EEL, CONGER, AND LAMPREY.
To clean.—When skinned, clean, head, and tail them. Then throw them in boiling water, in which you have put a little salt and a teaspoonful of vinegar; leave them in it about five minutes, take out, and drain.
Broiled.—Clean and cut two pounds of eel, or of either of the others, in pieces about three inches long. Put in a stewpan a piece of butter the size of an egg, and set it on the fire; when hot, lay the eels in, fry about three minutes, turning them over the while; then turn the whole into a crockery vessel, add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and onions, a pinch of grated nutmeg, a tablespoonful of sweet-oil, salt, and pepper; set on the fire and simmer two hours; take off, roll the pieces in fine bread-crumbs, place them on a gridiron, and on a good fire, and serve when done with piquante sauce.
From the nature of their flesh, eels require to be prepared thus; and, when properly done, make really a very good dish.
Roasted.—Prepare the eels as for broiling, and, instead of placing on the gridiron, envelop them in oiled paper and roast before a sharp fire. Serve with piquante, ravigote, or Tartar sauce.
Fried.—Prepare as for broiling as far as rolling in bread-crumbs, then dip in beaten-egg, roll in bread-crumbs again, and fry. (See Frying.) Serve with tomato-sauce, or just as it is.
In Maître d'hôtel.—Clean as directed, but boil twenty minutes instead of five. Serve with a maître d'hôtel sauce and steamed potatoes, or with muscle, oyster, shrimp, or Tartar sauce.
In Matelote.—(See Fish in Matelote.)
Stuffed.—Clean as directed; stuff it with currant jelly, bake or roast, and serve with currant jelly.
Flounder (wrongly called sole; the flounder is as good as the sole—the soles that may be found here are imported from Europe or from Newfoundland), dab-fish, and plaice, after being baked or boiled, may be served with the following sauces:
Allemande, anchovy, anchovy-butter, Mayonnaise, tomato, and au gratin.
Baked.—Clean three pounds of the above fish. Put in a crockery dish four ounces of butter, set it on a good fire, and when melted sprinkle in it a teaspoonful of flour, stirring the while; also, a pinch of grated nutmeg, salt, pepper, a saltspoonful of chopped parsley, two or three mushrooms, also chopped, then the fish; pour on it a glass of white wine, and a liquor-glass of French brandy; cover the dish, take it from the fire, and put it in a moderately heated oven, and serve when done just as it is, and in the crockery dish.
A la Normande.—Bone and skin the fish as directed. For a fish weighing four pounds, spread two ounces of butter on the bottom of a baking-pan; spread one onion, chopped fine, over the butter, and as much carrot, cut in small dice. Place the fish over the whole, the pieces as they are, or cut according to the size of the pan, salt and pepper, and bake. Take from the oven when done and dish the fish, leaving the juice in the pan; cut the stems of about a dozen mushrooms; place the heads on the middle of the fish, and the stems around it.
Mix cold a tablespoonful of flour and the same of butter in a saucepan, turn into it a pint of broth, set on the fire and stir continually; when thoroughly mixed, turn into it also, and through a strainer, the juice from the pan in which the fish has baked; stir again two or three minutes; turn gently over the fish, put in the oven for about ten minutes, and serve hot. Croutons may be placed around the dish as a decoration.
Another Normande.—Bone and skin the fish as directed; butter well the dish on which the fish is to be served, spread some chopped onion all over, then place the fish over it; sprinkle salt, pepper, and white wine or vinegar (a tablespoonful to a pound of fish), all over the fish, and bake it. It takes about fifteen minutes for a fish weighing two or three pounds. Wine is better than vinegar.
While the fish is baking, set a saucepan on the fire with an ounce of butter in it, and when melted, add half a tablespoonful of flour; stir, and when turning yellow, add also half a pint of broth or water, salt, then the juice from the fish when baked, stir, give one boil, and turn over the fish.
Blanch a dozen or so of oysters, place them all over the fish also.
Have ready two or three potatoes, cut with a round vegetable spoon; boil till done; place them around the fish as a border for it; dust then the whole with bread-crumbs, put in a warm oven for about fifteen minutes, take off, place half a dozen croutons all around the dish also, and serve.
The croutons are generally cut of a heart-shape. It will be easily done if the directions are followed properly and carefully.
Commence by cutting the bread, then cut the potatoes, and set them on the fire with cold water and salt; while they are cooking, prepare the fish and set it in the oven; while this is baking, make the sauce, fry the croutons, and blanch the oysters. If the fish is baked before the rest are ready, take it off and keep warm till wanted. It makes a sightly and excellent dish.
The same fried.—Small flounders are fried like other small fish, and served either with or without a tomato-sauce or à la Orly.
