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cool place. Indeed, this is the time allowed in England for the Christmas "shoulder of mutton," and every few days it is rubbed over with salt and vinegar. In summer, unless the butcher will keep the meat for you, you must resort to other means.

A tough piece of meat may be laid in not too strong vinegar for three or four days in summer and twice as long in the winter, adding to the vinegar such spices as you may like. To soften a tough steak pour a few spoonfuls of vinegar on and let stand for twelve or twenty-four hours. This method has been long recommended and is to some extent used among us; the foreign cook employs sour milk for the same purpose and with even greater success, but this must be changed every day and at the end of the time well washed from the meat.

We cannot too strongly urge that the housekeeper, especially if she be straitened in means, should become used to these methods and practice them occasionally. She does not want to confine herself to soups and stews and she cannot buy "porterhouse" steak at twenty or twenty-five cents a pound, but she can buy" round" at half that price, and after a little experiment can make it tender for boiling, roasting, or broiling by one of these methods. In winter, she should buy a supply of meat ahead and keep it until it grows tender.

RECIPES FOR COOKING MEAT.

The methods of cooking meat having been treated, and mention made of the parts adapted to each, it remains only to give practical hints as to making and varying dishes.

BEEF.

Boiled, roast, and broiled beef have been sufficiently dwelt upon. See pages 219-226.

Stews and ra

No mode of cooking meat has so many variations; gouts. the flavor of the meat being used to season vegetables of every sort, also doughs, as in dumplings, or in the crust of meat pie. For making meat stews see page 223.

With potatoes.

One half hour before the meat is done lay on top of it peeled potatoes, all of the same size, and serve when done with the meat and gravy.

Meat pie.

When the meat is cooked tender, thicken the gravy and pour all into a pie or pudding dish. Cover with a common pie crust or one of mashed potatoes, and bake one half-hour. You may also mix sliced raw potatoes

It

with the stew, in layers. Potato crust: One cup mashed potatoes, one egg, two tablespoonfuls butter, one cup of milk, salt. Beat together till smooth, and then work in enough flour so that you can roll it out. should be half an inch thick, and as soft as you can handle. Add to meat when tender, one quart tomatoes to two pounds meat. Thicken with flour and stew five

With tomatoes.

minutes.

Flavors for stews.

Stews are variously flavored; onion, salt, and pepper are always in place. A little lemon juice added as it is served gives a delicious flavor, or even a tablespoonful of vinegar may be used. Any herbs, a piece of carrot, a clove or bit of garlic may be used for variety. Catchup is also good asa flavor.

Corned beef.

four hours.

Wash it well, put into plenty of cold water and bring slowly to the simmering point. Cook three to

Turnips or cabbage are often eaten with corned beef. They should not be boiled with the meat, but in a separate pot.

Beef liver.

Broiled.

If from a good animal, beef liver is often as tender as calf's liver.

This is the best method. Soak an hour in cold water, wipe dry, slice, and dip in melted beef fat. Broil slowly (see page 225) till thoroughly done, then salt and

butter.

Fried.

When prepared as above, the slices of liver may be fried in a pan with a little beef fat. This gives an opportunity for more flavors, as onion may be fried with it, a little vinegar added to the juices that fry out, then thickened and used as gravy.

Baked.

If liver is not quite tender it can be made into a stew, or it may be chopped fine, mixed with bread crumbs and egg, and baked half an hour.

If fire is no object, you may boil a beef's heart; it Beef's heart. will take all day. Put into cold water and bring slowly to the simmering point and keep it there. Next day it may be stuffed with well seasoned bread crumbs and baked three fourths of an hour.

Tripe. stewed.

Cut in strips, soak in salt and vinegar one halfday, wipe dry and fry in hot lard. It may also be

RE-COOKING BEEF.

(A.) Boiled, baked, or broiled beef which is tender and full of flavor..

To serve roast beef a second time:

Roast beef reserved.

Heat the gravy, put the roast in it. After trimming it into shape again, cover closely and put into a hot oven for ten minutes or less, according to size of piece. Or, cut in slices and lay in hot gravy only long enough to heat them through.

Hash.

Being full of flavor, such meat may be chopped and mixed with from one third to one half as much chopped or mashed potatoes, bread crumbs or boiled rice. These mixtures may be warmed as hash, or made into cakes or balls to be fried on a griddle or in boiling fat.

