ASPIC OF MEAT.
Cut four middling-sized onions in slices, lay them in a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of bacon (not smoked); then add about a quarter of a pound of each of the following meats: chicken, game (any kind), mutton, and beef, also a calf's foot split in two, two ounces of rind of bacon, two sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, a clove of garlic, two carrots cut in two, one clove, and four small onions; wet with half a pint of water, and set on a brisk fire; cover the pan well. When nearly cooked, take the grease off with a ladle; add then boiling water enough just to cover the whole, and finish the cooking. Strain the juice, skim off the fat, if any, and let it cool; if it is not found clear enough when strained, beat well two whites of eggs, put them in the stewpan with the juice, set it on a sharp fire for about ten minutes, stirring the while, and take from the fire; add to it a few drops of lemon-juice, and strain again.
Put in a mould some of the above juice, about two-eighths of an inch in depth; place the mould on ice, and leave till the juice has turned into a jelly. Lay on that jelly some of the following meats, free from bones, and not allowing the pieces to touch the sides of the mould: chicken, game, tongues of beef, calf, and sheep, of all or of either of them (the meats must be cooked beforehand). Cover the whole with the remainder of the juice, so as to have about the same thickness at the top as at the bottom. Place the mould in a refrigerator to cool, and turn into a jelly; then dip the mould in very warm water, turn over on a dish, remove the mould, and you have a fine entrée.
GAME.
Game, comparatively, is appreciated only by a few.
When the country was first settled, every one was his own provider, and of course game was not sent to a market several hundred miles from the place where it was shot or caught. But settlement and civilization have the same effect on game as they have on barbarians or savages—they drive it away.
Our Northeastern cities are now supplied by the Western States with game. In winter time, game may be kept for weeks without being spoiled or losing its natural flavor and taste, when kept where it is killed; but when transported, it is very different. To transport it requires packing. As soon as packed, it naturally ferments; and even if packed when frozen, the middle of the barrel will ferment and become injured, if not entirely rendered unfit for the table.
The packing of game or poultry in barrels is a bad practice. Nothing requires more ventilation than game while being transported. Many dealers have their game sent to them in wicker-baskets with plenty of straw, but the greater part is still sent in barrels; hence the musty taste when cooked.
To keep game for some time when fresh, open the animal or bird under the rump, just enough to take the inside out, also the crop of birds, being very careful about the gall-bladder; if it bursts, it is better not to try to preserve the piece, but to clean, wash, and use it as soon as possible. Birds must be left in their feathers, and animals in their skins. Fill the inside with dry and clean oats, and put the piece in a heap or barrel of oats. It will keep thus for many days.
Another way is to envelop the piece well in a towel, and bury it in charcoal dust in a cool and dry place.
How to clean and prepare.—Clean and prepare the birds as directed for poultry in general.
After having carefully skinned, take out the inside, and cut the legs off at the first joint of animals; wash the inside with lukewarm water, and wipe it dry with a clean towel immediately after; wipe also the outside, but do not wash it if possible; that is, if you can clean it well by wiping only.
Wild ducks, geese, pigeons, and turkeys, are prepared, cooked, and served like tame ones.
Bear-meat and Buffalo.—The meat of all large animals is better roasted, than dressed in any other way. Prepare, cook, and serve bear and buffalo meat like venison, beef à la mode, or stewed.
Bear-meat has highly nutritive qualities, and is very warming.
Buffalo-steaks are said to be better broiled on cinders without a gridiron, than on or before coals with one; that is, Indian fashion and even hunters' fashion.
Indians often use wood-ashes as a substitute for salt, and never use salt with buffalo-meat; but their liking or preference comes from their habit of invariably broiling buffalo-meat on wood cinders or buffalo-chips.
Bear-hams, so well appreciated everywhere, are prepared and served like common hams. A bear-ham, tastefully decorated, is considered a recherché dish at supper for evening parties.