The same, boned and fried.—Bone and skin small flounders as directed; mix together a tablespoonful of oil, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, the juice of half a lemon, and salt; dip the pieces of fish in the mixture, dust them slightly with flour, and fry. Serve hot.
Pike, Pickerel, and Trout or Troutlet.—Those three fish, besides being prepared as directed for bass, etc., and in all its different ways, they are boiled as directed and served warm, with a génoise sauce.
A more delicious dish of fish can hardly be prepared.
Ray, Skate, and Angel or Monk fish.—Ray, though excellent, is very little known; there is only one place at which it can be bought—Washington Market, New York.
It is unquestionably an excellent dish, prepared au beurre noir. When clean, boil the fish as directed, and dish it, sprinkling salt and pepper on it.
While it is boiling, put about two ounces of butter to a pound of fish in a frying-pan, set it on a sharp fire, stir now and then, and when brown, throw into it about six sprigs of parsley, which you take off immediately with a skimmer. As soon as the parsley is taken off, pour the butter over the fish, quickly put two tablespoonfuls of vinegar in the frying-pan and over the fire, give one boil, and pour also over the fish. Frying the parsley and boiling the vinegar cannot be done too fast, as the fish must be served very warm. The warmer it is served, the better it is.
Salmon, sturgeon, and white-fish, after being baked or boiled, may be served with a caper, and also with a Mayonnaise sauce. They may also be served in court bouillon, like bass. They are broiled whole, or in slices, and served with a maître d'hôtel or a caper sauce.
The same in Fricandeau.—Cut the fish in slices about half an inch thick, and place them in a saucepan with slices of fat salt pork, carrots and onions under them; set on a good fire; ten minutes after, add a little broth, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan; after about five minutes, turn the slices over; finish the cooking and serve with the gravy strained over the fish, or with a tomato-sauce.
The same in Papillotes.—Fry slices of salmon with a little butter, and until of a golden color; take them from the fire. While they are frying, mix well together parsley chopped fine, salt, pepper, melted butter, grated nutmeg, and a little lemon-juice; spread some of the mixture on both sides of the slices of fish, envelop them in buttered or oiled paper; broil, and serve them hot.
Some mushrooms or truffles, or both, and chopped, may be added to the mixture.
The same à la Génevoise.—Put in a saucepan a thick slice of salmon—from five to six pounds; just cover it with broth and claret wine—half of each; season with a bunch of seasonings composed of six or eight sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, two bay-leaves, two cloves, and two cloves of garlic, salt, a few slices of carrot, and a small green onion, or a shallot, if handy. Boil gently till nearly done, when add about a dozen mushrooms, and keep boiling till done; dish the fish, and put it in a warm but not hot place; mix cold, in a saucepan, four ounces of butter with about two ounces of flour; turn over it, through a strainer, the liquor in which the fish has been cooked, and set on a sharp fire; after about three minutes, during which you have stirred with a wooden spoon, add the mushrooms; stir again for about two minutes, turn over the fish, and serve warm.
The same in Salad.—Boil, as directed for fish, some thin slices of salmon, drain, and serve cold, on a napkin and on a dish.
Serve with it, and in a boat, the following: half a teaspoonful of salt, a pinch of pepper, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, four of sweet oil, a pickled cucumber chopped fine, two hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine also, two or three anchovies, and a tablespoonful of capers; the anchovies may be chopped fine or pounded. Beat the whole well and serve.
The same in Scallops.—Cut it in round slices, about one-eighth of an inch in thickness; fry them with butter, and serve.
The pieces should be tastefully arranged on a dish, imitating a flight of stairs.
Broiled.—Cut it in rather thin slices, butter both sides with a brush; broil, and serve with a maître d'hôtel.
Shad and sheep's-head, after being baked or boiled, are served with an anchovy, caper, or tomato sauce. They are also served cold, à la vinaigrette.
Broiled.—When cleaned and prepared, salt, pepper, and butter it; broil and serve it with a maître d'hôtel.
It may be stuffed as directed for fish.
In Provençale.—Clean, prepare, and cut the fish in pieces about two inches long; put about three pounds of it in a saucepan, with a pint of claret; six stalks of parsley, a small onion, a clove of garlic, and six mushrooms, all chopped fine; boil till done, when add four ounces of butter, and two of flour, well kneaded together; boil three minutes longer, and serve warm.
Another way, or à la Chambord.—Stuff the fish with sausage-meat, envelop it in a towel, boil, and serve it with a tomato-sauce.
The same with Sorrel.—Broil the fish, and serve it on a purée of sorrel or of spinach.
It may also be prepared au court bouillon, à la Bretonne, and aux fines herbes, like bass, etc.
