If the chicken is done before the sauce is reduced or is rather thick, dish the meat and put it away in a warm place, boil the rest slowly till reduced, and then turn it over the meat. Serve with or without a border, as in a fricassée. Truffles may be used instead of mushrooms, if handy, or liked. Water may be used instead of broth, but it is inferior.
Another.—To be good sauté, the chicken must be young and tender. Clean, prepare, and cut as directed. Put about one ounce and a half of butter in a frying-pan, set it on the fire, and when melted put the pieces of chicken in, stir now and then till all the pieces have a golden hue; add a tablespoonful of flour, stir again for about one minute; then add also salt and pepper, half a pint of broth, or one gill of broth and one gill of white wine; boil gently for five or six minutes. Add again a teaspoonful of parsley chopped fine, five or six mushrooms cut in slices, keep it boiling gently till done, and serve warm.
If the sauce is boiling away, or is found too thick, add a little broth. Use Champagne, Sauterne, or Catawba wine. It is much better with wine than without.
Another.—Clean, prepare, and cut the chicken as for fricassée. Put it in a saucepan with about an ounce of butter, set on the fire, stir once in a while till all the pieces are of a fine golden color; then pour off the fat that may be in the pan. Sprinkle a tablespoonful of flour all over it, and stir for about half a minute, then add three or four shallots, or two or three small green onions, chopped fine, parsley, and three or four mushrooms, both cut in small pieces, a bunch of seasonings composed of four sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and one clove, salt, and pepper.
Stir often till cooked, and serve with a few drops of lemon-juice sprinkled on it when dished.
Dish as directed for fricassée.
Stewed.—Clean, prepare, and cut the chicken in pieces as for fricassée. Brown them in a saucepan with about one ounce of butter, then take the pieces off, add half a tablespoonful of flour to the butter, stir for one minute, then add also three or four mushrooms in slices, a small onion, and half a dozen sprigs of parsley chopped fine, stir for two or three minutes, then cover with half a pint of white wine and the same of broth, boil for ten minutes, put the pieces of chicken back into the pan, boil gently till done, and serve warm as it is.
The pieces of chicken are dished as directed for fricassée.
Stuffed with Bread.—Soak stale bread in cold water, and then squeeze the water out of it. Put one ounce of butter in a saucepan and set it on the fire; as soon as melted, add one middling-sized onion chopped fine, and stir till it turns rather yellow, then add the bread, stir two minutes; add again salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, two or three tablespoonfuls of broth; stir again two or three minutes, take from the fire, mix in it a yolk of egg, put back on the fire for half a minute, stirring the while, take off again, add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and use. Fill the crop (we mean the place where the crop was) and also the body or inside of the bird with the above mixture, truss it as directed; roast or bake it, and serve with the gravy.
Stuffed with Sausage-meat.—Set a saucepan on the fire with about half an ounce of butter in it; when melted add an onion chopped fine, stir, and, when nearly fried, add also the heart and liver of the bird, chopped fine, four, six, or eight ounces of sausage-meat (according to the size of the bird), stir for about twelve minutes, take from the fire, mix a yolk of egg with it, also four or five mushrooms chopped, or one or two truffles, chopped also, put back on the fire for five minutes, stirring the while, take from the fire again, fill the prepared bird with the mixture, and as above, roast or bake it, and serve it with its gravy.
Stuffed with Chestnuts.—Roast chestnuts and skin them, removing also the white envelope that is under the outside skin. Fill the inside of a cleaned and prepared chicken till half full, add about one and a half ounces of butter, finish the filling; truss, roast or bake as directed, and serve the bird with its gravy.
Stuffed with Truffles.—The truffles, being preserved, do not require any preparation, half a pound is enough for a middling-sized chicken; it is not necessary to put any where the crop was.
Salt and pepper the inside of the bird, and put in it also about a teaspoonful of parsley chopped fine, then the truffles; sew the incision made to draw it; truss it as directed, and roast or bake.
The same, stewed.—When stuffed, put four ounces of salt pork cut in dice in a saucepan, with slices of onion and carrot, place the chicken on them, season with four stalks of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and one clove tied together; half cover it with broth and white wine, of equal parts, set on the fire, boil gently till done, turning it over several times. Dish the bird, strain the sauce over it, and serve warm.
After being stuffed with truffles, it may be kept two days before cooking.
Cold.—What is left from the previous day's dinner is known under the name of cold meat.
For about half a chicken put one ounce of butter in a saucepan, and, when melted, turn into it a financière garniture, and half a pint of Madeira wine, boil gently about eight minutes, put the cold chicken cut in pieces in it; leave just long enough on the fire to warm it, and serve.
