Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

The operation of boning consists of the entire removal of all the bones from uncooked meat, and the insertion in their place of some kind of force-meat. Details for boning various joints of meat are given under the appropriate recipes. Boned poultry and birds of all kinds are prepared according to the following directions. The removal of bones from cooked birds is not to be called boning : those cooks who so prepare chicken, and call it " boned chicken," simply create a confusion of terms. One reason why there is so much uncertainty about American cookery is because many housekeepers modify a standard dish according to their own ideas, and then retain the original name. If they have the ability to improve upon an accepted method, they ought to name their dish, so as to give it individuality, as justly as inventors who improve upon a patent announce the changes by a new name. To bone a turkey, or any bird, lay it on a table with the breast down, after it has been carefully plucked, singed, and wiped with a wet towel ; cut off the head, the legs above the middle joint, and the wings within two inches of the body ; with a small, sharp knife, make a smooth cut through the skin and flesh, down the line of the backbone, from the neck to the rump ; then begin at the neck to cut off the flesh and skin together from the carcass ; work with the point of the knife, holding it flat against the bone, and cutting all the flesh off attached to the skin ; first cut from the neck to the joint where the wing is connected with the body, then unjoint that, and leave the bone of the wing in the flesh for the present, and continue to cut down the back and sides until the thigh-joint is reached'; unjoint that, leaving the bone in the leg, and cut toward the breast-bone, being careful not to cut through the skin where it is stretched tight over the breast. When the flesh of one side of the bird is loosened from the carcass in this way, turn it over, and take off the other side. Great care must be taken not to cut through the carcass into the intestines, which may remain enclosed in it until it is entirely freed from the flesh and skin. The most difficult part of the operation is cutting off the breast without , breaking or tearing the skin : if this accident happens, the aperture must be sewed up before the bird is stuffed. When the flesh is free from the carcass, lay it, skin down, on the table, and distribute the flesh equally all over the skin, cutting the thickest portions, and laying them open like the leaves of a book, so as to cover the skin ; cut out the wing and thigh bones, and turn the flesh and skin inside like the fingers of a glove reversed. Remove the entrails from the carcass, saving the liver ; break apart the bones, put them in a large kettle with four quarts of cold water and a tablespoonful of salt, and let the water heat. Remove all scum as it rises, and when the broth is free from it put in a medium-size carrot and a white turnip peeled and used uncut; a white onion, peeled without breaking the layers and stuck with a dozen cloves. Hold a small bunch of parsley in the palm of the left hand ; lay on it a small stalk of celery, a bay-leaf, a sprig of any sweet herb except sage, a blade of mace, and a dozen peppercorns