II.
948. INGREDIENTS.—The remains of cold roast fowl, vinegar, salt and cayenne to taste, 4 minced shalots, yolk of egg; to every teacupful of bread crumbs allow 1 blade of pounded mace, 5 teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, 1 saltspoonful of salt, a few grains of cayenne.
Mode.—Steep the pieces of fowl as in the preceding recipe, then dip them into the yolk of an egg or clarified butter; sprinkle over bread crumbs with which have been mixed salt, mace, cayenne, and lemon-peel in the above proportion. Fry a light brown, and serve with or without gravy, as may be preferred.
Time.—10 minutes to fry the fowl.
Average cost, exclusive of the cold fowl, 6d.
Seasonable at any time.
VARIOUS MODES OF FATTENING FOWLS.—It would, I think, be a difficult matter to find, among the entire fraternity of fowl-keepers, a dozen whose mode of fattening "stock" is the same. Some say that the grand f secret is to give them abundance of saccharine food; others say nothing beats heavy corn steeped in milk; while another breeder, celebrated in his day, and the recipient of a gold medal from a learned society, says, "The best method is as follows:-The chickens are to be taken from the hen the night after they are hatched, and fed with eggs hard-boiled, chopped, and mixed with crumbs of bread, as larks and other small birds are fed, for the first fortnight; after which give them oatmeal and treacle mixed so as to crumble, of which the chickens are very fond, and thrive so fast that, at the end of two months, they will be as large as full-grown fowls." Others there are who insist that nothing beats oleaginous diet, and cram their birds with ground oats and suet. But, whatever the course of diet favoured, on one point they seem agreed; and that is, that, while fattening, the fowls should be kept in the dark. Supposing the reader to be a dealer—a breeder of gross chicken meat for the market (against which supposition the chances are 10,000 to 1), and beset with as few scruples as generally trouble the huckster, the advice is valuable. "Laugh and grow fat" is a good maxim enough; but "Sleep and grow fat" is, as is well known to folks of porcine attributes, a better. The poor birds, immured in their dark dungeons, ignorant that there is life and sunshine abroad, tuck their heads under their wings and make a long night of it; while their digestive organs, having no harder work than to pile up fat, have an easy time enough. But, unless we are mistaken, he who breeds poultry for his own eating, bargains for a more substantial reward than the questionable pleasure of burying his carving-knife in chicken grease. Tender, delicate, and nutritious flesh is the great aim; and these qualities, I can affirm without fear of contradiction, were never attained by a dungeon-fatted chicken: perpetual gloom and darkness is as incompatible with chicken life as it is with human. If you wish to be convinced of the absurdity of endeavouring to thwart nature's laws, plant a tuft of grass, or a cabbage-plant, in the darkest corner of your coal-cellar. The plant or the tuft may increase in length and breadth, but its colour will be as wan and pale, almost, as would be your own face under the circumstances.
POULET A LA MARENGO.
949. INGREDIENTS.—1 large fowl, 4 tablespoonfuls of salad oil, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1 pint of stock No. 105, or water, about 20 mushroom-buttons, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoonful of powdered sugar, a very small piece of garlic.
Mode.—Cut the fowl into 8 or 10 pieces; put them with the oil into a stewpan, and brown them over a moderate fire; dredge in the above proportion of flour; when that is browned, pour in the stock or water; let it simmer very slowly for rather more than 1/2 hour, and skim off the fat as it rises to the top; add the mushrooms; season with salt, pepper, garlic, and sugar; take out the fowl, which arrange pyramidically on the dish, with the inferior joints at the bottom. Reduce the sauce by boiling it quickly over the fire, keeping it stirred until sufficiently thick to adhere to the back of a spoon; pour over the fowl, and serve.
Time.—Altogether 50 minutes. Average cost, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
A FOWL À LA MARENGO.—The following is the origin of the well-known dish Poulet à la Marengo:—On the evening of the battle the first consul was very hungry after the agitation of the day, and a fowl was ordered with all expedition. The fowl was procured, but there was no butter at hand, and unluckily none could be found in the neighbourhood. There was oil in abundance, however; and the cook having poured a certain quantity into his skillet, put in the fowl, with a clove of garlic and other seasoning, with a little white wine, the best the country afforded; he then garnished it with mushrooms, and served it up hot. This dish proved the second conquest of the day, as the first consul found it most agreeable to his palate, and expressed his satisfaction. Ever since, a fowl à la Marengo is a favourite dish with all lovers of good cheer.
MINCED FOWL A LA BECHAMEL.
950. INGREDIENTS.—The remains of cold roast fowl, 6 tablespoonfuls of Béchamel sauce No. 367, 6 tablespoonfuls of white stock No. 107, the white of 1 egg, bread crumbs, clarified butter.
Mode.—Take the remains of roast fowls, mince the white meat very small, and put it into a stewpan with the Béchamel and stock; stir it well over the fire, and just let it boil up. Pour the mince into a dish, beat up the white of egg, spread it over, and strew on it a few grated bread crumbs; pour a very little clarified butter on the whole, and brown either before the fire or with a salamander. This should be served in a silver dish, if at hand.
Time.—2 or 3 minutes to simmer in the sauce.
Seasonable at any time.
