_To clean._--When skinned, clean, head, and tail them. Then throw them
in boiling water, in which you have put a little salt and a teaspoonful
of vinegar; leave them in it about five minutes, take out, and drain.
_Broiled._--Clean and cut two pounds of eel, or of either of the others,
in pieces about three inches long. Put in a stewpan a piece of butter
the size of an egg, and set it on the fire; when hot, lay the eels in,
fry about three minutes, turning them over the while; then turn the
whole into a crockery vessel, add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and
onions, a pinch of grated nutmeg, a tablespoonful of sweet-oil, salt,
and pepper; set on the fire and simmer two hours; take off, roll the
pieces in fine bread-crumbs, place them on a gridiron, and on a good
fire, and serve when done with _piquante_ sauce.
From the nature of their flesh, eels require to be prepared thus; and,
when properly done, make really a very good dish.
_Roasted._--Prepare the eels as for broiling, and, instead of placing on
the gridiron, envelop them in oiled paper and roast before a sharp fire.
Serve with _piquante_, _ravigote_, or Tartar sauce.
_Fried._--Prepare as for broiling as far as rolling in bread-crumbs,
then dip in beaten-egg, roll in bread-crumbs again, and fry. (_See_
Frying.) Serve with tomato-sauce, or just as it is.
_In Maitre d'hotel._--Clean as directed, but boil twenty minutes instead
of five. Serve with a _maitre d'hotel_ sauce and steamed potatoes, or
with muscle, oyster, shrimp, or Tartar sauce.
_In Matelote._--(_See_ Fish in Matelote.)
_Stuffed._--Clean as directed; stuff it with currant jelly, bake or
roast, and serve with currant jelly.
_Flounder_ (wrongly called _sole_; the flounder is as good as the
sole--the soles that may be found here are imported from Europe or from
Newfoundland), _dab-fish_, and _plaice_, after being baked or boiled,
may be served with the following sauces:
_Allemande_, _anchovy_, _anchovy-butter_, _Mayonnaise_, _tomato_, and
_au gratin_.
_Baked._--Clean three pounds of the above fish. Put in a crockery dish
four ounces of butter, set it on a good fire, and when melted sprinkle
in it a teaspoonful of flour, stirring the while; also, a pinch of
grated nutmeg, salt, pepper, a saltspoonful of chopped parsley, two or
three mushrooms, also chopped, then the fish; pour on it a glass of
white wine, and a liquor-glass of French brandy; cover the dish, take it
from the fire, and put it in a moderately heated oven, and serve when
done just as it is, and in the crockery dish.
_A la Normande_.--Bone and skin the fish as directed. For a fish
weighing four pounds, spread two ounces of butter on the bottom of a
baking-pan; spread one onion, chopped fine, over the butter, and as much
carrot, cut in small dice. Place the fish over the whole, the pieces as
they are, or cut according to the size of the pan, salt and pepper, and
bake. Take from the oven when done and dish the fish, leaving the juice
in the pan; cut the stems of about a dozen mushrooms; place the heads on
the middle of the fish, and the stems around it.
Mix cold a tablespoonful of flour and the same of butter in a saucepan,
turn into it a pint of broth, set on the fire and stir continually; when
thoroughly mixed, turn into it also, and through a strainer, the juice
from the pan in which the fish has baked; stir again two or three
minutes; turn gently over the fish, put in the oven for about ten
minutes, and serve hot. _Croutons_ may be placed around the dish as a
decoration.
_Another Normande._--Bone and skin the fish as directed; butter well the
dish on which the fish is to be served, spread some chopped onion all
over, then place the fish over it; sprinkle salt, pepper, and white wine
or vinegar (a tablespoonful to a pound of fish), all over the fish, and
bake it. It takes about fifteen minutes for a fish weighing two or three
pounds. Wine is better than vinegar.
While the fish is baking, set a saucepan on the fire with an ounce of
butter in it, and when melted, add half a tablespoonful of flour; stir,
and when turning yellow, add also half a pint of broth or water, salt,
then the juice from the fish when baked, stir, give one boil, and turn
over the fish.
