Jewish Cook Book - Meats

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Meats
The majority of the cuts of meat which are kosher are those which require long, slow cooking. These cuts of meat are the most nutritious ones and by long, slow cooking can be made as acceptable as the more expensive cuts of meat; they are best boiled or braised.

In order to shut in the juices the meat should at first be subjected to a high degree of heat for a short time. A crust or case will then be formed on the outside, after which the heat should be lowered and the cooking proceed slowly.

This rule holds good for baking, where the oven must be very hot for the first few minutes only; for boiling, where the water must be boiling and covered for a time, and then placed where it will simmer only; for broiling, where the meat must be placed close to the red-hot coals or under the broiler flame of the gas stove at first, then held farther away.

Do not pierce the meat with a fork while cooking, as it makes an outlet for the juices. If necessary, to turn it, use two spoons.

Pan roast beef
Take a piece of cross-rib or shoulder, about two and one-half to three pounds, put in a small frying-pan with very little fat; have the pan very hot, let the meat brown on all sides, turning it continually until all sides are done, which will require thirty minutes altogether. Lift the meat out of pan to a hot platter, brown some onions, serve these with the meat.

An Easy pot roast
Take four pounds of brisket, season with salt, pepper and ginger, add three tablespoons of tomatoes and an onion cut up. Cover with water in an iron pot and a close-fitting cover, put in oven and bake from three to four hours.

Pot roast. Braised beef
Heat some fat or goose fat in a deep iron pot, cut half an onion very fine and when it is slightly browned put in the meat. Cover up closely and let the meat brown on all sides. Salt to taste, add a scant half teaspoon of paprika, half a cup of hot water and simmer an hour longer, keeping covered closely all the time. Add one-half a sweet green pepper (seeds removed), one small carrot cut in slices, two tablespoons of tomatoes and two onions sliced.

Two and a half pounds of brisket shoulder or any other meat suitable for pot roasting will require three hours slow cooking. Shoulder of lamb may also be cooked in this style.

When the meat is tender, remove to a warm platter, strain the gravy, rubbing the thick part through the sieve and after removing any fat serve in a sauce boat.

If any meat is left over it can be sliced and warmed over in the gravy, but the gravy must be warmed first and the meat cook for a short time only as it is already done enough and too much cooking will render it tasteless.

Brisket of beef (brustdeckel)
If the brisket has been used for soup, take it out of the soup when it is tender and prepare it with a horseradish sauce, garlic sauce or onion sauce. (See "Sauces for Meats".)

Brisket of beef with sauerkraut
Take about three pounds of fat, young beef (you may make soup stock of it first), then take out the bones, salt it well and lay it in the bottom of a kettle, put a quart of sauerkraut on top of it and let it boil slowly until tender. Add vinegar if necessary, thicken with a grated raw potato and add a little brown sugar. Some like a few caraway seeds added.

Sauerbraten
Take a piece of cross-rib or middle cut of chuck about three pounds, and put it in a deep earthen jar and pour enough boiling vinegar over it to cover; you may take one-third water. Add to the vinegar when boiling four bay leaves, some whole peppercorns, cloves and whole mace. Pour this over the meat and turn it daily. In summer three days is the longest time allowed for the meat to remain in this pickle; but in winter eight days is not too long. When ready to boil, heat one tablespoon drippings in a stew-pan. Cut up one or two onions in it; stew until tender and then put in the beef, salting it on both sides before stewing. Stew closely covered and if not acid enough add some of the brine in which it was pickled. Stew about three hours and thicken the gravy with flour.

Rolled beef—pot-roasted
Take one pound and one-half of tenderloin, sprinkle it with parsley and onion; season with pepper and salt; roll and tie it. Place it in a pan with soup stock (or water if you have no stock), carrot and bay leaf and pot roast for one and one-half hours. Serve with tomato or brown sauce.

Mock duck
Take the tenderloin, lay it flat on a board after removing the fat. Make a stuffing as for poultry. See "To Stuff Poultry". Spread this mixture on the meat evenly; then roll and tie it with white twine; turn in the ends to make it even and shapely.

