Having cut up your chickens, lay them in cold water till all the blood
is drawn out. Then wipe the pieces, season them with pepper and salt,
and dredge them with flour. Fry them in lard or butter; they should
be of a fine brown on both sides. When they are quite done, take them
out of the frying-pan, cover them up, and set them by the fire to keep
warm. Skim the gravy in the frying-pan and pour into it half a pint of
cream; season it with nutmeg, mace, and cayenne, and thicken it with a
small bit of butter rolled in flour. Give it a boil, and then pour it
round the chickens, which must be kept hot. Put some lard into the pan,
and fry some parsley in it to lay on the pieces of chicken; it must be
done green and crisp.
To make a white fricassee of chickens, skin them, cut them in pieces,
and having soaked out the blood, season them with salt, pepper, nutmeg
and mace, and strew over them some sweet marjoram shred fine. Put them
into a stew-pan, and pour over them half a pint of cream, or rich
unskimmed milk. Add some butter rolled in flour, and (if you choose)
some small force-meat balls. Set the stew-pan over hot coals. Keep it
closely covered, and stew or simmer it gently till the chicken is quite
tender, but do not allow it to boil.
You may improve it by a few small slices of cold ham.