Harper's cook book encyclopædia

Beefsteak with Onions. — Select a cut of one and a half inch in thickness and weighing about 3 lbs. from a rump of beef. Lay the steak over the meat-board, and with the rollingpin beat it on each side for one minute ; this will make the meat more tender. Season each side with one levelled teaspoonful of salt and one salt-spoonful of black pepper. Put in a skillet two large table-spoonfuls of butter, and when hot, not brown, put in the steak. Cook fifteen minutes on each side, not fast, uncovered. Be careful when turning the meat not to prick it, in order to retain all the juice. Prepare beforehand one pint of large red onions. Peel them, and cook whole twenty minutes in plenty of boiling water seasoned with salt. Drain them well, and slice quite fine and evenly. Remove the steak in a platter; keep warm in the oven, with door open. Put the sliced onions in the saucepan with the gravy of the steak. Spread them and cook them to a golden color. Bake two bunches of medium-sized red beets as you do potatoes. Peel and slice them; add to the onions just long enough to warm them through. Spread over one teaspoonful of salt, one salt-spoonful of black pepper, one and a half table - spoonfuls of wine vinegar, and mix gently, so as not to break the vegetables. Dress around the meat, sprinkle over it one tablespoonful of finely chopped parsley. Serve very hot. Beefsteak with Oyster Sauce. — The steak should be about an inch thick, tender, and juicy. Have the gridiron hot, and rub with a small piece of butter to prevent the meat sticking. Broil it carefully, and do not season until done ; then lay in a dish, cover tightly, and keep it hot. In a very little juice, Beefsteak Beef-tea stew twenty or thirty oysters ; season, and add a little cream ; pour hot over the steak, and serve. Beefsteak Pie. — Take a pie-dish according to the size required ; 2 lbs. of fresh rump steak cut into long, thin strips will make a good pie; lay out the strips with a small piece of fat on each, a seasoning of salt and pepper, and a dust of flour ; two teaspoonfuls of salt and one teaspoonful of pepper will be sufficient for the whole pie ; roll up each strip neatly and lay it in the dish, and between each layer sprinkle a little of the seasoning and flour ; a shred onion or shallot is sometimes liked, and a few oysters will be a great improvement; put an edging of paste round the dish, and pour in water enough to cover the rolls of meat, and lay a crust of about half an inch thick over all ; ornament the top tastefully, and bake for two hours in a moderate oven. Beefsteak, Savory. — Take 2 lbs. of beefsteak, slice it thin, and cover it with stuffing made as follows : Rub I oz. of dripping into six table-spoonfuls of stale bread-crumbs ; mix with a little sage, two small onions, chopped very fine, a little pepper and salt ; mix with cold milk ; roll up the steak, and fasten with a string to keep the stuffing in. Roast before a brisk fire, and baste with dripping.