The encyclopædia of practical cookery

Crayfish a la Polonaise. -Take three dozen selected Crayfish, wash them well while still alive, and then put them on a strainer to drain. In the meantime take two onions, one large carrot, and a parsley- and a celery-root, chop them up very finely, fry in a stewpan with a lump of butter, and add a bottle of white wine. Place the stewpan back on the fire, and as soon as it begins to boil put in the Crayfish, some peppercorns, cumin-seed, a bunch of parsley and fennel, and a little salt. Put the cover on the pan and boil up quickly for eight minutes ; then take out the fish, drain them, and remove their small claws, keeping the fish still hot. Take ilb. of butter, put it into a stewpan, warm it until it gets of a light brown colour, add 2 handfuls of breadcrumbs, and then the Crayfish. Pour in 1 pint of good sour cream, place the pan on the fire again, and toss the fish so as to get them well mixed with the sauce. Take them .out when done, and dust over with a little fresh fennel (chopped finely) and a pinch of pepper, and spread over them a lump of butter broken to pieces. Place on a dish and pour the sauce over. Crayfish a la Poulette. —Take any Crayfish that are too small for other uses, remove the small claws, put the fish in a cloth and shake them well, so that no water remains in them. Make a sauce in the usual way, with 4oz. of butter, 2 table-spoonfuls of veloute sauce, a little chopped parsley, and the juice of a lemon, which, when it becomes thick, put in the fish and serve hot. Crayfish a la Provençale. -Select two dozen Crayfish and boil them in a pan in a mirepoix with white wine, sweet herbs, and a slice of ham. When done, take out and let them drain. Strain the liquor through a sieve, add a little good gravy, and then reduce it to half-glaze, mixing in 5 or 6 table-spoonfuls of tomato sauce. When it is sufficiently reduced, remove the pan to the side of the fire, let it simmer for a few minutes more, and add a little cayenne to season it. Take it from the side of the fire, and add to it 6oz. of butter pulled to small pieces to thicken it. Put the Crayfish on a dish with a folded napkin, and serve the sauce in a boat separately. Crayfish Boiled in Court Bouillon.— Put some butter into a stewpan and add a little celery-root, leek, and onion, all finely minced, place the pan on a rather slow fire, and fry them. Then add a little white wine, salt, a small bunch of parsley, and a few peppercorns. Boil for seven or eight minutes, and then put in twenty-five live Crayfish ; cover over the pan, and boil for seven or eight minutes longer. Toss them a little in the pan, take them out, put on a strainer to drain, and place on a dish. Strain the liquid, reduce it by boiling to half its original bulk, add a little piece of butter, and pour it over. Crayfish Butter. -(1) Take the shells and small claws of some Crayfish, put them into a mortar with a large lump of butter, and pound them well until they become a paste. Put this into a stewpan, and put the stewpan into the bainmarie. When the mixture is quite hot, pass it through a tammy into a basin of cold water, and let the butter rise to the top ; it is then ready for use. For details respecting Culinary Processes, Utensils, Sauces, ice., referred to, see under their special heads. Crayfish — continued.