FRESH SALMON STEWED.--Having cleaned and washed the fish, cut it into
round slices or fillets, rather more than an inch in thickness. Lay them
in a large dish; sprinkling a very little salt evenly over the slices;
and in half an hour turn them on the other side. Let them rest another
half hour; then wash, drain, and wipe them dry with a clean towel.
Spread some of the best fresh butter thickly over the strainer of a
large fish-kettle; and lay the pieces of salmon upon it. Cover them
nearly all over with very thin slices of fresh lemon, from which the
seeds have been removed. Intersperse among the lemon a few slices of
shalots, or very small mild onions; a few sprigs of parsley and some
whole pepper-corns. Set the kettle over a large bed of live coals; and
spread very hot ashes thickly over the lid; which must be previously
well-heated on the _inside_ by standing it up before the fire. The heat
should be regularly kept up, while the fish is stewing, both above and
below it. It will require an hour to cook thoroughly. When dishing it,
remove the sliced lemon, shalots, parsley, &c., leaving them in the
bottom of the kettle. Put a cover over the fish, and set the dish that
contains it over a large vessel of hot water, while you are preparing
the sauce. For this sauce, mix thoroughly a quarter of a pound of fresh
butter with a table-spoonful of flour. Put it into a quart tin vessel
with a lid, and add a table-spoonful of water, and the seasoning that
was left in the bottom of the fish-kettle. Cover the vessel closely, and
set it in a larger sauce-pan or pot of boiling water. Shake it about
over the fire till it comes to a boil. If you _set it down_ on hot coals
the butter will oil. When it has boiled, remove the lemon, onion, &c.;
pour the sauce into a sauce-boat, and send it to table with the stewed
fish, garnished with sprigs of curled parsley.
This is a French mode of cooking salmon. Fresh cod, or halibut, may be
stewed in the same manner.
ROASTED SALMON.--Take a large piece of fine fresh salmon, cut from the
middle of the fish, well cleaned and carefully scaled. Wipe it dry in a
clean coarse cloth. Then dredge it with flour, put it on the spit, and
place it before a clear bright fire. Baste it with fresh butter, and
roast it well; seeing that it is thoroughly done to the bone. Serve it
up plain; garnishing the dish with slices of lemon, as many persons like
a little lemon-juice with salmon. This mode of cooking salmon will be
found excellent. A small one or a salmon-trout may be roasted whole.
BAKED SALMON.--A small salmon may be baked whole. Stuff it with
forcemeat made of bread-crumbs; chopped oysters, or minced lobster;
butter; cayenne; a little salt, and powdered mace,--all mixed well, and
moistened with beaten yolk of egg. Bend the salmon round, and put the
tail into the mouth, fastening it with a skewer. Put it into a large
deep dish; lay bits of butter on it at small intervals; and set it into
the oven. While baking, look at it occasionally, and baste it with the
butter. When one side is well browned, turn it carefully in the dish,
and add more butter. Bake it till the other side is well browned. Then
transfer it to another dish with the gravy that is about it, and send it
to table.
If you bake salmon in slices, reserve the forcemeat for the outside. Dip
each slice first in beaten yolk of egg, and then in the forcemeat, till
it is well coated. If in one large piece, cover it in the same manner
thickly with the seasoning.
The usual sauce for baked salmon is melted butter, flavoured with the
juice of a lemon, and a glass of port wine, stirred in just before the
butter is taken from the fire. Serve it up in a sauce-boat.
BOILED TURBOT OR SHEEP’S-HEAD FISH.--Having cleaned and washed the fish,
soak it an hour or two in salt and water to draw off the slime. Then let
it lie half an hour or more in cold water. Afterwards drain, and wipe it
dry. Score the back deeply with a knife. The whiteness of the fish will
be much improved by rubbing it over with a cut lemon. The fish-kettle
must be large, and nicely clean. Lay the fish with its back downward, on
the strainer of the kettle. Cover it well with cold water, (milk and
water in equal portions will be better still,) and add a small
table-spoonful of salt. Do not let it come to a boil too fast, and skim
it carefully. When the scum has ceased to rise, diminish the heat under
the kettle, and let it simmer for about half an hour or more; not
allowing it to boil hard. When the fish is done, take it up carefully
with a fish-slice; and having prepared the sauce, pour it over the fish
and send it to table hot.
