The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary Part 39

PICKLED HERRING. Procure them as fresh as possible, split them open, take off the heads, and trim off all the thin parts. Put them into salt and water for one hour, drain and wipe the fish, and put them into jars, with the following preparation, which is enough for six dozen herrings.

Take salt and bay salt one pound each, saltpetre and lump sugar two ounces each, and powder and mix the whole together. Put a layer of the mixture at the bottom of the jar, then a layer of fish with the skin side downwards; so continue alternately till the jar is full. Press it down, and cover it close: in two or three months they will be fit for use.

PICKLED LEMONS. They should be small, and with thick rinds. Rub them with a piece of flannel, and slit them half down in four quarters, but not through to the pulp. Fill the openings with salt hard pressed in, set them upright in a pan for four or five days, until the salt melts, and turn them thrice a day in their own liquor till quite tender. Make enough pickle to cover them, of rape vinegar, the brine of the lemons, peppercorns, and ginger. Boil and skim it; when cold put it to the lemons, with two ounces of mustard seed, and two cloves of garlic to six lemons. When the lemons are to be used, the pickle will be useful in fish or other sauces.

PICKLED MACKAREL. Clean and divide the fish, and cut each side into three; or leave them undivided, and cut each side into five or six pieces. To six large mackarel, take nearly an ounce of pepper, two nutmegs, a little mace, four cloves, and a handful of salt, all finely powdered. Mix them together, make holes in each bit of fish, put the seasoning into them, and rub some of it over each piece. Fry them brown in oil, and when cold put them into a stone jar, and cover them with vinegar. Thus prepared, they will keep for months; and if to be kept longer, pour oil on the top. Mackarel preserved this way are called Caveach. A more common way is to boil the mackarel after they are cleaned, and then to boil up some of the liquor with a few peppercorns, bay leaves, and a little vinegar; and when the fish is cold, the liquor is poured over them. Collared mackarel are prepared the same way as collared eel.

PICKLED MELONS. Take six melons, cut a slice out of them, and sc.r.a.pe out the seeds and pulp quite clean. Put them into a tin stewpan with as much water as will cover them; add a small handful of salt, and boil them over a quick fire. When they boil take them off the fire, put them into an earthen pan with the water, and let them stand till the next day. The melons must then be taken out and wiped dry, both within and without.

Put two small cloves of garlic into each, a little bit of ginger, and bruised mustard seed, enough to fill them. Replace the slice that was cut out, and tie it on with a thread. Boil some cloves, mace, ginger, pepper, and mustard seed, all bruised, and some garlic, in as much vinegar as will cover them. After a little boiling, pour the whole, boiling-hot, upon the melons. They must be quite covered with the pickle, and tied down close, when cold, with a bladder and leather. They will not be fit for use in less than three or four months, and will keep two or three years.

PICKLED MUSHROOMS. Rub the b.u.t.tons with a piece of flannel, and salt.

Take out the red inside of the larger ones, and when old and black they will do for pickling. Throw some salt over, and put them into a stewpan with mace and pepper. As the liquor comes out, shake them well, and keep them over a gentle fire till all of it be dried into them again. Then put as much vinegar into the pan as will cover them, give it one warm, and turn all into a gla.s.s or stone jar. Mushrooms pickled in this way will preserve their flavour, and keep for two years.

PICKLED NASTURTIUM. Take the buds fresh off the plants when they are pretty large, but before they grow hard, and put them into some of the best white wine vinegar, boiled up with such spices as are most agreeable. Keep them in a bottle closely stopped, and they will be fit for use in a week or ten days.

PICKLED ONIONS. In the month of September, choose the small white round onions, take off the brown skin, have ready a very nice tin stewpan of boiling water, and throw in as many onions as will cover the top. As soon as they look clear on the outside, take them up with a slice as quick as possible, and lay them on a clean cloth. Cover them close with another cloth, and scald some more, and so on. Let them lie to be cold, then put them in a jar or wide-mouthed gla.s.s bottles, and pour over them the best white-wine vinegar, just hot, but not boiling, and cover them when cold. They must look quite clear; and if the outer skin be shriveled, peel it off.

PICKLED OYSTERS. Open four dozen large oysters, wash them in their own liquor, wipe them dry, and strain off the liquor. Add a dessert-spoonful of pepper, two blades of mace, a table-spoonful of salt, if the liquor require it; then add three spoonfuls of white wine, and four of vinegar.

Simmer the oysters a few minutes in the liquor, then put them into small jars, boil up the pickle, and skim it. When cold, pour the liquor over the oysters, and cover them close.--Another way. Open the oysters, put them into a saucepan with their own liquor for ten minutes, and simmer them very gently. Put them into a jar one by one, that none of the grit may stick to them; and when cold, cover them with the pickle thus made. Boil the liquor with a bit of mace, lemon peel, and black peppers; and to every hundred of these corns, put two spoonfuls of the best undistilled vinegar. The pickle should be kept in small jars, and tied close with bladder, for the air will spoil them.

