Potted Meats and Fish

POTTED OX CHEEK.

Take the half head of a well-fed beast, chopped into four pieces, cut out the gullet, the small bones and cartilages, and wash it in salt and water, dry with cloths, and rub it well in all parts with

Allspice, ground	¾	oz.
Coarse sugar	¼	lb.
Saltpetre, in powder	½	oz.
Bay salt	4	oz.

then let it lie three days, occasionally turning it, and rubbing. Then place the pieces in a wide stone jar or stewing pot, along with

Thyme	1	handful
Marjorum	1	handful
Lemon thyme	½	handful
Water	1	pint

Tie double paper over, and send it to the baker’s oven, to be baked four or five hours, then turn it out into a dish, and when cool enough, separate all the meat from the bones, and chop coarsely, and mixing the pieces of fat equally throughout the mass. Press the meat now into a dish that will about hold it, and using what part of the liquor you may require to moisten the meat, and leave a plate or dish over the meat, with weights to keep it pressed down. Next day, when it has settled into a dense mass, pour clarified butter all over it, a quarter of an inch thick. It is eaten cold, and in winter season will keep well some weeks.

POTTED SHRIMPS, DIABLE.

Follow the directions for preparing the fish as for potted shrimps, until you arrive at the seasoning department, when mix

Table salt	½	lb.
Sifted loaf sugar	¼	lb.
Cayenne pepper	1	oz.
Durham mustard	1	oz.

Make four or five tablespoonfuls of olive oil boiling hot in a stewpan, throw a handful of the shrimps at a time into it, and in less than a minute take them out, season them well with the mixture and lay them on dishes to cool. Continue thus to treat all the rest, and when done fill your pots and press the fish down closely. Next day cover with clarified butter, and afterwards the pots may be made secure with bladder, white or coloured paper over that. Keep them in a dry airy room. They will be much liked if taken with wine, and rectify a vitiated palate.

POTTED PIGEONS.

Take a couple of dozen of pigeons, which should be hung up a full week in cold weather. They must be drawn of the intestines and nicely picked of pen-feathers. Cut off the necks and pinions and lay them open at the backbones, wiped clean out and washed in salt and water, being dried quickly. Season them well with

Nutmeg, grated	1	oz.
Cloves, in fine powder	1	oz.
White pepper, in fine powder	2	oz.
Table salt, in fine powder	6	oz.
Bay leaves, in fine powder	1	oz.

inside, particularly on the backbone and vent, and let them lie put down in a jar and covered over for a week, turning them daily. Then place them singly, or in halves, if a small family; put a lump of fresh butter inside of each, and, tying thick paper over the pots, bake them slowly until done. While they are yet warm pour off any gravy that may have been produced, which must be set by, and when cold the butter taken off and added to the quantity which will be required to be clarified, and with which the birds must be covered, when cold, to the thickness of at least half an inch in each pot. These will be excellent, taken cold.

RUSSIAN POLONY.

Your success in this undertaking chiefly depends upon the choice of the meats made use of. Take of

The lean of Belfast smoked hams, 1 year old	3	lb.
The fat of Belfast smoked hams, 1 year old	3	lb.
High flavoured hung beef	3	lb.
Smoked ox tongues	3	lb.
Hard back fat of bacon	4	lb.

Peel the tongues after being boiled and reject the roots and tips. Cut the four first of the above up into dice and pound them separately into smooth pastes, with mucilage of gum tragacanth and fresh butter. Next cut the fat bacon into dice or cubes as large as the finest growth of peas, no rind or gristles to be retained; then mix intimately together,

Garlic, minced	1½	oz.
Shalots, minced	6	oz.
Juniper berries, in fine powder	3	oz
Jamaica pepper, in fine powder	3	oz.
Black peppercorns	3	oz.
Bay salt, in fine powder	1	lb.
Coarse sugar	¾	lb.

and blending all the meats well, season highly with the mixture, and put it down in a jar for a week to mellow. Then work the mass well for half an hour. Get some of the largest ox intestines, and soak them in luke-warm salt and water, wipe them dry and proceed to fill them, keeping out the air as much as possible, which you will effect by regular and even pressure, and pricking, only where necessary, with a stocking-needle. Make your polonies about a foot long each, and put them aside as done until the next day; then repeat the pressure and tie them up finally. They must be put into boiling-water with a little salt and saltpetre, and after once boiling, simmer only for half an hour. Then take them up, wipe dry, and hang in a current of air for a week, being turned daily without fail. Then smoke them with

Oak lops	2	parts
Beech chips	2	parts
Fern	1	part
Peat	1	part

for a month. Stow them away in malt cooms. They will be prized by those persons who delight in high flavours. They need no coating; nay, many foreigners prefer them mouldy on the outsides.

GERMAN SAVELOYS.

Take rough	Hambro’ smoked beef	2	lb.
	Neats’ tongues, smoked	1	lb.
	Smoked ham	1	lb.
	Fat of bacon	2	lb.

