Page:The Boston cooking-school cook book (1910).djvu/47

 water. The crumbs should be taken on a board; food to be fried should be first rolled in crumbs (care being taken that all parts are covered with crumbs), then dipped in egg mixture (equal care being taken to cover all parts), then rolled in crumbs again; after the last crumbing remove food to a place on the board where there are no crumbs, and shake off some of the outer ones which make coating too thick. A broad-bladed knife with short handle—the Teller knife—is the most convenient utensil for lifting food to be crumbed from egg mixture. Small scallops, oysters, and crabs are more easily crumbed by putting crumbs and fish in paper and shaking paper until the fish is covered with crumbs. The object of first crumbing is to dry the surface that egg may cling to it; and where a thin coating is desired flour is often used in place of crumbs.

Larding is introducing small pieces of fat salt pork or bacon through the surface of uncooked meat. The flavor of lean and dry meat is much improved by larding; tenderloin of beef (fillet), grouse, partridge, pigeon, and liver are often prepared in this way. Pig pork being firm, is best for larding. Pork should be kept in a cold place that it may be well chilled. Remove rind and use the part of pork which lies between rind and vein. With sharp knife (which is sure to make a clean cut) remove slices a little less than one-fourth inch thick; cut the slices into strips a little less than one-fourth inch wide; these strips should be two and one-fourth inches long, and are called lardoons. Lardoons for small birds—quail, for example—should be cut smaller and not quite so long. To lard, insert one end of lardoon into larding-needle, hold needle firmly, and with pointed end take up a stitch one-third inch deep and three-fourths inch wide; draw needle through, care being taken that lardoon is left in meat and its ends project to equal lengths. Arrange lardoons in parallel rows, one inch apart, stitches in the alternate rows being directly underneath each other. Lard the upper surface of cuts of meat with the grain, never across it. In birds, insert lardoons at right angles to breast-*bone on either side. When large lardoons are forced through meat from surface to surface, the process is called