The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) written by Mrs. F.L. Gillette

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SPICED BEEF RELISH.

Take two pounds of raw, tender beefsteak, chop it _very fine_, put
into it salt, pepper and a little sage, two tablespoonfuls of melted
butter; add two rolled crackers made very fine, also two well-beaten
eggs. Make it up into the shape of a roll and bake it; baste with
butter and water before baking. Cut in slices when cold.

FRIED BEEF LIVER.

Cut it in rather thin slices, say a quarter of an inch thick; pour
over it _boiling_ water, which closes the pores of the meat, makes it
impervious to the fat, and at the same time seals up the rich juice of
the meat. It may be rolled in flour or bread crumbs, seasoned with
salt and pepper, dipped in egg and fried in hot fat mixed with
one-third butter.

PRESSED BEEF.

First have your beef nicely pickled; let it stay in pickle a week;
then take the thin, flanky pieces, such as will not make a handsome
dish of themselves, put on a large potful, and let them boil until
perfectly done; then pull to pieces, and season just as you do souse,
with pepper, salt and allspice; only put it in a coarse cloth and
press down upon it some very heavy weight.

The advantage of this recipe is that it makes a most acceptable,
presentable dish out of a part of the beef that otherwise might be
wasted.

FRENCH STEW.

Grease the bottom of an iron pot, and place in it three or four pounds
of beef; be very careful that it does not burn, and turn it until it
is nicely browned. Set a muffin ring under the beef to prevent its
sticking. Add a few sliced carrots, one or two sliced onions, and a
cupful of hot water; keep covered and stew slowly until the vegetables
are done. Add pepper and salt. If you wish more gravy, add hot water,
and thicken with flour. Serve on a dish with the vegetables.

TO POT BEEF.

The round is the best piece for potting, and you may use both the
upper and under part. Take ten pounds of beef, remove all the fat, cut
the lean into square pieces, two inches thick. Mix together three
teaspoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, one of cloves, one of mace, one
of cinnamon, one of allspice, one of thyme, and one of sweet basil.
Put a layer of the pieces of beef into an earthen pot, sprinkle some
of this spice mixture over this layer, add a piece of fat salt pork,
cut as thin as possible, sprinkle a little of the spice mixture over
the pork, make another layer of the beef with spices and pork, and so
on, until the pot is filled. Pour over the whole three tablespoonfuls
of Tarragon vinegar, or, if you prefer it, half a pint of Madeira
wine; cover the pot with a paste made of flour and water, so that no
steam can escape. Put the pot into an oven, moderately heated, and let
it stand there eight hours; then set it away to use when wanted.

Beef cooked in this manner will keep good for a fortnight in moderate
weather.

It is an excellent relish for breakfast, and may be eaten either warm
or cold. When eaten warm, serve with slices of lemon.

STEWED BRISKET OF BEEF.

Put the part that has the hard fat into a stewpot with a small
quantity of water; let it boil up and skim it thoroughly; then add
carrots, turnips, onions, celery and a few pepper-corns. Stew till
extremely tender; then take out all the flat bones and remove all the
fat from the soup. Either serve that and the meat in tureen, or the
soup alone, and the meat on a dish garnished with some vegetables. The
following sauce is much admired served with the beef: Take half a pint
of the soup and mix it with a spoonful of catsup, a teaspoonful of
made mustard, a little flour, a bit of butter and salt; boil all
together a few minutes, then pour it round the meat.

DRIED BEEF WITH CREAM.

Shave your beef _very fine_. Put it into a suitable dish on the back
of the stove; cover with cold water and give it time to soak out to
its original size before being dried. When it is quite soft and the
water has become hot (it must not boil) take it off, turn off the
water, pour on a cup of cream; if you do not have it use milk and
butter, a pinch of pepper; let it come to a boil, thicken with a
tablespoonful of flour wet up in a little milk. Serve on dipped toast
or not, just as one fancies. A nice breakfast dish.

BEEF CROQUETTES. No. 1.

