A guide to modern cookery by A. Escoffier

_court-bouillon_ itself; the cooking period is consequently curtailed. =Marinades and Brines.= _Marinades_ play but a small part in English cookery, venison or other ground-game being generally preferred fresh. However, in the event of its being necessary to resort to these methods of preparation, I shall give two formulæ for venison and two for mutton. The use of the _marinade_ for venison is very much debated. Certainly it is often desirable that the fibre of those meats that come from old specimens of the deer and boar species be softened, but there is no doubt that what the meat gains in tenderness it loses in flavour. On the whole, therefore, it would be best to use only those joints which come from young beasts. In the case of the latter, the _marinade_ may well be dispensed with. It would add nothing to the savour of a haunch of venison, such as may be got in England, while it would be equally ineffectual in the case of the roebuck or hare. A summary treatment of these two, with raw _marinade_, may well be adopted, as also for deer. As for cooked _marinade_, its real and only use lies in the fact that during stormy summer weather it enables one to preserve meat which would otherwise have to be wasted. It may, moreover, be used for braised venison, but this treatment of game is very uncommon nowadays. 168—COOKED MARINADE FOR VENISON _Quantities Required for Five Quarts._ ½ lb. of minced carrots. ½ lb. of minced onions. 2 oz. of minced shallots. 1 crushed garlic clove. 1 faggot, including 1 oz. of parsley stalks, 2 sprigs of rosemary, as much thyme, and 2 bay leaves. _Preparation._—Heat one-half pint of oil in a stewpan, add the carrots and onions, and fry them while stirring frequently. When they begin to brown add the shallots, the garlic, and the faggot, then one pint of vinegar, two bottles of white wine, and three quarts of water. Cook this _marinade_ for twenty minutes, and add a further two oz. of salt, one-half oz. of peppercorns, and four oz. of brown sugar. Ten minutes afterwards pass it through a strainer and let it cool before inserting the meats. N.B.—In summer the _marinade_ very often decomposes, because of the blood contained by the meat under treatment in it. The only means of averting this is to boil the _marinade_ every two or three days at least. 169—RAW MARINADE FOR BUTCHER’S MEAT OR VENISON This _marinade_ is prepared immediately before using. The meat to be treated is first salted and peppered on all sides, then it is put in a receptacle just large enough to hold it, and laid therein on a litter of aromatics, including minced carrots and onions, a few chopped shallots, parsley stalks, thyme, and bay in proportion to the rest. Now sprinkle the meat copiously with oil and half as much vinegar; cover the dish with oil-paper, and put it somewhere in the cool. Remember to turn the meat over three or four times a day, covering it each time with a layer of vegetables. This _marinade_ is very active, and is admirably suited to all butcher’s meat and venison, provided these be not allowed to remain in it for too long a time. It is very difficult to say how long the meat must stay in these _marinades_; the time varies according to the size and quality of the joints, and the taste of the consumer, &c. All that can be said is that three hours should be sufficient to _marinade_ a cutlet or escalope of roebuck, and that for big joints such as saddle or leg the time should not exceed four days. 170—MARINADE FOR MUTTON, ROEBUCK-STYLE This is exactly the same as cooked _marinade_, No. 168. There need only be added one oz. of juniper berries, a few sprigs of rosemary, wild thyme, and basil, two extra garlic cloves, and one quart less of water. 171—MARINADE WITH RED WINE FOR MUTTON By substituting red wine for white in the preceding formula—the quantity of the liquid equalling that of the water—and by slightly increasing the quantity of aromatics, an excellent _marinade_ for mutton is obtained, which in summer enables one to preserve meat, otherwise perishable, for some days. 172—BRINE _Quantities Required for Fifty Quarts._ 56 lbs. of gray salt. 50 quarts of water. 6 lbs. of saltpetre. 3½ lbs. of brown sugar. _Mode of Procedure._—Put the salt and the water in a tinned copper pan, and put it on an open fire. When the water boils, throw in a peeled potato, and, if the latter float, add water until it begins to sink. If, on the contrary, the potato should sink immediately, reduce the liquid until it is able to buoy the tuber up. At this stage the sugar and saltpetre are added; let them dissolve, and the brine is then removed from the fire and is allowed to cool. It is then poured into the receptacle intended for it, which must be either of slate, stone, cement, or well-jointed tiles. It is well to place in the bottom of this reservoir a wooden lattice, whereon the meats to be salted may be laid, for, were the immersed objects to lie directly on the bottom of the receptacle, the under parts would be entirely shielded from the brine. If the meats to be salted are of an appreciable size, they should be inoculated with brine by means of a special syringe. Without this measure it would be impossible to salt regularly, as the sides would already be over-saturated before the centre had even been properly reached. Eight days should be allowed for salting a piece of beef of what size soever, above eight or ten lb., since the process of inoculation equalises the salting. Ox-tongue intended for salting, besides having to be as fresh as possible, must be trimmed of almost all the cartilage of the throat, and carefully beaten either with a beater or roller. Then it must be pricked on all sides with a string-needle, and immersed in the liquid, where it should be slightly weighted by some means or other in order to prevent its rising to the surface. A medium-sized tongue would need about seven days’ immersion in the brine. Though brine does not turn as easily as the cooked _marinades_, it would be well, especially in stormy weather, to watch it and occasionally to boil it. But, as the process of boiling invariably concentrates the brine, a little water should be added to it every time it is so treated, and the test of the potato, described above, should always be resorted to.