The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual Part 36

Fry one sole at a time, except the pan is very large, and you have plenty of fat.

When the fish are fried, lay them on a soft cloth (old tablecloths are best), near enough the fire to keep them warm; turn them every two or three minutes, till they are quite dry on both sides; this common cooks commonly neglect. It will take ten or fifteen minutes,[171-*] if the fat you fried them in was not hot enough; when it is, they want very little drying. When soles are fried, they will keep very good in a dry place for three or four days; warm them by hanging them on the hooks in a Dutch oven, letting them heat very gradually, by putting it some distance from the fire for about twenty minutes, or in good gravy, as eels, Wiggy's way (Nos. 164, 299, 337, or 356).

_Obs._ There are several general rules in this receipt which apply to all fried fish: we have been very particular and minute in our directions; for, although a fried sole is so frequent and favourite a dish, it is very seldom brought to table in perfection.[171-+]

_Soles to stew._--(No. 146.)

These are half fried, and then done the same as eels, Wiggy's way. See No. 164.

_Fillets of Soles, brown or white._--(No. 147.)

Take off the fillets very nicely, trim them neatly, and press them dry between a soft cloth; egg, crumb, and fry them, &c. as directed in No.

145, or boil them, and serve them with No. 364--2.

N.B. This is one of the best ways of dressing very large soles. See also No. 164.

_Skate_,[172-*]--(No. 148.)

Is very good when in good season, but no fish so bad when it is otherwise: those persons that like it firm and dry, should have it crimped; but those that like it tender, should have it plain, and eat it not earlier than the second day, and if cold weather, three or four days old it is better: it cannot be kept too long, if perfectly sweet. Young skate eats very fine crimped and fried. See No. 154.

_Cod boiled._--(No. 149.)

Wash and clean the fish, and rub a little salt in the inside of it (if the weather is very cold, a large cod is the better for being kept a day): put plenty of water in your fish-kettle, so that the fish may be well covered; put in a large handful of salt; and when it is dissolved, put in your fish; a very small fish will require from fifteen to twenty minutes after the water boils, a large one about half an hour; drain it on the fish-plate; dish it with a garnish of the roe, liver, chitterlings, &c. or large native oysters, fried a light brown (see No.

183*), or smelts (No. 173), whitings (No. 153), the tail[172-+] of the cod cut in slices, or bits the size and shape of oysters, or split it, and fry it. Scolloped oysters (No. 182), oyster sauce (No. 278), slices of cod cut about half an inch thick, and fried as soles (No. 145), are very nice.

MEM.--The SOUNDS (the jelly parts about the jowl), the palate, and the tongue are esteemed exquisites by piscivorous epicures, whose longing eyes will keep a sharp look-out for a share of their favourite "_bonne bouche_:" the carver's reputation depends much on his equitable distribution of them.[173-*]

_Salt Fish boiled._--(No. 150.)

Salt fish requires soaking, according to the time it has been in salt; trust not to those you buy it of, but taste a bit of one of the flakes; that which is hard and dry requires two nights' soaking, changing the water two or three times; the intermediate day, lay it on a stone floor: for barrelled cod less time will do; and for the best Dogger-bank split fish, which has not been more than a fortnight or three weeks in salt, still less will be needful.

Put it into plenty of cold water, and let it simmer very gently till it is enough; if the water boils, the fish will be tough and thready.[173-+] For egg sauce, see No. 267; and to boil red beet-root, No. 127; parsnips, No. 128; Carrots, No. 129. Garnish salt fish with the yelks of eggs cut into quarters.

_Obs._--Our favourite vegetable accompaniment is a dish of equal parts of red beet-root and parsnips.

N.B. Salted fish differs in quality quite as much as it does in price.

_Slices of Cod boiled._--(No. 151.)

Half an hour before you dress them, put them into cold spring-water with some salt in it.

Lay them at the bottom of a fish-kettle, with as much cold spring-water as will cover them, and some salt; set it on a quick fire, and when it boils, skim it, and set it on one side of the fire to boil very gently, for about ten minutes, according to its size and thickness. Garnish with sc.r.a.ped horseradish, slices of lemon, and a slice of the liver on one side, and chitterling on the other. Oyster sauce (No. 278), and plain b.u.t.ter.

