Salad Mixtures

What survives here is the assembly method for a cold-meat salad: sliced roast or boiled meat turned through a prepared dressing and left to take up flavour before serving. The technique carries over intact, though a few of the period's habits are worth adjusting.

• The hinge: add the meat in batchesThe instruction to put in a few slices at a time and shake them in the dressing before adding more is the whole point. Tipped in together, the slices clump and the outer ones take all the dressing; added in handfuls and tossed, every piece is coated.
• Slice thicknessVery thin slices, no more than two or three inches long, are called for; the text gives no reason, though thin meat takes up dressing readily and stays tender cold. Chilling the joint thoroughly before carving makes thin slicing far easier; a serrated knife against the grain works well on cold beef or lamb.
• The three-hour restThree hours is a marinating time, not a resting time: the wait lets the dressing carry seasoning into the meat. The recipe does not say what the dressing is made of. An hour will do at a pinch, but the dish is better with the full time.
• Where to leave itA period larder was cool. Do this in the refrigerator, covered, and take the bowl out twenty minutes before serving so the dressing loosens and the meat is not stone cold.
• "The fat of the meat"The recipe garnishes with parsley and a few slices of the fat. A modern table usually skips the fat; the parsley is worth keeping, chopped coarsely rather than in sprigs.
• Choice of meatCold roast beef, lamb, or boiled ham and tongue all suit this treatment. Poultry works but wants a lighter, less acid dressing, as breast meat goes stringy if left long in vinegar.
• YieldReckon on 4 to 6 oz of sliced meat per person as a main-course salad, half that if it is one dish among several on a cold table.