TREES. Several different methods have been proposed of preventing the bark being eaten off by hares and rabbits in the winter season; such as twisting straw-ropes round the trees; driving in small flat stakes all about them; and the use of strong-scented oils. But better and neater modes have lately been suggested; as with hog"s lard, and as much whale-oil as will work it up into a thin paste or paint, with which the stems of the trees are to be gently rubbed upwards, at the time of the fall of the leaf. It may be done once in two years, and will, it is said, effectually prevent such animals from touching them. Another and still neater method, is to take three pints of melted tallow to one pint of tar, mixing them well together over a gentle fire. Then, in the month of November, to take a small brush and go over the rind or bark of the trees with the composition in a milk-warm state, as thin as it can be laid on with the brush. It is found that such a coating does not hinder the juices or sap from expanding in the smallest degree; and the efficacy of the plan is proved, in preventing the attacks of the animals, by applying the liquid composition to one tree and missing another, when it was found that the former was left, while the latter was attacked. Its efficacy has been shewn by the experience of five years. The trees that were gone over the first two years have not been touched since; and none of them have been injured by the hares.--The Mossing of trees is their becoming much affected and covered with the moss-plant or mossy substance. It is found to prevail in fruit-grounds of the apple kind, and in other situations, when they are in low, close, confined places, where the damp or moisture of the trees is not readily removed. It is thought to be an indication of weakness in the growth, or of a diseased state of the trees, and to require nice attention in preventing or eradicating it. The modes of removing it have usually been those of sc.r.a.ping, rubbing, and washing, but they are obviously calculated for trees only on a small scale. How far the use of powdery matters, such as lime, chalk, and others, which are capable of readily absorbing and taking up the wetness that may hang about the branches, and other parts of the trees, by being well dusted over them, may be beneficial, is not known, but they would seem to promise success by the taking away the nourishment and support of the moss, when employed at proper seasons. And they are known to answer in destroying moss in some other cases, when laid about the stems of the plants, as in thorn-hedges, &c. The mossing in all sorts of trees is injurious to their growth by depriving them of a portion of their nourishment, but more particularly hurtful to those of the fruit-tree kind, as preventing them from bearing full good crops of fruit by rendering them in a weak and unhealthy state.----The following are substances destructive of insects infesting fruit shrubs and trees in gardening, or of preventing their injurious ravages and effects on trees. Many different kinds of substances have been recommended for the purpose, at different times; but nothing perhaps has yet been found fully effectual in this intention, in all cases. The substances and modes directed below have lately been advised as useful in this way. As preventives against gooseberry caterpillars, which so greatly infest and injure shrubs of that kind, the substances mentioned below have been found very simple and efficacious. In the autumnal season, let a quant.i.ty of cow-urine be provided, and let a little be poured around the stem of each bush or shrub, just as much as merely suffices to moisten the ground about them.
This simple expedient is stated to have succeeded in an admirable manner, and that its preventive virtues have appeared to extend to two successive seasons or years. The bushes which were treated in this manner remained free from caterpillars, while those which were neglected, or intentionally pa.s.sed by, in the same compartment, were wholly destroyed by the depredations of the insects. Another mode of prevention is proposed, which, it is said, is equally simple and effectual; but the good effects of which only extend to the season immediately succeeding to that of the application. This is, in situations near the sea, to collect as much drift or sea-weed from the beach, when occasion serves, as will be sufficient to cover the whole of the gooseberry compartment to the depth of four or five inches. It should be laid on in the autumn, and the whole covering remain untouched during the winter and early spring months; but as the fruiting season advances, be dug in. This method, it is said, has answered the most sanguine expectations; no caterpillars ever infesting the compartments which are treated in this manner. Another method, which is said to have been found successful, in preventing or destroying caterpillars on the above sort of fruit shrubs, is this: as the black currant and elder bushes, growing quite close to those of the gooseberry kind, were not attacked by this sort of vermin, it was conceived that an infusion of their leaves might be serviceable, especially when prepared with a little quick-lime, in the manner directed below. Six pounds each of the two first sorts of leaves are to be boiled in twelve gallons of soft water; then fourteen pounds of hot lime are to be put into twelve gallons of water, and, after being well incorporated with it, they are both to be mixed well together. With this mixture the infested gooseberry bushes by fruit trees are to be well washed or the hand garden-engine; after which a little hot lime is to be taken and laid about the root of each bush or tree so washed, which completes the work.
