Home › Cookery › Braized Ham, Etc

Braized Ham, Etc

iron skewers, which should be run through the shoulders and hips to secure it tightly, so that it may on no account slip round when down to roast.

The pig will require about 2 hours to roast thoroughly, and should be frequently basted with a paste-brush dipped in salad oil. Oil is better adapted for this purpose than either dripping or butter, giving more crispness to the skin; when basted with oil, the pig will, while roasting, acquire a more even and a finer color. When done, take it up from the fire on the spit, and immediately cut the head off with a sharp knife, and lay it on a plate in the hot closet. Next, cut the pig in two, by dividing it first with a sharp knife straight down the back to the spine, finishing with a meat-saw; a large dish should be held under the pig while it is thus being divided, into which it may fall when completely cut through; place the two sides back to back on the dish, without disturbing the stuffing, split the head in two; put the brains in a small stewpan, trim off the snout and jaws, leaving only the cheeks and ears, place these one at each end of the dish, surround the remove with a border of small potatoes, fried of a light color, in a little clarified butter; pour under some rich brown gravy, and send to table with the following sauce: to the brains, put into a small stewpan as before directed, add a spoonful of blanched chopped parsley, pepper and salt, a piece of glaze the size of a large walnut, some well-made butter-sauce, and the juice of a lemon; stir the whole well together over the fire, and when quite hot, send it to table separately, in a boat, to be handed round with the sucking-pig.

Braized Ham, with Spinach, etc.

When about to dress a ham, care must be taken after it has been trimmed, and the thigh-bone removed, that it be put to soak in a large pan filled with cold water; the length of time it should remain in soak depending partly upon its degree of moisture, partly upon whether the ham be new or seasoned. If the ham readily yields to the pressure of the hand, it is no doubt new, and this is the case with most of those sold in the spring season; for such as these a few hours' soaking will suffice; but when hams are properly seasoned, they should be soaked for 24 hours.

Foreign hams, however, require to be soaked much longer, varying in time from 2 to 4 days and nights. The water in which they are soaked should be changed once every 12 hours in winter, and twice during that time in summer; it is necessary to be particular also in scraping off the slimy surface from the hams, previously to replacing them in the water to finish soaking. When the ham has been trimmed and soaked, let it be boiled in water for an hour, and then scraped and washed in cold water; place it in a braizing-pan with 2 carrots, as many onions, 1 head of celery, 2 blades of mace, and 4 cloves; moisten with sufficient common broth to float the ham, and then set it on the stove to braize very gently for about four hours. To obtain tenderness and mellowness, so essential in a well-dressed ham, it must never be allowed to boil, but merely to simmer very gently by a slow fire. This rule applies also to the braizing of all salted or cured meats. When the ham is done, draw the pan in which it has braized away from the fire, and set it to cool in the open air, allowing the ham to remain in the braize. By this means it will retain all its moisture; for when the ham is taken out of the braize as soon as done, and put on a dish to get cold, all its richness exudes from it. The ham having partially cooled in its braize, should be taken out and trimmed, and afterwards placed in a braizing-pan with some of its own stock; and about three-quarters of an hour before dinner put either in the oven or on a slow fire. When warmed through place the ham on a baking-dish in the oven to dry the surface, then glaze it; replace it in the oven again for about three minutes to dry it, and glaze it again; by that time the ham, if properly attended to, will present a bright appearance. Put it now on its dish, and garnish it with well-dressed spinach, placed round the ham in tablespoonfuls, shaped like so many eggs, pour some sauce round the base, put a ruffle on the bone, and serve.

Note. Any of our home-cured hams, dressed according to the foregoing directions, may also be served with a garnish of asparagus-peas, young carrots, green peas, broad beans, French beans or Brussels sprouts.

Roast Turkey, a l'Anglaise.

Stuff a turkey with some well-seasoned veal stuffing, let it be trussed in the usual manner, and previously to putting it down to roast cover it with thin layers of fat bacon, which should be secured on with buttered paper tied round the then roast it, and when done dish it up, garnish turkey, so as entirely to envelop it on the spit; with stewed chestnuts and small pork sausages, nicely fried; pour a rich sauce round it, glaze the turkey, and send to table.

