Fill a kettle with warm water (not boiling); put in
the lobster, head downward; add a tablespoon of salt✪ To Boil and Open a Lobster;
cover the kettle and stand it over a very quick fire.
They suffer less by being put into warm than in boiling
water. In the latter they are killed by heat; in warm
water they are smothered. A medium-sized lobster
should boil half an hour; a larger one three-quarters.
Cooking them too long makes them tough, and the
meat will stick to the shell. When done and cool
separate the tail from the body and twist off all the
claws; shake out carefully the tom-allez (this is the
liver of the lobster and may be known by its greenish
color), also the coral. Then draw the body from the
shell, remove the stomach (sometimes called the lady),
which is found immediately under the head, and throw
this away. Now split the body through the center
and pick the meat from the cells; cut the under side
of the tail shell, loosen the meat and take it out in one
solid piece. Now split the meat of the tail, open and
you will discover a little vein running its entire length
— this remove. The vein is not always the same color;
sometimes it is red, sometimes black and sometimes
white; but in all cases it must be carefully taken out
and thrown away. The stomach or lady, the vein,
88 The Queen Cook Book
and the spongy fingers between the body and the shell,
are the only parts not eatable. Crack the claws and
take out the meat. To serve plain boiled lobster,
arrange the meat thus: taken out in the center of a cold
dish, garnishing with the claws, sprigs of fresh parsley,
hard boiled eggs cut into quarters and pickled beets
cut into fancy shapes. Let each person season to suit
one's self.
Lobster Turbot
Is made the same as fish turbot, or scalloped, as some
call it.
Sturgeon.
Sturgeon fish are only good fried or baked. For
frying, boil it slowly for fifteen minutes to take out the
strong taste. If it is not already skinned, skin it, and
cut in two-inch pieces and fry as other fish, only
longer, till well done. It is a large fish and used to
be called Albany beef. It is indeed as large as a large
calf, being from four to six feet long. In a large fam-
ily one can use a piece large enough to stuff or fill with
turkey dressing, and bake, sew it up, putting slices of
ham on it and under. Parboil it first.
To Pickle Salmon.
1 2 pounds salmon i red pepper
3 quarts vinegar 1 5 pepper corns
1 pint boiling water 3 bay leaves
2 onions sliced 3 tablespoons whole mus-
20 cloves tard
3 sticks mace 3 tablespoons brown sugar✪ To Pickle Salmon
Clean nicely, rub it well with salt, using a table-
spoopful, cover with boiling water, and boil fifteen
The Queen Cook Book 89
minutes to every pound. When done, drain off the
water, roll the fish tight in dry cloth, to dry it, then
skin it and cut it up. Tie all the spices in thin mus-
lin and boil in the vinegar and water fifteen minutes
till you get the strength out. Then put in the salmon
and boil five minutes. Have your air tight glass jars
in boiling water, empty and set in the hot water as
you fill them with the salmon full, then fill up all the
places well between with the boiling liquor; screw
tight and keep in a dark, cool, dry place. You can
pickle halibut and sturgeon in the same way.
Eels, Stewed or Fried.
They should not be eaten in the hot months, and be
eaten the day they are caught. Skin and clean the
eels, cut off their heads and take out all that is
stringy, cut into pieces about three inches long; par-
boil them about ten minutes, drain off that water,
then put on one pint of veal soup stock, season with
salt, butter and pepper, boil slowly about twenty-five
minutes, then thicken with flour and pour over them.
Use parsley or onion if you like. Fry eels the same
as fish, after parboiling.
Fried Smelts. ✪ Fried Smelts
Page 34 · 3 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1895. 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
Fill a kettle with warm water (not boiling); put in the lobster, head downward; add a tablespoon of salt; cover the kettle and stand it over a very quick fire. They suffer less by being put into warm than in boiling water. In the latter they are killed by heat; in warm water they are smothered. A medium-sized lobster should boil half an hour; a larger one three-quarters. Cooking them too long makes them tough, and the meat will stick to the shell. When done and cool separate the tail from the body and twist off all the claws; shake out carefully the tomalley (this is the liver of the lobster and may be known by its greenish color), also the coral. Then draw the body from the shell, remove the stomach (sometimes called the lady), which is found immediately under the head, and throw this away. Now split the body through the center and pick the meat from the cells; cut the under side of the tail shell, loosen the meat and take it out in one solid piece. Now split the meat of the tail, open and you will discover a little vein running its entire length — this remove. The vein is not always the same color; sometimes it is red, sometimes black and sometimes white; but in all cases it must be carefully taken out and thrown away. The stomach or lady, the vein,
88 The Queen Cook Book
and the spongy fingers between the body and the shell, are the only parts not eatable. Crack the claws and take out the meat. To serve plain boiled lobster, arrange the meat thus: taken out in the center of a cold dish, garnishing with the claws, sprigs of fresh parsley, hard boiled eggs cut into quarters and pickled beets cut into fancy shapes. Let each person season to suit one's self.
Lobster Turbot
Is made the same as fish turbot, or scalloped, as some call it.
Sturgeon.
Sturgeon fish are only good fried or baked. For frying, boil it slowly for fifteen minutes to take out the strong taste. If it is not already skinned, skin it, and cut in two-inch pieces and fry as other fish, only longer, till well done. It is a large fish and used to be called Albany beef. It is indeed as large as a large calf, being from four to six feet long. In a large family one can use a piece large enough to stuff or fill with turkey dressing, and bake, sew it up, putting slices of ham on it and under. Parboil it first.
To Pickle Salmon.
1 2 pounds salmon i red pepper
3 quarts vinegar 1 5 pepper corns
1 pint boiling water 3 bay leaves
2 onions sliced 3 tablespoons whole mus- 20 cloves tard
3 sticks mace 3 tablespoons brown sugar Clean nicely, rub it well with salt, using a tablespoonful, cover with boiling water, and boil fifteen
The Queen Cook Book 89
minutes to every pound. When done, drain off the water, roll the fish tight in dry cloth, to dry it, then skin it and cut it up. Tie all the spices in thin muslin and boil in the vinegar and water fifteen minutes till you get the strength out. Then put in the salmon and boil five minutes. Have your air tight glass jars in boiling water, empty and set in the hot water as you fill them with the salmon full, then fill up all the places well between with the boiling liquor; screw tight and keep in a dark, cool, dry place. You can pickle halibut and sturgeon in the same way.
Eels, Stewed or Fried.
They should not be eaten in the hot months, and be eaten the day they are caught. Skin and clean the eels, cut off their heads and take out all that is stringy, cut into pieces about three inches long; parboil them about ten minutes, drain off that water, then put on one pint of veal soup stock, season with salt, butter and pepper, boil slowly about twenty-five minutes, then thicken with flour and pour over them. Use parsley or onion if you like. Fry eels the same as fish, after parboiling.
Fried Smelts.
Records on this page
To Boil and Open a LobsterTo Pickle SalmonFried Smelts