Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management 19 – Beeton · Verses Across
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Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management 19Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management (part 19)
18
Literature · Technology
Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management 19
Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management (part 19)
BeetonEnglish
Time.--1/2 hour. Average cost, exclusive of the cold meat, 10d.
Seasonable from March to October.
Note.--To make a variety, boil some carrots and turnips separately in a little salt and water; when done, cut them into pieces about 1/8 inch in thickness; butter an oval mould, and place these in it, in white and red stripes alternately, at the bottom and sides. Proceed as in the foregoing recipe, and be very careful in turning it out of the mould.
MOULDED MINCED VEAL (Cold Meat Cookery).
892. INGREDIENTS.--3/4 lb. of cold roast veal, a small slice of bacon, 1/4 teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, 1/2 onion chopped fine, salt, pepper, and pounded mace to taste, a slice of toast soaked in milk, 1 egg.
Mode.--Mince the meat very fine, after removing from it all skin and outside pieces, and chop the bacon; mix these well together, adding the lemon-peel, onion, seasoning, mace, and toast. When all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, heat up an egg, with which bind the mixture. Butter a shape, put in the meat, and hake for 3/4 hour; turn it out of the mould carefully, and pour round it a good brown gravy. A sheep's head dressed in this manner is an economical and savoury dish.
Time.--3/4 hour. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 6d.
Seasonable from March to October.
BRAISED NECK OF VEAL.
893. INGREDIENTS.--The best end of the neck of veal (from 3 to 4 lbs.), bacon, 1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to taste; 1 onion, 2 carrots, a little celery (when this is not obtainable, use the seed), 1/2 glass of sherry, thickening of butter and flour, lemon-juice, 1 blade of pounded mace.
Mode.--Prepare the bacon for larding, and roll it in minced parsley, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg; lard the veal, put it into a stewpan with a few slices of lean bacon or ham, an onion, carrots, and celery; and do not quite cover it with water. Stew it gently for 2 hours, or until it is quite tender; strain off the liquor; stir together over the fire, in a stewpan, a little flour and butter until brown; lay the veal in this, the upper side to the bottom of the pan, and let it remain till of a nice brown colour. Place it in the dish; pour into the stewpan as much gravy as is required, boil it up, skim well, add the wine, pounded mace, and lemon-juice; simmer for 3 minutes, pour it over the meat, and serve.
Time.--Rather more than 2 hours.
Average cost, 8d. per lb.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable from March to October.
BIRTH OF CALVES.--The cow seldom produces more than a single calf; sometimes, twins, and, very rarely, three. A French newspaper, however,--the "Nouveau Bulletin des Sciences,"--gave a trustworthy but extraordinary account of a cow which produced nine calves in all, at three successive births, in three successive years. The first year, four cow calves; the second year, three calves, two of them females; the third year, two calves, both females. With the exception of two belonging to the first birth, all were suckled by the mother.
Mode.--Have the veal cut from the best end of the neck; dredge it with flour, and put it down to a bright clear fire; keep it well basted; dish it, pour over it some melted butter, and garnish the dish with fried forcemeat balls; send to table with a cut lemon. The scrag may be boiled or stewed in various ways, with rice, onion-sauce, or parsley and butter.
Time.--About 2 hours. Average cost, 8d. per lb.
Sufficient.--4 or 5 lbs. for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable from March to October.
VEAL OLIVE PIE (Cold Meat Cookery).
895. INGREDIENTS.--A few thin slices of cold fillet of veal, a few thin slices of bacon, forcemeat No. 417, a cupful of gravy, 4 tablespoonfuls of cream, puff-crust.
Mode.--Cut thin slices from a fillet of veal, place on them thin slices of bacon, and over them a layer of forcemeat, made by recipe No. 417, with an additional seasoning of shalot and cayenne; roll them tightly, and fill up a pie-dish with them; add the gravy and cream, cover with a puff-crust, and bake for 1 to 1-1/2 hour: should the pie be very large, allow 2 hours. The pieces of rolled veal should be about 3 inches in length, and about 3 inches round.
Time.--Moderate-sized pie, 1 to 1-1/2 hour.
Seasonable from March to October.
FRIED PATTIES (Cold Meat Cookery).
896. INGREDIENTS.--Cold roast veal, a few slices of cold ham, 1 egg boiled hard, pounded mace, pepper and salt to taste, gravy, cream, 1 teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, good puff-paste.
Mode.--Mince a little cold veal and ham, allowing one-third ham to two-thirds veal; add an egg boiled hard and chopped, and a seasoning of pounded mace, salt, pepper, and lemon-peel; moisten with a little gravy and cream. Make a good puff-paste; roll rather thin, and cut it into round or square pieces; put the mince between two of them, pinch the edges to keep in the gravy, and fry a light brown. They may be also baked in patty-pans: in that case, they should be brushed over with the yolk of an egg before they are put in the oven. To make a variety, oysters may be substituted for the ham.
Time.--15 minutes to fry the patties.
Seasonable from March to October.
VEAL PIE.
897. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of veal cutlets, 1 or 2 slices of lean bacon or ham, pepper and salt to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced savoury herbs, 2 blades of pounded mace, crust, 1 teacupful of gravy.
Mode.--Cut the cutlets into square pieces, and season them with pepper, salt, and pounded mace; put them in a pie-dish with the savoury herbs sprinkled over, and 1 or 2 slices of lean bacon or ham placed at the top: if possible, this should be previously cooked, as undressed bacon makes the veal red, and spoils its appearance. Pour in a little water, cover with crust, ornament it in any way that is approved; brush it over with the yolk of an egg, and bake in a well-heated oven for about 1-1/2 hour. Pour in a good gravy after baking, which is done by removing the top ornament, and replacing it after the gravy is added.
Time.--About 1-1/2 hour. Average cost, 2s. 6d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable from March to October.
A VERY VEAL DINNER.--At a dinner given by Lord Polkemmet, a Scotch nobleman and judge, his guests saw, when the covers were removed, that the fare consisted of veal broth, a roasted fillet of veal, veal cutlets, a veal pie, a calf's head, and calf's-foot jelly. The judge, observing the surprise of his guests, volunteered an explanation.--"Oh, ay, it's a' cauf; when we kill a beast, we just eat up ae side, and doun the tither."
VEAL AND HAM PIE.
898. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of veal cutlets, 1/2 lb. of boiled ham, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced savoury herbs, 1/4 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 2 blades of pounded mace, pepper and salt to taste, a strip of lemon-peel finely minced, the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, 1/2 pint of water, nearly 1/2 pint of good strong gravy, puff-crust.
