The Modern Housewife or, Menagere Part 26

The remains of partridges may likewise be hashed or served in a plain salmi as directed for pheasants.

560. _Woodc.o.c.ks, a la Lucullus._--Plain roast the woodc.o.c.ks as directed in Roasts, catching their trails upon toast, upon which, when done, dress the birds on a dish; have ready a little thick melted b.u.t.ter, with which mix the yolk of an egg and a little cream, pour this over the woodc.o.c.ks, sprinkle lightly with bread-crumbs, salamander of a light brown color, and serve with a little gravy round.

561. _Woodc.o.c.k, the Sportsman's fas.h.i.+on._--Roast two woodc.o.c.ks rather underdone, catching their trails upon a large piece of toasted bread, when done cut each bird into quarters, which place in a stewpan, with the remainder of the trail cut small, a little pepper, salt, a gla.s.s of sherry, a little chopped eschalot, the juice of half a lemon, and half a gill of broth, let the whole simmer very gently a few minutes; dress the pieces of woodc.o.c.k rather high upon the toast, pour the sauce over, and serve.

562. _Hashed Woodc.o.c.k._--Should you have any remaining from a previous dinner, cut each one in four (or if not whole, into neat pieces), chop all the interior rather fine, which mix with a small piece of b.u.t.ter, a spoonful of bread-crumbs, and a little chopped parsley, make six croutons in the shape of hearts, from a piece of toasted bread, spread a piece of the above preparation upon each, and put them in a warm oven for a short time; hash the pieces of woodc.o.c.k as directed for pheasant, and serve with the croutons round.

563. _Snipes a la minute._--Put a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter into a stewpan, over which lay six snipes, b.r.e.a.s.t.s downwards, add a spoonful of chopped onions, the same of chopped parsley, a little grated nutmeg, half a teaspoonful of salt, and a saltspoonful of white pepper; set the stewpan over a brisk fire for seven or ten minutes (according to the size of the birds), stirring them round continually; then add the juice of one lemon, two gla.s.ses of sherry, the same of broth, and a spoonful of finely-grated crust of bread; let the whole simmer a few minutes longer, dress the birds upon a dish, stir the sauce well together, pour it over the snipes, and serve; a little glaze is an improvement.

564. _Plovers saute with English Truffles._--Procure four plovers, which lay b.r.e.a.s.t.s downwards in a stewpan, containing a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, to which add eight raw truffles, well washed, peeled, and cut into very thin slices, two cloves, a bay-leaf, half a teaspoonful of salt, and a saltspoonful of pepper, pa.s.s the whole ten minutes over a sharp fire, stirring them round occasionally; then well mix in half a tablespoonful of flour, which moisten with half a pint of broth and a gla.s.s of white wine; let the whole simmer at the corner of the fire twenty minutes longer, keeping it well skimmed, dress the birds upon a dish, reduce the sauce to a proper consistency, season with a little sugar and the juice of a lemon, and pour it over the birds; serve very hot.

565. _Wild Duck, with Orange Sauce._--Having trussed your duck as for roasting, rub it all over with the liver until quite red; then put it down before a good fire to roast for twenty minutes, after which cut eight incisions down the breast, and have ready the following preparation: put an ounce of b.u.t.ter into a stewpan, with a quarter of a saltspoonful of cayenne, the rind of an orange (free from pith, previously cut into strips, and blanched in boiling water, and well drained upon a sieve), and the juice of a lemon, warm all together, and when melted, but not oily, pour over the duck, and serve.

566. _Hashed Wild Duck._--Cut up the remains of a duck or ducks into neat pieces, and put into a stewpan with half or a tablespoonful of flour (depending on the quant.i.ty), mix well, moisten with a gla.s.s or two of wine, and sufficient broth or water to make a thickish sauce, season well, add a little Harvey sauce, mushroom-catsup, a little sugar, and cayenne pepper; let simmer, but not boil, take out the pieces, which dress upon toast, reduce the sauce, pour over, and serve. A little coloring may be added, if approved.

567. _Widgeons._--Rub the breast of a widgeon over with a part of the liver, chop up the remaining part, to which add a few bread-crumbs, a little chopped lemon-peel, chopped parsley, and an egg, with which stuff the interior, roast nearly as long as for the wild duck before a very sharp fire, dress upon toast on a dish, having ready the following sauce: put half a gla.s.s of port wine into a stewpan, with a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots, a little salt, pepper, and cayenne, boil a few minutes, add the juice of a lemon, and two ounces of fresh b.u.t.ter, sauce over, and serve. Widgeons are hashed the same as wild duck.

