POULTRY AND GAME.
Poultry and game differ from other animal foods in the relative quantity of fat and the quality of their juices. The fat of birds is laid up underneath the skin and in various internal parts of the body, while but a small proportion is mingled with the fibers or the juices of the flesh. The flesh of the chicken, turkey, and guinea-fowl is more delicately flavored, more tender and easy to digest, than that of geese and ducks. Chickens broiled require three hours for digestion; when boiled or roasted, four hours are needed.
The flesh of poultry is less stimulating than beef, and is thus considered better adapted for invalids. The flesh of wild fowl contains less fat than that of poultry; it is also tender and easy of digestion. Different birds and different parts of the same bird, vary considerably in color and taste. The breed, food, and method of fattening, influence the quality of this class of foods. Fowls poorly fed and allowed wide range are far from cleanly in their habits of eating; in fact, they are largely scavengers, and through the food they pick up, often become infested with internal parasites, and affected with tuberculosis and other diseases which are liable to be communicated to those who eat their flesh.
Suggestions for the Selection of Poultry and Game.—The first care in the selection of poultry should be its freedom from disease. Birds deprived of exercise, shut up in close cages, and regularly stuffed with as much corn or soft food as they can swallow, may possess the requisite fatness, but it is of a most unwholesome character. When any living creature ceases to exercise, its excretory organs cease to perform their functions thoroughly, and its body becomes saturated with retained excretions.
A stall-fed fowl may be recognized by the color of its fat, which is pale white, and lies in thick folds beneath the skin along the lower half of the backbone. The entire surface of the body presents a more greasy, uninviting appearance than that of fowls permitted to live under natural conditions.
Never purchase fowls which have been sent to the market undrawn. All animals intended for use as food should be dressed as quickly as possible after killing. Putrefactive changes begin very soon after death, and the liver and other viscera, owing to their soft texture and to the quantity of venous blood they retain, advance rapidly in decomposition. When a fowl or animal is killed, even if the large arteries at the throat are cut, a large quantity of blood remains in and around the intestines, owing to the fact that only through the capillaries of the liver can the blood in the portal system find its way into the large vessels which convey it to the heart, and which at death are cut off from the general circulation at both ends by a capillary system. This leaves the blood-vessels belonging to the portal circulation distended with venous blood, which putrefies very quickly, forming a virulent poison. The contents of the intestines of all creatures are always in a more or less advanced state of putrescence, ready to undergo rapid decomposition as soon as the preservative action of the intestinal fluids ceases. It will readily be seen, then, that the flesh of an undrawn fowl must be to a greater or less degree permeated with the poisonous gases and other products of putrefaction, and is certainly quite unfit for food.
Young fowls have soft, yellow feet, a smooth, moist skin, easily torn with a pin, wings which will spring easily, and a breastbone which will yield to pressure. Pinfeathers are an indication of a young bird; older fowls are apt to have sharp scales, long hairs, long, thin necks, and flesh with a purplish tinge.
Poultry should be entirely free from disagreeable odors. Methods are employed for sweetening fowls which have been kept too long in market, but if they need such attention, bury them decently rather than cook them for the table.
Turkeys should have clear, full eyes, and soft, loose spurs. The legs of young birds are smooth and black; those of older ones, rough and reddish.
Geese and ducks, when freshly killed, have supple feet. If young, the windpipe and beak can be easily broken by pressure of the thumb and forefinger. Young birds also have soft, white fat, tender skin, yellow feet, and legs free from hairs.
The legs of young pigeons are flesh-colored. When in good condition, the breast should be full and plump, and if young, it is of a light reddish color. Old pigeons have dark flesh; squabs always have pinfeathers.
Partridges, when young, have dark bills and yellow legs.
The breast of all birds should be full and plump. Birds which are diseased always fall away on the breast, and the bone feels sharp and protrudes.
To Dress Poultry and Birds.—First strip off the feathers a few at a time, with a quick, jerking motion toward the tail. Remove pinfeathers with a knife.
Fowls should be picked, if possible, while the body retains some warmth, as scalding is apt to spoil the skin and parboil the flesh. When all the feathers but the soft down have been removed, a little hot water may be poured on, when the down can be easily rubbed off with the palm of the hand. Wipe dry, and singe the hairs off by holding the bird by the legs over the flame of a candle, a gas-jet, or a few drops of alcohol poured on a plate and lighted. To dress a bird successfully, one should have some knowledge of its anatomy, and it is well for the amateur first to dress one for some dish in which it is not to be cooked whole, when the bird may be opened, and the position of its internal organs studied.
Remove the head, slip the skin back from the neck, and cut it off close to the body, take out the windpipe and pull out the crop from the end of the neck. Make an incision through the skin a little below the leg-joint, bend the leg at this point and break off the bone. If care has been taken to cut only through the skin, the tendons of the leg may now be easily removed with the fingers.
