A Method of Cooking Old Fowls, Pheasants, Black Cock, and Other Birds, Not Fit for Roasting
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Hang the bird in a cool, airy place until ready to prepare.
Simmer
Cover the bottom of a saucepan with bacon slices.
Place the bird on top of the bacon.
Add the gravy to the saucepan.
Cover the saucepan.
Simmer on low heat for 1.5 to 2 hours, turning the bird occasionally and adding more gravy if needed.
Once cooked, transfer the contents to a dish to cool.
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
- Bird (old fowl, pheasant, or black cock)
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender through long, slow simmering.
- Bacon
- Adds fat and savoury flavour to the pot and the cooking liquid.
- Gravy
- Keeps the bird moist and carries flavour during the long simmer.
The step that matters
Simmer on low heat. Tough old birds need long, gentle simmering so connective tissue breaks down slowly. A rolling boil toughens the meat and dries the surface, so keep the liquid at a bare simmer and turn the bird as directed.
“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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