e outside of the meat to keep the
goodness inside?"
"I recollect it quite well," said Mary.
"So do I," said Margaret. "We put the leg of mutton into boiling
water for five minutes to cook the albumen on the outside of the
meat, which is like white of egg, to form a sort of case; and when
the case was formed we drew the meat back and let it simmer till it
was gently cooked all through."
"Excellent, Margaret. I think my small pupils do me great credit. As
in boiling meat we put the meat into boiling water, to harden the
albumen, so in broiling meat we put the meat near a fierce heat to
harden the albumen; and we turn the meat quickly so that the albumen
may be hardened on one side as well as the other. Now you know what
we have to do. Shall we begin?"
"Yes, please," answered the little girls, both together.
"You are quite ready? Because when once we have begun to broil we
must not try to attend to anything else till we have finished."
"We are quite ready," replied the children.
"Then, Mary, as you have done so much in preparing for us, you begin.
Put the steak on the hot greased gridiron--never mind the flare which
comes almost at once; it will not hurt us at this stage. If later it
gets unmanageable we will sprinkle a little salt on the fire, and
that will keep it down.
"May I turn it, mother?" said Margaret.
"Yes, dear. Stop, stop, though; what are you about, child? Surely you
are not going to put a fork into the lean part of the steak."
"I was, though, mother. How shall I take hold of it if I do not?"
"With the steak-tongs. Or if they are not at hand, use a spoon and
the flat side of a knife. But on no account stick a fork into the
lean. We are taking ever so much care to keep the juices in, and if
you stick a fork in you let them out most abundantly. It would not be
so mischievous to stick the fork into the fat, but to stick it into
the lean! Oh, Margaret!"
"I am very sorry, mother, I will never do it again."
"Never do it, dear, no matter how you are cooking the meat, that is,
of course, unless you wish to get the goodness out; that will alter
the state of the case altogether."
"Is it time to turn the steak again, mother?"
"Yes, dear. Turn it quickly, because by so doing you make both sides
brown, and that keeps in the juice. It is very curious how people who
are clever in Cookery differ about whether or not meat which is being
broiled should be turned. I say most decidedly, turn it f
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