Enquire Within Upon Everything Part 172

Three dozen of natives require seven ounces and a half of flour to make them into a paste weighing eleven ounces, which, when dried, is reduced to six and a half ounces. To make half a pint of sauce, put one ounce of b.u.t.ter into a stewpan with three drachms of oyster powder, and six tablespoonfuls of milk; set it on a slow fire, stir it till it boils, and season it with salt. As a sauce, it is excellent for fish, fowls, or rump steaks. Sprinkled on bread and b.u.t.ter, it makes a good sandwich.

2221. Anchovy b.u.t.ter.

Sc.r.a.pe the skin from a dozen fine anchovies, take the flesh from the bones, pound it smooth in a mortar; rub through a hair sieve, put the anchovies into the mortar with three-quarters of a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter, a small quant.i.ty of cayenne, and a saltspoonful of grated nutmeg and mace; beat together until thoroughly blended. If to serve cold, mould the b.u.t.ter in small shapes, and turn it out. For preservation, press the b.u.t.ter into jars, and keep cool.

2222. Lobster b.u.t.ter.

Lobster b.u.t.ter is made in the same manner as anchovy b.u.t.ter. A mixture of anchovy b.u.t.ter and lobster b.u.t.ter is considered excellent.

2223. Liver Sauce for Fish.

Boil the liver of the fish, and pound it in a mortar with a little flour, stir it into some broth, or some of the liquor the fish was boiled in, or melted b.u.t.ter, with some chopped parsley, a few grains of cayenne, and a little essence of anchovy, soy, or ketchup;--give the whole a boil up, and rub it through a sieve; a little lemon juice, or lemon cut in dice, may be added, if liked.

2224. Sauce for Fish.

Twenty-four anchovies, chopped; ten shalots; two ounces of horseradish, sc.r.a.ped; four blades of mace; one lemon, sliced; twelve cloves; one quarter of an ounce of black pepper, whole; one gill of the anchovy liquor; one quart of best vinegar; one quart of water. Let the whole simmer on the fire, in a covered saucepan, until reduced to one quart, strain, and bottle for use. If required for long keeping, add a quarter of an ounce of cayenne pepper.

2225. Apple Sauce.

Pare and core three good-sized baking apples, put them into a well-tinned pint saucepan, with two tablespoonfuls of cold water; cover the saucepan close, and set it on a trivet over a slow fire a couple of hours before dinner,--some apples will take a long time stewing, others will be ready in a quarter of an hour. When the apples are done enough pour off the water, let them stand a few minutes to get dry; then beat them up with a fork, with a bit of b.u.t.ter about as big as a nutmeg, and a teaspoonful of powdered sugar; some persons add lemon-peel, grated or minced fine,--or boil a small piece with the apples. Many persons are fond of apple sauce with cold pork.

2226. Grill Sauce.

To a quarter of a pint of gravy add half an ounce of b.u.t.ter and a dessertspoonful of flour, well rubbed together; the same of mushroom or walnut ketchup; a teaspoonful of lemon juice; half a teaspoonful of made mustard, and of minced capers; a small quant.i.ty of black pepper; a little lemon-peel grated very thin; a saltspoonful of essence of anchovies; a very small piece of minced shalot, and a little chili vinegar, or a few grains of cayenne; simmer together for a few minutes; pour a portion of it over the grill, and send up the remainder in a sauce-tureen.

2227. Tomato Sauce.

Twelve tomatoes, ripe and red; take off the stalk; cut in halves; put them in a stewpan with a capsic.u.m, and two or three tablespoonfuls of beef gravy; set on a slow stove till properly melted; rub them through a sieve into a clean stewpan; add a little white pepper and salt, and let them simmer a few minutes.--French cooks add an onion or shalot, a clove or two, or a little tarragon vinegar.

[ONE STORY IS GOOD UNTIL ANOTHER IS TOLD.]

2228. Beef Gravy Sauce.

(_Or Brown Sauce for ragout, Game, Poultry, Fish, &c_.)--If you want gravy, put in a thick and well-tinned stewpan a thin slice of fat ham or bacon, or an ounce of b.u.t.ter, and a middling-sized onion; on this lay a pound of nice juicy gravy-beef (as the object in making gravy is to extract the nutritious qualities of the meat, it must be beaten so as to reduce the containing vessels, and scored to render the surface more susceptible to the action of the water); cover the stewpan. Set it on a slow fire; when the meat begins to brown, turn it about, and let it get slightly browned (but _take care it is not at all burnt_): then pour in a pint-and-a-half of boiling water, set the pan on the fire;--when it boils, carefully catch the sc.u.m, and then put in a crust of bread toasted brown (don't burn it), a sprig of winter savoury, or lemon thyme and parsley, a roll of thin-cut lemon peel, a dozen berries of allspice, and a dozen of black pepper; cover the stewpan close, let it _stew very gently_ for about two hours, then strain it through a sieve into a basin.

