1308.—PHEASANT, CROQUETTES OF. (Fr.—Croquettes de Faisan.)
Ingredients.—4 tablespoonfuls of finely-chopped cooked pheasant, ¼ of a pint of thick brown sauce (see Sauces), 2 eggs, breadcrumbs, salt and papper.
Method.—Make the sauce as directed, add the minced pheasant, the yolk of 1 egg, salt and pepper, and stir briskly over the fire until the mixture thickens, then turn on to a plate. When cold, form into cork-shaped croquettes, coat with egg and breadcrumbs, and fry until nicely browned in hot fat. Drain well, pile on a hot dish covered with a folded serviette or dish-paper, garnish with crisply-fried parsley, and serve.
Time.—Altogether, about 2 hours. Average Cost, 6d., exclusive of the pheasant. Seasonable from October 1 to February 12.
1309.—PHEASANT, CUTLETS OF. (Fr.—Côtelettes de Faisan.)
Ingredients.—1 large pheasant, 1 egg, breadcrumbs, butter or frying-fat, ½ a pint of Espagnole sauce, No. 244, salt and pepper.
Method.—Divide the birds into neat joints, and remove the bones, keeping the flesh as intact as possible. Season, flatten, and trim each piece of pheasant, fold the skin under, and form them into a good shape. Coat first with egg, and afterwards with breadcrumbs seasoned with salt and pepper, fry gently in hot fat or butter until sufficiently cooked and well browned, then drain well. Insert a small bone in each cutlet, put on a frill, and serve with the sauce poured round.
Time.—To fry the cutlets, about 10 minutes. Average Cost, small pheasants from 3s. to 4s. 6d. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable from October to February.
The Height of Excellence in a Pheasant.—If eaten when fresh the pheasant has no distinct flavour. If, however, the bird be kept a proper length of time, distinguishable by a slight smell and change of colour, it becomes a highly-flavoured dish, occupying a middle distance in delicacy between chicken and venison. The exact time a pheasant should be "hung" is difficult to define, but the right moment a pheasant should be taken down is instinctively detected by a good cook.
1310.—PHEASANT, ROASTED. (Fr.—Faisan Rôti.)
Ingredients.—1 pheasant, ¼ of a lb. of beefsteak, fried breadcrumbs, bacon, brown gravy, bread sauce (see Gravies and Sauces), watercress, salad-oil, salt and pepper.
Method.—Pluck and draw the bird, truss in the same way as a roast chicken, but leave the head on. Put the beefsteak inside the pheasant; the beefsteak is intended to improve the flavour of the bird and keep it moist, and not to be eaten with it, but it may afterwards be used in the preparation of some cold meat dish. Cover the breast with thin slices of bacon, or lard it with strips of fat bacon, and roast in front
