Clarified Fat

Ingredients

• one small raw potato
• the fat

Method

1. 1

   Cut the potato into thin slices and let it stand on the top of the stove or in the oven until the fat has stopped bubbling, is still, and the scraps are brown and crisp.

2. 2

   Strain through a fine strainer and keep in a cool place.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book (1884) by Lincoln, Mary Johnson Bailey "Mrs. D. A. Lincoln,", page 15. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

one small raw potato, cut into thin slices. Let it stand on the top The Boston Cook Book. 19 of the stove or in the oven till the fat has stopped bub- bling, is still, and the scraps are brown and crisp and rise to the top. Strain through a fine strainer, and keep in a cool place. Fat thus cleared will keep sweet for weeks, if melted occasionally, w^hich should alwa3^s be done when any new fat is added. Boiling the fat causes the water in it to evaporate, and the organic matters or impurities to be decomposed, and deposited as sediment; the potato, owing to its porosity and power of absorption (being mostly starch and carbon), absorbs any odors or gases, unites with the sediment, and thus cleanses the fat, very much as charcoal purifies water. Clarified fat (or dripping, as it is usually termed) an- swers for many purposes in cooking, — frying, sauteing, basting roast meat, greasing pans ; and as shortening for bread, plain pastr}^, and gingerbread. Egg and Bread Crumbing. Hints on saving bread crusts and stale pieces, for egg and bread crumbing, are given on page 75. The crumbs should be sifted through a fine sieve. For fish or meat mix a little salt, pepper, and chopped parsle}^ with them. Beat the eggs slightl}^ with a fork in a shallow dish. Add one tablespoonful of water or two tablespoonfuls of milk for each egg. Add a little sugar if they are to be used for sweet dishes, and salt and pepper for all others. Sprinkle the crumbs on a board, and roll the chop, fish, or cro- quettes first in the crumbs ; shake off all that do not adhere. Cover all the articles with the crumbs and let them stand till dry, then dip into the beaten egg, and be careful to have every part covered. Drain from the egg, and roll again in the crumbs. Croquettes or any soft mixture should be held on a broad knife w^iile being placed in the egg. Then dip the egg over them, and slip the knife again lengthwise under the croquette, drain, and put it carefully into the crumbs. Scallops and very small oysters can be more easily crumbed by placing them with the crumbs in a 20 The Boston Cook Book. sheet of paper, and tossing or turning till all are crumbed. Eemember the order : crumbs first, then egg, then crumbs again. Koasting. Koasting (meaning to heat violently" ) is cooking be- fore an open fire ; it implies the action of a much greater degree of heat than that emplo3^ed in any of the previously specified methods of cooking. The heat of an open fire is about 1,000°. In the days of open fireplaces this was the general way of cooking large pieces of meat ; but now it is adopted only in large establishments, or by those who can afibrd the additional expense of a tin kitchen, and a range con- structed especiall}^ for roasting. Baking, or roasting in a very hot oven, being a cheaper and more convenient way, is more generally used. Ovens in stoves and ranges are now well ventilated ; and meat when properly cooked in a very hot oven, and basted often, is nearly equal in flavor to that roasted before an open fire. The fire for roasting should be clear and bright, and of sufficient body to last, with only a slight sprinkling of coal, through the time for roasting. The meat is placed on a spit, and hung in the jack in a tin kitchen, and made to revolve slowly before the fire by winding a spring in the jack, or b}^ turning the spit at regular intervals. The meat should be rubbed with salt and flour, and placed on the spit, ver}^ near the fire at first, to harden the albumen ; then removed a little dis- tance to prevent the meat from burning, before the inside is cooked. Place two or three spoonfuls of dripping in the pan to use in basting the meat ; baste often, and dredge two or three times with flour. When the joint is very large, place a buttered paper over it. As the juices of meat are composed largely of water, the water will be evaporated as soon as it reaches the boiling-point, or 212°. When meat is placed in a moder- ate oven, the heat is not suflScient to harden the albumen The Boston Cook Book, 21 on the outer surface ; the watery juices evaporate, the steam escapes, and the meat becomes dry and tasteless. But when meat is exposed to the intense heat of an open fire, or a very hot oven, the albumen hardens ; and if basted frequently with hot fat, the meat is completely en- veloped in a varnish of hot melted fat, which assists in communicating the heat to the inside, and checks the evaporation of the juices ; this prevents the escape of the steam, so that the inside of properl}^ roasted meat is really cooked in the steam of its own juices. The evapo ration of juices is proportionate to the amount of surface exposed. A small joint has a larger surface in proportion to its weight than a large joint weighing double or treble the amount ; therefore the smaller the joint to be roasted, the higher the temperature to which its surface should be ex- posed, that the evaporation may be more quickly arrested. For very thin pieces of meat, which have a still larger surface in proportion to the weight, such as steaks and chops, a greater heat is required. This is accomplished by hroiling^ which should be done near the burning- point, the highest degree of heat emploj^ed in any form of cooking. Broiling. Broiling (meaning " to burn" ) is cooking directly over the hot coals. The degree of heat is so intense that the articles to be cooked would be very quickly burned, were they allowed to remain for any length of time over the fire. The secret of nice broiling is frequent turning. The fire should be bright red, and nearly to the top of the fire-box, so that the broiler may almost touch the fire. There should be no flame, as the flame from coal is due to the combustion of tany vapors, and will cause a deposit of coal tar on the meat, giving it a smoky, nauseating flavor. When the fat

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.