568. _Teal, a new method._--Procure four, draw them; then put half a pound of b.u.t.ter upon a plate, with a little pepper, grated nutmeg, parsley, a spoonful of grated crust of bread, the juice of a lemon, and the liver of the teal, mix well together, and with it fill the interior of the teal; cover them with slices of lemon, fold in thin slices of bacon, then in paper, and roast twenty minutes before a sharp fire; take off the paper, brown the bacon, dress them upon a slice of thick toast, letting the b.u.t.ter from the teal run over it, and serve very hot.

569. _Teal a la sans facon._--Roast four teal quite plain, prepare a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter as above, with the omission of the livers, which place in a stewpan over the fire, stirring quickly, until forming a kind of sauce, add some fillets from the pulp of a lemon, sauce over, and serve. The remains of teal also make excellent hash.

570. _Larks a la minute._--Proceed as directed for snipes a la minute, previously stuffing them with their livers as directed for widgeons, adding a few mushrooms at the commencement; but do not let them stew too quickly, or the bottom will brown and give a bad flavor to the sauce; seven minutes are quite sufficient to stew them.

571. _Lark Pie._--Cover the bottom of a pie-dish with thin slices of beef and fat bacon, over which lay ten or twelve larks previously rolled in flour, stuffed as above, season with a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter ditto of pepper, one of chopped parsley, and one of chopped eschalots, lay a bay-leaf over, add a gill of broth, and cover with three quarters of a pound of half puff paste, bake one hour in a moderate oven, shake well to make the gravy in the pie form a kind of sauce, and serve quite hot.

572. _Jugged Hare._--Put a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, with a pound of bacon cut into dice, and the hare, cut into pieces, in a stewpan: set upon a moderate fire until the pieces of hare are becoming firm, when add six ounces of flour, mix well, and moisten with sufficient water to cover it: add two gla.s.ses of any kind of wine, and one of vinegar, season high with pepper and salt, let simmer until tender, keeping well skimmed; when done, and the sauce becoming rather thick, dress upon your dish, and serve.

573. _Jugged Hare (another way)._--Put about half a pound of b.u.t.ter, with ten ounces of flour, into a stewpan, put it on the fire, and keep stirring it round until it has a yellow tinge; then add a pound of bacon cut in square pieces, stir it a little longer on the fire; the hare having been previously cut up, put it into the stewpan and stir it about until it becomes firm, when add four gla.s.ses of port wine and sufficient water to cover it; season, and add two bay-leaves and four cloves, and when half done, about fifty b.u.t.ton onions, or ten large ones in slices, a tablespoonful of brown sugar, let it simmer until it is well done and the sauce rather thick; dress up, sauce over, and serve. If an old one, it will take about four hours.

ROASTS--SECOND COURSE.

These dishes consist almost always of game, which require to be sent up immediately they are taken from the fire, and require great care and attention in cooking them. In the following pages will be found many which are scarce and rarely seen in London, and never mentioned in our various cookery books; but considering that many of our friends reside in the country, I have written it for them.

574. _Turkey Poults._--Turkey poults, so called from being used when about the size of a large pullet, are trussed with the legs turned at the knuckle and the feet pressing upon the thighs, the neck is skinned and the head fixed under the wing; roast them the same as directed for turkeys, about twenty-five minutes or half an hour, according to their size, and in the same modes, but they are usually served, one larded and the other barded, with gravy and water-cresses in the dish.

575. _Roast Capon with Cresses._--Roast and serve a capon in any of the ways directed for turkeys, roast of a nice gold color, and serve with water-cresses round; a capon weighing five pounds requires about three quarters of an hour to roast. Poularde au cresson, exactly as above.

576. _Roast Pullet._--For a dinner of four entrees you would require two fowls, but not too large; truss and roast them as directed for a turkey, judging the time required according to their size, and serve with gravy and water-cresses; they may be larded, barded, or served in any way mentioned in the foregoing receipts. A fowl weighing two pounds and a half would require half an hour roasting, or three quarters of an hour, if larger.

577. _Spring Chickens_ are served like fowls, generally plain roasted, but they may be larded as the poularde. Be particular in tying the legs upon paper to the spit, as directed for the turkey, as it so improves their appearance when roasted. About twenty minutes would be sufficient to roast them.

