Wednesday Before Christmas

Martineau, Robert Braithwaite, The Christmas Hamper, 1850

Turkey, Roasted

"Ingredients. -- 1 turkey, 1 to 2 pounds of sausage meat, 1 to 1½ pounds of veal forcemeat, 2 or 3 slices of bacon, 1 pint of good gravy, bread sauce, fat for basting.

Method. -- Prepare and truss the turkey. Fill the crop with sausage meat, and put the veal forcemeat inside the body of the bird. Skewer the bacon over the breast, baste well with hot fat, and roast in front of a clear fire or in a moderate oven from 1¾ to 2¼ hours, according to age and size of bird. Baste frequently, and about 20 minutes before serving remove the bacon to allow the breast to brown. Remove the trussing strings, serve on a hot dish, and send the gravy and bread sauce to table in sauce-boats.

Time. -- From 1¾ to 2¼ hours. Average Cost, 10 shillings to 16 shillings."

        From Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton, 1836-1865

I'll get that clear fire going straight away. Say, where do I put that sausage meat? I couldn't find bread sauce on Walmart's website. What can I substitute?

a few explanations

forcemeat  a uniform mixture of lean meat and fat that has been ground together, either coarse (like sausage) or fine (like pâté).

bread sauce  a seasoned, milk and cream-based sauce that is thickened with bread crumbs 

crop  a pouch at the base of the bird's esophagus just before the stomach. In live fowl, food is stored and broken down into smaller units in the crop before passing into the stomach.

value of 10 shillings  one shilling from Mrs. Beeton's era was equal to 12 pence. So 10 shillings were equal to 120 old pence (prior to decimalization). 120 old pence were equal to half a pound. To give some perspective on the value of 10 shillings or half a pound, a scullery maid earned 1 pound per month in 1860 England. It would take her 2 weeks of work to earn enough to buy a turkey. A bank clerk or shopkeeper might earn 1 pound per week. At his wages, it would take a half-week's work to earn enough for a turkey. I guess turkeys were never loss-leaders at the market in Mrs. Beeton's era.

Cooking and baking on my end

The baking (for gifting) is done and in the tins. I will bake Crèche bread (an almond filled loaf shaped like the swaddled baby Jesus) later today to serve at Christmas brunch. I'll make a cooked-egg eggnog on Thursday. Eggnog was outrageously-priced at Walmart this year, at $5.22 for a half-gallon. No thank you. I'll make my own. And with that, the special holiday baking and treat-making for the year will be finished.

Have a wonderful day!