Part 101 (2/2)

[A Sc.r.a.pER AT THE DOOR KEEPS DIRT FROM THE FLOOR.]

1069. Time of Boiling.

Reckon the time from the water first coming to a boil. The old rule, of fifteen minutes to a pound of meat, is, perhaps, rather too little; the slower the meat boils, the tenderer, the plumper, and whiter it will be. For those who choose their food thoroughly cooked (which all will who have any regard for their stomachs), twenty minutes to a pound will not be found too much for gentle simmering by the side of the fire; allowing more or less time, according to the thickness of the joint and the coldness of the weather; always remembering, the slower it boils the better. Without some practice it is difficult to teach any art; and cooks seem to suppose they must be right, if they put meat into a pot, and set it over the fire for a certain time--making no allowance, whether it simmers without a bubble, or boils at a gallop.

[A LETTER-BOX SAVES MANY KNOCKS.]

1070. Before Boiling.

Fresh killed meat will take much longer time boiling than that which has been kept till it is what the butchers call ripe, and longer in cold than in warm weather. If it be frozen it must be thawed before boiling as before roasting; if it be fresh killed, it will be tough and hard, if you stew it ever so long, and ever so gently. In cold weather, the night before you dress it, bring it into a place of which the temperature is not less than forty-five degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer.

The size of the boiling-pots should be adapted to what they are to contain; the larger the saucepan the more room it takes upon the fire; and a larger quant.i.ty of water requires a proportionate increase of fire to boil it. In small families block tin saucepans are best, as being lightest and safest: moreover, if proper care is taken of them, and they are well dried after they are cleansed, they are by far the cheapest; the purchase of a new tin saucepan being little more than the expense of tinning a copper one. Take care that the covers of your boiling-pots fit close, not only to prevent unnecessary evaporation of the water, but that the smoke may not insinuate itself under the edge of the lid, and give the meat a bad taste.

1071. Average Boiling Times.

The following Table will be useful as an average of the time required to boil the various articles:

H.M.

A ham, 20 lbs. weight, requires 6 30 A tongue (if dry), after soaking 4 O A tongue out of pickle 2-1/2 to 3 O A neck of mutton 1 30 A chicken O 20 A large fowl O 45 A capon O 35 A pigeon O 15

1072. Remove Immediately.

If you let meat or poultry remain in the water after it is done enough, it will become sodden and lose its flavour.

1073. Degree of Cooking.

Beef and mutton is preferred by some people a little underdone. Very large joints if slightly underdone, will make the better hash or broil. Lamb, pork, and veal are uneatable if not thoroughly boiled--but these meats should not be overdone. A trivet, a fish-drainer, or an American contrivance called a ”spider”--which is nothing more than a wire dish raised on three or four short legs--put on the bottom of the boiling-pot, raising the contents about an inch and a half from the bottom, will prevent that side of the meat which comes next the bottom being done too much; and the lower part will be as delicately done as the upper; and this will enable you to take out the meat without inserting a fork, &c., into it. If yeu have not a trivet, a drainer, or a ”spider,” use a soup-plate laid the wrong side upwards.

1074. Stock.

Take care of the liquor you have boiled poultry or meat in, as it is useful for making soup.

1075. Using the Stock.

The good housewife never boils a joint without converting the broth into some sort of soup.

1076. Reducing Salt.

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