No. 176. Pork Cutlets, Sauce demi Robert. Cut eight cutlets from a neck as before, season well with pepper and salt, sprinkle chopped onions and parsley over upon both sides, beating the cutlets lightly to make them adhere, then dip them into eggs well beaten upon a plate, and then into bread-crumbs; pat them lightly, have some clarified butter in a stewpan, into which dip the cutlets, and again into bread-crumbs, well covering them, place them upon a gridiron over a moderate fire, broiling a nice light brown colour; when done dress them upon a dish. Have ready the following sauce: cut two large onions into very small dice, put them into a stewpan with an ounce of butter, fry of a light yellow colour, add a teaspoonful of flour, mix well, moisten with half a pint of broth and two spoonfuls of vinegar, season well, let boil, skim, and reduce, until rather thick, when add a spoonful of mixed mustard, one of colouring (No. 146); sauce in the centre of the cutlets and serve.
No. 177. Hashed Pork. Put two spoonfuls of chopped onions into a stewpan with a wineglassful of vinegar, two cloves, a blade of mace, and a bay-leaf, reduce to half, take out the spice and bay-leaf, add half a pint of broth or water, cut some pork previously cooked into thin small slices, season well upon a dish with pepper and salt, shake a good teaspoonful of flour over, mix all together, and put into the stewpan; let simmer gently ten minutes, pour out upon your dish, and serve with slices of gherkins in it; a little mustard may be added if approved of, or a little piccalilly with the vinegar is excellent.
The remains of salt pork, though very palatable cold, if required hot may be cut into large thin slices, and placed in a buttered sauté or frying-pan, with a little broth, or merely fried in the butter, and served with a puree of winter peas, made by boiling half a pint of peas until tender (tied up in a cloth); when done put them into a stewpan with two ounces of butter; season with pepper and salt, add a gill of milk or cream, pour into the dish, and dress the pork over.
No. 178. Pig’s Liver. Procure a nice pig’s liver with the caul, cut the liver into good-sized slices of the shape of hearts, season with a little pepper, salt, and cayenne, sprinkle chopped eschalots and dried sage over, and fold each piece of liver in a piece of the caul; put some butter in a sauté or frying-pan, lay them in, place over the fire, let fry rather quickly, not too dry; when done it will be a beautiful colour; take out and dress in circle upon your dish; have ready the following sauce: put six spoonfuls of melted butter in a stewpan, with one of catsup, and two of Harvey or Worcestershire sauce; when boiling pour over the liver and serve.
To plain fry it, cut in slices, season with pepper and salt, dip in flour, or eggs and bread-crumbs, fry a light brown in butter or lard, dress in a circle upon your dish, pour a gill of water into the pan, add a little Harvey sauce and a piece of butter the size of a walnut, with which you have mixed half a teaspoonful of flour; let boil a minute, add a little pepper and salt, sauce over and serve.
No. 179. Pigs’ Kidneys. Cut them open lengthwise, season well with pepper and salt, egg over with a paste-brush, dip into bread-crumbs, with which you have mixed some chopped parsley and eschalot, run a skewer through to keep them open, and broil for about a quarter of an hour over a good fire; when done place them upon a dish, have ready an ounce of butter, with which you have mixed the juice of a lemon, a little pepper and salt, and a teaspoonful of French or common mustard, place a piece upon each of the kidneys, place in the oven for one minute and serve. Pigs’ kidneys may also be sautéd as directed for ox kidneys (No. 159).
No. 180. Black Puddings. Very few people take the trouble to do them at home, it being part of the business of the pork butcher to prepare such delicacies. I shall, however, here describe a very simple method for making them more palatable than those purchased in England, which have so much spice in them as to entirely destroy their delicate flavour. Cut into rather small dice twenty large onions, having cut off the roots, being hard, put them into a stewpan with half a pound of lard or butter, let stew gently, cut three pounds of pig’s flead, free from skin, into small dice, have ready boiled six heads of endive chopped fine, and put into the stewpan with the onions, add two ounces of salt, a saltspoonful of pepper, half a nutmeg, grated, and four spoonfuls of parsley, chopped with a little thyme and bay-leaf; then add six pints of pig’s blood, mix well, leaving no lumps; if too thin add a few handfuls of bread-crumbs, or half a pound of well-boiled rice; have ready the small intestines, which well scrape and wash in salt and water, tie one end upon a tin funnel, having a piece a yard in length, closing it at the other end, fill with the above preparation by pressing through a funnel; take off the funnel, tie up the end, and put them into a stewpan of nearly boiling water, let simmer twenty minutes, pricking them occasionally with a pin; when no blood oozes out they are done; take up and place them upon a dish until cold; when ready to serve cut into pieces four inches in length, cut through the skin at different places, broil ten minutes over a sharp fire, serve plain, but very hot.
These puddings are best made whilst the blood is still warm from the pig, which if killed at home, the other ingredients may be prepared previously. The endive may be omitted, but for a real epicure procure it if possible; they are served in France on the best of tables, and are quite worthy of that honour. Many kinds of black puddings are also made in Scotland, where they more frequently use sheep’s blood, using the interior of the sheep, fat and all, in the same proportions as if made of a pig, adding oatmeal, omitting part of the onions, and using the larger entrails.
It being usual in this country to introduce leeks, you must then omit the bread-crumbs and rice, or part of the onions. To prevent the blood curdling, it must be salted, by adding a handful of salt, and whisking well for ten minutes as soon as you obtain it from the pig.
Rice well boiled in broth but not too much so, is an excellent addition to black puddings (half a pound for the above quantity being quite sufficient), or grated bread; leeks also may be used instead of endive, or both may be omitted. I have mentioned these different articles, that if one cannot be procured, another might be used instead, fill also very even, mixing fat and all well together, carefully avoid letting any air get in, or they would burst in boiling.