Chapter XVI: Poultry (volaille) (4)

The best way to cook foie gras, when it is to be served whole and hot, is to bake it in a crust of paste that can absorb the excess of grease produced by the melting of the liver. For this purpose prepare two layers of patty paste, a little larger than the liver.

On one of these layers, set the liver wrapped in slices of bacon; and, if possible, surround it with whole fair-sized truffles, peeled. Set half a bay-leaf on the liver; moisten the edges of the paste; cover the whole with the other layer of paste; seal it down with the thumb, and fold over the edges of the paste to form a regular, ornamented border which, besides finishing off the preparation, also increases the strength of the welding.

_Gild_ the top; streak; make a slit in the top for the escape of the steam; and, in the case of a medium-sized liver, cook in a good, moderate oven for from forty to forty-five minutes.

Serve this crust as it stands, and send the garnish separately.

In the dining-room, the waiter in charge removes the top of the crust, cuts out the liver with a spoon, setting a piece on each plate, and arranges around each piece the garnish mentioned on the menu.

I am not partial to the cooking of foie gras in a _terrine_ when it is to be served hot. In any case the method described above strikes me as being much the best, whatever be the garnish that is served with the liver.

I particularly recommend a garnish of noodles, macaroni, lazagnes, spaghetti and even rice, with hot foie gras.

These pastes should simply be cooked in water and finished with cream.

This accompaniment makes the foie gras much more digestible and palatable. The best garnishes for hot foie gras, besides those given above, are truffles, whole or in slices, or a Financière. In the matter of brown sauces, a Madeira sauce suits admirably, provided it be of great delicacy and not overcharged with Madeira; but a very light buttered, veal or chicken glaze, combined with a little old Sherry or old Port, is even superior. A Hongroise sauce with paprika or an excellent suprême sauce may also be served when the garnish admits of it.

1727—FOIE GRAS CUIT DANS UNE BRIOCHE

For this dish the foie gras is cooked differently; the result is almost the same as that yielded by the crust prescribed above, except that it is much more delicate. This method, moreover, allows of obtaining a foie gras clear of all grease (the latter being completely absorbed by the paste), and is therefore best suited to cold dishing.

After having studded the foie gras with truffles and placed it in a closed _terrine_ as above, wrap it in slices of bacon, set it to poach in a moderate oven for twenty minutes, and leave it to cool.

Line a buttered timbale-mould, of a size in proportion to that of the liver, with a thick layer of ordinary unsugared brioche paste (No. 2370).

Put the foie gras upright in the mould, which it should almost fill; close the timbale with a cover of the same paste; make a slit in the top; surround the top of the mould with a band of strong, buttered paper, that the paste may be prevented from running over, and let it rest for about thirty minutes in a temperature of 86° F. to allow the paste to work.

Bake in a rather hot oven, until a needle inserted through the centre withdraws quite clean.

Serve the dish as it stands with one of the ordinary foie-gras garnishes.

1728—ESCALOPES DE FOIE GRAS A LA PÉRIGUEUX

Cut some slices two and one-half oz. in weight from a raw foie gras. Season them with salt and pepper; dip in beaten egg; roll in finely-chopped truffle, and _sauté_ in clarified butter.

Dish in a circle, and, in the middle, pour a Madeira sauce flavoured with truffle essence.

1729—ESCALOPES DE FOIE GRAS A LA RAVIGNAN

From a layer of unsugared brioche paste, one-third in. thick, cut twenty roundels two and one-half in. in diameter. On ten of these roundels, spread a coating of chicken forcemeat, leaving a margin one-third in. wide of bare paste on each roundel.

Set a slice of truffle in the middle, a thick roundel of raw foie gras on the truffle, another slice of truffle upon that, a coat of forcemeat over the whole; and cover with the ten remaining roundels, after having slightly moistened the latter, that the two edges of paste may be sealed. Press with the back of a round cutter; _gild_, and cook in a hot oven for fifteen minutes.

Dish in a circle, and serve a Périgueux sauce at the same time.

1730—ESCALOPES DE FOIE GRAS A LA TALLEYRAND

Prepare: (1) a crust made in a flawn-mould, six in. in diameter; (2) a garnish of _blanched_ macaroni, cut into lengths of one in., cohered with four oz. of grated Gruyère and Parmesan cheese per lb. of macaroni, and combined with two oz. of butter, four oz. of a _julienne_ of truffles and four oz. of foie gras cut into large dice.

Dish in a circle in the crust ten collops of foie gras _sautéd_ in butter, alternating them with fine slices of truffle. Put the macaroni in the middle, shaping it like a dome, sprinkle with grated cheese and glaze quickly.

Dish on a napkin, and serve separately a clear chicken glaze, flavoured with truffles and well buttered.

1731—SOUFFLÉ DE FOIE GRAS

Rub two-thirds lb. of foie gras and three and one-half oz. of raw truffles through a fine sieve. Mix the two purées in a basin, and add two-thirds lb. of raw chicken-meat, pounded with the whites of four eggs, and rubbed through a fine sieve. Season; work the preparation on ice, and add to it, little by little, one-half pint of rich, thick, and very fresh cream, then the well-stiffened whites of four eggs.

Dish in a buttered _soufflé_ saucepan, and poach under cover in the _bain-marie_ for from thirty to thirty-five minutes.

Serve a Madeira sauce, flavoured with truffle essence, separately.

1732—TIMBALE DE FOIE GRAS A L’ALSACIENNE

Prepare an ordinary timbale crust. When about to serve, fill it with layers of noodles with cream, separated by alternate layers of foie-gras collops, _sautéd_ in butter, and slices of truffles. Complete with some raw noodles, tossed in butter and distributed over the last layer of cohered noodles.

Cover the timbale, and serve a suprême sauce, flavoured with truffle essence, separately.

1733—TIMBALE DE FOIE GRAS CAMBACÉRÈS

Line a buttered dome-mould with rings of large poached macaroni.

These rings should be one-fifth inch thick, and should be garnished inside with very black truffle purée, cohered by means of a little forcemeat.

When the mould is lined, coat it inside with a layer of chicken forcemeat combined with truffle purée. Put the mould for a few minutes in a moderate oven, that the forcemeat may poach.