If you wish to thicken it, set a clean stewpan over a slow fire, with about an ounce of b.u.t.ter in it; when it is melted, dredge into it (by degrees) as much flour as will dry it up, stirring them intimately; when thoroughly mixed, pour in a little of the gravy,--stir it well together, and add the remainder by degrees; set it over the fire, let it simmer gently for fifteen or twenty minutes longer, and skim off the fat, &c., as it rises; when it is about as thick as cream, squeeze it through a tamis or fine sieve, and you will have a fine rich brown sauce, at a very moderate expense, and without much trouble.

_Observe_--If you wish _to make it still more relis.h.i.+ng_--for _poultry_, you may pound the liver with a piece of b.u.t.ter, rub it through a sieve, and stir it into the sauce when you put in the thickening.

2229. Chutney.

One pound of salt, one pound of mustard seed, one pound of stoned raisins, one pound of brown sugar, twelve ounces of garlic, six ounces of cayenne pepper, two quarts of unripe gooseberries, two quarts of best vinegar. The mustard seed gently dried and bruised; the sugar made into a syrup with a pint of the vinegar; the gooseberries dried and boiled in a quart of the vinegar; the garlic to be well bruised in a mortar. When cold, gradually mix the whole in a large mortar, and with the remaining vinegar thoroughly amalgamate them. To be tied down close. The longer it is kept the better it will become.

2230. Wow Wow Sauce.

Chop parsley leaves fine; take two or three pickled cuc.u.mbers, or walnuts, and divide into small squares, and set them by in readiness; put into a saucepan a piece of b.u.t.ter as big as an egg; when it is melted, stir into it a tablespoonful of fine flour, and half a pint of the broth of the beef; add a tablespoonful of vinegar, one of mushroom ketchup, or port wine, or both, and a tablespoonful of made mustard; simmer together till it is as thick as you wish, put in the parsley and pickles to get warm, and pour it over the beef, or send it up in a sauce-tureen. This is excellent for stewed or boiled beef.

2231. Sage-and-Onion, or Goose-Stuffing Sauce.

Chop very fine an ounce of onion and half an ounce of green sage leaves, put them into a stewpan with four spoonfuls of water, simmer gently for ten minutes, then put in a teaspoonful of pepper and salt, and one ounce of fine bread-crumbs; mix well together; then pour to it a quarter of a pint of broth, or gravy, or melted b.u.t.ter; stir well together, and simmer it a few minutes longer. This is an excellent relish for roast pork, poultry, geese or ducks, or green peas.

2232. Garnishes.

i. Parsley is the most universal garnish for all kinds of cold meat, poultry, fish, b.u.t.ter, cheese, and so forth. Horseradish is the garnish for roast beef, and for fish in general; for the latter, slices of lemon are sometimes laid alternately with the horseradish.

ii. Slices of lemon for boiled fowl, turkey, and fish, and for roast veal and calf's head.

iii. Carrot in slices for boiled beef, hot or cold.

iv. Barberries, fresh or preserved, for game.

v. Red beetroot sliced for cold meat, boiled beef, and salt fish.

vi. Fried smelts as garnish for turbot.

vii. Fried sausages or forcemeat b.a.l.l.s are placed round turkey, capon, or fowl.

viii. Lobster coral and parsley round boiled fish.

ix. Fennel for mackerel and salmon, either fresh or pickled.

x. Currant jelly for game, also for custard or bread pudding.

xi. Seville orange or lemon in slices for wild ducks, widgeons, teal, and so forth.

xii. Mint, either with or without parsley, for roast lamb, either hot or cold.

xiii. Pickled gherkins, capers, or onions, for some kinds of boiled meat and stews.

[THE SEA IS THE HEAVING BOSOM OF THE WORLD.]

2233. Relish, for Chops, &c.

Pound fine an ounce of black pepper, and half an ounce of allspice, with an ounce of salt, and half an ounce of sc.r.a.ped horseradish, and the same of shalots, peeled and quartered; put these ingredients into a pint of mushroom ketchup, or walnut pickle, and let them steep for a fortnight, and then strain it.