The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Part 8

Fill the fish with a nicely prepared stuffing of rolled cracker or stale bread crumbs, seasoned with b.u.t.ter, pepper, salt, sage and any other aromatic herbs fancied; sew up; wrap in a well-floured cloth, tied closely with twine, and boil or steam. The garnishes for boiled fish are: for turbot, fried smelts; for other boiled fish, parsley, sliced beets, lemon or sliced boiled egg. Do not use the knives, spoons, etc., that are used in cooking fish, for other food, as they will be apt to impart a fishy flavor.

Fish to be boiled should be put into _cold water_ and set on the fire to cook very gently, or the outside will break before the inner part is done. Unless the fish are small, they should never be put into warm water; nor should water, either hot or cold, be poured _on_ to the fish, as it is liable to break the skin; if it should be necessary to add a little water while the fish is cooking, it ought to be poured in gently at the side of the vessel.

Fish to be broiled should lie, after they are dressed, for two or three hours, with their inside well sprinkled with salt and pepper.

Salt fish should be soaked in water before boiling, according to the time it has been in salt. When it is hard and dry, it will require thirty-six hours soaking before it is dressed, and the water must be changed three or four times. When fish is not very salt, twenty-four hours, or even one night, will suffice.

When frying fish the fire must be hot enough to bring the fat to such a degree of heat as to sear the surface and make it impervious to the fat, and at the same time seal up the rich juices. As soon as the fish is browned by this sudden application of heat, the pan may be moved to a cooler place on the stove, that the process may be finished more slowly.

Fat in which fish has been fried is just as good to use again for the same purpose, but it should be kept by itself and not put to any other use.

TO FRY FISH.

Most of the smaller fish (generally termed pan-fish) are usually fried. Clean well, cut off the head, and, if quite large, cut out the backbone, and slice the body crosswise into five or six pieces; season with salt and pepper. Dip in Indian meal or wheat flour, or in beaten egg, and roll in bread or fine cracker crumbs--trout and perch should not be dipped in meal; put into a thick bottomed iron frying pan, the flesh side down, with hot lard or drippings; fry slowly, turning when lightly browned. The following method may be deemed preferable: Dredge the pieces with flour; brush them over with beaten egg; roll in bread crumbs, and fry in hot lard or drippings sufficient to cover, the same as frying crullers. If the fat is very hot, the fish will fry without absorbing it, and it will be palatably cooked. When browned on one side, turn it over in the fat and brown the other, draining when done.

This is a particularly good way to fry slices of large fish. Serve with tomato sauce; garnish with slices of lemon.

PAN-FISH.

Place them in a thick bottomed frying pan with heads all one way. Fill the s.p.a.ces with smaller fish. When they are fried quite brown and ready to turn, put a dinner plate over them, drain off the fat; then invert the pan, and they will be left unbroken on the plate. Put the lard back into the pan, and when _hot_ slip back the fish. When the other side is brown, drain, turn on a plate as before, and slip them on a warm platter, to be sent to the table. Leaving the heads on and the fish a crispy-brown, in perfect shape, improves the appearance if not the flavor. Garnish with slices of lemon.

_Hotel Lafayette, Philadelphia._

BAKED PICKEREL.

Carefully clean and wipe the fish, and lay in a dripping pan with enough hot water to prevent scorching. A perforated sheet of tin, fitting loosely, or several m.u.f.fin rings may be used to keep it off the bottom. Lay it in a circle on its belly, head and tail touching, and tied, or as directed in note on fish; bake slowly, basting often with b.u.t.ter and water. When done, have ready a cup of sweet cream or rich milk to which a few spoons of hot water has been added; stir in two large spoons of melted b.u.t.ter and a little chopped parsley; heat all by setting the cup in boiling water; add the gravy from the dripping-pan, and let it boil up once; place the fish in a hot dish and pour over it the sauce. Or an egg sauce may be made with drawn b.u.t.ter; stir in the yolk of an egg quickly, and then a teaspoon of chopped parsley. It can be stuffed or not, just as you please.

BOILED SALMON.

The middle slice of salmon is the best. Sew up neatly in a mosquito-net bag, and boil a quarter of an hour to the pound in hot salted water. When done, unwrap with care, and lay upon a hot dish, taking care not to break it. Have ready a large cupful of drawn b.u.t.ter, very rich, in which has been stirred a tablespoonful of minced parsley and the juice of a lemon. Pour half upon the salmon and serve the rest in a boat. Garnish with parsley and sliced eggs.

BROILED SALMON.

Cut slices from an inch to an inch and an half thick, dry them in a cloth, season with salt and pepper, dredge them in sifted flour, and broil on a gridiron rubbed with suet.

