The Book of Household Management Part 111

949. INGREDIENTS.--1 large fowl, 4 tablespoonfuls of salad oil, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1 pint of stock No. 105, or water, about 20 mushroom-b.u.t.tons, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoonful of powdered sugar, a very small piece of garlic.

_Mode_.--Cut the fowl into 8 or 10 pieces; put them with the oil into a stewpan, and brown them over a moderate fire; dredge in the above proportion of flour; when that is browned, pour in the stock or water; let it simmer very slowly for rather more than 1/2 hour, and skim off the fat as it rises to the top; add the mushrooms; season with salt, pepper, garlic, and sugar; take out the fowl, which arrange pyramidically on the dish, with the inferior joints at the bottom.

Reduce the sauce by boiling it quickly over the fire, keeping it stirred until sufficiently thick to adhere to the back of a spoon; pour over the fowl, and serve.

_Time_.--Altogether 50 minutes. _Average cost_, 3s. 6d.

_Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

A FOWL a LA MARENGO.--The following is the origin of the well-known dish Poulet a la Marengo:--On the evening of the battle the first consul was very hungry after the agitation of the day, and a fowl was ordered with all expedition. The fowl was procured, but there was no b.u.t.ter at hand, and unluckily none could be found in the neighbourhood. There was oil in abundance, however; and the cook having poured a certain quant.i.ty into his skillet, put in the fowl, with a clove of garlic and other seasoning, with a little white wine, the best the country afforded; he then garnished it with mushrooms, and served it up hot. This dish proved the second conquest of the day, as the first consul found it most agreeable to his palate, and expressed his satisfaction. Ever since, a fowl a la Marengo is a favourite dish with all lovers of good cheer.

MINCED FOWL A LA BECHAMEL.

950. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast fowl, 6 tablespoonfuls of Bechamel sauce No. 367, 6 tablespoonfuls of white stock No. 107, the white of 1 egg, bread crumbs, clarified b.u.t.ter.

_Mode_.--Take the remains of roast fowls, mince the white meat very small, and put it into a stewpan with the Bechamel and stock; stir it well over the fire, and just let it boil up. Pour the mince into a dish, beat up the white of egg, spread it over, and strew on it a few grated bread crumbs; pour a very little clarified b.u.t.ter on the whole, and brown either before the fire or with a salamander. This should be served in a silver dish, if at hand.

_Time_.--2 or 3 minutes to simmer in the sauce.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

THE BEST WAY TO FATTEN FOWLS.--The barn-door fowl is in itself a complete refutation of the cramming and dungeon policy of feeding practised by some. This fowl, which has the common run of the farm-yard, living on dairy-sc.r.a.ps and offal from the stable, begins to grow fat at threshing-time. He has his fill of the finest corn; he has his fill of fresh air and natural exercise, and at last he comes smoking to the table,--a dish for the G.o.ds. In the matter of unnaturally stuffing and confining fowls, Mowbray is exactly of our opinion. He says: "The London chicken-butchers, as they are termed, are said to be, of all others, the most expeditious and dexterous feeders, putting up a coop of fowls, and making them thoroughly fat within the s.p.a.ce of a fortnight, using much grease, and that perhaps not of the most delicate kind, in the food. In this way I have no boasts to make, having always found it necessary to allow a considerable number of weeks for the purpose of making fowls fat in coops. In the common way this business is often badly managed, fowls being huddled together in a small coop, tearing each other to pieces, instead of enjoying that repose which alone can insure, the wished-for object--irregularly fed and cleaned, until they become so stenched and poisoned in their own excrement, that their flesh actually smells and tastes when smoking upon the table." Suss.e.x produces the fattest and largest poultry of any county in England, and the fatting process there most common is to give them a gruel made of pot-liquor and bruised oats, with which are mixed hog's grease, sugar, and milk. The fowls are kept very warm, and crammed morning and night. They are put into the coop, and kept there two or three days before the cramming begins, and then it is continued for a fortnight, and the birds are sent to market.

RAGOUT OF FOWL.

951. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast fowls, 3 shalots, 2 blades of mace, a f.a.ggot of savoury herbs, 2 or three slices of lean ham, 1 pint of stock or water, pepper and salt to taste, 1 onion, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, 1/2 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter.

_Mode_.--Cut the fowls up into neat pieces, the same as for a frica.s.see; put the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs into a stewpan with the shalots, mace, herbs, ham, onion, and stock (water may be subst.i.tuted for this). Boil it slowly for 1 hour, strain the liquor, and put a small piece of b.u.t.ter into a stewpan; when melted, dredge in sufficient flour to dry up the b.u.t.ter, and stir it over the fire. Put in the strained liquor, boil for a few minutes, and strain it again over the pieces of fowl. Squeeze in the lemon-juice, add the sugar and a seasoning of pepper and salt, make it hot, but do not allow it to boil; lay the fowl neatly on the dish, and garnish with crotons.

