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Classic
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page 96
way to thaw these things is by immersing them in cold water. This should be done
as soon as they are brought in from market, that they may have time to be well
thawed before they are cooked. If meat that has been frozen is to be boiled, put
it on in cold water. If to be roasted, begin by setting it at a distance from
the fire; for if it should not chance to be thoroughly thawed all through to the
centre, placing it at first too near the fire will cause it to spoil. If it is
expedient to thaw the meat or poultry the night before cooking, lay it in cold
water early in the evening, and change the water at bed-time. If found crusted
with ice in the morning, remove the ice, and put the meat in fresh cold water,
letting it lie in it till wanted for cooking.
Potatoes are injured by being frozen. Other vegetables are not the worse for it,
provided they are always thawed in cold water.
TO KEEP MEAT FROM FLIES.
Put in sacks, with enough straw around it so the flies cannot reach through.
Three-fourths of a yard of yard-wide muslin is the right size for the sack. Put
a little straw in the bottom, then put in the ham and lay straw in all around
it; tie it tightly, and hang it in a cool, dry place. Be sure the straw is all
around the meat, so the flies cannot reach through to deposit the eggs. (The
sacking must be done early in the season before the fly appears.) Muslin lets
the air in and is much better than paper. Thin muslin is as good as thick, and
will last for years if washed when laid away when emptied.
--National Stockman.
ROAST BEEF.
One very essential point in roasting beef is to have the oven well heated when
the beef is first put in; this causes the pores to close up quickly, and
prevents the escape of the juices.
Take a rib piece or loin roast of seven or eight pounds. Wipe it thoroughly all
over with a clean wet towel. Lay it in a dripping-pan, and baste it well with
butter or suet fat. Set it in the oven. Baste it frequently with its own
drippings, which will make it brown and tender. When partly done, season with
salt and pepper, as it hardens any meat to salt it when raw, and draws out its
juices, then dredge with sifted flour to give it a frothy appearance. It will
take a roast of this size about two hours time to be properly done, leaving the
inside a little rare or red-half an hour less would make the inside quite rare.
Remove the beef to a heated dish, set where it will keep hot; then skim the
drippings from all fat, add a tablespoonful of sifted flour, a little pepper and
a teacupful of boiling water. Boil up once and serve hot in a gravy boat.
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Classic
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