Mock Turtle Soup (1846)

No. 202. Mock Turtle Soup.

Put a quarter of a pound of butter at the bottom of a large stewpan, then cut up twenty pounds of knuckles of veal in large dice, with two pounds of uncooked ham; put them into a stewpan with six onions, two carrots, two heads of celery, twenty peppercorns, two blades of mace, two ounces of salt, and a pint of water; set it over a sharp fire, stirring it round occasionally until the bottom of the stewpan is covered with a light brown glaze, then lay in the half of a scalded calf’s head, the cheek downwards, and fill up the stewpan with fourteen quarts of water; when boiling, place it at the corner of the fire, where let it simmer two hours and a half, keeping it well skimmed, but taking out the half head as soon as it becomes flexible to the touch, (which will take about the time the stock requires to simmer), remove all the bone and press the head flat between two dishes until cold, then pass the stock through a cloth into a basin, put a pound of butter into another stewpan, with four sprigs of winter savory, four of thyme, four of marjoram, four of basil, and four bay-leaves, fry them a few minutes in the butter, but do not let it change colour, then mix in a pound and a half of flour, stir it a few minutes over the fire until becoming slightly tinged, take it from the fire, stirring it round occasionally until partly cold, when pour in the stock, place it again upon the fire, keeping it stirred until it boils, then place it at the corner and let it simmer for half an hour, keeping it well skimmed, season with a little cayenne pepper, and more salt if required, and pass it through a tammie into a basin until wanted. When the calf’s head is cold take off all the meat and fat, leaving nothing but the glutinous part, which cut into pieces an inch square; when ready to serve the soup put about three quarts (to each tureen), into a stewpan with twenty of the pieces of head and a glass of sherry, boil altogether fifteen minutes, when skim and serve very hot. This soup may likewise be thickened without a roux, as directed for brown sauce (No. 4). Forcemeat and egg-balls were formerly served in this soup, the latter in imitation of turtles’ eggs, but better imitations of bullets, and almost as indigestible; the omission of them will, I am certain, prove beneficial, for whether the stomach be strong or delicate it will not bear loading with ammunition of that description. The above soup requires to be a light brown colour, and for thickness it must adhere lightly to the back of the spoon.