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Snipe (Cooked German Fashion)
Pluck the birds, skin the head, and remove the eyes. Singe them, and cut off the claws; twist the legs, disjointing them and so bring the feet close to the thighs, and put the long beak through these as a skewer. The position will indicate how the breast may be kept thrown up by passing twine round the joints and lower part of the body, to tie at the back. Put them in a stewpan just large enough to hold them with butter enough to keep them basted, turning as they are done on one side till they are tinged all over. About twenty minutes by a brisk heat will cook them. Toast slices of bread, pour on these the butter they were cooked in, and serve the birds on them. Dressed in this way, they are not drawn before the trussing.
A small-game preparation of the old school: the bird is trussed with its own beak, cooked hard and fast in butter, and served on toast that catches the drippings. Two details govern the result — the heat must be high enough to colour the skin before the breast dries, and the toast must be under the bird from the moment it leaves the pan.
- SourcingSnipe cannot be sold commercially in the United States, where wild migratory game birds are protected from sale; in Britain it may be bought from a game dealer during the open season, and otherwise reaches the kitchen through a licensed hunter. Farmed quail is a workable substitute of roughly similar size and cooks in roughly the same way.
- "Not drawn"The last line is the crux: snipe and woodcock were traditionally cooked with the viscera in place, the so-called trail being valued as it melts into the butter. If that does not appeal, gut the birds before trussing and reduce the time by two or three minutes, as an empty cavity heats faster.
- Brisk heatOn a modern burner this means medium-high — hot enough that the butter is foaming and colouring but not blackening. The recipe gives no weight; twenty minutes suits a bird of roughly 4 oz, though at that size it is likely to be cooked through rather than rosy at the bone, and past that point it turns dry and livery.
- StewpanA heavy sauté pan or small cast-iron skillet, just wide enough to hold the birds without crowding. Extra space means the butter spreads thin and burns rather than basting.
- ButterUse more than seems necessary, 3 to 4 tablespoons for four birds, and spoon it over constantly. Clarified butter or a knob of butter with a little oil will let you hold the higher heat without the milk solids scorching.
- The beak skewerPiercing the thighs with the beak is decorative as much as practical; ordinary butcher's twine or a short metal skewer does the same job of holding the legs against the body so the breast sits proud.
- YieldSnipe are small. Count two birds and two slices of toast per person as a course, one if it follows a substantial soup.
- ServingToast the bread while the birds finish, pour every drop of pan butter over it, and set the birds on top at once. Cold toast under a hot bird goes leathery in a minute.