THE ART OF CARVING

In preparing meat for the table, and in laying out the table, reference ought first to be had to the carving department, a very onerous one to all and to some a very disagreeable one. The first requisite is a sharp knife, and if to be used by a lady, light and handy, dexterity and address in the manner of using it being more required than strength, either in the knife or the carver. First a napkin should be spread under the platter so that the edges are hardly discernible, and yet large enough to protect the cloth, so that it may be clean when the platter is removed. The seat should be sufficiently high for the carver to have a complete command over the joints, and the dish should be sufficiently deep and capacious so as not to endanger the splashing of the gravy. It should also be placed as near to the carver as possible, leaving room for his or her plate. A knife with a long blade is required for a large fleshy joint ; for ham or bacon, a middling sized, sharp-pointed one is preferable, and for poultry or game a short knife and sharp-pointed is the best. Some like this knife a little curved.

As fish is the first thing to be carved or served, it has first place. In helping fish take care not to break the flakes, which in cod and fine, fresh salmon and some other sorts, are large. A fish trowel is necessary, not to say indispensable in serving many kinds of fish, particularly the larger sort.

In carving salmon cut slices along the back-bone and also along the flank. The flank or thin part is the best and richest, and preferred by all gourmands. The back is the most solid and thick. The tail of salmon is not so fine as other parts. The head is seldom used. The liver, milt and roe are generally served, but seldom eaten.

In carving mackerel the trowel should be carried under the meat, horizontally over the back-bone, so as to raise one side of the meat from the bone. Remove the bone and serve the other side of the fish. When fresh, well cleaned and well done, the upper end is considered the best.

In carving fowls, as the legs are always bent inwards and tucked into the belly before it is put on the table, the skewers by which they are secured ought to be removed. The fowl should be laid on the carver's plate, and the joints as they are cut off placed on the dish. In taking off the wing, the joint only must be divided with the knife, for by lifting up the pinion of the wing with the fork, and then drawing it towards the legs, the muscles will separate in a much better form than you can effect by cutting with a knife. Next place the knife between the leg

44 THE DINING ROOM.

and body and cut to the bone ; turn the leg back with the fork and the joint will give way if the fowl be young and well done ; the neck bones are taken off by putting in the knife and pressing it under the long, hard part of the bone ; then lift the neckbone up and break it off from the part that sticks to the breast. The breast itself has now to be divided from the body by cutting through the tender ribs close to the breast quite down to the tail ; then lay the back upwards, put the knife into the bone half way from the neck to the rump, and on raising it the lower end will readily separate. The first thing to be done is to turn the rump from you and neatly to take off the two sides. Each part should be neatly arranged on the dish, or served out as desired by the guests. A turkey should not be divided until the breast is disposed of. Begin cutting close to the breast bone, scooping round so as to leave the mere pinions. Each slice should carry with it a portion of the dressing or force meat, with which the craw is stuffed.

Partridges are carved like fowls, but the breast and wings are not often divided, the bird being small. Pigeons may be cut in two, either from one end to the other of the bird or across. A goose or duck should be cut with as many slices from the breast as possible, and served with a portion of the dressing to each plate. When the meat is all carved, and not till then, cut off the joints ; but, observe the joints of water fowls are wide spread and go farther back than those of land fowls.

A roast pig is generally slit down the middle in the kitchen, and the cook garnishes the dish with the jaws and ears. Separate a shoulder from the carcass on one side and then do the same thing with the leg. Divide the ribs, which are frequently considered the most choice part, into two or three helpings, presenting an ear or jaw as far as they will go, and plenty of sauce. Some persons prefer the leg because not so rich or luscious as the ribs. The neck end, between the shoulders, is also sometimes preferred. The joints may be divided into two each, or pieces may be cut from them.

In carving beef, mutton, lamb and veal, thin, smooth and neat slices are desirable ; cut across the grain, taking care to pass the knife through to the bones of the meat.

A ham may be carved in several ways. First, by cutting long, deli- cate slices, through the thick fat, in the center, down to the bone ; or by running the point of the knife in the circle of the middle and cutting thin, circular slices, thus keeping the ham moist, and last and most economically, by beginning at the knuckle and slicing upward.

A tongue should be carved as thin as a wafer, its delicacy depending a great deal on this, and a well cut tongue will tempt the most fastidi- ous. A beef's heart should also be cut in the same way.

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR'S DINNERS. 45