In choosing poultry, select those that are fresh and fat, and the
surest way to determine whether they are young is to try the skin
under the leg or wing. If it is easily broken, it is young; or, turn
the wing backwards, if the joint yields readily, it is tender. When
poultry is young the skin is thin and tender, the legs smooth, the
feet moist and limber, and the eyes full and bright. The body should
be thick and the breast fat. Old turkeys have long hairs, and the
flesh is purplish where it shows under the skin on the legs and back.
About March they deteriorate in quality.
Young ducks and geese are plump, with light, semi-transparent fat,
soft breast bone, tender flesh, leg-joints which will break by the
weight of the bird, fresh-colored and brittle beaks, and windpipes
that break when pressed between the thumb and forefinger. They are
best in fall and winter.
Young pigeons have light red flesh upon the breast, and full,
fresh-colored legs; when the legs are thin and the breast very dark
the birds are old.
Fine game birds are always heavy for their size; the flesh of the
breast is firm and plump and the skin clear; and if a few feathers be
plucked from the inside of the leg and around the vent, the flesh of
freshly-killed birds will be fat and fresh-colored; if it is dark and
discolored, the game has been hung a long time. The wings of good
ducks, geese, pheasants and woodcock are tender to the touch; the tips
of the long wing feathers of partridges are pointed in young birds and
round in old ones. Quail, snipe and small birds should have full,
tender breasts. Poultry should never be cooked until six or eight
hours after it has been killed, but it should be picked and drawn as
soon as possible. Plunge it in a pot of scalding hot water; then pluck
off the feathers, taking care not to tear the skin; when it is picked
clean, roll up a piece of white paper, set fire to it and singe off
all the hairs. The head, neck and feet should be cut off, and the
ends of the legs skewered to the body, and a string tied tightly
around the body. When roasting a chicken or small fowl there is danger
of the legs browning or becoming too hard to be eaten. To avoid this,
take strips of cloth, dip them into a little melted lard, or even just
rub them over with lard, and wind them around the legs. Remove them in
time to allow the legs to brown delicately.
Fowls, and also various kinds of game, when bought at our city
markets, require a more thorough cleansing than those sold in country
places, where as a general thing the meat is wholly dressed. In large
cities they lay for some length of time with the intestines undrawn,
until the flavor of them diffuses itself all through the meat,
rendering it distasteful. In this case, it is safe, after taking out
the intestines, to rinse out in several waters, and in next to the
last water, add a teaspoonful of baking soda, say to a quart of water.
This process neutralizes all sourness, and helps to destroy all
unpleasant taste in the meat.
Poultry may be baked so that its wings and legs are soft and tender,
by being placed in a deep roasting pan with close cover, thereby
retaining the aroma and essences by absorption while confined. These
pans are a recent innovation, and are made double with a small opening
in the top for giving vent to the accumulation of steam and gases when
required. Roast meats of any kind can also be cooked in the same
manner, and it is a great improvement on the old plan.