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To Stew a Duck or Goose
503. Half-roast a duck or goose: put it into a stew-pan with a pint of beef gravy, a few leaves of sage and mint cut small, pepper and salt, and a small bit of onion, shred as fine as possible. Simmer a quarter of an hour, and skim clean; then add near a quart of green peas. Cover close and simmer near half an hour longer. Put in a piece of butter and a little flour, and give it one boil; then serve in one dish.
TO STEW A DUCK (an Entrée). 504. Put an onion scalded, a few chopped sage leaves, and some pep-
A Victorian braise that finishes a partly roasted bird in its own gravy with green peas — essentially canard aux petits pois under an English name. The method still works, though the timings assume a much smaller, leaner bird than a modern goose.
- Half-roast means half-cookedRoast the bird only until the skin has coloured and the fat has begun to render — roughly half the total time you would give it. The book gives no temperature. It finishes in the pan, so undercooking at this stage is correct.
- Pint and quartReading the measures as imperial, a pint is 20 fl oz (about 2½ US cups) of gravy, and "near a quart" of peas is just under 40 fl oz — roughly 4½ US cups, or about 1½ lb of frozen peas.
- Skim in earnestDuck and goose throw an enormous amount of fat into a pint of gravy. The instruction to "skim clean" is the hinge of the dish — without it the sauce is greasy and the peas taste of nothing but fat. Skim again before the butter and flour go in.
- Scale for a gooseA duck of 4–5 lb suits the times given. A modern goose of 9–12 lb will not be done in three quarters of an hour of simmering; allow an hour and a half in the pan, adding the peas only for the last half hour.
- Green peasFresh shelled peas of the period were probably older and starchier than modern frozen peas and would better tolerate the full half hour. Frozen peas need eight to ten minutes at most; add them near the end rather than at the point indicated, or they will collapse to a grey purée.
- Butter and flourThe book asks only for "a piece of butter and a little flour"; worked to a paste before it goes in (in effect a beurre manié) it will thicken cleanly, then bring it up for the single boil specified to cook out the raw flour. About 1 oz of each will thicken a pint.
- The onion"A small bit of onion, shred as fine as possible" is a seasoning, not a vegetable — a tablespoon or so, minced. Raw onion in coarse pieces will still be crunching when the peas are done.
- YieldA duck stewed this way serves three to four; a goose, six to eight. Carve the bird, spoon the peas and sauce around it, and serve as directed in a single dish.