Terrapins

Ingredients

• Large, fat, thick-bodied terrapins.  Preferably female. 
• Salt
• Eggs
• Fresh butter
• Sherry or Madeira (wine).
• Powdered nutmeg
• Mace
• Possibly liquorish 

Directions

1. Place the terrapins whole into boiling water.  Add salt, and let them boil until done.
2. Take off the shells and extract the meat, while carefully removing the sand-bags, gall, and entrails.
3. Cut the meat into pieces, and place it into a stew pan with eggs and sufficient butter to stew well.
4. Let it stew until hot, keeping the pan carefully covered and over fire.
5. Make a sauce of beaten egg yolks and flavored with Sherry or Madeira (wine), powdered nutmeg, mace, and clumps of butter.
6. Stir the sauce over a fire until it comes close to a boil, and then serve.  Separately of preferred. 
7. It should be noted that an alternate version of the recipe says to add a small lump of liquorish about the size of a 5 cent piece (a nickel) and then serve once very hot. 

Source — Creole Cookery Book
Prepared by Chase Lemoine
Louisiana Anthology
December 16, 2021