No. 226. Baked Halibut.—Take a square piece of fish, weighing about five pounds, lay it in salted water for about five hours, then wipe dry and place it in the dripping pan with a few very thin slices of salt pork on top. Bake one hour, or until the fish is easily separated from the bone, or cracks open; baste with melted butter and water. Stir into the gravy one tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, juice of one lemon, seasoning to suit, and thicken. Dish the fish on a napkin and serve the gravy separately, garnish with slices of hard-boiled eggs.
No. 227. Chicken Halibut aux Fine Herbs.—Chop a little parsley, six mushrooms and a shallot, adding to them a little salt, pepper and nutmeg; place all in a saucepan and simmer five minutes with half a pint of port wine. Pour all these ingredients into a shallow dish and place on top four pounds of chicken halibut. Bake in moderate oven for about thirty minutes, basting with the liquor occasionally. Put half a pint of Spanish sauce (No. 37) in another saucepan and reduce for seven or eight minutes, adding juice of a lemon, serve poured around the fish.
No. 228. Smelts Baked.—Dip in beaten egg, roll in cracker crumbs, season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg, lay on a sheet of buttered paper in a buttered baking pan, put a piece of butter on each fish and bake a delicate brown; serve on a hot dish, garnished with slices of lemon and parsley.
No. 229. Halibut a la Royale.—Six pounds fish in one piece, half a cup of bread crumbs, two slices fat, salt pork, two teaspoons essence anchovy, one quarter cup melted butter, one cup boiling water, juice of one lemon, pepper and salt. Lay the fish in salted water for two hours, wipe and make incisions each side of back bone and put in a dressing (No. 84.) Pour into bottom of neat baking dish the butter, hot water, lemon juice and anchovy essence. Lay in the fish, cover and bake one hour, basting often, send to table in the dish.
No. 230. Halibut, Sauce Supreme.—Cut four pounds of halibut in square pieces one inch thick, soak one hour in Maderia or sherry wine, turning them over once in fifteen minutes. Then put them into a saucepan with two oz. melted butter, add salt and pepper; simmer five minutes, then send to the oven for twenty minutes. Arrange the fish on a dish and pour over it a sauce supreme. Cook sword fish, flounders or bass in the same way. Striped bass, deep sea flounders, sword fish and other coarse grained fish may be cooked in any way directed for the halibut.
No. 231. Baked Herring.—Split two herring, remove heads, tails and backbone, lay one fish skin side down, mix together one desertspoon finely chopped parsley, one small onion, chopped, and half a teaspoon each thyme and marjoram, powdered, a few bread crumbs, with salt and pepper, and sprinkle over the fish, lay the other fish on top, skin side up, and pour over them melted butter, cover and bake half an hour, watching and basting. Mackerel, alewives and porgies may be cooked in the same way.
No. 232. Grilled Herring.—To grill is to broil on the gridiron. Do not split the fish, but score them slightly at the sides, grease the gridiron with butter, turn the fish often while grilling, brown them evenly all over, dish on a hot platter and pour over them a sauce made of two ounces butter, one teaspoon flour, two of vinegar, four of French mustard, half a gill of water, pepper and salt. Heat all together, smooth, thicken and boil five minutes, garnish with parsley. Alewives, menhaden and small shad can be cooked in the same way.
No. 233. King Fish, Sherry Sauce.—Split in two four medium size fish, take out the backbone and broil over a gentle fire, when done put half a pint of Spanish sauce (No. 37) in saucepan, add wineglass of sherry wine, boil fifteen minutes, pour around the fish and serve. A good way to cook butter-fish, tautog, or blackfish.
No. 234. Mackerel to Broil.—This is undoubtedly the best way to cook a fresh mackerel, especially if it is fat, and it should be in the fall. Serve basted with cream or melted butter, seasoned to taste, or with a maitre d’hotel butter (No. 32,) or a sauce tartare (No. 44.) Mackerel may also be cooked in any way a shad is cooked. Very small mackerel may be cooked the same as smelts.
No. 235. Perch to Cook.—Perch of all kinds are best fried, but may be cooked in any way recommended for small fish of other kinds. Some varieties are rather tasteless, and these should be served according to some of the rich stews, fricassees, &c., mentioned under the head of fish cookery in general.
No. 236. Pickerel Baked.—Score back and thick parts of sides, baste well with flour, butter, pepper and salt, sprinkle lightly with lemon juice and lay in dripping pan with two tablespoons of water, baste occasionally, adding more water if needed; bake from thirty to fifty minutes, according to size. Make a drawn butter sauce based on the fish gravy, add a pinch of cayenne, pour over fish and serve.
