnish hashes, roast veal or cutlets, and to put in soup.
Cut the
liver and
heart across the grain, wash it well, pour
boiling water on, and let it stand a few minutes,
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then drain and season it with
salt and
pepper, flour it and drop it in hot
lard; when it is brown on both sides, dish it; dust a little
flour in the pan, and pour in some
water, let it boil a minute, stirring in a seasoning of
parsley, thyme, or
sweet marjoram; pour the gravy over the
liver. This is a good breakfast dish.
To Fry Veal Sweet Breads. |
Dip them in the
yelk of an egg beaten, then in a mixture of
grated bread, or
flour and
salt and
pepper; fry them a nice brown.
Stew them in a little
water, with
butter, flour, and a little
cream; season with
salt, pepper, parsley and
thyme.
To Brown a Calf's Head with the Skin on. |
After scalding and washing the
head clean, take out the eyes, cut off the ears, and let it boil half an hour; when cold, cleave the upper from the lower jaw, take out the tongue, strike off the nose, score the part which has the skin on, rub it over with beaten
egg, sprinkle it over with
salt, parsley, cayenne and
black pepper; lay pieces of
butter over it, and put it in a dutch-oven to brown, basting it often; cut down the lower part in slices, skin the tongue and palate, and cut them up; put them in a pot with a little
water; when done, thicken it with
brown flour and
butter, season it with
pepper, salt, some
pickled oysters, wine or
brandy (if you like it,) and let it stew fifteen minutes. Lay the baked
head in a dish and put the hash around it, and lay
force meat balls or
brain cakes round the edge of the dish.
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Cut streaked
bacon in small thin slices, make a batter of a pint of
milk, two
eggs, and two large spoonsful of
flour; some
salt and
pepper; put some
lard or
dripping in a frying-pan, and when it is hot pour in half of the batter, and strew the
bacon over it; then pour on the remainder of the batter; let it fry gently, and be careful in turning, that the
bacon does not come to the pan.
Take five thick
mutton chops, or two pounds of the
neck or
loin, two pounds of
potatoes, peel them and cut them in halves, six
onions or half a pound of
onions, peel and slice them also. First put a layer of
potatoes at the bottom of your stew-pan, then a couple of chops and some
onions, then again
potatoes, and so on till the pan is quite full; season with
pepper and
salt, and three gills of
broth or
gravy, and two tea-spoonsful of
mushroom catsup; cover it very close to prevent the escape of steam, and stew on a slow fire for an hour and a half; a slice of
ham is an addition. Great care should be taken not to let it brown.
To Brown Flour for Gravy, &c. |
Put some
flour in a dutch-oven and set it over some hot coals; keep stirring it until it is of a light-brown color; in this way several pounds can be done at once, and kept in a jar covered; and is very convenient to thicken brown soups and gravies with.
Put half a pint of
water in a skillet, rub a quarter of a pound of
butter in a large spoonful of
flour; when
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the
water boils, stir it in and let it boil a few minutes; season it with
parsley, chopped fine.
Stuffing for poultry is made of
bread and
butter, an
egg, salt, pepper, chopped
parsley or
thyme, mixed together; if the
bread is dry, it should have a little
boiling water poured on it.
This is made as drawn butter, with one or two
eggs boiled hard and chopped into it, and a little
salt.
Take a large bunch of
celery, cut it fine, and boil it till soft, in a pint of
water; thicken it with
butter and
flour, and season it with
salt, pepper, and
mace.
Cut slices of cooked
bacon, and
pepper them; roll out
crust as for apple dumplings; slice some
potatoes very thin, and put them in the
crust with the meat; close them up, and let them boil fast an hour; when done, take them out carefully with a ladle.
These are good for almost any kind of soup, and may be made of a quart of
flour, two
eggs, a spoonful of
butter, some
salt and
pepper, wet with
milk and
water; drop them in while it is boiling, and let them boil ten or fifteen minutes.
Beat three fresh
eggs very light, make them into a stiff paste, with
flour and
water; knead it well, and roll
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it very thin, cut it in narrow strips, give them a twist, and dry them quickly, on tin sheets or dishes, in the sun or a moderate oven; soak them a few minutes in
cold water, and put them in chicken soup. They are very good and convenient.
