Calf's Head Plain or Vinaigrette

Choose a very white, fat and well cleaned calf's head, bone it entirely; split it in two to par-boil and when done, dry, singe and scrape it; remove the tongue, then lay it in cold water to steep for one hour. Suppress the sanguineous skin found on the brain and soak this for one hour; place in a saucepan with a quart of water, salt and vinegar, let boil slowly for fifteen minutes to cook it. Cut each half head into five pieces, namely: the ear cut off largely from the base, the eye, the snout and two cheek pieces; put one pound of chopped suet into a saucepan able to hold twelve quarts of water; add to it a quarter of a pound of flour and stir together on the fire for a few moments, then lay in quartered carrots and onions, a bunch of parsley garnished with thyme, bay leaf, a clove of garlic and two cloves, a dessertspoonful of whole peppers, salt and half a gill of vinegar, mix well and add five quarts of water; set this on the fire, stir till it boils, then put in the pieces of head and the tongue; let cook for two hours, and when it softens between the two fingers, remove the white skin covering both tongue and inside of the snout, drain off the pieces and wipe them dry. Dress the head simply on a dish or folded napkin, lay the slit ears in the center having turned them backward with the other pieces around the tongue and brains split lengthwise in two; garnish around with branches of parsley; and serve at the same time a sauce-boat of vinaigrette sauce (No. 634), also a saucerful of onions and parsley, both finely chopped, whole capers and vinegar pickles.