STEWING.
SECT. I.
BUTCHER’S MEAT.
Fillet of Veal.
TAKE the fillet of a cow-calf, stuff it well under the udder, and at the bone end quite through to the shank. Put it into the oven, with a pint of water under it, till it is of a fine brown; then put it into a stew-pan, with three pints of gravy. Stew it till it is tender, and then put a few morels, truffles, a teaspoonful of lemon-pickle, a large one of browning, one of catsup, and a little chyan pepper. Thicken it with a lump of butter rolled in flour. Take out your veal and put it into your dish, then strain the gravy, pour it over, and lay round forcemeat balls. Garnish with sliced lemon and pickles.
Breast of Veal.
PUT a breast of veal into the stew-pan, with a little broth, a glass of white wine, a bunch of sweet herbs, a few mushrooms, two or three onions, with some pepper and salt. Stew it over a gentle fire till it is tender; and when done strain and scum the sauce. Garnish with forcemeat balls.
Knuckle of Veal.
LAY at the bottom of your saucepan four wooden skewers cross ways, then put in the veal, with two or three blades of mace, a little whole pepper, a piece of thyme, a small onion, a crust of bread, and two quarts of water. Cover it down close, make it boil, and then only let it simmer for two hours. When enough, take it up, put it into your dish, and strain the liquor over it. Garnish with lemon.
LARD it with large pieces of bacon rolled in pepper and shalots and spices. Put it into your stew-pan with about three pints of broth, two onions, a laurel leaf, and a little brandy. Let it simmer gently till it is tender, then put it into your dish, take the scum clean off the liquor, and then pour it on the meat.
Calf’s Head.
AFTER having properly cleaned the head, put it into cold water, and let it he for an hour; then carefully take out the brains, the tongue, the eyes, and the bones. Then take a pound of veal, and a pound of beef suet, a very little thyme, a good deal of lemon-peel minced, a nutmeg grated, and two anchovies; chop all very fine, then grate two stale rolls, and mix the whole together with the yolks of four eggs; save enough of this to make about twenty balls. Take half a pint of fresh mushrooms, clean peeled and washed, the yolks of six eggs, beat fine, half a pint of oysters clean washed, or pickled cockles; mix these all together, after first stewing your oysters. Put the forcemeat into the head and close it, tie it tight with packthread, and put it into a deep stew-pan, with two quarts of gravy and a blade or two of mace. Cover it close, and let it stew two hours. In the meantime, beat up the brains with some lemon-peel cut fine, a little parsley chopped, half a nutmeg grated, and the yolk of an egg. Have some dripping boiling, and fry half the brains in little cakes; fry all the forcemeat balls, and keep them both hot by the fire. Take half an ounce of truffles and morels, then strain the gravy the head was stewed in, and put the truffles and morels to it, with a few mushrooms. Boil all together, then put in the rest of the brains, stew them together for a minute or two, pour the whole over the head, and lay the cakes of fried brains and forcemeat balls round it. Garnish with lemons. For a small family, the half of a head may be done equally tine, only properly proportioning the quantity of the respective articles.—A lamb’s head must be done in the very same manner.
Calfs’s Liver.
LARD the liver, and put it into a stew-pan, with some salt, whole pepper, a bunch of sweet herbs, an onion, and a blade of mace. Let it stew till tender, then take it up, and cover it to keep hot. Strain the liquor it was stewed in, scum off all the fat, thicken it with a piece of butter rolled in flour, and pour it over the liver.
Rump of Beef.
HALF roast your beef, then put it into a stew-pan, with two quarts of water, and one of red wine, two or three blades of mace, a shalot, one spoonful of lemon-pickle, two of walnut catsup, and the same of browning. Put in chyan pepper and salt to your taste. Cover it close, and let it stew over a gentle fire for two hours; then take up your beef, and lay it in a deep dish, scum off the fat, and strain the gravy; put in an ounce of morels, and half a pint of mushrooms; thicken your gravy, and pour it over the beef. Garnish with forcemeat balls and horse-radish.
Beef Steaks.