Take the
bones and pieces that have been left of
roast or boiled fowls, either
turkeys or
chickens, crack the
bones, cut off the
meat, and chop it fine; put it in a small iron pot, or stew pan, cover it with
water; put in the
gravy that may be left from the
fowls; season with
pepper and
salt, put in some chopped
celery, crumbs of bread, a lump of
butter, and if it requires it, dust in a little
flour; if you like it you may slice in an
onion.
Take two pounds of
beef from the round or surloin, and after taking out the
bone, season it according to fancy; some prefer a seasoning of
pepper, salt, onions, thyme, marjoram or
sage; others the
pepper and
salt alone. Then prepare a plain stiff
crust, either with or without
butter or
lard; spread the crust over a deep dish or bowl, put in the
beef, and if you like it, add some
butter; cover it close with a crust which must be closely turned in to prevent the
water from penetrating; tie it up tight in a cloth, put it in a pot of
boiling water and let it boil quickly for an hour. The cloth should be dipped in
hot water, and floured, as for other boiled puddings.
Take some fine
beef steaks, beat them well with a rolling-pin, and season them with
pepper and
salt
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according to taste. Make a good crust; lay some in a deep dish or tin pan; lay in the
beef, and fill the dish half full of
water; put in a table-spoonful of
butter and some chopped
thyme and
parsley, and cover the top with crust; bake it from one to two hours, according to the size of the pie, and eat it while hot.
Par-boil some tender pieces of
beef, in
water enough to barely cover it; grease a pan with
lard, season the
beef and lay it in; make a batter of
eggs, milk and
flour, with a little
salt, and pour it over; bake it an hour in a stove or dutch-oven, and when done keep it hot till it is eaten. Save the
water the beef was boiled in, add a little
butter, flour, pepper, salt and chopped
parsley, thyme or
sweet marjoram, and boil it up; when you dish up the pudding pour this over, or put it in a gravy dish to be served hot at the table.
Take small
bones and pieces of
pork that will not do for sausage; roll out some
crust with but little
shortening; lay in the meat and small pieces of crust alternately; sprinkle in
flour and
seasoning, cover it with
water, and put on a crust.
Spiced Beef in the Irish Style. |
To a
round weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds, take a pint of
salt, one ounce of
saltpetre, two ounces of
pepper, two ounces of
cloves, one ounce of
allspice, four ounces of
brown sugar, all well pulverized, and mixed together; rub the
round well with it, and lay it in a small tub or vessel by itself. Turn and rub it once a day for ten days. It will
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not injure if it remain a week longer in the spices, if it should not be convenient to bake it. When you wish to have it cooked, strew over the top of the round a small handful of
suet. Be particular to bind it tight round with a cord, or narrow strip of muslin, which must be wrapped several times round to keep it in shape; put it in a dutch-oven, and add three pints of
water when it is first put down; keep
water boiling in the tea-kettle, and add a little as it seems necessary, observing not to add too much. It will require a slow heat, and take four hours to bake.
This is a very fine standing dish, and will be good for three weeks after cooking. Keep the gravy that is left to pour over it to keep it moist.
Season and stuff them the same as for roasting; put them in a dutch-oven or stove, with a pint of
water; when they are half done, put in the
giblets; when these are done, chop them with a knife, and put in
thickening and a lump of
butter.
If chickens are young, split them down the back, and put them in a dutch-oven, with a plate in the bottom, and a pint of water; when they are done, stir in a spoonful of flour, mixed in half a pint of milk, a piece of butter, salt, pepper and parsley; let it boil up and dish them.
After cutting up the
chickens, wash and drain them; season them with
salt and
pepper; rub each piece in
flour, and drop them separately in a frying-pan or dutch-oven of hot
lard; when brown, turn the other side to fry; make a thickening of
rich milk, flour, a
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piece of
butter, salt, and chopped
parsley; take up the
chicken on a dish; pour a little
water in the pan to keep the gravy from being too thick; put in the
thickening, stir it, and let it boil a few minutes; then pour it over the
chicken.