Reduce one-third pint of Béchamel sauce, combined with four to five tablespoonfuls of truffle and chicken essence, to half; mix therewith one-half lb. of poached macaroni, cut into lengths of one inch, and four tablespoonfuls of foie-gras and truffle purée, made from trimmings. Mix the whole thoroughly.

Garnish the timbale with this macaroni, spreading it in layers, separated by other alternate layers of foie-gras collops, poached in Madeira, and slices of truffle. Cover the garnish with a layer of forcemeat, and poach in the _bain-marie_, allowing forty-five minutes for a quart-mould.

Let the mould stand for a few minutes before emptying it; turn out the timbale upon a round dish; surround it with a border of Périgueux sauce, and serve a sauceboat of Périgueux sauce separately.

1734—TIMBALE DE FOIE GRAS MONTESQUIEU

Spread a very even layer, one-third inch thick, of chicken forcemeat upon a sheet of buttered paper. Moisten the surface with some white of egg; sprinkle with chopped truffle, and press on the latter by means of the flat of a knife.

Set to poach gently; cool, and then stamp out with a round, even cutter, one inch in diameter. With the resulting roundels, garnish the bottom and sides of a Charlotte mould, placing their truffled sides against the mould. Then, with the view of binding these roundels together, as they are to constitute the outside of the timbale, coat the whole of the mould inside with some fairly firm chicken forcemeat, combined with a quarter of its bulk of foie-gras purée.

Fill the mould with a foie-gras Parfait with truffles cut into very large dice and cohered by means of _mousseline_ chicken forcemeat.

Cover the whole with a layer of the same forcemeat as that used for the purpose of binding the roundels, and set to poach under cover.

Turn out, following the same precautions as above; surround the timbale with a border of nice, pink, Hungarian sauce with paprika, and send a sauceboat of this sauce to the table at the same time.

=Foie Gras Froid=

1735—ASPIC DE FOIE GRAS

_Clothe_ an even or ornamented mould (fitted with a central tube) with aspic, and decorate it with poached white of egg and truffle. Fill it with rows of well-trimmed foie-gras rectangles, or shells raised by means of a spoon dipped in hot water, separating each row with a coat of aspic.

Except for its principal ingredient, which may vary, the preparation of aspic is always the same as that described under “Aspic de Homard” (No. 954).

For the turning out and dishing, proceed in exactly the same way.

1736—FOIE GRAS GASTRONOME

Take a plain foie-gras Parfait, _i.e._, one without a crust; trim it neatly to the shape of an egg, and completely cover it with a chaud-froid sauce with paprika. Decorate it according to fancy, and glaze it with cold melted jelly.

Cut out a crust, proportionate in size to the egg, and shape it like a cushion. Coat it with a chaud-froid sauce of a different colour; deck it with softened butter, applied by means of a piping-bag fitted with a narrow, grooved pipe; set it on the dish, and place the foie-gras egg upon it.

Surround the cushion with fine fair-sized truffles, glazed with aspic jelly.

1737—FOIE GRAS AU PAPRIKA

Trim a fine, fresh foie gras; salt it; sprinkle it with a coffeespoonful of paprika; put it into a saucepan with a large sliced Spanish onion and a bay-leaf, and cook in the oven for thirty minutes.

This done, set it instantly in an oval _terrine_, after having carefully removed every bit of onion; cover it with its own grease; fill up the _terrine_ with jelly, and leave to cool.

Keep in the cool until ready for serving.

N.B.—In Vienna, where this dish is usually served as a hors-d’œuvre, with baked potatoes, the onion is not removed. The foie gras is left to cool in the _terrine_ in which it has cooked, with all its grease, and it is served thus, very cold.

This piece of information was kindly given to me by Madame Katinka.

1738—ESCALOPES DE FOIE GRAS MARÉCHALE

From a _terrine_ of very firm foie gras cut the required number of collops, giving them an oval shape. Make a preparation of “pain de foie gras” (No. 1741) with the remains of the _terrine_, and cover the collops with the preparation, shaping the latter in a dome upon them. Coat these garnished collops with cream chaud-froid sauce; decorate with a slice of truffle, and glaze with aspic.

With some foie-gras purée prepare some balls (of the shape of bigaroons); in the centre of each place a little ball of truffle in imitation of the stone of the fruit, and coat them with a reddish-brown, chaud-froid sauce. This done, glaze them with jelly.

Dish the collops round a circular cushion, set upon a very cold dish; arrange the bigaroons in a pyramid on the cushion, and border the dish with fine, jelly _croûtons_.

1739—MOUSSE DE FOIE GRAS

For the preparation of the _mousse_, see No. 814. The procedure and the quantities are always the same, and only the principal ingredient changes. The moulding is also effected in the same way in a jelly-_clothed_ and decorated mould, generally just large enough to hold the requisite amount for one service, or in a silver timbale, incrusted in ice.

1740—MOUSSELINES DE FOIE GRAS

I have oftentimes explained that the substance is the same from which _mousses_ and _mousselines_ are prepared, and I have pointed out wherein the difference between them lies.

Just like the other _mousselines_, those of foie gras are made in egg- or quenelle-moulds, or others of the same kind. Foie-gras _mousselines_ are, according to circumstances, either simply glazed with aspic, or coated with chaud-froid sauce and dished in a timbale with jelly. They may also be moulded in little paper cases.

1741—PAIN DE FOIE GRAS

From a cold foie gras, braised in Madeira, cut a few collops and put them aside. Clear the cooking-liquor of all grease, reduce to half, and add the yolks of four eggs and one-half lb. of butter, proceeding as for a Hollandaise sauce. Complete with a grilled, crushed, hazel-nut, two leaves of dissolved gelatine, and, when the preparation is only lukewarm, mix therewith (without working the whole overmuch) what remains of the foie gras, rubbed through a sieve.

Spread this preparation in layers in an aspic-_clothed_ and decorated mould, separating each layer with other alternate layers consisting of the reserved collops and some slices of truffle.

Cover the last layer with aspic, and set the mould in a refrigerator for a few hours.

When about to serve, turn out, and border the dish with fine, aspic jelly _croûtons_.