Thus the caterpillars will be completely destroyed, without hurting the foliage of the bushes or trees in any way. A dull day is to be preferred for performing the work of washing, &c. As soon as all the foliage is dropped off from the bushes or trees, they are to be again washed over with the hand-engine, in order to clean them of all decayed leaves, and other matters; for which purpose any sort of water will answer. The surface of the earth, all about the roots of the bushes and trees, is then to be well stirred, and a little hot lime again laid about them, to destroy the ova or eggs of the insects. This mode of management has never failed of success, in the course of six years" practice. It is noticed, that the above quant.i.ty of prepared liquid will be sufficient for about two acres of ground in this sort of plantation, and cost but little in providing. The use of about a gallon of a mixture of equal proportions of lime-water, chamber-ley, and soap-suds, with as much soot as will give it the colour and consistence of dunghill drainings, to each bush in the rows, applied by means of the rose of a watering-pot, immediately as the ground between them is dug over, and left as rough as possible, the whole being gone over in this way without treading or poaching the land, has also been found highly successful by others. The whole is then left in the above state until the winter frosts are fairly past, when the ground between the rows and bushes are levelled, and raked over in an even manner. By this means of practice, the bushes have been constantly kept healthy, fruitful, and free from the annoyance of insects. The bushes are to be first pruned, and dung used where necessary. A solution of soft soap, mixed with an infusion of tobacco, has likewise been applied with great use in destroying caterpillars, by squirting it by the hand-syringe upon the bushes, while a little warm, twice in the day. But some think that the only safety is in picking them off the bushes, as they first appear, together with the lower leaves which are eaten into holes: also, the paring, digging over, and clearing the foul ground between the bushes, and treading and forcing such foul surface parts into the bottoms of the trenches. Watering cherry-trees with water prepared from quick-lime new burnt, and common soda used in washing, in the proportion of a peck of the former and half a pound of the latter to a hogshead of water, has been found successful in destroying the green fly and the black vermin which infest such trees. The water should stand upon the lime for twenty-four hours, and be then drawn off by a c.o.c.k placed in the cask, ten or twelve inches from the bottom, when the soda is to be put to it, being careful not to exceed the above proportion, as, from its acridity, it would otherwise be liable to destroy the foliage. Two or three times watering with this liquor, by means of a garden engine, will destroy and remove the vermin.
The application of clay-paint, too, has been found of great utility in destroying the different insects, such as the coccus, thrips, and fly, which infest peach, nectarine, and other fine fruit trees, on walls, and in hot-houses. This paint is prepared by taking a quant.i.ty of the most tenacious brown clay, and diffusing it in as much soft water as will bring it to the consistence of a thick cream or paint, pa.s.sing it through a fine sieve or hair-searce, so as that it may be rendered perfectly smooth, unctuous, and free from gritty particles. As soon as the trees are pruned and nailed in, they are all to be carefully gone over with a painter"s brush dipped in the above paint, especially the stems and large branches, as well as the young shoots, which leaves a coat or layer, that, when it becomes dry, forms a hard crust over the whole tree, which, by closely enveloping the insects, completely destroys them, without doing any injury to either the bark or buds. And by covering the trees with mats or canvas in wet seasons, it may be preserved on them as long as necessary. Where one dressing is not effectual, it may be repeated; and the second coating will mostly be sufficient. Where peach and nectarine trees are managed with this paint, they are very rarely either hide-bound or attacked by insects. This sort of paint is also useful in removing the mildew, with which these kinds of trees are often affected; as well as, with the use of the dew-syringe, in promoting the equal breaking of the eyes of vines, trained on the rafters of pine stoves. Watering the peach tree borders with the urine of cattle, in the beginning of winter, and again in the early spring, has likewise been thought beneficial in destroying the insects which produce the above disease. Careful and proper cleaning and washing these trees, walls, and other places in contact with them, has, too, been found of great utility in preventing insects from acc.u.mulating on them.