PICKLED PIGEONS. Bone them, turn the inside out, and lard it. Season with a little salt and allspice in fine powder; then turn them again, and tie the neck and rump with thread. Put them into boiling water; when they have boiled a minute or two to make them plump, take them out and dry them well. Then put them boiling hot into the pickle, which must be made of equal quant.i.ties of white wine and white-wine vinegar, with white pepper and allspice, sliced ginger and nutmeg, and two or three bay leaves. When it boils up, put in the pigeons. If they are small, a quarter of an hour will do them; if large, twenty minutes. Then take them out, wipe them, and let them cool. When the pickle is cold, take the fat from it, and put them in again. Keep them in a stone jar, tied down with a bladder to keep out the air. Instead of larding, put into some a stuffing made of yolks of eggs boiled hard, and marrow in equal quant.i.ties, with sweet herbs, pepper, salt, and mace.

PICKLED PORK. The hams and shoulders being cut off, take for pickling the quant.i.ties proportioned to the middlings of a pretty large hog. Mix and pound fine, four ounces of salt petre, a pound of coa.r.s.e sugar, an ounce of salprunel, and a little common salt. Sprinkle the pork with salt, drain it twenty four hours, and then rub it with the above mixture. Pack the pieces tight in a small deep tub, filling up the s.p.a.ces with common salt. Place large pebbles on the pork, to prevent it from swimming in the pickle which the salt will produce. If kept from the air it will continue very fine for two years.

PICKLED ROSES. Take two pecks of damask rose buds, pick off the green part, and strew in the bottom of a jar a handful of large bay salt. Put in half the roses, and strew a little more bay salt upon them. Strip from the stalk a handful of knotted marjoram, a handful of lemon thyme, and as much common thyme. Take six pennyworth of benjamin, as much of storax, six orris roots, and a little suet; beat and bruise them all together, and mix them with the stripped herbs. Add twenty cloves, a grated nutmeg, the peel of two Seville oranges pared thin, and of one lemon shred fine. Mix them with the herbs and spices, strew all on the roses, and stir them once in two days till the jar is full. More sweets need not be added, but only roses, orange flowers, or single pinks.

PICKLED SALMON. After scaling and cleaning, split the salmon, and divide it into convenient pieces. Lay it in the kettle to fill the bottom, and as much water as will cover it. To three quarts add a pint of vinegar, a handful of salt, twelve bay-leaves, six blades of mace, and a quarter of an ounce of black pepper. When the salmon is boiled enough, drain and lay it on a clean cloth; then put more salmon into the kettle, and pour the liquor upon it, and so on till all is done. After this, if the pickle be not smartly flavoured with the vinegar and salt, add more, and boil it quick three quarters of an hour. When all is cold, pack the dish in a deep pot, well covered with the pickle, and kept from the air.

The liquor must be drained from the fish, and occasionally boiled and skimmed.

PICKLED SAMPHIRE. Clear the branches of the samphire from the dead leaves, and lay them into a large jar, or small cask. Make a strong brine of white or bay salt, skim it clean while it is boiling, and when done let it cool. Take the samphire out of the water, and put it into a bottle with a broad mouth. Add some strong white-wine vinegar, and keep it well covered down.

PICKLED STURGEON. The following is an excellent imitation of pickled sturgeon. Take a fine large turkey, but not old; pick it very nicely, singe, and make it extremely clean. Bone and wash it, and tie it across and across with a piece of mat string washed clean. Put into a very nice tin saucepan a quart of water, a quart of vinegar, a quart of white wine, not sweet, and a large handful of salt. Boil and skim it well, and then boil the turkey. When done enough, tighten the strings, and lay upon it a dish with a weight of two pounds over it. Boil the liquor half an hour; and when both are cold, put the turkey into it. This will keep some months, and eats more delicately than sturgeon. Vinegar, oil, and sugar, are usually eaten with it. If more vinegar or salt should be wanted, add them when cold. Garnish with fennel.

PICKLED TONGUES. To prepare neats' tongues for boiling, cut off the roots, but leave a little of the kernel and fat. Sprinkle some salt, and let it drain from the slime till next day. Then for each tongue mix a large spoonful of common salt, the same of coa.r.s.e sugar and about half as much of salt petre; rub it in well, and do so every day. In a week add another spoonful of salt. If rubbed every day, a tongue will be ready in a fortnight; but if only turned in the pickle daily, it will keep four or five weeks without being too salt. When tongues are to be dried, write the date on a parchment, and tie it on. Tongues may either be smoked, or dried plain. When a tongue is to be dressed, boil it five hours till it is quite tender. If done sooner, it is easily kept hot for the table. The longer it is kept after drying, the higher it will be; and if hard, it may require soaking three or four hours.--Another way.