PEPPER and salt your steaks, and lay them in a stew-pan. Put in half a pint of water, a blade or two of mace, an anchovy, a small bunch of herbs, a piece of butter rolled in flour, a glass of white wine, and an onion. Cover the whole close, and let it stew till the steaks are tender; then take them out, strew some flour over them, fry them in fresh butter till they are of a nice brown, and then pour off all the fat. Strain the sauce they were stewed in, pour it into the pan, and toss it up all together till the sauce is quite hot and thick. Then lay your steaks in the dish, pour the sauce over them, and garnish with horse-radish and pickles.
Beef Gobbets.
TAKE any piece of beef, except the leg, cut it into small pieces, and put them into a stew-pan. Cover them with water, and when they have stewed an hour, put in a little mace, cloves, and whole pepper, tied loosely in a muslin rag, with some celery cut small. Then add some salt, turnips and carrots pared and cut in slices, a little parsley, a bunch of sweet herbs, a large crust of bread, and an ounce either of barley or rice. Cover it close, and let it stew till it is tender. Then take out the herbs, spices, and bread, and have ready a French roll nicely toasted and cut into four parts. Put these into your dish, pour in the meat and sauce, and send it hot to table.
Neat’s Tongue.
PUT the tongue into your stew-pan with a sufficient quantity of water to cover it. When it has stewed about two hours, take it out, peel it, and put it in again, with a pint of strong gravy, half a pint of white wine, a bunch of sweet herbs, a little pepper and salt, some mace, cloves, and whole pepper, tied in a muslin rag; add likewise a spoonful of capers chopped fine, some turnips and carrots sliced, and a piece of butter rolled in flour. Let the whole stew together very gently for two hours; then take out the spice and sweet herbs, put the tongue into your dish, strain the sauce, pour it over, and serve it up.
To dress Ox Palates.
HAVING cleansed and boiled your palates, take off the skin, and pick out all that part that is black, and cut them in bits: turn some onions a few times over the fire with a bit of butter, and when it is half done put it in the palates. Moisten your ragout with some good broth, and a little cullis; season it to your taste, and add a bunch of sweet herbs: when it is well skimmed, and the sauce of a proper consistence, put in a little mustard, and serve it up.
Ox Palates forced.
STEW your palates whole with forcemeat rolled up when done, cut them in half: serve them up with a good sauce of truffles.
HAVING boiled some palates in water till tender, cut them in pieces of what shape you please, and steep them two or three hours in some vinegar, with salt, pepper, a clove of garlic, a little flour and butter, a laurel leaf, and three cloves. The whole marinade must be made luke-warm, then take them out, dry, flour and fry them, and serve them up with fried parsley.
SECT. II.
STEWING POULTRY, &c.
Turkey en Pain.
TAKE a fine turkey, bone it, and put into the carcase a ragout composed of large livers, mushrooms, and streaked bacon, all cut in small dice, and mingled with salt, fine spices, and shred parsley and onions. Sew the turkey up, but take care to shape it nicely; then put a thin slice of bacon upon the breast, and wrap it in a cloth. Stew it in a pot, but not too large a one, with good broth, a glass of white wine, and a bunch of sweet herbs; when it is done, strain the liquor the turkey was done in into a stew-pan, after having taken off the fat; reduce it to a sauce, adding a spoonful of cullis; then unwrap your turkey, take off the bacon, dry away the grease, and serve it up with the sauce.
Fowls.
PURSUE the same method, at first, in stewing fowls as you do turkeys; that is to say, put skewers crossways at the bottom of your stew-pan. When you have laid in your fowl, put to it a quart of gravy, a bunch of celery clean washed and cut very small, with two or three blades of mace. Let it stew gently till the liquor is reduced to a quantity only sufficient for sauce; then add a large piece of butter rolled in flour, two spoonsful of red wine, the same quantity of catsup, with pepper and salt to season it. Lay your fowl in the dish, pour the sauce over it, and send it to table.
Chickens.
