HOW TO CLEAN AND BOIL FISH.
The great thing to be attended to in the preparation of fish, is to
have every particle that is foul or offensive cleansed away. This
must, however, be accomplished in such a manner, that the fish may
still retain its original firm and stiff appearance, which is often
destroyed by the rough handling it gets while undergoing the process of
cleaning. It too frequently happens, owing to the ignorance of cockney
dealers, that the firmness and fine flavour of the fish is washed
away. If not wholly destroyed, it is in most cases greatly impaired.
It is impossible to see one of these smirking, smiling tradesmen with
a watering-pot in hand, without wishing to give him the benefit of
a shower-bath by means of his own engine, or hoisting him (to use a
Shakespearian phrase) by his own petard.
In cleaning fish, a pump of clear spring water is a great advantage, as
the force of the water pumped over the fish will wash off all that is
required without subjecting it to scrubbing or handling. In London a
small hand-engine or hose might be used for the purpose. As a general
rule, it may be remarked, that all fish should be laid flat on its
side, on either a board or a flat stone. It should be held by the head
and shoulders with the left hand, and all the scales and slime should
be scraped off with the right. This done, the operation should be
repeated on the reverse side. The fins should then be cut off, and the
hand-engine or pump used upon the fish to remove any loose scales or
slime that may still adhere to it. The fish should then be opened, the
intestines carefully extracted, well scraping the blood out from the
back-bone, then wash the fish by a pump or in a pan of clean water,
handling it as little as possible. Lastly, take out your fish and hang
it up to drain till required for use. Never leave a fish in the water
one moment after it is washed. If allowed to soak, the fine flavour of
the fish is very materially lessened.
COD-FISH--requires great care in cleaning, particularly in cleansing
the back-bone from blood, which spoils the appearance of the sound, and
sometimes renders it too unsightly for the table. To prevent this, the
fish should be cut open for some distance below the vent, the sound
upon one side should be carefully cut off with a sharp knife, as close
as possible to the back-bone, still leaving it attached to the opposite
side, and then the blood or the intestines of the back-bone should be
scraped out with the point of a knife, or scrubbed out with a small
brush; by this means not only will the blood be removed, but the sound
will wear a much more presentable appearance, and can be more easily
carved, and without injuring the other parts of the fish.
Fishes that are to be dressed in their scales, should be dipped in
water, and rubbed with a coarse towel to remove the slime. But great
care should be taken to rub only from the head downwards, for if rubbed
against the grain, some of the scales may become displaced, which
would, in a great measure, frustrate the effect intended to be produced
by dressing the fish with this coating upon them.
PILCHARDS--should be dressed without wiping at all; whilst sprats,
which are better when scaled, may be deprived of this outward covering
with a coarse cloth, without bruising or injuring the fish.
MACKEREL--intended for frying, should be split down the back to the
tail, as indeed should all fish meant to be cured, whether in pickle
or dried; but whitings, perch, small trout, and all other small fish,
should be opened at the belly. In the preparation of trout, the
back-bone must be scraped very clean, otherwise the blood collected
there will have a black and muddy appearance, extremely disagreeable to
the eye.
PLAICE--may be considerably improved by being beaten with a flat piece
of wood or a rolling-pin, which has the effect of making the fish eat
more firmly. It also removes, in a great measure, the flabby and
watery appearance this fish possesses.
RED MULLETS--are usually dressed without being either scaled or gutted;
if fresh, it improves them to extract the intestines carefully,
throwing away the garbage, and replacing the liver; but this can only
be done when very fresh, and the liver firm. This process should never
be attempted after the fish has been more than six hours out of the
water.
SKATES, THORNBACKS, and all fishes of this kind should be skinned, a
process which will be greatly facilitated by previously scalding the
fish in hot water.
SALT-FISH--requires great attention in its preparation for dressing,
and in being properly soaked in water. It is from neglect of these
requisites that salt-fish is not so highly esteemed as an article of
food as it deserves to be.
How often do we see a piece of cod or ling as hard as a stone, and
as salt as the very brine, from having been carelessly thrown only
half-an-hour previous to boiling into water, perhaps hardly sufficient
to cover it, and from thence transferred to the pot. It is then
vigorously boiled until the cook thinks it is sufficiently done to send
to table. Cooked in this barbarous fashion, the best salt fish would
not be worth the eating.
LING--when being prepared for table, should soak, fully immersed, at
least twelve hours in water, and then be taken out and well scrubbed
with a hard brush, or rubbed with a coarse cloth. It should next be
placed either on a flat stone or board to drain for six or eight
hours. An experienced cook would then place it in lukewarm water, and
let it remain soaking for from ten to twelve hours longer, when it will
have become pliant and tender, and also swell considerably. Warm water
and milk will considerably improve both the flavour and appearance of
the fish; a little vinegar may also be added as an additional means
of extracting the salt. The fish requires, however, two soakings, the
first water being a kind of pickle, which becomes in time as salt as
the brine from which the fish was taken.