THE BEST WAY TO FATTEN FOWLS.—The barn-door fowl is in itself a complete refutation of the cramming and dungeon policy of feeding practised by some. This fowl, which has the common run of the farm-yard, living on dairy-scraps and offal from the stable, begins to grow fat at threshing-time. He has his fill of the finest corn; he has his fill of fresh air and natural exercise, and at last he comes smoking to the table,—a dish for the gods. In the matter of unnaturally stuffing and confining fowls, Mowbray is exactly of our opinion. He says: "The London chicken-butchers, as they are termed, are said to be, of all others, the most expeditious and dexterous feeders, putting up a coop of fowls, and making them thoroughly fat within the space of a fortnight, using much grease, and that perhaps not of the most delicate kind, in the food. In this way I have no boasts to make, having always found it necessary to allow a considerable number of weeks for the purpose of making fowls fat in coops. In the common way this business is often badly managed, fowls being huddled together in a small coop, tearing each other to pieces, instead of enjoying that repose which alone can insure, the wished-for object—irregularly fed and cleaned, until they become so stenched and poisoned in their own excrement, that their flesh actually smells and tastes when smoking upon the table." Sussex produces the fattest and largest poultry of any county in England, and the fatting process there most common is to give them a gruel made of pot-liquor and bruised oats, with which are mixed hog's grease, sugar, and milk. The fowls are kept very warm, and crammed morning and night. They are put into the coop, and kept there two or three days before the cramming begins, and then it is continued for a fortnight, and the birds are sent to market.
RAGOUT OF FOWL.
951. INGREDIENTS.—The remains of cold roast fowls, 3 shalots, 2 blades of mace, a faggot of savoury herbs, 2 or three slices of lean ham, 1 pint of stock or water, pepper and salt to taste, 1 onion, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, 1/2 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, 1 oz. of butter.
Mode.—Cut the fowls up into neat pieces, the same as for a fricassee; put the trimmings into a stewpan with the shalots, mace, herbs, ham, onion, and stock (water may be substituted for this). Boil it slowly for 1 hour, strain the liquor, and put a small piece of butter into a stewpan; when melted, dredge in sufficient flour to dry up the butter, and stir it over the fire. Put in the strained liquor, boil for a few minutes, and strain it again over the pieces of fowl. Squeeze in the lemon-juice, add the sugar and a seasoning of pepper and salt, make it hot, but do not allow it to boil; lay the fowl neatly on the dish, and garnish with croûtons.
Time.—Altogether 1-1/2 hour. Average cost, exclusive of the cold fowl, 9d.
Seasonable at any time.
THE BEST FOWLS TO FATTEN, &c.—The chicks most likely to fatten well are those first hatched in the brood, and those with the shortest legs. Long-legged fowls, as a rule, are by far the most difficult to fatten. The most delicate sort are those which are put up to fatten as soon as the hen forsakes them; for, as says an old writer, "then they will be in fine condition, and full of flesh, which flesh is afterwards expended in the exercise of foraging for food, and in the increase of stature; and it may be a work of some weeks to recover it,—especially with young cocks." But whether you take them in hand as chicks, or not till they are older, the three prime rules to be observed are, sound and various food, warmth, and cleanliness. There is nothing that a fatting fowl grows so fastidious about as his water. If water any way foul be offered him, he will not drink it, but sulk with his food, and pine, and you all the while wondering the reason why. Keep them separate, allowing to each bird as much space as you can spare. Spread the ground with sharp sandy gravel; take care that they are not disturbed. In addition to their regular diet of good corn, make them a cake of ground oats or beans, brown sugar, milk, and mutton suet. Let the cake lie till it is stale, then crumble it, and give each bird a gill-measureful morning and evening. No entire grain should be given to fowls during the time they are fattening; indeed, the secret of success lies in supplying them with the most nutritious food without stint, and in such a form that their digestive mills shall find no difficulty in grinding it.
[Illustration: ROAST FOWL.]
ROAST FOWLS.
952. INGREDIENTS.—A pair of fowls; a little flour.
Mode.—Fowls to be tender should be killed a couple of days before they are dressed; when the feathers come out easily, then let them be picked and cooked. In drawing them, be careful not to break the gall-bag, as, wherever it touches, it would impart a very bitter taste; the liver and gizzard should also be preserved. Truss them in the following manner:—After having carefully picked them, cut off the head, and skewer the skin of the neck down over the back. Cut off the claws; dip the legs in boiling water, and scrape them; turn the pinions under, run a skewer through them and the middle of the legs, which should be passed through the body to the pinion and leg on the other side, one skewer securing the limbs on both sides. The liver and gizzard should be placed in the wings, the liver on one side and the gizzard on the other. Tie the legs together by passing a trussing-needle, threaded with twine, through the backbone, and secure it on the other side. If trussed like a capon, the legs are placed more apart. When firmly trussed, singe them all over; put them down to a bright clear fire, paper the breasts with a sheet of buttered paper, and keep the fowls well basted. Roast them for 3/4 hour, more or less, according to the size, and 10 minutes before serving, remove the paper, dredge the fowls with a little fine flour, put a piece of butter into the basting-ladle, and as it melts, baste the fowls with it; when nicely frothed and of a rich colour, serve with good brown gravy, a little of which should be poured over the fowls, and a tureen of well-made bread sauce, No. 371. Mushroom, oyster, or egg sauce are very suitable accompaniments to roast fowl.—Chicken is roasted in the same manner.