Clean and prepare as above; and for two tongues allow an ounce of salt petre, and an ounce of salprunella, and rub them in well. In two days after well rubbing, cover them with common salt, turn them every day for three weeks, then dry them, rub bran over, and smoke them. Keep them in a cool dry place, and in ten days they will be fit to eat.

PICKLED WALNUTS. When they will bear a pin to go into them, boil a brine of salt and water, strong enough to swim an egg, and skim it well. When the brine is quite cold, pour it on the walnuts, and let them soak for six days. Change the brine, and let them stand six more; then drain and put them into a jar, pouring over them a sufficient quant.i.ty of the best vinegar. Add plenty of black pepper, pimento, ginger, mace, cloves, mustard seed, and horseradish, all boiled together, but put on cold. To every hundred of walnuts put six spoonfuls of mustard seed, and two or three heads of garlic or shalot, but the latter is the mildest. The walnuts will be fit for use in about six months; but if closely covered, they will be good for several years: the air will soften them. The pickle will be equal to ketchup, when the walnuts are used.--Another way. Put the walnuts into a jar, cover them with the best vinegar cold, and let them stand four months. Then, pour off the pickle, and boil as much fresh vinegar as will cover the walnuts, adding to every three quarts of vinegar a quarter of a pound of the best mustard, a stick of horseradish sliced, half an ounce of black pepper, half an ounce of allspice, and a good handful of salt. Pour the whole boiling hot upon the walnuts, and cover them close: they will be fit for use in three or four months. Two ounces of garlic or shalot may be added, but must not be boiled in the vinegar. The pickle in which the walnuts stood the first four months, may be used as ketchup.

PICTURES. The following simple method of preventing flies from sitting on pictures, or any other furniture, is well experienced, and if generally adopted, would prevent much trouble and damage. Soak a large bunch of leeks five or six days in a pail of water, and wash the pictures with it, or any other piece of furniture. The flies will never come near any thing that is so washed.

PIE SAUCE. Mix some gravy with an anchovy, a sprig of sweet herbs, an onion, and a little mushroom liquor. Boil and thicken it with b.u.t.ter rolled in flour, add a little red wine, and pour the sauce into the pie.

This serves for mutton, lamb, veal, or beef pies, when such an addition is required.

PIES AND TARTS. Attention should be paid to the heat of the oven for all kinds of pies and tarts. Light paste should be put into a moderate oven: if too hot the crust will not rise, but burn: if too slack, the paste will be heavy, and not of a good colour. Raised paste should have a quick oven, and well closed. Iced tarts should be done in a slack oven, or the iceing will become brown before the tarts are baked.

PIGEONS. In order to breed pigeons, it is best to take two young ones at a time; and if well looked after, and plentifully fed, they will breed every month. They should be kept very clean, and the bottom of the dove-cote be strewed with sand once a month or oftener. Tares and white peas are their proper food, and they should be provided with plenty of fresh water. Starlings and other birds are apt to come among them, and suck the eggs. Vermin likewise are their enemies, and frequently destroy them. If the brood should be too small, put among them a few tame pigeons of their own colour. Observe not to have too large a proportion of c.o.c.k birds, for they are quarrelsome, and will soon thin the dove-cote. Pigeons are fond of salt, and it keeps them in health. Lay a large piece of clay near their dwelling, and pour upon it any of the salt brine that may be useless in the family. Bay salt and c.u.mmin seeds mixed together, is a universal remedy for the diseases of pigeons. The backs and b.r.e.a.s.t.s are sometimes scabby, but may be cured in the following manner. Take a quarter of a pound of bay salt, and as much common salt; a pound of fennel seed, a pound of dill seed, as much c.u.mmin seed, and an ounce of a.s.safoetida; mix all with a little wheat flour, and some fine wrought clay. When all are well beaten together, put it into two earthen pots, and bake them in the oven. When the pots are cold, put them on the table in the dove-cote; the pigeons will eat the mixture and get well.

PIGEONS DRESSED. These birds are particularly useful, as they may be dressed in so many ways. The good flavour of them depends very much on their being cropped and drawn as soon as killed. No other bird requires so much was.h.i.+ng. Pigeons left from dinner the day before may be stewed, or made into a pie. In either case, care must be taken not to overdo them, which will make them stringy. They need only be heated up in gravy ready prepared; and forcemeat b.a.l.l.s may be fried and added, instead of putting a stuffing into them. If for a pie, let beef steaks be stewed in a little water, and put cold under them. Cover each pigeon with a piece of fat bacon to keep them moist, season as usual, and put in some eggs.--In purchasing pigeons, be careful to see that they are quite fresh: if they look flabby about the vent, and that part is discoloured, they are stale. The feet should be supple: if old the feet are harsh.

