205—Forcemeat Balls or Quenelles

Divers ways of Moulding and Poaching them.—Whatever be the required size or shape of quenelles there are four ways of making them:—(1) By rolling them; (2) by moulding them with a spoon; (3) by forming them with a piping-bag; (4) by moulding them by hand into the shape of a kidney.

1. To roll quenelles it is necessary to keep the forcemeat somewhat stiff, and therefore this process could not well apply to the mousseline forcemeats. Place one-quarter lb. of forcemeat, when ready, on a floured board, and, with hands covered in flour, roll the preparation until it has lengthened itself into the form of a sausage, the thickness of which depends upon the required size of the intended quenelles.

Cut up the sausage of forcemeat laterally with a floured knife, and roll each section with the finger-ends until the length it assumes is thrice that of its diameter. The balls should be put aside on a floured tray as soon as they are made.

The Poaching of Rolled Quenelles.—When all the forcemeat has been used up, the balls are gently tilted into a saucepan containing boiling, salted water, so calculated in quantity as to allow of their not being too tightly squeezed. The saucepan is covered and kept on the side of the fire until all the balls have risen to the surface and are almost out of the water. They are then removed with a skimmer and placed in a bowl of cold water.

At last, when they have properly cooled, they are carefully drained on a cloth and put aside on a dish until required.

When the quenelles are needed for immediate use it would be better not to cool them.

2. To Mould Quenelles with a Spoon.—This method may be applied to all forcemeats, and allows of the balls being much softer, as the forcemeat need not be so stiff. First, butter the sautépan or the tray, whereon the balls are to be laid, by means of a brush, and let the butter cool.

Put the sautépan on the table in front and a little to the right of one; on the left, place the sautépan or bowl containing the forcemeat, and on the further side of the buttered sautépan there should be a receptacle containing hot water, into which the spoon used for moulding is inserted. For ordinary quenelles two coffee-spoons are used, one of which is kept in the hot water as stated above. Now, with the other held in the left hand, take up a little of the forcemeat (just enough to fill the spoon); withdraw the second spoon from the hot water and place it, with its convex side uppermost, on the other spoon.

This smoothens the upper surface of the forcemeat. Now, with the help of the second spoon, remove the whole of the contents of the first spoon, and overturn the second spoon on the spot in the tray or sautépan which the ball is intended to occupy. The second spoon, being at once moist and hot, allows the forcemeat to leave it quite easily in the shape of a large olive. Renew this operation until the whole of the forcemeat has been used.

The Poaching of Spoon-moulded Quenelles.—When all the balls have been moulded, place the tray on the side of the stove and pour enough boiling, salted water over them to moisten them abundantly. Leave them to poach, and from time to time move the tray; then, when they have swollen sufficiently and seem soft and firm to the touch, drain them. If they are to be used at once they should be placed directly in the sauce. If they have been prepared in advance, it would be well to cool them as directed under rolled quenelles.

3. To Form Quenelles with a Piping-bag.—This process is especially recommended for small, fine, and light forcemeat balls intended for soup garnish. For, besides being extremely quick, it allows of making them in any desirable size or shape.

Butter a tray or a sautépan, and leave to cool. Put the forcemeat into a bag fitted with a pipe at its narrowest end. The pipe may be grooved or smooth, and its size must be in accordance with that intended for the proposed balls. Now squeeze out the latter, proceeding in the usual way and laying them very closely.

The Poaching of Quenelles made by the above Process, with ordinary or Mousseline Forcemeat.—These quenelles are poached in exactly the same way as the spoon-moulded ones.

The Poaching of Godiveau Quenelles made with a Piping-bag.—These quenelles or balls are laid on a piece of fine, buttered paper, which in its turn is placed upon a buttered tray. The godiveau must not be too stiff, and the balls are laid by means of the piping-bag side by side and slightly touching one another. When the tray is covered push it into a very moderate oven for a few minutes. The balls are poached when a thin dew of grease may be seen to glisten on their surfaces. On the appearance of this dew withdraw them from the oven and overturn the tray, carefully, upon a marble slab, taking care that the tray does not press at all upon the balls, lest it crush them. When the latter are nearly cold the paper which covers them is taken off with caution, and all that remains to be done is to put them carefully away on a dish until they are wanted.

4. To Mould Forcemeat with the Fingers.—This excellent process is as expedient as that of the bag, and it produces beautifully shaped balls. Place on the edge of a table, in front of one, a saucepan three-quarters full of boiling, salted water, the handle of the receptacle being turned to the far side. Now take a piece of string one yard in length, double it over, and tie the free ends to a weight of two lbs., letting the two strands twist round each other.

This done, there should be a loop at the top of the string. Put this loop round the handle of the saucepan, and draw the string diametrically across the latter, letting the weight pull the string tightly down on the side opposite to the handle. When this has been effected the operator, with his left hand, takes some of the forcemeat, smoothening it with a spoon, and, placing the spoon near the string with his right, first finger, he removes from its extremity a portion of the preparation about equal to the intended size of the balls. This portion of the forcemeat remaining suspended on his first finger, the operator now scrapes the latter across the string, and the ball falls beneath into the saucepan containing the water. When all the stuffing has been moulded in this way the saucepan is placed on the fire to complete the poaching of the balls, and the precautions indicated in the preceding processes are observed.