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Fricasseed Pigeons
Singe and draw two pigeons, and wipe them well with a damp cloth. Cut them into pieces, and put them in a saucepan; pour in one pint each of claret and water, add a blade of mace, one onion, a bunch of sweet herbs, a little pepper and salt, and one and one-half tablespoonfuls of butter that has been kneaded with a little flour. Cover the pan, and cook slowly for three-fourths of an hour. Remove the pieces of pigeons onto a hot dish, and keep them warm. Strain the gravy, and stir in with it the yolks of three eggs; when thick pour it over the meat, put some fried oysters on top, garnish round with croutons of fried bread, and serve.
A straightforward braise finished with an egg-yolk liaison, and that liaison is where it succeeds or fails. Everything else is standard braising practice.
- Never let the yolks boilStrain the gravy, let it stop bubbling, then temper the beaten yolks with a ladleful of hot liquid before stirring them back in over the lowest heat. Above roughly 180F the yolks scramble and the sauce breaks into grains; it should thicken to the consistency of thin cream and no further.
- Buying the birdsThe recipe says only 'pigeons'. Birds of this size in period American cookery were usually young domestic ones, sold today as squab, dressed at roughly 14-16 oz each; two will serve two generously or four modestly with the oysters and croutons. Older wild pigeon is tougher and darker and wants longer than the three-quarters of an hour given here.
- Singe and drawSquab now arrives plucked and eviscerated, so this step is done for you. A quick pass over a gas flame still helps if any pinfeathers remain.
- Cutting upHalve each bird through the backbone and breast, or take off legs and split the crown. The carcasses are worth adding to the pan for body and lifting out before straining.
- ClaretNineteenth-century American claret meant dry red Bordeaux or anything sold in imitation of it. Any dry, unoaked red works; a pint of wine to a pint of water is a lot of liquid for two small birds, and reducing the strained gravy by half before adding the yolks gives a sauce with some grip.
- A blade of maceMace is the lacy covering of the nutmeg seed. One blade is a single dried piece, usually reckoned at somewhere between a quarter and a half teaspoon of ground mace, though ground mace cannot be fished out at straining time.