The Book of Household Management

by Mrs. Beeton

BEEF-STEAK PIE.

604. INGREDIENTS.—3 lbs. of rump-steak, seasoning to taste of salt, cayenne, and black pepper, crust, water, the yolk of an egg.

Mode.—Have the steaks cut from a rump that has hung a few days, that they may be tender, and be particular that every portion is perfectly sweet. Cut the steaks into pieces about 3 inches long and 2 wide, allowing a small piece of fat to each piece of lean, and arrange the meat in layers in a pie-dish. Between each layer sprinkle a seasoning of salt, pepper, and, when liked, a few grains of cayenne. Fill the dish sufficiently with meat to support the crust, and to give it a nice raised appearance when baked, and not to look flat and hollow. Pour in sufficient water to half fill the dish, and border it with paste (see Pastry); brush it over with a little water, and put on the cover; slightly press down the edges with the thumb, and trim off close to the dish. Ornament the pie with leaves, or pieces of paste cut in any shape that fancy may direct, brush it over with the beaten yolk of an egg; make a hole in the top of the crust, and bake in a hot oven for about 1-1/2 hour.

Time.—In a hot oven, 1-1/2 hour.

Average cost, for this size, 3s 6d.

Sufficient for 6 or 8 persons.

Seasonable at any time.

Note.—Beef-steak pies may be flavoured in various ways, with oysters and their liquor, mushrooms, minced onions, &c. For family pies, suet may be used instead of butter or lard for the crust, and clarified beef-dripping answers very well where economy is an object. Pieces of underdone roast or boiled meat may in pies be used very advantageously; but always remove the bone from pie-meat, unless it be chicken or game. We have directed that the meat shall be cut smaller than is usually the case; for on trial we have found it much more tender, more easily helped, and with more gravy, than when put into the dish in one or two large steaks.

[Illustration: SHERRY PUDDING DISH.]

BEEF-STEAK AND KIDNEY PUDDING.

605. INGREDIENTS.—2 lbs. of rump-steak, 2 kidneys, seasoning to taste of salt and black pepper, suet crust made with milk (see Pastry), in the proportion of 6 oz. of suet to each 1 lb. of flour.

Mode.—Procure some tender rump steak (that which has been hung a little time), and divide it into pieces about an inch square, and cut each kidney into 8 pieces. Line the dish (of which we have given an engraving) with crust made with suet and flour in the above proportion, leaving a small piece of crust to overlap the edge. Then cover the bottom with a portion of the steak and a few pieces of kidney; season with salt and pepper (some add a little flour to thicken the gravy, but it is not necessary), and then add another layer of steak, kidney, and seasoning. Proceed in this manner till the dish is full, when pour in sufficient water to come within 2 inches of the top of the basin. Moisten the edges of the crust, cover the pudding over, press the two crusts together, that the gravy may not escape, and turn up the overhanging paste. Wring out a cloth in hot water, flour it, and tie up the pudding; put it into boiling water, and let it boil for at least 4 hours. If the water diminishes, always replenish with some, hot in a jug, as the pudding should be kept covered all the time, and not allowed to stop boiling. When the cloth is removed, cut out a round piece in the top of the crust, to prevent the pudding bursting, and send it to table in the basin, either in an ornamental dish, or with a napkin pinned round it. Serve quickly.

Time.—For a pudding with 2 lbs. of steak and 2 kidneys allow 4 hours.

Average cost, 2s. 8d.

Sufficient for 6 persons.

Seasonable all the year, but more suitable in winter.

Note.—Beef-steak pudding may be very much enriched by adding a few oysters or mushrooms. The above recipe was contributed to this work by a Sussex lady, in which county the inhabitants are noted for their savoury puddings. It differs from the general way of making them, as the meat is cut up into very small pieces and the basin is differently shaped: on trial, this pudding will be found far nicer, and more full of gravy, than when laid in large pieces in the dish.

BAD MEAT. In the flesh of animals slaughtered whilst suffering acute inflammation or fever, the hollow fibres, or capillaries, as they are called, which form the substance of the lyer, are filled with congested and unassimilated animal fluid, which, from its impurity, gives the lyer a dark colour, and produces a tendency to rapid putrefaction. In a more advanced stage of such disease, serous, and sometimes purulent matter, is formed in the cellular tissues between the muscles of the flesh; and when such is the case, nothing can be more poisonous than such abominable carrion. In the flesh of animals killed whilst under the influence of any disease of an emaciating effect, the lyer adheres but slightly to the bones, with its fibres contracted and dry; and the little fat that there may be is friable, and shrunk within its integuments. The flesh of animals slaughtered whilst under considerable depression of vital energy (as from previous bleeding) has a diminished tendency to stiffen after death, the feebleness of this tendency being in proportion to the degree of depression. It presents, also, an unnatural blue or pallid appearance, has a faint and slightly sour smell, and soon becomes putrid. When an animal has died otherwise than by slaughtering, its flesh is flaccid and clammy, emits a peculiar faint and disagreeable smell, and, it need scarcely be added, spontaneous decomposition proceeds very rapidly.

BEEF-STEAKS WITH FRIED POTATOES, or BIFTEK AUX POMMES-DE-TERRE (a la mode Francaise).

606. INGREDIENTS.—2 lbs. of steak, 8 potatoes, 1/4 lb. of butter, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoonful of minced herbs.

