See captionSLICES OF CODFISH BOILED OR SAUTÉD AND RESTED AGAINST A WEDGE-SHAPED BREAD SUPPORT AND GARNISHED WITH BOILED OR FRIED POTATO BALLS, WATER-CRESS, AND LEMON.
Court bouillon is used for boiling fresh-water fish or others which are without much flavor. It may be prepared beforehand, and used several times, or the vegetables may be added at the time the fish is boiled.
After the fish is carefully washed and dried, put in the stuffing, and sew up the opening with a trussing needle; then cut three gashes in each side of the fish, and lay a lardoon of salt pork in each cut. Next, run a trussing needle, holding a double white cotton cord, through the head, the middle of the body, and the tail. Draw the fish into the shape of the letter S, and tie the cord firmly. In order to cook evenly, it is better to have the fish upright, and by trussing as directed it will hold that position. Dredge the fish with salt, pepper, and flour, and lay it on slices of larding pork in a baking pan. Place also over the back slices of pork. Allow fifteen minutes to each pound, and baste frequently. The pork should supply sufficient liquid for basting; if not, add a very little water. The fish can be more easily removed if a baking sheet is used in the bottom of the pan. (See illustration facing page118.)
Serve with a brown sauce. Garnish with lemon and parsley.
Haddock, bluefish, shad, and bass are good for baking.
See captionFISH PREPARED TO BAKE. (SEE PAGE115.)
Put a large tablespoonful of butter into a saucepan. When melted stir into it
If a moist stuffing is preferred, add one quarter cupful of milk, stock or water.
Fry a tablespoonful of chopped onion in a tablespoonful of butter. Add a cupful or more of stale bread, which has been soaked in hot water, then pressed dry. A tablespoonful each of chopped parsley, suet, and celery, one quarter teaspoonful each of salt and pepper, and a dash of powdered thyme (if liked). When it is well mixed, remove from the fire and add an egg.
Fish to be broiled are split down the back. After being washed and well dried, they should be rubbed with oil or butter, or the skin floured, to keep from sticking. The broiler should be made hot and greased with a piece of salt pork before the fish is laid on. The hot wires will sear the lines which should always show on broiled dishes. The fire must be clear and hot for small fish, more moderate for large ones, so the outside may not be burned before the inside is cooked. When there is danger of this, the broiler may be laid on a pan in the oven to complete the cooking. The broiler should be turned as often as the cook counts ten, and as the skin burns easily, it must be carefully watched. When done, the wires should be carefully raised from both sides so as not to break the meat, and the fish turned on to a hot dish and spread with butter, salt, and pepper, or better, a maître d’hôtel sauce. This sauce makes a more evenly distributed mixture. A wreath of water-cresses laid around the fish makes a good garnish, and is an acceptable accompaniment to any broiled dish. Lemon is also used for garnish and flavor.
Shad, bluefish, and mackerel are most frequently cooked in this way.
Small or pan fish, and fish cut into slices, are often sautéd. After the fish is washed and dried, dredge it with salt and pepper, and roll in flour, then dip in egg and roll in bread crumbs, cracker dust, or in corn-meal. Put into a frying-pan a few pieces of salt pork, and after sufficient grease has tried out, lay in the fish; or one tablespoonful of lard and one tablespoonful of butter may be used instead of the fat pork. Butter burns, and should not be used alone. The grease must be very hot, and only enough of it to cover the bottom of the pan one eighth of an inch deep. Turn the fish with a broad knife or pancake turner, and with care to not break the meat. When cooked an amber color it is ready to turn.
Slices of halibut should be marinated (see page79) before being coated with flour. Lay the fish or slices overlapping each other on a hot dish. Serve with quarters of lemon, and garnish with parsley. (See illustrations facing pages114and124.)
Fish to be fried are first well washed and dried, then dredged with salt, pepper, and flour, then dipped in egg, and rolled in bread or cracker crumbs. The fish should be completely incased in the egg and crumbs, leaving no opening for the grease to enter. The same rule applies to frying fish as to other articles (see page72). They must have entire immersion, and the fat smoking hot.
Smelts, after being washed, dried, and sprinkled with salt and pepper, are dipped in egg, then rolled in bread or cracker crumbs. The head and tail pinned together with a smallskewer, or wooden tooth-pick (to be removed after they are fried), makes them into rings, and is a pretty way of serving them either by themselves or for garnishing other fish dishes. Cook only as many as will cover the bottom of the frying-basket at one time (see rules for frying, page72). Dress the smelts on a folded napkin, and serve with Mayonnaise or with Tartare sauce.
