Mock Turtle
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the head
Scald the calf's head in boiling water until the hair comes off.
Clean the head in warm water and boil for 45 minutes.
Remove the head from the water and split it down the face.
Carefully take all the meat and skin from the bones without breaking the ears.
Place the meat on a flat dish, stuff the ears with forcemeat, and tie them with cloths.
Remove the eyes and pick all remaining meat clean from the bones.
Combine and finish
In a roasting pan, combine the picked meat with the fattest part of another boiled calf's head and 3 quarts of veal gravy.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Calf's head
- Provides the meat, skin and gelatin that give the soup its body and rich texture.
- Forcemeat
- Stuffs the ears, keeping their shape and adding a seasoned meaty filling.
- Veal gravy
- Forms the liquid base of the soup, carrying flavor and body.
The step that matters
Splitting and boiling the head without breaking the ears. Boiling softens the skin and connective tissue so the meat lifts cleanly from the bones; careless handling tears the delicate ears and skin, which the dish relies on for texture.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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