I mean, these in no way resemble olives.

Recipe: Beef Olives

I assume this is just a technique, rather than the author being confused that she was somehow creating actual olives. Because, friends, as you can see, no actual olives are involved:

“Cut a Rump of Beef into long Streaks, cut them square, and wash them with an Egg and season them; lay on some Force-Meat, and roll them and tie them up fast, and either roast them or stove them tender. Sauce them with Shalots, Gravy, and Vinegar.”

— The Whole Duty of a Woman… 1737 (p. 290)

More beef olives, your eminence?

Step 1

Let’s mull this over for a moment before we begin.

Okay, I am picturing something like braciole here, just sub the tomato sauce for some sort of vinegar gravy. Right? I mean, beef rolled up with stuffing? Of course the stuffing is just more meat. Let’s be honest, the authors of The Whole Duty of a Woman were all about stuffing meat with meat. They would have loved turduckens.

Step 2

“Cut a Rump of Beef into long Streaks, cut them square,”

This is not beef. It’s bacon. But this is what I think of as meat streaks.

Translation:

Long streaks, you say. I had to read it five times to be sure they didn’t mean steaks. So is this where streaky bacon gets its name? I always assumed it was from the fat streaks, but maybe it was the cut?

Anyway, cut that beef into thin strips is what I’m hearing.

Step 3

“and wash them with an Egg and season them”

This is like a deconstruction of these instructions.

Translation:

So dunk them in an egg wash and season with salt and pepper, I guess?

Step 4

“lay on some Force-Meat, and roll them and tie them up fast,”

Like this?

Translation:

So I know forcemeat is ground meet like in a terrine, but what does “lay on” mean? Am I wrapping the “Rump of Beef” cubes in this “Force-Meat” to make them look like olives?

What I think we’re supposed to do is put a dollop of ground (minced) beef on top of the beef strip and then roll it up and tie it with kitchen twine.

Step 5

“and either roast them or stove them tender.”

Stove those things for crying out loud.

Translation:

So “stove them tender” must mean braise on the stove top? Maybe just roast them so you don’t have to wonder.

Step 6

“Sauce them with Shalots, Gravy, and Vinegar.”

I’m picturing this as an outcome. Minus the rotini.

Translation:

I think we’re talking about a pan sauce here where it says gravy. Basically, throw some shallots and wine (or vinegar) in with the roasting/pan juices and let it reduce for a hot minute. Please don’t put vinegar into a country-type white gravy.