A guide to modern cookery by A. Escoffier

Strain the braising-liquor over the whole, and complete the cooking gently. When about to serve, either glaze the piece of beef, or dish it plain; coat it lightly with sauce, and send what remains of the latter, with the garnish, in a timbale. 1150—PIÈCE DE BŒUF A LA MODE FROIDE Bœuf à la mode is very rarely prepared specially for cold dishing, the remains of a fine piece being generally used for that purpose. The piece of meat must first be well trimmed. If the quantity of sauce do not seem enough, or if the sauce itself seem too stiff, add a third of its volume of aspic jelly to it. For moulding, take a _terrine à pâté_, a mould, or other utensil capable of holding the piece of meat, its garnish, and its sauce. Deck the bottom of the utensil in any suitable way with the carrots and the onions, and surround the piece with what remains of the latter and the dice of calf’s foot. Add the sauce, combined with the jelly, after having passed it through a strainer, and put the whole in the cool for a few hours. Turn out just before serving, and surround with very light, chopped jelly. 1151—PIÈCE DE BŒUF A LA NOAILLES Lard the piece of beef, and _marinade_ it in brandy and red wine. This done, dry it thoroughly, and brown it evenly in butter all over; moisten it with its _marinade_ and an equal quantity of veal gravy, and set to cook gently. When the meat is half-cooked, surround it with two lbs. of minced onions, tossed in butter, and three oz. of rice. Complete the cooking of the piece with onions and rice. Now withdraw the piece of beef, and quickly rub the onions and the rice through tammy. Reduce this Soubise with rice for a few moments. Neatly trim the piece of beef; cut it into even slices; reconstruct it on a dish, and between each slice pour a tablespoonful of Soubise purée. Cover the reconstructed piece of beef with the remainder of the Soubise; sprinkle the surface with two tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs fried in butter, and some melted butter, and put the whole in the oven, that the _gratin_ may form speedily. 1152—THE RUMP =Rumpsteak and Beefsteak.= The rump is that portion of the sirloin of beef which touches the top of the haunch. It may be braised, but it is more often grilled in slices from one inch to one and one-half inches thick, which are called “rumpsteaks.” With reference to this subject, it is as well to point out that the term “Beefsteak,” so hackneyed in France, is scarcely used in England, owing to its want of precision. In France, beefsteak is either a cut from the fillet, the upper-fillet, or the rump, according to the standing of the catering-house which supplies it. But the nature of the piece cannot very well be mistaken, inasmuch as the term beefsteak, which designates it, is generally followed by other French words which reveal its origin, whereas in England the term “Beefsteak” does not convey any particular meaning. Rumpsteak is either grilled or _sautéd_, but whatever be the method of cooking it, it is generally served plain. All garnishes suited to fillets, however, may be served with it, as also the various butters and sauces generally used with grills. 1153—LANGUE DE BŒUF Ox tongue is served fresh or salted, but, even when it is to be served fresh, it is all the better for having been put in salt a few days previously. In order to salt it, put it into a special brine, as explained under No. 172. When salted, it is cooked in boiling water; when fresh, it is braised exactly after the manner of any other piece of meat. Ox tongue may be served with almost all the garnishes suited to relevés of fillet of beef, but more particularly with the following:—Bourgeoise; Flamande; Milanaise; Noodles or Macaroni with cream, cheese or tomatoes; and all vegetable purées. The most suitable sauces are:—Madeira sauce, Piquante sauce, Tomato sauce, or their derivatives. 1154—LANGUE DE BŒUF CHOUCROÛTE Braise the tongue as described under No. 247, and glaze it at the last moment. Dish it, and send to the table separately (1) a timbale of well-braised sauerkraut; (2) a timbale of potato purée; (3) a Madeira sauce, combined with the braising-liquor of the tongue, cleared of all grease, and reduced. 1155—LANGUE DE BŒUF BOURGEOISE Braise the tongue in the usual way. When it is two-thirds cooked, surround it with carrots fashioned to the shape of olives and already two-thirds cooked, and small onions browned in butter. Complete the cooking gently, and for the rest of the operation, proceed as for “Pièce de Bœuf à la Mode chaude.” 