Domestic Cookery | Page 4

it over the top, with little pieces of the fat of
ham; dust salt and pepper over, put it in the dutch-oven, or dripping pan,
and bake it brown; put a pint of water in the bottom, and if it should dry
up, put in more; when it is done, dust in some flour for the gravy. If
done carefully, meat is almost as good roasted in the stove as before the
fire. If you let the gravy boil over in the stove, it makes an unpleasant
smell through the house, and spoils the flavor of the meat. The ham of
fresh pork is good, done in the same way.
To Bake a Pig's Head.
Have the head nicely cleaned, with the eyes taken out, and the ears cut
off; season it with salt and pepper; rub crumbs of bread over, with a
spoonful of lard; put it in the dutch-oven, or dripping pan, with a pint of
water; bake it an hour; thicken and season the gravy.
To Cook Pigeons.
Pigeons should be roasted about fifteen minutes before a quick fire; as
the meat is dry, they should have a rich stuffing, and be basted with
butter.
You may bake them in a dutch-oven or stew them in a pot, with water
enough to cover them, and some crumbs of bread or flour dusted over
them; let them cook slowly half an hour; mix together flour and water,

with salt, pepper, and parsley to season, and a lump of butter; stir this
in and let it boil up; put them in a deep dish and pour the gravy over.
Pigeons make a very nice pie in the same way as chickens.
To Bake a Ham.
Make a dressing of bread, seasoned with pepper and herbs, moisten it
with about five eggs, instead of water. Take a ham that has been cut at
the table, either fresh or salt, fill up the place where it has been cut, and
cover the top with the dressing, bake it half an hour, and garnish it with
parsley before sending it to the table.
To Bake Beef's Heart.
After washing the heart, make a rich stuffing with bread and suet,
highly seasoned; fill it with this, and put it in a dutch-oven, or the
dripping pan of a stove, with half a pint of water; let it bake an hour
and a half; the gravy will not need any thickening, as some of the
stuffing will fall out. Put the gravy in the dish.
Beef A la mode.
Take part of a round of beef, bone it, and make holes for stuffing,
which is made of bread, suet, thyme, parsley, chopped onions, mace,
cloves, pepper, salt and a raw egg; stuff the meat, bind it with tape, and
put it in a dutch-oven, with a plate in the bottom to keep it from
burning; just cover it with water, and let it stew from three to four
hours according to the size.
Make gravy with some of the water it was stewed in, seasoned with
claret and butter, and thickened with flour. If you wish it to taste of any
other sort of wine, add a glass to the gravy.
Beef Steak.
Choose the tenderest part of beef, cut it an inch thick, broil it gently
over good coals, covered with a plate; have butter, salt, pepper, and a
little water in a dish; and when you turn the beef, dip it in this; be

careful to have as much of the juice as you can. When done, put it in a
warm dish, and pour the basting over, with some more butter.
Mutton Chops.
Cut some pieces of mutton, either with or without bone, about an inch
thick; have the gridiron hot, first rubbing it with a little suet; put on the
chops, turning them frequently, and butter and season them with pepper
and salt as you cook them; then dish them on a hot dish and add more
butter.
Rabbits and Squirrels.
Rabbits and squirrels, or birds, may be fried as chickens, or stewed in a
pot with a little water. If you make a pie of rabbits or squirrels, they
should be stewed first to make them tender, and then made in the same
way as chicken pie. Rabbits ace very good cooked with chopped onions,
in a pot with a little water, and thickening of milk and flour stirred in
when they are nearly done. Squirrels make very good soup.
To Fry Ham.
Slice the ham and if it is very salt, pour boiling water on it, and let it
soak a while; then fry it with a small piece of lard; when done, dish it;
mix together flour, milk, parsley and pepper, let it boil, and pour it over
the