Sheep's-head may also be prepared like turbot.
Au Gratin.—The shad, after being cleaned, but not split on the back (as is too often the case, to the shame of the fishmongers who begin by spoiling the fish under the pretence of cleaning it), is placed in a bake-pan, having butter, chopped parsley, mushroom, salt, and pepper, both under and above the fish. For a fish weighing three pounds, add one gill of broth and half as much of white wine; dust the fish with bread-crumbs, and set in a pretty quick oven.
Fifteen minutes afterward, examine it. When done, the fish is dished, a little broth is put in the pan, which is placed on a sharp fire; stir with a spoon or fork so as to detach the bread, etc., that may stick to the pan, then pour this over the fish, and serve warm.
The gravy must be reduced to two or three tablespoonfuls only, for a fish weighing about two pounds.
The fish must be dished carefully in order not to break it.
Sterlet.—This is a fish of the sturgeon family, very plentiful in the Caspian Sea and in many Russian rivers, principally in the Neva and in Lake Ladoga.
Tunny and bonito, after being boiled, are served cold in vinaigrette.
Turbot and Whiff.—Turbot is among fishes what pheasant is among birds. Rub it with lemon before cooking it.
After being boiled or baked, as directed, it is served with the following sauces: Béchamel, cream, caper, Hollandaise, Mayonnaise, tomato, and in vinaigrette.
It is also served au court-bouillon and aux fines herbes like bass.
Au Gratin.—It is prepared and served like shad au gratin.
It is also broiled and served with a maître d'hôtel.
Bordelaise.—Bone and skin the fish as directed; dip each piece in melted butter, then in beaten egg, roll in bread-crumbs and broil. While it is broiling on a rather slow fire, turn it over several times and keep basting with melted butter; the more butter it absorbs the better the fish.
When broiled, serve the slices on a dish and place some boiled craw-fish all around and in the middle. A dish of steamed potatoes is served with it.
The following sauce is also served at the same time: Chop fine and fry till half done, with a little butter, two small green onions or four shallots. Put half a pint of good meat-gravy in a small saucepan; set on the fire, and as soon as it commences to boil, pour into it, little by little, stirring the while with a wooden spoon, about a gill of Bordeaux wine, then the onions or shallots, and also a piece of beef marrow chopped fine; give one boil, and serve in a saucer.
In Salad.—Proceed as for salmon in salad.
When boiled, serve the turbot with anchovy-butter, lobster-butter, lobster-sauce, or muscle-sauce.
Cold.—Any cold piece of turbot is served with a Mayonnaise sauce, or in vinaigrette.
Cold Fish.—If the fish is with sauce, that is, if the sauce is in the same dish with the fish, warm it in the bain-marie, and serve warm. Any other piece of cold fish, baked, boiled, broiled, or roasted, is served with a Mayonnaise sauce, or with a vinaigrette.
Any kind of cold fish may be prepared in salad. Slice the fish or cut it in pieces and put it in the salad-dish with hard-boiled egg sliced, onion and parsley chopped fine, salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil. Mix the whole gently and well, and serve.
Anchovy.—It is imported preserved. It is used as a hors-d'oeuvre, to decorate or season.
The essence of anchovy is used for sauce.
The smallest are considered the best.
To serve as a hors d'oeuvre, wash, wipe dry, and remove the backbone, serve with tarragon or parsley, chopped fine, vinegar, and oil.
They may also be served with hard-boiled eggs, chopped or quartered.
Sprats.—There are none in or near American waters; they are imported under their French name, sardines. Fresh sprats are very good boiled without any grease, and without being cleaned and prepared like other fish; but when on the plate, skin them, which is easily done, as then the flesh is so easily detached from the bones that the inside need not be touched at all; they are eaten with salt and pepper only.
Sardines are served as a hors-d'oeuvre, with oil and lemon-juice, and properly scaled. They are arranged on the dish according to fancy, together with lemon in slices.
Salt Cod—to prepare.—Soak it in cold water for two days, changing the water two or three times; then scale it well and clean. Lay it in a fish-kettle, cover with cold water, set on a rather slow fire, skim off the scum, let it boil about one minute, take the kettle from the fire, cover it well, and leave thus ten minutes; then take off the cod, and drain it.
In Béchamel.—Prepare it as above, and serve with a béchamel sauce, and as warm as possible.
With a Cream-Sauce.—Prepare as above, and serve either warm or cold with a cream-sauce.
In Brown Butter.—When prepared as above, place it on a dish, and keep it in a warm place. Put four ounces of butter in a frying-pan, and on a good fire; when turning brown, add three sprigs of parsley, fry about two minutes, pour the whole on the fish, and serve. You may also pour on it a hot caper-sauce, and serve.
