ILLINOIS COOK BOOK

Fresh meat of any kind is better for soups, for the reason that meats or fowls that have once been cooked have lost much of their sweetness.

Soups should never be allowed to boil too hard, as it has a great tendency to make the meat very tough. Many persons hold to the opinion that meat should always be boiled the day before it is wanted, so that the liquor may be set aside to cool, and let the grease rise to tiie top and be skimmed off. But very tine soup can be made the day it is to be used. A beef shank, or a knuckle of veal either, make splendid soup. Proper care should always be taken to have your soups well seasoned and flavored, as all depends upon this. One receipt for seasoning and flavoring soups will not suit for all, as there is such a diversity of tastes ; but for those who like herbs, it is well to get such as they like; for instance, thyme, summer savory, sweet mar- jorem, sweet basil, sage, or such as suit their tastes; (they can be bought in ten cent packages at any drug store;) rub them well together, and then rub them through a sieve, and bottle them ready for use at any

24 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

time. I have found this a very good plan. You can keep yourself supplied at a trifling cost, and always be ready to make a palatable soup.

Beef Soup.

Take the shin bone of the beef, wash it, and put it in a pot of cold water; put very little salt in, and let it boil; skim well. Have ready such vegetables as will suit the taste, such as carrots, onions, turnips, cabbage, potatoes, a little celery root; of course it takes but little of each. If the vegetables are not intended to be left in the soup, the meat should be taken out and the soup strained. If dumplings are liked, a little milk and flour, well beaten up, and a spoonful of butter, made stiifer than for batter-cakes. Drop these dumplings in the boiling soup, let them boil from five to ten minutes ; flavor to suit the taste.

Mutton Soup. f1*-

A piece of forequarter of mutton is the best for a soup piece; throw a little salt into the water, just enough to raise the scum ; let it simmer slowly ; then prepare such vegetables as suit the taste ; turnips, car- rots, a little cabbage and onion, are very nice; a grated carrot or very little tomatoes give the soup a rich taste and color; this soup may be thickened with pear} barley or rice. Summer savory or thyme flavor any soup nicely.

Portable Soup.

Boil down any kind of meat to a jelly, season it

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 25

highly with salt, pepper and spices or herbs ; let it set away till partly cold, then pour it into a clean, new tin or earthen vessel, and set it away to congeal ; it can be used as you want to make soup by cutting a portion of the jelly and adding boiling water. Vegetables can be added and as much more seasoning as is required to make it palatable.

Mock Turtle Soup.

Take a nicely skinned and cleaned calf's head, soak it in a little salt and water over night, rinse it before putting it on the iire ; have a large dinner pot of cold water with a little salt, put in the head and let it boil till tender ; before putting the head in the pot remove the brain, which should be thrown into a little salt and water to whiten them; after the soup has been well boiled and skimmed, add pepper, salt, a little mace and cloves, and sweet herbs,, tied up in a thin piece of muslin. If you wish a dark soup brown the flour you use to thicken the soup with. Before taking it up for the table add the juice of two lemons, the yolks of eight eggs boiled hard and chopped. Take up the head, cut out the tongue, which must be skinned and dressed with egg and butter sauce, and served on a dish with a garnish of fresh parsley. Chop some of the meat from the head and season, mixing a little milk and flour and raw egg. Mix well, roll into balls and fry in hot lard, and drop with the brains into the soup.

26 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

Veal Soup.

Put a knuckle of veal into a pot of salted water with about a pound of ham. When the meat is cooked very tender take it out, and have a small head of chop- ped celery, one onion, one turnip, a carrot sliced very fine, four chopped tomatoes, a small piece of red pepper pod, black pepper and salt to suit your taste. Thicken with rice, vermicelli, or a thickening made of flour and butter. Noodles are very nice in this soup, if the vegetables are removed from the soup before the noodles are dropped in. Twenty minutes are sufficient to let them boil.

Giblet Soup.

A very nice soup is made from the neck, feet and giblets of fowls, with a little veal or nice beef bone added; put these all into a pot of cold water and boil gently. The giblets can be removed and chopped fine and put back into the soup ; season like any other soup. Flavor to suit the taste.

Chicken Soup.

Have a fine large chicken, it can be put into the water whole, and then dressed for dinner, or it can be cut as for frying; in either case the chicken can be served on the table. Put in very little salt at first; remove all scum before putting in anything to flavor the soup; have a cup of rice well washed and soaked, and any sweet herbs, a small onion, and one or two potatoes cut fine. Chicken soup is much better if a

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 27

little parsley is chopped and added; season with pepper and salt. Noodles may be substituted in place of the rice, , or dumplings made of a little milk, flour and butter, and one egg ; beat all well together, and make thicker than batter; drop in by the spoonful. Pearl barley is very nice in chicken soup, but should be well washed and put into the soup when it is first put on.

Gumbo Soup.

This is a Southern soup, and can be made in differ- ent ways. If made as it should be, it is one of the finest soups that can be made. If it is made of okra the chickens should tie young and fried a delicate brown, with a few slices of nice bacon; when fried put them in a pot with boiling water. One must be governed by the quantity of soup that will be needed. Let the soup simmer slowly, skim well, and add pepper, salt, sweet herbs and rice a half teacupful; if the okra is green about half at eacupful of that. If this is made in the winter it will take a little more of the dried ; it is nice with a few oysters added just before taking the soup from the fire. The best gumbo is made of young chickens, cut up as for frying, and put in a pot of cold water, and let them come to a boil; when boiled till very tender add salt and pepper to the taste. The gumbo is made of dried and powdered sassafras leaves, which should be gathered in the fall before the frost. One tablespoonful of the powder with the same quantity of flour, well rubbed together arid dropped in the soup just before it is taken up. A

28 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

nice pot of well cooked mush should be made to eat with this soup, serving a tablespoonful in each soup plate.