1742—PARFAIT DE FOIE GRAS

Fresh foies gras do not bear transport very well, and, when sent from a distance, often reach their destination tainted. It is, therefore, difficult, whatever care may have been bestowed on their preparation, to obtain the results which are achieved by manufacturers who are renowned for this kind of produce. Consequently, it is preferable to buy the Parfait of foie gras ready-made from a good firm rather than to try to make it oneself.

1743—PAVÉ DE FOIE GRAS LUCULLUS

Let a coat of aspic, one-half inch thick, set on the bottom of a square timbale, and lay thereon a few slices of truffle. Upon this jelly spread a layer, two-thirds inch thick, of foie-gras purée, thinned by means of a little melted jelly. When this purée has set, lay on it a few foie-gras collops and slices of truffle; cover with aspic, and continue thus with alternate layers of purée, collops, and aspic. Fill up the mould with a layer of aspic jelly; put it in the refrigerator for a few hours, and dish on a block of ice, cut to the shape of a flagstone.

1744—TIMBALE DE FOIE GRAS TZARINE

Line a timbale-mould with ordinary patty paste, and cover the inside all over with slices of larding bacon. Just in the middle set a fresh foie gras, seasoned with salt, pepper, and allspice; surround it with quails stuffed with a piece of truffle, and set upright with their breasts against the slices of bacon. Fill up the mould with whole, raw, and peeled truffles; cover the whole with a round slice of the same bacon; cover the timbale with a layer of paste, well sealed down round the edges; make a slit in the top for the escape of steam, and bake in a good, moderate oven for one and one-quarter hours.

On withdrawing the timbale from the oven, pour into it some succulent veal stock, flavoured with Madeira, and sufficiently gelatinous to form a nice jelly.

Keep the timbale in the cool for one or two days before serving it.

=Ducks and Ducklings (Canards et Canetons)=

Three varieties of the duck family are recognised in cookery, viz., the Nantes duck, the Rouen duck, and the different kinds of wild duck. The latter are generally used for roasts and in salmis.

The Rouen duck is also served more often as a roast than as an entrée. The characteristic trait of its preparation lies in its being kept very underdone, and it is very rarely braised. It is killed by suffocation, and not by bleeding, which is the usual mode of killing other birds.

The Nantes duck, which is similar to the Aylesbury one, is not so fleshy as the Rouen duck, and may be roasted, _poëled_, or braised.

1745—CANETON NANTAIS A LA CHOUCROÛTE

Take a piece of _manied_ butter the size of an egg, and insert it into the duckling with chopped parsley and shallots. Truss the bird as for an entrée; brown it in the oven, and put it in a stewpan already lined for braising.

Moisten, just enough to cover, with white veal stock and Rhine wine (in the proportion of two-thirds of the former to one-third of the latter), or ordinary good white wine, and braise slowly until cooking is completed.

Meanwhile, braise in the usual way two lbs. of sauerkraut with one-half lb. of salted breast of pork.

When it is three-parts done, drain it, and complete its cooking with one-third pint of veal gravy and one-sixth pint of white wine, until this moistening is completely reduced.

Set the sauerkraut in a border round a dish, and surround it with the pork cut into small rectangles. Place the carved duck in the centre, and coat it moderately with half-glaze sauce combined with the reduced braising-liquor. Send the remains of this sauce separately.

1746—CANETON D’AYLESBURY POËLÉ A LA MENTHE

Stuff the duckling with one oz. of butter combined with a pinch of chopped mint, and _poële_ it. Dish it; swill the stewpan with one-sixth pint of clear, veal gravy and a little lemon juice; strain, add a pinch of chopped mint, and pour this sauce over the duckling.

1747—CANETON MOLIÈRE

Bone the duckling, and stuff it with one lb. of _gratin_ foie-gras forcemeat, combined with two-thirds lb. of good sausage-meat. Set two rows of truffles in the middle of the thickest part of the forcemeat, lengthwise, along the duckling. Reconstruct; sew up the skin, wrap in a serviette, after the manner of a galantine, and poach in a stock made from the carcass.

Glaze the duckling with some of this stock, strained, cleared of all grease, and reduced. With what remains prepare a Madeira sauce, and add thereto two oz. of sliced truffles.

Dish the duckling, after having removed all stitches from it, and coat it with this sauce.

1748—CANETON BRAISÉ AUX NAVETS

Brown the duckling well in butter, and withdraw it from the saucepan.

Drain away the butter; swill with a little white wine; add two-thirds pint of brown stock, as much Espagnole, and a faggot; return the duck to this sauce, and braise gently.

With the reserved butter brown one lb. of turnips, shaped like elongated garlic-cloves, and sprinkle them with a large pinch of powdered sugar, that they may be glazed to a nice, light brown colour. Also have ready twenty small onions, which should have been gently cooked in butter.

When the duckling is half cooked, transfer it to another saucepan; put the turnips and the onions round it; strain the sauce over the whole, and complete the cooking gently.

Dish with the garnish of turnips and onions, arranged round the bird.

1749—CANETON AUX OLIVES

Prepare the duckling as above, and keep the sauce short and succulent. A few minutes before serving, add one-half lb. of stoned and _blanched_ olives. Glaze the duckling at the last moment, and dish it surrounded with the olives and the sauce.

1750—CANETON BRAISÉ A L’ORANGE

This braised duckling must not be confused with roast duckling, which is also served “a l’orange,” for the two dishes are quite distinct.

As in the case of the roast, this duckling may be prepared with Seville oranges; but, in this case, the sections of orange must not appear as garnish, owing to their bitterness, and only the juice is used for the sauce.

Braise the duckling in one-third pint of brown stock and two-thirds pint of Espagnole sauce, and cook it sufficiently to allow of its being cut with a spoon.

Clear the sauce of grease; reduce it to a stiff consistence; rub it through tammy, and add the juice of two oranges and one half-lemon to it, which should bring the sauce back to its original consistence.

Now add a _julienne_ of the _blanched_ yellow part only of the rind of a half-orange and a half-lemon, but remember that the addition of the juice and rind of the orange and the half-lemon only takes place at the last moment, after which the sauce must not boil again. Glaze the duckling, dish it, coat it slightly with sauce, and surround it with sections of orange, skinned raw.