Blanch a dozen or so of oysters, place them all over the fish also.
Have ready two or three potatoes, cut with a round vegetable spoon;
boil till done; place them around the fish as a border for it; dust then
the whole with bread-crumbs, put in a warm oven for about fifteen
minutes, take off, place half a dozen _croutons_ all around the dish
also, and serve.
The _croutons_ are generally cut of a heart-shape. It will be easily
done if the directions are followed properly and carefully.
Commence by cutting the bread, then cut the potatoes, and set them on
the fire with cold water and salt; while they are cooking, prepare the
fish and set it in the oven; while this is baking, make the sauce, fry
the _croutons_, and blanch the oysters. If the fish is baked before the
rest are ready, take it off and keep warm till wanted. It makes a
sightly and excellent dish.
_The same fried._--Small flounders are fried like other small fish, and
served either with or without a tomato-sauce or _a la Orly_.
_The same, boned and fried._--Bone and skin small flounders as directed;
mix together a tablespoonful of oil, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley,
the juice of half a lemon, and salt; dip the pieces of fish in the
mixture, dust them slightly with flour, and fry. Serve hot.
_Pike, Pickerel, and Trout or Troutlet._--Those three fish, besides
being prepared as directed for bass, etc., and in all its different
ways, they are boiled as directed and served warm, with a _genoise_
sauce.
A more delicious dish of fish can hardly be prepared.
_Ray, Skate, and Angel or Monk fish._--Ray, though excellent, is very
little known; there is only one place at which it can be
bought--Washington Market, New York.
It is unquestionably an excellent dish, prepared _au beurre noir_. When
clean, boil the fish as directed, and dish it, sprinkling salt and
pepper on it.
While it is boiling, put about two ounces of butter to a pound of fish
in a frying-pan, set it on a sharp fire, stir now and then, and when
brown, throw into it about six sprigs of parsley, which you take off
immediately with a skimmer. As soon as the parsley is taken off, pour
the butter over the fish, quickly put two tablespoonfuls of vinegar in
the frying-pan and over the fire, give one boil, and pour also over the
fish. Frying the parsley and boiling the vinegar cannot be done too
fast, as the fish must be served very warm. The warmer it is served, the
better it is.
_Salmon_, _sturgeon_, and _white-fish_, after being baked or boiled, may
be served with a caper, and also with a _Mayonnaise_ sauce. They may
also be served in _court bouillon_, like bass. They are broiled whole,
or in slices, and served with a _maitre d'hotel_ or a caper sauce.
_The same in Fricandeau._--Cut the fish in slices about half an inch
thick, and place them in a saucepan with slices of fat salt pork,
carrots and onions under them; set on a good fire; ten minutes after,
add a little broth, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan; after
about five minutes, turn the slices over; finish the cooking and serve
with the gravy strained over the fish, or with a tomato-sauce.
_The same in Papillotes._--Fry slices of salmon with a little butter,
and until of a golden color; take them from the fire. While they are
frying, mix well together parsley chopped fine, salt, pepper, melted
butter, grated nutmeg, and a little lemon-juice; spread some of the
mixture on both sides of the slices of fish, envelop them in buttered or
oiled paper; broil, and serve them hot.
Some mushrooms or truffles, or both, and chopped, may be added to the
mixture.
_The same a la Genevoise._--Put in a saucepan a thick slice of
salmon--from five to six pounds; just cover it with broth and claret
wine--half of each; season with a bunch of seasonings composed of six or
eight sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, two bay-leaves, two cloves, and
two cloves of garlic, salt, a few slices of carrot, and a small green
onion, or a shallot, if handy. Boil gently till nearly done, when add
about a dozen mushrooms, and keep boiling till done; dish the fish, and
put it in a warm but not hot place; mix cold, in a saucepan, four ounces
of butter with about two ounces of flour; turn over it, through a
strainer, the liquor in which the fish has been cooked, and set on a
sharp fire; after about three minutes, during which you have stirred
with a wooden spoon, add the mushrooms; stir again for about two
minutes, turn over the fish, and serve warm.
