Fried Oyster Crabs - Fresh-Water Crawfish
Description
This section is from the book "The American Woman's Cook Book", by Ruth Berolzheimer. Also available from Amazon: The Domestic Arts Edition of the American Woman's Cook Book.
Fried Oyster Crabs - Fresh-Water Crawfish
Fried Oyster Crabs
Place crabs in sieve and hold under a cold-water faucet. Drain, roll in flour and fry in deep fat (360° F.) for two to three minutes, using a frying-basket. Drain on paper and serve on a napkin laid on a platter. Garnish with four lemon-baskets holding Tartar sauce. Or, fill pastry or paper cases with the fried crabs and serve very hot.
Oyster Crabs And Whitebait
1 cup oyster crabs 1 cup whitebait
Flour
Mix equal quantities of oyster crabs and whitebait, both of which have been previously washed, drained and rolled in flour, and fry in deep fat ( 360° F.) for two to three minutes. Serve with Tartar sauce.
Shrimps And Prawns
Shrimps and prawns are very similar, but the prawn is larger than the shrimp; the former is often six or seven inches long, while the latter is seldom more than two inches.
To Prepare Fresh Shrimps, simmer them in salted water, wash and drain. Remove the shell carefully, also the black line that runs the length of the body.
Creamed Shrimps
2 cups cooked shrimps, fresh or canned 2 tablespoons butter or other fat
4 tablespoons flour 2 cups milk Salt and pepper
Make a white sauce with the fat, flour and milk, add shrimps, whole or broken into small pieces. When thoroughly heated, add seasoning and serve.
Scalloped Shrimps
2 cups cooked shrimps, fresh or canned 4 tablespoons butter or other fat 4 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon mustard
1 cup bread-crumbs
2 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon lemon-juice 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Prepare shrimps as directed. Melt three and one-half tablespoons of the fat in a saucepan. Add the flour and mustard and beat until light. Gradually pour the hot water on this. Place the saucepan on a fire, and stir the contents until they begin to boil. Add the lemon-juice, salt and pepper, and cook for six minutes, then stir in the shrimps. Turn the mixture into a shallow scallop-dish, cover with the bread-crumbs and dot with the half-tablespoon of butter broken into little bits. Bake for twenty minutes in a moderate oven (350° F.).
Deviled Shrimps
1 cup shrimps, fresh or canned
3 tablespoons butter or other fat
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
3 hard-cooked eggs
Paprika
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Few drops onion-juice
Buttered crumbs
Prepare shrimps as directed. Melt the fat, add the flour and stir until smooth. Add the milk, heat, stirring constantly, and when it begins to thicken, add the eggs, which have been put through the sieve. Cut the shrimps with a silver knife, and add to the sauce; season with the paprika, parsley, and onion-juice. Put the mixture in ramekins, cover with seasoned crumbs, and brown in a quick oven.
Fresh-Water Crawfish
Crawfish, or crayfish, look like lobsters, but are much smaller. They may be prepared and served in the same way as lobsters.
Cook the crawfish in boiling salted water, drain, and remove the shell. Take out the intestines by pinching the extreme end of the center fin and jerking it suddenly. This removes the gall-cyst, which is very bitter.
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