Blackbird, Bobolink, and Small Birds.—The cut below represents six small birds on the spit, ready for roasting. When the birds are prepared, cut off the ends of the wings and the legs above the first joint. Instead of cutting the legs above the first joint, the ends of the claws only may be cut off, according to taste. Cut thin slices of fat salt pork, of a proper size to cover the breast of the bird; place the slice on the breast of it, run a skewer through the middle of the bird, so that it will run through the two ends of the slice of salt pork also, as seen in the cut.
Have a skewer, or merely a piece of wire, long enough to hold six birds; fix the skewer on the spit, and roast.
When the six birds are on the skewer, fasten them with twine, to prevent them from turning round, as seen in the cut.
Small birds are cleaned and prepared as directed for poultry, but they are not trussed, their legs being tied while tying the salt pork. While roasting, they are basted often with the drippings. Some water-cress and lemon-juice sprinkled upon them may be served with the birds. The twine is removed before serving, and they must be served hot; if allowed to cool at all, they lose their taste. It takes from ten to fifteen minutes to roast.
Baked.—Prepare them exactly as for roasting: place the wire or skewer across a baking-pan, turn them round and baste often; serve also as above, with the gravy, and with or without water-cress.
The bobolink, reed-bird, and rice-bird are the same; they are called under these different names at different seasons and in different localities; it is the American ortolan, the most delicate of small birds; the robin comes next.
To eat it à la Brillat-Savarin.—Take hold of the bird by the bill; open your mouth wide enough to introduce the whole bird into it easily; then shut it, at the same time biting off the bill just at its base; chew properly and swallow.
While the birds are roasting or baking, place as many small slices of bread in the dripping or baking pan, and serve a bird over each slice. Cut the slices either square, round, or oval, about one-fourth of an inch in thickness, and large enough to hold the bird.
Hunter-like.—Prepare small birds as described for quails, hunter-like; it makes an excellent dish.
In Salmis.—Roasted or baked small birds can be prepared in salmis when cold. Many amateurs prefer small birds not drawn; that is, the crop only is taken off, but nothing of the inside is disturbed; they pretend that they have a better taste when cooked thus; of course, every one to his taste.
High-holders, lapwings, meadow-larks, plovers, rails, robins, snipes, thrushes, woodcocks, woodpeckers, and yellow-birds are prepared as above.
Small birds have a better flavor when cooked after being somewhat seasoned than when cooked fresh, but they must not be tainted. As long as the rump is stiff, they are good; if soft, they must be examined carefully, as they might be tainted. When young, there is no stiffness in the legs. Small birds are generally put by the half dozen on the same skewer, as seen in the cut (p. [278]); but when a little larger, like the robin or plover, they may be trussed as directed for snipes.
Grouse or Heathcock.—These are good as long as the legs are flexible; if not, examine them carefully, they might be rotten inside.
Lard them well, envelop each in buttered paper, and place on the spit before a good fire; baste often, remove the paper after twenty or twenty-five minutes; leave two or three minutes more, basting continually with the drippings; dish the birds; mix with the drippings a few drops of lemon-juice, and a little salt and pepper, and serve with the birds.
Baked.—Lard the bird as for roasting; that is, the fleshy parts only are larded with salt pork, then truss them as directed for chicken, place them in a baking-pan, cover the bottom of the pan with cold water, put a piece of buttered paper on each bird, place in a hot oven, baste often till done. Serve with the gravy some water-cress, and lemon-juice, or vinegar.
It is also prepared, cooked, and served in the different ways described for prairie-hen, either in chartreuse, salmis, salad, or any other way.
Hare.—No hares have yet been found in the United States, except in California. The reported hare of the Western prairies is, as far as known, a species of rabbit. That found in the Eastern markets comes from Canada and Europe. The Canadian hare is very inferior in quality.
To select.—When young it has rather soft paws, and not much opened, and also soft ears; but if old, the paws are hard and much worn, and the ears stiff and hard. If fresh, the body is stiff; it is soft, and the flesh is nearly black, if tainted. Save the blood as much as possible; it improves the sauce very much.
