Place the pan on the stove,
and add a cupful of hot water ; when this has boiled up
once, stir in a thickening composed of flour and water
6o THE PA TTERN COOK-BOOK.
rubbed to a thin paste, pouiing in only a little of the
paste at a time so the gravy will not be too thick. Let
the gravy boil for two or three minutes to cook the flour,
stirring constantly ; then season with salt and pepper and
strain into a hot dish. The time required for roasting
meat is given in the cook's time-table.
BROILING.
is cooking directly over the hot coals. This is one of the
simplest forms of cooking meats, yet care, niceness
and skill are required to broil properly. The fire should
be bright red and nearly to the top of the fire-box, so that
the broiler may almost touch the fire ; but there should
be no flame. The wire broiler is much more easily man-
aged than the iron gridiron ; it can be turned quickly and
easily, and, if the fire is at too great a heat, can be easily
held away from it to allow the fire to cool down to the de-
sired point. Grease the broiler well with a bit of fat from
the meat, and place the thickest part of whatever is to be
broiled next to the middle of the broiler. Do not salt the
meat unless a sprinkling of flour is used at the same
time, as in roasting ; but the better way seems to be to
season when the meat is cooked, although cooks differ on
this point. Place the broiler as near the fire as possible,
and when the surface of the meat is seared, quickly
turn and crust the other side. If the fat that drips off
catches in a blaze, quickly remove the broiler until the
flame has died down, and throw a little salt on the fire to
clear it again. Keep turning the broiler almost con-
stantly until the meat is cooked. Never thrust a fork
into the lean part of meat that is broiling, as the juice is
thus started and much of it escapes. Cook ten min-
PLAIN DIRECTIONS. 6 1
utes if the meat is an inch thick, so as to have it a fine
rare dressing. Butter well, and serve very hot. The
smaller and thinner the article to be broiled, the hotter
should be the fire ; and the larger the piece, the more
moderate should be the fire or the greater the distance at
which the meat should be held from the heat.
In broihng fish, buttered paper is generally first
wrapped around it to prevent burning. When it is
broiled without paper, rub the broiler well with butter
and have it slightly heated. To preserve the skin of
broiled fish entire, dip the fish, as soon as it has been
washed and cleaned, in vinegar for a second, dry it in a
cloth, and flour it.
Page 21
Presented as published in 1890. 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
Place the pan on the stove, and add a cupful of hot water ; when this has boiled up once, stir in a thickening composed of flour and water
rubbed to a thin paste, pouring in only a little of the paste at a time so the gravy will not be too thick. Let the gravy boil for two or three minutes to cook the flour, stirring constantly ; then season with salt and pepper and strain into a hot dish. The time required for roasting meat is given in the cook's time-table.
BROILING.
is cooking directly over the hot coals. This is one of the simplest forms of cooking meats, yet care, niceness and skill are required to broil properly. The fire should be bright red and nearly to the top of the fire-box, so that the broiler may almost touch the fire ; but there should be no flame. The wire broiler is much more easily managed than the iron gridiron ; it can be turned quickly and easily, and, if the fire is at too great a heat, can be easily held away from it to allow the fire to cool down to the desired point. Grease the broiler well with a bit of fat from the meat, and place the thickest part of whatever is to be broiled next to the middle of the broiler. Do not salt the meat unless a sprinkling of flour is used at the same time, as in roasting ; but the better way seems to be to season when the meat is cooked, although cooks differ on this point. Place the broiler as near the fire as possible, and when the surface of the meat is seared, quickly turn and crust the other side. If the fat that drips off catches in a blaze, quickly remove the broiler until the flame has died down, and throw a little salt on the fire to clear it again. Keep turning the broiler almost constantly until the meat is cooked. Never thrust a fork into the lean part of meat that is broiling, as the juice is thus started and much of it escapes. Cook ten min-
utes if the meat is an inch thick, so as to have it a fine rare dressing. Butter well, and serve very hot. The smaller and thinner the article to be broiled, the hotter should be the fire ; and the larger the piece, the more moderate should be the fire or the greater the distance at which the meat should be held from the heat.
In broiling fish, buttered paper is generally first wrapped around it to prevent burning. When it is broiled without paper, rub the broiler well with butter and have it slightly heated. To preserve the skin of broiled fish entire, dip the fish, as soon as it has been washed and cleaned, in vinegar for a second, dry it in a cloth, and flour it.