Frogs' Legs

In the animal kingdom frogs, turtle, and terrapin rank a scale lower than shell-fish. Of frogs, only the hind legs are eaten. To prepare these for cooking, the skin is removed, after which the legs are parboiled five or six minutes in boiling salted, acidulated water. They are quite frequently served in a rich sauce with puff-paste, either as a filling for a vol-au-vent, or simply surrounded with diamonds or triangles of the cooked paste.

Turtle

The name turtle is popularly (not scientifically) applied to certain marine reptiles, which, as does also the tortoise, resemble in many respects aquatic birds. Those species that are exclusively herbivorous are wholesome as food and much sought after by epicures. The eggs are considered a great delicacy. The calipee, or under part of the breast and abdomen, the liver, and fat are the choicest parts. The green turtle, so named from the delicate green color of its fat, is found in the tropical waters of America and near the West Indies. It feeds on succulent turtle grass and supplies food to thousands in the West Indies. This turtle is often five or six feet in length and weighs five or six hundred pounds. Canned clear green turtle meat makes a choice soup. Dried green turtle from South America is also used in soups. Half a pound of turtle will make soup for eight persons.

How To Cook Terrapin

Diamond-back or salt-water terrapin are found all along the Atlantic coast, but more especially in Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Other species are numerous from Massachusetts to Texas, For those who buy and sell terrapin the standard length is six inches. They are captured during their season of hibernation, that is from November to May; they are at their best from December to April. The six-inch terrapin cost $1.25 per pound. Those of larger size are sold at a higher rate. Terrapin is always cooked alive by plunging, after being carefully washed, head first into boiling water. Remove from the water in about five minutes, or as soon as the thin white skin can be removed from the head and feet, then cook without salt or seasoning from thirty to thirty-five minutes.

After dressing, the meat is cut into small squares or cubes, These may be served à la Newburgh, that is, cooked in cream thickend with butter and yolks of eggs, or made into croquettes, or cutlets. Fresh terrapin is also served in soups. To dress, cool, draw the nails, break the shell on the flat side, at both edges and near the top of the shell, detach the flat shell from the meat, discarding everything but the flesh and the liver, after carefully cutting away the gall-bladder and the eggs.