VEAL.
To Choose and Cook Veal—Roast Loin—Boiled and Stewed—Fillet, Knuckle—Shoulder—Gohote—Blanquettes—Frican-deau—Rolled Veal—Potted—Minced—Cutlets—Collops—Veal Olives—Neck to Braise—Ragout—Stewed Veal and Peas—Sweetbread—Croquettes—Calf’s Head—Dressed many ways—Brains—Feet—Kidney, &c.—Veal Forcemeats.
No. |
|
1. |
Loin, Best End. |
2. |
Loin, Chump End. |
3. |
Fillet. |
4. |
Hind Knuckle. |
5. |
Fore Knuckle. |
6. |
Neck, Best End. |
7. |
Neck, Scrag End. |
8. |
Blade Bone. |
9. |
Breast, Best End. |
10. |
Breast, Brisket End. |
To Choose Veal.—Veal should be fat, finely grained, white, firm, and not overgrown: for when very large it is apt to be coarse and tough. It is more difficult to keep than any other meat except pork, and should never be allowed to acquire the slightest taint before it is dressed, as any approach to putridity renders it equally unwholesome and offensive to the taste. The fillet, the loin, the shoulder, and the best end of the neck, are the parts generally selected for roasting; the breast and knuckle are more usually stewed or boiled. The udder, or firm white fat of the fillet, is much used by French cooks in stead of butter, especially in the composition of their forcemeats: for these, it is first well boiled, then left until quite cold, and afterwards thoroughly pounded before it is mixed with the other ingredients. The head and feet of the calf are valuable articles of food, both for the nutriment which the gelatinous parts of them afford, and for the great variety of modes in which they may be dressed. The kidneys, with the rich fat that surrounds them, and the sweetbreads especially, are well known delicacies; the liver and the heart also are very good eating; and no meat is so generally useful for rich soups and gravies as veal.
Veal, more than any other meat, requires to be wiped with a clean cloth every morning. The kernel should he taken out of the thick fat of the leg, and the udder slightly sprinkled with salt. Cut out the pipe from along the chine-bone of the loin, remove the kernel from under the inside fat, and sprinkle the chine-bone with salt. The pipe and chine-bone should be cut out from the neck, and the inside of the ribs rubbed with salt. From the breast, cut off the loose inside fat, and piece of skirt. The shoulder is rarely kept above a day or two.
Roast Loin of Veal.—It is not usual to stuff a loin of veal, but we greatly recommend the practice, as an infinite improvement to the joint. Make the same forcemeat as for the fillet; and insert it between the skin and the flesh just over the ends of the bones. Skewer down the flap, place the joint at a moderate distance from a sound fire, keep it constantly basted, and be especially careful not to allow the kidney fat to burn to prevent this, and to ensure the good appearance of the joint a buttered paper is often fastened round the loin, and removed about half an hour before it is taken from the fire. It is the fashion in some counties to serve egg-sauce and brown gravy with roast loin, or breast of veal.
The cook will scarcely need to be told that she must separate the skin from the flank, with a sharp knife, quite from the end, to the place where the forcemeat is to be put, and then skewer the whole very securely. When the veal is not papered, dredge it well with flour soon after it is laid to the fire. 2 to 2½ hours.
Boiled Loin of Veal.—If dressed with care and served with good sauces, this, when the meat is small and white, is an excellent dish, and often more acceptable to persons of delicate habit than roast veal. Take from eight to ten pounds of the best end of the loin, leave the kidney in with all its fat, skewer or bind down the flap, lay the meat into cold water, and boil it as gently as possible from two hours and a quarter to two and a half, clearing off the scum perfectly, as in dressing the fillet. Send it to table with well-made oyster sauce, or bechamel, or with white sauce well flavored with lemon-juice, and wish parsley, boiled, pressed dry, and finely chopped. 2¼ to 2½ hours.
