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CALF'S HEAD, HASHED (another way)
Cut the remains of a cold calf's head into neat slices about a quarter of an inch in thickness and three or four inches square. Put two ounces of butter into a saucepan; let it melt, then fry in it two large onions cut into dice, and when the are lightly browned take them out, and mix very smoothly with the butter, one table-spoonful of flour, and a cupful of the liquor in which the head was boiled. Add the onion and two table-spoonfuls of pickled gherkins, chopped small, then the pieces of cold calf's head. Let all simmer gently for two or three minutes; serve as hot as possible. A glass of sherry is an improvement. Probable cost, exclusive of the cold meat, 6d. Sufficient for four or five persons.
A reheating dish built on leftovers from a boiled calf's head, of the kind Victorian kitchens produced in quantity. The method is a straightforward brown roux sauce; the only difficulty is sourcing the meat.
- The meatWhole calf's head is now a special-order item from a butcher who handles veal, and in some countries it is not sold at all. Cooked veal cheek, breast or shin gives the same gelatinous texture in slices; boiled pork or lamb tongue is the closest common substitute.
- Reheat, don't cookThe two or three minutes of simmering is correct and deliberate. The meat is already fully cooked and gelatinous; longer simmering shreds the slices and turns the sauce cloudy. Bring the sauce to a bare simmer, slide the meat in, and serve.
- "A cupful" of liquorRead this as roughly 8 fl oz of the cooking liquid. One tablespoon of flour to two ounces of butter and a cup of stock gives a loose, pourable sauce rather than a thick one; use less of the liquor if you want it tighter.
- Save the cooking liquorThe recipe assumes you still have the water the head was boiled in, which sets to a firm jelly when cold. If you are substituting other meat, keep its poaching liquid for the same purpose; plain veal or chicken stock will do, but the body will be thinner.
- Onions out, then back inFrying the diced onion and lifting it out before making the roux keeps the flour from catching on the onion pieces and burning. It also keeps the onion in distinct dice rather than dissolving into the sauce.
- GherkinsVictorian pickled gherkins were sharply vinegary rather than sweet. Use cornichons or a plain dill pickle; sweet gherkins throw the balance off entirely.
- SherryA "glass" here is around 2 fl oz. The recipe does not say when to add it; use a dry fino or amontillado rather than a cream sherry.
- YieldFour to five as written, assuming a substantial quantity of cold meat. Serve with plain boiled potatoes or toast to take up the sauce.
Hashed calf's head was a second-day dish, and it explains itself only if you understand the first day: a whole head was simmered for hours, the liquor and meat going to such dishes as mock turtle soup or a boiled head served with brain sauce, and what remained was too valuable to waste. The book gives more than one method for the reheating -- this page is headed "another way" -- and hashes of this kind appear widely in Victorian household cookery. The gelatine-rich meat from around the cheeks and jaw takes well to a sharp brown sauce, and the gherkins and sherry here serve to cut the richness, much as lemon and cayenne often do in mock turtle. The costing of sixpence, exclusive of the cold meat, is a reminder that these books were written for cooks who had to account for what they spent.