STURGEON SOUP A L'AMERICAINE

The modern cook · Charles Elmé Francatelli · 1846
Source
The modern cook
Status
success · extracted 12 days ago
Not a recipe
No
Ingredients (38)
Instructions (18)
  1. Procure six pounds of fresh sturgeon, one-third of which must be trimmed and tied so as to prevent it from falling to pieces while being braized.
  2. Put it in a stewpan, and cover it with some mire-poix (No. 236) or wine braize prepared as directed.
  3. Let it boil, and then set it in the oven for about an hour and a half, more or less, according to the size of the fish.
  4. When this portion of the sturgeon is done, let it be put away in the larder to get cold, in order that it may be afterwards cut into scallops to be put into the soup.
Brown Sauce
  1. Butter a large stewpan, then cut two onions in slices and strew them over the bottom.
  2. On these place the sturgeon cut in thick slices, also two old hens partly roasted, and well coloured, a carrot, one head of celery, some parsley roots, thyme, bayleaf, six cloves, two blades of mace, and a dozen peppercorns.
  3. Add a large ladleful of good stock.
  4. Put the whole to boil briskly on the fire until the broth is nearly reduced.
  5. Slacken the stove to prevent the glaze thus obtained from being burnt, by which the unctuousness would be lost.
  6. Proceed with this sauce exactly as shown for the treatment of brown sauce or Espagnole.
  7. Having thus produced a bright, thin, brown sauce, finish the soup by mixing in a ragout-spoonful of puree of turtle herbs, a piece of anchovy butter, a little grated nutmeg, cayenne pepper, lemon-juice, and a glass of Madeira.
  8. Let the scallops boil a few minutes in the soup previously to adding the butter, &c.
  9. When about to serve up the soup, pour it into a tureen containing three dozen small quenelles of lobster, and send to table.
Additional Finishing Touches
  1. Add a ragout-spoonful of essence of turtle herbs, two glasses of sherry, a leason or binding of six yolks of eggs, a gill of cream, a little cayenne pepper, and lemon-juice.
  2. When about to send the soup to table, pour into the tureen containing the scallops of sturgeon cut into square pieces, three dozen small round pellets of yolks of eggs (prepared as for mock-turtle), and all the cartilaginous parts of the sturgeon cut into scallops also.
Pellets of Yolks of Eggs Preparation
  1. Take the yolks of six eggs boiled hard, pound them in the mortar with a pat of fresh butter, a piece of bread-crumb twice the size of an egg, soaked in milk, and afterwards squeezed in a napkin to extract all the moisture from it.
  2. To these add a little nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and one whole egg.
  3. Mix the whole well together by pounding, and then proceed to mould this paste into small round balls or pellets, the size of a nut, and poach them as you would any other quenelles.
Original Text
STURGEON SOUP A L'AMERICAINE. PROCURE six pounds of fresh sturgeon, one-third of which must be trimmed and tied so as to prevent it from falling to pieces while being braized; then put it in a stewpan, and cover it with some mire-poix (No. 236) or wine braize prepared as directed. Let it boil, and then set it in the oven for about an hour and a half, more or less, according to the size of the fish. When this portion of the sturgeon is done, let it be put away in the larder to get cold, in order that it may be afterwards cut into scallops to be put into the soup. While the above is in course of preparation, make a brown sauce with the remainder of the sturgeon as follows: Butter a large stewpan, then cut two onions in slices and strew them over the bottom; on these place the sturgeon cut in thick slices, also two old hens partly roasted, and well coloured, a carrot, one head of celery, some parsley roots, thyme, bayleaf, six cloves, two blades of mace, and a dozen peppercorns; then add a large ladleful of good stock; and put the whole to boil briskly on the fire until the broth is nearly reduced; slacken the stove to prevent the glaze thus obtained from being burnt, by which the unctuousness would be lost. Then proceed with this sauce exactly as shown for the treatment of brown sauce or Espagnole. Having thus produced a bright, thin, brown sauce, finish the soup by mixing in a ragout-spoonful of puree of turtle herbs, a piece of anchovy butter, a little grated nutmeg, cayenne pepper, lemon-juice, and a glass of Madeira. Let the scallops boil a few minutes in the soup previously to adding the butter, &c. When about to serve up the soup, pour it into a tureen containing three dozen small quenelles of lobster, and send to table. ADD a ragout-spoonful of essence of turtle herbs, two glasses of sherry, a leason or binding of six yolks of eggs, a gill of cream, a little cayenne pepper, and lemon-juice. When about to send the soup to table, pour into the tureen containing the scallops of sturgeon cut into square pieces, three dozen small round pellets of yolks of eggs (prepared as for mock-turtle), and all the cartilaginous parts of the sturgeon cut into scallops also. The pellets of yolks of eggs here alluded to are thus prepared: Take the yolks of six eggs boiled hard, pound them in the mortar with a pat of fresh butter, a piece of bread-crumb twice the size of an egg, soaked in milk, and afterwards squeezed in a napkin to extract all the moisture from it; to these add a little nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and one whole egg. Mix the whole well together by pounding, and then proceed to mould this paste into small round balls or pellets, the size of a nut, and poach them as you would any other quenelles.
Notes