Boiled Chicken with Tarragon Sauce

Chicken simmered slowly in Madeira and tarragon.

Take a large chicken, singe, truss and draw; put a piece of butter mixed with a handful of tarragon leaves inside; cover it with thin slices of fat bacon, put it in a saucepan with the neck, gizzard and some pieces of trimmings of veal; add one teacupful of Madeira wine, sufficient broth to cover, and some fat skimmed off some rich stock. When boiling, stand the saucepan at the side of the fire and simmer for three-quarters of an hour. Take the chicken out when it is cooked, strain and skim the liquor, thicken with a little roux, put in a small bunch of tarragon leaves, and boil for twenty minutes. Skim, strain and reduce the sauce, thicken it with the beaten yolks of two eggs and stir over the fire until it comes to a boil; then add a small piece of butter and one tablespoonful of blanched green tarragon leaves. Dish the chicken, pour the sauce over, and serve.