Beef a la Mode Recipe ingredients

To prepare this Beef a la Mode Recipe, first get a thick piece of beef of 4 or 5 pounds from the round or rump. Trim the edges into good shape, wipe, and put it into a deep earthen bowl or jar. Pour over it a cupful of vinegar, in which have been steeped 1 finely chopped onion, 2 tablespoonfuls salt, 1 saltspoonful pepper, 1 teaspoonful each cloves, allspice, and mustard; a blade or two of mace and a bay leaf.

Turn the meat around in this pickle, and leave in it for several hours, turning it over several times. Make several deep incisions and fill them with a dressing of bread crumbs seasoned plentifully with salt, pepper, finely minced onion, or a few drops of onion juice, kitchen bouquet, and sweet herbs. Mix with the beaten yolk of 1 egg a tablespoonful of butter or drippings, moistened sufficiently with hot water. Tie well with twine or strips of muslin, or skewer the incisions with wooden toothpicks to keep the stuffing in, and dredge it with flour.

Mince or slice 2 onions, 1 small carrot, fry them in half beef drippings and half fat salt pork. When brown, put in the meat and brown it on all sides, and pour in enough boiling water to half cover the meat. Tie a tablespoonful of the mixed herbs and a small onion in a piece of cheesecloth and put in the pan with the meat; cover closely, and let it simmer three or four hours.

When tender take up on a hot platter, take off the strings. Skim the fat from the liquor, take out the bag of herbs, and make a thickened gravy; boil, and strain the gravy over the meat.