Fowls or turkeys for boiling should be trussed with the ends of the legs
drawn into the body through a slit in the skin, and kept in place with a
small skewer. Turn the tip of the wing over on the back. Cut off the
neck, not the skin, close to the body, and after putting in the
stuffing, fasten the skin of the neck to the back. Put strips of cloth
round it, or pin it in a cloth, to keep it white and preserve the shape.
In carving, place it on the platter with the head at the left. Put the
fork in firmly across the breast-bone. With the point of the knife cut
through the skin near the tail, and lift the legs out from the inside.
Then cut through the skin between the legs and body, bend the leg over,
and cut across through the joint. Cut from the top of the shoulder down
toward the body until the wing-joint is exposed, then cut through this,
separating the wing from the body. Remove the leg and wing from the
other side. Shave off a thin slice on the end of the breast toward each
wing-joint, slip the knife under at the top of the breast-bone, and turn
back the wish-bone.
Capons and large fowls may be sliced thinly across the breast in the
same manner as a roast turkey. But if the fowl be small, draw the knife
along the edge of the breast-bone on each side, and lay the meat away
from the bone; the fillets will separate easily. Then divide the meat
across the grain. Separate the collar-bone from the breast. Slip the
knife under the shoulder-blade, turn it over, and separate at the joint.
Cut through the cartilage connecting the ribs; this will separate the
breast from the back. Now remove the fork from the breast, turn the back
over, place the knife midway, and with the fork lift up the tail end,
separating the back from the body. Place the fork in the middle of the
backbone, cut close to the backbone from one end to the other on each
side, freeing the side-bones.
The wing and breast of a boiled fowl are the favorite portions. It is
important that the fowl be cooked just right. If underdone, the joints
will not separate readily; and if overdone they will fall apart so
quickly that carving is impossible. Unless the knife be very sharp, and
the work done carefully, the skin of the breast will come off with the
leg or wing.