CHRISTMAS POULTRY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 130, 19 December 1941, Page 44

CHRISTMAS POULTRY

Stuffings And Sauces

MALL families will probably have fowls or ducks to prepare for the festive Christmas dinner; while only a turkey will be large enough for big family gatherings and reunions. Now-a-days, not many people seem to go in’ for the old-time Christmas goose, do they? A very tasty meal, nevertheless! Here are some recipes for stuffing the poultry. Sage and Onion Stuffing (for Ducks or Geese) One pound of stale bread rubbed into very fine soft breadcrumbs, 4 Ib, onions,

par-boiled and chopped finely, about a dozen sage leaves, also chopped finely; 2 or 3 ozs. of butter or good dripping, pepper and salt to taste, a good pinch of ground ginger and a beaten egg. Mix together all these ingredients, rubbing the butter or dripping lightly in. Some people prefer to melt the butter till soft, before mixing it with the other ingredients. Have all well mixed, then bind together with a beaten egg, or two if one is not enough. A sprig or two of thyme, as well as the sage, may be chopped and added if liked. A grating of nutmeg is an improvement. A g00d pinch of ground ginger in stuffing is always an excellent idea, for it helps to prevent indigestion, —

Stuffing for Turkey or Fowls One pound of breadcrumbs, % Ib. dripping or butter, 4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, grated rind of half a lemon, 4 teaspoon nutmeg, 2 teaspoon ground ginger, pepper and salt, a cupful of chopped ham or lean bacon, and a pinch of mace, Mix together, rubbing the softened butter lightly into the crumbs, and bind with 2 beaten eggs, or one egg and sufficient milk. Stuff the crop of the turkey. Some people like to stuff the body with sausage meat. Bread Sauce (for Turkey or Fowl) It is best to make plenty of. bread sauce. Nearly everyone likes it, and most people do not serve a generous enough helping! It helps out, too, if the fowls are small and the party a larger one than was expected. Simmer a large onion in a pint of milk for, an hour. Add a seasoning of salt and a pinch of cayenne, or a few peppercorns. The onion may be slashed across with a knife, to allow the flavour more easily to penetrate the milk. Have ready about 1 Ib. of soft white breadcrumbs in a clean saucepan; strain the hot milk over them, cover and leave them to absorb it for an hour or so, then add a good knob of butter, beat up well with a fork, and serve very hot. There should be enough breadcrumbs to absorb the milk. Apple Sauce (for Ducks or Geese) Here again, let me remind you to make plenty. People always like it. Peel, core and slice sufficient apples, and stew them to pulp with just sufficient water to moisten them, and a very little sugar. When soft, add a knob of butter, and beat them smooth with a fork. Cooking the Turkey, Fowl or Duck Do not be dismayed if the turkey is too large for your oven. Just cut off the legs with a sharp knife, and roast them separately, either beside the bird or in another tin. Cover over the cut portions with pieces of bacon fat. If the turkey seems old, first steam it in a big pot for a couple of hours, then transfer it to the baking dish, put plenty of good dripping around it and a little hot water. Cover the breast with rashers of bacon. Have the breast uppermost, and baste the bird frequently. Cook slowly, especially if the bird is not very young-about 31% hours or more. Take the bacon off the breast the last half hour, to brown it. Serve with bread sauce, brown gravy, and bacon rolls. ; To make these, just cut the rind off rashers, roll them up and skewer them, then cook in oven for a few minutes. Slow cooking is good for poultry. To make them tender and juicy instead of | dry, wrap the birds round with 2 thicknesses of greaseproof or even brown

paper, after having dusted them well with flour and smeared them with dripping, Put a little water in the roasting pan. Have the oven hot when first they are put in, and reduce the heat after the first half hour. Only a really young chicken will be cooked in less than an hour; ordinary fowls can be cooked slowly with this paper covering for nearly two hours. Take the paper off the last twenty minutes, to brown the breast. If at all doubtful about the ‘age of the birds steam them’ first for an hour or so, after stuffing as usual, It is best to stand the birds on a rack in the steaming pan, so that they are not actually in the water,

Then brush the bird over with butter or dripping, dust with flour, and bake in moderate oven for 34 hour to one hour,. according to size and condition of bird. Baste well to prevent dryness; put rashers of bacon across the breast, or cover with greaseproof paper. These are just general ideas, but each cook must use her own common sense and piece them together to suit her own conditions, Methods of Cooking Ham If your household is a small one, get only half a ham. American Savoury Ham, — Wash the ham, put into a large pot of boiling water, with a small cup of vinegar, a teaspoon of cinnamon (or a stick of cinnamon); a few cloves; and 3 or 4 tablespoons of sugar. Simmer till tender-a 10 lb. ham will take 34% to 4 hours, Leave standing in the water until nearly cold. Then take it out and pull off the rind, which will probably come away in | one piece. Then mix together a cup of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of mustard, % teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and sprinkle all over the ham, Put into a baking pan with a small cup of water, and bake in a moderate oven till brown, Then sprinkle with crisp breadcrumbs. ~, (Continued on next page) 7

(Continued from previous page) Baked Ham.-Ham is excellent baked instead of boiled. If you can get your baker to give you a piece of bread dough, wrap the ham in this before putting it into a slow oven. If not, you can make a paste of flour and water, roll it out about %4-inch thick, and wrap this round the ham. Have some dough saved out with which to patch any holes which the steam may force through. An easier way is to wrap the ham in 2 or 3 thicknesses of greaseproof paper. Put the ham in the baking dish with a little boiling water, to keep from burning. Cook slowly, allowing roughly twenty minutes to the pound. Leave in the oven to cool, after turning off the heat. Then skin, and cover with crisp browned breadcrumbs. Flavouring Baked Ham.-After removing the rind, the ham may be smeared with honey, or golden syrup (or maple syrup) or a thick syrup of spiced vinegar mixed with brown sugar. Then stick all over with cloves, put back into a moderate’ oven for half an hour or so, then sprinkle thickly with crisp browned breadcrumbs. A Los Angeles idea is to sprinkle with brown sugar and a dash of black pepper, stick generously with cloves, and then ‘bake in a pan with some cooking sherry for half an hour or so, basting frequently. ‘Sprinkle with the usual crumbs afterwards. Cooking While You Sleep.-For those who have a wash-house copper, here is the easiest way of all. Plunge the ham into a copper full of boiling water and boil hard for half an hour, then draw all the fire from under the copper, and keep the lid of the copper well covered with sacks and rugs, till quite cold. Being thus partly cooked by steam it will be found to be delicious in flavour, and perfectly cooked. It must be done in the washhouse copper. Yorkshire Way to Cook Ham.-Put a whole or half ham into a baking dish with a couple of inches of cold water. Put into a steady oven, and bake until it ~ yields easily to a fork. Skin, and cover with breadcrumbs when a little cooler. The steam keeps the ham moist, there is no waste, and all the good flavour is left in. It tastes as ham should taste.