Game, comparatively, is appreciated only by a few.
When the country was first settled, every one was his own provider, and
of course game was not sent to a market several hundred miles from the
place where it was shot or caught. But settlement and civilization have
the same effect on game as they have on barbarians or savages--they
drive it away.
Our Northeastern cities are now supplied by the Western States with
game. In winter time, game may be kept for weeks without being spoiled
or losing its natural flavor and taste, when kept where it is killed;
but when transported, it is very different. To transport it requires
packing. As soon as packed, it naturally ferments; and even if packed
when frozen, the middle of the barrel will ferment and become injured,
if not entirely rendered unfit for the table.
The packing of game or poultry in barrels is a bad practice. Nothing
requires more ventilation than game while being transported. Many
dealers have their game sent to them in wicker-baskets with plenty of
straw, but the greater part is still sent in barrels; hence the musty
taste when cooked.
To keep game for some time when fresh, open the animal or bird under the
rump, just enough to take the inside out, also the crop of birds, being
very careful about the gall-bladder; if it bursts, it is better not to
try to preserve the piece, but to clean, wash, and use it as soon as
possible. Birds must be left in their feathers, and animals in their
skins. Fill the inside with dry and clean oats, and put the piece in a
heap or barrel of oats. It will keep thus for many days.
Another way is to envelop the piece well in a towel, and bury it in
charcoal dust in a cool and dry place.
_How to clean and prepare._--Clean and prepare the birds as directed for
poultry in general.
After having carefully skinned, take out the inside, and cut the legs
off at the first joint of animals; wash the inside with lukewarm water,
and wipe it dry with a clean towel immediately after; wipe also the
outside, but do not wash it if possible; that is, if you can clean it
well by wiping only.
_Wild ducks_, _geese_, _pigeons_, and _turkeys_, are prepared, cooked,
and served like tame ones.
_Bear-meat and Buffalo._--The meat of all large animals is better
roasted, than dressed in any other way. Prepare, cook, and serve bear
and buffalo meat like venison, beef _a la mode_, or stewed.
Bear-meat has highly nutritive qualities, and is very warming.
Buffalo-steaks are said to be better broiled on cinders without a
gridiron, than on or before coals with one; that is, Indian fashion and
even hunters' fashion.
Indians often use wood-ashes as a substitute for salt, and never use
salt with buffalo-meat; but their liking or preference comes from their
habit of invariably broiling buffalo-meat on wood cinders or
buffalo-chips.
_Bear-hams_, so well appreciated everywhere, are prepared and served
like common hams. A bear-ham, tastefully decorated, is considered a
_recherche_ dish at supper for evening parties.
_Blackbird_, _Bobolink_, and _Small Birds_.--The cut below represents
six small birds on the spit, ready for _roasting_. When the birds are
prepared, cut off the ends of the wings and the legs above the first
joint. Instead of cutting the legs above the first joint, the ends of
the claws only may be cut off, according to taste. Cut thin slices of
fat salt pork, of a proper size to cover the breast of the bird; place
the slice on the breast of it, run a skewer through the middle of the
bird, so that it will run through the two ends of the slice of salt pork
also, as seen in the cut.
Have a skewer, or merely a piece of wire, long enough to hold six birds;
fix the skewer on the spit, and roast.
When the six birds are on the skewer, fasten them with twine, to prevent
them from turning round, as seen in the cut.
[Illustration]
Small birds are cleaned and prepared as directed for poultry, but they
are not trussed, their legs being tied while tying the salt pork. While
roasting, they are basted often with the drippings. Some water-cress and
lemon-juice sprinkled upon them may be served with the birds. The twine
is removed before serving, and they must be served hot; if allowed to
cool at all, they lose their taste. It takes from ten to fifteen minutes
to roast.
_Baked._--Prepare them exactly as for roasting: place the wire or skewer
across a baking-pan, turn them round and baste often; serve also as
above, with the gravy, and with or without water-cress.
The _bobolink_, _reed-bird_, and _rice-bird_ are the same; they are
called under these different names at different seasons and in different
localities; it is the American ortolan, the most delicate of small
birds; the robin comes next.
