Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-20
COOKING AND CARVING.

COOKING AND CARVING.
Two Important Features Necessary 10 the
| Success Of Refined service.
THOUGHTS OF cHRisTNAs-cooKrSo AND CARVING
TURKEr-THE AKr OF cARvrNo-sERvIcE OF
| aANr--rHE cASvAss-sAcx ppck-A WORD
ABOUT FISH.
THANKSGIVING DAY had hardly been num-
u bered with the past when musings of Christ
mas and talk about the fat gobbier necessary
/ for special sacrifcial Offering began 20 unfold
themselves from clouds of thought. The strut
ting monarch Of the barn yard that escaped
decapitation on the 9th Of November had the
more reason to become meditative and de-
spondent over the approaching 25th Of Decem-
Der. Then. indeed, will he be called upon 20
show cause Why he should not be slain for the
sake OF good fellowship between mankind in
general and the proper glorification of Christ
mas day in Particular. A well-cooked turkey,
with appropriate trimmings. AZ he lies in state
upon his garnished platter, is a sigh, worthy to
behold, and the demolition Of the tender, juicy
slices, in conjunction with rich, ruby-colored
cranberry sauce, is an indulgence the gods
themselves could delight in. But there comes
in between the preparation and destruction Of
the proud old bird duty before which the
bravest hearts sometimes quail. and that is the
successful, il not graceful. carving thereof. Ii
is seemingly simple and easy thing to carve a
turkey, duck or a bird. but its very apparent
simplicity is a test Of artfulness a delusion and
a sncre. 1t is a far easier matter TO prevent a
drum stick, a disentangled gizzard or the
! ''pope's nose" from Topping of into neigh
boring lady lap than TO avoid having the table
linen or carving cloth spattered with gravy
div
| of q house.
THE ART OF CARVING.
| To carve well is an accomplishment which
should be acquired by both ladies and gentle
men, and as it is not difficult to lean there is
no justifable reason why every housekeeper
! should not know how. 1t is too often the case
that a host is obliged TO appeal to the gener-
| osity OF some one of the guests 10 help him
| out of a dilemma, which is not always agree
! able to the guests nor at any time very COM
mendable in the host. The first thing to be
looked after by those who wish to carve well
is the condition Of the knife TO be used. Ii is
| in bad enough form to ask a guest TO carve,
except when there should be other besides the
main dish to be carved, but il is perfectly in
| excusable to furnish dull knife TO do the
carving with. The edge of tine carving knife
should be keen and glistening; for ham, NUT
ton, beef, DC. long blade, and for poultry
! and game a short and pointed one Ia needed.
All efforts at unnecessary exertions are in bad
taste, as they indicate one of two things-either
| lack of ability in the carver or toughness of
the bird Dexterity and address in the use
of the knife are elements more requisite really
than strength. The seat occupied by the
carver should be sufficiently high TO enable
him or her to have command over the joints.
Some claim that it is best to stand up. and as
.he pieces are cut off place them collectively on
a single dish TO be handed around the table SO
that each person may select the slices pre-
| ferred.
CARVING A TURKEY.
A roast turkey is the king of dishes for carv-
ing, and it is generally believed that there is
but one regulation way by which il may be
done. but this is an error. The usual way is to
plant the fork firmly and squarely into the
breast bone. and without removing the prongs
cause the wings to slide from their sockets. the
legs to glide OFF disjointed, the rich. white meat
| to part into juicy el;ces and the other portions
to disintegrate into fragments-when the guests
can be helped each according to choice. But
! there are other ways, and one il to cut from
the breast thin slices and nroceed in the same
way for all the feshy parts. Though this is an
easy way for the carver il has the drawback of
allowing all the natural gravy to escape and
leave the most delicate morseis ciinging to the
carcass. Another way. after the wings have
been removed. is TO break the carcass above the
rump bone, which remains attached to the legs
and forms a sort Of hood. commonly known as
the bishops cap" This is a good way to
carve when only q few are at the table.
Chickens and capons may be carved pretty
much the same as turkeys-the legs make two
pieces, the wings three, the white meat should
be cut in slices and the carcass broken into six
pieces.
COOKING A TURKEY.
Just preceding Thanksgiving day the pro-
cess of roasting a turkey was amply described
in this paper, bur there is one of the many
other WAYS which some gOurmands claim to be
superior to the roast and which an old writer
on gastronomy called the me plus ultra OF
gastronorlic art and that is praised turkey.
An old-time rhyme gives it that:
| Turkey boiled is turkey spoiled.
But for tuzAey braIsea, tae Lord be praised
OF the first two ways there are many well salts
fed patrons The las. is not common. but
there can hardly be a lack of its Endorsement
when once tried. Fill the turkey with the bes,
force meat that can be made. The best is made
with sweetbreads and mushrooms or truffies
intermixed. or even chestnut stufing made
savory with seasoning will suffice. After
stufing hold the bird, breast down. over a
bright fire to etiffen it and then lard with strips
Of salt pork. Place in large saucepan, breast
upward, with sliced carrot. onion. celery and
parsley. and cover with broth. Cook. closely
covered, il the oven until the bird is tender.
basting it occasionally to give it the desired
light-brown color. When done strain and
thickeu the gravy and serve in a boat. For an
accompanying dish garnish with stoned olives.
small forcemeat balls made of chicken, mush-
rooms and sweetbreads cut in dice.
SERVICE OF GAME.
Foreign epicures hold that in America we'll
cooked bird is truly rara avis, while expert
American carvers do not boast that the Ameri-
can people are the finest carvers in the world
Both may have good reasons for their opinions.
but bird properly cooked by a well-tutored
American chef, or under the superintendent
of an American epicure, and properly carved is
as divine q morsel as ever tickled the palate of
| man.
When one is so fortunate as to secure game
fresh from the field it should not be cooked
until after remaining in cool place for at least
ten or twelve hours: otherwise there will be OBJ
servable gamey taste and odor which is very
disagreeable.
| WILD DUCK
| is not always a tender bird and when il is il
can sometimes be made tolerably tough in the
kitchen. A canvass-back duck should never be
cooked less than fifteen nor more than eighteen
minutes, say some connoisseurs, though others
go twenty to twenty-five. 1t should be carved
| in slices and in emitting the wings and thighs
are sacrificed At the residence in this city of
weil-known Senator, royal host, the service