Cook the tails as before, have ready about a quart of currie sauce (No. 46), moisten it with twenty spoonfuls of stock, stir in a stewpan over the fire, and reduce it till it adheres to the back of the spoon; then put in your ox-tails, and stand the stewpan in a bain marie till wanted, dress them in pyramid upon your dish, add twenty mushrooms to the sauce, which boil and skim, pour over, and serve with some boiled rice very dry (No. 129) upon a separate dish, to be placed on the side table.
No. 651. Queues de Bœuf à la Sicilienne.
Cook the tails as before, select ten of the best pieces, which drain well upon a cloth, have ready prepared about half a pint of sauce Durcelle (No. 704), let it get cold, then spread some over each piece of tail to entirely cover it, egg and bread-crumb, and place them in a warm oven twenty minutes, salamander a nice brown colour, dress in pyramid on your dish, and serve with some sauce aux fines herbes (No. 26) round.
No. 652. Queues de Bœuf à la Marseillaise.
Cook and select ten of the best pieces as above, but instead of surrounding them with a sauce Durcelle spread a purée of onions, as for cotelettes à la Provençale (No. 701), a quarter of an inch in thickness over them, egg and bread-crumb twice each, and just before serving fry in very hot lard; then put a pint of brown sauce in a stewpan, with a quarter of a pint of consommé (No. 134), and a little piece of scraped garlic the size of a pea; reduce and skim till becoming a nice demi-glace, dress in pyramid, and pour the sauce round.
No. 653. To prepare and dress Palates of Beef.
Palates of beef, if properly dressed, are very delicate eating, being of a gelatinous substance, they are much to be recommended; the reason, I believe, they are so seldom used, is the difficulty of giving them a graceful appearance in the dish; to obviate which, I have introduced one or two new receipts; I never expect it will be a fashionable dish, yet I think they are likely to bring them more in vogue.
For one entrée take four palates, put them in a large stewpan with lukewarm water for four or five hours to disgorge, then pour off the water, cover again with fresh water and put them on the fire till the palates begin to get hard, take one out and put it in cold water, scrape it with a knife, and if the skin comes off easily, take out the rest, but if not leave them a little longer, scrape them until you have got off all the skin, and nothing but the white, half-transparent substance remains, when done, prepare a white stock (No. 133), in which boil them three or four hours till very tender; try them with a knife, take them up and lay them flat upon a dish, put a little of the stock in the dish with them, then place another dish of the same size over them, and let them remain till quite cold, they are then ready for use.
No. 654. Palates de Bœuf à la Ravigote.
Having prepared four palates as in the last, cut each in three, of an oval shape, each piece to be about the size of a fillet of fowl, then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan with a very small piece of butter, stir a few minutes over a slow fire, add a quart of white sauce (No. 7), and reduce it till becoming thick, keeping it stirred, then take it off the fire, add the yolk of two eggs, stir very quickly, and season with a little pepper, salt, and chopped parsley; then take each piece of palate singly on a fork and dip in the sauce, when well covered lay it on a dish to get cold; when all done, and half an hour before dinner-time, dip them into three eggs well beaten together, then into bread-crumbs, then into the eggs and bread-crumbs again, beat lightly with a knife, and fry them a nice colour in very hot lard; serve with a sauce ravigote (No. 44) under, and dress them in crown upon a border of mashed potatoes.