When broiled, crabs are cleaned, and seasoned with salt and cayenne; are then dropped into boiling water for one minute, taken up, and broiled over a hot fire for eight minutes. They are served with maître d' hôtel butter or Tartare sauce.
All pieces, unless very salt, should be plunged into boiling water, and boiled rapidly for fifteen minutes, to harden the albumen that is on the outside, and thus keep in the juices. The kettle should then be put back where it will just simmer, for meat that is boiled rapidly becomes hard and stringy, while that which is kept just at the boiling point (where the water hardly bubbles) will cut tender and juicy, provided there is any juiciness in it at the beginning. White meats, like mutton and poultry, are improved in appearance by having rice boiled with them; or, a still better way is to thickly flour a piece of coarse cotton cloth, pin the meat in it, and place in the boiling water. Meat cooked in this way will be extremely juicy.
Leg of Mutton.
Cook, as directed, in boiling water to cover. A leg that weighs eight or nine pounds will cook in one hour and a quarter if it is wanted done rare. Allow five minutes for every additional pound. Save the water for soups.
Lamb.
Cook the same as mutton. Serve with drawn butter.
Boiled Ham.
Wash the ham very clean, and put on with cold water to cover. Simmer gently five hours, and set the kettle aside for one or two hours. When nearly cold, take out the ham and draw off the skin. Cover with cracker crumbs and about three table-spoonfuls of sugar. Place in the oven, in a baking-pan, for thirty or forty minutes. Many people stick cloves into the fat part of the ham, and use only a few crumbs. The time given is for a ham weighing about twelve pounds; every pound over that will require fifteen minutes more. The fish kettle comes next to a regular ham kettle, and answers quite as well as both. If you have neither kettle, and no pot large enough to hold all the meat, cut off the knuckle, which will cook in about two hours. But this rather hurts the flavor and appearance of the dish.