Stewed Loin of Veal.—Take part of a loin of veal, the chump end will do; put into a large, thick, well-tinned iron saucepan, or into a stewpan, about a couple of ounces of butter, and shake it over a moderate fire until it begins to brown; flour the veal well all over, lay it into the saucepan, and when it is of a fine, equal light-brown, pour gradually in veal broth, gravy, or boiling water to nearly half its depth; add a little salt, one or two sliced carrots, a small onion, or more when the flavor is much liked, and a bunch of parsley; stew the veal very softly for an hour or rather more; then turn it, and let it stew for nearly or quite another hour, or longer should it not appear perfectly done. As none of our receipts have been tried with large, coarse veal, the cooking must be regulated by that circumstance, and longer time allowed should the meat be of more than middling size. Dish the joint; skim all the fat from the gravy, and strain it over the meat; or keep the joint hot while it is rapidly reduced to a richer consistency. This is merely a plain family stew.
Fillet of Veal Stewed.—Take a fillet of veal, and with a sharp knife make deep incisions in the upper and lower surfaces. Make a rich stuffing of grated bread, sweet herbs, pepper and salt, mixed with the yolk of eggs, and put it into the holes which you have made. Then rub the stuffing thickly all over the meat, with the addition of some ham or bacon cut into very thin slices. Put it into a pot and add enough butter or lard to stew and brown it. It will take about 3 hours to cook. Some persons add the ham, for the stuffing, others leave it out entirely, and do not use the stuffing on the outside. If the ham or bacon is used, it should be very fat and cut very thin.
Fillet of Veal Roasted.—Take out the bone, and fill the space with a fine stuffing of bread crumbs, seasoned with parsley, rather less of marjoram, a little pepper and salt, mixed thoroughly with the yolk and white of an egg or two, according to quantity. A small onion, finely chopped, may be added, and let the fat be skewered quite round; stuff it also well under the skin—as much depends on the quantity and flavor of the stuffing—and send the large side uppermost. Put a paper over the fat; and take care to allow a sufficient time for roasting; put it a good distance from the fire, as the meat is very solid, and must be so thoroughly done as not to leave the least appearance of red gravy; serve it with melted butter poured over, and gravy round. Ham or bacon should be served with it, and fresh cucumbers if in season.
Although considered very indigestible, it is a favorite joint, and easily divided into 3 parts and each dressed separately; that piece known in a “round of beef” as the “silver side” being roasted, and the remaining two stewed in different ways.
In Paris, a longe de veau is cut somewhat in the shape of a haunch of mutton, with the fillet and part of the loin joined together.
Fillet of Veal Boiled.—Choose a small delicate fillet for this purpose; prepare as for roasting, or stuff it with an oyster forcemeat; bind it round with a tape; after having washed it thoroughly, cover it with milk and water in equal quantities, and let it boil very gently three and a half or four hours, keeping it carefully skimmed. Send it to table with a rich white sauce, or, if stuffed with oysters, a tureen of oyster-sauce; garnish with stewed celery and slices of bacon. A boiled tongue should be served with it.
Knuckle of Veal; (en Ragoût.)—Cut in small thick slices the flesh of a knuckle of veal, season it with a little fine salt and white pepper, flour it lightly, and fry it in butter to a pale brown, lay it into a very clean stewpan or saucepan, and just cover it with boiling water; skim it clean, and add to it a faggot of thyme and parsley, the white part of a head of celery, a small quantity of cayenne, and a blade or two of mace. Stew it very softly from an hour and three-quarters, to two hours and a half. Thicken and enrich the gravy, if needful, with rice-flour and mushroom catsup or Harvey’s sauce, or with a large teaspoonful of flour, mixed with a slice of butter, a little good store-sauce and a glass of sherry or Madeira. Fried forcemeat balls may be added at pleasure. With an additional quantity of water, or of broth (made with the bones of the joint), a pint and a half of young green peas stewed with the yea for an hour, will give an agreeable variety of this dish.
Boiled Knuckle of Veal.—After the joint has been trimmed and well washed, put it into a vessel well adapted to it in size, for if it be very large, so much water will be required that the veal will be deprived of its flavor; it should be well covered with it, and very gently boiled until it is perfectly tender in every part, but not so much done as to separate from the bone. Clear off the scum with scrupulous care when the simmering first commences, and throw in a small portion of salt; as this, if sparingly used, will not redden the meat, and will otherwise much improve it. Parsley and butter is usually both poured over, and sent to table with a knuckle of veal, and boiled bacon also should accompany it. From the sinewy nature of this joint, it requires more than the usual time of cooking, a quarter of an hour to the pound not being sufficient for it.
