The Book of Household Management
Chapter 123 : _Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons._Seasonable_ from the 1st of September to the beginnin

_Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ from the 1st of September to the beginning of February.

PARTRIDGE PIE.

1036. INGREDIENTS.--3 partridges, pepper and salt to taste, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley (when obtainable, a few mushrooms), 3/4 lb. of veal cutlet, a slice of ham, 1/2 pint of stock, puff paste.

_Mode_.--Line a pie-dish with a veal cutlet; over that place a slice of ham and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Pluck, draw, and wipe the partridges; cut off the legs at the first joint, and season them inside with pepper, salt, minced parsley, and a small piece of b.u.t.ter; place them in the dish, and pour over the stock; line the edges of the dish with puff paste, cover with the same, brush it over with the yolk of an egg, and bake for 3/4 to 1 hour.

_Time_.--3/4 to 1 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d. to 2s. a brace.

_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.

_Seasonable_ from the 1st of September to the beginning of February.

Note.--Should the partridges be very large, split them in half; they will then lie in the dish more compactly. When at hand, a few mushrooms should always be added.

POTTED PARTRIDGE.

1037. INGREDIENTS.--Partridges; seasoning to taste of mace, allspice white pepper, and salt; b.u.t.ter, coa.r.s.e paste.

_Mode_.--Pluck and draw the birds, and wipe them inside with a damp cloth. Pound well some mace, allspice, white pepper, and salt; mix together, and rub every part of the partridges with this. Pack the birds as closely as possible in a baking-pan, with plenty of b.u.t.ter over them, and cover with a coa.r.s.e flour and water crust. Tie a paper over this, and bake for rather more than 1-1/2 hour; let the birds get cold, then cut them into pieces for keeping, pack them closely into a large potting-pot, and cover with clarified b.u.t.ter. This should be kept in a cool dry place. The b.u.t.ter used for potted things will answer for basting, or for paste for meat pies.--See coloured plate, D1.

_Time_.--1-1/2 hour.

_Seasonable_ from the 1st of September to the beginning of February.

SALMI DE PERDRIX, or HASHED PARTRIDGES.

1038. INGREDIENTS.--3 young partridges, 3 shalots, a slice of lean ham, 1 carrot, 3 or 4 mushrooms, a bunch of savoury herbs, 2 cloves, 6 whole peppers, 3/4 pint of stock, 1 gla.s.s of sherry or Madeira, a small lump of sugar.

_Mode_.--After the partridges are plucked and drawn, roast them rather underdone, and cover them with paper, as they should not be browned; cut them into joints, take off the skin from the wings, legs, and b.r.e.a.s.t.s; put these into a stewpan, cover them up, and set by until the gravy is ready. Cut a slice of ham into small pieces, and put them, with the carrots sliced, the shalots, mushrooms, herbs, cloves, and pepper, into a stewpan; fry them lightly in a little b.u.t.ter, pour in the stock, add the bones and tr.i.m.m.i.n.g from the partridges, and simmer for 1/4 hour.

Strain the gravy, let it cool, and skim off every particle of fat; put it to the legs, wings, and b.r.e.a.s.t.s, add a gla.s.s of sherry or Madeira and a small lump of sugar, let all gradually warm through by the side of the fire, and when on the point of boiling, serve, and garnish the dish with crotons. The remains of roast partridge answer very well dressed in this way, although not so good as when the birds are in the first instance only half-roasted. This recipe is equally suitable for pheasants, moor-game, &c.; but care must be taken always to skin the joints.

_Time_.--Altogether 1 hour.

_Sufficient_.--2 or 3 partridges for an entree.

_Seasonable_ from the 1st of September to the beginning of February.

ROAST PARTRIDGE.

1039. INGREDIENTS.--Partridge; b.u.t.ter.

_Choosing and Trussing_.--Choose young birds, with dark-coloured bills and yellowish legs, and let them hang a few days, or there will be no flavour to the flesh, nor will it be tender. The time they should be kept, entirely depends on the taste of those for whom they are intended, as what some persons would consider delicious, would be to others disgusting and offensive. They may be trussed with or without the head, the latter mode being now considered the most fas.h.i.+onable. Pluck, draw, and wipe the partridge carefully inside and out; cut off the head, leaving sufficient skin on the neck to skewer back; bring the legs close to the breast, between it and the side-bones, and pa.s.s a skewer through the pinions and the thick part of the thighs. When the head is left on, it should be brought round and fixed on to the point of the skewer.

