HOW TO CHOOSE
AND COOK GAME

How to Choose Ducks—A young duck should have supple feet, breast and belly hard and thick. A tame duck has dusky yellow feet. They should be picked dry, and ducklings scalded.

How to Roast Ducks.—Carefully pick, and clean the inside. Boil two or three onions in two waters; chop them very small. Mix the onions with about half the quantity of sage leaves, bread crumbs finely powdered, a spoonful of salt, and a little cayenne paper; beat up the yolk of an egg, and rub the stuffing well together. With a brisk fire roast about 35 minutes. Serve with gravy sauce.

How to Stew Ducks.—Lard two young ducks down each side the breast; dust with flour; brown before the fire; put into a stewpan with a quart of water, a pint of port wine, a spoonful of walnut ketchup, the same of browning, one anchovy, a clove of garlick, sweet herbs and cayenne pepper. Stew till they are tender, about half an hour; skim and strain, and pour over the duck.

How to Hash Partridge.—Cut up the partridges as for eating; slice an onion into rings; roll a little butter in flour; put them into the tossing pan, and shake it over the fire till it boils; put in the partridge with a little port wine and vinegar; and when it is thoroughly hot, lay it on the dish with sippets round it; strain the sauce over the partridge, and lay on the onion in rings.

How to Pot Partridge.—Clean them nicely; and season with mace, allspice, white pepper and salt, in fine powder. Rub every part well; then lay the breast downward in a pan, and pack the birds as closely as you possibly can. Put a good deal of butter on them; then cover the pan with a coarse flour paste and a paper over, tie it close, and bake. When cold, put the birds into pots, and cover with butter.

How to Roast Partridge.—Roast them like a turkey, and when a little under roasted, dredge them with flour, and baste them with butter; let them go to table with a fine froth; put gravy sauce in the dish, and bread sauce on the table.

How to Stew Partridge.—Truss as for roasting; stuff the craws, and lard them down each side of the breast; roll a lump of butter in pepper, salt and beaten mace, and put them inside; sew up the vents; dredge them well and fry a light brown; put them into a stewpan with a quart of good gravy, a spoonful of sherry wine, the same of mushroom ketchup, a teaspoonful of lemon pickle, and a little mushroom powder, one anchovy, half a lemon, a sprig of sweet marjoram; cover the pan close, and stew half an hour; take out, and thicken the gravy; boil a little, and pour it over the partridge, and lay round them artichoke buttons, boiled, and cut in quarters, and the yolks of four hard eggs, if agreeable.

How to Roast Pheasant.—Roast them as turkey; and serve with a fine gravy (into which put a very small bit of garlic) and bread sauce. When cold, they may be made into excellent patties, but their flavor should not be overpowered by lemon.

How to Roast Plovers.—Roast the green ones in the same way as woodcocks and quails, without drawing, and serve on a toast. Grey plovers may be either roasted or stewed with gravy, herbs and spice.

How to Fricassee Quails.—Having tossed them up in a sauce-pan with a little melted butter and mushrooms, put in a slice of ham, well beaten, with salt, pepper, cloves and savory herbs; add good gravy, and a glass of sherry; simmer over a slow fire; when almost done, thicken the ragout with a good cullis, (i. e. a good broth, strained, gelatined, etc.) or with two or three eggs, well beaten up in a little gravy.

How to Roast Quails.—Roast them without drawing and serve on toast. Butter only should be eaten with them, as gravy takes off the fine flavor. The thigh and the back are the most esteemed.

How to Roast Rabbits.—Baste them with butter, and dredge them with flour; half an hour will do them at a brisk fire; and if small, twenty minutes. Take the livers with a bunch of parsley, boil them, and chop them very fine together; melt some butter, and put half the liver and parsley into the butter; pour it into the dish, and garnish the dish with the other half; roast them to a fine light brown.

How to Make Rabbit Taste Like a Hare.—Choose one that is young, but full grown; hang it in the skin three or four days; then skin it, and lay it, without washing, in a seasoning of black pepper and allspice in a very fine powder, a glass of port wine, and the same quantity of vinegar. Baste it occasionally for 40 hours, then stuff it and roast it as a hare, and with the same sauce. Do not wash off the liquor that it was soaked in.

How to Roast Snipes—Do not draw them. Split them; flour them, and baste with butter. Toast a slice of bread brown; place it in the dish under the birds for the trail to drop on. When they are done enough, take up, and lay them on the toast; put good gravy in the dish. Serve with butter, and garnish with orange or lemon.

Snipe Pie—Bone 4 snipes, and truss them. Put in their inside finely chopped bacon, or other forcemeat; put them in the dish with the breast downwards, and put forcemeat balls around them. Add gravy made of butter, and chopped veal and ham, parsley, pepper and shalots. Cover with nice puff paste; close it well to keep in the gravy. When nearly done, pour in more gravy, and a little sherry wine. Bake two or three hours.

How to Fry Venison—Cut the meat into slices, and make a gravy of the bones; fry it of a light brown, and keep it hot before the fire; put butter rolled in flour into the pan, and stir it till thick and brown; add 1/2 lb. of loaf sugar powdered, with the gravy made from the bones, and some port wine. Let it be as thick as cream; squeeze in a lemon; warm the venison in it; put it in the dish, and pour the sauce over it.