Recipe - Braised Chukars Smothered In Cabbage

4 sl Bacon; dried (or equivalent
of salt pork)
One fourth pound Prosciutto or other ham;
minced
1 md Onion; minced
2 Carrots; cut or sliced up thin
One half teaspoon Crushed rosemary
One fourth teaspoon Tarragon
2 Bay leaves
Salt & pepper
1 lg Head of cabbage; quartered
3 Chukars; dressed, each
stuffed with a small onion
stuck with a clove, and
then trussed
1 cup Game bird or chicken stock
One half cup White wine

"Game birds have been cooked with cabbage for a very long time... this
dish is a composite from an eighteenth century recipe.. It is recommended
for an old rooster whose tenderness may be suspect."

In the casserole you expect to use, try out (render) the bacon until you
accumulate some fat, then add the prosciutto and cook until both begin to
brown.

Add the onion and carrots and cook 2 to 3 minutes, then add the herbs
and the salt and pepper.

In a kettleful of boiling, salted water blanch the cabbage sections for
5 minutes. Drain and dismantle one quarter to make a bed of its leaves on
top of the vegetables, herbs, etc.

Lay in the trussed birds, fit in the remaining three cabbage sections,
and pour in the stock and the wine.

Bring to the boil, then simmer, covered, for 1 to 1One half hours.

Note: You can add livers to this dish: saute 4 to 5 chicken livers with
the onion and carrots, then when the livers have lost their pinkness, smash
and stir them into the bacon, ham, and vegetables before you lay in the
cabbage leaves.

_LL Bean Game and Fish Cookbook_, Angus Cameron and Judith Jones, 1983.
Random House. ISBN 0394511913. Typos by Jeff Pruett.

Posted to MMRecipes Digest by "Rfm" RobertMiles@usa.net on Sep 10, 98