In choosing this fish, purchasers should, to a great extent, be
regulated by the brightness of its appearance. If it has a transparent,
silvery hue, the flesh is good; but if it be red about the head, it is
stale.
MACKEREL, Baked.
_Ingredients._— 4 middling-sized mackerel, a nice delicate forcemeat, 3
oz. of butter; pepper and salt to taste. _Mode._—Clean the fish, take
out the roes, and fill up with forcemeat, and sew up the slit. Flour,
and put them in a dish, heads and tails alternately, with the roes;
and, between each layer, put some little pieces of butter, and pepper
and salt. Bake for ½ an hour, and either serve with plain melted butter
or a _maître d’hôtel_ sauce. _Time._—½ hour. _Average cost_ for this
quantity, 1_s._ 10_d._ _Seasonable_ from April to July. _Sufficient_
for 6 persons.
_Note._—Baked mackerel may be dressed in the same way as baked
herrings, and may also be stewed in wine.
MACKEREL, Boiled.
_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water. _Mode._—Cleanse
the inside of the fish thoroughly, and lay it in the kettle with
sufficient water to cover it with salt as above; bring it gradually
to boil, skim well, and simmer gently till done; dish them on a hot
napkin, heads and tails alternately, and garnish with fennel. Fennel
sauce and plain melted butter are the usual accompaniments to boiled
mackerel; but caper or anchovy sauce is sometimes served with it.
_Time._—After the water boils, 10 minutes; for large mackerel, allow
more time. _Average cost_, from 4_d._ _Seasonable_ from April to July.
_Note._—When variety is desired, fillet the mackerel, boil it, and pour
over parsley and butter; send some of this, besides, in a tureen.
MACKEREL, Broiled.
_Ingredients._—Pepper and salt to taste, a small quantity of oil.
_Mode._—Mackerel should never be washed when intended to be broiled,
but merely wiped very clean and dry, after taking out the gills and
insides. Open the back, and put in a little pepper, salt, and oil;
broil it over a clear fire, turn it over on both sides, and also on
the back. When sufficiently cooked, the flesh can be detached from
the bone, which will be in about 10 minutes for a small mackerel.
Chop a little parsley, work it up in the butter with pepper and salt
to taste, and a squeeze of lemon-juice, and put it in the back. Serve
before the butter is quite melted, with a _maître d’hôtel_ sauce in a
tureen. _Time._—Small mackerel 10 minutes. _Average cost_, from 4_d._
_Seasonable_ from April to July.
MACKEREL, Fillets of.
_Ingredients._—2 large mackerel, 1 oz. butter, 1 small bunch of chopped
herbs, 3 tablespoonfuls of medium stock, 3 tablespoonfuls of béchamel;
salt, cayenne, and lemon-juice to taste. _Mode._—Clean the fish, and
fillet it; scald the herbs, chop them fine, and put them with the
butter and stock into a stewpan. Lay in the mackerel, and simmer very
gently for 10 minutes; take them out, and put them on a hot dish.
Dredge in a little flour, add the other ingredients, give one boil, and
pour it over the mackerel. _Time._—20 minutes. _Average cost_ for this
quantity, 1_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable_ from April to July. _Sufficient_ for
4 persons.
_Note._—Fillets of mackerel may be covered with egg and bread-crumbs,
and fried of a nice brown. Serve with _maître d’hôtel_ sauce and plain
melted butter.
MACKEREL, Pickled.
_Ingredients._—12 peppercorns, 2 bay-leaves, ½ pint of vinegar, 4
mackerel. _Mode._—Boil the mackerel, and lay them in a dish; take half
the liquor they were boiled in; add as much vinegar, peppercorns, and
bay-leaves; boil for 10 minutes, and when cold, pour over the fish.
_Time._—½ hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._
MACKEREL, Potted.
_Ingredients._—Mackerel, a blade of mace, cayenne, salt, and 2 oz. or
more butter, according to the quantity of mackerel. _Mode._—Any remains
of cooked mackerel may be potted as follows; pick it well from the
bones, break it into very small pieces, and put into a stewpan with the
butter, pounded mace, and other ingredients; warm it thoroughly, but do
not let it boil; press it into potting pots and pour clarified butter
over it.
MAIGRE SOUP (i.e., Soup without Meat).
_Ingredients._—6 oz. butter, 6 onions sliced, 4 heads of celery, 2
lettuces, a small bunch of parsley, 2 handfuls of spinach, 3 pieces of
bread-crust, 2 blades of mace, salt and pepper to taste, the yolks
of 2 eggs, 3 teaspoonfuls of vinegar, 2 quarts of water. _Mode._—Melt
the butter in a stewpan, and put in the onions to stew gently for 3 or
4 minutes; then add the celery, spinach, lettuces, and parsley, cut
small. Stir the ingredients well for 10 minutes. Now put in the water,
bread, seasoning, and mace. Boil gently for 1½ hour, and, at the moment
of serving, beat in the yolks of the eggs and the vinegar, but do not
let it boil, or the eggs will curdle. _Time._—2 hours. _Average cost_,
6_d._ per quart. _Seasonable_ all the year. _Sufficient_ for 8 persons.
MAIZE, Boiled.
_Ingredients._—The ears of young and green Indian wheat; to every ½
gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt. _Mode._—This
vegetable, which makes one of the most delicious dishes, brought to
table, is unfortunately very rarely seen in Britain; and we wonder
that, in the gardens of the wealthy, it is not invariably cultivated.
Our sun, it is true, possesses hardly power sufficient to ripen maize;
but, with well-prepared ground, and in a favourable position, it might
be sufficiently advanced by the beginning of autumn to serve as a
vegetable. The outside sheath being taken off and the waving fibres
removed, let the ears be placed in boiling water, where they should
remain for about 25 minutes (a longer time may be necessary for larger
ears than ordinary); and, when sufficiently boiled and well drained,
they may be sent to table whole, and with a piece of toast underneath
them. Melted butter should be served with them. _Time._—25 to 35
minutes. _Average cost._—Seldom bought. _Sufficient_ 1 ear for each
person. _Seasonable_ in autumn.