If not a roasted or broiled chicken, or part of either, you merely warm it in the bain-marie if possible, or on the fire, and serve as it is.
If roasted or broiled, it is served in blanquette, thus:
Cut up the meat in slices, have in a stewpan and on a good fire a piece of butter the size of two walnuts; when melted, sprinkle in it a pinch of flour, stirring with a wooden spoon the while; then pour in also, little by little, two gills of warm broth, same of boiling water, half a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and two or three small onions fried in butter; boil fifteen minutes. After that time subdue the fire, place the slices of chicken in the pan, and serve as it is when well warmed.
Instead of onions, slices of pickled cucumbers may be used.
Another way.—Cut up the chicken or part of it as for fricassée. Put a little butter in a stewpan and set on the fire; when melted, sprinkle in it a little flour, half a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, same of chopped mushrooms, stir with a wooden spoon the while, two or three minutes after which add two gills of white wine, boil the whole fifteen minutes; then subdue the fire, put the pieces of chicken in the pan, and serve as it is when warm.
It may also, after it is cut up, be served cold, with an oil, piquante, or poivrade sauce.
The same, in Fricassée.—An old chicken that has been used to make broth, either alone or with beef, when cool, or the next day, may be prepared just as a spring chicken in fricassée.
In Salad.—It is made with cold chicken, roasted or baked, with a whole one or part of it.
Cut all the meat in dice and put it in a bowl.
Cut just as much roasted or baked veal in dice also, and put with the chicken.
Cut also about as much table celery as chicken, which put with the meat also. Season with salt, pepper, vinegar, and very little oil; stir and mix the whole well. Add also some lettuce, and mix again gently. Put the mixture then on a platter, making a small mound with it; spread a Mayonnaise-sauce all over it; decorate with hard-boiled eggs, cut in four or eight pieces, lengthwise; also with centre leaves of lettuce, capers, boiled beets, and even slices of lemon.
A bard-boiled egg is cut across in two, then with a sharp knife scallop each half, invert them and run a small skewer through both, so as to leave the smaller end of both halves in the middle and touching; place the egg right in the middle of the dish, when the Mayonnaise is spread all over; plant the centre leaves of a head of lettuce in the middle of the upper half of the egg, with a few capers in it, and serve.
Some use mustard with a chicken salad; it is really wrong, because chickens and Mayonnaise-sauce are too delicate to use mustard with them.
CAPON.
A caponed chicken is cleaned, prepared, cooked, and served in the same and every way as a common chicken.
A capon is almost always fat, larger than an ordinary chicken, and has a more delicate and tender flesh.
Roasted and served in the different ways described for chicken, it makes a recherché dish, also when stuffed with chestnuts or truffles, as a common chicken.
Boiled.—Clean and prepare as directed above; rub the fleshy part with lemon, envelop it with slices of bacon, place it in a stewpan with one sprig of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, one clove, a small carrot, two onions, salt, and pepper; cover with half water and half broth, and set on a moderate fire. When cooked, take the capon off, place it on a dish, and set it in a warm place; then boil the sauce till it is rather thick, when strain it on the capon, and serve.
The same, with Rice.—When cleaned and prepared as above, you place the capon in a stewpan, cover it with water, add one glass of broth, a bay-leaf, one clove, a sprig of parsley, one of thyme, a small carrot, two onions, salt, and pepper; boil ten minutes, then add also about four ounces of rice, soaked in lukewarm water before using it, and let simmer for two hours. Take the capon off, and in case the rice should not be found to be cooked enough, finish the cooking of it; then take off clove, parsley, thyme, bay-leaf, carrot and onions, pour the remainder on the capon, and serve.
TURKEY.
Tame and wild are prepared and served alike.
The legs of a young hen-turkey are black; the cock has small spurs, and also black legs.
The shorter the neck the better and fatter the bird.
An old hen has red and rough legs; the cock also has long spurs.
The fatter they are the better; they cannot be too fat. The broader the breast the better; the skin must be white.
It is fresh enough as long as the legs are not stiff.
Boiled.—Clean and prepare turkey as directed for poultry.
Put in a stewpan, large enough to hold a turkey, a piece of butter the size of a duck's egg, also a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, same of green onions, and four or five mushrooms; set it on a good fire, and, as soon as the butter is hot, lay the turkey in; turn over now and then till of a fine golden color, then take it from the pan, cover the breast with slices of bacon tied with twine, and put it back in the pan; add a pinch of allspice, six small onions, salt, pepper, a glass of white wine, and a pint of broth; simmer till cooked, dish it, strain the sauce on it, and serve. It takes about two hours to cook a turkey of middling size. A little warm broth should be added, in case the sauce boils away during the cooking.