The tame ones are larger than the wild, and by some they are thought to be the best. They should be fat and tender; but many are deceived in their size, because a full crop is as large as the whole body of a small pigeon. The wood-pigeon is large, and the flesh dark coloured: if properly kept, and not over roasted, the flavour is equal to teal.

PIGEONS IN DISGUISE. Draw the pigeons, take out the craw very carefully, wash them clean, cut off the pinions, and turn their legs under their wings. Season them with pepper and salt, roll each pigeon in a puff paste, close them well, tie them in separate cloths, and boil them an hour and a half. When they are untied be careful they do not break; put them in a dish, and pour a little good gravy over them.

PIGEONS IN A HOLE. Truss four young pigeons, as for boiling, and season them with pepper, salt, and mace. Put into the belly of each a small piece of b.u.t.ter, lay them in a pie dish, and pour batter over them, made of three eggs, two spoonfuls of flour, and half a pint of milk. Bake them in a moderate oven, and send them to table in the same dish.

PIGEONS IN JELLY. Save some of the liquor in which a knuckle of veal has been boiled, or boil a calf's or a neat's foot; put the broth into a pan with a blade of mace, a bunch of sweet herbs, some white pepper, lemon peel, a slice of lean bacon, and the pigeons. Bake them, and let them stand to be cold; but season them before baking. When done, take them out of the liquor, cover them close to preserve the colour, and clear the jelly by boiling it with the whites of two eggs. Strain it through a thick cloth dipped in boiling water, and put into a sieve. The fat must be all removed, before it be cleared. Put the jelly roughly over and round the pigeons.--A beautiful dish may be made in the following manner. Pick two very nice pigeons, and make them look as well as possible by singeing, was.h.i.+ng, and cleaning the heads well. Leave the heads and the feet on, but the nails must be clipped close to the claws.

Roast them of a very nice brown; and when done, put a small sprig of myrtle into the bill of each. Prepare a savoury jelly, and with it half fill a bowl of such a size as shall be proper to turn down on the dish intended for serving in. When the jelly and the birds are cold, see that no gravy hangs to the birds, and then lay them upside down in the jelly.

Before the rest of it begins to set, pour it over the birds, so as to be three inches above the feet. This should be done full twenty four hours before serving. The dish thus prepared will have a very handsome appearance in the mid range of a second coa.r.s.e; or when served with the jelly roughed large, it makes a side or corner dish, being then of a smaller size. The head of the pigeons should be kept up, as if alive, by tying the neck with some thread, and the legs bent as if the birds sat upon them.

PIGEON PIE. Rub the pigeons with pepper and salt, inside and out. Put in a bit of b.u.t.ter, and if approved, some parsley chopped with the livers, and a little of the same seasoning. Lay a beef steak at the bottom of the dish, and the birds on it; between every two, a hard egg. Put a cup of water in the dish; and if a thin slice or two of ham be added, it will greatly improve the flavour. When ham is cut for gravy or pies, the under part should be taken, rather than the prime. Season the gizzards, and two joints of the wings, and place them in the centre of the pie.

Over them, in a hole made in the crust, put three of the feet nicely cleaned, to show what pie it is.

PIG'S CHEEK. To prepare a pig's cheek for boiling, cut off the snout, and clean the head. Divide it, take out the eyes and the brains, sprinkle the head with salt, and let it drain twenty-four hours. Salt it with common salt and saltpetre; and if to be dressed without being stewed with peas, let it lie eight or ten days, but less if to be dressed with peas. It must first be washed, and then simmered till all is tender.

PIG'S FEET AND EARS. Clean them carefully, soak them some hours, and boil them quite tender. Then take them out, and boil a little salt and vinegar with some of the liquor, and pour it over them when cold. When to be dressed, dry them, cut the feet in two, and slice the ears. Fry them, and serve with b.u.t.ter, mustard, and vinegar. They may be either done in batter, or only floured.

PIG'S FEET AND EARS FRICa.s.sEED. If to be dressed with cream, put no vinegar into the pickle. Cut the feet and ears into neat bits, and boil them in a little milk. Pour the liquor from them, and simmer in a little veal broth, with a bit of onion, mace, and lemon peel. Before the dish is served up, add a little cream, flour, b.u.t.ter, and salt.

PIG'S FEET JELLY. Clean the feet and ears very carefully, and soak them some hours. Then boil them in a very small quant.i.ty of water, till every bone can be taken out. Throw in half a handful of chopped sage, the same of parsley, and a seasoning of pepper, salt, and mace in fine powder.

Simmer till the herbs are scalded, and then pour the whole into a melon form.