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Broiled Tomatoes
For this dish choose tomatoes which are not dead ripe. Cut them unpeeled in rather thick slices. Dust with pepper, salt and powdered sugar, roll in hot melted butter, then in finely sifted bread crumbs and brown in a wire broiler over a clear fire. This dish has a delicious flavor if instead of rolling in butter the slices of tomato are dipped in rich oil mayonnaise.
A simple broiled side that depends almost entirely on the firmness of the tomato and the heat of the fire.
- Tomato choice is the hingeUnderripe or just-ripe tomatoes hold their shape; fully ripe ones collapse into the crumbs and steam rather than brown. Slices about half an inch thick are right "rather thick."
- A clear fireThis means glowing coals with no flame and no smoke, the equivalent of a hot grill or a broiler element preheated for at least five minutes. Put the rack close, two to three inches from the heat, and expect two to four minutes a side.
- The wire broilerA hinged double-sided wire basket held over coals. A grill basket, or a preheated sheet pan under a broiler, does the same job; the basket's advantage is that you can flip all the slices at once without them breaking.
- Powdered sugarIn period usage this meant sugar pulverised finer than granulated, closer to modern superfine/caster than to today's cornstarch-cut confectioners' sugar. It is used here as a dust rather than a spoonful, an amount likely to help browning and temper the acidity of an underripe tomato more than to sweeten.
- Sifted bread crumbsDry, fine crumbs from stale bread, not coarse fresh crumbs and not panko. They should coat thinly; a heavy jacket will scorch before the tomato heats through.
- The mayonnaise variation"Rich oil mayonnaise" means a thick homemade emulsion, which clings better than butter and browns quickly. It also carries raw egg, so if you use a scratch mayonnaise here, note that the brief broiling will not reliably cook it; commercial mayonnaise avoids the question.
- YieldThe recipe gives no quantities; a couple of tomatoes sliced thickly will serve two as a side. Serve immediately -- broiled tomatoes weep and soften within a few minutes of leaving the heat.
Broiling over coals was a standard way to get a browned surface in a nineteenth-century kitchen, and the hinged wire broiler remained in use after ranges gained ovens. Tomatoes gained general American acceptance only around the middle of the century, and by the time this collection was compiled they were common enough to appear in several preparations. The mayonnaise variation is a period touch: homemade mayonnaise was a valued kitchen accomplishment, and it appears in period cookery as a coating as well as a cold sauce.