Mock Turtle Soup Recipe A Classic British Dish

MOCK TURTLE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat a 4 quart soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat (dry - no oil in the pan). Add the beef and brown thoroughly, chopping up the clumps as you go (a potato masher works great for this). The meat should be fine, not clumpy.
• While the meat browns, place the ginger snaps in a heat-proof bowl and pour 2 cups of very hot water over them. Set aside to soak.
• When the meat has cooked, examine the pot and decide if you need to drain the fat. Depending on the cut you use, you might not have to. If there's a pool of orange fat in the pot, I would skim at least some of it off. It's up to you, though.**
• Add the onions. If grating, you can grate the onions directly into the pot. Stir to mix with the beef.
• Pour in the ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Season with the black pepper. Pour in the ginger snaps with their liquids and stir well. The mixture should be thick at this point, and look like sloppy joe sauce.
• Add water, one cup at a time, until the soup has thinned, which will take 4 to 6 cups of water. It should not be watery, but also more soup-like than sloppy-joe-like, keeping in mind that some of the liquid will cook off. I used 5 cups for the batch in the photos that accompany this recipe.
• Bring the soup to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low-medium to maintain a tame simmer. Give one more stir to let everything settle.
• Lay the lemon slices over the top of the soup.
• Partially cover with a lid, and let simmer for 1 to 2 hours. Stir every 20 minutes or so to prevent scorching.
• Remove and discard the lemon slices.
• Stir in the sherry and hard boiled eggs.
• Taste, and adjust salt and pepper. If the flavor needs brightening - if it's too sweet from the ginger snaps - add a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.

EASY MOCK TURTLE SOUP

Steps:

• Brown ground beef; add all ingredients to the ground beef in a large pot; cook 1 to 1.5 hours.
• Keep lid on for first 1/2 hour.
• Add browned flour gradually, stirring constantly.
• Add 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs; cook another 1/2 hour.
• Browned flour: Brown 10 tablespoons flour in a skillet, stirring constantly. Add a little water to make a thick paste.

MOCK TURTLE SOUP

Steps:

• Brown onion in the butter and oil, add the oxtails and brown slightly. Add the spices and herbs, then stir in the flour until it bubbles, adding more butter and oil as needed. Pour in the hot water and stock and bring to a boil. Add the remaining ingredients, except the egg and sherry. Simmer for 2 hours. Remove the oxtail, cut the meat and marrow away--add back to the soup and discard the bones.
• When ready to serve, chop the eggs coarsely and stir into the soup. Ladle into bowls, stir in a teaspoon of sherry to each, top with parsley -- and put a cruet of sherry on the table, for atmosphere if nothing else.

MOCK TURTLE SOUP

Steps:

• To make roux, use 2 tablespoons of oil and 3 tablespoons flour, and add to saucepan.
• Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth and brown, set aside.
• Boil all meat chunks together.
• Chop eggs and lemons in very small pieces.
• After meat is cooked and tender, remove and cut into smaller pieces.
• Fry onions in the roux for 3 minutes.
• Add the broth and meats and remainder of ingredients, except wine, and let cook for 30 minutes.
• Just before serving, add the wine.