English Turtle Soup

See No. 502. "Alamode Beef."

Malaga Tazeney Soup

Take two quarts of water, and boil a nice fowl or chicken, then put in the following ingredients, a large white onion, a large chilly*, two teaspoons-ful of ginger pounded, the same of curry stuff, one teaspoonful of turmeric, and half a teaspoonful of black pepper: boil all these for half an hour, and then fry some small onions, and put them in. Season it with salt, and serve it up in a tureen.

Turtle Soup

The following recipe for dressing this richest and most delicious dish, is the present practice of an experienced French cook, a consummate master of the art, in his own words.

"The best size for taste, is from 60 to 80 pounds; this will make 6 or 8 tureens of fine soup. Kill the turtle the evening before you wish to dress it; tie a cord to the hind fins of the turtle, and hang it up with the head downwards; tie the fore fins by way of pinioning them, it would otherwise beat itself, and be troublesome to the executioner; take the head with your left hand, and with a sharp knife cut off the neck as near the head as possible; there is a joint where the knife will pop through without any force. Have one or two large tubs of water ready, and when you dissect your turtle, put it on a block on the back shell, slip your knife between the calliopee and the calliopash; I mean between the breast and the edge of the back shell: when the knife has been round, and the breast is detached from the back shell, pass your fingers underneath, and with your knife detach the breast from the fins, always keeping the edge of your knife on the side of the breast, otherwise it may happen you may break the gall, which is very large, and if broken, your turtle is spoiled. Cut your breast into four pieces, next take away the guts, beginning by the liver, and cut away the gall, to be out of danger at once. The guts are to be thrown away: 1 have seen some cooks have them cleaned and cut in pieces, and put into the soup, but generally they are left on the gentlemen's plates: a basin of turtle is considered a treat, consequently it should be so dressed that none be left on the plate or basin- When your turtle is emptied, throw the heart, liver, kidneys, and lights, into water, cut away the fins to the root, I mean as near to the back shell as possible, next cut the tins in the second joint, that the white meat may be separated from the green: scrape the fat that sticks against the back shell, or calliopash, take it like as if you was skimming any thing, and put it aside. Cut the calliopash into four pieces. Set a large turbot pan on the fire, and when it boils dip a fin into it for a minute, then take it out and peel it very clean; when that is done, take anothers and so on till all are done; then the head, next the shell and breast, piece by piece. Be careful to have the peel and shell entirely cleaned off, then put in the same pan some clean water, with the breast and back, the four fins, and the head; let it boil till the bones will leave the meat; put with it a large faggot of turtle herbs as big as your two fists, four bay leaves, and some thyme. If you mean to make two dishes of the fins, you must take them away when they have been boiled one hour.

* The pod of which Cayenne pepper is made.

Port wine, and a pottle of mushrooms; when your sauce boils, put your four fins in; after Laving taken away all the small bones that are seen breaking through the skin, put with it a faggot of a few sprigs of parsley, a bit of thyme, one bay leaf, and four cloves, and let it simmer one hour: ten minutes before you dish, put five dozen of button onions that you have ready peeled: when you dish, put in each dish a hind fin and a fore one, and look if it is salt enough.

*** If you have no brown sauce, put in a stewpan a quarter of a pound of butter; when it is melted, put to it two wooden spoonsful of f our, stir it on the fire till it gets a hazel colour, pour a bottle of Port wine in it, a ladleful of broth, and, when it boils, do as before mentioned, and scum it well.