Truss the birds, putting aside the hearts, livers, and gizzards, and dredge them with flour, then place them in a saucepan with a piece of b.u.t.ter, and let them brown equally, taking care of the gravy which oozes from them. Let them get cold, then carve them in such a way that the wings and legs can be taken off with a piece of breast adhering to it.

Break the bodies of the birds into small pieces, and stew them with the livers, &c., in as much stock as will cover them, till the gravy becomes good and strong, then strain it, season with cayenne, salt, a gla.s.sful of claret, and a little Seville orange juice. Directly it begins to boil, put in the fleshy portion of the birds and let simmer till they are thoroughly heated, but do not let the gravy boil. Cut slices of bread large enough for a leg and wing to lie upon, fry till lightly browned, arrange them neatly, and pour sauce over them. Garnish with sliced lemon.

Devilled Turkey Drumsticks.

Score the drumsticks down parallel with the bone, and insert in the slices thus made a mixture made with one ounce of b.u.t.ter, a good teaspoonful of French mustard, a little cayenne, and a salt-spoonful of black pepper. Mix all this thoroughly together and spread the mixture into the cuts, then rub the drumsticks with b.u.t.ter, and grill over a fierce fire.

Turkey en Daube.

Put slices of bacon in a braising-pan, lard the breast and thighs of a turkey trussed for boiling, and place the turkey on the slices of bacon; put into the pan a slice of ham and a calf's foot broken into small pieces, with the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of the turkey, two onions stuck with four cloves, three carrots, and a bouquet garni. Put slices of bacon over the turkey, put some melted b.u.t.ter over, and cover with three rounds of b.u.t.tered paper and let it simmer for five hours; take it from the fire and leave it for half an hour, strain the gravy and boil it down. Beat an egg into a saucepan, and pour the jellied gravy into this, whip it well, then put it on the fire, bring it to the boil, and then draw it to the side of the fireplace, cover it with the lid with hot coals on it, and let it remain for half an hour; strain again, and with this jelly cover the turkey.

Venison Cutlets.

Trim the cutlets the same as you would mutton cutlets, melt a little b.u.t.ter on a plate, dip each cutlet in the b.u.t.ter, and dust them slightly with flour, then in beaten egg, and roll them in breadcrumbs. Fry them in hot lard for ten minutes, take them out of the lard and lay them on a flat dish covered with paper; put them before the fire for a few minutes to free them from grease. Dish them up, and pour Financiere sauce round the cutlets.

Venison Cutlets a l'Americaine.

Cut the cutlets very small, and arrange them en couronne. Make an Espagnole sauce, and flavour it with bayleaves, garlic, half a pound of red currant jelly, and a gla.s.s of Madeira.

Haricot of Venison.

Take a neck or shoulder of venison, and cut the meat of the shoulder in pieces two inches square and the neck in thick cutlets. Fry these pieces with two ounces of b.u.t.ter in a stewpan over a brisk fire until they are browned, then pour off all grease, shake in a little flour, and stir together, moisten with sufficient stock to cover the meat, season with pepper and salt, and stir over fire till it boils. Remove it then to the corner of the stove to allow it to throw up its sc.u.m, which remove. Wash and sc.r.a.pe three carrots, and with a vegetable scoop cut out all the pink from the carrots in round b.a.l.l.s, and boil them in water for half an hour. Cut out some b.a.l.l.s of turnip in the same manner, and boil for fifteen minutes. Strain the vegetables and add them to the stew, with a gla.s.s of port wine and two ounces of red currant jelly. When the meat and vegetables are thoroughly cooked, and the stew well skimmed, dish it up very quickly.

Venison Pasty.

Stew the venison, remove all the bones, sinew, and skin, cutting off the fat and putting it aside. Make the paste in the usual way, and cover the edge and sides of a pasty dish: then put in the pieces of venison, packing it closely together, pepper and salt it well. Cover it with the paste and then bake it, which will take about four hours. Pour in at the top three-quarters of a pint of venison gravy which has been made from the bones and tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, two shalots, a gill of port wine, and a tablespoonful of ketchup.

Venison Puffs.

Cut some cold venison into very thin shavings, mix a tablespoonful of red currant jelly with some rich brown sauce, and put on the venison pieces. Have ready some light puff paste, roll it out thin and divide it in pieces, put some of the meat in each, and form them into puffs. Brush with white of egg, and bake quickly a delicate brown colour.

Salmis of Widgeon.

