No. 1418 — Hot Chicken or Young Turkey Pâté with Crayfish
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 1418 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
Clean and portion two or three chickens or a young turkey slaughtered the previous day. Put in a saucepan with ¼ Russian pound of butter, ½ pound of thinly sliced bacon, seedless half-lemon slices, nutmeg, salt, a bay leaf, an onion studded with cloves, parsley and dill.
Cover and braise until browned for about half an hour, watching that it does not burn. Add about two glasses of water or broth, bring to the boil, take out the poultry and strain the juices.
Boil fifty crayfish, remove meat and make crayfish butter from the shells as referenced in No. 1024. Mince the claw meat with twenty-five tails and 1½ spoonfuls of the crayfish butter.
Add a French roll soaked in milk, nutmeg, dill, parsley and two or three eggs; mix and pound in a mortar.
Roll puff, rich or short pastry thinly and arrange it as described in No. 1403. Butter the serving dish and make a mound of chicken layered with stuffing and the remaining twenty-five crayfish tails, higher in the centre.
Pour in several spoonfuls of poultry broth, brush the dish rim with egg, cover with pastry, press edges, decorate with strips and a rosette, brush with egg and bake hot.
For the separate sauce add concentrated dry stock and half a spoonful of flour lightly fried in butter to the remaining poultry stock. Boil, strain and add cooked amourettes; serve in a sauceboat.
To provide
2–3 chickens or a young turkey About 3 Russian pounds ¼ pound butter and ½ pound bacon ½ lemon, nutmeg and salt 1 bay leaf 1 onion and 2–3 cloves | Parsley and dill 50 crayfish and 2 lots dry stock 2 spoonfuls crayfish butter 1 French roll ½ glass milk and 2 eggs 1 spoonful flour and amourettes |