Mode.--Cut the veal into nice square pieces, and put a layer of them at the bottom of a pie-dish; sprinkle over these a portion of the herbs, spices, seasoning, lemon-peel, and the yolks of the eggs cut in slices; cut the ham very thin, and put a layer of this in. Proceed in this manner until the dish is full, so arranging it that the ham comes at the top. Lay a puff-paste on the edge of the dish, and pour in about 1/2 pint of water; cover with crust, ornament it with leaves, brush it over with the yolk of an egg, and bake in a well-heated oven for 1 to 1-1/2 hour, or longer, should the pie be very large. When it is taken out of the oven, pour in at the top, through a funnel, nearly 1/2 pint of strong gravy: this should be made sufficiently good that, when cold, it may cut in a firm jelly. This pie may be very much enriched by adding a few mushrooms, oysters, or sweetbreads; but it will be found very good without any of the last-named additions.
Time.--1-1/2 hour, or longer, should the pie be very large. Average cost, 3s. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from March to October.
POTTED VEAL (for Breakfast).
899. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of veal allow 1/4 lb. of ham, cayenne and pounded mace to taste, 6 oz. of fresh butter; clarified butter.
Mode.--Mince the veal and ham together as finely as possible, and pound well in a mortar, with cayenne, pounded mace, and fresh butter in the above proportion. When reduced to a perfectly smooth paste, press it into potting-pots, and cover with clarified butter. If kept in a cool place, it will remain good some days.
Seasonable from March to October.
NAMES OF CALVES, &c.--During the time the young male calf is suckled by his mother, he is called a bull-or ox-calf; when turned a year old, he is called a stirk, stot, or yearling; on the completion of his second year, he is called a two-year-old bull or steer (and in some counties a twinter); then, a three-year-old steer; and at four, an ox or a bullock, which latter names are retained till death. It may be here remarked, that the term ox is used as a general or common appellation for neat cattle, in a specific sense, and irrespective of sex; as the British ox, the Indian ox. The female is termed cow, but while sucking the mother, a cow-calf; at the age of a year, she is called a yearling quey; in another year, a heifer, or twinter; then, a three-year-old quey or twinter; and, at four years old, a cow. Other names, to be regarded as provincialisms, may exist in different districts.
RAGOUT OF COLD VEAL (Cold Meat Cookery).
900. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold veal, 1 oz. of butter, 1/2 pint of gravy, thickening of butter and flour, pepper and salt to taste, 1 blade of pounded mace, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, 1 tablespoonful of sherry, 1 dessertspoonful of lemon-juice, forcemeat balls.
Mode.--Any part of veal will make this dish. Cut the meat into nice-looking pieces, put them in a stewpan with 1 oz. of butter, and fry a light brown; add the gravy (hot water may be substituted for this), thicken with a little butter and flour, and stew gently about 1/4 hour; season with pepper, salt, and pounded mace; add the ketchup, sherry, and lemon-juice; give one boil, and serve. Garnish the dish with forcemeat balls and fried rashers of bacon.
Time.--Altogether 1/2 hour.
Average cost, exclusive of the cold meat, 6d.
Seasonable from March to October.
Note.--The above recipe may be varied, by adding vegetables, such as peas, cucumbers, lettuces, green onions cut in slices, a dozen or two of green gooseberries (not seedy), all of which should be fried a little with the meat, and then stewed in the gravy.
VEAL RISSOLES (Cold Meat Cookery).
901. INGREDIENTS.--A few slices of cold roast veal, a few slices of ham or bacon, 1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, 1 tablespoonful of minced savoury herbs, 1 blade of pounded mace, a very little grated nutmeg, cayenne and salt to taste, 2 eggs well beaten, bread crumbs.
Mode.--Mince the veal very finely with a little ham or bacon; add the parsley, herbs, spices, and seasoning; mix into a paste with an egg; form into balls or cones; brush these over with egg, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and fry a rich brown. Serve with brown gravy, and garnish the dish with fried parsley.
Time.--About 10 minutes to fry the rissoles.
Seasonable from March to October.
VEAL ROLLS (Cold Meat Cookery).
902. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of a cold fillet of veal, egg and bread crumbs, a few slices of fat bacon, forcemeat No. 417.
Mode.--Cut a few slices from a cold fillet of veal 1/2 inch thick; rub them over with egg; lay a thin slice of fat bacon over each piece of veal; brush these with the egg, and over this spread the forcemeat thinly; roll up each piece tightly, egg and bread crumb them, and fry them a rich brown. Serve with mushroom sauce or brown gravy.
Time.--10 to 15 minutes to fry the rolls.
Seasonable from March to October.
SHOULDER OF VEAL, Stuffed and Stewed.
903. INGREDIENTS.--A shoulder of veal, a few slices of ham or bacon, forcemeat No. 417, 3 carrots, 2 onions, salt and pepper to taste, a faggot of savoury herbs, 3 blades of pounded mace, water, thickening of butter and flour.
Mode.--Bone the joint by carefully detaching the meat from the blade-bone on one side, and then on the other, being particular not to pierce the skin; then cut the bone from the knuckle, and take it out. Fill the cavity whence the bone was taken with a forcemeat made by recipe No. 417. Roll and bind the veal up tightly; put it into a stew-pan with the carrots, onions, seasoning, herbs, and mace; pour in just sufficient water to cover it, and let it stew very gently for about 5 hours. Before taking it up, try if it is properly done by thrusting a larding-needle in it: if it penetrates easily, it is sufficiently cooked. Strain and skim the gravy, thicken with butter and flour, give one boil, and pour it round the meat. A few young carrots may be boiled and placed round the dish as a garnish, and, when in season, green peas should always be served with this dish.
Time.--5 hours. Average cost, 7d. per lb.
Sufficient for 8 or 9 persons. Seasonable from March to October.