Chop fine one cup of cold, cooked, lean beef, half a cup of fat, half
a cup of cold boiled or fried ham; cold pork will do if you have not
the ham. Also mince up a slice of onion. Season all with a teaspoonful
of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and a teaspoonful of powdered
sage or parsley if liked. Heat together with half a cup of stock or
milk; when cool add a beaten egg. Form the mixture into balls,
slightly flattened, roll in egg and bread crumbs, or flour and egg.
Fry in hot lard or beef drippings. Serve on a platter and garnish with
sprigs of parsley. Almost any cold meats can be used instead of beef.

BEEF CROQUETTES. No. 2.

Take cold roast or corned beef. Put it into a wooden bowl and chop it
fine. Mix with it about twice the quantity of hot mashed potatoes well
seasoned with butter and salt. Beat up an egg and work it into the
potato and meat, then form the mixture into little cakes the size of
fish balls. Flatten them a little, roll in flour or egg and cracker
crumbs, fry in butter and lard mixed, browning on both sides. Serve
piping hot.

MEAT AND POTATO CROQUETTES.

Put in a stewpan an ounce of butter and a slice of onion minced fine;
when this simmers add a level tablespoonful of sifted flour; stir the
mixture until it becomes smooth and frothy; then add half of a cupful
of milk, some seasoning of salt and pepper; let all boil, stirring it
all the while. Now add a cupful of cold meat chopped fine, and a
cupful of cold or hot mashed potato. Mix all thoroughly and spread on
a plate to cool. When it is cool enough, shape it with your hands into
balls or rolls. Dip them in beaten egg and roll in cracker or bread
crumbs. Drop them into hot lard and fry about two minutes a delicate
brown; take them out with a skimmer and drain them on a piece of brown
paper. Serve immediately while hot. These are very nice.

Cold rice or hominy may be used in place of the potato; or a cupful of
cold fish minced fine in place of the meat.

COLD ROAST, WARMED. No. 1.

Cut from the remains of a cold roast the lean meat from the bones into
small, thin slices. Put over the fire a frying pan containing a
spoonful of butter or drippings. Cut up a quarter of an onion and fry
it brown, then remove the onion, add the meat gravy left from the day
before, and if not thick enough add a little flour; salt and pepper.
Turn the pieces of meat into this and let them _simmer_ a few minutes.
Serve hot.

COLD ROAST, WARMED. No. 2.

Cold rare roast beef may be made as good as when freshly cooked by
slicing, seasoning with salt, pepper and bits of butter; put it in a
plate or pan with a spoonful or two of water, covering closely, and
set in the oven until hot, but no longer. Cold steak may be shaved
very fine with a knife and used the same way.

Or, if the meat is in small pieces, cover them with buttered letter
paper, twist each end tightly, and boil them on the gridiron,
sprinkling them with finely chopped herbs.

Still another nice way of using cold meats is to mince the lean
portions very fine and add to a batter made of one pint of milk, one
cup of flour and three eggs. Fry like fritters and serve with drawn
butter or sauce.

COLD MEAT AND POTATO, BAKED.

Put in a frying pan a round tablespoonful of cold butter; when it
becomes hot, stir into it a teaspoonful of chopped onion and a
tablespoonful of flour, stirring it constantly until it is smooth and
frothy; then add two-thirds of a cupful of cold milk or water. Season
this with salt and pepper and allow it to come to a boil; then add a
cupful of cold meat finely chopped and cleared from bone and skin; let
this all heat thoroughly; then turn it into a shallow dish well
buttered. Spread hot or cold mashed potatoes over the top, and cook
for fifteen or twenty minutes in a moderate hot oven.

Cold hominy, or rice may be used in place of mashed potatoes, and is
equally as good.

BEEF HASH. No. 1.

