THE GAME SEASON.

Shannon News, 27 May 1924, Page 4

THE GAME SEASON.

Now that the shooting season has ' opened, the usual difficulties in con- j nection with the cooking of various forms of game begin once more to agitate the minds of those inexperienced in the art. Game should be hung in a cool, airy place, head downwards. When plucking a bird pull the feathers in the opposite way from which they grow. Hold it firmly in the other hand, being very careful not to injure the skin. After drawing wipe the bird inside and out with a damp, clean cloth. Stuff with suitable forcemeat, and lard the bird well for roasting with slices of lat bacon, removing them to allow the breast time to brown before it is done. The secret of roasting game is to keep it very moist during the process, with good larding and very frequent basting. The finds cut from breakfast bacon should be ’saved for this purpose. White meat requires more basting than brown, as it has loss natural fat. All birds at all old should be jugged or stewed. If they are roasted cook them .a long time, and very slowly.

Forcemeat for Game. Three ounces'of breadcrumbs, two ounces of lean ham or bacon, one ounce of finely sbredded suet or dripping, a teaspoonful of dried herbs or a sprig each of* thyme, marjoram, and basil finely chopped', one tcaspoonful of salt and pepper, one egg. Mix together the breadcrumbs and suet,, add the ham finely chopped, the herbs, parsely about half a teaspoonful of salt; and a good sprinkling of pepper. Bind with well-beaten egg and use. This forcemeat is suitable for pheasant. Wild duck and other water fowl may be stuffed with the crumbs of a roll soaked in port wine or with sage and onion stuffing as preferred. Bread Sauce. Two ounces of bread-crumbs, one small onion, a scrap of mace, half pint of milk, salt and pepper, half an ounce of butter. Chop the onion finely, put it in the saucepan with the milk and mace, simmer gently till'the onion is soft. Put the breadcrumbs into another saucepan, strain the milk into them. Add a sprinkling of pepper and salt. Stir in the butter, make very hot, and serve. ® Wild Duck Roast, Wipe the inside of the bird with a clean cloth, stuff it like a goose, but with half the quantity of stuffing, and truss; dredge it with flour, and roast slowly, basting well from threequarters to one hour. Serve with good gravy, lemon, and cayenne, port wine or apple sauce. Wild ducks are excellent stuffed with sage ahd onion stuffing. They may also be. jugged like hare. Roast Pheasant. Prepare in the same way as other game birds. Lard, rub with a little salt, wrap in brown paper, and roast from one hour to one hour and a half with plenty of butter to keep the bird juicy 'and tender. Baste frequently. The flavour is improved be inserting Jib of lean beef cut in pieces in the body of the bird after trussing it. Fasten a piece, of fat bacon over tlio breast. Remove the bacon about ten minutes before the bird is ready, flour 1 tho breast and baste well, then return to the oven to‘brown.- Garnish with watercress, and hand potato straws, brown gravy, browned breadcrumbs and bread sauce. Roast Quail. Draw and truss the ;iuail, then sprinkle pepper and salt inside, and roast 20 minutes. Baste them well or they will be dry and tasteless. Serve on thin toast with a little good gravy poured over them. Serve with bread sauce. A slice of fat bacon ds sometimes put over them to keep them from getting dry. This, however, is apt to spoil the flavour and constant basting is much better. Pigeons.

These birds cannot be dressed too fresh. Pet them be stuffed with parsley and seasoned breadcrutnbs. Roast for five and twenty minutes, and serve Avitli gravy. Another method' is to serve in a pie. -Place at the bottom of a dish a rump steak well, flattened and cut to the size of the dish. Sprinkle with a saltspoonful o,f mixed salt and eayehn e over the steak (not too much cayenne). Stuff six pigeons with breadcrumbs well mixed with sweet herbs and egg. Rub the birds over with fresh butter, and place them on the meat, filling up the spaces with hard-boiled eggs (yolks only). When this is done pour in veal stock until it nearly reaches the brim. Put on the top crust, and bake in a siow oven for an hour and a-half to two hours and a-half if the, pigeons arc full grown. Before sending to table make a small hole in the crust, and pour in some richly seasoned gravy boiling hot, or serve it separately. It is usual to distinguish a'pigeon pie by placing a pair of claws in the centre of the top paste. Venison Cutlets.

Leaye on all the fat When dividing the best end of the neck into cutlets. For two hours marinade them in the liquor recommended for the whole neck; then drain and wipe.dry before grilling or browning in a little hot ’nutter. -Have ready boiling two or three tablespoonfuls eayh of good beef gravy and marinade liquor; boil it for one minute in the pan in which the cutlets were fried, then season and strain. Serve hot.