See captionSMELTS FRIED IN RINGS. (SEE PAGE117.)
Use medium sized smelts, clean carefully, and wipe them dry. Dredge them with salt and pepper; dip them in egg and roll them in crumbs. String three or four on each skewer, the skewer passing through the eyes. Place them in a frying-basket, a few at a time, and immerse in very hot fat. Prepare at a time only as many as will go in the frying-basket. The time given to rolling them is only as long as required for the fat to regain the right degree of heat. Dress on a napkin and serve with Mayonnaise, Tartare sauce, or quarters of lemon.
Split the smelts down the back and remove the bone. Lay them on a hot broiler, which has been rubbed with suet, to prevent sticking. Broil over hot coals for two minutes on each side. Put into a dish some Béchamel sauce, and lay the broiled fish on the sauce, or they may be spread with maître d’hôtel sauce. Serve at once while very hot.
Remove fillets as directed on page112. Dip them in salted milk, roll in flour, then in egg and fresh bread crumbs. Fry as soon as prepared in hot fat. Fillets may also be cooked by sautéing. Arrange the fillets on a napkin or hot dish, overlapping each other. Serve with Béarnaise, Mayonnaise or Tartare sauce.
Wash the whitebait with great care, and dry well by rubbing them in a napkin. Roll them in flour, using enough to entirelycover them. Toss them on a sieve to shake off the loose flour. Place them in a fine wire basket, and immerse in smoking hot fat for one minute, or just long enough to give them a light amber color. The fish are so small, it takes but a moment to cook them, and there is danger of burning them by leaving them in the fat too long. They should be crisp and dry. Only enough to make one layer on the bottom of the basket should be fried at once. Too many will cool the fat, and also will stick together. The fat must be brought to the right degree of heat before putting in the second basketful. They should be floured only just before going into the fat. The flour becomes damp if it remains on the fish for any time, and they will then neither take color nor become crisp. Turn them on to a paper, sprinkle with salt, and keep them in a warm oven until all are cooked. Have a hot dish with a folded napkin on it standing on the warming shelf. Place the whitebait between the folds of the napkin, and serve immediately. They cool rapidly, and should not be cooked until just in time to serve. They are easily prepared, and very nice when crisp and hot, but will not be right unless care is given to the small details.
Serve with quarters of lemon.
See captionWHITEBAIT. (SEE PAGE118.)
Lay two chicken halibut steaks into a shallow stew pan, sufficiently large to allow them to lie side by side. Cover them with court bouillon or with hot water, and add a slice of carrot, onion, piece of celery, bay-leaf, four cloves, six peppercorns, and juice of half a lemon. Let simmer until done. Or they may be put into a baking pan, with a little water, covered with another pan or greased paper, and steamed in the oven until cooked. Lift out the slices with a skimmer and broad knife, and with care not to break them; lay them on a hot dish, one a little overlapping the other.
Garnish with boiled potato balls, and serve with egg or with Hollandaise sauce. (See illustration facing page124.)
(RECEIPT GIVEN AT ONE OF MRS. RORER’S LECTURES)
Place on the bottom of a baking pan two or three slices of onion, then a cutlet of halibut, and put a tablespoonful of butter cut into small bits over the top of the fish. Cut three skinned tomatoes into quarters, slice a sweet green pepper into ribbons, and put the tomatoes and pepper on the fish. Put the pan on the shelf of the oven to cook first the vegetables, but do not let it remain there long enough to discolor or change their shape; then remove it to the bottom of the oven, baste it well, and finish the cooking. When done place it carefully on a hot dish, and pour over it the juice from the pan. The fish should retain its whiteness, and the vegetables their color, giving a very pretty as well as delicious dish.
Boil two pounds of fish in court bouillon until tender enough to flake. Make a white sauce of one tablespoonful butter, one tablespoonful flour, one cupful of milk, salt, pepper, and cayenne. (See white sauce, page278.) Boil four medium-sized potatoes, mash them, and season with one half teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and a little cream or milk; beat them until light, then add the whites of four eggs beaten stiff.
Fill a baking dish one half full of the flaked fish, pour over it the white sauce, and cover the top with potato, leaving the potato rough and irregular. Place in the oven for fifteen minutes, or until browned. Cream may be substituted for thewhite sauce, and enough used to moisten well the fish. Shells or individual cups may be used instead of a baking dish.
