Handbook of Fish Cookery — Tested Recipes, part 3

=Perch.

=--The best way of dressing perch is in _water souchy_.

Remember always to clean the perch first with a little warm water to take off the slime, then lay them in cold salt water for an hour or so.

Pick out the smallest of the fish for the _souchy_, empty them, cut into pieces, boil them slowly with some parsley-root, peppercorns, and salt.

Strain the broth (for the ingredients should boil until a strong broth is obtained) through a muslin.

The large perch should be crimped, after being cleaned, then placed in the broth and simmered until just tender.

Drain them, serve in a deep dish with a ladleful of the broth poured over them, and garnished with green parsley.

A little fresh parsley, chopped, may be introduced into the broth if liked.

Perch may also be laid in a marinade (after being cleansed) then broiled over the fire.

It is well if, after lifting them out of the marinade, they are liberally besprinkled with seasoned breadcrumbs and herbs.

Broil till lightly browned, lay on a hot dish, a nob of butter on each, and garnish.

Serve a little sharp sauce with them.

If economy is not to be studied, they are very nice if stewed in wine--sherry, or equal parts of sherry and clear stock.

Lay the perch in a deep dish, and just cover them with the above.

Slice an onion very thinly, lay over them with a few sprigs of parsley, thyme, a bay-leaf, and some peppercorns, sprinkle liberally with salt, and let them simmer gently for about twenty minutes.

Make a sauce from the liquor by thickening it with butter rolled in flour, and serve poured over the fish.

=Pike, Baked.

=--Pike must be scaled after washing them.

To scale it easily, first pour boiling water over the fish, then plunge immediately into cold water, and scrape briskly with the back of a knife.

Wipe the fish dry, then empty it, and fill the cavity with a nicely seasoned forcemeat, sew up the sides, and lay in a baking dish.

Lay several large lumps of butter about it, and pour over a glassful of white wine or clear broth.

Bake it in a moderate oven for half an hour--a large fish will take even longer.

It should be basted frequently, being a dry fish.

Good beef dripping will answer as well as butter.

When done, lift the fish carefully on to a hot dish, and thicken the gravy with flour;

add a spoonful of anchovy sauce, the same of mushroom ketchup, cayenne pepper, and salt.

Let them boil up again, then stir in a spoonful of capers, and pour the sauce into a tureen.

The fish may be garnished with horseradish, fresh parsley, or small ripe tomatoes, if available.

Pike may be boiled, letting it lie in vinegar some time previously, and placing it in very hot water or stock, with an onion and bunch of sweet herbs.

Bring to a boil, and then simmer until tender.

Serve it on a clean napkin with cut lemons and parsley; send a sharp sauce to table with it.

The remains of cold boiled pike, or slices cut from a fresh fish, may be dipped into egg and breadcrumbs and fried in fat.

They will be found very good, especially if accompanied by a dish of green vegetable, as spinach, or a fresh salad.

=Plaice.

=--Perhaps the very nicest way of dressing plaice is to cut the fish into fillets, then to dip these into beaten egg and raspings, and fry them.

Place each fillet on a round of fried bread, and put a tiny pat of anchovy butter on the top of each, giving a sprinkle of pepper and salt as well, and thus they will be found to be very appetising.

=Plaice, au Gratin.

=--Steep the fish in salt water for an hour or two, cleanse and empty it, leaving the head untouched.

Dry it thoroughly, and take a dish that will just hold it.

First melt a little beef dripping in that, then put a layer of crumbs, a tablespoonful of finely-minced suet, parsley, shallots, and seasoning.

On this lay the plaice, white side uppermost, cover with the same order, and squeeze the juice of a lemon over the top.

Set in the oven, which should be hot enough to brown the surface quickly.

Twenty minutes is ample for a good-sized fish.

Serve in the same dish.

=Plaice, Boiled.

=--Large plaice should be chosen for boiling.

Cut a slit from the head downwards through the middle of the back, to prevent the white side breaking.