Noodles for Soup.

If you wish noodles for an ordinary pot of soup one egg is sufficient; have your flour sifted, make a hole in the centre, add one teaspoonful of salt, break in one egg, and with one hand stir them gently till the egg is well broken and mixed in a smooth dough ; then work it quite stiff and roll out as thin as a wafer, keeping the board well floured; after it is rolled rub flour over the top and let it remain till it begins to dry, then roll it up tight and with a sharp knife cut (beginning at the end) into small shreds, and open them out as soon as you cut them, sprinkling flour over them.

Oyster Soup.

In making oyster soup great care should be taken not to have it made too long before it is used, as the oysters become hard and tough, and have an insipid taste. The water should be boiling; have a clean bright vessel; put in the water and a pint of new milk or good sweet milk ; about one pint of milk to a gallon of boiling water ; let it boil, then add the liquor from the oysters, butter, pepper and salt ; have a dozen nice butter crackers rolled flne ; if you can get it add one pint of good sweet cream, then the crackers, and last the oysters ; as soon as they are heated through the soup is ready for use. In making oyster soup for

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 29

company it should not be made in large quantities ; if convenient it should not be made in larger quantities than one gallon, as it becomes tasteless and the oysters are hard and unfit to eat.

Veal Broth.

Stew a knuckle of veal of four or five pounds in three quarts of water, with two blades of mace, an onion, a head of celery, and a little parsley, pepper and salt ; let the whole simmer very gently until the liquor is reduced to two quarts ; then take out the meat when the mucilaginous parts are done, and serve it up with parsley and butter. Add to the broth either two ounces of rice separately boiled, or of vermicelli, put in only long enough to be stewed tender.

Winter Soup.

Take carrots, turnips, and the heart of a head of celery, cut into dice, with a dozen button onions ; half boil them in salt and water, with a little sugar in it; then throw them into the broth; and, when tender serve up the soup ; or use rice, dried peas, and lentils, and pulp them into the soup to thicken it.

With many of these soups, small suet dumplings, very lightly made, and not larger than an egg, are boiled either in broth or water and put into the tureen just before serving, and are by most persons thought an improvement, but are more usually put in plain gravy soup than any other, and should be made light enough to swim in it.

30 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

Fish should be examined very carefully, as it is one of the most unhealthy things that can be eaten unless it is perfectly fresh. In selecting them examine the eyes; if they have a life-like appearance they are fresh; if the eyes are sunken and dark colored they are unfit to eat. A good way to test them is to exam- ine the gills.

Crabs should be of a dark green color, and when fresh from the water are always lively; the same remark holds good with regard to lobsters.

Never buy a clam or oyster if the shells are parted. If the valves are tightly closed the oyster is fresh.

Boiled Fish.

Scale your fish first, take out the eyes and gills, draw and wash it well. Flour a cloth, wrap the fish in it, and boil in plenty of water strongly salted. A common sized fish of any kind requires about half a teacupful of salt. Put your fish kettle over a strong fire, and when the water boils put the fish in it. The fish can be stuifed with a stuffing made like turkey stuffing, and seasoned very much the same; it must be sewed up with a strong thread; let it boil 20 to 30 minutes. Take the fish out of the cloth carefully, place it on your dish and send it to the table. Have egg sauce served with it; garnish with parsley.

If any of the boiled fish is left from dinner it can be picked in small pieces, spiced and put into vinegar ; it makes an excellent relish for breakfast or tea.

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 31

Boiled Cod Fish.

Soak a dried cod fish over night in cold water, scrape and wash it clean, then put in on to boil in as much cold water as will cover it.

Let it boil one hour. Drain it on your first dish and serve it with mashed potatoes, drawn butter, and hard boiled eggs.

Baked Fish.

Secure any nice fresh fish, such as fresh cod, trout, white fish, or any of -the fresh or salt water fish; scale them and wash them clean, and let them remain in a little salt and water for a short time. Have a stuffing made of the crumbs of nice light bread — a baker's loaf is preferable for its lightness — put salt, pepper, butter, a»d sweet herbs in; with a spoon, as the hand makes it heavy, (as it does all stuffing,) fill your fish, sew it up, put bits of butter over the top, pepper, salt, flour; put in water enough to keep it from burning, and baste it often. For a fish of four pounds it will take about one hour to bake. If fish is left in any quantity from a meal it makes a splendid chowder. Make egg sauce.

Fish Sauce.

Take large tablespooiiful of butter in as much flour, mix together and melt in a teacup of milk; beat the yolk of an egg, stir it in the butter and place it on the fire, stirring it all the time. Chopped parsley may be added.

32 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. ^

Cod Fish Cakes.

Soak as much cod fish as will be required for a meal ; after it is fresh enough pick it, removing all the bones ; mash it with equal quantities of mashed potatoes, and season with salt and pepper to your taste, adding butter and two or three hard boiled eggs, chopped very fine, one raw egg helps to hold it together. Make it into cakes, flour and fry them in hot lard. Fry them a light brown.

Spiced Fish.

Fish of any kind, either boiled or baked, that has been left from a meal, is very nice spiced. Take salt, black pepper, a little cayenne pepper, two tablespoon- fuls of whole allspice, mix through the fish and cover with good vinegar. This can be made by soaking a fresh shad, or other fish, and boiling it, and when cold, picking and spicing it; but it is a very nice way to use up cold fish.

Fried Fish.

Clean your fish well, wipe it with a dry cloth, split down the back, and fry it in halves, unless the fish is too large, then make four pieces of it ; pepper, salt and flour, or rub on corn meal, and have your frying-pan with .your lard in it very hot, and fry a nice light brown.