Veal, 6 to 7 lbs: 2 hours or more.
Knuckle of Veal with Rice or Green Peas.—Pour over a small knuckle of veal rather more than sufficient water to cover it; bring it slowly to a boil; take off all the scum with great care, throw in a tea-spoonful of salt, and when the joint has simmered for about half an hour, throw in from eight to twelve ounces of well-washed rice, and stew the veal gently for an hour and a half longer, or until both the me at and rice are perfectly tender. A seasoning of cayenne and mace in fine powder with more salt, should it be required, must be added 20 or 30 minutes before they are served. For a superior stew, good veal broth may be substituted for the water.
Veal, 6 lbs.; water, 3 to 4 pints; salt, 1 tea-spoonful; 30 to 40 minutes. Rice, 8 to 12 ozs.: an hour and a half. Seasoning of cayenne, mace, and more salt if needed. A quart or even more of full-grown green peas added to the veal as soon as the scum has been cleared off will make a most excellent stew. It should be well seasoned with white pepper, and the mace should be omitted.
Shoulder of Veal.—Cut off the knuckle for a stew or gravy. Roast the other part with a stuffing; you may lard it. Serve with melted butter.
The blade-bone, with a good deal of meat left on, eats extremely well, when grilled, with mushroom or oyster sauce, or mushroom catsup in butter.
Being a large joint of what is considered rather coarse meat, it is rarely served to any but plain family parties; but, if braised, it makes an excellent dish.
Gohote: (a very nice dish.)—Take all the fillet of veal that will chop, and mince it fine. Season it with salt, pepper, a little parsley, and an onion, chopped fine. Add about half a teacup of bread crumbs, a little fat of ham or pork, if not the latter some butter, and 2 eggs. Mix it well with the hands, and make it into one large ball: sprinkle it with bread crumbs, and put several pieces of butter about it. Bake it in 2 hours. Make a good gravy with the scraps and bone, and serve with it.
This may be made of veal that has been once cooked baking it a shorter time.
Blanquettes.—Melt a piece of butter the size of a walnut in a stew-pan; then put in a little thyme, parsley, or any herbs you like the flavor of, and a little onion, all chopped fine, with a pinch of flour. Brown the herbs; add pepper and salt, with a clove or two. Then put in cold or undressed veal, cut in thin slices the size of half a crown; add gravy or broth half a pint, or according to the quantity of meat you want to dress. It should not be too large a dish. Let it stew very gently over a stove; if of dressed meat, 1 hour will be sufficient: add half a teacupful of cream, and stir it well together for a few minutes; then take it up, and before you turn it out have 2 yolks of eggs well beaten, and add to your dish. Give it a few shakes over the fire. It must not boil, or it will curdle.
Or: Cut rabbits, fowl, veal, or lobster, in pieces, steep them (except the veal or fish) in water for half an hour, changing the water. Put some butter in a stew-pan to melt, but do not let it fry; put in the meat with a very little flour, and keep shaking it well; pour in by degrees some broth made of white meat; add a bunch of parsley, an onion, salt, mace, and white pepper. Stew it well a quarter of an hour before it is dished; take out the parsley and onion, and add some raw parsley chopped, and the yolk of an egg and cream beaten together. You must never cease shaking the pan until the blanquette is put over the dish.
Veal à la Chartreuse.—Line a copper mould with fat bacon, lay sliced carrots and turnips round the edges, then cover with a forcemeat, and put in a fricassee of veal or fowl. Cover the top of the mould with a paste, steam it an hour, and serve it turned out upon a dish.
