The Virginia Housewife Part 6

A SEA PIE.

Lay at the bottom of a small Dutch oven some slices of boiled pork or salt beef, then potatos and onions cut in slices, salt, pepper, thyme and parsley shred fine, some crackers soaked, and a layer of fowls cut up, or slices of veal; cover them with a paste not too rich, put another layer of each article, and cover them with paste until the oven is full; put a little b.u.t.ter between each layer, pour in water till it reaches the top crust, to which you must add wine, catsup of any kind you please, and some pounded cloves; let it stew until there is just gravy enough left; serve it in a deep dish and pour the gravy on.

TO MAKE PASTE FOR THE PIE.

Pour half a pound of b.u.t.ter or dripping, boiling hot, into a quart of flour, add as much water as will make it a paste, work it and roll it well before you use it. It is quite a savoury paste.

BOLOGNA SAUSAGES.

Take one pound of bacon--fat and lean, one ditto veal, do., pork, do., suet, chop all fine, season highly: fill the skins, p.r.i.c.k and boil them an hour, and hang them to dry--grated bread or boiled rice may be added: clean the skins with salt and vinegar.

FISH.

TO CURE HERRINGS.

The best method for preserving herrings, and which may be followed with ease, for a small family, is to take the brine left of your winter stock for beef, to the fishing place, and when the seine is hauled, to pick out the largest herrings, and throw them alive into the brine; let them remain twenty-four hours, take them out and lay them on sloping planks, that the brine may drain off; have a tight barrel, put some coa.r.s.e alum salt at the bottom, then put in a layer of herrings--take care not to bruise them; sprinkle over it alum salt and some saltpetre, then fish, salt, and saltpetre, till the barrel is full; keep a board over it.

Should they not make brine enough to cover them in a few weeks, you must add some, for they will be rusty if not kept under brine. The proper time to salt them is when they are quite fat: the scales will adhere closely to a lean herring, but will be loose on a fat one--the former is not fit to be eaten. Do not be sparing of salt when you put them up.

When they are to be used, take a few out of brine, soak them an hour or two, scale them nicely, pull off the gills, and the only entrail they have will come with them; wash them clean and hang them up to dry. When to be broiled, take half a sheet of white paper, rub it over with b.u.t.ter, put the herring in, double the edges securely, and broil without burning it. The brine the herrings drink before they die, has a wonderful effect in preserving their juices: when one or two years old, they are equal to anchovies.

TO BAKE STURGEON.

Get a piece of sturgeon with the skin on, the piece next to the tail, sc.r.a.pe it well, cut out the gristle, and boil it about twenty minutes to take out the oil; take it up, pull off the large scales, and when cold, stuff it with forcemeat, made of bread crumbs, b.u.t.ter, chopped parsley, pepper and salt, put it in a Dutch oven just large enough to hold it, with a pint and a half of water, a gill of red wine, one of mushroom catsup, some salt and pepper, stew it gently till the gravy is reduced to the quant.i.ty necessary to pour over it; take up your sturgeon carefully, thicken the gravy with a spoonful of b.u.t.ter rubbed into a large one of brown flour;--see that it is perfectly smooth when you put it in the dish.

TO MAKE STURGEON CUTLETS.

The tail piece is the best; skin it and cut off the gristle, cut it into slices about half an inch thick, sprinkle over them pepper and salt, dredge them with flour, and fry them a nice light brown; have ready a pint of good gravy, seasoned with catsup, wine, and a little pounded cloves, and thickened with brown flour and b.u.t.ter; when the cutlets are cold, put them into the gravy and stew them a few minutes; garnish the dish with nice forcemeat b.a.l.l.s and parsley fried crisp.

STURGEON STEAKS.

Cut them as for the cutlets, dredge them, and fry them nicely; dish them quickly lest they get cold; pour over melted b.u.t.ter with chopped parsley, and garnish with fried parsley.

TO BOIL STURGEON.

Leave the skin on, which must be nicely sc.r.a.ped, take out the gristle, rub it with salt, and let it lie an hour, then put it on in cold water with some salt and a few cloves of garlic; it must be dredged with flour before it is put into the water, skim it carefully, and when dished, pour over it melted b.u.t.ter with chopped parsley, a large spoonful of mushroom catsup, one of lemon pickle, and one of pepper vinegar; send some of it to table in a sauce boat;--the sturgeon being a dry fish, rich sauce is necessary.

TO BAKE A SHAD.

The shad is a very indifferent fish unless it be large and fat; when you get a good one, prepare it nicely, put some forcemeat inside, and lay it at full length in a pan with a pint of water, a gill of red wine, one of mushroom catsup, a little pepper, vinegar, salt, a few cloves of garlic, and six cloves: stew it gently till the gravy is sufficiently reduced; there should always be a fish-slice with holes to lay the fish on, for the convenience of dishing without breaking it; when the fish is taken up, slip it carefully into the dish; thicken the gravy with b.u.t.ter and brown flour, and pour over it.

TO BOIL A SHAD.

Get a nice fat shad, fresh from the water, that the skin may not crack in boiling, put it in cold water on a slice, in a kettle of proper length, with a wine gla.s.s of pale vinegar, salt, a little garlic, and a bundle of parsley; when it is done, drain all the water from the fish, lay it in the dish, and garnish with sc.r.a.ped horse-radish; have a sauce boat of nice melted b.u.t.ter, to mix with the different catsups, as taste shall direct.

TO ROAST A SHAD.

Fill the cavity with good forcemeat, sew it up, and tie it on a board of proper size, cover it with bread crumbs, with some salt and pepper, set it before the fire to roast; when done on one side, turn it, tie it again, and when sufficiently done, pull out the thread, and serve it up with b.u.t.ter and parsley poured over it.

TO BROIL A SHAD.

Separate one side from the back-bone, so that it will lie open without being split in two; wash it clean, dry it with a cloth, sprinkle some salt and pepper on it, and let it stand till you are ready to broil it; have the gridiron hot and well greased, broil it nicely, and pour over it melted b.u.t.ter.

TO BOIL ROCK FISH.

The best part of the rock is the head and shoulders--clean it nicely, put it into the fish kettle with cold water and salt, boil it gently and skim it well; when done, drain off the water, lay it in the dish, and garnish with sc.r.a.ped horse-radish; have two boats of tatter nicely melted with chopped parsley, or for a change, you may have anchovy b.u.t.ter; the roe and liver should be fried and served in separate dishes.

If any of the rock be left, it will make a delicious dish next day;--pick it in small pieces, put it in a stew pan with a gill of water, a good lump of b.u.t.ter, some salt, a large spoonful of lemon pickle, and one of pepper vinegar--shake it over the fire till perfectly hot, and serve it up. It is almost equal to stewed crab.

TO FRY PERCH.

Clean the fish nicely, but do not take out the roes, dry them on a cloth, sprinkle some salt, and dredge them with flour, lay them separately on a board; when one side is dry, turn them, sprinkle salt and dredge the other side; be sure the lard boils when you put the fish in, and fry them with great care; they should be a yellowish brown when done. Send melted b.u.t.ter or anchovy sauce in a boat.

TO PICKLE OYSTERS.

Select the largest oysters, drain off their liquor, and wash them in clean water; pick out the pieces of sh.e.l.ls that may be left, put them in a stew pan with water proportioned to the number of oysters, some salt, blades of mace, and whole black pepper; stew them a few minutes, then put them in a pot, and when cold, add as much pale vinegar as will give the liquor an agreeable acid.