Cut into dice an onion, turnip, and carrot, and place them in a baking-pan; lay the rolled meat on the bed of vegetables; pour in enough stock or water to cover the pan one inch deep; add a bouquet made of parsley, one bay leaf and three cloves; cover with another pan, and let cook slowly for four hours, basting frequently. It can be done in a pot just as well, and should be covered as tight as possible; when cooked, strain off the vegetables; thicken the gravy with one tablespoon of flour browned in fat and serve it with the meat. Long, slow cooking is required to make the meat tender. If cooked too fast it will not be good.

Marrowbones
Have the bones cut into pieces two or three inches long; scrape and wash them very clean; spread a little thick dough on each end to keep the marrow in; then tie each bone in a piece of cloth and boil them for one hour. Remove the cloth and paste, and place each bone on a square of toast; sprinkle with red pepper and serve very hot. Or the marrow-bone can be boiled without being cut, the marrow then removed with a spoon and placed on squares of hot toast. Serve for luncheon.

Roast beef, No. 1
Take prime rib roast. Cut up a small onion, a celery root and part of a carrot into rather small pieces and add to these two or three sprigs of parsley and one bay leaf. Sprinkle these over the bottom of the dripping-pan and place your roast on this bed. The oven should be very hot when the roast is first put in, but when the roast is browned sufficiently to retain its juices, moderate the heat and roast more slowly until the meat is done. Do not season until the roast is browned, and then add salt and pepper. Enough juice and fat will drop from the roast to give the necessary broth for basting. Baste frequently and turn occasionally, being very careful, however, not to stick a fork into the roast.

Roast beef, No. 2
Season meat with salt and paprika. Dredge with flour. Place on rack in dripping-pan with two or three tablespoons fat, in hot oven, to brown quickly. Reduce heat and baste every ten minutes with the fat that has fried out. When meat is about half done, turn it over, dredge with flour, finish browning. If necessary, add a small quantity of water. Allow fifteen to twenty minutes for each pound of meat.

Three pounds is the smallest roast practicable.

Roast beef (Russian style)
Place a piece of cross-rib or shoulder weighing three pounds in roasting-pan, slice some onions over it, season with salt and pepper, add some water and let it cook well. Then peel a few potatoes and put them under the meat. When the meat becomes brown, turn it and cook until it browns on the other side.

Wiener braten—Vienna roast
Take a shoulder, have the bone taken out and then pound the meat well with a mallet. Lay it in vinegar for twenty-four hours. Heat some fat or goose oil in a deep pan or kettle which has a cover that fits air tight and lay the meat in the hot fat and sprinkle the upper side with salt, pepper and ginger. Put an onion in with the meat; stick about half a dozen cloves in the onion and add one bay leaf. Now turn the meat over and sprinkle the other side with salt, pepper and ginger. Cut up one or two tomatoes and pour some soup stock over all, and a dash of white wine. Cover closely and stew very slowly for three or four hours, turning the meat now and then; in doing so do not pierce with the fork, as this will allow the juice to escape. Do not add any water. Make enough potato pancakes to serve one or two to each person with "Wiener Braten."

To broil steak by gas
Wipe steak with a damp cloth. Trim off the surplus fat. When the oven has been heated for from five to seven minutes, lay steak on a rack, greased, as near the flame as possible, the position of the rack depending on the thickness of the steak. Let the steak sear on each side, thereby retaining the juice. Then lower the rack somewhat, and allow the steak to broil to the degree required. Just before taking from the oven, salt and pepper and spread with melted chicken fat.

You can get just as good results in preparing chops and fish in the broiling oven.

Broiled beefsteak
Heat the gridiron, put in the steak, turn the gridiron over the hot coals at intervals of two minutes and then repeatedly at intervals of one minute. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve on a hot platter.

Chops are done in the same way, but the gridiron is turned twice at intervals of two minutes and six times at intervals of one minute.

Fried steak with onions
Season the steak with salt and pepper, and dredge with flour. If tough, chop on both sides with a sharp knife. Lay in a pan of hot fat, when brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. While the steak is frying, heat some fat in another fryer and drop in four of five white onions that have been cut up. Fry crisp but not black. Remove the steak to a hot platter, stir one tablespoon of flour in the fryer until smooth, add one-half cup of boiling water. Lay the crisp onions over the steak, then over all pour the brown gravy.