To Marble Veal.—Boil tender, skin, and cut a dried neat’s tongue in thin slices, and beat it as fine as possible, with half a pound of butter and some mace pounded. Have ready some roasted fillet of veal, beaten with butter, and seasoned with white pepper and salt; of this put a thick layer in a large potting-pot, then put in the tongue, in rough, irregular lumps, not to touch each other; fill up the pot with veal, and press it down quite close. Pour clarified butter thick over; keep in a dry, cool place, and serve in thin slices, taking off the butter. Garnish with parsley.
Fricandeau of Veal.—Cut a piece about two inches thick from a fillet of veal; shape it like the back of a turtle, high and round in the middle, and thin at the edges, and lard the top and sides very thickly with fat bacon; then put into a stew-pan 4 onions, a carrot, sliced, a bunch of sweet herbs, some allspice, salt, and whole pepper, three blades of mace, and a small piece of lean ham: cover these with slices of fat bacon, and place upon them the veal, which also cover with bacon. Next cover the whole with veal troth, or boiling water, put on the lid, and stew very gently, until the veal is so tender as to be divided with a spoon; then take it up, and quickly boil the gravy, uncovered, to a glaze, which strain, and brush over the fricandeau; to be served upon spinach or endive, tomato, or mushroom-sauce, or upon the remainder of the glaze. A moderately-sized fricandeau will require about three hours and a half stewing.
The lean part of a neck of veal, stewed with the meat of two or three bones in water, will make a plain fricandeau Sweet-breads, larded and prepared as veal, make fine frican deaux, being served in a rich gravy.
Rolled Veal.—The breast is the best for this purpose. Bone a piece of the breast, and lay a forcemeat over it of herbs, bread, an anchovy, a spoonful or two of scraped ham, a very little mace, white pepper, and chopped chives; then roll, bind it up tight, and stew it in water or weak broth with the bones, some carrots, onions, turnips, and a bay-leaf. Let the color be preserved, and serve it in veal gravy, or fricassee sauce.
Potted Veal.—Pound some cold veal, and season it with pepper, salt, and a little mace, in powder; then pound or shred the lean of ham or tongue; put layers of veal and ham, or tongue, alternately into a pot, press them down, put on the top liquid butter, and tie over. This may be cut in slices, or served whole.
Or, the ham or tongue may be put in rough lumps, not to touch each other, so as to marble the veal.
Minced Veal.—Cut, without chopping, cold veal, very finely; grate over it a little lemon peel and nutmeg, and season with pepper and salt; cover the veal with broth, water, or milk, and simmer gently; thicken with flour rubbed in butter, and serve in a deep dish, with sippets of toast bread. A spoonful or two of cream, and a little lemon pickle, are fine additions.
Minced Veal and Oysters.—The most elegant mode of preparing this dish is to mince about a pound of the whitest part of the inside of a cold roast fillet or loin of veal, to heat it without allowing it to boil, in a pint of rich white sauce, or bechamel, and to mix with it at the moment of serving three dozen of small oysters ready bearded, and plumped in their own strained liquor, which is also to be added to the mince; the requisite quantity of salt, cayenne, and mace, should be sprinkled over the veal before it is put into the sauce. Garnish the dish with pale fried sippets of bread, or with fleurons of brioche, or of puff-paste. Nearly half a pint of mushrooms minced, and stewed white in a little butter, maybe mixed with the veal instead of the oysters; or, should they be very small, they may be added to it whole: from ten to twenty minutes will be sufficient to make them tender. Balls of delicately fried oyster-forcemeat laid round the dish will give another good variety of it.
Veal minced, 1 lb.; white sauce, 1 pint; oysters, 3 dozens, with their liquor; or mushrooms, half pint, stewed in butter 10 to 12 minutes.
Veal Cutlets.—Cutlets should be cut from the fillet, but chops are taken from the loin. Some persons have deprecated the practice of beating meat, but it is essentially necessary in veal cutlets, which otherwise, especially if merely fried, are very indigestible. They should be cut about one-quarter or half an inch in thickness, and well beaten; they will then, when fried, taste like sweetbreads, be quite as tender, and nearly as rich. Egg them over, dip in bread crumbs and savoury herbs, fry, and serve with mushroom sauce and fried bacon.
