Lay the fish on their backs and repeat this brushing over the bone two or three times, then lay the fish on their flat, mix the strained liquor in the bottle with whatever you have remaining of your essence mixture, and six tablespoonfuls of good old malt whisky, and pour this over the fish; baste well with it two or three times daily for a week or until they have imbibed a fine flavour of the ingredients, and tying over with leather. Now dry the fish by wiping outside only, and place pieces in fitting oblong pots and cover with olive oil of first quality. (See Note, No. 11.) Replenish the oil, and after the third day make safe with wetted bladder and remove to a cool dry room. In a month they will be very good, but if you could keep some three months they would be much improved.
MARINATED SILVER EELS.
Take ten pounds of fine fresh river eels, each one and a half pound to two pounds, skin them, cut off the heads, tails, and fins, lay them open at the backs and remove all visible bones, and wash in salt and water; then dry them, cut them into pieces four inches long, and lay them in salt and water with a bit of saltpetre in it for ten hours; then make a seasoning thus:
| Allspice, ground finely | 1 | oz. |
| Cayenne pepper, ground finely | 1 | teaspoonful |
| Bay leaf, in fine powder | 1 | oz. |
| Parsley, dried and rubbed fine | 2 | oz. |
Dry the fish well with cloths, rub them all over plentifully with this mixture, and let them lie packed closely for twenty-four hours; roll them up neat into little collars, tie them round, and bake them in a wide-mouthed jar with a teacupful of water and vinegar at the bottom. Next day pour off the liquor, take out the collars and put them singly into white earthenware pots, and cover with olive oil, observing to replenish the oil before finally closing up with bladder.
SUPERIOR MARINATED SILVER EELS, OF VERY HIGH FLAVOUR.
Get fresh eels of ten to fifteen ounces each, skin them, take off heads, tails, and fins, open them at the bellies, and, clearing away all refuse, wash them in salt and water and dry with cloths. Then for ten pounds of fish take
| Garlic, minced finely | ½ | oz. |
| Chillies, minced finely | 1 | oz. |
| Juniper berries, minced finely | ¾ | oz. |
| Jamaica pepper, powdered | 1 | oz. |
| Bay salt | 1 | lb. |
| Saltpetre | ¼ | lb. |
| Vinegar | 1 | pint |
Boil these twenty minutes, skimming well, and let go cold. Cut the fish into pieces, place them in a deep dish and pour this pickle over them, so let them lie till next day. Take out the fish and rub each piece separately with the mixture, replace the fish in the vessel and let them lie so for twenty-four hours longer. Now wipe them and hang them up in a current of air for two days; then with a soft brush take off the herbs and spice and roll up tightly each piece into a collar, which secure with narrow tapes. Choose pots of white earthenware that will each just hold a collar, and so as to allow of the fish being totally surrounded by oil, and fill up with olive oil and replenishing as before directed previous to finishing with wetted bladder. Keep these three months at least, when they will be a fine relish at a moderate expense. They should be boiled in hot water, and when cold enough the tapes taken off and the fish eaten cold.
PICKLED SMELTS, PREFERRED TO ANCHOVIES.