Fried beefsteak
Take third cut of chuck or the tenderloin. Have the spider very hot, use just enough fat to grease the spider. Lay in the steak, turning very often to keep in the juice, season with salt and pepper. Serve on a hot platter.

Brunswick stew
Cook one pound of brisket of beef and three pounds of young chicken with one pint of soup stock or water, one pint of Lima beans, four ears of cut corn (cut from cob), three potatoes diced, two tomatoes quartered; one small onion, one teaspoon of paprika and one teaspoon of salt. Let all these simmer until tender, and before serving remove the meat and any visible chicken bones.

This stew may be made of breast of veal omitting the chicken and brisket.

Breast flank (short ribs) and yellow turnips
Get the small ribs and put on with plenty of water, an onion, pepper and salt. After boiling about one and one-half hours add a large yellow turnip cut in small pieces; one-half hour before serving add six potatoes cut in small pieces. Water must be added as necessary. A little sugar will improve flavor, and as it simmers the turnip will soften and give the whole dish the appearance of a stew.

Meat olives
Have a flank steak cut in three inch squares. Spread each piece with the following dressing: one cup of bread crumbs, two tablespoons of minced parsley; one chopped onion, a dash of red pepper and one teaspoon of salt. Moisten with one-fourth cup of melted fat. Roll up and tie in shape. Cover with water and simmer until meat is tender. Take the olives from the sauce and brown in the oven. Thicken the sauce with one-fourth cup of flour moistened with water to form a thin paste.

Short rib of beef, Spanish
Get the small ribs of beef and put on with water enough to cover, seasoning with salt, pepper, an onion and a tiny clove of garlic. Let it cook about two hours, then add a can of tomatoes and season highly either with red peppers or paprika. Cook at least three hours.

Braised oxtails
Two oxtails, jointed and washed; six onions sliced and browned in pot with oxtails. When nicely browned add water enough to cover and stew slowly one hour; then add two carrots, if small; one green pepper, sprig of parsley, one-half cup of tomatoes and six small potatoes, and cook until tender. Thicken with browned flour. Cook separately eight lengths of macaroni; place cooked macaroni on dish and pour ragout over it and serve hot.

To brown flour take one-half cup of flour, put in pan over moderate heat and stir until nicely browned.

Hungarian goulash
Have two pounds of beef cut into one inch squares. Dredge in flour and fry until brown. Cover with water and simmer for two hours; the last half-hour add one tablespoon of salt and one-eighth of a teaspoon of pepper. Make a sauce by cooking one cup of tomatoes and one stalk of celery cut in small pieces, a bay leaf and two whole cloves, for twenty-five minutes; rub through a sieve, add to stock in which meat was cooked. Thicken with four tablespoons of flour moistened with two tablespoons of water. Serve meat with cooked diced potatoes, carrots, and green and red peppers cut in strips.

Russian goulash
To one pound beef, free from fat and cut up as pan stew, add one chopped green pepper, one large onion, two blades of garlic (cut fine), pepper and salt, with just enough water to cover. Let this simmer until meat is very tender. Add a little water as needed. Put in medium sized can of tomatoes an hour or so before using and have ready two cups of cooked spaghetti or macaroni and put this into the meat until thoroughly heated. This must not be too wet; let water cook away just before adding the tomatoes.

Beef loaf
To two pounds of chopped beef take three egg yolks, three tablespoons of parsley, three tablespoons of melted chicken-fat, four heaping tablespoons of soft bread crumbs, one-half teaspoon of kitchen bouquet, two teaspoons of lemon juice, grated peel of one lemon, one teaspoon of salt, one-half teaspoon of onion-juice and one teaspoon of pepper. Mix and bake twenty-five minutes in a quick oven with one-fourth cup of melted chicken-fat, and one-half cup of boiling water. Baste often.

Hamburger steak
Take one pound of raw beef, cut off fat and stringy pieces, chop extremely fine, season with salt and pepper, grate in part of an onion or fry with onions. Make into round cakes a little less than one-half inch thick. Heat pan blue hot, grease lightly; add cakes, count sixty, then turn them and cook on the other side until brown. When well browned they are done if liked rare. Cook ten minutes if liked well done.

