Prairie chicken

“ Roast them in a hot oven twenty-five to thirty minutes, [198] basting them frequently with melted butter. Five minutes before removing them dredge them with flour. Boil the liver of the grouse, pound it with a little butter, pepper, and salt to a paste; spread it over hot buttered toast moistened with juice from the pan. Serve the grouse on the toast. Prairie-chickens have dark meat, and many epicures declare that they should be cooked quite as rare as canvasback ducks and that their flavor when so served is unsurpassed. Young prairie-chickens have a much lighter meat and need not be so rare. ”

“ During the years 1869 and 1870, while the writer was living in southwestern Kansas, which was then the far west, Prairie Chickens as they were called there, were so numerous that they were rarely used for food by the inhabitants, and as there was then no readily accessible market the birds were slaughtered for wanton sport. ”

“ Prairie-chickens or grouse abounded until we got beyond the settlements, when they disappeared almost entirely. They are a timid bird, and hard to approach on foot; but on horseback or in a wagon you may get close upon them very easily. Feeding in the grass or reeds, in small flocks, at the first sound they pop their heads up erect, as if inviting the sportsman to crack away at them. This we did continually from an ambulance or behind it, and seldom went into camp the [Pg 37] first few days without prairie-chickens enough for all. ”

“ After the chickens are cleaned and trussed fold them in a nice white cloth, put them in a large stew-pan and cover them with boiling water; boil them gently, and skim carefully as long as any scum rises; let them simmer slowly as that will make them plump and white, while fast boiling will make them dark and lose flavor. When done lay them on a hot dish, and pour celery, oyster, or egg sauce over them. Serve some also in a boat, as it keeps hot longer than when poured over the fowls. Boiled tongue or ham should be served with boiled chicken. ”

“ Another precaution necessary to be taken with early chicken, even after they have attained some size, is to avoid letting them run in the grass whilst it is wet with dew, otherwise they are very apt to get chilled, and die with cramp. When hens are cooped care must be taken to supply them with gravel and a little mortar rubbish, or broken oyster shells,—the first being required for the digestion of the food, the second to furnish the materials of the bones of the growing chicken. ”

“ Cut up the remains of two roast chickens, which put into a saucepan with a pint of consommé (stock, Art. 1) , some branches of parsley, inclosing a clove, a clove of garlic, two bay-leaves, salt, and white pepper, a very little thyme, and tie all together. Boil one hour, and strain. Put two ounces of butter in another saucepan, a tablespoonful of flour, a teaspoonful of corn-starch, mix thoroughly together, and add the liquid in which the remains of the chicken were broiled. Stir with a spoon until boiling, reduce one quarter, pour in two wineglasses of cream and one wineglass of sherry. ”

“ Very young chicks are used for frying in deep fat; for this purpose they are dipped in a thin batter, or else in flour, and in eggs mixed with milk and afterward in breadcrumbs. These chicks, and also spring chickens, are used for casserole dishes and for cocottes (covered earthen ware containers, in which the fowls are roasted in the oven) .
The liver of fowls is used in different ways; it makes an excellent dish. It is best when sautéed with black butter. Some of the fine French ragouts consist mostly of chicken livers. ”

“ Beat ten eggs very light, add to them a quart of rich milk, with a quarter of a pound of butter melted, and some pepper and salt; stir in as much flour as will make a thin good batter; take four young chickens, and after cleaning them nicely, cut off the legs, wings, &c. put them all in a sauce pan, with some salt and water, and a bundle of thyme and parsley, boil them till nearly done, then take the chicken from the water and put it in the batter, pour it in a deep dish, and bake it; send nice white gravy in a boat. ”

“ Chickens for roasting or boiling, should have a dressing prepared like that for turkies. Half a tea cup full of rice boiled with the chickens, makes them look white, they will be less liable to break if the water is cold when they are put in to boil, a little pork boiled with the chickens improves them, if you do not boil any pork with them, put in a little salt. Chickens for broiling should be split, the inwards taken out, and the chicken washed inside and out, put the bony side down on the gridiron, and broil it very slowly till brown then turn it, when done take it up, salt, and butter it. ”