Time.—A very large fowl, quite 1 hour, medium-sized one 3/4 hour, chicken 1/2 hour, or rather longer.
Average cost, in full season, 5s. a pair; when scarce, 7s. 6d. the pair.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Seasonable all the year, but scarce in early spring.
THE DISEASES OF FOWLS, AND HOW TO CURE THEM.—The diseases to which Gallus domesticus is chiefly liable, are roup, pip, scouring, and chip. The first-mentioned is the most common of all, and results from cold. The ordinary symptoms,—swollen eyes, running at the nostrils, and the purple colour of the wattles. Part birds so affected from the healthy ones, as, when the disease is at its height it is as contagious as glanders among horses. Wash out the nostrils with warm water, give daily a peppercorn inclosed in dough; bathe the eyes and nostrils with warm milk and water. If the head is much swollen, bathe with warm brandy and water. When the bird is getting well, put half a spoonful of sulphur in his drinking-water. Some fanciers prescribe for this disease half a spoonful of table salt, dissolved in half a gill of water, in which rue has been steeped; others, pills composed of ground rice and fresh butter: but the remedy first mentioned will be found far the best. As there is a doubt respecting the wholesomeness of the eggs laid by roupy hens, it will be as well to throw them away. The pip is a white horny skin growing on the tip of the bird's tongue. It should be removed with the point of a penknife, and the place rubbed with salt.
FOWL AND RICE CROQUETTES (an Entree).
953. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of rice, 1 quart of stock or broth, 3 oz. of butter, minced fowl, egg, and bread crumbs.
Mode.—Put the rice into the above proportion of cold stock or broth, and let it boil very gently for 1/2 hour; then add the butter, and simmer it till quite dry and soft When cold, make it into balls, hollow out the inside, and fill with minced fowl made by recipe No. 956. The mince should be rather thick. Cover over with rice, dip the balls into egg, sprinkle them with bread crumbs, and fry a nice brown. Dish them, and garnish with fried parsley. Oysters, white sauce, or a little cream, may be stirred into the rice before it cools.
Time.—1/2 hour to boil the rice, 10 minutes to fry the croquettes.
Average cost, exclusive of the fowl, 8d.
Seasonable at any time.
CHIP.—If the birds are allowed to puddle about on wet soil, or to be much out in the rain, they will get "chip." Young chicks are especially liable to this complaint. They will sit shivering in out-of-the-way corners, perpetually uttering a dolorous "chip, chip;" seemingly frozen with cold, though, on handling them, they are found to be in high fever. A wholesale breeder would take no pains to attempt the cure of fowls so afflicted; but they who keep chickens for the pleasure, and not for the profit they yield, will be inclined to recover them if possible. Give them none but warm food, half a peppercorn rolled in a morsel of dough every night, and a little nitre in their water. Above all, keep them warm; a corner in the kitchen fender, for a day or two, will do more to effect a cure than the run of a druggist's warehouse.
CROQUETTES OF FOWL (an Entree).
954. INGREDIENTS.—3 or 4 shalots, 1 oz. of butter, 1 teaspoonful of flour, white sauce; pepper, salt, and pounded mace to taste; 1/2 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, the remains of cold roast fowls, the yolks of 2 eggs, egg, and bread crumbs.
Mode.—Mince the fowl, carefully removing all skin and bone, and fry the shalots in the butter; add the minced fowl, dredge in the flour, put in the pepper, salt, mace, pounded sugar, and sufficient white sauce to moisten it; stir to it the yolks of 2 well-beaten eggs, and set it by to cool. Then make the mixture up into balls, egg and bread-crumb them, and fry a nice brown. They may be served on a border of mashed potatoes, with gravy or sauce in the centre.
Time.—10 minutes to fry the balls.
Seasonable at any time.
THE TURN.—What is termed "turrling" with song-birds, is known, as regard fowls, as the "turn." Its origin is the same in both cases,—over-feeing and want of exercise. Without a moment's warning, a fowl so afflicted will totter and fall from its perch, and unless assistance be at hand, speedily give up the ghost. The veins of the palate should be opened, and a few drops of mixture composed of six parts of sweet nitre and one of ammonia, poured down its throat. I have seen ignorant keepers plunge a bird, stricken with the "turn," into cold water; but I never saw it taken out again alive; and for a good reason: the sudden chill has the effect of driving the blood to the head,—of aggravating the disease indeed, instead of relieving it.
HASHED FOWL—an Entree (Cold Meat Cookery).
955. INGREDIENTS.—The remains of cold roast fowl, 1 pint of water, 1 onion, 2 or three small carrots, 1 blade of pounded mace, pepper and salt to taste, 1 small bunch of savoury herbs, thickening of butter and flour, 1-1/2 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup.
Mode.—Cut off the best joints from the fowl, and the remainder make into gravy, by adding to the bones and trimmings a pint of water, an onion sliced and fried of a nice brown, the carrots, mace, seasoning, and herbs. Let these stew gently for 1-1/2 hour, strain the liquor, and thicken with a little flour and butter. Lay in the fowl, thoroughly warm it through, add the ketchup, and garnish with sippets of toasted bread.
Time.—Altogether 1-3/4 hour.
Average cost, exclusive of the cold fowl, 4d.
Seasonable at any time.
