Chapter VIII: Part 8

_Ham English fashion._--Soak it in water and trim it as directed. Make some paste with water and flour only; spread a coat of this paste all over the ham, and then envelop it in buttered or oiled paper. Put it on the spit and baste with fat while it is roasting. Roast it for three or three and a half hours, according to size; remove the paper about two hours after it has been taken from the fire; cut a hole in the paste about an inch in diameter and on the lean side; pour into it, little by little, half a pint of good Madeira wine, cover the hole with some paste, placing a band of paper on it to prevent it from falling; put the ham back on the spit for about twenty minutes, and serve whole with Madeira sauce. We mean, by serving whole, with the paste around it, but not the paper.

Besides the sauce, some green vegetables, boiled only, are served on separate dishes, but eaten with the ham.

It is also served like game, with currant-jelly, apple-sauce, etc.

_Champagne Sauce._--Proceed as for the above in every particular, except that you use Champagne instead of Madeira wine, and when done serve it with a Champagne sauce.

_Another._--It may be boiled as directed above, and served with a Champagne sauce also.

_Another._--When soaked and dry, put it in a crockery vessel; put on and all around it four onions chopped fine, two bay-leaves, two sprigs of thyme, a piece of nutmeg, and pour on the whole a bottle of white wine; cover the vessel as nearly air-tight as possible, leave it thus for about twenty-four hours, turning it over two or three times, so as to let every side take the seasonings. Place the ham on the spit before a good fire, baste often with the seasonings from the crockery vessel, and when done take it off, dust it with fine raspings of bread, place it fifteen minutes in a slow oven, strain the drippings, boil them till reduced to a proper thickness, dish the ham, pour the drippings on it, and serve.

SALTED PORK.

The best and only proper way to cook salted pork, is, to put it in a kettle, entirely cover it with cold water, boil gently till cooked, and serve it with a _puree_ or with a garniture of cabbage. Any thing else that you might put with it would rather spoil than better it.

PIG'S EARS.

_How to prepare._--Soak them in warm water for a few minutes, then wash and clean them well, and scrape the hair off, if any.

_Boiled._--When prepared, you throw them in boiling water for two minutes and take from the fire; add four onions for four ears, one carrot, salt and pepper; leave just water enough to cover the whole, and when cooked, drain. Serve them on a _puree_ of beans or of lentils.

_The same, broiled._--When cleaned, prepared, and cooked as above, just dip them in beaten eggs, roll them in bread-crumbs, place on the gridiron and on the fire, broil for about two or three minutes; then serve them with a _maitre d'hotel_ sauce.

PIG'S FEET.

_Broiled, or a la Sainte Menehould._--Split six feet in two, lengthwise, and soak them in tepid water for ten minutes, then envelop each in a piece of linen well tied or sewed; place them in a kettle or stewpan with four small onions, four sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, two of sweet basil, two bay-leaves, two cloves of garlic, two cloves, two small carrots cut in pieces, salt, pepper, and half a pint of white wine; cover with cold water, simmer about six hours, skim them properly, fill with boiling water so as to have them covered all the time; take from the fire when cooked, and when nearly cool take the feet from the kettle, untie them, throw away the linen, and let them cool. Dip each in melted butter or in sweet-oil, roll in bread-crumbs, and place on a gridiron and on a good fire; serve them as they are, when properly broiled.

_Stuffed._--Prepare the feet and cook them as above. When perfectly cold, remove the long bone of each half, fill the place with sausage-meat; dip each in melted butter and yolk of egg, mixed and seasoned with salt and pepper, roll in bread-crumbs, and broil. While they are broiling, baste them with melted butter. Serve as they are, or with meat-jelly, or gravy.

_Stuffed with Truffles._--Proceed as with the above in every particular, so far as removing the long bone of each half, so as to be ready for stuffing them.

Cut truffles in small dice, enough to half fill the feet, and put them on the fire in a small saucepan, just covered with Madeira wine; toss and stir till the wine is absorbed and nearly boiled away, then add a little gravy, stir half a minute, take from the fire and let cool. When cold, fill each half foot till half full, and finish with sausage-meat; then dip in butter and egg, roll in crumbs, broil and serve as the above.

