To Roast Fowls
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fowl
Pick the fowl.
Draw the fowl.
Singe the fowl without washing it.
Avoid breaking the gall-bag to prevent bitterness.
Press down the breastbone.
Break the legs at the first joint.
Remove sinews.
Cut the head off close to the body.
Leave enough skin to tie on the back.
Truss the fowl by securing the legs and wings in place with a skewer or string.
Roast and serve
Baste the fowl well with butter after placing it over the fire.
Suspend the fowl neck downwards while roasting.
Roast for 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the size.
Remove all skewers and strings before serving.
Serve with melted butter or gravy sauce.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Fowl
- Provides the main body of the dish, and its meat cooks through during roasting.
- Butter
- Adds moisture and richness, and helps the skin brown as the fowl roasts.
The step that matters
Avoid breaking the gall-bag. Breaking the gall-bag while drawing the fowl can spill bitter fluid onto the meat, making it taste bitter. Careful handling keeps the flavour clean.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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