Mode.—Put the butter into a frying or sauté pan, set it over the fire, and let it get very hot; peel, and cut the potatoes into long thin slices; put them into the hot butter, and fry them till of a nice brown colour. Now broil the steaks over a bright clear fire, turning them frequently, that every part may be equally done: as they should not be thick, 5 minutes will broil them. Put the herbs and seasoning in the butter the potatoes were fried in, pour it under the steak, and place the fried potatoes round, as a garnish. To have this dish in perfection, a portion of the fillet of the sirloin should be used, as the meat is generally so much more tender than that of the rump, and the steaks should be cut about 1/3 of an inch in thickness.

Time.—5 minutes to broil the steaks, and about the same time to fry the potatoes. Average cost, 1s. per lb.

Sufficient for 4 persons.

Seasonable all the year; but not so good in warm weather, as the meat cannot hang to get tender.

[Illustration: AITCH-BONE OF BEEF.]

BOILED AITCH-BONE OF BEEF.

607. INGREDIENTS.—Beef, water.

Mode.—After this joint has been in salt 5 or 6 days, it will be ready for use, and will not take so long boiling: as a round, for it is not so solid. Wash the meat, and, if too salt, soak it for a few hours, changing the water once or twice, till the required freshness is obtained. Put into a saucepan, or boiling-pot, sufficient water to cover the meat; set it over the fire, and when it boils, plunge in the joint (see No. 557), and let it boil up quickly. Now draw the pot to the side of the fire, and let the process be very gradual, as the water must only simmer, or the meat will be hard and tough. Carefully remove the scum from the surface of the water, and continue doing this for a few minutes after it first boils. Carrots and turnips are served with this dish, and sometimes suet dumplings, which may be boiled with the beef. Garnish with a few of the carrots and turnips, and serve the remainder in a vegetable-dish.

Time.—An aitch-bone of 10 lbs., 2-1/2 hours after the water boils; one of 20 lbs., 4 hours. Average cost, 6d. per lb.

Sufficient.—10 lbs. for 7 or 8 persons.

Seasonable all the year, but best from September to March.

Note.—The liquor in which the meat has been boiled may be easily converted into a very excellent pea-soup. It will require very few vegetables, as it will be impregnated with the flavour of those boiled with the meat.

THE ACTION OF SALT ON MEAT.—The manner in which salt acts in preserving meat is not difficult to understand. By its strong affinity, it, in the first place, extracts the juices from the substance of meat in sufficient quantity to form a saturated solution with the water contained in the juice, and the meat then absorbs the saturated brine in place of the juice extracted by the salt. In this way, matter incapable of putrefaction takes the places of that portion in the meat which is most perishable. Such, however, is not the only office of salt as a means of preserving meat; it acts also by its astringency in contracting the fibres of the muscles, and so excludes the action of air on the interior of the substance of the meat. The last-mentioned operation of salt as an antiseptic is evinced by the diminution of the volume of meat to which it is applied. The astringent action of saltpetre on meat is much greater than that of salt, and thereby renders meat to which it is applied very hard; but, in small quantities, it considerably assists the antiseptic action of salt, and also prevents the destruction of the florid colour of meat, which is caused by the application of salt. Thus, it will be perceived, from the foregoing statement, that the application of salt and saltpetre diminishes, in a considerable degree, the nutritive, and, to some extent, the wholesome qualities of meat; and, therefore, in their use, the quantity applied should be as small as possible, consistent with the perfect preservation of the meat.

BOILED ROUND OF BEEF.

608. INGREDIENTS.—Beef, water.

Mode.—As a whole round of beef, generally speaking, is too large for small families, and very seldom required, we here give the recipe for dressing a portion of the silver side of the round. Take from 12 to 16 lbs., after it has been in salt about 10 days; just wash off the salt, skewer it up in a nice round-looking form, and bind it with tape to keep the skewers in their places. Put it in a saucepan of boiling water, as in the preceding recipe, set it upon a good fire, and when it begins to boil, carefully remove all scum from the surface, as, if this is not attended to, it sinks on to the meat, and when brought to table, presents a very unsightly appearance. When it is well skimmed, draw the pot to the corner of the fire, and let it simmer very gently until done. Remove the tape and skewers, which should be replaced by a silver one; pour over a little of the pot-liquor, and garnish with carrots. (See coloured plate 2.) Carrots, turnips, parsnips, and sometimes suet dumplings, accompany this dish; and these may all be boiled with the beef. The pot-liquor should be saved, and converted into pea-soup; and the outside slices, which are generally hard, and of an uninviting appearance, may be out off before being sent to table, and potted. These make an excellent relish for the breakfast or luncheon table.

Time.—Part of a round of beef weighing 12 lbs., about 3 hours after the water boils. Average cost, 8d. per lb.

Sufficient for 10 persons.

Seasonable all the year, but more suitable for winter.

609. SOYER'S RECIPE FOR PRESERVING THE GRAVY IN SALT MEAT, WHEN IT IS TO BE SERVED COLD.—Fill two tubs with cold water, into which throw a few pounds of rough ice; and when the meat is done, put it into one of the tubs of ice-water; let it remain 1 minute, when take out, and put it into the other tub. Fill the first tub again with water, and continue this process for about 20 minutes; then set it upon a dish, and let it remain until quite cold. When cut, the fat will be as white as possible, besides having saved the whole, of the gravy. If there is no ice, spring water will answer the same purpose, but will require to be more frequently changed.

Note.—The BRISKET and RUMP may be boiled by the above recipe; of course allowing more or less time, according to the size of the joint.