Plain Rump Steak.

The steak should be cut rather thick, neatly trimmed, seasoned with a little pepper and salt, and broiled over a clear fire; when done remove it carefully from the gridiron, in order to preserve the gravy which collects on its upper surface.

Place the steak on its dish, rub a small pat of fresh butter over it, garnish round with grated horse-radish, and send some beef gravy separately in a sauce-boat. Epicures, however, prefer the gravy which runs out of a juicy steak when well broiled to any other addition. Small ribs of beef, and especially steaks cut from between the small ribs, form an excellent substitute for rump steaks; both, when nicely broiled, may be served with cold Maître d'Hôtel butter, anchovy ditto.

Beef Steak, a la Française.

Cut one pound of trimmed fillet of beef across the grain of the meat into three pieces; flatten these with the cutlet-bat, and trim them of a round or oval form; then cut and trim three pieces of suet, half the size of the former: dip the steaks in a little clarified butter, season with pepper and salt, and place them on the gridiron over a clear fire to broil; when done glaze them on both sides, dish them up on two ounces of cold Maître d'Hôtel butter, garnish round with fried potatoes, and serve. These potatoes must be cut or turned in the form of olives, and fried in a little clarified butter. Hashed Beef, Plain.

Slice the beef up in very thin pieces, season with pepper and salt, and shake a little flour over it. Next chop a middle-sized onion, and put it into a stewpan with a tablespoonful of Harvey boil these together for two minutes, and then add sauce, and an equal quantity of mushroom catsup; half a pint of broth or gravy; boil this down to half its quantity, throw in the beef, set the hash to boil on the stove fire for five minutes longer, and then serve with sippets of toasted bread round it.

Slices of Braized Beef, a la Claremont.

Take braized beef remaining from a previous day's dinner, and cut in rather thin round or oval slices, placed in a saucepan in neat order, and warmed with a gravyspoonful of good stock; these must then be dished up in a circle, overlapping | placed in a deep saucepan on a bed of thinlyeach other closely; pour some sauce over them, and serve.

Note. Slices of braized beef warmed and dished up, as in the foregoing case, may be greatly varied by being afterwards garnished with macaroni prepared with grated cheese, a little glaze and tomato-sauce, also with all sharp sauces, with purées of vegetables, and with vegetable garnishes.

Bubble and Squeak.

Cut some slices (not too thin) of cold boiled round or edge-bone, of salt beef; trim them neatly, as also an equal number of pieces of the white fat of the beef, and set them aside on a plate. Boil two summer or Savoy cabbages, remove the stalks, chop them fine, and put them into a stewpan with four ounces of fresh butter and one ounce of glaze; season with pepper and salt. When about to send to table, fry the slices of beef in a sauce or fryingpan, commencing with the pieces of fat; stir the cabbage on the fire until quite hot, and then pile it up in the centre of the dish; place the slices of beef and the pieces of fat round it, pour a little brown sauce over the whole, and serve.

Mutton Cutlets, Plain.

Choose a neck of mutton that has been killed at least four days, saw off the scrag end, and as much of the rib-bones as may be necessary in order to leave the cutlet-bones not more than three inches and a half long; the spine-bones must also he removed with the saw, without damaging the fillet. Next cut the neck of mutton thus trimmed into as many cutlets as there are bones; detach the meat from the upper part of each bone, about three-quarters of an inch, then dip them in water and flatten them with a cutletbat, trim away the sinewy part, and any superfluous fat. The cutlets must then be seasoned with pepper and salt, passed over with a pastebrush dipped in clarified butter, and nicely broiled over or before a clear fire. When they are done dish them up neatly, and serve with plain brown gravy under them.

Cutlets prepared in this way may also be served with either of the following sauces: Poor-man's, Poivrade; for which see another page.

Mutton Cutlets, Bread-crumbed and Broiled with Shallot Gravy.

