Make one pound of flour and two ounces of dripping, or chopped suet, into a firm paste, by adding just enough water to enable you to knead the whole together. Divide this paste into twelve equal parts, roll each of these out sufficiently large to be able to fold up one of the beef sausages in it, wet the edge of the paste to fasten the sausage securely in it, and, as you finish off each sausage dumpling, drop it gently into a large enough saucepan, containing plenty of boiling water, and when the whole are finished, allow them to boil gently by the side of the fire for one hour, and then take up the dumplings with a spoon free from water, on to a dish, and eat them while they are hot.
[No. 85. Sausage Rolls.]
Procure a quartern of dough from the baker's, knead this with four ounces of butter, dripping, or chopped suet; divide it into twelve equal parts, and use each piece of paste to enfold a beef sausage in it; place these rolls on a baking-tin, and bake them in the oven for about twenty minutes or half an hour.
[No. 86. Roast Pork.]
Let us suppose, or rather hope, that you may sometimes have a leg of pork to cook for your dinner; it will eat all the better if it is scored all over by cutting the rind, or rather slitting it crosswise, at short distances, with the point of a sharp knife; it is to be well sprinkled all over with salt, and allowed to absorb the seasoning during some hours previously to its being cooked. Prepare some stuffing as follows:—Chop six onions and twelve sage leaves fine, fry these with a bit of butter, pepper, and salt, for five minutes; then add six ounces of bread soaked in water; stir all together on the fire for five minutes, and use this stuffing to fill up a hole or pocket, which you will make by running the point of a knife down between the rind and the flesh of the joint of pork; secure this by sewing it up, or else fasten it securely in with a small wooden skewer or twig. The joint of pork, so far prepared, must then be placed upon a trivet in a baking-dish containing plenty of peeled potatoes, and, if possible, a few apples for the children; add half a pint of water, pepper and salt, and if the joint happens to be a leg, it will require about two hours to bake it.
[No. 87. Bubble and Squeak.]
When you happen to have some cold boiled salt beef, cut this up in slices; fry it on both sides, and dish it up round some cabbages or any dressed vegetables ready to hand, which must be chopped up, seasoned with pepper and salt, and fried.
[No. 88. Jugged Hare.]
It does sometimes happen that when you are living in the country, in the neighbourhood of considerate gentlefolks who possess game preserves, that they now and then make presents of a hare and a few rabbits to the poor cottagers in their vicinity. And when you are so fortunate as to have a hare given to you, this is the way to cook it:—First, cut the hare up into pieces of equal size, then cut up a pound of bacon into small squares, and fry these in a saucepan for five minutes; next, add the pieces of hare, and, stirring them round in the pot with a spoon, fry them brown; add a good handful of flour, some pepper and allspice, carrots and onions, and a sprig of winter savory; moisten the stew with nearly three pints of water, and stir it all together on the fire till it boils, and then set it on the hob to continue gently simmering for about an hour and a-half or two hours; the jugged hare will then be ready for dinner.