Particulars of the Operation

Lay the turtle on its back on a table with its head hanging over the side.

Hook the turtle's lower jaw with a double butcher's hook and suspend a heavy weight from the other spike so the animal holds its head back.

Sever the head from the body with all possible dispatch.

Hang the body over a receptacle to collect the blood, and leave it for one and one-half or two hours.

Thrust a strong knife between the carapace and the plastron, exactly where the two meet, and separate them.

Cut all the adhering flesh from the plastron and put the plastron aside.

Cut off the flippers.

Remove the intestines and throw them away.

Carefully collect all the green fat.

Cut away the flesh adhering to the carapace.

Remove all fat from the carapace and keep both the carapace and plastron in reserve.

Saw the carapace into six or eight pieces, and the plastron into four.

Blanch the flippers in boiling water or steam until stiff enough for their skin to be removed, then withdraw them.

Blanch the pieces of carapace and plastron for five minutes so they can be scraped.

Cool the pieces of carapace, plastron and flippers, and put them into a stewpan with enough water to cover them.

Set to boil, garnish with vegetables as for an ordinary broth, and add a small quantity of turtle herbs.

Cook the carapace and plastron for five or six hours, withdrawing the flippers after five hours.

Remove the flesh from the bones of the pieces, cool it, trim it, and cut it into squares of one and one-half inches side.

Poach the green fat in salted water and slice it; the squares and sliced fat form the garnish.

Put the turtle flesh, head and bones into a stewpan, moisten with the carapace cooking liquor and enough water to bring the whole to 50 quarts.

Add salt at one oz. per five quarts, set to boil, and skim.

Garnish with twelve carrots, about ten bound leeks with a head of celery, one lb. of parsley stalks, eight onions stuck with ten cloves, two lbs. of shallots, and one head of garlic.

Boil gently for eight hours.

An hour before straining, add four strips of lemon-peel, a bunch of turtle herbs (sweet basil, sweet marjoram, sage, rosemary, savory and thyme), and a bag of four oz. coriander and two oz. peppercorns.

Strain the soup through a napkin, add the reserved garnish squares of carapace and plastron flesh, and keep it in sandstone jars until wanted.

When serving, heat the soup, test and adjust the seasoning, and add a port wine glass of very old Madeira to every quart.