Peel, wash, slice 2 carrots; peel 3 onions; coarsely chop 2; keep the other whole; clean 250 g of mushrooms; peel 2 lemons, cut them into slices, deseed; harden 12 eggs.
Drain for 2 hours, under running cold water, half a boneless calf's head, with the tongue and brains.
Put the head and the tongue in a small pot, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, skim off the foam, remove after 6 minutes, run under cold water, brush, flambé with alcohol the few hairs that could still adhere to the flesh, rub with 1 lemon cut in half.
Dilute 35 g of flour with cold water, half the carrots, chopped onions and slices of lemon, then 6 peppercorns, 1/2 bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme, 1 clove, salt , bring to the boil.
Add another 50 g of butter, immerse the tongue, cover without closing completely, cook for 1 hour, then immerse the head, continue cooking for 30 minutes, keep the white.
Meanwhile clean the brains, prick the whole onion with 1 clove, put it in a saucepan with 1/2 liter of water, 1/4 bay leaf, 1/2 sprig of thyme, a pinch of salt, boil.
Lower the heat, immerse the brains, cover, simmer for 20 minutes.
Cooking:
Scrape 50 g of fatty bacon with a knife, put in a casserole over low heat, with 50 g of butter, 1/4 bay leaf, a few thyme leaves, the rest of the carrots, chopped onions and slices of lemon , when the vegetables are blond add 1/4 bottle of dry Madeira and 1/4 liter of cooking white
In addition, cut the calf's head into pieces, on a butter muslin, place some bards of bacon, the pieces of head, a few other bards of bacon, close the linen, tie at both ends
Place this package in the casserole, cover, simmer 1 hour to 1 hour 1/2.
The stew:
In another pot, melt 50 g of butter with 30 g of flour, moisten with a ladle of cooking white and the rest of Madeira, add 1 can of cockscombs, the mushrooms, 12 quenelles of veal, 1 chilli- bird, 8 gherkins in slices and about ten candied nasturtium seeds or if there are no capers, simmer for 25 minutes.
Castrate 12 live crayfish, throw them in the casserole
Peel the tongue, cut it into pieces, divide the brains in two and the eggs into quarters, put everything in the stew, cook for 8 minutes.
The service:
Remove the calf's head from the first casserole, remove the linen and the bards, place on a dish with the elements of the stew.
Source:Viard 1810