Chop rather finely cold roast beef or pieces of beefsteak, also chop
twice as much cold boiled potatoes. Put over the fire a stewpan or
frying pan, in which put a piece of butter as large as required to
season it well, add pepper and salt, moisten with beef gravy if you
have it, if not, with hot water; cover and let it steam and heat
through thoroughly, stirring occasionally, so that the ingredients be
evenly distributed, and to keep the hash from sticking to the bottom
of the pan. When done it should not be at all watery, nor yet dry, but
have sufficient adhesiveness to stand well on a dish or buttered
toast. Many like the flavor of onion; if so, fry two or three slices
in the butter before adding the hash. Corned beef makes excellent
hash.

BEEF HASH. No. 2.

Chop cold roast beef, or pieces of beefsteak; fry half an onion in a
piece of butter; when the onion is brown, add the chopped beef; season
with a little salt and pepper; moisten with the beef gravy, if you
have any, if not, with sufficient water and a little butter; cook long
enough to be hot, but no longer, as much cooking toughens the meat. An
excellent breakfast dish.

_Prof. Blot._

Some prefer to let a crust form on the bottom and turn the hash brown
side uppermost. Served with poached eggs on top.

HAMBURGER STEAK.

Take a pound of raw flank or round steak, without any fat, bone or
stringy pieces. Chop it until a perfect mince, it cannot be chopped
too fine. Also chop a small onion quite fine and mix well with the
meat. Season with salt and pepper; make into cakes as large as a
biscuit, but quite flat, or into one large flat cake a little less
than half an inch thick. Have ready a frying pan with butter and lard
mixed; when boiling hot put in the steak and fry brown. Garnish with
celery top around the edge of the platter and two or three slices of
lemon on the top of the meat.

A brown gravy made from the grease the steak was fried in and poured
over the meat enriches it.

TO ROAST BEEF HEART.

Wash it carefully and open it sufficiently to remove the ventricles,
then soak it in cold water until the blood is discharged; wipe it dry
and stuff it nicely with dressing, as for turkey; roast it about an
hour and a half. Serve it with the gravy, which should be thickened
with some of the stuffing and a glass of wine. It is very nice hashed.
Served with currant jelly.

_Palmer House, Chicago._

STEWED BEEF KIDNEY.

Cut the kidney into slices, season highly with pepper and salt, fry it
a light brown, take out the slices, then pour a little warm water into
the pan, dredge in some flour, put in slices of kidney again; let them
stew very gently; add some parsley if liked. Sheep's kidneys may be
split open, broiled over a clear fire and served with a piece of
butter placed on each half.

BEEFS HEART STEWED.

After washing the heart thoroughly cut it up into squares half an inch
long; put them into a saucepan with water enough to cover them. If any
scum rises skim it off. Now take out the meat, strain the liquor and
put back the meat, also add a sliced onion, some parsley, a head of
celery chopped fine, pepper and salt and a piece of butter. Stew until
the meat is very tender. Stir up a tablespoonful of browned flour with
a small quantity of water and thicken the whole. Boil up and serve.

BOILED BEEF TONGUE.

Wash a fresh tongue and just cover it with water in the pot; put in a
pint of salt and a small red pepper; add more water as it evaporates,
so as to keep the tongue nearly covered until done--when it can be
easily pierced with a fork; take it out, and if wanted soon, take off
the skin and set it away to cool. If wanted for future use, do not
peel until it is required. A cupful of salt will do for three tongues,
if you have that number to boil; but do not fail to keep water enough
in the pot to keep them covered while boiling. If salt tongues are
used, soak them over night, of course omitting the salt when boiling.
Or, after peeling a tongue, place it in a saucepan with one cup of
water, half a cup vinegar, four tablespoonfuls sugar, and cook until
the liquor is evaporated.

SPICED BEEF TONGUE.

Rub into each tongue a mixture made of half a pound of brown sugar, a
piece of saltpetre the size of a pea and a tablespoonful of ground
cloves, put it in a brine made of three-quarters of a pound of salt to
two quarts of water and keep covered. Pickle two weeks, then wash well
and dry with a cloth; roll out a thin paste made of flour and water,
smear it all over the tongue and place in a pan to bake slowly; baste
well with lard and hot water; when done scrape off the paste and skim.

