232. Red Mullet en papillote.—Cut a sheet of foolscap paper in the form of a heart, lay it on the table and oil it, put the mullet on one side, season with salt, pepper, and chopped eschalot, fold the paper over and plait both edges together, and broil on a slow fire for half an hour, turning carefully now and then; serve without a napkin; they are excellent done thus, without sauce, but, if any is required, use melted butter, cream Hollandaise, anchovy or Italian sauce.
233. Red Mullets sauté in Butter.—Put two ounces of butter in a pan; when melted, put in one or two small mullets, and season with a teaspoonful of salt, half ditto of pepper, and the juice of half a lemon; set it on a slow fire and turn carefully; when done, dish and serve plain, or with any of the sauces named in the former receipt.
Herrings, when in season, that is, when the roe is just forming, are most excellent and wholesome fish, when eaten fresh; I have this day (the 25th of April) partaken of some, caught in twenty-four fathoms of water, about twelve miles off the coast of Folkestone, in which you could just distinguish the formation of the roe. The richness of the fish at this period is extraordinary, and renders it worthy the table of the greatest epicure.
As this fish is now of so great importance as an article of food, I shall refer more at length to it in my letters on pickling and preserving, and give you a description of my new plan of curing and smoking, and also what I consider its medicinal and other properties. Its different modes of cooking are as follows:
234. Herrings boiled.—Boil six herrings about twenty minutes in plenty of salt and water, but only just to simmer; then have ready the following sauce: put half a gill of cream upon the fire in a stewpan; when it boils, add eight spoonfuls of melted butter, an ounce of fresh butter, a little pepper, salt, and the juice of half a lemon; dress the fish upon a dish without a napkin, sauce over and serve.
235. Herrings broiled, Sauce Dijon.—The delicacy of these fish prevents their being dressed in any other way than boiled or broiled; they certainly can be bread-crumbed and fried, but scarcely any person would like them; I prefer them dressed in the following way: wipe them well with a cloth, and cut three incisions slantwise upon each side, dip them in flour and broil slowly over a moderate fire; when done, sprinkle a little salt over, dress them upon a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve the following sauce in a boat: put eight tablespoonfuls of melted butter in a stewpan, with two of French mustard, or one of English, an ounce of fresh butter, and a little pepper and salt; when upon the point of boiling, serve.