Fish.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
When fish is to be boiled, it should be rubbed lightly over with salt,
and set on the fire in a saucepan or fish-kettle sufficiently large,
in hard cold water, with a little salt, a spoonful or two of vinegar
is sometimes added, which has the effect of increasing its firmness.
Fish for broiling should be rubbed over with vinegar, well dried in
a cloth and floured. The fire must be clear and free from smoke, the
gridiron made quite hot, and the bars buttered before the fish is put
on it. Fish to be fried should be rubbed in with salt, dried, rolled
in a cloth, and placed for a few minutes before the fire previous to
being put in the pan.
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FISH FRIED IN OIL.
Soles, plaice, or salmon, are the best kinds of fish to dress in
this manner, although various other sorts are frequently used. When
prepared by salting or drying, as above directed, have a dish ready
with beaten eggs, turn the fish well over in them, and sprinkle it
freely with flour, so that the fish may be covered entirely with it,
then place it in a pan with a good quantity of the best frying oil at
boiling heat; fry the fish in it gently, till of a fine equal brown
colour, when done, it should be placed on a cloth before the fire
for the oil to drain off; great care should be observed that the oil
should have ceased to bubble when the fish is put in, otherwise it
will be greasy; the oil will serve for two or three times if strained
off and poured into a jar. Fish prepared in this way is usually served
cold.
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FRIED SOLES IN THE ENGLISH WAY.
Prepare the soles as directed in the last receipt, brush them over
with egg, dredge them with stale bread crumbs, and fry in boiling
butter; this method is preferable when required to be served hot.
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ESCOBECHE.
Take some cold fried fish, place it in a deep pan, then boil half a
pint of vinegar with two table spoonsful of water, and one of oil,
a little grated ginger, allspice, cayenne pepper, two bay leaves, a
little salt, and a table spoonful of lemon juice, with sliced onions;
when boiling, pour it over the fish, cover the pan, and let it stand
twenty-four hours before serving.
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FISH STEWED WHITE.
Put an onion, finely chopped, into a stew-pan, with a little oil, till
the onion becomes brown, then add half a pint of water, and place
the fish in the stew-pan, seasoning with pepper, salt, mace, ground
allspice, nutmeg, and ginger; let it stew gently till the fish is
done, then prepare the beaten yolks of four eggs, with the juice of
two lemons, and a tea spoonful of flour, a table spoonful of cold
water, and a little saffron, mix well in a cup, and pour it into
the stew-pan, stirring it carefully one way until it thickens. Balls
should be thrown in about twenty minutes before serving; they are made
in the following way: take a little of the fish, the liver, and roe,
if there is any, beat it up finely with chopped parsley, and spread
warmed butter, crumbs of bread, and seasoning according to taste;
form this into a paste with eggs, and make it into balls of a moderate
size; this is a very nice dish when cold; garnish with sliced lemon
and parsley.
* * * * *
AN EXCELLENT RECEIPT FOR STEWED FISH IN THE DUTCH FASHION.
Take three or four parsley roots, cut them into pieces, slice several
onions and boil in a pint of water till tender, season with lemon
juice, vinegar, saffron, pepper, salt, and mace, then add the fish,
and let it stew till nearly finished, when remove it, and thicken the
gravy with a little flour and butter, and the yolk of one egg, then
return the fish to the stew-pan, with balls made as directed in the
preceding receipt, and boil up.
* * * * *
FISH STEWED BROWN.
Fry some fish of a light brown, either soles, slices of salmon,
halibut, or plaice, let an onion brown in a little oil, add to it a
cup of water, a little mushroom ketchup or powder, cayenne pepper,
salt, nutmeg, and lemon juice, put the fish into a stew-pan with the
above mixture, and simmer gently till done, then take out the fish and
thicken the gravy with a little browned flour, and stir in a glass of
port wine; a few truffles, or mushrooms, are an improvement.
* * * * *
WATER SOUCHY.
Take a portion of the fish intended to be dressed, and stew it down
with three pints of water, parsley roots, and chopped parsley, and
then pulp them through a sieve, then add the rest of the fish, with
pepper, salt, and seasoning; and serve in a deep dish.
* * * * *
A SUPERIOR RECEIPT FOR STEWED CARP.
Clean the fish thoroughly, put it into a saucepan, with a strong rich
gravy, season with onion, parsley roots, allspice, nutmegs, beaten
cloves, and ginger, let it stew very gently till nearly done, then
mix port wine and vinegar in equal quantities, coarse brown sugar and
lemon juice, a little flour, with some of the gravy from the saucepan,
mix well and pour over the fish, let it boil till the gravy thickens.
Pike is excellent stewed in this manner.
* * * * *
FILLETS OF FISH.
Fillets of salmon, soles, &c., fried of a delicate brown according to
the receipt already given, and served with a fine gravy is a very nice
dish.
If required to be very savory, make a fish force-meat, and lay it
thickly on the fish before frying; fillets dressed in this way are
usually arranged round the dish, and served with a sauce made of good
stock, thickened and seasoned with cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and
mushroom essence; piccalilli are sometimes added cut small.
