Chickens roasted with Force-meat and Cucumbers.
TAKE two chickens, dress them very neatly, break the breast
bone, and make a force-meat thus: take the flesh of a fowl and
of two pigeons, with some slices of ham or bacon, chop them
all well together, take the crumb of a penny loaf soaked in milk
and boiled, then set it to cool; when it is cool mix it all together,
season it with beaten mace, nutmeg, pepper, and a little salt, a
very little thyme, some parsley, and a little lemon-peel, with the
yolks of two eggs; then fill your fowls, spit them, and tie them
at both ends; after you have paper’d the breast, take four cucum-
bers, cut them in two, and lay them in salt and water two or three
hours before; then dry them, and fill them with some of the
force-meat (which you must take care to save) and tie them
with a packthread, flour them, and fry them of a fine brown;
when your chickens are enough, lay them in the dish, and untie
your cucumbers, but take care the meat don’t come out; then
lay them round the chickens with the flat side downwards, and the
narrow end upwards. You must have some rich fry’d gravy, and
pour it into the dish; then garnish with lemon.
Note, One large fowl done this way, with the cucumbers laid
round it looks very pretty, and is a very good dish.