They may be filled with truffles only, and served with meat-jelly.

PIG'S HEAD.

Soak in water and clean it well; take all the bones and flesh out; then cut the flesh and about one pound of salt pork in strips, which you put inside of the head, well mixed with salt, pepper, half a dozen middling-sized onions chopped, two teaspoonfuls of chopped parsley, half a saltspoonful of allspice, two bay-leaves, two sprigs of thyme, a little sage, and the juice of half a lemon; lay it in a crockery vessel for from four to six days. Envelop the head in a towel, place it in a kettle with eight small onions, two carrots cut in pieces, salt, pepper, four sprigs of parsley, four of thyme, four bay-leaves, two cloves, and a pint of white wine; cover with water, set on the fire, and simmer from six to eight hours; take from the fire and drain, take the towel off and drain again till dry and cold. Serve it with sprigs of green parsley around.

_Wild-Boar like_.--Prepare, stuff, cook, and allow it to cool as the one preceding; then place it on an oval dish, the ears up, with one or two skewers to hold them in place, and also two or three decorated skewers in the middle of the head and between the eyes--not across, but lengthwise. Glaze it with essence of beef, by means of a brush; make eyes with meat-jelly, which you cut with a vegetable spoon, and imitate the tongue, teeth, and tusks with butter colored with cochineal and kneaded with flour. Cover the back part with jelly and skewers ornamented with flowers or slices of truffles, or with both. Some jelly, chopped, may also be placed all around, and flowers in the ears and on the eyes. It is served as an _entree_, or for supper, lunch, or breakfast.

PIG'S KIDNEYS.

Prepare, cook, and serve like calf's kidneys.

PIG'S TAIL.

Prepare, cook, and serve like pig's ears.

PIG'S TONGUE.

Prepare, cook, and serve like beef tongue.

_Head-cheese_.--Soak a pig's head in cold water for two or three hours, clean, and then cut the whole of it, ears and tongue included, in strips one or two inches long, and then put the whole with about two pounds of salt pork, cut in strips also, in a crockery bowl, season with salt, pepper, chopped onion, chopped parsley, thyme, bay-leaf, and sage, chopped also, the juice of a lemon, and leave thus for about two or three days, turning it over occasionally. Then put the mixture in a mould or wrap it in a towel and boil till done. It must be immersed in the water.

Some beet or sheep's tongue, together with the flesh of chicken, may be added to the head.

When cooked and cold, if there are any empty places, they may be filled with meat-jelly.

It is served at late suppers, or at lunch and breakfast. It is always served cold, with parsley around.

SUCKING-PIG.

A sucking-pig, to be good, must be fat.

Then properly cleaned, and hoofs off, clean the inside, leaving the kidneys; skewer it, put in it half a pound of butter kneaded with chopped parsley and green onions, four or five mushrooms, and two white onions with a clove stuck in each; place it on the spit before a good fire, baste often with melted butter first, and then with the drippings, and when done serve on a _vinaigrette_.

Some truffles may be added to the seasoning, if handy; it gives it a good taste.

_Baked_.--Stuff it as the above, place it in a baking-pan with just cold water enough to cover the bottom of the pan; put it in a quick oven, baste often, and when done serve with a _remolade_ or _vinaigrette_ sauce.

When roasted or baked, place it on a dish with slices of truffles, mushrooms, and parsley all around. Run some skewers through slices or truffles and whole mushrooms, and plant them in it like the one represented in the cut on the following page.

A small red apple is placed in the mouth after it is cooked, to make room for which a stone is placed in the mouth before cooking it, in order to keep the mouth open. It is served as warm as possible.

_Boned_.--A sucking-pig can be boned and filled just the same as a turkey, and cooked and served alike also.

POULTRY.

Chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese must be killed not less than twenty-four hours, and not more than three days in summer, nor less than two days nor more than six days in winter, before cooking them.