_To eat it a la Brillat-Savarin._--Take hold of the bird by the bill;
open your mouth wide enough to introduce the whole bird into it easily;
then shut it, at the same time biting off the bill just at its base;
chew properly and swallow.
While the birds are roasting or baking, place as many small slices of
bread in the dripping or baking pan, and serve a bird over each slice.
Cut the slices either square, round, or oval, about one-fourth of an
inch in thickness, and large enough to hold the bird.
_Hunter-like._--Prepare small birds as described for quails,
hunter-like; it makes an excellent dish.
_In Salmis._--Roasted or baked small birds can be prepared in _salmis_
when cold. Many amateurs prefer small birds not drawn; that is, the crop
only is taken off, but nothing of the inside is disturbed; they pretend
that they have a better taste when cooked thus; of course, every one to
his taste.
_High-holders_, _lapwings_, _meadow-larks_, _plovers_, _rails_,
_robins_, _snipes_, _thrushes_, _woodcocks_, _woodpeckers_, and
_yellow-birds_ are prepared as above.
Small birds have a better flavor when cooked after being somewhat
seasoned than when cooked fresh, but they must not be tainted. As long
as the rump is stiff, they are good; if soft, they must be examined
carefully, as they might be tainted. When young, there is no stiffness
in the legs. Small birds are generally put by the half dozen on the
same skewer, as seen in the cut (p. 278); but when a little larger, like
the robin or plover, they may be trussed as directed for snipes.
_Grouse or Heathcock._--These are good as long as the legs are flexible;
if not, examine them carefully, they might be rotten inside.
Lard them well, envelop each in buttered paper, and place on the spit
before a good fire; baste often, remove the paper after twenty or
twenty-five minutes; leave two or three minutes more, basting
continually with the drippings; dish the birds; mix with the drippings a
few drops of lemon-juice, and a little salt and pepper, and serve with
the birds.
_Baked._--Lard the bird as for roasting; that is, the fleshy parts only
are larded with salt pork, then truss them as directed for chicken,
place them in a baking-pan, cover the bottom of the pan with cold water,
put a piece of buttered paper on each bird, place in a hot oven, baste
often till done. Serve with the gravy some water-cress, and lemon-juice,
or vinegar.
It is also prepared, cooked, and served in the different ways described
for prairie-hen, either in _chartreuse_, _salmis_, salad, or any other
way.
_Hare._--No hares have yet been found in the United States, except in
California. The reported hare of the Western prairies is, as far as
known, a species of rabbit. That found in the Eastern markets comes from
Canada and Europe. The Canadian hare is very inferior in quality.
_To select._--When young it has rather soft paws, and not much opened,
and also soft ears; but if old, the paws are hard and much worn, and the
ears stiff and hard. If fresh, the body is stiff; it is soft, and the
flesh is nearly black, if tainted. Save the blood as much as possible;
it improves the sauce very much.
_In Civet._--When the hare is cleaned as directed for game, cut in
pieces. Have in a saucepan and on a good fire two ounces of butter and
one of salt pork cut in dice. Stir, and when the salt pork is fried take
it off the pan, and put the pieces of hare in it; stir with a wooden
spoon now and then, till of a fine golden color; then sprinkle on it a
teaspoonful of flour, add ten small onions, four sprigs of parsley, two
of thyme, two cloves of garlic, a bay-leaf, salt, pepper, about a pint
of claret wine, same of broth, three or four mushrooms, and a little
grated nutmeg; boil gently till done; dish the pieces of hare; throw
away parsley, thyme, bay-leaf, and garlic; mix the blood of the hare, if
any, in the sauce, boil it about ten minutes longer, turn it on the
hare, and serve warm.
Many epicures like a civet better when prepared one or two days in
advance, and only warmed before serving. When the civet is done, and
ready to serve, place the dish in a cool, dry place, and when you want
to eat the civet, place the dish in a _bain-marie_, or in an oven, and
serve when warm.
