The Virginia Housewife. Mary Randolph
COLLAR A CALF'S HEAD
After cleaning it nicely, saw the bone down the middle of the skull, but do not separate the head, take out the brains and tongue, boil it tender enough to remove the bones, which must be taken entirely out; lay it on a board, have a good quantity of chopped parsley seasoned with mace, nutmeg, pepper and salt–spread a layer of this, then one of thick slices of ham, another of parsley and one of ham, roll it up tight, sew a cloth over it, and bind that round with tape; boil it half an hour, and when cold press it. It must be kept covered with vinegar and water, and is very delicious eaten with sallad or oil and vinegar.
Take the heart and liver from the harslet, and cut off the windpipe, boil the lights very tender, and cut them in small pieces–take as much of the water they were boiled in as will be sufficient for gravy; add to it a large spoonful of white wine, one of lemon pickle, some grated nutmeg, pepper and salt, with a large spoonful of butter, mixed with one of white flour; let it boil a few minutes, and put in the minced lights, set it by till the heart and liver are ready, cut the ventricle out of the heart, wash it well, lard it all over with narrow slips of middling, fill the cavity with good forcemeat, put it in a pan on the broad end, that the stuffing may not come out; bake it a nice brown, slice the liver an inch thick and broil it, make the mince hot, set the heart upright in the middle of the dish, pour it around, lay the broiled liver on, and garnish with bunches of fried parsley; it should be served up extremely hot.
Boil the feet till very tender, cut them in two and pull out the large bones, have half a pint of good white gravy, add to it a spoonful of white wine, one of lemon pickle, and some salt, with a tea-spoonful of curry powder, stew the feet in it fifteen minutes, and thicken it with the yelks of two eggs, a gill of milk, a large spoonful of butter, and two of white flour, let the thickening be very smooth, shake the stew pan over the fire a few minutes, but do not let it boil lest the eggs and milk should curdle.
Prepare them as for the fricassee, dredge them well with flour and fry them a light brown, pour parsley and butter over, and garnish with fried parsley.
Take the stomach from the calf as soon as it is killed–do not wash it, but hang it in a dry cool place for four or five days; then turn it inside out, slip off all the curd nicely with the hand, fill it with a little saltpetre mixed with the quantity of salt necessary, and lay it in a small stone pot, pour over it a small tea-spoonful of vinegar, and sprinkle a handful of salt over it, cover it closely and keep it for use. You must not wash it–that would weaken the gastric juice, and injure the rennet. After it has been salted six or eight weeks, cut off a piece four or five inches long, put it in a large mustard bottle, or any vessel that will hold about a pint and a half; put on it five gills of cold water, and two gills of rose brandy–stop it very close, and shake it when you are going to use it: a table-spoonful of this is sufficient for a quart of milk. It must be prepared in very cool weather, and if well done, will keep more than a year.
Boil the head till the meat is almost enough for eating; then cut it in thin slices, take three quarters of a pint of good gravy, and add half a pint of white wine, half a nutmeg, two anchovies, a small onion stuck with cloves, and a little mace; boil these up in the liquor for a quarter of an hour, then strain it and boil it up again; put in the meat, with salt to your taste, let it stew a little, and if you choose it, you may add some sweetbreads, and make some forcemeat balls with veal; mix the brains with the yelks of eggs and fry them to lay for a garish. When the head is ready to be sent in, stir in a bit of butter.
Divide the calf's head, wash it clean, and having the yelks of two eggs well beaten, wash the outside of the head all over with them, and on that strew raspings of bread sifted, pepper, salt, nutmeg and mace powdered; also, the brains cut in pieces and dipped in thick butter, then cover the head with bits of butter, pour into the pan some white wine and water, with as much gravy, and cover it close. Let it be baked in a quick oven, and when it is served up, pour on some strong gravy, and garnish with slices of lemon, red beet root pickled, fried oysters and fried bread.
Take a fresh calf's liver, and having made a hole in it with a large knife run in lengthways, but not quite through, have ready a forced meat, or stuffing made of part of the liver parboiled, fat of bacon minced very fine, and sweet herbs powdered; add to these some grated bread and spice finely powdered, with pepper and salt. With this stuffing fill the hole in the liver, which must be larded with fat bacon, and then roasted, flouring it well, and basting with butter till it is enough. This is to be served up hot, with gravy sauce having a little wine in it.
Cut it in slices, put over it salt and pepper; broil it nicely, and pour on some melted butter with chopped parsley after it is dished.
Directions for cleaning Calf's Head and Feet, for those who live in the country and butcher their own meats.
As soon as the animal is killed, have the head and feet taken off, wash them clean, sprinkle some pounded rosin all over the hairs, then dip them in boiling water, take them instantly out, the rosin will dry immediately, and they may be scraped clean with ease; the feet should be soaked in water three or four days, changing it daily; this will make them very white.
LAMB
The fore-quarter should always be roasted and served with mint sauce in a boat; chop the mint small and mix it with vinegar enough to make it liquid, sweeten it with sugar.
The hind-quarter may be boiled or roasted, and requires mint sauce; it may also be dressed in various ways.
BAKED LAMB
Cut the shank bone from a hind-quarter, separate the joints of the loin, lay it in a pan with the kidney uppermost, sprinkle some pepper and salt, add a few cloves of garlic, a pint of water and a dozen large ripe tomatoes with the skins taken off, bake it but do not let it be burnt, thicken the gravy with a little butter and brown flour.
FRIED LAMB
Separate the leg from the loin, cut off the shank and boil the leg; divide the loin in chops, dredge and fry them a nice brown, lay the leg in the middle of the dish, and put the chops around, pour over parsley and butter, and garnish with fried parsley.
The leg cut into steaks and the loin into chops will make a fine fricassee, or cutlets.
TO DRESS LAMB'S HEAD AND FEET
Clean them very nicely, and boil them till tender, take off the flesh from the head with the eyes, also mince the tongue and heart, which must be boiled with the head; split the feet in two, put them with the pieces from the head and the mince, into a pint of good gravy, seasoned with pepper, salt, and tomato catsup, or ripe tomatoes: stew it till tender, thicken the gravy, and lay the liver cut in slices and broiled over it–garnish with crisp parsley and bits of curled bacon.
MUTTON
The saddle should always be roasted and garnished with scraped horse-radish. See general observations on roasting. Mutton is in the highest perfection from August until Christmas, when it begins to decline in goodness.
BOILED LEG OF MUTTON
Cut off the shank, wrap the flank nicely round and secure it with skewers, dredge it well with flour, and put it on the fire in a kettle of cold water with some salt, and three or four heads of garlic, which will give it a delicately fine flavour; skin it well, and when nearly done, take it from the fire and keep it hot and closely covered, that the steam may finish it; have carrots well boiled to put in the dish under it, or turnips boiled, mashed smooth and stewed with a lump of butter and salt, lay the mutton on, and pour over it butter melted with some flour in it, and a cup full of capers with some of the vinegar; shake them together over the fire till hot before you pour it on.
ROASTED LEG
Prepare it as for boiling, be very careful in spitting it, cover it with paper and follow the directions for roasting, serve it up garnished with scraped horse-radish.