[Illustration]
Chickens are roasted and boiled as are turkeys. In winter there is no
better way of cooking chickens than to boil them whole, and pour over
them a good caper or pickle sauce just before serving. A large tough
chicken is very good managed in this manner. Of course, the chicken
should be put into _boiling_ water, which should not stop boiling until
the chicken is entirely done. With this management it will retain its
flavor, yet the water in which it is boiled should always be saved for
soup. It is a valuable addition to any kind of soup. The cut represents
a chicken in a bed of rice.
BAKED CHICKENS OR FISH (_for Camping Parties_).
Dress the chickens or fish, making as small incisions as possible, and
without removing the skin, feathers, or scales. Fill them with the usual
bread stuffing, well seasoned with chopped pork, onion, pepper, and
salt. Sew the cut quite firmly. Cover the chicken or fish entirely with
wet clay, spreading it half an inch to an inch thick. Bury it in a bed
of hot ashes, with coals on top, and let it bake about an hour and a
quarter if it weighs two pounds. The skin, feathers, or scales will peel
off when removing the cake of clay, leaving the object quite clean, and
especially delicious with that “best of sauces, a good appetite;”
however, there is no reason why a camping party should not indulge in
other sauces at the same time.
A chicken may be surrounded in the same way with a paste of flour and
water, and baked in the oven.