The accomplisht cook Part 72

Being boil'd take the meat out of the bodies or barrels, and save the great claws, and the small legs whole to garnish the dish, strain the meat with some claret wine, grated bread, wine-vinegar, nutmeg, a little salt, and a piece of b.u.t.ter; stew them together an hour on a soft fire in a pipkin, and being stewed almost dry, put in some beaten b.u.t.ter with juyce of oranges beaten up thick; then dish the sh.e.l.ls being washed and finely cleansed, the claws and little legs round about them, put the meat into the sh.e.l.ls, and so serve them.

Sometimes you may use yolks of eggs strained with b.u.t.ter.

_To stew Crabs otherways._

Being boil'd take the meat out of the sh.e.l.ls, and put it in a pipkin with some claret wine, and wine vinegar, minced tyme, pepper, grated bread, salt, the yolks of two or three hard eggs strained or minced very small, some sweet b.u.t.ter, capers, and some large mace; stew it finely, rub the sh.e.l.ls with a clove or two of garlick, and dish them as is shown before.

_Otherways._

Take the meat out of the bodies, and put it in a pipkin with some cinamon, wine vinegar, b.u.t.ter, and beaten ginger, stew them and serve them as the former, dished with the legs about them.

Sometimes you may add sugar to them, parboil'd grapes, gooseberries, or barberries, and in place of vinegar, juyce of oranges, and run them over with beaten b.u.t.ter.

_To b.u.t.ter Crabs._

The Crabs being boil'd, take the meat out of the bodies, and strain it with the yolks of three or four hard eggs, beaten cinamon, sugar, claret-wine, and wine-vinegar, stew the meat in a pipkin with some good sweet b.u.t.ter the s.p.a.ce of a quarter of an hour, and serve them as the former.

_Otherways._

Being boil'd, take the meat out of the sh.e.l.ls, as also out of the great claws, cut it into dice-work, & put both the meats into a pipkin, together with some white wine, juyce of oranges, nutmeg, and some slices of oranges, stew it two or three warms on the fire, and the sh.e.l.ls being finely cleansed and dried, put the meat into them, and lay the legs round about them in a clean dish.

_To make a Hash of Crabs._

Take two crabs being boil'd, take out the meat of the claws, and cut it into dice-work, mix it with the meat of the body, then have some pine-apple seed, and some pistaches or artichock-bottoms, boil'd, blanched, and cut into dice-work, or some asparagus boil'd and cut half an inch long; stew all these together with some claret wine, vinegar, grated nutmeg, salt, sweet b.u.t.ter, and the slices of an orange; being finely stewed, dish it on sippets, cuts, or lozenges of puff paste, and garnish it with fritters of arms, slic't lemon carved, barberries, grapes, or gooseberries, and run it over with beaten b.u.t.ter, and yolks of eggs beaten up thick together.

_To farce a Crab._

Take a boil'd crab, take the meat out of the sh.e.l.l, and mince the claws with a good fresh eel, season it with cloves, mace, some sweet herbs chopped, and salt, mingle all together with some yolks of eggs, some grapes, gooseberries, or barberres, and sometimes boil'd artichocks in dice-work, or boil'd asparagus, some almond-paste, the meat of the body of the crab, and some grated bread, fill the sh.e.l.ls with this compound, & make some into b.a.l.l.s, bake them in a dish with some b.u.t.ter and white wine in a soft oven; being baked, serve them in a clean dish with a sauce made of beaten b.u.t.ter, large mace, scalded grapes, gooseberries, or barberries, or some slic't orange or lemon and some yolks of raw eggs dissolved with some white-wine or claret, and beat up thick with b.u.t.ter; brew it well together, pour it on the fish, and lay on some slic't lemon, stick the b.a.l.l.s with some pistaches, slic't almonds, pine-apple-seed, or some pretty cuts in paste.

_To broil Crabs in Oyl or b.u.t.ter._

Take Crabs being boil'd in water and salt, steep them in oyl and vinegar, and broil them on a gridiron on a soft fire of embers, in the broiling baste them with some rosemary branches, and being broil'd serve them with the sauces they were boil'd with, oyl and vinegar, or beaten b.u.t.ter, vinegar, and the rosemary branches they were basted with.

_To fry Crabs._

Take the meat out of the great claws being first boiled, flour and fry them, and take the meat out of the body strain half of it for sauce, and the other half to fry, and mix it with grated bread, almond paste, nutmeg, salt, and yolks of eggs, fry it in clarified b.u.t.ter, being first dipped in batter, put in a spoonful at a time; then make sauce with wine-vinegar, b.u.t.ter, or juyce of orange, and grated nutmeg, beat up the b.u.t.ter thick, and put some of the meat that was strained into the sauce, warm it and put it in a clean dish, lay the meat on the sauce, slices of orange over all, and run it over with beaten b.u.t.ter, fryed parsley, round the dish brim, and the little legs round the meat.

_Otherways._

Being boil'd and cold, take the meat out of the claws, flour and fry them, then take the meat out of the body, b.u.t.ter it with b.u.t.ter vinegar, and pepper, and put it in a clean dish, put the fryed crab round about it, and run it over with beaten b.u.t.ter, juyce and slices of orange, and lay on it sage leaves fryed in batter, or fryed parsley.