TRIFLE. To make an excellent trifle, lay macaroons and ratifia drops over the bottom of a dish, and pour in as much raisin wine as they will imbibe. Then pour on them a cold rich custard, made with plenty of eggs, and some rice flour. It must stand two or three inches thick: on that put a layer of raspberry jam, and cover the whole with a very high whip made the day before, of rich cream, the whites of two well-beaten eggs, sugar, lemon peel, and raisin wine, well beat with a whisk, kept only to whip syllabubs and creams. If made the day before it is used, the trifle has quite a different taste, and is solid and far better.
TRIPE. After being well washed and cleaned, tripe should be stewed with milk and onion till quite tender. Serve it in a tureen, with melted b.u.t.ter for sauce. Or fry it in small pieces, dipped in batter. Or cut the thin part into bits, and stew them in gravy. Thicken the stew with b.u.t.ter and flour, and add a little ketchup. Tripe may also be frica.s.seed with white sauce.
TROUGHS. Water troughs of various kinds, which require to be rendered impervious to the wet, may be lined with a strong cement of gypsum and quicklime, mixed up with water. Four fifths of pulverised coal or charcoal, and one fifth of quicklime, well mixed together, and infused in boiling pitch or tar, will also form a useful cement for this purpose. It requires to be of the consistence of thin mortar, and applied hot with a trowel.
TROUT. Open them along the belly, wash them clean, dry them in a cloth, and season them with pepper and salt. Set the gridiron over the fire, and when it is hot rub the bars with a piece of fresh suet. Lay on the fish, and broil them gently over a very clear fire, at such a distance as not to burn them. When they are done on one side, turn them carefully on the other, and serve them up the moment they are ready. This is one of the best methods of dressing this delicate fish; but they are sometimes broiled whole, in order to preserve the juices of the fish, when they are fresh caught. Another way is, after they are washed clean and well dried in a napkin, to bind them about with packthread, and sprinkle them with melted b.u.t.ter and salt; then to broil them over a gentle fire, and keep them turning. Make a sauce of b.u.t.ter rolled in flour, with an anchovy, some pepper, nutmeg, and capers. Add a very little vinegar and water, and shake it together over a moderate fire, till it is of a proper thickness. Put the trout into a dish, and pour this sauce over them. Trout of a middle size are best for broiling. The gurnet or piper is very nice broiled in the same manner, and served with the same kind of sauce. Mullets also admit of the same treatment. Trout are very commonly stewed, as well as broiled; and in this case they should be put into a stewpan with equal quant.i.ties of Champaigne, Rhenish, or Sherry wine. Season the stew with pepper and salt, an onion, a few cloves, and a small bunch of parsley and thyme. Put into it a crust of French bread, and set it on a quick fire. When the fish is done, take out the bread, bruise it, and then thicken the sauce. Add a little flour and b.u.t.ter, and let it boil up. Lay the trout on a dish, and pour the thickened sauce over it. Serve it with sliced lemon, and fried bread. This is called Trout a la Genevoise. A plainer way is to dry the fish, after it has been washed and cleaned, and lay it on a board before the fire, dusted with flour. Then fry it of a fine colour with fresh dripping; serve it with crimp parsley and plain b.u.t.ter.
TROUT PIE. Scale and wash the fish, lard them with pieces of silver eel, rolled up in spice and sweet herbs, with bay leaves finely powdered.
