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Fowl, Roast, to Carve

Insert the knife between the leg and the body, and cut to the bone; then turn the leg back with the fork, and, if the bird is not old, the joint will give way. The wing is next to be broken off, and this is done in the direction of A to B, only dividing the joint with the knife. The four quarters having been removed in this way, take off the merry-though at D to C, and remove the neck-bones by putting the knife in at C and pressing it, when they will break off from the part that sticks to the breast. Next separate the breast from the body of the fowl, by cutting through the tender ribs close to the breast, quite down to the tail. Turn the fowl now back upwards; put the knife into the bone midway between the neck and the rump, and on raising the lower end it will separate readily. Turn the rump from you, and take off very neatly the two sidesmen, which completes the operation. The breast and wings are considered the best parts of a roast fowl, but in young birds the legs are the most juicy. In the case of a capon or large fowl, slices may be cut off the breast, just as is done when carving a pheasant (see PHEASANT, TO CARVE). A boiled fowl is carved much in the same way as a roast fowl.