1035. Ducklings, A La Rouennaise

Truss two fat ducklings for boiling, put them in a stewpan, with about three-quarters of a pound of streaky bacon (previously parboiled), a carrot, an onion, and a garnished faggot of parsley, and cover them with thin layers of fat bacon and a round of buttered paper; moisten with a quart of white broth, and then set them to braize gently for about three-quarters of an hour. Cut a bunch of young turnips into the shape of large olives, or half-moons, and fry these in a stewpan with two ounces of clarified butter, and a dessert-spoonful of pounded sugar, over the fire, until they acquire a deep yellow color; then strain off the butter, and put the turnips into a smaller stewpan containing sufficient bright Espagnole sauce (No. 8) for the entree; add a little of the liquor from the ducks to flavor them, and set them to boil gently by the side of a stove-fire until they are done, at the same time attending to the reduction of the sauce to its proper consistency. When about to send to table, the ducks may either be served whole, or cut up into small joints and neatly trimmed ; pile these in the same manner as for a fricassee, keeping the fillets and breasts for the top; garnish the entree with the turnips, place a border of scollops of streaky bacon round the base, pour the sauce over the ducks, and serve.

1036. Ducklings, Stewed With Olives

Prepare these as in the foregoing case, and when done, cut each up into neatly-trimmed small joints, consisting of two legs, and two fillets with the pinions left on them; then cut the breast into two pieces, and also the back; clarify the liquor, and after it has been reduced by boil-ing to half-glaze, warm the pieces of ducklings in it, and dish them up as before directed; garnish the entree with a ragout of olives, place the scollops of streaky bacon round the entree, pour the sauce over the ducklings, and serve.

1037. Ducklings, With Stewed Peas

Prepare these as directed in the foregoing cases. Stew a quart of young peas (No. 146), and finish them with a little of the glaze made from the liquor in which the ducklings have been braized; the members or small joints of the ducklings must also be warmed in some of the same glaze, and dished up in a pile upon some of the stewed peas; garnish the base of the entree with the remainder; place a row of scollops of the streaky bacon upon these, pour some bright Espagnole sauce (No. 3) over the entree, and serve.

1038. Fillets Of Ducklings, A La Bigarrade

Draw and singe these, and pick out any remaining stubble-feathers on the ducklings; then separate the breast from the legs and backs, by running the knife in just above the thighs and cutting through the upper part of the back under the wings; roast the backs and use them for making the Bigarrade sauce with (No. 33). Place the breasts in a deep earthen dish, season with a little mignionette pepper, salt, parsley, bay-leaf, thyme, three table-spoonfuls of salad oil, and the juice of a lemon, and allow them to steep in this for several hours; about three-quarters of an hour before dinner, run a large iron skewer through the breasts of the ducklings, and tie them on a spit, then place the whole of the seasoning upon them, wrap them up with a large sheet of oiled paper, and set them before the fire for about twenty minutes : at the end of that time, remove the paper and seasoning, and allow the ducklings to acquire a bright color ; then remove them from the spit, observing that they should be done with the gravy in them. The fillets must then be taken out, slightly trimmed and scored, and placed in a sautapan with a little half-glaze or some of the sauce, and allowed barely to simmer over a stove-fire to warm; they should then be dished up in a close circle with a fried crouton of bread in between each fillet; pour the Bigarrade sauce over the entree, and serve.