Sauce for the Cod's Head

Ingredients

• 1 lobster
• handful salt
• 0.5 pound butter
• 1 meat spoonful lemon pickle
• 1 meat spoonful walnut catsup
• 1 slice lemon
• 1-2 slices horse-radish
• small pinch beaten mace
• salt
• cayenne

Instructions

1. Prepare the lobster by inserting a skewer in the tail rent to keep water out. Bring salted water to a boil and add the lobster. Boil for half an hour.
2. If the lobster has spawn, pick it off and pound it exceedingly fine in a marble mortar. Mix the pounded spawn into half a pound of good melted butter.
3. Remove the meat from the boiled lobster, pull it into bits, and add it to your butter mixture along with a meat spoonful each of lemon pickle and walnut catsup, a slice of lemon, one or two slices of horse-radish, a little beaten mace, and salt and cayenne to your taste.
4. Boil the sauce for one minute, then remove the horse-radish and lemon slices. Serve in a sauce boat.
5. Note: If lobster is unavailable, you may make shrimp, cockle, or mussel sauce the same way. If no shell fish can be obtained, instead add two anchovies cut small, a spoonful of walnut liquor, and a large onion stuck with cloves—strain before putting in the sauce boat.