Wash fifty hve crayfish in plenty of cold water, and put
them head first into four quarts of boiling water with a
tablespoonful of salt, a carrot scraped and sUced, one turnip
and one onion peeled and sliced, one small sprig of parsley
igO PRACTICAL AMERICAN COOKERY.
with the root attached, a red pepper, and a dozen whole
cloves✪ Crayfish Soup or Bisque ; boil all these ingredients together for twenty min-
utes ; then take out the crayfish, and continue to boil the
soup as before ; as soon as the crayfish can be handled,
break the tails away from the bodies ; remove the flesh of the
tails entire, and put it by to use presently ; put the shells
of the tails and the bodies of the crayfish in a mortar, and
crush them, and then put them into the soup, and con-
tinue boiling it for an hour ; reserve the flesh of the tails to
put into the soup just before serving it. When the soup has
boiled an hour, strain it, pressing the vegetables and crayfish
shells with a wooden spoon in a fine sieve to extract all
possible color and flavor. Next, mix together over the fire
two heaping tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour until
they are smoothly blended, and gradually add to them the
strained soup, stirring constantly to prevent the formation
of lumps ; when all the soup has been stirred in, add a gill
of cream and half a pint of white wine, put in the crayfish
tails, see that the soup is palatably seasoned with salt and
cayenne, and serve it at once.
BISQUE OF PRAWNS.
Put a hundred prawns into two quarts of boiling water,
after first washing them in plenty of cold water, and boil
them until the shells turn red ; meantime, wash two pounds
of eels in cold water, cut them in inch pieces, and put them
over the fire in sufficient cold water to cover them, together
with a gill of vinegar, a level teaspoonful of whole pepper-
corns, a blade of mace, an onion peeled and stuck with a
dozen whole cloves, a sprig of any sweet herb except sage,
a small sprig of parsley with root attached, a stalk of celery,
and a level tablespoonful of salt ; as soon as the prawns are
red, put the pot-liquor in which they were boiled with the
above-named ingredients, and then take the prawns from th?
SOUPS. 191
shells ; put the flesh of the prawns aside until the soup
is nearly done, add the shells to the other ingredients, cover
the soup-kettle, and boil until they are reduced to a pulp ;
then strain the soup through a towel laid in a colander;
put two tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour in a sauce-
pan, and stir them over the fire until they bubble; then
gradually stir in the strained soup, about half a cupful at a
time, until a creamy soup is made ; add the flesh of the
prawns to this, season it palatably, put with it about a gill of
Sauterne, let it heat to the boiling-point, and then serve it
hot. If prawns are not plentiful, some lobster flesh may be
shredded and used for the soup.
LOBSTER SOUP. ✪ Lobster Soup
Page 110 · 5 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1885. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Wash fifty five crayfish in plenty of cold water, and put them head first into four quarts of boiling water with a tablespoonful of salt, a carrot scraped and sliced, one turnip and one onion peeled and sliced, one small sprig of parsley
with the root attached, a red pepper, and a dozen whole cloves ; boil all these ingredients together for twenty minutes ; then take out the crayfish, and continue to boil the soup as before ; as soon as the crayfish can be handled, break the tails away from the bodies ; remove the flesh of the tails entire, and put it by to use presently ; put the shells of the tails and the bodies of the crayfish in a mortar, and crush them, and then put them into the soup, and continue boiling it for an hour ; reserve the flesh of the tails to put into the soup just before serving it. When the soup has boiled an hour, strain it, pressing the vegetables and crayfish shells with a wooden spoon in a fine sieve to extract all possible color and flavor. Next, mix together over the fire two heaping tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour until they are smoothly blended, and gradually add to them the strained soup, stirring constantly to prevent the formation of lumps ; when all the soup has been stirred in, add a gill of cream and half a pint of white wine, put in the crayfish tails, see that the soup is palatably seasoned with salt and cayenne, and serve it at once.
BISQUE OF PRAWNS.
Put a hundred prawns into two quarts of boiling water, after first washing them in plenty of cold water, and boil them until the shells turn red ; meantime, wash two pounds of eels in cold water, cut them in inch pieces, and put them over the fire in sufficient cold water to cover them, together with a gill of vinegar, a level teaspoonful of whole peppercorns, a blade of mace, an onion peeled and stuck with a dozen whole cloves, a sprig of any sweet herb except sage, a small sprig of parsley with root attached, a stalk of celery, and a level tablespoonful of salt ; as soon as the prawns are red, put the pot-liquor in which they were boiled with the above-named ingredients, and then take the prawns from the
shells; put the flesh of the prawns aside until the soup is nearly done, add the shells to the other ingredients, cover the soup-kettle, and boil until they are reduced to a pulp ; then strain the soup through a towel laid in a colander; put two tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour in a saucepan, and stir them over the fire until they bubble; then gradually stir in the strained soup, about half a cupful at a time, until a creamy soup is made ; add the flesh of the prawns to this, season it palatably, put with it about a gill of Sauterne, let it heat to the boiling-point, and then serve it hot. If prawns are not plentiful, some lobster flesh may be shredded and used for the soup.
LOBSTER SOUP.
Records on this page
Crayfish Soup or BisqueLobster SoupCrayfish SoupBisque of PrawnsCrab Soup