Mrs. Beeton's Dictionary of Every-Day Cookery. Mrs. Beeton
impurity arises, which carefully remove; when quite cold, pour it over the meat, every part of which must be covered with the brine. This may be used for pickling any kind of meat, and may be kept for some time, if boiled up occasionally with an addition of the ingredients. Time.—A ham should be kept in pickle for a fortnight; a piece of beef weighing 14 lbs., 12 or 15 days; a tongue, 10 days or a fortnight.
Note.—For salting and pickling meat, it is a good plan to rub in only half the quantity of salt directed, and to let it remain for a day or two to disgorge and effectually to get rid of the blood and slime; then rub in the remainder of the salt and other ingredients, and proceed as above. This rule may be applied to all recipes for salting and pickling meat.
BEEF, Potted.
JAR FOR POTTED MEATS.
[Cold Meat Cookery. 1.] Ingredients.—2 lbs. of lean beef, 1 tablespoonful of water,¼ lb. of butter, a seasoning to taste of salt, cayenne, pounded mace, and black pepper. Mode.—Procure a nice piece of lean beef, as free as possible from gristle, skin, &c., and put it into a jar (if at hand, one with a lid) with 1 tablespoonful of water. Cover it closely, and put the jar into a saucepan of boiling water, letting the water come within 2 inches of the top of the jar. Boil gently for 3½ hours, then take the beef, chop it very small with a chopping-knife, and pound it thoroughly in a mortar. Mix with it by degrees all, or a portion, of the gravy that will have run from it, and a little clarified butter; add the seasoning, put it in small pots for use, and cover with a little butter just warmed and poured over. If much gravy is added to it, it will keep but a short time; on the contrary, if a large proportion of butter is used, it may be preserved for some time. Time.—3½ hours. Average cost, for this quantity, 1s. 10d. Seasonable at any time.
[Cold Meat Cookery. 2.] Ingredients.—The remains of cold roast or boiled beef,¼ lb. of butter, cayenne to taste, 2 blades of pounded mace. Mode.—The outside slices of boiled beef may, with a little trouble, be converted into a very nice addition to the breakfast-table. Cut up the meat into small pieces and pound it well, with a little butter, in a mortar; add a seasoning of cayenne and mace, and be very particular that the latter spice is reduced to the finest powder. When all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, put them into glass or earthen potting-pots, and pour on the top a coating of clarified butter. Seasonable at any time.
Note.—If cold roast beef is used, remove all pieces of gristle and dry outside pieces, as these do not pound well.
BEEF RAGOÛT.
[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—About 2 lbs. of cold roast beef, 6 onions, pepper, salt, and mixed spices to taste; ½ pint of boiling water, 3 tablespoonfuls of gravy. Mode.—Cut the beef into rather large pieces, and put them into a stewpan with the onions, which must be sliced. Season well with pepper, salt, and mixed spices, and pour over about ½ pint of boiling water, and gravy in the above proportion (gravy saved from the meat answers the purpose); let the whole stew very gently for about 2 hours, and serve with pickled walnuts, gherkins, or capers, just warmed in the gravy. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 4d. Seasonable at any time.
BEEF, Rib-bones of (a pretty Dish).
[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—Ribs of beef bones, 1 onion chopped fine, a few slices of carrot and turnip,¼ pint of gravy. Mode.—The bones for this dish should have left on them a slight covering of meat; saw them into pieces 3 inches long; season them with pepper and salt, and put them into a stewpan with the remaining ingredients. Stew gently, until the vegetables are tender, and serve on a flat dish within walls of mashed potatoes, Time.—¾ hour. Average cost, exclusive of the bones, 2d. Seasonable at any time.
BEEF, Roast Ribs of.
Ingredients.—Beef, a little salt. Mode.—The fore-rib is considered the primest roasting piece, but the middle-rib is considered the most economical. Let the meat be well hung (should the weather permit), having previously cut off the ends of the bones, which should be salted for a few days, and then boiled. Put the meat down to a nice clear fire, with some clean dripping in the pan, dredge the joint with a little flour, and keep continually basting it all the time it is cooking. Sprinkle some fine salt over it (this must never be done until the joint is dished, as it draws the juices from the meat); pour the dripping from the pan, put in a little boiling water, and strain the gravy over the meat. Garnish with tufts of scraped horseradish, and send horseradish sauce to table with it. A Yorkshire pudding (see Puddings) sometimes accompanies this dish, and, if lightly made and well cooked, will be found a very agreeable addition. Time.—10 lbs. of beef, 2½ hours; 14 to 16 lbs., from 3½ to 4 hours. Average cost, 9d. per lb. Sufficient.—A joint of 10 lbs. sufficient for 8 or 9 persons. Seasonable at any time.
BEEF, Roast Ribs of, Boned and Rolled (a very convenient Joint for a small Family).
Ingredients.—1 or 2 ribs of beef. Mode.—Choose a fine rib of beef, and have it cut according to the weight you require, either wide or narrow. Bone and roll the meat round, secure it with wooden skewers, and, if necessary, bind it round with a piece of tape. Spit the beef firmly, or, if a bottle-jack is used, put the joint on the hook, and place it near a nice clear fire. Let it remain so till the outside of the meat is set, when draw it to a distance, and keep continually basting until the meat is done, which can be ascertained by the steam from it drawing towards the fire. As this joint is solid, rather more than ¼ hour must be allowed for each lb. Remove the skewers, put in a plated or silver one, and send the joint to table with gravy in the dish, and garnish with tufts of horseradish. Horseradish sauce is a great improvement to roast beef. Time.—For 10 lbs. of the rolled ribs, 3 hours (as the joint is very solid, we have allowed an extra ½ hour); for 6 lbs., 1½ hour. Average cost, 9d. per lb. Sufficient.—A joint of 10 lbs. for 6 or 8 persons. Seasonable all the year.
Note.—When the weight exceeds 10 lbs., we would not advise the above method of boning or rolling; only in the case of 1 or 2 ribs, when the joint cannot stand upright in the dish, and would look awkwardly. The bones should be put on with a few vegetables and herbs, and made into stock.
BEEF RISSOLES.
[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—The remains of cold roast beef; to each pound of meat allow ¾ lb. of bread-crumbs, salt and pepper to taste, a few chopped savoury herbs,½ a teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, 1 or 2 eggs, according to the quantity of meat. Mode.—Mince the beef very fine, which should be rather lean, and mix with this bread-crumbs, herbs, seasoning, and lemon-peel, in the above proportion, to each pound of meat. Make all into a thick paste with 1 or 2 eggs; divide into balls or cones, and fry a rich brown. Garnish