Chicken Mousse Recipe

2 chickens
1/2 pound of boiled ham
1/4 pound of larding pork
1 can of mushrooms
2 teaspoonfuls of salt
1 egg
1 pound of lean veal
2 truffles
Salt and pepper
Singe the chickens, and remove the head and feet; place the chicken on the
table with the breast down. Take a small, sharp-pointed sabatier knife and
cut the skin from neck to rump right down the back bone. Carefully and
slowly run the knife between the bones and the flesh, keeping it always
close to the bone. Take out first the wings, then loosen the carcass, and
then take out the legs. Unjoint and separate each bone, and take it out as
you come to it. Do not take the small bones from the wings; they may be
cut off. When you have removed all the flesh from the bones, keeping it
perfectly whole, and without breaking the skin, wipe the skin and put it on
the table; draw the legs and the wings inside. Take all the raw meat from
the other chicken, rejecting the skin and bones, but you do not have to
bone this one carefully. Put it in the meat grinder, with half the ham, all
the veal and half the bacon. When chopped, season it with two teaspoonfuls
of salt, and two saltspoonfuls of white pepper; add the egg and mix
thoroughly. Put a thin layer of this into the boned chicken, put in here
and there long pieces of the remaining ham and bacon, a layer of mushrooms,
blocks of truffles, then another layer of the forcemeat, and so continue
until you have used all the ingredients. Pull up the skin and sew it down
the back, making a perfect roll. Tie the neck and rump. Roll this in cheese
cloth, fasten it securely, and sew the cheese cloth so that the roll will
be perfect when done.
Put all the bones in the soup kettle, add a sliced onion, a bay leaf,
and sufficient cold water to come just to the top of the bones. Bring to
boiling point, and put in the "galantine," as the chicken roll is called.
Cover the kettle, and boil continuously for four hours. When done, slightly
cool, remove the cloth, and stand it away until perfectly cold. Strain the
water, which should measure two quarts; add to it a box of gelatin that has
been soaked in a cupful of water for an hour. Bring this to boiling point,
season it with salt and pepper, add the juice of a lemon and the whites
of two eggs, slightly beaten. Boil five minutes, and strain through two
thicknesses of cheese cloth. Select a long round pudding mold, or a regular
boned chicken mold, something like a large melon mold; baste the mold
inside with this liquid jelly, decorate it in patterns or unconventional
designs, using green and red pepper, the hard boiled white of egg and peas.
Allow the remaining jelly to cool, but not stiffen. After you finish the
decorations, baste them carefully with, cold gelatin and stand the mold on
ice. Then put in a little more cold jelly, until you have a good base upon
which to rest the "galantine." Put it in, breast side down, and pour over
the remaining gelatin. Stand in a cold place for twenty-four hours. When
ready to serve, wipe the mold with a warm cloth, and turn the "galantine"
on to a long platter. Garnish the platter with hearts of lettuce. To serve,
cut the "galantine" in the thinnest possible slices, and serve it with a
salad, either celery, or mixed vegetables, or plain lettuce; or it may be
served with a sauce tartar or plain mayonnaise dressing. This is one of the
most elegant of cold dishes, and will serve twenty-five persons.