Stew

“ From time to time the cook should take a look at the stew and see that it does not dry. It will be necessary to add a small quantity of water [Pg 81] from time to time, and in about an hour and a quarter the stew will be ready, and after a long hike in the woods it is a dish that is fit for a king.
While Dick superintended the cooking of the stew, Phil and Garry replenished the wood supply. The stew put on the fire, Dick searched until he found a piece of sapling about an inch and a half in diameter. ”

“ The stew must be general, digestible as Pure Form.
You must be able to deny the radishes.
Impossible conditions!
You would have me conduct you through soot, grime and dust
And you'll demand, in the end, your purity?
Your faces clean, your suits unspotted, your tracts without a blemish?
Art, you demand. Beauty.
With dregs, froth and scum to Purge, Ennoble, Entertain. ”

“ The meat and vegetables for stews should, when it is possible, be browned in a little fat, and hot water should then be added. As soon as the stew comes to the boiling point, skim it, and set back where it will just simmer, not boil, the given time. The pieces of meat in a stew should come to the table whole and tender and juicy, and they will be in this condition only with slow cooking. ”

“ Put plenty of dripping in a frying pan; when very hot drop in the rissoles, and fry till a nice brown.
STEWING AND BRAISING.
VERY few so-called cooks make any difference between stewing and boiling. To make a stew they cut up the meat, add an onion, season with pepper and salt, and then pour in a good share of water, so that they won't have to bother again about it burning, put it over the fire and leave it till ten minutes or so before dinner, when they mix some flour and water, stir it into the stew and serve. ”

“ Never use a choice steak for a stew. Stewing is only a good way of cooking an inferior steak. The meat from a soup-bone would make a very good stew.
Put ripe tomatoes (peeled and cut) into a stew-pan; sprinkle over pepper and salt. Let them cook a little to make some juice; put in the pieces of beef, some little pieces of butter mixed with flour, two or three cloves, and no water. Let it stew until the meat is quite done. Then press the tomatoes through a sieve. ”

“ Almost three weeks passed away before Adolpho told me the rest of the tale and it was a cold night in June when he did. After supper he commenced, perhaps because it was the kind of stew that he liked best. For the most of the stew was fish. I said “the most of the stew,” because our stews were different from those you have. If on Monday we had a piece of huanaco meat, we put it in the iron pot to stew. There would be something left over, for we always made a little more than we required and we never wasted food. So, supper being done, the iron pot with the remains of the stew was put aside. ”

“ SWEET POTATOS STEWED.
Wash and wipe them, and if they be large, cut them in two lengths; put them at the bottom of a stew pan, lay over some slices of boiled ham; and on that, one or two chickens cut up with pepper, salt, and a bundle of herbs; pour in some water, and stew them till done, then take out the herbs, serve the stew in a deep dish—thicken the gravy, and pour over it. ”

“ Night drawing on, the boys prepared their supper. The night's meal consisted of a real stew, for since they were so near to a place to purchase provisions they were able to indulge themselves a little more than when they were at their first station, so far away from a base of supplies.
Canned beef was used, and then a few potatoes and carrots were peeled and cut into small cubes. A good meat stew is one of the easiest things to make in the woods, provided one has a variety or two of vegetables. ”

“ Some stews are made of all meat, some are part meat and part vegetables. For 5 to 6 generous servings, 2 pounds of lean raw meat without bone makes a good all-meat stew. Browning the meat gives it richer flavor. For meat and vegetable stew, combine meat and vegetables in any desired proportion. Vegetables are at their best when cooked quickly, so do not add them until the meat is almost if not altogether tender. ”

“ Freshly killed venison is excellent for this stew.
Many persons mix grated bread with tomato stew. We think it weakens the taste—a thing not desirable in any cooking.
This stew must not have a drop of water in it; the tomatos will give out sufficient liquid to cook the meat. There is not a more wholesome dish.
BEEF STEWED WITH ONIONS.— Take a square piece of beef from the sirloin, where there is no bone or fat. With a sharp knife make very deep incisions all over it, but not quite so deep as to cut it through to the bottom. Prepare a forcemeat by peeling and boiling some onions. ”

