“Fowls ‘à la Condé,’ slices eke of salmon, With ‘sauces Génévoises,’ and haunch of venison; Wines too, which might again have slain young Ammon— A man like whom I hope we shan’t see many soon; They also set a glazed Westphalian ham on, Whereon Apicius would bestow his benison; And then there was champagne with foaming whirls, As white as Cleopatra’s melted pearls.”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
1049. INGREDIENTS.--Venison, coarse flour-and-water paste, a little flour. _Mode_.--Choose a haunch with clear, bright, and thick fat, and the cleft of the hoof smooth and close; the greater quantity of fat there is, the better quality will the meat be. As many people object to venison when it has too much _haut goût_, ascertain how long it has been kept, by running a sharp skewer into the meat close to the bone; when this is withdrawn, its sweetness can be judged of. With care and attention, it will keep good a fortnight, unless the weather is very mild. Keep it perfectly dry by wiping it with clean cloths till not the least damp remains, and sprinkle over powdered ginger or pepper, as a preventative against the fly.
Sources: The passage is from George Gordon Byron Byron, Don Juan, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Beeton, The Book of Household Management of 1861, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — plum cloth, grapes stamp.