middle of the fish, well cleaned and carefully scaled. Wipe it dry in a
clean coarse cloth. Then dredge it with flour, put it on the spit, and
place it before a clear bright fire. Baste it with fresh butter, and
roast it well; seeing that it is thoroughly done to the bone. Serve it
up plain; garnishing the dish with slices of lemon, as many persons like
a little lemon-juice with salmon. This mode of cooking salmon will be
found excellent. A small one, or a salmon-trout, may be roasted whole.
BAKED SALMON.--A small salmon may be baked whole. Stuff it with
forcemeat made of bread-crumbs; chopped oysters, or minced lobster;
butter, cayenne, a little salt, and powdered mace,--all mixed well, and
moistened with beaten yolk of egg. Bend the salmon round, and put the
tail into the mouth, fastening it with a skewer. Put it into a large
deep dish; lay bits of butter on it at small intervals; and set it into
the oven. While baking, look at it occasionally, and baste it with the
butter. When one side is well browned, turn it carefully in the dish,
and add more butter. Bake it till the other side is well browned. Then
transfer it to another dish with the gravy that is about it, and send it
to table.
If you bake salmon in slices, reserve the forcemeat for the outside. Dip
each slice first in beaten yolk of egg, and then in the forcemeat, till
it is well coated.
BROILED SALMON.--Wash carefully all traces of blood from the inside of
the fish. Cut it into rather thick slices, or fillets. Dry them in a
clean cloth, and dredge them with flour. Chalk the bars of the gridiron,
or grease them with lard or suet, or the dripping of beef or veal, to
prevent the fish from sticking. Let the fire be a bed of clear bright
hot coals. Broil the slices well on both sides; and when done, transfer
them to a hot dish, and lay a bit of fresh butter on each, and season
them a little with cayenne.
Fresh codfish may be cut into steaks, and broiled as above.
Also halibut, or any other large fish.
Serve up shrimp or lobster sauce, with all cutlets or steaks of large
fish.
FRIED SALMON CUTLETS.--Having washed, dried and floured the cutlets, put
near a pound of fresh lard into a frying pan, set it over a clear brisk
fire till it boils fast. Have ready a marinade or dressing made of
grated bread-crumbs, chopped sweet-marjoram, beaten yolks of eggs, and
powdered mace--all well mixed. Dip each cutlet into this marinade twice
over, and fry them. There must be plenty of lard, so that the cutlets
may float on its surface instead of sinking to the bottom, and becoming
dark, heavy, and greasy. When they are done, take them up with a
perforated skimmer, draining off the lard as you do so. Lay them on a
hot dish, and keep them hot till wanted. Serve up with them mashed
potatos made into flat cakes, and browned with a salamander or red hot
shovel.
Fresh codfish cutlets may be fried in this manner.
You may broil halibut as above. Halibut is too insipid for boiling.
PICKLED SALMON.--Clean a fine fresh salmon, and remove the bones. Cut
off the head, fins, and tail. Fish, to be pickled, should (instead of
washing) be wiped, and rubbed with a clean dry cloth. Cut it into steaks
or cutlets. Put it into a stone-ware jar with a close cover. A broad low
jar will be best. Sprinkle it with salt, and cayenne. Add some grains of
whole black pepper, and some blades of mace, seasoning it highly to make
it keep well. Fill up the jar with the best cider vinegar, set it in a
moderate oven, and bake it till thoroughly done; adding more vinegar, if
it seems too dry. Then cover the jar very closely, with the lid--if
there is the smallest crack, paste all round a fillet of strong, white
paper. Whenever you open the jar to take out some of the salmon for use,
add some fresh vinegar. Keep the jar in a dry cool place. If properly
done, and well seasoned, it will keep several months.
BROILED FRESH MACKEREL.--Mackerel cannot be eaten too fresh, as no fish
spoils so soon; for which reason in England mackerel is permitted to be
sold on Sundays. We have heard in London the fishwomen crying it about
the streets on Sunday morning before church time. And even then it is
far inferior to mackerel taken immediately out of the sea, at the places
on the coast. It is generally broiled, as no other cooking seems to suit
it, and draw forth its true flavor. Split your mackerel, remove the
bone, and cut off the heads and tails. Dredge them on both sides with
flour, and sprinkle the inside with black pepper and a little salt. Have
your gridiron very hot, over a clear fire, and grease the bars with
lard, or chalk them to prevent the fish from sticking. Broil them well
on both sides, and when they are done, and very hot, lay some bits of
fresh butter upon them. Cover to keep them warm, and send them to table
as soon as possible. They are a fine breakfast fish, and good at a plain
dinner. For sauce, cold butter is all that is necessary, but you may mix
with it, chopped parsley, or minced fennel. At the best English tables,
stewed _gooseberries_, pulped through a sieve and sweetened, is the
fashionable sauce for broiled mackerel, or lemon-juice is squeezed
profusely over the fish. To this the lovers of fruit with every thing,
will not object.