No. 237. Ray with Caper Sauce.—Put the fish in kettle with one sliced carrot, one sliced onion, three cloves of garlic, six bay leaves, six cloves, six branches thyme, four parsley roots, and cover the fish with half a bottle white wine and one quart consomme (No. 14,) when it comes to a boil remove the fish to baking pan and cook slowly for one hour, basting freely with the liquor in which it was boiled. Serve with a sauce made from the gravy, adding capers, thickening and seasoning to taste. Striped bass, deep sea flounders and other coarse-meated fish may be cooked by the recipes given for cooking the ray.
No. 238. Salmon Cutlets, Herb Sauce.—Cut the salmon in slices an inch thick and about three inches square, or of a diamond shape. Chop fine half a dozen button onions, a little parsley and thyme, add pepper, salt and a dash of mace or nutmeg. Put these ingredients in saucepan with a little water and a glass of wine; heat for about five minutes. Put all in a suitable dish for baking, on top put the cutlets, cover and bake half an hour, basting freely from time to time with the liquid. When done, arrange the fish on a hot platter, add another glass of wine to the gravy, with the juice of a lemon and pour all over the fish and serve. Half a dozen mushrooms chopped and put in with the herbs will be found an improvement.
No. 239. Trout Baked, Herb Sauce.—Clean, wash and dry six trout of about one quarter pound each. Place them on a buttered dish, adding half a glass of white wine and one finely chopped shallot. Cook ten minutes, then put the gravy in a saucepan with tablespoon of cooked herbs, moistening with half a pint of sauce allemande (No. 34.) Reduce gravy one half and pour it over the trout with the juice of half a lemon and serve.
No. 240. Baked Salmon Trout with Cream Gravy.—Wipe dry and lay in pan with just enough water to keep from scorching. If large, score the back, but not the sides, bake slowly from three quarters to one hour, basting with butter and water. Into a cup of rich cream stir three or four tablespoons boiling water (or cream will clot when heated,) into this stir gently two tablespoons melted butter and a little chopped parsley. Put this into milk boiler or farina kettle, or any vessel you can set into another, half filled with boiling water to prevent sauce from burning; add the cream and butter to the gravy from the dripping pan in which fish was baked; lay the trout on a hot platter and let the gravy boil up once, then pour over the fish; garnish with sprigs of parsley. Use no spiced sauces and very little salt. This creamed gravy may be used for various kinds of boiled and baked fish.
No. 241. Baked Shad.—Stuff with dressing (No. 84,) rub the fish well with flour, lay in pan with a very few thinslices of pork on top. Bake a medium size fish forty minutes, add a little hot water, butter, pepper and salt to the gravy; boil up and serve in gravy tureen. Garnish the fish with sprigs of parsley. A tablespoon of anchovy sauce, or a glass of wine, is a decided improvement in making the gravy.
No. 242. Fillets of Shad with Mushrooms.—Prepare the fillets in the usual way, cutting in equal size and shape; put them on a plate, skin side down, and sprinkle each with a little salt, pepper, lemon juice and chopped parsley; let them remain in this condition fifteen minutes, then put them into a saucepan with a glass of white wine and an oz. of butter. Have ready a few stewed mushrooms, and when the fish are done remove them to a hot platter; put the mushrooms into the fish gravy, add another glass of wine and a wineglass of cream, simmer a minute and pour over the fish. If this doesn’t go to the right spot there is something the matter with the fish, the mushrooms, or the one who partakes of it.
No. 243. Baked Tautog, or Black Fish.—The tautog is a very nice fish. It is in best condition in the fall, but it is good at all times. In New York markets it is best known as the black fish. About Buzzard’s Bay and Vineyard Sound, where it is very plenty, it is generally called tautog. It is a difficult fish to scale, but the operation is made easier by pouring boiling water over it, but it must not soak in the hot water for an instant. It may be skinned for baking, in which case it is better to cover it with a buttered paper while baking, removing the paper in time to brown the fish before taking from the oven. The fish should be scored before baking and narrow strips of fat pork inserted in the gashes made. In May and June always save the roe to this fish—it may be baked with the fish, or fried separately—it is too good to be wasted. Make a dressing as for any fish, and prepare the gravy in the usual way.
No. 244. Salmon.—The ordinary cook book is full pf recipes for cooking this king of fishes, hence we have given it less attention than those varieties neglected by these books. There is no better way to cook this delicious fish than to boil, and it should be served with a simple sauce. Some of the recipes for turbot, trout or sole may be used for cooking salmon. That for salmon trout (No. 240) will be found just the thing for the land locked salmon.
