The Book of Household Management - Mrs. Isabella Beeton
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[Illustration: ROAST RABBIT.]
A roast rabbit is rather differently trussed from one that is meant to
be boiled; but the carving is nearly similar, as will be seen by the
cut. The back should be divided into as many pieces as it will give, and
the legs and shoulders can then be disengaged in the same manner as
those of the boiled animal.
ROAST TURKEY.
[Illustration: ROAST TURKEY.]
1005. A noble dish is a turkey, roast or boiled. A Christmas dinner,
with the middle classes of this empire, would scarcely be a Christmas
dinner without its turkey; and we can hardly imagine an object of
greater envy than is presented by a respected portly pater-familias
carving, at the season devoted to good cheer and genial charity, his own
fat turkey, and carving it well. The only art consists, as in the
carving of a goose, in getting from the breast as many fine slices as
possible; and all must have remarked the very great difference in the
large number of people whom a good carver will find slices for, and the
comparatively few that a bad carver will succeed in serving. As we have
stated in both the carving of a duck and goose, the carver should
commence cutting slices close to the wing from, 2 to 3, and then proceed
upwards towards the ridge of the breastbone: this is not the usual plan,
but, in practice, will be found the best. The breast is the only part
which is looked on as fine in a turkey, the legs being very seldom cut
off and eaten at table: they are usually removed to the kitchen, where
they are taken off, as here marked, to appear only in a form which seems
to have a special attraction at a bachelor's supper-table,--we mean
devilled: served in this way, they are especially liked and relished.
A boiled turkey is carved in the same manner as when roasted.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXII.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON GAME.
1006. THE COMMON LAW OF ENGLAND has a maxim, that goods, in which no
person can claim any property, belong, by his or her prerogative, to the
king or queen. Accordingly, those animals, those _ferae naturae_, which
come under the denomination of game, are, in our laws, styled his or her
majesty's, and may therefore, as a matter of course, be granted by the
sovereign to another; in consequence of which another may prescribe to
possess the same within a certain precinct or lordship. From this
circumstance arose the right of lords of manors or others to the game
within their respective liberties; and to protect these species of
animals, the game laws were originated, and still remain in force. There
are innumerable acts of parliament inflicting penalties on persons who
may illegally kill game, and some of them are very severe; but they
cannot be said to answer their end, nor can it be expected that they
ever will, whilst there are so many persons of great wealth who have not
otherwise the means of procuring game, except by purchase, and who will
have it. These must necessarily encourage poaching, which, to a very
large extent, must continue to render all game laws nugatory as to their
intended effects upon the rustic population.
1007. THE OBJECT OF THESE LAWS, however, is not wholly confined to the
restraining of the illegal sportsman. Even qualified or privileged
persons must not kill game at all seasons. During the day, the hours
allowed for sporting are from one hour before sunrise till one hour
after sunset; whilst the time of killing certain species is also
restricted to certain seasons. For example, the season for
bustard-shooting is from December 1 to March 1; for grouse, or red
grouse, from August 12 to December 10; heath-fowl, or black-game, from
August 20 to December 20; partridges from September 1 to February 12;
pheasants from October 1 to February 1; widgeons, wild ducks, wild
geese, wild fowls, at any time but in June, July, August, and September.
Hares may be killed at any time of the year, under certain restrictions
defined by an act of parliament of the 10th of George III.
1008. THE EXERCISE OR DIVERSION OF PURSUING FOUR-FOOTED BEASTS OF GAME
is called hunting, which, to this day, is followed in the field and the
forest, with gun and greyhound. Birds, on the contrary, are not hunted,
but shot in the air, or taken with nets and other devices, which is
called fowling; or they are pursued and taken by birds of prey, which is
called hawking, a species of sport now fallen almost entirely into
desuetude in England, although, in some parts, showing signs of being
revived.
1009. IN PURSUING FOUR-FOOTED BEASTS, such as deer, boars, and hares,
properly termed hunting, mankind were, from the earliest ages, engaged.
It was the rudest and the most obvious manner of acquiring human support
before the agricultural arts had in any degree advanced. It is an
employment, however, requiring both art and contrivance, as well as a
certain fearlessness of character, combined with the power of
considerable physical endurance. Without these, success could not be
very great; but, at best, the occupation is usually accompanied with
rude and turbulent habits; and, when combined with these, it constitutes
what is termed the savage state of man. As culture advances, and as the
soil proportionably becomes devoted to the plough or to the sustenance
of the tamer or more domesticated animals, the range of the huntsman is
proportionably limited; so that when a country has attained to a high
state of cultivation, hunting becomes little else than an amusement of
the opulent. In the case of fur-bearing animals, however, it is somewhat
different; for these continue to supply the wants of civilization with
one of its most valuable materials of commerce.
