The gridiron should be perfectly clean and polished:
gridirons with fluted bars and a receptacle for the gravy
answer best. When hot the bars should be rubbed with
suet or grease, to prevent the meat from sticking to them :
chalk is used instead of grease for fish, and the gridiron is
held in a sloping position over the fire.
No salt should be sprinkled on the meat before broiling,
as it has the effect of bringing out the gravy, which falls
into the fire and is wasted. The meat, if thick, must be
gradually heated through by being kept at a little distance
above the fire, otherwise the outside will be burnt while the
inside is nearly raw : thin meat may be broiled more briskly.
Steaks, chops, and all broiled articles should be frequently
turned with a pair of tongs : the holes made by a fork let
the gravy out.
Meat that has been dipped in egg and bread crumbs
should also be dipped in clarified butter before broiling;
cutlets may be seasoned a little with pepper and salt, and
then brushed over with oil or butter — they are very good
cooked in this way. Fish may be wrapped in buttered
paper for broiling.
STEWING.
Fresh meat for stewing may be first gently boiled in the
stewpan with the vegetables and stock, and then skimmed,
but sometimes the meat is put into boiling stock or water:
at other times cold water or stock, sufficient only to provide
the necessary gravy in either case, is poured over it. In
French stews the meat and vegetables are browned in
butter and flour in the stewpan, the hot stock is then added
METHODS OF COOKING.
XV
with the seasoning and other ingredients, the lid is put on
and the stewpan is placed where it will have slow but well-
regulated heat, until it is ready to serve. The regulation of
the heat is an important point in all stews, as the flavour
of the dish depends almost entirely on the care that is taken
to keep it steady and even, never too fast nor too slow, for
an error in either direction will destroy the flavour, and
either harden the meat or leave it insufficiently cooked.
Once fairly started a stew should be interfered with as little
as possible ; even raising the lid checks the process of
cooking, and the fragrant steam that escapes is so much
lost from the flavour.
Good stock or gravy is absolutely necessary to make a
rich and well flavoured stew ; water or thin stock can only
be used for Irish stews and similar homely family dishes.
Stewing is the most economical process in cooking, as
nothing is put into a stew that is not eaten, unless it is
perhaps the bunch of parsley and herbs put in to flavour
the gravy. No method of cooking is more easy, yet none
is so often a failure, chiefly because the gravy is too thin
and flavourless, and the stew is allowed to boil at a gallop,
when it should simmer very gently.
Page 5
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
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The gridiron should be perfectly clean and polished:
gridirons with fluted bars and a receptacle for the gravy
answer best. When hot the bars should be rubbed with
suet or grease, to prevent the meat from sticking to them :
chalk is used instead of grease for fish, and the gridiron is
held in a sloping position over the fire.
No salt should be sprinkled on the meat before broiling,
as it has the effect of bringing out the gravy, which falls
into the fire and is wasted. The meat, if thick, must be
gradually heated through by being kept at a little distance
above the fire, otherwise the outside will be burnt while the
inside is nearly raw : thin meat may be broiled more briskly.
Steaks, chops, and all broiled articles should be frequently
turned with a pair of tongs : the holes made by a fork let
the gravy out.
Meat that has been dipped in egg and bread crumbs
should also be dipped in clarified butter before broiling;
cutlets may be seasoned a little with pepper and salt, and
then brushed over with oil or butter — they are very good
cooked in this way. Fish may be wrapped in buttered
paper for broiling.
STEWING.
Fresh meat for stewing may be first gently boiled in the
stewpan with the vegetables and stock, and then skimmed,
but sometimes the meat is put into boiling stock or water:
at other times cold water or stock, sufficient only to provide
the necessary gravy in either case, is poured over it. In
French stews the meat and vegetables are browned in
butter and flour in the stewpan, the hot stock is then added
METHODS OF COOKING.
XV
with the seasoning and other ingredients, the lid is put on
and the stewpan is placed where it will have slow but well-
regulated heat, until it is ready to serve. The regulation of
the heat is an important point in all stews, as the flavour
of the dish depends almost entirely on the care that is taken
to keep it steady and even, never too fast nor too slow, for
an error in either direction will destroy the flavour, and
either harden the meat or leave it insufficiently cooked.
Once fairly started a stew should be interfered with as little
as possible ; even raising the lid checks the process of
cooking, and the fragrant steam that escapes is so much
lost from the flavour.
Good stock or gravy is absolutely necessary to make a
rich and well flavoured stew ; water or thin stock can only
be used for Irish stews and similar homely family dishes.
Stewing is the most economical process in cooking, as
nothing is put into a stew that is not eaten, unless it is
perhaps the bunch of parsley and herbs put in to flavour
the gravy. No method of cooking is more easy, yet none
is so often a failure, chiefly because the gravy is too thin
and flavourless, and the stew is allowed to boil at a gallop,
when it should simmer very gently.