The French expression Usque, signified a soup made from crayfish, and was not applied to any other culinary prepara- tion without special qualification. It is, therefore, a sufii- cient definition, and the expression Usque d’dcrevisses is perhaps a tautology. Bisque is an ancient soup, as is shown by literary refer- ences. One of the most spirited allusions to it is by the chaplain of Francis I., King of France, Meshn de Saint- Gelais, in a poetical letter addressed to a lady : ‘ Quand on est febricitant Ma dame on se trouve en risque Et pour un assez longtemps De ne jouer k la brisque, Et de mal diner, partant De ne point manger de bisque, Si rude et si fSuheux risque Que je bisque en y songeant. ’ Less witty and somewhat inconsistent in its conclusion is the description of a gourmand at the time of Boileau : ‘ dont la mine fleurie Semblait d’ortolans seuls et de bisque nourrie.’ Most recipes for bisque begin with ‘ Lavez cinqtiante dcre- visses,’ and the crowd of copyists all repeat, ‘ Wash half a hundred crayfish ’ ; but as there are at least two varieties of crayfish,* and as both vary greatly in size, quite apart from differences according with their age, this ‘ dosage ’ of the basis of the bisque is much too uncertain. The quantity of fish to be used should be indicated by the aggregate weight as well as the number of fish necessary to make it up. The traditional fifty crayfish would probably be of the * Syn. Crawfish, Astacus Jluviatilis. Bisqxte is translated as crawfish soup or cullis simply in Smith and Hamilton (‘Eng. -Fr. Diet.’). Brisque is a game, yew de paume, Ang.i>dds. D.D., 246, gives a receipt of Vuille- mot’s for bisque, which is faulty as regards the period at, and the circum- stances under which, the carapaces of the crayfish are to be pounded and extracted. BISQUE OR CRAYFISH SOUP 185 siz6 of prawns. But it must be remembered that of these stone, crayfish fifty would be equalled in weight by twenty- five so-called noble crayfish {Edelkrehse in German), and yield soup for eight persons. To produce bisque, from four to six crayfish of the larger size are required — of the smaller variety, about a dozen — for each person. After having killed them by skewering, remove the gut from each of them by holding the fish in the left hand, and with the right thumb and forefinger pulling out the central paddle of the tail ; to this the gut will adhere. Put the crayfish in a stewpan, add a mirepoix of finely- sliced roots and a bouquet of herbs, pepper, and pimento as tincture, 2 oz. of butter, a glassful of Madeira or Marsala wine, cover with standard broth, and add sufficient thereof to make the fish swim. Boil while stirring until the cray- fish are all red. Let cool, and pick out the crayfish while running the broth into a saucepan. Eemove the meat from the tails, and cut it into dice and set it aside. Pound all the carapaces, tail-sheaths, and claws included, together with six anchovies, some bread fried in butter, and some wine or spirit to dissolve the colour ; add the liquid in which they have been boiled, and boil again while stirring. Boil (to fifty crayfish) 125 grm. of rice✪ Bisque or Crayfish Soup, until it forms a thin paste ; add this to the boiled pounded carapaces, insure the suffi- cient liquidity of the mixture by the addition of broth if necessary, and pass through a tammy. Add a piece of butter to the puree, and keep it hot in the water-bath.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The French expression bisque, signified a soup made from crayfish, and was not applied to any other culinary preparation without special qualification. It is, therefore, a sufiicient definition, and the expression bisque d'écrevisses is perhaps a tautology. Bisque is an ancient soup, as is shown by literary references. One of the most spirited allusions to it is by the chaplain of Francis I., King of France, Mellin de Saint- Gelais, in a poetical letter addressed to a lady : ‘ Quand on est febricitant Ma dame on se trouve en risque Et pour un assez longtemps De ne jouer k la brisque, Et de mal diner, partant De ne point manger de bisque, Si rude et si fâcheux risque Que je bisque en y songeant. ’ Less witty and somewhat inconsistent in its conclusion is the description of a gourmand at the time of Boileau : ‘ dont la mine fleurie Semblait d’ortolans seuls et de bisque nourrie.’ Most recipes for bisque begin with ‘ Lavez cinqtiante dcrevisses,’ and the crowd of copyists all repeat, ‘ Wash half a hundred crayfish ’ ; but as there are at least two varieties of crayfish,* and as both vary greatly in size, quite apart from differences according with their age, this ‘ dosage ’ of the basis of the bisque is much too uncertain. The quantity of fish to be used should be indicated by the aggregate weight as well as the number of fish necessary to make it up. The traditional fifty crayfish would probably be of the * Syn. Crawfish, Astacus Jluviatilis. Bisqxte is translated as crawfish soup or cullis simply in Smith and Hamilton (‘Eng. -Fr. Diet.’). Brisque is a game, yew de paume, Ang.i>dds. D.D., 246, gives a receipt of Vuillemot’s for bisque, which is faulty as regards the period at, and the circumstances under which, the carapaces of the crayfish are to be pounded and extracted. BISQUE OR CRAYFISH SOUP size of prawns. But it must be remembered that of these stone, crayfish fifty would be equalled in weight by twentyfive so-called noble crayfish {Edelkrehse in German), and yield soup for eight persons. To produce bisque, from four to six crayfish of the larger size are required — of the smaller variety, about a dozen — for each person. After having killed them by skewering, remove the gut from each of them by holding the fish in the left hand, and with the right thumb and forefinger pulling out the central paddle of the tail ; to this the gut will adhere. Put the crayfish in a stewpan, add a mirepoix of finelysliced roots and a bouquet of herbs, pepper, and pimento as tincture, 2 oz. of butter, a glassful of Madeira or Marsala wine, cover with standard broth, and add sufficient thereof to make the fish swim. Boil while stirring until the crayfish are all red. Let cool, and pick out the crayfish while running the broth into a saucepan. Remove the meat from the tails, and cut it into dice and set it aside. Pound all the carapaces, tail-sheaths, and claws included, together with six anchovies, some bread fried in butter, and some wine or spirit to dissolve the colour ; add the liquid in which they have been boiled, and boil again while stirring. Boil (to fifty crayfish) 125 grm. of rice, until it forms a thin paste ; add this to the boiled pounded carapaces, insure the sufficient liquidity of the mixture by the addition of broth if necessary, and pass through a tammy. Add a piece of butter to the puree, and keep it hot in the water-bath.

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Bisque or Crayfish Soup

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