In Civet.—When the hare is cleaned as directed for game, cut in pieces. Have in a saucepan and on a good fire two ounces of butter and one of salt pork cut in dice. Stir, and when the salt pork is fried take it off the pan, and put the pieces of hare in it; stir with a wooden spoon now and then, till of a fine golden color; then sprinkle on it a teaspoonful of flour, add ten small onions, four sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, two cloves of garlic, a bay-leaf, salt, pepper, about a pint of claret wine, same of broth, three or four mushrooms, and a little grated nutmeg; boil gently till done; dish the pieces of hare; throw away parsley, thyme, bay-leaf, and garlic; mix the blood of the hare, if any, in the sauce, boil it about ten minutes longer, turn it on the hare, and serve warm.
Many epicures like a civet better when prepared one or two days in advance, and only warmed before serving. When the civet is done, and ready to serve, place the dish in a cool, dry place, and when you want to eat the civet, place the dish in a bain-marie, or in an oven, and serve when warm.
The same, roasted.—Lard the hare well; place it on the spit before a good fire; baste often with the drippings, and when properly cooked serve it with the following sauce: put in a stewpan a piece of butter the size of a walnut, and set it on a good fire; when melted, put in it the hare's liver well pounded, then the blood, if any, also the drippings, salt, pepper, a tablespoonful of white wine, same of broth, and one teaspoonful of vinegar; when of a proper thickness, serve with the hare.
It takes about an hour to roast it well.
In a small family, the hind part is roasted, and the fore part of the hare is dressed in civet.
Baked.—Lard it with salt pork and bake it, basting often: serve in the same way as a roasted one.
The same, next day.—If any is left from the day before, warm it and serve, if in civet; cut in slices and serve cold, with an oil-sauce, if roasted.
Leveret.—Cook and serve like a hare.
A leveret may also be sautéd like a chicken.
Pheasant, to select.—When young, the claws are short and round at the end, while they are long and sharp when old. They are not fresh when the rump is of a bluish color, but some amateurs like them then; in that state, they are said to have a venison taste. Some hang the bird by the feathers of the tail and leave it so till it falls; then they prepare and eat it. It does not fall until very "high," or rather when tainted. They ought not to be cooked when very fresh, as they have not as delicate a taste then as when rather "high."
Pheasants are prepared, cooked, and served like prairie-birds in every way.
Crane, Ostrich, Peacock, Pelican, or other Large Birds.—These birds are seldom eaten. When old, they are tough, and of a disagreeable taste. When young, they are not so bad, and may be prepared like a turkey stuffed or stewed.
Prairie-bird, Prairie-hen, and Partridge.—An old prairie-hen has a white bill and bluish legs; when young, the bill is of a rather dark-gray color, and the legs are yellowish. As long as the rump does not turn bluish, it is fresh enough.
To prepare.—Clean and prepare a prairie-hen as directed for poultry in general.
Baked.—Clean and prepare the bird as directed, then cut off the claws to about half their length. Truss the prairie-hen as directed for chicken, and then cover its breast with a thin slice of fat salt pork, but do not cover the back of the bird. Tie the salt pork with twine. Place the prairie-hen on its back in the baking-pan, with a piece of butter the size of a walnut on it; set it in a quick oven (about 400 deg. Fahr.), baste often, and serve when rather underdone. While the bird is baking, prepare some fresh water-cress, place some of it all around the bird; mix lemon-juice with the gravy and turn it over the bird and water-cress, and serve warm. It may also be served after being baked, the same as directed for a roasted one.
Broiled.—Clean and prepare as directed, then split the back of the prairie-hen so as to open it; salt, pepper, and butter it by means of a brush; place it on the gridiron over a good fire; turn over three or four times; as soon as done, sprinkle on it a little allspice, dish the bird, spread a maître d'hôtel sauce on it, and serve warm. It is also served with a piquante, poivrade, or ravigote sauce.
