Stuffing for Roast Turkeys, Chickens, Ducks, and Geese.
The commonest stuffing is this: Two onions, five ounces of soaked and squeezed bread, eight sage leaves, an ounce of butter, pepper, salt, one egg, a little piece of pork minced. Mince the onions, and fry them in the sauté pan before adding them to the other ingredients. Some chopped celery is always a good addition.
Chestnut, Potato, Veal, and Oyster Stuffings.
The chestnut stuffing is made by adding chestnuts to the ordinary stuffing. They are put on the fire in a saucepan or spider to burst the skins; they are then boiled in very salted water or stock; some are also put into the sauce. Or turkeys, etc., may be stuffed with boiled, mashed, and seasoned sweet-potatoes or Irish potatoes.
The great cooks make extra trouble and expense in preparing a force-meat stuffing of cold veal, cold ham, bacon, and a few bread-crumbs, mixed and seasoned with cayenne, salt, lemon-juice, summer savory, parsley, or any sweet herbs. Then they often add truffles cut into little balls; or, an oyster stuffing is made by merely adding plenty of whole oysters (not chopped) to the ordinary turkey bread stuffing. It should be well seasoned, or the oysters will taste insipid.
Boiled Turkey.
If a boiled turkey is not well managed, it will be quite tasteless. Choose a hen turkey. If not well trussed and tied, the legs and wings of a boiled fowl will be found pointing to all the directions of the compass. Cut the legs at the first joint and draw them into the body. Fasten the small ends of the wings under the back, and tie them securely with strong twine. Sprinkle over plenty of salt, pepper, and lemon-juice, and put it into boiling water. Boil it slowly two hours, or until quite tender. It is generally served in a bed of rice, with oyster, caper, cauliflower, parsley, or Hollandaise sauce. Pour part of the sauce over the turkey. Reserve the giblets for giblet soup. It can be stuffed or not, the same as for roasting.
Turkey or Chicken Hash
is made like beef hash, only substituting turkey or chicken for beef.