Sautéd Oysters

Pick over, drain, and dry oysters; dip in crumbs, egg and crumbs, season with salt and pepper. Melt one tablespoon each of lard and butter in frying pan. When hissing hot, cover bottom of pan with prepared oysters and sauté until a golden brown on both sides. Drain on brown paper; reheat in oven if necessary. Serve on hot platter and garnish with parsley, lemon and [Sauce Tartare].

Fried Oysters

Fried oysters are prepared same as Sautéd Oysters except they are fried in deep fat.

Suprême Oysters

Melt butter; add onion; when yellow, add flour; when well blended, add liquids and seasonings. Cook five minutes; add chicken, yolks of eggs beaten until thick and cream beaten until stiff. When thick, cool. Parboil oysters; drain and dry. Cover oysters with chicken mixture, dip in crumbs, egg and crumbs, and fry in hot fat. Drain. Serve on hot dish and garnish with lemon and [Mayonnaise Dressing].

Clams

Clams may be cooked and served in all ways like oysters.

Steamed Clams

Wash and scrub clam shells; place in kettle; add water, allowing one half cup of water for each peck of clams. Cover kettle and cook until shells open. Serve hot with melted butter.

Kettle should be removed from the range as soon as shells open, otherwise clams will be overcooked.

Clam Fritters

Combine ingredients in order given; let stand ten minutes. Remove clams from shell, cut off heads, cover with batter, and fry until golden brown in hot fat. Drain on brown paper. As clams contain so much water, only a few should be put into the fat at once.

Oysters in batter may be prepared in the same way as Clam Fritters.

Fried Scallops

Wash, drain, and parboil scallops. Season; dip in flour, egg and crumbs and fry in deep fat. Drain and serve with [Sauce Tartare]. Garnish with parsley and lemon.

Fried Scallops in Batter

Parboil scallops, and proceed as with [Clam Fritters].

Scalloped Scallops

Parboil scallops. Drain and cut in slices. Melt butter; add onion and mushrooms, cook five minutes; add scallops, cook five minutes; add liquids, cook until thick.

Place mixture in buttered baking dish or scallop shells; dot with butter; cover with buttered and seasoned crumbs; bake until crumbs are brown.

Lobster

To open a lobster: wipe lobster, break or sever small and large claws from the body. Separate tail from body portion by twisting and pulling at the same time. Remove meat from body portion carefully, picking edible portion from small bones. Reserve liver and coral if there is any; discard stomach, or “lady.” Meat from the body of the lobster is the sweetest and tenderest, but is often thrown away because of the difficulty in removing it.

Break the large claws, or if the shell is tender, cut with scissors and remove meat whole.

Crush the tail shell and remove the meat in one piece. Cut entire length of the tail meat and remove the intestinal canal.

The small claws are attractive for garnishing, and should be reserved.

Creamed Lobster

Make a [White Sauce] of butter, flour, seasonings and cream. Parboil red pepper, add to sauce with lobster meat, reheat, and serve on rounds of buttered toast.

Scalloped Lobster

Use receipt for [Creamed Lobster] and bake in lobster shell, scallop shells, ramekins, or baking dishes, covered with buttered and seasoned cracker crumbs. Garnish with small lobster claws and parsley.

Deviled Lobster

Prepared same as [Creamed Lobster], with addition of one teaspoon each of onion juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, few grains of cayenne and a few drops of Tabasco.

Shrimps and Crabs

Shrimps and crabs may be creamed, scalloped, or deviled, like lobster, garnished and served in the same way.

Deviled Crabs

Melt butter, add flour, mustard, salt and pepper; when blended, add stock; cook five minutes; add egg yolks, crab meat and chives. Arrange in crab shells or in ramekin dishes. Cover with Worcestershire Sauce and bread crumbs. Bake until crumbs are brown.

Crabs in Red Peppers

Parboil red peppers. Make a [White Sauce] with butter, flour, cream and seasonings. Add crab meat, fill peppers with crab mixture, cover with buttered and seasoned soft bread crumbs, and bake until crumbs are brown.

Broiled Live Lobster

Select a heavy lobster. Cut with a quick, sharp thrust the whole length of the body from the mouth down. Remove the stomach and intestinal canal; reserve the liver or tomalley and coral, if there is any. Crack large claws and place on greased broiler, inserting skewers between the sides of the lobster to keep it open. Place in oven for twenty minutes, then broil over hot coals about five minutes. Serve immediately, plain or with Deviled Sauce.

Curried Lobster

Melt butter; add onion; cook until yellow; add flour, curry, liquid; cook until thickened; add eggs, salt and pepper, and coral, if you have it; strain over lobster meat.

Serve on a bed of rice garnished with parsley.

Lobster Suprême

Prepare the sauce as for Suprême Oysters, substituting two cups of chopped lobster for oysters.

Lobster in Red Peppers

Prepared same as Crabs in Red Peppers, substituting one pint lobster meat for crab meat.

Fried Soft-shell Crabs

Prepare crabs by removing sand bags. Raise apron; cut from crab; remove spongy substance surrounding apron. Wipe; season with salt and pepper; dip in crumbs, egg and crumbs; fry in hot fat about three minutes. Serve immediately with Tartare Sauce.

CHAPTER IV
MEATS

Meat is expensive; therefore every housekeeper should inform herself in regard to the different cuts in different creatures, and the prices of these cuts.

Various methods are employed in cooking meats; but this fact should be remembered, that all meat should be subjected to a high temperature for a short time, in order to sear the surface and shut in the juices, whatever method of cooking is used.

Tough meats should have long, slow cooking.

Dry meats, like the fillet, should be larded to give flavor.

As a rule, dark meats are more palatable and digestible if cooked rare, and white meats are considered better if thoroughly cooked.

Remove all meats from paper as soon as sent from the market. Set on plate and keep in ice chest or cool place until ready to use.

Never put meat in cold water, but always wipe with a damp cloth to remove any foreign matter, before cooking.

A description of the various meats will be found in the chapter on Marketing.