No. 324. Skate au Beurre noir.
Boil the skate as above, drain it well, and dish it without a napkin; put half a pound of butter in a stewpan and set it on the fire till it gets quite black, then fry half a handful of parsley (that has been well washed and picked) in it quite crisp, and pour over the fish, then put five tablespoonfuls of vinegar, with a little pepper and salt, into the same stewpan, boil it a minute, pour over the fish, put it in the oven five minutes and serve very hot.
No. 325. Skate à la Maître d’Hôtel.
Boil the fish as previously, dish it up without a napkin, then put twelve tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, and when it boils add a quarter of a pound of maître d’hôtel butter (No. 79) to it; stir it till the butter is melted and pour over the fish.
No. 326. Smelts, to fry them.
Select these fishes very fresh, they being so very delicate they must not be kept more than one day in summer or two in winter; their appearance when fresh is very silvery, the eyes are very bright, and they smell like violets or cucumbers, but if the belly looks at all black they are not fresh, and consequently not wholesome; the most common method of dressing them is to fry them; dry them well in a cloth, and dip them in flour; then have half an ounce of butter melted in a stewpan, into which break the yolks of two eggs, with which wash the smelts over with a paste brush, dip them in bread-crumbs, fry in very hot lard, dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve with shrimp sauce in a boat.
No. 327. Smelts à la Juive.
Egg and bread-crumb the fish as before, fry in salad oil (very hot), dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve without sauce.
No. 328. Smelts à la Boulangère.
Dry the fish in a napkin, dip them in very thick cream, and immediately afterwards in flour, so that it forms a paste round them; fry them in very white hot lard, dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve without sauce.