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Veal Forcemeat
No. 1. Shred finely half a pound of suet, free from skin and fibre. Mix with it half a pound of bread-crumbs cribbled through a colander, the rind of half a small lemon, grated, one tea-spoonful of salt, half a tea-spoonful of white pepper, a table-spoonful of chopped parsley, a tea-spoonful of thyme, a tea-spoonful of marjoram, two small blades of mace pounded. Bind the mixture together with yolk of egg, the bulk of which may be increased with milk when economy is a consideration. No. 2. Chop finely a quarter of a pound of beef suet with two ounces of lean raw ham and five ounces of bread-crumbs rubbed through a colander. Add a piece of thin lemon-rind about the size of a thumb-nail, a tea-spoonful of chopped parsley, a tea-spoonful of mixed sweet herbs if fresh--if very dry, two tea-spoonful--and half a tea-spoonful of salt, and a little cayenne or white pepper. Bind the mixture together with two whole eggs. No. 3. Take half a pound of veal, and a quarter of a pound of fat bacon. Cut these into strips, and scrape them with the back of a knife, then pound them well in a mortar, and pass the preparation through a sieve. Mix with it the crumb of half a roll, a salt-spoonful of powdered mace, the same quantity of grated nutmeg, a dessert-spoonful of chopped onions, parsley, and mushrooms, with a little pepper and salt. Mix these ingredients thoroughly, continually pounding them in the mortar, bind them together with two well-beaten eggs, and poach a small quantity in boiling water to test it. When the preparation is firm, light, and delicately flavoured it will be ready for use. This forcemeat may be used on all occasions, for pies, balls, etc. When forcemeat is to be served in the form of balls, mould it to the size and shape of large marbles, put these into hot fat over the fire, and turn them about for a few minutes till they are lightly browned. Place them on a sheet of blotting paper before the fire to drain off the fat. When dry they are ready for serving.
Three versions of the same stuffing, in ascending order of trouble: two bread-and-suet mixtures and one true pounded veal quenelle forcemeat. All three are meant to be cooked inside or alongside meat, or rolled and fried as balls.
- "Cribbled" crumbsCribbled means rubbed through a colander or coarse sieve — the aim is loose, dry, even crumbs rather than paste. Stale bread pulsed briefly in a processor and sifted gives the same result; fresh soft bread will clog and make the forcemeat heavy.
- SuetBeef suet is the hard kidney fat, sold shredded by butchers and in packets as "shredded beef suet". Shredded vegetable suet works but melts differently and gives a slightly greasier crumb. Do not substitute butter — it will not hold the mixture open.
- Small spoonsA salt-spoon is roughly a quarter teaspoon, a dessert-spoon about two teaspoons. "Two small blades of mace" ground down comes to something on the order of a quarter teaspoon, though blades vary in size; pre-ground mace loses its perfume quickly, so grind blade mace if you have it.
- The crumb of half a rollIn No. 3 this is the soft interior of a small bread roll, crust discarded — about 1 oz, or a generous half cup of loose crumbs. Soak it in a little milk and squeeze it dry for a smoother result.
- Scraping and poundingThe scraping in No. 3 is there to separate meat fibre from sinew before pounding. A food processor does the same work in under a minute; keep the veal, bacon and bowl thoroughly cold so the fat emulsifies instead of breaking, and sieve afterwards if you want the fine texture the original expects.
- The test poachThis is the instruction that matters. Poaching a teaspoon of No. 3 in barely simmering water tells you whether the seasoning is right and whether the mixture will set. Too soft, add crumb; too dense, work in a spoonful of cream or milk. Do it before the forcemeat goes anywhere near a joint of meat.
- Frying the ballsFat at 350–375F browns them in two to three minutes; hotter and the outside colours before the raw veal or ham inside is cooked through. Cook the veal forcemeat of No. 3 to 165F at the centre. Drain on kitchen paper rather than blotting paper.
- Used as stuffingPack it loosely — it swells — and if it is inside a joint or bird, take the temperature of the stuffing itself, not just the meat. Any of the three should reach 165F.
- YieldNo. 1 makes roughly a pound of forcemeat, enough for a large stuffed joint or a few dozen marble-sized balls. Nos. 2 and 3 are of much the same order; No. 3, the richest, is best kept for pies and garnishes.
Forcemeat comes from the French farce, a stuffing, by way of the older English "farced meat" — nothing to do with force. Veal forcemeat was a standard preparation in Victorian cookery: a stuffing for roast veal and boiled poultry, the filling for raised pies, and the source of the small fried balls that garnished mock turtle soup. The three numbered versions map the social range of one preparation, from a suet-and-crumb mixture stretched with milk "when economy is a consideration" to a pounded veal and bacon farce that is essentially a quenelle mixture. The blades of mace and grated lemon rind are the older English seasoning habit.