It is useless to enumerate the different kinds of fish, as this manner of frying holds good for all fish that is to be fried. It is fried as nicely by setting your

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 33

skillet or frying-pan in the oven as it is on the top of the stove; 'many think it improves the taste.

Broiled Fish.

Cleanse them, of course, thoroughly, split them down the back, season with salt and pepper. Have your gridiron heated and well greased ; put your fis'h on and let it broil slowly. It should be nice brown on both sides ; have it well basted with butter, and lay the two sides together that it may assume its original shape.

Cat Fish.

This must be scalded with boiling (not hot) water, and the skin removed; cut down the back and cut in pieces as large as the hand ; salt, pepper and flour each piece, and fry in hot lard to a nice brown. Some per- sons like it dressed with beaten egg and bread crumbs, or dipped in a batter and fried a nice brown.

Fried Oysters,

Select the largest for frying. Take them out of their liquor with a fork, being careful not to disfigure them, let them drain in a colander; when well drained put them in a dish, salt and pepper them well, have ready some nice butter crackers, rolled fine, and about one- third as much corn meal, mix them well together, and dip each oyster separately into the crackers ; by putting two oysters together and frying them it will be found quite an improvement. Fry them in equal quantities

34 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

of lard and butter. Have the lard hot and fry a nice light brown. Do not let them burn.

Stewed Oysters*

Put your oyster liquid in a stew-pan and add water according to the quantity to be stewed; put in salt, pepper, and a little butter ; let this begin to boil, and then add a half-pint of good sweet cream, a little rolled cracker, if liked; then throw in your oysters, let it boil up once, and take it immediately to the table. This way is splendid if you have the cream.

Scalloped Oysters.

Take a nice tin or earthen baking dish and grease it well. Have ready good butter or pic-nic crackers well rolled, cover the bottom of the dish or pan first with the crackers, then the oysters, then lumps of butter over the top, then pepper and salt, next crackers and, so on, till all your oysters are in, putting butter, pepper and salt in each layer, put last a layer of crackers, with butter on top ; put the oyster liquor in as you are putting it in the pan ; put in water, not too hot, suffi- cient to cook them, set the pan in the oven and let it bake; for two cans of oysters it will take about one hour.

Fried Cod Fish.

(SENATOR SAMUEL CASEY'S RECEIPT.) Take one pound of cod fish, four large potatoes, four eggs, one teaspoonful salt, and one of black pepper; cook fish and potatoes at the same time, (but in diifer-

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 35

ent vessels,) take the bones out of the fish, peel the potatoes, hot right out of the water, mash them and the fish well together, with a tablespoonful of flour; have the eggs well beaten, and add them to the mix- ture with a piece of butter as large as a walnut; mix all well together, and fry in cakes, in hot lard; send to the table hot. This mixture will be soft and must be dropped into the lard with a spoon, as it cannot be made out into balls. It is the nicest way I have ever prepared codfish for a breakfast dish. The water on the fish must be changed while it is boiling; once changing will perhaps be sufficient.

Boiled Fish.

( SENATOR SAMUEL CASEY'S WAY. )

Take cat fish, or any good kind of fish. After clean- ing it well, rub it with salt, and wrap it in a cloth not too tight; have ready a kettle with boiling water well salted ; drop your fish in and let it boil well, the length of time must be governed by the size of the fish, for a good-sized fish, (say three quarters of an hour,) pour melted butter over it.

To Make Stewed Oysters Tender.

Turn the oysters with the liquor into a convenient dish. With a fork remove each oyster into another dish, passing it as you do so through the oyster liquor, in order to wash off any bits of shell, etc. When all have been removed, strain the liquor through a fine sieve, which will retain the bits and yellow crabs. Some

36 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

people eat these little crabs, but I reject them from the oyster stew, as they suggest carelessness. Put the strained liquor into the kettle with the quantity of water or milk you think proper, and set to boil. Add rolled cracker and salt. A little mace (only a little) is a great addition, as it brings out the oyster flavor ; I do not put in pepper as some guests do not like it, and the color of the soup is not so good. Each person can suit his own taste by using either the black or cayenne. The clearer and whiter a soup appears, the better it will be relished. I omit cracker in a dinner soup; each guest must be supplied, however, at the table. Keep out the oysters until all the ingredients of the soup are added, and until it thoroughly boils. Now add the oysters. As soon as it comes to a good boil, the soup is ready to serve. If you have a very rich stew — a great many oysters and little soup — it may be well to put only part of the oysters in at a time, waiting until the first lot have had a good scald before adding the remainder. The idea is to give each oyster a good scald on the outside surface ; it cooks them sufficiently and avoids the toughness that comes from overcooking. Treated according to these directions the oysters in a stew will be as tender as raw ones. It is very easy to spoil oysters by overdoing them.

French Stewed Oysters.

Wash fifty large oysters in their own liquor; strain the liquor into a stew pan, putting the oysters into a pan of cold water; season the liquor with a half pint

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.' 37

of sherry or madeira, the juice of two lemons, and a little mace. Boil this liquor, and skim and stir it well ; when it comes to a boil, put in the oysters well drained, let them get heated through, but do not boil them. Many people consider this the nicest way of stewing oysters.

Clam Fritters.

Put a sufficient quantity of clams into a pot of boil- ing water; when the shell opens wide take out the clams from the shells, and put them into a stew pan. Strain the liquor, and pour about half of it over the clams, adding a little black pepper ; they will not need salt. Let them stew slowly for half an hour; then take them out. Drain off all the liquor, and mince the clams as line as possible, leaving out the hardest parts. You should have as many clams as will make a pint when minced. Make a batter of seven eggs beaten till very light, mix with these gradually a quart of milk and a pint of sifted flour; make it perfectly smooth and free from lumps ; mix gradually the minced clams with the batter, and stir the whole very hard. Have ready in a frying pan some boiling lard ; put in the batter with a spoon, so as to form fritters, and fry them a light brown. Drain them well when done, and serve hot. Oyster fritters are made the same way, only they must be minced raw and mixed with the batter without having been stewed.

