WATERMELON PICKLE

Pare off very carefully the green part of the rind of a good ripe watermelon, trim off the red core, cut in pieces one or two inches in length, place in a por- celain-lined kettle, in the proportions of one gallon rinds to two heaping teaspoons common salt and water to nearly cover, boil until tender enough to pierce with a silver fork, pour into a colander to drain, and dry by taking a few pieces at a time in the hand and pressing gently with a crash towel. Make syrup and treat rinds exactly as directed for pickled peaches. You may continue adding rinds as melons are used at table, preparing them at first by cooking in salt water as above ; when you have prepared as many as you want, and they are nearly pickled, drain and finish as directed as in peach pickles, except when the syrup is boiled the last time, put in the melons, and boil fifteen or twenty minutes ; set jar near stove, skim out melons and put in jar a few at a time, heating gradually so as not to break it, then pour in syrup boil- ing hot. A rind nearly an inch thick, crisp and tender, is best, although any may be used. If scum rises and the syrup assumes a whitish appearance, drain, boil and skim syrup, add melons and boil until syrup is as thick as molasses.

258 THE BUCKEYE COOK BOOK.

Do not feed poultry the day before killing ; cut off the head, hang up by the legs, as the meat will be more white and healthful if bled freely and quickly — in winter kill from three days to a week before cooking Scald well by dipping in and out of a pail or tub of boiling water, being careful not to scald so much as to set the feathers and make them more dif- ficult to pluck ; place the fowl on a board with head towards you, pull the feathers away from you, which will be in the direction they naturally lie (if pulled in a contrary direction the skin is likely to be torn), be careful to remove all the pin-feathers with a knife or pair of tweezers ; singe, but not smoke, over blaz- ing paper, place on a meat board, and with a sharp knife cut off the legs at the joint above the feet and the oil bag above the tail ; take out the crop, either by making' a slit at the back of the neck or in front, (the last is better), taking care that everything per- taining to the crop or windpipe is removed, cut the neck bone off close to the body, leaving the skin a good length if you intend to stuff, cut a slit in the lower part of the fowl from the breast bone to the tail, being careful to cut only through the skin ; put

POULTRY. 259

in your finger at the breast and detach all the intes- tines, taking care not to burst the gall bag (situated ' near the upper part of the breast bone, and attached to the liver ; if broken, no washing can remove the bitter taint left on every spot it touches) ; squeeze the body of the fowl and force out the whole through the incision at the tail ; if there is much fat, trim off a part ; split the gizzard and take out the inside and inner lining (throw liver, heart and gizzard into water, wash well, and use for the gravy) ; wash thoroughly in several waters, hang up to drain, and the fowl is ready to be stuffed, skewered and placed to roast. Before stuffing, to make it look plump, flatten the breast bone by placing several thicknesses of cloth over it and pounding it, being careful not to break the skin ; stuff the breast first, but not too full or it will burst in cooking ; stuff the body rather fuller than the breast, sew up both openings with strong thread, and sew the skin of the neck over upon the back or down upon the breast, (these threads must be carefully renioved before sending to the table). Lay the points of the wings under the back and fasten in that position with a skewer run through both wings and held in place with a twine ; press the legs as closely towards the breast and side bones as pos- sible, and fasten with a skewer run through the body and both thighs; push a short skewer through above the tail, and tie the ends of the legs down with a twine close upon the skewer; place to roast in an oven rather hot at first and then graduate the heat to moderate until done, to test which insert a fork be-

260 THE BUCKEYE COOK BOOK.

tween the thigh and body, if the juice is watery and not bloody it is done. If not .served at once, the fowl may be kept hot without drying up, by placing on a skillet full of boiling water (set on top of stove or range), and inverting a dripping pan over it. Many persons roast fowls upon a wire rack or trivet placed inside the dripping pan. The pan should be three inches deep and measure at the bottom about sixteen by twenty inches with sides somewhat flaring. In roasting a turkey allow fifteen minutes time for every pound. Some steam turkey before roasting, and a turkey steamer may be easily improvised by placing the dripping pan, containing the turkey, on top of two or three pieces of wood (hickory or maple is the best) laid in the bottom of a wash boiler, with just enough water to cover the wood ; place the lid, which should fit tightly on the boiler, and as the water boils away add more. Add the liquor in the dripping pan to the gravy.

Chickens are stuffed and roasted in the same way as turkeys, and are much better, whether broiled, fried, or roasted, for being first steamed, especially if over a year old. They roast in twenty or thirty minutes.

Some, in making chicken or meat pies, line the dish with the lower crust, and place in the oven until well " set," then fill, cover and bake ; others, instead of hning the entire surface of the dish, use only strips of the dough.