Roasted.—Clean, prepare, and truss a turkey as directed for poultry, and, if the turkey is not fat, the breast may be larded with salt pork. Place it on the spit before a sharp fire, basting often with melted butter at first, and then with the drippings. It may be enveloped in buttered paper and tied with twine before placing it on the spit; the paper is removed ten or fifteen minutes before taking from the fire; serve with the gravy, after having skimmed the fat off.
Some fresh water-cress is placed all around it, and on which you sprinkle vinegar or lemon-juice.
A turkey may be served in every way as a roasted chicken—with sauces, garnitures, and decorated with skewers.
Baked.—When cleaned, prepared, and trussed, put the turkey in a baking-pan, spread a little butter on it, put a little cold water in the pan, the depth of about two-eighths of an inch, sprinkle salt all over, place a piece of buttered paper on it, and put in a quick oven. Baste often and turn the bird over and round, if necessary. It takes from one hour and a half to two hours to cook a turkey, according to size, quality, and also according to the degree of heat.
It is served with the gravy only, after having removed the fat, or with sauces, garnitures, and decorations, described for roasted chicken.
Oyster-Sauce.—When roasted or baked as directed, serve warm with an oyster-sauce.
With Currant Jelly.—Roast or bake it, and then serve it with currant-jelly.
It is also served with a cranberry-sauce.
Stewed.—An old turkey is more tender stewed than cooked in any other way.
The fleshy parts may be larded with salt pork, if found too lean.
Put in a large stew-kettle half a pound of bacon cut in slices, four ounces of knuckle of veal, three sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, a bay-leaf, six small onions, one carrot, cut in four pieces, three cloves, one clove of garlic, salt, pepper, and then the turkey; wet with a pint of white wine, same of broth, cover as nearly air-tight as you can, place in a moderately heated oven or on a moderate fire, let simmer (not boil) about two hours and a half, then turn it over, put back on the fire or in the oven for another two hours and a half, after which dish the turkey; strain the sauce and put it back on the fire to reduce it to a jelly, which you spread on it, and serve.
Many connoisseurs prefer the turkey served thus when cold; it does not cost any thing to try it, and it is very handy for a grand dinner, as it may be prepared one or two days in advance, and is just as good, if kept in a refrigerator.
Stuffed with Chestnuts.—Roast chestnuts enough to fill the bird. Skin them and remove also the white skin under the outer one. Fill the turkey with them, after having cleaned and prepared it; when about half full, put in it also from four to six ounces of butter; finish the filling with chestnuts; sew it up, truss it as directed, and roast or bake it. Serve with the gravy only.
Stuffed with Truffles.—Chop fine about four ounces of truffles, and put them in a stewpan with about a pound of salt pork cut in dice; set it on a moderate fire; add salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg, a bay-leaf, a pinch of allspice, and a pinch of dried thyme; when hot, add also about two pounds of truffles, boil fifteen minutes, tossing now and then, and take from the fire. When nearly cool, put the whole in the turkey and sew it up; leave it thus, if fresh, four days in winter and one or two in summer; if not fresh, leave it a shorter time.
Roast or bake it as directed above, and serve with the gravy, freed from the fat part. This dish is considered exquisite by epicures.
Stuffed with Sausage-meat.—Proceed as for chicken stuffed, in every particular.
With Salt Pork.—Place thin slices of salt pork on the breast of a prepared turkey, covering it entirely, and fastening the slices with twine; then the turkey is roasted or baked, and served with the gravy. The slices may be removed a little before taking from the fire, in order to color the meat.
