The meat to be cooked should be placed in a patent steamer, or in a perforated one, placed over a pan of boil- ing water. There must be plenty of steam or the process will not be a success. Small pieces of meat may be steamed in a jar placed in a saucepan of boiling water, or even on a plate placed on the top of a saucepan of water (see illustration, p. 80). More time should be allowed for steaming than for boiling. As meat cooked by this method will be very- tasteless in itself, a good sauce will be necessary to serve with it. Broiling or Grilling This is cooking on a hot grill or gridiron either over or in front of a hot fire. When a gas stove is used it is done under the griller. The process, which is really roasting on a small scale, can only be applied to small thin pieces of meat which will cook quickly, such as chops, steak, kidneys, joints of game and poultry, &c. Grilling is one of the quickest methods of cooking. The meat chosen should always be of the best quality, otherwise it will be tough and uneatable. It is impossible to obtain that red juicy appearance so essential to a good steak or chop with inferior meat. The state of the fire is the next important point for consideration. A dull slow fire is of no use ; it must consist of glowing red embers, without any smoke or flame. A handful of salt sprinkled over it sometimes helps to disperse any smoke. Place the gridiron, which must be very clean, over the fire and allow it to become hot, then grease it well with a piece of fat or suet held on the end of a fork or with any other suitable fat. The gridiron should be placed or held in a slanting Hutchings' Patent Cooker SIMPLE AND SAVOURY MEAT DISHES 209 position and from 3 to 6 inches above the coals, according to the intensity of the heat. Brush the meat over with salad oil or melted butter. Lay it on the gridiron, and let one side cook while you count ten, at about the same rate as the ticking of a clock. Then turn and cook the same length of time on the other side, repeating the process until the meat is sufficiently cooked. Regular turning is very important, as it means slower cooking and prevents the surface from being browned. The turn- ing should be done with a pair of steak tongs, or, failing that, with a spoon ancl knife, or by sticking a fork into the fat of the meat. The meat itself must never be pierced, as that would allow some of the juice to escape. The time for grilling must be re- gulated by the thickness, rather than by the weight of the meat, and ex- perience alone can teach when a chop or steak is done to a nicety. Touch is the best guide. If, when pressed with the back of a fork, the meat feels spongy and very elastic, it is still in a raw state ; if, on the other hand, it is hard and without resistance, it is overcooked. The aim must be to hit the happy medium, and serve the meat well browned on both sides, before that puffed appearance has disappeared and all the steam of the juices has escaped through the crust. Broiling can also be done in a hanging gridiron fixed in front of a clear fire. This is generally Steak Tonga Hanging Grill double, the meat to be cooked being put between the two sides, and the grill itself is turned in this case.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The meat to be cooked should be placed in a patent steamer, or in a perforated one, placed over a pan of boiling water. There must be plenty of steam or the process will not be a success. Small pieces of meat may be steamed in a jar placed in a saucepan of boiling water, or even on a plate placed on the top of a saucepan of water (see illustration, p. 80). More time should be allowed for steaming than for boiling. As meat cooked by this method will be very tasteless in itself, a good sauce will be necessary to serve with it. Broiling or Grilling This is cooking on a hot grill or gridiron either over or in front of a hot fire. When a gas stove is used it is done under the griller. The process, which is really roasting on a small scale, can only be applied to small thin pieces of meat which will cook quickly, such as chops, steak, kidneys, joints of game and poultry, &c. Grilling is one of the quickest methods of cooking. The meat chosen should always be of the best quality, otherwise it will be tough and uneatable. It is impossible to obtain that red juicy appearance so essential to a good steak or chop with inferior meat. The state of the fire is the next important point for consideration. A dull slow fire is of no use ; it must consist of glowing red embers, without any smoke or flame. A handful of salt sprinkled over it sometimes helps to disperse any smoke. Place the gridiron, which must be very clean, over the fire and allow it to become hot, then grease it well with a piece of fat or suet held on the end of a fork or with any other suitable fat. The gridiron should be placed or held in a slanting Hutchings' Patent Cooker position and from 3 to 6 inches above the coals, according to the intensity of the heat. Brush the meat over with salad oil or melted butter. Lay it on the gridiron, and let one side cook while you count ten, at about the same rate as the ticking of a clock. Then turn and cook the same length of time on the other side, repeating the process until the meat is sufficiently cooked. Regular turning is very important, as it means slower cooking and prevents the surface from being browned. The turning should be done with a pair of steak tongs, or, failing that, with a spoon ancl knife, or by sticking a fork into the fat of the meat. The meat itself must never be pierced, as that would allow some of the juice to escape. The time for grilling must be regulated by the thickness, rather than by the weight of the meat, and experience alone can teach when a chop or steak is done to a nicety. Touch is the best guide. If, when pressed with the back of a fork, the meat feels spongy and very elastic, it is still in a raw state ; if, on the other hand, it is hard and without resistance, it is overcooked. The aim must be to hit the happy medium, and serve the meat well browned on both sides, before that puffed appearance has disappeared and all the steam of the juices has escaped through the crust. Broiling can also be done in a hanging gridiron fixed in front of a clear fire. This is generally Steak Tonga Hanging Grill double, the meat to be cooked being put between the two sides, and the grill itself is turned in this case.

Cookery for every household