Boil the tongue moderately, peal and cut off the gross root tip. Cut up the whole of the meat into large dice, and pound it thoroughly, mixing the fat in equally in all parts of the mass. Pick out all skins, sinews, &c., and mix a pound of good moist sugar throughout it, so let it lie two days. Then take

Sage leaves, in fine powder	3	oz.
Garlic, minced finely	2	oz.
Shalots	2	oz.
Bay leaf, in powder	2	oz.
Chillies, or capsicum, in powder	3	oz.

mix them well and then sift them, and blend them well with the meat, so that all parts may partake of the flavour alike; put it into a jar, which bung up close and set it aside for a week to get mellow. Now try a small quantity of it: if it suits your taste, well and good, if not add seasoning. Now fill your sausage skins, and when nice and solid prick them a little, and put them into a pan of boiling water to simmer slowly three quarters of an hour. Then take them out and let go cold, and next day wipe them and smoke them three weeks with

Oak lops and dust	3	parts
Fern or grass turfs	3	parts

then hang them up in a dry room and keep them with hams, tongues, &c. These will be excellent in a month, just popped into boiling water for five minutes, or fried in olive oil and eaten cold.

JERSEY BLACK PUDDINGS.

In France, in the Channel Islands, and Belgium these delicacies are introduced at the tables of the highest families, a distinction which they richly deserve, while in England very few persons make them at home, but purchase at the shops an indescribable mass of groats, blood, bread, herbs, &c., and frequently, to cover the indolence of the pork-butcher, loaded with such an amount of the commoner spices, as to render the whole anything but palatable. Then, again, the fat, which seems to be the only recommendation, is found here and there in lumps so large, that before they become heated through, it is certain the other of part of the mass must be burnt nearly to a cinder. I think that we can produce an article well worthy of the trouble and slight expense incurred by the trial. Take a couple of dozen of large onions, peel them, cutting off the bottoms, cut them into small pieces, and put them into a stewpan along with ten ounces of sweet lard, and stew them slowly till of a light brown colour. Cut three pounds of pig’s leaf that is perfectly sweet and dry into dice, pick out all the skins. Boil half a dozen heads of endive, chop them fine and add to the fried onions; season them with

Table salt	2	oz.
White pepper	¾	teaspoonful
Parsley, finely chopped	4	tablespoonfuls
Thyme, in fine powder	1	tablespoonful
Bay leaves	2	tablespoonfuls
Half a nutmeg, grated

Now add three quarts of pig’s blood—calf’s, or sheep’s is as good—that has not been long taken from the animal, and if still warm is preferable. Mix all intimately, and if you find the mixture is too thin to work well, add a handful or two of stale bread crumbs, or half to three quarters of a pound of rice, boiled just tender but not mashed. Take now the smaller pudding skins which have been properly scraped and cleaned, wash them in salt and water, and with a tin funnel tie one end of the skin tightly upon it, and the other end up in a knot, two feet or a yard will be a convenient length. Proceed now to fill your skins by pressing the meat through the funnel, pricking with a pin to let out the air. When nicely and firmly filled, tie up the end, and put the puddings into a flat large pan, with plenty of water tasting slightly of salt, and already boiling, and let them simmer twenty minutes, or rather more, attentively watching and pricking them to prevent bursting. When the blood oozes out no longer, they are fully cooked, then take them up and let them lie all night on a sieve. Cut them into pieces four to six inches long, and when wanted for table wipe them lightly over with a linen rag dipped in olive oil, and broil them ten minutes. Serve them plain, but very hot. If you cannot procure endive, you may substitute celery, which must be boiled along with three or four laurel leaves; the tender parts only must be used. Leeks also are generally liked, but in that case part of the onions must be omitted.

MARINATED SALMON.

Take six or eight pounds of the middle of a large fish, in preference to a similar weight of the whole of a grilse or salmon trout, scale it and cut off the fins, split it open at the back and reserve the roe and liver; wipe the fish out nicely, and strew moist sugar all over the red side, put it away on a dish until the next day. Then make the following mixture,

Bay leaf, in powder	1	oz.
Mace, in powder	½	oz.
Cloves, in powder	¾	oz.
White pepper, in powder	¾	oz.
Table salt	1¼	lb.

Take out the backbone neatly and rub the fish on both sides well with the mixture and the former sugar; lay three or four laurel leaves upon the red face of the thick side, turn the thin side over upon them, and set it away in a cool place for twenty-four hours. Then take it up, wipe dry, and cut the sides into fitting pieces, and place them in a deep dish upon the spices, and half a pint of Rhenish wine or Cape Madeira; tie double paper over and bake it in a slow oven till done enough. Pour off the pickle while yet warm, and set the pieces on a sieve to drip until the next day—covered close with a cloth to prevent the action of the air upon it, and thus to preserve the colour. Now choose your pots according to the size of your family, and into each one place a piece of the fish, the red face downwards, and fill up with genuine olive oil, let remain until the next day, when add more oil, and again on the third day replenishing what has been absorbed by the fish. Then tie wetted bladder over the pots and keep them in a cool dry air. This cannot fail of gaining the approval of all who partake of it, and is the most certain method of obtaining fresh salmon in the winter months. The same oil will do again and again for a similar purpose.

MARINATED TENCH AND CARP.

