The large fish are the only ones fit for this dish (which is much
thought of in France). Have the fish well cleaned, and lard it in a
square on one side with bacon, put it in a fish-kettle, the larded side
upwards, and prepare the following marinade: slice four onions, one
carrot, and one turnip, and put them in a stewpan with six bay-leaves,
six cloves, two blades of mace, a little thyme, basil, a bunch of
parsley, half a pound of lean ham, and half a pound of butter; pass it
over a slow fire twenty minutes, keeping it stirred; then add half a
bottle of Madeira wine, a wineglassful of vinegar, and six quarts of
broth; boil altogether an hour, then pass it through a sieve and pour
the liquor into the kettle over the fish; set the fish on the fire to
stew for an hour or more, according to the size, but take care the
marinade does not cover the fish, moisten the larded part now and then
with the stock, and put some burning charcoal on the lid of the kettle;
when done glaze it lightly, dish it without a napkin, and have ready the
following sauce: put a pint of the stock your fish was stewed in (having
previously taken off all the fat) into a stewpan, with two glasses of
Madeira wine, reduce it to half, then add two quarts of brown sauce (No.
1), keep it stirred over the fire till the sauce adheres to the back of
the wooden spoon, then add the roes of four carp or mackarel (cut in
large pieces, but be careful not to break them), twenty heads of very
white mushrooms, twenty cockscombs, twelve large quenelles of whiting
(No. 124), and finish with a tablespoonful of essence of anchovies and
half a one of sugar, pour the sauce round the fish, arranging the
garniture with taste, add twelve crawfish to the garniture, having
previously taken off all the small claws; serve very hot.
This dish I dare say will be but seldom made in this country, on account
of its complication, but I thought proper to give it on account of the
high estimation in which it is held in France; I must however observe
that I have omitted some of the garniture which would make it still more
expensive, and if there should be any difficulty in getting what
remains, the sauce is very good without.