Mock Turtle Soup

[Constance]

Ingredients
1/2 cup oil
1/2 pound beef (inexpensive cut), chopped
1/2 pound pork (Boston butt or roast), chopped
1/2 pound chicken, chopped
3/4 cup flour
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp finely chopped celery
10 cups meat stock or water
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Salt to taste
Louisiana hot sauce to taste
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine
Sherry (optional)
Lemon slices (optional)

Instructions
Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat and brown all the meat. Remove the meat from the pot and set aside.

In the same pot, stir in the flour to make a dark roux, stirring while cooking until the roux is dark brown. To the dark roux, add the onions, green onions, parsley and celery, stirring after each addition, and cook until the onions are clear. Add 1 cup of the stock and stir to form a thick paste, then stir in the tomato sauce. Stir in the remaining stock, then add the meats, salt and hot sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer another hour.

Garnish each bowl with the chopped egg and serve with a teaspoon of sherry and a slice of lemon.

 

[Alix]

OK forgive my ignorance here, but does Mock Turtle soup mean that this will taste like REAL turtle soup?

 

[Ishbel]

Alix

Mock turtle soup used to be a staple item on British restaurant menus many years ago, but seemed to disappear 20 years or so ago - rather like that other old favourite, Brown Windsor Soup.

I seem to remember that when I asked that very question of my Mum when I was a young child, she said that it was a soup invented by either the Victorians or Edwardians (can't remember which!) the name was in homage to the writer of Alice Through the Looking Glass who loved turtles and wrote about them in his poems and books.

~Don't know if that is true, but it made a good story .... and no, it didn't persuade me to like the soup!

 

[Constance]

turtle soup

That's the idea, Alix. As you probably know, turtle meat has different flavors, depending on what part of the turtle it comes from. Some parts taste like chicken, some like pork, and some like beef.
Since killing sea turtles is against the law, and not many of us have access to snapping turtle meat, this is a reasonable facsimile.
The first time I ate turtle soup was in Plaquemine Parish, La. There was a little tavern at the end of the road, in the middle of the swamp, where the cajun trappers hung out, that had delcious food. I ate turtle stew there the next time we went, and it tasted totally different.
I was told to keep my mouth shut and not let on that I was a yankee. That wasn't hard to do, with the cold beer and good food...they had great frogs legs, too.
I've also had turtle soup at Brennen's in New Orleans, and it tasted different yet, but still rich and delicous.

I like your story about your Mum, Ishbel. My thoughts are that since Britain was a great sea-faring nation, turtle soup was something the sailers brought back from their travels.

 

[Alix]

You know, this is what I love about this board. You get to learn so much. Thanks to you both Ishbel and Constance. I may give this a whirl.

I am laughing at myself, I have such a backlog of things I want to try from here that what I SHOULD do is sign off for a few weeks, make them all and come back. Everytime I sign on I find stuff I want to make, I will NEVER get them all done. LOL.

 

[Ishbel]

You are probably right, Constance - hence the 'mock' in the title...?!

 

[Ishbel]

I did a quick google and found this recipe for Brown Windsor on the Foody site



1.4lt (2½ pints) Beef stock
350g (12oz) Stewing steak
25g (1oz) Butter
1 Small Onion
1 Leek
1 Small Carrot, diced
1 tbsp Flour
1 Bouquet Garni
1 tbsp Parsley, chopped Finely chop the onion and green part of the leek, dice the carrot.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan and cook the onion gently without colouring for 2-3 minutes.
Add the leek and carrot, cover and allow to sweat for 5 minutes.
Cut the beef into small cubes, and cook until browned on all sides.
Mix the flour with a little stock to form a paste.
Add this mixture and the remaining stock to the pan.
Bring to the boil.
Add the bouquet garni, cover and simmer very gently for 2 hours.
Remove the bouquet garni.
Either pass through a fine strainer or liquidise the soup.
Serve garnished with parsley.