Upon The Mud, A Quantity Of Earth Should Be
Heaped, And The Oven Should Not Be Opened For Thirty Hours, Or
More.
At the expiration of that time, the foot will be perfectly
baked, and the sole will separate like a shoe, and expose a
delicate substance that, with a little oil and vinegar, together
with an allowance of pepper and salt, is a delicious dish that
will feed about fifty men.
The Arabs are particularly fond of elephant's flesh, as it is
generally fat and juicy. I have frequently used the fat of the
animal for cooking, but it should be taken from the body without
delay; as, if left for a few hours, it partakes of the peculiar
smell of the elephant, which no amount of boiling will overcome.
The boiling of fat for preservation requires much care, as it
should attain so great a heat that a few drops of water thrown
upon the surface will hiss and evaporate as though cast upon
molten metal; it should then be strained, and, when tolerably
cool, be poured into vessels, and secured. No salt is necessary,
provided it is thoroughly boiled. When an animal is killed, the
flesh should be properly dried, before boiling down, otherwise
the fat will not melt thoroughly, as it will be combined with the
water contained in the body. The fat should be separated as well
as possible from the meat; it should then be hung in long strips
upon a line and exposed in the sun to dry; when nearly dried, it
should be cut into pieces of about two inches in length, and
placed in a large vessel over a brisk fire, and kept constantly
stirred. As the fat boils out from the meat, the residue should
be taken out with a pierced ladle; this, when cool, should be
carefully preserved in leathern bags. This is called by the Arabs
"reveet," a supply of which is most valuable, as a quantity can
be served out to each man during a long march when there is no
time to halt; it can be eaten without bread, and it is extremely
nourishing. With a good supply of reveet in store, the traveller
need not be nervous about his dinner. Dried meat should also be
kept in large quantities; the best is that of the giraffe and
hippopotamus, but there is some care required in preparing the
first quality. It should be cut from portions of the animals as
free as possible from sinews, and should be arranged in long thin
strips of the diameter of about an inch and a quarter; these
ribbon-like morsels should be hung in the shade. When nearly dry,
they should be taken down, and laid upon a flat rock, upon which
they should be well beaten with a stone, or club of hard wood;
this breaks the fibre; after which they should be hung up and
thoroughly dried, care being taken that the flesh is not exposed
to the sun.
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