Boned.—Buy a good turkey, neither too old nor too fat, and picked dry. Singe the bird, but do not draw it. Cut the neck off about one inch and a half from the body. Cut also the wings off just above the second joint, and the legs just above the first joint; the third joint is the one nearest the body. Split the skin from the end of the neck to the rump; use a small sharp-pointed knife; commence to run the knife between the bones and flesh, on one side, till you come to the third joint of the wings and legs. By twisting and raising both wings and leg, but one at a time, you easily crack the joint, and then separate it from the body with the knife. Continue to run the knife between the bones and flesh, on the same side, till you come to the breast-bone. Do the same on the other side. Pull out the crop and cut off the rump from the body, but without touching the skin, as the rump must come off with the skin and flesh. Then by taking hold of the bird by the neck with the left hand, and pulling the skin gently down with the right, you partly uncover the upper part of the breast-bone; then again run the knife between that bone and the flesh, on both sides, till you come nearly to the end or edge of the bone. Then lay the bird on its back, have somebody to take hold of it by the neck, having the breast of the bird toward you. All along the edge of the breast-bone there is no flesh between the bone and the skin. The bird being held as described above, take hold of the skin of the neck with your left hand, pulling gently downward, and with the knife detaching the skin carefully from the bone, the carcass coming off whole. Place the bird on the table, the inside up, pull out the bones of the wings and legs, scraping the flesh an around so as to leave it attached to the rest; pull or scrape off all the tendons of the legs; push legs and wings inside the bird; see that the rump is clean; cut off the ring under it if necessary. We warrant that anybody, with an ordinary amount of natural capacity, can bone a turkey or other bird by following our directions with care. We recommend persons doing it for the first time not to attempt to do it fast. Now have at hand about two pounds of sausage-meat seasoned as directed, two pounds of boiled ham, half a dozen boiled sheep's tongues or a smoked beef tongue (but really the former is better), a pound and a half of salt pork, and half a pound of truffles sliced (the latter if handy and if liked). Cut the ham, tongues, and salt pork in strips about four inches long, one inch broad, and a quarter of an inch thick. Spread the bird on the table, the inside up and the rump toward you; salt and pepper it; place three or four slices of salt pork here and there on it, then a layer of sausage-meat, strips of ham and tongue and salt pork alternately on the sausage-meat, slices of truffles if used, again sausage-meat, ham, etc., till there is enough to fill the bird well; that is, by bringing the two sides of the skin together, giving the bird a round form, it is perfectly full. It is impossible to give exact proportions; it depends not only on the size of the bird, but also on the quality and degree of fatness of the bird. In two of the same weight, one may require more than the other to fill it. When filled, and when the two sides of the skin are brought together as described above, sew up the cut with a trussing-needle and twine. Wrap up the bird tightly in a towel, tie the towel with a string, and run the string all around the towel to prevent it from opening at all. Take a kettle or saucepan of an oval shape and large enough to hold the bird, put enough cold water in it to cover the bird, also all the bones of the bird (broken in pieces), a small piece of lean beef, say one pound, a few stalks of parsley, two of thyme, two cloves, two cloves of garlic, a bay-leaf, twelve pepper-corns, a middling-sized carrot sliced, half a turnip, and salt. Set on the fire, and at the first boiling put the bird in; boil gently for about three hours if it is a turkey of middling size, two hours for a middling-sized chicken. When done it partly floats; that is, the upper part is above the liquor. Take it from the pan, take the towel off and rinse it in cold water; wrap the bird up in the towel again and in the same way as before; place it on a large dish, with the seam or back under; put another plate or dish over it with a weight on it, and leave thus overnight in a cool place. The next morning the bird will be perfectly cold and rather flattened; then remove the towel, also the twine with which it has been sewed, place it on the dish on which it is to be served, the breast upward; glaze it with essence of beef or glace; decorate with meat-jelly, and serve.
How to decorate with Jelly.—When the jelly is congealed and can be cut with a knife, chop some of it on a coarse towel and put it all around the bird, about half an inch thick; cut some in slices about a quarter of an inch in thickness; cut these again with paste-cutters in different shapes, according to fancy, and place it over the bird, also according to fancy; again cut some of it in slices about one inch broad, a quarter of an inch thick and of any length, and cut out of these last ones pieces of a triangular shape, which put all around the border of the dish, placed so that one point of each piece is turned toward the edge of the dish and the two other points touch the other pieces on both sides; then you have an indented border of jelly. When the jelly is fancifully and tastefully arranged, it makes a sightly dish.
It is always served cold for breakfast, lunch, or supper.
In summer the jelly melts, and cannot be used as a decoration. A boned bird is then served without jelly. The bird is cut in slices, and some jelly is served with each slice.
Cold.—A turkey, being a large bird, is seldom entirely eaten the day it is served, and very often more than half of it is left for the next day. What is left may be prepared in different ways.
In Vinaigrette.—Cut the flesh in slices and serve them with a vinaigrette. It is not understood here for a boned turkey, which is always eaten cold, but either a roasted, baked, stewed, or stuffed turkey.
In Croquettes.—Proceed in every particular as for chicken croquettes.
In Salad.—A salad of turkey is made also exactly the same as a salad of chicken, with cold meat. It is covered with a Mayonnaise-sauce and decorated in the same way.
Besides the above ways of preparing cold turkey, it may also be prepared as directed for cold chicken in general.
A caponed turkey is prepared as a caponed chicken, boiled or with rice; and also like a turkey, as described in the above receipts. They are generally larger, fatter, and more tender and juicy than others. They are very much appreciated here, and every year more and more are supplied, and, as in Europe, the greater the supply the better the quality. There is a ready market for caponed turkeys in all the large cities of the United States, and they command a high price.
DUCKS.
Ducks and ducklings, tame and wild, are prepared alike. To be good, a duck must be fat, be it a canvasback, gadwell, black-duck, garganey, poachard, wood-duck, pintail, shoveller, spirit-duck, summer-duck, teal, widgeon, shelldrake, or any other.