How often have I seen twenty or thirty brace of these delicious and exceedingly nutritious fish exposed for sale in some provincial market-place, and spoiling for want of purchasers, some neighbouring baronet or esquire having been drawing his pits and preserves. But why no purchasers? Simply because, although the spectators might nearly beg them, the price being so low, few persons only would know what to do with them, they not being “poor men’s fish;” and the sauces, &c., required to dress them would be too expensive; the operatives have not seen pies made of them, like eels, so even the million as they are termed do not enjoy them, and ten to one the beautiful fish are lost; whilst if they were near Houndsditch or the Minories, amongst the Israelites, they would not remain half an hour unsold even at half-a-crown the brace, because they know how to prepare them, and delicious indeed are the majority of their fish dishes. Take three brace of these fish, scale them, cut off the tails and fins, split them open at the back, take out all the garbage, gills and eyes, and wash them quickly in salt and water; now wipe them dry, and have ready the following mixture:

Fresh parsley, minced finely	2	tablespoonfuls
Thyme, in powder	2	tablespoonfuls
Marjorum, in powder	2	tablespoonfuls
Moist sugar	½	lb.
Table salt	¾	lb.

Make two sides of each fish and cut them across, again place these pieces in alternate layers with the mixture in an oblong pot closely covered up, and set them aside for forty-eight hours; then unpack the fish and replace them in the same receptacle, having rubbed them well and turned each piece over; so let remain twenty-four hours longer, the thickest pieces lying nearest the bottom of the jar. Now unpack again and wash the pieces separately in weak vinegar and water with a trifle of saltpetre in it, and wiping, leave them between cloths while you are preparing, by boiling the used herbs and liquor with half a pint of vinegar and water for ten minutes, and skimming well, strain it through a fine sieve and set it aside. Now take

Mace, bruised	½	oz.
Cloves, bruised	1	oz.
Cayenne pepper	1	teaspoonful
Twelve bay leaves, shred
Four laurel leaves, green
Of the strained liquor	½	pint

Boil these for fifteen minutes, skim thoroughly, strain through a fine sieve and add port wine half a pint, return this to the saucepan, simmer it covered close for twelve minutes, and let remain by the fireside. Lay your pieces of fish in a pie dish that will just hold them, the thickest near the bottom, and pour the liquor in the saucepan over the fish, tie paper doubled over the dish and bake till done moderately, which can always be ascertained by the fish leaving the bone upon a knife being applied. Now pour off the liquor, take out the fish and set it to drain all night, covered up; place the pieces in the best adapted pots and fill up with olive oil, renewing on the third day what had been absorbed by the fish, and tie bladder over. In this and similar cases take care that the oil is sufficient in quantity to cover the contents to the thickness of three quarters of an inch at least. These will be remarkably fine eating in a month. You cannot purchase such at the shops.

MARINATED SHRIMPS.

To ensure this delicacy of first-rate quality you must buy your shrimps alive, and boil and pick them at home with all possible despatch. Set a gallon of live shrimps in three quarts of boiling water, in which one and half pounds of bay or rock salt has been dissolved, and boil them fifteen minutes, then strain off the water and as soon as possible commence shelling them, and keep them covered with cloths as you proceed. Be particular that no refuse or pieces of the shells remain to disgrace the preparer, and laying them lightly on clean dishes, mix amongst them the following seasoning in very fine powder, being well sifted and dried the day previous and kept bottled up. I repeat that the shrimps must have been deprived of all their moisture with the assistance of a moderately cool oven, and not two fish to be seen sticking together. Nor can any excuse avail in this instance, as the less time that is occupied in potting these sorts so much better chance will there be of your total success in the product.

Mace, in finest powder	1	oz.
Nutmeg, in finest powder	2	oz.
Cloves, in finest powder	2	oz.
Table salt, in finest powder	1	lb.
Loaf sugar, in finest powder	¾	lb.

When seasoned to your entire satisfaction, the fish however fully retaining their own fine flavour, fill your pots, which must be the cleanest and best dried possible; press the shrimps well down, and set them as you proceed at the mouth of your cool oven until there is no evaporation observable. Now take them up, press down again, and laying one or two bay leaves on the top, fill up with the best olive oil, and set away in a cool dry room. Next day replenish the oil that has been absorbed, and not till after the third day tie bladder over. Plenty of oil must cover the fish, and although potted shrimps are not expected to keep well after three or four days, yet you may expect every satisfaction from this process. If decay soon takes place, it will be owing to the fish not having been well dried in the process. As to the preservation of the true flavour of the fish, this preparation demands our decided preference.

MARINATED TROUT AND GRAYLING.

Fish about a pound weight each are the best for this purpose, but provided that they are perfectly fresh, have a clear red gill, and bright eye, we should be induced to thus preserve fish of any size, because by this process the true flavour of the fish may be effectually retained. Take two dozen fish, from twelve to twenty ounces each, scale them, take off the heads, tails, and fins, open them at the belly, take out the garbage, and washing them quickly in salt and water, dry them with cloths and leave them covered up. Make the following seasoning:

Table salt	1	lb.
Cayenne pepper	¾	oz.
Sifted loaf sugar	½	lb.
Dried parsley	1	oz.
Thyme	½	oz.

