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Sheeps' Tongue in Jelly
Wash thoroughly six fresh sheeps' tongues. Throw them into boiling water and simmer very gently for one and a half hours. At the end of the first hour add one onion, one bay leaf, a teaspoonful of salt and a quarter teaspoonful of black pepper. When done, remove the skin and trim off the rougher parts. Finish precisely the same as Fillet of Beef in Jelly.
SHEEP KIDNEYS en BROCHETTE 6 sheeps' kidneys ¼ pound of bacon 1 tablespoonful of butter I Cut each kidney through the centre lengthwise, remove the white veins and fat. Wash well in cold water, cover with boiling water and let stand five minutes, then wipe them dry. Cut the bacon into slices, and then into pieces the size of a half kidney. Place one piece of kidney on a skewer, then a piece of bacon, then kidney, and so on, allowing about three pieces of bacon and two pieces of kidney to each skewer. Place them on a broiler, baste with the butter, and broil over a clear fire five minutes. Dust lightly with salt and pepper, and serve on the skewers. These make a very nice breakfast relish.
SHEEP KIDNEYS en BROCHETTE No. 2 Cut six sheeps' kidneys nearly through without dividing, take out the white veins, wash and scald the same as in preceding recipe. Wipe them dry, and baste them with melted butter. Run a small skewer through each kidney in such a way as to keep the halves partly open. Broil them over a clear fire for about five minutes, take them carefully from the skewers, dust them lightly with salt and pepper, fill the centres with Béarnaise sauce, and serve immediately.
TO BAKE OR ROAST A QUARTER OF LAMB Wipe the meat with a damp towel, place it in a baking-pan, and dredge it with pepper. Put one teaspoonful of salt in the bottom of the pan, add one cup of water to baste with at first. When that evaporates, use its own drippings. Lamb must be basted every ten minutes and baked fifteen minutes to every pound, in a very hot oven.
Mint sauce, green peas and asparagus tips should be served with spring lamb.
A cold aspic dish from the era when a larder without refrigeration still had to produce something elegant in July. The instruction that matters is the one the recipe does not spell out: everything after simmering depends on the companion recipe for Fillet of Beef in Jelly, which means slicing the cooled tongues, arranging them in a mould and setting them in clarified, well-seasoned stock jelly.
- Sourcing the tonguesLamb or sheep tongues are a special order from a halal butcher, a Mexican carniceria or an online supplier; expect them frozen. Six weigh roughly 1 1/2 to 2 lb total and serve four to six as a cold luncheon dish.
- Simmer, do not boil"Simmer very gently" is the whole technique. Held at a bare tremble around 180-190F the tongues stay tender; a rolling boil toughens the muscle and clouds the broth you will want for the jelly.
- PeelingThe skin slips off only while the tongues are still hot. Lift them out one at a time, hold with a towel, split the skin at the tip and pull it back; if it resists, return the tongue to the hot liquid for a few minutes rather than cutting it away.
- TimingAn hour and a half suits small lamb tongues. Larger ones may want closer to two hours; test with a skewer, which should meet no resistance at the thickest part.
- The jellySome cooks of the period relied on the natural gelatine in the cooking liquor, though calf's foot, isinglass and packaged gelatine were also in common use. Strain and reduce the liquor, taste for salt, and if it does not set firm when a spoonful is chilled, reinforce with about 1 tablespoon of powdered gelatine per pint of liquid.
- ClarifyingFor a clear jelly, whisk a lightly beaten egg white into the cooled, degreased stock, bring it slowly to a bare simmer without stirring, then ladle carefully through a cloth.
- Setting and servingChill in a loaf tin or plain mould for at least six hours. Unmould by dipping the tin briefly in hot water, and serve sliced with mustard, cornichons or a sharp salad; the dish should be eaten within two days.
Cold moulded meats in aspic were the summer answer to a hot kitchen: cooked once in the cool of the morning, set overnight, then carved cold for luncheon or supper. Sheep and lamb tongues were cheap, plentiful offal in the American and British markets of the period, and the jelly served two purposes at once, sealing the meat from air while making a plain cut look like a set piece.