1156—LANGUE DE BŒUF AUX FÈVES Tongue intended for this preparation should be put in salt a few days in advance. Boil it in the usual way and very gently; glaze it when about to serve, and dish it. Send to the table separately (1) a timbale of very fresh, skinned, broad beans, cooked in salted water with a spray of savory, and cohered with butter at the last moment. (2) A Madeira sauce. 1157—LANGUE DE BŒUF FLAMANDE Braise the tongue, and glaze it at the last moment. Surround it with the garnish “à la Flamande” given under the beef recipe of that name, _i.e._, braised cabbages, glazed carrots and turnips, potatoes _à l’anglaise_, rectangles of lean bacon, and roundels of sausage. 1158—LANGUES DE BŒUF FROIDES Ox tongues intended for cold dishing should be kept in brine (No. 172) for eight or ten days. When about to use them, put them to soak in cold water for a few hours, and then cook them plainly in water for three hours. This done, withdraw them from their cooking-liquor; skin them; cover them with buttered paper, and let them cool. The object of the paper is to keep off the air, the tendency of which is to blacken the surface of the meat. When quite cool, coat the tongues with a glaze composed of one-half lb. of gelatine dissolved in one pint of water; the latter is given a scarlet tint by means of carmine and caramel. Cold ox tongues are dished amidst aspic jelly dice and curled-leaf parsley. N.B.—The gelatine glaze described above will be found a great improvement upon the coating of reddened gold-beaters’ skin. OX TAILS. Ox tails, sectioned or unsectioned, are usually braised, and only the thicker half of the caudal appendage is ever used. 1159—QUEUE DE BŒUF A L’AUVERGNATE Section the tail, and braise it in white wine, after recipe No. 247. Prepare a garnish of rectangles of lean bacon, large chestnuts cooked in consommé and glazed, and small onions cooked in butter. Put the sections of the tail in an earthenware _cocotte_ with the garnish. 1160—QUEUE DE BŒUF A LA CAVOUR Section the tail, and braise it in a moistening two-thirds of which is brown stock and one-third white wine. It is well for the moistening to be somewhat abundant. Set to cook very gently, until the meat falls from the bones, _i.e._, for a matter of about four and one-half or five hours. This done, dish the sections of the tail in a _cocotte_; add some small, cooked mushrooms; clear the cooking-liquor of grease; reduce it, and thicken it slightly with fecula. Strain this thickened cooking-liquor over the sections of the tail and the mushrooms, and set to boil very gently for ten minutes. Serve thus in the _cocotte_ set on a dish, and send a timbale of chestnut purée to the table at the same time. 1161—QUEUE DE BŒUF FARCIE Choose a large ox tail, and bone it carefully without bursting it. Lay it on a napkin, and stuff it with a forcemeat consisting of the following ingredients:—Three-quarters lb. of very lean beef and one-half lb. of chopped fat bacon, the two mixed with four oz. of bread-crumbs soaked in milk and pressed; two whole eggs; three oz. of truffle peel; one-half oz. of salt, a pinch of pepper, and a very little spice. Sew up the tail, cover it with a piece of linen after the manner of a galantine, and cook it gently for three hours in a very light stock with vegetables as for boiled beef. At the end of the three hours take it out of the linen; put it into a sautépan, the bottom of which should be garnished as for a braising; add a little of the cooking-liquor of the tail, and complete the cooking, basting often the while. Take care to baste more frequently towards the close of the operation with the view of properly glazing the meat. When about to serve, dish it, after having removed all string, and lightly coat the bottom of the dish with a sauce consisting of the cooking-liquor, reduced and thickened with arrow-root. Send what remains of the cooking-liquor in a sauceboat. Serve separately either a purée, a garnish of braised vegetables, or one of the sauces suited to pieces of beef. 1162—QUEUE DE BŒUF GRILLÉE Cut the tail into sections twice the usual length, and cook these in a stewpan for five hours with salted water and aromatics. Drain the sections; dry them well; dip them in melted butter, and roll them in very fine bread-crumbs. Sprinkle with melted butter, and set to grill gently. Grilled ox tail may be served with any vegetable purée. An ordinary Soubise, or one prepared “à la Noailles,” as explained under the piece of beef of that name, also suits very well. In any case, the Soubise should be sufficiently thick. Such sauces as à la Diable, Hachée, Piquante, Robert, Tomato, Italienne, &c., are also suited to grilled ox tail. N.B.