All these must be in finest powder, and sifted, and with a good mixture of them rub the insides and outsides of the fish well. If you have any roes of them, wash them well, roll them in the powder and place them inside the fish, bring the sides together, and tie round with thread; place them in a convenient pot of earthenware, and with half a pint of good sherry wine, paper tied closely over, bake them sufficiently; then, while warm, pour off the gravy and let the fish lie by till next day, basting them two or three times with the liquor, and removing to the top those which laid on the bottom. Now pour off the gravy, strain it, and put it aside bottled up close. Take out the fish and pay the backbones inside with a camel’s-hair brush and this mixture:

Essence of cassia	1	tablespoonful
Essence of mace	1	tablespoonful
Essence of nutmegs	2	tablespoonfuls
Essence of bays	3	tablespoonfuls

Lay the fish on their backs and repeat this brushing over the bone two or three times, then lay the fish on their flat, mix the strained liquor in the bottle with whatever you have remaining of your essence mixture, and six tablespoonfuls of good old malt whisky, and pour this over the fish; baste well with it two or three times daily for a week or until they have imbibed a fine flavour of the ingredients, and tying over with leather. Now dry the fish by wiping outside only, and place pieces in fitting oblong pots and cover with olive oil of first quality. (See Note, No. 11.) Replenish the oil, and after the third day make safe with wetted bladder and remove to a cool dry room. In a month they will be very good, but if you could keep some three months they would be much improved.

MARINATED SILVER EELS.

Take ten pounds of fine fresh river eels, each one and a half pound to two pounds, skin them, cut off the heads, tails, and fins, lay them open at the backs and remove all visible bones, and wash in salt and water; then dry them, cut them into pieces four inches long, and lay them in salt and water with a bit of saltpetre in it for ten hours; then make a seasoning thus:

Allspice, ground finely	1	oz.
Cayenne pepper, ground finely	1	teaspoonful
Bay leaf, in fine powder	1	oz.
Parsley, dried and rubbed fine	2	oz.

Dry the fish well with cloths, rub them all over plentifully with this mixture, and let them lie packed closely for twenty-four hours; roll them up neat into little collars, tie them round, and bake them in a wide-mouthed jar with a teacupful of water and vinegar at the bottom. Next day pour off the liquor, take out the collars and put them singly into white earthenware pots, and cover with olive oil, observing to replenish the oil before finally closing up with bladder.

SUPERIOR MARINATED SILVER EELS, OF VERY HIGH FLAVOUR.

Get fresh eels of ten to fifteen ounces each, skin them, take off heads, tails, and fins, open them at the bellies, and, clearing away all refuse, wash them in salt and water and dry with cloths. Then for ten pounds of fish take

Garlic, minced finely	½	oz.
Chillies, minced finely	1	oz.
Juniper berries, minced finely	¾	oz.
Jamaica pepper, powdered	1	oz.
Bay salt	1	lb.
Saltpetre	¼	lb.
Vinegar	1	pint

Boil these twenty minutes, skimming well, and let go cold. Cut the fish into pieces, place them in a deep dish and pour this pickle over them, so let them lie till next day. Take out the fish and rub each piece separately with the mixture, replace the fish in the vessel and let them lie so for twenty-four hours longer. Now wipe them and hang them up in a current of air for two days; then with a soft brush take off the herbs and spice and roll up tightly each piece into a collar, which secure with narrow tapes. Choose pots of white earthenware that will each just hold a collar, and so as to allow of the fish being totally surrounded by oil, and fill up with olive oil and replenishing as before directed previous to finishing with wetted bladder. Keep these three months at least, when they will be a fine relish at a moderate expense. They should be boiled in hot water, and when cold enough the tapes taken off and the fish eaten cold.

PICKLED SMELTS, PREFERRED TO ANCHOVIES.

This is an elegant preparation of the smaller fish, the large ones being chosen for the dinner table. Cut open the fish at the belly, and wipe them well out with damp cloths, lay in a light coat of the following seasoning, the roes being replaced, and put them in layers with the mixture alternately, in a deep jar wide at the top:

Saltpetre, in powder	½	oz.
Bay salt, in powder	9	oz.
Mace, in powder	½	oz.
Cloves, in powder	1	oz.
Black pepper, in powder	1	oz.
Cochineal, in powder	¾	oz.

These must have been well mixed. Press the fish well down in the jar, and boiling sufficient of the best pickling vinegar with bay leaves, and four or five laurel leaves, pour it upon the fish when cold, and tie leather over the jar. They will require three months at least to become mellow, and are much improved by keeping twice that length of time.

PICKLED LOBSTERS.

In our hot summer months, and when lobsters are plentiful, it would be wise to save some that would come in opportunely for sauce and many dishes, when lobsters are scarce and high priced. Take fresh boiled lobsters, split them, take out the meat as whole as you can, and make a seasoning of

Mace, in fine powder	1	oz.
Cayenne pepper	¾	oz.
Nutmeg, in fine powder	1	oz.
Table salt, in fine powder	6	oz.

by well mixing them. Rub the meat well with this and equally, so that no part is left undefended. Put the fish down in an earthen jar, and repeat the rubbing for a day or two. Pack it then in small jars and pour the following pickle over it, so that it may be covered to thickness of an inch:

Best vinegar	1	pint
Chillies	1	oz.
Cucumber vinegar	½	pint
Sal prunelle	¾	oz.

and in similar proportions for each pint of vinegar used. Mind that the vinegar pickle covers well, and then put over all as much olive oil as will cover to the depth of half an inch. Tie wetted bladder over and leather upon that for safe keeping. It will be well recommended after a trial.

