Cooking Swan

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28929, 24 June 1959, Page 3

Cooking Swan

Several readers kindly answered the inquiry about preparing and cooking swan. Here are some of the suggestions received:—

As soon as the swan is shot it should be hung in a cool, airy place for a week or ten days. The important point then is to skin, not pluck, the bird. Cut the wings, legs and head off, then gut the swan. The giblets may be used for gravy or soup. The swan may be roasted or, as most of the meat is on the breast, the fillets alone used. Care must be taken in roasting otherwise swan is dry and tasteless. The meat has a strong flavour, so a savoury stuffing is desirable. Roast Swan. — Prepare the swan and stuff it with chopped onions, skins and all, to remove some of the strong flavour. Leave overnight and take out this stuffing the next day. Now make your usual poultry stuffing and fill the swan. To preserve moisture, the swan should be wrapped in tin foil or brown paper. Put dripping or fatty bacon on the swan before wrapping, and put dripping in the roasting dish. Lorvg, slow cooking gives the best results. Casserole.— Skin the swan and carefully cut off the breast. Roll in seasoned flour and fry lightly. Put in the casserole dish. Fry some bacon and chopped onions and add to the dish, sprinkling with sage and seasoning. Cover with water or stock and a little white wine and cook gently for three hours.

Swan Soup.— lf you have made a dish from the breast of the swan, the rest can be used for soup. Simmer with stock or water and add rice, chopped onions, and herbs.