Or:—Prepare as above, and fry them; lay them in a dish, and keep them hot: dredge a little flour, and put a bit of butter into the pan; brown it, then pour a little boiling water into it, and boil quickly; season with pepper, salt, and catsup, and pour it over them.
Maintenon Cutlets.—Prepare the cutlets with egg and seasoning, as above, fold them in buttered writing-paper, and broil or fry them. Serve in the paper, and with them, in a boat, sauce as above, sauce piquante, or cucumber sauce.
Lamb and mutton cutlets may be dressed as above.
To dress Collops quickly.—Cut them as thin as paper with a very sharp knife, and in small bits. Throw the skin and any odd bits of the veal, into a little water, with a dust of pepper and salt; set them on the fire while you beat the collops; and dip them in a seasoning of herbs, bread, pepper, salt, and a scrape of nutmeg, but first wet them in egg. Then put a bit of butter into a frying-pan, and give the collops a very quick fry; for as they are so thin, 2 minutes will do them on both sides put them into a hot dish before the fire; then strain and thicken the gravy.
Or:—Cut the collops thin; flatten them with a beater; have a large dish, dredge it with flour, and sprinkle a little black pepper over it: as the collops are flattened, lay them in the dish; put a piece of butter in a frying-pan, and, when it is melted and hot, lay in the collops; do them quickly; when lightly browned, dish them up, and serve with a mushroom sauce.
Veal Olives.—Cut long thin slices, beat them, lay them on thin slices of fat bacon, and over these a layer of forcemeat, seasoned high with some shred shalot and Cayenne. Roll them tight, about the size of 2 fingers, but not more than 2 or 3 inches long; fasten them round with a small skewer, rub egg over them, and fry them of a light brown. Serve with brown gravy, in which boil some mushrooms, pickled or fresh. Garnish with balls fried.
Veal Olives and Collops.—Lay over each other thin slices of veal and fat bacon, and upon them a layer of highly-seasoned forcemeat, with finely shred shalot; roll and skewer them up tightly, egg and crumb them, and fry them brown. Serve them with brown gravy, with pickled or fresh mushrooms; that is, brown mushroom sauce.
Neck of Veal.—Take the best end of a neck of veal, cut off the ends of the bones, and turn the flap over; saw off the chine bone, or joint it thoroughly; paper it, and baste it well all the time it is roasting. Larding the fillet or thick part is a great improvement. Or, stew it with rice, small onions, and peppercorns.
Or:—Take the best end of a small neck; cut the bones short, but leave it whole; then put it into a stew-pan just covered with brown gravy; and when it is nearly done, have ready a pint of boiled peas, 3 or 4 cucumbers, and 2 cabbage-lettuces cut into quarters, all stewed in a little good broth; put them to the veal, and let them simmer for 10 minutes. When the veal is in the dish, pour the sauce and vegetables over it, and lay the lettuce round it. This is an excellent summer stew.
Neck of Veal à la Braise.—Cut off the ends of the long bones, and saw off the chine-bones: raise the skin of the fillet, lard it very close, and tie it up neatly. Put the scrag end, a little lean bacon or ham, an onion, 2 carrots, 2 heads of celery, and about a glass of Madeira wine, into a stew-pan. Lay on them the neck, add a little water, and stew it 2 hours, or till it is tender, but not too much. Strain off the liquor; mix a little flour and butter in a stew-pan, till brown; stir some of the liquor in, and boil it up; skim it nicely, and squeeze orange or lemon juice into it, and serve with the meat. The bacon should be browned with a salamander and glazed. It may be also served with spinach.
Breast of Veal ragoutû.—Cut the breast in two, lengthwise, and divide it into moderately-sized pieces; fry them in butter of a light brown, and put them into a stew-pan with veal broth or boiling water to cover the meat, a sprig of marjoram, thyme, and parsley, tied together, a tea-spoonful of allspice, 2 blades of mace, 2 onions, the peel of a lemon, and salt and pepper to season; cover the whole closely, and stew from 1½ to 2 hours; then strain the gravy, take off the fat, and cover up the veal. Next put a little butter into a small stew-pan, dredge in flour, and gradually add the gravy; boil and skim it; add a glass of white wine, the same of mushroom catsup, and the juice of half a lemon, or, instead of the two latter, a wine-glass of lemon pickle: boil it up and serve in a deep dish with the veal.