_Another Mode._--Cut the slices one inch thick, and season them with pepper and salt; b.u.t.ter a sheet of white paper, lay each slice on a separate piece, envelop them in it with their ends twisted; broil gently over a clear fire, and serve with anchovy or caper sauce. When higher seasoning is required, add a few chopped herbs and a little spice.

FRESH SALMON FRIED.

Cut the slices three-quarters of an inch thick, dredge them with flour, or dip them in egg and crumbs; fry a light brown. This mode answers for all fish cut into steaks. Season well with salt and pepper.

SALMON AND CAPER SAUCE.

Two slices of salmon, one-quarter pound b.u.t.ter, one-half teaspoonful of chopped parsley, one shallot; salt and pepper to taste.

Lay the salmon in a baking dish, place pieces of b.u.t.ter over it, and add the other ingredients, rubbing a little of the seasoning into the fish; place it in the oven and baste it frequently; when done, take it out and drain for a minute or two; lay it in a dish, pour caper sauce over it and serve. Salmon dressed in this way, with tomato sauce, is very delicious.

BROILED SALT SALMON OR OTHER SALT FISH.

Soak salmon in tepid or cold water twenty-four hours, changing water several times, or let stand under faucet of running water. If in a hurry, or desiring a very salt relish, it may do to soak a short time, having water warm, and changing, parboiling slightly. At the hour wanted, broil sharply. Season to suit taste, covering with b.u.t.ter.

This recipe will answer for all kinds of salt fish.

PICKLED SALMON.

Take a fine, fresh salmon, and, having cleaned it, cut it into large pieces, and boil it in salted water as if for eating. Then drain it, wrap it in a dry cloth, and set it in a cold place till next day. Then make the pickle, which must be in proportion to the quant.i.ty of fish.

To one quart of the water in which the salmon was boiled, allow two quarts of the best vinegar, one ounce of whole black pepper, one nutmeg grated and a dozen blades of mace. Boil all these together in a kettle closely covered to prevent the flavor from evaporating. When the vinegar thus prepared is quite cold, pour it over the salmon, and put on the top a tablespoonful of sweet oil, which will make it keep the longer.

Cover it closely, put it in a dry, cool place, and it will be good for many months. This is the nicest way of preserving salmon, and is approved by all who have tried it.

SMOKED SALMON.

Smoked salmon to be broiled should be put upon the gridiron first, with the flesh side to the fire.

Smoked salmon is very nice when shaved like smoked beef, and served with coffee or tea.

FRICa.s.sEE SALMON.

This way of cooking fresh salmon is a pleasant change from the ordinary modes of cooking it. Cut one and one-half pounds of salmon into pieces one inch square; put the pieces in a stewpan with half a cupful of water, a little salt, a little white pepper, one clove, one blade of mace, three pieces of sugar, one shallot and a heaping teaspoonful of mustard mixed smoothly with half a teacupful of vinegar. Let this boil up once and add six tomatoes peeled and cut into tiny pieces, a few sprigs of parsley finely minced, and one wine-gla.s.sful of sherry. Let all simmer gently for three-quarters of an hour. Serve very hot, and garnish with dry toast cut in triangular pieces. This dish is good, very cold, for luncheon or breakfast.

SALMON PATTIES.

Cut cold, cooked salmon into dice. Heat about a pint of the dice in half a pint of cream. Season to taste with cayenne pepper and salt.

Fill the sh.e.l.ls and serve. Cold, cooked fish of any kind may be made into patties in this way. Use any fish sauce you choose--all are equally good.

FISH AND OYSTER PIE.

Any remains of cold fish, such as cod or haddock, 2 dozen oysters, pepper and salt to taste, bread crumbs, sufficient for the quant.i.ty of fish; 1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley.

Clear the fish from the bones, and put a layer of it in a pie-dish, which sprinkle with pepper and salt; then a layer of bread crumbs, oysters, nutmeg and chopped parsley. Repeat this till the dish is quite full. You may form a covering either of bread crumbs, which should be browned, or puff-paste, which should be cut off into long strips, and laid in cross-bars over the fish, with a line of the paste first laid round the edge. Before putting on the top, pour in some made melted b.u.t.ter, or a little thin white sauce, and the oyster-liquor, and bake.

_Time_.--If of cooked fish, 1/4 hour; if made of fresh fish and puff-paste, 3/4 hour.

STEAMED FISH.

Secure the tail of the fish in its mouth, the body in a circle; pour over it half a pint of vinegar, seasoned with pepper and salt; let it stand an hour in a cool place; pour off the vinegar, and put it in a steamer over boiling water, and steam twenty minutes, or longer for large fish. When the meat easily separates from the bone it is done.

Drain well and serve on a very clean white napkin, neatly folded and placed on the platter; decorate the napkin around the fish with sprigs of curled parsley, or with fanciful beet cuttings, or alternately with both.