Bitki (Russian hamburger steak)
Take two cups of clear beef chopped, and two cups of bread crumbs that have been soaked in a little water, leaving them quite moist, mix thoroughly with the beef, season with pepper and salt and shape into individual cakes. Fry as directed for Hamburger Steak.

Chopped meat with raisins (Roumanian)
Take a pound of chopped meat, add grated onion, an egg, matzoth flour, white pepper, mix and form into small balls, put in pot with one-half cup of water, fat, sugar, a quarter cup of large black raisins, a few slices of lemon and let stew one-half hour, then thicken gravy with tablespoon of flour browned in a tablespoon of fat and serve.

Carnatzlich (Roumanian)
One pound of tenderloin, chopped, add an egg, a little paprika, black pepper, salt and four cloves of garlic (which have been scraped, and let stand in a little salt for ten minutes, and then mashed so it looks like dough). Form this meat mixture into short sausage-like rolls; boil one-half hour and serve at once.

Serve this dish with Slaitta. (See Vegetables.)

Baked hash
Mix together one cup of chopped meat, one cup of cold mashed potatoes, one-half an onion, minced, one well-beaten egg and one-half cup of soup stock. Season rather highly with salt, if unsalted meat is used, paprika and celery salt, turn into greased baking dish and bake for twenty minutes in a well-heated oven. The same mixture may be fried, but will not taste as good.

Soup meat
The meat must be cooked until very tender then lift it out of the soup and lay upon a platter and season while hot. Heat a tablespoon of fat or drippings of roast beef in a spider, cut up a few slices of onion in it, also half a clove of garlic, add a tablespoon of flour, stirring all the time; then add soup stock or rich gravy, and the soup meat, which has been seasoned with salt, pepper and ginger. You must sprinkle the spices on both sides of the meat, and add one-half teaspoon of caraway seed to the sauce, and if too thick add more soup stock and a little boiling water. Cover closely and let it simmer about fifteen minutes.

Left-over meat
There are many ways to utilize left-over meat.

Indeed, not one particle of meat should ever be wasted.

Cold roasts of beef, lamb, mutton or any cold joint roasted or boiled may be made into soups, stews, minces or used for sandwiches, or just served cold with vegetables or salads.

Spaghetti and meat
Break spaghetti in small pieces and boil until tender. Put left-over meat through chopper and mix with the spaghetti, salt, pepper, and a little onion juice. Grease a baking dish and put in the meat and spaghetti, sprinkle on top with bread crumbs and bake in a moderate oven.

Meat pie
Cut any left-over beef, lamb or veal in small pieces, removing all excess of fat; parboil one green pepper (seeds removed) cut in strips, two cups of potatoes and one-half cup of carrots cut in dice, and one onion chopped fine. Add to the meat. Thicken with one-fourth cup of flour moistened in cold water. Put in a baking dish. The crust is made as follows: One cup of flour, one heaping teaspoon of drippings, pinch of salt, one-fourth teaspoon of baking powder, one teaspoon of sugar and cold water to mix, about one-third cup. Roll out to fit baking dish, cut holes for steam to escape, after covering the contents of the dish. Bake in a quick hot oven one-half hour.

Pickled meat—home-made corned beef
Take four quarts of water, adding enough salt to float an egg, boil this salted water, when cool take four or five pounds brisket of beef, seasoned with whole and ground peppers, one large clove of garlic, pierced in different parts of the beef, one tablespoon of sugar, one bay leaf and one teaspoon of saltpetre. Put meat into deep stone pot, pour the boiled water over it and store in a cool place for ten days or two weeks.

Boiled corned beef
Put corned beef into cold water; using enough to cover it well; let it come slowly to the boiling-point; then place where it will simmer only; allow thirty minutes or more to each pound. It is improved by adding a few soup vegetables the last hour of cooking.

If the piece can be used a second time, trim it to good shape; place it again in the water in which it was boiled; let it get heated through; then set aside to cool in the water, and under pressure, a plate or deep dish holding a flat-iron being set on top of the meat. The water need not rise above the meat sufficiently to wet the iron. When cooled under pressure the meat is more firm and cuts better into slices.

Cabbage is usually served with hot corned beef, but should not be boiled with it.