Stewed Veal and Peas.—Cut into pieces a breast or a neck of veal, and stew it 2 hours, with 2 onions, pepper and salt, and broth or water to cover it; then add 2 quarts of green peas, and a sprig of mint, and stew half an hour longer: thicken, if required, with butter and flour. Dish up the peas, and heap peas in the centre.
Or:—The peas may be stewed separately, thus:—Put a pint and a half into a stew-pan, with a quarter of a pound of butter, a few green onions, and sprigs of parsley; cover them with water, and warm; let them stand a few minutes, then pour off the water, add about an ounce of lean ham; when done, work in a small piece of butter kneaded with flour; keep the peas in motion over the fire until done; season with a tea spoonful of pounded sugar, and pepper and salt.
To collar a Breast of Veal.—Remove the bones, thick skin, and gristle, and season the meat with chopped herbs, mace, salt and pepper; then lay between the veal, slices of ham, variegated with hard yolks of eggs, beet-root, and chopped parsley; roll the whole up tightly in a cloth, and tie it. Simmer for some hours, or till tender, in a very little water: when done, lay it on a board with a weight upon it till cold. Then take off the cloth, and pour the liquor over the veal.
Sweetbreads (Simply dressed).—In whatever way sweetbreads are dressed, they should first be well soaked in lukewarm water, then thrown into boiling water to blanch them, as it is called, and to render them firm. If lifted out after they have boiled from five to ten minutes, according to their size, and laid immediately into fresh spring water to cool, their color will be the better preserved. They may then be gently stewed for three quarters of an hour in veal gravy, which, with the usual additions of cream, lemon, and egg-yolks, may be converted into a fricassee sauce for them when they are done; or they may be lifted from it, glazed, and served with good Spanish gravy; or, the glazing being omitted, they may be sauced with sharp sauce. They may also be simply floured, and roasted in a Dutch oven, being often basted with butter, and frequently turned. A full sized sweetbread, after having been blanched, will require quite three quarters of an hour to dress it.
Blanched 5 to 10 minutes. Stewed ¾ hour or more.
Sweetbread Cutlets.—Boil the sweetbreads for half an hour in water, or veal broth, and when they are perfectly cold, cut them into slices of equal thickness, brush them with yolks of egg, and dip them into very fine bread-crumbs, seasoned with salt, cayenne, grated lemon-rind, and mace; fry them in butter of a fine light brown, arrange them in a dish, placing them high in the centre, and pour under them a gravy made in the pan, thickened with mushroom powder, and flavored with lemon-juice; or, in lieu of this, sauce them with some rich brown gravy, to which a glass of sherry or Madeira has been added.
To Broil a Sweetbread.—Parboil it, rub it with butter, and broil it over a slow fire, turn it frequently, and baste it now and then, by putting it upon a plate kept warm by the fire with butter in it.
Veal Croquettes.—Pound, in a marble mortar, cold veal and fowl, with a little suet, some chopped lemon peel, lemon thyme, chives, and parsley. Season with nutmeg, pepper, and salt; mix all well together, and add the yolk of an egg well beaten; roll it into balls, and dip them into an egg beater, up, then sift bread crumbs over them, and fry them in butter.
French Croquettes of Sweetbread.—Brown in a little butter and lard 6 sweetbreads; chop them up with a cold tongue that has been parboiled; mix them well and season with a little parsley, an onion, pepper and salt if required. Take the gravy in which the sweetbreads were browned, and when it is cold, break into it 3 eggs; use this to moisten the mincemeat; if not enough add a little other gravy. Take 3 more eggs to roll the croquettes in, with bread crumbs, into the proper shape. Fry them in lard, like fritters; take them up with a ladle with holes in it.
