Beef

Take half a pound of brown sugar, and an ounce of saltpetre, and rub it into twelve pounds of beef. Let it lie twenty-four hours; then wash it clean, and dry it well with a cloth. Season it to the taste, with pepper, salt, and mace, and cut it into five or six pieces. Put it into an earthen pot, with a pound of butter in lumps upon it, set it in a hot oven, and let stand there three hours. Then take it out, cut off the hard outsides, and beat it in a mortar. Add to it a little more pepper, salt, and mace. Then oil a pound of butter in the gravy and fat that came from the beef, and put it in as required ; but beat the meat exceedingly fine. Then put it into the pots, press it close down, pour clarified butter over it, and keep it in a dry place.

Or, take a buttock of beef, and cut the lean of it into pound pieces. To eight pounds of beef, take four ounces of saltpetre, the same quantity of petre-salt, a pint of white salt, and an ounce of sal-prunella. Beat all the salts very fine, mix them well together, and rub them into the beef. Then let it lie four days, turning it twice a day. After that, put it into a pan, cover it with pump-water, and a little of its own brine. Bake it in an oven, with the household bread, till it is tender ; drain it from the gravy ; and take out all the skin and sinews. Pound it into a marble mortar, lay it in a broad dish, and mix in it a quarter of an ounce of cloves and mace, three quarters of an ounce of pepper, and a nutmeg, all beat very fine. Mix all well with the meat, adding a little clarified fresh butter to moisten it. Mix all again well together, press it down into pots very hard, set it at the mouth of the oven just to settle, and cover it two inches thick with clarified butter. Cover it with white paper as soon as it is cold.

Or, take two pounds of lean beef, cut it into slices, and lay them upon a plate; season with salt and pepper, and a little cochineal. Turn and season them on the other side, and then let them lie one upon another all night; put them into a pan ; add to them half a pint of small beer, a little vinegar, and as much water as will cover them, and some black and Jamaica pepper: cover very close, and bake them. When they are baked, take the slices out of the pickle, while they are hot, let them lie till cold, and then beat them in a mortar. Add to them a pound of fresh butter, while they are beating, some salt, pepper, and nutmeg. When they are well beaten, put them into the pot, and when the bread is drawn, put it into the oven until it is hot through. When cold, cover it over with clarified butter, and it will keep a month or two.

To Pot Cold Beef

Cut it small, add to it some melted butter, two anchovies, boned and washed, and a little Jamaica pepper beat fine. Put them into a marble mortar, and beat them well together till the meat is yellow. Then put it into pots, and cover with clarified butter.

Small Birds

Having picked and gutted the birds, dry them well with a cloth, and season them with pepper, salt, and mace. Then put them into a pot with butter, tie the pot down with paper, and bake them in a moderate oven. When they come out, drain the gravy from them, and put them into potting-pots. Pour clarified butter over them, and cover them close.