Enchiladas
Make a dough of cornmeal and wheat flour and water. Roll it out in thin, round cakes; cook quickly in a pan that has not been greased, then roll in a cloth to keep soft and warm. Grind one cup of sausage, add one-half grated onion, one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, and fill the warm cakes with this mixture. Roll them when filled, and pour over them a sauce made of two tablespoons of drippings into which two tablespoons of flour have been smoothed. Add one cup of soup stock, one cup of strained tomatoes, two tablespoons of vinegar, one tablespoon of Spanish pepper sauce.

Vienna sausage
Wash and put on in boiling water. Boil ten minutes, fill a deep dish with hot water, put sausages in, cover, and serve in hot water. To be eaten with grated horseradish or French mustard.

Smoked beef
Soak overnight in cold water; next morning place it in cold water, and simmer till quite tender, reckoning one-half hour to the pound.

Roast veal
The shoulder and breast of veal are best for roasting. Always buy veal that is fat and white. Prepare for the oven in the following manner: Wash and then dry; rub it well with salt, a very little ground ginger, and dredge it well with flour. Lay in roasting-pan and put slices of onion on top with a few tablespoons of goose-fat or drippings. Cover tightly and roast, allowing twenty minutes to the pound and baste frequently. Veal must be well done. When cold it slices up as nicely as turkey.

Breast of veal—roasted
Roast as directed above. Have the butcher cut a pocket to receive the stuffing. Prepare bread stuffing and sew up the pocket. Sprinkle a little caraway seed on top of the roas. A tablespoon of lemon juice adds to the flavor. Baste often.

Stewed veal
Prepare as above, but do not have the meat cut in small pieces. If desired one-half teaspoon of caraway seed may be used instead of the parsley. Mashed potatoes and green peas or stewed tomatoes are usually served with veal.

Any of the flour or potato dumplings are excellent served with stewed or fricasseed veal.

Fricasseed veal with cauliflower
Use the breast or shoulder for this purpose, the former being preferable, and cut it up into pieces, not too small. Sprinkle each piece slightly with fine salt and ginger. Heat a tablespoon of goose-oil or poultry drippings in a stew-pan, and lay the veal in it. Cut up an onion and one or two tomatoes (a tablespoon of canned tomatoes will do), and add to this a little water, and stew two hours, closely covered. When done mix a teaspoon of flour and a little water and add to the veal. Chop up a few sprigs of parsley, add it and boil up once and serve. Place the cauliflower around the platter in which you serve the veal. Boil the cauliflower in salt and water, closely covered.

Stuffed shoulder of veal
Have the blade removed, and fill the space with a stuffing made of bread crumbs, thyme, lemon juice, salt, pepper to taste and one egg, also chopped mushrooms if desired. Sew up the opening, press and tie it into good shape and roast. The stuffing may be made of minced meat, cut from the veal, and highly seasoned.

Veal loaf
Take two pounds of chopped veal, four tablespoons of bread crumbs, two beaten eggs, season with salt, pepper, ginger, nutmeg and a little water. Add a tablespoon of chicken-fat; grease the pan, mix ingredients thoroughly, form into a loaf, spread or lay piece of chicken-fat on top. Bake in oblong tin until done, basting frequently.

Shoulder or neck of veal—Hungarian style
Brown four onions light brown in a tablespoon of fat, add one teaspoon mixed paprika, and the meat cut in pieces; leave the pan uncovered for a few moments, cover; add one sweet green pepper, cut up, and let cook; add a little water whenever the gravy boils down; when the meat is tender serve with dumplings.

Calf's hearts
Remove veins and arteries from the hearts. Stuff with a highly seasoned bread dressing and sew. Dredge in flour, brown in hot fat, cover with hot water, and place on the back of the stove or in a hot oven. Cook slowly for two or three hours. Thicken the liquor with flour and serve with the hearts.

Irish stew
Cut one and one-half pounds of lamb into small pieces. Dredge each piece of meat in flour. Brown in the frying-pan. Put in kettle, cover with water and cook slowly one hour or until tender. Add one quart of potatoes cut in small dice, one-half a cup of carrots and three onions, after cooking thirty minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and thicken with two tablespoons of flour moistened in enough cold water to form a smooth paste. Serve with dumplings. (See Dumplings, in "Garnishes and Dumplings for Soups".)