_Time_.--Altogether 1-1/2 hour. _Average cost_, exclusive of the cold fowl, 9d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

THE BEST FOWLS TO FATTEN, &c.--The chicks most likely to fatten well are those first hatched in the brood, and those with the shortest legs. Long-legged fowls, as a rule, are by far the most difficult to fatten. The most delicate sort are those which are put up to fatten as soon as the hen forsakes them; for, as says an old writer, "then they will be in fine condition, and full of flesh, which flesh is afterwards expended in the exercise of foraging for food, and in the increase of stature; and it may be a work of some weeks to recover it,--especially with young c.o.c.ks." But whether you take them in hand as chicks, or not till they are older, the three prime rules to be observed are, sound and various food, warmth, and cleanliness. There is nothing that a fatting fowl grows so fastidious about as his water. If water any way foul be offered him, he will not drink it, but sulk with his food, and pine, and you all the while wondering the reason why. Keep them separate, allowing to each bird as much s.p.a.ce as you can spare. Spread the ground with sharp sandy gravel; take care that they are not disturbed. In addition to their regular diet of good corn, make them a cake of ground oats or beans, brown sugar, milk, and mutton suet. Let the cake lie till it is stale, then crumble it, and give each bird a gill-measureful morning and evening. No entire grain should be given to fowls during the time they are fattening; indeed, the secret of success lies in supplying them with the most nutritious food without stint, and in such a form that their digestive mills shall find no difficulty in grinding it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ROAST FOWL.]

ROAST FOWLS.

952. INGREDIENTS.--A pair of fowls; a little flour.

_Mode_.--Fowls to be tender should be killed a couple of days before they are dressed; when the feathers come out easily, then let them be picked and cooked. In drawing them, be careful not to break the gall-bag, as, wherever it touches, it would impart a very bitter taste; the liver and gizzard should also be preserved. Truss them in the following manner:--After having carefully picked them, cut off the head, and skewer the skin of the neck down over the back. Cut off the claws; dip the legs in boiling water, and sc.r.a.pe them; turn the pinions under, run a skewer through them and the middle of the legs, which should be pa.s.sed through the body to the pinion and leg on the other side, one skewer securing the limbs on both sides. The liver and gizzard should be placed in the wings, the liver on one side and the gizzard on the other.

Tie the legs together by pa.s.sing a trussing-needle, threaded with twine, through the backbone, and secure it on the other side. If trussed like a capon, the legs are placed more apart. When firmly trussed, singe them all over; put them down to a bright clear fire, paper the b.r.e.a.s.t.s with a sheet of b.u.t.tered paper, and keep the fowls well basted. Roast them for 3/4 hour, more or less, according to the size, and 10 minutes before serving, remove the paper, dredge the fowls with a little fine flour, put a piece of b.u.t.ter into the basting-ladle, and as it melts, baste the fowls with it; when nicely frothed and of a rich colour, serve with good brown gravy, a little of which should be poured over the fowls, and a tureen of well-made bread sauce, No. 371. Mushroom, oyster, or egg sauce are very suitable accompaniments to roast fowl.--Chicken is roasted in the same manner.

_Time_.--A very large fowl, quite 1 hour, medium-sized one 3/4 hour, chicken 1/2 hour, or rather longer.

_Average cost_, in full season, 5s. a pair; when scarce, 7s. 6d. the pair.

_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons.

_Seasonable_ all the year, but scarce in early spring.

THE DISEASES OF FOWLS, AND HOW TO CURE THEM.--The diseases to which _Gallus domesticus_ is chiefly liable, are roup, pip, scouring, and chip. The first-mentioned is the most common of all, and results from cold. The ordinary symptoms,--swollen eyes, running at the nostrils, and the purple colour of the wattles. Part birds so affected from the healthy ones, as, when the disease is at its height it is as contagious as glanders among horses. Wash out the nostrils with warm water, give daily a peppercorn inclosed in dough; bathe the eyes and nostrils with warm milk and water. If the head is much swollen, bathe with warm brandy and water. When the bird is getting well, put half a spoonful of sulphur in his drinking-water. Some fanciers prescribe for this disease half a spoonful of table salt, dissolved in half a gill of water, in which rue has been steeped; others, pills composed of ground rice and fresh b.u.t.ter: but the remedy first mentioned will be found far the best. As there is a doubt respecting the wholesomeness of the eggs laid by roupy hens, it will be as well to throw them away. The pip is a white h.o.r.n.y skin growing on the tip of the bird's tongue. It should be removed with the point of a penknife, and the place rubbed with salt.