“ Let stew slowly with one cup of water and 1/2 cup of the spiced vinegar until tender. Thicken the sauce with flour and serve hot with potato pancakes.
2.—Scotch Soup.
Cut a sheep's liver into pieces and stew with the sheep's head in 4 quarts of water. Add sliced onions, sliced leeks, carrots, turnips, parsley and thyme, salt, pepper and a few cloves. Let all cook until tender; then strain. Let stand until cool. Skim off the fat; heat and mix with flour until brown; let boil. Add a glass of white wine. Cook all together and serve hot. ”

“ We travelled light on those occasions, and, except for some tea and a very little flour and salt, took no food; we lived on what we shot and of course kept ‘hunter’s pot.’
‘Hunter’s pot’ is a perpetual stew; you make one stew, and keep it going as long as necessary, maintaining a full pot by adding to it as fast as you take any out; scraps of everything go in; any kind of meat—buck, bird, pig, hare—and if you have such luxuries as onions or potatoes, so much the better; then, to make the soup strong, the big bones are added—the old ones being fished out every day and replaced by a fresh lot. ”

“ Let the pieces soak in two quarts of cold water in a stew-pan for an hour. Add the blood, and set on the fire. Bring to the boil, stirring and skimming frequently. Add the vegetables, herbs, spices and pepper-corns. Simmer gently for two or three hours. Strain off the liquid. Cut the meat from the bones. Set aside some of the best to be cut into small pieces. ”

“ Pulling the fire about the base of the pot, she soon had it bubbling, and, before long, set before me a wooden bowl of steaming, savory stew of meat, corn and beans. Beside the first bowl she placed another, containing flat dumplings, which proved to be made of crushed, hulled corn flavored with berries, rather heavy but delicious. ”

“ To make good soup of a leg of beef or an ox cheek, which is generally called stew, a pretty large quantity of the vegetable class ought to be added; and none seems better adapted than Scotch barley, by which double and treble the quantity of soup may be made from the same given weight of meat. ”

“ A stew may be made with crackers or flour, with celery, cheese, or milk, and with or without sauces; but in every instance the juice must be separated from the oysters and well cooked before the latter are added, or they will be over-done, shrivelled, and ruined. The simplest mode is to put some pepper, salt, and butter in the juice, boil it five minutes, add the oysters, and cook for one minute longer. ”

“ He is told, 'You are a cook.' He does his best to be. Usually he roasts or bakes to begin with, guessing when the joint is done, afterwards he hacks up what is left of his joints and makes a stew for next day. A stew is hacked meat boiled up in a big pot. It has much fat floating on the top. After you have eaten your fill you want to sit about quiet. The men are fed usually in a large tent or barn. We have a barn. It is not a clean barn, and just to make it more like a picnic there are insufficient plates, knives and forks. ”

“ And a man might live a hundred years and have a new variety of stew every day, so great are the possible permutations and combinations of vegetables and meats.
More savory results can often be secured by stewing than by any other process of cooking. It is well-known that the "sweetest" (that is, the most highly flavored) meat is that near a bone. Moreover, the bone itself, thoroughly cooked, yields most agreeable flavors of its own. ”

“ In using the term “dried fruits,” you will notice, I hope, that I am dealing with what may be called stewing fruits; for, though we stew, or can stew, raisins, figs, and even currants, I believe the first treatment of these fruits is not to cook them in that manner. Raisins and currants speak to us more distinctly of our Christmas mince-pies and plum puddings, and of a regular dessert dish throughout the year in some houses, than of any other kind of cooking. ”

“ Never try to cook quickly, or the juice will dry up and burn. The slow heat is the most important point.
27. VEGETABLE PIE. Cook the vegetables according to recipe for vegetable stew. When cold put in a pie-dish (gravy and all) and cover with short crust. Bake for half an hour. If preferred, the vegetables may be covered with cold mashed potatoes in place of pie-crust. Top with a few small pieces of nutter, and bake until brown.
28. VEGETABLE STEW. 1 carrot, 1 turnip, 1 potato, 1 parsnip, 2 Jerusalem artichokes, 2 onions, 2 tomatoes, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, nutter size of small walnut. ”

“ Boiling yields similar results, but the savors pass into the liquid, leaving the meat almost flavorless, whereas in a stew the flavors enrich the gravy, the vegetables, and the meat alike, in a particularly appetizing manner. ”

