These birds must be very young, for being naturally very dry, they are not eatable if more than twelve months old; they are generally larded or barded, and served plain roasted, rather well-done, they are trussed like the common fowls, and require nearly three quarters of an hour to roast.
No. 958. Pea Fowls.
These magnificent birds make a noble roast, and when young are very excellent, they are larded, plain roasted, and served with the tail stuck into them, which you have preserved, the head with its feathers being left folded up in paper and tucked under the wing; roast about an hour and a half, take the paper from the head and neck, dress it upon your dish with water-cresses and a border of tulips or roses round, and the gravy separate in a boat.
In large families where these volatile demi-gods are plentiful, I would recommend them to have one of the finest peacock’s tails mounted in silver, and made to easily fix upon the dish, by means of a slide, in which the fowl is served, it would look splendid upon table, and remind us of the ancient Roman banquets, where Lucullus, Tiberius, and Horace used to feast and sing their love.
No. 959. Pigeons
Are trussed as a fowl to roast, and served plain roasted, with a little gravy in the dish, or roasted with a vine-leaf upon the breast, over which you have tied a square piece of bacon, they will take a quarter of an hour to roast, but serve them with the bacon and leaf over; my new way of cooking them is to cut up a head or two of celery into very thin layers, lay some on the breast of each, and tie pieces of fat bacon over, roast and serve with a little gravy as usual; this method has been much approved of.
No. 960. Quails.
Eight quails are sufficient for a dish, they should be killed if possible forty-eight hours before dressing, draw and truss them by cutting off the wings at the first pinion, leaving the feet, and fixing the pinion of the wing and legs with a very small skewer; cover the breasts with vine-leaves, over which tie a thin square slice of fat bacon, then pass a long skewer through the pinions and thighs of each, tie them on a spit and roast them nearly twelve minutes at a convenient distance from a sharp fire of a nice gold colour, serve with a little gravy in the dish.
No. 961. Cailles à l’Eloise.
Prepare eight quails with the bacon and vine-leaves as before, then have a pig’s caul, cut it into eight square pieces and fold a quail in each, roast them a minute longer than in the last, and serve with a very thin sauce béchamel (No. 7) which you have finished with a spoonful of whipped cream under.