MARINATED HERRINGS.

The freshest full-roed herrings must be taken for this purpose. Scale twenty of the shortest and fattest you can get in the middle of the season, take off the heads, tails, fins, and open them at the bellies, clean all out, scrape the backbone, and washing the fish in salt and water, wipe them dry and let them lie until next day, after rubbing a dessert-spoonful of good moist sugar into the inside of each fish. Lay them upon their backs in any vessel not too deep, and cover the fish over with the following mixture—the roes should be nicely washed, dried, and laid by the side of the fish:

Coarse sugar	1	lb.
Bay salt, in fine powder	¾	lb.
Black pepper	1	oz.
Eschalots, minced	1	oz.
Nutmegs, grated	1	oz.

putting half the fish in one layer then a layer of the mixture, and then a layer of fish above that, and the spices covering all; so let them lie covered up with a cloth three days. Then wipe the fish dry, place the roes inside, cut them across in two parts, tie up in rolls with calico, and lay them with plenty of bay leaves and four laurel leaves in a deep dish and bake them, just covered over with good sound porter; then while warm pour off the liquor, and set the fish on a sieve to go cold, and next day put each one into a white earthenware jar and cover with olive oil with the same precautions as before. In two months they will be mellow and rich and greatly liked. The porter in which they were baked, being boiled twenty minutes with a dozen of shalots and cayenne, will be a very good cold sauce for chops, steaks, fish, &c.

MARINATED SPRATS.

These shall be superior to what were called “sardines in oil,” some thirty years ago, and sold in London at 4s. 6d. at first in small tin boxes, and afterwards at 2s. 6d., each tin containing about sixteen sprats—for sprats they certainly were. Take a peck of fresh sprats and pick out for your present use as many of the largest and most sound as will suit your purpose. Pull off the heads, cut off the fins and tails, and draw out the little guts, wash them quickly through salt and water, and dry them between cloths. Have ready the following:

Mace, in finest powder	1	oz.
Cloves, in finest powder	2	oz.
Nutmeg, in finest powder	1	oz.
Saltpetre, in finest powder	3	oz.
Table salt, in finest powder	1	lb.
Bay leaf, in finest powder	3	oz.

with which rub each fish on the inside first, and then throughout the bulk; put them into small pots of white earthenware, closely packed; tie bladder over them, merely to keep out the water, and place them in a stewpan, adding water to reach half way up the sides of the jars, cover the pan and set it on a slow fire to simmer until the fish are cooked; then take them up, remove the covers, and set them aside till the next day, when, pouring off any oil or fat that may have been given out in cooking, fill up with olive oil and tie bladders safely over.

POTTED SMELTS.

For this purpose the smaller fish will do very well. Cut them open at the belly, clean out and wash in salt and water, having first cut off the tails and fins; now season them inside with

Mace, in powder	½	oz.
Nutmeg, in powder	1	oz.
Table salt	3	oz.
Cayenne pepper	½	oz.
Bay leaf	¾	oz.

and let them lie till next day, when lay them in oblong pots and cover them with clarified butter; bake them in a slow oven, and when done enough pour off the butter, and drain effectually, and let them remain twelve hours. Now warm up the butter again in a water bath, and running it through a warmed sieve, pour the clear again over the fish, adding more clarified butter to cover well. Tie bladder over and keep dry.

POTTED LOBSTERS.

Take a couple of fine lobsters, place them in a tub with plenty of weak salt and water, and brush them well from froth and slime, then wash in pure water and pop them into boiling water in which some salt and saltpetre have been dissolved. When done lay them on a sieve to get cold, and next day cut open the shells, crack the claws and take out the meat, which then pick over carefully from skins and specks, the coral also must be separated and examined. Now cut the meat into dice and pound it finely in a mortar, till of a nice smooth consistence, adding clarified butter at pleasure. Then season with

Mace, in fine powder	¾	oz.
Nutmeg, in fine powder	1	oz.
Bay leaf, in fine powder	1	oz.
White pepper, in fine powder	1	oz.
Cloves, in fine powder	¾	oz.

and working the paste well proceed to fill white pots, and putting a part of the coral into the middle of each pot. Press well in and set aside for the night. Put the pots next into a slow oven, and let the steam escape that might arise, and when you have got them as dry as it is possible, without changing the colour of the preparation, set them by to go cold; then cover with clarified butter effectually and writing paper over the tops of the pots.

POTTED CRABS.

