Woodcock on Toast

Ingredients

• Two brace of woodcock
• four ounces of butter
• one teaspoonful of salt
• one teaspoonful of pepper

Method

1. 1

   Pluck and singe the woodcock, draw them, and season inside with pepper and salt.

2. 2

   String them on a spit, rub butter over each breast, and broil for twenty minutes.

3. 3

   Boil the livers for five minutes, pound or chop finely, and spread over buttered toast.

4. 4

   Serve the woodcock on the toast.

As published

This recipe was extracted from My mother's cook book (1902) by Matilda Lees Dods, page 34. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Woodcock on Toast, — Two brace of woodcock, four ounces of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, one tea- spoonful of pepper. When plucked and singed the woodcock should be drawn, cutting out the neck, but leaving the head which must be drawn around and the long bill passed through the legs, wings and body as a trussing skewer. Season each by rubbing a little pepper and salt inside, string them upon a spit, rub over each breast a portion of the butter, and broil the birds over an open fire for twenty minutes. The livers should now be boiled for five minutes, pounded in a mortar or chopped very finely, and this paste being spread over two slices of butter toast, the toast should be placed upon a hot platter and the woodcock served thereon. Note. — Quail, snipe and larks may be served and prepared as pTcsciibed for woodcock. Squabs -with G-reen Peas. — One pair of squabs, one pint of shelled green peas, two ounces of butter, one gill of stock, one teaspoonful of salt, one-half teaspoonful of pepper. , Pluck, singe, draw and wash the pigeons slightly in cold water. Twist the tips of the wings behind the shoulders and threading a trussing-needle with fine twine, 76 MEATS. pierce with it the first joint of the wings, passing "through the upper portion of the legs and straight through the body in doing so. Return the needle then through the tips of the wings, piercing through the skin of the neck in passing and bringing the twine thus to its point of departure, draw it taut and tie the ends firmly together. The claws should now be chopped oflF and crossing the legs tie them, neatly together, after which melt in a stewing pan two ounces of butter and when the smoke arises there- from, put the pigeons into it breast downwards, and allow them to cook slowly for one hour, turning them from time to time, to prevent burning and in order that they may brown evenly. At the end of th0 hour the butter in which the squabs have cooked must be drained off, and the stock poured over them in which they must be allowed to cook for five minutes. Put then in with the squabs the peas, season them with the salt and pepper, and let all cook veiy slowly for twenty additional minutes. At the end of this time remove the pigeons from the stewing pan, cut and draw out the 'trussing strings, and arranging the birds lipon a hot platter, pour the peas and the reduced stock around them. Serve very hot. Stewed Wild Pigeons. — Four wild pigeons, one quart of stock, one ounce of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, six cloves, one blade of mace, one Bermuda onion, one-half teaspoonful of peppercorns, one tablespoonful of mushroom caisup, eight drops of caramel. When the pigeons have been plucked, singed and drawn they must be cut into quarters, first splitting them. KROMESQUtES RUSSB. 77 through from breast to back, and then separating these halves into wing and drumstick quarters. Place these quarters into a stew pan, cover them with the stock and when this boils up skim the surface care- fully, throw in the mace, peppercorns, cloves, chopped onion and salt, when covering the saucepan draw it to one side of the fire and allow its contents to simmer very slowly until the pigeons become tender, the length of time for which depends entirely upon their age. Put the flour now into a bowl, beat it smooth with a little cold water, add to this the catsup and caramel, and pouring this mixture into the saucepan with the pigeons stir all together until boiling again, when it must continue to boil for ten minutes and the pigeons then be trans- ferred to a deep platter and the sauce from the saucepan strained over them. ENTREMETS. E[romesquies Russe. — One-quarter of a pound of raw bacon, one quarter of a pound of cold turkey, two ounces of cold tongue, one ounce of butter, four ounces of flour, one gill of milk, one-half teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of pepper

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.