_The same, roasted._--Lard the hare well; place it on the spit before a
good fire; baste often with the drippings, and when properly cooked
serve it with the following sauce: put in a stewpan a piece of butter
the size of a walnut, and set it on a good fire; when melted, put in it
the hare's liver well pounded, then the blood, if any, also the
drippings, salt, pepper, a tablespoonful of white wine, same of broth,
and one teaspoonful of vinegar; when of a proper thickness, serve with
the hare.
It takes about an hour to roast it well.
In a small family, the hind part is roasted, and the fore part of the
hare is dressed in civet.
_Baked._--Lard it with salt pork and bake it, basting often: serve in
the same way as a roasted one.
_The same, next day._--If any is left from the day before, warm it and
serve, if in civet; cut in slices and serve cold, with an oil-sauce, if
roasted.
_Leveret._--Cook and serve like a hare.
A leveret may also be _sauted_ like a chicken.
_Pheasant, to select._--When young, the claws are short and round at the
end, while they are long and sharp when old. They are not fresh when the
rump is of a bluish color, but some amateurs like them then; in that
state, they are said to have a venison taste. Some hang the bird by the
feathers of the tail and leave it so till it falls; then they prepare
and eat it. It does not fall until very "high," or rather when tainted.
They ought not to be cooked when very fresh, as they have not as
delicate a taste then as when rather "high."
_Pheasants_ are prepared, cooked, and served like _prairie-birds_ in
every way.
_Crane, Ostrich, Peacock, Pelican, or other Large Birds._--These birds
are seldom eaten. When old, they are tough, and of a disagreeable taste.
When young, they are not so bad, and may be prepared like a turkey
stuffed or stewed.
_Prairie-bird, Prairie-hen, and Partridge._--An old prairie-hen has a
white bill and bluish legs; when young, the bill is of a rather
dark-gray color, and the legs are yellowish. As long as the rump does
not turn bluish, it is fresh enough.
_To prepare._--Clean and prepare a prairie-hen as directed for poultry
in general.
_Baked._--Clean and prepare the bird as directed, then cut off the claws
to about half their length. Truss the prairie-hen as directed for
chicken, and then cover its breast with a thin slice of fat salt pork,
but do not cover the back of the bird. Tie the salt pork with twine.
Place the prairie-hen on its back in the baking-pan, with a piece of
butter the size of a walnut on it; set it in a quick oven (about 400
deg. Fahr.), baste often, and serve when rather underdone. While the
bird is baking, prepare some fresh water-cress, place some of it all
around the bird; mix lemon-juice with the gravy and turn it over the
bird and water-cress, and serve warm. It may also be served after being
baked, the same as directed for a roasted one.
_Broiled._--Clean and prepare as directed, then split the back of the
prairie-hen so as to open it; salt, pepper, and butter it by means of a
brush; place it on the gridiron over a good fire; turn over three or
four times; as soon as done, sprinkle on it a little allspice, dish the
bird, spread a _maitre d'hotel_ sauce on it, and serve warm. It is also
served with a _piquante_, _poivrade_, or _ravigote sauce_.
_Another way._--Split the prairie-hen in two lengthwise so as to make
two equal pieces. Put one ounce of butter in a stewpan and set it on a
good fire; when melted, lay the two halves of the bird in; turn over and
leave them till a little more than half cooked, when take them off.
Envelop each piece in buttered paper, place them on the gridiron, and
set it on a rather brisk fire for about fifteen minutes, turning over
once only, and serve with the following sauce: Put with the butter in
the pan in which was the bird, about a teaspoonful of chopped parsley,
same of chopped mushrooms, salt, pepper, and a pinch of allspice;
sprinkle in and stir at the same time a teaspoonful of flour; add a gill
of white wine, same of broth; boil gently till of a proper thickness,
and serve the bird with it, either on the same dish or separately. Serve
as warm as possible.
_With Cabbage._--Clean and truss the prairie-chicken as directed for
birds; fry it a little with butter, just enough to color it; then place
a cabbage, previously blanched, cut in four pieces, all around it; also
about four ounces of lean salt pork, one onion whole; just cover the
whole with cold water (it requires about one pint of it if the pan is of
a proper size); when the cabbage is boiled down, baste occasionally with
the juice, and if it boils away add a little broth or water; keep enough
to baste till done, then dish the prairie-chicken with the cabbage
around, also the salt pork if liked; turn the juice all over through a
strainer. In case it is not salt enough, add salt while basting. The
flesh of a prairie-chicken is naturally dry, and by being cooked with
cabbage it is kept moist all the time and is juicy when done. For those
who have no prejudice against cabbage, it is the best way to prepare a
prairie-bird.