SKIN-DISEASE IN FOWLS.—Skin-disease is, nine times out of ten, caused by the feathers being swarmed by parasites. Poor feeding will induce this, even if cleanliness be observed; uncleanliness, however liberal the bill of fare, will be taken as an invitation by the little biting pests, and heartily responded to. Mix half a teaspoonful of hydro-oxalic acid with twelve teaspoonfuls of water,—apply to the itching parts with an old shaving-brush.
OBSTRUCTION OF THE CROP.—Obstruction of the crop is occasioned by weakness or greediness. You may know when a bird is so afflicted by his crop being distended almost to bursting. Mowbray tells of a hen of his in this predicament; when the crop was opened, a quantity of new beans were discovered in a state of vegetation. The crop should be slit from the bottom to the top with a sharp pair of scissors, the contents taken out, and the slit sewed up again with line white thread.
MINCED FOWL—an Entree (Cold Meat Cookery).
956. INGREDIENTS.—The remains of cold roast fowl, 2 hard-boiled eggs, salt, cayenne, and pounded mace, 1 onion, 1 faggot of savoury herbs, 6 tablespoonfuls of cream, 1 oz. of butter, two teaspoonfuls of flour, 1/2 teaspoonful of finely-minced lemon-peel, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice.
Mode.—Cut out from the fowl all the white meat, and mince it finely without any skin or bone; put the bones, skin, and trimmings into a stewpan with an onion, a bunch of savoury herbs, a blade of mace, and nearly a pint of water; let this stew for an hour, then strain the liquor. Chop the eggs small; mix them with the fowl; add salt, cayenne, and pounded mace, put in the gravy and remaining ingredients; let the whole just boil, and serve with sippets of toasted bread.
Time.—Rather more than 1 hour.
Average cost, exclusive of the fowl, 8d.
Seasonable at any time.
Note.—Another way to make this is to mince the fowl, and warm it in white sauce or Béchamel. When dressed like this, 3 or 4 poached eggs may be placed on the top: oysters, or chopped mushrooms, or balls of oyster forcemeat, may be laid round the dish.
THE MOULTING SEASON.—During the moulting season beginning properly at the end of September, the fowls will require a little extra attention. Keep them dry and warm, and feed them liberally on warm and satisfying food. If in any fowl the moult should seem protracted, examine it for broken feather-stumps still beaded in the skin: if you find any, extract them carefully with a pair of tweezers. If a fowl is hearty and strong, six weeks will see him out of his trouble; if he is weakly, or should take cold during the time, he will not thoroughly recover in less than three months. It is seldom or ever that hens will lay during the moult; while the cock, during the same period, will give so little of his consideration to the frivolities of love, that you may as well, nay, much better, keep him by himself till he perfectly recovers. A moulting chicken makes but a sorry dish.
HASHED FOWL, Indian Fashion (an Entree).
957.—INGREDIENTS.—The remains of cold roast fowl, 3 or 4 sliced onions, 1 apple, 2 oz. of butter, pounded mace, pepper and salt to taste, 1 tablespoonful of curry-powder, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, 1 pint of gravy.
Mode.—Cut the onions into slices, mince the apple, and fry these in the butter; add pounded mace, pepper, salt, curry-powder, vinegar, flour, and sugar in the above proportions; when the onion is brown, put it the gravy, which should be previously made from the bones and trimmings of the fowls, and stew for 3/4 hour; add the fowl cut into nice-sized joints, let it warm through, and when quite tender, serve. The dish should be garnished with au edging of boiled rice.
Time.—1 hour. Average cost, exclusive of the fowl, 8d.
Seasonable at any time.
THE SCOUR OR DYSENTERY.—The scour, or dysentery, or diarrhoea, is induced variously. A sudden alteration in diet will cause it, as will a superabundance of green food. The best remedy is a piece of toasted biscuit sopped in ale. If the disease has too tight a hold on the bird to be quelled by this, give six drops of syrup of white poppies and six drops of castor-oil, mixed with a little oatmeal or ground rice. Restrict the bird's diet, for a few days, to dry food,—crushed beans or oats, stale bread-crumbs, &c.
FOWL SCOLLOPS (Cold Meat Cookery).
958. INGREDIENTS.—The remains of cold roast or boiled fowl, 1/2 pint of Béchamel, No. 367, or white sauce, No. 537 or 539.
Mode.—Strip off the skin from the fowl; cut the meat into thin slices, and warm them in about 1/2 pint, or rather more, of Béchamel, or white sauce. When quite hot, serve, and garnish the dish with rolled ham or bacon toasted.
Time.—1 minute to simmer the slices of fowl.
Seasonable at any time.
[Illustration: THE FEATHER LEGGED BANTAM.]
THE FEATHER LEGGED BANTAM.—Since the introduction of the Bantam into Europe, it has ramified into many varieties, none of which are destitute of elegance, and some, indeed, remarkable for their beauty. All are, or ought to be, of small size, but lively and vigorous, exhibiting in their movements both grace and stateliness. The variety shown in the engraving is remarkable for the tarsi, or beams of the legs, being plumed to the toes, with stiff, long feathers, which brush the ground. Owing, possibly, to the little care taken to preserve this variety from admixture, it is now not frequently seen. Another variety is often red, with a black breast and single dentated comb. The tarsi are smooth, and of a dusky blue. When this sort of Bantam is pure, it yields in courage and spirit to none, and is, in fact, a game-fowl in miniature, being as beautiful and graceful as it is spirited. A pure white Bantam, possessing all the qualifications just named, is also bred in the royal aviary at Windsor.
