Connecticut western news., 1878-02-28
THE HOUSEKEEPER.
Vermont Housewife on Preparing, Keep
 @8 Ing and Cooking Meats.

says @ lady writing to the World, the cooking of various kinds of meats de- serves particular care from the house. wife so as to have them palatable and nutritious, and also to gather up the frag- ments that nothing be lost Beef should never be cooked until it has been killed 1 at least twenty-four hours, md 1t Is much l better to wait at least three es fouf days before using it If one has proper conven- ionces for keeping it sweet and fresh.
 In the winter beef can be kept frozen for long time with proper care, like when
 1t is solid, by packing it ina close tight
 barrel, and covering it either with grain
 or deep snow ; but it is better to pack it
 pnftly in grain for it is not so easily af-
 fected by the atmosphere as when buried
 ill snow.
 Farmers usually fatten their own beef
 and pork for family use, consequently
 they corn their own beef for summer use
 as well as dry the hams or lockers which
 arc for chipped beef. A very nice fash
 ion to salt beef is after this manner
 Dissolve three quarts of coarse salt ill
 six pails of water put all the beef you
 wish to corn ill this water and let it soak
 till the blood is mostly out then take a
 sweet barrel that is perfectly tight Gor I brine will leak out where water will not)
 put layer of three or four inches depth
 of salt over the bottom of the barrel and
 pack tl1o beef closely in the barrel. Make
 a brine of six gallons of water, six quarts
 of coarse salt, six pounds of fine salt, two
 ounces of saltpctre, two ounces of black
 pepper, and two ounces of saleratus ;
 boil and skim thoroughly When cold
 turn it over the beef and put heavy
 weight on top of the meat, so as to have
 1t all submerged in the brine if the
 liquor docs not cover it add enough cold water to keep it under; but this quantity
 of brine will cover one hundred pounds
 of beef ii packed tight. Keep the barrel ill cold cellar and you will have nice, sweet, tender corned beef all through the winter to use at your pleasure. For hams and tongues of beef and the hams of pork make pickle after this recipe: To a hundred pounds of meat and hams take
 four gallons of water, two pounds of brown sugar or West India molasses, two ounces of saltpetre, two ounces of black
 pepper and eight pounds of snlt boil and skim we'll and whom cold turn upon
 the meat. In four weeks the beef will be pickled, take it out and drain well
 cut slit Ill each piece of the beef and tic in strong cord after it is wei drained put each piece of meat separate D ly into tight paper bag gather the bag up around the end and tie tightly with string then hang up near the cooking stove where it will dry, secure from dus and fies When well dried pack in tigh " cloth bags, and be careful to keep it sc cure from flies. The hams will be ready 7 to smoke as they will be pickled tho D roughly some return them to the picll, tub after smoking, and others hang then . away in a cool place after putting then in tight, cloth bags either way is good n but 1t IS less care to keep it in the pickl a as the pepper will prevent the flies iron ID touching it.
 0 Roasting beef requires skill and care " Select your meat md rub it over lightl
 with salt ; then rub over with flour pu ' 1t into dripping pan with perhaps ,' !, pint of water, and set it in the oven N once ill half an hour dip the water wit J large spoon over the meat so as kp kee] it moist. Beef requires longer time t N cook than any other kind of meat. An o other way to roast beef is to put it in
 close covered kettle, and put fin Jus . enough water to keep it from sticking o :. boiling boil it about three hours befor ;s salting it when nearly done tender sc
 it back from the fire where it will sim ,f mer slowly for an hour then stir Il I two large spoonfuls of flour smoothl ~, with a tea cup of water and turn 1t int ;s the kettle; let it boil two or three mir VI utes and you have nice gravy serv . hot. There is no way that steak can b or cooked to be as delicious as on griC V iron over bright bed of coals, and we rs buttcrcd ; but the gridiron is fast poin
 into abuse, and the grkldle or frying NV spider is but poor substitute, yet stea c- can be passabEy cooked on one of thes ,t if nothing but butter Is used. Sour m made from the joints and bits left frol Inf roasted beef arc very nice and nutrition all and are aplcasant variety Another wa to dispose of fragments is to pick all tn
 meat from the bones, chop them up fiji
 and boil with butter gravy; they mal
 a nice breakfast dish, as well as to che It. the meat with cold boiled potatoes ar es make nice hash, or mystery as 1t ce called in fashionable boarding hou, 1- parlanco. The heart and neck piec, of need thorough, soaking before boilin nd for mince pies and must be cooked Ii ,a- perfectly tender, and will cleave fro ", the bones then chop fine and seasc 1T. highly pack it in tight jars or cans al as cover it well with syrup, and it will kee ed all through the summer months for Ill CT at pleasure. The suet or beef which ed taken from the hind quarters of the be fly should have the kidneys removed, al lis what is needed to be used in cooki1 Int should be chopped finely, salted and p re in light box or jar and kept cool. It 'ol very nice for various purposes in cookir he corn meal, SD as to make rarity f. or dinner. The remainder of the beef e he be tried out like lard, and it s very nit b. to use equal quantities of that and la1 nR to fry doughnuts, as the cakes will n ng soak the fat or burn, as they otherwi ng arc a bt to do.
 ,el If one has more time than money Af> hn1 I.Dh oe