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Veal Consomme, for Making White Sauces

Rub the inside of a bright saucepan with a coarse towel briskly for a minute or two. Heat it a little, and rub it with butter. Lay in it two or three slices of lean ham or bacon, then add two pounds of the neck or knuckle of veal cut into pieces about four inches square. Pour in half a pint of stock made from bones. Place the veal on a brisk fire for about twenty minutes, or till it is very lightly browned. Probe it in several places with the point of a knife till the juice flows freely. Put it again on the fire till the gravy begins to thicken without being at all coloured. Turn the meat over once or twice, pour upon it boiling stock made from bones in the proportion of a pint and a half of stock to a pound of meat. Let the liquor boil, throw in a little salt, and skim it well, then draw the saucepan to the side, and simmer the gravy very gently for about two hours. Strain it into a bowl, and when cold remove the fat from the surface. An onion, a carrot, a bunch of sweet herbs, two or three sticks of celery, half a tea-spoonful of peppercorns, and a blade of mace should be simmered with the gravy to flavour it. A few button mushrooms will greatly improve it, but they may be omitted. The bones of poultry may, if liked, be substituted for a portion of the veal. Time to simmer the gravy, about two hours. Probable cost, knuckle of veal, 5d. to 7d. per pound.