DRIED COD--requires only half as much soaking each time as salt ling;
unless, indeed, the fish be a very large one, in which case it will
require to be soaked nearly as long as a ling. When the fish is placed
in water over night, to be ready early in the morning, throw one or two
wine-glassfuls of vinegar into the water; take out the fish the first
thing in the morning, and hang it up by its tail to drain.
In English cookery there is little or no variety in the preparation of
fish for the table. Three or four modes only of dressing this delicacy
are known among us--frying, boiling, stewing, grilling, &c., and the
numerous preparations of fish by which the palate is delighted and
the health maintained in other countries, are not to be seen among
the refinements of English dinners, when these latter are confined
to dishes of home manufacture. By some strange prejudice, fish is
never eaten among us except at the very beginning of dinner, following
the soup. Its appearance at a second course would be considered an
anomaly in England; and yet no set of persons in the world will, very
truly says the “Magazine of Domestic Economy,” relish fish at a second
course, on the Continent, more than those Englishmen who have left
their prejudices behind them in their native country.
In fish, England has always enjoyed an admitted pre-eminence over the
nations of the Continent. The fish brought to her markets is fresher,
finer, and in greater variety, yet the uniformity of her cookery in
this respect is alternately to foreigners the theme of wonder and
ridicule. Billingsgate, adjoining the Custom House, is the mart whence
this vast metropolis is supplied. The fishmongers exhibit their stores
on trays of marble or of lead. Every tide brings up fleets of vessels
varying in size, the Berwick smack, the Dutch galliot, the Norway
fishing-boats and the well-appointed steamer. There are smacks laden
with salmon packed in ice; Dutch schuyts with their wells filled with
luxurious turbots, or delicious eels; boats and barges almost sinking
with their plentiful cargoes of cod, haddock, skate, soles, herrings,
or mackerel, according to the season; oysters, crabs, lobsters,
crawfish, &c., &c. Hither the Brighton mackerel and soles, at the
commencement of the season, are forwarded by land and rail carriage,
and occasionally those welcome guests at the tables of the great and
opulent, the john-dory, and the mullet, both gray and scarlet. The
traffic is under proper regulations. Oysters, muscles, cockles, sprats,
and other fish that are sold by measure, are subject to the inspection
of the city-meters. Around Billingsgate and in its vicinity are
numerous dealers in salt and dried fish, such as salmon, cod, ling, and
herrings. In the spring and summer seasons the supply from Newcastle of
that great delicacy, pickled salmon, is very considerable, and great
quantities daily arrive fresh from Ireland and Scotland by steam and
rail. The money expended annually in the purchase of fish landed at
this place, is of enormous amount: it has been said that the Dutch used
to take yearly from our current coin, fifty thousand guineas for turbot
only! The principal market-day at Billingsgate is Monday.
Dr. M’Culloch asserts that a small proportion of sugar will keep fish
perfectly fresh for several days; but the fish must be fresh when it is
applied, as it will not recover from taint. Sugar also cures salmon and
white fish, which keeps any length of time in a dried state, provided
it is not allowed to get damp. A little salt may be added to the sugar
to please the taste.
The directions are:--To lay the fish upon its side and rub it with a
little sugar, particularly about the stomach and throat; two or three
tea-spoonfuls is enough for a good-sized salmon. If it be kept fresh,
there will be no occasion to open it.
SALMON--if large, should be dressed in slices like cod; if small, on
the contrary, it may be dressed whole, fixing the tail in the mouth by
means of a skewer, and boil it in a turbot-kettle. The fish is sent
to table resting on its belly side, the back being uppermost. The
liver and spawn, as in the cod, takes a longer time than the other
parts to boil it thoroughly; and if eaten underdone, it is extremely
unwholesome. Salmon, when not crimped, should be put into cold water
and boiled gradually, but if dressed in thin slices, it should be
plunged into hot water at once. After allowing it to remain a minute
or two in the fish-kettle, raise it out of the hot water for a couple
of minutes; let this process be repeated three or four times, and it
will cause the curd to set, and the fish to eat more crisp. When you
have followed these directions, allow the fish to boil at a moderate
pace until it is thoroughly done, for nothing is more indigestible than
underdone salmon. Be careful in removing the scum during the boiling.
The hardest water is recommended as preferable for boiling salmon.
OBSERVATIONS ON BOILING FISH.
If the fishmonger does not clean it, fish is seldom very nicely done;
but those in great towns wash the fish beyond what is necessary for
cleaning, and by perpetual watering, diminish the flavour. When quite
clean, if to be boiled, some salt and a little vinegar should be put
into the water to give firmness; but cod, whiting, and haddock, are far
better if a little salted, and kept a day; and if it be not very hot
weather, they will be good for two days.
Fresh-water fish has often a muddy smell and taste: to take this off,
soak it in strong salt and water after it is nicely cleaned; or, if of
a size to bear it, scald it in the same compound; then dry and dress it.
The fish must be put into the water while cold, and set to boil very
gently, or the outside will break before the inner part is done.
CRIMPED FISH should be put into boiling water, with salt; and
when it boils up, pour a little cold water in to check extreme heat,
and let it simmer for a few minutes by the side of the fire.
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