Potted Shad.

Take the backbone out of the shad, cut it in small

38 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

pieces, then put one layer of shad, one small piece of butter, some salt, pepper, and a very small piece of mace, clove, and allspice whole; cover with vinegar. Bake in an earthen pot, well sealed, eight hours. Six whole cloves and the same of allspice is enough for three shad; seal the cover with dough, so as to keep the air out.

Oyster Omelet.

s Strain the liquor from twenty-five large oysters or forty small ones, chop them fine, leaving out the hard part. Break into a shallow pan, six, seven or eight eggs, according to the quantity of oysters, leaving out half the whites. Having beaten the eggs well, mix in the chopped oysters, adding a little cayenne pepper and nutmeg, if you like that spice. Put three ounces of the best butter into a frying pan, let it come to a boil, pour in the omelet mixture, stir it till it begins to harden; fry it a light brown, lifting from the edge several times by slipping a knife under it. Take care not to cook it too much, or it will be tough; serve immediately. This quantity will make one large, or two smaller omelets.

To Pot Trout.

Take from six to eight trout, from a quarter to half a pound in weight each. Gut, scale and wipe them dry in a clean cloth. Then dispose of them in a shallow dish, about two and a half inches in depth, containing a very small portion of water at the bottom, enough to

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 39

supply a sufficiency of steam to pass through them. Add to them a supply of ground mace, ground black pepper, salt, and two or three bay-leaves, covering the dish over with a tin protection, and consign the same to a slow oven, to admit of the fish being steamed through. When the prongs of the fork will pass readily into them, they will be done and may be taken up. When cold, remove the bay-leaves, and let them be well covered with clarified butter.

Lobster Rissoles.

Extract the meat of a boiled lobster, mince it as fine as possible ; mix it with the coral pounded smooth, and some yolks of hard-boiled eggs, pounded also. Season it with cayenne pepper, powdered mace, and a very little salt. Make a batter of beaten egg, milk and flour. To each egg allow two large tablespoonful of milk and a large teaspoonful of flour. Beat the batter well, and then mix the lobster with it gradu- ally, till it \9 stiif enough to make into oval balls about the size of a large plum. Fry them in the best salad oil, and serve them up either warm or cold. Similar rissoles may be made of raw oysters minced fine, or of boiled clams. These should be fried in lard.

Champlain Chowder.

To four pounds fish, one pound fat pork to fry. Fry the pork gently in a bake kettle until the fat is out. Have ready the fish to put in when the scraps of pork are taken out, one quart boiling water to every four

40 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

pounds of fish. Put in with the fish at the same time, pepper, salt, and a few sliced onions. Let it stew over a quick fire twenty minutes. Take off the cover then, and add one gill of milk. In five minutes take it up, and add crackers and oysters just before the chowder is done, if you wish.

Stewed Halibut.

Cut the fish into pieces about four inches square, leaving out the bone ; season it slightly with salt, and let it stand half an hour. Take it out of the salt, put it' in a deep dish, and scatter over it cayenne pepper, ground white ginger, and grated nutmeg ; add a pint of vinegar, and a little butter rolled in grated bread. Put the dish in a slow oven, and let it cook till well done, basting it frequently with the liquid. When nearly done, add a tablespoon of capers.

Codfish Cakes— A Yankee t

Take salt codfish that has been cooked slowly; simmered, not boiled, the day before. Remove the bones and mince it. Mix it with WARM mashed pota- toes, mashed with butter and milk, in the proportion of one-third codfish, and two-thirds mashed potato ; add sufficient beaten egg to make the whole into a smooth paste. If it seems dry, add a little butter. Make into cakes an inch thick, and as large round as a teacup. Fry in salt pork, and serve the slices with the fish cakes. These are very nice, if we]l made.

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 41

A Codfish Helish.

Sliver the codfish fine, pour on boiling water till it is freshened; then drain off water, add butter, pepper, and heat it a few minutes on the stove, but do not let it fry.

Fried Perch.

Egg and bread crumbs, hot lard. Scale and clean the fish, brush it over with egg, and cover with bread crumbs. Have ready some boiling lard ; put the fish in, and fry a nice brown. Serve with melted butter or anchovy sauce.

JEgg Sauce for Salt Fish.

Four eggs, half a pint of melted butter ; when liked, a very little lemon juice. Boil the eggs until quite hard, which will be in about twenty minutes, and put them into cold water for half an hour, strip off the shells, chop the eggs into small pieces, not, however, too fine. Make the melted butter very smoothly, and when boiling, stir in the eggs, and serve very hot. Lemon juice may be added at pleasure.

Curry Fish.

Put into the pot four onions and two apples, in thin slices, some thyme, or savory, with a quarter of a pound of fat or dripping, three tablespoon fuls of salt, one tablespoonful of sugar, and fry for fifteen minutes ; then pour in three quarts of water and one pound of —6

42 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

rice; boil till tender; add one tablesoonful of curry- powder, mixed in a little water ; cut up six pounds of cheap fish the size of an egg; add to the above, and boil for twenty or thirty minutes, according to the kind of fish. If salt fish is used, omit the salt. If no herbs, do without, but always use what you can.

Fish Sauce.

Take half a pint of milk and cream together, two eggs well beaten, salt, a little pepper, and the juice of half a lemon ; put it over the fire, and stir it constantly until it begins to thicken.

MARKETING.