THE FATTENING OF CALVES.--The fattening of calves for the market is an important business in Lanarkshire or Clydesdale, and numbers of newly-dropped calves are regularly carried there from the farmers of the adjacent districts, in order to be prepared for the butcher. The mode of feeding them is very simple; milk is the chief article of their diet, and of this the calves require a sufficient supply from first to last. Added to this, they must be kept in a well-aired place, neither too hot nor too cold, and freely supplied with dry litter. It is usual to exclude the light,--at all events to a great degree, and to put within their reach a lump of chalk, which they are very fond of licking. Thus fed, calves, at the end of 8 or 9 weeks, often attain a very large size; viz., 18 to 20 stone, exclusive of the offal. Far heavier weights have occurred, and without any deterioration in the delicacy and richness of the flesh. This mode of feeding upon milk alone at first appears to be very expensive, but it is not so, when all things are taken into consideration; for at the age of 9 or 10 weeks a calf, originally purchased for 8 shillings, will realize nearly the same number of pounds. For 4, or even 6 weeks, the milk of one cow is sufficient,--indeed half that quantity is enough for the first fortnight; but after the 5th or 6th week it will consume the greater portion of the milk of two moderate cows; but then it requires neither oil-cake nor linseed, nor any other food. Usually, however, the calves are not kept beyond the age of 6 weeks, and will then sell for 5 or 6 pounds each: the milk of the cow is then ready for a successor. In this manner a relay of calves may be prepared for the markets from early spring to the end of summer, a plan more advantageous than that of overfeeding one to a useless degree of corpulency.
VEAL SAUSAGES.
904. INGREDIENTS.--Equal quantities of fat bacon and lean veal; to every lb. of meat, allow 1 teaspoonful of minced sage, salt and pepper to taste.
Mode.--Chop the meat and bacon finely, and to every lb. allow the above proportion of very finely-minced sage; add a seasoning of pepper and salt, mix the whole well together, make it into flat cakes, and fry a nice brown.
Seasonable from March to October.
STEWED VEAL, with Peas, young Carrots, and new Potatoes.
905. INGREDIENTS.--3 or 4 lbs. of the loin or neck of veal, 15 young carrots, a few green onions, 1 pint of green peas, 12 new potatoes, a bunch of savoury herbs, pepper and salt to taste, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, 2 tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce, 2 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup.
Mode.--Dredge the meat with flour, and roast or bake it for about 3/4 hour: it should acquire a nice brown colour. Put the meat into a stewpan with the carrots, onions, potatoes, herbs, pepper, and salt; pour over it sufficient boiling water to cover it, and stew gently for 2 hours. Take out the meat and herbs, put it in a deep dish, skim off all the fat from the gravy, and flavour it with lemon-juice, tomato sauce, and mushroom ketchup in the above proportion. Have ready a pint of green peas boiled; put these with the meat, pour over it the gravy, and serve. The dish may be garnished with a few forcemeat balls. The meat, when preferred, may be cut into chops, and floured and fried instead of being roasted; and any part of veal dressed in this way will be found extremely savoury and good.
Time.--3 hours. Average cost, 9d. per lb.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Seasonable, with peas, from June to August.
BAKED SWEETBREADS (an Entree).
906. INGREDIENTS.--3 sweetbreads, egg and bread crumbs, oiled butter, 3 slices of toast, brown gravy.
Mode.--Choose large white sweetbreads; put them into warm water to draw out the blood, and to improve their colour; let them remain for rather more than 1 hour; then put them into boiling water, and allow them to simmer for about 10 minutes, which renders them firm. Take them up, drain them, brush over with egg, sprinkle with bread crumbs; dip them in egg again, and then into more bread crumbs. Drop on them a little oiled butter, and put the sweetbreads into a moderately-heated oven, and let them bake for nearly 3/4 hour. Make 3 pieces of toast; place the sweetbreads on the toast, and pour round, but not over them, a good brown gravy.
Time.--To soak 1 hour, to be boiled 10 minutes, baked 40 minutes.
Average cost, 1s. to 5s. Sufficient for an entrée.
Seasonable.--In full season from May to August.
FRIED SWEETBREADS a la Maitre d'Hotel (an Entree).
907. INGREDIENTS.--3 sweetbreads, egg and bread crumbs, 1/4 lb. of butter, salt and pepper to taste, rather more than 1/2 pint of Maître d'hôtel sauce No. 466.
Mode.--Soak the sweetbreads in warm water for an hour; then boil them for 10 minutes; cut them in slices, egg and bread crumb them, season with pepper and salt, and put them into a frying-pan, with the above proportion of butter. Keep turning them until done, which will be in about 10 minutes; dish them, and pour over them a Maître d'hôtel sauce, made by recipe No. 466. The dish may be garnished with slices of cut lemon.
Time.--To soak 1 hour, to be broiled 10 minutes, to be fried about 10 minutes.
Average cost, 1s. to 5s., according to the season.
Sufficient for an entrée.
Seasonable.--In full season from May to August.
Note.--The egg and bread crumb may be omitted, and the slices of sweetbread dredged with a little flour instead, and a good gravy may be substituted for the maitre d'hôtel sauce. This is a very simple method of dressing them.
STEWED SWEETBREADS (an Entree).
908. INGREDIENTS.--3 sweetbreads, 1 pint of white stock No. 107, thickening of butter and flour, 6 tablespoonfuls of cream, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, 1 blade of pounded mace, white pepper and salt to taste.
Mode.--Soak the sweetbreads in warm water for 1 hour, and boil them for 10 minutes; take them out, put them into cold water for a few minutes; lay them in a stewpan with the stock, and simmer them gently for rather more than 1/2 hour. Dish them; thicken the gravy with a little butter and flour; let it boil up, add the remaining ingredients, allow the sauce to get quite hot, but not boil, and pour it over the sweetbreads.
Time.--To soak 1 hour, to be boiled 10 minutes, stewed rather more than 1/2 hour.
Average cost, from 1s. to 5s., according to the season.
Sufficient for an entrée.
Seasonable.--In full season from May to August.
Note.--A few mushrooms added to this dish, and stewed with the sweetbreads, will be found an improvement.
SEASON AND CHOICE OF VEAL.--Veal, like all other meats, has its season of plenty. The best veal, and the largest supply, are to be had from March to the end of July. It comes principally from the western counties, and is generally of the Alderney breed. In purchasing veal, its whiteness and fineness of grain should be considered, the colour being especially of the utmost consequence. Veal may be bought at all times of the year and of excellent quality, but is generally very dear, except in the months of plenty.
STEWED TENDRONS DE VEAU (an Entree).
909. INGREDIENTS.--The gristles from 2 breasts of veal, stock No. 107, 1 faggot of savoury herbs, 2 blades of pounded mace, 4 cloves, 2 carrots, 2 onions, a strip of lemon-peel.
Mode.--The tendrons or gristles, which are found round the front of a breast of veal, are now very frequently served as an entrée, and when well dressed, make a nice and favourite dish. Detach the gristles from the bone, and cut them neatly out, so as not to spoil the joint for roasting or stewing. Put them into a stewpan, with sufficient stock, No. 107, to cover them; add the herbs, mace, cloves, carrots, onions, and lemon, and simmer these for nearly, or quite, 4 hours. They should be stewed until a fork will enter the meat easily. Take them up, drain them, strain the gravy, boil it down to a glaze, with which glaze the meat. Dish the tendrons in a circle, with croûtons fried of a nice colour placed between each; and put mushroom sauce, or a purée of green peas or tomatoes, in the middle.