To take the Hair from a Calf’s Head with the shin on.—It is better to do this before the head is divided; but if only the half of one with the skin on can be procured, it must be managed in the same way. Put it into plenty of water which is on the point of simmering, but which does not positively boil, and let it remain in until it does so, and for five or six minutes afterwards, but at the first full bubble draw it from the fire and let it merely scald; then lift it out, and with a knife that is not sharp scrape off the hair as closely and as quickly as possible. The butchers have an instrument on purpose for the operation; but we have had the head look quite as well when done in the manner we have just described, as when it has been sent in ready prepared by them. After the hair is off, the head should be well washed, and if it cannot be cooked the same day, it must be wiped extremely dry before it is hung up; and when it has not been divided, it should be left whole until the time approaches for dressing it. The brain must then be taken out, and both that and the head well soaked and washed with the greatest nicety. When the half head only is scalded, the brain should first be removed. Calves’ feet are freed from the hair easily in the same manner.
Boiled Calf’s Head.—When the head is dressed with the skin on, which many persons prefer, the ear must be cut off quite close to it; it will require three-quarters of an hour or upwards of additional boiling, and should be served covered with fried crumbs. In either case, first remove the brain, wash the head delicately clean, and soak it for a quarter of an hour; cover it plentifully with cold water, remove the scum as it rises with great care, throw in a little salt, and boil the head gently until it is perfectly tender. In the mean time, wash and soak the brains first in cold and then in warm water, remove the skin or film, boil them in a small saucepan from fourteen to sixteen minutes, according to their size, and when they are done, chop and mix them with eight or ten sage leaves boiled tender, and finely minced, or, if preferred, with parsley boiled instead; warm them in a spoonful or two of melted butter, or white sauce; skin the tongue, trim off the root, and serve it in a small dish with the brains laid round it. Send the head to table very hot, with parsley and butter poured over it, and some more in a tureen. A cheek of bacon, or very delicate pickled pork, and greens, are the usual accompaniments to boiled calf’s head.
We have given here the common mode of serving this dish, by some epicures considered the best, and by others, as exceedingly insipid. Tomato sauce sometimes takes the place of the parsley and butter; and rich oyster or Dutch sauce are varieties often substituted for it.
With the skin on, from two and a quarter to two and three quarter hours; without the skin, from 1 hour and a quarter to 1 and three quarters, to boil.
To Bake Calf’s Head.—Mix pepper, salt, bread-crumbs, and chopped sage together; rub the head over with butter and put the seasoning upon it; cut the brains in 4 pieces, and rub them also in the crumbs, and lay the head in a deep dish with the brains; put a piece of butter into each eye, with plenty of the crumbs also, fill the dish nearly full of water, and let it bake 2 hours in a quick oven.
To Roast a Calf’s Head.—Wash and clean it well, parboil it, take out the bones, brains, and tongue; make forcemeat sufficient for the head, and some balls with bread-crumbs, minced suet, parsley, grated ham, and a little pounded veal, or cold owl; season with pepper, salt, grated nutmeg, and lemon peel; bind it with an egg, beaten up, fill the head with it, which must then be sewed up, or fastened with skewers and tied. While roasting, baste it well with butter; beat up the brains with a little cream, the yolk of an egg, some minced parsley, a little pepper and salt; blanch the tongue, cut it into slices, and fry it with the brains, forcemeat balls, and thin slices of bacon. Serve the head with white or brown thickened gravy, and place the tongue, forcemeat balls, and brains round it. Garnish with cut lemon. It will require an hour and a half to roast.
Calf’s Head Stew.—Parboil the head the day before you want it, and keep the water in which it was boiled for gravy. Cut the meat off the bones the next day in thin slices; fry these in butter or lard, seasoning them with cloves, pepper, salt, sweet marjoram, &c., to your taste. After the slices are fried brown, take them out, and add to the gravy about 1 pint of the liquor in which the head was boiled; thicken with a little brown flour, and put back the slices to stew gently till dinner-time.
Meanwhile have the brains mashed with seasoning as above, add the yolks of 2 eggs beaten, thicken in some flour, and drop them in little pats in the frying pan. Fry them brown and add them to the dish when you serve it. A glass of wine added to the stew just before it is done is to some a great improvement; or a little lemon juice and catsup.
