FOWLS, in a general sense, mean all kinds of poultry, but, in a limited view, mean one species of bird, which is exceedingly common in all parts of Europe: there are an amazing number of kinds of this species produced by crossing the breed; great attention having been bestowed upon this subject of late years, that it is quite impossible to say which is the best. They are not originally natives of England, but were found there by the Romans, having probably been brought by the Phoenicians. We distinguish this kind in cookery as the chicken, capon, pullet, c.o.c.k, and hen.
Chickens from their age cannot be otherwise but tender; capons should have a fat vein on the side of the breast, thick belly and rump, comb short and pale, spurs short and blunt, and legs smooth.
Pullets are best in the spring, just before they begin to lay.
c.o.c.ks should have their spurs short, legs smooth, and comb short, smooth, and a bright color. Hens, legs and comb smooth, and full breast. Black legs are best for roasting and entrees, and white for boiling.
For preparing them for table, M. Soyer has invented a plan:--by cutting the sinews of the bird, it not only appears fuller and plumper when cooked, as the heat is liable to contract the sinews, but it also affords facility for carving when the sinews are divided; they are trussed in the usual way, only using string instead of skewers. The following is the ordinary plan of trussing--
_For Roasting._--Having emptied the fowl and cleaned the gizzard, cut the skin of the wings, and put the gizzard and liver through it, and turn the pinion under; put a skewer through the first joint of the pinion and the body, coming out at the opposite side, and bring the middle of the leg close up to it; run a skewer through the middle of both legs and body, and another through the drumstick and side-bone, and one through the skins of the feet, the nails of which must be cut off.
_For Boiling._--Prepare as before; put the finger in the inside, and raise the skin of the legs; cut a hole in the top of the skin, and put the legs under; put the gizzard and liver in the pinions, and run a skewer through the first joint; draw the leg close up, and run a skewer through the middle of the legs and the body, tie a string on the tops of the legs to keep them in their proper place.
360. _Poulards, Capons, and Fowls._--These are the best at nine and ten months old; if after twelve or fourteen, are only fit to be stewed like the turkey, No. 369, but in less time, or boiled in broth or sauces, but when young serve as boiled turkey, No. 367. Roast, No. 365, less time, but take care to do it well, as white meat with red gravy in it is unbearable.
361. _Capon or Poulard roasted._--Prepare it as you would a turkey, and it may be stuffed with the same kind of stuffing, tie over the breast a large slice of fat bacon, about a quarter of an inch thick, and two sheets of paper; ten minutes before being done, remove the paper and bacon, dredge it, and put a piece of b.u.t.ter on it, so that it is of a nice color, dish it up very hot with a gravy like the roast turkey.
362. _Capon boiled._--The same as the turkey.
363. _Capon or Poulard a l"Estragon._--I have been told many fanciful epicures idolize this dish. The bird should be trussed for boiling; rub the breast with half a lemon, tie over it some thin slices of bacon, cover the bottom of a small stewpan with thin slices of the same, and a few tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of either beef, veal, or lamb, two onions, a little carrot, turnip, and celery, two bay-leaves, one sprig of thyme, a gla.s.s of sherry, two quarts of water, season lightly with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, simmer about one hour and a quarter, keeping continually a little fire on the lid, strain three parts of the gravy into a small basin, skim off the fat, and pa.s.s through a tammy into a small stewpan, add a drop of gravy or coloring to give it a nice brown color, boil a few minutes longer, and put about forty tarragon leaves; wash, and put in the boiling gravy, with a tablespoonful of good French vinegar, and pour over the capon when you serve it; by clarifying the gravy, it is an improvement. All kinds of fowls and chickens are continually cooked in this manner in France. They are also served with rice.
364. _Poulard with Rice._--Having been braised as before, have a quarter of a pound of good rice washed, put in a stewpan, with a pint of broth, three spoonfuls of the capon"s fat from the stewpan, a bouquet of parsley, let it simmer until it is tender, take the parsley out, add two ounces of b.u.t.ter, a little salt, pepper, nutmeg, stir it round, or form it into a delicate pulpy paste, lay some of it on a dish with the capon on it, put the remainder round it, making it smooth with a knife, leaving the breast uncovered; salamander the rice, and serve clear gravy separate; sometimes I add a little curry powder in the gravy, and egg and bread-crumb the rice, and salamander or make the rice yellow with curry powder, and make a border of half eggs round the dish, it looks well, and that is a great thing; and one fowl done thus will often go as far as two plain. It is generally the custom with us to send either ham, tongue, or bacon, as an accompaniment to poultry. I endeavor to vary it as much as possible; the following is one of my receipts.