“ Put a layer of meat in the bottom of the stew-pan, then a layer of onions, and dredge well with salt, pepper and four. Continue this until all the meat and onions have been used. Pour into the pan two quarts of boiling water, and simmer three hours ; then add one quart of potatoes, peeled and sliced, and three tablespoonfuls of flour mixed with one cupful of cold water. Add more salt and pepper if needed; simmer thirty minutes longer. Dumplings served with the stew are an improvement. ”

“ KID OR LAMB IN THE STEW POT WITH CHOPPED ONION AND CORIANDER. CRUSH PEPPER, LOVAGE, CUMIN, AND COOK WITH BROTH OIL AND WINE. PUT IN A DISH AND TIE WITH ROUX [1] .
[1] It appears that the binding should be done before the stew is dished out; but this sentence illustrates the consummate art of Apicius. The good cook carefully separates the meat (as it is cooked) from the sauce, eliminates impurities, binds and strains it and puts the meat back into the finished sauce. This is the ideal way of making a stew which evidently was known to Apicius. ”

“ It is pleasant after the day's shooting or travelling to partake of a hearty meal, of which the pièce de résistance generally consists of a stew compounded indiscriminately of vilderbeeste beef, bustard, partridges, snipe, rice, and compressed vegetables—a dish, by the way, which is, if properly cooked, fit to set before a king. ”

“ But if preparations which ought only to stew, are permitted to boil, the process is destroyed, and a premature effect produced, that cannot be corrected by any future stewing. In order to have vegetables in the best state for the table, they should be gathered in their proper season, when they are in the greatest perfection, and that is when they are most plentiful. ”

“ Boil down half a shin of beef, four pounds of gravy beef and a calf's foot may be added, if approved, in three or four quarts of water; season with celery, carrots, turnips, pepper and salt, and a bunch of sweet herbs; let the whole stew gently for eight hours, then strain and let it stand to get cold, when the fat must be removed, then return it to the saucepan to warm up. ”

“ At the earlier breakfast a Swiss hotel offers only coffee, rolls, butter, and honey.
All sorts of stews—kidney, liver, chicken, veal, and beef—are good, and every sort of little pan-fish. In our happy country we can add the oyster stew, or the lobster in cream, the familiar sausage, and the hereditary hash; if any one knows how to make good corned-beef hash she need not fear to entertain the king. ”

“ I have before described the preparation of their food, which usually consists of a stew “of abominable things.” They eat salt and fresh fish, dried fish, seaweed, slugs, the various vegetables which grow in the wilderness of tall weeds which surrounds their villages, wild roots and berries, fresh and dried venison and bear; their carnival consisting of fresh bear’s flesh and saké, seaweed, mushrooms, and anything they can get, in fact, which is not poisonous, mixing everything up together. They use a wooden spoon for stirring, and eat with chopsticks. ”

“ For a regiment of 1000 men use 20 stoves.
No. 5.—Plain Irish Stew for Fifty Men.
Cut 50lbs. of mutton into pieces of a quarter of a pound each, put them in the pan, add 8lbs. of large onions, 12lbs. of whole potatoes, 8 tablespoonfuls of salt, 3 tablespoonfuls of pepper; cover all with water, giving about half a pint to each pound; then light the fire; one hour and a half of gentle ebullition will make a most excellent stew; mash some of the potatoes to thicken the gravy, and serve. Fresh beef, veal, or pork, will also make a good stew. Beef takes two hours doing. ”

“ During the autumn and winter months, race-course caterers seem to have but one idea of warm comforting food for their customers, and the name of that idea is Irish stew. This is no doubt an appetising dish, but might be varied occasionally for the benefit of the habitual follower of the sport of kings. Why not pea-soup, jugged hare (hares are cheap enough) , hot-pot, Scotch broth, mullagatawny, hotch-potch, stewed or curried rabbit, with rice, shepherd’s pie, haricot ox-tails, sheep’s head broth (Scotch fashion) , and hare soup! ”

“ When, by skirmishing with the wooden fork, you can fish up bones with no meat on them, the soup is cooked and the kettle may be set aside to cool. Any hungry sportsman can order the next motion. Squirrels—red, black, gray or fox—make nearly as good a soup as venison, and better stew. Hares, rabbits, grouse, quail, or any of the smaller game birds, may be used in making soup; but all small game is better in a stew. ”