How to select.—A young duck has the lower part of the legs soft, and the skin between the claws soft also; you will also know if it is young by taking hold of it by the bill (the under bill only), if it breaks or bends, the duck is young.
If the breast of the duck is hard and thick, it is fresh enough.
How to prepare.—A duck is cleaned and prepared as directed for poultry.
Roasted.—Clean, prepare, and truss the duck as a chicken, with the exception that the rump is pushed inside; the duck being much longer than a chicken, it is more sightly when so trussed.
Place inside of the duck two sage-leaves, two bay-leaves, and two sprigs of thyme, and leave it thus in a cool place for two or three hours, and then roast it as directed for chicken.
When roasted, serve it with any of the following garnitures: cabbage, cauliflower, Macédoine, onion, or truffles.
The fatty part of the gravy or drippings must be carefully and totally removed before turning it over the duck and garniture. It takes from thirty to forty minutes to roast.
Baked.—When cleaned, prepared, and trussed as directed for turkeys and chickens, put the duck in a bakepan, salt and pepper it, cover the bottom of the pan with cold water, and place it in a rather quick oven.
A duck, being generally very fat, requires to be turned over and over several times and to be basted very often. It is not necessary to cover it with buttered paper. In case there is much fat in the pan, remove it while it is cooking.
It is served as directed for roast duck, with garnitures.
When roasted or baked, it is also served with apple or cranberry-sauce, or with currant-jelly.
With Peas.—Cut in dice about one ounce of salt pork and put it in a saucepan; set it on the fire, and, as soon as the butter is melted, brown in it a duck trussed as directed and take from the fire. Put one ounce of butter in a saucepan and mix it cold with a tablespoonful of flour, set it on the fire, and, when the butter is melted, put the duck in with about a quart of green peas, blanched for one or two minutes only; add about a pint of water or of broth, a bunch of seasonings composed of three or four stalks of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and one clove, salt, and pepper; boil gently till the whole is cooked, and serve warm.
Remove all the fat carefully before serving.
If the water should boil away while it is cooking, add a little more.
With Oranges.—Roast or bake a young duck as directed, and serve it with carpels of orange all around; and sprinkle some orange-juice all over just before serving it.
With Olives.—Roast or bake the duck as directed. When done, turn the gravy into a small saucepan with about two dozen olives; stir gently, and keep on the fire for about five minutes. Dish the duck, place the olives all around; turn the gravy over the whole, and serve warm.
Sauté, served with a Border.—When cleaned and cut in eight pieces as directed, set it on the fire with one ounce of butter, stir occasionally till turning brown, then pour off the fat from the saucepan, add broth enough just to cover the pieces of duck; also one onion with a clove stuck in it, a bunch of seasonings tied with twine and composed of four stalks of parsley, one of thyme, and a bay-leaf, salt, and pepper; boil gently till done. Place the pieces of duck inside of a border of rice, strain the sauce over the duck only, and serve hot.
The rice must be cooked, moulded, and placed on the dish while the duck is cooking, so as to serve the whole warm. (See Rice in Border.)
To cut.—A duck is generally cut in eight pieces, the two legs and wings, the breast in two, and the back-bone in two.
With Turnips.—Truss the duck as directed for birds. Put one ounce of butter in a saucepan, set it on the fire, and, when melted, put the duck in, turn over now and then till it is brown on every side. Then add a piece of onion chopped fine, stir, and, when turning brown also, add water enough to half cover it; also a bunch of seasonings composed of three sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and a clove; boil gently till done, when add salt to taste.
While the duck is cooking, cut two turnips in dice or in round pieces with a fruit-corer, or with a vegetable spoon, set them on the fire with cold water and salt, boil till tender, and drain them.
Put them back on the fire with the sauce or gravy from the saucepan in which the duck has cooked, give one boil, dish the duck, place the turnips around, and serve.
Another way.—Cut the duck in pieces. Set a saucepan on the fire with an ounce of butter in it, when melted, add half a tablespoonful of flour, stir, and, when turning brown, add half a dozen small turnips or two large ones, cut with a vegetable spoon; stir, and, when they are all browned, take them off and brown the pieces of duck; then put the turnips back in the pan, add broth enough just to cover the whole; also two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, a clove, salt, and pepper; boil gently till cooked; dish the duck and turnips, turn the sauce over them through a strainer, and serve warm.
Cold.—What is left from the preceding day's dinner is prepared in salmis.
Very often a duck is baked, especially to make a salmis with it. (See Salmis.)
Boned.—Bone, fill, cook, and serve as turkey boned.
