The Book of Household Management Part 75

BEEF OLIVES.

I.

650. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of rump-steak, 1 egg, 1 tablespoonful of minced savoury herbs, pepper and salt to taste, 1 pint of stock, No.

105, 2 or 3 slices of bacon, 2 tablespoonfuls of any store sauce, a slight thickening of b.u.t.ter and flour.

_Mode_.--Have the steaks cut rather thin, slightly beat them to make them level, cut them into 6 or 7 pieces, brush over with egg, and sprinkle with herbs, which should be very finely minced; season with pepper and salt, and roll up the pieces tightly, and fasten with a small skewer. Put the stock in a stewpan that will exactly hold them, for by being pressed together, they will keep their shape better; lay in the rolls of meat, cover them with the bacon, cut in thin slices, and over that put a piece of paper. Stew them very _gently_ for full 2 hours; for the slower they are done the better. Take them out, remove the skewers, thicken the gravy with b.u.t.ter and flour, and flavour with any store sauce that may be preferred. Give one boil, pour over the meat, and serve.

_Time_.--2 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. per pound.

_Sufficient_ for 4 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

II.

(_Economical_.)

651. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of underdone cold roast beef, bread crumbs, 1 shalot finely minced, pepper and salt to taste, gravy made from the beef bones, thickening of b.u.t.ter and flour, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup.

_Mode_.--Cut some slices of underdone roast beef about half an inch thick; sprinkle over them some bread crumbs, minced shalot, and a little of the fat and seasoning; roll them, and fasten with a small skewer.

Have ready some gravy made from the beef bones; put in the pieces of meat, and stew them till tender, which will be in about 1-1/4 hour, or rather longer. Arrange the meat in a dish, thicken and flavour the gravy, and pour it over the meat, when it is ready to serve.

_Time_.--1-1/2 hour. _Average cost_, exclusive of the beef, 2d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

BROILED OX-TAIL (an Entree).

652. INGREDIENTS.--2 tails, 1-1/2 pint of stock, No. 105, salt and cayenne to taste, bread crumbs, 1 egg.

_Mode_.--Joint and cut up the tails into convenient-sized pieces, and put them into a stewpan, with the stock, cayenne, and salt, and, if liked very savoury, a bunch of sweet herbs. Let them simmer gently for about 2-1/2 hours; then take them out, drain them, and let them cool.

Beat an egg upon a plate; dip in each piece of tail, and, afterwards, throw them into a dish of bread crumbs; broil them over a clear fire, until of a brownish colour on both sides, and serve with a good gravy, or any sauce that may be preferred.

_Time_.--About 2-1/2 hours. _Average cost_, from 9d. to 1s. 6d., according to the season.

_Sufficient_ for 6 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note_.--These may be more easily prepared by putting the tails in a brisk oven, after they have been dipped in egg and bread-crumb; and, when brown, they are done. They must be boiled the same time as for broiling.

STRANGE TAILS.--Naturalists cannot explain the uses of some of the strange tails borne by animals. In the Egyptian and Syrian sheep, for instance, the tail grows so large, that it is not infrequently supported upon a sort of little cart, in order to prevent inconvenience to the animal. Thin monstrous appendage sometimes attains a weight of seventy, eighty, or even a hundred pounds.

TO DRESS BEEF PALATES (an Entree).

653. INGREDIENTS.--4 palates, sufficient gravy to cover them (No. 438), cayenne to taste, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, 1 tablespoonful of pickled-onion liquor, thickening of b.u.t.ter and flour.

_Mode_.--Wash the palates, and put them into a stewpan, with sufficient water to cover them, and let them boil until perfectly tender, or until the upper skin may be easily peeled off. Have ready sufficient gravy (No. 438) to cover them; add a good seasoning of cayenne, and thicken with roux, No. 625, or a little b.u.t.ter kneaded with flour; let it boil up, and skim. Cut the palates into square pieces, put them in the gravy, and let them simmer gently for 1/2 hour; add ketchup and onion-liquor, give one boil, and serve.

_Time_.--From 3 to 5 hours to boil the palates.

_Sufficient_ for 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note_.--Palates may be dressed in various ways with sauce tournee, good onion sauce, tomato sauce, and also served in a vol-au-vent; but the above will be found a more simple method of dressing them.

BEEF PICKLE, which may also be used for any kind of Meat, Tongues, or Hams.

654. INGREDIENTS.--6 lbs. of salt, 2 lbs. of fine sugar, 3 oz. of powdered saltpetre, 3 gallons of spring water.

_Mode_.--Boil all the ingredients gently together, so long as any sc.u.m or impurity arises, which carefully remove; when quite cold, pour it over the meat, every part of which must be covered with the brine. This may be used for pickling any kind of meat, and may be kept for some time, if boiled up occasionally with an addition of the ingredients.

_Time_.--A ham should be kept in the pickle for a fortnight; a piece of beef weighing 14 lbs., 12 or 15 days; a tongue, 10 days or a fortnight.

_Note_.--For salting and pickling meat, it is a good plan to rub in only half the quant.i.ty of salt directed, and to let it remain for a day or two to disgorge and effectually to get rid of the blood and slime; then rub in the remainder of the salt and other ingredients, and proceed as above. This rule may be applied to all the recipes we have given for salting and pickling meat.

TO PICKLE PART OF A ROUND OF BEEF FOR HANGING.

655. INGREDIENTS.--For 14 lbs. of a round of beef allow 1-1/2 lb. of salt, 1/2 oz. of powdered saltpetre; or, 1 lb. of salt, 1/2 lb. of sugar, 4 oz. of powdered saltpetre.

_Mode_.--Rub in, and sprinkle either of the above mixtures on 14 lbs. of meat. Keep it in an earthenware pan, or a deep wooden tray, and turn twice a week during 3 weeks; then bind up the beef tightly with coa.r.s.e linen tape, and hang it in a kitchen in which a fire is constantly kept, for 3 weeks. Pork, hams, and bacon may be cured in a similar way, but will require double the quant.i.ty of the salting mixture; and, if not smoke-dried, they should be taken down from hanging after 3 or 4 weeks, and afterwards kept in boxes or tubs, amongst dry oat-husks.

_Time_.--2 or 3 weeks to remain in the brine; to be hung 3 weeks.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note_.--The meat may be boiled fresh from this pickle, instead of smoking it.

BEEP RAGOUT (Cold Meat Cookery).

656. INGREDIENTS.--About 2 lbs. of cold roast beef, 6 onions, pepper, salt, and mixed spices to taste; 1/2 pint of boiling water, 3 tablespoonfuls of gravy.

_Mode_.--Cut the beef into rather large pieces, and put them into a stewpan with the onions, which must be sliced. Season well with pepper, salt, and mixed spices, and pour over about 1/2 pint of boiling water, and gravy in the above proportion (gravy saved from the meat answers the purpose); let the whole stew very gently for about 2 hours, and serve with pickled walnuts, gherkins, or capers, just warmed in the gravy.

_Time_.--2 hours. _Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 4d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

ROAST RIBS OF BEEF.

657. INGREDIENTS.--Beef, a little salt.