Mix the chopped meat with the potatoes, bread crumbs, or rice, as above, add salt and pepper, and make quite moist with water or soup. Put a good piece of butter or of beef fat into a spider, and when it is hot put in the hash. Cover and let it steam, then remove cover, and let it dry out while a brown crust forms on the bottom. Or, stir till hot, and dish immediately.

Hash balls.

Make not quite as moist as for hash, form into little cakes, dust with flour, and fry to a nice brown in a little beef dripping on a griddle. Or, egg and bread crumb the balls, and fry in boiling fat.

RE-COOKING SOUP MEAT.

(B.) This meat, though made tender by long cooking, has given much of its flavor to the soup. It has not, to the same degree, however, lost its nutritive value; if we can make it taste good again, both palate and stomach will approve it. It will not do to mix this meat with neutral substances like potatoes and bread ; it needs addition rather than subtraction. In any case, first chop the meat very fine.

Pressed soup

Season the chopped beef well with salt and pepper, meat. and some other addition, as celery salt or nutmeg, or some of the sweet herbs. Moisten with soup or stock, pack in a square, deep tin, and place in the oven for a short time. To be sliced cold, or warmed as a meat hash to be served on toast.

Meat croquettes.

When so good a dish as this can be made out of "soup meat, it is worth a little trouble. Ingredients. Two cups of the chopped beef, one tablespoonful butter, one tablespoonful flour, one egg, one half a lemon or one tablespoonful vinegar, a few gratings of nutmeg, and one half cup of stock or milk. Cook the flour in the butter, and add the stock or milk and seasoning, then the beef, and cook, stirring all the time till the mass cleaves from the side of the kettle. Let it get cold, then make into little egg-shaped balls, let them dry a little, roll in beaten egg and bread crumbs, and fry in boiling fat. To vary, add one third as much chopped salt or fresh pork as you

meat.

have

VEAL.

This meat takes other flavors well, and is used by cooks for all manner of fancy dishes. It is lacking in fat, and for that reason easily dries in cooking; an addition of pork is always an advantage to the taste. It must be always well cooked, never rare. This may be a piece cut from loin, breast, or shoulRoast veal. der, or a rib piece. Roast like beef (see page 224), allowing twice as long, or one and one half to two hours for any piece under four pounds.

Broiled

veal

Cutlets, chops, and steaks are broiled like beef, but chops. slower and twice as long, and must be buttered and floured to prevent drying. Should be served with a tomato or onion sauce.

Veal stew.

Cook like beef stew (see page 223). It may be varied in the same way, and is generally more highly seasoned. Especially good as pot-pie. Salt pork should be

added to it.

Liver, sweet

heart.

Veal liver, sweetbreads, and heart are all tender breads, and and excellent, but high priced, especially the sweetbreads. Liver and heart are prepared like the same parts in beef (see pages 228-229), but the heart cooks tender in two hours. This latter is an excellent dish; do not soak it; stuff with well seasoned bread crumbs and bake, basting well.

MUTTON AND LAMB.

Mutton

and

The quality of mutton is so varying that when lamb. cooked the dish is often a disappointment. The influence of long keeping or "hanging" upon it is even more beneficial than upon beef.

Mutton fat.

Fat of mutton.

Some cooks trim away every bit of fat from mutton. It is perfectly wholesome, but sometimes gets a taste from coming in contact with the hide or hair of the animal; hence the prejudice. Scrape the outside of the meat well, pulling off the dried skin and cutting away the dark ends.

Unlike beef, other pieces besides the rib are good Pieces to roast. for roasting; the loin and haunch are most economical, the shoulder next, the leg next. Roast like beef (see page 224). Unless the meat is first-class, do not roast but boil it.

The leg is oftenest used for this purpose.

Simmer about twelve minutes to the pound; that

To boil mutton. is the rule, but very frequently the meat when it

comes on the table will be tough, owing entirely to the difference in the quality of the meat. Such meat must be boiled twice

as long, or is better cooked in a stew.

Mutton chops.

The chop is oftenest broiled, and is a famous dish. Cut three fourths of an inch thick, and broil rare like beef. Chops and cutlets are excellent fried in fat (see page 228). This is the most economical and perhaps the most satisfactory of all mutton dishes. The inferior parts, as the neck, are as good as any for this purpose. Proceed

Mutton stew.

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