365. _Poulards or Capons, with Quenelles and Tongue._--When you are either roasting or braising, you make about twenty quenelles with table spoons, out of forcemeat of veal. Proceed and cook the same; when done, make a roll of mashed potatoes, which put round the dish you intend to serve it in, have ready cut from a cold tongue as many pieces of the shape of the quenelles, warm gently in a little gravy, then put the quenelles on the border; having cut a piece off the end, so that they may stand properly, with a piece of tongue between each, put the fowl in the centre, have ready made a quart of a new white sauce, which pour over the fowl and quenelles, glaze the tongue, and serve very hot. I found this dish at first rather complicated, but now my cook can do it well without my a.s.sistance; it looks and eats well, but is only adapted for a dinner of importance.
366. _The same with Cuc.u.mbers._--Cut about four nice fresh cuc.u.mbers into lengths of two inches, peel and divide them down the middle, take the seedy part out, trim the corners, put about thirty of them into a stewpan, with two ounces of b.u.t.ter, a spoonful of eschalot, and the same of sugar; lay on a very slow fire for half an hour, or till tender; lay them on a border of mashed potatoes, with quenelles as above, and place the tongue between; in another stewpan you have put a little b.u.t.ter, and the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of the cuc.u.mbers, then add a quart of white sauce, boil and pa.s.s through a tammy, adding a little sugar, or other seasoning if required, and finish with half a gill of good cream sauce over all except the tongue, which glaze. Cauliflower, sprue gra.s.s, Jerusalem artichokes, or Brussels sprouts, like the turkey, make excellent and inviting dishes.
367. _Capon with young Carrots._--Sc.r.a.pe two bunches of young carrots, keep them in their original shape as much as possible, wash them and dry on a cloth, put them into a stewpan with two ounces of b.u.t.ter, a little sugar, salt, and pepper, set it on the fire for ten minutes, moving them now and then, add a quart of white broth, simmer gently until very tender and it comes to a demi-glaze; dish the carrots on a border of potatoes, the points towards the centre, cook some small b.u.t.ton onions the same way, but very white, and dress them alternately; mix the two gravies together with a quart of demi-glaze, set it on the fire, boil fast, skim it, when forming a bright thinnish sauce, pour it over the capon and vegetables; it being served with a brown sauce, it ought to be roasted brown like turkey (No. 355); turnips may also be added instead of carrots, or both.
368. _Fowls, Italian way._--Prepare and cook the fowls as above, or re-warm some that may be left, cut the remains of a tongue into pieces one inch long and one quarter in thickness, cut three times the quant.i.ty of plain boiled macaroni the same way, with a few mushrooms, and add the whites of four eggs to it, with some broth and half a pint of white sauce; when boiling, add a quarter of a pound of grated Parmesan and half that of Gruyere, shake the stewpan so that the contents are well mixed, add a little salt and cayenne, put fowl on dish, sauce over and serve; or put the macaroni on the dish, mix bread-crumbs and a little grated cheese together and sprinkle over it, put it into the oven until it is a yellow-brown color, put the fowl on it very hot, and serve with a little white sauce over, and a strong gravy separate.
369. _Fowl a l"Ecarlate._--Roast and braise two nice fowls, and boil a fine salted tongue, which trim so as to be able to stand it in a dish, when place it in the middle in a slanting position, place two fine heads of cauliflower at each end, and make a pint of cream sauce, pour over the fowl, and brocoli; glaze the tongue and serve. Fowls may be dressed in any of the ways before described, and dished up thus.
GEESE.--We have now arrived at your favorite dish, or, as your better half said on your return home from this, "What is better than a goose stuffed with sage and onion!" Of course many persons are of his idea, and I must say that I for one enjoy them occasionally when in season; yes, indeed I do, and with the original apple-sauce too; this last addition to our national cookery must have been conferred on it by the Germans, who eat sweets or stewed fruit with almost every dish; or, perhaps, from William the Conqueror, who left his land of apples to visit and conquer our sh.o.r.es; but never mind to whom we are indebted for this bizarre culinary mixture, I sincerely forgive them, and intend to have one for dinner to-day, which I shall have cooked as follows; but I must first tell you how they should be chosen. The flesh should be of a fine pink color, and the liver pale, the bill and foot yellow, and no hairs, or but few, on the body; the contrary will be observed in an old one, which will have the feet and bill red.
