COOKERY OF THE GROUSE 283 



of three pints to the brace of birds, and keep it sim- 

 mering as slowly as possible for hours, adding pepper- 

 corns and a little onion and carrot. Some time before 

 serving you take the best pieces of the breast out 

 (the birds of course have been cut up at first), press 

 them and cut them up in little bits to add to the 

 strained soup. 



Puree of grouse is much more in request and for 

 those who can consume thick soups much better. 

 The apparent variety of receipts for it is great; the 

 real, smaller. All can be reduced, with little difficulty, 

 to a common form. The birds are roasted, but not 

 so long as if they were going to be simply eaten a 

 quarter of an hour is generally held to be enough. All 

 or most of the meat is then removed from the bones, 

 which are put into a sufficient quantity of ready- 

 made clear stock or consomme, with vegetables and 

 seasonings to taste. This is allowed to simmer from 

 one to three hours, the longer the better. Meanwhile, 

 tlie meat which was taken off is pounded in a mortar 

 and pressed through a sieve, some adding butter and 

 grated biscuit or toasted bread, others ground rice, 

 others nothing but seasoning. This paste is then 

 stirred into the strained soup till it attains thr required 

 thickness. Celery in moderation is an important in- 

 gredient in puree of grouse, and some send k-mon 



