Rock-fish are generally plain boiled, (with the heads and tails left on,) and they are eaten with egg sauce, (hard boiled eggs chopped, and mixed with melted or drawn butter,) seasoned with a little cayenne. Put on the side of your plate, any nice fish sauce from the castors. Some serve up rock-fish with hard boiled eggs, cut into halves, and laid closely in a row along the back of the fish; half an egg being helped to each person. Cold butter is then eaten with it. We think this a very nice way.
Blue fish, white fish, and black fish, may be drest in this manner. Also, sea-bass.
BLACK FISH AND SEA-BASS—
Are all boiled in the same manner, having first carefully scaled, and drawn, and well washed them. In drawing fish take care that the whole of the inside is nicely scraped from the back-bone, all along. When ready, dredge a clean soft cloth with flour, wrap the fish in it; lay it on the strainer of a fish-kettle, and put it in plenty of water, into which has been thrown a small table-spoonful of salt. Keep it steadily boiling near half an hour. Take it carefully out of the cloth, drain it on the strainer, and keep it warm. Send to table with it egg-sauce.
Eat mashed potatos with it.
Frying.—To fry the above fish,—cut them in two or three pieces; wash them and wipe them dry; score them with deep cuts, and season with cayenne and a little salt—dredge them with flour, and fry them brown in a pan nearly full of boiling lard.
Any fish may be fried in this manner.