HOW TO PREPARE AND CLEAN.

To transport poultry, _see_ Game.

Poulterers are of the opinion that the best and quickest way of killing poultry is by cutting the throat or the tongue. Tie the legs of the bird, hang it by the legs, then kill and let bleed. Some cut the head off and throw it away on the ground, but the poor things do not die so fast, and therefore suffer more.

As soon as the throat or tongue is cut, if the head is held down the bird dies sooner, as it allows the blood to run more freely, preventing the bird from bending and twisting its neck, and also from swallowing its blood.

It is much better to pick the bird dry. By scalding, the skin is spoiled, and very often the flesh of a young and tender chicken is spoiled also, being blanched. When picked, singe the bird carefully, in order not to burn the skin.

Split the skin on the back of the neck, from the body to near the head; then detach the skin from the neck by pulling it downward and the neck upward; it gives you plenty of room to pull the crop out, which you do. Cut the skin off at about the middle of the neck, and the neck close to the body; that part of the skin of the neck is left to cover the place where the neck was cut off, by turning it on the back of the bird, and holding it with twine in trussing.

Make an incision under the rump, lengthwise, and large enough to draw the bird easily.

When drawn, wipe the inside of the bird with a towel, but do not wash it, except when you have broken the gall-bladder. If that should happen, cut the bird in pieces immediately and wash well in lukewarm water; never roast or prepare whole a bird that has had the gall-bladder broken in it in drawing it. _Saute_ it or prepare it in fricassee.

If there should be any thing unclean on the outside, wipe it off, if possible, or otherwise cut the place off, or wash only the unclean place. A washed bird is a very inferior article. If you see that a bird cannot be cleansed properly except by washing it, do not buy it.

CHICKEN.

_To select._--Buy a chicken with white flesh and pale-yellow fat. If young, the cock has small spurs, the hen has the lower part of the legs and feet rather soft and smooth; those parts are rough in old ones.

If the rump is hard and stiff, they are fresh enough; but if soft, it is necessary to examine the bird carefully; it might be tainted.

_To truss._--When prepared as directed for poultry, put the bird on the table on its back, and with a chopper or with a round stick flatten the breast-bone, which you break at a single blow if possible; the bird is much more sightly when served. Cut the legs off just above the first joint, or cut off only half of the claws and trim off the ends of the wings. Place the bird on a table, the breast up and the rump toward you. Push the legs under the skin, so that, by holding them perpendicularly and pressing on them, the part from the second to the third joint is alongside the chicken, or horizontally. Then run a trussing-needle, with twine attached to it, just above the bone of the leg, as near the second joint as possible, on the side (toward you) of the bone of the leg that is perpendicular, through the leg (which leg is the left one of the bird), body, and also through the bird, and at the same place, that is, as near the second joint as possible. Turn the bird upside down and the neck toward you; turn the ends of the wings on the back, as seen in the cut (p. 240), turn the skin of the neck on the back also, between or under the wings and in order to cover the place where the neck has been cut off, then run the needle again through the right wing, the skin of the neck and part of the body, and through the other wing. Tie the ends of the twine fast together.

As it is, the legs of the bird, when on its back, are pointing upward. Bend them gently down till they are perpendicular and as seen in the cut, run the trussing-needle through both and also through the body, above the bones of the legs and under the end of the breast-bone; run it again the other way, but under the bones of the legs, tie the two ends of the twine together, and you have a bird trussed exactly like the one represented in the cut on next page.

Another way to truss is, to cut only half of the claws, instead of cutting the legs at the first joint; but, to truss thus, the first joint must be partly cut as represented below. If the nerve were not cut, it would contract in cooking, and instead of being straight, the legs would point upward.

A bird stuffed is trussed exactly in the same way as above, with the exception that the skin of the neck must be sewed up with a trussing-needle before commencing to truss the legs, and the incision must also be sewed up as soon as filled and before trussing.

The twine used to sew and truss the bird is removed just before dishing it.

