Pressed Beef. — Take any number of
pounds of the brisket of beef, as lean as can be
obtained, and nicely salted. The beef may be
bought salted of the butcher, or it may be
salted at home. To do this, dissolve a quarter
of an ounce of saltpetre in a little water, and
mix with it two pounds of common salt and
half a pound of moist sugar. Rub this pickle
into the meat every morning for eight days,
and turn it over each day. Take it from the
pan, drain, and bone it. The butcher will do
this if desired. Put it into a saucepan with as
much quickly-boiling water as will cover it, and
put with it an onion stuck with two cloves, a
large carrot, and a bay-leaf. Let the water
boil up again, skim carefully, then draw the
saucepan quite to the side of the fire, and sim-
mer the meat as gently as possible till it is done
enough. Lift the saucepan quite away from
the fire, and leave the meat in the liquor for
half an hour. Take it out carefully, drain it,
place it between two flat dishes, and put a hea\'y
weight on the top. Let it remain until the
next day. Take off the weight, and glaze the
beef. The easiest way of doing this is to buy
a quarter of a pound of glaze✪ Pressed Beef of the grocer.
This is sold in skins like sausages, and may be
bought for 8d. or 9d. Peel the skin from an
inch of this glaze, and put it into a jar with a
table-spoonful of cold water. Place the jar in
a saucepan with about two inches of boiling
water, and let it steam until the glaze is dis-
solved. The water in the saucepan must not
be allowed to flow over into the jar. Take an
PHI
(654)
PRI
ordinary' gum brush which has been soaked in
hot water to make it soft, and with it cover the
surface of the meat entirely ^\•ith the dissolved
glaze. It ought to be laid lightly on rather
than brushed on, so as not to show the marks of
the brush. When one coating of glaze is quite
stiff, give the meat a second one, and, if Hked, a
third. Place the meat on a dish, garnish with
parsley, and it is ready for serving. Time
to simmer the meat, half an hour per pound
from the time the water .boils after the meat is
put in. Probable cost, 9d. or lOd. per pound.
Prickly Pear, or Indian Fig — TMs
fruit is in the form of a fig or pear, with clusters
of small spines on the skin, which enclose a
fleshy pulp of a red or purple colour, and an
agreeable subacid flavour. The plant which
produces it is a native of Virginia and Bar-
barJ^ The prickly pear is sent to the dessert in
the West Indies. In countries where the fruit
abounds it is considered very wholesome, and
though the taste is not agreeable to all persons
till they have eaten of it several times, yet
they soon become very fond of it. It is now
naturalised in many parts of the south of
Europe, and north of Africa, and in other
warm countries. The prickly pear in some
coimtries rs extensively employed as an article
of diet. It is imported into Britain to a small
extent from the Mediterranean. In the south
of England the plant grows in the open air,
and occasionally ripens its fruit.
Page 1375 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1892. 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
Pressed Beef. — Take any number of pounds of the brisket of beef, as lean as can be obtained, and nicely salted. The beef may be bought salted of the butcher, or it may be salted at home. To do this, dissolve a quarter of an ounce of saltpetre in a little water, and mix with it two pounds of common salt and half a pound of moist sugar. Rub this pickle into the meat every morning for eight days, and turn it over each day. Take it from the pan, drain, and bone it. The butcher will do this if desired. Put it into a saucepan with as much quickly-boiling water as will cover it, and put with it an onion stuck with two cloves, a large carrot, and a bay-leaf. Let the water boil up again, skim carefully, then draw the saucepan quite to the side of the fire, and simmer the meat as gently as possible till it is done enough. Lift the saucepan quite away from the fire, and leave the meat in the liquor for half an hour. Take it out carefully, drain it, place it between two flat dishes, and put a heavy weight on the top. Let it remain until the next day. Take off the weight, and glaze the beef. The easiest way of doing this is to buy a quarter of a pound of glaze of the grocer. This is sold in skins like sausages, and may be bought for 8d. or 9d. Peel the skin from an inch of this glaze, and put it into a jar with a table-spoonful of cold water. Place the jar in a saucepan with about two inches of boiling water, and let it steam until the glaze is dissolved. The water in the saucepan must not be allowed to flow over into the jar. Take an
PHI
(654)
PRI
ordinary gum brush which has been soaked in hot water to make it soft, and with it cover the surface of the meat entirely ^\•ith the dissolved glaze. It ought to be laid lightly on rather than brushed on, so as not to show the marks of the brush. When one coating of glaze is quite stiff, give the meat a second one, and, if Hked, a third. Place the meat on a dish, garnish with parsley, and it is ready for serving. Time to simmer the meat, half an hour per pound from the time the water .boils after the meat is put in. Probable cost, 9d. or lOd. per pound.
Prickly Pear, or Indian Fig — This
fruit is in the form of a fig or pear, with clusters of small spines on the skin, which enclose a fleshy pulp of a red or purple colour, and an agreeable subacid flavour. The plant which produces it is a native of Virginia and Barbary The prickly pear is sent to the dessert in the West Indies. In countries where the fruit abounds it is considered very wholesome, and though the taste is not agreeable to all persons till they have eaten of it several times, yet they soon become very fond of it. It is now naturalised in many parts of the south of Europe, and north of Africa, and in other warm countries. The prickly pear in some countries is extensively employed as an article of diet. It is imported into Britain to a small extent from the Mediterranean. In the south of England the plant grows in the open air, and occasionally ripens its fruit.
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Pressed Beef