Birds which
are not carnivorous have no power of mastication in the mouth,
and therefore swallow small stones and gravel, which act on
their food in the gizzard as teeth do in our mouths. The
gizzard is a large hard mass just under the point of the breast-
bone. Enlarge the slit a little, and with your finger and
thumb get fast hold of the gizzard and draw it gently forward.
The intestines will follow it. Again slip in your finger and
thumb and draw out the heart and the liver. Sometimes all
these organs will come out together. Be most careful not to
break the little bladder full of green liquid which is attached
to the liver. This is the gall-bladder, and if it is broken it
will give the bird a bitter taste which nothing can remove.
Now wipe the inside of the bird clean with a damp cloth.
Remove the gall-bladder from the liver. Slit the narrow side
of the gizzard, turn it inside out, and remove the bag of hard
contents, but do not cut the skin which joins it in the
TO PREPARE POULTRY AND GAME
257
middle. It used to be the custom to thrust the liver
through one pinion of the bird and the gizzard through
the other ; the so-called liver- wing being considered a
delicacy. But a far better plan is to cook the liver
inside the bird with an ounce of butter, and half an onion✪ Preparation of Poultry and Game if
liked. Recollect that just as much is given away to the
poulterer in the giblets of a fowl as is given to the fishmonger
in the trimmings of fish. All the giblets, except the actual bill
or beak and claws, are of use. Scald the feet of the bird, rub
them with a coarse cloth to remove the scales, and cut off the
last joints of the toes, as these contain the foundation of the
claws. Cut off the beak or bill. Cut the head, neck, feet,
heart, gizzard, and pinions (that is the tip, or outermost part
of the wings), into small pieces. Scald them. Then, as
Wyvern advises, fry them with four ounces of onion and three
ounces of carrot sliced, in an ounce of butter or clarified suet at
the bottom of a stewpan. Shake the pan, and when beginning
to colour add half a pint of water or broth, and a glass of
Marsala. Reduce almost to a glaze, then add a pint of water
or common stock, bring to the boil once, then cover, reduce the
heat, and stew gently to extract the whole of the essence from
the scraps. When this has been done pour all through a
strainer, and cool it for the fat to rise. This having been
removed you will have a good basis for your brown sauce for
the turkey, or whatever bird it may be. A little lean bacon
may be put in, and a couple of sheep’s feet will improve the
consistency of the broth. By omitting the browning process a
good foundation for a white sauce is obtained. In this way the
whole of the bird is used, and nothing is wasted.
Page 176 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Birds which are not carnivorous have no power of mastication in the mouth, and therefore swallow small stones and gravel, which act on their food in the gizzard as teeth do in our mouths. The gizzard is a large hard mass just under the point of the breastbone. Enlarge the slit a little, and with your finger and thumb get fast hold of the gizzard and draw it gently forward. The intestines will follow it. Again slip in your finger and thumb and draw out the heart and the liver. Sometimes all these organs will come out together. Be most careful not to break the little bladder full of green liquid which is attached to the liver. This is the gall-bladder, and if it is broken it will give the bird a bitter taste which nothing can remove. Now wipe the inside of the bird clean with a damp cloth. Remove the gall-bladder from the liver. Slit the narrow side of the gizzard, turn it inside out, and remove the bag of hard contents, but do not cut the skin which joins it in the
middle. It used to be the custom to thrust the liver
through one pinion of the bird and the gizzard through the other ; the so-called liver- wing being considered a delicacy. But a far better plan is to cook the liver
inside the bird with an ounce of butter, and half an onion if liked. Recollect that just as much is given away to the poulterer in the giblets of a fowl as is given to the fishmonger in the trimmings of fish. All the giblets, except the actual bill or beak and claws, are of use. Scald the feet of the bird, rub them with a coarse cloth to remove the scales, and cut off the last joints of the toes, as these contain the foundation of the claws. Cut off the beak or bill. Cut the head, neck, feet, heart, gizzard, and pinions (that is the tip, or outermost part of the wings), into small pieces. Scald them. Then, as Wyvern advises, fry them with four ounces of onion and three ounces of carrot sliced, in an ounce of butter or clarified suet at the bottom of a stewpan. Shake the pan, and when beginning to colour add half a pint of water or broth, and a glass of Marsala. Reduce almost to a glaze, then add a pint of water or common stock, bring to the boil once, then cover, reduce the heat, and stew gently to extract the whole of the essence from the scraps. When this has been done pour all through a strainer, and cool it for the fat to rise. This having been removed you will have a good basis for your brown sauce for the turkey, or whatever bird it may be. A little lean bacon may be put in, and a couple of sheep’s feet will improve the consistency of the broth. By omitting the browning process a good foundation for a white sauce is obtained. In this way the whole of the bird is used, and nothing is wasted.
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Preparation of Poultry and Game