—When the adjunct to grilled ox tail is a highly-seasoned sauce, the sections should first be covered with a coat of mustard, then dipped in melted butter, and finally rolled in bread-crumbs. 1163—QUEUE DE BŒUF EN HOCHEPOT Cut the tail into sections, and put these into a stewpan of convenient size, with two pig’s trotters, each of which must be cut into four or five pieces, and one pig’s ear. Cover the whole with cold water; add salt to the extent of one-third oz. per quart of the liquid; set to boil; skim, and leave to cook gently for two hours. This done, add one small cabbage, cut into quarters, parboiled and cooled; ten small onions; five oz. of carrots, and the same weight of turnips, cut to the shape of large, garlic cloves. Set the whole to cook for a further two hours at least. When about to serve, dish the sections of tail in a circle; put the vegetable garnish in the centre, and surround the latter with the pig’s ear cut into small, narrow strips, and ten grilled chipolata sausages. Serve, separately, a timbale of potatoes cooked _à l’anglaise_. =Various Preparations of Beef.= 1164—STEWED STEAKS AND ONIONS Select some steaks one and one-third inches thick; fry them in butter on both sides, and set them to braise in short moistening, with a sufficient quantity of quartered and browned onions to constitute an abundant garnish. Leave the whole to cook gently for three hours. Dish the steak, and surround it with the onions and the braising-liquor cleared of all grease and reduced. 1165—SALT BEEF The pieces of beef chiefly selected for salting are brisket, silver side, and round of beef, and these are always boiled for a more or less lengthy period, according to their size. To the cooking-liquor is added a copious garnish of carrots and turnips. These are served with the meat, together with a sauceboat of cooking-liquor and a suet dumpling, prepared as follows:— 1166—SUET DUMPLING Finely chop up some suet; add to it an equal quantity of flour and about one-quarter oz. of salt per lb. of suet and flour. Moisten with just enough water to make a thick paste of about the same consistence as brioche-paste. Cut this paste into portions weighing about one oz., and roll them into small balls. Put the latter in a sautépan containing some boiling beef cooking-liquor, which need not have been cleared of grease, and let them poach for one and one-half hours. Now drain the dumplings, and arrange them around the meat with the garnish of carrots and turnips, as explained above. 1167—COLD SALT BEEF Salt beef, served cold, constitutes an excellent sideboard dish for luncheons. It need only be neatly trimmed all round, care being taken to preserve all the fat so highly esteemed by some. Indeed, a piece of cold salt fat is sometimes added to that already existing around and in the meat, in which case the extra quantity is fixed to the beef by means of a _hatelet_. 1168—PRESSED BEEF Salt beef also serves in the preparation of “Pressed Beef,” but, for this purpose, the breast is generally used. After having thoroughly cooked the salted breast of beef in accordance with the procedure indicated for salt beef, cut it into large pieces of the same size as the moulds into which the meat is going to be pressed. Lay the pieces of beef one on top of another in a square or rectangular mould, and cover with a thick board, cut flush with the inside edge of the mould. Now apply pressure, either by means of a strong press or heavy weight, and leave the beef to cool under the applied pressure. When the meat is quite cold, turn it out; trim it carefully on all sides, and glaze it, _i.e._, cover it entirely with a coating of rather firm, clarified gelatine, brought by means of carmine and caramel to a nice red-brown colour. 1169—STEAK AND KIDNEY PUDDING Cut three lbs. of very lean beef into slices one-third inch thick. Season these slices with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and add a little chopped onion and parsley. Take a pudding-basin; line it with a firm layer of suet-dough (No. 1166), and garnish the bottom and sides of the basin with the slices of beef. In the middle put one lb. of kidney of beef, of veal, or of mutton, cut up as for tossing, and seasoned like the steaks. Moisten with just sufficient water to cover. Now close up the basin with a layer of the same paste as that used in lining, pinching it with the latter, all round, that it may adhere thoroughly. In order to effect this with greater certainty, the respective edges of the two layers of paste may be moistened. This done, cover the basin with a buttered and dredged napkin, fastened on by means of string tied round just beneath the lip of the utensil. Cook for five hours, either in boiling water or in steam, and, after having removed the napkin, serve the pudding as it stands. 