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Homard a la Bordelaise

A historical recipe from A guide to modern cookery, by Escoffier, A. (Auguste) (1907).

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A historical recipe

A guide to modern cookery, by Escoffier, A. (Auguste) (1907). Project Gutenberg eBook #71395.

From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards.

France

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

Ingredients 9 ingredients

  1. two oz. of clarified butter
  2. two tablespoonfuls of chopped shallots
  3. three tablespoonfuls of burnt brandy
  4. one-half pint of fish fumet
  5. one-third pint of maigre Espagnole
  6. one-quarter pint of tomato sauce
  7. one pinch of salt
  8. two and one-half oz. of butter
  9. one-half tablespoonful of chopped chervil

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.
  • Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.

Method

  1. Section the live lobster as directed above.
  2. Stiffen the meat and colour the carapace in a sautépan with two oz.
  3. of clarified butter.
  4. When the meat is quite stiff and the carapace is red, pour away two-thirds of the butter.
  5. Then add two tablespoonfuls of chopped shallots, a crushed piece of garlic the size of a pea, one-sixth pint of white wine, three tablespoonfuls of burnt brandy, and reduce the whole to half.
  6. Complete with one-half pint of fish fumet, one-third pint of maigre Espagnole, one-quarter pint of tomato sauce, one small faggot, one pinch of salt, and a very little cayenne.
  7. Put the lid on, and set to cook for one-quarter hour.
  8. Take the meat from the sections of the tail and the claws, as in the case of the preparation à l’américaine;
  9. put these into a small sautépan, and keep them hot.
  10. Add the intestines and the chopped coral, reduce the sauce to one-third pint;
  11. pass it through a strainer, and pour it over the pieces of lobster.
  12. Heat the whole without boiling;
  13. add a few drops of lemon juice, two and one-half oz.
  14. of butter cut into small pieces, and one-half tablespoonful of chopped chervil and tarragon, and stir over the stove with the view of thoroughly mixing the whole.
  15. Dish as directed in the preceding recipe.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Frying pan
  • Saucepan
  • Chef's knife
  • Cutting board
  • Wooden spoon
  • Sieve
Source Public domain in the USA
Credit

From A guide to modern cookery, by Escoffier, A. (Auguste) (1907). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #71395 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71395). Public domain in the USA; its status may differ elsewhere.

What was changed: As printed, from the book's text; Project Gutenberg's header and licence removed. Ingredient lines were read out of the text by a program. A historical recipe, not current advice.