Chickens Fried in Batter. |
Make a batter of two
eggs, a tea-cup of
milk, a little
salt, and thickened with
flour; have the
chickens cut up, washed and seasoned; dip the pieces in the batter separately, and fry them in hot
lard; when brown on both sides, take them up on a dish, and make a
gravy as for fried
chickens.
Lard fries much nicer than butter, which is apt to burn.
Make a
crust as for pies, and roll it out in cakes, large enough to cover a
chicken. The
chickens should be very nicely picked and washed, and the inside wiped dry; put in each a small lump of
butter, a little
salt, pepper, and
parsley; have the pot boiling, close the
chickens in the dough, pin them up in separate cloths, and boil them three-quarters of an hour; dish them, and pour
drawn butter over.
Pigeons
can be cooked in the same manner.
Cut up the
chickens, and put them in a pot with just
water enough to cover them; let it boil half an hour; have ready some thickening made of
milk, flour, and
butter, seasoned with
parsley, thyme, pepper, and
salt; let it boil a few minutes longer, and when it is dished, grate a little
nutmeg over, if you like it. This is one of the easiest, cheapest and best ways of cooking
chickens.
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Cut up the
chickens, and if they are old, boil them fifteen minutes in a little
water, which save to put in the pie; make a
paste like common pie crust, and put it round your pan, or dish; lay in the
chicken, dust
flour over, and put in
butter, pepper, and
salt; cover them with
water, roll out the top crust quite thick, and close the pie round the edge; make an opening in the middle with a knife; let it bake rather more than an hour. If you warm a pie over for the next day, pour off the gravy and warm it separately, and add it to the pie.
Cut up two large
chickens; grease your pot, or dutch-oven, with
lard; roll out
crust enough in two parts, to go round it, but not to cover the bottom, or it will burn before the pie is done. As you put in the pieces of
chicken, strew in
flour, salt, and
pepper, some pieces of the crust rolled thin, and a few
potatoes; cover this with
water, and put on a covering of
paste, with a slit cut in the middle; let it cook slowly for about two hours; have
hot water in a tea kettle, and if it should dry up too much, pour some in; just before you dish it, add a little
parsley and
thyme.
Veal, lamb and pork pies,
may be made in the same way. If you like more top crust, cook it in a dutch-oven; and when the first crust is done, take it off in a pan and set it near the fire, and cover the pie again with dough.
If you can get
livers and
gizzards from market, you can have a very nice pie made, the same as chicken pie,
or soup with dumplings made of
milk, egg and
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flour, beaten together, and dropped in when the soup is nearly done, and season it with
parsley, pepper, and
salt.
Chicken Stewed with New Corn. |
Cut up the
chickens as for pies; season them well; have
green corn cut off the cob; put a layer of
chicken in the bottom of a stew pan, and a layer of
corn, and so till you fill all in; sprinkle in
salt, pepper and
parsley, and put a piece of
butter in; cover it with
water, and put on a
crust, with slits cut in it; let it boil an hour; when done, lay the
crust in a deep dish; dip out the
chicken and
corn, and put it on the crust; stir in the
gravy a thickening of
milk and
flour; when this boils up, pour it in with the
corn and
chicken.
Chicken and
corn boiled together in a pot, make very nice
soup,
with
dumplings.
Split the
chickens down the back; season them, and put them on the gridiron over clear coals; cover them over with a plate, (which will make them cook faster;) baste with melted
butter: be careful not to let them burn. Make gravy of the
giblets, boiled in
water and chopped fine; put in
butter, thicken and season it; pour this in a dish, and put the
chickens on the top.
Make a batter of six
eggs, milk, flour and a little
salt; par-boil the
chickens; have each joint cut, grease a pan with
lard, and lay the pieces in; put in some lumps of
butter, and season it well with
pepper and
salt; then pour the batter over, and bake it an hour, in a stove or dutch-oven.
Veal or beef makes a very nice pudding,
done in the same way; but the batter
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need not be as rich as for chicken, and it requires no butter.
