A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes | Page 5

this into the soup, and stir the whole on the fire, keeping it boiling
for about twenty-five minutes longer; when it will be ready for dinner.
One ox-cheek, properly managed, will, by attending to the foregoing
instructions, furnish an ample quantity of substantial and nutritious
food, equal to the wants of a large family, for three days' consumption.
No. 11. SHEEP'S-HEAD BROTH.
Get the butcher to split the sheep's head into halves, wash these clean,
and put them into a boiling-pot with two gallons of water; set this on
the fire to boil, skim it well, add carrots, turnips, onions, leeks, celery,
thyme or winter savory, season with pepper and salt; add a pint of
Patna rice, or Scotch barley; and all the whole to keep gently boiling by
the side of the fire for three hours, adding a little water to make up for
the deficiency in quantity occasioned by boiling.
No. 12. COW-HEEL BROTH.
Put a couple of cow-heels into a boiling-pot, with a pound of rice, a

dozen leeks washed free from grit and cut into pieces, and some
coarsely chopped parsley; fill up with six quarts of water, set the whole
to boil on the fire, skim it well, season with thyme, pepper, and salt,
and allow the whole to boil very gently on the hob for about two hours.
You will thus provide a savoury meal at small cost.
No. 13. BACON AND CABBAGE SOUP.
When it happens that you have a dinner consisting of bacon and
cabbages, you invariably throw away the liquor in which they have
been boiled, or, at the best, give it to the pigs, if you possess any; this is
wrong, for it is easy to turn it to a better account for your own use, by
paying attention to the following instructions, viz.:--Put your piece of
bacon on to boil in a pot with two gallons (more or less, according to
the number you have to provide for) of water, when it has boiled up,
and has been well skimmed, add the cabbages, kale, greens, or sprouts,
whichever may be used, well washed and split down, and also some
parsnips and carrots; season with pepper, but _no_ salt, as the bacon
will season the soup sufficiently; and when the whole has boiled
together very gently for about two hours, take up the bacon surrounded
with the cabbage, parsnips, and carrots, leaving a small portion of the
vegetables in the soup, and pour this into a large bowl containing slices
of bread; eat the soup first, and make it a rule that those who eat most
soup are entitled to the largest share of bacon.
No. 14. STEWED LEG OF BEEF.
Four pounds of leg or shin of beef cost about one shilling; cut this into
pieces the size of an egg, and fry them of a brown colour with a little
dripping fat, in a good sized saucepan, then shake in a large handful of
flour, add carrots and onions cut up in pieces the same as the meat,
season with pepper and salt, moisten with water enough to cover in the
whole, stir the stew on the fire till it boils, and then set it on the hob to
continue boiling very gently for about an hour and a half, and you will
then be able to enjoy an excellent dinner.
No. 15. COCKY LEEKY.

I hope that at some odd times you may afford yourselves an old hen or
cock; and when this occurs, this is the way in which I recommend that
it be cooked, viz.:--First pluck, draw, singe off the hairs, and tie the
fowl up in a plump shape; next, put it into a boiling-pot with a gallon of
water, and a pound of Patna rice, a dozen leeks cut in pieces, some
peppercorns and salt to season; boil the whole very gently for three
hours, and divide the fowl to be eaten with the soup, which will prove
not only nourishing but invigorating to the system.
No. 16. ROAST FOWL AND GRAVY.
Let us hope that at Christmas, or some other festive season, you may
have to dress a fowl or turkey for your dinner. On such occasions I
would recommend the following method:--First, draw the fowl,
reserving the gizzard and liver to be tucked under the wings; truss the
fowl with skewers, and tie it to the end of a skein of worsted, which is
to be fastened to a nail stuck in the chimney-piece, so that the fowl may
dangle rather close to the fire, in order to roast it. Baste the fowl, while
it is being roasted, with butter, or some kind of grease, and when nearly
done, sprinkle it with a little flour and salt, and allow the fowl to attain