Broiling can be done as well with a frying pan as with a gridiron, and all the juices are preserved. Heat the empty pan very hot first, then put in the meat to be broiled, cover over with a tin plate, and turn the meat often in the pan.
Boiled Meat.
Put the meat into enough boiling water so that the former will be a little more than covered. Cover the pot and boil till cooked, which will take about fifteen minutes for every pound of meat. Skim constantly while boiling, and turn the meat several times. Replenish when necessary with boiling water. One teaspoonful of salt for each five pounds of meat should be put into the pot a short time before the meat is done. If there is a layer of fat on top after the meat is cold, remove it. Beef or venison may be used for frying.
Fried Pigeons.
Dress them, parboil until they are tender, then cut off the legs and wings, slice off the breast pieces, roll in flour or meal and fry in hot pork fat till they are nicely browned. Grouse, ducks, quail, snipe and plover may also be fried, but are better cooked as given below. Snipe, quail and plover need no parboiling.
Fried Squirrels.
Skin and clean, cutting off heads, tails and feet. Parboil and fry, same as pigeons.
Roast Quail, Snipe or Plover.
Dress and impale each on a stick with a piece of fat pork in each bird. Set the stick in the ground before a big bed of live coals in a slanting position so that the heat will fall evenly on all portions of the bird, and turn frequently till a sharp sliver will easily pass through the breast. Catch the drippings in a tin cup and pour over the birds again and again, and if they are served on toast pour the drippings also on the toast. The blacksmith's pliers mentioned in Chapter I. will come in handy for turning the birds before the fire on their sticks and holding the cup to catch the drippings. Without this tool the cook's hands are likely to be roasted by the time the birds are done.