HALF boil them in as much water as will just cover them, then take them out, cut them up, and take out the breast bones. Put them into your stew-pan with the liquor, and add a blade of mace and a little salt. Cover the pan close, and set it over a slow fire. Let it stew till the chickens are enough, then put the whole into your dish, and serve it to table.
Goose Giblets.
PUT them into scalding water, by which you will be enabled to make them properly clean. When this is done, cut the neck into four pieces, the pinions in two, and slice the gizzard. Put them into your stew-pan with two quarts of water, or, if you have it, mutton broth, with some sweet herbs, an anchovy, a few peppercorns, three or four cloves, a spoonful of catsup, and an onion. When the giblets are tender, put in a spoonful of good cream, thicken it with flour and butter, then pour the whole into a soup-dish, with sippets of bread at the bottom, and serve it up.
Ducks.
TAKE two ducks, properly picked and drawn, dust them with flour, and set them before the fire to brown. Then put them into a stew-pan, with a quart of water, a pint of red wine, a spoonful of walnut catsup, the same of browning, an anchovy, half a lemon, a clove of garlic, a bunch of sweet herbs, with chyan pepper and salt to your taste. Let them stew gently for half an hour, or till you find them tender; then lay them on a dish, and keep them hot. Skim off the fat from the liquor in which they were stewed, strain it through a hair sieve, add to it a few morels and truffles, boil it quick till reduced to little more than half a pint, then pour it over your docks, and serve them up.
PUT into your stew-pan a piece of fresh butter, and set it on the fire; then put in your duck, and turn it in the pan two or three minutes: take out the fat, but let the duck remain. Put to it a pint of good gravy, a pint of peas, two lettuces cut small, a bunch of sweet-herbs, and a little pepper and salt. Cover them close, and let them stew for half an hour, now and then shaking the pan. When they are just done, grate in a little nutmeg, with a small quantity of beaten mace, and thicken it either with a piece of butter rolled in flour, or the yolk of an egg beat up with two or three spoonsful of cream. Shake it all together for two or three minutes, then take out the sweet herbs, lay the duck in the dish, and pour the sauce over it. Garnish with boiled mint chopped very fine.
Pigeons.
PUT into the bodies of your pigeons a seasoning made with pepper and salt, a few cloves and mace, some sweet herbs, and a piece of butter rolled in flour. Tie up the necks and vents, and half roast them. Then put them into a stew-pan, with a quart of good gravy, a little white wine, a few peppercorns, three or four blades of mace, a bit of lemon, a bunch of sweet herbs, and a small onion. Stew them gently till they are enough; then take the pigeons out, and strain the liquor through a sieve: scum it and thicken it in your stew-pan with a piece of butter rolled in flour; then put in the pigeons with some pickled mushrooms; stew it about five minutes; put the pigeons into a dish, and pour the sauce over them.
Pheasants.
PUT into your stew-pan with the pheasant as much veal broth as will cover it, and let it stew till there is just enough liquor left for sauce. Then scum it, and put in artichoke bottoms parboiled, a little beaten mace, a glass of wine, and some pepper and salt. If it is not sufficiently substantial, thicken it with a piece of butter rolled in flour, and squeeze in a little lemon-juice. Then take up the pheasant, pour the sauce over it, and put forcemeat balls into the dish.
Partridges.
TRUSS your partridges in the same manner as for roasting, stuff the craws, and lard them down each side of the breast; then roll a lump of butter in pepper, and salt, and beaten mace, and put into the bellies, Sew up the vents, and then put them into a stew-pan with a quart of good gravy, a spoonful of Madeira wine, the same of catsup, a tea-spoonful of lemon-pickle, half the quantity of mushroom powder, one anchovy, half a lemon, and a sprig of sweet marjorum. Cover the pan close, and stew them half an hour then take them out and thicken the gravy. Boil it a little, and pour it over the partridges, and lay round them artichoke bottoms boiled and cut in quarters, and the yolks of four hard eggs. Woodcocks must be stewed in the same manner.
Cucumbers.