_To bake Crabs in Pye, Dish, or Patty pan._

Take four or five crabs being boil'd, take the meat out of the sh.e.l.l and claws as whole as you can, season it with nutmeg and salt lightly; then strain the meat that came out of the body, sh.e.l.ls, with a little claret-wine, some cinamon, ginger, juyce of orange and b.u.t.ter, make the pie, dish, or patty pan, lay b.u.t.ter in the bottom, then the meat of the claws, some pistaches, asparagus, some bottoms of artichocks, yolks of hard eggs, large mace, grapes, gooseberries or barberries, dates of slic't orange, and b.u.t.ter, close it up and bake it, being baked, liquor it with the meat out of the body.

_Otherways._

Mince them with a tench or fresh eel, and season it with sweet herbs minced small, beaten nutmeg, pepper, and salt, lightly season, and mingle the meat that was in the bodies of the crabs with the other seasoned fishes; mingle also with this foresaid meat some boil'd or roasted chesnuts, or artichocks, asparagus boil'd and cut an inch long, pistaches, or pine-apple-seed, and grapes, gooseberries or barberries, fill the pie, dish, or patty-pan, close it up and bake it, being baked, liquor it with juyce of oranges, some claret wine, good b.u.t.ter beat up thick, and the yolks of two or three eggs; fill up the pie, lay slices of an orange on it and stick in some lozenges of puff-paste, or branches of short paste.

_To make minced Pies of a Crab._

Being boil'd, mince the legs, and strain the meat in the body with two or three yolks of eggs, mince also some sweet herbs and put to it some almond-paste or grated bread, a minced onion, some fat eel cut like little dice, or some fat belly of salmon; mingle it all together, and put it in a pie made according to this form, season it with nutmeg, pepper, salt, currans, and barberries, grapes, or gooseberries, mingle also some b.u.t.ter, and fill your pie, bake it, and being baked, liquor it with beaten b.u.t.ter and white wine. Or with b.u.t.ter, sugar, cinamon, sweet herbs chopped, and verjuyce.

_To dress Tortoise._

Cast off the head, feet, and tail, and boil it in water, wine, and salt, being boil'd, pull the sh.e.l.l asunder, and pick the meat from the skins, and the gall from the liver, save the eggswhole if a female, and stew the eggs, meat and liver in a dish with some grated nutmeg, a little sweet herbs minced small, and some sweet b.u.t.ter, stew it up, and serve it on fine sippets, cover the meat with the upper sh.e.l.l of the tortoise, and slices or juyce of orange.

Or stew them in a pipkin with some b.u.t.ter, whitewine some of the broth, a whole onion or two, tyme, parsley, winter savory, and rosemary minc't, being finely stewed serve them on sippets, or put them in the sh.e.l.ls, being cleansed; or make a fricase in a frying-pan with 3 or four yolks of eggs and some of the sh.e.l.ls amongst them, and dress them as aforesaid.

_To dress Snails._

Take sh.e.l.l snails, and having water boil'd, put them in, then pick them out of the sh.e.l.ls with a great pin into a bason, cast salt to them, scour the slime from them, and after wash them in two or three waters; being clean scowred, dry them with a clean cloth; then have rosemary, tyme, parsley, winter-savory, and pepper very small, put them into a deep bason or pipkin, put to them some salt, and good sallet oyl, mingle all together, then have the sh.e.l.ls finely cleansed, fill them, and set them on a gridiron, broil them upon the embers softly, and being broil'd, dish four or five dozen in a dish, fill them up with oyl, and serve them hot.

_To stew Snails._

Being well scowred and cleansed as aforesaid, put to them some claret wine and vinegar, a handful of capers, mace, pepper, grated bread, a little minced tyme, salt, and the yolks of two or 3 hard eggs minced; let all these stew together till you think it be enough, then put in a good piece of b.u.t.ter, shaking it together, heat the dish, and rub it with a clove of garlick, put them on fine sippets of French bread, pour on the snails, and some barberries, or slic't lemons.

_Otherways._

Being cleansed, fry them in oyl or clarified b.u.t.ter, with some slices of a fresh eel, and some fried sage leaves; stew them in a pipkin with some white-wine, b.u.t.ter, and pepper, and serve them on sippets with beaten b.u.t.ter, and juyce of oranges.

_Otherways._

Being finely boil'd and cleansed, fry them in clarified b.u.t.ter; being fryed take them up, and put them in a pipkin, put to them some sweet b.u.t.ter chopped parsley, white or claret wine, some grated nutmeg, slices of orange, and a little salt; stew them well together, serve them on sippets; and then run them over with beaten b.u.t.ter, and slices of oranges.

_To fry Snails._

Take sh.e.l.l snails in _January_, _February_, or, _March_, when they be closed up, boil them in a skillet of boiling water, and when they be tender boil'd, take them out of the sh.e.l.l with a pin, cleanse them from the slime, flour them, and fry them; being fryed, serve them in a clean dish, with b.u.t.ter, vinegar, fryed parsley, fryed onions, or ellicksander leaves fryed, or served with beaten b.u.t.ter, and juyce of orange, or oyl, vinegar, and slic't lemon.

_Otherways._