No. 245. Sheepshead a la Creole.—The sheepshead is one of the best of our saltwater fishes; it is not so plenty as formerly, but some seasons it is quite plenty in our markets. To cook, put one chopped onion and one chopped green pepper (seed extracted) in a stewpan, and brown in half a gill of oil for five minutes; add one tomato sliced, four sliced mushrooms, a good bouquet of herbs and a clove of garlic; season with salt and pepper and moisten with half a pint of sauce allemande. Cut three pounds of fish into slices, lay them flat in the stewpan with three tablespoons of mushroom liquor, and cook for one hour on a slow fire. When ready to serve, sprinkle over with a tablespoon of chopped parsley and decorate with six heart-shaped croutons.
No. 246. Trout a la Chambord.—Make a forcemeat with one pound of firm, fresh fish, remove the skin and bones, pound well in a mortar, adding the whites of three eggs, a little at a time; when well pounded add half a pint of cream, half a teaspoon of salt and a little white pepper and nutmeg; mix well and use a portion of it for stuffing three trout of half a pound each; butter well a deep baking dish and lay in the trout, add half a glass of white wine, a bouquet of herbs, salt and pepper; bake fifteen minutes, basting often; take up the fish and put them on a dish to keep hot, remove the gravy to a saucepan, add one truffle and four mushrooms, sliced, (take out the bouquet) also a glass of wine; heat hot and pour over the fish, decorate with six quenelles made from the remaining forcemeat.
No. 247. Sturgeon Roasted.—Take a piece of fish that is adapted to stuffing,make a dressing (No. 89.) Rub well inside and out with salt, butter and pepper; stuff and sew up, or bind firmly, and lay in baking pan with a very little water, cover with paper until nearly done, then remove paper and sprinkle a few bread crumbs over the fish and let it brown nicely. Serve with plain butter and flour added to the fish gravy. If you have a piece to roast that will not admit of stuffing, prepare some forcemeat balls (No. 89) and bake beside the fish. Some cook books recommend removing the back bone and inserting the dressing in the space thus obtained, but as the sturgeon has no bones whatever, this might prove a difficult thing to do.
No. 248. Brochet of Smelts.—Spread melted butter in bottom of shallow baking dish, dredge with raspings of bread, season with salt, pepper, chopped parsley and shallots; put in a laying of fish and pour over it a glass of wine and a teaspoon of anchovy sauce; cover with melted butter and bread raspings, and bake in oven fifteen minutes. Serve hot; arrange the fish on a napkin, heads to heads, in center of dish, or lay them all one way in rows, each row overlapping the next about two thirds the length of fish. Garnish with quartered lemon and fried parsley.
No. 249. Trout a la Genevoise.—Cut the heads off four little trout and put the fish in an earthen pot for four hours, with a little thyme, four bay leaves, two shallots cut in pieces, five branches of parsley, little pepper and salt and the juice of two lemons; then take out the fish and put them in a saucepan with a chopped onion, a clove of garlic and enough red wine to cover the fish; boil gently for twenty minutes; then strain the liquid in stone pot and add one half of it to half a pint of Spanish sauce (No. 37) and boil for one hour; then add four chopped mushrooms and truffles and a little parsley. Dish the trout, garnish with parsley and serve the sauce separately.
No. 250. Stewed Trout.—Take two trout of a pound each and lay them in a saucepan with half an onion sliced thin, a little chopped parsley, two cloves, one blade of mace, two bay leaves, a little thyme, salt and pepper, one pint white stock (No. 14) and wineglass port wine; simmer gently half an hour, or more, if not quite done. Dish the trout, strain the gravy, thicken with butter and flour, stirring over sharp fire five minutes, pour over fish and serve.
No. 251. Brook Trout.—Put a trout of four pounds in fish kettle with four oz. of salt; when beginning to boil, set the kettle on the back of the range for twenty-five minutes. Parboil the roes of a shad in salted water, drain and cut them in small pieces, and also a dozen mushrooms, add these with the juice of a lemon to one pint of sauce allemande (No. 34) and boil ten minutes. Serve the fish garnished with sprigs of parsley and the sauce in a tureen.
No. 252. Scallops of Trout.—Take a medium size trout and cut into slices one inch thick, put into a saucepan with a little melted butter, add salt, white pepper and the juice of a lemon; when done on one side, turn and cook the other. Mash some boiled potatoes and with them form a border on a platter that can go to the oven; moisten the potatoes lightly with melted butter and brown in the oven; when done arrange the scallops in the center of the potato border and pour over it a sauce bechamel (No. 31.)
No. 253. Boiled Turbot.—Soak the fish first in salted water to take off slime, do not cut off fins; when clean make an incision down the middle of the back to prevent skin on the other side from cracking, rub it over with lemon and lay it in kettle of cold water; after it gets to boiling let it boil slowly; when done, drain well and lay on hot napkin; rub a little lobster coral through a sieve, sprinkle it over fish and garnish with sprigs of parsley and sliced lemon. Serve with lobster (No. 30) or shrimp sauce, or with plain drawn butter. The old fashioned way of dishing this fish is white side up, but now usually the dark side up.