AN INDIAN DISH OF FOWL (an Entree).
959. INGREDIENTS.—The remains of cold roast fowl, 3 or 4 sliced onions, 1 tablespoonful of curry-powder, salt to taste.
Mode.—Divide the fowl into joints; slice and fry the onions in a little butter, taking care not to burn them; sprinkle over the fowl a little curry-powder and salt; fry these nicely, pile them high in the centre of the dish, cover with the onion, and serve with a cut lemon on a plate. Care must be taken that the onions are not greasy: they should be quite dry, but not burnt.
Time.—5 minutes to fry the onions, 10 minutes to fry the fowl.
Average cost, exclusive of the fowl, 4d.
Seasonable during the winter month.
[Illustration: SPECKLED HAMBURGS.]
THE SPECKLED HAMBURG.—Of the speckled, or spangled Hamburg which is a favourite breed with many persons, there are two varieties,—the golden-speckled and the silver-speckled. The general colour of the former is golden, or orange-yellow, each feather having a glossy dark brown or black tip, particularly remarkable on the hackles of the cock and the wing-coverts, and also on the darker feathers of the breast. The female is yellow, or orange-brown, the feathers in like manner being margined with black. The silver-speckled variety is distinguished by the ground-colour of the plumage being of a silver-white, with perhaps a tinge of straw-yellow, every leather being margined with a semi-lunar mark of glossy black. Both of these varieties are extremely beautiful, the hens laying freely. First-rate birds command a high price.
FOWL SAUTE WITH PEAS (an Entree).
960. INGREDIENTS.—The remains of cold roast fowl, 2 oz. of butter, pepper, salt, and pounded mace to taste, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, 1/2 pint of weak stock, 1 pint of green peas, 1 teaspoonful of pounded sugar.
Mode.—Cut the fowl into nice pieces; put the butter into a stew-pan; sautez or fry the fowl a nice brown colour, previously sprinkling it with pepper, salt, and pounded mace. Dredge in the flour, shake the ingredients well round, then add the stock and peas, and stew till the latter are tender, which will be in about 20 minutes; put in the pounded sugar, and serve, placing the chicken round, and the peas in the middle of the dish. When liked, mushrooms may be substituted for the peas.
Time.—Altogether 40 minutes.
Average cost, exclusive of the fowl, 7d.
Seasonable from June to August.
BOUDIN A LA REINE (an Entree).
(M. Ude's Recipe.)
961. INGREDIENTS.—The remains of cold roast fowls, 1 pint of Béchamel No. 367, salt and cayenne to taste, egg and bread crumbs.
Mode.—Take the breasts and nice white meat from the fowls; cut it into small dice of an equal size, and throw them into some good Béchamel, made by recipe No. 367; season with salt and cayenne, and put the mixture into a dish to cool. When this preparation is quite cold, cut it into 2 equal parts, which should be made into boudins of a long shape, the size of the dish they are intended to be served on; roll them in flour, egg and bread-crumb them, and be careful that the ends are well covered with the crumbs, otherwise they would break in the frying-pan; fry them a nice colour, put them before the fire to drain the greasy moisture from them, and serve with the remainder of the Béchamel poured round: this should be thinned with a little stock.
Time.—10 minutes to fry the boudins.
Average cost, exclusive of the fowl, 1s. 3d.
Sufficient for 1 entrée.
[Illustration: SEBRIGHT BANTAMS.]
SIR JOHN SEBRIGHT'S BANTAMS.—Above all Bantams is placed, the celebrated and beautiful breed called Sir John Sebright's Silver Bantams. This breed, which Sir John brought to perfection after years of careful trials, is very small, with un-feathered legs, and a rose comb and short hackles. The plumage is gold or silver, spangled, every feather being of a golden orange, or of a silver white, with a glossy jet-black margin; the cocks have the tail folded like that of a hen, with the sickle feathers shortened straight, or nearly so, and broader than usual. The term hen-cocks is, in consequence, often applied to them; but although the sickle feathers are thus modified, no bird possesses higher courage, or a more gallant carriage. The attitude of the cock is, indeed, singularly proud; and he is often seen to bear himself so haughtily, that his head, thrown back as if in disdain, nearly touches the two upper feathers—sickles they can scarcely be called—of his tail. Half-bred birds of this kind are not uncommon, but birds of the pure breed are not to be obtained without trouble and expense; indeed, some time ago, it was almost impossible to procure either a fowl or an egg. "The finest," says the writer whom we have consulted as to this breed, "we have ever seen, were in Sir John's poultry-yard, adjacent to Turnham-Green Common, in the byroad leading to Acton."
FOWL A LA MAYONNAISE.
962. INGREDIENTS.—A cold roast fowl, Mayonnaise sauce No. 468, 4 or 5 young lettuces, 4 hard-boiled eggs, a few water-cresses, endive.
Mode.—Cut the fowl into neat joints, lay them in a deep dish, piling them high in the centre, sauce the fowl with Mayonnaise made by recipe No. 468, and garnish the dish with young lettuces cut in halves, water-cresses, endive, and hard-boiled eggs: these may be sliced in rings, or laid on the dish whole, cutting off at the bottom a piece of the white, to make the egg stand. All kinds of cold meat and solid fish may be dressed à la Mayonnaise, and make excellent luncheon or supper dishes. The sauce should not be poured over the fowls until the moment of serving. Should a very large Mayonnaise be required, use 2 fowls instead of 1, with an equal proportion of the remaining ingredients.