CARE AND USES OF MEATS. MANNER OF COOKING DIFFERENT PARTS OF MEATS AND FOWLS.

Beef Steaks.

The sirloin and porter-house steaks should always be broiled and broiled quickly. They should never be put on the gridiron till your meal is ready to serve up. Steaks should not be used the day they are cut ; but if possible kept on ice a day or two, they then become tender; be governed of course by the weather in such matters. Always put your meat in a vessel of some kind, and set that on the ice. If the meat is put in contact with the ice it becomes white looking, and loses all its richness.

Hoasting Pieces.

The sirloin roast is considered the best; the next piece forward of the sirloin is also a good roasting piece. The rib pieces of the forequarter are preferred by many ; by removing the ribs and rolling the piece it makes a nice roast, and can be stuffed with bread crumbs and such seasoning as is used for any ordinary dressing for fowls.

44 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

Corned Beef Pieces.

The rump and round and etch bone are used expressly tor corning. The flank and brisket are also good corning pieces ; very many prefer the brisket, as it has a portion of the fat that is very sweet in boiled meat. It is well for persons who can do so, to select such pieces as they prefer, and have a large jar or keg, and make their own corned beef; they will find it much nicer. I have given a well tried receipt for corning beef, one that I have used for years, and one that cannot fail to please. Corned beef must be boiled tender; if used hot for dinner, take what is left and put it in some flat bottomed vessel and put a heavy weight over it ; put a clean board or flat coyer on, then the weight, and set it away till perfectly cold, and slice thin for supper; by pressing it it becomes firm and is more like tongue.

A Stuffed Flank.

Take a toge, nice, well trimmed flank, put it in salt and let it remain over night. Then wash it in cold water, and wipe it dry. Have a stuffing made as for turkey or goose, and spread it well over the meat, put- ting on occasionally nicely cut strips of salt pork; season this dressing highly ; roll your meat up and sew it very tight in a piece of strong muslin ; put it in to boil as early as possible in the morning, and boil six hours. This is delightful. Put it in a vessel and press it, leaving the cloth on till cold ; put a heavy weight on, let it remain till cold. Slice very thin. In winter

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 45

when meat is firm and nice this makes a splendid supper dish.

Time for Boiling Meat.

The old rule of fifteen minutes Jto a pound of meat, is rather too little, I think; the slower it boils the ten- derer, the plumper, and whiter it will be. For those who choose their food thoroughly cooked, (which all will who have any regard for their stomachs,) twenty minutes or more to a pouud will not be found too much for gentle simmering over a good fire; allowing more or less time, according to the thickness of the joint; always remembering the slower it boils the better. Without some practice it is difficult to teach any art; and cooks seem to suppose they must be right if they put meat into a pot and set it over the fire for a certain time, making no allowance whether it simmers without a bubble, or boils at a gallop.

FRESH KILLED MEAT

Will take much longer time boiling than that which has been kept till it is what the butchers call ripe, and longer in cold than in warm weather. If it be frozen it must be thawed before boiling as before roasting; if it is too fresh killed it will be tough and hard. The size of the boiling pots should be adapted to what they are to contain; the larger the pot the more room it takes upon the fire; and a larger quantity of water requires a proportionate increase of fire to boil it. In small families I would recommend block tin sauce pans, &c., as the lightest and safest. If proper cave is

46 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

taken of them, and they are well dried after they are cleansed, they are far the cheapest. Take care that the covers of your boiling pots tit close, not only to prevent unnessary evaporation of the water, but that the smoke may not get under the edge of the lid, and give the meat a bad taste.

If you let meat or poultry remain in the water after it is done enough, it will become sodden and lose its flavor.

It is very important in boiling meats to keep the water constantly boiling, else it will cause the meat to soak the water up; if it is necessary to add more water, be sure to have it boiling, skim carefully ; salt thrown in raises the scum ; always put your meat into cold water, and let it gradually heat and boil at first ; never let meat remain longer in the water than you can help, better to take it up and place it in a heater, if possible. The broth in which meat is boiled makes a most delicious soup by adding vegetables chopped fine, carrots, especially, give a fine flavor to soup. Bunches of mixed vegetables and parsly can be procured at the market, generally.

TAKE CARE OF THE LIQUOR*,

In which you have boiled meat or poultry; in a few minutesyou may convert it into a most palatable soup.

IF THE LIQUOR IS TOO SALT,

Use only one half, saving the other half for the next day; people's tastes vary so much in regard to the flavor of soups. Add sufiicient boiling water to the portion of broth you wish made into soup, then put in

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 47

such vegetables and herbs as will suit the taste. Ver- micelli, macaroni, or our home-made noodles may be added.

Soiled Ham.

If the ham is large, and to be boiled, it is much better to soak it in clear water over night, put it on to boil in cold water ; when water is to be added to any- thing cooking, always add boiling water. Some persons think a boiled ham is much improved by setting it into the oven for a short time after you have removed the skin and before it has time to get cold. If you boil a whole ham, let it remain in the liquor in which it was boiled over night, it is a great improvement.

They are much better put in brine, and then smoked. Make an ordinary brine ; use a little brown sugar and a small piece of saltpetre. Two weeks in the brine is sufficient ; when taken out let them be washed off in clear, cold water, wiped dry, and hung up in a cool, dry place, for about two days ; then they may be smoked.

Mutton Hams— To fickle for Drying.

First take a weak brine and put the hams into it for two days, then pour off and apply the following, and let it remain on from two to three weeks, according to size : For each 100 pounds take six pounds salt; saltpetre, one ounce; saleratus, two ounces ; molasses, one pint; water, six gallons ; will cover these, if packed closely. The saleratus will keep the mutton from becoming

48 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

hard. These, if properly selected and properly cured, are, according to my experience, equal to any dried venison I ever ate. I prefer the " corned beef brine " receipt, although there is but little difference between

For Corned IBeef.

