Roast Pigeons - 1930's

You have to hand it to our previous generation, they really knew how to live off the land.  This recipe is probably a lot older than the 1930's but as it is from a cookbook of that period it is being cataloged as such.  The assumption made here is that the cook knows how to pluck and gut a pigeon, if you're not entirely au-fais with it then buy one from a butcher.

This recipe is a challange as it requires the pigeon to be continually basted in butter.

3 pigeons
3 slices of fat bacon
3 oz. butter
Pepper and Salt
3 slices of buttered sauce
Garnish of fried parsley

1. Singe and draw three pigeons.  Put about three-quarters of an ounce of butter inside each pigeon and season them with pepper and salt.
2. Truss them for roasting with a slice of fat bacon tied over the breast of each.
3. Toast the slice of bread, butter them, and stand one pigeon on each.  Roast them, in front of a brisk fire or in a gas oven, for 20 minutes, basting them continually with butter.
4. When pigeons are cooked, remove the strings and the bacon, or, if liked, the bacon can be left on the breasts.  Place the pigeons and toasts on a hot dish and garnish with bunches of fried parsley.

Stewed Pheasants and Rice - 1930's

This is one of the older recipes that I have posted on here, so bits of it might not make perfect sense.   recipe assumes that you know how to gut and skin Pheasants too, you're welcome to cheat by getting a couple from the roadside or even a butcher who specialises in Game.

2 Pheasants
4 oz lean Ham (diced)
2 Onions
2 oz Butter
A bunch of Herbs
Pepper and Sale
Flour
Rice.



1. Singe and draw two young pheasants, then cut them into neat joints.
2. Put the giblets on to boil with an onion, a bunch of herbs (bouquet?) pepper and salt and sufficient water to cover.
3.  Bring all to the boil then skim and boil gently.
4.  Melt the butter in a stew pan and put the pieces of pheasant, the other onion (sliced), the ham (diced) and a little pepper and salt.
5. Cover tightly and draw the pan to where its contents will cook gently in their own juices. (roughly translated let it simmer).
6. Turn the pieces two or three times during the cooking which should last 45 minutes.
7. Take the pieces up, put them in a soup plate, cover with a basin and stand the plate over a saucepan of boiling water to keep hot whilst making the gravy.

At this point it might be worth starting to cook the rice.

8. Sift one large tablespoonful of flour into the pan in which the pheasants were cooked and stir it well.  Then strain a pint of gravy made from the giblets into it.
9.  Bring all to the boil for 5 minutes then strain.  Rinse out the stewpan and put the pices of pheasant in to it with the sauce and boil up again.
10,  Prepare a nice circle of rice on the dishes you are to serve them on to (or put the Microwave Rice on) and place the pheasant in the centre with sauce over the top.