Seafood was common and cheap on the East Coast during the early part of the 1800s. But overharvesting and overfishing made them scarcer and expensive.

INFORMATION BELOW COMPILED FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS

OYSTER BOUILLON
Bring to the boil in their own liquor a quart of oysters. Skim out the oysters, chop fine, and return to the liquor. Add a quart of water, a teaspoon of celery seed, and a tablespoon of butter. Simmer for half an hour, strain through cheese-cloth, season with salt and pepper, and serve at once.

OYSTER SOUP
Scald one quart of oysters in their own liquor. Skim out the oysters, and set aside. Add one cup of cream to the liquor, and three cups of milk. Thicken with one tablespoon butter and one of flour, blended and rubbed smooth with a little cold milk. Stir while cooking. Add the oysters, season to taste, and pour, boiling hot, over the yolks of four eggs, well-beaten.

CREOLE OYSTER GUMBO
Fry a sliced Spanish onion brown in olive-oil, add a tablespoon of flour, a chopped sweet pepper, and a pint of okra. Simmer for fifteen minutes, add one hundred oysters, with their liquor, and a tablespoon of filè powder.* Cook until the oysters ruffle, and serve with boiled rice. The Gumbo filè powder comes in bottles, and is sold by all first- class grocers.

*filé powder or gumbo filé – a spicy herb seasoning made from the dried and ground leaves of the North American sassafras tree. 

OYSTER AND VEAL SOUP
Reheat two quarts of veal stock, season with salt, pepper, and celery salt, and add one quart of oysters, with their liquor. Cook until the edges of the oysters curl, then thicken with one tablespoon each of butter and flour, cooked while stirring with a cup of milk. Season with minced parsley, and serve with crackers.

SOUTHERN OYSTER SOUP
Drain the liquor from fifty oysters, add to it two cups of cold water and bring to the boil. Season with salt, pepper, and butter, and add two cups of milk. Thicken with one tablespoon cornstarch, rubbed smooth in a little cold milk, and stir while cooking. Add the oysters, cook until the edges ruffle, and serve immediately.

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CLAM BROTH
Scrub the clams in cold water. Place over the fire in an iron kettle, and heat until the shells open. Strain the broth through two thicknesses of cheese-cloth, season to taste, and serve.

CLAM BOUILLON
Prepare according to directions elsewhere [above] given for Oyster Bouillon, cooking a chopped onion and a bay-leaf with the clams.

CREAM CLAM BOUILLON
Prepare Clam Bouillon according to directions given above and add one pint of boiling cream just before serving. Serve in cups, with whipped cream.

HOFFMAN HOUSE CLAM CHOWDER
Chop fine one dozen large clams, one quart of tomatoes, and six large potatoes. Add one quart milk, a tablespoon of minced parsley, and the juice of the clams. Cook for forty-five minutes and add six crackers pounded fine. Season with pepper and serve.

CLAM AND OYSTER SOUP
Chop a pint of oysters. Heat with their liquor, add a pint can of minced clams, and one quart of milk. Thicken with two tablespoons each of butter and flour, rubbed smooth in a little cold milk. Season with salt and pepper, minced parsley, powdered mace, and grated onion. Serve with crackers.

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CRAB GUMBO
Melt one tablespoon each of butter and lard, add a minced onion, a clove of garlic, chopped fine, one-half pound of minced raw veal or beef, one-half cup of chopped ham, a bay-leaf, and a small red pepper. Add a quart of water, simmer for two hours, and strain. To the strained liquor add the meat of six crabs, one cup each of rice and okra, and another quart of water. Simmer for an hour, adding more water if necessary. Serve without straining.

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SHRIMP SOUP
Chop fine two carrots and an onion. Fry brown in butter, with a tablespoon of sugar. Add a quart of water, a sprig of thyme, two bay-leaves, four cloves, and two cans of shrimps. Simmer until the carrot and onions are soft. Rub through a sieve, reheat, add one-half glass of white wine, and serve with croutons.

SCALLOP STEW
Parboil one quart of scallops. Boil one quart of milk, season with butter, pepper, and salt. Add the parboiled scallops, and one-half cup of cracker crumbs. Reheat and serve.

GERMAN FISH SOUP
Chop fine four onions and fry brown in olive-oil. Add two cups of canned tomatoes, three bay-leaves, a tablespoon of powdered sweet herbs, a bunch of parsley, pepper and salt to season, and six cups of stock. Boil for thirty minutes, rub through a sieve, and reheat. Add six small slices of fish, and simmer until the fish is firm. Season with curry powder, add a wine glass* of white wine, and thicken with four tablespoonfuls of flour rubbed smooth in a little cold stock. Serve with croutons. Shrimp or crab can be substituted for the fish.

*wine glass – one-fourth cup.

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SALMON SOUP
Simmer for fifteen minutes in boiling water either a pound can of salmon or a pound of the fresh fish. Rub through a sieve and set aside. Bring to the boil two cups each of milk and veal stock, thicken with one tablespoon of butter and two of flour, and stir while cooking. Season with salt and pepper, add the salmon, reheat, and serve.

SPANISH SALMON SOUP
Cook together a quart of stock, a sliced onion, and one-half can of salmon. Rub through a sieve. Add a quart of boiling milk, season with salt, pepper, minced parsley, and celery salt, thicken with butter and flour, and serve with whipped cream.

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Have You Ever Made Soup from Seafood? Please Leave a Comment Below.

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