_Another way._--Lard two prairie-birds as directed for larding, after
being cleaned and prepared as directed. Put in a stewpan half a pound of
bacon cut in slices, with four onions, two carrots cut in pieces, a
small dried or Bologna sausage, two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, two
cloves, a bay-leaf, a little grated nutmeg, and a cabbage cut rather
fine, and which is to be previously thrown in boiling water and boiled
ten minutes; then the two partridges or prairie-hens; place over the
whole four ounces of bacon cut in thin slices, cover with broth, set the
pan on a sharp fire, and when it has boiled about fifteen minutes,
subdue the fire, or put the pan in a moderately heated oven, simmer
about two hours if the partridges are old, and one hour if they are
young; then take from the fire, place the partridges on a dish with the
sausage cut in pieces around them, drain the cabbage and put it on
another dish with the bacon, strain the sauce on both dishes, and serve.
_In Chartreuse._--It is made in a mould for _Charlotte russe_, or in one
like the cut following. Clean the prairie-hen as directed for birds;
put it in a baking-pan with one ounce of butter spread on it, also salt
and pepper, and a gill of cold water in the pan, and bake till
underdone, when cut it in seven pieces, making three slices in the
breast, lengthwise. Peel and slice two carrots and two turnips; cut the
slices about an inch thick; then cut again in small round pieces, with a
fruit-corer, about half an inch in diameter; set them on the fire with
cold water and salt, boil gently till done, drain and turn immediately
in cold water, and they are ready to be used. Put a small head of
cabbage in a saucepan with half a pound of lean salt pork, just cover it
with cold water, and boil gently till done. The prairie-hen, carrots,
and turnips, and the cabbage, may be cooked at the same time, but
separately, as directed. When the cabbage is done, turn it into a
colander, cut it rather fine with a spoon, press gently on it to get the
water out as much as possible without mashing it through the colander,
and it is ready to be used. Butter the mould well; place slices of
boiled beets on the bottom; some letters or flowers may be cut in beet,
the intervals or holes filled with turnips and carrots; when the bottom
is lined with beets, carrots, and turnips, lay horizontally a row of
pieces of carrots all around and against the sides of the mould; place a
similar one of turnips on the carrots, and so on, the last row being as
high as the top of the mould. Then put a layer of the cabbage on the
bottom, about half an inch thick--that is, on the carrots, turnips, and
beets--place a like layer on the sides with a spoon; put the pieces of
prairie-hen in the middle, cover with a layer of cabbage, and bake about
fifteen minutes in an oven at about 350 deg. Fahr. The meat must not
touch the carrots or turnips, but be entirely surrounded with cabbage,
else it would crumble down in removing the mould. As soon as the mould
is taken out of the oven, place a dish over it and turn it upside down,
leave it so about ten minutes to allow the juice to come out, then
remove the mould carefully, and serve.
The cut below represents a _chartreuse_ made exactly like the one
described above, with the exception that instead of having a row of
carrots and a row of turnips, they are mixed, that is, placed
alternately, the white spots representing pieces of turnips and the
black spots pieces of carrots--the top being decorated according to
fancy.
According to the size of the mould, two, three, or more prairie-hens may
be prepared at one time and in the same mould.
[Illustration]
_Roasted._--Rub the stomach and legs of the birds with lemon, then
envelop those parts with slices of bacon tied with twine, or fixed with
small skewers; after which envelop the whole bird in buttered paper tied
with twine; place them on a spit before a good fire, take the paper off
after twenty or thirty minutes, according to the age of the bird; leave
two or three minutes longer, baste often during the process of roasting,
with the drippings; dish the birds without removing the slices of bacon;
mix in the gravy the juice of half a lemon, or half an orange, a little
salt and pepper, and serve it with the birds. It may also be served
with water-cress and lemon-juice or vinegar. When roasted or baked and
dished, place carpels of oranges all around, and serve.