_The same in Salad._--Boil, as directed for fish, some thin slices of
salmon, drain, and serve cold, on a napkin and on a dish.
Serve with it, and in a boat, the following: half a teaspoonful of salt,
a pinch of pepper, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, four of sweet oil, a
pickled cucumber chopped fine, two hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine also,
two or three anchovies, and a tablespoonful of capers; the anchovies may
be chopped fine or pounded. Beat the whole well and serve.
_The same in Scallops._--Cut it in round slices, about one-eighth of an
inch in thickness; fry them with butter, and serve.
The pieces should be tastefully arranged on a dish, imitating a flight
of stairs.
_Broiled._--Cut it in rather thin slices, butter both sides with a
brush; broil, and serve with a _maitre d'hotel_.
_Shad_ and _sheep's-head_, after being baked or boiled, are served with
an anchovy, caper, or tomato sauce. They are also served cold, _a la
vinaigrette_.
_Broiled._--When cleaned and prepared, salt, pepper, and butter it;
broil and serve it with a _maitre d'hotel_.
It may be _stuffed_ as directed for fish.
_In Provencale._--Clean, prepare, and cut the fish in pieces about two
inches long; put about three pounds of it in a saucepan, with a pint of
claret; six stalks of parsley, a small onion, a clove of garlic, and six
mushrooms, all chopped fine; boil till done, when add four ounces of
butter, and two of flour, well kneaded together; boil three minutes
longer, and serve warm.
_Another way, or a la Chambord._--Stuff the fish with sausage-meat,
envelop it in a towel, boil, and serve it with a tomato-sauce.
_The same with Sorrel._--Broil the fish, and serve it on a puree of
sorrel or of spinach.
It may also be prepared _au court bouillon_, _a la Bretonne_, and _aux
fines herbes_, like bass, etc.
_Sheep's-head_ may also be prepared like turbot.
_Au Gratin._--The shad, after being cleaned, but not split on the back
(as is too often the case, to the shame of the fishmongers who begin by
spoiling the fish under the pretence of cleaning it), is placed in a
bake-pan, having butter, chopped parsley, mushroom, salt, and pepper,
both under and above the fish. For a fish weighing three pounds, add one
gill of broth and half as much of white wine; dust the fish with
bread-crumbs, and set in a pretty quick oven.
Fifteen minutes afterward, examine it. When done, the fish is dished, a
little broth is put in the pan, which is placed on a sharp fire; stir
with a spoon or fork so as to detach the bread, etc., that may stick to
the pan, then pour this over the fish, and serve warm.
The gravy must be reduced to two or three tablespoonfuls only, for a
fish weighing about two pounds.
The fish must be dished carefully in order not to break it.
_Sterlet._--This is a fish of the sturgeon family, very plentiful in the
Caspian Sea and in many Russian rivers, principally in the Neva and in
Lake Ladoga.
_Tunny_ and _bonito_, after being boiled, are served cold in
_vinaigrette_.
_Turbot and Whiff._--Turbot is among fishes what pheasant is among
birds. Rub it with lemon before cooking it.
After being boiled or baked, as directed, it is served with the
following sauces: _Bechamel_, _cream_, _caper_, _Hollandaise_,
_Mayonnaise_, _tomato_, and in _vinaigrette_.
It is also served _au court-bouillon_ and _aux fines herbes_ like bass.
_Au Gratin._--It is prepared and served like shad au gratin.
It is also broiled and served with a _maitre d'hotel_.
_Bordelaise._--Bone and skin the fish as directed; dip each piece in
melted butter, then in beaten egg, roll in bread-crumbs and broil. While
it is broiling on a rather slow fire, turn it over several times and
keep basting with melted butter; the more butter it absorbs the better
the fish.
When broiled, serve the slices on a dish and place some boiled craw-fish
all around and in the middle. A dish of steamed potatoes is served with
it.
