Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/574

504 slowly in the oven for about 4 hours, and then pressed between 2 boards or dishes until cold.

Ingredients.—10 or 12 lb. of thin flank of beef, ½ an oz. of saltpetre, ½ an oz. of bay-salt, ¼ of an oz. of black pepper, ¼ of an oz. of powdered allspice, ½ a teaspoonful of ground ginger, ¼ of a teaspoonful of ground cloves, ¼ of a teaspoonful of ground mace, 3 ozs. of common salt, 3 ozs. of brown sugar.

Method.—Remove any bones, skin, and gristle, and rub the beef well with the bay-salt and saltpetre, previously reduced to a powder and mixed together. On the following day mix the pepper, allspice, ginger, cloves and mace together, and rub them well into the meat. Add the common salt and sugar to the brine in the vessel, turn and baste the meat for a fortnight, then wash it in cold water, roll and bind securely with string, and boil in the usual manner. The aitchbone, round, or any other part may be spiced instead of the flank, and the time allowed lengthened or shortened to suit individual taste.

Ingredients.—2 lb. of lean beef, 1 lb. of beef suet, ¼ of a teaspoonful of powdered allspice, salt and pepper, sausage-skins, frying-fat.

Method.—Chop both beef and suet as finely as possible, add the allspice, salt and pepper to taste, and mix well. Press the mixture lightly into the prepared skins, prick well, and fry in hot fat until cooked and well-browned. When sausage skins are not available, the mixture may be shaped into small cakes, which should be floured before frying.

Time.—To fry, 10 to 15 minutes. Average Cost, 2s. 6d.

Ingredients.—To a piece of meat weighing from 12 to 16 lb. allow ½ a lb. of bay-salt, ½ a lb. of coarse brown sugar, 1 oz. of saltpetre, ½ an oz. of allspice, ½ an oz. of peppercorns.

Method.—The meat should be hung in a cool dry place as long as is consistent with safety to make it tender, but it must not be allowed to decompose in the least. Pound the above ingredients in a mortar until reduced to a powder, and when the meat is ready, rub the entire surface with the preparation, going carefully between the muscles and under the flaps of the meat. Let it be turned every morning for 14 days; at the end of that time roll it tightly in a cloth, and hang it in a warm (not hot) dry place for 3 weeks. When a smoky flavour is desired, the beef should be hung where it would receive the smoke,