This very wholesome, convenient, and economical mode of cookery is by no means so well understood nor profited by in England as on the continent, where its advantages are fully appreciated. So very small a quantity of fuel is necessary to sustain the gentle degree of ebullition which it requires, that this alone would recommend it to the careful housekeeper; but if the process be skilfully conducted, meat softly stoved or stewed, in close-shutting, or luted[[71]] vessels, is in every respect equal, if not superior, to that which is roasted; but it must be simmered only, and in the gentlest possible manner, or, instead of being tender, nutritious, and highly palatable, it will be dry, hard, and indigestible. The common cooking stoves in this country, as they have hitherto been constructed, have rendered the exact regulation of heat which stewing requires rather difficult; and the smoke and blaze of a large coal fire are very unfavourable to many other modes of cookery as well. The French have generally the advantage of the embers and ashes of the wood which is their ordinary fuel; and they have always, in addition, a stove of this construction, in which charcoal or braise (for explanation of this word, see remarks on preserving, Chapter [XXV].) only is burned; and upon which their stewpans can, when there is occasion, be left uncovered, without the danger of their contents being spoiled, which there generally is with us. It is true, that of late great improvements have been made in our own stoves; and the hot plates, or hearths with which the kitchens of good houses are always furnished, are admirably adapted to the simmering system; but when the cook has not the convenience of one, the stewpans must be placed on trivets high above the fire, and be constantly watched, and moved, as occasion may require, nearer to, or further from the flame.
No copper vessels from which the inner tinning is in the slightest degree worn away should be used ever for this or for any other kind of cookery; or not health only, but life itself, may be endangered by them.[[72]] We have ourselves seen a dish of acid fruit which had been boiled without sugar in a copper pan from which the tin lining was half worn away, coated with verdigris after it had become cold; and from the careless habits of the person who had prepared it, the chances were greatly in favour of its being served to a family afterwards, if it had not been accidentally discovered. Salt acts upon the copper in the same manner as acids: vegetables, too, from the portion of the latter which they contain, have the same injurious effect, and the greatest danger results from allowing preparations containing any of these to become cold (or cool) in the stewpan, in contact with the exposed part of the copper in the inside. Thick, well-tinned iron saucepans will answer for all the ordinary purposes of common English cookery, even for stewing, provided they have tightly-fitting lids to prevent the escape of the steam; but the copper ones are of more convenient form, and better adapted to a superior order of cookery.
[72]. Sugar, being an antidote to the poisonous effects of verdigris, should be plentifully taken, dissolved in water, so as to form a syrup, by persons who may unfortunately have partaken of any dish into which this dangerous ingredient has entered.
The enamelled stewpans and saucepans which have now very much superseded the old-fashioned metal ones for many purposes, are peculiarly suited, from the nicety of the composition with which they are lined, and which resembles earthenware, to the preparation of fine preserves, and all very delicate compounds, as well as to those of milk, and of various articles of diet adapted to invalids; and they possess the further advantage of being easily kept beautifully clean. Care should be taken not to allow anything which they may contain to burn to them, which it will quickly do if they be placed flat upon a fierce fire; and when this has once occurred, there will always be some difficulty in preventing their contents from adhering to them where they have been burned. They should always be filled with water immediately after being emptied, and will then merely require to be well washed and rinsed with more boiling water; but when they have been neglected, strong soda and water should be boiled in them for a few minutes.
BROILING.
A Conjuror.
Broiling is the best possible mode of cooking and of preserving the flavour of several kinds of fish, amongst which we may specify mackerel and whitings; it is also incomparably superior to frying for steaks and cutlets, especially of beef and mutton; and it is far better adapted also, to the preparation of food for invalids; but it should be carefully done, for if the heat be too fierce, the outside of the meat will be scorched and hardened so as to render it uneatable; and if, on the contrary, it be too gentle, the gravy will be drawn out, and yet the flesh will remain so entirely without firmness, as to be unpleasant eating. A brisk fire, perfectly free from smoke, a very clean gridiron, tender meat, a dish and plates as hot as they can be, and great despatch in sending it to table when done, all are essential to the serving of a good broil. The gridiron should be heated, and rubbed with mutton suet before the meat is laid on, and it should be placed slopingly over the fire, that the fat may run off to the back of the grate, instead of falling on the live coals and smoking the meat; if this precaution should not prevent its making an occasional blaze, lift the gridiron quickly beyond the reach of the smoke, and hold it away until the fire is clear again. Steaks and chops should be turned often, that the juices may be kept in, and that they may be equally done in every part. If, for this purpose, it should be necessary for want of steak-tongs to use a fork, it should be passed through the outer skin or fat of the steak, but never stuck into the lean, as by that means much of the gravy will escape. Most eaters prefer broiled beef or mutton, rather underdressed; but lamb or pork cutlets should always be thoroughly cooked. When a fowl or any other bird is cut asunder before it is broiled, the inside should first be laid to the fire: this should be done with kidneys also. Fish is less dry and of better flavour, as well as less liable to be smoked, if it be wrapped in a thickly buttered sheet of writing paper before it is placed on the gridiron. For the more delicate-skinned kinds, the bars should be rubbed with chalk instead of suet when the paper is omitted. Cutlets, or meats of any other form, when egged and crumbed for broiling, should afterwards be dipped into clarified butter or sprinkled with it plentifully, as the egg-yolk and bread will otherwise form too dry a crust upon it. French cooks season their cutlets both with salt and pepper, and brush a little oil or butter over them to keep them moist; but unless this be done, no seasoning of salt should be given them until they are just ready to be dished: the French method is a very good one. Steaks or cutlets may be quickly cooked with a sheet or two of lighted paper only, in the apparatus shown in the preceding page, and called a conjuror. Lift off the cover and lay in the meat properly seasoned, with a small slice of butter under it, and insert the lighted paper in the aperture shown in the plate; in from eight to ten minutes the meat will be done, and found to be remarkably tender, and very palatable: it must be turned and moved occasionally during the process. This is an especially convenient mode of cooking for persons whose hours of dining are rendered uncertain by the nature of their avocations. For medical men engaged in extensive country practice it has often proved so; and we would especially recommend it to the notice of emigrants, to whom it would often prove invaluable. The part in which the meat is placed is of block tin, and fits closely into the stand, which is of sheet iron. The conjuror from which our design was drawn, was purchased in a country town in Essex, and was exceedingly well made, and very cheap. We find on inquiry that the maker has quitted the place, or we would insert his address.