Pork is an unwholesome meat, and should never be
eaten by children, or people with weak digestion, nor,
indeed, by any one except in cold weather. Salt pork,
bacon, and ham are less objectionable than fresh pork.
If fresh pork be desired, obtain it, if possible, from a
source where you can be sure the animal has been kept
in a cleanly manner and fattened on corn. Fresh pork
should be young and firm, the fat white, the lean a pale
red, and the skin white and clear. The fat, when salted,
should be a delicate pink, and the rind should be thin.
Soft, flabby flesh, and yellowish fat with kernels, indicate
that the pork is not of the best quality. Unlike other
meat, pork is divided into fat and lean. The flank and
the thick layer of fat above the flesh are salted. The
sides of very 3'oung pigs are smoked, as well as salted, and
are called bacon. The hams and shoulders are salted
and smoked. The head and feet are pickled or boiled,
and made into souse or head cheese. After the fat is
removed, the loin and ribs are used for roasting or for
chops. The leaf fat from the kidneys is heated until
melted, then strained, cooled, and used as lard. The
trimmings of lean and fat, when chopped and highly
seasoned, are called sausage meat.
Eoast Pig.
Select a pig from three to five weeks old. Clean well,
and stuff* with hot mashed potatoes^ or stale hread^ highly
seasoned with sage^ salt, pepper, and onions. If bread be
used, moisten with warm water, melted butter, and one beaten
egg✪ Roast Pig. Stuff and sew. Skewer the fore legs forward, and
246 The Boston Cook Booh
the hind legs backward. Rub all over witli oyitter^ salt^
peppe7^^ and flour. Put it into a pan with a little water ;
the oven should not be very hot at first, as it should be
thorough 1}^ warmed through before browning. Baste very
often, and at first use melted butter to make the skin tender
and soft. Be careful not to let it burn. Bake two and a
half or three hours. Arrange in a bed of parsley and
celery leaves, with a " tuft of cauliflower in the mouth and a
garland of parsley round the neck." Serve with apple sauce
or pickles. In carving, cut off the head, then the hams
and shoulders ; split down the back, and separate the
ribs.
Boast Porh, — The chine, or loin, and the spare ribs are
the best pieces for roasting. Rub well with pepper^ or sage^
salt^ and fiour, and bake twenty minutes for each pound.
Baste often, and do not have the oven as hot as for
other meat. Roast pork is more wholesome when eaten
cold.
Pork Chops or Steaks, — If pork chops are to be broiled,
the}^ should be cut very thin, salted,, and peppered^ wrapped
in greased paper, and broiled until thoroughly cooked, —
from ten to fifteen minutes. To fry or saute them, cook
them in a hot frying-pan in a little hot lard or salt pork fat.
Cook slowly after they are brown, and be careful not to
burn them. If a gravy be desired, pour off nearly all the
fat left in the frying-pan, add two tahlespoonfuls of flour✪ Boast Pork ^
and when brown add hot water until of the desired consist-
ency. Season witli salt,, pepper, vinegar^ and chopped
pickles.
Breakfast Bacon, — Cut off the rind and smoked part;
slice very thin ; cook in a frying-pan till the fat is tried
out and the bacon is dry and crisp, or fry in deep fat.
Drain on paper, and serve alone or as a garnish for
beefsteak. ✪ Breakfast Bacon
Page 146 · 4 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1884. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Pork is an unwholesome meat, and should never be eaten by children, or people with weak digestion, nor, indeed, by any one except in cold weather. Salt pork, bacon, and ham are less objectionable than fresh pork. If fresh pork be desired, obtain it, if possible, from a source where you can be sure the animal has been kept in a cleanly manner and fattened on corn. Fresh pork should be young and firm, the fat white, the lean a pale red, and the skin white and clear. The fat, when salted, should be a delicate pink, and the rind should be thin. Soft, flabby flesh, and yellowish fat with kernels, indicate that the pork is not of the best quality. Unlike other meat, pork is divided into fat and lean. The flank and the thick layer of fat above the flesh are salted. The sides of very 3'oung pigs are smoked, as well as salted, and are called bacon. The hams and shoulders are salted and smoked. The head and feet are pickled or boiled, and made into souse or head cheese. After the fat is removed, the loin and ribs are used for roasting or for chops. The leaf fat from the kidneys is heated until melted, then strained, cooled, and used as lard. The trimmings of lean and fat, when chopped and highly seasoned, are called sausage meat.
Eoast Pig.
Select a pig from three to five weeks old. Clean well, and stuff with hot mashed potatoes, or stale bread, highly seasoned with sage, salt, pepper, and onions. If bread be used, moisten with warm water, melted butter, and one beaten egg. Stuff and sew. Skewer the fore legs forward, and
246 The Boston Cook Booh
the hind legs backward. Rub all over with oyster, salt, pepper, and flour. Put it into a pan with a little water ; the oven should not be very hot at first, as it should be thorough 1}^ warmed through before browning. Baste very often, and at first use melted butter to make the skin tender and soft. Be careful not to let it burn. Bake two and a half or three hours. Arrange in a bed of parsley and celery leaves, with a "tuft of cauliflower in the mouth and a garland of parsley round the neck." Serve with apple sauce or pickles. In carving, cut off the head, then the hams and shoulders ; split down the back, and separate the ribs.
Roast Pork. — The chine, or loin, and the spare ribs are the best pieces for roasting. Rub well with pepper, or sage, salt, and flour, and bake twenty minutes for each pound. Baste often, and do not have the oven as hot as for other meat. Roast pork is more wholesome when eaten cold.
Pork Chops or Steaks, — If pork chops are to be broiled, they should be cut very thin, salted, and peppered, wrapped in greased paper, and broiled until thoroughly cooked, — from ten to fifteen minutes. To fry or saute them, cook them in a hot frying-pan in a little hot lard or salt pork fat. Cook slowly after they are brown, and be careful not to burn them. If a gravy be desired, pour off nearly all the fat left in the frying-pan, add two tablespoonfuls of flour, and when brown add hot water until of the desired consistency. Season with salt, pepper, vinegar, and chopped pickles.
Breakfast Bacon, — Cut off the rind and smoked part; slice very thin ; cook in a frying-pan till the fat is tried out and the bacon is dry and crisp, or fry in deep fat. Drain on paper, and serve alone or as a garnish for beefsteak.
Records on this page
Roast PigBoast PorkPork Chops or SteaksBreakfast Bacon