If your family is small, the residue of the head and the liquor in which it was boiled will make soup enough for dinner. For the soup use a small onion, the seasoning above mention ed and allspice. Make dumplings the size of marbles, and cut in quarters 3 or 4 potatoes to boil in it. Calf’s head soup should look black from the seasoning and only semi-transparent. The tongue may be used for the stew, or the soup.
Calves Brains.—Remove all the large fibres and skin; soak them in warm water for 4 hours; blanch them for 10 minutes in boiling water, with a little salt and vinegar in it; then soak them 3 hours in lemon juice in which a bit of chervil has been steeped; dry them well, dip them in batter, and fry them. Make hot a ladleful of glaze, some extremely small onions browned in butter, artichoke bottoms divided in half, and some mushroom-buttons, and serve round he brains; or, after preparing as above, serve in a rich white acidulated sauce, with lemon juice or tomato sauce.
Or:—Blanch the brains, and beat them up with an egg, pepper, and salt, a small quantity of chopped parsley, and a piece of butter. Make them into small cakes, put them into a small frying-pan, and fry them.
Or:—Prepare them as above; wet with egg, and sprinkle crumbs, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley, and finish dressing in a Dutch oven. Serve with melted butter, with or without a little mushroom catsup.
Croquettes of Brains.—Take calf’s brains, blanch, and beat them up with 1 or 2 chopped sage leaves, a little pepper and salt, a few bread crumbs soaked in milk, and an egg beaten; roll them into balls, and fry them.
Calf’s Feet and Ears.—Boil them tender, 3 hours will do, and serve with parsley and butter. Or, having boiled a foot, split it, roll it in bread crumbs, fry it in butter, and serve in brown gravy. Calves’ ears may also be dressed as above.
Calves’ Feet Fricasseed.—Having boiled and split them, as above, simmer them three-quarters of an hour in veal broth, with a blade of mace and lemon peel; and thicken the sauce with flour and butter.
Or:—Soak the feet 3 or 4 hours, and simmer them in milk and water, until the meat can be taken from the bone in handsome pieces; season them with pepper and salt, dip them in yolk of egg, roll in bread crumbs, fry them light brown, and serve in white sauce.
Calf’s Kidney.—Chop the kidney, and some of the fat, season it with pepper and salt, and make it, with egg and bread crumbs, into balls, which fry in lard or butter; drain upon a sieve, and serve with fried parsley. Or, the lean of cold veal may be substituted for the kidney.
Calf’s Liver and Lights.—Half boil them, then mince them, and add a little of the water in which they were boiled, with butter and flour to thicken: season with salt and pepper; simmer, and serve hot.
Calf’s heart may be stuffed and roasted as beef heart.
Calf’s Liver and Bacon.—Pare and trim the bacon, and fry it; and, in its fat, fry the liver, in thickish slices, floured. Then lay both in a dish, and pour over them gravy made as follows: Empty the pan, and put into it a small piece of butter, a little broth or water, pepper, salt, and lemon juice; and warm together. Garnish with fried parsley.
Veal Forcemeat.—Mix a pound of scraped veal with half the quantity of fat bacon, in a mortar, adding the crumbs of a stale French roll, half a tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg and mace, a table-spoonful of chopped parsley, and pepper and salt. Mix this well together with 2 well beaten eggs.
Egg Balls.—Beat in a mortar 3 hard-boiled yolks of eggs with 1 raw; sprinkle in a little flour and salt, and make the paste into balls.
Both forcemeat and egg balls are much used for savory pies and made dishes.
Veal Cake.—Boil six eggs hard, cut them in halves, and lay some of the pieces at the bottom of an earthen pot; then shake in chopped parsley, some slices of veal and ham about two inches square, and then eggs again, repeating the parsley, and seasoning after each layer, until the pot is full. Pour in enough water to cover it, lay about an ounce of butter on the top, tie it over with a thick double paper, and bake it an hour. Press it close together with a spoon, and let it stand till cold. If made in a mould instead of a pot, it forms a handsome supper dish.