CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



put on with just as much water as will cover it, 

 adding a little salt. Let it simmer very slowly 

 with closed cover, without stirring it, for an hour 

 and a quarter. It should be quite dry when 

 dished. Excellent curries may be made in the 

 same way by using fowl or chicken, fish, ox-heart, 

 or any cold meat. The fish and cold meat will be 

 ready in half an hour ; the ox-heart ought first to 

 be parboiled, and requires two hours to make it 

 ready. If the curry-powder is omitted, these 

 dishes are all stews. 



Mutton Haricot. Take a pound of mutton- 

 chops, beat, and brown in the frying-pan with 

 lard or dripping. When browned, put in a stew- 

 pan, with just as much water as will cover the 

 meat, pepper, salt, a sliced carrot, a turnip, and 

 two or three onions. Stew slowly for an hour and 

 a half, adding a dessert-spoonful of flour, moistened 

 with a little water, a quarter of an hour before 

 serving. These dishes, however well cooked, will 

 yet lose half their relish if served in a slovenly 

 manner, or when allowed to get cold and out of 

 season. Where the meats are hot, they should 

 always be dished and served quickly, and especially 

 always be eaten from heated plates. 



Dressed Sheets Pluck. Take a sheep's heart, 

 lungs, and half of the liver, and parboil. Mince 

 fine with two or three onions, parsley, pepper, 

 and salt. Put in a stewpan with a handful of 

 flour and half a pint of water. Stew slowly with 

 closed cover for an hour and a half. Cut the 

 rest of the liver into thin slices, fry with fat bacon, 

 and serve round the stew. 



Beef-olives. Take a pound of beefsteak, and 

 cut into three pieces, mince a little bit of suet with 

 an onion or two ; sprinkle this over the steak, 

 with a little Jamaica pepper, black pepper, salt, 

 and a little flour, and roll each piece up, and tie 

 with a bit of thread. Put into a stewpan, with a 

 little water, a tea-spoonful of Jamaica pepper, a 

 morsel of butter, a table-spoonful of flour, and stew 

 slowly with closed cover for an hour and a half. 



Minced Collops. Get a pound of steak minced 

 very small, along with a bit of suet the butcher 

 will do the mincing put on in a stewpan, with a 

 good handful of flour, pepper, salt, and a very 

 little drop of water. Have a wooden spoon, and 

 shuffle all the time they are cooking, to prevent 

 lumps forming. They should be quickly made 

 ready. As soon as they fairly boil all through, 

 dish and serve. Eat with mashed potatoes. 



ROAST AND BOILED MEATS. 



Following the usual course of the British dinner- 

 table, we now come to what may be called the 

 pieces de resistance, or back-bone of the dinner, 

 or what the cook calls 'the roasts and boils/ 

 which include all the larger joints. 



Roast Meats. 



To roast Beef. The best piece of beef for roast- 

 ing is the sirloin. If the suet be not required, it 

 may be ordered to be cut off before purchasing the 

 joint ; a small piece of suet is all that is requisite 

 for the purpose of basting. If at all musty, it 

 should be washed with salt and water, and wiped 

 quite dry. Hang it on the hook of the jack, in the 

 way most advantageous for being operated upon 

 uniformly by the fire. Handle it as little as pos- 

 sible. The fire must be quite clear and brisk. It 



758 



is customary to allow a quarter of an hour fo 

 every pound of the meat. While roasting, baste it 

 very frequently with its own dripping. In dishing, 

 pour a little boiling water and salt over it for a 

 gravy. A well-roasted joint ought to have a nice 

 rich brown tinge, and this is to be obtained only 

 by careful basting, attention to the fire, and re- 

 moving at the proper time, when experience tells 

 that the joint is 'done.' Garnish with scraped 

 horse-radish. 



To roast Mutton. The best parts of mutton for 

 roasting are the leg, the shoulder, and the loin. 

 The piece may be kept longer than would be 

 desirable for mutton for boiling. It should have a 

 clear and brisk fire. A leg will take two hours to 

 roast ; but this, as well as the time for roasting the 

 other parts, must be regulated by the fire and the 

 weight of the meat, and can be learned only by 

 attention. The joint of mutton should be basted 

 the same as beef, with its own dripping, and a 

 gravy should be made for it as above. 



To roast Venison. Venison is roasted in the 

 same manner as mutton, but requires longer time 

 at the fire. It is such a dry meat, and the fat is 

 so easily melted, that it should be covered with 

 buttered paper, and well basted. Serve with good 

 gravy and currant jelly. 



To roast Veal. The best parts of veal for roast- 

 ing are the fillet, the breast, the loin, and the 

 shoulder. The fillet and the breast should be 

 stuffed, particularly the fillet, with a composition 

 of crumbs of bread, chopped suet and parsley, a 

 little lemon-peel, and pepper and salt, wet with an 

 egg and a little milk. Let it be well basted with 

 butter when there is not sufficient dripping from 

 the joint. The gravy for roast veal is either the 

 usual hot water and salt, or thin melted butter, 

 poured over the meat. 



To roast Lamb. Lamb also requires to be well 

 roasted. It is usually dressed in quarters ; all 

 parts, particularly the spinal bone, should be well 

 jointed or cut by the butcher or cook ; and the ribs 

 of the fore-quarter broken across the centre, in 

 order to accommodate the carver. In roasting, 

 baste, as already described, with its own dripping. 

 The gravy for lamb may be the same as for beef or 

 mutton. A very nice stuffing for lamb is often used 

 in Scotland : mince some of the suet, an onion, and 

 a few blades of parsley, and mix with a handful of 

 oatmeal, a little pepper, and a very little salt. 

 Make a hole in the loose skin of the loin, fill with 

 the above, and sew up. Mint sauce should be 

 served with the lamb. 



To roast Bullocks Heart. Wash the heart well, 

 freeing it completely from blood. Then fill all the 

 openings at the top or broad end with stuffing 

 composed of crumbs of bread, chopped suet, pars- 

 ley, pepper and salt, moistened with an egg and 

 a little milk. Suspend with the pointed end down- 

 wards. An hour and a half, or two hours, accord- 

 ing to the degree of heat, will cook the dish, which 

 should be well done. Serve with beef gravy. 



To roast Pork. Pork requires a longer time in 

 roasting than any of the preceding meats. When 

 stuffing is to be used, it must be composed of 

 chopped sage and onion, pepper and salt. The 

 pieces should be neatly and well scored in regular 

 stripes on the outer skin, to enable the carver to 

 cut slices easily. Before putting to the fire, rub 

 the skin with salad-oil, to prevent its blisterir 

 and baste very frequently. The basting may 