1170—STEAK PUDDING Make some rather stiff paste with two lbs. of flour, one and one-quarter lbs. of the chopped fat of kidney of beef, a pinch of salt, and one-quarter pint of water. With the rolling-pin, roll out this paste to a round layer one-quarter inch thick, and put it into a buttered dome-mould or pudding-basin. Cut the lean beef into pieces, and season them, exactly as for steak and kidney pudding. Fill up the basin with the pieces arranged in layers; moisten with just enough water to cover, and close up the basin with a layer of the same paste as that used for its lining. Carefully join the edges of the two layers of paste, assisting the operation with a little moisture applied by means of a brush; swathe the basin in a buttered pudding-cloth, and fasten the latter firmly with string. Put the pudding in a saucepan of boiling water or a steamer, and leave it to cook for three hours if the beef has been cut from the fillet, and for four hours if cut from any other piece. At the end of the required time take the pudding out of the saucepan and remove the cloth. Dish on a folded napkin. 1171—STEAK AND OYSTER PUDDING Proceed exactly as for steak and kidney pudding, but take only two lbs. of beef, and replace the odd pound by forty fine oysters. 1172—DAUBE CHAUDE A LA PROVENÇALE Cut four lbs. of shoulder or cushion of beef into cubes weighing about four oz. each. Lard each piece of meat with a strip of bacon two inches long by one-half inch wide, and put the cubes or pieces into a bowl with salt, pepper, a very little spice, five or six tablespoonfuls of vinegar, and a glass of red wine. Leave to _marinade_ for two or three hours, and toss the pieces, from time to time, in the _marinading_ liquor, in order that each may be well saturated with it. Heat six oz. of grated bacon in an earthenware stewpan, and brown therein twelve small onions, fifteen carrots in the shape of olives, two sticks of celery cut into pieces of the same size as the carrots, and four cloves of garlic. Add the _marinaded_ pieces of meat, which should have been properly dried; fry the whole, meat and vegetables, for a further seven or eight minutes, and moisten with the _marinade_ and two glasses more of red wine. Complete with one-half lb. of fresh bacon rind, _blanched_ and cut into square pieces of two-thirds inch side; a faggot made up of parsley stalks, thyme, bay, and, in the centre, a small piece of dry lemon rind. Set to boil, completely close the stewpan, and leave to cook in a moderate oven for six or seven hours. When about to serve, remove the faggot, clear all grease from the gravy, and dish in a hot timbale, or serve the “daube” in the stewpan itself. 1173—DAUBE A LA PROVENÇALE FROIDE A daube is rarely prepared specially for cold dishing; generally the remains of one already served hot are used. Take the pieces, one by one, with a fork, and place them in a _terrine à pâté_ with the carrots, onions, and squares of bacon rind, which have remained almost untouched. Strain the gravy over them through an ordinary strainer, pressing lightly the while, and leave to cool. When about to serve, turn out the daube on a cold dish, and surround with chopped aspic jelly. 1174—CARBONNADES A LA FLAMANDE Cut three lbs. of lean shoulder or cushion of beef into thin, short slices. Season the latter with salt and pepper, and brown them quickly on both sides in stock fat. At the same time toss one and one-quarter lbs. of minced onions in butter, until they are well browned. Put the slices of beef and the onions in alternate layers into a saucepan, and in their midst place a faggot. Drain the grease from the sautépan in which the slices were fried; swill with one and one-half pints of beer (old Lambic in preference); add the same quantity of brown stock, thicken with four oz. of brown roux; finish the seasoning with one and one-half oz. of powdered sugar; set to boil, stirring the while, and strain this sauce over the slices of beef and the onions. Cover and cook gently in the oven for from two and one-half to three hours. N.B.