The following sauce is also served at the same time: Chop fine and fry
till half done, with a little butter, two small green onions or four
shallots. Put half a pint of good meat-gravy in a small saucepan; set on
the fire, and as soon as it commences to boil, pour into it, little by
little, stirring the while with a wooden spoon, about a gill of Bordeaux
wine, then the onions or shallots, and also a piece of beef marrow
chopped fine; give one boil, and serve in a saucer.
_In Salad._--Proceed as for salmon in salad.
When _boiled_, serve the turbot with anchovy-butter, lobster-butter,
lobster-sauce, or muscle-sauce.
_Cold._--Any cold piece of turbot is served with a _Mayonnaise_ sauce,
or in _vinaigrette_.
_Cold Fish._--If the fish is with sauce, that is, if the sauce is in the
same dish with the fish, warm it in the _bain-marie_, and serve warm.
Any other piece of cold fish, baked, boiled, broiled, or roasted, is
served with a _Mayonnaise_ sauce, or with a _vinaigrette_.
Any kind of cold fish may be prepared in salad. Slice the fish or cut it
in pieces and put it in the salad-dish with hard-boiled egg sliced,
onion and parsley chopped fine, salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil. Mix the
whole gently and well, and serve.
_Anchovy._--It is imported preserved. It is used as a _hors-d'oeuvre_,
to decorate or season.
The essence of anchovy is used for sauce.
The smallest are considered the best.
To serve as a _hors d'oeuvre_, wash, wipe dry, and remove the backbone,
serve with tarragon or parsley, chopped fine, vinegar, and oil.
They may also be served with hard-boiled eggs, chopped or quartered.
_Sprats._--There are none in or near American waters; they are imported
under their French name, sardines. Fresh sprats are very good boiled
without any grease, and without being cleaned and prepared like other
fish; but when on the plate, skin them, which is easily done, as then
the flesh is so easily detached from the bones that the inside need not
be touched at all; they are eaten with salt and pepper only.
Sardines are served as a _hors-d'oeuvre_, with oil and lemon-juice, and
properly scaled. They are arranged on the dish according to fancy,
together with lemon in slices.
_Salt Cod--to prepare._--Soak it in cold water for two days, changing
the water two or three times; then scale it well and clean. Lay it in a
fish-kettle, cover with cold water, set on a rather slow fire, skim off
the scum, let it boil about one minute, take the kettle from the fire,
cover it well, and leave thus ten minutes; then take off the cod, and
drain it.
_In Bechamel._--Prepare it as above, and serve with a bechamel sauce,
and as warm as possible.
_With a Cream-Sauce._--Prepare as above, and serve either warm or cold
with a cream-sauce.
_In Brown Butter._--When prepared as above, place it on a dish, and keep
it in a warm place. Put four ounces of butter in a frying-pan, and on a
good fire; when turning brown, add three sprigs of parsley, fry about
two minutes, pour the whole on the fish, and serve. You may also pour on
it a hot caper-sauce, and serve.
_With Croutons._--Prepare and cook as directed, three pounds of cod;
take the bones out, break in small pieces, and mash with the hand as
much as possible; put it then in a stewpan, beat three yolks of eggs
with two tablespoonfuls of cream, and mix with the cod; set on a slow
fire, and immediately pour in, little by little, stirring the while,
about one gill of sweet oil; simmer ten or twelve minutes, and serve
with _croutons_ around.
_In Maitre d'Hotel._--Lay three pounds of cod on a dish, after being
cooked as directed; keep it warm, spread a _maitre d'hotel_ sauce on it,
and serve.
_With Potatoes._--Prepare about three pounds of cod as directed above.
Lay the fish on a dish; have a _piquante_ sauce ready, turn it over it,
and serve with steamed potatoes all around the dish. The potatoes may
also be served separately.
_In Vinaigrette._--Prepare as directed, and when cold, serve with a
vinaigrette.