“ Take off the scum as fast as it rises. Take them up and carve them in the usual way. Put part of the water in which they were boiled into a spider or stew-pan. For two chickens rub a piece of butter as large as an egg, and a spoonful of flour together, and stir into the water as it boils up. Add some salt, and a gill of cream, or milk. Lay in the pieces of chicken, cover the pan close, and stew them gently eight or ten minutes. Parsley cut fine is a decided improvement. ”

“ A smart fire is better than a slow one; but they must be tended closely. Slices of bread, buttered, salted, and peppered, put into the stomach (not the crop) are excellent.
Chickens should boil about an hour. If old, they should {54} boil longer. In as little water as will cook them. Chicken-broth made like mutton-broth.
FRICASSEED CHICKEN, BROWN.
Singe the chickens; cut them in pieces; pepper, salt, and flour them; fry them in fresh butter, till they are very brown: take the chickens out, and make a good gravy, into which put sweet herbs (marjoram or sage) according to your taste ”

“ Chicken manure was always highly prized but usually in short supply because preindustrial fowl weren't caged in factories or permanently locked in hen houses and fed scientifically formulated mixes. The chicken breed of that era was usually some type of bantam, half-wild, broody, protective of chicks, and capable of foraging. A typical pre-1900 small-scale chicken management system was to allow the flock free access to hunt their own meals in the barnyard and orchard, luring them into the coop at dusk with a bit of grain where they were protected from predators while sleeping helplessly. ”

“ Clean, wash, and cut the fowls into joints. Put a layer of fat salt pork in the bottom of a pot; lay the chicken upon this; pepper and salt. Cover with more pork, and pour in three tablespoonfuls of hot water mixed with as much butter. Finally, drop in a little minced onion. Cover tightly, and heat very slowly. After the chickens begin to stew, cook steadily one hour, if they are tender. If not, increase the time at discretion. When they are done, take up and keep hot. Add a little boiling water to the gravy; strain, thicken with browned flour, boil up and pour upon the fowls. ”

“ Much of this trouble is owing to the fact that large shippers kill the Chickens, dry pick them or scald them, and the food that remains in the intestines ferments and taints the meat, with the result that the Chicken, when cooked, has an abominable taste.
When a Butcher is so situated that he can dress his own Chickens, and he would be fully justified in making all preparations in that direction, he ought to open, draw and wash out thoroughly every chicken as fast as it is killed, just as he would wash out Hogs, Calves or Sheep. ”

“ Of course, the great majority of this area is too remote from markets for poultry production. The locations around the big cities in this section are excellent for poultry farming, as they are so far removed from the great farm region that their bulk of imported eggs are of necessity somewhat stale. California is good chicken country. The Puget Sound country is rather too damp. In the interior western regions the chicken business has not done well, chiefly because the atmosphere is too dry for the methods of artificial incubation attempted. ”

“ Disjoint a four- or five-pound fowl, cover with boiling water and let simmer until tender, with one carrot sliced, one onion sliced, a blade or two of celery broken in inch pieces, two sprays parsley and one-half teaspoon peppercorns. Add one tablespoon salt the last hour of cooking. Drain chicken from liquor, remove the skin and bones; strain liquor, return to range and let simmer until reduced to one cup, strain and reserve. When the meat is nearly cold, cut it in small cubes or chop fine ”

“ One is the development of poultry fattening and crate feeding in this country. This has resulted in supplying the consumer with choice chicken-flesh that can be produced more economically than broilers. Formerly it was a case of eating old hen—rooster, age unknown, or broilers—now we have capon, roaster, crate-fattened chickens and green ducks, all rivals for the place formerly occupied exclusively by the broiler. ”