TO BOIL TRIPE.

Wash it well in warm water, and trim it nicely, taking off all the
fat. Cut into small pieces, and put it on to boil five hours before
dinner in water enough to cover it very well. After it has boiled four
hours, pour off the water, season the tripe with pepper and salt, and
put it into a pot with milk and water mixed in equal quantities. Boil
it an hour in the milk and water.

Boil in a saucepan ten or a dozen onions. When they are quite soft,
drain them in a colander and mash them. Wipe out your saucepan and put
them on again, with a bit of butter rolled in flour and a wine-glass
of cream or milk. Let them boil up, and add them to the tripe just
before you send it to table. Eat it with pepper, vinegar and mustard.

It is best to give tripe its first and longest boiling the day before
it is wanted.

TO FRY TRIPE.

Boil the tripe the day before till it is quite tender, which it will
not be in less than four or five hours. Then cover it and set it away.
Next day cut it into long slips, and dip each piece into beaten yolk
of egg, and afterwards roll them in grated bread crumbs. Have ready in
a frying pan over the fire some good beef drippings. When it is
boiling hot put in the tripe, and fry it about ten minutes, till of a
light brown.

You may serve it with onion sauce.

Boiled tripe that has been left from the dinner of the preceding day
may be fried in this manner.

FRICASSEED TRIPE.

Cut a pound of tripe in narrow strips, put a small cup of water or
milk to it, add a bit of butter the size of an egg, dredge in a large
teaspoonful of flour, or work it with the butter; season with pepper
and salt, let it simmer gently for half an hour, serve hot. A bunch of
parsley cut small and put with it is an improvement.

Some put in oysters five minutes before dishing up.

TRIPE LYONNAISE.

Cut up half a pound of cold boiled tripe into neat squares. Put two
ounces of butter and a tablespoonful of chopped onion in a frying pan
and fry to a delicate brown; add to the tripe a teaspoonful of chopped
parsley and a little strong vinegar, salt and cayenne; stir the pan to
prevent burning. Cover the bottom of a platter with tomato sauce, add
the contents of the pan and serve.

TO CLARIFY BEEF DRIPPINGS.

Drippings accumulated from different cooked meats of beef or veal can
be clarified by putting it into a basin and slicing into it a raw
potato, allowing it to boil long enough for the potato to brown, which
causes all impurities to disappear. Remove from the fire, and when
cool drain it off from the sediment that settles at the bottom. Turn
it into basins or small jars and set it in a cool place for future
use. When mixed with an equal amount of butter it answers the same
purpose as clear butter for frying and basting any meats except game
and poultry.

Mutton drippings impart an unpleasant flavor to anything cooked
outside of its kind.

ROAST LOIN OF VEAL.

Prepare it the same as any roast, leaving in the kidney, around which
put considerable salt. Make a dressing the same as for fowls; unroll
the loin, put the stuffing well around the kidney, fold and secure
with several coils of white cotton twine wound around in all
directions; place in a dripping-pan with the thick side down, and put
in a rather hot oven, graduated after it commences to roast to
moderate; in half an hour add a little hot water to the pan, and baste
often; in another half hour turn over the roast, and when about done
dredge lightly with flour and baste with melted butter. Before serving
carefully remove the twine. A roast of four to five pounds will bake
in about two hours. For a gravy, skim off some of the fat if there is
too much in the drippings; dredge in some flour, stir until brown, add
some hot water if necessary; boil a few minutes, stir in such sweet
herbs as fancied, and put in a gravy boat. Serve with green peas and
lemon jelly. Is very nice sliced cold for lunch, and Worcestershire or
Chili sauce forms a fine relish.

ROAST FILLET OF VEAL.

