TO DRESS TURKEYS’ EGGS.
Turkeys’ eggs are not, we believe, brought very abundantly into the London market,[[155]] but their superiority to those of the common fowl is well known in the counties where the birds are principally reared. Though of large size they are delicate in flavour, and are equally valuable for the breakfast-table—cooked simply in the shell—or for compounding any of the dishes for which hens’ eggs are commonly in request. They make super-excellent sauce, omlets, custards, and puddings; and are especially to be recommended poached, or served by any other of the following receipts. Those of the smallest size and palest colour, which are the eggs of the young birds, are the best adapted for serving boiled in the shells: they are sometimes almost white. Those of the full grown turkeys are thickly speckled, of a deep tawny hue or fawn colour.
[155]. Constant supplies of them are brought from France to the towns upon the coast; and from the thickness of their shells they remain eatable much longer than the common eggs; they are also reasonable in price.
6 minutes will render the whites firm; 4 minutes will poach them.
FORCED TURKEYS’ EGGS (OR SWANS’).
(An Excellent Entremets.)
Boil gently for twenty minutes in plenty of water, that they may be entirely covered with it, five or six fresh turkeys’ eggs, and when they are done lift them into a large pan of water to cool. By changing the water once or twice they will become cold more rapidly, and they must not be used until they are perfectly so.
Roll them in a cloth, pressing lightly on them to break the shells; clear them off, and halve the eggs evenly lengthwise. Take out the yolks with care, and pound them to a smooth paste in a mortar with an ounce and a half, or two ounces at the utmost, of pure-flavoured butter to the half dozen, a small half-teaspoonful of salt, a little finely grated nutmeg, and some cayenne, also in fine powder: a little mace,—one of the most delicate of all seasonings when judiciously used—may be added with good effect. Blend these ingredients thoroughly, and then add to them by degrees one raw hen’s egg slightly whisked, and the yolk of a second, or a dessertspoonful or two of sweet rich cream. One common egg is sufficient for four of the turkey egg-yolks. Beat up the mass, which will now be of the consistence of a thick batter, well and lightly, and proceed to fill the whites with it, having first cut a small slice from each half to make it stand evenly on the dish, and hollowed the inside with the point of a sharp knife, so as to render it of equal thickness throughout. Fill them full and high; smooth the yolks gently with the blade of a knife, arrange the eggs on a dish, and place them in a gentle oven for a quarter of an hour. Serve them directly they are taken from it.
The eggs thus dressed will afford an admirable dish for the second course, either quite simply served, or with good gravy highly flavoured with fresh mushrooms, poured under them.
The same ingredients may be pressed into very small buttered cups and baked for fifteen minutes, then turned on to a dish and sauced with a little Espagnole, or other rich brown gravy, or served without.