Turkey with White Oyster Sauce

Ranhofer writes for a brigade with a numbered reference system at hand, so this reads as shorthand: a whole turkey poached in stock, sauced with a white sauce carrying oysters. The cross-references are the missing half of the recipe.

• The hinge: the oystersThey are blanched separately and only folded into the finished sauce off the direct heat. Thirty seconds to a minute in their own liquor, just until the edges ruffle, is enough; anything approaching the "boil slowly for one hour" of the turkey turns them to rubber.
• An eight-pound turkeyA small bird by modern supermarket standards. Ranhofer allows "one hour or more," and a larger bird will simply need proportionally longer; two capon-sized chickens will stand in if nothing small is available.
• Poaching time and donenessAn hour is the floor, not the target. An 8 lb bird submerged in simmering stock generally wants 1 1/2 to 2 hours; go by an instant-read thermometer at the thickest part of the thigh, 165F, rather than the clock. Keep the liquid at a bare shiver — a rolling boil shreds the breast.
• The stockNo. 194a is one of Ranhofer's stocks, referenced but not reproduced here; a light, unbrowned chicken stock will stand in, kept lightly seasoned since the pot is salted separately. You need enough to cover the bird by two inches, which means a tall stockpot and a large quantity of liquid.
• The white sauceNo. 562 is Ranhofer's white sauce, cross-referenced rather than reproduced here; in practice a white sauce of this type is let down with a light stock and strained. A ladleful of the turkey's own poaching liquid is the obvious liquid to use.
• "Raw fine herbs"Fines herbes: chervil, chives, parsley and tarragon, chopped fine and stirred in at the last moment so they stay green. Chervil is the hard one to find; parsley and tarragon carry it if you must.
• The rice borderPlain long-grain rice cooked soft in stock, pressed into a buttered oval ring mould or shaped by hand on the platter, then turned out. It is a serving wall to hold the sauce, not a pilaf, so the rice should be starchy enough to hold its shape.
• ServingAn 8 lb poached turkey serves ten to twelve as Ranhofer intends it — one course among many. Pour part of the sauce over and send the rest in a boat, as written; poached poultry cools fast, so warm the platter.