Wild Bird and Animal Dishes
Australian (Native) Crested Pigeon
The Crested Pigeon can be found throughout Australia's mainland and feeds on native seeds and farmed seed crops. There are three species the Spinifex, the Crested and the Topknot. The pigeon can breed throughout the year laying and incubating two eggs which both parents share the responsibility of the upbringing.
Helpers
1 gill = 1/2 cup
Scant = Not quite full measure
Red or Green Pepper = Capsicum
Tammy Cloth = A fine woollen cloth
Unless specified otherwise, all temps are in Fahrenheit
Flour = Unless otherwise stated, "flour" refers to plain flour.
All oven temperatures are based on the standard wood oven, gas oven and electric oven.
Fats, dripping, lard, etc can be substituted with your selected oils.
Clarified Fat = Melt fat then add raw potato cut in quarter-inch slices and allow the fat to gradually heat. When the fat ceases to bubble and potatoes are browned, strain fat through double cheesecloth into a pan for use. Potato will absorb fat odours and sediment.
Second Stock = Made from the meat and the bones that remain after the first stock is strained off. Fresh water and veges are added.
Special Recipes
Old Handy Hints & Ideas
Measure Conversions & Cooking Terms Link
Oven Temperatures & Reference Link
Rabbit Soup
Ingredients
1 onion
Pinch pepper
2 quarts rabbit stock (water in which rabbit has been cooked)
1/4 lb. rice
1 level teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
Parsley.
Method
Peel and wash onion and cut up finely. Put into rabbit stock with salt and pepper, and simmer till onion is tender. Add washed rice and cook another 30 minutes. Add milk and just allow it to come to the boil. Add beaten egg and finely chopped parsley and serve hot.
Raised Pigeon Pie
Ingredients
1 pair pigeons
1 gill port wine
1lb. good steak
1 dessertspoon chopped parsley
2 oz. tongue
Salt and pepper
2 oz. ham
2 hard boiled eggs
2 oz. butter
6 medium mushrooms
1 oz. flour
Raised pie crust
3 gills stock.
Crust
1 1/4 lb. flour
1/4 lb. lard
Salt
4 tablespoons water
5 oz. butter
Method
Cut each pigeon into four. Cut steak, tongue and ham into 1-inch pieces. Heat butter and fry pigeon, steak, ham, and tongue a few minutes. Add flour and stir for a few minutes. Add stock and stir till boiling, add port wine and simmer slowly 45 minutes longer. Sprinkle in chopped parsley and salt and pepper. Turn out and allow to become cold. Cut eggs into rings, chop mushrooms, and add to mixture. For raised piecrust, sift flour and salt, divide fat into four and rub in one quarter of it, place water and remainder of fat on to boil. When boiling, stir it quickly into the flour, making soft dough. Turn on to a floured board and cut off a piece large enough for the top. Place it on a floured board standing over hot water and cover to keep hot. Slightly knead the larger piece, handling quickly. Roll out a little larger than top of mould as quickly as possible. Press into mould, shaping well, fill with pigeon mixture, roll top piece to the size required and lay on. Bake for around one hour.
Baked Rabbit
Method
Line the rabbit with bacon and fill with seasoning. Sew up. Bake in a covered roasting pan. Remove cover for last 10 minutes. Then lift out and make gravy.
Baked Rabbits in Milk
Ingredients
Rabbits
Breadcrumbs
Parsley
Thyme
Slice of bacon
1 1/2 pints milk (to a pair of rabbits)
Pepper and salt
Method
Soak rabbits in warm salted water. Cut and joint. Dry well and put in casserole dish. Cover with breadcrumbs, parsley, thyme, pepper and salt and milk. Bake for 2 hours. About 1/2 hour before it is cooked, cover with slices of bacon; return to oven and brown.
Rabbits in Batter
Method
Boil rabbits till tender.
Joint and allow to cool
Then dip in batter and fry till golden brown.
Rabbit and Bacon Pie
Ingredients
2 young rabbits
1 dessertspoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon flour
6 slices of bacon
1/2 gill stock or water
2 hard boiled eggs
Salt and pepper
Sheet of Puff Pastry
Method
Cut the rabbits into small, neat joints; roll each piece in flour, pepper and salt. Put a layer of rabbit in pie dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley, then a layer of bacon and slices of hard-boiled eggs. Put alternate layers of above until pie dish is filled. Then add the stock. Cover with pastry and bake in a moderate oven for about 1 hour.
Jugged Hare Or Rabbit
Ingredients
1 hare or rabbit
1 blade mace
1 1/2 oz. flour
1 lemon
2 oz. butter
2 oz. bacon
1 1/2 pints stock
salt and pepper
1 onion
2 wine glasses port
1 lb. steak
Some forcemeat balls
1/2 doz. cloves
1 tablespoon red currant jelly
1 doz. peppercorns.
Method
Thoroughly wash and dry hare and cut into neat pieces. Roll in flour, heat butter and fry pieces for 10 minutes. Put hare into a casserole dish; add stock, whole onion, steak cut into small pieces, herbs, lemon rind, bacon cut small, salt, pepper, and 1 glass of the port. Bake in a moderate oven till hare is tender (3 or 4 hours). Cut hare’s liver very finely and add to forcemeat; make into small balls and fry. When hare is cooked, put on a hot dish, add a little thickening and remainder of port to gravy, strain, add 1-tablespoon red currant jelly, pour over hare and garnish with forcemeat balls.