1. Fish Balls.—3 pints of potatoes (measured after being pared and cut into pieces), 1 package of Favorite brand Picked codfish, 1 small onion (cut into pieces), 1 tablespoonful of butter, 1 large or two small eggs. Boil the potatoes and onion until soft, drain off all the water and mash until free from lumps. Turn the fish into a napkin and pour through it about one pint of cold water and squeeze. Mix with the potato, using a fork as it makes it lighter, add the butter and the beaten egg; now taste and if not salt enough add a little. Take up by the spoonful and drop into deep fat which is hot enough to brown a piece of bread in 40 seconds, fry until a golden brown (about 1 minute,) drain on soft paper. This makes twenty medium size fish balls. The onion can be omitted if the flavor is not liked.
2. Fish Balls.—Take one pint bowl of Diamond Wedge brand codfish picked very fine, 2 pint bowls whole raw potatoes sliced thickly, put them together in plenty of cold water and boil until potatoes are thoroughly cooked; remove from the fire and drain off all the water, mash them with a potato masher, add piece of butter size of an egg, one well beaten egg, and three teaspoonfuls of cream or rich milk. Flour your hands and make into balls or cakes. Put an ounce of butter and lard into a frying pan, when hot put in the balls and fry a nice brown. Do not freshen the fish before boiling with the potatoes. Many cooks fry them in a quantity of lard similar to boiled doughnuts.
3. “Diamond Wedge” Fish Balls.—One pint of raw potatoes, cut in pieces; one cup of “Diamond Wedge” Codfish. Boil together until potatoes are tender, then draw off the water and mash, beating well together; add one tablespoonful of butter, one egg and a little pepper. Shape into small balls and fry in hot lard.
4. Fish Balls.—To one-half pound package “Gold Wedge Brand” Fibered Codfish add double quantity mashed potatoes. Saturate the codfish with cold water slightly, and strain through a cloth (requires no soaking.) Mix thoroughly with the potatoes; add one tablespoonful of butter and a little pepper. Shape into small balls and fry in hot lard.
The addition of an egg to the above receipt improves it very much.
For Creamed Codfish.—Saturate as above; to a gill or cup of fish add two of milk and one tablespoonful of butter. Let it come to a boil; then add one teaspoonful cornstarch and one egg well beaten. Served on toast it makes a delicious dish.
Fish Sauce.—Rub smooth 2 tablespoons of butter with 1 of flour, stir into a pint of boiling milk, let it simmer a few minutes; have ready in the sauce dish a hard boiled egg, cut fine; pour the sauce over it.
A Nice Relish for Breakfast or Tea, Broiled Smoked Halibut.—Remove the skin and soak over night with the skin side downward. Broil and garnish with butter and serve hot.
Stewed Codfish (Salt).—Take a thick white piece of Diamond Wedge salt codfish, lay it in cold water for a few minutes to soften it a little, enough to make it more easily to be picked up. Shred it in very small bits, put it over the fire in a stewpan with cold water; let it come to a boil, turn off this water carefully, and add a pint of milk to the fish, or more according to quantity. Set it over the fire again and let it boil slowly about three minutes, now add a good sized piece of butter, a shake of pepper and a thickening of a tablespoonful of flour in enough cold milk to make a cream. Stew five minutes longer, and just before serving stir in two well beaten eggs. The eggs are an addition that can be dispensed with, however, as it is very good without them. An excellent breakfast dish.
Codfish a la Mode.—Pick up a teacup full of Diamond Wedge salt codfish very fine, and freshen—the dessicated is nice to use; two cups of mashed potatoes, one pint cream or milk, two well beaten eggs, half cup of butter, salt and pepper; mix, bake in an earthen baking dish from twenty to twenty-five minutes; serve in the same dish placed on a small platter, covered with a napkin.
Fillet of Sole Baked.—Cut a fish of four pounds into fillets, about five inches long by four inches wide, each end tapering to a point. Put these in buttered pan, cover with sauce allemande (No. 34) and sprinkle with bread crumbs and dot with bits of butter. Bake until well browned. Add a wine glass of sherry to half a pint of sauce allemande, boil ten minutes and pour around the fish and serve.
For Escalloped Codfish.—Freshen one-half pound package of Shute & Merchant’s Fibered Codfish by soaking three minutes in cold water, then add one pint of cracker crumbs, one tablespoonful of butter and four eggs, beaten light. Season to taste, bake until brown, serve hot.
[1]Note.—Originally fish boiled in sea water, but now applied to fish boiled in salt water with acids, spices or herbs.
[1]Note.—Originally fish boiled in sea water, but now applied to fish boiled in salt water with acids, spices or herbs.