Clean well three gallons of raw mussels, scraping them with a knife; wash them several times in clean waters, and take them out with the hand so as not to disturb the sand settling at the bottom. Put them into a saucepan with minced onions, sprigs of parsley, pepper (no salt), and one pint of water; set the saucepan on the fire, and when they begin to get warm, toss them and return them to the fire; cover the pot, and toss them again frequently, until the mussels open and are well cooked, then take them off, and pick them from the shells, reserving about thirty of the smallest for the garnishing. Strain the juice, and let it rest so as to be able to pour off the top and avoid the sediment at the bottom, pound the mussels with as much pearl barley (half a pound) cooked in water, salt and butter, for three hours; moisten with the mussel gravy and water in case the soup be too thick; season with salt and red pepper, then strain all through a fine sieve or tammy; warm it without letting it boil, and just when ready to serve put in a piece of fresh butter, stirring it well into the soup with a spoon until it be melted.

Garnish the soup with the thirty small mussels laid aside, and savarin croutons, a quarter of an inch square and dried in the oven All lean bisques are made exactly the same as the fat ones, only substituting fish broth for meat, and garnishing with milts, scallops of sauted eel fillets, pike, quenelles with crawfish butter, crawfish tails, and the hearts of oysters. The sieve used for the bisque or puree is a round strainer made so as to fit in the mortar having a flange on the edge to fit the outside of it. the pestle is used to force the substance to he passed through it.