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Mayonaise of Chicken

Bone 4 young but plump chickens. There need be no difficulty in this. First cut down the back and then cut close to the bones. It makes no difference if you do cut through the skin once in a while. Carve through the hip joints, inside, and take the leg bones out after those of the carcass. Wash the chickens in cold water, dry them, lay out on a table and dredge plentifully with pepper and salt. Then lay two together, the white meat of one on the dark meat of the other, double or roll them up loosely, tie round with twine and boil them in the stock boiler an hour.

When done take off the twine and lay the chickens out flat on two large platters, place other platters on top, set in a cold place and a weight on to press them to about an inch in thickness.

When quite cold cut the edges of the pressed fowls square and divide them in shapes all of one size. Oblongs and parallelograms are most in style, and they laid not straight in the dish but slantwise, leaving the ends of the dish for the garnish. Prepare some mayonaise of savory jelly by mixing thick mayonaise with a third as much aspic jelly and when about to set pour a coating over each piece of the chicken placed on large dishes for the purpose. Prepare the small dishes--25 or 30 of them--with a bed sometimes of chopped green salad material or white celery, at others with finely minced eggs. Mince also a spoonful of pickled blood beets, the same of green pickles and mix them with a like quantity of minced yolk of eggs, but only the minute before using, less the beets color them all.

When the dressing on the chicken is perfectly cold and set take each piece on a fork in the end and lightly dip the upper side in the minced beets etc., on a plate, and place it on its dish. At each end place a slice of lemon. Jelly mixed with cream sauce in proportion to make it set can be used in place of the mayonaise.

Chickens cut up in joints, after boiling and cooling, and the pieces smoothly trimmed, can be dressed as above and for a large dish may be piled around a center of lettuce salad.