(MKS. WM. A, TURKEY.)

Take a large dinner pot ot rain water and put in it —

One pint salt.

One pint molasses,

One pint brown sugar,

Five cents worth saltpetre.

Boil all together, skim till clear; let it cool. If it will bear an egg, it is all right. This will cover about 27 or 28 pounds of beef. Next, take —

One tea cup brown sugar,

One tea cup of salt,

Five cents worth saltpetre.

Beat them and mix them well together, and rub each piece of the meat well with it ; put the meat into your jar or keg, let it stand 24 hours ; then pour over it the brine, which should be made the night before. In two weeks it is ready for use. This makes the finest corned beef I have tasted.

Sugar Cured Hams.

( MRS. S. FERGUSON. )

For eighteen or twenty hams — Fifteen ounces saltpetre,

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 49

Four ounces saleratus,

Four pounds brown sugar,

Eight quarts tine salt,

Two quarts molasses.

Mix well together in a tub, rub the mixture well on the face of the hams, putting it all on ; put them in a tight barrel. Let them remain four days. Make a strong brine that will bear an egg, and pour over the hams. Let them remain in the brine from live to six weeks, or till well salted ; changing them once in that time, putting those that are in the bottom of the barrel on the top, so that they will not have the juice pressed out of them. When they are sufficiently salted, take them out of the brine, wash them well in warm (not hot) water, wipe them quite dry and hang them up a day or two, before being smoked. When smoked, put black pepper on the joints, wrap them up in strong brown paper. You can wash them with common white-wash, colored with any of the common yellow colors, or pack them in a large dry box and cover each ham thoroughly with good dry ashes.

Beef and Mutton

A little under-done, (especially very large joints,) which will make the better hash or broil, is not a great fault, by some it is preferred; but lamb, pork and veal, are uneatable if not thoroughly boiled, but do not overdo them. A trivet, or fish drainer, put in the bottom of the boiling pot, raising the contents about an inch and a half from the bottom, will prevent that side —7

50 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

of the meat which comes next the bottom frorp being done too much, and the lower part ot the meat will be as delicately done as the other part; and this will enable you to take out the contents without sticking a fork into your meat, which is no benefit to it.

Ribs of Beef

The three first ribs make an excellent roasting piece, many prefer it to the sirloin for roasting ; if the ribs are taken out and it is rolled and skewered, it will be round, and can be filled with a stuffing of bread crumbs, seasoned and flavored to suit the different tastes. As the meat is more in a solid mass, it will require more time to roast it. A piece of ten or twelve pounds weight will not be well roasted in less than four or five hours. Salt, pepper and flour it well before putting in to roast.

M^ltton Chops.

Mutton chops are better broiled than cooked in any other way, and should be broiled over a rather alow fire, as the fat that cooks from them usually increases the fire.

Leg of Mutton.

The leg of mutton is very nice boiled or roasted plainly, or can be stuffed and roasted. The loin is a roasting piece. The leg is often cured as you would cure beef to dry ; it has a much finer grain than the

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 51

beef, and is more like venison. I have cured mutton legs in the corned beef receipt, and found them so like venison that you could scarcely tell the difference ; they chip nicely, the meat is close and firm, and looks beautiful on table.

Pork Steaks.

The best steaks are off the shoulder; the first ham steaks are considered too dry for steaks.

Spare Hibs.

Spare ribs are nice if broiled well, broiled without burning. They are also nice cut up and stewed, or roasted; a pan can be well filled with the spare ribs as they are cut from the hog — pepper and salt, and a very little well powdered sage, sprinkled over each layer, and then nicely roasted, occasionally changing the pieces so that each piece can be a little browned. Many persons like this dish cold.

Sausage Meat.

Take about two-thirds of nice lean pork, and one- third of fat, chop them nicely, and season with salt, black pepper, sage, and a little summer savory. The best way is to make out a little cake and fry it, adding such seasoning as is needed to give it the right taste. There are nice little sausage grinders now in use, which are a great convenience, and not costing over three or four dollars ; with a little trouble and care every family can grind their own sausage and season it to the taste.

52 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

Tender-Loin.

During the slaughtering season families can live very much cheaper. The tender loin is a very nice breakfast dish, nicely fried, with a well made gravy. The backbone, or chine, salted down for a few days, and then washed and boiled till tender, makes a good dinner. Some persons boil cabbage, turnips and pota- toes with it ; it is very relishable, and makes a good wash-day dinner, giving you a sufficient variety, and very little labor in cleaning after it.

figs Feet.

They should be thoroughly cleaned, washed, and thrown into salt water over night, then boiled till they are almost to pieces ; a little red pepper pod is nice thrown in, and a few whole cloves and allspice. When they are done, have a jar sufficiently large to hold them ; put the feet one by one into the jar, (let them well drain first,) then have good, clear vinegar, and cover the feet with it ; do not disturb them for a day or two, and then they are fit to eat. A nice dish for breakfast is made by cutting the feet into halves, dipping them into a nice batter, and frying till they are a nice brown; the grease for frying anything should always be hot.

Shoulder and Ham.

These are salted and smoked. Some rub them well with dry salt and let them remain till they are suf-

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 53

ficently salted, and have them smoked ; others prefer a brine to the dry salt. The weather has considerable to do with the length of time they remain in either salt or brine, if they freeze it takes longer for them to take the salt.

Curing, Smoking and Keeping Ham.