578. _Goslings._--A green goose roasted plain, and served with a little gravy, is generally sent up for second courses; but if the larger ones are used, they must be stuffed with sage and onions, but very few would choose such a thing for a roast second course, whilst green geese in their season are great favorites; truss them by cutting off the leg at the knuckle, and the wing at the first pinion, fixing them at the side with skewers to throw the breast up; a full-grown goose will take one hour to roast, but a green one not more than half an hour.

579. _Ducklings_ make a very favorite roast in the London season; they must have good fillets, white and plump, and require to be a little more underdone than any other description of poultry; if too much done, the fat catches and gives a rank flavor to the flesh, besides causing the fillets to eat dry. They are usually served plain roasted for a second course, yet I have served them differently upon some occasions for the sake of variety, but it must be with a very thin sauce and one that invigorates the palate, although they never can be better than when served plain roasted. I shall here give one or two deviations: truss them by twisting the legs at the knuckles and resting the feet upon the thighs, cut the wing off at the first pinion and run a skewer through the bird, fixing the pinion and legs with it, place them upon a spit, and roast twenty minutes.

580. _Guinea Fowls._--These birds must be very young, for, being naturally very dry, they are not eatable if more than twelve months old; they are generally larded or barded, and served plain roasted, rather well done; they are trussed like the common fowls, and require nearly three quarters of an hour to roast.

581. _Pea Fowls._--These magnificent birds make a n.o.ble roast, and when young are very excellent; they are larded, plain roasted, and served with the tail stuck into the bird, which you have preserved, the head with its feathers being left folded up in paper, and tucked under the wing; roast about an hour and a half, take the paper from the head and neck, dress it upon your dish with water-cresses, and the gravy and bread-sauce separate in a boat.

GAME (CHOICE OF).--There is no article of food that is so deceiving in appearance to know if it is young, tender, and good, or not, as game; to a person living in the country, where a member of the family has shot them in his day's sport or have been received as presents, a knowledge how to distinguish them is requisite. Young birds may be distinguished by the softness of their quills; females will eat better than males, they are more tender and juicy. Old pheasants are known by the length and sharpness of their spurs, in young ones they are short and blunt.--Old partridges before Christmas have light-blue legs, instead of yellow-brown.--Wild fowl may be known to be old from their bills and the stiffness of the sinews of the legs, those that have the finest plumage are the worst eating.--Hares and rabbits: try if the ear will easily tear and the jaw-bone break between the finger and the thumb, if not they are only fit for soup or jugging.--On receiving birds of all kinds, put in their mouths three or four peppercorns bruised and one clove of garlic, and pepper the place where shot. In case you receive many, tie a piece of paper to them with the date on which they were received.

582. _Pheasants._--At the present day there are great varieties of these birds, which differ as much in their flavor as their plumage.

There are also a large quant.i.ty of hybrids sold in market as a genuine pheasant, and it is impossible to know them when plucked. The flavor of the bird will depend in a great measure on the nature of the country where it is killed.

Have them prepared and trussed: put them about eighteen inches from the fire for five minutes, then draw them close, and roast as quickly as possible, rubbing them all over with a little b.u.t.ter, serve up with bread-sauce separate, and good gravy under. They are also good larded, or one larded and the other barded.

583. _Partridges._--The red-legged in this country are not so fine in flavor as the gray; they are dressed like the pheasant, but all the time at a very quick fire, and serve very hot from the spit; it is better to wait a minute or two for it than to have it wait for you; dish it up with a little made gravy with it, and bread-sauces, as above.

584. _Grouse._--These birds should be well kept, trussed like a fowl for roasting, and served with brown gravy under, or may be dressed as follows: truss as before, covering the breast with vine leaves and fat bacon, which tie on; roast from half to three quarters of an hour according to size, and serve with toast under, and melted b.u.t.ter over.

585. _Red Grouse, Gorc.o.c.k or Moorc.o.c.k--the common Moor Game (l'Attagas)._--Trussed like a fowl for roasting, which cook quick before a sharp fire, serve with toasted bread under.

586. _White Grouse or Ptarmigan (le Lagopede)._--They are to be trussed like the above, and plain roasted, and served with toast under and fried bread-crumbs, separate or dressed as follows:--Put two spoonfuls of currant-jelly in a stewpan, with the juice of a lemon and a little salt dissolved in it; when melted, pour over and serve.

587. _Wild Ducks (Canard Sauvage)._--The male is called the Mallard, and the young one Flapper. Under the above t.i.tle a great many birds are sold.