_Obs._--Slices of cod (especially the tail, split) are very good, fried like soles (No. 145), or stewed in gravy like eels (No. 164, or No.

364--2).[174-*]

_Fresh Sturgeon._--(No. 152.)

The best mode of dressing this, is to have it cut in thin slices like veal cutlets, and broiled, and rubbed over with a bit of b.u.t.ter and a little pepper, and served very hot, and eaten with a squeeze of lemon-juice. Great care, however, must be taken to cut off the skin before it is broiled, as the oil in the skin, if burned, imparts a disgusting flavour to the fish. The flesh is very fine, and comes nearer to veal, perhaps, than even turtle.

Sturgeon is frequently plentiful and reasonable in the London shops. We prefer this mode of dressing it to the more savoury one of stewing it in rich gravy, like carp, &c. which overpowers the peculiar flavour of the fish.[174-+]

_Whitings fried._--(No. 153.)

Skin[174-++] them, preserve the liver (see No. 228), and fasten their tails to their mouths; dip them in egg, then in bread-crumbs, and fry them in hot lard (read No. 145), or split them, and fry them like fillets of soles (No. 147).

A three-quart stew-pan, half full of fat, is the best utensil to fry whitings. They will be done enough in about five minutes; but it will sometimes require a quarter of an hour to drain the fat from them and dry them (if the fat you put them into was not hot enough), turning them now and then with a fish-slice.

_Obs._--When whitings are scarce, the fishmongers can skin and truss young codlings, so that you can hardly tell the difference, except that a codling wears a beard, and a whiting does not: this distinguishing mark is sometimes cut off; however, if you turn up his jowl, you may see the mark where the beard was, and thus discover whether he be a real whiting, or a shaved codling.

_Skate fried._--(No. 154.)

After you have cleaned the fish, divide it into fillets; dry them on a clean cloth; beat the yelk and white of an egg thoroughly together, dip the fish in this, and then in fine bread-crumbs; fry it in hot lard or drippings till it is of a delicate brown colour; lay it on a hair-sieve to drain; garnish with crisp parsley (No. 318), and some like caper sauce, with an anchovy in it.

_Plaice or Flounders, fried or boiled._--(No. 155.)

Flounders are perhaps the most difficult fish to fry very nicely. Clean them well, flour them, and wipe them with a dry cloth to absorb all the water from them; flour or egg and bread-crumb them, &c. as directed in No. 145.

_To boil Flounders._

Wash and clean them well, cut the black side of them the same as you do turbot, then put them into a fish-kettle, with plenty of cold water and a handful of salt; when they come to a boil, skim them clean, and let them stand by the side of the fire for five minutes, and they are ready.

_Obs._--Eaten with plain melted b.u.t.ter and a little salt, you have the sweet delicate flavour of the flounder, which is overpowered by any sauce.

_Water Souchy_,[175-*]--(No. 156.)

Is made with flounders, whitings, gudgeons, or eels. These must be quite fresh, and very nicely cleaned; for what they are boiled in, is the sauce for them.

Wash, gut, and trim your fish, cut them into handsome pieces, and put them into a stew-pan with just as much water as will cover them, with some parsley, or parsley-roots sliced, an onion minced fine, and a little pepper and salt (to this some cooks add some sc.r.a.ped horseradish and a bay leaf); skim it carefully when it boils; when your fish is done enough (which it will be in a few minutes), send it up in a deep dish, lined with bread sippets, and some slices of bread and b.u.t.ter on a plate.

_Obs._--Some cooks thicken the liquor the fish has been stewing in with flour and b.u.t.ter, and flavour it with white wine, lemon-juice, essence of anchovy, and catchup; and boil down two or three flounders, &c. to make a fish broth to boil the other fish in, observing, that the broth cannot be good unless the fish are boiled too much.

_Haddock boiled._--(No. 157.)

Wash it well, and put it on to boil, as directed in No. 149; a haddock of three pounds will take about ten minutes after the kettle boils.