California Style, Lick House.

WILD DUCKS.

Most wild ducks are apt to have the flavor of fish, and when in the hands of inexperienced cooks are sometimes unpalatable on this account.  Before roasting them, parboil them with a small peeled carrot put within each duck.  This absorbs the unpleasant taste.  An onion will have the same effect, but unless you use onions in the stuffing the carrot is preferable.  Roast the same as tame duck.  Or put into the duck a whole onion peeled, plenty of salt and pepper and a glass of claret, bake in a hot oven twenty minutes.  Serve hot with the gravy it yields in cooking and a dish of currant jelly.

CANVAS-BACK DUCK.

The epicurean taste declares that this special kind of bird requires no spices or flavors to make it perfect, as the meat partakes of the flavor of the food that the bird feeds upon, being mostly wild celery; and the delicious flavor is best preserved when roasted quickly with a hot fire.  After dressing the duck in the usual way by plucking, singeing, drawing, wipe it with a wet towel, truss the head under the wing; place it in a dripping-pan, put it in the oven, basting often, and roast it half an hour.  It is generally preferred a little underdone.  Place it when done on a hot dish, season well with salt and pepper, pour over it the gravy it has yielded in baking and serve it immediately while hot.

Delmonico.

ROAST PIGEONS.

Pigeons lose their flavor by being kept more than a day after they are killed.  They may be prepared and roasted or broiled the same as chickens; they will require from twenty to thirty minutes’ cooking.  Make a gravy of the giblets or not, season it with pepper and salt, and add a little flour and butter.

STEWED PIGEONS.

Clean and stuff with onion dressing, thyme, etc.,—­do not sew up; take five or more slices of corned pork, let it fry a while in a pot so that the fat comes out and it begins to brown a little; then lay the pigeons all around in the fat, leaving the pork still in; add hot water enough to partially cover them; cover tightly and boil an hour or so until tender; then turn off some of the liquid, and keep turning them so they will brown nicely; then heat and add the liquor poured off; add extra thyme, pepper, and keep turning until the pigeons and gravy are nicely browned.  Thicken with a little flour, and serve with the gravy poured over them; garnish with parsley.

PIGEON PIE.

Take half a dozen pigeons; stuff each one with a dressing the same as for turkey; loosen the joints with a knife, but do not separate them.  Put them in a stewpan with water enough to cover them, let them cook until nearly tender, then season them with salt and pepper and butter.  Thicken the gravy with flour, remove and cool.  Butter a pudding dish, line the sides with a rich crust.  Have ready some hard-boiled eggs cut in slices.  Put in a layer of egg and birds and gravy until the dish is full.  Cover with a crust and bake.