Some experiments have been made lately, in France, to find out the best way to kill chickens and make them tender. Those killed by electricity were more tender than any other, but they must be cooked immediately, as they become tainted in a very short time.

_To blanch._--When cut in pieces as directed, throw it in boiling water to which a little salt has been added; boil two minutes and drain.

_To cut._--To make a chicken _saute_ or in fricassee, it is generally cut into eight pieces; the two legs, the wings, one piece of the breast-bone, and three pieces of the back-bone. The ends of the wings, the lower part of the legs after being skinned by warming them, the neck, gizzard, heart, kidneys, and head, are put in the soup-kettle. Generally the bones of the legs above the second joint are removed by breaking them with the back of a knife just above the second joint. The ends of the small bones of the three pieces of the back-bone are trimmed off also.

_To dish and serve._--Dish the pieces in the following order: the neck, gizzard, the fore part of the back and the low part of the legs in the middle; then one leg on each side of the dish, with one wing beside each, then the breast and hind part of the back, and lastly the ends of the wings at the top. If cut in eight pieces only, place the breast-bone on the middle of the dish, the hind part of the back-bone at one end of it and the two others at the other end; the legs and wings on each side.

_Boiled._--A chicken is boiled only when it is an old one, whose tenderness is doubtful, and which is not needed to make broth or _consomme_.

Clean, prepare, and truss it as directed for poultry. Brown the bird in a saucepan with about one ounce of butter, then half cover it with cold water; season with a few slices of onion, same of carrot, two cloves, two stalks of parsley, salt and pepper. Boil gently about one hour and a half, and when done, dish the bird, strain the sauce over it, and serve warm.

If the sauce boils away, add a little cold water; and if there is any fat on it, skim it off.

An old chicken may be cooked especially to make a salad.

_Boned._--Pick, bone, fill, cook, and serve a boned chicken exactly like a boned turkey; the only difference is, that it requires less filling, being smaller.

For an extra, legs of large chickens may be boned and filled like the chicken, the rest being used for a fricassee.

_Broiled._--Young, or what are called _spring chickens_, are broiled; an old one would not be as good.

To broil, a chicken is split in two lengthwise, or the back only is split, so as to open it. Salt both sides and butter them slightly, then broil on a good but not sharp fire. Serve with a _maitre-d'hotel_, _piquante_, or _ravigote_ sauce.

_Broiled hunter-like._--When cleaned and prepared, split the chicken in two lengthwise and place it in a crockery dish with the following seasonings: a teaspoonful of parsley chopped fine, a middling-sized onion in slices, two cloves, salt, pepper, a tablespoonful of sweet-oil, and the juice of half a lemon. Half an hour after turn the chicken over, and after another half hour place the above seasonings all around the chicken, fasten them with paper, tie the paper with twine, and broil carefully on a rather slow fire, and turning over two or three times. When done, remove the paper in which they are enveloped, scrape off the slices without scratching the meat, and serve as warm as possible with a _maitre-d'hotel_, _ravigote_, or _Madeira_ sauce.

When an older chicken is prepared hunter-like, it is generally served with a _Tartar_ sauce.

_Another way._--Clean and prepare a chicken as directed. Cut the neck off, also the legs at the first joint, split the breast in two so as to open the chicken, and flatten it with a chopper. Put about two ounces of butter in a saucepan and set it on the fire; when melted, add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, stir for half a minute with a wooden spoon, then put the chicken in with salt and pepper; when about half fried on one side, turn it over and half fry the other side; then take off the chicken, roll it in chopped parsley and bread-crumbs mixed together, broil it properly and serve on a _Tartar_ sauce.

A chicken broiled either way above described may also be served on a _Bechamel_ or on a _cream_ sauce.

_Croquettes._--The proportions that we give below are for half a middling-sized chicken.

A chicken may be cooked especially to make _croquettes_, but it is generally made with cold meat.

