Part 32 (2/2)
LOBSTER CUTLETS (an Entree).
275. INGREDIENTS.--1 large hen lobster, 1 oz. fresh b.u.t.ter, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt, pounded mace, grated nutmeg, cayenne and white pepper to taste, egg, and bread crumbs.
_Mode_.--Pick the meat from the sh.e.l.l, and pound it in a mortar with the b.u.t.ter, and gradually add the mace and seasoning, well mixing the ingredients; beat all to a smooth paste, and add a little of the sp.a.w.n; divide the mixture into pieces of an equal size, and shape them like cutlets. They should not be very thick. Brush them over with egg, and sprinkle with bread crumbs, and stick a short piece of the small claw in the top of each; fry them of a nice brown in boiling lard, and drain them before the fire, on a sieve reversed; arrange them nicely on a dish, and pour bechamel in the middle, but not over the cutlets.
_Time_.--About 8 minutes after the cutlets are made.
_Average cost_ for this dish, 2s. 9d.
_Seasonable_ all the year. _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
ANCIENT MODE OF COOKING THE LOBSTER.--When this fish was to be served for the table, among the ancients, it was opened lengthwise, and filled with a gravy composed of coriander and pepper. It was then put on the gridiron and slowly cooked, whilst it was being basted with the same kind of gravy with which the flesh had become impregnated.
TO DRESS LOBSTERS.
276. When the lobster is boiled, rub it over with a little salad-oil, which wipe off again; separate the body from the tail, break off the great claws, and crack them at the joints, without injuring the meat; split the tail in halves, and arrange all neatly in a dish, with the body upright in the middle, and garnish with parsley. (_See_ Coloured Plate, H.)
LOBSTER PATTIES (an Entree).
277. INGREDIENTS.--Minced lobster, 4 tablespoonfuls of bechamel, 6 drops of anchovy sauce, lemon-juice, cayenne to taste.
_Mode_.--Line the patty-pans with puff-paste, and put into each a small piece of bread: cover with paste, brush over with egg, and bake of a light colour. Take as much lobster as is required, mince the meat very fine, and add the above ingredients; stir it over the fire for 6 minutes; remove the lids of the patty-cases, take out the bread, fill with the mixture, and replace the covers.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
LOCAL ATTACHMENT OF THE LOBSTER.--It is said that the attachment of this animal is strong to some particular parts of the sea, a circ.u.mstance celebrated in the following lines:--
”Nought like their home the constant lobsters prize, And foreign sh.o.r.es and seas unknown despise.
Though cruel hands the banish'd wretch expel, And force the captive from his native cell, He will, if freed, return with anxious care, Find the known rock, and to his home repair; No novel customs learns in different seas, But wonted food and home-taught manners please.”
POTTED LOBSTER.
278. INGREDIENTS.--2 lobsters; seasoning to taste, of nutmeg, pounded mace, white pepper, and salt; 1/4 lb. of b.u.t.ter, 3 or 4 bay-leaves.
_Mode_.--Take out the meat carefully from the sh.e.l.l, but do not cut it up. Put some b.u.t.ter at the bottom of a dish, lay in the lobster as evenly as possible, with the bay-leaves and seasoning between. Cover with b.u.t.ter, and bake for 3/4 hour in a gentle oven. When done, drain the whole on a sieve, and lay the pieces in potting-jars, with the seasoning about them. When cold, pour over it clarified b.u.t.ter, and, if very highly seasoned, it will keep some time.
_Time_.--3/4 hour. _Average cost_ for this quant.i.ty, 4s. 4d.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note_.--Potted lobster may be used cold, or as _frica.s.see_ with cream sauce.
How the Lobster Feeds.--The pincers of the lobster's large claws are furnished with n.o.bs, and those of the other, are always serrated. With the former, it keeps firm hold of the stalks of submarine plants, and with the latter, it cuts and minces its food with great dexterity. The k.n.o.bbed, or numb claw, as it is called by fishermen, is sometimes on the right and sometimes on the left, indifferently.
BAKED MACKEREL.
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