Another way.—Split the prairie-hen in two lengthwise so as to make two equal pieces. Put one ounce of butter in a stewpan and set it on a good fire; when melted, lay the two halves of the bird in; turn over and leave them till a little more than half cooked, when take them off. Envelop each piece in buttered paper, place them on the gridiron, and set it on a rather brisk fire for about fifteen minutes, turning over once only, and serve with the following sauce: Put with the butter in the pan in which was the bird, about a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, same of chopped mushrooms, salt, pepper, and a pinch of allspice; sprinkle in and stir at the same time a teaspoonful of flour; add a gill of white wine, same of broth; boil gently till of a proper thickness, and serve the bird with it, either on the same dish or separately. Serve as warm as possible.
With Cabbage.—Clean and truss the prairie-chicken as directed for birds; fry it a little with butter, just enough to color it; then place a cabbage, previously blanched, cut in four pieces, all around it; also about four ounces of lean salt pork, one onion whole; just cover the whole with cold water (it requires about one pint of it if the pan is of a proper size); when the cabbage is boiled down, baste occasionally with the juice, and if it boils away add a little broth or water; keep enough to baste till done, then dish the prairie-chicken with the cabbage around, also the salt pork if liked; turn the juice all over through a strainer. In case it is not salt enough, add salt while basting. The flesh of a prairie-chicken is naturally dry, and by being cooked with cabbage it is kept moist all the time and is juicy when done. For those who have no prejudice against cabbage, it is the best way to prepare a prairie-bird.
Another way.—Lard two prairie-birds as directed for larding, after being cleaned and prepared as directed. Put in a stewpan half a pound of bacon cut in slices, with four onions, two carrots cut in pieces, a small dried or Bologna sausage, two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, two cloves, a bay-leaf, a little grated nutmeg, and a cabbage cut rather fine, and which is to be previously thrown in boiling water and boiled ten minutes; then the two partridges or prairie-hens; place over the whole four ounces of bacon cut in thin slices, cover with broth, set the pan on a sharp fire, and when it has boiled about fifteen minutes, subdue the fire, or put the pan in a moderately heated oven, simmer about two hours if the partridges are old, and one hour if they are young; then take from the fire, place the partridges on a dish with the sausage cut in pieces around them, drain the cabbage and put it on another dish with the bacon, strain the sauce on both dishes, and serve.
In Chartreuse.—It is made in a mould for Charlotte russe, or in one like the cut following. Clean the prairie-hen as directed for birds; put it in a baking-pan with one ounce of butter spread on it, also salt and pepper, and a gill of cold water in the pan, and bake till underdone, when cut it in seven pieces, making three slices in the breast, lengthwise. Peel and slice two carrots and two turnips; cut the slices about an inch thick; then cut again in small round pieces, with a fruit-corer, about half an inch in diameter; set them on the fire with cold water and salt, boil gently till done, drain and turn immediately in cold water, and they are ready to be used. Put a small head of cabbage in a saucepan with half a pound of lean salt pork, just cover it with cold water, and boil gently till done. The prairie-hen, carrots, and turnips, and the cabbage, may be cooked at the same time, but separately, as directed. When the cabbage is done, turn it into a colander, cut it rather fine with a spoon, press gently on it to get the water out as much as possible without mashing it through the colander, and it is ready to be used. Butter the mould well; place slices of boiled beets on the bottom; some letters or flowers may be cut in beet, the intervals or holes filled with turnips and carrots; when the bottom is lined with beets, carrots, and turnips, lay horizontally a row of pieces of carrots all around and against the sides of the mould; place a similar one of turnips on the carrots, and so on, the last row being as high as the top of the mould. Then put a layer of the cabbage on the bottom, about half an inch thick—that is, on the carrots, turnips, and beets—place a like layer on the sides with a spoon; put the pieces of prairie-hen in the middle, cover with a layer of cabbage, and bake about fifteen minutes in an oven at about 350 deg. Fahr. The meat must not touch the carrots or turnips, but be entirely surrounded with cabbage, else it would crumble down in removing the mould. As soon as the mould is taken out of the oven, place a dish over it and turn it upside down, leave it so about ten minutes to allow the juice to come out, then remove the mould carefully, and serve.
