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 a little
nutmeg, pepper and salt, 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 he 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
Hour, 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.