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Pigeons, Stuffed and Roasted

Pluck, draw, and singe two plump young pigeons, and fill them with a forcemeat made as follows. Mince the livers finely, and mix with them the same quantity of finely-sliced suet and grated bread-crumbs. Add a little pepper, salt, and pounded mace, a heaped table-spoonful of chopped parsley, and a pinch of powdered thyme, and moisten the whole with beaten yolk of egg. Truss the birds firmly, tie thin slices of bacon over the breasts, and put them down to a clear fire. To make the gravy, mix any which drops from the birds with half a cupful of boiling stock or water. Add a table-spoonful of claret, a little of the forcemeat, season with salt, cayenne, and grated nutmeg, and thicken the whole with the yolk of egg well beaten. Serve the birds on a hot dish, with the sauce poured round them, and a little bread sauce in a tureen. Time to roast the pigeons, from twenty to thirty minutes. Probable cost, 2s. 6d. Sufficient for two persons.