Chop the meat fine. Chop fine also half a middling-sized onion; fry it with one ounce of butter, then add half a tablespoonful of flour, stir for half a minute, then add also the chopped meat and a little over a gill of broth, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, stir for about two minutes, take from the fire, mix two yolks of eggs with it, put back on the fire for one minute, stirring the while; lastly you add four mushrooms chopped, or two truffles, chopped also, or both, according to taste; do not put back on the fire, but turn the mixture into a dish, spread it and put it away to cool.

When perfectly cold, mix it well, as the upper part is more dry than the rest; put it in parts on the paste-board, about a tablespoonful for each part. Have bread-crumbs on the paste-board, roll each part of the shape you wish; either round like a small sausage, or flat, or of a chop-shape; then dip each _croquette_ or part in beaten egg, roll in bread-crumbs again, and fry in hot fat. (_See_ Frying.)

The best way to shape them, is to roll each part round first with a few bread-crumbs, then with a knife smooth both ends, while with the left hand you roll them gently, and if wanted flat, strike gently on them with the blade of a knife. If wanted of a chop-shape, when flat, shape with the hands and strike again to flatten them.

_Croquettes_ are made with any kind of cold meat.

_In Fricassee._--Clean, prepare, and cut as directed. If the flesh is not white, blanch it. Put it in a saucepan, cover it with broth or cold water (broth is better than water), set it on the fire, and add one onion whole, and if covered with water, add also a bunch of seasonings, composed of three stalks of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and one clove, boil gently till done. Put about two ounces of butter in a saucepan with one tablespoonful of flour, set on the fire, stir and mix while the butter is melting; then turn the broth or water in which the chicken has been cooked into this pan through a strainer, add salt, six mushrooms sliced, then the pieces of chicken; give one boil, dish the pieces as directed, mix a yolk of egg in the sauce, turn it over the chicken, and serve with or without a border of paste.

_Border of Paste._--Knead well together, so as to make a rather thick paste, two whites of eggs with flour; spread it with a rolling-pin in a long strip about two inches and a half broad and one-fifth of an inch thick. Trim the sides if not straight; cut three rows of holes in the middle with a fruit-corer, then cut the strip of paste in two, lengthwise and in the middle of the middle row of holes. Cut it again across in pieces about three or four inches long. Put it in a warm place to dry till hard enough to keep in shape and still be pliable; warm the dish on which you wish to place it; beat the white of an egg just a little with a pinch of sugar, glaze the straight side of the paste with it; place it all around and on the border of the dish with the dentilated side up. Place the pieces of chicken inside of the border as directed above, and serve.

The cut below represents the border. One, _a_, is the border before being cut in two, and _b_ when cut.

It may seem difficult to place the border at first, but it will be easily done after having tried once or twice, and following the directions previously given. It is better to try when not in a hurry and before being wanted; that is, before you wish to serve it. The border may be made and placed on a dish without a chicken, it will be better for an experiment.

_In Fricassee a la chevaliere or Parisienne._--While the chicken is cooking as directed for _fricassee_, prepare a garniture of _chicken-combs_, and, when the chicken is dished, place the garniture all around it, and serve warm.

_A la Francaise._--While the _fricassee_ is being made, prepare a _garniture_ of mushrooms or one of truffles, or both.

Dish the chicken as directed, place a garniture of _mushrooms_ or one of _truffles_, or both, tastefully all around, and serve warm.

When a _fricassee_ is made for several persons, with two, three, four, or more chickens, three garnitures may be placed around the same dish, and, when carefully and tastefully arranged, it makes a sightly one.

The three garnitures are, generally, of _chicken-combs_, _mushrooms_, and _truffles_; they may be also of _chicken-combs_, _quenelles_ of chicken, and _croutons_; or, of _financiere_, _truffles_, and _chicken-combs_; or a boiled _craw-fish_ here and there, and two of any of the above-mentioned garnitures.

Instead of a garniture, it may be served with a border of rice. (_See_ Rice in Border.)

_A la financiere._--This is a _fricassee_ of chicken served with a _financiere_ garniture.

_Au supreme._--Chicken, or rather chickens, _au supreme_ is a _fricassee_ made with the breasts of chickens only. Each side of the breast-bone is carefully detached in two long pieces called _fillets_; so that, with two chickens, there are eight pieces.