PARE twelve middle sized cucumbers, slice them about the thickness of half a crown, and lay them in a coarse cloth to drain. When quite dry, flour them, and fry them in fresh butter till they are brown; then take them out with an egg-slice, and lay them on a plate before the fire. Take a large cucumber, cut a long piece out of the side, and scoop out all the pulp. Have ready some onions nicely fried, fill the cucumber with these, and season with pepper and salt; then put in the piece that was cut out, and tie it round with packthread. Flour it, and fry it till it is brown; then take it out of the pan, and keep it hot. Let the pan remain on the fire, and while you are putting in a little flour with one hand, keep stirring it with the other.—When it is thick, put in two or three spoonsful of water, half a pint of white or red wine, and two spoonsful of catsup. Stir them together, and add three blades of mace, four cloves, half a nutmeg grated, and a little pepper and salt, all beat fine together. Stir it into the saucepan, and then throw in your cucumbers. Let them stew for two or three minutes, then lay the whole cucumber in the middle of your dish, having first untied it, the rest round it, and pour the sauce all over. Garnish the dish with fried onions.
Peas and Lettuce.
PUT a quart of green peas, and two large lettuces washed clean, and cut small across, into a stew-pan, with a quart of gravy, and stew them till they are tender. Put in a piece of butter rolled in flour, and season with pepper and salt. When of a proper thickness, dish them up, and send them to table. Instead of butter you may thicken them with the yolks of four eggs, and if you put two or three thin rashers of lean ham at the bottom of the stew-pan, it will give the whole a very fine flavour.
SECT. III.
STEWING FISH.
Carp and Tench.
HAVING scaled and gutted your fish, wash them thoroughly clean, dry them with a cloth. Then put them into a stew-pan, with a quart of water, the same quantity of red wine, a large spoonful of lemon-pickle, another of browning, a little mushroom-powder, chyan pepper, a large onion stuck with cloves, and a stick of horse-radish. (If carp, add the blood, which you must be careful to save when you kill them.) Cover your pan close to keep in the steam; and let them stew gently over a slow fire till your gravy is reduced to just enough to cover them. Then take the fish out, and put them into the dish you intend for table. Set the gravy again on the fire, and thicken it with a large lump of butter rolled in flour; boil it a little, and then strain it over your fish. Garnish with pickled mushrooms, scraped horse-radish, and the roes of the fish, some of them fried and cut into small pieces, and the rest boiled. Just before you send it up, squeeze into the sauce the juice of a lemon.
Barbel.
TAKE a large barbel, scale, gut, and wash it in vinegar and salt, and afterwards in clear water. Then put it into a stew-pan, with a sufficiency of eel broth to cover it, and add some cloves, a bunch of sweet herbs, and a bit of cinnamon. Let them stew gently till the fish is done, then take it out, thicken the sauce with butter and flour, pour it over the fish, and serve it up.
Small Barbel.
THE small barbel is stewed like a carp, and when large may be done on the gridiron, served up with a white sauce.
Trout.
MAKE a stuffing with grated bread, a piece of butter, chopped parsley, lemon-peel grated, pepper, salt, nutmeg, savory herbs, and the yolk of an egg, all well mixed together. Fill the belly of your fish with this, and then put it into a stew-pan with a quart of good boiled gravy, half a pint of Madeira wine, an onion, a little whole pepper, a few cloves, and a piece of lemon-peel. Stew it very gently over a slow fire, and when done, take out the fish, and add to the sauce a little flour mixed in some cream, a little catsup, and the juice of a lemon. Let it just boil up, then strain it over your fish, and serve it up.
Pike.
MAKE a browning with butter and flour, and put it into your stew-pan with a pint of red wine, a faggot, four cloves, a dozen of small onions half boiled, with some pepper and salt. Cut your pike into pieces, put it in, and let it stew very gently. When done, take it out, and add to the sauce two anchovies and a spoonful of capers chopped fine. Boil it for a minute or two, and then pour it over the fish. Garnish with bread nicely fried, and cut three-corner ways.
