Enquire Within Upon Everything Part 101

1062. Roasting Ribs.

Ribs, about an hour to an hour and a quarter; joint it nicely; crack the ribs across, and bend them up to make it easy for the carver.

1063. Roasting Loin, Neck or Breast.

Loin, an hour and a quarter. Neck an hour. Breast, three-quarters of an hour.

1064. Poultry, Game, &c.

H. M.

A small capon, fowl, or chicken requires........... 0 26 A large fowl ....... 0 45 A capon, full size ........ 0 35 A goose ........... 1 0 Wild ducks, and grouse ..... 0 15 Pheasants, and turkey poults ... 0 20 A moderate sized turkey, stuffed . . 1 15 Partridges .......... 0 25 Quail .............. 0 10 A hare, or rabbit .....about 1 0 Leg of pork, 1/4 hour for each pound, and above that allowance .................. 0 20 Chine of pork, as for leg, and ... 0 20 A neck of mutton ....... 1 30 A haunch of venison . . . about 3 30

1065. Effectiveness of Roasting.

Roasting, by causing the contraction of the cellular substance which contains the fat, expels more fat than boiling. The free escape of watery particles in the form of vapour, so necessary to produce flavour, must be regulated by frequent basting with the fat which has exuded from the meat, combined with a little salt and water--otherwise the meat would burn, and become hard and tasteless. A brisk fire at first will, by charring the outside, prevent the heat from penetrating, and therefore should only be employed when the meat is half roasted.

1066. The Loss by Roasting (General).

The loss by roasting is said to vary from 14-3/8ths to nearly double that rate per cent. The average loss on roasting butcher's meat is 22 percent.: and on domestic poultry, 20-1/2.

1067. The Loss by Roasting (Specific).

The loss per cent, on roasting beef, viz., on sirloins and ribs together is 19-1/6 th; on mutton, viz., legs and shoulders together, 24-4/5 ths, on fore-quarters of lamb, 22-1/3 rd; on ducks, 27-1/5 th; on turkeys, 20-1/2; on geese, 19-1/2; on chickens, 14-3/5 ths. So that it will be seen by comparison with the percentage given of the loss by boiling, that roasting is not so economical; especially when we take into account that the loss of weight by boiling is not actual loss of economic materials, for we then possess the princ.i.p.al ingredients for soups; whereas, after roasting, the fat only remains. The average loss in boiling and and roasting together is 18 per cent. according to Donovan, and 28 per cent. according to Wallace--a difference that may be accounted for by supposing a difference in the fatness of the meat, duration and degree of heat, &c., employed.

1068. Boiling.

This most simple of culinary processes is not often performed in perfection; it does not require quite so much nicety and attendance as roasting; to skim your pot well, and keep it really boiling, or rather, simmering, all the while--to know how long is required for doing the joint, &c., and to take it up at the critical moment when it is done enough--comprehends almost the whole art and mystery. This, however, demands a patient and perpetual vigilance, of which, unhappily, few persons are capable.

The cook must take especial care that the water really boils all the while she is cooking, or she will be deceived in the time; and make up a sufficient fire (a frugal cook will manage with much less fire for boiling than she uses for roasting) at first, to last all the time, without much mending or stirring, and thereby save much trouble. When the pot is coming to a boil, there will always, from the cleanest meat and clearest water, rise a sc.u.m to the top of it; proceeding partly from the foulness of the meat, and partly from the water: this must be carefully taken off, as soon as it rises. On this depends the good appearance of all boiled things--an essential matter.

When you have skimmed well, put in some cold water, which will throw up the rest of the sc.u.m. The oftener it is skimmed, and the clearer the surface of the water is kept, the cleaner will be the meat. If let alone, it soon boils down and sticks to the meat, which, instead of looking delicately white and nice, will have that coa.r.s.e appearance we have too often to complain of, and the butcher and poulterer will be blamed for the carelessness of the cook, in not skimming her pot with due diligence.

Many put in milk, to make what they boil look white, but this does more harm than good; others wrap it up in a cloth; but these are needless precautions; if the sc.u.m be attentively removed, meat will have a much more delicate colour and finer flavour than it has when m.u.f.fled up. This may give rather more trouble--but those we wish to excel in their art must only consider how the processes of it can be most perfectly performed: a cook who has a proper pride and pleasure in her business will make this her maxim and rule on all occasions.

