The excellence of spring chickens depends as much on feeding as on
cooking them. If there are conveniences for building a coop, say five
feet square, on the ground, where some spring chickens can be kept for a
few weeks, feeding them with the scraps from the kitchen, and grain,
they will be found plump, the meat white, and the flavor quite different
from the thin, poorly fed chickens just from market.
The Southern negro cooks have certainly the best way of cooking spring
chickens, and the manner is very simple. Cut them into pieces, dip each
piece hastily in water, then sprinkle it with pepper and salt, and roll
it in plenty of flour. Have some lard in a _sauté_ pan very hot, in
which fry, or rather _sauté_, the chickens, covering them well, and
watching that they may not burn. When done, arrange them on a hot dish;
pour out the lard from the spider, if there is more than a tea-spoonful;
throw in a cupful or more of milk, or, better, cream thickened with a
little flour; stir it constantly, seasoning it with pepper and salt;
pour it over the chickens. It makes a pleasant change to add chopped
parsley to the gravy.
A nice dish is made by serving cauliflowers in the same platter with the
dressing poured over both; or with potatoes cut out in little balls, and
boiled in very salt water, served in the same way; or they may be
surrounded with water-cresses.