1010. THE THEMES WHICH FORM THE MINSTRELSY OF THE EARLIEST AGES, either
relate to the spoils of the chase or the dangers of the battle-field.
Even the sacred writings introduce us to Nimrod, the first mighty hunter
before the Lord, and tell us that Ishmael, in the solitudes of Arabia,
became a skilful bow-man; and that David, when yet young, was not afraid
to join in combat with the lion or the bear. The Greek mythology teems
with hunting exploits. Hercules overthrows the Nemaean lion, the
Erymanthean boar, and the hydra of Lerna; Diana descends to the earth,
and pursues the stag; whilst Aesculapius, Nestor, Theseus, Ulysses, and
Achilles are all followers of the chase. Aristotle, sage as he was,
advises young men to apply themselves early to it; and Plato finds in it
something divine. Horace exalts it as a preparative exercise for the
path of glory, and several of the heroes of Homer are its ardent
votaries. The Romans followed the hunting customs of the Greeks, and the
ancient Britons were hunters before Julius Caesar invaded their shores.
1011. ALTHOUGH THE ANCIENT BRITONS FOLLOWED HUNTING, however, they did
not confine themselves solely to its pursuit. They bred cattle and
tilled the ground, and, to some extent, indicated the rudimentary state
of a pastoral and agricultural life; but, in every social change, the
sports of the field maintained their place. After the expulsion of the
Danes, and during the brief restoration of the Saxon monarchy, these
were still followed: even Edward the Confessor, who would join in no
other secular amusements, took the greatest delight, says William of
Malmesbury, "to follow a pack of swift hounds in pursuit of game, and to
cheer them with his voice."
1012. NOR WAS EDWARD the only English sovereign who delighted in the
pleasures of the chase. William the Norman, and his two sons who
succeeded him, were passionately fond of the sport, and greatly
circumscribed the liberties of their subjects in reference to the
killing of game. The privilege of hunting in the royal forests was
confined to the king and his favourites; and in order that these
umbrageous retreats might be made more extensive, whole villages were
depopulated, places of worship levelled with the ground, and every means
adopted that might give a sufficient amplitude of space, in accordance
with the royal pleasure, for the beasts of the chase. King John was
likewise especially attached to the sports of the field; whilst Edward
III. was so enamoured of the exercise, that even during his absence at
the wars in France, he took with him sixty couples of stag-hounds and as
many hare-hounds, and every day amused himself either with hunting or
hawking. Great in wisdom as the Scotch Solomon, James I., conceited
himself to be, he was much addicted to the amusements of hunting,
hawking, and shooting. Yea, it is oven asserted that his precious time
was divided between hunting, the bottle, and his standish: to the first
he gave his fair weather, to the second his dull, and to the third his
cloudy. From his days down to the present, the sports of the field have
continued to hold their high reputation, not only for the promotion of
health, but for helping to form that manliness of character which enters
so largely into the composition of the sons of the British soil. That it
largely helps to do this there can be no doubt. The late duke of
Grafton, when hunting, was, on one occasion, thrown into a ditch. A
young curate, engaged in the same chase, cried out, "Lie still, my
lord!" leapt over him, and pursued his sport. Such an apparent want of
feeling might be expected to have been resented by the duke; but not so.
On his being helped up by his attendant, he said, "That man shall have
the first good living that falls to my disposal: had he stopped to have
given me his sympathy, I never would have given him anything." Such was
the manly sentiment of the duke, who delighted in the exemplification of
a spirit similarly ardent as his own in the sport, and above the
baseness of an assumed sorrow.
