Time.—To roast the birds, about 10 minutes. Average Cost, uncertain, thrush being seldom sold. Allow 2 to each person.
1328.—VENISON, BROILED POLISH FASHION. (Fr.—Escalopes de Venaison à la Polonaise.)
Ingredients.—8 or 10 slices, ¼ of an inch thick, cut from a leg of venison, 1½ ozs. of clarified butter, ½ a pint of Velouté or Allemande sauce, ½ a gill of wine vinegar, 1 tablespoonful of meat glaze or meat extract, 12 juniper berries, salt and pepper.
Method.—Crush the juniper berries, simmer them for 10 or 15 minutes in the vinegar, then add the meat glaze and sauce, and cook gently for 15 minutes. When ready to use, strain, return to the stewpan, season to taste, and stir in ½ an oz. of butter. Flatten the slices of venison with a cutlet-bat, and trim neatly. Heat the remainder of the butter in a sauté-pan, and fry the slices of venison quickly until nicely browned on both sides. Arrange them neatly in a hot entrée dish, pour over the prepared sauce and serve.
Time.—To fry, from 10 to 15 minutes. Average Cost, 1s. 3d. to 1s. 6d. per lb. Seasonable from September to January, but may be be bought from June.
The Deer (Fr. daim).—These elegant and active animals, included under the name of deer, constitute the family Cervidae, being represented by the stag or red-deer. The horns and antlers are solid, more or less branched, according to the age of the deer, and are shed and reproduced annually. Except in the case of the reindeer, the male alone is furnished with antlers, which are used as defensive and offensive weapons. Particular terms are used to designate deer according to their age. A stag of the first year is called a calf or hind-calf; the second year it is termed a knobber; the third year a brock, the fourth year a staggard, the fifth year a stag, and the sixth year a hart. The female is called a calf the first year, the second year a hearse, and the third year a hind. Deer are found widely distributed over the world, with the exception of Australia and South Africa; in the latter continent the antelope, characterized by permanent horns, takes it place. There are numerous species of deer, as the reindeer, elk, fallow-deer, roebuck, moose, etc. The flesh of deer is called venison, and is highly esteemed.
1329.—VENISON, CHOPS AND STEAKS OF.
Venison chops are cut from the loin, and a thick slice from the leg is usually served as a steak. They should be grilled over a clear fire, and served with a sauce made of equal quantities of oiled butter, red wine, and dissolved red-currant jelly. See Venison, Broiled Polish Fashion, and Venison Cutlets.
Venison.—This is the name given to the flesh of some kinds of deer, and is esteemed very delicious. Different species of deer are found in warm as well as cold climates, and are in several instances invaluable to man. This is especially the case with the Laplander, whose reindeer constitutes a large proportion of his wealth. There—
The reindeer unharness'd in freedom can play,
And safely o'er Odin's steep precipice stray,
Whilst the wolf to the forest recesses may fly,
And howl to the moon as she glides through the sky.
In Lapland the reindeer is the substitute for the horse, the cow, the goat and the sheep. From its milk is produced cheese; from its skin clothing; from its tendons bowstrings and thread; from its horns glue; from its bones spoons; and its flesh furnishes food. In the middle ages the deer formed food for the not over-abstemious monks, represented by Friar Tuck's larder in Sir Walter Scott's novel, Ivanhoe; and at a later period it was a deer-stealing adventure that drove the "ingenious" William Shakespeare to London, to become a common player, and the greatest dramatist that ever lived. In England we have the stag, an animal of great beauty, and much admired. He is a native many parts of Europe, and is supposed to have been originally introduced into this country from France. About a century back the stag was to be found wild in some of the rough and mountainous parts of Wales as well as in the forests of Exmoor, in Devonshire, and the woods on the banks of the Tamar. Herds of deer may still be seen in many English parks and in some of our forests.
