STEWED HALIBUT.—Cut the fish into pieces about four inches square, of course omitting the bone. Season it very slightly with salt, and let it rest for half an hour. Then take it out of the salt, put it into a large deep dish, and strew over it a mixture of cayenne pepper, ground white ginger, and grated nutmeg. Lay among it some small bits of fresh butter rolled in grated cracker. Add half a pint of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar if you have it.) Place the dish in a slow oven, and let the halibut cook till thoroughly done, basting it very frequently with the liquid. When nearly done, add a large table-spoonful or more of capers, or pickled nasturtians.
STEWED ROCK-FISH.—Take a large rock-fish, and cut it in slices near an inch thick. Sprinkle it very slightly with salt, and let it remain for half an hour. Slice very thin a dozen large onions. Put them into a stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, cut into bits. Set them over a slow fire, and stir them continually till they are quite soft, taking care not to let them become brown. Then put in the sliced fish in layers; seasoning each layer with a mixture of white ground ginger, cayenne pepper, and grated nutmeg; add some chopped parsley, and some bits of butter rolled in flour. Pour in a pint of water, and, if you choose, a small wine-glass of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar will be best.[25-*]) Set it over a good fire and let it cook about an hour. When done, take out the fish carefully, to avoid breaking the slices. Lay it in a deep dish that has been made hot, and cover it immediately. Have ready the beaten yolks of two eggs. Stir them into the gravy. Give it one boil up; and then either pour it over the fish, or serve it up in a sauce-boat.
Halibut, fresh cod, or any other large fish may be stewed in this manner.
TO KEEP A SHAD WITHOUT CORNING.—By the following process, (which we can highly recommend from experience,) a shad may be kept twenty-four hours, or indeed longer, so as to be perfectly fresh in taste and appearance. For instance, if brought fresh from market on Saturday morning, it may be broiled for breakfast on Sunday, and will seem like a fresh shad just from the water. Immediately on bringing it in, let it be scaled, cleaned, washed, split, and wiped dry; cutting off the head and tail. Spread the shad open on a large flat dish. Mix well together in a cup, a heaped table-spoonful of brown sugar; a heaped tea-spoonful of cayenne pepper, and a tea-spoonful of fine salt; and then rub the mixture, thoroughly and evenly, all over the inside of the fish; which, of course, must be spread with the skin or outside downwards. Cover it closely with a large tin cover or with another dish, and set it immediately on ice or in a very cold place, and let it rest till next morning, or till it is wanted for cooking. Immediately before you put it on the gridiron, take a clean towel and carefully wipe off the whole of the seasoning, not letting a particle of it remain round the edges, or anywhere else. Then put the shad on a previously heated gridiron, over hot coals, and broil it well. Butter it, and send it hot to table, where every one can season it again, according to their taste. If these directions are exactly followed, no one, without being told, could possibly guess that the shad was not fresh from market that morning.
Any fresh fish intended for splitting and broiling may be kept till next day in this manner, which will be found very superior to what is called corning.
EXCELLENT STEWED OYSTERS.—Take fifty fine large fresh oysters, and strain the liquor from them into a saucepan. Season it with equal portions of cayenne, black pepper, and salt, all mixed together in a small tea-spoon, and add half a dozen blades of mace. Set it over the fire, and let it come to a hard boil, skimming it well. Mix together in a pan or bowl, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter and a table-spoonful and a half (not more) of flour. Beat and stir the butter and flour till it is quite smooth, and free from lumps. Having taken the oyster-liquor from the fire, stir into it the beaten butter and flour. Set the sauce-pan again over the fire, and give it another boil up. Then put in the oysters, and when they come to a hard boil take them off. Have ready in the bottom of a deep dish, two nice slices of toasted bread with all the crust trimmed off. Cut the toast into dice or small squares. Pour the oysters and their gravy hot into the dish. Cover them closely, and send them to table. There is no better way of stewing oysters than this, when you cannot conveniently do them with cream. If you have cream, (which for this purpose must be very rich,) add half a pint of it to the gravy, and season it with grated nutmeg. The cream must be stirred in at the last, just before the oysters are taken from the fire.