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Forcemeat Balls (for Fish Soups)
INGREDIENTS for large tureen of soup.-1 middling-sized lobster, 1/2 an anchovy, 1 head of boiled celery, the yolk of a hard-boiled egg; salt, cayenne and mace to taste, 4 tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs, 2 oz. of butter, 2 eggs. AVERAGE COST, 2s. 6d.
Pick the meat from the shell of the The biscuit powder is used in the same manner as the farinaceous food, and both prepared much after the fashion of making starch. But when tops-and-bottoms, or the whole biscuit, are employed, they require soaking in cold water for some time previously to boiling. The biscuit or biscuits are then to be slowly boiled in as much water as will, when thoroughly soft, allow of their being beaten by a three-pronged fork into a fine, smooth and even pulp, and which, when poured into a basin and become cold, will cut out like a custard. If two large biscuits have been so treated, and the child is six or seven months old, beat up two eggs, sufficient sugar to properly sweeten it, and about a pint of skimmed milk. Pour this on the beaten biscuits in the saucepan, stirring constantly; boil for about 5 minutes, pour into a basin, and use | well to state, in the beginning of this lobster, and pound it, with the soft parts, in a mortar; add the celery, the yolk of the hard-boiled egg, seasoning and breadcrumbs. Continue pounding until the whole is nicely amalgamated. Warm the butter till it is in a liquid state; well whisk the eggs, and work these up with the pounded lobster-meat. Make the balls of about an inch in diameter, and fry of a nice pale brown.
SEASONABLE at any time.
A lobster forcemeat to be dropped into fish soup at the last moment. The mixture is soft, so the binding and the frying temperature decide whether you get neat balls or a pan of debris.
- The hinge: bind and chillTwo whole eggs plus melted butter make a very slack paste. Chill the pounded mixture at least an hour before shaping, and add breadcrumbs by the spoonful until a ball holds together in the palm without slumping.
- Lobster quantityA "middling-sized" lobster is usually taken to be something like 1 1/4-1 1/2 lb whole, which will pick out at roughly 5-6 oz of meat. The "soft parts" are the tomalley and any coral, which carry much of the flavour; include them if the lobster is fresh.
- Half an anchovyProbably half a whole salted anchovy, mashed to nothing; anchovy paste or the old bottled anchovy essence will stand in, roughly a scant 1/4 teaspoon of paste or a teaspoon of essence. Salt afterwards, not before, since the anchovy carries a good deal.
- MaceBlade mace, ground fine, or about 1/8 teaspoon of ground mace for this quantity. It is the outer covering of nutmeg and warmer and less sweet; nutmeg substituted one for one will taste heavier.
- Boiled celeryOne "head" here is a small bunch, not a single stalk. Boil until soft, drain hard and press dry in a cloth, or the water will loosen the forcemeat past saving.
- PoundingA food processor will stand in for the mortar, but pulse rather than run it and stop while some texture remains, otherwise the balls turn rubbery.
- FryingShallow-fry in clarified butter or a neutral oil at about 340-350F. "A nice pale brown" is 2-3 minutes total, turning once; hotter oil colours the crumb before the egg has set inside.
- Yield and servingAn inch across should give roughly 20-24 balls, which suits the "large tureen" of the original. Add them to the hot soup at the table so they do not disintegrate; they can be fried an hour ahead and warmed briefly in a low oven.
- The cost line2s. 6d. is the Victorian household price for the whole quantity, not a modern guide.
Forcemeat balls are the older English counterpart to the French quenelle: pounded flesh, crumb, egg and spice, rolled and either poached or fried, and used to give body and a second texture to a soup that would otherwise be all liquid. The technique was familiar in kitchens equipped with a mortar, and lobster versions were among those used to garnish fish soups. The instruction to pound the soft parts along with the meat reflects the habit of using the whole animal; tomalley and coral were treated as flavouring, not waste. The "seasonable at any time" note reflects the way these books were organised around a calendar of availability.