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Mock Turtle Soup

Let your butcher prepare a calf's head. Take off all the flesh, take out the tongue whole and take out the brains whole. The brains may be saved for a separate dish.

Soak all separately for a few moments in salt and water. Cut the skull all to pieces, wash it quickly, and put it on the fire in four quarts of cold water, together with the flesh, tongue, half a bunch of parsley, half a stalk of celery, one large bay leaf, three cloves, half an inch of a stick of cinnamon, three whole allspice, six pepper-corns, half of a carrot and one small turnip. When the tongue is tender, take it out (to be served as a separate dish with spinach or with sauce tartare.) Leave in the flesh for about two hours when it will be perfectly tender. Let the bones, etc., simmer for six hours, then strain and put away until the next day. At the same time that the calf's head is cooking in one vessel, make a stock in another, with a beef soup bone (two pounds), boil a chicken for salad in the stock, remove chicken when tender, put in two quarts of water and simmer until reduced to a pint. The next day, remove the fat and settlings from the two stocks. Put into a two-quart stew pan two tablespoonfuls of butter, and when it bubbles stir in an ounce of ham cut in strips, and one heaping tablespoonful of flour. Stir it constantly until it gets quite brown, pour the reduced stock over it, mix it well, and strain it. Now to a half pound of the calf's head cut in dice add one quart of the calf's head stock boiling hot, and a pint of reduced and thickened stock, the juice of half a lemon, and one glassful of sherry. When it is about to boil set it to one side and skim it very carefully; add two hard boiled eggs cut in dice, and salt; or egg balls, If, instead of the egg dice, egg balls should be preferred, add to the yolks of two hard boiled eggs the raw yolk of one egg, one tablespoonful of melted butter, a little salt and pepper, and enough sifted flour to make it consistent enough to handle. Sprinkle flour on the board, roll it out about half an inch thick, cut it into dice, and roll each one into little balls in the palm of the hand. Put these into the soup five minutes before it is served. It is very nice to add, instead of egg balls, whole yolks of hard boiled eggs, one for each plate.