Time.--4 hours. Sufficient for one entrée.
Seasonable.--With peas, from June to August.
COW-POX, OR VARIOLA.--It is to Dr. Jenner, of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, who died in 1823, that we owe the practice of vaccination, as a preservative from the attack of that destructive scourge of the human race, the small-pox. The experiments of this philosophic man were begun in 1797, and published the next year. He had observed that cows were subject to a certain infectious eruption of the teats, and that those persons who became affected by it, while milking the cattle, escaped the small-pox raging around them. This fact, known to farmers from time immemorial, led him to a course of experiments, the result of which all are acquainted with.
TENDRONS DE VEAU (an Entree).
910. INGREDIENTS.--The gristles from 2 breasts of veal, stock No. 107, 1 faggot of savoury herbs, 1 blade of pounded mace, 4 cloves, 2 carrots, 2 onions, a strip of lemon-peel, egg and bread crumbs, 2 tablespoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of sherry, the yolk of 1 egg, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream.
Mode.--After removing the gristles from a breast of veal, stew them for 4 hours, as in the preceding recipe, with stock, herbs, mace, cloves, carrots, onions, and lemon-peel. When perfectly tender, lift them out and remove any bones or hard parts remaining. Put them between two dishes, with a weight on the top, and when cold, cut them into slices. Brush these over with egg, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and fry a pale brown. Take 1/2 pint of the gravy they were boiled in, add 2 tablespoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, a seasoning of salt and pepper, the sherry, and the yolk of an egg beaten with 3 tablespoonfuls of cream. Stir the sauce over the fire until it thickens; when it is on the point of boiling, dish the tendrons in a circle, and pour the sauce in the middle. Tendrons are dressed in a variety of ways,--with sauce à l'Espagnole, vegetables of all kinds: when they are served with a purée, they should always be glazed.
Time.--4-1/2 hours. Average cost.--Usually bought with breast of veal.
Sufficient for an entrée.
Seasonable from March to October.
TETE DE VEAU EN TORTUE (an Entree).
911. INGREDIENTS.--Half a calf's head, or the remains of a cold boiled one; rather more than 1 pint of good white stock, No. 107, 1 glass of sherry or Madeira, cayenne and salt to taste, about 12 mushroom-buttons (when obtainable), 6 hard-boiled eggs, 4 gherkins, 8 quenelles or forcemeat balls, No. 422 or 423, 12 crayfish, 12 croûtons.
Mode.--Half a calf's head is sufficient to make a good entrée, and if there are any remains of a cold one left from the preceding day, it will answer very well for this dish. After boiling the head until tender, remove the bones, and cut the meat into neat pieces; put the stock into a stewpan, add the wine, and a seasoning of salt and cayenne; fry the mushrooms in butter for 2 or 3 minutes, and add these to the gravy. Boil this quickly until somewhat reduced; then put in the yolks of the hard-boiled eggs whole, the whites cut in small pieces, and the gherkins chopped. Have ready a few veal quenelles, made by recipe No. 422 or 423; add these, with the slices of head, to the other ingredients, and let the whole get thoroughly hot, without boiling. Arrange the pieces of head as high in the centre of the dish as possible; pour over them the ragout, and garnish with the crayfish and croûtons placed alternately. A little of the gravy should also be served in a tureen.
Time.--About 1/2 hour to reduce the stock.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Average cost, exclusive of the calf's head, 2s. 9d.
Seasonable from March to October.
A FRENCHMAN'S OPINION OF VEAL.--A great authority in his native Paris tells us, that veal, as a meat, is but little nourishing, is relaxing, and sufficiently difficult of digestion. Lending itself, as it does, he says, in all the flowery imagery of the French tongue and manner, "to so many metamorphoses, it may be called, without exaggeration, the chameleon of the kitchen. Who has not eaten calf's head au naturel, simply boiled with the skin on, its flavour heightened by sauce just a little sharp? It is a dish as wholesome as it is agreeable, and one that the most inexperienced cook may serve with success. Calf's feet à la poulette, au gratin, fried, &c.; les cervelles, served in the same manner, and under the same names; sweetbreads en fricandeau, piqués en fin,--all these offer most satisfactory entrées, which the art of the cook, more or less, varies for the gratification of his glory and the well-being of our appetites. We have not spoken, in the above catalogue, either of the liver, or of the fraise, or of the ears, which also share the honour of appearing at our tables. Where is the man not acquainted with calf's liver à la bourgeoise, the most frequent and convenient dish at unpretentious tables? The fraise, cooked in water, and eaten with vinegar, is a wholesome and agreeable dish, and contains a mucilage well adapted for delicate persons. Calf's ears have, in common with the feet and cervelles, the advantage of being able to be eaten either fried or à la poulette; and besides, can be made into a farce, with the addition of peas, onions, cheese, &c. Neither is it confined to the calf's tongue, or even the eyes, that these shall dispute alone the glory of awakening the taste of man; thus, the fressure (which, as is known, comprises the heart, the mou, and the rate), although not a very recherché dish, lends itself to all the caprices of an expert artist, and may, under various marvellous disguises, deceive, and please, and even awaken our appetite."--Verily, we might say, after this rhapsody of our neighbour, that his country's weal will not suffer in him as an able and eloquent exponent and admirer.
VEAL CARVING.
BREAST OF VEAL.
912. The carving of a breast of veal is not dissimilar to that of a fore-quarter of lamb, when the shoulder has been taken off. The breast of veal consists of two parts,--the rib-bones and the gristly brisket. These two parts should first be separated by sharply passing the knife in the direction of the lines 1, 2; when they are entirely divided, the rib-bones should be carved in the direction of the lines 5 to 6; and the brisket can be helped by cutting pieces in the direction 3 to 4. The carver should ask the guests whether they have a preference for the brisket or ribs; and if there be a sweetbread served with the dish, as it often is with roast breast of veal, each person should receive a piece.
CALF'S HEAD.
913. This is not altogether the most easy-looking dish to cut when it is put before a carver for the first time; there is not much real difficulty in the operation, however, when the head has been attentively examined, and, after the manner of a phrenologist, you get to know its bumps, good and bad. In the first place, inserting the knife quite down to the bone, cut slices in the direction of the line 1 to 2; with each of these should be helped a piece of what is called the throat sweetbread, cut in the direction of from 3 to 4. The eye, and the flesh round, are favourite morsels with many, and should be given to those at the table who are known to be the greatest connoisseurs. The jawbone being removed, there will then be found some nice lean; and the palate, which is reckoned by some a tit-bit, lies under the head. On a separate dish there is always served the tongue and brains, and each guest should be asked to take some of these.