370. _Goose (to truss)._--Having well picked the goose, cut the feet off at the joint, and the pinion at the first joint; cut off the neck close to the back, leaving all the skin you can; pull out the throat, and tie a knot at the end; put your middle finger in at the breast, loosen the liver, &c., cut it close to the rump, and draw out all the inside except the soal,[6] wipe it well, and beat the breast bone flat; put a skewer in the wings, and draw the legs close up, running a skewer through the middle of both legs and body; draw the small of the leg close down to the side bone, and run a skewer through; make a hole in the skin large enough to admit the trail, which when stuffed place through it, as it holds the stuffing better.
371. _Roast Goose._--Peel and cut in rather small dice six middle-sized onions, put in a pan, with two ounces of b.u.t.ter, half a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter ditto of pepper, a little grated nutmeg and sugar, six leaves of fresh sage chopped fine, put on fire, stir with wooden spoon till in pulp, then have the goose ready trussed as under, and stuff it whilst hot, tie the skin of the neck to the back, pa.s.s the spit through and roast two hours before a moderate fire; baste the same as turkey (No. 355), give a nice yellow color, remove it from the spit, take off the string, and serve with half a pint of good brown gravy under and apple-sauce in a boat.
372. _The same, with another stuffing._--I have tried it with the liver chopped and mixed it with the onions; I also at times add two cold potatoes cut in dice and a spoonful of boiled rice; it removes the richness of the fat, and renders it more palatable and digestive; and I also sometimes add twenty chestnuts cut into dice. The giblets should be stewed or made into pies. (See Receipt.) Where there is no gravy, broth, or glaze, still gravy is wanted, therefore put into the dripping-pan a teaspoonful of salt, half a pint of water, and dredge a little flour on it; when the bird is done, pour the contents of the pan into a cup, remove the fat, pour over the back of the bird, which serve on a very hot dish as soon as taken from the fire.
373. _Goose roasted (another way)._--Having the goose ready the day previous to using, take three cloves of garlic, which cut into four pieces each and place inside the goose, and stuff it as follows; take four apples, four onions, four leaves of sage not broken, four leaves of lemon-thyme not broken, and boil in a stewpan with sufficient water to cover them; when done, pulp them through a sieve, removing the sage and thyme, then add sufficient pulp of mealy potatoes to cause it to be sufficiently dry without sticking to the hand, add pepper and salt, and stuff the bird, having previously removed the garlic, tie the neck and rump, and spit it, paper the breast, which remove after it has been at the fire for twenty minutes; when done, serve it plain with a thickened gravy.
374. _Goose stewed._--If an old one, stew it with vegetables, as duck (No. 378), only give it more time to cook. On the Continent they are dressed in different ways, but which are too complicated for both our kitchens.
375. _Goose Giblets, Ragout of, or of Turkey._--Put them into half a gallon of warm water to disgorge for a few hours, then dry them on a cloth, cut into pieces not too small, put into a stewpan a quarter of a pound of good lean bacon, with two ounces of b.u.t.ter; when a little brown, add your giblets, and fry for twenty minutes longer, stirring it together; add a little flour, a good bouquet of parsley, twenty b.u.t.ton onions, same number of pieces of carrot and turnip, two saltspoonfuls of salt, the same of sugar, stew together one hour until tender, skim off the fat, dish up the meat, reduce the salt if required, take bouquet out, and sauce over the giblets: both goose and turkey giblets take the same time to stew. If any remaining, they will make a capital pie or pudding, or merely warm up with broth or water, and a little flour.
376. _Preserved Goose for the Farm, or Country House._--In case you have more geese in condition and season than what you consume, kill and cut them up into pieces, so that there shall be as little flesh left on the carcase as possible, and bone the leg; rub into each piece with your fingers some salt, in which you have mixed a little saltpetre, put them into an earthen pan, with some thyme, bay-leaf, spice, a clove of chopped garlic, rub them for a couple of days, after which dip each piece in water and dry on a cloth; when you have chopped fine and melted all the fat you could get from the goose, and sc.r.a.ped a quarter of a pound of fat bacon and melted with it, pa.s.s through a sieve into a stewpan, lay the pieces in it, and bake very gently in a slow oven until a stiff piece of straw will go through it, then lay it in a sieve; when nearly cold put it in a bowl or round preserving jar, and press a smaller one on the top so that it all forms one solid ma.s.s, pour the fat over, when cold cover with a piece of bladder, keep it in a cold place, and it will be good for months together, and is excellent for breakfast, luncheon, or supper, having previously extracted the fat. Last winter I kept some for three months quite sweet; having half a one left, I put it by in the above way, bones and all, in a basin, and covered with the fat produced with roasting, and put in the larder, and it was excellent.