To a cask of hams, say from 25 to 30, after having packed them closely and sprinkled them slightly with salt, let them lie thus for three days; then make a brine sufficient to cover them, by putting salt into clear water, making it strong enough to bear hip a sound egg or potato ; then add one-half pound of salt- petre kand a gallon of good molasses ; let them lie in brine for six weeks — they are then exactly right. Take them out and let them drain; while damp, rub the flesh side and the end of the leg with finely pul- verized black pepper, with a little cayenne pepper ; let it be as fine as dust, and rub every part of the flesh side, then hang them up for a few days before smok- ing. They can then be kept well, after being well wrapped in strong brown paper and whitewashed, or they can be wrapped and packed in dry ashes ; a little well pulverized charcoal mixed through the ashes is a great improvement. My own experience has taught me that it is very much cheaper, and certainly much safer, to have your hams and all meat to smoke marked so that you will always get your own meat, and then get your butcher to smoke them for you.

54 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

Packing Beef.

It is a very important thing to know how to keep a large quantity of beef. If you have a hind quarter of beef to put away, have it cut into steaks and roasts ; take such pieces as you wish for dried beef and corned beef, put them into your brine. Have a nice, clean box, sufficient to hold your steaks and roasts, put this box into a larger box and pack that with ice or snow, first put a quantity in the bottom of the large box, pack the sides tight, cover it closely ; let no ice or snow touch your meat, as it draws the blood out and renders the meat tasteless ; it should be kept in some dry, cool place, smoke house, or any place where it is cold and dry, a cellar is too warm and would melt the ice.

To Try Out Lard.

It is much better in trying out lard, if you have a sufficient quantity to justify you doing so, to render- out the leaf fat separately from the other fat; cut the fat into small pieces, put it into a clean pot over a slow fire, adding at first a little water to keep it from burning; let it cook till the cracklings are of a reddish brown ; add a little salt, then strain into tin cans or stone jars; try out the other fat in the same way.

As beef requires a large, sound fire, mutton must have a brisk, sharp one ; if you wish to have mutton

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 55

tender, it should be hung as long as it will keep, and then good eight-tooth four years' old mutton is as good eating as venison. The leg, haunch and saddle will be the better for being hung up in a cool, airy place, for four or five days at least; in temperate weather a week, in cold weather, ten days. A leg of eight pounds will take about two hours, let it be well basted. A chine or saddle, the two loins, of ten or eleven pounds, two hours and a half. A shoulder of seven pounds, an hour and a half; they should be well watched and often basted. Potatoes, peeled, are very nice, roasted with any of the roasting pieces.

Shoulder of Mutton.

May be dressed in various ways, but the most usual is to roast it nicely, and send it up with onion sauce. It is an unsightly joint, but the appearance may be improved by cutting off the knuckle, when it may be called a shield ; it has more different sorts of meat in the various cuts than the leg. The bone may also be taken out, and the mutton stuffed; it is very good baked, and is frequently served upon a pudding.

Leg of Mutton Soiled.

To prepare a leg of mutton for boiling, trim as for roasting; soak it for a couple of hours in cold water; then put only water enough to cover it, and let it boil gently for three hours, or according to its weight. Some cooks boil it in a cloth; but if the water be

56 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

afterwards wanted for soup, that should not be done ; some salt and an onion put in the water are far better. When nearly ready, take it from the tire, and, keeping the pot well covered, let it remain in the water for ten or fifteen minutes.

Cooking a Loin of Mutton.

From an hour and a half to an hour and three-quar- ters. The most elegant way of carving this is to cut it lengthwise, as you do a saddle. A neck about the same time as a loin. It must be carefully jointed, or it is very difficult to carve.

The Neck and Breast

Are, in small families, generally roasted together. The cook should crack the bones across the middle before they are put down to roast. If this is not done carefully, they are very troublesome to carve. A breast piece about an hour and a quarter to roast.

The Haunch.

The leg and part of the loin of mutton. Send to the table two sauce-boats of gravy; one of rich, drawn mutton gravy, seasoned high, and bruised mint to flavor; the other with plain gravy. Roast slowly and thoroughly.

Mutton9 (Venison Fashion.)

Take a neck of good four or five year old wether

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 57

mutton, cut long in the bones; let it hang a few days, it will improve it. Two days before you dress it, take allspice and black pepper, ground and pounded fine, a quarter of an ounce each; rub them together, and then rub your mutton well with this mixture twice a day. When you dress your mutton to cook it, wash off the spice with warm water, rub salt and a little fresh black pepper over it, dredge on flour, and put it into the stove ; put hot water in the roasting pan, baste frequently.

IBeef a la Mode.

In making a la mode beef the round is generally preferred. I can only give directions for preparing it. The size of the meat must be selected according to the number to eat it. Every family knows about the num- ber of pounds it will take. Select young and tender meat, cut holes entirely through the thick part, have long strips of salt fat pork, cut and rolled in a season- ing of thyme, sweet majorum, sweet basil, cloves, pepper, salt, half a teaspoonful of each ; then open the holes already made in the beef, and draw the strips of fat through them. Some like onions; they can be used or not, as taste dictates. Put your meat in your pot, (or, if cooked in a stove, put it in a covered pan,) add sufficient water to cover it, and let it cook slowly three or four hours ; make a rich gravy, and just before taking it out of the pan or pot, add a pint of either claret or port wine If boiled it can be taken out and set in the oven a short time ; sprinkle over the top powdered crackers.

58 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

Beef Patties.

This is a nice way to use cold roast beef. Chop tine the lean, and a -little of the fat ; season it with pepper, and mace, if you like, or sweet herbs. If you have any gravy left, moisten the meat with it. Make a nice plain paste, and cut it round about the size of a plate ; do not roll it too thin ; cover half of each sheet of paste with the mash, but do not get it too near the edge; fold the other half of the paste over, so as to form a half moon; wet your tinger in cold water, and pinch together the two edges of the paste. Prick the patties" with a fork, put them in a baking pan and bake a nice brown, or fry in hot fat, as you prefer. Serve hot. Cold veal or cold chicken make nice patties.

