Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Pigeons, Curry of.— Cut one or two pigeons into quarters, and fry them in butter until they are nicely browned. Take them up, drain them, and put them aside until wanted. Peel and slice three large onions, and fry them in the same butter. Put with them half a dozen chopped mushrooms and half a pint of strong veal stock. Stir them together, add a large tea-spoonful of curry paste and a salt-spoonful of curry powder, and boil aU together until the onions, &c., are quite soft, then rub the whole through a fine hair sieve. Add a dessert-spoonful of brown thickening, and boU the sauce until it is of the consistency of custard. Draw it to the side of the fire, let it cool a minute, then put in the pieces of pigeon, and let them heat in the hot sauce, without boiling. Pour the whole upon a hot dish, and serve with a border of rice round the curry. A cupful of thick cream will be considered a great improvement to this dish by many persons. A sour apple also may be minced and fried with the onions. When brown thickening is not at hand, a dessert-spoonful of ground rice may be mixed smoothly with a little of the sauce, and stirred into the rest. Brown thickening is, however, so useful that it ought to be at hand in every kitchen. {Sec Brown Thickening). Time, half an hour to heat the pigeons in the sauce. Probable cost, 2s. 6d., exclusive of the cream. Sufficient for two or three persons. Pigeons, Cutlets of.— Divide two or three pigeons in halves lengthwise, by cutting them down through the breast and back ; remove the wing bones, and turn the leg bones inside, so as to shape them something like a chop. Sprinkle a little pepper and salt over them, and fry in hot fat until they are done enough. Put them between two dishes, place a weight upon the top, and leave them until they are cold. Mince two small shallots, and fry them in the fat until they are lightly browned. Pour over them half a pint of stock or (failing this) water, and season the gravy with pepper and salt. Boil gently, and skim carefully, for half an hour or more, then strain the liquid. Heat it when it is wanted, and send to table in a tureen. A glassful of sherry or claret may be added to this gravy, or if liked, a table-spoonful of red currant jelly may be dissolved in it. A^Tien the cutlets are wanted, dip them in clarified butter, then into bread-crumbs, and broil them over a clear slow fire until they are brightly browned. Dish them in a circle, with French beans, peas, asparagus, or stewed mushrooms in the centre. A cut lemon, or, if preferred, a little red currant jelly is an excellent accompaniment to pigeon cutlets. Time to broil the cutlets, five minutes for each side. Probable cost of pigeons, 8d. to Is. 9d. each. Sufficient for three or four persons. Pigeons (en Matelote). — Put some butter and flour into a stewpan, and simmer until they turn brown. Cook in the butter the pigeons cut in pieces, with a few thin slices of bacon. Pour over them some stock broth and white wine, and add some chives, parsley, thyme, mushrooms, and onions fried in butter, as well as salt, pepper, and spice. Boil down over a good fire. PIG (501 ) PI»