Average cost, with one fowl, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient for a moderate-sized dish.
Seasonable from April to September.
[Illustration: BLACK SPANISH.]
BLACK SPANISH.—The real Spanish fowl is recognized by its uniformly black colour burnished with tints of green; its peculiar white face, and the large development of its comb and wattle. The hens are excellent layers, and their eggs are of a very large size. They are, however, bad nurses; consequently, their eggs should be laid in the nest of other varieties to be hatched. "In purchasing Spanish," says an authority, "blue legs, the entire absence of white or coloured feathers in the plumage, and a large, white face, with a very large high comb, which should be erect in the cock, though pendent in the hens, should be insisted on." The flesh of this fowl is esteemed; but, from the smallness of its body when compared with that of the Dorking, it is not placed on an equality with it for the table. Otherwise, however, they are profitable birds, and their handsome carriage, and striking contrast of colour in the comb, face, and plumage, are a high recommendation to them as kept fowls. For a town fowl, they are perhaps better adapted than any other variety.
FOWL PILLAU, based on M. Soyer's Recipe (an Indian Dish).
963. INGREDIENTS.—1 lb. of rice, 2 oz. of butter, a fowl, 2 quarts of stock or good broth, 40 cardamum-seeds, 1/2 oz. of coriander-seed, 1/4 oz. of cloves, 1/4 oz. of allspice, 1/4 oz. of mace, 1/4 oz. of cinnamon, 1/2 oz. of peppercorns, 4 onions, 6 thin slices of bacon, 2 hard-boiled eggs.
Mode.—Well wash 1 lb. of the best Patna rice, put it into a frying-pan with the butter, which keep moving over a slow fire until the rice is lightly browned. Truss the fowl as for boiling, put it into a stewpan with the stock or broth; pound the spices and seeds thoroughly in a mortar, tie them in a piece of muslin, and put them in with the fowl. Let it boil slowly until it is nearly done; then add the rice, which should stew until quite tender and almost dry; cut the onions into slices, sprinkle them with flour, and fry, without breaking them, of a nice brown colour. Have ready the slices of bacon curled and grilled, and the eggs boiled hard. Lay the fowl in the form of a pyramid upon a dish, smother with the rice, garnish with the bacon, fried onions, and the hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters, and serve very hot. Before taking the rice out, remove the spices.
Time.—1/2 hour to stew the fowl without the rice; 1/2 hour with it.
Average cost, 4s. 3d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
[Illustration: SULTANS.]
THE SERAI TA-OOK, OR FOWLS OF THE SULTAN.—This fowl is the size of our English Polands, and is the latest species introduced to England. They have a white and flowing plumage, a full-sized, compact Poland tuft on the head, are muffed, have a full flowing tail, short legs well feathered, and five toes upon each foot. Their comb consists merely of two little points, and their wattles are very small: their colour is that of a pure white. In January, 1854, they arrived in this country from Constantinople; and they take their name from sarai, the Turkish word for sultan's palace, and ta-ook, the Turkish for fowl. They are thus called the "fowls of the sultan," a name which has the twofold advantage of being the nearest to be found to that by which they have been known in their own country, and of designating the country whence they come. Their habits are described as being generally brisk and happy-tempered, but not so easily kept in as Cochin-Chinas. They are excellent layers; but they are non-sitters and small eaters: their eggs are large and white. Brahmas or Cochins will clear the crop of a grass-run long before they will, and, with scattered food, they soon satisfy themselves and walk away.
POULET AUX CRESSONS.
964. INGREDIENTS.—A fowl, a large bunch of water-cresses, 3 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 1/4 pint of gravy.
Mode.—Truss and roast a fowl by recipe No. 952, taking care that it is nicely frothed and brown. Wash and dry the water-cresses, pick them nicely, and arrange them in a flat layer on a dish. Sprinkle over a little salt and the above proportion of vinegar; place over these the fowl, and pour over it the gravy. A little gravy should be served in a tureen. When not liked, the vinegar may be omitted.
Time.—From 1/2 to 1 hour, according to size.
Average cost, in full season, 2s. 6d. each.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
ROAST FOWL, Stuffed.
965. INGREDIENTS.—A large fowl, forcemeat No. 417, a little flour.
Mode.—Select a large plump fowl, fill the breast with forcemeat, made by recipe No. 417, truss it firmly, the same as for a plain roast fowl, dredge it with flour, and put it down to a bright fire. Roast it for nearly or quite an hour, should it be very large; remove the skewers, and serve with a good brown gravy and a tureen of bread sauce.
Time.—Large fowl, nearly or quite 1 hour.
Average cost, in full season, 2s. 6d. each.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable all the year, but scarce in early spring.
Note.—Sausage-meat stuffing may be substituted for the above: this is now a very general mode of serving fowl.
[Illustration: PENCILLED HAMBURG.]
