Poultry
“Take the goods the Gods provide thee.”
—Dryden.
ROAST TURKEY.—Select if possible a young turkey, carefully remove all feathers and singe it over a burning paper on the stove, then see that it is carefully drawn and no internals broken; remove the crop carefully; after the head is cut off, tie the neck close to the body, by drawing the skin over it, now wash the inside of the turkey in several clean waters, into the next to the last add a teaspoonful of baking soda, this is to destroy that sour taste which fowls often have, if not freshly killed. After a thorough rinsing and washing of the bird wipe dry both in and outside with a clean cloth, rub the inside with salt, then stuff the body and breast with dressing for stuffing fowls, then sew up with strong thread, rub it over with a little soft butter, sprinkle over some salt and pepper, dredge with a little flour, place in a roaster with a little water and cook from two to two and a half hours, turn it around occasionally so that every part will be browned alike, when it appears done, pierce with a fork and when the liquid runs clear, the bird is done. Serve with cranberry sauce. Garnish with parsley, or fried oysters.—Mrs. George Bruegger.
DRESSING FOR STUFFING FOWL.—For an eight or ten pound turkey use about three pints of stale bread crumbs, put into a dish and pour tepid water over it, (not hot for that makes it heavy) let stand for a few minutes, then take up a handful and squeeze dry with both hands, put into another dish and when all is pressed dry toss it up lightly through your fingers, this process makes it very light. Parboil the liver, heart, and gizzard, in a little stew pan. When tender mince very fine and add to the bread, now one teaspoon of salt, a little pepper, half cup of melted butter; peel and chop one cooking apple, two tablespoons of green or dry fine minced parsley; mix well, add one beaten egg, mix again and it is ready for either turkey or chicken. For goose or duck add a few slices of onion chopped fine. The water in which the heart, gizzard and liver were stewed may be used with the gravy of the roast turkey, goose, duck or chicken.—Mrs. George Bruegger.
ROAST GOOSE.—The goose should not be more than eight months old, and the fatter the more tender and juicy the meat. After the goose has been well washed, cleaned and wiped, rub a little salt inside, stuff with the dressing for stuffing fowls with a little onion added to the dressing. Do not stuff too full and stitch the openings firmly to keep the flavor in and the fat out. Place in roaster with a little water and bake about two and a half hours, carefully turning it frequently and baste with water and salt. When done with all parts evenly brown, take up, pour off the fat and to the brown gravy left, add a little water, and some flour to thicken, bring to a boil and serve in a gravy boat. Garnish goose with parsley.—Mrs. George Bruegger.
VIRGINIA FRIED CHICKEN.—Dress and cut up chickens, rub each piece with salt and pepper, then dip it into beaten egg, then into flour and fry brown in deep hot fat or butter and lard mixed, or bacon drippings. Cover the skillet and let chicken cook slowly after it is browned well to be sure it is done. Remove chicken to platter and turn out part of the drippings. Add cooking spoon of flour to remaining drippings and cook a minute, then add milk or cream to make gravy. Season with salt and pepper and just before serving add beaten yolk of one egg mixed with a little milk. Serve with chicken. Garnish chicken platter with slices of cold boiled ham or crisp bacon, and corn dodgers and you will have a typical “Old Dominion” dish. I got above recipe from a Virginia woman.—Mrs. Whitehead.
SMOTHERED CHICKEN.—Split a young chicken down back, season with salt and pepper and put in roaster with one cup hot water. Roast (covered) until tender. As it begins to brown make a paste of two tablespoons each of butter and flour, blended, and spread it over chicken, basting often with pan dipper. Add cupful cream to drippings in pan for gravy. If the chicken is large cut into pieces as for frying before roasting this way.—Mrs. Whitehead.
CREOLE STEWED CHICKEN.—Boil a pint of rice in two quarts of water until half done, then add a cut up fowl with one minced onion, blade of mace, four large mushrooms or half a can, half a chili pepper, teaspoon salt and three or four small tomatoes cut up and one tablespoon butter. Stew gently until chicken is tender, stirring often and adding hot water as needed. Serve in baked pastry shell or on toast. Mrs. Whitehead. Above chicken recipes were demonstrated in Mrs. Whitehead’s paper on Southern Cookery.
SWEDISH DUCK FILLING.—One quart of bread crumbs, four good-sized apples, one half cup of browned butter, cinnamon, raisins, and currants to taste. Stuff fowl.—Contributed.
DAIRY LUNCH CHICKEN SANDWICH.—Make a thin batter of one and one half pints of water, one pint of milk, one egg, scant half teaspoon of soda, one tablespoon of salt, dash of pepper and flour enough to mix like pan cake batter. Cut a young chicken into quarters, dip it in the batter and fry brown in deep fat. Serve between slices of bread. Garnish with dill pickles.—Mrs. T. A. McKay.
CHICKEN CROQUETTES.—One cup of the white meat of boiled fowl packed in solid, then chopped fine and mashed till like fine powder. Add one half level teaspoon salt, one half saltspoon paprika, or white pepper. Make one pint thick cream sauce, with two level tablespoons butter and two heaped tablespoons of cornstarch cooked together, diluted with one pint of hot cream, and stirred till very smooth and thick. Season with one half teaspoon salt and one half saltspoon pepper. Stir as much of the hot sauce into the chicken as it will take up and enable you to handle the mixture in shaping, remembering that the sauce will be much thicker when cold, and so the mixture may be quite soft. The meat varies greatly in its power to absorb the sauce, therefore it is impossible to give an exact amount but if the sauce is thick a large portion may be used and the croquettes will be all the more creamy for it. When cold, shape a tablespoon of the mixture into a ball, then into a cylinder, roll in fine dry bread crumbs, beaten egg diluted with water, then crumbs again, and fry one minute in deep, smoking hot fat. More of the delicious flavor of the meat will be retained with this simple seasoning of salt and pepper than with a variety of condiments.—Contributed.
