Practical home cookery

The class to whom we refer are those who live for the greater part of the year in London, and as a rule never move a mile except in a hansom ; to such the 1 2th of August is the commencement of what may be termed their annual training, the exercise they take during the next three months probably saving them from the inevitable gout and dyspepsia which would necessarily follow a town life such as theirs without such intervals. What a change 1 First the early rising — and there are thousands whom nothing but hunting or shooting will persuade to get up early — the substantial breakfast, the glass of bitter, the gun examination, the struggle into the heavy, greased shooting-boots, and then the tramp through the heather. What with the exercise and the bracing air of the moors, lunch is approached with feelings which by contrast approximate to what we should imagine the alderman’s would have been, had he carried out the famous doctor’s recipe — viz., to live on a shilhng a day, and earn it. Let us hope the hungry sportsmen may not meet with the disappointment that occurred to a shooting party on the moors, that we referred to before. The first brace of grouse shot were sent to a neighbouring farm to be cooked for lunch. The farmer’s wife, however, had them boiled, and stuffed with sage and onions. There are various ways of cooking grouse, but only one which we consider to be worthy of consideration, and that is what we term grouse au naturel, or in other words plain roast, with good gravy and fried breadcrumbs, or bread sauce. To overpower the delicious flavour of a good grouse with strong sauces seems to us as cruel a waste as to mull good 1848 Lafitte claret, and mix in cinnamon and sugar. As an instance, however, of what cooks may come to, we will mention an Italian method of spoiling grouse — the ingredients for this extraordinary dish comprising mace, garlic, brandy, macaroni, tomato sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Imagine what a dish this Italian cook and our farmer’s wife could manufacture between them ! The first point to be considered with regard to game, is. How long should it be kept ? When game is bought, it is of course impossible to say how long it has been killed, except from appearances. As a rule, the first symptom of discolouring, or the faintest smell of being high, shows that the birds are ripe for cooking. We would, however, allow a pheasant a longer time than either a partridge or a grouse. A thoroughly fresh pheasant is more tough than a fowl. Game, in fact, should be treated exactly like a good haunch of mutton. No one would keep a haunch till it is high, but yet every one knows that the longer it is kept the more tender it becomes. In a large number of London shops the game for sale has already been kept too long, reminding one of the story of the man who arrived home after a day’s shooting, who had, however, been driven to buy a brace for appearances, the look of which called forth the remark from his wife — “ Well, my dear, it is time they were shot, for they are getting very high.” The next point to be considered is the actual cooking. We will suppose the birds ready trussed. They should be wiped inside, but never washed.