Partridges And Cabbages, Dressed

Take a couple of old partridges, empty and truss them, with the legs inward; simmer them on the fire till they get firm. Blanch two cabbages, that you have cut in halves; when the cabbages are blanched, put them into cold water to cool, cut off the tops of the middle, squeeze them so as to leave no water; have also blanched about a pound and a half of breast of bacon with the cabbage ; put this bacon into a small braizing-pan, and the birds close to the bacon. Next put in the cabbage, a few carrots turned round, two or three onions, a bunch of parsley seasoned with salt, and a small quantity of allspice, bay-leaves, thyme, salt and pepper: cover the whole with a few layers of bacon, and sheet of buttered paper; then moisten with a braize, have any, if not, take some of the pot-top, but in the better case you must season a little more. Set the contents of the braizing-pan boiling, and this being done, put it over a slow fire for three hours and a half. Now take out the layers of bacon, the onions, and the carrots-Place a large sieve over a dish of the same size, turn the birds into the sieve, take a clean towel, mould the cabbages into a large roller, squeeze them so as to have no fat left; then take a plain mould, garnish it with very thin layers of bacon, make a kind of flower in the middle of the mould with the carrots, and put a border of small glazed onions all round the top; next take some of the cabbage with a ladle, with which fill the mould. At the same time let the birds be covered all over with the cabbage, equally on all sides. Make a rosasse of carrots on each face of the mould, wh fill to the brim. Then put it into the oven to keep warm. At dinner-time turn the mould into a dish, let it lay for a moment to drain but all the broth, and send up with a nice Espagnole over it. Partridges with cabbages, in my opinion, are far superior when not put into a mould; squeeze the cabbage the same as before in a clean towel, to give it the shape of a large rolling-pin, then take the two ends of it to make a bed for the bird on the dish; cut the cabbages of an equal size, dress them round the partridges with a carrot between each cabbage; put also some sausages, and cover the whole when well dressed, with a good Espagnole sauce, in which you have reduced a little of the liquor of the cabbages; if the cook has any ingenuity, this dish will be most excellent, and exhibit a beautiful appearance.

Saute Of Fillets Of Young Partridges, Au Fumet Of Game

Take four young partridges, rather stale, that they may have more flavour, and be more tender; flay them, take up the fillets, detach the filets mignons from the upper fillets, cut out the sinews of the filets mignons, and fla the fillets with the handle of your knife dipped into cold water, the blade being also dipped into the same; pass it gently over the fillets, leaning heavy on the table, in order to take off the second skin of the fillets only: trim the fillets nicely, mark them with clarified butter in a saute pan; lay the filets mignons over the others, dust a little salt, and cover the whole with a round piece of paper till dinner-time, then sautez the fillets over a very brisk and equal fire. With the remnants of the birds, put in a few thin slices of veal and ham in a small stew-pan, lay the remnants over the veal, and moisten the whole with a few spoonfuls of consomme. Let the whole sweat on a slow fire, and when the meat is sweated thoroughly, moisten with boiling consomme, to which add a few mushrooms, if you have any, together with a bunch of parsley and green onions. Let the whole stew for an hour and a half; strain this fumet through a silk sieve, and reduce it to glaze, to use it when required. When the fillets have been sautez, drain the butter; then take four or five spoonfuls of veloute, some of the above glaze of game, and keep stirring without allowing them to boil. Taste whether seasoned enough: pour a little thick cream to whiten the sauce, and make it mellower; have as many slices of bread cut into the shape of the fillets, fried in butter, as you have large fillets, glaze the fried bread lightly, then dish the saute in the following manner: a crouton, and next a large fillet with the thick end upwards, then a filet mignon with the point upwards, then again a crouton, etc. etc. as above. Mask the fillets only, not the croutons, and send up to table.