Pick, and clean, and cut your Mushrooms into small pieces, and put them in a Saucepan to stew tender without any Liquor, but what will come from them; then pour off their Liquor, and put a little Cream to them; having ready at the same time a Brace of large Perch well scaled, wash'd, and cut in Fillets or thick Slices, and parboil'd: Put your Perch thus prepared to your Mushrooms, and with them the Yolks of three Eggs beaten, some Parsley boil'd and cut small, some Nutmeg grated, a little Salt, and a little Lemon-Juice: keep all these stirring gently over a slow Fire, taking care not to break your Fish; and when they are enough, garnish them with Slices of Lemon and pickled Barberries.
The following general Sauce I had from the same Person; it is always ready to be used with every kind of Flesh, Fowl, or Fish that require rich Sauces, and will keep good twelve Months.
A Travelling Sauce.
Take two Quarts of Claret, a quarter of a Pint of Vinegar, and as much Verjuice; put these together in a new Stone-Jar that will admit of being stopp'd close: Put to this a quarter of a Pound of Salt that has been well dry'd over the Fire, an Ounce of Black-Pepper, a Drachm of Nutmeg beaten fine, and as much Cloves, a Scruple of Ginger, two or three little Bits of dry'd Orange-Peel, half an Ounce of Mustard-Seed bruised, half a dozen Shallots bruised a little, five or six Bay-Leaves, a little Sprig of Sweet Basil, or Sweet Marjoram, a Sprig of Thyme, and a little Cinnamon; then stop your Jar close, and let the Mixture infuse for twenty-four Hours upon hot Embers: when this is done, strain your Composition through a Linnen Cloth, till you have express'd as much Liquor as possible, and put it in a dry Stone Bottle or Jar, and stop it close as soon as 'tis cold. You must keep this in a dry Place, and it will remain good twelve Months. This is a good Companion for Travellers, who more frequently find good Meat than good Cooks. My Author adds, that those who are Admirers of the Taste of Garlick, may add it to this Sauce, or diminish, or leave cut any particular Ingredient that they do not approve of. It may also be made of Water only, or of Verjuice, or of Wine, or of Orange or Lemon-Juice; but if it is made of Water, it will keep but a Month good: if it be made of Verjuice, it will last good three Months; if we make it of Vinegar, it will last a Year; or of Wine, it will last as long. Use a little of this at a time, stirring it well when you use it.
In this Month I likewise judge it will be a good Season to make the following curious Preparation for the use of Gentlemen that travel; the use of which I esteem to be of extraordinary Service to such as travel in wild and open Countries, where few or no Provisions are to be met with; and it will be of no less Benefit to such Families as have not immediate Recourse to Markets, for the Readiness of it for making of Soups, or its Use where Gravey is required: and particularly to those that travel, the lightness of its Carriage, the small room it takes up, and the easy way of putting it in use, renders it extremely serviceable. This is what one may call Veal-Glue.
To make Veal-Glue, or Cake-Soup, to be carried in the Pocket.
Take a Leg of Veal, strip it of the Skin and the Fat, then take all the Muscular or Fleshy Parts from the Bones; boil this Flesh gently in such a quantity of Water, and so long a time, till the Liquor will make a strong Jelly when 'tis cold: this you may try by taking out a small Spoonful now and then, and letting it cool. Here it is to be supposed, that tho' it will jelly presently in small quantities, yet all the juice of the Meat may not be extracted, however, when you find it very strong, strain the Liquor thro' a Sieve, and let it settle; then provide a large Stew-pan with Water, and some China-Cups, or glazed Earthen-Ware; fill these Cups with the Jelly taken clear from the Settling, and set them in the Stew-pan of Water, and let the Water boil gently till the Jelly becomes thick as Glue: after which, let them stand to cool, and then turn out the Glue upon a piece of new Flannel, which will draw out the Moisture; turn them in six or eight Hours, and put them upon a fresh Flannel, and so continue to do till they are quite dry, and keep it in a dry warm Place: this will harden so much, that it will be stiff and hard as Glue in a little time, and may be carry'd in the Pocket without Inconvenience. We are to use this by boiling about a Pint of Water, and pouring it upon a piece of the Glue or Cake, of the bigness of a small Walnut, and stirring it with a Spoon till the Cake dissolves, which will make very strong good Broth. As for the Seasoning Part, every one may add Pepper and Salt as they please, for there must be nothing of that kind put among the Veal when we make the Glue, for any thing of that sort would make it mouldy. Some of this sort of Cake-Gravey has lately been sold, as I am inform'd, at some of the Taverns near Temple-Bar, where, I suppose, it may now be had. As I have observ'd above, that there is nothing of Seasoning in this Soup, so there may be always added what we desire, either of Spices or Herbs, to make it savoury to the Palate; but it must be noted, that all the Herbs that are used on this occasion, must be boiled tender in plain Water, and that Water must be used to pour upon the Cake Gravey instead of simple Water: so may a Dish of good Soup be made without trouble, only allowing the Proportion of Cake-Gravey answering to the abovesaid Direction. Or if Gravey be wanted for Sauce, double the Quantity may be used that is prescribed for Broth or Soup. I am inform'd by a Person of Honour, that upon this Foundation, there has been made a Cake-Gravey of Beef, which for high Sauces and strong Stomachs, is still of good use; and therefore I shall here give the Method of it.
To make Cake-Soup of Beef, &c.
Take a Leg, or what they call in some Places a Shin of Beef, prepare it as prescribed above for the Leg of Veal, and use the muscular Parts only, as directed in the foregoing Receipt; do every thing as abovemention'd, and you will have a Beef-Glue, which, for Sauces, may be more desirable in a Country-House, as Beef is of the strongest nature of any Flesh. Some prescribe to add to the Flesh of the Leg of Beef, the Flesh of two old Hares, and of old Cocks to strengthen it the more; this may be done at pleasure, but the Foundation of all these Cake Graveys or Glues is the first. These indeed are good for Soups and Sauces, and may be enrich'd by Cellary, Cherville, beat Chards, Leeks, or other Soup-Herbs. A little of this is also good to put into Sauces, either of Flesh, Fish, or Fowl, and will make a fine mixture with the Travelling Sauce. So that whenever there is mentioned the Use of Gravey in any of the Receipts contained in this Treatise, this may be used on Feast-days, and the Mushroom Gravey, or Travelling Sauce on Fast-days.
This is also a time of the Year when potted Meats begin to come in fashion; to do which, the following Receipt may be an Example.