🤢 Frankly Gross 1907

Oreilles d'Agneau à la Marquise (Lambs' Ears)

Stewed lambs' ears stood upright, with a peeled plover's egg in each one.

From: Menus Made Easy
Published: 1907
Yikes Scale: Big yikes

Exactly as printed, 1907

Lambs' Feet are dressed en marinade and à la poulette, in the same manner as sheep's feet.

As- Pieds d'agneau farcis, they are stuffed; served in Hollandaise sauce with chopped gherkins.

Casserole de riz aux pieds d'agneau-stewed and served in a casserole, or baked shape, of rice.

Lambs' tails are dressed in the same way.

Queues d'agneau à la crémière are Lambs' Tails ENTRÉES. braised and served in white sauce with whipped cream, etc.

Cervelles d'agneau à l'innocent are Lambs' Brains cut in thin slices and put in paper cases with white sauce, chopped parsley, etc., sprinkled with breadcrumbs and browned.

Lambs' Ears are stewed and served as- Oreilles d'agneau farcies, filled with a stuffing of veal forcemeat, etc., breadcrumbed and fried; served on a border, with Italian sauce. à la Ravigote are served on a forcemeat border, with Ravigote sauce. à la Marquise are served on a border with a peeled plover's egg in each ear. White sauce with cream, cocks' combs, mushrooms, etc., in the centre.

Langues d'agneau à la Persane are stewed Lambs' Tongues, cut in halves and dressed in a circle, covered with a white sauce with wine, mushrooms, etc., sprinkled with breadcrumbs and baked; served with white sauce.

Menus Made Easy, 1907. Public domain; transcription unaltered.

So what happens if I make it?

The ears are safe and were ordinary — gelatinous, mild, and a standard use for a part of the animal nobody wanted to waste.

The plover's eggs are the problem now. Plovers are protected in Britain and across Europe, and taking their eggs — once a fashionable spring delicacy — has been illegal for decades.

Notes from the 21st century

Menus Made Easy is a menu book. It exists to help a hostess compose a dinner, so it lists dishes in French with brief notes rather than full method.
Plovers' eggs were a season. They arrived in spring, cost a great deal, and were eaten cold with salt. Their disappearance from menus is a conservation story.
Upright is the whole presentation. The ears stand in a border of rice or forcemeat. Take that away and it is a stew.

Don't take our word for it. The complete book is online, free and searchable.

Read the original page →

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