Slice the bottoms of artichokes, lay them on or between the fish, with mushrooms, oysters, capers, and sliced lemon or Seville orange. Use a dish or raised crust, close the pie, and bake it gently.--Another way.
Clean and scale your trouts, and cut off the heads and fins; boil an eel for forcemeat; when you have cut off the meat of the eel, put the bones and the heads of the trout into the water it was boiled in, with an onion, mace, whole pepper, a little salt, and a f.a.ggot of sweet herbs; let it boil down till there is but enough for the pie. Chop the meat of the eel very fine, add grated bread, an anchovy chopped small, sweet herbs, and a gill of oysters blanched and bearded, the yolks of two hard eggs chopped very fine, and as much melted b.u.t.ter as will make it into a stiff forcemeat; season the trout with mace, pepper and salt; fill the belly with the forcemeat, and make the remainder into b.a.l.l.s; sheet your dish with a good paste, lay some b.u.t.ter on that, then the trout and forcemeat; strain off the fish broth, and sc.u.m it very clean, and add a little white wine, and a piece of b.u.t.ter rolled in flour; when it is all melted, pour it into the pie, and lid it over; bake it in a gentle oven, and let it be thoroughly done.
TRUFFLES. The largest are the most esteemed; those which are brought from Perigord are the best. They are usually eaten dressed in wine, and broth seasoned with salt, pepper, a bunch of sweet herbs, some roots and onions. Before being dressed they must be soaked in warm water, and well rubbed with a brush, that no earth may adhere to them. When dressed, serve them in a plate as an entremet. The truffle is also very excellent in all sorts of ragouts, either chopped or out into slices, after they are peeled. It is one of the best seasonings that can be used in a kitchen. Truffles are also used dried, but their flavour is then much diminished.
TRUFFLES RAGOUT. Peel the truffles, cut them in slices, wash and drain them well. Put them into a saucepan with a little gravy, and stew them gently over a slow fire. When they are almost done enough, thicken them with a little b.u.t.ter and flour. Stewed in a little water, and thickened with cream and yolk of egg, they make a nice white ragout. Truffles, mushrooms, and morels are all of them very indigestible.
TUNBRIDGE CAKES. Rub six ounces of b.u.t.ter quite fine into a pound of flour; then mix six ounces of sugar, beat and strain two eggs, and make the whole into a paste. Roll it very thin, and cut it with the top of a gla.s.s. p.r.i.c.k the cakes with a fork, and cover them with carraways; or wash them with the white of an egg, and dust a little white sugar over.
TURBOT. This excellent fish is in season the greatest part of the summer. When fresh and good, it is at once firm and tender, and abounds with rich gelatinous nutriment. Being drawn and washed clean, it may be lightly rubbed with salt, and put in a cold place, and it will keep two or three days. An hour or two before dressing it, let it soak in spring water with some salt in it. To prevent the fish from swelling and cracking on the breast, score the skin across the thickest part of the back. Put a large handful of salt into a fish kettle with cold water, lay the turbot on a fish strainer and put it in. When it is beginning to boil, skim it well; then set the kettle on the side of the fire to boil as gently as possible for about fifteen or twenty minutes; if it boil fast, the fish will break to pieces. Rub a little of the inside coral sp.a.w.n of the lobster through a hair sieve, without b.u.t.ter; and when the turbot is dished, sprinkle the sp.a.w.n over it. Garnish the dish with sprigs of curled parsley, sliced lemon, and finely sc.r.a.ped horseradish.
Send up plenty of lobster sauce. The thickest part of the fish is generally preferred. The spine bone should be cut across to make it easier for carving.