Ducks may be served in the same way.
DUCKS.--There are several varieties of this bird, all, however, originating from the mallard. There has not been that care and attention paid to this bird as to the fowl; but I think it is well worthy the attention of farmers, it being one which is exceedingly cheap to rear; great care should be evinced in feeding it twelve days previous to its being killed. Ducklings are considered a luxury, but which, I think, is more to be attributed to their scarcity than flavor. The drake is generally considered the best, but, as a general rule, those of the least gaudy plumage are the best; they should be hard and thick on the belly, and limber-footed.
377. _Ducks roasted._--Prepare them for the spit (that is, the same as geese, only leave the fat on), and stuff them with sage, onion, and bread-crumbs, prepared as for the goose, roast before a very quick fire, and serve very hot. There are many ways of cooking ducks, but this is the plainest and the best.
378. _Stewed Duck and Peas._--Procure a duck trussed with the legs turned inside, which put into a stewpan with two ounces of b.u.t.ter and a quarter of a pound of streaked bacon let remain over a fire, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, when add a tablespoonful of flour (mix well) and a quart of broth or water, stir round gently until boiling, when skim, and add twenty b.u.t.ton onions, a bunch of parsley, with a bay-leaf, and two cloves, let simmer a quarter of an hour, then add a quart of nice young peas, let simmer until done, which will take about half an hour longer, take out the duck, place it upon your dish (taking away the string it was trussed with), take out the parsley and bay-leaf, season the peas with a little pepper, salt, and sugar, skim the fat, reduce a little if not sufficiently thick, pour over the duck and serve.
379. _Duckling with Turnips_ is a very favorite dish amongst the middle cla.s.ses in France. Proceed as in the last, but instead of peas use about forty pieces of good turnips cut into moderate-sized square pieces, having previously fried them of a light yellow color in a little b.u.t.ter or lard, and drained them upon a sieve, dress the duck upon a dish as before, season the sauce with a little pepper, salt, and sugar, reduce until rather thickish, a thin sauce not suiting a dish of this description; the turnips must not, however, be in puree; sauce over and serve.
The remains of ducks left from a previous dinner may be hashed as directed for goose, and for variety, should peas be in season, a pint previously boiled may be added to the hash just before serving. The sage and apple must in all cases be omitted.
380. _Ducks a l"Aubergiste (or Tavern-keepers" fashion)._--Truss one or two ducks with the legs turned inside, put them into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter; place them over a slow fire, turning round occasionally, until they have taken a nice brown color, add two spoonfuls of flour, mix well with them, add a quart of water, with half a tablespoonful of salt and sugar, let simmer gently until the ducks are done (but adding forty b.u.t.ton onions well peeled as soon as it begins to boil), keep hot; peel and cut ten turnips in slices, fry them in a frying-pan in b.u.t.ter, drain upon a cloth, put them into the sauce, and stew until quite tender; dress the ducks upon your dish, skim the fat from the sauce, which has attained a consistency, add some fresh mushrooms, pour round the ducks and serve.
FLANCS.
At this part of the dinner there are those dishes which are called Flancs, by which is understood, those dishes whose contents are not so large as the removes and not so small as the entrees, and the Receipts for which may be taken from either of those departments, with this difference;--instead of meat or poultry being cut up, it should be left whole: for instance, a loin of mutton, instead of being cut up into cutlets, should be served whole, with some sauce under it, and a duck, instead of being divided, should be left whole, with some sauce. It is also a great addition in the appearance of the table, and should always be served in a differently-formed dish to the entrees or removes; and are only required when eighteen or twenty persons dine, and four corner dishes are used.
ENTReES OR MADE DISHES.
ENTReES are, in common terms, what are called made-dishes; of course, these are dishes upon which, in the high cla.s.s of cookery, the talent of the cook is displayed. Great care should be observed in dishing them up, for the eye is a great a.s.sistance to the palate; it often happens that the carelessness of the servant destroys the labors of the cook, by the manner in which the dish is taken from the kitchen to the dining-room. In some measure to avoid that, I direct a small thin border of mashed potatoes, about half an inch wide and a quarter of an inch deep, to be placed on the bottom of the dish, which keeps each object in its place: they should always be served exceedingly hot.