_With Cheese._--Prepare the cod as directed, then dip it in lukewarm
butter, roll it in grated cheese, lay it in a baking-pan, dust slightly
with bread-crumbs; bake, and serve warm. Two or three minutes in a quick
oven will be sufficient.
_Au Gratin._--When soaked only and wiped dry, but not boiled, prepare it
as directed for fish au gratin.
_With Caper-Sauce._--Prepare it as directed, and serve warm with
caper-sauce.
_Salt Salmon._--Soak it in cold water for some time, the length of time
to be according to the saltness of the fish; scale and clean it well,
lay it in a fish-kettle, cover it with cold water, and set it on a
moderate fire. Boil gently about two minutes, skim off the scum, take
from the kettle and drain it. Put butter in a frying-pan and set it on
the fire; when it turns rather brown, put a few sprigs of parsley in it,
and immediately pour it over the fish in the dish; add a few drops of
lemon-juice all over, and serve warm.
It may also be served with a caper or _maitre d'hotel_ sauce; or, when
cold, serve _a la vinaigrette_.
Salt salmon is also served like salt cod-fish.
It may also be served on a _puree_ of celery or of onion.
_Smoked Salmon._--Cut it in thin slices; have very hot butter or oil in
a frying-pan, and lay the slices in only long enough to warm them; then
take out, drain them, and serve with a few drops of lemon-juice or
vinegar sprinkled on them.
_Tunny._--This is not a good fish fresh; it is generally preserved, and
served as a _hors-d'oeuvre_. It comes from Holland, Italy, and the south
of France.
Fresh, it is prepared like sturgeon. That prepared in Holland is the
best. The Dutch cure fish better than any other nation.
When you serve tunny, take it out of the bottle or jar and serve it on a
small plate, or on a dessert-plate. A very small piece is served,
generally like every other _hors-d'oeuvre_.
_Salt Herring._--Soak in cold or tepid water; if soaked in tepid water,
it does not require as long; the time must be according to the quality
or saltness of the fish. Wipe dry, broil, and serve like salt mackerel.
_Another way._--Salt herring may also be soaked in half water and half
milk, or in milk only; drain and wipe dry. Bone and skin, cut off the
head, tail, and fins, and serve with oil, vinegar, and pickled
cucumbers.
They are also served with slices of sour apples, or slices of onions,
after being soaked and wiped dry.
They may also be broiled slightly and served with oil only, after being
soaked, or served with sour grape-juice.
_Salt Pike._--It is prepared and served the same as salt herring; so is
pickled trout.
_Red Herring._--Wipe or skin them, they are not as good when washed; cut
off the head and tail, split the back open, lay them on a warm and
well-greased gridiron, set on a slow fire; spread some butter or oil on
them, turn over, do the same on the other side; broil very little, and
serve with a _vinaigrette_ and mustard to taste.
_Another way._--Clean and split them as above, soak them in lukewarm
water for two hours; take out, drain, and wipe dry. Mix two or three
yolks of eggs with a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a
little melted butter; put some of the mixture around every herring, then
roll them in fine bread-crumbs, place them on a gridiron on a slow fire:
and when lightly broiled, serve as the preceding one.
Red herring may also be broiled with bread-crumbs like salt herring.
It is also served as a _hors-d'oeuvre_, cut in slices.
_Salt Mackerel broiled._--If the fish be too salt, soak it for a while
in lukewarm water, take off and wipe dry. Have a little melted fat or
lard, dip a brush in it and grease slightly both sides of the fish;
place on or inside of the gridiron, the bars of which must also be
greased; set on, or before, or under a pretty sharp fire; broil both
sides; dish the fish, the skin under; spread butter on it; also parsley
chopped fine, and serve.
Lemon-juice may be added if liked, or a few drops of vinegar.
When broiled and dished, spread a _maitre d'hotel_ on it, and serve.
_Another way._--When soaked and wiped dry, dip in melted butter, again
in beaten eggs, and roll in bread-crumbs. Broil and serve with parsley
and lemon-juice, or with a _maitre d'hotel_.