I did not appreciate the nicety of broiling until, upon an occasion, a
gentleman invited a dinner company to a private dining-room of one of
our large restaurants, to eat a certain kind of fish, which he
considered especially fine. The host was quite out of humor to see the
fish come to the table baked, when he had ordered it broiled. The
proprietor afterward explained that, for some reason, his French cook
was absent for that day, and he had no other who could broil so large a
fish. I at once realized that, after all, it must be a delicate and
difficult thing to broil a large fish, so that the centre would be well
done, and the surface not burned. The smaller and thinner the article,
the hotter should be the fire; the larger the article, the more
temperate the fire, or, rather, the greater distance it should at first
be placed from it. The fish, in this case, should have been wrapped in
oiled or buttered paper. It should have been placed rather near the fire
for the first few moments; then removed farther away, or placed on
another more moderate fire. A large baking-pan should have covered the
top of the fish, to hold the heat. When nearly done, the paper should
have been removed, to allow the surface to brown.
Always grease the gridiron well, and have it _hot_, before the meat is
placed on it. Any thing egged and bread-crumbed should be buttered
before it is broiled. Fish should be buttered and sprinkled with flour,
which will prevent the skin from adhering to the gridiron. Cutlets, and
in fact every thing, are more delicate buttered before broiling. A
little lemon-juice is also often a nice addition. Birds, and other
things which need to be halved, should be broiled, _inside_ first.
Remember that a hot, clear fire is necessary for cooking all small
articles. They should be turned often, to be cooked evenly, without
being burned.
Never put a fork in the lean part of meat on the gridiron, as it allows
the juice to escape.
Always cover the gridiron with a tin pan or a baking-pan. The sooner the
meat is cooked without burning, the better. The pan holds the heat, and
often prevents a stray line of smoke from touching the meat.
If the fire should be too hot, sprinkle salt over it.