Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks Part 45

_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 b.u.t.ter 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. b.u.t.ter 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

_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 b.u.t.tered 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 Frica.s.see._--Prepare, cook, and serve it like chicken in _frica.s.see_.

_In c.r.a.paudine._--Proceed as for pigeons in _c.r.a.paudine_, 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 b.u.t.ter 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 b.u.t.ter 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 const.i.tution 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 b.u.t.tered paper, after being prepared, instead of salt pork or grape-vine leaves, or instead of both, but only to roast them; if baked, the b.u.t.tered paper is placed over the birds.

_Baked._--Place the birds on their backs in a baking-pan, with a piece of b.u.t.ter 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 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 Cha.s.seur)._--Clean and prepare as directed for birds.

Set a saucepan on the fire with two ounces of b.u.t.ter 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 b.u.t.tered 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 b.u.t.ter 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 b.u.t.tered 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 b.u.t.ter 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 b.u.t.ter; stir gently, and always serve as warm as possible.

_In c.r.a.paudine._--When cleaned and prepared as directed, cook and serve the rabbit as described for pigeon in _c.r.a.paudine_, 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 sc.r.a.pe 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 b.u.t.ter; 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 b.u.t.ter. 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 tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, to make a potage _au cha.s.seur_, 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 cha.s.seur_.

_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 b.u.t.ter spread all over it, or enveloped in b.u.t.tered paper; or larded with salt pork; or larded and enveloped in b.u.t.tered 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 cha.s.seur_. 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 b.u.t.ter 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.