Turtle Soup from Tinned Meat

Ingredients

• two tins of essence of beef
• a little stock — or even water
• a head of celery
• a good handful of parsley
• a good-sized claret-glass of madeira or brown sherry
• a couple of onions should be sliced up

Method

1. 1

   Open the essence of beef and place it in a pot with stock or water.

2. 2

   Add herbs and strain.

3. 3

   Add turtle meat and, if time allows, boil sliced onions in the essence before adding the meat.

4. 4

   Finally, add madeira or sherry.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The housekeeper's guide to preserved meats, fruits, vegetables, &c (1880), page 225. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

two tins of essence of beef, a very fine, clear turtle soup can be sent to table at a very few minutes’ notice in any house by pro- ceeding as follows : — Open first of all the essence of meat — say, two tins of essence of beef. Next take a little stock — or even water if no stock is to be obtained. Place in it some of the herbs mentioned under the heading of soup made from dried turtle flesh (see Turtle Flesh, Dried). This should be strained off and added to the soup, as a precaution that too much flavour has not been added. The turtle meat should now be added to this soup. If there is time a couple of onions should be sliced up and boiled in the essence of beef before the turtle flesh is added. Strain off the onion, put in the meat, and add a good-sized claret-glass of madeira or brown sherry. The essence of beef known as “ Gillon’s Essence of Beef ” is admirably adapted for this purpose. This would make some turtle soup very rich indeed. Of course, it can be diluted with a little water — or, still better, by the addition of stock. When there is time — and half an hour would be ample — I would recommend an onion to be sliced up and boiled in the essence of beef, with a head of celery and a good handful of parsley

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.