Woodcocks or Snipes

The housekeeper's instructor; or, uni... · William Augustus Henderson · 1791
Source
The housekeeper's instructor; or, universal family cook
Status
success · extracted 12 days ago
Not a recipe
No
Ingredients (5)
Instructions (12)
  1. Do not draw the birds.
  2. Spit the birds.
  3. Toast the round of a threepenny loaf until nice and brown.
  4. Lay the toasted bread in a dish under the birds.
  5. Baste the birds with a little butter while roasting, letting the trail or gut drop on the toast.
  6. When the birds are done, place the toast in the dish and lay the birds on it.
  7. Pour about a quarter of a pint of gravy into the dish.
  8. Set the dish over a lamp or chafing dish for three or four minutes.
  9. Serve hot to the table.
  10. Truss ruffs and rees like woodcock, but do not dress them with the guts.
  11. Serve ruffs and rees with gravy and bread sauce.
  12. Garnish the dish with crisp crumbs of bread.
Original Text
Woodcocks or Snipes. THESE birds are so peculiar from all others that they must never be drawn. When you have spitted them, take the round of a threepenny loaf, and toast it nice and brown; then lay it in a dish under the birds, and when you put them in the fire, baste them with a little butter, and let the trail or gut drop on the toast. When they are done, put the toast in the dish, and lay the birds on it. Pour about a quarter of a pint of gravy into the dish, and set it over a lamp or chafing dish for three or four minutes, and then take it hot to table. A woodcock will take about twenty minutes roasting, and a snipe fifteen. Ruffs and Rees (which are particularly found in Lincolnshire and the Isle of Ely) are very delicate birds, and must be trussed like the woodcock, but not dressed with the guts. When done, serve them up with gravy and bread sauce, and garnish the dish with crisp crumbs of bread.
Notes
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