If young, the hoof is not much opened, and the fat is thick and clear;
when old, the hoofs are wide open. To know if it is fresh enough, run a
knife or a skewer through the leg or through the shoulder, and if it
does not smell bad and stale, it is good. It is not as delicate when
fresh as when it has been killed for five or six days. If fresh when you
buy it, keep it from three to eight days before cooking it.
_To improve._--Put the piece of venison in a crockery vessel. For about
six pounds put a pint of vinegar in a saucepan with two bay-leaves, two
cloves, two cloves of garlic, one onion sliced, two stalks of thyme,
four of parsley, and twelve pepper-corns; set it on the fire, give one
boil, and turn over the piece of venison. Turn the piece of meat over
occasionally for one or two days, and then cook it.
_Another way._--Lard the piece of venison and put it in a crockery
vessel; spread all over two or three onions and a clove or two of garlic
(both sliced), half a gill of sweet-oil, same of claret wine, a pinch of
allspice, four cloves, and two sprigs of thyme; baste twice a day for
two or three days, and then cook.
_To bake._--Put the venison in a baking-pan with the seasonings in which
it has improved; spread some butter on it, and bake in a rather quick
oven; baste now and then, and turn over if necessary. When baked, serve
with a _ravigote_ sauce, to which you have added the gravy from the pan
in which it has been baked. Serve it also with a cranberry, _piquante_,
_Robert_, or _Tartar_ sauce, or with currant-jelly.
_In Civet._--Shoulder, neck, and breast-pieces are cut and prepared in
civet, in the same way as a civet of rabbit.
It may also be kept three or four days and warmed in a _bain-marie_; it
improves it as much as that of rabbit.
_With Mushrooms._--Any piece of venison, baked or roasted, may be served
with a garniture of mushrooms.
_Cutlets, broiled._--The cutlets are much better when improved as
directed. The seasonings are spread all over. They are then wrapped up
in buttered paper and broiled on a quick fire. They may also be larded
with salt pork, and then broiled with or without being enveloped in
paper. When broiled and dished, serve them warm with a _maitre d'hotel_
or _ravigote_ sauce.
_Sautees._--Put six cutlets in a stewpan, larded or not, with salt,
pepper, eight small onions, two carrots, four sprigs of parsley, two of
thyme, two cloves, a bay-leaf, a gill of broth, and same of water; set
it on a good fire and boil gently till cooked. Dish the cutlets so that
every small end or bone rests on the larger end of another, and serve
with the sauce strained on them. If more sauce is desired, add to it any
of the following: cranberry, _piquante_, _ravigote_, _Robert_, or
_Tartar_.
_Haunch, roasted._--After being improved, if liked, remove the thin skin
around it and lard it with salt pork; it may be roasted without larding,
but it is certainly an improvement, the meat being naturally dry. Place
it on the spit before a brisk fire and near it; baste with melted butter
first, and then with the drippings till done. If it is larded, it will
require less butter. As soon as a kind of crust forms around the meat,
remove it a little from the fire by degrees. Ascertain with a skewer or
small knife when done. Venison is generally served rather underdone,
when roasted or baked.
To make the dish more sightly, the skin and hair of the lower part of
the leg, together with the hoof, are left untouched. To prevent them
from burning while it is roasting, envelop these parts with a wet towel,
which you cover with several sheets of buttered or oiled paper. It may
be necessary to dip the towel in water two or three times during the
process of roasting. When roasted, serve with any of the following
sauces: cranberry, _piquante_, _poivrade_, _ravigote_, _Robert_, or
_Tartar_; also with currant-jelly. If served with the gravy only, add
water-cress and lemon-juice or vinegar.
_Baked._--Prepare it as directed for roasting; then place it in a
bakepan with a little cold water, just enough to cover the bottom of the
pan; sprinkle salt and pepper all over, spread some butter on the upper
side and put in a quick oven. Turn over and baste now and then till
done. If the water is absorbed, add more. When baked, serve with the
same sauces as if roasted, and also with currant-jelly and water-cress.
_Saddle._--Roast or bake the saddle, and serve it as directed for a
haunch, with the same sauces, and also with water-cress and
currant-jelly.
_Shoulder._--Cut the shoulder in fillets and lard them slightly. Put in
a stewpan four ounces of butter and set it on a brisk fire; when hot,
lay the fillets in, and when of a golden color add the seasonings in
which you have improved the saddle, or the same ones if you have not
done it; then subdue the fire, wet with a little warm broth, simmer till
cooked, dish the fillets, strain the sauce on them, and serve. It may
also be dressed entire, with the bones off; but it is more generally
done in fillets. It is boned like a shoulder of mutton, and roasted or
baked, and served like a haunch, with the same sauces and with
currant-jelly or water-cress.
_Stewed._--Cut the meat in square pieces, about two inches in size. Have
in a stewpan, and on a good fire, a piece of butter the size of a duck's
egg; when melted, sprinkle in, little by little, a tablespoonful of
flour, stirring the while with a wooden spoon; when getting rather
thick, add two ounces of bacon cut in dice, also half a pint of claret
wine, same of warm water, salt, pepper, a pinch of allspice, two
shallots chopped fine, or two green onions, four or five mushrooms, two
cloves of garlic, and six onions; then lay the meat on the whole, and
boil gently till cooked. Dish the meat, boil the sauce till of a
brownish color, skim off the fat if there is too much of it, take out
the cloves of garlic, turn the sauce on the meat, and serve hot.
_With Truffles or Mushrooms._--Any part of venison, baked or roasted,
may be served with a garniture of mushrooms, or one of truffles.
_Cold._--When you have some left for the next day, warm it before
serving it, if from a stew; but if from a roasted haunch, cut in slices
and serve cold with a _vinaigrette_.