FILLET OF VEAL.
914. The carving of this joint is similar to that of a round of beef. Slices, not too thick, in the direction of the line 1 to 2 are cut; and the only point to be careful about is, that the veal be evenly carved. Between the flap and the meat the stuffing is inserted, and a small portion of this should be served to every guest. The persons whom the host wishes most to honour should be asked if they like the delicious brown outside slice, as this, by many, is exceedingly relished.
KNUCKLE OF VEAL.
915. The engraving, showing the dotted line from 1 to 2, sufficiently indicates the direction which should be given to the knife in carving this dish. The best slices are those from the thickest part of the knuckle, that is, outside the line 1 to 2.
LOIN OF VEAL.
916. As is the case with a loin of mutton, the careful jointing of a loin of veal is more than half the battle in carving it. If the butcher be negligent in this matter, he should be admonished; for there is nothing more annoying or irritating to an inexperienced carver than to be obliged to turn his knife in all directions to find the exact place where it should be inserted in order to divide the bones. When the jointing is properly performed, there is little difficulty in carrying the knife down in the direction of the line 1 to 2. To each guest should be given a piece of the kidney and kidney fat, which lie underneath, and are considered great delicacies.
CHAPTER XX.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS.
"Birds, the free tenants of land, air, and ocean,
Their forms all symmetry, their motions grace;
In plumage delicate and beautiful;
Thick without burthen, close as fishes' scales,
Or loose as full-blown poppies to the breeze."
The Pelican Island.
917. THE DIVISIONS OF BIRDS are founded principally on their habits of life, and the natural resemblance which their external parts, especially their bills, bear to each other. According to Mr. Vigors, there are five orders, each of which occupies its peculiar place on the surface of the globe; so that the air, the forest, the land, the marsh, and the water, has each its appropriate kind of inhabitants. These are respectively designated as BIRDS OF PREY, PERCHERS, WALKERS, WADERS, and SWIMMERS; and, in contemplating their variety, lightness, beauty, and wonderful adaptation to the regions they severally inhabit, and the functions they are destined to perform in the grand scheme of creation, our hearts are lifted with admiration at the exhaustless ingenuity, power, and wisdom of HIM who has, in producing them, so strikingly "manifested His handiwork." Not only these, however, but all classes of animals, have their peculiar ends to fulfil; and, in order that this may be effectually performed, they are constructed in such a manner as will enable them to carry out their conditions. Thus the quadrupeds, that are formed to tread the earth in common with man, are muscular and vigorous; and, whether they have passed into the servitude of man, or are permitted to range the forest or the field, they still retain, in a high degree, the energies with which they were originally endowed. Birds, on the contrary, are generally feeble, and, therefore, timid. Accordingly, wings have been given them to enable them to fly through the air, and thus elude the force which, by nature, they are unable to resist. Notwithstanding the natural tendency of all bodies towards the centre of the earth, birds, when raised in the atmosphere, glide through it with the greatest ease, rapidity, and vigour. There, they are in their natural element, and can vary their course with the greatest promptitude--can mount or descend with the utmost facility, and can light on any spot with the most perfect exactness, and without the slightest injury to themselves.
918. THE MECHANISM WHICH ENABLES BIRDS to wing their course through the air, is both singular and instructive. Their bodies are covered with feathers, which are much lighter than coverings of hair, with which quadrupeds are usually clothed. The feathers are so placed as to overlap each other, like the slates or the tiles on the roof of a house. They are also arranged from the fore-part backwards; by which the animals are enabled the more conveniently to cut their way through the air. Their bones are tubular or hollow, and extremely light compared with those of terrestrial animals. This greatly facilitates their rising from the earth, whilst their heads, being comparatively small, their bills shaped like a wedge, their bodies slender, sharp below, and round above,--all these present a union of conditions, favourable, in the last degree, to cutting their way through the aërial element to which they are considered as more peculiarly to belong. With all these conditions, however, birds could not fly without wings. These, therefore, are the instruments by which they have the power of rapid locomotion, and are constructed in such a manner as to be capable of great expansion when struck in a downward direction. If we except, in this action, the slight hollow which takes place on the under-side, they become almost two planes. In order that the downward action may be accomplished to the necessary extent, the muscles which move the wings have been made exceedingly large; so large, indeed, that, in some instances, they have been estimated at not less than a sixth of the weight of the whole body. Therefore, when a bird is on the ground and intends to fly, it takes a leap, and immediately stretching its wings, strikes them out with great force. By this act these are brought into an oblique direction, being turned partly upwards and partly horizontally forwards. That part of the force which has the upward tendency is neutralized by the weight of the bird, whilst the horizontal force serves to carry it forward. The stroke being completed, it moves upon its wings, which, being contracted and having their edges turned upwards, obviate, in a great measure, the resistance of the air. When it is sufficiently elevated, it makes a second stroke downwards, and the impulse of the air again moves it forward. These successive strokes may be regarded as so many leaps taken in the air. When the bird desires to direct its course to the right or the left, it strikes strongly with the opposite wing, which impels it to the proper side. In the motions of the animal, too, the tail takes a prominent part, and acts like the rudder of a ship, except that, instead of sideways, it moves upwards and downwards. If the bird wishes to rise, it raises its tail; and if to fall, it depresses it; and, whilst in a horizontal position, it keeps it steady. There are few who have not observed a pigeon or a crow preserve, for some time, a horizontal flight without any apparent motion of the wings. This is accomplished by the bird having already acquired sufficient velocity, and its wings being parallel to the horizon, meeting with but small resistance from the atmosphere. If it begins to fall, it can easily steer itself upward by means of its tail, till the motion it had acquired is nearly spent, when it must be renewed by a few more strokes of the wings. On alighting, a bird expands its wings and tail fully against the air, as a ship, in tacking round, backs her sails, in order that they may meet with all the resistance possible.
919. IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE EYES of birds, there is a peculiarity necessary to their condition. As they pass a great portion of their lives among thickets and hedges, they are provided for the defence of their eyes from external injuries, as well as from the effects of the light, when flying in opposition to the rays of the sun, with a nictating or winking membrane, which can, at pleasure, be drawn over the whole eye like a curtain. This covering is neither opaque nor wholly pellucid, but is somewhat transparent; and it is by its means that the eagle is said to be able to gaze at the sun. "In birds," says a writer on this subject, "we find that the sight is much more piercing, extensive, and exact, than in the other orders of animals. The eye is much larger in proportion to the bulk of the head, than in any of these. This is a superiority conferred upon them not without a corresponding utility: it seems even indispensable to their safety and subsistence. Were this organ in birds dull, or in the least degree opaque, they would be in danger, from the rapidity of their motion, of striking against various objects in their flight. In this case their celerity, instead of being an advantage, would become an evil, and their flight be restrained by the danger resulting from it. Indeed we may consider the velocity with which an animal moves, as a sure indication of the perfection of its vision. Among the quadrupeds, the sloth has its sight greatly limited; whilst the hawk, as it hovers in the air, can espy a lark sitting on a clod, perhaps at twenty times the distance at which a man or a dog could perceive it."
920. AMONGST THE MANY PECULIARITIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BIRDS, not the least is the mode by which their respiration is accomplished. This is effected by means of air-vessels, which extend throughout the body, and adhere to the under-surface of the bones. These, by their motion, force the air through the true lungs, which are very small, and placed in the uppermost part of the chest, and closely braced down to the back and ribs. The lungs, which are never expanded by air, are destined to the sole purpose of oxidizing the blood. In the experiments made by Mr. John Hunter, to discover the use of this general diffusion of air through the bodies of birds, he found that it prevents their respiration from being stopped or interrupted by the rapidity of their motion through a resisting medium. It is well known that, in proportion to celerity of motion, the air becomes resistive; and were it possible for a man to move with the swiftness of a swallow, as he is not provided with an internal construction similar to that of birds, the resistance of the air would soon suffocate him.
921. BIRDS ARE DISTRIBUTED OVER EVERY PART OF THE GLOBE, being found in the coldest as well as the hottest regions, although some species are restricted to particular countries, whilst others are widely dispersed. At certain seasons of the year, many of them change their abodes, and migrate to climates better adapted to their temperaments or modes of life, for a time, than those which they leave. Many of the birds of Britain, directed by an unerring instinct, take their departure from the island before the commencement of winter, and proceed to the more congenial warmth of Africa, to return with the next spring. The causes assigned by naturalists for this peculiarity are, either a deficiency of food, or the want of a secure asylum for the incubation and nourishment of their young. Their migrations are generally performed in large companies, and, in the day, they follow a leader, which is occasionally changed. During the night, many of the tribes send forth a continual cry, to keep themselves together; although one would think that the noise which must accompany their flight would be sufficient for that purpose. The flight of birds across the Mediterranean was noticed three thousand years ago, as we find it said in the book of Numbers, in the Scriptures, that "There went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall upon the camp, and a day's journey round about it, to the height of two cubits above the earth."
922. IF THE BEAUTY OF BIRDS were not a recommendation to their being universally admired, their general liveliness, gaiety, and song would endear them to mankind. It appears, however, from accurate observations founded upon experiment, that the notes peculiar to different kinds of birds are altogether acquired, and that they are not innate, any more than language is to man. The attempt of a nestling bird to sing has been compared to the endeavour of a child to talk. The first attempts do not seem to possess the slightest rudiments of the future song; but, as the bird grows older and becomes stronger, it is easily perceived to be aiming at acquiring the art of giving utterance to song. Whilst the scholar is thus endeavouring to form his notes, when he is once sure of a passage, he usually raises his tone, but drops it again when he finds himself unequal to the voluntary task he has undertaken. "Many well-authenticated facts," says an ingenious writer, "seem decisively to prove that birds have no innate notes, but that, like mankind, the language of those to whose care they have been committed at their birth, will be their language in after-life." It would appear, however, somewhat unaccountable why, in a wild state, they adhere so steadily to the song of their own species only, when the notes of so many others are to be heard around them. This is said to arise from the attention paid by the nestling bird to the instructions of its own parent only, generally disregarding the notes of all the rest. Persons; however, who have an accurate ear, and who have given their attention to the songs of birds, can frequently distinguish some which have their notes mixed with those of another species; but this is in general so trifling, that it can hardly be considered as more than the mere varieties of provincial dialects.
923. IN REFERENCE TO THE FOOD OF BIRDS, we find that it varies, as it does in quadrupeds, according to the species. Some are altogether carnivorous; others, as so many of the web-footed tribes, subsist on fish; others, again, on insects and worms; and others on grain and fruit. The extraordinary powers of the gizzard of the granivorous tribes, in comminuting their food so as to prepare it for digestion, would, were they not supported by incontrovertible facts founded on experiment, appear to exceed all credibility. Tin tubes, full of grain, have been forced into the stomachs of turkeys, and in twenty-four hours have been found broken, compressed, and distorted into every shape. Twelve small lancets, very sharp both at the point and edges, have been fixed in a ball of lead, covered with a case of paper, and given to a turkey-cock, and left in its stomach for eight hours. After that time the stomach was opened, when nothing appeared except the naked ball. The twelve lancets were broken to pieces, whilst the stomach remained perfectly sound and entire. From these facts, it is concluded that the stones, so frequently found in the stomachs of the feathered tribes, are highly useful in assisting the gastric juices to grind down the grain and other hard substances which constitute their food. The stones, themselves, being also ground down and separated by the powerful action of the gizzard, are mixed with the food, and, no doubt, contribute very greatly to the health, as well as to the nourishment of the animals.
924. ALL BIRDS BEING OVIPAROUS, the eggs which they produce after the process of incubation, or sitting for a certain length of time, are, in the various species, different both in figure and colour, as well as in point of number. They contain the elements of the future young, for the perfecting of which in the incubation a bubble of air is always placed at the large end, between the shell and the inside skin. It is supposed that from the heat communicated by the sitting bird to this confined air, its spring is increased beyond its natural tenor, and, at the same time, its parts are put into motion by the gentle rarefaction. By this means, pressure and motion are communicated to the parts of the egg, which, in some inscrutable way, gradually promote the formation and growth of the young, till the time comes for its escaping from the shell. To preserve an egg perfectly fresh, and even fit for incubation, for 5 or 6 months after it has been laid, Réaumur, the French naturalist, has shown that it is only necessary to stop up its pores with a slight coating of varnish or mutton-suet.
925. BIRDS HOWEVER, DO NOT LAY EGGS before they have some place to put them; accordingly, they construct nests for themselves with astonishing art. As builders, they exhibit a degree of architectural skill, niceness, and propriety, that would seem even to mock the imitative talents of man, however greatly these are marked by his own high intelligence and ingenuity.
