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Veal--Calf's Head, Boiled

Take a calf's head, cut it in two, and take out the brains; wash the head in several waters, and let it soak in warm water for a quarter of an hour. Place it in a saucepan of cold water, and when the water comes to the boil skim carefully. Half a head, without the skin, will require boiling from an hour and a half to two hours and a quarter, according to size: with the skin it will require an hour longer. It must be stewed very gently till tender. Boil tender eight or ten sage-leaves, or some parsley, or both; chop them fine, and set them ready on a plate. Wash the brains well in two waters; put them into a basin of cold water with a little salt in it, and let them soak for an hour; then pour away the cold and cover them with hot water; put them into a stewpan with plenty of cold water, and boil very gently for ten or fifteen minutes. Now chop them (not very fine), put them into a saucepan with the sage-leaves, two table-spoonfuls of thin melted butter, and a pinch of salt (some add a little lemon-juice), and stir them well together. As soon as the brains are well warmed, skin the tongue, trim off the roots, and put it into the centre of the dish, the brains round it; or chop the brains with a shallot, a little parsley, and four, hard-boiled eggs, and put them into a quarter of a pint of bechamel or white sauce. A calf's head is usually attended by a pig's check, a knuckle of ham or bacon, or pickled pork, greens, cauliflower, broccoli, or peas, and always by parsley and butter. If desired full-dressed, score it superficially, beat up the yolk of an egg, and rub it over the head with a feather. Powder it with a seasoning of finely-minced or dried and powdered winter savory, lemon-thyme, or sage, parsley, pepper, salt, and bread-crumbs; and brown it with a salamander, or in a tin Dutch oven; when it begins to dry, sprinkle a little melted butter over it with a paste-brush. You may garnish the dish with broiled rashers of bacon. (See also recipes under CALF'S HEAD.)