Serve what remains of the sauce separately.

1751—CANETON AUX PETITS POIS

Brown in butter six oz. of salted breast of pork, cut into large dice and _blanched_, and fifteen small onions. Drain the pork and the onions, and set the duckling to fry in the same butter. When it is well coloured, remove the butter; swill with a little brown stock, and add one-half pint of thin, half-glaze sauce, one and one-half pints of fresh peas, one faggot, the pork dice and the onions, and complete the cooking of the whole gently.

Dish the duckling, and cover it with the garnish and the sauce, after having withdrawn the faggot therefrom and reduced the sauce so that it only just covers the garnish.

1752—PÂTÉ CHAUD DE CANETON

Roast the duckling, keeping it somewhat underdone, and cut the whole of the breast into long collops or very thin slices. Line a buttered Charlotte mould with short paste, and cover the whole of the inside with a layer of _gratin_ forcemeat (No. 202), combined with four tablespoonfuls of very reduced half-glaze sauce per one and two-thirds lb. of forcemeat—the necessary quantity for this pie.

On the layer of forcemeat arrange a litter of the slices of breast; sliced, cooked mushrooms, and slices of truffle; and fill the mould in this way, taking care to alternate the layers of forcemeat, slices of breast, &c. Complete with a coat of forcemeat, upon which sprinkle a pinch of powdered thyme and bay-leaf; close the mould with a thin layer of paste, sealed down round the edges; make a slit in the top; _gild_, and bake in a moderate oven for one hour.

When taking the pie out of the oven, turn it upside-down on a dish; detach the base; cut the latter into triangles, and set these triangles round the pie. Cover the forcemeat, thus bared, with a few tablespoonfuls of Madeira sauce; set a large, grooved, cooked mushroom just in the middle, and surround it with a crown of sliced truffle.

Serve a Madeira sauce separately.

1753—BALLOTINES DE CANETON

Bone the duckling, and completely clear the bones of all meat.

Remove all tendons from the latter, and chop it, together with half its weight of veal, as much fresh pork fat, a third as much panada (No. 190), the yolks of four eggs, one-half oz. of salt, and a little pepper and nutmeg. Pound; rub through a sieve, and mix with this forcemeat, three oz. of _gratin_ foie-gras forcemeat and three oz. of chopped mushrooms, _sautéd_ in butter. Divide up into portions weighing two oz.; wrap each portion in a piece of the duckling’s skin; envelop in muslin, and poach in a stock prepared from the duckling’s carcass. At the last moment, remove the pieces of muslin and glaze the ballotines.

Dish in a circle, and set the selected garnish, which may be turnips, peas, olives, or sauerkraut, &c., in the middle.

1754—CANETON ROUENNAIS

Except for the one case when they are served cold “à la cuiller,” Rouen ducklings are not braised: they are roasted and always kept underdone. When they have to be stuffed, the forcemeat is prepared as follows:—Fry four oz. of larding bacon, cut into dice, with one oz. of chopped onion, and add one-half lb. of sliced ducks’ livers, a pinch of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a little spice.

Keep the livers underdone, merely stiffened; let the whole half-cool; pound, and rub through a fine sieve.

1755—AIGUILLETTES DE ROUENNAIS A LA BIGARRADE

_Poële_ the duckling and only just cook it, bearing in mind that twenty minutes is the time allowed for cooking a fair-sized bird. Remove the fillets lengthwise, each in ten slices, and set the latter on a lukewarm dish.

Add a few tablespoonfuls of veal gravy to the _poëling_-liquor; set to boil for a few minutes; strain clear of grease, and finish as directed under sauce Bigarrade claire (No. 31).

Cover the slices of breast with some of the sauce, and serve the remainder separately. “Aiguillettes” (or thin slices of breast cut lengthwise) à l’orange are prepared in the same way, except that they are surrounded with sections of orange, skinned raw.

1756—AIGUILLETTES DE ROUENNAIS AUX CERISES

Prepare the duckling as above, but add a little Madeira to the braising-liquor. Clear the latter of grease; thicken with arrowroot; strain through muslin, and add one-half lb. of stoned morello cherries, at the last moment. Set the cherries round the _aiguillettes_; coat the latter thinly with sauce, and serve what remains of the latter, separately.

1757—AIGUILLETTES DE ROUENNAIS AUX TRUFFES

_Poële_ the duckling, and only just cook it.

Add one-sixth pint of Chambertin wine to the _poëling_-liquor, and cook therein five medium-sized, peeled truffles. This done, reduce the liquor, clear of grease, strain it, and add it to a somewhat light Rouennaise sauce.

Raise the duckling’s _aiguillettes_, slice the truffles, and set on a lukewarm dish, alternating the _aiguillettes_ with the slices of truffle.

Coat thinly with sauce, and send what remains of the latter separately.

1758—CANETON ROUENNAIS AU CHAMPAGNE

_Poële_ the duckling as above.

Add one-half pint of dry Saint Marceaux champagne to the _poëling_-liquor; reduce, and complete with one-sixth pint of thickened, veal stock.

Strain this sauce through muslin; clear it of grease, and send it in a sauceboat at the same time as the duckling.

1759—CANETON ROUENNAIS EN CHEMISE

Stuff the duckling with the preparation given under No. 1754; truss it as for an entrée; insert it into a well-soaked bladder, and string the end of the latter close to the bird’s tail. Wrap the bladder in a napkin, also strung, and poach gently for about forty-five minutes in a very strong brown stock. When about to serve, remove the napkin, and leave the duckling in the bladder.

Serve a Rouennaise sauce as an accompaniment.

1760—CANETON ROUENNAIS AU PORTO

Roast the duckling “_en casserole_,” keeping it only just done.

Swill with one-fifth pint of port wine; reduce to half, and add this reduced swilling-liquor to one-half pint of duckling gravy, thickened with arrowroot.

1761—CANETON ROUENNAIS A LA PRESSE

Roast the duckling for twenty minutes, and send it instantly to the table, where it should be treated as follows:—Remove the legs, which are not served; carve the fillets into fine slices, laid one against the other on a lukewarm dish.