The cut below represents a chartreuse made exactly like the one described above, with the exception that instead of having a row of carrots and a row of turnips, they are mixed, that is, placed alternately, the white spots representing pieces of turnips and the black spots pieces of carrots—the top being decorated according to fancy.
According to the size of the mould, two, three, or more prairie-hens may be prepared at one time and in the same mould.
Roasted.—Rub the stomach and legs of the birds with lemon, then envelop those parts with slices of bacon tied with twine, or fixed with small skewers; after which envelop the whole bird in buttered paper tied with twine; place them on a spit before a good fire, take the paper off after twenty or thirty minutes, according to the age of the bird; leave two or three minutes longer, baste often during the process of roasting, with the drippings; dish the birds without removing the slices of bacon; mix in the gravy the juice of half a lemon, or half an orange, a little salt and pepper, and serve it with the birds. It may also be served with water-cress and lemon-juice or vinegar. When roasted or baked and dished, place carpels of oranges all around, and serve.
A roasted or baked prairie-hen is also served with the following sauces: anchovy, caper, Champagne, cranberry, and ravigote or tomato, and currant-jelly.
With Mushrooms.—When roasted or baked, serve it with a garniture of mushrooms. It is also served with a garniture of cauliflowers, financière, Macédoine, and of truffles.
In Fricassée.—Prepare, cook, and serve it like chicken in fricassée.
In Crapaudine.—Proceed as for pigeons in crapaudine, the only difference being that it takes a little longer to cook. It is also prepared and served as a quail, hunter-like. It takes longer to cook than a quail.
Sauté.—Clean, prepare, cut, cook, dish, and serve the prairie-bird as a chicken sauté.
Stewed.—Clean, prepare, and truss the bird as directed. Put about one ounce of butter and two ounces of fat salt pork, cut in dice, in a saucepan, and set it on a quick fire; toss gently, and when the butter is melted, put the bird in and brown it all around; then add four small onions, half a carrot in slices, salt, and pepper; stir till the onions and carrot are partly fried; then add half a pint of broth, same of white wine, a bunch of seasonings composed of four or five stalks of parsley, one of thyme, one bay-leaf, and a clove; boil gently till done; dish the bird, turn the sauce over it through a strainer, and serve warm. Thus stewed, it may be served with the following purées: asparagus, beans, lentils, lima beans, mushrooms, and peas.
Cold.—A whole bird or part of it left from the preceding day's dinner, if it has been broiled, baked, or roasted, is prepared and served in salad, like a chicken salad; or in salmis.
Boned.—A boned prairie-bird makes an excellent dish and a most nutritious and warming one. Persons having a phlegmatic constitution ought to partake of it at least twice a week during hunting-time. Always select a very fresh and fat bird to bone. Pick, bone, fill, cook, and serve it as described for boned turkey. A prairie-hen is more easily boned, when fresh, than an ordinary chicken. The addition of truffles (about half a pound for one bird) makes it still richer and warmer.
In Croquettes.—Prepare, cook, and serve as chicken croquettes.
Quails.—A quail, like a prairie-bird, is old when it has a white bill and bluish legs; when young, the bill is of a rather dark-gray color, and the legs are yellowish. Quails are just the contrary of pheasants; the more fresh they are when cooked, the better.
To prepare.—When cleaned and prepared as directed for poultry, cut off the end of the claws, and then truss it as a chicken, sprinkle salt and pepper on the breast. Cut thin slices of fat salt pork, somewhat square, and of a proper size to cover the breast of the bird, but not the back. Tie it to the bird with two pieces of twine, then roast or bake.
Another way to prepare them.—When cleaned, prepared, and trussed as above, envelop the bird with grape-vine leaves, then in thin slices of salt-pork, and roast or bake them. They may also be enveloped in buttered paper, after being prepared, instead of salt pork or grape-vine leaves, or instead of both, but only to roast them; if baked, the buttered paper is placed over the birds.
