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Shrimp Salad
If canned shrimps are to be used, they must be taken from the can and set on ice for several hours before using. Line a chilled bowl with crisp lettuce, lay the shrimps upon these, and cover with mayonnaise dressing. Garnish with 2 hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters, and thin slices of 1 lemon.
A late-Victorian composed salad that depends entirely on temperature and on the quality of the shrimp. Everything — bowl, lettuce, shrimp, dressing — should be cold before it is assembled.
- The hinge: chill hardThe instruction to set canned shrimp on ice for several hours is the emphasis of the dish. Cold firms the flesh and tends to subdue the tinny note canned shellfish can pick up; assembled warm, the salad is noticeably less crisp.
- Canned shrimp todayModern canned shrimp is packed in brine and benefits from a rinse in cold water before its stay in the refrigerator, which the original does not mention. Cooked frozen shrimp, thawed and drained, is a straightforward substitute; figure about 3/4 lb peeled cooked shrimp for four servings.
- Quantity is unstatedNo weight is given for the shrimp. Two 6 oz cans drain to roughly 1 1/2 cups, which fills a medium bowl in reasonable proportion to the garnish of two eggs and one lemon; use more if you want the fuller quantity suggested above.
- Mayonnaise dressingMost likely a made-from-scratch, uncooked mayonnaise, though period books also sold cooked dressings under similar names. If you make your own here it will not be heated at any stage, so use pasteurized eggs; a good jarred mayonnaise thinned with a spoonful of lemon juice also works.
- The lettuce'Crisp lettuce' here most likely means whole leaves of head lettuce used as a liner rather than shredded greens. Romaine hearts or iceberg leaves hold their shape under dressing; tender leaf lettuces collapse.
- Dress at the last minuteMayonnaise sitting on lettuce draws out water and thins itself fairly quickly. Line and fill the bowl ahead, keep it covered and cold, and spoon the dressing over just before it goes to the table.
- YieldAt the quantities suggested above, enough for four as a light first course, or two as a lunch dish with bread and butter.
Shrimp salad belongs to the age of the mayonnaise-bound salad, when American and English cookbooks gave space to cold composed dishes built on lettuce, a bound protein and a garnish of hard-boiled egg and lemon. Canned shrimp is treated here as the default rather than the exception, which suggests commercial canning had put shellfish within reach of households far from the coast. The ice is worth noting: refrigeration in the ordinary kitchen still meant an icebox, and 'set on ice for several hours' was an instruction about a real block. Salads of this kind suited a warm-weather supper, since they could be assembled ahead and required no cooking beyond boiling two eggs.