Wash and dry the roe with care not to break the skin, place it on a well greased broiler, and rub it with butter once or twice during the time of broiling; cook to a nice brown, place it on a hot dish, and cover with a maître d’hôtel sauce.
Garnish the dish with a wreath of water cresses. This makes a good fish course for luncheon. Shad roe may also be cooked in a sauté-pan, using one half butter and one half drippings or lard.
SHAD ROE CROQUETTES, NO. 1
Put the roes from two fishes into boiling salted water, and simmer for fifteen minutes; when cool, remove the skin, and mash them with a fork, so the little eggs will be separated but not broken: scald one cupful of cream or milk, and stir into it one tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour rubbed together. Take the paste on a spoon, and stir it in the cream until dissolved. Remove from the fire, and add the beaten yolks of two eggs and the seasoning—one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, juice of one half a lemon, dash of nutmeg, salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Place again on the fire, and stir until the sauce is thickened; then add the mashed shad roe, pour the mixture on a dish, and set away to cool for several hours. Form it into small croquettes, egg and bread-crumb them, using crumbs grated from the loaf; fry in hot fat until an amber color. Dress on a folded napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve with Mayonnaise, Tartare, or Béarnaise sauce.
SHAD ROE CROQUETTES, NO. 2
Put shad roes into salted boiling water, and simmer for fifteen minutes; remove with care not to break the skin, and place in cold water; when cold, dry them, and with a sharp knife cut them into pieces two inches thick; dredge them with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, dip them in beaten egg, roll in grated white bread crumbs, place in a wire basket, and fry in hot fat. Dress on a napkin, and serve with Tartare or Béarnaise sauce.
SALT MACKEREL
Soak the mackerel for twelve hours or more, with the skin side up, and change the water several times. Simmer it for fifteen or twenty minutes; and, if convenient, have in the water one teaspoonful of vinegar, one bay-leaf, one slice of onion, and a sprig of parsley. When tender, place carefully on a hot dish, and pour over it a cream sauce; or the soaked fish may be broiled, and spread with butter, pepper, lemon juice, and chopped parsley.
CREAMED MACKEREL
Soak the mackerel for twenty-four hours, then lay it in a shallow stew-pan, and cover with milk or cream. Simmer for fifteen minutes. Remove the fish carefully, and place it on a hot dish. Add to the milk or cream in the stew-pan one tablespoonful each of butter and flour rubbed together. Stir until a little thickened, and the flour cooked; add a little pepper and chopped parsley, and pour the sauce over the fish.