870. Salmi of Snipe à la Moderne.
—Singe, draw, and neatly wipe six fine, fat snipe. Chop off the legs, and then stuff the inside with a little game forcemeat ([No. 228]) through a paper cornet; fill the cavity of the eyes with a little more of the game forcemeat ([No. 228]), and covering each eye right over the game forcemeat with a small bit of truffle, cut with a tube. Insert the bills in the breasts, and then lay them on a roasting-pan, with a little butter; place in the hot oven to roast for six minutes. Take from out the oven, lay each one on a square piece of bread, fried in a little clarified butter, pour one pint of hot salmi sauce ([No. 193]) over, to which have been added twelve whole mushrooms, and serve.
871. Woodcock, Roasted Plain.
—Procure six fine, fat woodcocks, pick, singe, and draw them, putting the hearts and livers on a plate for further use. Take out the eyes, and remove the skin from the heads; truss up the feet, skewer them with the bill, and tie a barde of fat pork around the breasts; then chop up all the hearts and livers very fine, with one teaspoonful of chives, half a pinch of salt, a third of a pinch of pepper, and a teaspoonful of butter. Prepare six bread canapés ([No. 832]), two and a half inches long, by one and a half wide; fry them for two minutes in very hot fat, drain them thoroughly, and cover each canapé with some of the above mixture, spreading a little fresh bread-crumbs and a very little butter over; place them in a small baking-pan and lay aside. Now put the woodcocks in a roasting-pan with a little butter well spread over the birds, and roast them in a brisk oven for ten minutes. Two minutes before they are done, put the canapés in the oven, then take both out, and lay the canapés on a hot dish; untie the birds, and arrange them over the canapés, decorating the dish with a little watercress. Strain the gravy into a sauce-bowl, and serve it separately.
872. Woodcock, Broiled With Bacon.
—Pick, singe, draw, pick out the eyes, and remove the skin from the heads of six fine woodcocks; wipe them neatly, and split them through the back without separating the parts. Put them on a dish to season with a pinch of salt, half a pinch of pepper, and one tablespoonful of sweet oil. Roll them in well, then put them on to broil with the bills stuck into the breasts. Let broil for four minutes on each side, then arrange them on a dish with six pieces of heart-shaped fried bread, covered with the hashed hearts and livers as in [No. 871], spread a gill of maître-d’hôtel butter ([No. 145]) over, and decorate with six slices of broiled bacon ([No. 754]), then serve.
873. Salmi of Woodcock à la Chasseur.
—Pick, singe, draw, pick out the eyes, and remove the skin from the heads of six fine woodcocks; wipe them neatly, and put them in a roasting-pan with half a pinch of salt. Cook for four minutes in the oven; then cut off the legs and necks, but preserve the heads. Put an ounce of butter into a saucepan, with half a raw carrot and half a raw onion, all cut in pieces, a small bouquet ([No. 254]), and six whole peppers. Cook for five minutes on the stove, then moisten with half a pint of Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]), half a glassful of sherry wine, and three tablespoonfuls of mushroom liquor. Season with half a pinch of salt and half a pinch of pepper, and let cook for fifteen minutes more. Stick a good-sized, fine mushroom in the bill of each head, run the bill into the breast of each woodcock, and put them in a sautoire; strain the sauce over, add twelve mushrooms cut in two, and the zest of one lemon. Let cook for six minutes more, then arrange nicely on a dish, decorating it with six bread croûtons ([No. 133]); pour the sauce over, and serve.
874. Canvas-back Ducks, Roasted.
—Procure two fine, fat canvas-back ducks, pick, singe, draw well, and wipe neatly; throw a light pinch of salt inside, run in the head from the end of the neck to the back, truss nicely, and place in a roasting-pan. Sprinkle a little salt over, put them in a brisk oven, and let cook for eighteen minutes; arrange on a very hot dish, untruss, throw two tablespoonfuls of white broth ([No. 99]) into each duck, and serve with six slices of fried hominy ([No. 1035]), and currant jelly.