I have already spoken of the value of fish as strengthening food, and in support of what I say I need only to remind you how vigorous and healthy the inhabitants of the sea coast usually are, especially if they eat red-blooded fish. This fact, in connection with the abundance and cheapness of fish makes it an important article in the dietary of the good housekeeper.
Fish may be cooked by boiling, baking, broiling, and frying; boiling is the least economical method of cooking fish, and fish soup, or fish chowder the most saving; broiled fish wastes but little of its nutriment, but its bulk is decreased; baked fish ranks next to fish soup in point of economy.
Fish are preserved for winter use by cleaning them, rubbing them with salt, packing them in layers, and covering them with brine. An excellent way of pickling fish is to clean them, cut off the heads, tails, and fins, wash them, and then rub them well with salt and spice, pack them in layers in an earthen crock or deep dish, cover them with vinegar, and tie the jar over with buttered paper; they are then ready to bake slowly for about four hours; and will keep for three or four weeks after they are cooked.
In London, and other large English cities, where fried fish forms an important item of popular food, it is cooked with great care, and in such a manner as to retain all its nourishing qualities. It is well washed in salted water, dried on a clean cloth, cut in slices if large, dipped in a rather thin batter, made of flour, salt, pepper, and cold water, and then dropped into a pan containing plenty of fat heated until it is smoking hot, but does not boil; the pan is then taken from the fire, and by the time the fat is growing cool the fish is cooked. A novice would do best by maintaining the fat at the proper degree of heat until the fish is cooked.
The receipts which I give for fish are calculated to produce compound dishes from it, hearty enough to make the bulk of a meal.
Fish and Potato Pie.—Use any cheap fish which does not cost more than five or six cents a pound, such as cod, haddock, or blue-fish; cut two pounds of fish, (cost twelve cents,) in pieces about an inch thick and two inches long; lay them in a deep dish with a pint of cold gravy of any kind, or cold water, season with a tablespoonful each of chopped parsley and onion, and a teaspoonful of salt, pepper, and thyme, mixed together in equal quantities, and sprinkled among the fish; put it into the oven for fifteen or twenty minutes to partly cook. Put one quart of potatoes, (cost three cents,) into boiling water, and boil until soft enough to mash; mash them, season them with salt and pepper, and put them over the fish, which you must take from the oven, as a crust; return the pie again to the oven to brown the crust, and then serve it with bread and butter. Twenty-five cents will cover the cost of all, and the dinner will be a good one.
Fish Pudding.—Make a plain paste by mixing quarter of a pound of lard or sweet drippings, (cost three cents,) with half a pound of flour, (cost two cents,) a teaspoonful of salt, and just water enough to make a stiff paste; roll it out; line the edges of a deep pudding dish with it half way down; fill the dish with layers of fresh codfish cut in small pieces, using two pounds, (cost twelve cents,) season each layer with salt, pepper, chopped parsley, and chopped onions, using one tablespoonful of salt, one saltspoonful of pepper, two bay leaves, a saltspoonful of thyme, four ounces of onion, and half an ounce of parsley, (cost five cents;) fill up the dish with any cold gravy, milk, or water, cover with paste, and bake fifteen minutes in a quick oven; finish by baking half an hour in a moderate oven; serve hot.
With bread the dinner will cost twenty-five cents.
Fish and Potato Pudding.—Wash and peel one quart of potatoes, (cost three cents,) peel and slice about six ounces of onions, (cost one cent,) skin and bone two bloaters or large herrings, (cost five cents,) put all these ingredients into a baking dish in layers, seasoning them with a dessertspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of pepper; pour over them any cold gravy you have on hand, or add two or three ounces of drippings; if you have neither of these, water will answer; bake the pudding an hour and a half; serve hot, with bread. If you use drippings or milk the entire seasoning will cost you less than five cents; and the whole dinner, which is excellent, not more than fifteen cents.
Codfish Steaks.—Two pounds of codfish, (which costs at the market from four to seven cents,) can be cut in steaks, dried well, and either dipped in flour, or thin batter of flour, salt, pepper, and water, and fried in smoking hot fat, or can be served with a quart of boiled potatoes, (cost three cents,) and plenty of bread and butter, at the rate of about twenty cents a meal.