Select a nice fillet, take out the bone, fill up the space with
stuffing, and also put a good layer under the fat. Truss it of a good
shape by drawing the fat round and tie it up with tape. Cook it rather
moderately at first, and baste with butter. It should have careful
attention and frequent basting, that the fat may not burn. Roast from
three to four hours, according to the size. After it is dished pour
melted butter over it; serve with ham or bacon, and fresh cucumbers if
in season. Veal, like all other meat, should be well washed in cold
water before cooking and wiped thoroughly dry with a clean cloth. Cold
fillet of veal is very good stewed with tomatoes and an onion or two.

In roasting veal, care must be taken that it is not at first placed in
too hot an oven; the fat of a loin, one of the most delicate joints of
veal, should be covered with greased paper; a fillet, also, should
have on the caul until nearly done enough.

BOILED FILLET OF VEAL.

Choose a small, delicate fillet; prepare as for roasting, or stuff it
with an oyster force meat; after having washed it thoroughly, cover it
with water and let it boil very gently three and a half or four hours,
keeping it well skimmed. Send it to the table with a rich white sauce,
or, if stuffed with oysters, a tureen of oyster sauce. Garnish with
stewed celery and slices of bacon. A boiled tongue should be served
with it.

VEAL PUDDING.

Cut about two pounds of lean veal into small collops a quarter of an
inch in thickness; put a piece of butter the size of an egg into a
very clean frying pan to melt; then lay in the veal and a few slices
of bacon, a small sprig of thyme and a seasoning of pepper and salt;
place the pan over a slow fire for about ten minutes, then add two or
three spoonfuls of warm water. Just boil it up and then let it stand
to cool. Line a pudding-dish with a good suet crust, lay in the veal
and bacon, pour the gravy over it; roll out a piece of paste to form a
lid, place it over, press it close with the thumb, tie the basin in a
pudding cloth and put it into a saucepan of boiling water, keeping
continually boiling until done, or about one hour.

FRIED VEAL CUTLETS.

Put into a frying pan two or three tablespoonfuls of lard or beef
drippings. When boiling hot lay in the cutlets, well seasoned with
salt and pepper and dredged with flour. Brown nicely on both sides,
then remove the meat, and if you have more grease than is necessary
for the gravy put it aside for further use. Reserve a tablespoonful or
more and rub into it a tablespoonful of flour, with the back of the
spoon, until it is a smooth, rich brown color; then add gradually a
cup of _cold water_ and season with pepper and salt. When the gravy is
boiled up well return the meat to the pan and gravy. Cover it closely
and allow it to stew gently on the back of the range for fifteen
minutes. This softens the meat, and with this gravy it makes a nice
breakfast dish.

Another mode is to simply fry the cutlets, and afterwards turning off
some of the grease they were fried in and then adding to that left in
the pan a few drops of hot water, turning the whole over the fried
chops.

FRIED VEAL CHOPS. (Plain.)

Sprinkle over them salt and pepper, then dip them in beaten egg and
cracker crumbs, and fry in drippings, or hot lard and butter mixed. If
you wish a gravy with them, add a tablespoonful of flour to the gravy
they were fried in and turn in cream or milk; season to taste with
salt and pepper. Boil up and serve hot with the gravy in separate
dish. This dish is very fine accompanied with a few sound fresh
tomatoes, sliced and fried in the same grease the cutlets were, and
all dished on the same platter.

VEAL COLLOPS.

Cut veal from the leg or other lean part into pieces the size of an
oyster. Season with pepper, salt and a little mace; rub some over
each piece; dip in egg, then into cracker crumbs and fry. They both
look and taste like oysters.

VEAL OLIVES.

Cut up a slice of a fillet of veal, about half an inch thick, into
squares of three inches. Mix up a little salt pork, chopped with bread
crumbs, one onion, a little pepper, salt, sweet marjoram, and one egg
well beaten; put this mixture upon the pieces of veal, fastening the
four corners together with little bird skewers; lay them in a pan with
sufficient veal gravy or light stock to cover the bottom of the pan,
dredge with flour and set in a hot oven. When browned on top, put a
small bit of butter on each, and let them remain until quite tender,
which will take twenty minutes. Serve with horse-radish.

