CLAM SWEETBREADS may be stewed exactly as above, only that clams must be substituted for oysters; the clams being cut up very small, and put in at the _beginning_ along with the liquor, &c. The flavour they impart to the stew is by many persons considered superior to that of oysters.
In stewing sweetbreads you may either divide them into halves or quarters.
When cooked with oysters or clams they require no salt.
Sweetbreads should be large, fine, of a delicate colour, and _perfectly fresh_; otherwise they are unfit to eat. They spoil sooner than any part of the calf.
SWEETBREAD OMELET.--For an omelet of six or seven eggs, take two fine sweetbreads. Split them; take out the gristle; and soak them in two lukewarm waters, to extract all the blood. Then put them into very hot water; boil them ten minutes; take them out; set them away to cool; and afterwards mince them small, and season them with a very little salt and cayenne pepper, and some grated nutmeg. Beat the eggs (omitting the whites of two) till very light. Then mix in the chopped sweetbreads. Put three ounces or more of fresh butter into a small frying-pan, and place it over the fire. Stir the butter with a spoon, as it melts; and when it comes to a boil, put in the mixture, stirring it awhile after it is all in. Fry it a rich brown. Heat the plate or dish in which you turn it out of the pan. An omelet should never be turned while frying. The top may be well browned by holding about it a salamander or a red-hot shovel.
If you wish it very thick have _three_ sweetbreads.
While frying the omelet, lift the edge occasionally by slipping a knife-blade under it, that the butter may get well beneath.
If the omelets are cooked too much they will become tough, and leather-like. Many persons prefer having them sent to table as _soft omelets_, before they have set, or taken the form of a cake. In this case, serve up the omelet in a deep dish, and help it with a spoon.
A ROUND OF BEEF STEWED BROWN.--Take a round of fresh beef; the larger it is the more tender it will be: a small round is always, comparatively, hard and tough. Remove the fat; with a sharp knife make deep cuts or incisions all over the meat, and stuff into them a seasoning of finely minced onions, mixed with powdered mace, nutmeg, and a little pepper and salt. Then go all over the meat with the drippings or cold gravy of roast beef, and dredge it slightly with flour. Have ready an iron dutch-oven and its lid, well heated by standing up both lid and oven before the fire. Then put the meat into the oven, cover it, and let it brown on all sides. Have ready, cut into small pieces, two turnips; four carrots; four oyster plants or salsify; three stalks of celery; two small onions; and two large tomatoes, or a large table-spoonful of tomato catchup. After the meat is browned, raise it up, and place the vegetables underneath it, and pour on three half-pints of water, or more if the round is very large. Let it cook slowly in the oven, with a regular fire, for several hours, till it is entirely done all through; taking care to keep it closely covered. After the meat is taken out, place it on a large hot dish, with the vegetables round it. Cover it, and keep it hot while you thicken the gravy with a small tea-spoonful of flour, and the beaten yolk of an egg. Simmer this gravy a few minutes, then put it into a sauce-boat, and serve it up with the meat.