If a mackerel is fresh, the eyes will be full and lively, the gills very
red, and the stripes or bars on the back a very dark color, (nearly
black,) and strongly marked; and the body thick. If thin and flat below
the shoulders, the eyes sunk, the gills pale, and the dark stripes dull
and indistinct, the fish is unfit to eat.
FRIED MACKEREL.--For frying, take small mackerel, as fresh as possible.
Wash them, dry them in a clean cloth, and score them deeply in the back,
making several deep cuts. Season them with a little salt and pepper. Go
over them with beaten egg, and then cover them thickly with grated
bread-crumbs; which, for this purpose, are superior to indian meal or
pounded crackers. Fry them in boiling lard, and dish them hot. Send them
to table with a dish of potatos sliced and fried in butter.
Any fish may be fried in this manner. If large, cut it into pieces.
FRIED HALIBUT.--There is a great deal of eating in a halibut, as it is a
fish of immense size, and has only the back bone. It is sold in pieces
of any weight or quantity, and is exceedingly white and delicate in
appearance. But it is so very insipid, that when _boiled_ it has no
taste at all. Therefore it is always broiled or fried, except at tables
where economy is the chief consideration. If broiled, it is done in the
same manner as any other large fish, but to make it palatable requires
something to give it a little taste.
To fry halibut--take a piece from the middle of the fish, wash it very
carefully, and dry it in a clean cloth. Then cut it into thick fillets,
extracting the bone, which is easily done with a sharp knife, loosening
the flesh from the bone, and raising it as you proceed. Remove the skin.
You may also cut the fillets into slices about an inch thick. Season
with cayenne, and a very little salt. Cover them slightly with nice
butter. Have ready in one pan plenty of grated bread-crumbs; in another
a sufficiency of beaten yolk of egg, seasoned with powdered mace and
nutmeg. Dip the slices first into the egg, then into the pan of
bread-crumbs. Do this twice over, to every slice. Have ready over the
fire a hot frying pan full of _boiling_ lard. Put in the slices and fry
them well. When one side is done, turn the other. When all are done,
take them from the frying pan with a perforated skimmer, and drain them.
Keep them hot between two heated dishes.
Cooked in this manner, the halibut will be sufficiently flavored and is
a profitable fish.
Instead of frying, the halibut steaks may be broiled over a clear fire,
on a grooved gridiron. Having first buttered it, dip each steak, as
above, in bread-crumbs and egg, and lay upon each steak a large tomato
opened, and stuffed with a forcemeat of bread-crumbs seasoned with
butter, pepper, and mace. This will be found a very nice way of cooking
halibut. Fresh cod may be done in the same manner.
Cold halibut is sometimes drest as salad for the tea-table.
BOILED TURBOT OR SHEEP'S-HEAD FISH.--Having cleaned and washed the fish,
soak it an hour or two in salt and water to draw off the slime. Then let
it lie half an hour or more in cold water. Afterwards drain, and wipe it
dry. Score the back deeply with a knife. The whiteness of the fish will
be improved by rubbing it over with a cut lemon. The fish kettle must be
large, and nicely clean. Lay the fish with its back downward, on the
strainer of the kettle. Cover it well with cold water, (milk and water
in equal portions will be better still,) and add a small spoonful of
salt. Do not let it come to a boil too fast, and skim it carefully. When
the scum has ceased to rise, diminish the heat under the kettle, and let
it simmer for about half an hour or more; not allowing it to boil hard.
When the fish is done, take it up carefully with a fish-slice; and
having prepared the sauce, pour it over the fish and send it to table
hot.
For the sauce, mix together very smoothly, with a broad-bladed knife, a
quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and two table-spoonfuls of flour.
Put them into a clean sauce-pan, and hold it over the fire, and stir
them till melted. Then add a large salt-spoonful of powdered mace, and
as much cayenne as will lie on a sixpence. It will be much improved by
the addition of some boiled lobster, chopped small. When the sauce has
simmered five minutes, add very gradually half a pint of rich cream, and
let it come almost to a boil, stirring all the time. After the fish is
taken up, pour the sauce over it hot. Or you may send it to table in a
sauce-boat. In this case ornament the fish with the coral of the lobster
put on in a handsome figure.
