|
|
Lobster Cutlets.
Ingredients.
1 Lobster. Cream. Flour. Lard. Butter.
Seasoning. 1 Egg. Bread. Parsley.
Method.
1. Take a small lobster (a hen lobster is preferred) and place it on a chopping board. 2. Break the shell by striking
it with the flat side of a chopper. 3. Break off the shell and claws and remove all the flesh. 4. Cut up the flesh
with a sharp knife into quarter of an inch cubes. In a hen lobster you will find a strip of coral down the back and in the head.
5. Remove this coral and put it into a mortar with one ounce of fresh butter. 6. Well work the coral and butter together
in the mortar. 7. Remove it from the mortar with a palate knife or slice of raw potato, so that none of the mixture is wasted.
8. Take a plate and place over it a sieve, the plate should be large enough to support the cage of the sieve. 9. Make
a puree by rubbing the mixture through the sieve with a wooden spoon. 10. Carefully remove all the mixture which adheres to
the under side of the sieve. 11. Make the whole of it into a pat, and put the pat into a basin of cold water. 12. Put
into a clean stewpan one ounce and a half of flour, and half an ounce of butter, and thoroughly mix with a wooden spoon. 13.
Add a gill of cold water. 14. Put the stewpan over the fire and stir till it thickens and boils. 15. Add one tablespoonful
of cream and stir till it comes to the boil; it must now be quite smooth. 16. Remove the stewpan and place it on the table,
standing on a piece of paper or wooden stand. 17. Gradually stir in the pat of coral butter, and be very particular that the
sauce is quite smooth. 18. Add a little pepper, salt, the smallest speck of cayenne, six drops of lemon juice, and thoroughly
mix. 19. Lightly stir into the sauce the chopped lobster so as not to break the pieces. 20. Pour the mixture from the
stewpan on to a clean plate, and smooth the surface with a clean knife. 21. Take a piece of kitchen paper cut into the size
of the plate, butter it and cover the mixture so as to keep it free from dust. 22. Stand the mixture aside in a cold place,
if possible on ice. 23. Place a wire sieve over a sheet of kitchen paper, and rub through the crumb of a stale piece of bread.
24. Beat on a plate one egg with a teaspoonful of water and same quantity of oil. 25. Prepare for frying by placing a
pound and a half of clarified fat in a clean saucepan or stewpan. 26. Melt slowly and see that the fat does not smoke or burn.
27. If the mixture is sufficiently firm, divide it into seven parts, and shape each part into a cutlet. 28. Well cover
each cutlet by brushing over in the egg mixture. 29. Remove them carefully, and cover them well all over with bread crumbs. It
is better to stand them aside for half an hour before frying. 30. When the fat is the proper temperature, (31) take a
frying basket, put in two cutlets so as not to touch each other. 32. Fry for two or three minutes till they are of a pale golden
colour. 33. Remove the cutlets carefully on to a piece of kitchen paper, so as to absorb all the fat on the surfaces. 34.
Stick the small claws of the lobster into the end of each cutlet. 35. Wash and well dry in a cloth a few sprigs of parsley,
and fry for one minute in the frying basket. 36. Arrange the cutlets on a hot dish, garnish with the fried parsley.
PRECAUTIONS.-Great care and attention are necessary. Especially take care not to oil the butter; if it does oil it can be rectified
by stirring in a little cold water.
|
|
