Real Turtle

The Art of Cookery Made Easy and Refined · Mollard, John · 1802
Source
The Art of Cookery Made Easy and Refined
Status
success · extracted 13 days ago
Not a recipe
No
Ingredients (17)
Turtle preparation
Seasoning and thickening
Garnish and serving
For the raised crust (optional)
Instructions (20)
  1. Hang the turtle up by the hind fins, and cut off the head overnight.
  2. In the morning cut off the fore fins at the joints, and the callipee all round.
  3. Take out the entrails, and be careful not to break the gall.
  4. Cut off the hind fins and all the meat from the bones, callipee and callipash.
  5. Chop the callipee and callipash into pieces.
  6. Scald them together, the fins being whole, but take care not to let the scales set.
  7. When cleaned, chop the fins into pieces four inches long.
  8. Wash the pieces of the callipee, callipash, and fins, and put them into a pot with the bones and a sufficient quantity of water to cover.
  9. Add a bunch of sweet herbs and whole onions, and skim it when the liquor boils.
  10. When the fins are nearly done take them out, together with the remainder of the turtle, when done, picked free from bone.
  11. Strain the liquor and boil it down till reduced to one third part.
  12. Cut the meat into pieces four times larger than dice.
  13. Put it into a pot, add a mixture of herbs chopped fine, such as knotted marjoram, savory, thyme, parsley, a very little basil, some chopped onions, some beaten spices, as allspice, a few cloves, a little mace, black pepper, salt, some veal stock, and the liquor that was reduced.
  14. Boil the meat till three parts done, pick it free from herbs, strain the liquor through a tamis sieve.
  15. Make a passing of flour and three quarters of a pound of fresh butter, mixing it well over a fire for some time, and then add to it madeira wine, (if a turtle of seventy pounds weight, three pints,) and the liquor of the meat.
  16. When it boils, skim it clean, season to the palate with cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and salt, and strain it to the pieces of fins and shell in one pot, and the lean meat into another.
  17. If the turtle produce any real green fat, let it be boiled till done, then strained, cut into pieces, and added to the fins and shell, and then simmer each meat till tender.
Serving
  1. When it is to be served up, put a little fat at the bottom of the tureens, some lean in the center, and more fat at the top, with egg and force-meat balls, and a few entrails.
Note on entrails
  1. The entrails must be cleaned well, then boiled in water till very tender, and preserved as white as possible, and just before they are strained off add the balls.
Note on serving in shell
  1. If a callipash is served up, the shell to be cut down on each side, and chop the pieces for the soup; the remaining part of the back shell to be pasted round with a raised crust, egged, ornamented, and baked, and the soup served in it in the same manner as in the tureens.
Original Text
Real Turtle. Hang the turtle up by the hind fins, and cut off the head overnight; in the morning cut off the fore fins at the joints, and the callipee all round; then take out the entrails, and be careful not to break the gall; after which cut off the hind fins and all the meat from the bones, callipee and callipash; then chop the callipee and callipash into pieces; scald them together, the fins being whole, but take care not to let the scales set. When cleaned, chop the fins into pieces four inches long; wash the pieces of the callipee,[17] callipash, and fins, and put them into a pot with the bones and a sufficient quantity of water to cover; then add a bunch of sweet herbs and whole onions, and skim it when the liquor boils. When the fins are nearly done take them out, together with the remainder of the turtle, when done, picked free from bone. Then strain the liquor and boil it down till reduced to one third part; after which cut the meat into pieces four times larger than dice; put it into a pot, add a mixture of herbs chopped fine, such as knotted marjoram, savory, thyme, parsley, a very little basil, some chopped onions, some beaten spices, as allspice, a few cloves, a little mace, black pepper, salt, some veal stock, and the liquor that was reduced. Boil the meat till three parts done, pick it free from herbs, strain the liquor through a tamis sieve, make a passing of flour and three quarters of a pound of fresh butter, mixing it well over a fire for some time, and then add to it madeira wine, (if a turtle of seventy pounds weight,[18] three pints,) and the liquor of the meat. When it boils, skim it clean, season to the palate with cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and salt, and strain it to the pieces of fins and shell in one pot, and the lean meat into another; and if the turtle produce any real green fat, let it be boiled till done, then strained, cut into pieces, and added to the fins and shell, and then simmer each meat till tender. When it is to be served up, put a little fat at the bottom of the tureens, some lean in the center, and more fat at the top, with egg and force-meat balls, and a few entrails. N. B. The entrails must be cleaned well, then boiled in water till very tender, and preserved as white as possible, and just before they are strained off add the balls. If a callipash is served up, the shell to be cut down on each side, and chop the pieces for the soup; the remaining part of the back shell to be pasted round with a raised crust, egged, ornamented, and[19] baked, and the soup served in it in the same manner as in the tureens.
Notes
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