TURBOT PIE. Take a middling turbot, clean it very well, cut off the head, tail, and fins. Make a forcemeat thus; take a large eel, boil it tender, then take off the flesh; put the bones of the turbot and eel into the water the eel was boiled in, with a f.a.ggot of herbs, whole pepper, an onion, and an anchovy; let this boil till it becomes a strong broth. In the mean time, cut the eel very fine; add the same quant.i.ty of grated bread, a little lemon-peel, an anchovy, parsley, and the yolks of two or three hard eggs, and half a pint of oysters blanched and bearded; chop all these as fine as possible; mix all together with a quarter of a pound of melted b.u.t.ter; and with this forcemeat lay a rim in the inside of the dish; put in the turbot, and fill up the vacancies with forcemeat; strain off the broth, sc.u.m it very clean, and add a lump of b.u.t.ter rolled in flour, and a gla.s.s of white wine; pour this over the fish. Make a good puff paste, cover the pie with it, and let it be thoroughly baked. When it comes from the oven, warm the remainder of the liquor; pour it in, and send it to table.
TURKEYS. When young they are very tender, and require great attention.
As soon as hatched, put three peppercorns down their throat. They must be carefully watched, or they will soon perish. The hen turkey is so careless, that she will stalk about with one chicken, and leave the remainder, or even tread upon and kill them. Turkeys are violent eaters, and must therefore be left to take charge of themselves in general, except one good feed a day. The hen sets twenty-five or thirty days, and the young ones must be kept warm, as the least cold or damp kills them.
They must be fed often, and at a distance from the hen, or she will pick every thing from them. They should have curds, green cheese parings cut small, and bread and milk with chopped wormwood in it. Their drink milk and water, but must not be left to turn sour. All young fowls are a prey for vermin, therefore they should be kept in a safe place where none can come. Weasels, stoats, and ferrets will creep in at a very small crevice. The hen should be under a coop, in a warm place exposed to the sun, for the first three or four weeks; and the young ones should not be suffered to wander about in the dew, at morning or evening. Twelve eggs are enough to put under a turkey; and when she is about to lay, lock her up till she has laid every morning. They usually begin to lay in March, and set in April. Feed them near the hen-house, and give them a little meat in the evening, to accustom them to roosting there. Fatten them with sodden oats or barley for the first fortnight; and the last fortnight give them as above, and rice swelled with warm milk over the fire twice a day. The flesh will be beautifully white and fine flavoured. The common way in Norfolk is to cram them, but they are so ravenous that it seems unnecessary, if they are not suffered to wander far from home, which keeps them lean and poor.--When fat turkeys are to be purchased in the market, in order to judge of their quality it is necessary to observe, that the c.o.c.k bird when young has a smooth black leg, and a short spur. If fresh and sweet, the eyes are full and bright, and the feet moist and supple. If stale, the eyes will be sunk, and the feet stiff and dry. The hen turkey is known by the same rules; but if old, the legs will be red and rough.
TURKEY PATTIES. Mince some of the white part, and season it with grated lemon, nutmeg, salt, a dust of white pepper, a spoonful of cream, and a very small piece of b.u.t.ter warmed. Fill the patties, and bake them.
TURKEY PIE. Break the bones, and beat the turkey flat on the breast.
Lard it with bacon, lay it into a raised crust with some slices of bacon under it, and well seasoned with salt, pepper, nutmeg, whole cloves, and bay leaves. Lay a slice of bacon over it, cover it with a crust, and bake it. When baked, put a clove of garlic or shalot into the whole in the middle of the crust, and let it stand till cold. The turkey may be boned if preferred. Duck or goose pie may be made in the same manner.
TURKEY SAUCE. Open some oysters into a bason, and pour the liquor into a saucepan as soon as it is settled. Add a little white gravy, and a tea-spoonful of lemon pickle. Thicken it with flour and b.u.t.ter, boil it a few minutes, add a spoonful of cream, and then the oysters. Shake them over the fire, but do not let them boil. Or boil some slices or fine bread with a little salt, an onion, and a few peppercorns. Beat it well, put in a bit of b.u.t.ter, and a spoonful of cream. This sauce eats well with roast turkey or veal.
TURKISH YOGURT. Let a small quant.i.ty of milk stand till it be sour, then put a sufficient quant.i.ty of it to new milk, to turn it to a soft curd.