For the sauce mix together very smoothly, with a broad bladed knife, a
quarter of a pound of fresh butter, two tea-spoonfuls of flour. Put them
into a clean sauce-pan, and hold it over the fire, and stir them till
melted. Then add a large salt-spoonful of powdered mace, and as much
cayenne as will lie on a sixpence. It will be much improved by the
addition of some boiled lobster, chopped small. When the sauce has
simmered two or three minutes, add very gradually, half a pint of rich
cream, and let it come almost to a boil, stirring all the time. After
the fish is taken up, pour the sauce over it hot. Or you may send it to
table in a sauce-boat. In this case ornament the fish with the coral of
the lobster put on in a handsome figure.
Another way of dressing this fish is, after it has been boiled to set it
on ice to get cold; and then, having carefully removed the bones, cut
the flesh into small squares, put it into a stew-pan, and having mixed
the above sauce, add it to the fish, and let it stew slowly in the
sauce; but do not let it come to a boil. When thoroughly hot, take it
up, and send it to table in a deep dish.
BAKED TURBOT OR SHEEP’S-HEAD FISH.--Having cleaned the fish, soak it an
hour or two in salt and water, and afterwards wash it well through two
or three fresh waters. Then dry it in a clean towel. Score it deeply,
across the back; and then lay it in a deep white baking-dish. Mix
together a large tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg; add a
salt-spoon of cayenne; a few sprigs of sweet-marjoram and sweet basil
finely minced; two large table-spoonfuls of fresh butter; and two
table-spoonfuls of grated bread-crumbs. Stir this mixture into a pint of
rich cream. Pour this marinade over the fish, cover it, and let it stand
half an hour. Then bake it in the marinade; and send it hot to table.
If the fish is too large to be baked whole, cut it into fillets;
extracting the bone.
Salmon-trout may be baked in this manner.
SEA BASS WITH TOMATOES.--Take three large fine sea-bass, or black-fish.
Cut off their heads and tails, and fry the fish in plenty of lard till
about half done. Have ready a pint of tomatoes, that have been pickled
cold in vinegar flavoured with a muslin bag of mixed spices. Drain the
tomatoes well from the vinegar; skin them, and mash them in a pan;
dredging them with about as much flour as would fill a large table-spoon
heaped up. Pour the mixture over the fish while in the frying pan; and
continue frying till they are thoroughly done.
Cutlets of halibut may be fried in this manner with tomatoes: also, any
other pan-fish.
Beef-steaks or lamb-chops are excellent fried thus with tomatoes.
BAKED SALMON-TROUT.--Having cleaned the fish, and laid it two hours in
weak salt and water, dry it in a cloth, and then rub both the inside and
outside with a seasoning of cayenne pepper, powdered mace, nutmeg, and a
little salt mixed well together. Then lay it in a deep baking pan, turn
the tail round into the mouth, and stick bits of fresh butter thickly
over the fish. Put it into an oven, and bake it well; basting it
frequently with the liquid that will soon surround it. When you suppose
it to be nearly done, try it by sticking down to the back-bone a
thin-bladed knife. When you find that the flesh separates immediately
from the bone, it is done sufficiently. Serve it up with lobster-sauce.
Any large fresh fish may be baked in this way.
CREAM TROUT.--Having prepared the trout very nicely, and cut off the
heads and tails, put the fish into boiling water that has been slightly
salted, and simmer them for five minutes. Then take them out, and lay
them to drain. Put them into a stew-pan, and season them well with
powdered mace, nutmeg, and a little cayenne, all mixed together. Put in
as much rich cream as will cover the fish, adding some bits of the fresh
yellow rind of a small lemon. Keep the pan covered, and let the fish
stew for about ten minutes after it has begun to simmer. Then dish the
fish, and keep them hot till you have finished the sauce. Mix, very
smoothly, a small tea-spoonful of arrow-root with a little milk, and
stir it into the cream. Then add the juice of the lemon. Pour the sauce
over the fish, and then send them to table.
Turbot or sheep’s-head fish may be dressed as above; of course it will
require a large proportion of seasoning, &c., and longer time to cook.
Carp is very nice stewed in this manner.