A roasted or baked prairie-hen is also served with the following sauces:
anchovy, caper, Champagne, cranberry, and _ravigote_ or tomato, and
currant-jelly.
_With Mushrooms._--When roasted or baked, serve it with a garniture of
mushrooms. It is also served with a garniture of cauliflowers,
_financiere_, _Macedoine_, and of truffles.
_In Fricassee._--Prepare, cook, and serve it like chicken in
_fricassee_.
_In Crapaudine._--Proceed as for pigeons in _crapaudine_, the only
difference being that it takes a little longer to cook. It is also
prepared and served as a quail, _hunter-like_. It takes longer to cook
than a quail.
_Saute._--Clean, prepare, cut, cook, dish, and serve the prairie-bird as
a chicken saute.
_Stewed._--Clean, prepare, and truss the bird as directed. Put about one
ounce of butter and two ounces of fat salt pork, cut in dice, in a
saucepan, and set it on a quick fire; toss gently, and when the butter
is melted, put the bird in and brown it all around; then add four small
onions, half a carrot in slices, salt, and pepper; stir till the onions
and carrot are partly fried; then add half a pint of broth, same of
white wine, a bunch of seasonings composed of four or five stalks of
parsley, one of thyme, one bay-leaf, and a clove; boil gently till done;
dish the bird, turn the sauce over it through a strainer, and serve
warm. Thus stewed, it may be served with the following _purees_:
asparagus, beans, lentils, lima beans, mushrooms, and peas.
_Cold._--A whole bird or part of it left from the preceding day's
dinner, if it has been broiled, baked, or roasted, is prepared and
served in salad, like a chicken salad; or in _salmis_.
_Boned._--A boned prairie-bird makes an excellent dish and a most
nutritious and warming one. Persons having a phlegmatic constitution
ought to partake of it at least twice a week during hunting-time. Always
select a very fresh and fat bird to bone. Pick, bone, fill, cook, and
serve it as described for boned turkey. A prairie-hen is more easily
boned, when fresh, than an ordinary chicken. The addition of truffles
(about half a pound for one bird) makes it still richer and warmer.
_In Croquettes._--Prepare, cook, and serve as chicken croquettes.
_Quails._--A quail, like a prairie-bird, is old when it has a white bill
and bluish legs; when young, the bill is of a rather dark-gray color,
and the legs are yellowish. Quails are just the contrary of pheasants;
the more fresh they are when cooked, the better.
_To prepare._--When cleaned and prepared as directed for poultry, cut
off the end of the claws, and then truss it as a chicken, sprinkle salt
and pepper on the breast. Cut thin slices of fat salt pork, somewhat
square, and of a proper size to cover the breast of the bird, but not
the back. Tie it to the bird with two pieces of twine, then roast or
bake.
_Another way to prepare them._--When cleaned, prepared, and trussed as
above, envelop the bird with grape-vine leaves, then in thin slices of
salt-pork, and roast or bake them. They may also be enveloped in
buttered paper, after being prepared, instead of salt pork or grape-vine
leaves, or instead of both, but only to roast them; if baked, the
buttered paper is placed over the birds.
_Baked._--Place the birds on their backs in a baking-pan, with a piece
of butter the size of a hazel-nut on each, just cover the bottom of the
pan with cold water, and set in a quick oven (about 400 deg. Fahr.) and
baste now and then. When about half done, put the liver of the birds,
well pounded, in the baking-pan, and continue basting till done. While
the quails are baking, cut as many square slices of stale bread as you
have quails, about three inches broad and one-fourth of an inch thick;
fry them in hot fat, place them on the dish, place a quail with the
breast upward on each slice; remove the twine, turn the gravy over them
and serve warm. Water-cress may be placed between each bird, as well as
all around, and in the middle of the dish, with vinegar or lemon-juice
sprinkled all over. It must also be served warm.
_Hunter-like (au Chasseur)._--Clean and prepare as directed for birds.
