Warne's model cookery and housekeeping book : containing complete instructions in household management / compiled and edited by Mary Jewry.
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viouily dipped in cold water. It must be left till the ne.\t day, when beneath the fat at the top will be found a fine meat jelly fit for j^ravies, &c. The cake of dripping should be melted and strained into cold water, from which it can be removed in cakes for future use. Veal, pork, and lambshouldbe/Zior-wf/t/v done, not retaining any red gravy ; at the same time, care should be taken not to drv Miem up, or roast them till the flesh part's Irom the bones. Mutton does not take quite the length of time to roast that beef does. A very economical way of making gravy is to skim the fat from the dripping in the pan und r the meat, and pour two or three spoonfuls of hot water into it ; stir it, and pour it over the meat through a sieve. How to Boil. Joints to be boiled should be washed ex- tremely clean and skewered into good shape ; then they should be put in the saucepan and covered well with cold water. They must be set over a moderate Are and let boil slowly. Just before the water reaches boiling-point the scum will rise to the top, and must be carefully skimmed off; if not done at the moment of ebullition it will fall back on the joint boiling and disfigure it. Tlie pot will require skimming every rime the scum rises ; the saucepan must be kept covered all the time, however, the lid being only removed for the cook to skim the pot. Gentle simmering, not fast boiling, is most desirable for meat, as by quick boil- ing the outside is hardened before the joint is done, and the meat becomes hard and lough. Salted meat requires longer boiling than fresh meat; when smoked and dried, it takes longer still. Pickled or salted meat should be soaked before boiling in cold water, for a longer or shorter time as its saltness and size may require. Take care that the joint, if large, does not adhere to the bottom of the pot ; to prevent this pos- sibility cooks semetimes put a few wooden skewers at the bottom under it. The time allowed for boiling is from a quarter of an hour to twenty minutes for each pound, supposing of course that the fire is kept up to an equal temperature all the time. Quick boiling is very much to be avoided; but the pot should never be al- lowed to stop simmering. First-rate cooks preserve the whiteness of their boiled meats, and save them from in- sipidity, by not boiling them in water, but using instead a sort of broth called poele, or another called btinc. But these prepara- tions are very expensive, and are not required for ordinary use. For people who cannot af- ford expensive cooking, a well-floured cloth wrapped round the meat to be boiled will make it white; but the cloth must be kept very clean, and should be boiled in pure water after e.ach time it is used ; moreover, it must not be suffered to get damp, or it will give a musty flavour to the meat. How to Broil. Many kinds of fish, steaks, chops, and cutlets are far better broiled than fried ; but much care, niceness, and skill are required to broil properly. First, the fire should be perfectly free from smoke, though brisk, and giving out a good heat; secondly, the gridiron should be scrupulously clean, well heated, and rubbed over with mutton suet before the meat is put on it. If the fire be too fierce, the meat will be hardened and scorched ; if it be too dead, the gravy will escape and the meat will be flabby. The gridiron sliould be held slopingly over the fire in order that the fat may run off to the back of the grate, for if it dropped on the coals it would create a blaze, and blacken and smoke the meat. If by chance a blaze should spring up during the time the steak, &c., is broiling, the gridiron must be caught off the fire and held on one side till the blaze is gone ; a little salt thrown on the fire will make it clear again. Fish should be wrapped in a piece of well-buttered letter- paper before they are placed on the grid- iron, to preserve them from smoke, and prevent their becoming too dry ; the gridiron may be rubbed with a little chalk first. Cutlets which are covered with egg and bread crumbs, must be dipped in a little clarified butter before they are put on the gridiron. The best way, however, is to season the cutlet with pepper, and brush it over with a little butter before it is broiled. Steaks and chops should be turned often in order that they may be done in every part, but the fork used for this purpose should never be stuck into the lean of the steak, as it would let the gravy escape; it must be put into the outer skin or fat. All kitchens ought to be provided with steak-tongs for this purpose. Birds when cut asunder and broiled, must be laid with the Inside first to the fire. Most people prefer broiled mutton chops or beefsteaks rather lightly dressed, but lamb and pork chops should be thoroughly cooked. Everything broiled should be served the moment it is done, very hot. The dish should be kept rsady to receive it in front of the fire.