PENCILLED HAMBURG.—This variety of the Hamburg fowl is of two colours, golden and silver, and is very minutely marked. The hens of both should have the body clearly pencilled across with several bars of black, and the hackle in both, sexes should be perfectly free from dark marks. The cocks do not exhibit the pencillings, but are white or brown in the golden or silver birds respectively. Their form is compact, and their attitudes graceful and sprightly. The hens do not sit, but lay extremely well; hence one of their common names, that of Dutch every-day layers. They are also known in different parts of the country, as Chitteprats, Creoles, or Corals, Bolton bays and grays, and, in some parts of Yorkshire, by the wrong name of Corsican fowls. They are imported in large numbers from Holland, but those bred in this country are greatly superior in size.
GIBLET PIE.
966. INGREDIENTS.—A set of duck or goose giblets, 1 lb. of rump-steak, 1 onion, 1/2 teaspoonful of whole black pepper, a bunch of savoury herbs, plain crust.
Mode.—Clean, and put the giblets into a stewpan with an onion, whole pepper, and a bunch of savoury herbs; add rather more than a pint of water, and simmer gently for about 1-1/2 hour. Take them out, let them cool, and cut them into pieces; line the bottom of a pie-dish with a few pieces of rump-steak; add a layer of giblets and a few more pieces of steak; season with pepper and salt, and pour in the gravy (which should be strained), that the giblets were stewed in; cover with a plain crust, and bake for rather more than 1-1/2 hour in a brisk oven. Cover a piece of paper over the pie, to prevent the crust taking too much colour.
Time.—1-1/2 hour to stew the giblets, about 1 hour to bake the pie.
Average cost, exclusive of the giblets, 1s. 4d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
THE BRENT GOOSE.—This is the smallest and most numerous species of the geese which visit the British islands. It makes its appearance in winter, and ranges over the whole of the coasts and estuaries frequented by other migrant geese. Mr. Selby states that a very large body of these birds annually resort to the extensive sandy and muddy flats which lie between the mainland and Holy Island, on the Northumbrian coast, and which are covered by every flow of the tide. This part of the coast appears to have been a favourite resort of these birds from time immemorial, where they have always received the name of Ware geese, no doubt from their continually feeding on marine vegetables. Their flesh is very agreeable.
HASHED GOOSE.
967. INGREDIENTS.—The remains of cold roast goose, 2 onions, 2 oz. of butter, 1 pint of boiling water, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, pepper and salt to taste, 1 tablespoonful of port wine, 2 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup.
Mode.—Cut up the goose into pieces of the size required; the inferior joints, trimmings, &c., put into a stewpan to make the gravy; slice and fry the onions in the butter of a very pale brown; add these to the trimmings, and pour over about a pint of boiling water; stew these gently for 3/4 hour, then skim and strain the liquor. Thicken it with flour, and flavour with port wine and ketchup, in the above proportion; add a seasoning of pepper and salt, and put in the pieces of goose; let these get thoroughly hot through, but do not allow them to boil, and serve with sippets of toasted bread.
Time.—Altogether, rather more than 1 hour.
Average cost, exclusive of the cold goose, 4d.
Seasonable from September to March.
THE WILD GOOSE.—This bird is sometimes called the "Gray-lag" and is the original of the domestic goose. It is, according to Pennant, the only species which the Britons could take young, and familiarize. "The Gray-lag," says Mr. Gould, "is known to Persia, and we believe it is generally dispersed over Asia Minor." It is the bird that saved the Capitol by its vigilance, and by the Romans was cherished accordingly.
ROAST GOOSE.
968. INGREDIENTS.—Goose, 4 large onions, 10 sage-leaves, 1/4 lb. of bread crumbs, 1-1/2 oz. of butter, salt and pepper to taste, 1 egg.
Choosing and Trussing.—Select a goose with a clean white skin, plump breast, and yellow feet: if these latter are red, the bird is old. Should the weather permit, let it hang for a few days: by so doing, the flavour will be very much improved. Pluck, singe, draw, and carefully wash and wipe the goose; cut off the neck close to the back, leaving the skin long enough to turn over; cut off the feet at the first joint, and separate the pinions at the first joint. Beat the breast-bone flat with a rolling-pin, put a skewer through the under part of each wing, and having drawn up the legs closely, put a skewer into the middle of each, and pass the same quite through the body. Insert another skewer into the small of the leg, bring it close down to the side bone, run it through, and do the same to the other side. Now cut off the end of the vent, and make a hole in the skin sufficiently large for the passage of the rump, in order to keep in the seasoning.
[Illustration: ROAST GOOSE.]
Mode.—Make a sage-and-onion stuffing of the above ingredients, by recipe No. 504; put it into the body of the goose, and secure it firmly at both ends, by passing the rump through the hole made in the skin, and the other end by tying the skin of the neck to the back; by this means the seasoning will not escape. Put it down to a brisk fire, keep it well basted, and roast from 1-1/2 to 2 hours, according to the size. Remove the skewers, and serve with a tureen of good gravy, and one of well-made apple-sauce. Should a very highly-flavoured seasoning be preferred, the onions should not be parboiled, but minced raw: of the two methods, the mild seasoning is far superior. A ragoût, or pie, should be made of the giblets, or they may be stewed down to make gravy. Be careful to serve the goose before the breast falls, or its appearance will be spoiled by coming flattened to table. As this is rather a troublesome joint to carve, a large quantity of gravy should not be poured round the goose, but sent in a tureen.
Time.—A large goose, 1-3/4 hour; a moderate-sized one, 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour.
