A historical soup from The White House cook book; a comprehensive cyclopedia of information for the home .. (1913). Do not let it come to a boil after adding the coral and force meat balls, as that will injure the color. Serve with small dice of bread fried brown in butter.
✨ Vintage Recipe
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Original Historical Recipe
Preserved exactly as written in the original source
Original Ingredients
3 pounds veal
water to cover veal
1 fine middle-sized lobster
lobster coral
equal quantity of lobster meat to coral
mace
cayenne
salt
pepper
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Make a good broth by boiling 3 pounds of veal slowly in as much water as will cover it, till the meat is reduced to shreds. Strain well.
2
Boil one fine middle-sized lobster and extract all the meat from the body and claws.
3
Bruise part of the coral in a mortar, and also an equal quantity of the meat. Mix them well together.
4
Add mace, cayenne, salt and pepper, and make them up into force meat balls, binding the mixture with the yolk of an egg slightly beaten.
5
Take three quarters of the veal broth and put it into the meat of the lobster cut into mouthfuls. Boil it together about twenty minutes.
6
Thicken it with the remaining coral (which you must first rub through a sieve), and add the force meat balls and a little butter rolled in flour.
7
Simmer it gently for ten minutes, but do not let it come to a boil, as that will injure the color.
8
Serve with small dice of bread fried brown in butter.
Chef Cecil's Modern Tips Below
Chef Cecil's Modern Tips
Modern guidance to help you succeed with this vintage recipe
Slow-simmering veal bones and connective tissue extracts collagen, which converts to gelatin, giving the broth body and a silky mouthfeel. Rubbing the lobster coral through a sieve creates a fine emulsion that thickens the soup while dispersing its vibrant pigments (astaxanthin) evenly throughout. Keeping the final temperature below boiling preserves the delicate coral's color and prevents the egg-bound forcemeat balls from toughening or breaking apart.
Make Ahead
The veal broth can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container; skim solidified fat before using. The forcemeat balls can be formed up to 4 hours ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Do not add the coral thickener until ready to serve, as it cannot be successfully reheated without color degradation.
Storage
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Note that reheating will dull the coral's bright color; reheat very gently over low heat, stirring frequently, and do not allow to boil. The soup is not suitable for freezing due to the egg-bound forcemeat and delicate coral emulsion.
AI-generated tips from Chef Cecil's culinary database
Make Ahead
The veal broth can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container; skim solidified fat before using. The forcemeat balls can be formed up to 4 hours ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Do not add the coral thickener until ready to serve, as it cannot be successfully reheated without color degradation.
Storage
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Note that reheating will dull the coral's bright color; reheat very gently over low heat, stirring frequently, and do not allow to boil. The soup is not suitable for freezing due to the egg-bound forcemeat and delicate coral emulsion.