To meet with well potted crabs is a very rare occurrence, and, speaking generally, is attributable to the carelessness of the preparer. Crabs are very often out of season, that is, cannot be got without great trouble and expense, and they are very much liked; these admissions furnish reasons why we should have some well preserved. Take half a dozen eastern coast crabs—those of Hartlepool and neighbourhood are always sound and well flavoured, while those on the western coast and about Ireland are little worth—plug up all the holes with wooden pegs, throw them into a tubful of salt and water and brush them thoroughly, then wash in pure water and put them into boiling water to be cooked; then take them up and lay them to get cold; pull off the claws and put the large shells into a slow oven after having run off any water that may have collected in them, and when no more steam arises from the slow drying, set them also to get cold. Take all the meat out of the claws, pick out very carefully all the little skins and strings, cut it into dice and pound it in a mortar with clarified butter until of a nice plastic mass, which cover up in a cloth. Now attack the body shells, pick out all the solid meat, and, setting the coral aside, throw out all the skins and refuse you can find, and beat up this also with best Durham mustard, as for the table, some cayenne, chillie vinegar, and table salt. Place some of this at the bottom of each pot, and having ready this seasoning, mix what is requisite with the meat from the claws:

Mace	1	oz.
Cloves	1½	oz.
Nutmeg	1	oz.
Bay leaf	1	oz.
Table salt	6	oz.
White pepper	2	oz.

Work this well into the mass, and having put a portion of the hard coral into each pot, fill up with the seasoned claw meat. Set the pots in a slow oven to evaporate what moisture you can, then set aside and when cold pour clarified butter plentifully over, which, when cold, must again be covered with writing paper. If your ingredients were genuine, your butter sweet, and well managed, and the fish of prime quality, you will have a choice or rare preparation of these generally admired fish.

SIDE OF VENISON COLLARED.

As this sort of animal food can only be got at one season of the year, I recommend any person who is fond of good eating at a moderate cost, to get the two sides or flitches of a prime fat buck, and cure them in the two different ways herein described, with full assurance that the result will be perfectly satisfactory. Take a side and hang it up in a free current of air as long as ever you can trust it, wiping it daily with a coarse cloth, and dusting it over, particularly the fat parts, with ground black pepper, to prevent the flies settling on it. With a sharp knife take off the outer skin, and, removing all sinews, bone it nicely; divide it next into pieces fit for collars, that is, so that when rolled up the ends may be level and firm. Rub vinegar well over the meat and leave it packed closely in a deep dish and covered up till the next day. Make ready a mixture of

Mace, in fine powder	1	oz.
Cloves, in fine powder	2	oz.
Nutmeg, in fine powder	1	oz.
White pepper, in fine powder	2	oz.
Bay salt	¾	lb.
Common or rock salt	½	lb.
Bay leaves, shred	3	oz.

and with this rub the meat, which should have been dried with cloths well, and pack them down to lie forty-eight hours. Then take them up, and cutting slices of hard fat bacon, half an inch wide and six or eight inches long, insert them in channels cut in the venison and about two and a half inches apart; this should be done with consummate nicety. Now roll up the meat into collars and bind tightly with broad tape, and sew strong unbleached calico all round the length. Lay paper shavings in the bottom of a deep straight-sided jar, and upon them six or eight laurel leaves and twice as many bay leaves, and place the collars lightly upon them, then pouring in half a pint of water, tie doubled paper over the jar and bake slowly for three hours at least, or until nicely cooked; then while warm pour off the gravy into a basin to get cold, and taking out the collars set them to drain all night. Next day, after wiping them dry, place the rolls of meat in a jar that will just hold them without squeezing, and pour clarified mutton suet with sweet lard in the proportion of a quarter of a pound of the latter to twelve ounces of the former, and when cold covering the meat to the thickness of two inches. Tie wet bladder over and put away in a cold airy room. This should not be broached under two months, and then by placing the jar in a pan of boiling water for twenty minutes you can take out a collar and put away the jar, taking care that the meat is totally covered by the suet and made safe from the air. Pop the collar into a saucepan of boiling water and salt for fifteen minutes, then take it out, wipe it dry, and when nearly cold take off the envelopes and set it by till next day. Serve it garnished with fresh parsley and slices of lemon or pickled red beetroot, which two latter may be eaten with it, and then I think you will confess that this “common part of venison” is very first-rate eating.

THE OTHER SIDE SMOKED.

Proceed as with the former side, and having rubbed it well with vinegar, make a mixture of

Allspice, ground	3	oz.
Black pepper, ground	2	oz.
Eschalots, minced	2½	oz.
Garlic, minced	1½	oz.
Bay salt	¾	lb.
Coarse sugar	¾	lb.
Bay leaves	2	oz.

and rub all parts thoroughly, and let them lie placed down in a deep pan for forty-eight hours; then take them up, wipe dry and lard them well with shreds of the best sweet fat bacon and roll up tightly into collars, which bind with tape and envelope in calico or thin canvas, and stow them away in a deep jar that will hold them conveniently till the next day. Boil up the used spices, herbs, and salts with as much porter as you think will cover the meat, well skimming it till no more scum arises, and pour it hot over the meat; so let it remain covered with leather for a week. Then hang up the collars in a draught of air, minding to turn them every morning regularly, or the neglect is certain to be detected when brought to table. Next suspend them in your chimney, and smoke them for a fortnight with

Oak lops or sawdust	2	parts
Beech chips	2	parts
Fern	1	part
Peat	1	part

When cold you can coat them with gelatine composition and keep them in malt cooms. Slices cut off these collars and broiled will be excellent in three months, or, if you choose to boil them and eat cold, take care they are put on the fire in ready boiling water, as we do not want venison broth. (See Note, No. 10.)