Make a Béchamel sauce (see page279). Take some seasoned mashed potato, and mix with it one beaten egg. Make with the potato a border around a flat dish. In the center of the ring of potato spread a layer of sauce, over this a layer of flaked cod fish, then another layer of sauce and fish, cover the top with sauce, sprinkle it with bread crumbs and grated cheese (parmesan or dairy), and a few pieces of butter. Bake in a hot oven until browned, and serve in the same dish. The potato border may be made ornamental by pressing the potato through a pastry bag with tube, the same as is used for potato roses (see page202). The potato will not hold its form unless egg is mixed with it.
White sauce may be used instead of Béchamel, but is not quite as good. One layer of fish in large flakes, covered with sauce, crumbs, and cheese, and browned with a border of boiled potato balls laid around regularly, is also a good way of serving it when a small quantity is needed.
Put in a double boiler one cupful of cream or milk; when scalded, stir into it the butter and flour rubbed together, and cook for five minutes. Remove from the fire and mix in, stirring all the time, the beaten yolks of two eggs, put again on the fire, and stir until thickened.
Take one pound or pint of shredded boiled fish, sprinkle over it one teaspoonful of salt, one half teaspoonful of pepper, onetablespoonful of chopped parsley, ten drops of lemon juice. Mix the seasoned fish with the white sauce, then spread it on a dish and set aside for several hours to cool and stiffen. It will not be difficult to mold if it stands long enough. Take a tablespoonful of the mixture in the hands, and mold into the form of chops, round at one end and pointed at the other; roll the chops in crumbs, then in beaten egg, then in coarse bread crumbs grated from the loaf (see croquettes, page293). After the chops are molded let them stand for a time to stiffen before frying. Place them in a basket four at a time, and immerse in hot fat until an amber color. Place on a paper to dry. When all are done pierce a small hole in the pointed end with a fork, and insert a sprig of parsley. Dress on a napkin, and serve with tomato, Béarnaise, or Hollandaise sauce. Any kind of fish may be used for the chops. (See illustration facing page130.)
See captionFISH CHOPS. (SEE PAGE121.)
See captionFISH CHOPS.
Remove the fillets from any white fish, dredge them with salt and pepper, and lay them in a baking pan, one on top of the other. Beat two eggs, and add to them
Put two tablespoonfuls of butter into the pan with the fish, and set it in the oven. When the butter is melted, add one half the milk mixture, and baste the fish with it frequently. When the custard becomes set add a little more of the milk, and continue the operation until the fish is cooked. Lift the fish carefully from the pan with a pancake turner and broad knife. Place it on a hot dish, and pile on the top the flakes of custard. Instead of the milk mixture tomato may be used if preferred.
To one half can of tomato add
The whole of the tomato mixture may be put in the pan as soon as the butter is melted.
Any kind of fish which is good boiled may be served cold, and in summer is often more acceptable in this way. Bass, trout, halibut, salmon, and bluefish are recommended. Serve with cold Béarnaise, Mayonnaise, or Tartare sauce. Garnish with lettuce leaves or water-cresses, and hard-boiled eggs.
Pound the fish in a mortar until it is thoroughly mashed, then rub it through a purée sieve; season the fish pulp with salt, pepper, and onion juice. Put the butter into a saucepan when melted, add the flour, and cook for a few minutes, then add slowly the cream or milk, stirring constantly until well scalded; then add the fish pulp, take from the fire, add the beaten eggs, and mix thoroughly.
Butter well a border or ring mold holding a pint or little more; put in the mixture, pressing it well against the sides to remove any air bubbles. Cover the mold with a greased paper, and set in a pan of warm water covering one half the mold. Place in moderate oven for thirty minutes, and do not let the water boil. Place the form of fish on a hot dish, fill the center with boiled potato balls (see page203), pour over the potato balls some Béchamel or some white sauce, sprinkle chopped parsley over the top. Serve with the fish a generous amount of Béchamel or of white sauce. This is a very good dish.