Set a saucepan on the fire with two ounces of butter to melt, then put
in it four quails trussed as for roasting; turn them round in the pan to
color every side; add then half a dozen stalks of parsley, salt, pepper,
and nearly cover them with broth and white wine, half of each; boil
gently till done. Dish the quails, and put them away in a warm place.
Strain the sauce and put it back on the fire with a tablespoonful of
_meuniere_, boil rather fast till it commences turning thick, turn over
the quails and serve warm.
_Roasted._--When cleaned and prepared as directed, envelop the birds in
grape-vine leaves and salt pork, or in buttered paper, as directed
above, and place them on the spit before a moderate though good fire.
Have slices of roasted bread in the dripping-pan, baste often with the
drippings, and when done remove the twine, or the twine and paper, but
neither the salt pork nor the grape-vine leaves, and serve warm. The
slices of bread are placed on the dish, then a quail on each slice.
Water-cress may also be served as above.
Quails roasted with grape-vine leaves are considered one of the most
_recherche_ dishes. When about half roasted, the liver of the birds,
well pounded, is put in the dripping-pan, and the drippings are turned
over the birds when dished. When pounded, the livers may be spread on
the slices of bread before placing them in the dripping-pan.
_With Green Peas._--When the quails are roasted or baked, they may be
served with green peas _au jus_. They may also be served on a _puree_ of
celery or of mushrooms.
_In Chartreuse._--Proceed exactly as for a _chartreuse_ of prairie-bird.
Quails may be served in every way like prairie-hens, _stewed_, in
_salad_, in _salmis_, etc.
_Rabbit--to select._--A rabbit, like almost every other kind of game,
has a better taste when a little seasoned, but not too much so. As long
as the body is rather stiff, it is good; but when soft, and when the
flesh has a black-bluish appearance, it is necessary to examine it
carefully, as it might be tainted. A young rabbit has soft paws, and are
not much opened; but an old one has them open, hard, and worn out. The
ears of a young one are very soft, while those of an old one are stiff
and comparatively rough. The blood of the rabbit is a great improvement
when mixed with the sauce or gravy accompanying it when served;
therefore, we emphatically and earnestly ask of hunters, when they kill
rabbits, to place them in their game-bags in such a position that the
place where the shots have penetrated and through which the blood is
escaping, be upward, and consequently stop the spilling of it.
Tame rabbits, unless they have been kept in a large place, well fed,
free from any manure or dirt, and having also plenty of room to burrow
in a dry soil, are very seldom fit to eat.
_To lard._--The fleshy parts of a rabbit are larded with salt pork in
the same way as described for a fillet of beef.
_Baked._--To bake it, it may be larded or not, according to taste. When
cleaned and prepared as directed for game, place the rabbit in a
baking-pan, with a few slices of onion and carrot; salt, pepper, and
butter it; cover the bottom of the pan with cold water and set it in a
quick oven. After ten or fifteen minutes, turn the rabbit over, baste
and cover it with a piece of buttered paper. Continue basting till done.
When about half done, if the water and juice are boiling away or
absorbed, add more water or broth, and when done turn the gravy over the
rabbit through a strainer, and serve with water-cress and a few drops of
lemon-juice or vinegar.
It is also served with a _cranberry_, _fines herbes_, _mushroom_,
_piquante_, _ravigote_, _tomato_, and _truffle_ sauce.
_In Chartreuse._--A rabbit is prepared in _chartreuse_ the same as a
prairie-chicken; the only difference is, that it requires a larger
mould; the rest of the process is the same.
_In Civet, or stewed._--Cut the rabbit in pieces, and fry them with a
little butter till turning rather brown, when add half a pound of lean
salt pork cut in dice; stir and fry two or three minutes, stir in also a
tablespoonful of flour; one minute after add a half pint of broth, same
of claret wine, salt, twelve small onions, and a bunch of seasonings,
composed of three or four sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, a
clove of garlic, one clove. Boil gently till done; throw away the bunch
of seasonings, and serve warm. In case it is not handy to use claret
wine, use a gill of Madeira, or Port, or Sherry wine, and one gill of
water. Without wine at all it makes an inferior dish.
A civet made three or four days in advance, and warmed in a _bain-marie_
for ten minutes, once every day, is better than if eaten as soon as
made.
