Merely the Mock

 

Lately, reading about inaugural celebrations past and present, I was surprised to see that mock turtle soup was served at Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural luncheon.

I would have thought that since Lincoln had just become president, he would have merited the real thing. But no. He had the mock. Or, “merely the mock” as Cole Porter would later put it. I’ve never made or tasted either one, but it made me curious enough to look into the issue of turtle soup.

I discovered that real turtle soup was made with green turtles and was expensive. So, in the mid-18th century, a cheaper version was created. Called mock turtle soup, it was made with a calf’s head rather than a turtle. The gelatinous quality of the calf’s head made the soup approximate the real thing.

 

Mock turtle soup was well enough known that Lewis Carroll made a Mock Turtle a character in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Illustrator John Tenniel drew it with the shell of a turtle and the head, hoofs, and tail of a calf.

Making mock turtle soup was no snap. First, the head had to be cleaned and then simmered in water.  When it was ready, the cook took the head out of the broth, let it cool, and removed the meat. After straining and clarifying the broth, she stirred in seasonings and vegetables, along with the cut-up meat from the head. Then she simmered  the soup.

Everyone made it a bit differently, of course. Onions, peppers, celery, carrots, cabbage, turnips, cinnamon, peppercorns, allspice, turtle beans, sweetbreads, oysters, and various catsups are some of the ingredients that found their way into the soups.

Some cooks thickened their soup with a roux of flour and butter. Some diced the calf’s tongue and added it to the simmering soup. Some recipes suggested stirring in chopped hard-boiled eggs. Recipes often called for meatballs, formed either from the brains or from other meat, to be added to the soup or served along with it. A squeeze of lemon and/or a glass of sherry or madeira finished it off.  In recipes for “Simple Mock-Turtle Soup,” pigs’ or calves’ feet took the place of the head. 

My favorite of the mock turtle soup recipes I’ve read is from Mary Henderson’s 1877 book, Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving. It begins:  “Let some one beside yourself remove the flesh from a calf's head…” My sentiments exactly.

This is the most concise recipe I found. If you don’t have a calf’s head, you can always substitute its feet.

Mock Turtle Soup

Parboil a calf’s head divided, and cut all the meat in small pieces; then break the bones and boil them in some beef broth; fry some shallots in butter, add flour to thicken, and stir it in; skim it  carefully while it boils up, and add a pint of white wine; let it simmer till the meat is perfectly tender, then put in some chives, parsley, basil, salt, cayene, soy, and mushroom catsup to your taste, and boil it for ten minutes; squeeze a little lemon juice into your tureen, pour your soup on it, and serve with force meat balls. – Jennie June’s American Cookery Book, Jane Cunningham Croly, 1870.

Comments

[Idlewild]

I will have to remember "Let someone beside yourself..." very handy recipe instruction indeed.

[Kathy Flynn]

Jeriiiii !!!! Sentences such as: "Making mock turtle soup was no snap" are one of the joys of your blog. Do I dare say that you are 'way ahead' of your readers.

I think we should try making the 'mock turtle soup', but with the feet. We could probably order a calf's head at Blood Farm/Groton; but I do think I would manage better with the feet.

Keep exploring. I love it!