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Eggs in Batter
Poach four eggs in muffin-rings and then put them into cold water. Mix one tablespoon of chutney with a little vinegar and some finely chopped sweet herbs; put the eggs into this mixture for three-fourths of an hour and then drain and dip each egg in thick batter and fry a rich brown in boiling lard. Serve with spinach or parsley.
A Victorian trick dish: poached eggs cooled, steeped in a sharp chutney marinade, then battered and deep-fried so the yolk stays soft inside a crisp shell. Everything depends on the eggs being dry before they meet the batter.
- The hinge: dry the eggsA wet poached egg will shed its batter in the fat and burst. After draining the marinade, blot each egg all over on a cloth or paper towel, then dust lightly with flour before dipping.
- Poaching in muffin-ringsThese were plain metal hoops set in a shallow pan of barely simmering water to keep the egg compact. Egg-poaching rings, crumpet rings, or straight-sided metal cookie cutters do the same job. Poach 3 minutes for a set white and liquid yolk, since the egg gets a second cooking later.
- Why the cold waterIt stops the cooking and firms the whites so the eggs can be handled. Modern practice is the same for make-ahead poached eggs; they will sit in cold water an hour or more without harm.
- ChutneyProbably a bottled sweet-hot Indian-style fruit chutney, mango or apple, though the book does not specify. Chop any large fruit pieces small so the mixture coats rather than clings in lumps.
- Sweet herbsPeriod shorthand for mild culinary herbs rather than anything sugared: parsley, chervil, thyme, marjoram, a little tarragon.
- Thick batterNo proportions are given. A frying batter of 1 cup flour, 1 egg, and about 2/3 cup milk or beer, beaten smooth and rested 20 minutes, coats heavily enough to cling.
- Boiling lardFat does not boil; the phrase means hot deep fat, 365-375F. Lard is still ideal, but any neutral high-smoke-point oil works. Two to three minutes gives the rich brown asked for.
- Yield and servingFour eggs serve two as a light supper or four as a first course. Parsley was often served fried crisp in hot fat as a garnish for fried dishes of this kind; spinach would be plain buttered and well drained.
Eggs in batter belongs to a family of late-Victorian and Edwardian "made" egg dishes that treated the cooked egg as a raw material to be coated or fried a second time. The chutney is a clue to date and place: bottled sweet-hot chutneys reached British and American groceries through the Anglo-Indian trade in the nineteenth century, and by the early 1900s a jar was a common pantry item used far beyond curry, turning up in salad dressings, sauces and marinades like this one. Butterick, better known for dress patterns, also published domestic manuals aimed at the middle-class housekeeper who wanted a few dishes that looked more elaborate than they cost, and a chapter of egg dishes and omelets served that reader, since eggs were cheap, always on hand, and could be dressed up to carry a luncheon course.