In case the sauce is becoming too thick, after warming the rabbit
several times, add a little broth, and also a little butter; stir
gently, and always serve as warm as possible.
_In Crapaudine._--When cleaned and prepared as directed, cook and serve
the rabbit as described for pigeon in _crapaudine_, with the exception
that it takes a little longer to cook.
_In Croquettes._--What may be left from the preceding day's dinner of a
baked, roasted, or stuffed rabbit, may be prepared in _croquettes_, in
the same way as chicken _croquettes_.
_With Currant-Jelly._--A rabbit served with currant-jelly makes a
sightly dish, but it requires care and taste. Skin the rabbit carefully,
leaving the ears unskinned. Cut the legs at the first joint, then dip
the ears in hot (but not boiling) water, and scrape off the hair
carefully. Draw it and wash the inside carefully also, putting away the
liver, heart, and lungs. Chop fine one middling-sized onion, and fry it
with about one ounce of butter; then add to the onion, and fry them
also, the heart, liver, and lungs of the rabbit, after being chopped
fine, when add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg
grated, and a piece of clove also grated. Stir for about one minute,
take from the fire, mix with it two yolks of eggs and one ounce of
butter. Fill the rabbit with the mixture, sew up the incision made to
draw it, and then truss it in the following way: Put the rabbit on the
paste-board so that it appears as if it were resting, lying on its
belly. Skewer the ears so that they seem to be naturally bent on the
back of the neck. With a trussing-needle fasten the forelegs so that
they look also as if naturally bent by the animal when at rest. Roast or
bake it, and serve it with the gravy and _currant_ or _raspberry jelly_.
It is placed on the dish lying on its belly, the skewers and twine are
removed, and a few sprigs of parsley are placed in its mouth. The
currant-jelly may be served in a saucer and the gravy in another.
_In Gibelotte._--The only difference between a _gibelotte_ and a civet
is that the latter is made with claret wine and the former with Sauterne
or Catawba. Other white wine may be used, but the two kinds above
mentioned are the best.
_Marengo._--When cleaned and prepared as directed, cut the rabbit in
pieces; keep the head, neck, and trimmings, to make a potage _au
chasseur_, and cook and serve the rest as a chicken _a la Marengo_.
_In Papillotes._--The four legs and two pieces cut on both sides of the
backbone may be prepared, cooked, and served as veal cutlets in
_papillotes_. The rest is used to make a potage _au chasseur_.
_With Olives._--When baked or roasted, serve it as a duck with olives,
putting three dozen olives instead of two.
_Roasted._--It may be roasted with only a little butter spread all over
it, or enveloped in buttered paper; or larded with salt pork; or larded
and enveloped in buttered paper. It must be basted often, and if
enveloped with paper, the paper must be removed about fifteen minutes
before taking the rabbit from the fire. Ascertain when done by means of
a skewer or a small sharp-pointed knife. It takes about forty-five
minutes to roast, according to size and fire. When roasted it may be
served with its gravy or drippings only, or with a _cranberry_, _fines
herbes_, _mushroom_, _piquante_, _Provencale_, _ravigote_, _Tartar_,
_tomato_, _or truffle_ sauce.
_With Green Peas._--When baked or roasted, serve it with green peas _au
jus_.
_Saute._--When the rabbit is cleaned and prepared as directed, proceed
as for a chicken _saute_ in every particular.
_Sportsman-like._--Clean and prepare the rabbit, then cut off the neck,
head, and the end of the legs, which you keep to make a potage _au
chasseur_. Put the rest in a crockery vessel with the juice of a lemon,
salt, and pepper. Leave thus for at least one day, turning it over two
or three times. Then bake or roast it, and serve with the gravy and
water-cress.
