A MINIATURE ROUND OF BEEF

“Select a fine rib of beef, and have it cut small or large in width according to your taste; it may thus be made to weigh from five to twelve pounds, or more. Take out the bone, and wrap the meat round like a fillet of veal, securing it with two or three wooden skewers; place it in a strong pickle for four or five days, and then cook it, taking care that it does not boil, but only simmers, from forty minutes, or more, according to its size. It is best to put it on in hot water, as it will not draw the gravy so much as cold. Many persons adjust a rib of beef in this way for roasting: let them try it salted, and they need not envy the possessor of the finest round of beef.” We give the receipt to our readers in its original form, and we can assure them, from our own experience, that it is a good one; but we would recommend that, in dressing the meat, quite the usual time for each pound of it should be allowed. When boned and rolled at the butcher’s, the skewers should be removed when it is first brought in; it should be well wiped with a dry cloth, or washed with a little fresh brine, and a small quantity of salt and saltpetre should be rubbed over the inside, it may then be firmly bound with tape, and will be quite ready to boil when taken from the pickle. The sirloin, after the inside fillet is removed, may be cured and dressed in the same way, and will be found super-excellent if the beef be well fatted and properly kept. The Hamburgh pickle (see page 197) is perhaps the best for these joints. Part of the rump, taken clear of bone, answers admirably when prepared by this receipt.

BEEF ROLL, OR CANELLON DE BŒUF. (ENTRÉE.)

Chop and mix thoroughly two pounds of lean and very tender beef with one pound of slightly striped bacon; season them with a large teaspoonful of pepper, a little salt, a small nutmeg, or two-thirds as much mace, the grated rind of a lemon, or a teaspoonful of thyme and parsley finely minced. Form the whole into a thick rouleau, wrap a buttered paper round it, enclose it in a paste made of flour and water, and send it to a moderate oven for a couple of hours. Remove the paper and the crust, and serve the meat with a little brown gravy. Lamb and veal are excellent dressed in this way, particularly when mixed with plenty of mushrooms. Brown cucumber sauce should be served with the lamb; and currie, or oyster sauce, when there are no mushrooms, with the veal. A flavouring of onion or of eschalot, where it is liked, can be added at pleasure to the beef: suet, or the fat of the meat, may be substituted for the bacon.

Beef, 2 lbs.; bacon, 1 lb.; pepper, 1/4 oz.; little salt; small nutmeg; rind of 1 lemon, or savoury herbs, 1 tablespoonful: baked 2 hours.