The Fireless Cook Book / A Manual of the Construction and Use of Appliances for Cooking by Retained Heat, with 250 Recipes

by Margaret Johnes Mitchell

Potted Fish

• 3 shad or 6 small mackerel
• ¹⁄₃ cup salt
• ¹⁄₈ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¹⁄₆ cup whole cloves
• ¹⁄₆ cup peppercorns
• ¹⁄₆ cup whole allspice
• 1 onion, sliced
• Vinegar to cover

Clean the fish, remove the head, tail, fins, skin, and large bones. The small bones will be dissolved in the vinegar. Cut the fish into pieces for serving. Mix the salt, pepper, and spices. Pack the fish in layers in a small stone crock or deep agate-ware utensil, sprinkling the salt and adding pieces of onion between the layers. Pour over it vinegar to completely cover it. In the absence of a tight-fitting cover, use heavy, buttered paper tied on. Bake it for five or six hours in an insulated oven, the stones heated until the [paper test] shows a delicate brown. Potted fish will keep well if put into a cold place and kept covered with vinegar. It makes a good relish for lunch or tea.