Take two widgeon that have been cooked, cut them up into neat pieces, break up the bones and put them into brown stock with some minced shalots, pepper and salt, and let them simmer very slowly for half an hour, then add a gla.s.s of port wine, half a teaspoonful of Clarence's cayenne sauce, and a squeeze of orange. Let it all boil up for about a quarter of an hour, and add an ounce of b.u.t.ter into which a little flour has been rubbed; let it thicken, then strain, pour the gravy over the cold pieces of bird, and bring slowly to the boil and serve with fried sippets. Some b.u.t.ton mushrooms added to the gravy are a great improvement. Widgeon may be cooked in as many ways as teal, using the same recipes, subst.i.tuting widgeon for teal.

Fillets of Wild Ducks with Olives.

Roast a couple of wild ducks and cut off the fillets in the usual way, score the skin, dish the fillets in a circle and put into the centre some stoned olives. Send clear brown gravy in a tureen with them.

Wild Fowl with Bigarade Sauce.

Roast a couple of wild fowl, cut off flesh from each side of the breast, and from sides under the wings. Score the skin, and dish the fillets in a circle with a little Bigarade sauce poured over them.

Woodc.o.c.k a la Cha.s.seur.

Truss a brace of c.o.c.ks and put them down before a clear fire for fifteen minutes, then take them away and cut them into neat joints. Put the inferior pieces with three minced shalots, a bouquet garni, and half a head of garlic into a saucepan with a winegla.s.sful of good gravy, another of wine, a tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, and the strained juice of half a lemon, and let all simmer for ten minutes. Remove the gizzards from the trail, and pound them in a mortar with a piece of shalot, a little b.u.t.ter, pepper, and salt, and then rub through a sieve and spread them upon small pieces of fried bread cut into the shape of hearts. Put the joints of the woodc.o.c.ks into a separate saucepan, strain the gravy on them, and let them heat gently; they must not boil. Place them on a dish, put the fried bread with the trail round them, pour the gravy over all, and serve hot.

Woodc.o.c.k a la Lucullus.

Roast the woodc.o.c.ks in the usual way, and catch the trail on a toast.

Whilst the birds are still under-dressed, pour over them a little melted b.u.t.ter with which the yolk of an egg and a little cream has been mixed.

Sprinkle grated breadcrumbs over, brown with a salamander, and serve with brown gravy.

Woodc.o.c.k a la Perigueux.

Truss a brace of woodc.o.c.ks, cover them with layers of bacon and put them into a stewpan with as much richly flavoured stock as will barely cover them, and add a gla.s.sful of Madeira. Let them simmer till done enough, drain, dish them, and pour over some Perigueux sauce.

Woodc.o.c.k a la Provencale.

Fillet a brace of woodc.o.c.k, soak them in salad oil seasoned with black pepper, some cloves, and a pounded head of garlic. Place the bones on a stewpan with some salad oil, six shalots, a head of garlic, a bayleaf, and a bouquet garni. When brown, add a dessert-spoonful of flour, a tumblerful of Chablis, and a pint of stock. Reduce to half the quant.i.ty, and pa.s.s through a tammy. Saute the fillets in warm oil; when done, place them in a circle on an entree dish with a fried bread sippet between each, stir a little lemon juice into the sauce, and pour over the fillets.

Woodc.o.c.k en Surprise.

Take two livers of fowls and the trails of some cold woodc.o.c.ks. Chop very finely two shalots, a sprig of parsley, and eight flap mushrooms, and fry in b.u.t.ter. When nearly cooked, put in the trail and livers to fry with the vegetables. After, pound all together in a mortar, and season with salt and pepper. Cut some neat slices of bread about two inches square, and fry them a pale colour, then spread on them the liver and trail forcemeat. Place them into the oven to colour, then dish them up with the woodc.o.c.ks made into a salmi over them, with a good rich brown sauce flavoured with claret round.

Salmi of Woodc.o.c.ks a la Lucullus.

Take three woodc.o.c.ks, which must be roasted very under-done. Take out the trail, and add to it either three fowl livers or their equivalent in pate de foie gras. Make a farce with a dozen mushrooms chopped very fine, a shalot, a sprig of parsley, both chopped fine. Fry these in a little b.u.t.ter, then add the trails and livers or pate de foie gras to fry with them; when done, pound all in a mortar and season with salt, pepper, and a dust of cayenne. As three woodc.o.c.ks will give six fillets, cut six bits of bread of the same size and fry them of a nice colour.

Then spread the farce equally divided over the six croustades, put them into the oven, and when of a good colour put them between each of the fillets. Make the sauce from the bones and cuttings of the birds, add six spoonfuls of Espagnole sauce and a gla.s.s of Marsala. The fillets should be kept in the hot sauce whilst the croustades are cooking, so as to prevent their getting dry, then warm them up without boiling, as boiling would spoil the dish.