Another way of dressing this fish is, after it has been boiled, to set
it on ice to get cold; and then, having carefully removed the bones, cut
the flesh into small squares, put it into a stew-pan, and having mixed
the above sauce, add it to the fish, and let it stew slowly in the
sauce; but do not let it come to a boil. When thoroughly hot, take it
up, and send it to table in a deep dish.
BAKED TURBOT OR SHEEP'S-HEAD FISH.--Having cleaned the fish, soak it an
hour or two in salt and water, and afterwards wash it well through two
or three fresh waters. Then dry it in a clean towel. Score it deeply
across the back; and then lay it in a deep white baking-dish. Mix
together a large tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg; add a
salt-spoon of cayenne; a few sprigs of sweet marjoram and sweet basil,
finely minced; two large table-spoonfuls of fresh butter; and two
table-spoonfuls of grated bread-crumbs. Stir this mixture into a pint of
rich cream. Pour this marinade over the fish, cover it, and let it stand
half an hour. Then bake it in the marinade; and send it hot to table.
If the fish is too large to be baked whole, cut it into fillets,
extracting the bone.
Salmon-trout may be baked in this manner.
SEA BASS WITH TOMATOS.--Take three large fine sea-bass, or black-fish.
Cut off their heads and tails, and fry the fish in plenty of lard till
about half done. Have ready a pint of tomatos, that have been pickled
cold in vinegar flavored with a muslin bag of mixed spices. Drain the
tomatos well from the vinegar; skin them, and mash them in a pan;
dredging them with about as much flour as would fill a large table-spoon
heaped up. Pour the mixture over the fish while in the frying pan; and
continue frying till they are thoroughly done.
Cutlets of halibut may be fried in this manner with tomatos: also, any
other pan-fish.
Beef-steaks or lamb-chops are excellent fried thus with tomatos.
BAKED SALMON-TROUT.--Having cleaned the fish, and laid it two hours in
weak salt and water, dry it in a cloth, and then rub both the inside and
outside with a seasoning of cayenne pepper, powdered mace, nutmeg, and
a little salt, mixed well together. Then lay it in a deep baking-pan,
turn the tail round into the mouth, and stick bits of fresh butter
thickly over the fish. Put it into an oven, and bake it well; basting it
frequently with the liquid that will soon surround it. When you suppose
it to be nearly done, try it by sticking down to the backbone a
thin-bladed knife. When you find that the flesh separates immediately
from the bone, it is done sufficiently. Serve it up with lobster-sauce.
Any large fresh fish may be baked in this way.
CREAM TROUT.--Having prepared the trout very nicely, and cut off the
heads and tails, put the fish into boiling water that has been slightly
salted, and simmer them for five minutes. Then take them out, and lay
them to drain. Put them into a stew-pan, and season them well with
powdered mace, nutmeg, and a little cayenne, all mixed together. Put in
as much rich cream as will cover the fish, adding the fresh yellow rind
of a small lemon, grated. Keep the pan covered, and let the fish stew
for about ten minutes after it has begun to simmer. Then dish the fish,
and keep them hot till you have finished the sauce. Mix, very smoothly,
a small table-spoonful of arrow-root, the juice of the lemon, and two
table-spoonfuls of sugar, and stir it into the cream. Pour the sauce
over the fish, and then send them to table.
Turbot or sheep's-head fish may be dressed as above; of course it will
require a larger proportion of seasoning, &c., and longer time to cook.
Carp is very nice stewed in this manner.
STEWED CODFISH.--Take fine _fresh_ cod, and cut it into slices an inch
thick, separated from the bones. Lay the pieces of fish in the bottom of
a stew-pan: season them with grated nutmeg; half a dozen blades of mace;
a salt-spoonful of cayenne pepper; and a small saucer full of chopped
celery; or a bunch of sweet herbs tied together. Add a pint of oyster
liquor, and the juice of a lemon. Cover it close, and let it stew gently
till the fish is almost done, shaking the pan frequently. Then take a
piece of fresh butter the size of an egg; roll it in flour, and add it
to the stew. Also, put in two dozen large fine oysters, with what liquor
there is about them. Cover it again; quicken the fire a little, and let
the whole continue to stew five minutes longer. Before you send it to
table, remove the bunch of sweet herbs.
Rock-fish may be stewed in this manner. Fresh salmon also.