Baked.—Place the birds on their backs in a baking-pan, with a piece of butter the size of a hazel-nut on each, just cover the bottom of the pan with cold water, and set in a quick oven (about 400º Fahr.) and baste now and then. When about half done, put the liver of the birds, well pounded, in the baking-pan, and continue basting till done. While the quails are baking, cut as many square slices of stale bread as you have quails, about three inches broad and one-fourth of an inch thick; fry them in hot fat, place them on the dish, place a quail with the breast upward on each slice; remove the twine, turn the gravy over them and serve warm. Water-cress may be placed between each bird, as well as all around, and in the middle of the dish, with vinegar or lemon-juice sprinkled all over. It must also be served warm.
Hunter-like (au Chasseur).—Clean and prepare as directed for birds. Set a saucepan on the fire with two ounces of butter to melt, then put in it four quails trussed as for roasting; turn them round in the pan to color every side; add then half a dozen stalks of parsley, salt, pepper, and nearly cover them with broth and white wine, half of each; boil gently till done. Dish the quails, and put them away in a warm place. Strain the sauce and put it back on the fire with a tablespoonful of meunière, boil rather fast till it commences turning thick, turn over the quails and serve warm.
Roasted.—When cleaned and prepared as directed, envelop the birds in grape-vine leaves and salt pork, or in buttered paper, as directed above, and place them on the spit before a moderate though good fire. Have slices of roasted bread in the dripping-pan, baste often with the drippings, and when done remove the twine, or the twine and paper, but neither the salt pork nor the grape-vine leaves, and serve warm. The slices of bread are placed on the dish, then a quail on each slice. Water-cress may also be served as above.
Quails roasted with grape-vine leaves are considered one of the most recherché dishes. When about half roasted, the liver of the birds, well pounded, is put in the dripping-pan, and the drippings are turned over the birds when dished. When pounded, the livers may be spread on the slices of bread before placing them in the dripping-pan.
With Green Peas.—When the quails are roasted or baked, they may be served with green peas au jus. They may also be served on a purée of celery or of mushrooms.
In Chartreuse.—Proceed exactly as for a chartreuse of prairie-bird. Quails may be served in every way like prairie-hens, stewed, in salad, in salmis, etc.
Rabbit—to select.—A rabbit, like almost every other kind of game, has a better taste when a little seasoned, but not too much so. As long as the body is rather stiff, it is good; but when soft, and when the flesh has a black-bluish appearance, it is necessary to examine it carefully, as it might be tainted. A young rabbit has soft paws, and are not much opened; but an old one has them open, hard, and worn out. The ears of a young one are very soft, while those of an old one are stiff and comparatively rough. The blood of the rabbit is a great improvement when mixed with the sauce or gravy accompanying it when served; therefore, we emphatically and earnestly ask of hunters, when they kill rabbits, to place them in their game-bags in such a position that the place where the shots have penetrated and through which the blood is escaping, be upward, and consequently stop the spilling of it.
Tame rabbits, unless they have been kept in a large place, well fed, free from any manure or dirt, and having also plenty of room to burrow in a dry soil, are very seldom fit to eat.
To lard.—The fleshy parts of a rabbit are larded with salt pork in the same way as described for a fillet of beef.
Baked.—To bake it, it may be larded or not, according to taste. When cleaned and prepared as directed for game, place the rabbit in a baking-pan, with a few slices of onion and carrot; salt, pepper, and butter it; cover the bottom of the pan with cold water and set it in a quick oven. After ten or fifteen minutes, turn the rabbit over, baste and cover it with a piece of buttered paper. Continue basting till done. When about half done, if the water and juice are boiling away or absorbed, add more water or broth, and when done turn the gravy over the rabbit through a strainer, and serve with water-cress and a few drops of lemon-juice or vinegar.
It is also served with a cranberry, fines herbes, mushroom, piquante, ravigote, tomato, and truffle sauce.
In Chartreuse.—A rabbit is prepared in chartreuse the same as a prairie-chicken; the only difference is, that it requires a larger mould; the rest of the process is the same.
