TAKE the turtle out of the water the night before you intend to dress it, and lay it on its back in the morning, cut its throat or the head off, and let it bleed well, then cut off the fins, scald, scale and trim them with the head, then raise the caliepy (which is the belly or under-shell) clean off, leaving to it as much meat as you conveniently can; then take from the back shell all the meat and intrails, except the monsieur, which is the fat and looks green, that must be baked to and with the shell; wash all clean with salt and water, and cut it in pieces of a moderate size, taking from it the bones, and put them with the fins and head in a soup-pot, with a gallon of water, some salt, and two blades of mace. When it boils, scum it clean, then put in a bunch of thyme, parsley, savoury, and young onions, and your veal part, except about one pound and a half, which must be made force-meat of, as for Scotch collops, adding a little Cayan pepper; when the veal has boiled in the soup about an hour, take it out and cut it in pieces, and put to the other part. The guts (which is reckoned the best part) must be split open, scraped and made clean, and cut in pieces about two inches long. The paunch or maw must be scalded and skinned, and cut as the other parts, the size you think proper; then put them with the guts and other parts, except the liver, with half a pound of good fresh butter, a few shallots, a bunch of thyme, parsley, and a little savoury, seasoned with salt, white pepper, mace, three or four cloves beaten, a little Cayan pepper, and take care not to put too much; then let it stew about half an hour over a good charcoal fire, and put in a pint and a half of Madeira wine and as much of the broth as will cover it, and let it stew till tender. It will take four or five hours doing. When almost enough, scum it, and thicken it with flour, mixt with some veal broth, about the thicknet of a fricasey. Let your force-meat balls be fry'd about the size of a walnut, and be stew'd about half an hour with the rest; if any eggs, let them be boiled and cleaned as you do knots of pullets eggs, and if none, get twelve or fourteen yolks of hard eggs, then put the stew (which is called the callepath) into the back-shell, with the eggs all over, and put it in the oven to brown, or do it with a salamander.
The caliepy must be slashed in several places, and moderately seasoned, with pieces of butter, mixt with chopp'd thyme, parsley, and young onions, with salt, white pepper and mace beaten, and a little Cayan pepper; put a piece in each slash, and then some over, and a dust of flour; then bake it in a tin or iron dripping pan, in a brick oven.