Lay it in the fish-kettle with sufficient _cold_ water to cover it, and a teacupful of vinegar.

Let it come quickly to boiling point, then simmer for about five minutes longer.

Serve with shrimp or caper sauce.

=Prawns.

=--Prawns much resemble shrimps, but are larger in size and more delicate in flavour.

When fresh they are of a bright red colour, and very firm.

=Prawn Soup.

=--Mince together till quite fine, a carrot, onion, stick of celery, and small turnip.

Melt a little butter in a stewpan, put in the vegetables and let them simmer for a quarter of an hour, stirring well about.

Heat a quart of clear stock, take a thick slice of white bread and cut it into dice, leaving out the crust, let it boil in the liquor, then add the vegetables with the butter, and a tablespoonful of salt.

Boil all together.

Take fifty prawns, pick out the tails, and stew the bodies in a glass of wine, press them through a colander and mix with the soup.

Add then a pinch of cayenne pepper, a teaspoonful of anchovy butter, and a dessert-spoonful of lemon juice.

Allow all to boil five minutes longer, and pour over fried croutons into a tureen.

=Ray, or Maids.

=--This fish is the young skate, and, like the latter, it is improved by being hung for a day.

It is nicest if cut into fillets and fried.

It may be boiled for a few minutes in "court-bouillon," or, after being par-boiled, it may be cut into slices, dipped in oil, dredged with flour, and laid on a gridiron to broil for a few moments longer.

Minced parsley and shallots simmered in butter, with a tablespoonful of vinegar, and seasoning of pepper and salt, should form a gravy to accompany the fillets.

=Roach.

=--The roach is a small fresh-water fish of a firm compact flesh.

It is best fried.

Wash and empty the fish, dredge flour over them when dry, fry them in hot fat for about five minutes.

Send anchovy or some very tasty sauce to table with them.

=Salmon.

=--For boiling purposes choose salmon with small heads and thick shoulders, or if buying only a portion of a fish, choose a piece of the middle or the head and shoulders.

After cleaning the fish, cut off the fins and gills and scrape the scales carefully.

Lay it in _nearly_ boiling water with plenty of salt in it; let the water well cover the fish.

Allow the water to come to boiling point, then boil gently until a silver fork will pass through the thickest part.

As a general rule allow eight minutes to the pound if the fish is a thick one, five or six minutes if it be a thin one.

Experience is the only safe guide.

It is well to wrap the fish in a thin linen cloth before putting it in the pan; only be careful in removing the cloth when the fish is done, lest it be broken.

Lay the fish on a folded napkin, and garnish with tufts of parsley, tomatoes, and a few prawns.

=Salmon, Broiled.

=--For broiling purposes slices across the fish about an inch thick are preferable.

If nicely cut and rubbed with a little melted butter, sprinkled with pepper and salt, laid on the gridiron and broiled on both sides over a very clear hot fire, turning every two or three minutes till done, then laid on a hot dish with a pat of fresh butter on each cutlet, and garnished with whatever is best obtainable, they are indeed truly admirable.

Shrimp sauce, or _maître d'hôtel_ butter might accompany them.

A dish of green peas, either plainly boiled, or sautéd in butter, is a most delicious accompaniment to salmon cutlets.

=Salmon, Baked.

=--Take a piece two or three pounds in weight, either from the middle or the tail end.

Lay it in a deep pie-dish, surround it with a few small shallots and sound red tomatoes, dredge a little flour over it, sprinkle with pepper and salt, lay several small pats of butter on the top, and pour a glassful of white wine into the dish.

Place the dish in a moderately hot oven and bake for from three-quarters to an hour.

When done, lift the fish on to a dish and keep hot while preparing the sauce.

Press the tomatoes and shallots through a colander or hair sieve, add to the liquor in the dish, with also a teaspoonful each of made mustard, vinegar, flour, and Worcestershire sauce; let this boil up once, then pour round the fish.

Garnish with curled parsley and a few choice tomatoes.

Serve whipped potatoes with it, and cucumbers sliced in vinegar.

=Salmon Crumbs.