1013. THAT HUNTING HAS IN MANY INSTANCES BEEN CARRIED TO AN EXCESS is
well known, and the match given by the Prince Esterhazy, regent of
Hungary, on the signing of the treaty of peace with France, is not the
least extraordinary upon record. On that occasion, there were killed 160
deer, 100 wild boars, 300 hares, and 80 foxes: this was the achievement
of one day. Enormous, however, as this slaughter may appear, it is
greatly inferior to that made by the contemporary king of Naples on a
hunting expedition. That sovereign had a larger extent of ground at his
command, and a longer period for the exercise of his talents;
consequently, his sport, if it can so be called, was proportionably
greater. It was pursued during his journey to Vienna, in Austria,
Bohemia, and Moravia; when he killed 5 bears, 1,820 boars, 1,950 deer,
1,145 does, 1,625 roebucks, 11,121 rabbits, 13 wolves, 17 badgers,
16,354 hares, and 354 foxes. In birds, during the same expedition, he
killed 15,350 pheasants and 12,335 partridges. Such an amount of
destruction can hardly be called sport; it resembles more the
indiscriminate slaughter of a battle-field, where the scientific engines
of civilized warfare are brought to bear upon defenceless savages.
1014. DEER AND HARES may be esteemed as the only four-footed animals now
hunted in Britain for the table; and even those are not followed with
the same ardour as they were wont to be. Still, there is no country in
the world where the sport of hunting on horseback is carried to such an
extent as in Great Britain, and where the pleasures of the chase are so
well understood, and conducted on such purely scientific principles. The
Fox, of all "the beasts of the field," is now considered to afford the
best sport. For this, it is infinitely superior to the stag; for the
real sportsman can only enjoy that chase when the deer is sought for and
found like other game which are pursued with hounds. In the case of
finding an outlying fallow-deer, which is unharboured, in this manner,
great sport is frequently obtained; but this is now rarely to be met
with in Britain. In reference to hare-hunting, it is much followed in
many parts of this and the sister island; but, by the true foxhunter, it
is considered as a sport only fit to be pursued by women and old men.
Although it is less dangerous and exciting than the fox-chase, however,
it has great charms for those who do not care for the hard riding which
the other requires.
1015. THE ART OF TAKING OR KILLING BIRDS is called "fowling," and is
either practised as an amusement by persons of rank or property, or for
a livelihood by persons who use nets and other apparatus. When practised
as an amusement, it principally consists of killing them with a light
firearm called a "fowling-piece," and the sport is secured to those who
pursue it by the game laws. The other means by which birds are taken,
consist in imitating their voices, or leading them, by other artifices,
into situations where they become entrapped by nets, birdlime, or
otherwise. For taking large numbers of birds, the pipe or call is the
most common means employed; and this is done during the months of
September and October. We will here briefly give a description of the
_modus operandi_ pursued in this sport. A thin wood is usually the spot
chosen, and, under a tree at a little distance from the others, a cabin
is erected, and there are only such branches left on the tree as are
necessary for the placing of the birdlime, and which are covered with
it. Around the cabin are placed avenues with twisted perches, also
covered with birdlime. Having thus prepared all that is necessary, the
birdcatcher places himself in the cabin, and, at sunrise and sunset,
imitates the cry of a small bird calling the others to its assistance.
Supposing that the cry of the owl is imitated, immediately different
kinds of birds will flock together at the cry of their common enemy,
when, at every instant, they will be seen falling to the ground, their
wings being of no use to them, from their having come in contact with
the birdlime. The cries of those which are thus situated now attract
others, and thus are large numbers taken in a short space of time. If
owls were themselves desired to be taken, it is only during the night
that this can be done, by counterfeiting the squeak of the mouse. Larks,
other birds, and water-fowl, are sometimes taken by nets; but to
describe fully the manner in which this is done, would here occupy too
much space.
1016. FEATHERED GAME HAVE FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL given gratification to
the palate of man. With the exception of birds of prey, and some other
species, Moses permitted his people to eat them; and the Egyptians made
offerings to their priests of their most delicate birds. The ancient
Greeks commenced their repasts with little roasted birds; and feathered
game, amongst the Romans, was served as the second course. Indeed,
several of the ancient _gourmands_ of the "imperial city" were so fond
of game, that they brought themselves to ruin by eating flamingoes and
pheasants. "Some modern nations, the French among others," says Monsieur
Soyer, "formerly ate the heron, crane, crow, stork, swan, cormorant, and
bittern. The first three especially were highly esteemed; and
Laillevant, cook of Charles VII., teaches us how to prepare these
meagre, tough birds. Belon says, that in spite of its revolting taste
when unaccustomed to it, the bittern is, however, among the delicious
treats of the French. This writer also asserts, that a falcon or a
vulture, either roasted or boiled, is excellent eating; and that if one
of these birds happened to kill itself in flying after game, the
falconer instantly cooked it. Lebaut calls the heron a royal viand."
