Beef Stew A La Mode

1 1/2 lbs. beef brisket

Flour

4 tablespoons rendered fat

1 onion

1/8 teaspoon pepper

6 cloves

2 teaspoons salt

2 slices lemon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Water to cover (about I pt.)

Buy two and one-half or three pounds of brisket to get one and one-half pounds of clear, lean meat. Cut the meat into one inch pieces, roll them in flour, and fry them in the fat till brown. The onion may be sliced and added when the meat is nearly brown. Put the meat with the other ingredients into a small cooker-pail, cover it with hot water, boil for ten minutes, and cook it in a hay-box for five hours or more. If left for many hours the meat becomes a trifle dry, but otherwise the stew is not injured by overcooking. The gravy may be thickened, if desired, with flour and water mixed together in equal parts. The bones may be put in with the stew during the cooking and removed before serving, or they may be used to make soup stock.

Serves five or six persons.

Beef Stew With Dumplings

2 cups cooked or raw beef 2 cups raw or cooked potatoes § cup tomato I onion, cut in slices 4 tablespoons rendered fat or butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup flour

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 1/2 cups water, or more

If cooked meat and potatoes are used, cut them in three-quarter-inch dice, make a brown sauce of the fat, flour, seasoning, and water, add the vegetables and meat and enough water to just cover the stew. Place the dumplings on top, boil it for five minutes, and cook in a hay-box for one and one-quarter hours. If the meat is tough it will be better to treat it like raw beef. If raw beef is used, cut it in pieces, bring it to a boil with the water, and put it into the cooker for three or four hours before adding the other ingredients.

Dumplings For Stew

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons lard or butter

4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 to 1 cup water

Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together, work the fat into them with the fingers, or cut it in with a knife. Add enough water to make a stiff dough. Drop it by tablespoonfuls on the top of the stew. The dumplings should rest on the meat and vegetables, as they will not be so light if submerged in the gravy. Serves six or seven persons.

Irish Stew

3 cups meat 2 cups potatoes 1/2 cup turnip 1/2 cup carrot 1/3 cup onion

1/2 cup celery

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup flour

4 tablespoons rendered fat

3 cups water

Wash and cut about two pounds of beef, from the leg, brisket or other cheap cuts, into one-inch pieces. Remove most of the fat, or all of it, if desired. Wash and pare the turnip and carrot and cut them into small pieces. Pare the potatoes and cut them into one-inch cubes. Slice the onion and cut the celery into small pieces. Roll the meat in the flour and fry it till it is brown in the fat. Put all the ingredients, except the remaining flour, into a cooker-pail and, when boiling, put them into a cooker for five hours. Mix the remaining flour with an equal quantity of cold water. Stir it into the stew, and when it has boiled it is ready to serve. It will not be harmed by being kept hot in the cooker for another hour or more.

Serves eight or ten persons.