YOUNG PIG COLLARED.

Your porkman having supplied you with a short, round pig, say about ten to twelve weeks old, the neck taken off close up to the shoulders and split down the back, you will proceed to take out the bones and gristles and wash it five minutes in salt and water, then wipe dry and rub the following mixture—

Mace, beaten finely	½	oz.
Cloves, beaten finely	1	oz.
Nutmeg, beaten finely	1	oz.
Pepper, beaten finely	1	oz.
Salt, beaten finely	1½	lbs.

—in all parts well, and let them lie pressed closely for twenty-four hours, then take them up, wipe dry, roll the one half up into a collar, with tape and new linen, and boil it in a pickle made by boiling up the former used spices—adding thereto

Six laurel leaves, green
Twelve bay leaves
Vinegar	1	pint
Ginger, beaten coarsely	1	oz.
Bay salt	¾	oz.

—until tender. Examine the collars when nearly cold, and tighten the binding if requisite. Cut them through, in the middle, straight across, put each roll into a jar just capable of holding it; boil up the pickle again, adding vinegar and porter, if not enough to cover your meat completely; tie bladder over and keep a month, when it will be very rich, yet delicate. The pickle must have been well skimned and all fat removed from it. The other half may be thus treated, making an agreeable change, though this latter will be much higher flavoured: Proceed as with the last, until having rolled it up in a nice tight collar, you will make this pickle:

Sage leaves, shred	½	handful
Capsicums, mixed	½	oz.
Juniper berries, bruised	1	oz.
Six laurel leaves, shred
Garlic, shred	½	oz.
Porter or ale	1	quart
Salt	½	lb.

Boil these twenty minutes, skim well and pour over the meat, placed in a deep jar that will just hold it, and tying leather over let it remain three weeks. Then take it up, wipe dry, hang it in a current of dry air for a week, turning it daily, and smoke it with

Oak lops or sawdust	2	parts
Fern	2	parts
Beech or birch chips	2	parts

for three weeks. When cold you can coat it with gelatine, or if packed with hams, tongues, &c. &c., in malt cooms, will be a high, much esteemed article, after being kept a month or two to become mellow. Care must be taken in the broiling, as the meat will be extremely rich and tender.

POTTED HARE.

A large one is generally chosen for this purpose, although you run the risk of its not being tender; but since flavour is the essential here, we must guard against the toughness by hanging it with the skin on, and not opened for a fortnight if it came to hand quite fresh killed. A stuffing should be made of

Best salt butter	½	lb.
Grated bread.	1	lb.
Thyme, in powder	½	oz.
Marjorum, in powder	½	oz.
Lemon thyme, in powder	¾	oz.

and the hare stuffed and basted as if for the parlour or dining-room. Here, before the meat is cold, it should be separated from the bones and well picked over, then, with clarified butter at hand, it must be pounded well till of a nice stiff paste, and then seasoned with

Mace, in powder	½	oz.
Cloves, in powder	¾	oz.
Nutmegs, in powder	¾	oz.
Red currant jelly, liquefied	1	teacupful
Port wine	1	teacupful

When these are well blended with the mass, you may fill pots and jars, and proceed as usual with clarified butter to cover, and writing paper over the pots.

POTTED MOOR GAME.

It is absolutely necessary that the greatest nicety prevails in the picking and dressing of these species of game, and we shall leave that to the poulterer and the cook, and only offer our advice as to the different ingredients most acceptable as seasonings. Moor game will bear hanging longer, and must not be overdone with fire, as they possess a flavour well worth keeping. Season your birds with

Cloves	1	oz.
Mace	½	oz.
Cayenne	¾	oz.
Table salt	6	oz.
Bay leaves	2	oz.

and roast them a nice brown. Their heads, which in general are made to be seen protruding, should be glazed, and the pots just nicely adapted to contain one bird each. Clarified butter must wholly cover the body and half an inch above. Writing paper, pasted on, covers all.

POTTED SNIPES AND WOODCOCKS.

We see so many of these delicious birds now-a-days, particularly at our seaports opposite to the Continent, that we are reminded of the great gratifications of former days, when such things were not purchaseable, as to induce us to embrace the opportunity of preserving some. The trails must not be drawn, but the picking and dressing must be done effectually. Affix the bills to the thighs by skewers, the feet being brought on to the breasts, season inside rather highly with

Cayenne pepper	½	oz.
Table salt	6	oz.
Mace	1	oz.
Bay leaves	2	oz.

Place your birds in a straight-sided jar, with the best salt butter well washed, and bake slowly until done enough. Then pour off the butter, put the birds singly into pots, and next day clarify the used butter, adding more. Cover well and finish with writing paper pasted over.

POTTED TROUT.

