PHEASANT, to Carve.
Fixing the fork in the breast, let the carver cut slices from it in the direction of the lines from 2 to 1: these are the prime pieces. If there be more guests to satisfy than these slices will serve, then let the legs and wings be disengaged in the same manner as described in carving boiled fowl, the point where the wing joins the neckbone being carefully found. The merrythought will come off in the same way as that of a fowl. The most valued parts are the same as those which are most considered in a fowl.
ROAST PHEASANT.
PHEASANT CUTLETS.
Ingredients.—2 or 3 pheasants, egg and bread-crumbs, cayenne and salt to taste, brown gravy. Mode.—Procure 3 young pheasants that have been hung a few days; pluck, draw, and wipe them inside; cut them into joints; remove the bones from the best of these; and the backbones, trimmings, &c., put into a stewpan, with a little stock, herbs, vegetables, seasoning, &c., to make the gravy. Flatten and trim the cutlets of a good shape, egg and bread-crumb them, broil them over a clear fire, pile them high in the dish, and pour under them the gravy made from the bones, which should be strained, flavoured, and thickened. One of the small bones should be stuck on the point of each cutlet. Time.—10 minutes. Average cost, 2s. 6d. to 3s. each. Sufficient for 2 entrées. Seasonable from the 1st of October to the beginning of February.
PHEASANT, Roast.
Ingredients.—Pheasant, flour, butter. Choosing and trussing.—Old pheasants may be known by the length and sharpness of their spurs; in young ones they are short and blunt. The cock bird is generally reckoned the best, except when the hen is with egg. They should hang some time before they are dressed, as, if they are cooked fresh, the flesh will be exceedingly dry and tasteless. After the bird is plucked and drawn, wipe the inside with a damp cloth, and truss it in the same manner as partridge. If the head is left on, as shown in the engraving, bring it round under the wing, and fix it on to the point of the skewer. Mode.—Roast it before a brisk fire, keep it well basted, and flour and froth it nicely. Serve with brown gravy, a little of which should be poured round the bird, and a tureen of bread sauce. 2 or 3 of the pheasant’s best tail-feathers are sometimes stuck in the tail as an ornament; but the fashion is not much to be commended. Time.—½ to 1 hour, according to the size. Average cost, 2s. 6d. to 3s. each. Sufficient,—1 for a dish. Seasonable from the 1st of October to the beginning of February.
ROAST PHEASANT.