Remarks upon the Use of Court-bouillon.
1. Court-bouillon must always be prepared in advance for all fish, the time for poaching which is less than half an hour, except turbots and brills.
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]2. When a fish is of such a size as to need more than half an hour’s poaching, proceed as follows:—Place under the drainer of the fish-kettle the minced carrots and onions and the faggot; put the fish on the drainer, and cover it with water and vinegar, or white wine, in accordance with the kind of court-bouillon wanted and the quantity required. Add the salt, boil, and keep the court-bouillon gently simmering for a period of time fixed by the weight of the fish. The time allowed for poaching the latter will be given in their respective formulæ.
3. Fish, when whole, should be immersed in cold court-bouillon; when sliced, in the same liquor, boiling. The exceptions to this rule are small trout “au bleu” and shell-fish.
4. If fish be cooked in short liquor the aromatics are put under the drainer and the liquid elements of the selected court-bouillon (as, for example, that with red or white wine) are so calculated as to cover only one-third of the solid body. Fish cooked in this way should be frequently basted.
5. Court-bouillon for ordinary and spiny lobsters should always be at full boiling pitch when these are immersed. The case is the same for small or medium fish “au bleu.”
6. Fish which is to be served cold, also shell-fish, should cool in the court-bouillon itself; the cooking period is consequently curtailed.