Oyster Soup

Take fifty oysters; blanch them, but do not let them boil; strain through a sieve, and save the liquor. Put a quarter of a pound of butter into a stew-pan; when it is melted, add six ounces of flour; stir it over the fire for a few minutes, add the liquor from the oysters, two quarts of veal stock, one quart of new milk; season with salt, peppercorns, a little cayenne pepper, a blade of mace, Harvey's sauce and essence of anchovy, a tablespoonful of each; strain it through a tammy, let it boil ten minutes; put the oysters into the tureen, with a gill of cream, and pour the boiling soup upon them".†

Gower Recipe For Oyster Soup

Boil four sheep's feet in two quarts of water, till reduced to one quart; it will then be a stiff jelly; put in it, while boiling, a small blade of mace; take off the fat, and thicken it with one and a half tablespoonfuls of ground rice; add from twenty to fifty oysters; boil it till thick enough, and add a teacupful of cream.

Oyster Soup is also particularly good when made with a fish stock; as, for instance, with equal quantities of flounders, skate, and eels, or indeed with any fish that is abundant, and not much in request for other purposes.

Oyster Soup

Take four dozen oysters; lay the fish apart, and pass the liquor through a sieve, into a stew-pan; set it on the fire; beat up the yolks of six eggs, and stir them in with half a pint of cream; add water or milk to the required quantity; season with pepper, a little grated lemon-peel, and the flesh of an anchovy beaten up, with a little butter and a small teaspoonful of good arrowroot. Five minutes before serving, put in the oysters.*

* 'Flight of the Lapwing'.

† Murray's 'Modern Cookery'.

Potage A La Poissonnière

"Blanch and beard two dozen of oysters, and four dozen of very fresh mussels; put a quarter of a pound of butter into a stew-pan, with six ounces of flour, make a white roux; when cool, add the liquor of the oysters, mussels, and bones of a sole, with two quarts of broth, and three pints of milk; season with a spoonful of salt, one ditto of sugar, a sprig of thyme, parsley, two bay-leaves, four cloves, and two blades of mace; pass through a tammy into a clean stew-pan; boil and skim well; cut about ten pieces of salmon into thin slices, half an inch long, a quarter of an inch wide; cut the fillet of the sole the same size; put all into the boiling soup, with half a handful of picked parsley and a gill of good cream; put the oysters and mussels in the tureen, and serve".†

Oyster Mouth Soup

"Make a rich mutton broth, with two large onions, three blades of mace, and black pepper. When strained, pour it on a hundred and fifty oysters, without the beards, and a bit of butter rolled in flour; simmer gently a quarter of an hour, and serve".‡

How To Make An Oyster Soup

"Your stock must be made of any sort of fish the place affords; let there be about two quarts. Take a pint of oysters, beard them put them into a saucepan, strain the liquor, let them stew two or three minutes in their own liquor, then take the hard parts of the oysters, and beat them in a mortar with the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs; mix them with some of the soup, put them with the other part of the oysters and liquor into a saucepan, a little nutmeg, pepper, and salt; stir them well together, and let it boil a quarter of an hour. Dish it up, and send it to table".*

* Maitre Jacques.

† 'The Gastronomic Regenerator,' by Mons. A. Soyer.

‡ 'All About Oysters'.

White Oyster Sauce (No. 43)

First scald and beard the oysters, and save the liquor. Next knead two ounces of butter, with one ounce of flour (or, better still, with arrowroot), in a stew-pan; add the liquor, a gill of cream or milk, a little nutmeg, cayenne, anchovy, and lemon-juice; stir over the fire until the sauce boils, then add the oysters and serve hot".†

Brown Oyster Sauce (No. 44)

Prepare the oysters as in the foregoing recipe, boil down their liquor, add half a pint of brown sauce (No. 12), or if there is none ready, use melted butter instead, adding a little browning; season with a little anchovy, cayenne, and lemon-juice; add the oysters; boil together for a few minutes, and serve hot".‡