Kentucky receipt book

Take a large rabbit, wash, make incisions and with larding needle insert small strips of breakfast bacon. Put in roasting pan and pour over 1 cup of sour cream, season with salt and pepper. Baste frequently and cook thoroughly done. This is a German recipe. To Fry Rabbit. Cut up rabbit, soak in salt water for 1 hour. Drain and dip each piece in sifted flour, season with salt and pepper, fry in hot fat a chestnut brown. FOWL The Selection of Fowls. In choosing fowls select those that are heavy in proportion to their size. For fricassee, roast or boiled chicken a hen is best. For croquettes, highly seasoned entrees or soups a cock may be used. White flesh poultry, such as turkeys and chickens, require to be well done. Game with dark meat, such as canvas-back ducks, venison and almost all birds, should be cooked rare. To Dress Poultry. Poultry should be dressed as soon as killed, as the feathers come out more easily. To pluck poultry pull out 2 feathers at a time, with a quick motion toward the head. Remove pin feathers with the aid of sharp knife. To singe the fowls put in a pan, roll of lighted paper and singe the bird thoroughly, but use care not to scorch the skin. Take off the head and legs, cut open the skin on the back of the neck, disjoint the latter and cut off close to the body. Separate the crop carefully from the skin of the neck, remove that and the windpipe, insert one finger into the opening and loosen the organs from the breast bone. Be sure not to break the entrails or the gall bladder, but pull out all together, for should it happen the chicken or fowl is almost ruined, as it imparts a bitter taste which spoils the delicate flavor. To Truss a Fowl. Push the legs up until the knees are above point of the breast bone, cross them at the tail and tie firmly. Put a skewer through body at the wings and thighs, press close to the body and tie across the back. To Prepare Giblets. Be careful not to use giblets unless sound. They should be a light color. Cut away any portion that has been discolored by the gall bladder and be careful it does not touch the meat. Cut through the thick muscle of the gizzard and peel it off, without breaking into the little gristmill inside. Put them in salted water 1 hour. Cook neck of fowl with the giblets. The legs and wing tips may be added to the stock pot after scalding and peeling. To Stuff a Fowl. Put fowl in a deep bowl, fill the breast with dressing until plump, but allow for expanding while cooking. Fold skin of the neck loosely back and fasten with a bird skewer. Have opening not more than 3 inches, can close by sewing with large darning needle and soft cotton. Leave long ends on thread. Boast Turkey or Chicken. For a roast turkey or chicken cut through the skin of the leg 2 inches below the joint, break the bones by a light blow and draw out the tendons, picking them up with a stout fork. Leave on bits of leg bone until the fowl is roasted, then remove before serving. Stewed Chicken. Take 1 large chicken or 2 small ones, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 gallon of cold water, pepper and salt. Wash chicken and disjoint, put in pot with cold water. After it boils 30 minutes add pepper and salt. Prepare some dumplings, cut in narrow thin strips. Fifteen minutes before chicken is done drop in dumplings with a spoon ; also add the butter ; boil rapidly. Serve in a hot dish. Chicken a la Hollandaise.