Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/1427

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A small turkey may be carved in the same manner as a large fowl, (see directions for carving the same); and no bird is more easily carved than a large turkey, for the breast alone may, when properly carved, be made to serve a large number of persons. If more meat is required than the breast provides, the upper part of the wing should be served. When it is necessary for the legs to be carved, they should be severed from the body and then cut into slices. The forcemeat in the crop of the bird should be carved across in thin slices; and when the body is stuffed, the apron should be cut across.

A boiled turkey is carved in the same manner as when roasted.

A very straightforward plan is adopted in carving a pigeon; the knife is carried entirely through the centre of the bird, cutting it into two precisely equal and similar parts. If it is necessary to make three pieces of it, a small wing should be cut off with the leg on either side, thus serving two guests; and, by this means, there will be sufficient meat left on the breast to send to the third guest.

In carving a boiled rabbit, the knife should be drawn on each side of the backbone, the whole length of the rabbit, thus separating the rabbit into three parts. Now divide the back into two equal parts, then let the leg be taken off, and next the shoulder. This, in our opinion, is an easy way to carve a rabbit, although there are other modes equally practical.

A roast rabbit is rather differently trussed from one that is meant to be boiled; but the carving is nearly similar. The back should be divided into as many pieces as it will give, and the legs and shoulders can then be disengaged in the same manner as those of the boiled animal.

The brains of this bird are highly esteemed by many, and for this reason the the head is frequently trussed on one side of the bird, but this is entirely a matter of choice. The method of carving blackcock is identical with that for Boiled Foul. The breast and the thigh are the only parts esteemed; the latter may be cut lengthwise into thin slices, or served whole.

As game is almost universally served as a dainty, and not as a dish to stand the assault of an altogether fresh appetite, these dishes are not