Put your meat into cold water, in the proportion of about a quart of water to a pound of meat; it should be covered with water during the whole of the process of boiling, but not drowned in it; the less water, provided the meat be covered with it, the more savoury will be the meat, and the better will be the broth in every respect. The water should be heated gradually, according to the thickness, &c., of the article boiled; for instance, a leg of mutton of ten pounds weight should be placed over a moderate fire, which will gradually make the water hot without causing it to boil, for about forty minutes; if the water boils much sooner, the meat will be hardened, and shrink up as if it was scorched--by keeping the water a certain time heating without boiling, its fibres are dilated, and it yields a quant.i.ty of sc.u.m, which must be taken off as soon as it rises, for the reasons already mentioned.

"If a vessel containing water be placed over a steady fire, the water will grow continually hotter, till it reaches the limit of boiling; after which, the regular accessions of heat are wholly spent in converting it into steam: the water remains at the same pitch of temperature, however fiercely it boils. The only difference is, that with a strong fire it sooner comes to boil, and more quickly boils away, and is converted into steam."

Such are the opinions stated by Buchanan in his "Economy of Fuel."

There was placed a thermometer in water in that state which cooks call gentle simmering--the heat was 212, _i.e._, the same degree as the strongest boiling. Two mutton chops were covered with cold water, and one boiled fiercely, and the other simmered gently, for three-quarters of an hour; the flavour of the chop which was simmered was decidedly superior to that which was boiled; the liquor which boiled fast was in like proportion more savoury, and, when cold, had much more fat on its surface; this explains why quick boiling renders meat hard, &c.--because its juices are extracted in a greater degree.

[A Sc.r.a.pER AT THE DOOR KEEPS DIRT FROM THE FLOOR.]

1069. Time of Boiling.

Reckon the time from the water first coming to a boil. The old rule, of fifteen minutes to a pound of meat, is, perhaps, rather too little; the slower the meat boils, the tenderer, 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 to a pound will not be found too much for gentle simmering by the side of the fire; allowing more or less time, according to the thickness of the joint and the coldness of the weather; 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.

[A LETTER-BOX SAVES MANY KNOCKS.]

1070. Before Boiling.

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 be fresh killed, it will be tough and hard, if you stew it ever so long, and ever so gently. In cold weather, the night before you dress it, bring it into a place of which the temperature is not less than forty-five degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer.

The size of the boiling-pots should be adapted to what they are to contain; the larger the saucepan the more room it takes upon the fire; and a larger quant.i.ty of water requires a proportionate increase of fire to boil it. In small families block tin saucepans are best, as being lightest and safest: moreover, if proper care is taken of them, and they are well dried after they are cleansed, they are by far the cheapest; the purchase of a new tin saucepan being little more than the expense of tinning a copper one. Take care that the covers of your boiling-pots fit close, not only to prevent unnecessary evaporation of the water, but that the smoke may not insinuate itself under the edge of the lid, and give the meat a bad taste.

1071. Average Boiling Times.

The following Table will be useful as an average of the time required to boil the various articles:

H.M.

A ham, 20 lbs. weight, requires 6 30 A tongue (if dry), after soaking 4 O A tongue out of pickle 2-1/2 to 3 O A neck of mutton 1 30 A chicken O 20 A large fowl O 45 A capon O 35 A pigeon O 15

1072. Remove Immediately.

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

1073. Degree of Cooking.

Beef and mutton is preferred by some people a little underdone. Very large joints if slightly underdone, will make the better hash or broil. Lamb, pork, and veal are uneatable if not thoroughly boiled--but these meats should not be overdone. A trivet, a fish-drainer, or an American contrivance called a "spider"--which is nothing more than a wire dish raised on three or four short legs--put on the bottom of the boiling-pot, raising the contents about an inch and a half from the bottom, will prevent that side of the meat which comes next the bottom being done too much; and the lower part will be as delicately done as the upper; and this will enable you to take out the meat without inserting a fork, &c., into it. If yeu have not a trivet, a drainer, or a "spider," use a soup-plate laid the wrong side upwards.

1074. Stock.

Take care of the liquor you have boiled poultry or meat in, as it is useful for making soup.

1075. Using the Stock.

The good housewife never boils a joint without converting the broth into some sort of soup.

1076. Reducing Salt.