Part 28 (1/2)
_The A-la-mode ways of dressing the Heads of any Beasts._
_To boil a Bullocks Cheek in the Italian way._
Break the bones and steep the head in fair water, s.h.i.+ft it, and sc.r.a.pe off the slime, let it lie thus in steep about twelve hours, then boil in fair water with some _Bolonia_ sausage and a piece of interlarded bacon; the cheeks and the other materials being very tender boiled, dish it up and serve it with some flowers and greens on it, and mustard in saucers.
_To stew Bullocks Cheeks._
Take the Cheeks being well soaked or steeped, spit and half roast them, save the gravy, and put them into a pipkin with some claret-wine, gravy, and some strong broth, slic't nutmeg, ginger, pepper, salt and some minced onions fried; stew it the s.p.a.ce of two hours on a soft fire, and being finely stewed, serve it on carved sippets.
_Otherways._
Take out the bones, b.a.l.l.s of the eyes, and the ruff of the mouth, steep it well in fair water and s.h.i.+ft it often: being well cleans'd from the blood and slime, take it out of the water, wipe it dry, and season it with nutmeg, pepper, and salt, put them in an earthen pot one upon another, and put to them a pint of claret wine, a few whole cloves, a little fair water, and two three whole onions; close up the pot and bake it, it will ask six hours bakeing; being tender baked, serve it on toasts of fine manchet.
_Or thus._
Being baked or stewed, you may take out the bones and lay them close together, pour the liquor to them, and being cold slice them into slices, and serve them cold with mustard and sugar.
_To boil a Calves Head._
Take the head, skin, and all unflayed, scald it, and soak it in fair water a whole night or twelve hours, then take out the brains and boil them with some sage, parsley, or mint; being boil'd chop them small together, b.u.t.ter them and serve them in a dish with fine sippets about them, the head being finely cleansed, boil it in a clean cloth and close it up together again in the cloth; being boil'd, lay it one side by another with some fine slices of boil'd bacon, and lay some fine picked parsley upon it, with some borage or other flowers.
_To hash a Calves Head._
Take a calves head well steeped and cleansed from the blood and slime, boil it tender, then take it up and let it be through cold, cut it into dice-work, as also the brains in the same form, and some think slices interlarded bacon being first boil'd put some gooseberries to them, as also some gravy or juyce of lemon or orange, and some beaten b.u.t.ter; stew all together, and being finely stewed, dish it on carved sippets, and run it over with beaten b.u.t.ter.
_Otherways._
The head being boil'd and cold, slice is in to thin slices, with some onions and the brains in the same manner, then stew them in a pipkin with some gravy or strong mutton, broth, with nutmeg, some mushrooms, a little white wine and beaten b.u.t.ter; being well stewed together dish them on fine sippets, and garnish the meat with slic't lemon or barberries.
_To souce a Calves Head._
First scald it and bone it, then steep it in fair water the s.p.a.ce of six hour, dry it with a clean cloth, and season it with some salt and bruised garlick (or none) then roul it up in a collar, bind it close, and boil it in white wine, water, and salt; being boil'd keep it in that souce drink, and serve it in the collar, or slice it, and serve it with oyl, vinegar, and pepper. This dish is very rare, and to a good judgment scarce discernable.
_To roast a Calves head._
Take a calves head, cleave it and take out the brains, skins, and blood about it, then steep them and the head in fair warm water the s.p.a.ce of four or five hours, s.h.i.+ft them three or four times and cleanse the head; then boil the brains, & make a pudding with some grated bread, brains, some beef-suet minced small, with some minced veal & sage; season the pudding with some cloves, mace, salt, ginger, sugar, five yolks of eggs, & saffron; fill the head with this pudding, then close it up and bind it fast with some packthread, spit it, and bind on the caul round the head with some of the pudding round about it, rost it & save the gravy, blow off the fat, and put to the gravy; for the sauce a little white-wine, a slic't nutmeg & a piece of sweet b.u.t.ter, the juyce of an orange, salt, and sugar. Then bread up the head with some grated bread; beaten cinamon, minced lemon peel, and a little salt.
_To roast a Calves Head with Oysters._
Split the head as to boil, and take out the brains was.h.i.+ng them very well with the head, cut out the tongue, boil it a little, and blanch it, let the brains be parbol'd as well as tongue, then mince the brains and tongue, a little sage, oysters, beef-suet, very small; being finely minced, mix them together with three or four yolks of eggs, beaten ginger, pepper, nutmegs, grated bread, salt, and a little sack, if the brains and eggs make it not moist enough. This being done parboil the calves head a little in fair water, then take it up and dry it well in a cloth filling the holes where the brains and tongue lay with this farsing or pudding; bind it up close together, and spit it, then stuff it with oysters being first parboil'd in their own liquor, put them into a dish with minced tyme, parsley, mace, nutmeg, and pepper beaten very small; mix all these with a little vinegar, and the white of an egg, roul the oysters in it, and make little holes in the head, stuff it as full as you can, put the oysters but half way in, and scuer in them with sprigs of tyme, roast it and set the dish under it to save the gravy, wherein let there be oysters, sweet herbs minced, a little white-wine and slic't nutmeg. When the head is roasted set the dish wherein the sauce is on the coals to stew a little, then put in a piece of b.u.t.ter, the juyce of an orange, and salt, beating it up together: dish the head, and put the sauce to it, and serve it up hot to the table.