[1444—THE WAY TO SERVE POULTRY RELEVÉS QUICKLY AND HOT]
I feel bound to call the reader’s attention to this very important point in culinary work:—
Owing to the difficulties involved in the carving of the fowl and the placing and arranging of the pieces and their garnish upon the consumers’ plates—both of which operations require dexterity and expertness, which those in charge very often do not possess, or thanks to the inefficiency of particular installations, or what not, I have noticed for some considerable time, that the method of serving large pieces of poultry is, in many cases, very far from being the right one.
For, indeed, how often does not the diner find himself presented with a plate of fowl which is neither appetisingly dainty nor yet sufficiently hot! It follows from this, that all the care and trouble devoted by a chef to the preparation of the dish are entirely wasted. Now, I have tried to improve this state of affairs, by planning a method of serving which would be at once simple and expeditious, without necessarily being devoid of tastefulness and presentability.
[475]
]In the first place, it is my practice to remove the fowl’s two [suprêmes], in the kitchen, and to keep them warm in a little cooking-liquor until the last minute. Secondly, I remove all the bones of the breast, and I reconstruct the fowl with a garnish in keeping with the dish, i.e., either a [mousseline] forcemeat, pilaff rice combined with cream, foie gras and truffles, spaghetti, or noodles with cream.
Having properly smoothed and arranged the selected garnish, the fowl may now be placed, either at one end of any but a round dish, or on a low cushion of fried bread, on which it may be set firmly.
It may also be entirely coated with Mornay sauce, sprinkled with grated cheese, and speedily glazed.
When the body of the bird is dished, its garnish should be set round it in fine, tartlet crusts; its [suprêmes], quickly sliced, should be distributed among the tartlets, and the dish sent to the table with the sauce separately.
By this means, it reaches the table hot, it is served quickly and cleanly; and every person gets a slice of meat, and not garnish only, as was so often the case formerly.
Instead of tartlets, one may use thin [croûtons] of bread, of the size of the slices of chicken, and fried in fresh butter.