Chop up the carcass and press it, sprinkling it the while with a glassful of good red wine. Collect the gravy; add thereto a few drops of brandy, and with this liquor sprinkle the slices of breast, which should have been well seasoned.

Put the dish on a chafer, and thoroughly heat without allowing to boil.

Serve instantly.

1762—CANETON FARCI A LA ROUENNAISE

Stuff the duckling with the forcemeat given under No. 1754, and roast it before a fierce fire for from twenty-five to thirty minutes, according to its size.

Send a Rouennaise sauce to the table with it.

If it be served carved, remove the legs, _cisel_ them inside, season them well with salt and pepper, and grill them.

Cut the fillets into thin slices, set these on either side of a long dish, and, in the middle, place the forcemeat withdrawn from the inside.

Set the grilled legs at either end of the dish.

Roughly chop up the carcass and press it, sprinkling it the while with a glass of liqueur-brandy and a few drops of lemon juice. Add the collected gravy to the Rouennaise sauce: coat the slices of breast thinly with sauce, and serve what remains of the sauce separately.

1763—SALMIS DE CANETON A LA ROUENNAISE

After having suppressed the clavicle, truss the duckling.

Put it in a red oven, where it should only stay eight minutes, _i.e._, four minutes each side.

If possible, let it cool for a few minutes, that it may be more easily carved. Take care, also, to wipe it, for, as a rule, the fierceness of the oven blackens it. Remove the legs; _cisel_ them inside; season and grill them.

Sprinkle a long, buttered dish with chopped shallots, kitchen salt not too finely powdered, freshly-ground pepper, nutmeg, and allspice.

Cut the fillets into very thin slices lengthwise, fifteen from each fillet, and set them one against the other on the dish. Sprinkle them with the same seasoning as that lying on the dish, except for the shallots.

Remove the remaining stumps of the wings, as also the small, remaining skin of the breast; season both, and set them to grill by the side of the legs. Roughly chop up the carcass; press it while sprinkling it with half a glassful of red wine, and sprinkle the slices of breast with the collected gravy.

When about to serve, set a few small pieces of butter on the slices of breast; heat for a moment on the stove, and put the dish in a very hot oven, or at the salamander, that the glazing may be instantaneous.

Withdraw the dish the moment the edges of the _aiguillettes_ begin to curl, set the grilled legs at either end of the dish, the two wing-stumps, with the skin of the breast, in the middle, and serve immediately.

1764—SOUFFLÉ DE CANETON ROUENNAIS

_Poële_ the duckling, and only just cook it.

Raise the _suprêmes_, and keep them hot, and cut the bones from the carcass in such a way as to imitate a case, as I described in a number of pullet recipes. With the duckling’s liver, the raw meat of another half-duckling, the white of an egg, and three oz. of raw foie gras, prepare a _mousseline_ forcemeat.

Fill the carcass with this forcemeat, shaping it so as to reconstruct the bird. Surround it with a band of strong, buttered paper, so as to avoid loss of shape, and poach gently, under cover, for twenty minutes.

With some reserved forcemeat, combined with an equal weight of foie-gras purée, garnish some tartlet crusts, and poach them at the same time as the _soufflé_.

Dish the piece; surround it with the tartlets; set a collop of _suprême_ on each of the latter and serve a Rouennaise sauce separately.

=Canetons Froids=

1765—CANETON A LA CUILLER

Braise the duckling with Madeira, and cook it well. Put into a _terrine_ just large enough to hold it; cover with the braising-liquor, strained through a napkin, and combined with enough aspic jelly to completely coat the duckling. Leave to cool.

When about to serve, clear the surface of grease, first by means of a spoon, then with boiling water, and dish on a napkin.

1766—CANETON GLACÉ AUX MANDARINES

_Poële_ the duckling, and let it cool in its liquor.

When it is quite cold, set it on its back; glaze it with aspic jelly, and place it on a low rice or carved-bread cushion lying on a long dish.

Surround it with emptied tangerines, filled with cold _mousse_ made from ducklings’ livers and foie gras. Alternate the tangerines with small timbales of aspic, combined with the _poëling_-liquor and the juice squeezed from the sections of the tangerines.

1767—CANETON GLACÉ AUX CERISES

Roast the duckling, and keep it underdone.

When it is quite cold, remove the breast, and remove the bones in such wise as to form a case with the carcass. Cut each fillet into eight thin slices; coat them with a brown chaud-froid sauce, and decorate with truffles. Fill the carcass with a _mousse_ made from the remains of the meat, the duckling’s liver, and some foie gras, and shape it so as to imitate the convex breast of the bird.

Glaze with aspic, and set in the refrigerator, that the _mousse_ may harden. When the latter is firm, lay the chaud-froid-coated collops upon it, and set the piece in a deep, square dish. Surround with cold, stoned, morello cherries, poached in Bordeaux wine, and cover these with an aspic jelly flavoured with duckling essence.

1768—AIGUILLETTES DE CANETONS A L’ÉCARLATE

_Poële_ a Rouen duckling until it is just cooked, and let it cool in its liquor. Raise the fillets; skin them, and cut them each into eight thin slices. Coat them with a brown chaud-froid sauce, and decorate with truffles. Prepare an equal number of slices of tongue the size and shape of the slices of duckling, and coat them with aspic.

With the remains and the meat of the legs, prepare a _mousse_, and pour it into a square or oval silver dish; let it cool, and then set the _aiguillettes_ of duckling and the slices of tongue upon it, alternating them in so doing, and cover the _mousse_ with aspic.

1769—MOUSSE ET MOUSSELINES DE CANETON ROUENNAIS

These are prepared with the same quantities as the chicken _mousses_ and _mousselines_, but they allow of no other sauce than the Rouennaise or the Bigarrade, nor of any other garnishes than sections of orange, cherries, vegetable purées, or creams.

1770—MOUSSE DE CANETON ROUENNAIS

With the exception of the nature of the principal ingredient, the preparation, quantities, and moulding of this _mousse_ are the same as for chicken _mousse_. The reader is, therefore, begged to refer to No. 1670, which may be applied perfectly well to Rouen duckling.

