_Choosing and Trussing_.--Hen turkeys are preferable for boiling, on
account of their whiteness and tenderness, and one of moderate size
should be selected, as a large one is not suitable for this mode of
cooking. They should not be dressed until they have been killed 3 or 4
days, as they will neither look white, nor will they be tender. Pluck
the bird, carefully draw, and singe it with a piece of white paper, wash
it inside and out, and wipe it thoroughly dry with a cloth. Cut off the
head and neck, draw the strings or sinews of the thighs, and cut off the
legs at the first joint; draw the legs into the body, fill the breast
with forcemeat made by recipe No. 417; run a skewer through the wing and
the middle joint of the leg, quite into the leg and wing on the opposite
side; break the breastbone, and make the bird look as round and as
compact as possible.
[Illustration: BOILED TURKEY.]
_Mode_.--Put the turkey into sufficient _hot_ water to cover it; let it
come to a boil, then carefully remove all the scum: if this is attended
to, there is no occasion to boil the bird in a floured cloth; but it
should be well covered with the water. Let it simmer very gently for
about 1-1/2 hour to 1-3/4 hour, according to the size, and serve with
either white, celery, oyster, or mushroom sauce, or parsley-and-butter,
a little of which should be poured over the turkey. Boiled ham, bacon,
tongue, or pickled pork, should always accompany this dish; and when
oyster sauce is served, the turkey should be stuffed with oyster
forcemeat.
_Time_.--A small turkey, 1-1/2 hour; a large one, 1-3/4 hour.
_Average cost_, 5s. 6d. to 7s. 6d. each, but more expensive at
Christmas, on account of the great demand.
_Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons.
_Seasonable_ from December to February.
THE TURKEY.--The turkey, for which fine bird we are indebted to
America, is certainly one of the most glorious presents made by
the New World to the Old. Some, indeed, assert that this bird
was known to the ancients, and that it was served at the
wedding-feast of Charlemagne. This opinion, however, has been
controverted by first-rate authorities, who declare that the
French name of the bird, _dindon_, proves its origin; that the
form of the bird is altogether foreign, and that it is found in
America alone in a wild state. There is but little doubt, from
the information which has been gained at considerable trouble,
that it appeared, generally, in Europe about the end of the 17th
century; that it was first imported into France by Jesuits, who
had been sent out missionaries to the West; and that from France
it spread over Europe. To this day, in many localities in
France, a turkey is called a Jesuit. On the farms of N. America,
where turkeys are very common, they are raised either from eggs
which have been found, or from young ones caught in the woods:
they thus preserve almost entirely their original plumage. The
turkey only became gradually acclimated, both on the continent
and in England: in the middle of the 18th century, scarcely 10
out of 20 young turkeys lived; now, generally speaking, 15 out
of the same number arrive at maturity.
CROQUETTES OF TURKEY (Cold Meat Cookery).