Lobster Butter.—Put the flesh of the two large claws of a boiled lobster with a little of the inside, about a tablespoonful, in a mortar and pound well. Add about the same volume of good butter and pound again till the whole is well mixed. It is then mashed through a fine sieve, and is ready for use. When the lobster has coral, it is pounded with the rest, and gives a fine color to the butter.
If the lobster has no coral, a piece of the reddest part of the shell is pounded with the rest, when the butter is to be colored.
This butter may be used instead of ordinary butter for fish-sauces, or for making a maître d'hôtel for boiled fish, or for garnishing the same.
To clarify it, just put the butter into a bowl when made, put the bowl in a boiling bain-marie for about half an hour, take off and immediately turn it through a cloth into a bowl half full of cold water. The cloth must be rather twisted, to cause the butter to run through. When it is in the bowl, stir it till rather hard; work it in a ball, and wipe it dry.
Thus clarified it is finer than when used merely mixed.
The same butter may be made, and in the same way, with craw-fish, prawns, and shrimps.
Horse-radish Butter.—Grate some horse-radish and mix it well with about the same volume of butter, mash through a sieve, and it is ready for use.
Tarragon and garlic butter are made as the above.
If the butter be found too strong, use more butter and less of garlic, etc.
Ravigote Butter (called also Beurre de Montpellier).—Blanch the following spices: parsley, tarragon, chives, chervil—parsley and chervil in equal proportion and about half as much of the two others, about two handfuls altogether—drain dry and put them in a mortar with two anchovies boned, one shallot chopped and bruised in a coarse towel, half a dozen capers, a rather small piece of pickled cucumber, four ounces of butter, two hard-boiled yolks of eggs, and the juice of half a lemon. Pound the whole well together, then add a tablespoonful of essence of spinach, mix well, mash through a sieve, and use.