Beef Steaks.
Observe that the beef is tender and good, cut the steaks half an inch thick, fry them a fair colour and turn them into a warm dish; pour a large teacupful of rich gravy into the pan, with pepper and salt, a few shalots or onions shred small; let it boil till it tastes well of all the ingredients, put in the steaks, give it a boil and serve it.
Mutton
Is done in the same manner.
Venison.
Make a rich gravy with a part of the meat seasoned as you incline; fry the slices a good brown, pick them out and keep them warm in a dish, roll a piece of fresh butter in flour, put it in the pan and keep stirring till it is brown; add to it the gravy, with two large spoonfuls of pounded sugar, two glasses port wine, a little lemon juice, and half a nutmeg grated; boil all till smooth like beat butter, return the slices into the pan, make all hot and serve it.
Calf’s or Lamb’s Brains.
Divide them in four, soak them in a good gravy stock with a little sherry and juice of lemon, a few cloves pounded, and some grate of nutmeg, pepper and salt, parsley and chives chopped small; dip them in a pretty thick batter and fry them a good brown in sweet lard or oil; fry some crumbs of bread, or a little soaked rice, and the yolk of an hard egg chopped and strewed over; garnish and serve them with beat butter or wine sauce.
Or,
Pound the brain smooth with a few yolks of eggs, a spoonful or two of flour, a little sugar, a slice of fresh butter melted, or a little cream, add pepper, salt, and a spoonful of bread crumbs; whip all as light as possible, drop them into the pan the size of half crowns and fry them in good dripping or oil. It is a pretty corner or supper dish when garnished as follows. Take a large dark coloured Seville orange, pare it narrow, carefully keeping the chip whole; run it round the dish in a curl, with the top and bottom of the skin placed in the middle; intersperse a few sprigs of endive or myrtle.
Tripe.
When you get it from market boiled, examine every part narrowly to make sure of its being sweet and clean. Stew it gently in a veal stock till very tender, lay it to drain, cut it in neat pieces, dip them in a good pancake, batter and fry them a fine brown in fresh lard; serve with beat butter in a sauce boat, or crisp the tripe in plenty of boiling lard without dipping it in batter, as many prefer a it so.
Loin of Lamb.
Cut it in neat slices, dust them well with pepper; if you wish the dish high seasoned add mace, nutmeg and cloves, but they are as well omitted; fry the steaks a delicate brown in fresh butter, take them out and place them on a hot dish before the fire. Make a gill of a savoury gravy in the pan with a bit of fresh butter, a little pepper, salt, and flour; boil it a few minutes, take it off, add a spoonful of fresh mushroom ketchup, stir all well, pour it over the steaks and serve it hot.
Egg and Ham in Haste.
Take a few slices of pork, beef, or mutton ham, if very salt lay it in warm water a little while, dry it well and fry it gently in fresh butter, take it out and keep it hot; drop a good many eggs in a shallow dish, put a piece more butter or fresh lard into the pan; brown it a fair colour, slip in the eggs very gently and fry them, give each a good shake of pepper. Observe to keep them whole, turn but do not harden them, then lay ham and eggs alternately in a hot dish; garnish with something green and serve it.
Frying Fish.
In frying fish one rule is applicable to every kind. Have them neatly scaled, finned, dried, and rolled in flour or crumbs; do not lay them down after being floured, as they turn clammy, but immediately put them in a very deep frying pan, or broad saucepan, with plenty of boiling lard, oil, beef dripping, or suet, previously refined. Frying requires a smart fire, otherwise the fishes break and the appearance of the dish is lost. Fish for frying ought not to be so large as for boiling, neither should they be washed or gutted, if they are very fresh, but wiped carefully with a soft linen cloth. When they cannot be had in such perfection, draw out the gut and clean them well without opening (which leaves it in your power to stuff the breast when dressed, if you incline it); lay them four or five hours in salt and water to firm, then hang them by the tails on a fish hack to dry, or wrap them severally in a cloth to draw away any moisture; dipping them in a good pancake batter before they are fried assists the cook much in keeping them whole; but this is only required when they are not quite fresh; strain them from the dripping and serve them hot. Observe, that if fishes do not swim in dripping they seldom turn whole.
Haddocks and Whitings.
To have them in perfection they should be immediately dressed when caught; dry them well, roll them in flour and salt and fry them a fine brown in plenty of fresh lard. Whitings being of a soft nature, if far carried to market are much hurt; therefore, when a small fry is wanted, young haddocks, when fresh, are often esteemed even more than the whitings; serve them crisp and hot, garnish with fried oysters or cockles, and butter in a sauce tureen.
Flounders.
Roll them in flour or bread crumbs and salt; observe to dip the tails in the lard before laying in the pan, to prevent their curling up; in which case they do not brown so regularly. In buying flounders, chuse the dark brown kind, called daubs, without specks on the back and a pure lilac white belly; they are far superior to all others.
Smelts,
When fresh, are easily known by their strong flavour of sliced cucumbers. Dry and roll them in flour, fry them in plenty of lard, or dripping, till of a good brown, drain them before the fire and serve them hot, garnished with crisped parsley.
Carp
Are cleaned, dipped in flour, and fried a light brown; fry slices of bread toasted and cut in corner pieces, along with the roes; serve with butter, anchovy sauce, and lemon juice; garnish with the roes and the pieces of toast and lemon.
Tench.
Fry it in clarified butter a nice brown, take it out and lay on a cloth before the fire while you prepare the following sauce. Take butter rolled in flour, put it in a stew pan and brown it a little, stirring all the time; then pour in four glasses of wine and as much boiling water, an onion sliced, a little mace, and sweet herbs to your taste; cover and stew it gently, pour it out in a dish; lay the tench into the pan with some ketchup, or mushrooms and oysters, and, if you incline, truffles and morels, first boiled in water, but a little flour may answer as well; when it has stewed a very little, dish them, strain and pour the former sauce over them; garnish with sliced lemon. Tench are sometimes stuffed with a mixture of mushrooms, olives, pepper, salt, sweet herbs, mace, bread crumbs, yolks of eggs, butter, and one or more of the fish, skinned, boned and pounded altogether. In like manner are all kinds of fishes fried. Where a very rich dish is wanted, a strong highly seasoned sauce must be prepared, either white or brown, and when the fish have dripped pour it over them in the dish, then garnish according to fancy.
Oysters.
Take what quantity you wish of the largest sort, open and dress them, rinse them well in their own liquor and lay them on a cloth to drain; beat up an egg, add half a nutmeg grated, or a little pounded mace and some a salt; dip them one by one into this, and fry them a fine brown either in lard or butter; serve with bread crumbs fried, beat butter, ketchup, and pickles, in a sauce tureen.
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