VEAL CHEESE.

Prepare equal quantities of boiled sliced veal and smoked tongue.
Pound the slices separately in a mortar, moistening with butter as you
proceed; then pack it in a jar or pail, mixing it in alternate layers;
first the tongue and then the veal, so that when cut it will look
variegated. Press it down hard and pour melted butter over the top.
Keep it well covered and in a dry place. Nice for sandwiches, or
sliced cold for lunch.

VEAL CROQUETTES.

Mince a coffee cup of cold veal in a chopping bowl, adding a little
cold ham and two or three slices of onion, a pinch of mace, powdered
parsley and pepper, some salt. Let a pint of milk or cream come to the
boiling point, then add a tablespoonful of cold butter, then the above
mixture. Beat up two eggs and mix with a teaspoonful of cornstarch or
flour, and add to the rest; cook it all about ten minutes, stirring
with care. Remove from the fire, and spread it on a platter, roll it
into balls, when cooled flatten each; dip them in egg and bread
crumbs, and fry in a wire basket, dipped in hot lard.

BROILED VEAL CUTLETS. (Fine.)

Two or three pounds of veal cutlets, egg and bread crumbs, two
tablespoonfuls of minced savory herbs, salt and pepper to taste, a
little grated nutmeg.

Cut the cutlets about three-quarters of an inch in thickness; flatten
them, and brush them over with the yolk of an egg; dip them into
bread crumbs and minced herbs, season with pepper and salt, and fold
each cutlet in a piece of white letter paper well buttered; twist the
ends, and broil over a clear fire; when done remove the paper. Cooked
this way, they retain all the flavor.

VEAL POT-PIE.

Procure a nice breast or brisket of veal, well jointed, put the pieces
into the pot with one quart of water to every five pounds of meat; put
the pot over a slow fire; just before it comes to a boil, skim it well
and pour in a teacupful of cold water; then turn over the meat in
order that all the scum may rise; remove all the scum, boil quite
hard, season with pepper and salt to your taste, always remembering
that the crust will take up part of the seasoning; when this is done
cut off your crust in pieces of equal size, but do not roll or mould
them; lay them on top of the meat, so as to cover it; put the lid on
the pot closely, let the whole boil slowly one hour. If the lid does
not fit the pot closely, wrap a cloth around it, in order that no
steam shall escape; and by no means allow the pot to _stop boiling_.

The crust for pot-pie should be raised with yeast. To three pints of
flour add two ounces of butter, a little salt, and wet with milk
sufficient to make a soft dough; knead it well and set it away to
rise; when quite light, mould and knead it again, and let it stand, in
winter, one hour, in summer, one-half hour, when it will be ready to
cut.

In summer you had better add one-half a teaspoonful of soda when you
knead it the second time, or you may wet it with water and add another
bit of butter.

VEAL PIE.

Cut the veal into rather small pieces or slices, put it in a stewpan
with hot water to cover it; add to it a tablespoonful of salt and set
it over the fire; take off the scum as it rises; when the meat is
tender turn it into a dish to cool; take out all the small bones,
butter a tin or earthen basin or pudding-pan, line it with pie paste,
lay some of the parboiled meat in to half fill it; put bits of butter
in the size of a hickory nut all over the meat; shake pepper over,
dredge wheat flour over until it looks white, then fill it nearly to
the top with some of the water in which the meat was boiled; roll a
cover for the top of the crust, puff-paste it, giving it two or three
turns, and roll it to nearly half an inch thickness; cut a slit in
the centre and make several small incisions on either side of it, put
the crust on, trim the edges neatly with a knife; bake one hour in a
quick oven. A breast of veal will make two two-quart basin pies; half
a pound of nice corned pork, cut in thin slices and parboiled with the
meat, will make it very nice, and very little, if any, butter will be
required for the pie; when pork is used not other salt will be
necessary. Many are fond of thin slices of sweet ham cooked with the
veal for pie.