Cut one pound of very fresh white uncooked fish into small pieces, put it in a mortar, and pound until the fiber is well separated from the meat, then press it through a purée sieve. To every cupful of fish pulp add one tablespoonful of bread crumbs soaked in milk or cream until soft and then pressed through a sieve; add also the beaten yolk of one egg, ten drops of onion juice, one teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. Beat all well together and for some time, to make it light; then for every cupful of pulp beat in lightly the whites of two eggs whipped very stiff. Put the mixture into a well buttered mold, filling it only three quarters full, set it into a pan of warm water, covering three quarters of the mold, cover the mold with a greased paper, and place in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. Do not let the water boil. Turn the timbale on to a hot dish, and pour around, but not over it, a Béchamel or a tomato sauce. This is a very delicate fish dish, and is particularly good when made of shad.
Cut halibut or any firm white fish into cutlets three quarters of an inch thick, two inches wide, and three inches long. Dredge with salt, pepper, and paprica. Lay them in a pan so they do not touch, cover with salted water, cover the pan, and let them steam in the oven for ten or fifteen minutes until cooked, but remove while they are still firm enough to retain shape. Pound the trimmings of the fish in a mortar, pass it through a sieve, and to one half cupful of the fish pulp add a thickening made as follows: put a dessert-spoonful of butter in a saucepan on the fire; when it is melted add a dessert-spoonful of flour, cook for a minute without coloring, add three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk, a quarter teaspoonful of salt and a dash of pepper, remove it from the fire. Stir in the half cupful of fish pulp and one beaten egg; color it a delicate pink with a few drops of cochineal, beat the whole until light, and spread the cutlets of fish with this mixture one quarter inch thick; smooth it carefully on top and sides with a wet knife. Place the pieces in a pan, cover, set it into another pan containinghot water, and let steam in the oven for ten or fifteen minutes. Range the pieces standing on end around a socle of rice or hominy (see page326); mask the top of the socle with prawns, or with parsley, or with water cresses, and a few pink roses or pink carnations. Serve with Hollandaise sauce, colored green or pink.
The pink cutlets may be garnished with capers, or with a thin slice of pickle cut into fancy shape with cutter.
See captionFISH STEAKS SAUTÉD OR BOILED, GARNISHED WITH POTATO BALLS, WATER-CRESS, AND LEMON.
See captionCREAMED FISH IN SHELLS.
Select flounders of uniform size, and large enough to make two strips about two and a half inches wide on each side, each fish giving four fillets. Marinate them, or else dredge with salt and pepper, and dip into butter. Roll them, beginning at the broad end, and fasten with a woodentooth-pick. Egg and bread-crumb them, and fry in hot fat for seven minutes. Fry only four at a time, that the fat may not be too much cooled when they go in. Remove the skewer carefully, and serve with rémoulade, Tartare, or tomato sauce.
See captionTURBANS, OR ROLLED FILLETS OF FISH. (SEE PAGE125.)
Shad may be broiled, and spread with maître d’hôtel sauce; stuffed and baked, and served with brown sauce; or it may be boiled and served with Hollandaise, Béchamel, or egg sauce.
Have a hardwood board one and a half or two inches thick. Split the shad as for broiling, place it on the board with the skin side down, and fasten with a few tacks; place the board before the fire, and roast until done; rub it from time to time with a little butter. The plank should be well-seasoned, and be heated before placing the shad on it, or it will impart the flavor of the wood to the fish.
A substitute for this mode of cooking is to put into a baking-pan a tablespoonful of drippings; when very hot lay in the shadwith the skin side up, place it under the coals, and when the skin is puffed and blistered it is done. Turn it onto a hot dish, dredge with salt and pepper, cover with bits of butter, and serve with quarters of lemon.
Wash and dry the roe with care not to break the skin, place it on a well greased broiler, and rub it with butter once or twice during the time of broiling; cook to a nice brown, place it on a hot dish, and cover with a maître d’hôtel sauce.
Garnish the dish with a wreath of water cresses. This makes a good fish course for luncheon. Shad roe may also be cooked in a sauté-pan, using one half butter and one half drippings or lard.
Put the roes from two fishes into boiling salted water, and simmer for fifteen minutes; when cool, remove the skin, and mash them with a fork, so the little eggs will be separated but not broken: scald one cupful of cream or milk, and stir into it one tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour rubbed together. Take the paste on a spoon, and stir it in the cream until dissolved. Remove from the fire, and add the beaten yolks of two eggs and the seasoning—one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, juice of one half a lemon, dash of nutmeg, salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Place again on the fire, and stir until the sauce is thickened; then add the mashed shad roe, pour the mixture on a dish, and set away to cool for several hours. Form it into small croquettes, egg and bread-crumb them, using crumbs grated from the loaf; fry in hot fat until an amber color. Dress on a folded napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve with Mayonnaise, Tartare, or Béarnaise sauce.