To Hash a Calf's Head.

Clean the head thoroughly, and boil it for a quarter of an hour. When cold, cut the meat into thin, broad slices, and put them into a pan with two quarts of gravy; and, after stewing three-quarters of an hour, add one anchovy, a little mace and cayenne, one spoon- ful of lemon pickle, and two of walnut catsup, some sweet herbs, lemon-peel, and a glass of sherry. Mix a quarter of a pound of fresh butter with flour, which add tive minutes before the meat is sufficiently cooked. Take the brains and put them into hot water, skin them, and pound them well. Add to them two eggs, one spoonful of flour, a little grated lemon-peel, and finely chopped parsley, thyme and sage; mix well together with pepper and salt. Form this mixture into

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 59

small cakes ; boil some lard, and fry them in it until they are a light brown color, then lay them on a sieve to drain. Take the hash out of the pan, and lay it neatly on a hot dish, strain the gravy over it, and lay upon it a few mushrooms, forcemeat balls, the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs, and the brain-cakes. Garnish with slices of lemon and pickles.

Spoon Meats.

Calf's feet or mutton shanks make mild nourishing broth, but have but little richness or flavor of meat. To clean them, have a kettle of boiling water on the iire, and throw in the feet all at once, or in succession, as the size of the vessel allows. Let them boil about three minutes, then take one out, when the hoofs and hairs will easily come off; loosen the hoof at the root and turn it back, scrape the hairs, carrying the knife upwards. This must be done immediately on taking out of the boiling water, therefore only one at a time must be taken out. Feet, and all gristly parts, require long boiling, or baking, and consume a large quantity of water in the process.

Minced Beef.

Cut into small pieces the remains of cold meat; the gravy reserved from it, on the first day of its being served, should be put into the stew-pan, with the addi- tion of warm water, pepper, salt, and a little butter. Let the whole simmer slowly for an hour. A few minutes before it is served, take out the meat ; add to

60 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

the gravy some walnut catsup, or a little lemon or walnut pickle. Boil up the gravy once more, and pour over the meat. This is a very nice way to use up any kind of cold meats or fowl. A little curry powder may be used by those who love high seasoning.

Beef and Mashed Potatoes.

Mash some well cooked potatoes, add a little cream or sweet milk, butter, salt and black pepper. Slice cold beef and lay it at the bottom of a deep pie dish, with salt, pepper, butter, and a little beef gravy, which should always be saved ; cover the whole with a layer of the potatoes, then another quantity of the meat, and then potatoes, and seasoning, having potatoes reserved for the top; make it higher in the middle of the dish than at the edges ; put butter on the top and bake a light brown.

Beef's Heart.

Get a heart of a nice young ox, wash it carefully, and with a sharp knife remove from the inside of it all sinews ; lay it in salt and water, and let it remain over night ; put it on very early in the morning, and boil till quite tender; then take out, put strips of ham fat, as in a la mode beef, cut the holes with a long, slim knife, or make them with a table steel; make a dress- ing with bread crumbs and a little onion, pepper, salt, and any herbs preferred; fill the heart, and roll it in a dough made as for soda biscuit; roll about an inch

ILLINOIS COOK BOOK. 61

thick, and secure the edges with flour, that it will not come open ; put in a pan, add water, and cover with butter, baste well while roasting. This way is very nice. It can be pinned in a cloth and boiled, if pre- ferred. Make a nice gravy.

Beef Collops.

Cut the inside of a sirloin, or any other convenient piece, into small circular shapes, flour and fry them ; sprinkle with pepper, salt, chopped parsley, and shalot ; make a little gravy in the pan; send to table with gherkin or tomato sauce. Or : Cut thin slices of beef from the rump, or any other tender part, and divide them into pieces three inches long, beat them with the blade of a knife, and flour them. Fry the collops in butter two minutes ; then lay them into a small stew- pan, and cover them with a pint of gravy, add a bit of butter rubbed in flour.

Beef a la Mode.

Take a nice piece of round of beef, the size must be regulated to the size of the family, cut holes about an inch and a half apart, all through the meat ; have nice long narrow strips of pork fat, and draw through the holes, (that from the fat of ham is nicest ;) salt your meat and let it remain an hour or two ; then put it into vinegar, (not too strong,) let it remain 24 hours ; then have in a. stove pot a nice large piece of butter, let it get hot; put in your meat and let it brown nicely in this butter, turning it often, and watching it carefully that

62 ILLINOIS COOK BOOK.

the butter does not scorch, (attention must be paid to this to have it nice;) then set the pot on the back of the stove, and pour in the vinegar in which the meat had stood over night, and add pepper and spices, (whole) cloves and allspice; let this simmer slowly several hours till done tender ; strain the liquor it has boiled in, and make gravy of it. In cutting slices of the meat, cut it so you will have the bits of pork all through the slice of meat. This is very nice for tea

Beefsteak fie.

Take rump steaks that have been well hung, cut in small scallops ; beat them gently with a rolling pin ; season with pepper, salt, and a little shalot, minced very tine ; put in a layer -of sliced potatoes, place the slices in layers with a good piece of fat and a sliced mutton kidney; till the dish; put some crust on the edge, and about an inch below it, and a cup of water or broth in the dish. Cover with rather a thick crust, and set in a moderate oven.

Staffordshire Beefsteak.

Beat them a little with, a rolling pin, flour and season, then fry with sliced onion of a fine light brown; lay the steaks into a stew pan, and pour as much boiling water over them as will serve for sauce; stew them very gently half an hour, and add a spoonful of catsup, before you serve.