CUT a pike into slices, according to its size; after having scaled, gutted, and washed it, lard all the upper part with bacon cut small, and put it into a stew-pan with a glass of white wine, some good broth, a bunch of sweet herbs, and some fillet of veal cut into small dice: when it is stewed, and the sauce strained off, glaze it like other fricandeaus. It may also be fricaseed like chickens (as a side dish); or you may stew it, and serve it up with a white sauce.
Cod.
CUT some slices of cod, as for boiling, and season them with grated nutmeg, pepper, salt, and sweet herbs. Put them into a stew-pan with half a pint of white wine and a quarter of a pint of water. Cover them close, and let them simmer for five or six minutes. Then squeeze in the juice of a lemon, and add a few oysters with their liquor strained, a piece of butter rolled in flour, and a blade or two of mace. Let them stew very gently, and frequently shake the pan to prevent its burning. When the fish is done, take out the onion and sweet herbs, lay the cod in a warm dish, and strain the sauce over it.
Soles, Plaice, and Flounders.
THE same methods must be taken for stewing either of these kinds of fish. Half fry them in butter, then take them out of the pan, and put to the butter a quart of water, two anchovies, and an onion sliced. When they have boiled slowly for about a quarter of an hour, put your fish in again, and let them stew gently about twenty minutes; then take out the fish, and thicken the sauce with butter and flour. Give the whole a gentle boil, then strain it through a hair-sieve over the fish, and serve them up with oyster, cockle, or shrimp sauce.
Lampreys and Eels.
HAVING skinned, gutted, and thoroughly washed your fish, season them with salt, pepper, a little lemon-peel shred fine, mace, cloves, and nutmeg. Put some thin slices of butter into your stew-pan, and having rolled your fish round, put them in, with half a pint of good gravy, a gill of white wine, a bunch of marjorum, winter savory, thyme, and an onion sliced. Let them stew over a gentle fire, and keep turning them till they are tender. Then take them out, and put an anchovy into the sauce. Thicken it with the yolk of an egg beat very fine, or a piece of butter rolled in flour. When it boils, pour it over the fish, and serve them to table.
Prawns, Shrimps, and Cray-fish.
TAKE about two quarts of either of these fish, and pick out the tails. Put the bodies into your stew-pan, with about a pint of white wine (or water with a spoonful of vinegar) and a blade of mace. Stew these a quarter of an hour, then stir them together, and strain them. Having done this, wash out your pan, and put into it the strained liquor and tails. Grate into it a small nutmeg, put in a little salt, a quarter of a pound of butter rolled in flour, and shake it all together. Cut a thin slice of bread round a quartern loaf, toast it brown on both sides, cut it into six pieces, lay it close together in the bottom of your dish, pour your fish and sauce hot over it, and send it hot to table. If crayfish, garnish the dish with some of their biggest claws laid thick round.
Oysters.
STRAIN the liquor of your oysters, and put it into your saucepan with a little beaten mace, and thicken it with flour and butter. Boil this three or four minutes, then toast a slice of bread, cut it in three-cornered pieces, and lay them round the dish into which you intend to put the oysters. Then put into the pan a spoonful of cream with your oysters, shake them round, and let them stew till they are quite hot, but be careful they do not boil. Pour them into a deep plate or soup-dish, and serve them up. Most kinds of shell-fish may be stewed in the same manner.
WASH them thoroughly clean in their own liquor, and then put them into your scollop shells; strew over them a few crumbs of bread. Lay a slice of butter on the first you put in, then more oysters, and bread and butter successively till the shell is full. Put them into a Dutch oven to brown, and serve them up hot in the shells.
Muscles.
WASH them very clean in several waters, then put them into a stew-pan, and cover them close. Let them stew till the shells open, and then pick out the fish clean, one by one. Look under the tongue to see if there be a crab, and if you find one, throw that muscle away. You will likewise find a little tough article under the tongue, which you must pick off. Having thus properly cleansed them, put them into a saucepan, and to a quart of muscles, put half a pint of the liquor strained through a sieve; add a few blades of mace, a small piece of butter rolled in flour, and let them stew gently. Lay some toasted bread in the dish, and when the muscles are done, pour them on it, and serve them up.