Oyster Turkey
(French dish.)—Prepare a fine young hen turkey, for boiling; skewering the liver and gizzard under the pinions. Fill the body well with fine large fresh oysters, having removed their hard part or gristle. Add to the oysters a tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg and mace, and a tea-spoonful of celery seed or minced celery, and a piece of fresh butter dredged with flour. With this, stuff the turkey very full; securing the stuffing with packthread. Put the turkey into a large block-tin kettle, and let it stew in the oyster liquor only, without any water. Strain the oyster liquor before you put it in. Set the kettle into an outer kettle full of boiling water. This will cook the turkey very nicely. For such purposes, nothing is so convenient as the utensil called in French a bain marie, (pronounced bine marée.) This is a permanent double kettle with two covers, and a large tube or spout outside, for pouring in fresh hot water, without opening the lid and letting out the steam. They are to be had of all sizes at the furnishing stores in New York and Philadelphia, and are so excellent for stewing without water, that no family should be without them.
When the turkey is well boiled and quite done, keep it warm by wrapping it closely in a cloth, putting a dish cover over it, and placing it near the fire. A fine oyster gravy will be found in the kettle. Add to it some fresh butter, dredged with flour, and some mace and nutmeg, and some celery seed. Give it one boil up, and send it to table as sauce for the turkey. This is a very nice way of cooking a small turkey.
A pair of oyster chickens may be thus prepared, and stewed in the above manner in a bain marie, or double kettle.