Lamb and macaroni
Dilute one can of concentrated tomato sauce with one quart of water; mince two medium-sized onions very fine and fry slowly in olive oil or drippings until they are a golden brown, and add to tomatoes. Fry one and one-half pounds of lean neck of lamb in a little drippings until the meat is nicely browned all over and add to the tomatoes, season with one clove of garlic, two bay leaves, two teaspoons of sugar, pepper and salt, and let it simmer for about one and one-half hours, or until the meat is tender and the sauce has become the consistency of thick cream. Have ready some boiled macaroni, put in with the meat and stir well. Serve hot.

Short ribs of beef may be cooked in the same manner.

Lamb stew—tocane
Brown slices of leek or young onions in one tablespoon of drippings, add neck or breast of lamb, cut in small pieces; season with white pepper, salt and parsley; cook until tender, just before serving season with dill.

Curried mutton
Have three pounds of mutton cut in one inch squares. Wipe, put in kettle and cover with cold water. Cook for five minutes, drain and again cover with boiling water. Add one cup of chopped onion, one teaspoon of peppercorns, and one-half of a red pepper, cut in small strips. Place on back of stove and allow it to simmer until tender. Strain liquor and thicken with flour. Add two tablespoons of drippings, one tablespoon of minced parsley, one teaspoon of curry powder, and one-half teaspoon of salt. Serve with molded rice.

Gewetsh (servian)
Brown one large onion in a tablespoon of fat, add one teaspoon of paprika and two pounds of neck or shoulder of lamb, cook one hour; have ready one pound of rice that has been boiled for twenty minutes. Take a twelve inch pudding dish, grease, place a layer of sliced tomatoes on bottom of pan, then half the rice, half the meat, two sliced green peppers, sprinkle a little salt and pour part of gravy over this; place another layer of tomatoes, rice, meat, with two sliced peppers and tomatoes on top, salt, and pour remainder of gravy, put lumps of fat here and there; bake in hot oven three-quarters of an hour. Use plenty of gravy and fat for this dish or else it will be too dry. Six large tomatoes are required.

Roast mutton with potatoes
Take a shoulder of mutton—must be young and tender—wash the meat well and dry with a clean towel. Rub well with salt, ginger and a speck of pepper, and dredge well with flour. Lay it in a covered roasting-pan. Put a few pieces of whole mace and a few slices of onion on top; pour a cup of water into the pan. Cover it up tight and set in a hot oven to roast, basting frequently. Allow twenty minutes to the pound for roasting mutton; it should be well done. Add more water if necessary (always add hot water so as not to stop the process of boiling), skim the gravy well and serve with currant or cranberry jelly. Pare potatoes of uniform size and wash and salt them about three-quarters of an hour before dinner. Lay the potatoes in pan around the roast and sprinkle them with salt and return to the oven to roast. Let them brown nicely.

Breast of mutton stewed with carrots
Salt the mutton on both sides, adding a little ground ginger; put on to boil in cold water, cover up tightly and stew slowly. In the meantime pare and cut up the carrots, add these and cover up again. Pare and cut up about half a dozen potatoes into dice shape and add them three-quarters of an hour before dinner. Cover up again, and when done, make a sauce as follows: Skim off about two tablespoons of fat from the mutton stew, put this in a spider and heat. Brown a tablespoon of flour in the fat, add a heaping tablespoon of brown sugar, some cinnamon and pour the gravy of the stew into the spider, letting it boil up once, and then pour all over the carrots and Stew until ready to serve.

White turnips may be used instead of carrots.

Mutton or lamb chops
Trim off some of the fat and heat in the spider. Season the chops with salt and pepper, or salt and ginger. Have the spider very hot with very little fat in it. To be nice and tender they must be sautéd quickly to a nice brown. Or the chops may be broiled over the hot coals or in gas broiler, eight or ten minutes is all the time required; serve at once.

Shoulder of mutton stuffed
Have the butcher carefully remove the blade from the shoulder and fill the space with a bread stuffing; See "Bread Dressing for Fowl". Sew up the opening, roast in the oven with a very little water in the pan, and baste frequently. Serve with the gravy from the pan after the grease has been carefully removed.