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A guide to modern cookery by A. Escoffier

6. Fish which is to be served cold, also shell-fish, should cool in the

1112 words  |  Chapter 63

_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.
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Chapters

1. Chapter 1 2. PART I 3. CHAPTER I PAGE 4. CHAPTER II 5. CHAPTER III 6. CHAPTER IV 7. CHAPTER V 8. CHAPTER VI 9. CHAPTER VII 10. CHAPTER VIII 11. CHAPTER IX 12. CHAPTER X 13. PART II 14. CHAPTER XI PAGE 15. CHAPTER XII 16. CHAPTER XIII 17. CHAPTER XIV 18. CHAPTER XV 19. CHAPTER XVI 20. CHAPTER XVII 21. CHAPTER XVIII 22. CHAPTER XIX 23. CHAPTER XX 24. CHAPTER XXI 25. CHAPTER XXII 26. CHAPTER XXIII 27. PART I 28. CHAPTER I 29. 2. The brown stock or “_estouffade_,” game stocks, the bases of 30. 5. The various essences of poultry, game, fish, &c., the complements 31. 7. The basic sauces: Espagnole, Velouté, Béchamel, Tomato, and 32. 8. The savoury jellies or aspics of old-fashioned cooking. 33. 6. The various garnishes for soups, for relevés, for entrées, &c. 34. CHAPTER II 35. 2. Be scrupulously careful of the roux, however it may be made. By 36. CHAPTER III 37. 1. After having strained the braising sauce, completely remove its 38. 2. Strain the poëling stock, for ducklings or wild ducks, through 39. 1. Heat two oz. of butter in a stewpan, and insert one lb. of raw 40. 2. Pass the sauce through a strainer, pressing the aromatics; add a 41. 2. Substitute white fish jelly for poultry jelly. 42. 1. The Soubise is rather a cullis than a sauce; _i.e._, its consistence 43. 2. The admixture of Béchamel in Soubise is preferable to that of rice, 44. 3. In accordance with the uses to which it may be put, the Soubise 45. 2. The Villeroy Tomatée may be finally seasoned with curry or paprika, 46. 1. Add one-quarter pint of fish _fumet_ to one pint of thickened 47. 2. Almost entirely reduce one-quarter pint of fish _fumet_. To this 48. 3. Put the yolks of five eggs into a small stewpan and mix them with 49. CHAPTER IV 50. 1. If the sauce forms badly, or not at all, the reason is that the 51. 2. It is quite an error to suppose that it is necessary to work over 52. 3. It is a further error to suppose that the seasoning interferes with 53. 3. Excess of oil in proportion to the number of yolks, the 54. CHAPTER V 55. 2. That it be only added to the aspic when the latter is already 56. CHAPTER VI 57. 3. To apportion the wine and water in the ratio of two-thirds 58. 1. _Court-bouillon_ must always be prepared in advance for all fish, 59. 2. When a fish is of such a size as to need more than half an 60. 3. Fish, when whole, should be immersed in cold _court-bouillon_; when 61. 4. If fish be cooked in short liquor the aromatics are put under the 62. 5. _Court-bouillon_ for ordinary and spiny lobsters should always be at 63. 6. Fish which is to be served cold, also shell-fish, should cool in the 64. CHAPTER VII 65. 2. _Acid seasonings._—Plain vinegar, or the same aromatised with 66. 3. _Hot seasonings._—Peppercorns, ground or _concassed_ pepper, or 67. 4. _Saccharine seasonings._—Sugar and honey. 68. 2. _Hot condiments._—Mustard, gherkins, capers, English sauces, such 69. 3. _Fatty substances._—Most animal fats, butter, vegetable greases 70. 1. The quantity of spiced salt varies, a few grammes either way, 71. 2. According to the purpose of the forcemeat, and with a view to 72. 3. As a rule, forcemeat should always be rubbed through a sieve so as 73. 4. Whether the foie gras be added or not, chicken forcemeat may always 74. 1. _To roll quenelles_ it is necessary to keep the forcemeat somewhat 75. 2. _To Mould Quenelles with a Spoon._—This method may be applied to all 76. 3. _To Form Quenelles with a Piping-bag._—This process is especially 77. 4. _To Mould Forcemeat with the Fingers._—This excellent process is 78. CHAPTER VIII 79. CHAPTER IX 80. CHAPTER X 81. introduction into the vocabulary of cookery is comparatively recent, 82. 1. In all circumstances, _i.e._, whatever be the nature of the soup, 83. 2. The correct consistence of the soup is got by means of milk 84. 4. They are not buttered, but they are finished with one-fifth or 85. 1. If the liquor is required to be clear it need only be strained, over 86. 2. If, on the contrary, a sauce be required, the liquor should 87. 1. Too violent evaporation, which would reduce the liquor and disturb 88. 2. The running of a considerable risk of bursting the piece of poultry, 89. 1. All red meats containing a large quantity of juice should be 90. 2. In the case of white meats, whose cooking should be thorough, the 91. 