291. Salt Round of Beef.—This magnificent joint is, in general, too large for small families, but occasionally it may be used; the following is, therefore, the best method of cooking it: having folded the fat round it, and fastened it with skewers, tie round it, not too tight, some wide tape and a thin cloth, place it in a large stock-pot with plenty of cold water, set it upon a good fire, and when beginning to boil, draw it to the corner, where let it simmer until done; five hours will be enough for a large one of thirty to thirty-five pounds; when done, remove the cloth and tape, and dish it up, previously cutting a slice two inches thick from the top, pouring a pint of the hot liquor over it when serving. To serve it cold, M. Soyer, in his “Regenerator,” thus describes it:
“After receiving the above useful lesson, and being desirous of improving my profession in all its branches, I remembered that, amongst the number of joints boiled to serve cold for large civic, agricultural, or benevolent anniversary dinners, the round of beef was the most prominent, and having seen it standing in dishes to get cold, with the dish filled with the gravy that runs from it, particularly if a little over-done, caused me to hit upon the following expedient to prevent the meat losing so much of its succulence.
“Fill two large tubs with cold water, into which throw a few pounds of rough ice, and when the round is done, throw it, cloth and all, into one of the tubs of ice-water; let remain one minute, when take out and put it into the other tub; fill the first tub again with water, and continue the above process for about twenty minutes; then set it upon a dish, leaving the cloth on until the next day, or until quite cold; when opened, the fat will be as white as possible, besides having saved the whole of the gravy. If no ice, spring water will answer the same purpose, but will require to be more frequently changed; the same mode would be equally successful with the aitch-bone.”