=--A dish much liked in the North of Ireland.

The remains of cold boiled salmon are divided into flakes and mixed with half their quantity of stale breadcrumbs, a tablespoonful of fresh butter, pepper, salt, a spoonful of vinegar, and one or two beaten eggs.

Butter a shallow pie-dish, strew with crumbs, then press the mixture into it, and bake till brown.

Any nice sauce, or a freshly-dressed salad, may be served with this dish.

=Salmon Fritters.

=--Take the remains of cold cooked salmon, remove the skin and bone and break the flesh into flakes.

Mix with these an equal quantity of mashed potatoes, add pepper and salt and an egg to bind the whole together.

Make the mixture into small flat cakes or fritters, coat each one with beaten egg, and dredge with flour; melt a little nice dripping in a shallow frying-pan, fry the fritters first on one side, then on the other, till they are a nice brown colour, drain and keep hot while preparing the following:--The heart of a crisp white lettuce, shred, and piled in the centre of a dish, two hard-boiled eggs shelled and minced small, strewn over this; make a dressing with salt and pepper, one spoonful of vinegar and two of oil, the whole of a shallot, some chives and parsley finely minced, all mixed together, then poured over the lettuce.

Sprinkle a little lobster coral over the surface, place the fritters round the base, and serve at once.

This is a nice supper dish.

=Salmon Trout.

=--These are rightly esteemed a great delicacy.

They may be dressed and served according to the recipes given for salmon, although boiling is the least suitable method.

As they seldom exceed two or three pounds in weight, it scarcely repays to fillet them.

For broiling they may be treated like mackerel, but, better still, when they have been duly cleansed and scaled, wrap them in buttered paper, and either bake them in the oven or broil them on the gridiron.

Baking is the best method of cooking salmon trout, but, when small, they are very good if dipped bodily into batter, then plunged into boiling fat, and served with _maître d'hôtel_ sauce.

=Salmon Trout, Baked and Stuffed.

=--A good-sized trout is very nice if baked as follows:--After emptying and scaling the fish, fill the cavity with a stuffing of breadcrumbs, parsley, herbs, and an egg to mix it;

sew the sides together if necessary.

Lay in a baking dish, dredge with flour, place butter on the top, put a tablespoonful of vinegar and one of stock into the dish, and bake in the oven from twenty minutes to half an hour.

Lift the fish out on to a dish, thicken the liquor with flour, add seasoning, a spoonful of chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of anchovy essence, and pour this sauce round the fish.

New potatoes, green peas, or baked tomatoes should accompany this dish.

=Sardines.

=--Tinned sardines are generally eaten without any further preparation, although very nice sandwiches may be made from them, also they are an indispensable adjunct to a fish salad.

Fresh sardines should be first cleansed, then dried in a soft cloth, laid on the gridiron and broiled for about two minutes.

Sprinkle salt and pepper and a dash of vinegar over them, and serve very hot on toasted bread.

=Shad.

=--Shad does not enjoy a very high reputation in England; in France it is quite a favourite fish and is thought worthy of being cooked in wine, and served with Béchamel sauce.

Its best season is the early spring-time, March to May.

The French way of cooking it is to split it open, after emptying, scaling, and washing it, then to lay it in oil, with pepper and salt.

After it has soaked in this marinade for a sufficient time, it is laid on the gridiron, and broiled _very slowly_, on both sides, for upwards of an hour.

Served with _maître d'hôtel_ butter or caper sauce.

Shad may be fried after first trimming into convenient-sized pieces and dipping each piece in frying batter.

It may also be stuffed and baked according to instructions given for salmon trout.

=Shrimps.

=--There are several varieties of shrimps.

The two kinds most commonly met with are the brown and the red shrimps.

The brown kind is caught nearest to the shore in the shallower pools, and has the strongest flavour.

The red shrimp is generally much smaller in size and more refined in flavour.

When freshly boiled, shrimps are excellent as a breakfast relish, but when stale they are far from wholesome.

