Crayfish Soup is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic soup of crayfish tails in a vegetable-based stock flavoured with crayfish pith finished with sherry, and stock that's served with the crayfish bodies filled with forcemeat. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Crayfish Soup.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Crayfish Soup that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé's 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
No. 171.—CRAYFISH SOUP.
Prepare the sauce for this soup in the same manner as for lobster soup, No. 169. Boil three dozen crayfish with a glass of sherry and a little stock; and when done, strain the liquor to the sauce; pick the tails from the shells, and keep them in reserve; clear all the pith from the body-shells without breaking them, and keep these also in reserve; pound the shells, pith and claws, add this to the sauce, and, having rubbed it through the tammy, pour the soup into a small soup-pot. Fill the body-shells with a little forcemeat seasoned with chopped parsley and shalot, and a little anchovy. and bake them on a baking-sheet in the oven for six minutes. All this being ready, make the soup hot by stirring it over the fire; skim it; season with lobster butter, No. 129, a little cayenne, lemon-juice, anchovy, and a glass of sherry, and pour it into the tureen containing the tails and bodies of the crayfish, and serve hot.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1 carrot, scraped and finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 head of celery, finely diced
4 shallots, finely diced
1 bayleaf
1 sprig of thyme
6 tbsp parsley, chopped
2 tbsp butter
180g plain flour
1.8l stock (or water)
Melt the butter in a pan, add the carrot, onion, celery, shallots, bayleaf, thyme and parsley and fry gently until the vegetables are lightly browned (about 8 minutes). Scatter the flour over the top and mix in to form a roux. Now beat in the stock with a spoon until smooth and slowly bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes. In the meantime, combine the crayfish, sherry and stock in a pan. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the crayfish are done. Drain the crayfish and carefully remove the tail meat. Remove the pith from the body shells (be careful not to break the shells) and reserve the shells themselves. Add the pith, shell pieces, tails and claws to a mortar and pound to a paste. Add this to the stock and cook for 5 minutes. Take the stock from the heat and rub through a fine-meshed sieve then pour he liquid into a clean pan.
In the meantime, combine a little fish forcemeat with the shallot, parsley and anchovy essence. Use this mixture to stuff the crayfish bodies, arrange on a baking tray then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for six minutes.
When the crayfish bodies are ready allow the stock to heat through then skim the surface and stir in the cayenne pepper, lemon juice, anchovy essence and sherry. Heat through once more then pour into a warmed tureen containing the stuffed crayfish bodies and the crayfish tail meat. Serve immediately.