"Each circumstance
Most artfully contrived to favour warmth.
Here read the reason of the vaulted roof;
How Providence compensates, ever kind,
The enormous disproportion that subsists
Between the mother and the numerous brood
Which her small bulk must quicken into life."
In building their nests, the male and female generally assist each other, and they contrive to make the outside of their tenement bear as great a resemblance as possible to the surrounding foliage or branches; so that it cannot very easily be discovered even by those who are in search of it. This art of nidification is one of the most wonderful contrivances which the wide field of Nature can show, and which, of itself, ought to be sufficient to compel mankind to the belief, that they and every other part of the creation, are constantly under the protecting power of a superintending Being, whose benign dispensations seem as exhaustless as they are unlimited.
RECIPES.
CHAPTER XXI.
CHICKEN CUTLETS (an Entree).
926. INGREDIENTS.--2 chickens; seasoning to taste of salt, white pepper, and cayenne; 2 blades of pounded mace, egg and bread crumbs, clarified butter, 1 strip of lemon-rind, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 2 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup, thickening of butter and flour, 1 egg.
Mode.--Remove the breast and leg bones of the chickens; cut the meat into neat pieces after having skinned it, and season the cutlets with pepper, salt, pounded mace, and cayenne. Put the bones, trimmings, &c., into a stewpan with 1 pint of water, adding carrots, onions, and lemon-peel in the above proportion; stew gently for 1-1/2 hour, and strain the gravy. Thicken it with butter and flour, add the ketchup and 1 egg well beaten; stir it over the fire, and bring it to the simmering-point, but do not allow it to boil. In the mean time, egg and bread-crumb the cutlets, and give them a few drops of clarified butter; fry them a delicate brown, occasionally turning them; arrange them pyramidically on the dish, and pour over them the sauce.
Time.--10 minutes to fry the cutlets. Average cost, 2s. each.
Sufficient for an entrée.
Seasonable from April to July.
FOWLS AS FOOD.--Brillat Savarin, pre-eminent in gastronomic taste, says that he believes the whole gallinaceous family was made to enrich our larders and furnish our tables; for, from the quail to the turkey, he avers their flesh is a light aliment, full of flavour, and fitted equally well for the invalid as for the man of robust health. The fine flavour, however, which Nature has given to all birds coming under the definition of poultry, man has not been satisfied with, and has used many means--such as keeping them in solitude and darkness, and forcing them to eat--to give them an unnatural state of fatness or fat. This fat, thus artificially produced, is doubtless delicious, and the taste and succulence of the boiled and roasted bird draw forth the praise of the guests around the table. Well-fattened and tender, a fowl is to the cook what the canvas is to the painter; for do we not see it served boiled, roasted, fried, fricasseed, hashed, hot, cold, whole, dismembered, boned, broiled, stuffed, on dishes, and in pies,--always handy and ever acceptable?
THE COMMON OR DOMESTIC FOWL.--From time immemorial, the common or domestic fowl has been domesticated in England, and is supposed to be originally the offspring of some wild species which abound in the forests of India. It is divided into a variety of breeds, but the most esteemed are, the Poland or Black, the Dorking, the Bantam, the Game Fowl, and the Malay or Chittagong. The common, or barn-door fowl, is one of the most delicate of the varieties; and at Dorking, in Surrey, the breed is brought to great perfection. Till they are four months old, the term chicken is applied to the young female; after that age they are called pullets, till they begin to lay, when they are called hens. The English counties most productive in poultry are Surrey, Sussex, Norfolk, Herts, Devon, and Somerset.
FRENCH CHICKEN CUTLETS (Cold Meat Cookery).
927. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast or boiled fowl, fried bread, clarified butter, the yolk of 1 egg, bread crumbs, 1/2 teaspoonful of finely-minced lemon-peel; salt, cayenne, and mace to taste. For sauce,--1 oz. of butter, 2 minced shalots, a few slices of carrot, a small bunch of savoury herbs, including parsley, 1 blade of pounded mace, 6 peppercorns, 1/4 pint of gravy.
Mode.--Cut the fowls into as many nice cutlets as possible; take a corresponding number of sippets about the same size, all cut one shape; fry them a pale brown, put them before the fire, then dip the cutlets into clarified butter mixed with the yolk of an egg, cover with bread crumbs seasoned in the above proportion, with lemon-peel, mace, salt, and cayenne; fry them for about 5 minutes, put each piece on one of the sippets, pile them high in the dish, and serve with the following sauce, which should be made ready for the cutlets. Put the butter into a stewpan, add the shalots, carrot, herbs, mace, and peppercorns; fry for 10 minutes or rather longer; pour in 1/2 pint of good gravy, made of the chicken bones, stew gently for 20 minutes, strain it, and serve.
Time.--5 minutes to fry the cutlets; 35 minutes to make the gravy.
Average cost, exclusive of the chicken, 9d.
Seasonable from April to July.
EGGS FOR HATCHING.--Eggs intended for hatching should be removed as soon as laid, and placed in bran in a dry, cool place. Choose those that are near of a size; and, as a rule, avoid those that are equally thick at both ends,--such, probably, contain a double yolk, and will come to no good. Eggs intended for hatching should never be stored longer than a month, as much less the better. Nine eggs may be placed under a Bantam hen, and as many as fifteen under a Dorking. The odd number is considered preferable, as more easily packed. It will be as well to mark the eggs you give the hen to sit on, so that you may know if she lays any more: if she does, you must remove them; for, if hatched at all, they would be too late for the brood. If during incubation an egg should be broken, remove it, and take out the remainder, and cleanse them in luke-warm water, or it is probable the sticky nature of the contents of the broken egg will make the others cling to the hen's feathers; and they, too, may be fractured.
HENS SITTING.--Some hens are very capricious as regards sitting; they will make a great fuss, and keep pining for the nest, and, when they are permitted to take to it, they will sit just long enough to addle the eggs, and then they're off again. The safest way to guard against such annoyance, is to supply the hen with some hard-boiled eggs; if she sits on them a reasonable time, and seems steadily inclined, like a good matron, you may then give her proper eggs, and let her set about the business in earnest.
CHICKEN OR FOWL PATTIES.
928. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast chicken or fowl; to every 1/4 lb. of meat allow 2 oz. of ham, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream, 2 tablespoonfuls of veal gravy, 1/2 teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel; cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste; 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, 1 oz. of butter rolled in flour; puff paste.