FRIED CODFISH.--Take the middle or tail part of a fresh codfish, and cut
it into slices not quite an inch thick, first removing the skin. Season
them with a little salt and cayenne pepper. Have ready in one dish some
beaten yolk of egg, and in another some grated bread-crumbs. Dip each
slice of fish twice into the egg, and then twice into the crumbs. Fry
them in fresh butter, and serve them up with the gravy about them.
Halibut may be fried as above.
STEWED HALIBUT.--Cut the fish into pieces about four inches square, of
course omitting the bone. Season it very slightly with salt, and let it
rest for half an hour. Then take it out of the salt, put it into a large
deep dish, and strew over it a mixture of cayenne pepper, ground white
ginger, and grated nutmeg. Lay among it some small bits of fresh butter
rolled in grated bread. Add half a pint of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar if
you have it.) Place the dish in a slow oven, and let the halibut cook
till thoroughly done, basting it very _frequently_ with the liquid. When
nearly done, add a large table-spoonful or more of capers, or pickled
nasturtions.
Halibut is a very insipid fish; but this mode of cooking will give it
taste.
STEWED ROCK-FISH.--Take a large rock-fish, and cut it in slices near an
inch thick. Sprinkle it _very slightly_ with salt, and let it remain for
half an hour. Slice very thin half a dozen large onions. Put them into a
stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, cut into bits. Set
them over a slow fire, and stir them continually till they are quite
soft, taking care not to let them become brown. Then put in the sliced
fish in layers; seasoning each layer with a mixture of white ground
ginger, cayenne pepper, and grated nutmeg; add some chopped parsley, and
some bits of butter rolled in flour. Pour in a pint of water, and, if
you choose, a wine-glass of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar will be best.[B])
Set it over a good fire and let it cook about an hour. When done, take
out the fish carefully, to avoid breaking the slices. Lay it in a deep
dish that has been made hot, and cover it immediately. Have ready the
beaten yolks of two eggs. Stir them into the gravy. Give it one boil up;
and then either pour it over the fish, or serve it up in a sauce-boat.
[B] To make this vinegar--half fill a bottle with tarragon leaves, and
fill it quite up with the best cider vinegar. Cork it tightly, and do
not remove the tarragon, but let it remain always at the bottom. The
flavor is very fine.
Halibut, fresh cod, or any other large fish may be stewed in this
manner.
TO KEEP A SHAD FRESH.--By the following process, (which we can highly
recommend from experience,) a shad may be kept twenty-four hours, or
indeed longer, so as to be perfectly fresh in taste and appearance. For
instance, if brought _fresh_ from market on Saturday morning, it may be
broiled for breakfast on Sunday, and will seem like a fresh shad just
from the water. Immediately on bringing it in, let it be scaled,
cleaned, washed, split, and wiped dry; cutting off the head and tail.
Spread the shad open on a large flat dish. Mix well together in a cup, a
heaped table-spoonful of brown sugar; a heaped tea-spoonful of cayenne
pepper, and a tea-spoonful of fine salt; and then rub the mixture,
thoroughly and evenly, all over the inside of the fish; which, of
course, must be spread with the skin or outside downward. Cover it
closely with a large tin cover or with another dish, and set it
immediately on ice or in a very cold place, and let it rest till next
morning, or till it is wanted for cooking. Immediately before you put it
on the gridiron, take a clean towel and carefully wipe off the _whole of
the seasoning_, not letting a particle of it remain round the edges, or
anywhere else. Then put the shad on a previously heated gridiron, over
hot coals, and broil it well. Butter it, and send it hot to table, where
every one can season it again, according to their taste.
PLANKED SHAD.--This is the best way of cooking shad when in perfection,
just out of the river; and it is much in use at fishing party dinners. A
board or plank, about three inches thick and two feet square, must be
provided for the purpose. This plank should be of well-seasoned oak or
hickory, and very clean. A pine board will very soon catch fire and
burn; besides communicating to the fish a taste of turpentine or rosin.
Take a very fine shad, and (having cut off the head and tail,) split it
down the back, clean it, wash it well, and wipe it dry. Sprinkle it
with salt, and cayenne. Stand up the board before the fire till it
becomes very hot, and almost begins to char. Then nail to the hot board
the spread-open shad, with the back or skin-side next to the plank,
securing it with a few nails, not driven in so hard that they cannot
easily be drawn out. Begin to roast it with the head downward. After a
while turn the other end of the plank, so as to place the tail downward.
Turn it frequently up or down, that the juices of the fish may be
equally dispersed throughout. When done, butter it with fresh butter,
and send it to table on the board; under which, place a large dish or
tray. Help it to the company off the plank. This mode of cooking a shad
will be found superior to all others; and is so generally liked, that
two at least will be required, one at each end of the table. It is much
enjoyed by parties who have dinners on the banks of the river, and
bespeak of the fishermen shad just out of the water.