STEWED COD-FISH.--Take a fine _fresh_ cod, and cut into slices an inch
thick, separated from the bones. Lay the pieces of fish in the bottom of
a stew-pan: season them with a grated nutmeg; half a dozen blades of
mace; a salt-spoonful of cayenne pepper, and a small saucer-full of
chopped celery, or a bunch of sweet herbs tied together. Pour on half a
pint of oyster liquor diluted with two wine glasses or a jill of water,
and the juice of a lemon. Cover it close, and let it stew gently till
the fish is almost done, shaking the pan frequently. Then take a piece
of fresh butter the size of an egg; roll it in flour, and add it to the
stew. Also, put in two dozen large fine oysters, with what liquor there
is about them. Cover it again; quicken the fire a little, and let the
whole continue to stew five minutes longer. Before you send it to table
remove the bunch of sweet herbs.
Rock-fish may be stewed in this manner. Fresh salmon also.
FRIED COD-FISH.--Take the middle or tail part of a fresh cod-fish, and
cut it into slices not quite an inch thick, first removing the skin.
Season them with a little salt and cayenne pepper. Have ready in one
dish some beaten yolk of egg, and in another some grated bread-crumbs.
Dip each slice of fish twice into the egg, and then twice into the
crumbs. Fry them in fresh butter, and serve them up with the gravy about
them.
Halibut may be fried as above.
STEWED HALIBUT.--Cut the fish into pieces about four inches square, of
course omitting the bone. Season it very slightly with salt, and let it
rest for half an hour. Then take it out of the salt, put it into a large
deep dish, and strew over it a mixture of cayenne pepper, ground white
ginger, and grated nutmeg. Lay among it some small bits of fresh butter
rolled in grated cracker. Add half a pint of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar
if you have it.) Place the dish in a slow oven, and let the halibut cook
till thoroughly done, basting it very _frequently_ with the liquid. When
nearly done, add a large table-spoonful or more of capers, or pickled
nasturtians.
STEWED ROCK-FISH.--Take a large rock-fish, and cut it in slices near an
inch thick. Sprinkle it _very slightly_ with salt, and let it remain for
half an hour. Slice very thin a dozen large onions. Put them into a
stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, cut into bits. Set
them over a slow fire, and stir them continually till they are quite
soft, taking care not to let them become brown. Then put in the sliced
fish in layers; seasoning each layer with a mixture of white ground
ginger, cayenne pepper, and grated nutmeg; add some chopped parsley, and
some bits of butter rolled in flour. Pour in a pint of water, and, if
you choose, a small wine-glass of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar will be
best.[25-*]) Set it over a good fire and let it cook about an hour.
When done, take out the fish carefully, to avoid breaking the slices.
Lay it in a deep dish that has been made hot, and cover it immediately.
Have ready the beaten yolks of two eggs. Stir them into the gravy. Give
it one boil up; and then either pour it over the fish, or serve it up in
a sauce-boat.
Halibut, fresh cod, or any other large fish may be stewed in this
manner.
[25-* To make this vinegar,--half fill a bottle with tarragon
leaves, and fill it quite up with the best cider vinegar. Cork it
tightly, and do not remove the tarragon, but let it remain always at
the bottom. The flavour is very fine.]
TO KEEP A SHAD WITHOUT CORNING.--By the following process, (which we can
highly recommend from experience,) a shad may be kept twenty-four hours,
or indeed longer, so as to be perfectly fresh in taste and appearance.
For instance, if brought _fresh_ from market on Saturday morning, it may
be broiled for breakfast on Sunday, and will seem like a fresh shad just
from the water. Immediately on bringing it in, let it be scaled,
cleaned, washed, split, and wiped dry; cutting off the head and tail.
Spread the shad open on a large flat dish. Mix well together in a cup, a
heaped table-spoonful of brown sugar; a heaped tea-spoonful of cayenne
pepper, and a tea-spoonful of fine salt; and then rub the mixture,
thoroughly and evenly, all over the inside of the fish; which, of
course, must be spread with the skin or outside downwards. Cover it
closely with a large tin cover or with another dish, and set it
immediately on ice or in a very cold place, and let it rest till next
morning, or till it is wanted for cooking. Immediately before you put it
on the gridiron, take a clean towel and carefully wipe off the whole of
the seasoning, not letting a particle of it remain round the edges, or
anywhere else. Then put the shad on a previously heated gridiron, over
hot coals, and broil it well. Butter it, and send it hot to table, where
every one can season it again, according to their taste. If these
directions are _exactly_ followed, no one, without being told, could
possibly guess that the shad was not fresh from market that morning.