Always have your vegetable garden close at hand, growing near your back door or kitchen.
Roast Quail
Ingredients
Quails
Watercress
Fat Bacon
Lemon
Rounds of toast
Method
Truss quails, cover with fat bacon and roast 15 to 20 minutes, basting frequently. Serve very hot on rounds of toasted bread, garnished with watercress and lemon.
Wild Duck
Ingredients
1 duck
Some brown sauce
6 cloves
1 glass port wine
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and cayenne
Stoned olives
Red currant jelly
Some small croutons
Method
Roast duck 15 to 20 minutes, basting frequently. Cut into joints, put into sauce, add cloves, and simmer 30 minutes. Lift out and drain and add wine and lemon juice then return pieces to saucepan containing sauce. Stand saucepan by fire 30 minutes without boiling, add cayenne and salt. Serve hot on small croutons garnished with stoned olives and red currant jelly.
Dig a two and a half foot hole deep, in your vegetable garden, and place all kitchen waste such as unwanted vegetable matter, bones, etc. After each placed lot, cover with a spade of dirt until hole is full. Start again in another place. This will rot down and add goodness to your soil. (From old pages. Interest piece only)
Chaudfroid of Pigeons
Ingredients
1 pair pigeons
Salt and pepper
1/4 lb. veal or pork sausages
Chaudfroid sauce (below)
2 oz. ham
1 pint aspic
2 oz. tongue
Cherries and mushrooms
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 hard boiled egg
Breadcrumbs
Lettuce or watercress
1 lemon
Tomato and beetroot
Method
Bone pigeons, turning legs and wings inside. Make seasoning with sausage meat, chopped ham, rind, moistened with lemon juice and flavoured with salt and pepper. Fill pigeons with seasoning in alternate layers, sew up, keeping in a round shape, tie in a greased cloth and steam gently 45 minutes to 1 hour according to size. When cooked, remove from greased cloth, tie in a clean dry cloth and press between 2 plates. When cold, remove cotton, coat half the pigeon with brown sauce and place on ice to set. Coat again if necessary, coat the other half with white sauce and place on ice to set, glaze with a little cold liquid aspic. Arrange pigeons on a bed of chopped aspic on an entree dish. Arrange cherries and mushrooms on a small skewer and pierce each bird; arrange chopped egg and salad vegetables round the dish.
Chaudfroid Sauce
Ingredients
1 1/2 oz. Butter
1/2 pint aspic
1 1/2 oz. Flour
Salt
1 1/2 gills stock or milk
Cayenne
1 gill cream,
Method
Melt butter and flour and cook well. Add stock or milk and stir till it boils and thickens. Finally slowly add cream, aspic, salt, and cayenne, stirring as you go.
Civet of Hare or Rabbit
Ingredients
1 hare
3/4 oz. flour
2 oz. butter
1 pint brown sauce
1/4 lb. fat bacon
1/2 oz. glaze
Bunch herbs
1/2 pint claret or port
Pepper to taste
Croutons
6 button onions
Button mushrooms
Method
Clean hare and cut into neat joints, melt butter and fry hare for 5 minutes. Add bacon (cut into dice), herbs, pepper, and sliced onions, fry 10 minutes longer, then sprinkle flour over ingredients. Add brown sauce and glaze and simmer gently 1 hour in a little stock if necessary. Pour claret in down side of saucepan and mix well. Remove hare and strain sauce, reheat hare in sauce, put on a hot dish, garnish with croutons and hot button mushrooms.
Burning a large candle will sometimes remove stale odours or cooking smells in your home. (From old pages. Interest piece only)
Moulded Rabbit
Ingredients
3 teacups stock
1 gherkin
Salt and pepper
1 steamed rabbit
1/2 oz. gelatine
2 or 3 slices ham
2 tomatoes
Some salad vegetables
Method: Line oblong mould with liquid made from stock, seasoning, and gelatine. Decorate bottom and sides with sliced tomatoes, sliced eggs, and gherkin (set in jelly). Place rabbit (in pieces or cut into large dice) in mould with layers of ham, egg, and tomato. Fill mould with liquid, allow to set, when cold. When set turn out and decorate with lettuce and tomato or other salad vegetables.
Sauteed Pigeons
Ingredients
4 pigeons
1 pint stock
1 oz. fat
Mushrooms
1 oz. flour
1 wine glass red wine
Salt and pepper
Little lemon juice
Method
Preheat birds by cutting each into four, heat fat in saucepan and fry pieces. Lift out, add flour, salt and pepper to fat and cook till brown, add stock and stir till boiling, add mushrooms. Put pigeons with other ingredients into the saucepan and simmer very gently for about 30 minutes or till tender. Serve hot.
Rust can be removed from cast iron cook pots and frypans by rubbing over with a mixture of turpentine, camphor oil and emery powder. (From old pages. Interest piece only)
Kangaroo Tail Soup
Ingredients
2 kangaroo tails
Butter
2 carrots
4 diced onions
Hand full mixed herbs
1lb diced stewing steak
Salt and pepper
6 pints water.
Method
Chop tails at joints and brown in butter. Add carrots and onions and brown. Into a large pot place tail joints, vegetables, herbs, diced steak and add salt and pepper to taste. Add water, bring to boil then simmer for 3-4 hours. Remove tail joints and strain stock through sieve (forcing through with spoon, etc). Thicken soup with flour, return kangaroo tail joints and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Serve with buttered bread, toast or damper. Note - Kangaroo meat is quite lean.
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