1771—SOUFFLÉ FROID DE CANETON A L’ORANGE

Proceed as for the “Caneton aux cerises,” but with this difference, that the duckling is used entirely for the _mousse_.

Serve, similarly, in a square dish, and surround with sections of oranges skinned raw. Cover with an aspic jelly flavoured with the juice of Seville oranges, and combined with a liqueur-glassful of curaçao per pint of jelly.

1772—TERRINE DE CANETON ROUENNAIS A LA GELÉE

First prepare the following forcemeat:—Heat three oz. of fat bacon, cut into small dice, and three oz. of butter in a frying-pan. Throw six fine ducks’ livers (seasoned with salt and pepper, and sprinkled with a pinch of powdered thyme, bay-leaf, and half an onion chopped) into this fat. Toss them over a fierce fire, just long enough to heat them; leave them to cool, and rub them through a sieve.

Bone the breast of a Rouen duckling and its back as far as the region of the legs, and suppress the tail. Stuff it with the preparation given above; truss as for an entrée, and put it in a _terrine_ just large enough to hold it. Sprinkle it with a glassful of brandy; cover with a slice of bacon, and cook it in the _bain-marie_, in the oven, and under cover for forty minutes.

With the carcass and some strong veal stock, prepare two-thirds pint of excellent aspic, and, when withdrawing the duckling from the oven, cover it with this aspic, and let it cool. When about to serve, remove all grease, first by means of a spoon, and then by means of boiling water, and set the _terrine_ on a napkin lying on a long dish.

1773—TIMBALE DE CANETON A LA VOISIN

Roast a Rouen duckling, and keep it underdone; let it cool, and raise its fillets. With the carcass prepare a Salmis sauce, and thicken it with aspic as for a chaud-froid sauce.

Cut the fillets into slices, coat them with Salmis sauce, and leave this to set. Let a thickness of sauce set on the bottom of a timbale.

Upon this sauce lay some of the coated slices, alternating them with slices of truffle, and cover with a thin layer of aspic jelly. Lay another row of slices of fillet and of truffles, followed as before by a layer of aspic, and continue thus in the same order. Complete with a somewhat thick layer of aspic, and keep in the cool until ready for serving.

N.B.—This old and excellent cold entrée is really only a cold salmis. The procedure may be applied to all game suited to the salmis method of preparation. It is the simplest and certainly the best way of serving them cold.

1774—PINTADES (GUINEA FOWL)

The guinea-fowl is not equal to the pheasant from the gastronomical standpoint, though it often takes the place of the latter among the roasts after the shooting season. But, though it has neither the fine flavour nor the delicate meat of the pheasant, it does good service notwithstanding. The majority of pheasant recipes may be applied to it, especially à la Bohémienne, à la crème, en Chartreuse, en salmis, à la choucroûte, &c.

1775—PIGEONS AND SQUABS (PIGEONS ET PIGEONNEAUX)

Young pigeons are not very highly esteemed by English gourmets, and this is more particularly to be regretted, since, when the birds are of excellent quality, they are worthy the best tables.

1776—PIGEONNEAUX A LA BORDELAIS

Open the squabs down the back; season them; slightly flatten them, and toss them in butter. They may just as well be halved as left whole. Dish, and surround with the garnish given under “Poulet à la Bordelaise” (No. 1538).

1777—PIGEONNEAUX EN CASSEROLE A LA PAYSANNE

Cook the squabs in the oven in an earthenware saucepan.

When they are two-thirds done, surround them with one and one-half oz. of salted breast of pork, cut into small dice and _blanched_, and two oz. of sliced and _sautéd_ potatoes for each pigeon. Complete the cooking of the whole gently, and, when about to serve, add a little good gravy.

1778—PIGEONNEAUX EN CHARTREUSE

Prepare the _Chartreuse_ in a Charlotte mould, as explained under No. 1182. Line the bottom and sides with a layer of braised, drained, and pressed cabbages; in the centre set the squabs, cooked “_à la casserole_” and cut into two lengthwise, and alternate them with small rectangles of _blanched_, salted breast of pork, and sausage roundels. Cover with cabbages, and steam in a _bain-marie_ for thirty minutes.

Let the _Chartreuse_ stand for five minutes after withdrawing from the _bain-marie_; turn out on a round dish, and surround with a few tablespoonfuls of half-glaze sauce.

1779—PIGEONNEAUX EN CRAPAUDINE

Cut the young pigeons horizontally in two, from the apex of the breast to the wings. Open them; flatten them slightly; season them; dip them in melted butter, roll them in bread-crumbs, and grill them gently.

Serve a devilled sauce at the same time.

1780—PIGEONNEAUX EN COMPOTE

Fry in butter two oz. of _blanched_, salted breast of pork and two oz. of raw mushrooms, peeled and quartered. Drain the bacon and the mushrooms, and set the squabs, trussed as for an entrée, to fry in the same butter.

Withdraw them when they are brown; drain them of butter; swill with half a glassful of white wine; reduce the latter, and add sufficient brown stock and half-glaze sauce (_tomatéd_), in equal quantities, to cover the birds. Plunge them into this sauce, with a faggot, and simmer until they are cooked and the sauce is reduced to half.

This done, transfer the squabs to another saucepan; add the pieces of bacon, the mushrooms, and six small onions, glazed with butter, for each bird; strain the sauce over the whole through a fine sieve; simmer for ten minutes more, and serve very hot.

1781—PIGEON PIE

Line the bottom and sides of a pie-dish with very thin, flattened collops of lean beef, seasoned with salt and pepper, and sprinkled with chopped shallots.

Set the quartered pigeons inside the dish, and separate them with a halved hard-boiled egg-yolk for each pigeon. Moisten half-way up with good gravy; cover with a layer of puff paste; _gild_; streak; make a slit in the top, and bake for about one and one-half hours in a good, moderate oven.

1782—VOL AU VENT DE PIGEONNEAUX

Suppress the feet and the pinions; _poële_ the squabs, and only just cook them.

Cut each bird into four, and mix them with a garnish “à la Financière” (No. 1474) combined with the _poëling_-liquor. Pour the whole into a vol-au-vent crust, and dish on a napkin.

