A guide to modern cookery

of the fowl and must therefore be renewed if it reduces too quickly. After having been cleared of all grease, it is always added to the sauce which accompanies the piece of poultry. _Braised fowls_ are always treated after the manner described under No. 248; they are not rubbed with lemon, but they are covered with slices of bacon. The latter should only cover the breast, but be thick, notwithstanding; for they protect the belly, which, without them, would shrivel by the time the legs cooked. The covering of bacon is essential to all pieces of poultry, whether these be poached, poëled, braised or roasted. 1444—THE WAY TO SERVE POULTRY RELEVÉS QUICKLY AND HOT I feel bound to call the reader’s attention to this very important point in culinary work:— Owing to the difficulties involved in the carving of the fowl and the placing and arranging of the pieces and their garnish upon the consumers’ plates—both of which operations require dexterity and expertness, which those in charge very often do not possess, or thanks to the inefficiency of particular installations, or what not, I have noticed for some considerable time, that the method of serving large pieces of poultry is, in many cases, very far from being the right one. For, indeed, how often does not the diner find himself presented with a plate of fowl which is neither appetisingly dainty nor yet sufficiently hot! It follows from this, that all the care and trouble devoted by a chef to the preparation of the dish are entirely wasted. Now, I have tried to improve this state of affairs, by planning a method of serving which would be at once simple and expeditious, without necessarily being devoid of tastefulness and presentability. In the first place, it is my practice to remove the fowl’s two _suprêmes_, in the kitchen, and to keep them warm in a little cooking-liquor until the last minute. Secondly, I remove all the bones of the breast, and I reconstruct the fowl with a garnish in keeping with the dish, _i.e._, either a _mousseline_ forcemeat, pilaff rice combined