Broiled.—Young, or what are called spring chickens, are broiled; an old one would not be as good.
To broil, a chicken is split in two lengthwise, or the back only is split, so as to open it. Salt both sides and butter them slightly, then broil on a good but not sharp fire. Serve with a maître-d'hôtel, piquante, or ravigote sauce.
Broiled hunter-like.—When cleaned and prepared, split the chicken in two lengthwise and place it in a crockery dish with the following seasonings: a teaspoonful of parsley chopped fine, a middling-sized onion in slices, two cloves, salt, pepper, a tablespoonful of sweet-oil, and the juice of half a lemon. Half an hour after turn the chicken over, and after another half hour place the above seasonings all around the chicken, fasten them with paper, tie the paper with twine, and broil carefully on a rather slow fire, and turning over two or three times. When done, remove the paper in which they are enveloped, scrape off the slices without scratching the meat, and serve as warm as possible with a maître-d'hôtel, ravigote, or Madeira sauce.
When an older chicken is prepared hunter-like, it is generally served with a Tartar sauce.
Another way.—Clean and prepare a chicken as directed. Cut the neck off, also the legs at the first joint, split the breast in two so as to open the chicken, and flatten it with a chopper. Put about two ounces of butter in a saucepan and set it on the fire; when melted, add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, stir for half a minute with a wooden spoon, then put the chicken in with salt and pepper; when about half fried on one side, turn it over and half fry the other side; then take off the chicken, roll it in chopped parsley and bread-crumbs mixed together, broil it properly and serve on a Tartar sauce.
A chicken broiled either way above described may also be served on a Béchamel or on a cream sauce.
Croquettes.—The proportions that we give below are for half a middling-sized chicken.
A chicken may be cooked especially to make croquettes, but it is generally made with cold meat.
Chop the meat fine. Chop fine also half a middling-sized onion; fry it with one ounce of butter, then add half a tablespoonful of flour, stir for half a minute, then add also the chopped meat and a little over a gill of broth, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, stir for about two minutes, take from the fire, mix two yolks of eggs with it, put back on the fire for one minute, stirring the while; lastly you add four mushrooms chopped, or two truffles, chopped also, or both, according to taste; do not put back on the fire, but turn the mixture into a dish, spread it and put it away to cool.
When perfectly cold, mix it well, as the upper part is more dry than the rest; put it in parts on the paste-board, about a tablespoonful for each part. Have bread-crumbs on the paste-board, roll each part of the shape you wish; either round like a small sausage, or flat, or of a chop-shape; then dip each croquette or part in beaten egg, roll in bread-crumbs again, and fry in hot fat. (See Frying.)