Put shad roes into salted boiling water, and simmer for fifteen minutes; remove with care not to break the skin, and place incold water; when cold, dry them, and with a sharp knife cut them into pieces two inches thick; dredge them with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, dip them in beaten egg, roll in grated white bread crumbs, place in a wire basket, and fry in hot fat. Dress on a napkin, and serve with Tartare or Béarnaise sauce.
Soak the mackerel for twelve hours or more, with the skin side up, and change the water several times. Simmer it for fifteen or twenty minutes; and, if convenient, have in the water one teaspoonful of vinegar, one bay-leaf, one slice of onion, and a sprig of parsley. When tender, place carefully on a hot dish, and pour over it a cream sauce; or the soaked fish may be broiled, and spread with butter, pepper, lemon juice, and chopped parsley.
Soak the mackerel for twenty-four hours, then lay it in a shallow stew-pan, and cover with milk or cream. Simmer for fifteen minutes. Remove the fish carefully, and place it on a hot dish. Add to the milk or cream in the stew-pan one tablespoonful each of butter and flour rubbed together. Stir until a little thickened, and the flour cooked; add a little pepper and chopped parsley, and pour the sauce over the fish.
Soak the codfish several hours, changing the water three times. Simmer it for 20 minutes or until it is tender. Take out carefully all the bones. Make a white sauce of one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, and one cupful of milk; add to it, off the fire, two beaten yolks. Return to the fire, and stir in one cupful of shredded codfish. Taste to see if it needs seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve it on slices of toast, or place it in center of dish, and surround it with triangular croûtons.
Boil the quantity of codfish that will be needed, changing the water once, that it may not be too salt. While the fish is hot, pick it very fine, so that it is feathery; it cannot be done fine enough with a fork, and should be picked by hand. At the same time have hot boiled potatoes ready. Mash them thoroughly, and make them creamy with milk and a good-sized lump of butter. To three cupfuls of the mashed potatoes take one and one half cupfuls of fish. The fish should not be packed down. Beat one egg lightly, and stir into the other ingredients; season to taste. Beat the mixture well together and until light, then mold it into small balls, handling lightly, and before frying, roll the balls in flour. Fry them in smoking hot fat until a golden color.128-*
Drain sardines from the can. Lay them on a broiler over hot coals for two minutes on each side. Have ready hot toast cut the right size to hold three of the fish. Arrange them neatly on the toast, and moisten with a little heated oil from the can.
To one cupful of flaked boiled fish add a cream sauce made of one tablespoonful of butter, one tablespoonful of flour, and one half cupful of milk.
Let the sauce be very stiff, so it leaves the sides of the pan; mix it well with the fish, and when hot add two beaten eggs, pepper, and salt. Drop the mixture, which should be like thick batter, from a spoon into very hot fat.
It will puff, and be very light.
Put salmon into hot water to preserve its color, and simmer in acidulated water or in court bouillon, as is the rule for all fish. The middle cuts are preferable where a small quantity only isneeded. The head piece makes a pretty cut, but is not profitable to buy, as the head adds materially to the weight. Where a large fish is to be used for a supper or cold dish, it may be cut in halves or sections (see page114) if too large for the fish kettle. Cold salmon can be elaborately garnished with aspic, colored mayonnaise, shrimps, gherkins, capers, etc.
The canned salmon is very good, and makes a palatable emergency dish. It can be prepared quickly, as the fish is already cooked. It may be broiled, and spread with maître d’hôtel butter, or it can be served on toast with cream dressing; or a white sauce can be made, and the fish put in it to heat; or the fish may be heated in water, and served as cutlets with Béarnaise sauce.
Prepare salmon cutlets the same as boiled halibut steaks (page119), or cut them in half heart or chop shapes, roll them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in hot fat. Arrange them in a circle overlapping one another, and serve with Béarnaise, Hollandaise or Tartare sauce.
Marinate the slices for one hour. Broil on both sides; baste with butter, so that they will not brown. Place them on a hot dish, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and chopped parsley. Serve with them a Béarnaise sauce or quarters of lemon.
