Part 96 (1/2)

835. INGREDIENTS.--For the crust, 5 lbs. of lard to 14 lbs. of flour, milk, and water. For filling the pies, to every 3 lbs. of meat allow 1 oz. of salt, 2-1/4 oz. of pepper, a small quant.i.ty of cayenne, 1 pint of water.

_Mode_.--Rub into the flour a portion of the lard; the remainder put with sufficient milk and water to mix the crust, and boil this gently for 1/4 hour. Pour it boiling on the flour, and knead and beat it till perfectly smooth. Now raise the crust in either a round or oval form, cut up the pork into pieces the size of a nut, season it in the above proportion, and press it compactly into the pie, in alternate layers of fat and lean, and pour in a small quant.i.ty of water; lay on the lid, cut the edges smoothly round, and pinch them together. Bake in a brick oven, which should be slow, as the meat is very solid. Very frequently, the inexperienced cook finds much difficulty in raising the crust. She should bear in mind that it must not be allowed to get cold, or it will fall immediately: to prevent this, the operation should be performed as near the fire as possible. As considerable dexterity and expertness are necessary to raise the crust with the hand only, a gla.s.s bottle or small jar may be placed in the middle of the paste, and the crust moulded on this; but be particular that it is kept warm the whole time.

_Sufficient_.--The proportions for 1 pie are 1 lb. of flour and 3 lbs.

of meat.

_Seasonable_ from September to March.

THE FLESH OF SWINE IN HOT CLIMATES.--It is observed by M.

Sonini, that the flesh of swine, in hot climates, is considered unwholesome, and therefore may account for its proscription by the legislators and priests of the East. In Egypt, Syria, and even the southern parts of Greece, although both white and delicate, it is so flabby and surcharged with fat, that it disagrees with the strongest stomachs. Abstinence from it in general was, therefore, indispensable to health under the burning suns of Egypt and Arabia. The Egyptians were permitted to eat it only once a year,--on the feast of the moon; and then they sacrificed a number of these animals to that planet. At other seasons, should any one even touch a hog, he was obliged immediately to plunge into the river Nile, as he stood, with his clothes on, in order to purify himself from the supposed contamination he had contracted by the touch.

LITTLE RAISED PORK PIES.

836. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of flour, 1/2 lb. of b.u.t.ter, 1/2 lb. of mutton suet, salt and white pepper to taste, 4 lbs. of the neck of pork, 1 dessertspoonful of powdered sage.

_Mode_.--Well dry the flour, mince the suet, and put these with the b.u.t.ter into a saucepan, to be made hot, and add a little salt. When melted, mix it up into a stiff paste, and put it before the fire with a cloth over it until ready to make up; chop the pork into small pieces, season it with white pepper, salt, and powdered sage; divide the paste into rather small pieces, raise it in a round or oval form, fill with the meat, and bake in a brick oven. These pies will require a fiercer oven than those in the preceding recipe, as they are made so much smaller, and consequently do not require so soaking a heat.

_Time_.--If made small, about 1-1/2 hour.

_Seasonable_ from September to March.

SWINEHERDS OF ANTIQUITY.--From the prejudice against the hog among the ancients, those who tended them formed an isolated cla.s.s, and were esteemed as the outcasts of society. However much the flesh of the animal was esteemed by the Greeks and Romans, yet the swineherd is not mentioned by either the cla.s.sic writers or the poets who, in ancient Greece and Rome, painted rural life. We have no descriptions of G.o.ds or heroes descending to the occupation of keeping swine. The swineherd is never introduced into the idyls of Theocritus, nor has Virgil admitted him into his eclogues. The Eumaeus of Homer is the only exception that we have of a swineherd meeting with favour in the eyes of a poet of antiquity. This may be accounted for, on the supposition that the prejudices of the Egyptians relative to this cla.s.s of men, extended to both Greece and Italy, and imparted a bias to popular opinion.

TO MAKE SAUSAGES.

(_Author's Oxford Recipe_.)

837. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of pork, fat and lean, without skin or gristle; 1 lb. of lean veal, 1 lb. of beef suet, 1/2 lb. of bread crumbs, the rind of 1/2 lemon, 1 small nutmeg, 6 sage-leaves, 1 teaspoonful of pepper, 2 teaspoonfuls of salt, 1/2 teaspoonful of savory, 1/2 teaspoonful of marjoram.

_Mode_.--Chop the pork, veal, and suet finely together, add the bread crumbs, lemon-peel (which should be well minced), and a small nutmeg grated. Wash and chop the sage-leaves very finely; add these with the remaining ingredients to the sausage-meat, and when thoroughly mixed, either put the meat into skins, or, when wanted for table, form it into little cakes, which should be floured and fried.

_Average cost_, for this quant.i.ty, 2s. 6d.

_Sufficient_ for about 30 moderate-sized sausages.

_Seasonable_ from October to March.

THE HOG IN ENGLAND.--From time immemorial, in England, this animal has been esteemed as of the highest importance. In the Anglo-Saxon period, vast herds of swine were tended by men, who watched over their safety, and who collected them under shelter at night. At that time, the flesh of the animal was the staple article of consumption in every family, and a large portion of the wealth of the rich freemen of the country consisted of these animals. Hence it was common to make bequests of swine, with lands for their support; and to these were attached rights and privileges in connection with their feeding, and the extent of woodland to be occupied by a given number was granted in accordance with established rules. This is proved by an ancient Saxon grant, quoted by Sharon Turner, in his ”History of the Anglo-Saxons,” where the right of pasturage is conveyed in a deed by the following words:--”I give food for seventy swine in that woody allotment which the countrymen call Wolferdinlegh.”

FRIED SAUSAGES.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FRIED SAUSAGES.]

838. INGREDIENTS.--Sausages; a small piece of b.u.t.ter.

_Mode_.--p.r.i.c.k the sausages with a fork (this prevents them from bursting), and put them into a frying-pan with a small piece of b.u.t.ter.

Keep moving the pan about, and turn the sausages 3 or 4 times. In from 10 to 12 minutes they will be sufficiently cooked, unless they are _very large_, when a little more time should be allowed for them. Dish them with or without a piece of toast under them, and serve very hot. In some counties, sausages are boiled and served on toast. They should be plunged into boiling water, and simmered for about 10 or 12 minutes.

_Time_.--10 to 12 minutes.