In Civet, or stewed.—Cut the rabbit in pieces, and fry them with a little butter till turning rather brown, when add half a pound of lean salt pork cut in dice; stir and fry two or three minutes, stir in also a tablespoonful of flour; one minute after add a half pint of broth, same of claret wine, salt, twelve small onions, and a bunch of seasonings, composed of three or four sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, a clove of garlic, one clove. Boil gently till done; throw away the bunch of seasonings, and serve warm. In case it is not handy to use claret wine, use a gill of Madeira, or Port, or Sherry wine, and one gill of water. Without wine at all it makes an inferior dish.
A civet made three or four days in advance, and warmed in a bain-marie for ten minutes, once every day, is better than if eaten as soon as made.
In case the sauce is becoming too thick, after warming the rabbit several times, add a little broth, and also a little butter; stir gently, and always serve as warm as possible.
In Crapaudine.—When cleaned and prepared as directed, cook and serve the rabbit as described for pigeon in crapaudine, with the exception that it takes a little longer to cook.
In Croquettes.—What may be left from the preceding day's dinner of a baked, roasted, or stuffed rabbit, may be prepared in croquettes, in the same way as chicken croquettes.
With Currant-Jelly.—A rabbit served with currant-jelly makes a sightly dish, but it requires care and taste. Skin the rabbit carefully, leaving the ears unskinned. Cut the legs at the first joint, then dip the ears in hot (but not boiling) water, and scrape off the hair carefully. Draw it and wash the inside carefully also, putting away the liver, heart, and lungs. Chop fine one middling-sized onion, and fry it with about one ounce of butter; then add to the onion, and fry them also, the heart, liver, and lungs of the rabbit, after being chopped fine, when add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg grated, and a piece of clove also grated. Stir for about one minute, take from the fire, mix with it two yolks of eggs and one ounce of butter. Fill the rabbit with the mixture, sew up the incision made to draw it, and then truss it in the following way: Put the rabbit on the paste-board so that it appears as if it were resting, lying on its belly. Skewer the ears so that they seem to be naturally bent on the back of the neck. With a trussing-needle fasten the forelegs so that they look also as if naturally bent by the animal when at rest. Roast or bake it, and serve it with the gravy and currant or raspberry jelly.
It is placed on the dish lying on its belly, the skewers and twine are removed, and a few sprigs of parsley are placed in its mouth. The currant-jelly may be served in a saucer and the gravy in another.
In Gibelotte.—The only difference between a gibelotte and a civet is that the latter is made with claret wine and the former with Sauterne or Catawba. Other white wine may be used, but the two kinds above mentioned are the best.
Marengo.—When cleaned and prepared as directed, cut the rabbit in pieces; keep the head, neck, and trimmings, to make a potage au chasseur, and cook and serve the rest as a chicken à la Marengo.
In Papillotes.—The four legs and two pieces cut on both sides of the backbone may be prepared, cooked, and served as veal cutlets in papillotes. The rest is used to make a potage au chasseur.
With Olives.—When baked or roasted, serve it as a duck with olives, putting three dozen olives instead of two.
Roasted.—It may be roasted with only a little butter spread all over it, or enveloped in buttered paper; or larded with salt pork; or larded and enveloped in buttered paper. It must be basted often, and if enveloped with paper, the paper must be removed about fifteen minutes before taking the rabbit from the fire. Ascertain when done by means of a skewer or a small sharp-pointed knife. It takes about forty-five minutes to roast, according to size and fire. When roasted it may be served with its gravy or drippings only, or with a cranberry, fines herbes, mushroom, piquante, Provençale, ravigote, Tartar, tomato, or truffle sauce.
With Green Peas.—When baked or roasted, serve it with green peas au jus.
Sauté.—When the rabbit is cleaned and prepared as directed, proceed as for a chicken sauté in every particular.
Sportsman-like.—Clean and prepare the rabbit, then cut off the neck, head, and the end of the legs, which you keep to make a potage au chasseur. Put the rest in a crockery vessel with the juice of a lemon, salt, and pepper. Leave thus for at least one day, turning it over two or three times. Then bake or roast it, and serve with the gravy and water-cress.
