The home cook book

A leg of mutton, when boiled, ought to cook rather quickly Diagram of Cuts of Mutton for ten or fifteen minutes, then set it where the liquor will scarcely bubble, until it is tender. An ordinary leg of mutton, about eight or ten pounds in weight, requires about two hours to simmer. If there is a scant amount of meat for a braize or stew, add a few cups of tiny potato balls about half an hour before taking from the oven. They improve the appearance of a dish and taste delicious. The shells of potato left over when the balls are cut may be put in cold water until required, then boiled and mashed. A brown gravy adds much. to the appetizing flavor of pork chops. Pour off the greater portion of the pork fat in the spider and put in two tablespoons of flour. Stir till quite brown, then add very slowly a cup and a half of boiling water. Season with salt and paprika and beat till creamy with a wire whisk. If not brown enough add a tablespoon of kitchen bouquet and strain over the chops. A steak which from its looks raises disturbing thoughts of toughness may, in the course of twenty-four hours, be changed to something of the texture of tenderloin. Mix four tablespoons of oil with two tablespoons of vinegar and pour over the steak, laid on a platter. See that the mixture wets every portion of the meat, then allow it to marinate in a very cold place. In the cold-storage room of great hotels one might (if admitted) find steaks which would be scarcely fit to chew marinating for days before they are required. They appear under all sorts of steak appellations and pass very easily with the uninitiated as tenderloin. Never broil the flank end of a sirloin steak; it is impossible to eat it as steak. Cut it off before the steak is cooked. It may be slowly simmered and make a nice little stew ; it can be boiled and used as hash or chopped raw for a breakfast Hamburg steak. When there are children in a household who care more for gravy than meat, as most children do, a few pounds of tough, juicy meat carefully cooked till tender will yield plenty of excellent gravy. With the gravy, baking-powder biscuit may frequently be served. It goes especially well with veal stew or a cream gravy, which may be had in abundance when stewing a somewhat tough old fowl. I always prefer biscuit to dumplings. It takes a very careful cook to make light dumplings ; almost before a second helping they will grow cool and heavy. Besides, for cold dumplings one can find no possible use, while baking-powder biscuit is as good cold as hot.