Goose.—Though the anatomy is similar again to that of the chicken, the greater size and strength of the bird give greater toughness to the joints, and call for the exercise of more force of wrist and hand in their separation. The point of the strong sharp blade must be made to find its way between the bones, as any attempt to cut through them will lead to disaster. Supposing the whole of the breast to be gone, then, and that the leg and wing bones have to be operated on, proceed upon the principles enunciated in the case of the chicken. Turn the bird on one side, and, after forcing with the blade of the knife the projecting angles or elbows of the bones back from the carcase, when coming to the leg, separate the thigh from its socket, which will be a less easy task than in the case of the pinion-bone of the wing. The merrythought, if comparatively a small item for so large a bird as a goose, must be disengaged. The dissection of the remainder of the bird, upon its reappearance as a hash or what-not, will generally devolve upon the cook; but, come in what guise it may, most excellent picking may be found in every quarter. Stuffing is an element of roast goose never to be overlooked; it is to be found and reached in the same way as in the duck. The skin of the apron and elsewhere is, as usual, on no account to be torn off or left ragged, particularly as with this bird it is accounted very choice in flavour.
Guinea Fowl.—Guinea fowl, peahen, or peacock, and other such “strange fowl” as are on rare occasions put before a carver, being in their anatomy sufficiently similar to the turkey for all practical purposes, may be passed over here. Boiled or roast, they must be treated with the same discrimination.
Rabbit.—A rabbit for roasting is somewhat differently trussed to when it is intended for boiling; in the latter case the head is placed on the dish to the right of the carver, and in the former to the left. In both cases, however, the back is the chief point to operate upon. If roast, separate the back on either side from the legs and shoulders; then divide the back into two equal parts; then disengage leg and shoulder one from the other, jointing them according to the number of portions required. If boiled, a very similar process may be adopted; the knife’s point has but to be inserted where a joint appears, and it yields to the slightest pressure. Very seldom is the rabbit substantial enough to justify its treatment after the manner of the hare—that is, by taking slices out of the back, and so on, down to the limbs, without disengaging them; but where the bulk of the animal is sufficient to allow of this, it is certainly the more tempting, easy, and appetising method.
Pigeon.—Beyond bringing into play the strength and neatness which are demanded whenever actual bone has to be severed, there is little to be done with knife and fork. If the bird be divided cleanly into two equal parts by a sharp strong cut right through everything, as it were, from beak to tail, each portion must be further manipulated by those before whom it is placed; the carver has no further concern with it. But should it be necessary to divide a pigeon into 3 portions, then 2 legs and 2 wings will make 2 out of the 3—if, in cutting them off, the carver is careful to leave enough meat on the breast to allow of that being presented as the third.
Game.—Woodcock.—When a woodcock is under the knife and fork, the carver will be very careful to examine the toast, to see that all the trail is upon it, or rather that the liver, which is the essential element of the trail, is not still left within the body. To do this he may with a slight touch of the knife, when he has secured the breast with the fork, force back the legs, and so, by disengaging the back, turn the bird as it were inside out; the liver will then fall upon the toast, and should be spread upon it evenly, with the addition of a little pat of butter, pepper, and salt, and a squeeze of lemon. As to cutting up the woodcock, the task is very simple. The bird may be divided into 2 or 3—the breast for one, and each leg and wing for the second and third portions; but, as the back is very small, and yet very choice, it had better be reserved for the special friend, seeing that there is not enough of it to divide; the thighs, however, are accounted almost equal bonnes bouches.
Snipe.—Perhaps the next amongst the “trail birds” to rank with the woodcock, who is the king of them all, is the snipe. He will generally, upon his modicum of toast, form not too large a portion for one good appetite; but he may be made to do for two less robust, by splitting him exactly in twain upon the usual plan. This is a bird that brooks no delay in the helping. He should be eaten hissing hot.
Plover.—The plover calls for no special directions. Larger than the snipe, but smaller than the woodcock, he may be treated according to the appetites—halved, trebled, or presented upon one plate whole, with the toast as a matter of course. If for plover or snipe we read “quail,” what has been said above will be all that is necessary. The ortolan also might be included. The hints anent the disposal of the liver, &c., on the toast, under the woodcock, may be taken to apply, more or less, to all similar arrangements. The carver should be careful to eliminate the little sandbag or crop, which sometimes may be found in close proximity to the liver; otherwise, if spread upon the toast, its grit will render the whole entirely uneatable.
Wild fowl.—Like turkey or goose, wild duck (and indeed all wild fowl, including the teal and widgeon) offers to the carver the most tempting of breasts, whence to cut away a succession of delicate slices; but he may not remove these until he has inserted sparingly a sprinkling of cayenne pepper between the scorings he has made with his knife, and given an ample squeeze of lemon over them, to drive the pepper well into the interstices. The breast alone is held to be the choice portion of the bird, though there is pretty picking elsewhere, but further dissection of him, when necessary, for immediate or future purposes, such as hashes, &c., may be carried on upon the oft-referred-to chicken principles.
Landrail.—The landrail, not often met with at table, may be easily carved by treating him like a snipe; he is trussed in the same manner, but of course is trailless.
Hare.—The hare stands pre-eminent amongst game, and is so generally popular, and yields so much capital eating, that it should be looked upon as a very special dish for the carver. The head on the left of the carver and the body lying at right angles to the line of sight, slices are cut out of the back all along its length from left to right. Clean, neat, and regular should they be, each with its nice little edge of brown skin; and when, from both sides of the spine, all the meat has been cut away, both the legs must be disengaged by a sharp incision, much after the manner in which the wing of a chicken is removed. Then the shoulders, by a semicircular cut round the joint, are displaced, the point of the knife feeling for the junction at the socket of the bone. Next, in the same way, let the knife travel to about the centre of the back, the carver feeling with its point for a favourable nick in the vertebræ through which, with some little exercise of strength, he may drive the blade, and so divide the body in two. The stuffing must be served in moderation with each portion; and, as the remnants of a hare are generally turned to good account, it is as well, except under extraordinary circumstances, not to serve any of the bones upon the plates, but to cut as neat-looking slices as may be from shoulders and legs. Plenty of gravy should also be helped from the dish by the carver, in addition to that served separately; otherwise the portions may look unattractively dry when first placed before the guest. All parts of a hare are so full of flavour, that, beyond the fact that the back is usually the most tender, there is little superiority in it. The ears and brain are amongst the extra little tit-bits affected by the connoisseur.