Lake salmon may be cooked in this manner on a plank. Also, blue fish,
and the lake white fish.
At the principal household stores, shad-boards of oak are now to be
purchased ready made. The cost is from a dollar to seventy-five cents.
They are very strong and smooth, and furnished with thick wires crossing
the board diagonally. Behind these the fish is to slip in without
nailing. They are much used, and we advise every house-keeper to get
one. We see very nice ones at Carryl's Furnishing Store, Chestnut
street, Philadelphia.
SHELL FISH.
TO CHOOSE OYSTERS.--Insert a knife, and if the shell instantly closes
firmly on the knife, the oysters are fresh. If it shuts slowly and
faintly, or not at all, they are dying, or dead. When the shells of raw
oysters are found gaping open they are fit for nothing but to throw
away, and should not have been seen in the market, as they are quite
dead and decomposition has commenced. Clams the same.
TO FEED OYSTERS.--When it is necessary to keep oysters a day or two
before they are cooked, they must be kept clean and fed, otherwise they
will die and spoil. Put them into a large tub of clean water; wash from
them the mud and sand, and scrub them with a birch broom. Then pour off
_that_ water, and give them a clean tubful, placing the oysters with the
deep or large side downward, and sprinkling them well, with salt mixed
with it, allowing about a pint of salt to every two gallons of water.
But if you have a very large quantity of oysters, add to the salt and
water several handfuls of indian meal. Repeat this every twelve hours,
with fresh water and meal. Always at the time of high water, oysters may
be seen to open their shells, as if in expectation of their accustomed
food. If this is carefully continued, they will remain plump and
healthy for two days.
Terrapins also, and other shell fish, should have the salt and water
changed every twelve hours, and be fed with corn meal.
Turtle must also be well fed, and allowed salted water to swim in.
STEWED OYSTERS.--Get two hundred or more fine large fresh oysters. Drain
them from their liquor, (saving it in a pitcher,) and put them into a
stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and set them over
the fire. When they have simmered, and have almost come to a boil,
remove them from the fire; and have ready a pan of very cold water. Take
out the oysters, (one at a time, on a fork,) and put them into the cold
water. This will plump them, and render them firm. Having saved about
half their liquor, put it into the stew-pan, seasoned well with blades
of mace, grated nutmeg, whole pepper-corns, and a little cayenne. Stir
in half a pint or more of thick rich cream; and if you cannot procure
cream, an equal quantity of nice fresh butter divided into bits,
slightly dredged with a very little flour. Boil the liquor by itself,
and when it comes to a boil, take the oysters out of the cold water, and
put them into the boiling liquor. In five minutes remove the pan from
the fire, (the oysters having simmered,) and transfer them to a tureen
or deep dish, in the bottom of which has been laid a buttered toast,
that has previously been dipped a minute in hot water or milk.
FRENCH STEWED OYSTERS.--Wash fifty fine large oysters in their own
liquor, then strain it into a stew-pan, putting the oysters in a pan of
cold water. Season the liquor with a large glass or half a pint of white
wine, (sherry or Madeira,) the juice of two lemons, six or seven blades
of mace, and a small grated nutmeg. Boil the seasoned liquor; and skim,
and stir it well. When it comes to a boil, put in the oysters. Give them
one good stir, and then immediately take them from the fire, transfer
them to a deep dish, and send them to table. They are not to boil.
Many persons consider this the finest way of cooking oysters for
company. Try it. The oysters must be of the very best.
FRIED OYSTERS.--For frying, take only the largest and finest oysters.
They should be as fresh as you can get them. Salt oysters are not good
for frying. Take them out of their liquor, carefully, with a fork,
picking off whatever bits of shell may be about them. Dry them in a
clean napkin. Prepare some grated bread-crumbs, or pounded cracker, or
soda biscuit, seasoned with cayenne pepper. Have ready plenty of yolk of
egg beaten till very light; and to each egg allow a large tea-spoonful
of rich cream, or of the best fresh butter. Beat the egg and cream
together. Dip each oyster first into the egg, &c., and then into the
crumbs. Repeat this twice till the oysters are well-coated all over.
Have ready boiling, in a frying-pan, an equal mixture of fresh butter
and lard. It must come nearly to the edge or top of the frying-pan, and
be boiling fast when the oysters go in; otherwise they will be heavy and
greasy, and sink to the bottom. Fry them of a yellow brown on both
sides. Send them to table very hot.