Any fresh fish intended for splitting and broiling may be kept till next
day in this manner, which will be found very superior to what is called
corning.
EXCELLENT STEWED OYSTERS.--Take fifty fine large fresh oysters, and
strain the liquor from them into a saucepan. Season it with equal
portions of cayenne, black pepper, and salt, all mixed together in a
small tea-spoon, and add half a dozen blades of mace. Set it over the
fire, and let it come to a hard boil, skimming it well. Mix together in
a pan or bowl, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter and a table-spoonful
and a half (not more) of flour. Beat and stir the butter and flour till
it is quite smooth, and free from lumps. Having taken the oyster-liquor
from the fire, stir into it the beaten butter and flour. Set the
sauce-pan again over the fire, and give it another boil up. Then put in
the oysters, and when they come to a hard boil take them off. Have ready
in the bottom of a deep dish, two nice slices of toasted bread with all
the crust trimmed off. Cut the toast into dice or small squares. Pour
the oysters and their gravy hot into the dish. Cover them closely, and
send them to table. There is no better way of stewing oysters than this,
when you cannot conveniently do them with cream. If you _have_ cream,
(which for this purpose must be very rich,) add half a pint of it to the
gravy, and season it with grated nutmeg. The cream must be stirred in at
the last, just before the oysters are taken from the fire.
FRENCH STEWED OYSTERS.--Take a hundred large fine oysters. Set them over
the fire in their own liquor, (skimming them well,) and when they begin
to simmer take them out with a perforated ladle, and throw them directly
into a pan of cold water to plump them. When they are quite cold, place
them in a sieve, and drain them well. Having saved their liquor, add to
it a quarter of a pound of fresh butter divided into four pieces, (each
piece rolled in flour,) a dozen blades of mace, a powdered nutmeg, and a
small salt-spoon of cayenne. Set this mixture over the fire, and stir it
till the butter and flour is well mixed all through. Then put in the
oysters, and as soon as they have come to a boil, take off the
sauce-pan, and stir in immediately the beaten yolks of three eggs. Serve
them up hot.
OYSTER LOAVES.--Take some tall fresh rolls, or small loaves. Cut nicely
a round or oval hole in the top of each, saving the pieces that come
off. Then carefully scoop out the crumb from the inside, leaving the
crust standing. Have ready a sufficient quantity of large fresh oysters.
Put the oysters with one-fourth of their liquor into a stew-pan; adding
the bread-crumbs; a large piece of fresh butter; some powdered nutmeg;
and a few blades of mace. Stew them about ten minutes. Then stir in two
or three large table-spoonfuls of cream; take them off just as they are
coming to a boil. If cooked too long the oysters will become tough and
shrivelled, and the cream will curdle. Fill the inside of your scooped
loaves with the oysters, reserving as many large oysters as you have
loaves. Place the bit of upper-crust carefully on the top of each, so as
to cover the whole. Arrange them on a dish, and lay on each lid one of
the large oysters kept out for the purpose. These ornamental oysters
must be well drained from any liquid that is about them.
OYSTER OMELET.--Having strained the liquor from twenty-five oysters of
the largest size, mince them small; omitting the hard part or gristle.
If you cannot get large oysters, you should have forty or fifty small
ones. Break into a shallow pan six, seven, or eight eggs, according to
the quantity of minced oysters. Omit half the whites, and, (having
beaten the eggs till very light, thick, and smooth,) mix the oysters
gradually into them, adding a little cayenne pepper, and some powdered
nutmeg. Put three ounces or more of the best fresh butter into a small
frying-pan, if you have no pan especially for omelets. Place it over a
clear fire, and when the butter (which should be previously cut up) has
come to a boil, put in the omelet-mixture; stir it till it begin to set;
and fry it a light brown, lifting the edge several times by slipping a
knife under it, and taking care not to cook it too much or it will
shrivel and become tough. When done, clap a large hot plate or dish on
the top of the omelet, and turn it quickly and carefully out of the pan.
Fold it over; and serve it up immediately. It is a fine breakfast dish.