Seasonable from September to March; but in perfection from Michaelmas to Christmas.
Average cost, 5s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 8 or 9 persons.
Note.—A teaspoonful of made mustard, a saltspoonful of salt, a few grains of cayenne, mixed with a glass of port wine, are sometimes poured into the goose by a slit made in the apron. This sauce is, by many persons, considered an improvement.
[Illustration: EMDEN GOOSE.]
THE GOOSE.—This bird is pretty generally distributed over the face of the globe, being met with in North America, Lapland, Iceland, Arabia, and Persia. Its varieties are numerous; but in England there is only one species, which is supposed to be a native breed. The best geese are found on the borders of Suffolk, and in Norfolk and Berkshire; but the largest flocks are reared in the fens of Lincolnshire and Cambridge. They thrive best where they have an easy access to water, and large herds of them are sent every year to London, to be fattened by the metropolitan poulterers. "A Michaelmas goose," says Dr. Kitchener, "is as famous in the mouths of the million as the minced-pie at Christmas; yet for those who eat with delicacy, it is, at that time, too full-grown. The true period when the goose is in the highest perfection is when it has just acquired its full growth, and not begun to harden; if the March goose is insipid, the Michaelmas goose is rank. The fine time is between both; from the second week in June to the first in September." It is said that the Michaelmas goose is indebted to Queen Elizabeth for its origin on the table at that season. Her majesty happened to dine on one at the table of an English baronet, when she received the news of the discomfiture of the Spanish Armada. In commemoration of this event, she commanded the goose to make its appearance at table on every Michaelmas. We here give an engraving of the Emden goose.
TO DRESS A GREEN GOOSE.
969. INGREDIENTS.—Goose, 3 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste.
Mode.—Geese are called green till they are about four months old, and should not be stuffed. After it has been singed and trussed, the same as in the preceding recipe, put into the body a seasoning of pepper and salt, and the butter to moisten it inside. Roast before a clear fire for about 3/4 hour, froth and brown it nicely, and serve with a brown gravy, and, when liked, gooseberry-sauce. This dish should be garnished with water-cresses.
Time.—About 3/4 hour. Average cost, 4s. 6d. each.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable in June, July, and August.
[Illustration: TOULOUSE GOOSE.]
THE EGYPTIAN GOOSE.—Especial attention has been directed to this bird by Herodotus, who says it was held sacred by the ancient Egyptians, which has been partially confirmed by modern travellers. Mr. Salt remarks, "Horus Apollo says the old geese stay with their young in the most imminent danger, at the risk of their own lives, which I have myself frequently witnessed. Vielpanser is the goose of the Nile, and wherever this goose is represented on the walls of the temples in colours, the resemblance may be clearly traced." The goose is also said to have been a bird under the care of Isis. It has been placed by Mr. Gould amongst the birds of Europe; not from the number of half-reclaimed individuals which are annually shot in Britain, but from the circumstance of its occasionally visiting the southern parts of the continent from its native country, Africa. The Toulouse goose, of which we give an engraving, is a well-known bird.
ROAST GUINEA-FOWL, Larded.
970. INGREDIENTS.—A Guinea-fowl, lardoons, flour, and salt.
Mode.—When this bird is larded, it should be trussed the same as a pheasant; if plainly roasted, truss it like a turkey. After larding and trussing it, put it down to roast at a brisk fire; keep it well basted, and a short time before serving, dredge it with a little flour, and let it froth nicely. Serve with a little gravy in the dish, and a tureen of the same, and one of well-made bread-sauce.
Time.—Guinea-fowl, larded, 1-1/4 hour; plainly roasted, about 1 hour.
Sufficient for 6 persons.
Seasonable in winter.
Note.—The breast, if larded, should be covered with a piece of paper, and removed about 10 minutes before serving.
[Illustration: GUINEA-FOWLS.]
THE GUINEA-FOWL.—The bird takes its name from Guinea, in Africa, where it is found—wild, and in great abundance. It is gregarious in its habits, associating in flocks of two or three hundred, delighting in marshy grounds, and at night perching upon trees, or on high situations. Its size is about the same as that of a common hen, but it stands higher on its legs. Though domesticated, it retains much of its wild nature, and is apt to wander. The hens lay abundantly, and the eggs are excellent. In their flesh, however, they are not so white as the common fowl, but more inclined to the colour of the pheasant, for which it frequently makes a good substitute at table. The flesh is both savoury and easy of digestion, and is in season when game is out of season.
LARK PIE (an Entree).
971. INGREDIENTS.—A few thin slices of beef, the same of bacon, 9 larks, flour; for stuffing, 1 teacupful of bread crumbs, 1/2 teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley, 1 egg, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoonful of chopped shalot, 1/2 pint of weak stock or water, puff-paste.
Mode.—Make a stuffing of bread crumbs, minced lemon-peel, parsley, and the yolk of an egg, all of which should be well mixed together; roll the larks in flour, and stuff them. Line the bottom of a pie-dish with a few slices of beef and bacon; over these place the larks, and season with salt, pepper, minced parsley, and chopped shalot, in the above proportion. Pour in the stock or water, cover with crust, and bake for an hour in a moderate oven. During the time the pie is baking, shake it 2 or 3 times, to assist in thickening the gravy, and serve very hot.
Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d. a dozen.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable.—In full season in November.