The night before, fill the eyes with salt, and hang the fish up. Or, for a few hours before cooking, sprinkle them with salt. Serve egg sauce. It may be stuffed, as in the next receipt.
Haddocks to Stew, Bake, or Roast.
If you have six small ones, take the heads, tails and trimmings of all, and one whole fish, boil these in a quart of water or broth, with an onion, sweet herbs, and cayenne; boil well, and thicken with brown flour; add spices, and mushroom catsup, or essence of anchovy; strain this, boil again, and skim well; then lay in the rest of your haddocks, cut in pieces. If there require more sauce, add as much as is necessary, of any broth or gravy you have; some oysters, or oyster-pickle. When done, take the fish out with a slice, lay it in a dish, and pour the sauce, which ought to be thick, round. This fish may be stuffed with meat, or rich forcemeat, and dressed whole in the above gravy.—Another: the fish being well cleaned, dry it, and put in the stuffing directed for fillet of veal; tie the tail to the mouth, put the haddock in a pie-dish, rub it over with flour, half fill the dish with veal stock, and bake it in a slow oven 40 minutes. A glass of white wine, or half a one of brandy, oyster-pickle, or lemon juice, either of these may be used, according to taste. Gurnet the same. To Roast: Stuff a good-sized one with veal stuffing, and dangle it before the fire; baste with butter, and when nearly done, take the gravy out of the pan, skim off the fat, then boil up the gravy with pepper, salt, and a wine-glassful of Port wine.
Haddocks to Bake, quite plain.
Boil and mash some potatoes. Season the fish, and put a piece of butter inside, lay it in the middle of the dish, and put a thick border of the potatoes round. Brush over the whole with egg, stick bits of butter over the fish, and bake for half an hour; when in the oven a short time, pour a little melted butter and catsup in the dish.
Haddock or Mackerel to Broil.
Split the fish, bone the haddock, salt it, and hang it for two days in the chimney corner.
Haddocks, Soles, Flounders, Plaice, Perch, Tench, Trout, Whitings, and Herrings to Fry.
Haddocks, soles, and generally whitings, are skinned. Plaice wiped, not washed, and must lie three or four hours after being rubbed with salt. When the fish is cleaned and wiped dry, dust with flour, and lay it gently into the boiling fat; having first egged and dipped it into bread-crumbs. The fat may be either lard, butter, dripping, or oil. Turn it carefully, lift it out when done, and lay it on a sheet of paper in a sieve, whilst you fry the rest; or put it before the fire, if it require drying. Garnish with curled parsley, and slices of lemon. Serve very hot. Shrimp or anchovy sauce, and plain butter. Whitings and haddocks should have the tail skewered into the mouth.
Mackerel and Herrings to Boil.