Potted Neats’ Tongues
A historical recipe from The art and mystery of curing, preserving, and potting all kinds of meats, game, and fish, by Anonymous (1864).
A historical recipe
The art and mystery of curing, preserving, and potting all kinds of meats, game, and fish; also, the art of pickling and the preservation of fruits and vegetables, by Anonymous (1864). Project Gutenberg eBook #71687.
From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards. Its words name: preserving or pickling, curing or salting meat, a substance or vessel no longer considered safe. Check current food-safety guidance before following this.
Credit
From The art and mystery of curing, preserving, and potting all kinds of meats, game, and fish, by Anonymous (1864). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #71687 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71687). Public domain in the USA; its status may differ elsewhere.
What was changed: As printed, from the book's text; Project Gutenberg's header and licence removed. Ingredient lines were read out of the text by a program. A historical recipe, not current advice.
- Preserving. Old preserving methods may not make food safe to keep. Use current tested guidance.
- Curing. Old curing amounts and salts may be unsafe. Use current tested guidance.
- Additives or old utensils. The text names something no longer considered safe in food or for cooking in, such as lead, alum, borax, bitter almonds or copper pans. Don't use it.
Ingredients
- eight pounds each
- 1 oz. Garlic
- ½ oz. Shalots
- 1 oz. Bay leaves
- ½ lb. Porter
Method
- 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 These must be simmered half an hour and put into the jar hot, then cover close with paper and let remain in a week;
- then take up and wash the meat quickly with water half a pint, and vinegar half a pint, cut then into dice and pound them in a mortar with fresh butter till you have got a nice, smooth, thick paste.
- Fill clean dry pots and jars, and leave them in a cool oven for two hours.
- Then press the meat down well, and next day cover with plenty of best clarified butter and tie white paper over.
- This is a quick method of getting a very excellent article of its sort, and as the same ingredients would perfect three or four tongues more in succession, it is economical in the end.
Plating
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