Prepare the sprats in the usual way ; butter a baking-
dish ; mix well in a basin a teaspoouful of fine herbs, a
little nutmeg, salt, pepper, and a quarter of a pound of
bread-crumbs; strew the bottom of the baking-dish with this
mixture, then arrange a layer of sprats, sprinkle on these
some of the bread-crumb mixture, and so on, for throe
layers of sprats ; moisten with half a pint of good stock,
sprinkle the remainder of the bread-crumbs over, put on
the top a few pats of butter the size of a nut✪ Sprats, Citizen Style, and place
the dish in a well-heated oven to bake for about half an
hour ; and before serving squeeze the juice of a lemon over
them.
Remarks ox Lobsters, Crabs, and Crawfish.
Norwegian and Scotch lobsters are the best that come
into the London market. They are known by the texture
of their shells and are dark in colour.
Those coming from the Channel Islands and south co«aRt
are light in colour and thin of shell, and seldom stand the
journey, most of them dying on the way. These southern
lobsters are, however, very sweet and delicate in flavour,
if cooked immediately after being caught.
In buying lobsters the heaviest should be selected, and
the medium-sized ones are generally the best.
Lobsters should be boiled while alive by dropping them
into boiling water with a little salt. The time to cook
222 PRACTICAL HOUSEHOLD COOKERY.
the same varies according to size ; small lobster will take
twenty minutes and a large one three-quarters of an hour.
Crabs make nice dishes when properly cooked and
decorated; the best are caught on the south coast of
Devonshire, and often run very large in size, some having
weighed twelve and three-quarter pounds. Those from the
north, especially from Scotland, are much smaller, and at
times very sweet.
Crabs should be killed before being boiled or they are
likely to shoot off their claws ; you kill them by stabbing
them through under the tail with either a trussing-needle
or ice-prick.
Crawfish are treated in the same way as lobsters ; those
from the Scilly Isles, Cornwall, and Channel Islands are the
best
477. PLAIN BOILED LOBSTERS, CRABS, AND
CRAWnSH.
Lobsters, crabs, and crawfish can always be obtained
ready cooked, and are generally eaten with oil, vinegar,
salt, and pepper, or with a Mayonnaise saucei
478. LOBSTER A L'AHERICAINE.
Select a couple of live hen lobsters; take a firm hold
of them by the back with the left hand ; spread the tails
over the kitchen-table and cut them across in scollops
about an inch and a half thick ; cut the body in half, length-
wise ; save the residue liquid and the black part forming the
eggs or coral by putting them into a basin ; break off the
claws from the shell ; cut the large ones in two ; then with
the back of a large kitchen-knife or chopper break the
shells, without, however, separating them, so as to facOitate
removing the flesh when cooked ; trim the other small ones
and cut the body-shells again in two; put the lot in a
PRACTICAL HOUSEHOLD COOKERY. 223 ✪ Lobster A L'Américaine
Page 95 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1891. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Prepare the sprats in the usual way ; butter a baking-dish ; mix well in a basin a teaspoonful of fine herbs, a little nutmeg, salt, pepper, and a quarter of a pound of bread-crumbs; strew the bottom of the baking-dish with this mixture, then arrange a layer of sprats, sprinkle on these some of the bread-crumb mixture, and so on, for three layers of sprats ; moisten with half a pint of good stock, sprinkle the remainder of the bread-crumbs over, put on the top a few pats of butter the size of a nut, and place the dish in a well-heated oven to bake for about half an hour ; and before serving squeeze the juice of a lemon over them.
Remarks ox Lobsters, Crabs, and Crawfish.
Norwegian and Scotch lobsters are the best that come into the London market. They are known by the texture of their shells and are dark in colour.
Those coming from the Channel Islands and south coast are light in colour and thin of shell, and seldom stand the journey, most of them dying on the way. These southern lobsters are, however, very sweet and delicate in flavour, if cooked immediately after being caught.
In buying lobsters the heaviest should be selected, and the medium-sized ones are generally the best.
Lobsters should be boiled while alive by dropping them into boiling water with a little salt. The time to cook
the same varies according to size ; small lobster will take twenty minutes and a large one three-quarters of an hour.
Crabs make nice dishes when properly cooked and decorated; the best are caught on the south coast of Devonshire, and often run very large in size, some having weighed twelve and three-quarter pounds. Those from the north, especially from Scotland, are much smaller, and at times very sweet.
Crabs should be killed before being boiled or they are likely to shoot off their claws ; you kill them by stabbing them through under the tail with either a trussing-needle or ice-prick.
Crawfish are treated in the same way as lobsters ; those from the Scilly Isles, Cornwall, and Channel Islands are the best
477. PLAIN BOILED LOBSTERS, CRABS, AND
CRAWnSH.
Lobsters, crabs, and crawfish can always be obtained ready cooked, and are generally eaten with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, or with a Mayonnaise saucei
478. LOBSTER A L'AHERICAINE.
Select a couple of live hen lobsters; take a firm hold of them by the back with the left hand ; spread the tails over the kitchen-table and cut them across in scollops about an inch and a half thick ; cut the body in half, lengthwise ; save the residue liquid and the black part forming the eggs or coral by putting them into a basin ; break off the claws from the shell ; cut the large ones in two ; then with the back of a large kitchen-knife or chopper break the shells, without, however, separating them, so as to facOitate removing the flesh when cooked ; trim the other small ones and cut the body-shells again in two; put the lot in a
Records on this page
Sprats, Citizen StyleLobster A L'Américaine