Since you won't post a picture, I think Callousway should answer all the questions on page 100.
ooooooh, too good an opportunity to miss!
callousway, what's the best way to deal with annoying twunts on the board?
I think that annoying twunt is a rare game bird. I found a recipe for Uccelli Arrosto -- Roast Game Birds.
The birds should be fresh and fat, but above all fresh. In those areas where they're sold ready plucked, you have to be careful to avoid being hoodwinked. If they look greenish or their bellies are darkened, give them a wide berth because, if you spit them, they will, in addition to splitting down the middle while they cook, give off that stench of decaying meat that the French call faisandée. The smell is intolerable to people with good taste.
Before spitting them, prepare them as follows: fold their wings over their backs, so each can hold one or two leaves of sage. Cut the feet off at the ankles and cross the legs, passing one knee over the other and hooking the bones through the tendons to keep them in place, and insert another leaf of sage in the hollow thus formed. Wrap the breasts of the birds with paper-thin salted slices of lard. Now spit them, putting the larger ones in the middle of the spit, and separating them with half inch thick slices of day old bread. My observation: A baguette is ideal for this.
Cook the birds over hot coals, and, if you haven't stuck their beaks into their sternums, begin by keeping them head down so that their necks will stiffen and their heads won't bob. Baste them once, when they begin to brown, using a brush or feather so as to avoid basting the bread, which will be seasoned enough by its contact with the lard. Salt them just once. Set the birds on the fire just before you'll want them, since they will cook quickly, and if they're done too soon they may well dry out. Slide them from the spit directly onto the platter, because they look more impressive when they're all lined up.
Roast game birds will be done in less than a half hour.
Signed,
Callousway