Simmer two slices of salmon in court bouillon until done; remove carefully so as not to break them. When perfectly cold cover one side of them with a smooth layer of mayonnaise made with jelly (see page290), and colored a delicate green. Arrange a row of sliced gherkins or of capers around the edge.Place a wedge-shaped socle of bread in the middle of a dish, and fasten it to the dish with white of egg, so that it will be firm; rest the slices against it; conceal the side of socle with garnish of fresh lettuce leaves. Place a bunch of parsley or water-cress or if convenient a bouquet of nasturtium blossoms, in the hollow center of the fish. Use hard-boiled eggs cut in halves for further garnishing.
This makes a handsome supper dish for card or theater party. It should be kept in a cool place until ready to serve.
Cut salmon into pieces three quarters of an inch thick and two and a half inches square, trim them carefully, and flatten with heavy knife so they will be uniform. Lay them in a baking-pan so they do not touch, cover them with salted water, and simmer them in the oven for about twenty minutes, or until well cooked, but still firm. Take them out carefully, skin and dry them, and when cold marinate them. Make a jelly mayonnaise (see page290), using a little tarragon vinegar; color it green; cover the fillets with the green mayonnaise while it is soft enough to become perfectly smooth, and set them away in a cool, dry place. When ready to serve place the fillets on the top of a socle made of hominy, and ornamented on the sides with green beans and balls of carrot, or green peas (see illustration page322). Arrange amacédoine of vegetables (see page216) around the base of the socle. Serve with it a mayonnaise dressing. One pound of salmon will cut into nine cutlets.
Make a sauce the same as for lobster filling (see page140), and substitute potted shrimp meat for the lobster. Serve in croustades of rice. This is a good luncheon dish, and easily prepared.
Oysters are out of season during the months of May, June, July, and August. The rule is to use oysters only in the months that have the letter r in the name.How to serve on half-shell.When served raw, the small varieties are the best. They are left on the deep half of the shell. Six are allowed for each person. They should be arranged regularly on the plate around a little ice broken fine, the valve side toward the center of plate, and in the center of the circle a quarter of a lemon. A few sprigs of parsley or cress under the lemon makes a pretty garnish. Black and red pepper are served with raw oysters, and also very thin slices of buttered brown bread.Precaution.Oysters served raw should be very fresh. It is therefore not desirable to use them in this way when one lives inland. To prevent the chance of any bits of shell getting into oyster dishes, they should be washed; each oyster being taken on a fork and dipped into water. As they are largely composed of water, this will not injure their flavor. The juice should be strained through a coarse sieve.Cracker crumbs are better than bread crumbs for mixing with oysters.Cooking.Oysters require very little cooking. They are put over the fire in their own liquor, and removed the moment they are plump or the gills are curled. More cooking than this makes them tough.FRIED OYSTERSDrain the oysters. Roll each one first in cracker crumbs, then in egg mixed with a little milk, and seasoned with pepper and salt, then again in the cracker crumbs. Use first the crumbs, as the egg will not otherwise adhere well to the oyster. Place them in a wire basket, and immerse in smoking hot fat. As soon as they assume a light-amber color drain, and serve immediately.Oysters should not be fried until the moment of serving, for they are quickly cooked and it is essential to have them hot.Pickles, chow-chow, horse-radish, cold-slaw, or celery salad are served with fried oysters, and may be used as a garnish or be served separately.
Oysters are out of season during the months of May, June, July, and August. The rule is to use oysters only in the months that have the letter r in the name.
How to serve on half-shell.When served raw, the small varieties are the best. They are left on the deep half of the shell. Six are allowed for each person. They should be arranged regularly on the plate around a little ice broken fine, the valve side toward the center of plate, and in the center of the circle a quarter of a lemon. A few sprigs of parsley or cress under the lemon makes a pretty garnish. Black and red pepper are served with raw oysters, and also very thin slices of buttered brown bread.
Precaution.Oysters served raw should be very fresh. It is therefore not desirable to use them in this way when one lives inland. To prevent the chance of any bits of shell getting into oyster dishes, they should be washed; each oyster being taken on a fork and dipped into water. As they are largely composed of water, this will not injure their flavor. The juice should be strained through a coarse sieve.
Cracker crumbs are better than bread crumbs for mixing with oysters.
Cooking.Oysters require very little cooking. They are put over the fire in their own liquor, and removed the moment they are plump or the gills are curled. More cooking than this makes them tough.
Drain the oysters. Roll each one first in cracker crumbs, then in egg mixed with a little milk, and seasoned with pepper and salt, then again in the cracker crumbs. Use first the crumbs, as the egg will not otherwise adhere well to the oyster. Place them in a wire basket, and immerse in smoking hot fat. As soon as they assume a light-amber color drain, and serve immediately.