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

_Mode_.--When the bird is firmly and plumply trussed, roast it before a nice bright fire; keep it well basted, and a few minutes before serving, flour and froth it well. Dish it, and serve with gravy and bread sauce, and send to table hot and quickly. A little of the gravy should be poured over the bird.--See coloured plate, D1.

_Time_.--25 to 35 minutes. _Average cost_, is 1s. 6d. to 2s. a brace.

_Sufficient_,--2 for a dish.

_Seasonable_ from the 1st of September to the beginning of February.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PARTRIDGES.]

THE PARTRIDGE.--This bird is to be found in nearly all the temperate countries of Europe, but is most abundant in the Ukraine, although it is unable to bear the extremes of climate, whether hot or cold. It was formerly very common in France, and is considered a table luxury in England. The instinct of this bird is frequently exemplified in a remarkable manner, for the preservation of its young. "I have seen it often," says a very celebrated writer, and an accurate observer of nature, "and once in particular, I saw an extraordinary instance of an old bird's solicitude to save its brood. As I was hunting with a young pointer, the dog ran on a brood of very small partridges; the old bird cried, fluttered, and ran tumbling along just before the dog's nose, till she had drawn him to a considerable distance, when she took wing, and flew still further off, but not out of the field; on this the dog returned to me, near the place where the young ones lay concealed in the gra.s.s, which the old bird no sooner perceived than she flew back to us, settled just before the dog's nose again, and by rolling and tumbling about, drew off his attention from her young, and thus preserved her brood a second time. I have also seen, when a kite has been hovering over a covey of young partridges, the old birds fly up at the bird of prey, screaming and fighting with all their might to preserve their brood." Partridges should be chosen young; if old, they are valueless. The young ones are generally known by their yellow legs and dark-coloured bills.

PHEASANT CUTLETS.

1040. INGREDIENTS.--2 or 3 pheasants, egg and bread crumbs, cayenne and salt to taste, brown gravy.

_Mode_.--Procure 3 young pheasants that have been hung a few days; pluck, draw, and wipe them inside; cut them into joints; remove the bones from the best of these; and the backbones, tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, &c., put into a stewpan, with a little stock, herbs, vegetables, seasoning, &c., to make the gravy. Flatten and trim the cutlets of a good shape, egg and bread crumb them, broil them over a clear fire, pile them high in the dish, and pour under them the gravy made from the bones, which should be strained, flavoured, and thickened. One of the small bones should be stuck on the point of each cutlet.

_Time_.--10 minutes. _Average cost_, 2s. 6d. to 3s. each.

_Sufficient_ for 2 entrees.

_Seasonable_ from the 1st of October to the beginning of February.

ROAST PHEASANT.

1041. INGREDIENTS.--Pheasant, flour, b.u.t.ter.

_Choosing and Trussing_.--Old pheasants may be known by the length and sharpness of their spurs; in young ones they are short and blunt. The c.o.c.k bird is generally reckoned the best, except when the hen is with egg. They should hang some time before they are dressed, as, if they are cooked fresh, the flesh will be exceedingly dry and tasteless. After the bird is plucked and drawn, wipe the inside with a damp cloth, and truss it in the same manner as partridge, No. 1039. If the head is left on, as shown in the engraving, bring it round under the wing, and fix it on to the point of the skewer.

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

_Mode_.--Roast it before a brisk fire, keep it well basted, and flour and froth it nicely. Serve with brown gravy, a little of which should be poured round the bird, and a tureen of bread sauce. 2 or 3 of the pheasant's best tail-feathers are sometimes stuck in the tail as an ornament; but the fas.h.i.+on is not much to be commended.--See coloured plate, F1.

_Time_.--1/2 to 1 hour, according to the size.

_Average cost_, 2s. 6d. to 3s. each. _Sufficient_,--1 for a dish.

_Seasonable_ from the 1st of October to the beginning of February.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE PHEASANT.]

THE PHEASANT.--This beautiful bird is said to have been discovered by the Argonauts on the banks of the Phasis, near Mount Ararat, in their expedition to Colchis. It is common, however, in almost all the southern parts of the European continent, and has been long naturalized in the warmest and most woody counties of England. It is very common in France; indeed, so common as to be esteemed a nuisance by the farmers. Although it has been domesticated, this is not easily accomplished, nor is its flesh so palatable then as it is in the wild state. Mr.

Ude says--"It is not often that pheasants are met with possessing that exquisite taste which is acquired only by long keeping, as the damp of this climate prevents their being kept as long as they are in other countries. The hens, in general, are the most delicate. The c.o.c.ks show their age by their spurs.