Exactly as printed, 1877
The muse has sung the praises of the woodcock in the following exalted strain :- If partridge had the woodcock's thighs, 'Twould be the noblest bird that flies; If woodcock had the partridge breast, 'Twould be the best bird ever drest.
Tastes differ; and a good many persons have been heard to say that a woodcock and a partridge rolled into one are not equal to a grouse of prime condition. In one respect, however, the woodcock and his little cousin, the snipehe himself being a sort of snipe, a scolopax-is more honoured than any other species of game. He is never drawn, and every morsel of him is eaten, to the last entrail. Woodcock The first dainty bit to begin with is the head, which is a glory in itself, and well-nigh worthy of a nimbus. Then for the rest of the bird, -the wing is something too good, and this is excellence in the positive degree; comparative, the thigh is finer; superlative, nothing can surpass the trail. What a tribute is this to the woodcock's diet of worms! He will eat in a day double his own weight of worms, and when we enjoy a woodcock even to his trail, we ought always to give some of our love and gratitude to those worms to which we must all come at last to eat or to be eaten. The woodcock comes all the way from Norway to eat them in the end of autumn; and he goes on eating them here till he departs in March-though a few of his kind stay on and breed among us.
It has been above stated that the woodcock is never drawn. This is quite true in theory; but in practice one of two things occurs. The usual way of roasting the bird is to wrap him in a slice of bacon, which is to be tied round him with a thread; to place under him some toast, and to hang him tail downwards before the fire. As he revolves, and is basted, and enjoys the heat, the trail will drop out upon the toast beneath, and is to be spread equally over it when served. It is sometimes, however, found convenient to roast the bird in a different way-resting in a Dutchoven, or even in a casserole. In this case he is to be halfdone, and then the trail is to be taken out of him and to be used as follows, all except the gizzard :-Pound it in a mortar with about half its volume of bacon-fat, a little chopped shalot, some crumb of bread, salt and pepper. Spread this upon toast; let it roast or bake by the side of the woodcock for the remainder of his time, which is from twenty to thirty minutes; and let it be served under him with a lemon in quarters at his side. For sauce, mix a little good beef gravy with the butter which has basted him, and serve it apart; or take an orange gravy. Furthermore, it is to be remembered that the woodcock Woodsorrel is supposed to be the best of birds for the Bernardin Salmi.
Kettner's Book of the Table, 1877. Public domain; transcription unaltered.