Baked Turkey.
Tame and wild turkeys are prepared and cooked alike. The time for cooking is from fifteen to twenty minutes to the pound, but this depends much upon the age of the bird; it must be well done to be palatable. Success lies in cooking it long enough, and frequent basting.
Put the turkey into a pan of cold water; rinse it inside and out in three or four waters; in the last water but one dissolve a teaspoonful of soda. Fill the body with this water; shake it well; pour it off and rinse with fresh water; wipe it dry inside and out; rub the inside with pepper and salt. Prepare a stuffing as follows; Mix into enough grated bread crumbs to fill the craw and body of the turkey a half teaspoonful of summer savory, thyme, or sage, four ounces of lard, four ounces of butter, with enough warm water to make the mixture moist.
Mix all thoroughly and stuff the craw and body with it; tie a string tightly about the neck; sew up the incision; tie down the wings and legs; then lay it on its back in the baking-pan; wet the skin and season it with pepper and salt and dredge it with flour. Distribute on the upper side small pieces of butter; put into the pan about a pint of boiling stock or a quarter of a pound of butter; have a brisk fire; put the pan into the oven and bake. Baste frequently, at least every ten minutes; bake to a rich brown. If it browns too rapidly lay a sheet of white paper over it until the lower part is done. When the turkey is browned on the breast turn it over in the pan while in the oven.
Pepper, salt, and dredge the back with flour, and bake until browned, basting as above. When baked remove the strings from the neck and body; put it into a hot dish and serve with a flour gravy, made as described on page 62.
The turkey may also be stuffed with sausage-meat, fresh oysters or roasted chestnuts.
Pie Crust.
All pie crust should be made in a cool place and handled as little as possible during the process. The heat from the hand makes the crust tough. The ingredients are:
One quart of flour (sifted); one-fourth of a pound butter; one-half teaspoonful salt; enough cold water to make a stiff dough. Sift the flour into a deep wooden bowl or tin pan; put into it the salt; mix; then the lard. With a keen chopping-knife cut up the lard into the flour until it is thoroughly incorporated, with no lumps; wet with cold water, stirring it in with a wooden spoon until it becomes a stiff dough. Flour the hands and make dough into a lump with as little handling as possible.
Remove lump to well-floured kneading-board, and roll it out into a sheet a fourth of an inch thick, always rolling from you, and with as little pressure upon the rolling-pin as may be necessary.