Take a half dozen quail, wipe with a damp cloth, split them and break the leg bones. Mix together a teaspoonful of pure olive or cotton seed oil, a dash of cayenne and a tiny bit of salt. Brush the birds with this mixture and put in well-greased bag, seal, put in oven and roast fifteen minutes. Arrange six slices of delicately browned toast on a hot platter, place the birds on the slices and baste with a mixture of good butter, minced parsley and the juice of a half dozen lemons. Garnish with slices of crisped bacon and watercress.
Quail No. 2.—Place four quail in a wooden dish with a link of sausage between the birds and a strip of bacon laid on each. Put in bag, seal, and bake twenty-five minutes.
Stuffed Quail.—Put into each bird a half prune or fat raisin, with a bit of butter and a few well seasoned bread crumbs. Wrap each bird in a slice of bacon, fastening with string or tooth picks and put in well-buttered bag. Seal and place on broiler and bake about twenty-five minutes, reducing the heat during the last half of the time.
Rabbit Cookery.—In selecting a rabbit the principal thing is to find out the age and also how long hung. A rabbit should be ripe but not gamy. Unless in cold storage, they should not be kept for more than two or three days. The age of a rabbit may be determined by testing the paw. If there is a little nut there and the paw may be broken readily between the thumb and finger the rabbit is young. If the nut has disappeared and the paw resists pressure, the rabbit is too venerable for anything but a stew. In dressing a rabbit there is a little secret that enables the cook to dispose of the gamy odor that so many object to. If the thin, muscular membrane that extends from the flank over the intestines is carefully removed before cooking, the strong flavor will go with it, leaving the flesh delightfully sweet. The gall bladder in the liver must also be removed with extreme care, so as not to break it.
Barbecued Rabbit.—Open plump young rabbits all the way down the under side, wash and clean thoroughly. Lay out flat in a pan of salt and water for an hour, with a weighted plate or saucer on top to hold under the water. Wipe dry and gash across the backbone in eight or ten places and having brushed it over with olive oil or melted butter, bag and bake in a hot oven forty-five minutes.
Lay on a hot dish, season with salt, pepper and plenty of melted butter, then set in the oven for the butter to soak in. Heat in a small cup two tablespoonfuls vinegar with one of made mustard and brush over the rabbit while boiling hot. Garnish with parsley and watercress and serve alone or with a currant jelly sauce.
Roast Rabbit.—Stuff, truss, dredge with flour and rub all over with vegetable oil, soft butter or good drippings. Season lightly with salt and paprika or black pepper, place in wood cookery dish in well-greased bag, seal and place in hot oven. Allow fifty minutes, reducing the heat at the end of the first twenty minutes.
Roast Rabbit No. 2.—For an older rabbit, put into a stew kettle whole without dividing the pieces from the body. Pour in one quart of water, add a little pinch of soda when it starts to boil, and stew gently until tender. When tender take from the broth. Meantime mix together three large cupfuls dried bread crumbs, butter the size of a walnut and salt, pepper and sage to taste. Pour enough of the broth over this to mix rather soft. Stuff the rabbit, spread with butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, lay in a buttered bag and bake to a rich brown in a moderate oven. It will not take more than a few moments. Make a good brown gravy, adding onion browned in butter if desired. A little onion may also be added to the dressing, according to preference.
Stewed Rabbit.—Cut in eight pieces, salt and pepper and put in buttered wooden dish, set in a buttered bag with a finely chopped onion, a bunch of sweet herbs, a quarter cupful stock or hot water and a tablespoonful of flour stirred smooth with a little cold water, then blended with the hot. Seal the bag and bake forty-five minutes in a hot oven.
Reed Birds.—Most of the reed birds obtained in our markets are in reality nothing but sparrows, and those undrawn. If fed on grain, as they are in Chicago, they are really very nice. To bake, wrap each one in a thin slice of bacon or salt pork, put in buttered bag, seal and cook in a quick oven. Still more delectable are they cooked en surprise. For a half dozen covers, prepare the same number of birds, six large oval potatoes, six oysters, and some thin slices of bacon. Prepare the birds as for roasting, and tuck into each little interior an oyster, seasoned with salt and pepper. Then wrap each bird in a slice of bacon. Now, having the potatoes well scrubbed, cut off one end, and using a vegetable scoop, cut out a hollow in each large enough to hold a bird. Insert the bird, replace the end of the potato, cut off, tie in place, put in buttered bag and bake in a moderate oven. Serve as soon as done, removing the string. The flavor of the bird, oysters and potato makes a delicious combination that cannot be surpassed. Serve simply with butter, or if preferred, a mushroom or oyster sauce.