“ Take three Chickens, and pull off the skins, and cut them into little pieces then put them into water with two or three Onions, and a bunch of Parsly, and when it hath stewed a little, put in some Salt and Pepper, and a pint of white wine, so let them stew till they be enough, then take some Verjuyce, and Nutmegs, and three or foure yolks of Eggs, beat them well together, and when you take off the Chicken, put them into a Frying-Pan altogether with some butter, scald it well over the fire and serve it in. ”

“ In a few hours they are able to run about and follow their parent; they do not require to be fed in the nest like most birds, but pick up the food which their mother shows them; and repose at night huddled up beneath her wings. The chicken during its development in the egg is nourished by the yolk, and the remaining portion of the yolk passes into its body previous to its leaving the shell, being designed for its first nourishment ”

“ Procure four very young spring chickens, not trussed, cut off the feet below the joints, break the bone in each leg, then cut an incision in the thigh of the chicken and turn the legs into it, cut the chickens open down the back-bone, and beat them flat, fry five minutes in butter in a sauté-pan, season with a little pepper and salt, egg and bread-crumb them all over, lay them on a gridiron over a moderate fire, and broil a nice light-brown colour ”

“ Since you probably don't have an old stewing hen, try an Oven Stuffer Roaster for the Eastern Shore Chicken with Slippery Dumplings. Roasters are old enough to have a lot of flavor, but young enough not to be too tough. If you're unfamiliar with slippery dumplings, they are more like noodles or won ton wrappers than conventional dumplings. Sweet Potato Biscuits are a typical accompaniment, and Frank is so particular about them that the first six months of our marriage, I probably tried ten different recipes before hitting on the one that accompanies the Eastern Shore Chicken recipe. ”

“ The use of chemical preservatives in potted chicken is also reprehensible. In general it may be said that there is no very extensive adulteration of chicken meat. The principal objection to the commerce in preserved chicken meat is the use of old chickens, the unlimited cold storage, the failure to draw at time of slaughter, and exposure in the market in an unsanitary condition and for an indefinite time. Cheaper meats are sometimes substituted for the genuine article in potted chicken. Turkey and pork are said to be used in chicken salad. ”

“ Make a brown sauce of the liquor in the pan. The giblets may be added when the chicken is put into the water, and may be chopped and added to the gravy. Only young, tender chicken can be treated in this way. A tough bird may be trussed and cooked in water to half cover it for ten or twelve hours before it is stuffed and browned. Baste it when in the oven with fat taken from the broth.
Jellied Chicken
Draw, clean, and cut up a fowl of about four or five pounds. Put it into a cooker-pail, add one teaspoonful of salt, two or three slices of onion, and cover the fowl with boiling water. ”

“ The chicken require neither food nor drink on the day on which they are hatched; in fact, both are injurious, as they interfere with the natural digestion of the yolk, which is absorbed into the bowels at the period of hatching, and constitutes the first food. If grits, oatmeal, &c., are spread before the hen on the twenty-first day, she is induced to leave the nest, and the last hatched chicken, which are not perhaps yet dried, are unable to follow, and being weakly, perish; or unhatched eggs may be left. ”

“ Add chopped thyme and parsley to the gravy.
Some persons think ground ginger a more delicate flavoring for the dressing than pepper.—Mrs. S. T.
To Boil Chicken.
Never boil the same day the chicken is killed. Soak them overnight in weak salt and water. Place in a kettle of water, with a handful of rice and a little milk to make the chicken white. Simmer slowly two or three hours, removing the scum that rises when the chicken first begins to boil. Keep under the water, with an inverted deep plate. Just before taking off the fire, add salt to the taste. Lay on a hot dish near the fire. ”

“ Chickens may be canned in the same way as has been described for beef and in that way may be kept for a certain length of time without notable deterioration. The pickling of chicken is not very extensively practiced nor is it cured in the ordinary sense of the word, that is, by the addition of salt, sugar, vinegar, spices, and wood smoke. Chicken may also be put up in the form of potted chicken, which has already been described. Practically the only methods which are in vogue and which can be commended for preserving chicken are sterilizing or canning and cold storage. ”