Mode.--Mince very small the white meat from a cold roast fowl, after removing all the skin; weigh it, and to every 1/4 lb. of meat allow the above proportion of minced ham. Put these into a stewpan with the remaining ingredients, stir over the fire for 10 minutes or 1/4 hour, taking care that the mixture does not burn. Roll out some puff paste about 1/4 inch in thickness; line the patty-pans with this, put upon each a small piece of bread, and cover with another layer of paste; brush over with the yolk of an egg, and bake in a brisk oven for about 1/4 hour. When done, cut a round piece out of the top, and, with a small spoon, take out the bread (be particular in not breaking the outside border of the crust), and fill the patties with the mixture.
Time.--1/4 hour to prepare the meat; not quite 1/4 hour to bake the crust.
Seasonable at any time.
HATCHING.--Sometimes the chick within the shell is unable to break away from its prison; for the white of the egg will occasionally harden in the air to the consistence of joiners' clue, when the poor chick is in a terrible fix. An able writer says, "Assistance in hatching must not be rendered prematurely, and thence unnecessarily, but only in the case of the chick being plainly unable to release itself; then, indeed, an addition may probably be made to the brood, as great numbers are always lost in this way. The chick makes a circular fracture at the big end of the egg, and a section of about one-third of the length of the shell being separated, delivers the prisoner, provided there is no obstruction from adhesion of the body to the membrane which lines the shell. Between the body of the chick and the membrane of the shell there exists a viscous fluid, the white of the egg thickened with the intense heat of incubation, until it becomes a positive glue. When this happens, the feathers stick fast to the shell, and the chicks remain confined, and must perish, if not released."
The method of assistance to be rendered to chicks which have a difficulty in releasing themselves from the shell, is to take the egg in the hand, and dipping the finger or a piece of linen rag in warm water, to apply it to the fastened parts until they are loosened by the gluey substance becoming dissolved and separated from the feathers. The chick, then, being returned to the nest, will extricate itself,--a mode generally to be observed, since, if violence were used, it would prove fatal. Nevertheless, breaking the shell may sometimes be necessary; and separating with the fingers, as gently as may be, the membrane from the feathers, which are still to be moistened as mentioned above, to facilitate the operation. The points of small scissors may be useful, and when there is much resistance, as also apparent pain to the bird, the process must be conducted in the gentlest manner, and the shell separated into a number of small pieces. The signs of a need of assistance are the egg being partly pecked and chipped, and the cluck discontinuing its efforts for five of six hours. Weakness from cold may disable the chicken from commencing the operation of pecking the shell, which must then be artificially performed with a circular fracture, such as is made by the bird itself.
CHICKEN OR FOWL PIE.
929. INGREDIENTS.--2 small fowls or 1 large one, white pepper and salt to taste, 1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoonful of pounded mace, forcemeat No. 417, a few slices of ham, 3 hard-boiled eggs, 1/2 pint of water, puff crust.
Mode.--Skin and cut up the fowls into joints, and put the neck, leg, and backbones in a stewpan, with a little water, an onion, a bunch of savoury herbs, and a blade of mace; let these stew for about an hour, and, when done, strain off the liquor: this is for gravy. Put a layer of fowl at the bottom of a pie-dish, then a layer of ham, then one of forcemeat and hard-boiled eggs cut in rings; between the layers put a seasoning of pounded mace, nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Proceed in this manner until the dish is full, and pour in about 1/2 pint of water; border the edge of the dish with puff crust, put on the cover, ornament the top, and glaze it by brushing over it the yolk of an egg. Bake from 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour, should the pie be very large, and, when done, pour in, at the top, the gravy made from the bones. If to be eaten cold, and wished particularly nice, the joints of the fowls should be boned, and placed in the dish with alternate layers of forcemeat; sausage-meat may also be substituted for the forcemeat, and is now very much used. When the chickens are boned, and mixed with sausage-meat, the pie will take about 2 hours to bake. It should be covered with a piece of paper when about half-done, to prevent the paste from being dried up or scorched.
Time.--For a pie with unboned meat, 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour; with boned meat and sausage or forcemeat, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
Average cost, with 2 fowls, 6s. 6d.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
THE YOUNG CHICKS.--The chicks that are hatched first should be taken from underneath the hen, lest she might think her task at an end, and leave the remaining eggs to spoil. As soon as the young birds are taken from the mother, they must be placed in a basket lined with soft wool, flannel, or hay, and stood in the sunlight if it be summer time, or by the fire if the weather be cold. It is a common practice to cram young chicks with food as soon as they are born. This is quite unnecessary. They will, so long as they are kept warm, come to no harm if they take no food for twenty-four hours following their birth. Should the whole of the brood not be hatched by that time, those that are born may be fed with bread soaked in milk, and the yolk of a hard-boiled egg.
POTTED CHICKEN OR FOWL (a Luncheon or Breakfast Dish).
930. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast chicken; to every lb. of meat allow 1/4 lb. of fresh butter, salt and cayenne to taste, 1 teaspoonful of pounded mace, 1/4 small nutmeg.
Mode.--Strip the meat from the bones of cold roast fowl; when it is freed from gristle and skin, weigh it, and, to every lb. of meat, allow the above proportion of butter, seasoning, and spices. Cut the meat into small pieces, pound it well with the fresh butter, sprinkle in the spices gradually, and keep pounding until reduced to a perfectly smooth paste. Put it into potting-pots for use, and cover it with clarified butter, about 1/4 inch in thickness, and, if to be kept for some time, tie over a bladder: 2 or 3 slices of ham, minced and pounded with the above ingredients, will be found an improvement. It should be kept in a dry place.
Seasonable at any time.
FEEDING AND COOPING THE CHICKS.--When all the chicks are hatched, they should be placed along with the mother under a coop in a warm dry spot. If two hens happen to have their broods at the same time, their respective chicks should be carefully kept separate; as, if they get mixed, and so go under the wrong coop, the hens will probably maim and destroy those who have mistaken their dwelling. After being kept snug beneath the coop for a week (the coop should be placed under cover at nightfall), the chicks may be turned loose for an hour or so in the warmest part of the day. They should be gradually weaned from the soaked bread and chopped egg, instead of which grits or boiled barley should be given; in 8 or 10 days their stomachs will be strong enough to receive bruised barley, and at the end of 3 weeks, if your chicks be healthy, they will be able to take care of themselves. It will be well, however, to keep your eye on them a week or so longer, as the elder chickens may drive them from their food. Great care should be taken that the very young chicks do not run about the wet ground or on damp grass, as this is the most prominent and fatal cause of disease. While under the coop with their mother, a shallow pan or plate of water should be supplied to the chicks, as in a deeper vessel they are liable to drench themselves and take cold, or possibly to get drowned.