3. With small game the fuel should be wood, but whatever fuel be used 92. 1. If the objects in question are _panés à l’anglaise_, _i.e._, dipped 93. 2. The same holds with objects treated with batter. Hence the absolute 94. 1. If too much sauce were used in proportion to the size of the object, 95. 2. If the sauce used were insufficient, it would be reduced before the 96. 3. The larger the piece, and consequently the longer it takes to cook, 97. 3. The blanching of certain other vegetables, which in reality 98. PART II 99. CHAPTER XI 100. CHAPTER XII 101. CHAPTER XIII 102. 2. Thick soups, which comprise the Purées, Veloutés, and Creams. 103. 3. Of a purée of asparagus-tops combined with a few cooked spinach 104. 4. Of a carrot purée (Purée Crécy). 105. 2. Cut six rectangles out of lettuce leaves; spread a thin layer of 106. 3. Prepare two tablespoonfuls of a coarse _julienne_ of carrots and 107. 1. Make a broth of the flesh of turtle alone, and then add a very 108. 2. Make an ordinary broth of shin of beef, using the same quantity 109. 2. The flavour which typifies them should be at once decided and yet 110. 3. When the flavour is imparted by a wine, the latter should be of the 111. 4. Supper consommés never contain any garnish. 112. 2. The velouté d’éperlans should, like almost all fish veloutés, be 113. 3. For this soup I elected to use a panada as the thickening element, 114. CHAPTER XIV 115. 1. +Crayfish Mousse+ with fillets of trout, decked with crayfish tails 116. 2. +Lobster Mousse+ with fillets of trout, decked with slices of 117. 3. +Shrimp Mousse+ with fillets of trout, decked with crayfish tails 118. 4. +Capsicum Mousse+ with fillets of trout, decked with strips of 119. 5. +Physalia Mousse+ with fillets of trout, decked with chervil, 120. 6. +Green Pimentos Mousse+ with fillets of trout, decked with strips of 121. 7. +Early-season Herb Mousse+ with fillets of trout, decked with 122. 8. +Volnay Mousse+ with fillets of trout, decked with anchovy fillets, 123. 9. +Chambertin Mousse+ with fillets of trout decked like No. 8. 124. 1. Put a preparation of Duchesse potatoes in a piping-bag fitted with 125. 2. Bake some large potatoes in the oven. Open them; remove their pulp, 126. 2. A garnish consisting of twelve rolled or folded fillets of sole 127. 1. For a mould capable of holding one quart, fold twelve small fillets 128. 1. A hot ravigote sauce combined with the gravy of the lobster, from 129. 2. Strain the contents of the dripping-pan (cleared of all grease) 130. CHAPTER XV 131. 2. At either end a nice heap of potatoes, shaped like long olives, and 132. 1. With a preparation of sweet potatoes, made after the manner of 133. 2. Cut some chow-chows in thick slices, _paysanne fashion_; parboil 134. 1. About one-quarter lb. of carrots turned to the shape of elongated 135. 3. The calf’s feet cut into small, square, or rectangular pieces. 136. 2. VEAL. 137. CHAPTER XVI 138. 1. The various pheasants, grey and red partridges, the Tetras 139. 10. The ortolans. 140. CHAPTER XVII 141. 1. _Oil seasoning_ may be applied to all salads, and is made up of 142. 2. _Cream seasoning_ is particularly well suited to salads of 143. 3. _Egg seasoning_ is prepared from crushed hard-boiled yolks of egg, 144. 4. _Bacon seasoning_ is used especially for dandelion, red-cabbage, 145. 5. _Mustard with cream seasoning_ is used particularly with beetroot 146. CHAPTER XVIII 147. 2. The green, Parisian asparagus, which is very small, and of which the 148. 4. English asparagus, which is somewhat delicate in quality, but 149. 2. Flemish chicory, which is genuine endive in its primitive state, 150. 3. Brussels chicory, or the Belgian kind; obtained from cultivating the 151. 2. Red cabbages: used as a vegetable, as a hors-d’œuvre, or as a 152. 3. Round-headed or Savoy cabbages: specially suited to braising and the 153. 4. Scotch kale and spring cabbages: always prepared in the English 154. 5. Cauliflowers and broccoli: the flower of these is most commonly 155. 7. Kohlrabi: the roots of these may be dished as turnips, and the 156. CHAPTER XIX 157. 1. The simplest way is to cover the pieces of toast with a thick layer 158. 2. The original method consists in melting the dice or slices of cheese 159. CHAPTER XX 160. 1. Extract the butter-milk, which is always present in more or less 161. 2. Make it sufficiently soft to mix with the various ingredients of 162. 3. For the quantities given (No. 2373), eight oz. of fresh Gruyère, cut 163. 4. Surprise omelets. 164. CHAPTER XXI 165. CHAPTER XXII 166. CHAPTER XXIII

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