—Carbonnades are served thus, mingled with the onions; but they may also be dished in a timbale and covered with a Soubise consisting of the onion and the sauce rubbed through tammy. 1175—ÉMINCÉ DE BŒUF Cold roast or boiled meats may be warmed up in many different ways. In their preparation, however, the reader should follow one rule, the non-observance of which invariably leads to failure. Whatever the meat be, it should first be cut into the thinnest possible slices; set on a dish, and covered with a boiling sauce or garnish, which should effect its warming up. If the meat boil in the sauce or garnish, it toughens, and this, above all, should be avoided when roast meat is used. Sauces suited to _Émincés_ are the Bordelaise, the Piquante, the Italienne, the Chasseur, the Poivrade, the Périgueux, and the Tomato. 1176—ÉMINCÉ DE BŒUF EN MIROTON For one lb. of beef mince two fine onions somewhat finely, and toss them in butter until they are evenly and well _gilded_. Sprinkle with one-half tablespoonful of flour; set to cook for a moment, and then moisten with one-half glassful of white wine and one-half pint of consommé; season with a pinch of pepper; boil, and leave to cook gently for seven or eight minutes. The flour may be dispensed with, but, in this case, the white wine is reduced to two-thirds, one-half pint of half-glaze is added, and the whole is cooked for seven or eight minutes. Cut the beef into very thin slices, and set these on a dish. A minute before serving, add a few drops of vinegar to the onions; cover the meat with the onions and the sauce; stand the dish for a moment on the hob, and sprinkle it slightly with chopped parsley. N.B.—When the miroton is prepared with boiled beef, the slices should be cut somewhat more thickly, and left to simmer gently in the sauce for as long as possible—an hour or more if necessary. The miroton is then dished with some minced gherkins, sprinkled with raspings, and placed in the oven at the last moment for the _gratin_ to form. 1177—GOULASH DE BŒUF A LA HONGROISE Cut three lbs. of ribs or shoulder of beef into squares weighing about three oz. each. Fry these pieces on a moderate fire in four oz. of lard, together with one-half lb. of onions cut into large dice, until the latter acquire a nice, even, golden colour. Season with one-third oz. of salt and the necessary quantity of paprika; add one and one-quarter lbs. of peeled, pressed, and quartered tomatoes, and one-sixth pint of water. Cover and cook in the oven for one and one-half hours. This done, add one-third pint of water and one and one-quarter lbs. of quartered potatoes to the Goulash. Continue the cooking in the oven, basting often the while, and do not stop the operation until the moistening-liquor is entirely reduced. When about to serve, dish the Goulash in a timbale. 1178—HACHIS DE BŒUF A L’AMÉRICAINE Cut the meat into small cubes. Also cut into dice the same weight of potatoes as of meat. Season these potatoes and toss them in butter. This done, put half their quantity into a saucepan with the meat dice, and cohere the whole with a few tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce and reduced veal gravy. Heat without allowing to boil; dish in a hot timbale; distribute the remainder of the potatoes, which should be crisply fried, over the hash, and sprinkle with a pinch of freshly-chopped parsley. 1179—HACHIS DE BŒUF PARMENTIER Bake some fine potatoes in the oven. The moment they are done, slice off a piece of their baked shell, and remove the pulp from their insides by means of a spoon handle. Crush this pulp with a fork, and toss it in butter as for “pommes de terre Macaire.” Then add to it as much beef in dice as there is pulp; two tablespoonfuls of chopped onion cooked in butter per lb. of the preparation; a pinch of chopped parsley, and a few drops of vinegar. Now toss the whole together for a few minutes, and then fill the empty potato shells with the preparation. Sprinkle with Lyonnaise sauce rubbed through tammy, and add as much of it as the hash will absorb. Replace the portion of shell cut off at the first, that the potatoes may seem untouched; arrange them on a dish, and put the latter in the oven for ten minutes. When about to serve, dish the stuffed potatoes on a napkin. 