200 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



April 



iabi^s' S^parttnent. 



DOMESTIC ECONOMY; 



OB, 



HOW TO MAKE HOME PLEASANT. 



BT ANNE Q. HALB. 



[Entered according to Act of CongreBS, in the year 

 1866, by R. P. Eaton & Co., in the Clerk's Office of the 

 District Court for the District of MassachuBetts.l 



CHAPTER XXI. 

 HOW TO COOK MEATS. 

 When good meat has been provided it should 

 be the housekeeper's pride to present it at table 

 in the most inviting manner. To this end it must 

 be thoroughly and carefully cooked and neatly 

 served. But she should not be ambitious of dis- 

 playing her skill in the concoction of too great a 

 variety of dishes— rather be content with a few 

 that stand the test of healthy appetites. 



In many families noted for the nicety of their 

 table arrangements and for the excellent prepara- 

 tion of other viands, the cooking of meats is a 

 miserable failure. I think that the cause of this 

 is to be found in the many attempts that are made 

 at elaborate and fanciful cookery, numberless re- 

 ceipts for which come fluttering daily on the wings 

 of the press to every door, and those who have a 

 propensity for experimenting are too often tempted 

 to turn with disdain from simple and wholesome 

 methods, or to use them carelessly, while willing 

 to spend much time, and no small means, in try- 

 ing to make these indigestible messes appear de- 

 sirable and economical. Be honest enough to do 

 all plain cooking well before you adopt a more 

 pretentious style, and you will be spared the pain 

 —which many have felt— of knowing that the un- 

 palatable food that you have set before your fam- 

 ily has driven any that are dear to you to seek bet- 

 ter fare or a substitute for it at the restaurant or 

 bar-room. 



All meat— whether flesh, or fowl— mttst be thor- 

 oughly cleansed in cool water as the first step 

 towards cooking. Many persons say that for broil- 

 ing, frying, or roasting, this injures the appearance 

 of the meat and wastes its juice. Better so, then, 

 than to have the filth which it has contracted in 

 passing from hand to hand and from place to place 

 before it lay upon the kitchen table. But if the 

 meat be briskly rubbed in the cool, clear water 

 and immediateiy wiped dry with a clean towel 

 Buch is not the case. 



Pork that is cooked in its rind must have the 

 rind cleared of all impurities by scraping and then 

 thorough washing. Salted and pickled hams, and 

 bacon should be soaked in cold water,— if very 

 large, two days — before they are cooked; they 

 are then tender and j uicy . Hearts, livers, kidneys, 



all harslets, must be trimmed free of all waste, 

 and then soaked three or four hours before they 

 are fit to cook. Brains should be washed and then 

 soaked an hour in lukewarm water. Heads need 

 five or six hours soaking after a careful washing. 

 Calves' heads and feet, if not cleared of the hair, 

 must be dipped in scalding water, sprinkled with a 

 little fine resin, and scraped ; then let the hoofs 

 lie in the hot water till they can be pried off easily 

 with the point of a knife. Then soak them five or 

 six hours in cool water. 



All utensils for cooking meat should also be per- 

 fectly clean — scalded with weak suds after using, 

 and kept clean till needed again ; especially is this 

 necessary for the block or board on which the 

 meat is laid to be cut and arranged previous to 

 cooking. 



If the meat contains large bones get the butcher 

 to saw or chop them before you attempt to cut or 

 prepare it. Always use a sharp knife, and cut 

 with a sawing motion ; a dull knife, by tearing the 

 fibres, wastes the juice — as well as gives an un- 

 sightly appearance. 



Have a clear fire, and keep it burning steadily 

 till the meat is completely cooked; and always 

 place the meat in a hot dish as soon as it is done, 

 and keep it hot till served ; — with mutton in hot 

 weather, the plates should be heated also. From 

 these few general directions let us pass on to par- 

 ticulars. 



A steak is the easiest of all pieces to cook, and 

 because it is so easy — merely to broil it — what 

 might be a most delicious and nutritious dish is 

 too often presented at table no more inviting in 

 odor and appearance — and nearly as indigestible — 

 as so much sole leather. 



Beef, pork, veal, venison, or mutton, — whichever 

 the steak may be — should not be more than half 

 an inch in thickness — particularly pork and veal, 

 which are better even much thinner. Don't neg- 

 lect to wash and wipe it as soon as it comes into 

 your possession, and then hang it in a cool place 

 till time to cook it. 



A glowing fire of wood coals, or of charcoal, is 

 considered the best for broiling ; but a red fire of 

 anthracite is about as good. 



Griddles, — two, which enclose the meat, thus 

 obviating the necessity of turning it, the griddles 

 being turned instead, are the best style of gridiron. 

 Grease the bars and place near the fire to heat two 

 or three minutes before the meat is ready. Then 

 lay the steak on the meat-board and with a dull 

 chopping-knife, or with the back of the meat-knife, 

 chop it lightly across the grain and then along the 

 grain of the flesh on both sides. For tender steaks 

 two minutes chopping is enough, but tough meats 

 requires more. Place the steak over the tire and 

 give it your whole attention till it is done, standing 

 steadfast as a martyr at your post, for it needs con- 

 stant watching and almost incessant turning. At 

 the first hint of the starting of the juices arrange 

 the gridiron to pour it into the dish as it flows 

 while you raise and turn it — the turning being as 



