NOVEMBER 97 



dressed with oil and vinegar, like ordinary salad, covered 

 up, and allowed to stand for two or three hours. 



Pheasant stuffed with Woodcocks. The French 

 say : ' To the uninitiated this bird is as a sealed book ', 

 eaten after it has been killed but three days, it is insipid 

 and bad neither so delicate as a pullet, nor so odoriferous 

 as quail. Cooked at the right moment, the flesh is tender 

 and the flavour sublime, partaking equally of the qualities 

 of poultry and game. The moment so necessary to be 

 known and seized on is when decomposition is about to 

 take place. A trifling odour and a change in the colour 

 of the breast are manifested, and great care must be taken 

 not to pluck the bird till it is to be larded and cooked, as 

 the contact of the air will completely neutralise the aroma, 

 consisting of a subtle oil, to which hydrogen is fatal. 

 The bird being larded, the first thing to do is to stuff it, 

 which is effected in the following manner : Provide two 

 woodcocks, bone and divide them into two portions, the 

 one being the flesh, and the other trail, brains, and livers. 

 You then take the flesh and make a forcemeat by chop- 

 ping it up with some beef-marrow cooked by steam, a 

 little rasped bacon, pepper, salt, fine herbs, and so much 

 of the best truffles as will, with the above, quite fill the 

 interior of the pheasant. You must take care to secure 

 this forcemeat in such a manner that it shall not escape, 

 which is sometimes sufficiently difficult if the bird is in 

 an advanced state; however, it is possible to do so in 

 diverse ways, one of which is by fitting a crust of bread 

 and attaching it with a bit of ribbon. Take a slice of 

 bread one-third of an inch thick and two inches wider 

 on each side than the bird when laid on it. Then take the 

 livers, brains, and the trail of the woodcocks ; pound them 

 up with two large truffles, an anchovy, a little rasped 

 bacon, and as much of the finest fresh butter as may 

 seem necessary. Spread then this paste on the toast 



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