Cold duck may also be prepared in croquettes and salad, like chicken.
Stuffed.—It is stuffed with sausage-meat and chestnuts, also like a chicken.
GEESE AND GOSLINGS—TAME OR WILD.
A young goose has much down and soft legs of a yellow color; an old one has little down and rough legs of a reddish color. When fresh, the legs are soft; and stiff and dry when not fresh.
Geese and goslings are prepared, cooked, and served like ducks, in the following ways: roasted and baked, and served with garnitures, with cranberry-sauce, currant-jelly, apple-sauce, with a border, olives, oranges, peas, or turnips; in croquettes and in salmis.
It is boned, cooked, and served, like a boned turkey.
In Civet.—Clean, prepare, and cut the goose in pieces, removing most of the fat, and then cook, and serve it like rabbit in civet.
It takes a little longer than to cook a rabbit, but makes a very good dish.
When the civet is properly made, it does not taste like goose.
GUINEA-FOWLS.
A young Guinea-bird is good, but an old one is hardly fit to be eaten.
Guinea-fowls are prepared and served like prairie-hens.
PIGEONS.
The stall-fed or squab is prepared the same as the wild one.
To select.—If the legs are not red, they are young; and if not stiff, they are fresh. When not fresh, the rump is of a bluish color.
Clean and prepare them as directed for fowls.
Broiled.—Split the backs of the pigeons so as to open them, flatten them a little with a chopper. Put two ounces of butter (for six pigeons) in a saucepan, and set it on a good fire; when hot, add to it a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and green onions, salt, and pepper; then the pigeons. When half cooked, take them from the fire, roll them in bread-crumbs, place them on the gridiron and set on a moderate fire, turn over once or twice, and, when done, serve on a maître d'hôtel, piquante, or poivrade sauce.
Another way.—When cleaned, prepared, and split open as directed above, salt and pepper them, grease them slightly with melted butter, by means of a brush; then broil them till underdone, and serve with a maître d'hôtel sauce.
In Chartreuse.—A chartreuse with pigeons is made and served as a chartreuse of prairie-hens.
In Papillotes.—When cleaned and prepared as directed, bake the pigeons till about half done, then split them in two, lengthwise, and then proceed as for veal cutlets in papillotes.
They may be fried with a little butter, instead of baked.
With Vegetables.—Clean and prepare as directed for poultry, four pigeons. Cut them in four pieces each.
Put in a saucepan two ounces of butter, and set it on the fire; when melted, brown the pigeons in it, and then take them from the pan.
The pigeons being taken off, put into the pan, which is kept on the fire, half a carrot and two onions sliced, half a turnip, sliced also; four or five stalks of parsley, one of thyme, one of celery, a bay-leaf, two cloves; the latter five tied together. Cover the whole with broth or water; boil gently till about half done, then add the pieces of pigeons, and salt and pepper; continue boiling till the whole is done.
Dish the pigeons, throw away the seasonings, mash the carrot, onions, and turnips through a colander, which you mix with the sauce. Place the mixture around the pieces of pigeons, and serve warm.
Stuffed.—It is stuffed, cooked, and served like a stuffed chicken.
The same, stewed.—Put a piece of butter the size of a walnut in a stewpan, and set it on a good fire; when hot, add two ounces of bacon cut in dice, then place in four pigeons, leave thus till of a fine golden color, and then take pigeons and bacon off the pan. Put again in the stewpan the same quantity of butter as before; when melted, sprinkle in, little by little, a teaspoonful of flour, stirring with a wooden spoon, and when of a proper thickness, and of a brownish color, put the pigeons and bacon back in, add four small onions, two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, a pinch of allspice, salt, pepper, half a glass of broth, same of claret wine; simmer about an hour, take off parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, and send to the table.
The same, roasted.—Envelop each pigeon in thin slices of bacon tied with twine, place them on a spit before a moderate fire, baste often with the drippings, and, when cooked, serve them with the gravy, at the same time sprinkling a few drops of lemon-juice on them. It takes from thirty to thirty-five minutes to roast them.
To roast or bake they are trussed like a chicken, as seen in the cut below. To carve pigeons is easy, they are merely split in two, lengthwise.
Baked.—Place a thin slice of fat salt pork or bacon on the breast of each pigeon, after being cleaned, prepared, and salted; place them in a bakepan, on their back; cover the bottom of the pan with cold water and put in a hot oven, baste often, and when done serve them with water-cress and lemon-juice.
The pigeons are placed on the dish the same as they were in the bakepan; place water-cress between each, also all around and in the middle of them; sprinkle lemon-juice all over, and serve warm.
