Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-01-05
huMRue ABOUT TEHRAPIN.
Preparing the Dish Not = Difficult Art,
According to q Caterer.


Preparing the Dish Not Difficult Art,
According to a Caterer.
There is good deal of polite hum
bug about terrapin stew, said caterer.
1.-THE Maryland style is generally ac-
eepted as the bestway in which the dish
should be eaten, but as matter of fact
there is so little difference between that
stylc and the Philadelphia style that nc
one can tell the difference by tho taste
Of it, and, further, the Virginia style of
preparing terrapin, as followed by the
incompatible negro nanny cooks of
the Old Dominion. is the only true way
to cock it aud by far the simplest. The
cooking Of terrapin seems to be a nat
ural gift with the Virginia ncgress. 1t
is an art that the professional cook has
to acquire.
Tho preparing for the table of ter
rapin in the approved Maryland style is
quite tedious proceeding, and the per-
son who does it never fails to impress
you with the fact that be believes, or
thinks he believes, that he is and of ne
cessity must be being of exceptional
accomplishments as culinary artist,
but if you are not susceptible to the
glamour which tradition has cast around
the terrapin cook you can do the bust
ness just exactly as web yourself. You
will never be able to get a recipe for
cooking terrapin from any of these
glorified concoctors of a stew. They will
always give you a wise shake of the
head and declare that such a thing
would be impossible, save as to the mode
in a general way, because they have GER
tain artistic secrets about making terra
pin stew which they cannot impart to
any one, tho same, of course, being a
very excellent quality of rot. The pre-
pairing of terrapin depends more upon
the knowledge of how to treat it anatom-
ically than on any artistic touch.
"A terrapin that has been caught aft
er it has gone into its winter quarters
does not need to be cleaned before it is
cooked There is no food i'll its stomach,
and its interior is as clean as it can be
made. In tho Maryland or Philadelphia
way Of preparing terrapin it is thrown
alive into pot of hot water. This is
cruel enough, but it is humanity COM
pared with the way the terrapin is treat
ed in the old Virginia style In begin
ming its preparation in this style the
unfortunate reptile is thrust alive among
hot Goals or shut in very hot oven and
left there until it is cooked When this
result is reached, the under shell of the
terrapin is easily removed with a knife,
exposing the meat resting i'll the natural
dish formed by the upper shell. Moth
ing but the gall sack is removed, and,
with the addition of butter, seasoning
and a glass of sherry or Madeira wine,
the terrapin is eaten from the shell.
But it is not terrapin stew.
AFTER the terrapin is cast into the
kettle of hot water, as i'll the Maryland
and Philadelphia styles, it is left there
until it is dead. 1t is then taken out and
tho upper shell removed. The terrapin
is returned to the hot water, left short
time, removed and its under shell taken
off. Now comes a very delicate opera
ton and tho one on which failure or
success depends This is the removal of
tho liver and the gall sack. If so much
of the gall as wou cover the point of
a pin should remain, it would faint the
entire stew and mako tho eating of it
an impossibiiity. This necessary dissec-
ton done, the meat is put back into the
kettle and stewed until it is ready for
tho final touch. This is the addition of
the very finest butter tho yolks of raw
eggs, the whites Of hard boiled eggs,
thick cream and spices. The addition of
sherry or Madeira must be made only Il
very short time before the stew is served,
or tho effect Of that flavor will be lost,
tho vino cooperating quickly. New
York Sun.