_Ingredients._—2 or 3 pheasants, egg and bread-crumbs, cayenne and
salt to taste, brown gravy. _Mode._—Procure 3 young pheasants that
have been hung a few days; pluck, draw, and wipe them inside; cut
them into joints; remove the bones from the best of these; and the
backbones, trimmings, &c., put into a stewpan, with a little stock,
herbs, vegetables, seasoning, &c., to make the gravy. Flatten and trim
the cutlets of a good shape, egg and bread-crumb them, broil them over
a clear fire, pile them high in the dish, and pour under them the
gravy made from the bones, which should be strained, flavoured, and
thickened. One of the small bones should be stuck on the point of each
cutlet. _Time._—10 minutes. _Average cost_, 2_s._ 6_d._ to 3_s._ each.
_Sufficient_ for 2 entrées. _Seasonable_ from the 1st of October to the
beginning of February.
PHEASANT, Roast.
_Ingredients._—Pheasant, flour, butter. _Choosing and trussing._—Old
pheasants may be known by the length and sharpness of their spurs;
in young ones they are short and blunt. The cock bird is generally
reckoned the best, except when the hen is with egg. They should hang
some time before they are dressed, as, if they are cooked fresh, the
flesh will be exceedingly dry and tasteless. After the bird is plucked
and drawn, wipe the inside with a damp cloth, and truss it in the same
manner as partridge. If the head is left on, as shown in the engraving,
bring it round under the wing, and fix it on to the point of the
skewer. _Mode._—Roast it before a brisk fire, keep it well basted, and
flour and froth it nicely. Serve with brown gravy, a little of which
should be poured round the bird, and a tureen of bread sauce. 2 or 3 of
the pheasant’s best tail-feathers are sometimes stuck in the tail as an
ornament; but the fashion is not much to be commended. _Time._—½ to 1
hour, according to the size. _Average cost_, 2_s._ 6_d._ to 3_s._ each.
_Sufficient_,—1 for a dish. _Seasonable_ from the 1st of October to the
beginning of February.
[Illustration: ROAST PHEASANT.]
PHEASANT, Roast, Brillat Savarin’s Recipe (à la Sainte Alliance).
When the pheasant is in good condition to be cooked, it should be
plucked, and not before. The bird should then be stuffed in the
following manner:—Take two snipes, and draw them, putting the bodies
on one plate, and the livers, &c., on another. Take off the flesh,
and mince it finely with a little beef, lard, a few truffles, pepper
and salt to taste, and stuff the pheasant carefully with this. Cut
a slice of bread, larger considerably than the bird, and cover it
with the liver, &c., and a few truffles: an anchovy and a little
fresh butter added to these will do no harm. Put the bread, &c., into
the dripping-pan, and, when the bird is roasted, place it on the
preparation, and surround it with Florida oranges.
Do not be uneasy, Savarin adds, about your dinner; for a pheasant
served in this way is fit for beings better than men. The pheasant
itself is a very good bird; and, imbibing the dressing and the flavour
of the truffle and snipe, it becomes thrice better.