_THE COOKING OF FISH._
The recipes given in this part have been gleaned from reliable sources.
Many of them are from French cooks, and are strictly in accordance with
the methods in use in the best "cuisines," where the cooking of fish
receives great care and attention.
For greater convenience in reference the recipes for preparing the
different kinds of fish are all classed under the name of each kind,
and the names given in alphabetical order.
Perhaps the only ways of properly cooking fish are baking and broiling,
yet these are precisely the ways least practised--out of France.
Boiling and frying have hitherto held too great a monopoly in our
methods. In the following pages, while giving the latter modes their
due share of attention, we beg to call for special notice to be given
to the examples for _broiling_, &c., as they may be relied upon to
bring about a satisfactory result if carefully followed.
To begin with a few general directions:
In broiling a perfectly clear fire is _absolutely indispensable_; more
so in the case of fish than when intending to cook steak or chops. A
shovel-full of good cinders, slightly wetted, and given sufficient time
to become red-hot, will generally ensure a good surface heat, but a
charcoal "braisière" is _par-excellence_ the fire for this purpose, and
no French housewife considers her kitchen complete without this little
contrivance. A little charcoal sprinkled over some hot coals is not a
bad substitute for it.
A special gridiron should be kept for fish only. After using, let it be
thoroughly washed and dried, and before using again rub the bars over
with a little oil; fish is more easily marked, and apt to stick sooner
than meat.
If the gridiron is not a double one, use a pair of sugar-tongs with
which to turn the fish over; beware of sticking a fork into it. There
can be no doubt that grilling brings out a flavour which nothing else
will.
What can surpass a fresh mackerel, grilled after being split open and
boned?
An important point to bear in mind in this method of cookery is, to
_keep in the flavour_. A slice of grilled salmon will taste far nicer
if the slice has been wrapped in buttered paper; but cooking anything
in paper requires the greatest care, as should there be the least flare
the paper will catch fire,--what is required is a fierce heat.
When baking fish _en papillot_, that is wrapped in buttered paper,
the chief thing to bear in mind is not to spare the butter. This, one
of the most delicate and delicious ways of cooking fish, is apt to be
entirely spoilt, because only a little dab of butter is allowed. When
fish has been cooked in paper it should be sent to table just as it is,
paper and all. Always use plain white note paper, never printed.
In boiling fish a very common fault is omitting to put sufficient salt
into the water. In the case of large fish, salt should be added in the
proportion of half a pound to a gallon of water; for smaller fish, a
proportion of a quarter-pound to the gallon is sufficient.
It is now generally thought best to place fish in nearly boiling water,
then allow it to come gently to the boiling point again, this keeps
in the flavour on the same principle as the boiling of meat. The time
allowed depends entirely on the size of the fish, but when the flesh
shows signs of being just able to be separated from the bone, it is
amply done.
Experience is the only safe guide.
To preserve the _whiteness_ of white fish, it is wise to rub them over
with lemon-juice before boiling.
One method of boiling fish, when it is intended for eating cold, which
is much approved of on the Continent, is to do it in "court-bouillon,"
and if fresh-water fish be cooked this way it is relieved of much of
its insipidity.
One part of vinegar, one part of red wine, to four parts of water, for
the "bouillon." To two quarts of the liquor put an ounce of salt, half
an ounce of pepper, a bunch of savoury herbs, a sliced onion and a
carrot. Sometimes a small piece of salt bacon is also added. Let these
all boil together for some time, then strain the liquor and keep in a
stone jar. It will keep a long time if occasionally re-boiled.
The fish should be well covered with the liquid when laid in the
fish-kettle, and allowed to boil gradually.
To fry fish successfully it should be literally _boiled_ in fat. This
cannot be done over a slow or smoky fire, neither can it be done unless
an abundance of fat be allowed. It is not an extravagant method, even
if the pan be a large one, and it takes two or three pounds to fill it.
If carefully poured into a basin containing boiling water after the
fish has been cooked, the loose breadcrumbs and other particles will
fall to the bottom, and the fat form a clear white crust. When due care
is exercised there is no reason why the same fat should not be used
fifty times over.
Let it be quite boiling when the fish is put in. This may be known
by its perfect stillness and the faint blue vapour which will rise
from it. When the fish has been washed and carefully dried, flour it
before dipping into beaten egg, and use brown raspings in preference to
breadcrumbs.
Lay a small piece of blotting-paper at the bottom of the dish to
absorb all grease.
Various recipes for _baking_ fish are given in the following pages.
Perhaps one of the nicest ways of doing fish in the oven is _au
gratin_. Briefly described, this consists of a layer of mixed herbs and
breadcrumbs laid first at the bottom of a well-buttered dish, the fish
laid on this, then the same ingredients with seasoning and more butter
over it. Very often a glass of wine or vinegar is added.
Anything cooked _au gratin_ must always come to table in the dish
in which it was cooked, hence the gratin-dish, sometimes of silver,
sometimes of polished tin or fire-proof china, is another kitchen
requisite almost indispensable.
When intending to use salted fish for any dish it should always be
allowed to lie in water at least twenty-four hours previously, and the
water should be changed frequently; then drain and dry thoroughly.