Skin a brace of well-kept partridges and cut them down into joints; line a deep basin with suet crust, observing the directions given in the preceding receipts; lay in the birds, which should be rather highly seasoned with pepper or cayenne, and moderately with salt; pour in water for the gravy, close the pudding with care, and boil it from three hours to three and a half. The true flavour of the game is admirably preserved by this mode of cooking. When mushrooms are plentiful, put a layer of buttons, or small flaps, cleaned as for pickling, alternately with a layer of partridge, in filling the pudding, which will then be most excellent eating: the crust may be left untouched, and merely emptied of its contents, where it is objected to, or its place may be supplied with a richer one made of butter. A seasoning of pounded mace or nutmeg can be used at discretion. Puddings of veal, chickens, and young rabbits, may all be made by this receipt, or with the addition of oysters, which we have already noticed.
A PEAS PUDDING.
(To serve with boiled pork.)
Separate carefully from a pint of good mellow split peas, all that are worm-eaten; wash the remainder well, and soak them for a night in plenty of soft water. The following day tie them up in a thick pudding cloth, giving them room to swell, cover them well with cold soft water and boil them gently from two hours to two and a half: if they are not then quite tender, they are of bad quality, and cannot be rendered so. Lift them into a cullender, untie the cloth, and crush them to a paste with a wooden spoon, stir in a good slice of butter, and a seasoning of pepper and salt, tie them up again very tight, and boil them for half an hour; turn the pudding gently into a dish that it may not break, and serve it as hot as possible. This is the common old-fashioned mode of preparing a peas pudding, and many persons prefer it to the more modern one which follows. Soak, and boil the peas as above, drain the water well from them before the cloth is untied, rub them through a cullender or sieve, mix the seasoning and the butter thoroughly with them, then add to them gradually three well whisked eggs, tie the mixture tightly and closely in a floured cloth, and boil it for one hour.
Good split peas, 1 pint; soaked in soft water 1 night. Boiled 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Butter, 1 oz.: salt, pepper: boil again 20 to 30 minutes. Or: butter, 1-1/2 oz.; eggs, 3: boiled 1 hour.
Obs.—When soft water cannot be had, half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda must be stirred into that in which the peas are boiled. They must have room to swell or they will be hard; but if too much be given them they will be watery, and it will be difficult to convert them into a pudding at all.
WINE SAUCE FOR SWEET PUDDINGS.
Boil gently together for ten or fifteen minutes the very thin rind of half a small lemon, about an ounce and a half of sugar, and a wineglassful of water. Take out the lemon-peel and stir into the sauce until it has boiled for one minute, an ounce of butter smoothly mixed with a large half-teaspoonful of flour; add a wineglassful and a half of sherry or Madeira, or other good white wine, and when quite hot serve the sauce without delay. Port wine sauce is made in the same way with the addition of a dessertspoonful of lemon-juice, some grated nutmeg and a little more sugar. Orange-rind and juice may be used for it instead of lemon.
COMMON WINE SAUCE.
Sweeten a quarter-pint of good melted butter with an ounce and a half of sugar, and add to it gradually a couple of glasses of wine; stir it until it is at the point of boiling, and serve it immediately. Lemon-grate, or nutmeg, can be added at pleasure.