Or it makes a good dish, if you cut slices of
ham, after it will not do to appear on the table; make a
batter, as for other pudding; put in a little
butter and
pepper, and bake it in a pan.
Cold Chicken with Vinegar. |
Cut up the
chicken in small pieces, and crack the
bones; season it with
salt and
pepper, and put it in a deep baking plate, with a lump of
butter and a tablespoonful of
vinegar; cover it with
hot water, put a plate over, and let it stew on a stove or hot embers.
Cut up the
white parts of a cold chicken, season it with
oil, or
drawn butter, mustard, pepper, salt, and
celery, chopped very fine, and a little
vinegar.
Turkey salad
is made in the same manner as above.
Stewed Chickens with Rice. |
The
rice must first be soaked in
water, and very nicely washed, or it will not be white; two tea-cupsful of
rice are sufficient to serve with one
chicken, and must be boiled in a quart of
water, which should be boiling when you put the
rice in; add a dessert-spoonful of
salt; generally half an hour is long enough to boil
rice, and it must not be too long in the
water after it is done, or it is less wholesome. Drain the
water off, if the
rice has not absorbed it, and place it in the bottom of the dish; the
chicken must be in preparation at the same time with the
rice, and should be cut up at the joints, as for fried or fricasseed
chicken, and salted and seasoned; boil it in a little more
water than sufficient to cover it; and when it is
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done, take it out, and lay it over the
rice on the dish; then rub a small piece of
butter with sufficient
flour to thicken it, and stir both together in the liquor, which must remain over the fire for about two minutes; and just before it is taken up, add the
yelk of an egg well beaten, and some chopped
parsley; it must then be immediately poured over the
chicken. In preparing this dish, take care that it does not get smoked.
>
SOUPS.
IN making soup, allow yourself plenty of time. Dumplings should be put in about half an hour before the soup is done, and herbs a quarter of an hour:--vegetables, about an hour,--rice, twenty minutes. If herbs are put in too soon, the flavor will fly off and be lost.
Cut up the
chicken; cut each joint, and let it boil an hour; make dumplings of a pint of
milk, an
egg, a little
salt and
flour, stirred in till quite stiff; drop this in, a spoonful at a time, while it is boiling; stir in a little
thickening, with enough
pepper, salt and
parsley, to season the whole; let it boil a few minutes longer, and take it up in a tureen. Chopped
celery is a great improvement to chicken soup; and new
corn, cut off the cob, and put in when it is half done, gives it a very nice flavor.
Scald and clean the
head, and put it to boil with two gallons of
water, a
shank of veal, three
onions,
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two
carrots, a little
bacon, and a bunch of
sweet herbs. When they have boiled half an hour, take out the
head and shank of veal, and cut all the meat off the bones into pieces of two inches square; let the soup boil half an hour longer, when strain it, and put in the meat; season it with
salt, cayenne and black pepper, and
cloves, if you like; thicken it with
butter and
browned flour, and let it boil nearly an hour; put some fried
force meat balls in the tureen; and just before you pour out the soup, stir into it a table-spoonful of
sugar, browned in a frying-pan, and half a pint of
wine. This resembles turtle soup.
Beef Shin Soup, Mutton Soup, &c. |
Crack the
shin in several pieces, and wash it through three waters; put it in a pot of
water four hours before dinner; when it begins to boil, take off the scum as it rises, and keep it covered; an hour before it is done, skim off all the fat, and put in
potatoes, onions, turnips, carrots, and cut
cabbage, if you like it; either beat up dumplings with
eggs and
milk, or roll them out of
dough made as pie crust; a few minutes before it is done, stir in
thickening with
parsley, thyme, pepper and
salt, and
tomatoes, if they are in season; then dish it for dinner.
A shin
will make a good dinner for a large family, and will do to warm up, if any is left. To eat pickles with it, or pour a little vinegar in your plate, is an improvement.
Soup made of mutton, veal and lamb,
does not require many vegetables; carrots and potatoes are the most suitable. A shank of veal or mutton will make a small pot of very good soup. Celery, cut fine, is very nice seasoning.
