Obs.—We have not ourselves tested this receipt, but the meat cured by it has received such high commendation from several of our friends who have partaken of it frequently, that we think we may safely insert it without. The proportion of allspice appears to us more than would be agreeable to many tastes, and we would rather recommend that part of it should be omitted, and that a portion of nutmeg, mace, and cloves, should be substituted for it; as we have found these spices to answer well in the following receipt.
SPICED BEEF.
(Good and wholesome.)
For twelve pounds of the round, rump, or thick flank of beef, take a large teaspoonful of freshly-pounded mace, and of ground black pepper, twice as much of cloves, one small nutmeg, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of cayenne, all in the finest powder. Mix them well with seven ounces of brown sugar, rub the beef with them and let it lie three days; add to it then half a pound of fine salt, and rub and turn it once in twenty-four hours for twelve days. Just wash, but do not soak it; skewer, or bind it into good form, put it into a stewpan or saucepan nearly of its size, pour to it a pint and a half of good beef broth, and when it begins to boil, take off the scum, and throw in one small onion, a moderate-sized faggot of thyme and parsley, and two large, or four small carrots. Let it simmer quite softly for four hours and a half, and if not wanted to serve hot, leave it in its own liquor until it is nearly cold. This is an excellent and far more wholesome dish than the hard, bright-coloured beef which is cured with large quantities of salt and saltpetre: two or three ounces of juniper-berries may be added to it with the spice, to heighten its flavour.
Beef, 12 lbs.; sugar, 7 oz.; mace and black pepper, each, 1 large teaspoonful; cloves, in powder, 1 large dessertspoonful; nutmeg, 1; cayenne, 1/4 teaspoonful: 3 days. Fine salt, 1/2 lb.: 12 days. Beef broth (or bouillon), 1-1/2 pint; onion, 1 small; bunch of herbs; carrots, 2 large, or 4 small: stewed 4-1/2 hours.
Obs.—We give this receipt exactly as we have often had it used, but celery and turnips might be added to the gravy; and when the appearance of the meat is much considered, three-quarters of an ounce of saltpetre may be mixed with the spices; the beef may also be plainly boiled in water only, with a few vegetables, or baked in a deep pan with a little gravy. No meat must ever be left to cool in the stewpan or saucepan in which it is cooked; it must be lifted into a pan of its own depth, and the liquor poured upon it.
A MINIATURE ROUND OF BEEF.
“Select a fine rib of beef, and have it cut small or large in width according to your taste; it may thus be made to weigh from five to twelve pounds, or more. Take out the bone, and wrap the meat round like a fillet of veal, securing it with two or three wooden skewers; place it in a strong pickle for four or five days, and then cook it, taking care that it does not boil, but only simmers, from forty minutes, or more, according to its size. It is best to put it on in hot water, as it will not draw the gravy so much as cold. Many persons adjust a rib of beef in this way for roasting: let them try it salted, and they need not envy the possessor of the finest round of beef.” We give the receipt to our readers in its original form, and we can assure them, from our own experience, that it is a good one; but we would recommend that, in dressing the meat, quite the usual time for each pound of it should be allowed. When boned and rolled at the butcher’s, the skewers should be removed when it is first brought in; it should be well wiped with a dry cloth, or washed with a little fresh brine, and a small quantity of salt and saltpetre should be rubbed over the inside, it may then be firmly bound with tape, and will be quite ready to boil when taken from the pickle. The sirloin, after the inside fillet is removed, may be cured and dressed in the same way, and will be found super-excellent if the beef be well fatted and properly kept. The Hamburgh pickle (see page [197]) is perhaps the best for these joints. Part of the rump, taken clear of bone, answers admirably when prepared by this receipt.
BEEF ROLL, OR CANELLON DE BŒUF. (ENTRÉE.)
Chop and mix thoroughly two pounds of lean and very tender beef with one pound of slightly striped bacon; season them with a large teaspoonful of pepper, a little salt, a small nutmeg, or two-thirds as much mace, the grated rind of a lemon, or a teaspoonful of thyme and parsley finely minced. Form the whole into a thick rouleau, wrap a buttered paper round it, enclose it in a paste made of flour and water, and send it to a moderate oven for a couple of hours. Remove the paper and the crust, and serve the meat with a little brown gravy. Lamb and veal are excellent dressed in this way, particularly when mixed with plenty of mushrooms. Brown cucumber sauce should be served with the lamb; and currie, or oyster sauce, when there are no mushrooms, with the veal. A flavouring of onion or of eschalot, where it is liked, can be added at pleasure to the beef: suet, or the fat of the meat, may be substituted for the bacon.