Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

minutes to a pound ; baste the bird every fifteen minutes with the drippings, seasoning it when it is brown ; if a frothed surface is desired, dredge the turkey with flour before basting it. When it is done, remove the skewers or strings which hold it in place, and serve it with gravy made from the drippings in the pan ; the giblets being boiled tender, then chopped, and added to the gravy. Serve celery with the roast turkey. OYSTER FORCE-MEAT. Strain the liquor from a quart of oysters, and pour it over sufficient stale bread to fill the body of the turkey ; carefully remove all bits of shell from the oysters, and then add them to the bread with a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper, and a stalk of celery minced very fine, or a level teaspoonful of celery-leaves dried and powdered ; use the force-meat thus made, for stuffing the turkey, as directed in the preceding recipe. The turkey may be stuffed with the same force-meat used for boned turkey, or with any of the usual poultry stuffings. It may be used either hot or cold. An illustration of the dish is given in the chapter on Carving. ROAST TURKEY WITH TRUFFLES. This dish is seldom prepared in this country, because truffles are very expensive, — at least a pound of truffles being required for a small turkey. Of course the fresh truffles are the best ; and when they are obtainable, they should be carefully cleansed in cold water, with a soft brush. The canned truffles are to be taken from the liquor in which they are preserved ; the liquor should be used to make the sauce or gravy for the turkey. Keep the finest of the truffles whole ; chop the others very fine ; chop or pound in a mortar the white fat of bacon until the quantity equals that of the truffles ; mix the bacon and truffles, season them palatably with salt and pepper, and stuff the turkey with them after it has been dressed as directed in the recipe for roast turkey; sew up the turkey, truss it, and keep it in a cold place for three days ; then roast or bake it carefully, saving all the drippings for sauces or gravies ; make a gravy as directed for roast turkey, using the giblets and some of the drippings and liquor from the truffles. Serve the truffled turkey either hot or cold. LARDED TURKEY. The accompanying engraving shows a turkey dressed, trussed with strings, and larded with fat salt pork, ready for roasting or baking. The larded parts of the turkey must ."'^,'7^' -^"/-AA* '■IN. '^.. -^^ *4 L«*^"' .fj*.-: Larded Turkey. be well covered with oiled or buttered paper while the bird is being cooked : the paper should be taken off just before the turkey is done, in order to allow the lardoons to brown. A young turkey larded and roasted, and served with a garnish of watercresses dressed with a plain French saladdressing, is one of the most delicious of all poultry roasts. IMPLEMENTS FOR LARDING AND TRUSSING. The accompanying engravings show the needles for larding and trussing. The first represents a case of larding- Casa of Larding-Needtes. needles of various sizes ; the split ends, in which the lardoons are placed, to be drawn through the flesh, protrude from the case. The second cut shows the large and medium Trussing-Needles.