With Croutons.—Prepare and cook as directed, three pounds of cod; take the bones out, break in small pieces, and mash with the hand as much as possible; put it then in a stewpan, beat three yolks of eggs with two tablespoonfuls of cream, and mix with the cod; set on a slow fire, and immediately pour in, little by little, stirring the while, about one gill of sweet oil; simmer ten or twelve minutes, and serve with croutons around.
In Maître d'Hôtel.—Lay three pounds of cod on a dish, after being cooked as directed; keep it warm, spread a maître d'hôtel sauce on it, and serve.
With Potatoes.—Prepare about three pounds of cod as directed above. Lay the fish on a dish; have a piquante sauce ready, turn it over it, and serve with steamed potatoes all around the dish. The potatoes may also be served separately.
In Vinaigrette.—Prepare as directed, and when cold, serve with a vinaigrette.
With Cheese.—Prepare the cod as directed, then dip it in lukewarm butter, roll it in grated cheese, lay it in a baking-pan, dust slightly with bread-crumbs; bake, and serve warm. Two or three minutes in a quick oven will be sufficient.
Au Gratin.—When soaked only and wiped dry, but not boiled, prepare it as directed for fish au gratin.
With Caper-Sauce.—Prepare it as directed, and serve warm with caper-sauce.
Salt Salmon.—Soak it in cold water for some time, the length of time to be according to the saltness of the fish; scale and clean it well, lay it in a fish-kettle, cover it with cold water, and set it on a moderate fire. Boil gently about two minutes, skim off the scum, take from the kettle and drain it. Put butter in a frying-pan and set it on the fire; when it turns rather brown, put a few sprigs of parsley in it, and immediately pour it over the fish in the dish; add a few drops of lemon-juice all over, and serve warm.
It may also be served with a caper or maître d'hôtel sauce; or, when cold, serve à la vinaigrette.
Salt salmon is also served like salt cod-fish.
It may also be served on a purée of celery or of onion.
Smoked Salmon.—Cut it in thin slices; have very hot butter or oil in a frying-pan, and lay the slices in only long enough to warm them; then take out, drain them, and serve with a few drops of lemon-juice or vinegar sprinkled on them.
Tunny.—This is not a good fish fresh; it is generally preserved, and served as a hors-d'oeuvre. It comes from Holland, Italy, and the south of France.
Fresh, it is prepared like sturgeon. That prepared in Holland is the best. The Dutch cure fish better than any other nation.
When you serve tunny, take it out of the bottle or jar and serve it on a small plate, or on a dessert-plate. A very small piece is served, generally like every other hors-d'oeuvre.
Salt Herring.—Soak in cold or tepid water; if soaked in tepid water, it does not require as long; the time must be according to the quality or saltness of the fish. Wipe dry, broil, and serve like salt mackerel.
Another way.—Salt herring may also be soaked in half water and half milk, or in milk only; drain and wipe dry. Bone and skin, cut off the head, tail, and fins, and serve with oil, vinegar, and pickled cucumbers.
They are also served with slices of sour apples, or slices of onions, after being soaked and wiped dry.
They may also be broiled slightly and served with oil only, after being soaked, or served with sour grape-juice.
Salt Pike.—It is prepared and served the same as salt herring; so is pickled trout.
Red Herring.—Wipe or skin them, they are not as good when washed; cut off the head and tail, split the back open, lay them on a warm and well-greased gridiron, set on a slow fire; spread some butter or oil on them, turn over, do the same on the other side; broil very little, and serve with a vinaigrette and mustard to taste.
Another way.—Clean and split them as above, soak them in lukewarm water for two hours; take out, drain, and wipe dry. Mix two or three yolks of eggs with a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a little melted butter; put some of the mixture around every herring, then roll them in fine bread-crumbs, place them on a gridiron on a slow fire: and when lightly broiled, serve as the preceding one.
Red herring may also be broiled with bread-crumbs like salt herring.
It is also served as a hors-d'oeuvre, cut in slices.
Salt Mackerel broiled.—If the fish be too salt, soak it for a while in lukewarm water, take off and wipe dry. Have a little melted fat or lard, dip a brush in it and grease slightly both sides of the fish; place on or inside of the gridiron, the bars of which must also be greased; set on, or before, or under a pretty sharp fire; broil both sides; dish the fish, the skin under; spread butter on it; also parsley chopped fine, and serve.
Lemon-juice may be added if liked, or a few drops of vinegar.
When broiled and dished, spread a maître d'hôtel on it, and serve.
Another way.—When soaked and wiped dry, dip in melted butter, again in beaten eggs, and roll in bread-crumbs. Broil and serve with parsley and lemon-juice, or with a maître d'hôtel.