Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book

The Back of the Rump. — This is the best and cheapest piece for roasting, as the meat is all good and there is not as much bone as in other pieces. It is usually too large for a small famity ; but in cold weather it may be used to advantage, b}^ cutting steaks from the thickest end, using the small end for a roast and the bones for soup. In carving the rump, when the bone has not been taken out, a deep cut should be made at the base, to loosen the meat ; then the slices may be cut lengthwise or crosswise. When the family is large and all the meat is to be used, it is well to cut it lengthwise. Should only a small quan- tity be needed, cut only from the small end, and save the tougher parts for a stew. Many think it more economical to serve the poorer parts the first day, as the}^ are then more palatable, reserving the tender meat to be served cold. Roast from the Round, — A slice three inches thick, from the best part of the top of the round, may be dredged with salt^ pepper, and flour, and roasted. Carve in thin slices, the same as steak. It is rather tough, but juicy and well flavored. Yorkshire Pudding, — Beat three eggs very light. Add one scant teaspoonful of salt and one pint of milk. Pour half a cup of this mixture on two thirds of a cup of flour, and stir to a smooth paste. Add the remainder of the mixture and beat well. Bake in hot gem pans forty-five minutes. Baste with the drippings from the beef. This is a more convenient way than to bake in the pan under the beef, and gives more crust. Serve as a garnish for roast beef. Gravy for Roast Beef — When the meat is done, put it on a plate, and keep it hot while making the gravy. Hold the corner of the dripping-pan over a bowl ; let the liquid in the pan settle ; then pour off all the fat and save it. 222 The Boston Cook Booh When no water is used in baking and the oven is ver}^ hot, this liquid will be the fat from the meat. The brown flour will settle, and some will adhere to the pan. Pour one pint of hot water or stock into the pan, and scrape off all the sedi- ment. Pour this water into a saucepan from which it may be poured easily, and place it on the stove to heat. Put four tahlespoonfuls of the hot fat into a small frying-pan, and when browned stir in two heaping tahlespoonfuls of dry flour^ or enough to absorb all the fat. Stir until the flour is brown and well mixed ; then add the hot liquid grad- ually, and stir as it thickens. Season with salt and pepper^ and simmer five minutes. Strain if not perfectly smooth. Gravy can be made in the dripping-pan ; but such pans are usualh^ large, inconvenient to handle, and take up more space than can be spared on the top of the stove, and are much harder to wash when the gravy has been made in them. To make it in the pan, pour off" nearl}^ all the fat. Put the pan on the stove and add dry flour until the fat is all absorbed. Then add hot water or hot stocky and stir as it thickens. Cook five to eight minutes, and strain. It is well for those who like gravies to make a large quantity, as it is useful in warming over the remnants of the roast. But there is no sauce or made grav}- equal to the natural juices contained in the meat, which should flow freely into the platter when the meat is carved.