Figure No. 11.
Method of cutting chicken for stew or fricassee.
To truss poultry. Stuff the poultry two-thirds full, from the tail opening. It may be skewered into shape, but the quickest and easiest way is to tie it. The slight mark left by the string on the breast may be covered with a garnish of parsley or fine celery leaves. Fold the neck skin under the body, putting the loop end of a doubled piece of string under it; bring the ends of string up and cross them over the breast so as to hold the wings in place; carry the string down over the thighs to the under side of the tail to hold the thighs in place, and bring it up around the tail and the ends of the drumsticks, and tie it securely. This will hold the leg bones down to the tail. If this is not sufficient to hold in the stuffing, close the opening with a skewer, or sew it with heavy thread before trussing the bird. Old chickens, turkeys, and tough ducks or geese can be stuffed, trussed, and cooked for some hours in a cooker, then be removed and browned in an oven.
Figure No. 12.
Chicken, trussed for roasting or braising.
Stuffing for Poultry
- 1 cup soft breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon powdered thyme or sage
- 1 teaspoon grated onion
- 2 tablespoons water
Stewed Chicken
Draw and cut up a fowl. Put it, with the giblets, in enough boiling salted water (one teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water) to cover it. Let it boil for ten minutes and put it into a cooker for ten hours or more. If not quite tender, bring it again to a boil and cook it for from six to eight hours, depending upon its toughness. Skim off as much as possible of the fat from the liquor, pour off some of the liquor and save it to use as soup or stock, and thicken the remainder with two tablespoonfuls of flour for each cup of liquid, mixed to a paste with an equal quantity of water. A beaten egg or two, stirred into the gravy just before serving, improves it. Add pepper and salt to taste, and serve the chicken on a hot platter with the gravy poured around it. The platter may be garnished with boiled rice piled about the chicken.