18. Goose.
If a goose is tender under the wing, and you can break the skin easily by running the head of a pin across the breast, there is no danger of its being tough. A goose should be dressed in the same manner, and roasted the same length of time, as a turkey.
19. Chickens.
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. About forty minutes is required to broil a common sized chicken. For roast chicken, boil the liver and gizzard by themselves and use the water for gravy, cut the inwards in slices, and put them in.
20. Fricassee Chickens.
The chickens should be jointed, the inwards taken out, and the chickens washed, put them in a stew pan with the skin side down, on each layer sprinkle salt and pepper; put in three or four slices of pork, just cover them with water, and let them stew slowly till tender. Then take them up, mix a tea spoonful of flour smoothly, with a little water, and stir it into the gravy, add a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg, put the chickens back into the stew pan, let them stew slowly for four or five minutes. When you have taken up the chickens, put two or three slices of toast into the gravy, and when soaked soft lay it in a platter and lay the chickens on top, and turn the gravy upon it. If you wish to brown the chickens, reserve the pork and fry it by itself, when brown take it up and put in the chickens, (when they are stewed tender,) and let them fry till of a light brown.
21. Pigeons.
Take out the inwards and stuff them, with a dressing prepared like that for turkies, put them in the pot with the breast side down, the water should more than cover them, when nearly done put in a quarter of a lb. of butter to every dozen of pigeons, mix a little flour and water and stir into the gravy. When stewed tender, if you wish to brown them, take them up, and fry them in a little pork fat or butter, an hour before they are done, put on a heated bake pan lid. They are very good split open and stewed with a dressing made and warmed up separately with a little of the gravy. It takes about two hours to cook tender pigeons and three for tough ones. Tender pigeons are good stuffed and roasted. They should be buttered just before they are taken from the fire.
22. Ducks.
Are good stewed like pigeons, or roasted. Two or three onions in the dressing of wild ducks takes out the fishy taste. If ducks or any other fowls are slightly injured by being kept too long, dip them in weak sal eratus and water before cooking them.
23. Baked Pig.
Take out the inwards, cut off the first joint of the feet and boil them till tender, take them up and take out the bones, chop them a little. Prepare a dressing of bread soaked and mashed fine, season it with salt, pepper, butter, and sweet herbs, if you like, fill the pig with the dressing, rub a little butter on the out side to prevent its blistering. If you wish to have it go on the table whole, put it into a long dripping pan, put in a little water, set it in a well heated oven, bake it from two hours and a half to three, according to the size. When done take out a little of the dressing, and mix it with the chopped inwards, and feet, put in a little butter pepper and salt, let the pig stand in the open air a few minutes before it goes on the table, in order to make it crispy.
24. Pressed Head.
Boil ears, forehead, and rind, (the cheek is good but is better corned and smoked), boil them till the meat will almost drop from the bones, take them up when cold, cut the meat in strips about an inch long and half an inch broad, warm it in a little of the liquor in which the meat was boiled, season it with pepper, salt, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon, when hot take it up and put it in a strong bag, put a heavy weight upon it, and let it remain till perfectly cold.
25. Souse.
Take pig's ears and feet, clean them thoroughly, boil them till tender, take them out and when cold split them, lay them in a deep dish, pour on boiling vinegar strongly spiced with pepper corns, cloves and nutmeg, put in a little salt. When cold they are fit to cook. Fry them in lard. They will keep good pickled for four or five weeks.
26. Tripe.
After being scoured should be soaked in salt and water, seven or eight days, changing the water every other day. Then boil it till tender, which will take eight or ten hours. It is then fit for broiling, frying, or pickling. It is pickled like souse.
27. Ham.
A ham that weighs ten lbs. should be boiled four or five hours, if too salt the water should be changed. Before it goes on to the table take off the rind, put pepper or whole clove in the form of diamonds all over it. The Virginia way of curring Hams is the following, dissolve two oz. of salt petre, two tea spoonsful of sal eratus, for every 16 lbs. of ham, add molasses in the proportion of a gallon to a hogshead of brine. Make a salt pickle as strong as possible, put the above ingredients in it, then put the hams in, and let them remain for six weeks. Take them out and smoke them for three months. Hams cured in this way will keep good a long time and are very fine flavored.