Oysters should not be fried until the moment of serving, for they are quickly cooked and it is essential to have them hot.
Pickles, chow-chow, horse-radish, cold-slaw, or celery salad are served with fried oysters, and may be used as a garnish or be served separately.
Prepare aVilleroisauce (see page280). Heat the oysters in their own liquor until plump, then remove and wipe them dry. Place them on a pan turned bottom side up, leaving a space around each one. With a spoon cover each oyster with the thick sauce, and set them away for several hours to cool and harden; then trim them to good shape. Take one at a time on a broad knife or spatula, and, holding it over a dish containing beaten egg, coat it well with egg; then cover it with fresh bread crumbs and draw the coating around the whole oyster. Place the rolled oysters in a wire basket, and immerse in hot fat until an amber color. Dress them on a folded napkin, and serve with a Béchamel sauce, or with the same sauce with which they are coated, diluted with stock or oyster juice. A little chopped truffle and mushrooms improve the sauce.
Dry the oysters. Heat the broiler well, and grease it by rubbing it with a slice of salt pork or with suet. Dip the oysters into melted butter, or into oil, and lay them on the broiler.Broil them on both sides for a few minutes over bright coals. Have ready some toast cut into uniform shapes and moistened with oyster juice. On each croûton place three or four oysters, and pour over them a little melted maître d’hôtel sauce.
Heat a baking-pan very hot. Put into it a tablespoonful of butter; then the oysters, which have been well drained. Let them cook in hot oven until browned. Have ready some toast cut into even pieces; soften them with some liquor from the pan; place three or four oysters on each piece, and pour over them the liquor from the pan, which should be reduced if too watery. Sprinkle with a little parsley chopped very fine.
Wash the shells well with a brush and cold water. Place them in a pan with the deep half of shell down. Put them into a hot oven, and bake until the shell opens. Remove the top shell carefully so as not to lose the liquor. Arrange them on plates, and on each oyster place a piece of butter and a little pepper and salt. If roasted too long the oysters will be tough.
Scald the oysters in their liquor until plump. Put into a saucepan two tablespoonfuls of butter; when melted stir in carefully the flour, and cook, but not brown. Stir in slowly the oyster juice; when perfectly smooth add the milk or cream and the seasoning. Take it off the fire, and when a little cooled stir in the beaten yolks. Place again on the fire, and stir until thickened; then pour it over the oysters on a hot dish. Placea border of triangular-shaped croûtons around the dish, and serve at once. Do not add the cream and eggs to the sauce until time to serve, so that there may be no delay, as this dish is not good unless hot, and if kept standing the sauce will curdle. The sauce should be of the consistency of cream.
Place in a shallow baking-dish a layer of oysters; over this spread a layer of bread or cracker crumbs; sprinkle it with salt, pepper, and bits of butter; alternate the layers until the dish is full, having crumbs on top, well dotted with bits of butter. Pour over the whole enough oyster juice to moisten it. Bake in a hot oven fifteen or twenty minutes, or until browned; serve it in the same dish in which it is baked. Individual scallop-cups or shells may also be used, enough for one person being placed in each cup.
For one dozen oysters,
Scald the oysters in their liquor; drain and cut each one into four pieces with a silver knife. Put the butter into a saucepan, and when melted add the flour; cook, but not brown; then add the milk or cream, and stir until smooth; add the seasoning, and remove from the fire. When a little cooled add the beaten yolks, stirring vigorously; place again on the fire, and stir until thickened; then add the pieces of oysters. The filling should be soft and creamy, and the patty cases should be heated before the filling is put in.
This mixture is improved by using an equal quantity of oysters and mushrooms, either fresh or canned, and should be highly seasoned. It may be served in bread-boxes (see page82), or in crusts prepared by removing the crumb from rolls, thenbrowning them in the oven. Minced oysters and clams in equal parts, with some of their juice used in making the sauce, also make a good filling.
The same mixture may be made into croquettes, in which case two tablespoonfuls of flour instead of one are used, also a few more oysters, and the sauce is allowed to become thicker (see croquettes, page292).
Clams are served raw on the half shell during the months that oysters are out of season. Little Neck clams are best for this purpose, and the smaller they are the better. The manner of serving them is the same as for raw oysters. As many as ten or twelve are allowed for each person.
