Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book. Leslie Eliza
Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book - Leslie Eliza страница 34

Название: Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book

Автор: Leslie Eliza

Издательство: Bookwire

Жанр: Сделай Сам

Серия:

isbn: 4057664650825

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ divided into bits, slightly dredged with a very little flour. Boil the liquor by itself, and when it comes to a boil, take the oysters out of the cold water, and put them into the boiling liquor. In five minutes remove the pan from the fire, (the oysters having simmered,) and transfer them to a tureen or deep dish, in the bottom of which has been laid a buttered toast, that has previously been dipped a minute in hot water or milk.

       Table of Contents

      Wash fifty fine large oysters in their own liquor, then strain it into a stew-pan, putting the oysters in a pan of cold water. Season the liquor with a large glass or half a pint of white wine, (sherry or Madeira,) the juice of two lemons, six or seven blades of mace, and a small grated nutmeg. Boil the seasoned liquor; and skim, and stir it well. When it comes to a boil, put in the oysters. Give them one good stir, and then immediately take them from the fire, transfer them to a deep dish, and send them to table. They are not to boil.

      Many persons consider this the finest way of cooking oysters for company. Try it. The oysters must be of the very best.

       Table of Contents

      For frying, take only the largest and finest oysters. They should be as fresh as you can get them. Salt oysters are not good for frying. Take them out of their liquor, carefully, with a fork, picking off whatever bits of shell may be about them. Dry them in a clean napkin. Prepare some grated bread-crumbs, or pounded cracker, or soda biscuit, seasoned with cayenne pepper. Have ready plenty of yolk of egg beaten till very light; and to each egg allow a large tea-spoonful of rich cream, or of the best fresh butter. Beat the egg and cream together. Dip each oyster first into the egg, &c., and then into the crumbs. Repeat this twice till the oysters are well-coated all over. Have ready boiling, in a frying-pan, an equal mixture of fresh butter and lard. It must come nearly to the edge or top of the frying-pan, and be boiling fast when the oysters go in; otherwise they will be heavy and greasy, and sink to the bottom. Fry them of a yellow brown on both sides. Send them to table very hot.

      Oysters will be found much the best when fried in grated bread-crumbs. Cracker-crumbs form a hard, tough coating that is very indigestible, and also impairs the flavor. Use no salt in making the batter. Omit it entirely. It overpowers the taste of the oysters.

       Table of Contents

      Allow to each egg a heaped table-spoonful of flour, and a jill or small tea-cupful of milk. Beat the eggs till very light and thick; then stir them, gradually, into the pan of milk, in turn with the flour, a little at a time. Beat the whole very hard. Have ready the oysters, that you may proceed immediately to baking the fritters. The oysters should be fresh, and of the largest size. Having drained them from their liquor, and dried them separately in a cloth, and dredged them with flour, set over the fire a frying-pan nearly full of lard. When it boils fast, put in a large spoonful of the batter. Then lay an oyster upon it, and cover the oyster with another spoonful of batter. Fry the fritters of a nice yellow. As they are done, take them up, drain off the lard from the oysters, and keep them hot till they go to table. This will be found a very fine receipt if exactly followed.

       Table of Contents

      Put a sufficient quantity of clams into a pot of boiling water. The small sand-clam will be best. When the shells open wide, take them out, extract the clams from the shells, and put them into a stew-pan. Strain their liquor, and pour about half of it over the clams; adding a little black pepper. They will require no salt. Let them stew, slowly, for half an hour; then take them out; drain off all the liquor; and mince the clams as fine as possible, omitting the hardest parts. You should have as many clams as will make a large pint when minced. Make a batter of seven eggs, beaten till very thick and light, and then mixed gradually with a quart of milk, and a pint of sifted flour, stirred in by degrees, and made perfectly smooth and free from lumps. Then, gradually, mix the minced clams with the batter, and stir the whole very hard. Have ready in a frying-pan over the fire, a sufficiency of boiling lard. Put in, with a spoon, the batter so as to form fritters, and fry them light brown. Drain them well when done and serve them up hot.

      Oyster fritters may be made as above: except that the oysters must be minced raw, and mixed into the batter without having been stewed.

      Soft-crab Fritters.—Use only the bodies of the crabs, and proceed as above.

       Table of Contents

      Having boiled a quantity of small sand-clams till they open of themselves, remove them from the shells. Drain away the liquor, and chop them small, omitting the hardest parts. Season them with black pepper and powdered mace, and mix them with grated bread-crumbs and fresh butter. Get some large clean clam-shells, and fill them to the edge with the above mixture, moistened with a very little of the liquor. Cover the surface with grated crumbs, and add to each one a small bit of butter. Set them in an oven, and bake them light brown. Send them to table in the shells they were baked in, arranged on large dishes. They are eaten at breakfast and supper. Clams must always have the shells washed before they are boiled.

      Oysters are frequently scolloped in this manner, minced, and served up in large clam shells.

      Boiled crabs, also, are cooked, minced, and prepared in this way, and sent to table in the back-shell of the crab.

      All these scollops are improved by mixing among them some hard-boiled eggs, minced or chopped; or some raw egg beaten.

       Table of Contents

      The old-fashioned way of roasting oysters is to lay them on a hot hearth, and cover them in hot cinders or ashes, (taking them out with tongs when done,) or to put them into a moderate fire. When done, their shells will begin to open. The usual way now is to broil them on large gridirons of strong wire. Serve them up in their shells on large dishes, or on trays, at oyster suppers. At every plate lay an oyster knife and a clean coarse towel, and between every two СКАЧАТЬ