FoodNet

Middle class cookery book

1912

Page 66

Presented as published in 1912. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Pluck the feathers, then singe the fowl to remove the small hair-like feathers. Lay the fowl on its breast, make an incision along the back of the neck from the body to the head. Cut off the head ; separate the skin from the neck, and fold the skin back over the breast ; then cut off the neck close to the body. Draw out the crop carefully, and then the windpipe. Wipe the piece of skin to remove the blood. With a sharp knife enlarge the opening at the other end of the bird, about an inch upwards, from the middle. Draw out all the inside of the bird, taking care not to break the gall bladder, which is attached to the liver. Wipe the opening with a damp cloth. Preserve the neck and giblets for soup or gravy. To Truss a Fowl for Roasting Cut off the toes at the first joint. Put the legs in a 13(3 MIDDLE CLASS COOKERY ROOK PART II basin of boiling water for a few minutes ; the skin can then be easily peeled off. Place the fowl on its breast ; fold the skin over the opening at the neck on to the back. Turn in the wing with the end outside in the shape of a triangle ; the points will then keep the loose skin in its place. Push back the legs close to the sides of the bird, crossing each other at the knees. Tie the legs with the tail, commonly called the “ parson’s nose,” firmly together. Pass a skewer through the pinion and through the part of the leg placed under the wing, then through the body, the other leg, and pinion. Remove the gall bladder from the liver, taking care not to break it ; wash the liver in cold water, dry it. Remove the fat from the gizzard, cut it open, and take out the in- side and the coarse skin ; wash and dry the gizzard. Place the liver and gizzard each in a wing of the bird. If the fowl is lean, put a small piece of butter or drip- ping into the inside. To Truss a Fowl for Boiling' The fowl is trussed in the same way as for roasting, with the following differences : Cut off the legs at the first joint ; put the fingers into the bird, and loosen all the skin round the legs till they can be pushed back within the skin. Push back the legs into the body of the bird, so that the whole is inside ; put the liver and heart into the bird ; fold the skin of the breast over the end of the legs which appear at the hole, and tie firmly with double string ; then turn up the parson’s nose, pushing it in so as to fill up the opening. To Prepare Moulds for Cakes Melt about half an ounce of butter ; carefully cover every part with a brush, or with a piece of kitchen paper dipped in the butter. For sponge and other CHAP. X MISCELLANEOUS 137 delicate cakes, turn the mould after it is buttered over on a plate ; let it drain. If the cake is to be of a brown colour, sprinkle a little castor sugar into the mould ; turn it over, and shake out the loose sugar. To Prepare Basins or Moulds for Puddings Dip a piece of folded kitchen paper in soft butter ; rub it over every part of the basin or mould till it is well covered. Be careful to prepare in the same way the paper for covering steamed puddings. To Steam Puddings