1783—CÔTELETTES DE PIGEONNEAUX A LA NESLES

Cut them in two, and reserve the claw, which serves as the bone of the cutlet. Flatten them slightly; season, and fry them in butter on one side only. Cool them under slight pressure; coat their fried side, dome-fashion, with some godiveau with cream, combined with a third of its bulk of _gratin_ forcemeat and chopped truffles. Set them on a tray, and place in a moderate oven to complete the cooking, and poach the forcemeat. Dish in a circle, and separate the cutlets with collops of veal sweetbreads, dipped in beaten eggs, rolled in bread-crumbs, and tossed in butter. Garnish their midst with mushrooms and sliced fowls’ livers, tossed in butter and cohered with a few tablespoonfuls of Madeira sauce.

1784—CÔTELETTES DE PIGEONNEAUX EN PAPILLOTES

Cut the pigeons in two, as above; stiffen them in butter, and enclose them in _papillotes_ as explained under “Côtelettes de Veau en Papillotes” (No. 1259).

1785—CÔTELETTES DE PIGEONNEAUX A LA SÉVIGNÉ

_Sauté_ the half-pigeons in butter, and leave them to cool under slight pressure. Garnish their cut sides dome-fashion with a _salpicon_ of white chicken-meat, mushrooms, and truffles, the whole cohered by means of a cold Allemande sauce.

Dip them in beaten egg, roll them in bread-crumbs, and cook them gently in clarified butter.

Dish them in a circle; garnish their midst with asparagus-heads cohered with butter, and serve a light, Madeira sauce separately.

1786—SUPRÊMES DE PIGEONNEAUX A LA DIPLOMATE

Raise the fillets and slightly flatten them; stiffen them in butter, and leave them to cool under slight pressure. This done, dip them in a Villeroy sauce, combined with chopped herbs and mushrooms, and cool them. Dip each fillet in beaten egg; roll them in bread-crumbs, and fry just before serving.

Dish in a circle, and in their midst set a heap of fried parsley. Send separately a garnish of pigeon quenelles, mushrooms, and small, olive-shaped truffles, to which a half-glaze sauce flavoured with pigeon essence has been added.

1787—SUPRÊMES DE PIGEONNEAUX A LA SAINT-CLAIR

With the meat of the legs prepare a _mousseline_ forcemeat, and, with the latter, make some quenelles the size of small olives, and set them to poach. _Poële_ the breasts, without colouration, on a thick litter of sliced onions, and keep them underdone. Add a little velouté to the onions; rub them through tammy, and put the quenelles in this sauce.

In the middle of a shallow _croustade_, set a pyramid of _cèpes_ tossed in butter. Raise the fillets; skin them, and set them on the _cèpes_; coat them with the prepared sauce; surround with a thread of meat glaze, and place the quenelles all round.

1788—SUPRÊMES DE PIGEONNEAUX A LA MARIGNY

Cut off the legs, and, with their meat, prepare a forcemeat. Poach the latter on a tray, and stamp it out with an oval cutter into pieces the size of the _suprêmes_.

Cover the breasts with slices of bacon, and _poële_ them, taking care to only just cook them.

Quickly raise the _suprêmes_, skin them, and set each upon an oval of forcemeat, sticking them on by means of a little _gratin_ forcemeat.

Put the _suprêmes_ in the oven for a moment, that this forcemeat may poach. Dish the _suprêmes_ round a pyramid consisting of a smooth purée of peas, and coat with a velouté sauce, finished with an essence prepared from the remains and the _poëling_-liquor of the breasts.

1789—SUPRÊMES DE PIGEONNEAUX AUX TRUFFES

Raise the _suprêmes_, flatten them slightly; toss them in clarified butter, and set them on a border of smooth forcemeat, laid on a dish by means of a piping-bag, and poached in the front of the oven.

Swill the vegetable-pan with Madeira; add four fine slices of truffle for each _suprême_, and a little pale melted meat glaze, and finish with a moderate amount of butter.

Coat the _suprêmes_ with this sauce, and set the slices of truffle upon it.

1790—MOUSSELINES DE PIGEONNEAUX A L’EPICURIENNE

Prepare and poach these _mousselines_ like the chicken ones, but make them a little smaller. Dish them in the form of a crown; set thereon a young pigeon’s fillet roasted, and in their midst arrange a garnish of peas with lettuce. Coat with a _fumet_ prepared from the carcasses and cohered with a few tablespoonfuls of velouté.

N.B.—Pigeons and squabs may also be prepared after the recipes given for chicks.

=Relevés and Entrées=

GAME

VENISON AND GROUND GAME

The stag (Fr. Cerf) and the fallow deer (Fr. Daim) supply the only venison that is consumed in England, where the roebuck (Fr. Chevreuil) is not held in very high esteem. True, the latter’s flesh is very often mediocre in quality, and saddles and legs of roebuck often have to be imported from the Continent when they are to appear on an important menu.

On the other hand, venison derived from the stag or red deer and the fallow deer proper is generally of superior quality. The former has perhaps more flavour, but the latter, which is supplied by animals bred in herds on large private estates, has no equal as far as delicacy and tenderness are concerned, while it is covered with white and scented fat, which is greatly appreciated by English connoisseurs.

Although these two kinds of venison are generally served as relevés, they belong more properly to the roasts, and I shall give their recipes a little later on. In any case, only half of the hind-quarters (that is to say, the leg together with that part of the saddle which reaches from it to the floating ribs) is served at high-class tables.

I shall now, therefore, only give the various recipes dealing with roebuck, it being understood that these, if desired, may be applied to corresponding joints of the stag or deer.

1791—SELLE DE CHEVREUIL ET CUISSOT

Saddles and legs of roebuck may be prepared after the same recipes, and allow of the same garnishes. The recipes for saddle which I give hereafter may therefore be applied equally well to legs.

Whichever joint be selected, it must first be cleared of all tendons and then larded with larding bacon. The last operation is no more essential than is the _marinading_ which in France has become customary with such pieces. It might even be said with justice that _marinading_ is not only useless, but harmful, more particularly in the case of young animals whose meat has been well hung.

Unlike many other specimens of game, roebuck has to be eaten fresh; it does not suit it to be in the least tainted. I should like to point out here that game shot in ambush is best, owing to the fact that animals killed after a chase decompose very quickly, and thereby lose a large proportion of their flavour.

