Part 4 (1/2)

Fair fa' your honest sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin' race; Aboon them a' ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm, Weel are ye wordy of a grace As langs my arm.

His knife see rustic labor dight, An' cut you up with ready slight, Trenching your gus.h.i.+ng entrail bright Like onie ditch, And then, O! what a glorious sight, Warm reekin' rich.

Ye powers wha mak mankind your care, And dish them out their bill of fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware That jaups in luggies, But if ye wish her grateful pray'r, Gie her a _Haggis_.

BURNS.

Make the haggis bag perfectly clean; parboil the draught, boil the liver very well, so as it will grate, dry the meal before the fire, mince the draught and a pretty large piece of beef, very small; grate about half the liver, mince plenty of the suet and some onions small; mix all these materials very well together with a handful or two of the dried meal; spread them on the table, and season them properly with salt and mixed spices; take any of the sc.r.a.ps of beef that are left from mincing, and some of the water that boiled the draught, and make about a choppin (_i. e._ a quart) of good stock of it; then put all the haggis meat into the bag, and that broth in it; then sew up the bag; put out all the wind before you sew it quite close. If you think the bag is thin, you may put it in a cloth.

If it is a large haggis, it will take at least two hours boiling.

N. B. The above is a receipt from Mrs. MacIver, a celebrated Caledonian professor of the culinary art, who taught and published a book of cookery, at Edinburgh, A. D. 1787.

SALT BEEF.

The British fleet, which now commands the main, Might glorious wreaths of victory obtain, Would they take time, would they with leisure work, With care would _salt their beef_, and cure their pork.

There is no dish, but what _our_ cooks have made And merited a charter by their trade.

KING.

Make a pickle of rock salt and cold water strong enough to bear an egg, let a little salt remain in the bottom of the tub; two quarts of mola.s.ses and a quarter pound of saltpetre is sufficient for a cwt. of beef. It is fit for use in ten days. Boil the beef slowly until the bones come out easily, then wrap it in a towel, and put a heavy weight on it till cold.

TO PICKLE TONGUES FOR BOILING.

Silence is commendable only In a _neat's tongue_ dried.

SHAKSPEARE.

Cut off the root, leaving a little of the kernel and fat. Sprinkle some salt, and let it drain till next day; then for each tongue, mix a large spoonful of common salt, the same of coa.r.s.e sugar, and about half as much of saltpetre; rub it well in, and do so every day. In a week add another heaped spoonful of salt. If rubbed every day, a tongue will be ready in a fortnight; but if only turned in the pickle daily, it will keep four or five weeks without being too salt. Smoke them or plainly dry them, if you like best. When to be dressed, boil it extremely tender; allow five hours, and if done sooner, it is easily kept hot. The longer kept after drying, the higher it will be; if hard, it may require soaking three or four hours.

ROASTED CALF'S LIVER.

Pray a slice of your _liver_.

GOLDSMITH.

Wash and wipe it, then cut a long hole in it, and stuff it with crumbs of bread, chopped, an anchovy, a good deal of fat bacon, onion, salt, pepper, a bit of b.u.t.ter, and an egg; sew the liver up, lard it, wrap it in a veal caul, and roast it. Serve with good brown gravy and currant jelly.

SCOTCH COLLOPS.

A cook has mighty things professed; Then send us but two dishes nicely dressed,-- One called _Scotch Collops_.

KING.

Cut veal in thin bits, about three inches over and rather round, beat with a rolling-pin; grate a little nutmeg over them; dip in the yolk of an egg, and fry them in a little b.u.t.ter of a fine brown; have ready, warm, to pour upon them, half a pint of gravy, a little bit of b.u.t.ter rubbed into a little flour, to which put the yolk of an egg, two large spoonfuls of cream, and a little salt.

Do not boil the sauce, but stir until of a fine thickness to serve with the collops.

STEWED FILLET OF VEAL.

In truth, I'm confounded And bothered, my dear, 'twixt that troublesome boy's (Bob's) cookery language, and Madame Le Roi's.