When cleaning the fish, do not cut off the head and tail. Stuff it. Two
or three receipts are given for the stuffing. Sew it, or confine the
stuffing by winding the cord several times around the fish. Lay several
pieces of pork, cut in strings, across the top; sprinkle over water,
pepper, salt, and bread-crumbs; put some hot water into the pan; bake
in a hot oven, _basting very often_. When done (the top should be nicely
browned), serve a sauce with it. The best fishes to bake are white-fish,
blue-fish, shad, etc. If not basted very often, a baked fish will be
very dry. For this reason, an ordinary cook should never bake a fish. I
believe, however, they never cook them in any other way.