With Green Peas.—When cleaned and prepared, truss the pigeons and put them in a saucepan with about two ounces of butter for half a dozen, stir now and then till turning rather brown all around and take off; then put in the saucepan about two ounces of salt pork cut in dice, stir, and, when partly fried, take it off also. The pan being still on the fire, put into it a good tablespoonful of flour, stir till it turns brown, when you add about a quart of broth, stir and mix; put pigeons and salt pork back into the pan, season with a bunch of seasonings, composed of half a dozen stalks of parsley, one of thyme, two bay-leaves, a clove, and one clove of garlic. Boil gently till nearly half done, and then add a quart of green peas, blanched previously; boil again gently till the whole is done; remove the bunch of seasonings and the clove of garlic; dish the pigeons, turn the peas in the same dish, but in the middle of the pigeons, which can be tastefully placed all around the dish; strain the sauce over the whole, and serve warm.
With Mushrooms.—Prepare and truss the pigeons the same as for the above, and proceed also as for the above in every particular, except that you do not put in the saucepan quite as much broth, a pint is sufficient, and boil gently till done, but do not add peas.
Ten minutes before taking from the fire, add a dozen mushrooms, whole or sliced, and half a gill of claret wine, if handy.
Dish the pigeons, place the mushrooms in the middle of the dish, strain the sauce over the whole, and serve warm.
Fried.—Take four pigeons, cut each in four pieces, put two ounces of butter in a stewpan and set it on the fire; when melted, put the pigeons in with two or three sprigs of parsley, a small sprig of thyme, a bay-leaf, a pinch of allspice, salt, pepper, and half a pint of broth. Take the pigeons off when half cooked, and, as soon as they are cool, dip each piece in beaten eggs and roll it in bread-crumbs. Strain the butter that may be left in the stewpan, and put it in a frying-pan with about an ounce more, and fry the birds for about two minutes; serve with water-cress or parsley all around.
In Compote.—Roast six pigeons as directed. Then cut one of them in dice, put it in a mortar and pound it. Put half an ounce of butter in a saucepan, and, when melted, fry half an onion chopped fine in it; then add to the pounded pigeon about a gill of gravy, a gill of good broth, salt, pepper, a bunch of seasonings, composed of three stalks of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and a clove; also about a gill of Madeira wine or white wine, boil gently till reduced about one-third, strain. Put back on the fire, add butter, and when melted stir and set it on the corner of the range to keep warm while the rest is prepared. Cut the other five pigeons in two, lengthwise. Cut ten pieces of bread square, or of an oval shape, and about the size of a half pigeon, fry them with a little butter, and place them on a dish. While the bread is frying, put the pigeons in an oven to warm them; place half a pigeon on each slice of bread, or one lapping over the other; have the slices and pigeons so arranged that they fill the dish, leaving only a small space in the middle, into which you pour the sauce; serve the whole hot.
In Crapaudine.—When prepared, split open the backs of the pigeons; cut the legs at the first joints and run them through the skin so that the ends come out on the inside; dip the bird in beaten eggs, roll them in bread-crumbs, and broil them.
While they are broiling, knead butter, chopped parsley, and lemon-juice together; spread some on the pigeons when they are dished, and serve warm.
GIBLETS.
By giblets are understood the gizzards, heads, legs, livers, necks, and ends of the wings of chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, and other birds, tame or wild.
You begin by cleaning them well, cut off the bills, take the eyes out, warming the legs on live coals, so that you can take off the outer skin and spurs; place the giblets in a tureen, turn boiling water and a little salt on them, leave them thus five or six minutes, then wash well and drain them.
In Fricassée.—Put a piece of butter in a stewpan (the size to be according to the quantity of giblets you have), set it on a good fire; when melted, sprinkle in it, little by little, a teaspoonful of flour; stir the whole with a wooden spoon; when of a proper thickness, and of a brownish color, add half a gill of warm broth, same of warm water, a sprig of parsley, a small pinch of grated nutmeg, two small onions, salt, and pepper; then the giblets. About half an hour after add also two mushrooms, cut in pieces. It takes about two hours to cook them properly. Dish the pieces, strain the sauce, mix in it one well-beaten yolk of an egg, and a few drops of lemon-juice; pour it on the giblets, place the pieces of mushrooms over the whole, and serve.
The same, stewed.—Put the giblets in a stewpan with butter, and set it on a good fire; when they are of a fine yellow color, add one or two sprigs of parsley, a clove of garlic, a sprig of thyme, one clove, half a bay-leaf, two mushrooms cut in pieces, two small onions, and a pinch of flour; wet with broth, let simmer gently for half an hour, and add also two parsnips cut in slices, and previously half fried in butter; simmer again for about an hour; dish the pieces of meat, strain the sauce, put it back on the fire to reduce it a little, pour it on the giblets, place the pieces of mushrooms at the top, and serve hot.