_Stewed._--When cleaned and prepared, cut the rabbit in pieces. Put in a
saucepan three ounces of butter and set it on the fire; as soon as
melted, put the pieces of rabbit in, stir now and then till they are
turning rather brown, then take them from the pan but keep it on the
fire. Put in it a rather small carrot and two or three onions, both
sliced, a few slices of turnip, half a dozen sprigs of parsley, two of
celery, one of thyme, the last three tied together with twine, and two
or three cloves, also half a pint of Madeira or Sherry wine, salt, and
pepper; cover the whole with broth or water; boil gently till half done,
when add the rabbit, and continue boiling till the whole is done,
stirring once in a while. Dish the rabbit, mash the onions, carrot, and
turnip, through a colander, which you put all around the pieces of
rabbit, strain the sauce over the whole, and serve warm.
_Cold._--What is left is warmed and served, if from a civet, giblotte,
stewed, etc., and served with a _vinaigrette_, if from a roasted or
baked piece. It may also be served with a _piquante_, _poivrade_, or
_ravigote_ sauce.
_Snipe--to truss._--Prepare as directed for poultry. Cut the wings off
just above the second joint, as seen in the cut below. The head and legs
must be cleaned very carefully. By heating the lower part of the legs
and the claws, the skin can be easily removed, but this is not
necessary, they may be singed and washed only. Fold the legs and run the
bill of the bird through the two legs and the body. Put a slice of fat
salt pork on the breast of the snipe, which you fasten there with twine,
as seen in the cut below. The cut represents the bird on the spit, ready
for roasting.
[Illustration]
_Stewed._--Take four snipes and pound the livers, hearts, and lungs well
with about the same amount of fat salt pork; then add to them about a
teaspoonful of parsley chopped fine, and the yolk of an egg; divide the
mixture in four parts and put each part in a bird, which you sew and
truss as directed. Line the bottom of a stewpan with slices of salt pork
and lay the snipe on them; set on a slow fire for ten minutes, add about
half a pint of white wine, same of broth; simmer till done, dish the
birds, strain the gravy on them, sprinkle a few drops of lemon-juice
over the whole, and serve warm. Snipes are served in several ways, as
described for bobolinks and other small birds.
_Salmis._--A salmis is made with tame ducks and any kind of game birds.
Birds may be roasted or baked to make a _salmis_, but most generally it
is made with cold birds, that is, what is left from the previous day's
dinner. It is certainly the best way to make use of cold birds. The
proportions of the different seasonings are according to the proportion
of meat. We give below the proportions for a whole bird; it will be easy
to augment or reduce. Put two ounces of butter in a saucepan and set it
on the fire; as soon as melted stir into it a tablespoonful of flour;
when turning rather yellow add one pint of broth, same of claret wine, a
bunch of seasonings composed of four or five sprigs of parsley, one of
thyme, a bay-leaf and a clove, also salt, pepper, and a clove of garlic;
boil gently about thirty-five minutes. Strain the sauce into a saucepan.
Cut the bird or part of bird in pieces, the same as they are generally
carved; put them in the pan with the sauce; place the saucepan in a
_bain-marie_ till the meat is warm, add some lemon-juice, and serve.
While the meat is warming, cut some stale bread in _croutons_, fry them
with a little butter.
_To serve._--A _salmis_ is served in two ways: first, the _croutons_ are
placed on the dish, a piece of meat is put on each, and then the sauce
is poured all over; second, dish the meat and sauce, place the
_croutons_ all around the dish, with a piece of lemon or bitter orange
between each _crouton_. When the _croutons_ are served under the pieces
of meat, you must have as many as there are pieces; when served around
the dish, have enough of them, and of slices of lemon, to surround the
dish. The _croutons_ and slices of lemon are always placed around the
meat and on the border of the dish. The lemon or orange is first split
in two lengthwise, then cut in eight, twelve, or sixteen slices, always
commencing to cut on the inside and finishing by the rind. Chop fine the
bones, heart, and liver of the bird, and put them in the saucepan at the
same time with the broth. Truffles or mushrooms sliced may be added to
the sauce, if liked, but only when strained.
_Another._--Carve the bird or part of it, and serve cold with the
following sauce; pound the liver of the bird and put it in a saucer; add
to it a little vinegar, salt, pepper, and stir and mix the whole; then
add about three times as much oil as vinegar, mix again, then
lemon-juice, stir, and serve. It may be made without vinegar at all,
using lemon-juice instead of vinegar to mix at first.