To remove clams from the shells when wanted for cooking, wash the shells well with a brush and clear water. Place them in a saucepan or pot with a very little hot water; cover the pot, and let them steam until the shells open; strain the liquor through a fine cloth, or let it cool and settle; then pour it off carefully in order to free it from sand the shells may have contained.
Scald the clams in their own liquor. If opened by steaming, they are sufficiently cooked. Chop them into fine dice and measure. To each cupful of chopped clams add one cupful of thick cream sauce. For one cupful of sauce put into a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter; when melted, stir in one tablespoonful of flour; cook, but not brown it; then add slowly one half cupful of clam liquor and one half cupful of milk or cream; season with pepper, and salt if necessary. Let it cook until a smooth, thick cream, stirring all the time; add the clams only just before serving. Pour the mixture over small pieces of toast laid on the bottom of the dish.
Clams are roasted in the same manner as oysters (see page133).
Mix chopped clams with fritter batter (see page426), using clam liquor instead of water in making the batter, and have the batter quite thick. Drop the mixture from a tablespoon into hot fat, and fry until an amber color.
Scallops are dried with a napkin, then rolled in cracker dust, then in egg and crumbs, and immersed in hot fat for a minute, or just long enough to take a light color. Mix salt and pepper with the crumbs.
Lobsters are in season from March to November. They are in the market all the year, but during the off months they are light and stringy. Their size increases with their age; therefore a small, heavy lobster is better than a large one.
They are unwholesome if boiled after they are dead. If bought already boiled, their freshness may be judged by the tail, which should be curled and springy. If it is not curled up, or will not spring back when straightened, the lobster was dead when boiled, and should be rejected.
Lobsters may be killed just before being boiled by running a pointed knife into the back through the joint between the body and tail shells.
Have in a kettle enough water to entirely cover the lobster. Before it becomes very hot take the lobster by the back and put it into the warm water head first. This smothers instead of scalding it to death, and seems the most merciful way of killing it. A lobster treated in this way does not change position, and seems to have been killed instantly. Cover the pot. When it boils, add one tablespoonful of salt, and boil for thirty minutes. It will be tough and stringy if cooked longer.
After the lobster is cold, break apart the tail and body; twist off the claws; remove the body from the shell; shake out the green, fatty substance and the coral, and save them to mix with the meat. Remove the stomach, which lies directly under the head, and is called the “lady”; remove also the woolly gills; break open the body, and take out the small pieces of meat which lie under the gills; break open the claws and remove the meat. With scissors or a knife cut the bony membrane on the inside of the tail; remove the meat in one piece, and open it to remove the intestine, which runs the entire length of the tail-piece. The intestine is sometimes without color.
With a sharp knife cut quickly down the back, following a line which runs down the middle of the shell. The fishman will ordinarily do this, and it is as quick and merciful as any way of killing. The lobster may be killed, if preferred, by running a knife into the back as directed above, and then opened with a heavy knife and mallet. Remove the stomach, or lady, and the intestine. Lay the two pieces on the broiler, with the shell part down, and broil over a moderate fire for thirty minutes or longer. Spread a little butter over it when half done, to keep it moist; spread butter, salt, and pepper over it when done; open the claws with a nut-cracker or mallet, and serve immediately.
Split the lobster open in the same way as for broiling. Remove the stomach, or lady, and the intestine; lay the two pieces in a baking-pan; spread over the top of each salt, pepper andbutter, and sprinkle with bread crumbs; bake about forty minutes in a hot oven; during the baking baste it twice by pouring over it a little melted butter. Baked and broiled lobsters are considered a great delicacy.
Put into a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter; when it bubbles add one tablespoonful of flour; cook, but not brown; add one cupful of milk slowly, and stir until smooth; then remove it from the fire; add the salt, the pepper, the parsley, the yolks mashed fine, and lastly the lobster meat cut into pieces one half inch square. (Use a silver knife to cut lobster.) Be careful, in mixing, not to break the meat. Have the shell from which the meat was taken carefully washed and dried, leaving on the head; cut out neatly the inside shell of the tail-piece, and fit the two parts of the shell together. As the shell contracts in cooking, it is well to trim off a little from the sides of the body shell in order to leave an opening wide enough to admit a spoon in serving. Put the meat mixture into the shell. Cover the top with the bread crumbs, which have been moistened with one tablespoonful of butter. Place it in the oven for a few minutes to brown. If the meat of two lobsters is used, the shells of both may be used, or the two tail-shells may be fitted into one body shell, which will then hold all the meat.