The saddle of the roebuck generally consists of the whole of the latter’s back, from the withers to the tail, in which case the bones of the ribs are cut very short, that the joint may lie steady at all points.

At the croup-end, cut the joint on either side diagonally, from the point of the haunch to the root of the tail. Sometimes, however, the saddle only consists of the lumbar portion of the back, and, in this case, the ribs are cut up to be cooked as cutlets.

1792—SELLE DE CHEVREUIL A L’ALLEMANDE

_Marinade_ the saddle for two or three days in raw _marinade_ No. 169, and roast it, on a narrow baking-tray, upon the vegetables of the _marinade_.

As soon as the joint is cooked, withdraw it; swill the tray with a little _marinade_, and almost entirely reduce. Clear of grease; add two-thirds pint of cream and one powdered juniper berry; reduce by a third; complete with a few drops of melted glaze, and rub through tammy.

Serve this sauce at the same time as the saddle, which set on a long dish.

1793—SELLE DE CHEVREUIL A LA BADEN-BADEN

The saddle should be _marinaded_ and well dried before being set to cook.

_Poële_ it on the vegetables of the _marinade_.

When it is cooked, put it on a long dish, and, at either end of it, set a garnish of stewed pears, unsugared, but flavoured with cinnamon and lemon-rind. Pour one-third pint of game stock into the tray in which the joint was cooked; cook for ten minutes; strain; clear of grease, and thicken with arrowroot.

Serve this thickened stock separately, and send some red-currant jelly to the table at the same time.

1794—SELLE DE CHEVREUIL AUX CERISES

Keep the saddle for twelve hours in _marinade_ (No. 169) made from verjuice instead of vinegar. Roast it on the spit, basting it with the _marinade_, and keep it slightly underdone.

At the same time, serve a cherry sauce consisting of equal quantities of poivrade sauce and red-currant jelly, to each pint of which add three oz. of semi-candied cherries, set to soak in hot water thirty minutes beforehand.

N.B.—This saddle need not be _marinaded_ if it be desired plain.

1795—SELLE DE CHEVREUIL A LA CUMBERLAND

Roast it like a haunch of venison, without _marinading_ it. Send it to the table with a timbale of French beans, cohered with butter, and serve a Cumberland sauce (No. 134) separately.

1796—SELLE DE CHEVREUIL A LA CRÉOLE

_Marinade_ it for a few hours only, and roast it on the spit, basting it the while with the _marinade_.

Set it on a long dish, and surround it with bananas tossed in butter.

At the same time serve a Roberts sauce, combined with a third of its bulk of Poivrade sauce, and one oz. of fresh butter per pint.

1797—SELLE DE CHEVREUIL A LA BEAUJEU

Lard and roast it. Set it on a long dish, and surround it with artichoke-bottoms, garnished with lentil purée, and alternated with chestnuts cooked in a small quantity of consommé and glazed.

Serve a venison sauce separately.

1798—SELLE DE CHEVREUIL AU GENIÈVRE

Lard the saddle, and roast it. Swill the baking-tray with a small glassful of burned gin; add one powdered juniper berry and one-sixth pint of double cream. Reduce the cream to half; complete with a few tablespoonfuls of poivrade sauce and a few drops of lemon juice. Serve this sauce with the saddle, and send separately some hot stewed apples, very slightly sugared.

1799—SELLE DE CHEVREUIL AVEC SAUCES DIVERSES

Saddle of roebuck may also be served with the following sauces:—Poivrade, Venison, Grand-Veneur, Moscovite, Roberts, &c. The selected accompaniment determines the title of the dish.

1800—NOISETTES ET CÔTELETTES DE CHEVREUIL

The same recipes may be applied to both. Trim them after the manner of lamb noisettes or cutlets. They may be moderately _marinaded_, but they may also be used fresh. In the latter case, fry them in butter over a somewhat fierce fire, like the lamb noisettes.

If they have been _marinaded_, it is better to toss them very quickly in very hot oil, and then to dry them before dishing them.

It is in the dishing only that the noisettes and the cutlets differ; for, whereas the latter are always dished in a crown, one overlapping the other, or each separated from the rest by _croûtons_ of bread-crumb fried in butter, the noisettes are always dished in a circle on small, oval _croûtons_ fried in butter, or on tartlet crusts containing some kind of garnish.

1801—CÔTELETTES DE CHEVREUIL CONTI

_Sauté_ the cutlets in very hot oil; dry them; dish them in a crown, and separate them by similarly-shaped collops of salted tongue.

Swill the saucepan with a little white wine; add this liquor to a Poivrade sauce, and coat the cutlets with it.

Serve a light, buttered purée of lentils at the same time.

1802—CÔTELETTES DE CHEVREUIL DIANE

Spread an even layer, one-third inch thick, of _mousseline_ game forcemeat on a tray. Poach this forcemeat in a steamer or in a very moderate oven, and cut it into triangles equal in size to the cutlets.

Toss the latter as already explained; dish them in a crown, and separate them by _croûtons_ of forcemeat already prepared.

Coat the whole with poivrade sauce, thinned by means of a little beaten cream, and garnished with crescents of truffle and hard-boiled white of egg, and serve a purée of chestnuts at the same time.

1803—NOISETTES DE CHEVREUIL AU GENIÈVRE

Cook the noisettes in smoking oil. Dry them, dish them, and coat them with the same sauce as that given under “Selle au Genièvre” (No. 1798).

Serve some stewed apples at the same time.

1804—NOISETTES DE CHEVREUIL ROMANOFF

Cook the noisettes; set them on stuffed sections of cucumber, prepared after No. 2124a, and place a slice of truffle on each noisette. Coat with a Poivrade sauce with cream, and serve a mushroom purée separately.

1805—NOISETTES DE CHEVREUIL VALENCIA

Cook the noisettes, and dish them in a circle, each on a round _croûton_ of brioche fried in butter, and coat lightly with bigarrade sauce.

Serve a sauceboat of bigarrade sauce and an orange salad at the same time.

1806—NOISETTES DE CHEVREUIL VILLENEUVE