This quantity will make one large or two small omelets.
Clam omelets may be made as above.
An omelet-pan should be smaller than a common frying-pan, and lined with
tin. In a large pan the omelet will spread too much, and become thin
like a pancake.
Never turn an omelet while frying, as that will make it heavy and tough.
When done, brown it by holding a red-hot shovel or salamander close
above the top.
Excellent omelets may be made of cold boiled ham, or smoked tongue;
grated or minced small, mixed with a sufficiency of beaten eggs, and
fried in butter.
ANCHOVY TOAST.--Cut four slices of bread and toast them; having first
pared off the crust. Butter the toast on both sides. Wash, scrape, and
chop ten anchovies and put them thickly between the slices of toast.
Beat the yolks of four eggs, and then mix them with half a pint of
cream. Put the mixture into a sauce-pan, and set it over the fire to
simmer till thick; but do not allow it to boil. Stir it well, lest it
should curdle. When it is _near_ boiling, take it off, and pour it hot
over the toast.
Tongue toast may be made in this way.
OYSTER TOAST may be made as above; substituting minced oysters for the
anchovy; seasoning them with cayenne; and boiling a few blades of mace
with the egg and cream.
BROILED OYSTERS.--Take the largest and finest oysters. See that your
gridiron is very clean. Rub the bars with fresh butter, and set it over
a clear steady fire, entirely clear from smoke; or on a bed of bright
hot wood coals. Place the oysters on the gridiron, and when done on one
side, take a fork and turn them on the other; being careful not to let
them burn. Put some fresh butter in the bottom of a dish. Lay the
oysters on it, and season them slightly with pepper. Send them to table
hot.
FRENCH OYSTER PIE.--Having buttered the inside of a deep dish, line it
with puff-paste rolled out rather thick, and prepare another sheet of
paste for the lid. Put a clean towel into the dish (folded so as to
support the lid) and then put on the lid; set it into the oven, and bake
the paste well. When done, remove the lid, and take out the folded
towel. While the paste is baking, prepare the oysters. Having picked off
carefully any bits of shell that may be found about them, lay them in a
sieve and drain off the liquor into a pan. Put the oysters into a
skillet or stew-pan, with barely enough of the liquor to keep them from
burning. Season them with whole pepper; blades of mace; some grated
nutmeg; and some grated lemon-peel, (the yellow rind only,) and a little
finely minced celery. Then add a large portion of fresh butter, divided
into bits, and very slightly dredged with flour. Let the oysters simmer
over the fire, but do not allow them to come to a boil, as that will
shrivel them. Next beat the yolks only, of three, four, or five eggs,
(in proportion to the size of the pie,) and stir the beaten egg into the
stew a few minutes before you take it from the fire. Keep it warm till
the paste is baked. Then carefully remove the lid of the pie; and
replace it, after you have filled the dish with the oysters and gravy.
The lid of the pie may be ornamented with a wreath of leaves cut out of
paste, and put on before baking. In the centre, place a paste-knot or
flower.
Oyster pies are generally eaten warm; but they are very good cold.
CLAM PIE.--Take a sufficient number of clams to fill a large pie-dish
when opened. Make a nice paste in the proportion of a pound of fresh
butter to two quarts of flour. Paste for shell-fish, or meat, or chicken
pies should be rolled out double the thickness of that intended for
fruit pies. Line the sides and bottom of your pie-dish with paste. Then
cover the bottom with a thin beef-steak, divested of bone and fat. Put
in the clams, and season them with mace, nutmeg, and a few whole
pepper-corns. No salt. Add a spoonful of butter rolled in flour, and
some hard-boiled yolks of eggs crumbled fine. Then put in enough of the
clam-liquor to make sufficient gravy. Put on the lid of the pie, (which
like the bottom crust should be rolled out thick,) notch it handsomely,
and bake it well. It should be eaten warm.
