“HOW MUCH DO YOU OFFER ME FOR THIS GOOD COOK? SHE IS AN EXCELLENT COOK: SHE CAN MAKE THREE TYPES OF FAKE TURTLE SOUP WITH MEAT, POULTRY OR FISH”

The above is an excerpt from the March 22, 1865 Charleston, SC Courier recounting the Freedmen’s Jubilee Parade, which featured a black man in a float with a woman and two children whom he intended to auction off “for good Confederate money.” “. He played the part of him with vigor and conviction, causing much joy and jubilation in the black-faced crowd.

I have always been a fan of turtle soup. My parents used to visit Doc and Nananne in New Orleans (my great-uncles) and come back with tales of delicious turtle soup. They brought me two cans of turtle soup for me to try. The rich, dark stew with a hint of dry sherry was absolute heaven for my 8 year old palate. I have never forgotten it. And so, since I couldn’t make it to the Grand Opening, I decided to celebrate Food and Wine by recreating that taste from my childhood.

But first, a little history of turtle soup. For many years, turtle soup was considered the pinnacle of fine dining. At the turn of the 20th century, Villa Marguerita, Charleston’s top hotel at the time, had a $20 bowl of turtle soup on the menu. Turtle meat was considered an exotic delicacy because the meat comes from 5 different turtle locations, all with different tastes. A large snapping turtle is said to contain seven different types of meat, each reminiscent of pork, chicken, beef, shrimp, veal, fish, or goat. Locally, this English-derived dish did not survive in Charleston homes until the 20th century. Although Charlestonians continued to hire black cooks, few were trained to prepare Eurocentric meals, so the surviving forms of food that we think of as Lowcountry style generally have their roots in Africa, but not turtle soup.

For many years, sea turtles were the meat of choice, so real meat was out of the question. Where to find turtle meat today? Of course, cooters are ubiquitous, but I live in an apartment and wearing them would be a problem. I’m not sure I’m ready to grab the head, cut it off, and hang it upside down to drain. The high cost of sea turtle meat led to the creation of Mock Turtle Soup. Using the same rich broth and a variety of meats in the broth, Mock Turtle Soup mimics not only the taste but also the texture and appearance of the real thing. As an aside, I used finely chopped chicken livers, and that dark flavor is absolutely fine, but you can choose to use dark chicken meat, even surimi (artificial crab) or mild fish fillets for this. I plan to use ground venison or bison next time instead of the beef.

Mock Turtle Soup – My Recipe

1. To 1/4 quarts of water add 1 pound raw lean ground beef and 1/2 pound small sliced ​​raw chicken livers, three bay leaves, 1 teaspoon salt.

Bring to a boil.

2. Take half a stick of butter heated with flour, brown to make a rue to thicken. Set aside.

3. Fine and medium dice:

a yellow onion

a red pepper

Two stalks of celery.

Put them in two tablespoons of butter over medium high heat for five minutes, then high until the vegetables are cooked over a char. Add this to the broth. Deglaze pan with dry sherry, scrape up bits, and add to pot along with

A can of beef broth

a cup of tomato sauce

A large can of crushed tomatoes

Stir all this and bring to a boil. add to this

1 teaspoon each allspice and thyme, 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Juice of ½ lemon.

4 shelled eggs

Simmer everything together for at least 45 minutes, 1 1/2 hours is better. Remove the hard-boiled eggs and macerate. Add again to thicken the soup. Add the rue (step 2) to thicken to the consistency of stew.

To serve, serve the soup piping hot and garnish with parsley and dry sherry.