This may be eaten with sugar only, or both this and the fresh cheese are good eaten with strawberries and raspberries, as cream, or with sweetmeats of any kind.
TURNIPS. To dress this valuable root, pare off all the outside coat, cut them in two, and boil them with beef, mutton, or lamb. When they become tender take them up, press away the liquor, and mash them with b.u.t.ter and salt, or send them to table whole, with melted b.u.t.ter in a boat.
Young turnips look and eat well with a little of the top left on them.
To preserve turnips for the winter, cut off the tops and tails, and leave the roots a few days to dry. They should then be stacked up with layers of straw between, so as to keep them from the rain and frost, and let the stack be pointed at the top.
TURNIPS MASHED. Pare and boil them quite tender, squeeze them as dry as possible between two trenchers, put them into a stewpan, and mash them with a wooden spoon. Then rub them through a cullender, add a little bit of b.u.t.ter, keep stirring them till the b.u.t.ter is melted and well mixed with them, and they are ready for the table.
TURNIP b.u.t.tER. In the fall of the year, b.u.t.ter is apt to acquire a strong and disagreeable flavour, from the cattle feeding on turnips, cabbages, leaves of trees, and other vegetable substances. To correct the offensive taste which this produces, boil two ounces of saltpetre in a quart of water, and put two or more spoonfuls of it into a pail before milking, according to the quant.i.ty of milk. If this be done constantly, the evil will be effectually cured: if not, it will be owing to the neglect of the dairy maid.
TURNIP FLY. To prevent the black fly from injuring the turnip crop, mix an ounce of sulphur daily with three pounds of turnip seed for three days successively, and keep it closely covered in an earthen pan. Stir it well each time, that the seed may be duly impregnated with the sulphur. Sow it as usual on an acre of ground, and the fly will not attack it till after the third or fourth leaf be formed, when the plant will be entirely out of danger. If garden vegetables be attacked by the fly, water them freely with a decoction of elder leaves.
TURNIP PIE. Season some mutton chops with salt and pepper, reserving the ends of the neck bones to lay over the turnips, which must be cut into small dice, and put on the steaks. Add two or three spoonfuls of milk, also a sliced onion if approved, and cover with a crust.
TURNIP SAUCE. Pare half a dozen turnips, boil them in a little water, keep them shaking till they are done, and the liquor quite exhausted, and then rub them through a tammis. Take a little white gravy and cut more turnips, as if intended for harrico. Shake them as before, and add a little more white gravy.
TURNIP SOUP. Take from a knuckle of veal all the meat that can be made into cutlets, and stew the remainder in five pints of water, with an onion, a bundle of herbs, and a blade of mace. Cover it close, and let it do on a slow fire, four or five hours at least. Strain it, and set it by till the next day. Then take the fat and sediment from it, and simmer it with turnips cut into small dice till tender, seasoning it with salt and pepper. Before serving, rub down half a spoonful of flour with half a pint of good cream, and a piece of b.u.t.ter the size of a walnut. Let a small roll simmer in the soup till fully moistened, and serve this with it. The soup should be as thick as middling cream.
TURNIP TOPS. These are the shoots which come out in the spring from the old turnip roots, and are to be dressed in the same way as cabbage sprouts. They make very nice sweet greens, and are esteemed great purifiers of the blood and juices.
TURNPIKES. Mix together a quarter of a pound each of flour, b.u.t.ter, currants, and lump sugar powdered. Beat up four eggs with two of the whites, make the whole into a stiff paste, with the addition of a little lemon peel. Roll the paste out thin, and cut it into shapes with a wine gla.s.s. The addition of a few carraway seeds will be an improvement.
