Partridge à la "Uncle John"
"Uncle John," Chef for Mr. Le Garee, of South Carolina
Take six or eight partridges, or small quails, brown them in a small pan with lard and a light sprinkling of flour. Add three tablespoonfuls of raw tomatoes, half a cupful of meat juice, onion, salt and pepper. Let them simmer an hour, covered. Baste them from time to time with the gravy. Serve with hot rice.
A gentle Creole smothering of little game birds — browned, then braised soft in a light tomato gravy and spooned over hot rice.
- What “partridge” means hereIn the American South, partridge almost always means the bobwhite quail — which is why the recipe offers “or small quails” in the same breath. Farmed quail or Cornish hens stand in perfectly today.
- “Meat juice” decodedThis is concentrated pan drippings or a rich stock; ½ cupful ≈ ½ cup of good beef or chicken stock, and a spoon of demi-glace deepens it.
- Measuring the tomatoesThree tablespoonfuls of raw tomato ≈ 3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh tomato, about half a small one.
- Lard and flourThe lard-and-flour dusting is a quick browning trick, not a full roux; a neutral oil or butter works if you don’t keep lard.
- The simmerAn hour, tightly covered, over low heat, basting now and then, brings small birds to fork-tenderness — add a splash more stock if the pan runs dry.
“Partridge” is one of the slipperiest words in American cookery. English colonists carried the name from home and pinned it onto whatever plump game bird they found: in the North it usually meant the ruffed grouse, while across the South it settled on the bobwhite quail. The bird itself — small, quick, and abundant along field edges — was a staple of Southern sporting tables, and smothering it slowly in a little tomato gravy over rice is pure Creole thrift, coaxing tenderness and a rich sauce from a lean, delicate carcass.
From page 28 of the 1904 edition.
Original page from the book