Allow a good handful of coarse salt to the quart of water when boiling; as soon as they have attained a nice colour they are done.

=Shrimps, Potted.

=--In potting shrimps, after they have been well boiled, take care to pick off both heads and tails and to twist them dexterously out of the shells.

As a good quantity of shrimps are required to make a small amount, it is as well to benefit by an opportunity of shrimp sauce being required, and so set aside the heads and tails to be used for the latter purpose.

After having thoroughly pounded the bodies of the shrimps in a mortar, put in a small saltspoonful of salt and the same of pepper, and one or two ounces of fresh butter.

Pound all well together, press into small pots, and pour clarified butter on the surface to exclude the air.

Shrimp butter is made in the same way, only adding an _equal_ quantity of butter to the paste.

Neither of these will keep good many days.

=Shrimp Forcemeat=, for stuffing sea or fresh-water fish.

Shred some shrimps and add to them an equal quantity of fresh breadcrumbs.

To a tablespoonful of fresh butter add a saltspoonful of seasoning, and a beaten egg.

Make the shrimps and crumbs into a stiff paste with this.

Particularly good as a forcemeat for pike and carp.

=Shrimp Patties.

=--(The same mixture is used for shrimp "vol-au-vent").

Pick off the heads and tails from freshly-boiled shrimps, and shell them.

Put the shells into a saucepan, cover them with water, and boil gently for a quarter of an hour.

Strain the liquor, then thicken it with a teaspoonful of arrowroot, add the yolk of an egg, salt and pepper to taste, a small nob of butter, stir all together over the fire; when it is of the consistency of cream, put in the bodies of the shrimps to heat through and draw the saucepan to one side until required.

Make some good puff paste, line the patty pans, and put a morsel of soft bread in the middle before putting on the cover.

Bake the patties to a nice brown, then remove the bread, replacing it with a spoonful of the mixture, put on the cover, brush over the surface and edges with beaten yolk of egg and water, return the patties to the oven to heat them through again, then send to table on a pretty d'oyley.

They are very good also for eating cold.

If liked, the top crust may be omitted, and a few breadcrumbs be sprinkled over the top of the mixture.

Garnish the dish with curly parsley and a few large shrimps.

=Shrimp Canapés. =--A nice entrée. Cut some small rounds from a stale loaf of bread, fry them in oil or lard to a delicate brown, then cover each with a layer of either potted shrimps or shrimp butter.

Hard boil two eggs.

Remove the yolks, and pound them with a small bit of butter and a pinch of pepper and salt.

Cut the whites into thin strips.

Lay the strips in a lattice work over the rounds and place a pat of the yellow mixture in the middle of them, and a whole shrimp on that, or the very tiniest sprig of parsley.

Make a bed of fresh dry parsley on a dish to lay the rounds upon.

=Skate.

=--Skate is an unwholesome fish if eaten out of season.

Its best time is during the winter months, and it is positively improved by being kept for a day or two hung up.

However it is dressed it should always be skinned first.

The liver is a choice morsel.

A method of dressing skate which is much liked by French people, is to do it _à la Sainte Ménehould_.

For this it should be skinned and cut into neat pieces, then simmered in white sauce till tender; the pieces of fish should then be lifted out on to a shallow dish, the sauce to receive the addition of a yolk of egg and pinch of cayenne pepper, then to be poured over the fish, Parmesan or Cheshire cheese grated over the top.

Set the dish in the oven to get thoroughly hot again.

For boiling, large skate are preferable to small ones, and when possible they should be crimped.

(N.

B.

--Crimping can only be done when the fish is perfectly fresh.

) It should be plunged into boiling salt water, then gently simmered till tender.

Let it drain well.

Boiled skate is very good served with "Black Butter" sauce.

For this last, a quarter pound of butter should be allowed to frizzle in a saucepan until of a light brown colour, then a few washed and dried parsley leaves should be thrown in, a tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar, ditto of mushroom ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and chopped capers, pepper and salt to taste.

Let these boil once, then either pour over the fish or send to table in a tureen.