* * * * *
BAKED HADDOCK.
Carefully clean a fresh haddock, and fill it with a fine forcemeat,
and sew it in securely; give the fish a dredging of flour, and pour on
warmed butter, sprinkle it with pepper and salt, and set it to bake
in a Dutch-oven before the fire, basting it, from time to time, with
butter warmed, and capers; it should be of a rich dark brown, and it
is as well to dredge two or three times with flour while at the fire,
the continual bastings will produce sufficient sauce to serve with it
without any other being added.
Mackarel and whiting prepared in this manner are excellent, the latter
should be covered with a layer of bread crumbs, and arranged in a
ring, and the forcemeat, instead of stuffing them, should be formed
into small balls, and served in the dish as a garnish.
The forcemeat must be made as for veal stuffing, with the addition of
a couple of minced anchovies, cayenne pepper, and butter instead of
suet.
* * * * *
A NICE WAY OF DRESSING RED HERRINGS.
Open them, cut off the tails and heads, soak them in hot water for an
hour, then wipe them dry; mix with warmed butter one beaten egg, pour
this over the herrings, sprinkle with bread crumbs, flour, and white
pepper, broil them and serve them very hot.
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BAKED MACKAREL WITH VINEGAR.
Cut off the heads and tails, open and clean them, lay them in a
deep pan with a few bay leaves, whole pepper, half a tea-spoonful of
cloves, and a whole spoonful of allspice, pour over equal quantities
of vinegar and water, and bake for an hour and a half, in a gentle
oven; herrings and sprats are also dressed according to this receipt.
* * * * *
FISH SALAD.
Cut in small pieces any cold dressed fish, turbot or salmon are the
best suited; mix it with half a pint of small salad, and a lettuce
cut small, two onions boiled till tender and mild, and a few truffles
thinly sliced; pour over a fine salad mixture, and arrange it into a
shape, high in the centre, and garnish with hard eggs cut in slices;
a little cucumber mixed with the salad is an improvement. The mixture
may either be a common salad mixture, or made as follows: take the
yolks of three hard boiled eggs, with a spoonful of mustard, and a
little salt, mix these with a cup of cream, and four table-spoonsful
of vinegar, the different ingredients should be added carefully and
worked together smoothly, the whites of the eggs may be trimmed and
placed in small heaps round the dish as a garnish.
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IMPANADA.
Cut in small pieces halibut, plaice, or soles, place them in a deep
dish in alternate layers, with slices of potatoes and dumplings made
of short-crust paste, sweetened with brown sugar, season well with
small pickles, peppers, gerkins, or West India pickles; throw over a
little water and butter warmed, and bake it thoroughly.
* * * * *
WHITE BAIT.
This is such a delicate fish that there are few cooks who attempt to
dress it without spoiling it; they should not be touched but thrown
from the dish into a cloth with a handful of flour; shake them
lightly, but enough to cover them well with the flour, then turn them
into a sieve expressly for bait to free them from too great a quantity
of the flour, then throw the fish into a pan with plenty of boiling
butter, they must remain but an instant, for they are considered
spoilt if they become the least brown; they should be placed lightly
on the dish piled up high in the centre, brown bread and butter is
always served with them; when devilled they are also excellent, and
are permitted to become brown; they are then sprinkled with cayenne
pepper, and a little salt, and served with lemon juice.
This receipt was given by a cook who dressed white bait to perfection.
* * * * *
A DUTCH FRICANDELLE.
Take two pounds of dressed fish, remove the skin and bones, cut in
small pieces with two or three anchovies, and season well, soak the
crumb of a French roll in milk, beat it up with the fish and three
eggs: butter a mould, sprinkle it with raspings, place in the fish
and bake it; when done, turn out and serve either dry or with
anchovy sauce; if served dry, finely grated crumbs of bread should be
sprinkled thickly over it, and it should be placed for a few minutes
before the fire to brown.
* * * * *
FISH FRITTERS.
Make a force-meat of any cold fish, form it into thin cakes, and fry
of a light brown, or enclose them first in thin paste and then fry
them. The roes of fish or the livers are particularly nice prepared in
this way.
* * * * *
FISH OMELET.
Shred finely any cold fish, season it, and mix with beaten eggs; make
it into a paste, fry in thin cakes like pancakes, and serve hot on a
napkin; there should be plenty of boiling butter in the pan, as they
should be moist and rich; there should be more eggs in the preparation
for omelets than for fritters.
* * * * *
SCALLOPED FISH.
Take any dressed fish, break it in small pieces, put it into tin
scallops, with a few crumbs of bread, a good piece of butter, a little
cream if approved, white pepper, salt, and nutmeg; bake in an oven for
ten minutes, or brown before the fire; two or three mushrooms mixed,
or an anchovy will be found an improvement.
* * * * *
ANOTHER WAY.
Break the fish into pieces, pour over the beaten yolk of an egg,
sprinkle with pepper and salt, strew with bread crumbs, chopped
parsley, and grated lemon peel, and squeeze in the juice of lemon,
drop over a little warmed butter, and brown before the fire.