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Take two pounds fresh
beef; put this in a dinner-pot, with two gallons of
water; after boiling two hours, throw in a quarter of a peck of
ocra, cut into small slices, and about a quart of ripe
tomatoes, peeled and cut up; slice four or five large
onions; fry them brown, and dust in while they are frying from your dredge-box, several spoonsful of
flour; add these, with
pepper, salt and
parsley, or other herbs, to your taste, about an hour before the soup is finished; it will require six hours moderate boiling.
ANOTHER WAY.
Cut up a large fat chicken; boil it in two gallons of water, adding at the time you put in the chicken the same quantity of ocra, two large onions cut fine; season with pepper, salt, thyme and parsley; and when nearly done, drop in dumplings made of one egg, half a pint of rich milk, and flour sufficient to make them so that they will drop from a spoon. This soup requires from four to five hours moderate boiling. Just before serving, take up the chicken, and after taking out all the bones, return the chicken into the soup, and dish it up.
Leave a pint of
peas in the pot, with the
water they were boiled in; make a thickening of
flour, milk and
butter, seasoned with
salt, pepper, parsley and
thyme; toast two or three slices of
bread; cut it up in the tureen; and when the soup has boiled about ten minutes, pour it over.
Children are mostly fond of pea soup, and it seldom disagrees with them.
A few slices of fat ham will supply the place of butter.
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Soup of Dried White Beans, &c. |
Dried beans or peas should be soaked before boiling; they make very good soup with a small piece of
bacon or
salt pork boiled with them; put them to boil in plenty of
water, and after they have boiled an hour, pour it off, and put in
cold water--and the
meat or
bones, and let them boil an hour longer; stir in a little thickening, with
pepper, salt, parsley and
thyme; mix up some dumplings, and drop in half an hour before the soup is done. Where you have a large family, you should always be provided with dried beans for winter use.
Take an
onion, a
turnip, two pared
potatoes, a
carrot, a head of
celery; boil them in three pints of
water till the vegetables are cooked; add a little
salt; have a slice of
bread toasted and buttered, put it into a bowl, and pour the soup over it.
Tomatoes when in season form an agreeable addition.
>
FISH, OYSTERS, &C.
RUB the
fish with
salt, black pepper, and a dust of
cayenne, inside and out; prepare a stuffing of
bread and
butter, seasoned with
pepper, salt, parsley and
thyme; mix an
egg in it, fill the
fish with this, and sew it up or tie a string round it; put it in a deep pan, or oval oven and bake it as you would a fowl. To a large
fish add half a pint of
water; you can add more for the gravy if necessary; dust
flour over and baste
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it with
butter. Any other fresh
fish can be baked in the same way. A large one will bake slowly in an hour and a half, small ones in half an hour.
Rub the
fish with
salt and
pepper, and a little
cayenne on the inside; put it in an oval stew-pan. To a
fish that weighs six pounds, put a pint of
water; when it is about half done, season it well with
salt and
pepper, and a little
mace or
cloves; rub a quarter of a pound of
butter in a half a tea-cup of
flour, with a little
parsley and
thyme; stir this in with a pint of
oysters. Serve it with the gravy in the dish. A large
fish should be allowed an hour, small ones half an hour.
Soak a
salt shad a day or night previous to cooking; it is best to drain an hour before you put it to the fire; if it hangs long exposed to the air, it loses its flavor: grease the gridiron to keep it from sticking; have good coals, and put the inside down first. Fresh
shad is better to be sprinkled with
salt, an hour before it is put to broil; put a plate over the top to keep the heat in. In broiling
shad or other fresh fish you should dust them with
corn meal before you put them down.
Make a stuffing of
bread, butter, salt, pepper and
parsley; fill a large
shad with this, and bake it in a stove or oven.
Have the
fish well scalded, washed and drained; cut slits in the sides of each; season them with
salt and
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pepper, and roll them in
corn flour; have in your frying-pan hot
lard or
bacon drippings; if the
fish have been kept several days, dip them in
egg before rolling them in
corn flour, to keep them from breaking; fry them light brown on both sides.