THE following additional details are supplementary to what has gone before, and presuppose a careful reading of the preceding pages.

Game and all other kinds of fresh meat should be hung up till they have bled thoroughly and have cooled through and through—they are tenderer and better after they have hung several days. Venison especially is tough until it has hung a week. In no case cook meat until the animal heat has left it: if you do, it is likely to sicken you. This does not apply to fish. Frozen meat or fish should be thawed in very cold water and then cooked immediately—warm water would soften it and steal its flavor.

All mammals from the coon size down, as well as duck and grouse, unless young and tender, or unless they have hung several days, should be parboiled (gently simmered) from ten to thirty minutes, according to size, before frying, broiling, or roasting. The scent glands of mammals and the oil sacs of birds should be removed before cooking. In small mammals look for pea-shaped, waxy or red kernels under the front legs and on either side of the small of the back.

As game has little natural fat, it requires frequent basting and the free use of butter or bacon grease in cooking.