CLAM FRITTERS.--Put a sufficient quantity of clams into a pot of boiling
water. The small sand-clams will be best. When the shells open wide,
take them out, extract the clams from the shells, and put them into a
stew-pan. Strain their liquor, and pour about half of it over the clams;
adding a little black pepper. They will require no salt. Let them stew,
slowly, for half an hour; then take them out; drain off all the liquor;
and mince the clams as fine as possible, omitting the hardest parts. You
should have as many clams as will make a large pint when minced. Make a
batter of seven eggs, beaten till very thick and light; and then mixed
gradually with a quart of milk, and a pint of sifted flour, stirred in
by degrees, and made perfectly smooth and free from lumps. Then,
gradually, mix the minced clams with the batter, and stir the whole very
hard. Have ready in a frying pan over the fire a sufficiency of boiling
lard. Put in, with a spoon, the batter so as to form fritters, and fry
them light brown. Drain them well when done, and serve them up hot.
Oyster fritters may be made as above; except that the oysters must be
minced raw, and mixed into the batter without having been stewed.
LOBSTER PATTIES.--Make some puff-paste, and spread it on very deep
patty-pans. Bake it empty. Having boiled well two or three fine
lobsters, extract all their meat, and mince it very small, mixing it
with the coral smoothly mashed, and some yolk of hard-boiled egg,
grated. Season it with a little salt; some cayenne; and some powdered
mace or nutmeg; adding a little yellow lemon-rind grated. Moisten the
mixture well with cream, or fresh butter, or salad oil. Put it into a
stew-pan; add a very little water, and let it stew till it just comes to
a boil. Take it off the fire, and the patties being baked, remove them
from the tin-pans, place them on a large dish, and fill them up to the
top with the mixture.
Similar patties may be made of prawns, or crabs.
A SEA-COAST PIE.--Having boiled a sufficient number of crabs or
lobsters, extract all the meat from the shells, and cut it into
mouthfuls. Have ready some fine large oysters drained from the liquor.
Cover the bottom and sides of a deep dish with puff-paste; and put in a
thick layer of crab or lobster, seasoned with a little cayenne pepper,
and a little grated lemon-peel; and mixed with some hard-boiled yolk of
egg, crumbled fine, and moistened with fresh butter. Next, put a close
layer of oysters, seasoned with pounded mace and grated nutmeg. Lay some
bits of butter rolled in flour on the top of the layer. Proceed in this
manner with alternate layers of crab or lobster, and of oysters, till
the dish is nearly full. Then pour in, at the last, a tea-cupfull of
more of the oyster liquor, with an equal quantity of rich cream. Have
ready a thick lid of puff-paste. Put it on the pie; pressing the edges
closely so as to unite them all round; and notch them handsomely. Make a
wreath of leaves cut out of paste, and a flower or knot for the centre;
place them on the top-crust; and bake the pie well. While it is baking,
prepare some balls made of chopped oysters; grated bread-crumbs;
powdered nutmeg, or mace; and grated lemon-peel; with a little beaten
yolk of egg to bind together the other ingredients. Having fried these
balls in butter, drain them, and when the pie is baked, lay a circle of
them round the top; between the border of paste-leaves and the
centre-knot.
This pie will be found so fine that it ought to be baked in a dish which
will contain a large quantity.
LOBSTER RISSOLES.--Extract the meat of a boiled lobster; mince it as
fine as possible; mix with it the coral pounded smooth, and some yolks
of hard-boiled eggs pounded also. Season it with cayenne pepper,
powdered mace, and a very little salt. Make a batter of beaten egg,
milk, and flour. To each egg allow two large table-spoonfuls of milk,
and a large tea-spoonful of flour. Beat the batter well, and then mix
the lobster with it gradually, till it is stiff enough to make into oval
balls, about the size of a large plum. Fry them in the best salad oil,
and serve them up either warm or cold.
Similar rissoles may be made of raw oysters minced fine; or of boiled
clams. These should be fried in lard.
Very young Indian corn, grated from the cob, prepared in the above
manner, made into balls, and fried in fresh butter, is excellent.
Previous to grating it is best to boil the ears of corn.
TO DRESS A TURTLE.--The turtle should be taken out of water, and killed
over night in winter, and early in the morning in summer. Hang it up by
the hind fins, and before it has had time to draw in its neck, cut off
its head with a very sharp knife, and leave the turtle suspended. It
should bleed two or three hours or more, before you begin to cut it up.