Where the natural flavour of this delicious fish can be retained it is worth while potting them, and vice versâ. (See Note, No. 9.) From half a pound to one and a half pounds weight each fish, will be the best size for this preparation. Their freshness is insisted upon, or better to let them alone. Scale your fish, cut off the heads, tails, and fins, open them at the belly and wipe out clean, scatter good moist sugar over the inside of the fish, and bring the sides of them together again, pack them the backs downwards side by side, and let them lie till the next day. Then take

Bay leaves, in fine powder	1	oz.
Laurel leaves, shred	1	oz.
Mace, in fine powder	½	oz.
Nutmeg, in fine powder	1	oz.
White pepper, in fine powder	2	oz.
Table salt, in fine powder	6	oz.

Mix these well together and season the fish plentifully inside and out with it, lay them flat in a dish, cover with a coarse meal crust and bake them in a slow oven. Pour off the gravy while warm and let the fish remain till next day. Then cut your trout into pieces adapted to your pots, fill them, and pour clarified butter over to cover well, and if for long keeping at least an half inch thick above the fish. Next day, if all seem firm and safe, paste writing paper over and put away in a cool airy room.

POTTED EELS.

Provided the fish are fresh we shall not refuse any size for this purpose, from nine ounces to a pound each. They must be divested of their skins, heads, tails, and fins, and opened at the belly from the head down to the tail end. Clear all rubbish away, and at once wash them a minute or two in salt and water, and dry with cloths. Dust best flour over them and put them away, while you prepare a pickle of

Bay leaves, shred	1½	oz.
Laurel leaves	1½	oz.
Marjorum	2	oz.
Thyme	1	oz.

For ten pounds of eels:

Bay salt or rock	1½	lb.
Coarse sugar	½	lb.
Porter	½	pint
Beer	½	pint

Lay your fish in a deep dish, previously cut into pieces three inches long, or less, according to shape of your pots; with alternate layers of seasoning, cover all close down and let lie twenty-four hours, and if thick somewhat longer. When all are pickled, wash them through salt and water, dry with cloths, and dusting them with flour, fry them in boiling olive oil a nice brown colour, and put them as done to drain and get cold. Next day lay a pinch of crushed or shred chillies inside each piece of fish, and lay them into white pots, cover well with best butter clarified, and all over the tops thickly. Replenish next day if any has been absorbed, and make all safe with bladder. These will be much liked with wine.

POTTED SHRIMPS.

Whether you are about to pot a large or a small quantity of shrimps, and wish them to be “got up” in good style, and calculated to keep well, I must desire you to boil your own fish at home. This done, get them picked quickly as possible, then examine well that no skins or filaments remain, spread them out in clean dishes, and evaporate the moisture by a cool oven and attention, and will be only just accomplished when no two fish are found sticking together. Season them according to your own taste with this mixture:

Mace, in finest powder	½	oz.
Cloves, in finest powder	1	oz.
Table salt, in finest powder	1	lb.
Sifted loaf sugar	6	oz.
White pepper	2	oz.

All these must have been well dried, mixed, and sifted finely. Your pots must be particularly clean and dry, and the sooner they are filled with the fish the better. Press down the fish in the pots and dry them in a cool oven, but not to brown them. Set them aside to get cold, not damp, and cover well with best butter nicely clarified, and paste writing paper over the tops of the pots.

POTTED BEEF, AS HARE.

Get half a dozen pounds of fine beef skirts, hang them up in dry air for a week, or in hard weather for ten days, then beat them well with a paste pin, take off the skin and lay them down in a deep earthen pot, without cutting, and rub them well on both sides with

Jamaica pepper	1	oz.
Eschalots, minced	½	oz.
Thyme, in powder	1	oz.
Marjorum, in powder	1	oz.
Coarse sugar	1	lb.
Bay salt	1	lb.

and let them lie six days, being turned every day. Then take them up, wipe dry, and cut into pieces; lay them in a deep straight-sided jar, with a pound of the best salt butter dispersed in little lumps here and there between them, subject this to the action of a water bath until the meat is tender. You can raise the heat of the boiling water which surrounds the jar, by adding plenty of salt to it, by eight deg. Fahr. Then while hot pour off the gravy and set the meat in a dish to go cold. Next day take off the butter and fat from the gravy, cut your meat into dice, take out the films and strings, and with the butter and pounding bring the meat into a nice plastic consistence. If your hare is to be very highly flavoured you may add more thyme and cayenne. Now fill your pots and cover well with clarified butter, and again with wetted bladder.

POTTED NEATS’ TONGUES.

Unless the tongues were cured according to your own receipts, you cannot tell how to treat them for potting. I shall therefore consider that you have been under the necessity of purchasing some out of the pickle tub of the butcher, which, generally speaking, are not remarkable for excellence as regards flavour, and please observe that neats’ tongues have no piquant flavour of their own, it is always created by the curer. Take two tongues of seven or eight pounds each, boil them as usual, and rather underdone; take off the peel and extra root, gullet, and two and a half inches of the extreme tip, cut them into slices one inch thick, and lay them down in a jar, with

Molasses	1	lb.
Jamaica pepper	1	oz.
Garlic, minced	½	oz.
Shalots, minced	1	oz.
Bay leaves, in powder	1	oz.
Four laurel leaves
Bay salt	½	lb.
Porter, or old ale	½	pint