From "Brains and Brawn... Trotters and Tripe 

This extraordinary compilation cook  book contains over 750 bizarre vintage recipes that will make your eyes water, and, possibly, your mouth! 
Even if you're dubious about the Victorian culinary delights of taboo dishes such as "scrapple" or "head-cheese", it makes a highly entertaining and often humorous read. Buy it now for $24.95 "This is one of the most unusual cookery books you can find, anywhere!"

“…throw in a pigeon…remember this is a soup for a convalescent”

“Every bit of marrow in bones should be scraped out and carefully used. Its taste is more delicate than that of suet, and it can be substituted for butter even in fine cake.”

 “Chitterlings require a great deal of care in their preparation; in fact it must be remarked that the quality depends entirely upon the proper cleansing of the bowels.”

“MAIDS should likewise be hung one day, at least. May be boiled or fried, or if a tolerable size, the middle may be boiled, and the fins fried. They should be seasoned with Cayenne and salt, then dipped in egg, and covered with crumbs.”

“Never buy a dead lobster.”

“An unsatisfied stomach, or one overworked by having to wrestle with food which has bulk out of all proportion to flavor, too often makes its vengeful protest in dyspepsia. It is said underdone mutton cost Napoleon the battle of Leipsic, and eventually his crown. I wonder, now and then, if the prevalence of divorce has any connection with the decline of home cooking?”

“You will find the calf's head soup the most delicious soup in the cookery.”

“Collect a pint of blood either from a hare, rabbit or chicken, stir into it a little vinegar to prevent coagulation…”

“The small cat-fish of our inland lakes and streams are altogether respectable, except in their unfortunate name”

 “Skin, clean, and cut off the horribly homely heads. Sprinkle with salt, to remove any muddy taste they may have contracted from the flats or holes in which they have fed.”

“Cut off the windpipes and prick the tongues with the point of a trussing needle…”

 “If you can have a tin mould made in the shape of a boar's head your brawn will look well at a Christmas feast.”

 “Take the largest eels you can get, skin and split them down the belly, take out the bones, season them with a little mace…”

 “In Scotland, the head is usually singed with a red-hot iron to remove the wool, but without burning or otherwise injuring the skin.”

 “Wash and quarter three or four good sized squirrels…”

 “The appearance and odor of this stew are so pleasing as often to overcome the prejudices of those who "Wouldn't touch an eel for the world ! They look so like snakes!"”

 “Let the birds hang as long as they can possibly be kept without becoming offensive…”

 “If people generally knew how nice a calf's heart is, if properly cooked, the butchers would never charge so little as ten cents fo it. In France, the calf's heart and kidneys are considered great delicacies. In America they are often thrown away”

 “Bleed them and save the blood, then wash them in hot water to take off the slime, cut them in pieces…”

 “Scrappel is a most palatable dish. Take the head, heart and any lean scraps of pork, and boil until the flesh slips easily from the bones.”

 “When the tripe is tender, it will be done. A lemon may be sent to table with it.”

 “Epicures take the birds by the legs, and bite them in mouthfuls, beginning at the head. The bones are so small and tender that they can be eaten. Some persons cut the birds in quarters before eating, and do not eat the gizzards; the trail is always eaten.”

 “Scour the head and ears nicely; take off the hair and snout, and take out the eyes and the brains…”

 “The hindquarters and the toddle. of a young bear are the best for roasting. Meat from an old bear should be pickled in vinegar for a few days and then laid in milk for another day before roasting.”

 “Some cooks singe the hair from the feet, etcetera, but this destroys the colour: good souse will always be white.”

 “A great variety of excellent dishes may be made from a sheep's head, which in India, where veal is not so easily procurable, answers all the purposes for mock turtle…”

 “Epicures say you should never take any thing out of a woodcock or snipe. The head of the woodcock is considered a great delicacy.”

 “As a bustard is nearly always tough, it is necessary to hang it up for several days. Pick, singe, draw and clean it well; cut off the pinions, neck and drumsticks; detach the legs from the body as well as the breasts…”

 “An excellent soup can be made of the giblets, that is, heart, liver and neck of chicken, and other fowls, which in city markets are sold separately and very cheap…”

“Take one dozen lady fingers, put jelly between each and line a pudding dish with them.”

“Lettuce, greens and celery, though much eaten, are worse than cabbage, being equally indigestible without the addition of condiments. Besides, the lettuce contains narcotic properties.”

“Before the tongue is salted, the gullet, which has an unsightly appearance, should be trimmed away: it is indeed usual to take the root off entirely, but some families prefer it left on for the sake of the fat.”  

All of the recipes in this compilation are taken from recipe books, published in the United States, the United Kingdom or Australia, roughly between the American Revolution and the Great War. From the rough, homestead fare of post-Revolutionary America, to the refined New York hotel cuisine imported by French chefs such as Pierre Blot, and the influences of immigrant traditions from Old Europe and Asia.

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