Trim the cutlets in the usual manner, and season them with pepper and salt; then egg them slightly over with a paste-brush dipped in two yolks of eggs, beaten upon a plate for the purpose; pass each cutlet through some fine bread-crumbs; then dip them separately in some clarified butter, and bread-crumb them over once more; put them into shape with the blade of a knife, and lay them on a gridiron to be broiled over a clear fire, of a light-brown color; then glaze and dish them up, and serve them with plain or shallot gravy. These cutlets may also be served with any of the sauces directed to be used for plain broiled cutlets.

Sweetbreads Larded with Stewed Peas.

Three heart sweetbreads generally suffice for a dish. They must be procured quite fresh, otherwise they are unfit for the table, and should be steeped in water for several hours, and the water frequently changed; the sweetbreads are then to be scalded in boiling water for about 3 minutes, and immersed in cold water for half an hour, after which they must be drained upon a napkin, trimmed free from any sinewy fat, and put between two dishes to be slightly pressed flat, and then closely larded with strips of bacon in the usual manner. The sweetbreads must next be sliced carrots, celery and onions. with a garnished faggot of parsely and green onions placed in the centre and covered with thin layers of fat bacon.

Moisten with about a pint of good stock, place a round of buttered paper on the top, cover with the lid, and after having put the sweetbreads to boil on the stove-fire, remove them to the oven or on a moderate fire (in the latter case live embers of charcoal must be placed on the lid) and allow them to braize rather briskly for about twenty minutes, frequently basting them with their own liquor.

When done remove the lid and paper covering and set them again in the oven to dry the surface of the larding; glaze them nicely and dish them up on some stewed peas (which see).

Sweetbreads prepared in this way may also be served with dressed asparagus, peas, French beans, scallops of cucumbers, braized lettuce, celery, and also with every kind of vegetable purée. To raise the sweetbreads above the garnish, or sauce served with them, it is necessary to place as many foundations as there are sweetbreads in the dish; these may be made either by boiling some rice in broth until it becomes quite soft, then working it into a paste; after this has been spread on a dish about an inch thick, a circular tin cutter must be used to stamp it out. They may also be prepared from veal force-meats, or even fried croatons of bread will serve the purpose.

Lamb Cutlets Bread-crumbed, with Asparagus- Peas.

Trim the cutlets, season with pepper and salt, rub them over with a paste-brush dipped in yolks of eggs and roll them in bread crumbs; then dip them in some clarified butter and bread-crumb them over again; put them in shape with the blade of a knife and place them in neat order in a saucepan with some clarified butter. When about to send to table fry the cutlets of a light color, drain them upon a sheet of paper, glaze and dish them up; fill the centre with asparagus-peas, pour some thin sauce around them and serve.

Pork Cutlets Plain-broiled, with Gravy, etc.

These cutlets must be cut from the neck or loin of dairy-fed pork, not too fat; they should be trimmed but very little, the rough part of the chine-bone only requiring to be removed; the skin must be left on and scored in six places. Season the cutlets with pepper and salt, and broil them on a gridiron over a clear fire; coke makes a better fire than coal for broiling, as it emits no gas and causes less smoke. Take care that they are thoroughly done and not scorched; dish them up with any of the following gravies or sauces, and serve: Sage and onion, shallot, onion, fine herbs, gravies, or essences, tomato sauce.

Venison Scallops.

Venison for this purpose ought to be kept until it has become quite tender; a piece of the end of the neek may be used. Cut the fillet from the bone, with all the fat adhering to it; remove the outer skin, and then cut it into scallops, taking care not to trim off more of the fat than is necessary; place them in a saucepan with clarified butter, season with pepper and salt, and fry them brown on both sides; pour off all the grease, add some scallops of mushrooms, a piece of glaze and a glass of Port wine; simmer the whole together over a stove-fire for about 3 minutes, and then pour in some Poivrade sauce; toss the scallops in the sauce on the fire until quite hot, and then dish them up with a border of quenelles of potatoes and serve. These scallops may also be served with sweet sauce, in which case the mushrooms must be omitted.

Venison Chops.