Buckeye cookery

If the fire has been properly made, and the roast is not aced it should not require replenishing, but, if necessary, add a little fuel at a time, so as not to check the fire, instead of waiting until a. great deal must be added to keep up the bright heat. Most persons like roast beef and mutton underdone, and less time is required to cook them than for pork and veal or lamb, which must be — very well done. Fifteen minutes to the pound and fifteen minutes longer is the rule for beef and mutton, and twenty minutes to the pound and twenty minutes longer for pork, veal and lamb. The directions for beef apply equally well to pork, veal, mutton and lamb. Underdone meat is cooked throughout, so that the bright red juices follow the knife of the carver; if it is a livid purple it is raw, and unfit for food. When done, the roast should — be a rich brown, and the bottom of the pan covered with a thick gravy. Remove the joint, sift evenly over with fine salt, and it is jc Vacs cee - MEATS. ready to serve. Never salt before or while cooking, as it draws out the juices. To prepare the gravy, pour off the fat gently, holding the pan steadily so as not to lose the gravy which underlies it; put pan on the stove, pour into it half a cup of boiling water (vary the quantity with the size of the roast; soup of any kind is better than water if at hand), add a little salt, stir with a spoon until the particles adhering to the sides of the pan are removed and dissolved, making a rich, brown gravy (some mix flour and water, and add as thickening). In roasting all meats, success depends upon basting frequently (by dipping the gravy from the pan over the meat with a large spoon), turning often so as to prevent burning, and carefully regulating the heat of the oven. Allow fifteen to twenty-five minutes to the pound in roasting, according as it is to be rare or well done, taking into consideration the quality of the meat. Roasts prepared with dressing require more time. In roasting meats many think it better not to add any water until the meat has been in the oven about half an hour, or until it begins to brown. Broiling is the most wholesome method of cooking meats, and is most acceptable to invalids. Tough steak is made more tender by pounding or hacking with a dull knife, but some of the juices are lost by the operation ; cutting it across in small squares with a sharp knife on both sides is better than either. Tough meats are also improved by laying for two hours on a dish containing three or _ four table-spoons each of vinegar and salad oil (or butter), a little, pepper, but no salt; turn every twenty minutes. ‘The action of the oil and vinegar softens the fibers without extracting their juices. Trim off all superfluous fat, but never wash a freshly-cut steak. Never salt or pepper steak or chops before or while cooking, but if very lean, dip in melted butter. Place the steak on a hot, wellgreased gridiron, turn often so that the outside may be seared at once; when done, which will require from five to ten minutes, dish on a hot platter, season with salt and pepper and bits of butter, cover with a hot platter and serve at once. A small pair of tongs are best to turn steaks, as piercing with a fork frees the juices. If fat drips on the coals below, the blaze may be extinguished by sprinkling with salt, always withdrawing the gridiron to prevent the a ee te MEATS, 2 498) Ook ae steak from acquiring R smoky flavor. Always have a brisk fire, Soy : he whether you cook in a patent broiler directly over tue fire, or on a Ua gridiron over a bed of live coals. Broiling steak is the very last thing to be done in getting breakfast or dinner; every other dish . ee should be ready for the table, so that this may have the cook’s un- oo divided attention. A steel gridiron with slender bars is best, as the Hii