1180—TRIPES A LA MODE DE CAEN In the preparation of this culinary speciality of Normandy, a very common mistake is often made; to wit, that of using calves’ feet instead of those of the ox, an innovation to which there are many objections. In the first place, the gravy of the tripe cannot absorb so much gelatine, and is indifferently thickened in consequence; secondly, since calves’ feet are much more tender than those of the ox, the former get boiled to shreds before the cooking of the tripe has been properly effected. This supposed improvement on the old method is thus seen to actually run counter to the end in view; but means there are, nevertheless, whereby those who insist upon the use of calves’ feet may be satisfied. It is only necessary to braise a number of calves’ feet beforehand, the number being in proportion to the quantity of tripe, and to add these to the latter a quarter of an hour before serving. Another mistake which obtains somewhat widely in respect of this dish is the serving of it in a silver utensil—a method quite as unreasonable as that of serving a Chaudfroid in an earthenware dish. By virtue of its simplicity, tripe should be served in either sandstone or special earthenware stewpans, wherein heat is best retained; and the operator should rather direct his attention to the serving of tripe as hot as possible, than to this or that fanciful method of dishing, which really has no raison d’être in this case. _The Preparation of Tripe._—Under the head of “beef tripe” are understood: (1) The feet; (2) tripe proper, which comprises the Paunch, the Honey-comb Bag, the Manyplies, and the Reed. First soak the tripe in cold water for some considerable time; then cut it into squares of two inches side. For the seasoning and flavouring of tripe, complete in all its parts, take: (Seasoning) one-quarter oz. of salt and a pinch of pepper per lb.; (flavouring) four lbs. of onions stuck with four cloves; three lbs. of carrots; one faggot, comprising two lbs. of leeks, one-third lb. of parsley stalks, a sprig of thyme, and a bay leaf. Moisten with two quarts of good cider (not likely to turn black while cooking, otherwise use water); one-half pint of brandy or liqueur-cider. The quantity of the moistening-liquor largely depends upon the shape of the utensil; a little less will be needed in the case of a narrow one, and a little more in the case of a wide one. In any case, however, the tripe should be just covered. _Treatment and Cooking-process._—Take a stewpan or braising-pan, just large enough to hold the tripe and the garnish. On the bottom of this lay carrots, onions, seasoning, and the four ox feet, bound and cut into fair-sized pieces. Add the tripe, placing the faggot in its midst; upon the tripe lay the bones of the feet, broken lengthwise; some slices of beef-fat, well soaked in cold water; and, finally, the moistening. Cover the whole with a kind of _galette_ of paste, consisting of flour mixed with hot water and kept somewhat stiff, and fix the paste well on to the edges of the utensil. Place in the oven, and, when about two hours have elapsed and the paste is well baked, close the utensil with its own cover. In a regular and moderate oven, allow about ten hours for the cooking. _The Dishing and Serving._—After taking the tripe out of the oven, remove the cover of paste, the bones, the fat, the carrots, the onions, and the faggot, and by means of a slice withdraw the pieces of tripe and set them in the special earthenware bowls, taking care to distribute the pieces, coming from different portions of tripe, in such wise as to meet the demands or fancies of the various consumers. When the tripe has been transferred to the bowls, clear the gravy of all grease, and dole it out evenly among the number of receptacles. It is best, now, to put the latter in a _bain-marie_, for they must only be served quite hot, on chafers or otherwise. N.B.—(1) To make the dish to perfection, the tripe should be put into special earthenware pots (wherein the heat is more effectively concentrated), and cooked in a baker’s or pastry-cook’s oven. I dealt with the alternative of cooking tripe in a stewpan in order to make provision for those who can avail themselves of neither special pots nor a baker’s oven. (2) The measures I prescribe, namely, those of first laying the slices of beef-fat upon the tripe, and then covering the whole with a lid of paste, are intended to stop a too rapid evaporation of the liquid—a contingency that must be guarded against, more particularly in a kitchen oven—and to preserve the whiteness of the tripe. The cover of paste would be quite useless if a baker’s oven were available, for the latter not only ensures perfectly regular heat, but also wanes regularly.