Myra's cookery book

When cold meat is to be served as a stew, the gravy must be first made and simmered with the vegetables, seasoning, flavouring, etc., until it is of the right consist- ence ; any thickening it requires should be put in at the very first stage; the addition of flour towards the end of the cooking should be avoided as much as possible, as it does not mix well, and often gives the gravy a raw flavour. If it is necessary to thicken the gravy a little more, this should be done by adding a little butter kneaded with flour, or a little prepared white or brown roux. The gravy when thoroughly cooked is strained, if necessary, into another saucepan, and the meat, cut in neat slices and perfectly XVI MYRA'S COOKERY BOOK. free from gristle and skin, is then heated in the simmering gravy, which must never be allowed to boil. Boiling will infallibly harden the meat and destroy the flavour of the stew, which should be served as soon as the meat is thoroughly hot. Saucepans should not be used for stewing: a stewpan, with a well-fitting lid, is the only vessel fit for the purpose. Meat and vegetables that require browning before they are stewed can be fried in an ordinary stewpan, or in a deep frying pan or saute pan. Good stews can, however, be made by putting all the ingredients in an earthen jar with a well-fitting top, and putting this in a slow oven to stew gently till done. The lid of the stewpan or jar may be rendered air-tight by put- ting some flour- and-water paste over the opening, and removing this only when the stew is cooked. BRAISING. A braising-pan is required for this method of cooking joints, etc. This is a large or small, deep, oblong vessel of copper, with a tinned lining like a stewpan, having a very deep lid or cover, with an upright ledge all round it, to keep in the hot coals or embers that are burnt on it, to give the necessary heat above and below the article cooked. Meat and some kinds of poultry, turkeys, fowls, game, etc., are frequently braised ; slices of fat bacon are placed in the pan, and the meat is covered with more slices before it is put in. Onions, herbs, and sometimes vegetables are added ; bones and trimmings of meat are put in to add richness to the gravy, a sufficient quantity of good stock is poured over it, with any seasoning that is needed, the cover is put on, hot coals are placed on this, and the pan is placed METHODS OF COOKING. xvii where its contents will simmer or stew very gently for two or three hours. When the meat is done it is taken out of the pan and kept hot, and the gravy is strained into a basin ; to get rid of the fat plunge the basin of gravy into cold water, and when the fat coagulates at the top take it off. Then boil the gravy quickly until it thickens, and pour it over the meat ; if very thick, brush it over and put the meat in the oven for a few minutes to form a glaze. Delicate kinds of meat are covered with a sheet of buttered paper, to save them from being burned by the fire on the lid. GLAZING.