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Crayfish, Potted

From Mrs. Beeton's household management (1907).

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A historical recipe

Mrs. Beeton's household management, by Mrs. (Isabella Mary) Beeton (1907).

United Kingdom

Known as a British recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.

From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards. Printed in United Kingdom: that says where the book was made, not where the dish comes from.

  • Preserving. Old preserving methods may not make food safe to keep. Use current tested guidance.

Ingredients 1 ingredient

  1. a Ib. of butter

Cook safely

Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.

  • Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.

Method

  1. Ingredients.
  2. — 4 doz.
  3. live crayfish, £ a Ib.
  4. of butter, ground mace, salt and pepper.
  5. Method.
  6. — Put the crayfish into boiling water to which has been added a good seasoning of salt and a little vinegar, cook from 15 to 20 minutes, then drain and dry.
  7. Pick the meat from the shells, and pound it in a mortar to a fine paste, adding gradually the butter, and mace, salt and pepper to taste.
  8. Press into small pots, cover with clarified butter, and when cold, use.
  9. Average Cost.
  10. — is.
  11. to is.
  12. 3d.
  13. per dozen.
  14. Seasonable all the year.
  15. THE DACE (Fr.
  16. vandoise) called also the DART, is found usually in the dull, clear, slowly-running streams of England and Europe.
  17. It is allied to the chub, barbel and roach, and resembles the l.i*t, but is longer and thinner in the body, and its scales are smaller.
  18. In colour it is dullish blue on the upper, and white on the under, parts ;
  19. the gill-covers and sides of the head are silvery white.
  20. The dace is gregarious and swims in shoals.
  21. The flesh is rather coarse in quality.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Saucepan
  • Mortar and pestle
  • Colander
Source public domain per archive.org metadata; unverified
Credit

From Mrs. Beeton's household management (1907), printed page 317, digitised by the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/mrsbeetonshouse00beetuoft

What was changed: Read by machine from the book's scanned text into ingredients and method. The title's capitals were tidied; spelling and scanning errors are left as they are.