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Fowl, Boned and Stuffed
Pound together in a mortar, after being minced, equal quantities of fat bacon and lean ham (two ounces of each), and four ounces of veal. Mix with these a small cup of bread-crumbs, and season with pepper, salt, and nutmeg. Bind with the yolks of two eggs. Bone a fine fowl, without disfiguring the skin, press this forcemeat into it; tie it into a nice shape, and stew in some white stock. It may be served with any white sauce, and with sliced lemon as a garnish. Time, one hour to stew. Probable cost, 3s. 6d. Sufficient for four or five persons.
A boned, stuffed fowl poached in stock is straightforward once the bird is off the bone; the work is all in the butchery and the shaping. Everything else is a gentle simmer.
- The hinge: keep the skin wholeBone the bird from the back, working the knife tight against the carcass and cutting from the inside so the blade never faces the skin. A single tear along the breast will let the forcemeat escape into the stock as it cooks. Wings and drumsticks can be left partly boned for shape, or removed entirely for a neater roll.
- "A fine fowl"The book does not specify age or weight. A one-hour stew suggests a young, tender bird rather than an old boiling fowl, which would need far longer; a 4-5 lb chicken is a reasonable modern stand-in and needs no longer than the stated hour.
- Timing and donenessOne hour at a bare simmer suits a bird of that size, but the forcemeat is the limiting factor, not the meat. Take the centre of the stuffing to 165F/74C before serving, which usually falls between 60 and 75 minutes depending on how thick the roll is.
- The forcemeatTwo ounces each fat bacon and lean ham with four ounces of veal is about 225 g total, bound with two yolks and 'a small cup' of fresh breadcrumbs. Ground veal is scarce in many places; ground pork shoulder or a mix of pork and chicken thigh gives a similar fat balance. A food processor, pulsed, replaces the mortar.
- Tying it into shapeRoll the stuffed bird in muslin or cheesecloth and tie at intervals, then again with string down the length. This holds the shape through poaching and makes the roll liftable without splitting once it has softened in the stock.
- White stockA pale unroasted veal or chicken stock, unsalted or lightly salted, so it can be reduced afterwards. It should barely cover the bird and never boil; a rolling boil will shred the skin and cloud the liquid.
- White sauce and servingThe poaching liquid, strained and reduced, makes a good base for the white sauce the recipe calls for. Serve hot and thickly cut, or cold and pressed if you want clean slices; use a serrated knife.
- Cost and yieldThree shillings and sixpence was a substantial mid-week outlay in the 1870s, and reflects the veal and ham as much as the bird. It serves four or five as written, more as part of a cold table.
Boning a bird and reassembling it around a forcemeat is a long-standing set piece of the European kitchen, and the French repertoire refined the idea into the galantine -- a boned, stuffed fowl poached in stock, pressed, and served cold in its own jelly. Cassell's entry is a plain domestic version of that idea: no aspic, no truffles, just bacon, ham and veal, and a white sauce.