for shortening or frying purposes; fat from mutton and smoked meats may be used for making hard and soft soap; fat removed from soup stock, the water in which corned beef has been cooked, and drippings from roast beef, may be tried out, clarified, and used for shortening or frying purposes.
To Try out Fat. Cut in small pieces and melt in top of a double boiler; in this way it will require less watching than if placed in kettle on the back of range. Leaf lard is tried out in the same way; in cutting the leaf, remove membrane. After straining lard, that which remains may be salted, pressed, and eaten as a relish, and is called scraps.
Sautéing is frying in a small quantity of fat. Food so cooked is much more difficult of digestion than when fried in deep fat; it is impossible to cook in this way without the food absorbing fat. A frying-pan or griddle is used; the food is cooked on one side, then turned, and cooked on the other.
Braising is stewing and baking (meat). Meat to be braised is frequently first sautéd to prevent escape of much juice in the gravy. The meat is placed in a pan with a small quantity of stock or water, vegetables (carrot, turnip, celery, and union) cut in pieces, salt, pepper, and sweet herbs. The pan should have a tight-fitting cover. Meat so prepared should be cooked in an oven at low uniform temperature for a long time. This is an economical way of cooking, and the only way besides stewing or boiling of making a large piece of tough meat palatable and digestible.
Fricasseeing is sautéing and serving with a sauce. Tender meat is fricasseed without previous cooking; less tender meat requires cooking in hot water before fricasseeing. Although veal is obtained from a young creature, it requires long cooking; it is usually sautéd, and then cooked in a sauce at low temperature for a long time.
