The complete servant: Being a practical guide to the peculiar duties and business of all descriptions of servants, from the housekeeper to the servant of all-work, and from the land steward to the foot-boy. With useful receipts and tablesAdams, Samuel, servant
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The complete servant: Being a practical guide to the peculiar duties and business of all descriptions of servants, from the housekeeper to the servant of all-work, and from the land steward to the foot-boy. With useful receipts and tables
Adams, Samuel, servant
Home economics; Household employees
Meat must always be put into _cold_ water, with _just enough water to
cover it_; say, about a quart of water to a pound of meat,—and it must
be kept _so covered_, during the whole process of dressing, by adding
boiling water occasionally.—By this method the inside will always be
heated thoroughly, and be properly swollen, before the outside becomes
hard; and the whole will be regularly done. This will, also, occasion
the meat to look plump; and veal and poultry, in particular, will be
the whiter and the better for it.
Beef loses about one-fourth, and mutton about one-fifth, in boiling.
A moderate fire must be kept up under the pot, increasing the heat
_gradually_, till it boils, when it must be drawn back, kept close
covered, and _constantly simmering, quite gently_, but by no means
boiling fast. A tea-spoonful of salt thrown into the water, before
it boils, will cause the scum to rise the better, which must be very
carefully skimmed clean off, immediately; and if, afterwards, a
little cold water be thrown in, more scum will be cast up, which must
frequently be taken off, _as it rises_, as on this alone depends the
good appearance of all boiled articles.
Remember—that water cannot possibly be made _hotter_ than it is when it
first boils; it is, therefore, a waste of firing, and very detrimental
to the meat to make it boil _fast_, as it is thereby rendered hard, and
its juices and finest flavour are evaporated in steam.
Generally, beef, mutton, and lamb, unless the joints are very thin, or
small, require boiling from a quarter of an hour to eighteen minutes
to a pound; lamb, veal, and pork, and _thick_ joints also, of whatever
kind, require somewhat longer, especially in _cold_ weather, or when
_fresh_ killed. A large leg of pork, for instance, will take a little
more time;—always reckoning from the time of its first coming to boil,
and taking into the account that the pot must _always be kept gently
simmering;—the slower the better, so that it be kept boiling_. If you
suffer boiled meats to remain in the pot after they are done, they
become soddened and lose their flavour.
_Examples in Boiling._
_A Round of Beef._—After it has been carefully salted, and has lain
in the pickle eight or ten days, wash it and wipe it dry; then cut
out the bone, and skewer and tie it up tight and quite round. As soon
as the pot boils skim it clean, and keep it boiling very gently, till
done. The time will be according to its weight. Garnish with slices
of carrot and turnip.
A LEG OF PORK.
If large, after it has been in salt eight or ten days, let it lie
in cold water half an hour to make it white—weigh it, let it boil
gently, allowing twenty minutes for every pound—skim it as soon
as it boils, and often afterwards.—A small Leg of Pork is most
delicate.—The liquor will make excellent peas-soup. Serve it up with
peas-pudding and turnips.
A LEG OF MUTTON.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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