TURTLE. The morning that you intend to dress the turtle, fill a boiler or kettle with a quant.i.ty of water sufficient to scald the callapach and callapee, the fins, &c. and about nine o"clock hang up your turtle by the hind fins, cut off its head, and save the blood; then with a sharp pointed knife separate the callapach from the callapee (or the back from the belly part) down to the shoulders, so as to come at the entrails, which take out, and clean them, as you would those of any other animal, and throw them into a tub of clean water, taking great care not to break the gall, but cut it off the liver, and throw it away. Then separate each distinctly, and take the guts into another vessel, open them with a small penknife, from end to end, wash them clean, and draw them through a woollen cloth in warm water, to clear away the slime, and then put them into clean cold water till they are used, with the other part of the entrails, which must all be cut up small to be mixed in the baking dishes with the meat. This done, separate the back and belly pieces entirely, cutting away the four fins by the upper joint, which scald, peel off the loose skin, and cut them into small pieces, laying them by themselves, either in another vessel, or on the table, ready to be seasoned. Then cut off the meat from the belly part, and clean the back from the lungs, kidneys, &c. and that meat cut into pieces as small as a walnut, laying it likewise by itself. After this you are to scald the back and belly pieces, pulling off the sh.e.l.l from the back and the yellow skin from the belly; when all will be white and clean, and with the kitchen cleaver cut those up likewise into pieces about the bigness or breadth of a card. Put those pieces into clean cold water, wash them out, and place them in a heap on the table, so that each part may lie by itself. The meat, being thus prepared and laid separately for seasoning, mix two third parts of salt, or rather more, and one third part of Cayenne pepper, black pepper, and a spoonful of nutmeg and mace pounded fine, and mixed together; the quant.i.ty to be proportioned to the size of the turtle, so that in each dish there may be about three spoonfuls of seasoning to every twelve pounds of meat. Your meat being thus seasoned, get some sweet herbs, such as thyme, savoury, &c. let them be dried and rubbed fine, and having provided some deep dishes to bake it in, (which should be of the common brown ware) put in the coa.r.s.est parts of the meat at the bottom, with about a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter in each dish, and then some of each of the several parcels of meat, so that the dishes may be all alike, and have equal portions of the different parts of the turtle; and between each laying of the meat, strew a little of this mixture of sweet herbs. Fill your dishes within an inch and an half, or two inches of the top; boil the blood of the turtle, and put into it; then lay on forcemeat b.a.l.l.s made of veal, or fowl, highly seasoned with the same seasoning as the turtle; put into each dish a gill of good Madeira wine, and as much water as it will conveniently hold; then break over it five or six eggs, to keep the meat from scorching at the top, and over that shake a small handful of shred parsley, to make it look green; which done, put your dishes into an oven made hot enough to bake bread, and in an hour and half, or two hours, (according to the size of the dishes) it will be sufficiently done. Send it to the table in the dishes in which it is baked, in order to keep it warm while it is eating.
TURTLE FINS. Put into a stewpan five large spoonfuls of brown sauce, with a bottle of port wine, and a quart of mushrooms. When the sauce boils, put in four fins; and after taking away all the small bones that are seen breaking through the skin, add a few sprigs of parsley, a bit of thyme, one bay leaf, and four cloves, and let it simmer one hour. Ten minutes before it is done, put in five dozen of b.u.t.ton onions ready peeled, and see that it is properly salted.
TURTLE SOUP. The best sized turtle is one from sixty to eighty pounds weight, which will make six or eight tureens of fine soup. Kill the turtle the evening before; tie a cord to the hind fins, and hang it up with the head downwards. Tie the fore fins by way of pinioning them, otherwise it would beat itself, and be troublesome to the executioner.
