HOW TO CARVE.
The art of cookery and carving is an old one. During the Roman Empire it was taught by professors in the schools, and had at that time attained a high standard. France leads all nations in the art of cooking and carving, although the United States is not far behind in this respect.
Good cooking and carving go hand in hand. It is no trifle to prepare and cook a good dinner; but it is an easy matter to spoil the effect, if not the entire dinner, by negligent carving.
The first and most important factor is a strong and very sharp knife.
Chickens.
—Lay the roasted chicken (of three to four pounds) on its side. Stick your fork into the leg and lift it up, meanwhile holding down firmly the rest of the chicken. Then cut through the joint on the back; pressing the joint between the leg and second joint, cut through. Stick your fork into the wing so as not to interfere with the knife; cut through the joint and loosen the meat surrounding it; pull down with the fork and press firmly on the carcass with the knife. If done carefully, you can pull all the meat from the breast with the wing. Then cut each breast, crosswise, in half. Turn around, and proceed as in the first operation.
Turkey.
—Cut away the leg the same as with a chicken. The leg of a turkey being larger than that of a chicken, it would be advisable to cut into slices the leg and second joint. After the leg is cut off, stick your fork into the breast-bone; hold the fork firmly with the left hand; then, with the sharp knife in your right hand, starting from the outside of the breast, proceed to cut, carefully, thin slices, until you reach the bone. Then turn, and proceed the same as before.
Serve each person with a piece of the dark and a slice of the white meat.
Should the turkey be stuffed, place a little of the stuffing on each plate. A capon, large chicken, or English pheasant should be carved the same way.
Partridges.
—In America only the breasts of the birds are generally eaten, the legs being strong and bitter. Stick your fork straight into the breast-bone; cut one slice from the outside breast; then cut close alongside of the breast-bone and around the wing, carefully pushing all the meat from off both breasts, one after the other.
Grouse.
—The grouse is generally carved the same way as the partridge.
Canvas-back Duck.
—The “King of Birds.”—The breast only is carved, served, and eaten. Stick the fork straight and firmly into the middle of the breast-bone. Commence from the neck down to the back, straight to the back-bone, and around the back; then from the point of starting, around the collar-bone. Cut the joint from off the wing. Commence cutting again from the point of starting; carefully and gently carving off the whole breast, so that no meat remains. Proceed precisely the same with the other side. When finished, there will remain only the carcass.
Red-head, black-head, mallard, teal, &c., are carved the same as the canvas-back.
Tame duck, duckling, goose, &c., are carved as a chicken, unless they are over four or five pounds, then they should be carved the same as a turkey or a capon.
For small birds, such as squab, snipe, plover, woodcock, &c., no carving is necessary, as they are generally served whole.
Saddle of Mutton, Lamb, or Venison should always be carved—especially for private families—lengthwise first, on both sides of the spinal bone, then crosswise downward. Special care should be taken to stick the fork right in the centre of the saddle, and holding it firmly while carving with a very sharp knife, and keeping as near the bone as possible, till down to the end on both sides. When all detached, cut it crosswise into small pieces of about half or three-quarters of an inch thick, and serve.
Steak.
—Sirloin steak can be carved in various ways—crosswise, lengthwise, in small or large pieces, as desired.
When serving, the cut part should always be laid uppermost. I would suggest, though, carving it diagonally into six fine, even slices, till you reach the fat part. When carved this way it makes it look inviting, and has a beautiful effect. Always place a small piece of the fat on each plate when serving.
Tenderloin, or Fillet.
—Fillet is carved straight, in as many pieces as desired, but when serving, the cut part should always be served the same as the sirloin, uppermost.
Roast Beef.
—As soon as the rib-beef is roasted to perfection, as mentioned in [No. 527], remove it from the hot oven, place it always on a hot dish, with the rib-bones downward; should it be crusty on top, cut off just a little from the surface, which is generally so hard that often it is an impediment in cutting the slices to the desired perfection. Stick in the fork-tines lengthwise, on top of the roast, near the edge, in a slanting manner, so as to avoid pricking the lean part of the roast and the resulting loss of juice or blood; hold firmly the fork with the left hand, and with a large, sharp knife in the right hand, carefully cut, in even, small slices a quarter of an inch thick, right down to the rib-bones; gently make a cut underneath, so as to have each slice separate from one another; then serve.
Roasted Leg of Mutton.
—If practicable, when carving a leg of mutton a patent handle should be adjusted to the end bone, which would be a substitute for the fork, and an avoidance of soiling the hands at the same time. Begin carving small, thin, even slices, about quarter of an inch in thickness, straight or diagonally down to the bone, till you come to the end bone, then lengthwise underneath to the end. On account of the much thinner meat on the other side of the leg, carve it diagonally, and serve one piece from each side.
Roasted Leg of Lamb.
—Is to be carved exactly the same as the leg of mutton.