CREAMED STEWED CHICKEN.—Cut up fowl as for fricassee, put over the fire in enough cold water to cover it well. Bring gradually to a boil. When it begins to bubble, add a stalk of celery, some chopped parsley, and a bay leaf. Simmer until tender before seasoning. Make a white sauce in a frying pan of two tablespoons butter cooked with the same quantity of flour. As soon as well mixed stir into this a large cupful of strained and skimmed gravy from the pot, have ready one half cup cream, heated with a pinch of soda, add this to the thickened gravy, very slowly so as not to curdle. Do not boil after cream is in. Cook dumplings in the gravy left, after the reserved cupful and chicken are taken out.
DUMPLINGS FOR CHICKEN STEW.—In a pint of flour, sift a heaping teaspoon baking powder, one fourth teaspoon salt, sift flour twice, now rub in a tablespoonful of shortening, and wet with enough milk to make a dough that can be rolled out. Cut into rounds and drop into the boiling gravy. Should be done in ten minutes.—Mrs. Paul Leonhardy.
CREAMED CHICKEN.—Three pounds of chicken boiled tender in salted water and freed of bones, skin and gristle. Cut the meat into small pieces. Boil two sweet breads tender in salted water with the juice of half a lemon. When tender, drain and throw them into cold water to blanch; then free from skin and gristle and cut into small pieces; drain a can of French mushrooms and cut them into quarters. Make a cream sauce of two tablespoons of butter, melted and blended with two tablespoons of flour, add one pint of hot thin cream, one teaspoon of salt, juice of one lemon, and juice pressed from half a small onion, and a dash of pepper, cook thick but remove from fire and add one beaten egg yolk mixed with one cup of whipped cream. Add to the heated chicken, mushrooms and sweet breads. Mix well and serve in patty shells, or timbales. (The whipped cream may be omitted.) For escalloped chicken turn the above mixture into a buttered baking dish, cover with fine rolled bread crumbs, dot with butter and bake until well browned. Reserve the chicken broth for soup or make a gravy of it and serve with baking powder biscuit or dumplings.—Contributed.
CROQUETTES.—Cook one large tablespoon of butter with two tablespoons of flour, add one cup milk or cream, one teaspoon onion juice, one teaspoon salt, dash of pepper and nutmeg and one beaten egg. Mix with one cup of minced meat or chicken, form into croquettes after the mixture has stood an hour. Fry brown in deep fat after rolling in egg and bread crumbs.—Contributed.
HOT TAMALES.—Cook a three pound chicken tender in salted water to cover. Chop chicken meat fine and return bones to the kettle. Cut open six large chilli peppers or chillies, wash, cut out seeds and cut into halves. Cover with boiling water and cook until soft and press through a fine sieve. Brown a golden color two medium sized chopped onions in hot butter, add the chilli pulps with half a cup of chicken broth, cover pan and cook slowly fifteen minutes. Put one quart of corn meal into a bowl and pour over it enough hot chicken broth to make a dry paste; work with the hands into a soft but not wet paste. Have broad six inch long corn husks soaked until pliable in warm water. Open these and down the center of each put a wide strip of corn meal paste; mix the chopped chicken with the chilli mixture and spread it on the corn meal paste down the center; roll up the husks, fold in the ends and tie with narrow strips of husks. The corn meal must surround the chicken mixture. Lay the prepared tamales carefully on top of the bones keeping them above the broth. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and cover the kettle and cook steadily one hour, being careful that the broth doesn’t boil over the tamales. For the novice, it is easier to steam the tamales over the broth in a flat covered steamer. Serve very hot in the husks. Minced beef may be used instead of chicken and often one cup of chopped tomatoes are added to the chillies before cooking.—Contributed.
CHILE-CON-CARNE.—Cook chillies as in tamale recipe, add to the sieved chillies one pint of thick strained tomato pulp, one minced large onion, one fourth teaspoon salt and cover and simmer fifteen minutes. Cut dark meat from a boiled or roasted chicken, into small pieces or use small pieces of cooked veal, cover with the chilli sauce and stew slowly one hour or stand over hot water and steam about an hour or until chicken has practically absorbed the sauce.—Contributed.
CHILLI MINO PAN CAKES.—Make a light fritter or pan cake batter and fry cakes in hot olive oil or butter shaking them until they are set. Spread these cakes with chicken and chilli mixture (as prepared for tamales) roll up the pan cakes, pour over more of the sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese and serve immediately.—Contributed.
RICE AND CHICKEN CON-CARNE.—One pint of stewed chicken cut up in chicken broth and seasoned with three cooked chillies (sieved) half a cup of washed rice, half a pint of finely minced cooked tongue, one teaspoon of salt. Stir often and cook until rice has absorbed most of the broth but do not let it scorch. Serve with half a pint of strained tomato cooked with one tablespoon of butter and a little salt.—Contributed.