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.
[555]
]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[!-- TN: acute invisible --] 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.
[556]
]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[!-- TN: acute invisible --] 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.
[557]
][1752—PÂTÉ[!-- TN: acute invisible --] 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 [558] ]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.
[559]
]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 [560] ]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.
[561]
]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.