Sauté.—They may also be prepared and served as a chicken sauté.
ASPIC OF MEAT.
Cut four middling-sized onions in slices, lay them in a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of bacon (not smoked); then add about a quarter of a pound of each of the following meats: chicken, game (any kind), mutton, and beef, also a calf's foot split in two, two ounces of rind of bacon, two sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, a clove of garlic, two carrots cut in two, one clove, and four small onions; wet with half a pint of water, and set on a brisk fire; cover the pan well. When nearly cooked, take the grease off with a ladle; add then boiling water enough just to cover the whole, and finish the cooking. Strain the juice, skim off the fat, if any, and let it cool; if it is not found clear enough when strained, beat well two whites of eggs, put them in the stewpan with the juice, set it on a sharp fire for about ten minutes, stirring the while, and take from the fire; add to it a few drops of lemon-juice, and strain again.
Put in a mould some of the above juice, about two-eighths of an inch in depth; place the mould on ice, and leave till the juice has turned into a jelly. Lay on that jelly some of the following meats, free from bones, and not allowing the pieces to touch the sides of the mould: chicken, game, tongues of beef, calf, and sheep, of all or of either of them (the meats must be cooked beforehand). Cover the whole with the remainder of the juice, so as to have about the same thickness at the top as at the bottom. Place the mould in a refrigerator to cool, and turn into a jelly; then dip the mould in very warm water, turn over on a dish, remove the mould, and you have a fine entrée.
GAME.
Game, comparatively, is appreciated only by a few.
When the country was first settled, every one was his own provider, and of course game was not sent to a market several hundred miles from the place where it was shot or caught. But settlement and civilization have the same effect on game as they have on barbarians or savages—they drive it away.
Our Northeastern cities are now supplied by the Western States with game. In winter time, game may be kept for weeks without being spoiled or losing its natural flavor and taste, when kept where it is killed; but when transported, it is very different. To transport it requires packing. As soon as packed, it naturally ferments; and even if packed when frozen, the middle of the barrel will ferment and become injured, if not entirely rendered unfit for the table.
The packing of game or poultry in barrels is a bad practice. Nothing requires more ventilation than game while being transported. Many dealers have their game sent to them in wicker-baskets with plenty of straw, but the greater part is still sent in barrels; hence the musty taste when cooked.
To keep game for some time when fresh, open the animal or bird under the rump, just enough to take the inside out, also the crop of birds, being very careful about the gall-bladder; if it bursts, it is better not to try to preserve the piece, but to clean, wash, and use it as soon as possible. Birds must be left in their feathers, and animals in their skins. Fill the inside with dry and clean oats, and put the piece in a heap or barrel of oats. It will keep thus for many days.
Another way is to envelop the piece well in a towel, and bury it in charcoal dust in a cool and dry place.
How to clean and prepare.—Clean and prepare the birds as directed for poultry in general.
After having carefully skinned, take out the inside, and cut the legs off at the first joint of animals; wash the inside with lukewarm water, and wipe it dry with a clean towel immediately after; wipe also the outside, but do not wash it if possible; that is, if you can clean it well by wiping only.
Wild ducks, geese, pigeons, and turkeys, are prepared, cooked, and served like tame ones.
Bear-meat and Buffalo.—The meat of all large animals is better roasted, than dressed in any other way. Prepare, cook, and serve bear and buffalo meat like venison, beef à la mode, or stewed.
Bear-meat has highly nutritive qualities, and is very warming.
Buffalo-steaks are said to be better broiled on cinders without a gridiron, than on or before coals with one; that is, Indian fashion and even hunters' fashion.
Indians often use wood-ashes as a substitute for salt, and never use salt with buffalo-meat; but their liking or preference comes from their habit of invariably broiling buffalo-meat on wood cinders or buffalo-chips.
Bear-hams, so well appreciated everywhere, are prepared and served like common hams. A bear-ham, tastefully decorated, is considered a recherché dish at supper for evening parties.
Blackbird, Bobolink, and Small Birds.—The cut below represents six small birds on the spit, ready for roasting. When the birds are prepared, cut off the ends of the wings and the legs above the first joint. Instead of cutting the legs above the first joint, the ends of the claws only may be cut off, according to taste. Cut thin slices of fat salt pork, of a proper size to cover the breast of the bird; place the slice on the breast of it, run a skewer through the middle of the bird, so that it will run through the two ends of the slice of salt pork also, as seen in the cut.
Have a skewer, or merely a piece of wire, long enough to hold six birds; fix the skewer on the spit, and roast.
When the six birds are on the skewer, fasten them with twine, to prevent them from turning round, as seen in the cut.