Soup of Any Kind of Old Fowl

Ingredients

• 1 old fowl (chicken, duck, or turkey)
• 1 pound bacon
• 1 large onion
• pepper
• salt
• a few blades mace
• 1 handful parsley
• 2 quarts water
• 1 small bunch thyme
• 1 large spoonful butter
• 2 spoonfuls flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 pint milk

Instructions

1. Before cooking, pen the fowl and feed it moderately for a fortnight. Kill and clean the bird, then cut off the legs and wings and separate the breast from the ribs. Discard the ribs, back, skin, and excess fat, as these are too strong for use.
2. Wash the remaining pieces thoroughly. Put them in a pot with about a pound of bacon, a large onion chopped small, pepper, salt, a few blades of mace, a handful of finely cut parsley, and two quarts of water (or more if using a turkey). Boil gently for three hours.
3. Tie up a small bunch of thyme and add it to the pot; allow it to boil for half an hour, then remove it.
4. To thicken the soup, rub a large spoonful of butter into two spoonfuls of flour until combined. Stir this mixture into the soup along with the yolks of two eggs and half a pint of milk. Be careful not to let the mixture curdle.