To detach them properly, split the skin right on the breast-bone from the neck to the rump, then pull it off on both sides so as to have the whole breast skinned. Take hold of one wing with the left hand, and, with a sharp knife in the right, split or cut the joint off carefully, we mean the third joint of the wing, or that near the body; as soon as the joint is cut, by merely raising the back of the knife, leaving the edge on the cut joint and pressing gently on the chicken, you easily pull off the larger part of the half breast; detach the end of the other half with the point of the knife and pull it off also.

Do the same for the other side.

When the breasts or fillets are thus detached, prepare them as chicken in _fricassee_, and serve with a border of paste, or with one of rice, as directed in the receipts above, and serve warm.

What is left of the chickens is put in the broth-kettle, or used to make _consomme_.

_Another supreme._--Detach the breasts of two chickens as above directed, then prepare the eight pieces or fillets as directed for chicken _saute_. Ten minutes before taking from the fire, add and mix with the whole two or three truffles, weighing at least six ounces, and sliced; finish the cooling, and serve.

_To serve._--Dish the pieces tastefully and according to fancy, and put the dish away in a warm place, then mix a _supreme_ sauce with what you have left in the pan, sauce, truffles, etc., boil the whole till rather thick, stirring continually while it is boiling, turn over the pieces of chicken, and serve. The _supreme_ sauce used in that case is generally made with very rich chicken gravy.

Chickens _au supreme_ is considered a very _recherche_ dish, and it is a rather expensive one. For a grand dinner, the breasts of six chickens are used, and all the other parts of the chicken are used to make chicken gravy with rich broth, and that gravy is, in its turn, used to make the _supreme_ sauce that is mixed with the liquor in which the chicken has cooked.

The broth used to _saute_ the chicken is generally rich, and very often two pounds of truffles are used with six chickens.

_A la Bourguignonne._--This is a _fricassee_ also, but instead of covering the chicken with broth or water, it is covered with white wine.

Proceed, for the rest, and serve as _fricassee_.

_With Carrots._--While you are cooking a chicken in _fricassee_, prepare a dish of carrots _au jus_ or _glazed_, for ornamenting the dish; cut the carrots with a vegetable spoon before cooking them.

Dish the chicken as directed, place the carrots tastefully all around the meat, and serve warm. This dish was devised by a monk, and is often called _a la Saint Lambert_.

_A la Royale._--This is nearly the same as _au supreme_; the only difference is, that the pieces of breast or fillets are larded with salt pork, and then cooked, served and decorated the same as described for _au supreme_.

_Marengo._--Clean, prepare, and cut up the chicken as for _fricassee_. Put in a stewpan five teaspoonfuls of sweet-oil, and set on a good fire; when hot, put the chicken in with salt and pepper; turn over once in a while, till every piece is of a golden color, and nearly cooked, then add two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and one clove, tied together with twine; add also three or four mushrooms cut in slices, and if handy three or four truffles also cut in slices; when the whole is cooked, dish the pieces of chicken thus: the neck and gizzard, with the fore part of the back, and the low part of the legs in the middle, one leg on each side of the dish with one wing beside each, then the breast and hind part of the back, and the ends of the wings at the top. Have an Italian sauce ready, pour it on the chicken, place on the whole the pieces of mushrooms and truffles, also some _croutons_ fried in butter, and serve.

_With Green Peas._--Clean, prepare, and truss the bird as directed for poultry, then cook it whole as a stewed chicken above. When done, dish the chicken, place peas _a l'Anglaise_ all around, strain the sauce over the whole, and serve.

_Larded with Truffles._--Clean, prepare, and truss a fat chicken. Make about two dozen small pegs, with truffles, about half an inch long and one-eighth of an inch in diameter. Take a skewer, make a hole in the flesh of the breast of the chicken, and put a truffle-peg into it. Put a dozen pegs in the same way on each side of the breast-bone, and cook and serve the chicken. It is either boiled, stewed, or roasted, and served as directed for either.