1017. THE HERON WAS HUNTED BY THE HAWK, and the sport of hawking is
usually placed at the head of those amusements that can only be
practised in the country. This precedency it probably obtained from its
being a pastime to generally followed by the nobility, not in Great
Britain only, but likewise on the continent. In former times, persons of
high rank rarely appeared in public without their dogs and their hawks:
the latter they carried with them when they journeyed from one country
to another, and sometimes even took them to battle with them, and would
not part with them when taken prisoners, even to obtain their own
liberty. Such birds were esteemed as the ensigns of nobility, and no
action was reckoned more dishonourable in a man of rank than that of
giving up his hawk. We have already alluded to the hunting propensities
of our own Edward III., and we may also allude to his being equally
addicted to hawking. According to Froissart, when this sovereign invaded
France, he took with him thirty falconers on horseback, who had charge
of his hawks, and every day, as his royal fancy inclined him, he either
hunted, or went to the river for the purpose of hawking. In the great
and powerful, the pursuit of game as a sport is allowable, but in those
who have to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, it is to be
condemned. In Burton's "Anatomy of Melancholy" we find a humorous story,
told by Poggius, the Florentine, who reprobates this folly in such
persons. It is this. A physician of Milan, that cured madmen, had a pit
of water in his house, in which he kept his patients, some up to the
knees, some to the girdle, some to the chin, _pro modo insaniae_, as
they were more or less affected. One of them by chance, that was well
recovered, stood in the door, and seeing a gallant pass by with a hawk
on his fist, well mounted, with his spaniels after him, would needs know
to what use all this preparation served. He made answer, To kill certain
fowl. The patient demanded again, what his fowl might be worth which he
killed in a year? He replied, Five or ten crowns; and when he urged him
further, what his dogs, horse, and hawks stood him in, he told him four
hundred crowns. With that the patient bade him begone, as he loved his
life and welfare; "for if our master come and find thee here, he will
put thee in the pit, amongst the madmen, up to the chin." Thus reproving
the madness of such men as will spend themselves in those vain sports,
to the neglect of their business and necessary affairs.
1018. AS THE INEVITABLE RESULT OF SOCIAL PROGRESS is, at least to limit,
if not entirely to suppress, such sports as we have here been treating
of, much of the romance of country life has passed away. This is more
especially the case with falconry, which had its origin about the middle
of the fourth century, although, lately, some attempts have been rather
successfully made to institute a revival of the "gentle art" of hawking.
Julius Firmicus, who lived about that time, is, so far as we can find,
the first Latin author who speaks of falconers, and the art of teaching
one species of birds to fly after and catch others. The occupation of
these functionaries has now, however, all but ceased. New and nobler
efforts characterize the aims of mankind in the development of their
civilization, and the sports of the field have, to a large extent, been
superseded by other exercises, it may be less healthful and
invigorating, but certainly more elegant, intellectual, and humanizing.
[Illustration]
RECIPES.
CHAPTER XXIII.
ROAST BLACK-COCK.
1019. INGREDIENTS.--Black-cock, butter, toast.
[Illustration: ROAST BLACK-COCK.]
_Mode_.--Let these birds hang for a few days, or they will be tough and
tasteless, if not well kept. Pluck and draw them, and wipe the insides
and outsides with a damp cloth, as washing spoils the flavour. Cut off
the heads, and truss them, the same as a roast fowl, cutting off the
toes, and scalding and peeling the feet. Trussing them with the head on,
as shown in the engraving, is still practised by many cooks, but the
former method is now considered the best. Put them down to a brisk fire,
well baste them with butter, and serve with a piece of toast under, and
a good gravy and bread sauce. After trussing, some cooks cover the
breast with vine-leaves and slices of bacon, and then roast them. They
should be served in the same manner and with the same accompaniments as
with the plainly-roasted birds.
_Time_.--45 to 50 minutes.
_Average cost_, from 5s. to 6s. the brace; but seldom bought.
_Sufficient_,--2 or 3 for a dish.
_Seasonable_ from the middle of August to the end of December.
[Illustration: THE BLACK-COCK.]