Stewed.—When cleaned and prepared, cut the rabbit in pieces. Put in a saucepan three ounces of butter and set it on the fire; as soon as melted, put the pieces of rabbit in, stir now and then till they are turning rather brown, then take them from the pan but keep it on the fire. Put in it a rather small carrot and two or three onions, both sliced, a few slices of turnip, half a dozen sprigs of parsley, two of celery, one of thyme, the last three tied together with twine, and two or three cloves, also half a pint of Madeira or Sherry wine, salt, and pepper; cover the whole with broth or water; boil gently till half done, when add the rabbit, and continue boiling till the whole is done, stirring once in a while. Dish the rabbit, mash the onions, carrot, and turnip, through a colander, which you put all around the pieces of rabbit, strain the sauce over the whole, and serve warm.
Cold.—What is left is warmed and served, if from a civet, giblotte, stewed, etc., and served with a vinaigrette, if from a roasted or baked piece. It may also be served with a piquante, poivrade, or ravigote sauce.
Snipe—to truss.—Prepare as directed for poultry. Cut the wings off just above the second joint, as seen in the cut below. The head and legs must be cleaned very carefully. By heating the lower part of the legs and the claws, the skin can be easily removed, but this is not necessary, they may be singed and washed only. Fold the legs and run the bill of the bird through the two legs and the body. Put a slice of fat salt pork on the breast of the snipe, which you fasten there with twine, as seen in the cut below. The cut represents the bird on the spit, ready for roasting.
Stewed.—Take four snipes and pound the livers, hearts, and lungs well with about the same amount of fat salt pork; then add to them about a teaspoonful of parsley chopped fine, and the yolk of an egg; divide the mixture in four parts and put each part in a bird, which you sew and truss as directed. Line the bottom of a stewpan with slices of salt pork and lay the snipe on them; set on a slow fire for ten minutes, add about half a pint of white wine, same of broth; simmer till done, dish the birds, strain the gravy on them, sprinkle a few drops of lemon-juice over the whole, and serve warm. Snipes are served in several ways, as described for bobolinks and other small birds.
Salmis.—A salmis is made with tame ducks and any kind of game birds.
Birds may be roasted or baked to make a salmis, but most generally it is made with cold birds, that is, what is left from the previous day's dinner. It is certainly the best way to make use of cold birds. The proportions of the different seasonings are according to the proportion of meat. We give below the proportions for a whole bird; it will be easy to augment or reduce. Put two ounces of butter in a saucepan and set it on the fire; as soon as melted stir into it a tablespoonful of flour; when turning rather yellow add one pint of broth, same of claret wine, a bunch of seasonings composed of four or five sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf and a clove, also salt, pepper, and a clove of garlic; boil gently about thirty-five minutes. Strain the sauce into a saucepan. Cut the bird or part of bird in pieces, the same as they are generally carved; put them in the pan with the sauce; place the saucepan in a bain-marie till the meat is warm, add some lemon-juice, and serve. While the meat is warming, cut some stale bread in croutons, fry them with a little butter.
To serve.—A salmis is served in two ways: first, the croutons are placed on the dish, a piece of meat is put on each, and then the sauce is poured all over; second, dish the meat and sauce, place the croutons all around the dish, with a piece of lemon or bitter orange between each crouton. When the croutons are served under the pieces of meat, you must have as many as there are pieces; when served around the dish, have enough of them, and of slices of lemon, to surround the dish. The croutons and slices of lemon are always placed around the meat and on the border of the dish. The lemon or orange is first split in two lengthwise, then cut in eight, twelve, or sixteen slices, always commencing to cut on the inside and finishing by the rind. Chop fine the bones, heart, and liver of the bird, and put them in the saucepan at the same time with the broth. Truffles or mushrooms sliced may be added to the sauce, if liked, but only when strained.
Another.—Carve the bird or part of it, and serve cold with the following sauce; pound the liver of the bird and put it in a saucer; add to it a little vinegar, salt, pepper, and stir and mix the whole; then add about three times as much oil as vinegar, mix again, then lemon-juice, stir, and serve. It may be made without vinegar at all, using lemon-juice instead of vinegar to mix at first.