This soup will require eight hours to prepare. Take a large calf's
head, and having cleaned, washed, and soaked it, put it into a pot
with a knuckle of veal, and the hock of a ham, or a few slices of
bacon; but previously cut off and reserve enough of the veal to
make two dozen small force-meat balls. Put the head and the other
meat into as much water as will cover it very well, so that it may
not be necessary to replenish it: this soup being always made very
rich. Let it boil slowly four hours, skimming it carefully. As
soon as no more scum rises, put in six potatoes, and three
turnips, all sliced thin; with equal proportions of parsley, sweet
marjoram and sweet basil, chopped fine; and pepper and salt to
your taste.
An hour before you send the meat to table, make about two dozen
small force-meat balls of minced veal and beef-suet in equal
quantities, seasoned with pepper and salt; sweet herbs, grated
lemon-peel, and powdered nutmeg and mace. Add some beaten yolk of
egg to make all these ingredients stick together. Flour the balls
very well, and fry them in butter. Before you put them into the
soup, take out the head, and the other meat. Cut the meat from the
head in small pieces, and return it to the soup. When the soup is
nearly done, stir in half a pint of Madeira. Have ready at least a
dozen egg-balls made of the yolks of hard-boiled eggs, grated or
pounded in a mortar, and mixed with a little flour and sufficient
raw yolk of egg to bind them. Make them up into the form and size
of boy's marbles. Throw them into the soup at the last, and also
squeeze in the juice of a lemon. Let it get another slow boil, and
then put it into the tureen.
We omit a receipt for _real_ turtle soup, as when that very
expensive, complicated, and difficult dish is prepared in a
private family, it is advisable to hire a first-rate cook for the
express purpose.
An easy way is to get it ready made, in any quantity you please,
from a turtle-soup house.