To Clean Calf's Head

A calf's head may usually be purchased from the butcher already cleaned, but for the benefit of those who prefer, or are compelled, to clean it themselves, the proper mode of procedure is here given. Place the head in warm water for five minutes; then lift it out and powder the hair with pulverized resin. The resin is not indispensable, but it facilitates the operation. Have ready a large kettle of scalding water, and after using the powder, plunge the head into the kettle, covering every part. Raise it after one minute, hold it by the ear, and carefully scrape off all the hair. Then lay the head on a board, saw it in halves lengthwise through the skull, and take out the eyes, brain and tongue. Scrape the ear, nasal and throat passages well, scalding them if they do not seem perfectly clean ; and remove the gristle that is around the nose. Break the jaw-bone, remove the gums and teeth, and lay the head in a large panful of water to soak.

Half a head is generally enough to serve at one time.

Stewed Calf's Head,. With Brain Sauce

Put the head in slightly salted water, and boil until the meat is tender; then take it up, and drain well. Score the top a little, rub it over with melted butter, dredge with flour, and place it in the oven in a baking pan to brown. When browned, pour over the head the following sauce :

Brain Sauce

Soak the brains for half an hour in cold water. Remove the membrane that covers them, and make sure they are perfectly white and free of blood-filled veins by cleansing them again and again in fresh water. Place them in a piece of cheese-cloth, tie the ends, and stew them half an hour in enough water to cover ; then take them out, remove the cloth, after draining well, and mash them with the back of a strong spoon. Add gradually, that the mixture may not be lumpy, a small tea-cupful of the water in which the head was boiled; also season with salt and pepper, a large spoonful of butter, a pinch of sage and powdered cloves, and a tea-spoonful of chopped parsley, if it is available. Set the sauce on the fire to simmer gently while the head is browning.

Calf's Head Cheese

One calf's head.

One tea-spoonful of salt.

One tea-spoonfnl of summer savory.

One table-spoonful of chopped parsley.

One tea-spoonful of chopped onion.

One tea-spoonful of sweet marjoram.

One-quarter tea-spoonful of pepper.

One tea-spoonful of sage.

Place the head in enough hot water to cover it, and simmer until the meat will leave the bone. Take out the head very carefully on a skimmer, remove the bones, chop the meat, and add the seasoning. Have ready a small bag made of cheese-cloth, pack the mixture into it, tie the bag tightly, and hang it away to cool. When cold, turn the bag wrong side out off the meat. Serve cold for lunch or tea, cutting the cheese into thin slices.

Scalloped Calf's Brains

Two sets of brains.

One pint of bread-crumbs.

One egg.

One table-spoonful of vinegar.

One table-spoonful of butter.

One-half of a tea-spoonful of flour.

One-half of a tea-spoonful of chopped parsley.

One-half of a tea-spoonful of onion juice.

One tea-spoonful of salt.

One-quarter of a tea-spoonful of pepper.

Soak the brains for two hours in warm water, free them from the skin and large fibres, and wash in cold water. Tie them loosely in a piece of thin muslin, and place in enough boiling water to cover, adding the vinegar to the water. Boil thirty minutes, take out the brains, and plunge them into cold water. When cold, drain, and cut them into small pieces. Now make a sauce thus: Place the butter in a frying-pan, and when hot, add the flour. Stir until smooth and frothy, and then gradually add the milk. As soon as the liquid boils, add the parsley, onion juice and half the pepper and salt, the other half being sprinkled on the brains. Beat the egg, and add it to the brains, mixing well. Spread a layer of crumbs on the bottom of a baking-dish, then half the brains, then a layer of the sauce, and finally a layer of crumbs. Again arrange a layer of brains and sauce, and finish with crumbs. Bake twenty minutes in a moderate oven. It makes the dish richer, but not so delicate, to strew bits of butter on the top layer of crumbs. Serve in the dish the scallop is made in.