_With Tarragon._--Proceed as for a stewed chicken, with the exception that it is cooked whole after being trussed as directed for poultry, and after having stuffed it with two ounces of butter kneaded with half a dozen stalks of tarragon chopped fine. Serve with a few stalks of tarragon around the dish.

_Roasted._--Clean, prepare, and truss the chicken as directed. Place it on the spit slightly salted and buttered all around, or envelop it in buttered paper, or merely cover the breast with thin slices of salt pork tied with twine. Baste often, at first with melted butter, and then with the drippings.

If the bird has been enveloped with paper, the latter must be removed about ten minutes before taking the chicken from the fire; do the same with the slices of salt pork.

It takes from twenty-five minutes to one hour to roast a chicken, with a good fire. The time depends as much on the quality of the bird as on the size. With a skewer or a small knife, or merely by pressing on it with the fingers, anyone can learn how to tell when done, after having roasted only two or three. Even by the look of it, many persons can tell.

_With Water-cress._--Dish the chicken when roasted, put fresh water-cress all around, remove the fat from the gravy, which you turn over the whole; add salt and pepper to taste, a little vinegar or lemon-juice, and serve warm.

_With Sauces._--When roasted, serve with the following sauces: _soubise_, _tarragon_, _oyster_, _tomato_, and _Provencale_.

_With Garnitures._--Dish the bird when roasted as directed, and place one of the following garnitures around, and serve warm: _quenelles_ of chicken or of veal, _Macedoine_, and _cauliflowers_.

_With Macaroni._--Spread four ounces of macaroni _au jus_ on a dish, place the roasted chicken on it, and serve the whole warm.

_With Butter._--It may be served with its gravy and craw-fish or lobster-butter.

_With Chestnuts._--When dished, surround the chicken with chestnuts glazed, and serve.

_With Pigeons._--Dish the bird, place four roasted pigeons around, one at each end and one on each side; fill the intervals with green peas au jus, and serve warm.

All the above may be decorated with skewers. Run the skewer in a _chestnut_ and then in a _craw-fish_; or, in a _quenelle_ and then in a _chestnut_ or _craw-fish_; or, in a _chicken-comb_, and in a _quenelle_, and stick it on the chicken. Two skewers only for a chicken make a fine decoration. Slices of _truffles_, of _mushrooms_, and _chicken-combs_, make fine as well as delicious decorations.

_Baked._--Put the chicken in a baking-pan, after being cleaned, prepared, and trussed. Salt and butter the breast, which must be upward, place a piece of buttered paper on it, and a little cold water in the bakepan. Set it in a warm, but not too quick oven; baste often with the liquor in the pan. If the water and juice are absorbed by the heat, add a little cold water, so as to have liquor to baste with. Remove the paper about ten minutes before taking from the oven. It takes about forty minutes to cook a chicken of middle size.

Serve a baked chicken with _sauces_ and _garnitures_, and _decorated_ the same as if it were roasted, and as described in the above receipts.

_Saute._--After being cleaned and prepared as directed, cut the chicken in pieces as for _fricassee_. Put it in a saucepan with about an ounce of butter; set on the fire, stir now and then till it is of a golden color and pour off the fat, if any is in the saucepan. Add a tablespoonful of flour and stir half a minute, then add also broth enough to nearly cover the meat, half a pint of white wine, a bunch of seasonings composed of four stalks of parsley, one of thyme, half a bay-leaf, and one clove, the four tied together with twine; add salt, and one onion whole. Boil gently till done. Ten minutes before serving, add half a dozen mushrooms.

Dish the pieces of chicken as directed for _fricassee_, place the mushrooms over them, strain the sauce all over, and serve warm.

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 _fricassee_. 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 _saute_, 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 _fricassee_. 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 _fricassee_.

_Stewed._--Clean, prepare, and cut the chicken in pieces as for _fricassee_. 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 _fricassee_.

_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 _financiere_ 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 _fricassee_. 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 Fricassee._--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 _fricassee_.

_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 _recherche_ 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.