It may seem a contradiction to say so, but the great art of boiling meat properly is not to let the meat boil. When we speak of boiling meat, we mean that the meat is to be eaten, for very often meat is placed in water for the purpose of getting the juices out of it. "We will describe first how to boil a joint of meat - say, a leg of mutton or a piece of silverside of beef, weighing about 8 or 9 lbs., and explain the reasons of what we do.

When the water in a saucepan bubbles at the top and steams, it is said to boil, and if you put meat into it in this state the meat very soon becomes hard and tough. The reason of this is that meat contains a good deal of a substance the same as the white of an egg. Now you know a raw egg is a liquid, but if you boil it, it becomes hard from being heated. Just so with the meat.

When we boil meat to eat it, what we want is to have the meat tender and as much goodness in it as is possible. In fact our endeavour must be to keep the flavour in. Therefore, take a saucepan large enough to hold the meat, and place in it a sufficient quantity of water to cover the meat. Add a spoonful of salt. Place the saucepan on the fire and bring the water to a boil. As soon as the water boils - and you can tell when it boils by its bubbling - place the joint of meat in it. Be sure that the water covers the meat. Take care also that the meat is clean. You should wipe it with a cloth, but do not wash the meat, as by so doing you will lose some of the goodness. Of course, putting in a large joint of meat will stop the water from boiling. Put the lid on the saucepan, which must be kept on the fire, and wait a short time - about ten minutes - then take off the lid and take a large spoon and skim off the surface the dirty sort of froth that has risen to the top. This is called scum, and is one of the very few things in cooking that may be thrown away. This scum will rise before the water begins to boil again, and should be carefully removed at once. When you know more about cooking, you will know that this is more important than you think it is now. As soon as the water boils thoroughly once again, lift the saucepan off the fire on to the side, so as to stop the boiling at once. Now the outside of the meat has been in contact with boiling water, and therefore has got hard, but it is only the outside, and this is what we wanted, as the meat will be entirely surrounded by a rather hard skin, not thicker, perhaps, than a kid glove, which hard skin will help to keep in the juice and gravy, or what we call the goodness. Let the saucepan now stand for some time off the fire - say for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes - so that the meat may get hot right through.

This will prevent the meat at the finish being overboiled outside, and blue in the middle. Then place the saucepan on the fire again, and let it "simmer." The time for simmering should be from ten to twelve minutes for every pound of meat. Next: Do you understand what I mean by "simmer"? because this is the point where you will probably begin to break down. My experience is, that not one cook in a hundred seems to distinguish between simmering and boiling. They say, oh! its only boiling very gently. Now it is a fact that water, if it boils at all, is just as hot boiling gently as it is when it boils what cooks call furiously. I have, however, given up, years back, the idea of making cooks believe this. They simply won't. First, simmering is not boiling at all; it is keeping the water nearly boiling. When it is in this state little tiny bubbles every now and then come up at the edges, but you must not let it get beyond this point.

The meat will be done after it has simmered for the time I said. Then take it out of the water, and place it on a dish previously made very hot.

Pour about half a pint of the liquor in which it has been boiled over it, and send up another half-pint, or rather more, of boiling liquor about a quarter of an hour afterwards, to be poured over the meat in time for the "second help." When a joint is very small and thin - for instance, a thin piece of neck of mutton - it should be placed in hot water, but not boiling, as you risk making it hard. The water then should only simmer, and should never boil at all.

Salt meat should be put in cold water after being washed thoroughly in fresh water. The water should then be slowly brought up to the simmering point.

In boiling fish, recollect that white fish cooks quicker than meat; all large white fish should be placed in cold water, and then brought gradually to the boiling point, and then be allowed to go off the boil and simmer gently, e.g., turbot, cod, skate, plaice, large haddocks, hake, halibut, brill. A tablespoonful of salt should be added to every half-gallon of water. Keep the fish white side uppermost. Rub the white side if possible with a slice of lemon before putting it into the water; or with a cloth dipped in a little vinegar and water - half and half.

In boiling fish be very careful about skimming. Take off every speck of scum. Ordinary-sized fish are done within a few minutes from the time the water has boiled. Even a good-sized turbot need only simmer for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes.

Be careful in taking out the fish not to break it. If you have a fish-kettle and a drainer this is easy; if you have not a drainer it is difficult. A couple of large slices used for taking up fried eggs - one each side - and a steady hand, and not being in a hurry, will generally be found successful. A large turbot should be cut across the dark side previous to its being placed in the fish-kettle, in order to prevent the white side splitting whilst boiling.

Small fish, such as soles, flounders, slices of cod, etc., are best put into warm (not boiling) water. Salmon and trout are best put into boiling water. This will take the water off the boil; then let them simmer till done. Salmon and trout require longer boiling than ordinary fish.

Lastly, never attempt to boil frozen meat or fish till it has thawed. Meat is best thawed gradually by being placed in a hot kitchen for a few hours; fish is best thawed by being placed in water the temperature of summer heat.

Bacon, pork, and ham should be placed in cold water, and brought gradually to the simmering point. Turkeys, fowls, rabbits, etc., should be placed in warm water and then simmered. Recollect, vegetables require boiling, meat only simmering; c therefore you can never, as a rule, boil vegetables with the meat without spoiling one of them.

The water in which every kind of meat, poultry, and fish is boiled must be skimmed. N.B. - The temperature of boiling water is 212°. The temperature of water simmering should be about 160° to 170°. Meat will generally take a little longer time to boil in winter than in summer, even if not frozen.