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Pigeons, Fricasseed, Brown

Take three plump young pigeons; make them ready for boiling, and season with a little pepper, salt, and powdered mace. Put them into a stewpan, with three ounces of clarified butter, and turn them about until they are brightly browned all over. Take them up, drain them well, and put them into a clean saucepan with half a pint of nicely-seasoned stock and a glass of claret. Add a bunch of parsley, a small sprig of thyme, three inches of thin lemon-rind, five or six small onions, a little pepper and salt, and a few grains of cayenne. Cover the saucepan closely, and let the pigeons stew gently for half an hour; take them up, thicken the liquor with brown thickening, and add a few small mushrooms and a table-spoonful of lemon-juice. When the sauce is smooth, heat the birds in it again, dish them, and pour the gravy over them. This recipe may be varied in several ways. A few veal forcemeat balls may be boiled in the gravy, or a dozen oysters may be fried and laid over the birds, and the dish may be garnished with sliced lemon, toasted sippets, or strips of curled bacon. Probable cost, 3s., exclusive of the wine and garnishes. Sufficient for three or four persons.