THE BLACK-COCK, HEATH-COCK, MOOR-FOWL, OR HEATH-POULT.--This
bird sometimes weighs as much as four pounds, and the hen about
two. It is at present confined to the more northern parts of
Britain, culture and extending population having united in
driving it into more desolate regions, except, perhaps, in a few
of the more wild and less-frequented portions of England. It may
still be found in the New Forest, in Hampshire, Dartmoor, and
Sedgmoor, in Devonshire, and among the hills of Somersetshire,
contiguous to the latter. It may also be found in Staffordshire,
in North Wales, and again in the north of England; but nowhere
so plentiful as in some parts of the Highlands of Scotland. The
males are hardly distinguishable from the females until they are
about half-grown, when the black feathers begin to appear, first
about the sides and breast. Their food consists of the tops of
birch and heath, except when the mountain berries are ripe, at
which period they eagerly and even voraciously pick the
bilberries and cranberries from the bushes. Large numbers of
these birds are found in Norway, almost rivalling the turkey in
point of size. Some of them have begun to be imported into
London, where they are vended in the shops; but the flavour of
their flesh is not equal to that of the Scotch bird.
HASHED WILD DUCK.
1020. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast wild duck, 1 pint of good
brown gravy, 2 tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs, 1 glass of claret, salt,
cayenne, and mixed spices to taste; 1 tablespoonful of lemon or Seville
orange-juice.
_Mode_.--Cut the remains of the duck into neat joints, put them into a
stewpan, with all the above ingredients; let them get gradually hot by
the side of the fire, and occasionally stir the contents; when on the
point of boiling, serve, and garnish the dish with sippets of toasted
bread.
_Time_.--About 1/4 hour.
_Seasonable_ from November to February.
RAGOUT OF WILD DUCK.
1021. INGREDIENTS.--2 wild ducks, 4 shalots, 1 pint of stock No. 105, 1
glass of port wine, 1 oz. of butter, a little flour, the juice of 1/2
lemon, cayenne and salt to taste.
_Mode_.--Ducks that have been dressed and left from the preceding day
will answer for this dish. Cut them into joints, reserve the legs,
wings, and breasts until wanted; put the trimmings into a stewpan with
the shalots and stock, and let them simmer for about 1/2 hour, and
strain the gravy. Put the butter into a stewpan; when melted, dredge in
a little flour, and pour in the gravy made from the bones; give it one
boil, and strain it again; add the wine, lemon-juice, and cayenne; lay
in the pieces of duck, and let the whole gradually warm through, but do
not allow it to boil, or the duck will be hard. The gravy should not be
too thick, and should be very highly seasoned. The squeeze of a Seville
orange is a great improvement to this dish.
_Time_.--About 1/2 hour to make the gravy; 1/4 hour for the duck
gradually to warm through.
_Seasonable_ from November to February.
ROAST WILD DUCK.
1022. INGREDIENTS.--Wild duck, flour, butter.
[Illustration: ROAST WILD DUCK.]
_Mode_.--Carefully pluck and draw them; Cut off the heads close to the
necks, leaving sufficient skin to turn over, and do not cut off the
feet; some twist each leg at the knuckle, and rest the claws on each
side of the breast; others truss them as shown in our Illustration.
Roast the birds before a quick fire, and, when they are first put down,
let them remain for 5 minutes without basting (this will keep the gravy
in); afterwards baste plentifully with butter, and a few minutes before
serving dredge them lightly with flour; baste well, and send them to
table nicely frothed, and full of gravy. If overdone, the birds will
lose their flavour. Serve with a good gravy in the dish, or orange
gravy, No. 488; and send to table with them a cut lemon. To take off the
fishy taste which wild fowl sometimes have, baste them for a few minutes
with hot water to which have been added an onion and a little salt; then
take away the pan, and baste with butter.--See coloured plate, G1.
_Time_.--When liked underdressed, 20 to 25 minutes; well done, 25 to 35
minutes.
_Average cost_, 4s. to 5s. the couple.
_Sufficient_,--2 for a dish.
_Seasonable_ from November to February.
[Illustration: THE WILD DUCK.]
THE WILD DUCK.--The male of the wild dock is called a mallard;
and the young ones are called flappers. The time to try to find
a brood of these is about the month of July, among the rushes of
the deepest and most retired parts of some brook or stream,
where, if the old bird is sprung, it may be taken as a certainty
that its brood is not far off. When once found, flappers are
easily killed, as they attain their full growth before their
wings are fledged. Consequently, the sport is more like hunting
water-rats than shooting birds. When the flappers take wing,
they assume the name of wild ducks, and about the month of
August repair to the corn-fields, where they remain until they
are disturbed by the harvest-people. They then frequent the
rivers pretty early in the evening, and give excellent sport to
those who have patience to wait for them. In order to know a
wild duck, it is necessary only to look at the claws, which
should be black.
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