Then lay it on its back upon a table: have at hand several vessels of
cold water, in which to throw the most important parts as you separate
them; also a large boiler of hot water. Take off the fins at the joint,
and lay them by themselves in cold water; next divide the back-shell
from the under-shell. The upper part of the turtle is called the
calipash--the under part the calipee. In cutting open the turtle, be
very careful not to break the gall, which should be taken out and
thrown away; if broken, its bitterness will spoil all around it. Take
out the entrails, and throw them into a tub of cold water. When well
washed, open them from end to end with a small penknife, scrape off the
inside skin, and, to cleanse them thoroughly, draw them several times
through a woollen cloth. Wash, also, the liver, lungs, heart, kidneys,
&c., and lay them in cold water; the liver in a pan by itself. If there
are eggs, put them also into cold water. Having extracted the
intestines, stand up the turtle on end, to let the blood run out.
Afterwards cut out all the flesh from the upper and under shells, and
remove the bones. Cut the calipee (or meat belonging to the under-shell)
into pieces about as large as the palm of your hand, and break the
shell. The calipash, or meat next the back-shell, may be cut
smaller--the green fat into pieces about two inches square. Put all the
meat into a large pan, sprinkle it slightly with salt, and cover it up.
Lay the shells and fins in a tub of boiling water, and scald them till
the scales can be scraped off with a knife, and all the meat that still
adheres to the shells easily removed, as it is worth saving. Clean the
fins nicely, (taking off the dark skin,) and lay them in cold water.
Wipe the back-shell dry, and set it aside. Then proceed to make the
soup. For this purpose, take the coarser pieces of flesh with the bones
and entrails. Put them into a pot with a pound of ham cut into pieces,
and eight large calves’-feet (two sets) that have been singed and
scraped but not skinned. If you cannot conveniently obtain calves’-feet,
substitute a large fore-leg or knuckle of veal. Add four onions sliced
thin; two table-spoonfuls of sweet-marjoram leaves; a large bunch of
parsley; a dozen blades of mace; and a salt-spoon of cayenne. The ham
will make any other salt unnecessary. Pour on as much water as will
completely cover the whole, and let it simmer slowly over a steady fire
during five hours, skimming it well. If after a while the soup seems to
be boiling away too much, replenish it with a little hot water from a
kettle, kept boiling hard for the purpose. When it has simmered five
hours, take up the whole, and strain the soup through a sieve into a
deep pan. Wash out the soup-pot with hot water, and return the strained
soup to it, with the entrails cut into small pieces, and some of the
best of the meat and a portion of the green fat. Have ready two or three
dozen force-meat balls about the size of a boy’s marble, and made of the
usual proportions of minced veal, bread-crumbs, butter, grated
lemon-peel, mace, nutmeg, and beaten yolk of egg. Put them into the
soup, and let it boil an hour longer; also the eggs of the turtle, or
some hard-boiled yolks of eggs. After it has thus boiled another hour,
add two sliced lemons and a pint of Madeira. Boil the soup a quarter of
an hour longer, and it will then be ready for the tureen. It must never
boil hard.
In the mean time, stew in another pot the finest of the turtle-meat,
seasoned with a little salt, and cayenne, and a liberal allowance of
sweet-marjoram leaves rubbed fine, and mixed with powdered mace and
nutmeg. Add a pound of fresh butter, cut into quarters and rolled in
flour. When the turtle-meat has stewed an hour, put in the green fat,
add the grated peel, and the juice of two lemons, and a pint or more of
Madeira, and let the whole stew slowly an hour longer. While the meat is
stewing, take the shell off the back; wash it clean, and wipe it dry,
lay a band of puff-paste all round the inside of the shell, two inches
below the edge, and two inches above it. Notch the paste handsomely, and
fill the shell with the stewed turtle. Have ready the oven, heated as if
for bread. Lay a large iron baking-sheet or a square pan upon four
bricks (one at each corner) to elevate the shell from the floor of the
oven. Place on it the turtle-shell with its contents, and let it bake
till well browned on the surface. Send it to table in the shell placed
on a large dish. At the other end set the tureen of soup. Have ready as
two side dishes the fins stewed tender in a little of the soup; and the
liver fried in butter. Garnish with lemons cut in half.
This receipt is for a turtle of moderate size. A large one will of
course require an increased proportion of all the articles used in
seasoning it--more wine, &c. In serving up turtle at a dinner-party, let
it constitute the first course, and have no other dishes on table with
it. There is no need of any other fish or soup.