Hold the head in the left hand, and with a sharp knife cut off the neck as near the head as possible. Lay the turtle on a block on the back sh.e.l.l, slip the knife between the breast and the edge of the back sh.e.l.l; and when the knife has been round, and the breast is detached from the back, pa.s.s the fingers underneath, and detach the breast from the fins, always keeping the edge of the knife on the side of the breast; otherwise if the gall be broken, the turtle will be spoiled. Cut the breast into four pieces, remove the entrails, beginning by the liver, and cut away the gall, to be out of danger at once. When the turtle is emptied, throw the heart, liver, kidneys, and lights, into a large tub of water. Cut away the fins to the root, as near to the back sh.e.l.l as possible; then cut the fins in the second joint, that the white meat may be separated from the green. Sc.r.a.pe the fat from the back sh.e.l.l by skimming it, and put it aside. Cut the back sh.e.l.l into four pieces. Set a large turbot pan on the fire, and when it boils dip a fin into it for a minute, then take it out and peel it very clean. When that is done, take another, and so on till all are done; then the head, next the sh.e.l.l and breast, piece by piece. Be careful to have the peel and sh.e.l.l entirely cleaned off, then put in the same pan some clean water, with the breast and back, the four fins, and the head. Let it boil till the bones will leave the meat, adding a large bundle of turtle herbs, four bay leaves, and some thyme. If two dishes are to be made of the fins, they must be removed when they have boiled one hour. Put into a small stewpan the liver, lights, heart, and kidneys, and the fat that was laid aside. Take some of the liquor that the other part was boiled in, cover the stewpan close, and let it boil gently for three hours. Clean the bones, breast, and back from the green fat, and cut it into pieces an inch long, and half an inch wide, but suffer none of it to be wasted.
Put all these pieces on a dish, and set it by till the broth is ready.
To prepare the broth, put on a large stockpot, and line the bottom of it with a pound and a half of lean ham, cut into slices. Cut into pieces a large leg of veal, except a pound of the fillet to be reserved for forcemeat; put the rest upon the ham, with all the white meat of the turtle, and a couple of old fowls. Put it on a smart fire, with two ladlefuls of rich broth, and reduce it to a glaze. When it begins to stick to the bottom, pour the liquor in which the turtle was boiled into the pot where the other part of the turtle has been boiled. Add to it a little more sweet herbs, twenty-four grains of allspice, six blades of mace, two large onions, four carrots, half an ounce of whole pepper, and some salt. Let it simmer for four hours, and then strain the broth through a cloth sieve. Put into it the green part of the turtle that has been cut in pieces and nicely cleaned, with two bottles of Madeira. When it has boiled a few minutes with the turtle, add the broth to it. Melt half a pound of b.u.t.ter in a stewpan, add four large spoonfuls of flour, stir it on the fire till of a fine brown colour, and pour some of the broth to it. Mix it well, and strain it through a hair sieve into the soup. Cut the liver, lights, heart, kidneys, and fat into small square pieces, and put them into the soup with half a tea-spoonful of cayenne, two of curry powder, and four table-spoonfuls of the essence of anchovies. Let it boil an hour and a half, carefully skimming off the fat. Pound the reserved veal in a marble mortar for the forcemeat, and rub it through a hair sieve, with as much of the udder as there is of meat from the leg of veal. Put some bread crumbs into a stewpan with milk enough to moisten it, adding a little chopped parsley and shalot.
Dry it on the fire, rub it through a wire sieve, and when cold mix it all together, that every part may be equally blended. Boil six eggs hard, take the yolks and pound them with the other ingredients; season it with salt, cayenne, and a little curry powder. Add three raw eggs, mix all well together, and make the forcemeat into small b.a.l.l.s the size of a pigeon"s egg. Ten minutes before the soup is ready put in the forcemeat b.a.l.l.s, and continue to skim the soup till it is taken off the fire. If the turtle weighs eighty pounds, it will require nearly three bottles of Madeira for the soup. When the turtle is dished, squeeze two lemons into each tureen. It is also very good with eggs boiled hard, and a dozen of the yolks put in each tureen. This is a highly fashionable soup, and such as is made in the royal kitchen; but it is difficult of digestion, and fit only for those who "live to eat." Foreigners in general are extremely fond of it; and at the Spanish dinner in 1808, eight hundred guests attended, and two thousand five hundred pounds weight of turtle were consumed.