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Pigeons, Stuffed and Stewed
Pluck and draw two plump, freshly-killed young pigeons, and truss them as for boiling. Mince the livers finely, and mix with them twice their bulk of highly-seasoned bread-crumbs, half a salt-spoonful of chopped lemon-rind, half a salt-spoonful of powdered thyme, a tea-spoonful of chopped parsley, and the yolk of a hard-boiled egg crushed to powder. Fill the birds with this forcemeat, and put in each half an ounce of fresh butter. Lay them breast downwards into a small stewpan, and barely cover them with veal stock or, failing this, water. Let them stew gently until they are done enough, then take them up, strain the gravy, thicken with two table-spoonfuls of cream, and the yolks of two eggs, and season with a little pepper, salt, and powdered mace. Stir the sauce over the fire until it is quite hot without boiling, put in the pigeons for a minute to heat, and serve immediately. A few stewed mushrooms is a great improvement to this dish. Time, about an hour to stew the pigeons. Probable cost, 2s., with pigeons at 9d. each. Sufficient for two or three persons.
A Victorian braise of squab with a liver-and-crumb forcemeat, finished with an egg-and-cream liaison. Two things decide whether it works: the temperature of the sauce at the end, and not overcooking birds that are far leaner than chicken.
- The hinge: the sauce must not boilTwo egg yolks and cream stirred into hot strained stock will thicken smoothly at around 160-175F and scramble above about 180F. Temper the yolks with a ladle of the hot gravy first, return everything to low heat, and stir constantly until it coats a spoon.
- Salt-spoonfulA salt-spoon was the smallest spoon on the Victorian table, roughly a quarter teaspoon. So a scant 1/4 tsp each of chopped lemon rind and powdered thyme.
- PigeonsThese are young domestic pigeons, sold today as squab, usually 12-16 oz each and available from game butchers and online suppliers. Wood pigeon breast is much darker and tougher and behaves differently; if using it, treat it as a separate dish.
- The liversSquab now arrive dressed and the giblets are often missing. Chicken livers are the usual substitute, about 1 oz total, minced fine; the recipe then wants twice that bulk by volume in seasoned breadcrumbs, which will weigh considerably less than the liver does.
- "Until they are done enough"The stated hour is long for modern farmed squab of a pound or so, which are tender at 30-40 minutes at a bare simmer and go dry and livery beyond that. The stuffing, which contains raw liver and egg yolk, should reach 165F.
- Trussed as for boilingThat means legs pressed close to the body and tied, wings folded back under, rather than legs extended as for roasting. It keeps the birds compact so they sit breast-down and stay covered by the small amount of liquid.
- Veal stockA light unsalted veal or chicken stock. Modern commercial stock is heavily salted and will concentrate as it reduces, so hold back the salt until the sauce is finished.
- MaceGround mace, the dried aril that covers the nutmeg seed, is less sweet than nutmeg itself and different in character, and is still sold ground. Use a small pinch; it can dominate a cream sauce.
- YieldTwo birds serve two generously, or three at a table with several other dishes, which is what the book assumes. The stewed mushrooms are worth the trouble and stretch it.
Pigeons were a cheap meat for a Victorian household with any pretension to elegance: at ninepence each in the book's costing, a dish for three came to two shillings. Dovecotes had supplied English kitchens with squab since the medieval period, and by the nineteenth century pigeons were sold live and dressed in city markets in large numbers, which is why the compendia of the 1870s and 1880s carry many pigeon recipes and modern books carry almost none. The method here is thoroughly of its time in two respects. Stuffing a bird with a forcemeat built on its own chopped liver is an old economy, wasting nothing from a small carcass, and the finish with cream and egg yolks is the classic liaison, a thickening that predates roux-based sauces and is still used to enrich a white stew. The instruction to lay the birds breast downwards is practical rather than decorative: the breast is the part that dries first, so it goes where the liquid is.