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Gielet Soup
245. Scald and clean three or four sets of goose or duck giblets; set them to stew, with a pound or two of gravy-beef, scrag of mutton, or the bone of a knuckle of veal, an ox-tail, or some shanks of mutton, with three onions, a large bunch of sweet herbs, a tea-spoonful of white pepper, and a large spoonful of salt. Put five pints of water, and simmer till the gizzards (which must be each in four pieces) arc quite tender; skim nicely, and add a quarter of a pint of cream, two tea-spoonsful of mushroom-powder, and an ounce of butter mixed with a dessert-spoonful of flour. Let it boil a few minutes, and serve with the giblets. It may be seasoned, instead of cream, with two glasses of sherry or madeira, a large spoonful of ketchup, and some cayenne. When in the tureen, add salt to the taste.
A long-simmered giblet broth of the sort that once used up every part of the goose or duck. The method is sound; the main work is sourcing the giblets and deciding between the cream finish and the sherry finish, which are alternatives rather than additions.
- What counts as a set of gibletsIn this period a set means the neck, gizzard, heart, liver and wing tips of one bird, and often the feet. Three or four sets is a great deal of poultry offal; a butcher or farm poultry supplier can usually assemble it, or save and freeze giblets from several birds. Add the livers only in the last ten minutes, as long simmering makes them chalky and clouds the broth.
- Liquid and yieldFive pints is about 2.8 litres. A pint here is the imperial 20 fl oz, not the US 16. The recipe gives no yield; expect some reduction over the long simmer.
- A quarter of a pint of creamThat is 5 fl oz, about two-thirds of a US cup. A rich cream such as double or heavy is the likeliest reading.
- Cooking timeGizzards are the pacing item: cut in four as directed, they take 2 to 3 hours of gentle simmering to become tender. Keep the pot at a bare tremble, since a rolling boil emulsifies the fat and turns the broth grey.
- Mushroom powderDried mushrooms ground fine; period mushroom powders were usually of this kind, though many were compounded with salt and spices as well. A teaspoon or two of ground dried porcini gives a similar savoury lift; do not substitute stock powder, which is mostly salt.
- KetchupIn this period ketchup normally means mushroom or walnut ketchup, a thin dark salted condiment, not the sweet tomato sauce. Mushroom ketchup is still sold; a dash of Worcestershire sauce is the nearest common stand-in.
- SaltA large spoonful of salt at the start is heavy-handed by modern taste, particularly as the liquid reduces during the long simmer. Start with about two teaspoons, then correct in the tureen as the final line instructs.
- Choosing the finishThe recipe says the wine seasoning is used 'instead of cream', so the two are alternatives; it does not say whether the butter-and-flour thickening is kept with the wine version.
- Skimming and fatWaterfowl giblets throw a lot of fat. Chilling the strained broth overnight and lifting the solid cap off is far more effective than skimming hot, and improves the flavour.
Giblet soup was a standard economy of the British kitchen from the eighteenth century onward: the neck, gizzard, heart and pinions of a goose or duck became a soup rather than being wasted, and Michaelmas and Christmas geese made the dish seasonal in practice. The bracing of the giblets with gravy-beef, mutton scrag, ox-tail or a veal knuckle reflects an approach to soup-making in which offal supplied flavour and gelatinous bone supplied body. The recipe offers two finishes, one built on fortified wine, ketchup and cayenne and one on cream with a butter-and-flour liaison.