Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

302 CAMPING AND WOODCRAFTMeat Gravies and Sauces.— A gravy is seasonedwith nothing but salt and pepper, the objectbeing to preserve the flavor of the meat. A sauceis highly seasoned to disguise poor meat, or madeoverdishes, or whatever has been served so oftenthat itbegins to pall on the appetite.An abundance of rich gravy is relished bycampers who do not carry butter. They havenothing else to make their bread '' slip down."Good gravy cannot be made from meat that hasbeen fried properly or broiled, because the juice isleft in the meat. Our pioneer families seldom hadbutter, yet they had to eat a much larger componentof bread than we do, from lack of side dishes.Hence the ''fried-to-a-chip " school of cookery.In such case, the right way is obvious, grantingthat you have plenty of meat. Fry properlyenough meat for the party and leave enough morein the pan to make gravy. Gash or mince this remainder,cook all the juice out of it without scorching,throw out the refuse meat, rub in a thickeningprepared in advance as directed belou^, salt and pepper,then thin to the desired consistency with boiling water. The thickening is made by rubbingcold milk, or water, or broth, a little at a time, intoa spoonful of flour, until a smooth paste is formedthat will just drop from a spoon ; or thicken withroux. Chopped liver improves a gravy.Roux (pronounced "roo") is a thickening foigravy or soups that can be prepared at any timeand kept ready for emergencies. It v^'ill keep goodfor months in a covered jar. A teaspoonfulthickens half a pint of gravy, or a pint of soup.Brown roux is made thus: Melt slowly ^ lb.of butter, skim it well, let it stand for a minuteto settle, and pour it off from the curd. Put theclear oily butter into a pan over a slow^ fire, shakeinto it enough sifted flour (7 or 8 oz.) to make athick paste. Stir constantly and heat slow^ly andevenly until it is very thick and of a bright browncnlnr. Put it ieto a jar. White roux is made in