If the bird is to be cut up, remove the legs and wings at the joints. Then beginning near the vent, cut the membrane down between the breastbone and tail to the backbone on each side, and separate just below the ribs. The internal organs can now been seen and easily removed, and the body of the bird divided at its joints.
If desired to keep the fowl whole, after removing the windpipe and crop, loosen the heart, liver, and lungs by introducing the forefinger at the neck; cut off the oil-sack, make a slit horizontally under the tail, insert the first and middle fingers, and after separating the membranes which lie close to the body, press them along within the body until the heart and liver can be felt. The gall bladder lies directly under the left lobe of the liver, and if the fingers are kept up, and all adhesions loosened before an effort is made to draw the organs out, there will be little danger of breaking it. Remove everything which can be taken out, then hold the, fowl under the faucet and cleanse thoroughly.
To Truss a Fowl or Bird.—Twist the tips of the wings back under the shoulder and bend the legs as far up toward the breast as possible, securing them in that position by putting a skewer through one thigh into the body and out through the opposite thigh. Then bring the legs down and fasten close to the vent.
To Stuff a Fowl.—Begin at the neck, stuff the breast full, draw the neck skin together, double it over on the back and fasten with a darning needle threaded with fine twine. Put the remainder of the stuffing into the body at the other opening.
RECIPES.
Birds Baked in Sweet Potatoes.—Small birds, of which the breast is the only suitable portion for eating, may be baked in the following manner: Cut a sweet potato lengthwise; make a cavity in each half. Place the breast of the bird therein; fit, and tie together carefully; bake until the potato is soft. Serve in the potato.
Boiled Fowl.—After cleaning and dividing the fowl, put into boiling water, and proceed as directed on [page 395].
Broiled Birds.—Pluck and wipe clean with a damp cloth. Split down the middle of the back, and carefully draw the bird. Proceed as directed below.
Broiled Fowl.—A young bird well dressed and singed is best for this purpose. Split down the middle of the back, wipe clean with a damp cloth, twist the top of the wings from the second joint; spread out flat, and with a rolling pin break the projecting breastbone so that the bird will lie flat upon the broiler. When ready to cook, place it skin uppermost and sear the under side by pressing it on a hot pan; then broil the same as beefsteak over glowing coals.
Corn and Chicken.—Clean and divide a chicken in joints. Stew in milk or part milk and water until nearly tender; then add the grains and juice from a dozen ears of corn. Cook slowly until the corn is done; season lightly with salt, and serve with dry toast.
Pigeons, Quails, and Partridges may be half baked, then cooked as directed for Smothered Chicken until tender.
Roast Chicken.—Dress carefully, singe, wash, and wipe dry. Put into a pan of the proper size, add a cup of boiling water, and cook very slowly for the first half hour, then increase the heat, baste frequently, turn occasionally so that no portion will brown too fast. Cook from one to two hours according to size and age of the bird. It is usually considered essential to stuff a fowl for roasting, but a dressing compounded of melted fat and crumbs seasoned with herbs and strong condiments is not to be recommended.
If a dressing is considered necessary, it may be made of a quart of crumbs of rather stale whole-wheat bread, moistened with cream, to which add a small handful of powdered and sifted sage leaves which have been dried in the oven until crisp. Add salt as desired, a well-beaten egg, and a little chopped celery.
Roast Turkey.—Pluck, singe, and dress the turkey; wash thoroughly and wipe with a dry cloth. If dressing is to be used, stuff the body full, sew up, and truss. Place in a dripping-pan, add a pint of boiling water, and put in an oven so moderate that the turkey will not brown for the first hour; afterward the heat may be somewhat increased, but at no time should the oven be very hot. After the bird becomes brown, baste it occasionally with the water in the pan, dredging lightly with flour. Cook until the legs will separate from the body; three or four hours will be necessary for a small turkey. One half hour to the pound is the usual rule. When tender, remove the stuffing and serve it hot, placing the turkey on a large hot platter to be carved. It may be garnished with parsley or celery leaves and served with cranberry sauce.
Ducks and geese may be prepared and roasted in the same manner, but less time will suffice for cooking, about one and one third hours for ducks of ordinary size, and about three hours for a young goose.
A stuffing of mashed potato seasoned with onion, sage, and salt is considered preferable for a goose. Equal parts of bread crumbs and chopped apples moistened in a little cream are also used for this purpose.
Smothered Chicken.—Cut two chickens into joints and put in a closely covered kettle with a pint of boiling water. Heat very slowly to boiling, skim, keep covered, and simmer until tender and the water evaporated; add salt, turn the pieces, and brown them in their own juices.
Steamed Chicken.—Prepare the chicken as for roasting, steam until nearly tender, dredge with flour and a little salt; put into a dripping-pan and brown in the oven. Other birds and fowls may be prepared in the same way.
Stewed Chicken.—Divide a chicken into pieces suitable for serving, and stew as directed for beef on [page 400]. Old fowls left whole and stewed in this manner for a long time and afterward roasted, are much better than when prepared in any other way. If a gravy is desired, prepare as for stewed beef. Other poultry may be stewed likewise.