FOWL AND RICE CROQUETTES (an Entree).

953. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of rice, 1 quart of stock or broth, 3 oz. of b.u.t.ter, minced fowl, egg, and bread crumbs.

_Mode_.--Put the rice into the above proportion of cold stock or broth, and let it boil very gently for 1/2 hour; then add the b.u.t.ter, and simmer it till quite dry and soft When cold, make it into b.a.l.l.s, hollow out the inside, and fill with minced fowl made by recipe No. 956. The mince should be rather thick. Cover over with rice, dip the b.a.l.l.s into egg, sprinkle them with bread crumbs, and fry a nice brown. Dish them, and garnish with fried parsley. Oysters, white sauce, or a little cream, may be stirred into the rice before it cools.

_Time_.--1/2 hour to boil the rice, 10 minutes to fry the croquettes.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the fowl, 8d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

CHIP.--If the birds are allowed to puddle about on wet soil, or to be much out in the rain, they will get "chip." Young chicks are especially liable to this complaint. They will sit shivering in out-of-the-way corners, perpetually uttering a dolorous "chip, chip;" seemingly frozen with cold, though, on handling them, they are found to be in high fever. A wholesale breeder would take no pains to attempt the cure of fowls so afflicted; but they who keep chickens for the pleasure, and not for the profit they yield, will be inclined to recover them if possible.

Give them none but warm food, half a peppercorn rolled in a morsel of dough every night, and a little nitre in their water.

Above all, keep them warm; a corner in the kitchen fender, for a day or two, will do more to effect a cure than the run of a druggist's warehouse.

CROQUETTES OF FOWL (an Entree).

954. INGREDIENTS.--3 or 4 shalots, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 1 teaspoonful of flour, white sauce; pepper, salt, and pounded mace to taste; 1/2 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, the remains of cold roast fowls, the yolks of 2 eggs, egg, and bread crumbs.

_Mode_.--Mince the fowl, carefully removing all skin and bone, and fry the shalots in the b.u.t.ter; add the minced fowl, dredge in the flour, put in the pepper, salt, mace, pounded sugar, and sufficient white sauce to moisten it; stir to it the yolks of 2 well-beaten eggs, and set it by to cool. Then make the mixture up into b.a.l.l.s, egg and bread-crumb them, and fry a nice brown. They may be served on a border of mashed potatoes, with gravy or sauce in the centre.

_Time_.--10 minutes to fry the b.a.l.l.s.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

THE TURN.--What is termed "turrling" with song-birds, is known, as regard fowls, as the "turn." Its origin is the same in both cases,--over-feeing and want of exercise. Without a moment's warning, a fowl so afflicted will totter and fall from its perch, and unless a.s.sistance be at hand, speedily give up the ghost. The veins of the palate should be opened, and a few drops of mixture composed of six parts of sweet nitre and one of ammonia, poured down its throat. I have seen ignorant keepers plunge a bird, stricken with the "turn," into cold water; but I never saw it taken out again alive; and for a good reason: the sudden chill has the effect of driving the blood to the head,--of aggravating the disease indeed, instead of relieving it.

HASHED FOWL--an Entree (Cold Meat Cookery).

955. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast fowl, 1 pint of water, 1 onion, 2 or three small carrots, 1 blade of pounded mace, pepper and salt to taste, 1 small bunch of savoury herbs, thickening of b.u.t.ter and flour, 1-1/2 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup.

_Mode_.--Cut off the best joints from the fowl, and the remainder make into gravy, by adding to the bones and tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs a pint of water, an onion sliced and fried of a nice brown, the carrots, mace, seasoning, and herbs. Let these stew gently for 1-1/2 hour, strain the liquor, and thicken with a little flour and b.u.t.ter. Lay in the fowl, thoroughly warm it through, add the ketchup, and garnish with sippets of toasted bread.

_Time_.--Altogether 1-3/4 hour.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the cold fowl, 4d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

SKIN-DISEASE IN FOWLS.--Skin-disease is, nine times out of ten, caused by the feathers being swarmed by parasites. Poor feeding will induce this, even if cleanliness be observed; uncleanliness, however liberal the bill of fare, will be taken as an invitation by the little biting pests, and heartily responded to. Mix half a teaspoonful of hydro-oxalic acid with twelve teaspoonfuls of water,--apply to the itching parts with an old shaving-brush.