SHRIMP SAUCE, for Various Kinds of Fish.
Ingredients.—1/3 pint of melted butter, ¼ pint of picked shrimps, cayenne to taste. Mode.—Make the melted butter very smoothly, shell the shrimps (sufficient to make ¼ pint when picked), and put them into the butter; season with cayenne, and let the sauce just simmer, but do not allow it to boil. When liked, a teaspoonful of anchovy sauce may be added. Time.—1 minute to simmer. Average cost, 6d. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
SHRIMPS OR PRAWNS, to Boil.
Ingredients.—¼ lb. salt to each gallon of water. Mode.—Prawns should be very red, and have no spawn under the tail; much depends on their freshness and the way in which they are cooked. Throw them into boiling water, salted as above, and keep them boiling for about 7 or 8 minutes. Shrimps should be done in the same way; but less time must be allowed. It may easily be known when they are done by their changing colour. Care should be taken that they are not over-boiled, as they then become tasteless and indigestible. Time.—Prawns, about 8 minutes; shrimps, about 5 minutes. Average cost, prawns, 2s. per lb.; shrimps, 6d. per pint. Seasonable all the year.
SHRIMPS OR PRAWNS, Buttered.
Ingredients.—1 pint of picked prawns or shrimps, ¾ pint of stock, thickening of butter and flour; salt, cayenne, and nutmeg to taste. Mode.—Pick the prawns or shrimps, and put them in a stewpan with the stock; add a thickening of butter and flour; season, and simmer gently for 3 minutes. Serve on a dish garnished with fried bread or toasted sippets. Cream sauce may be substituted for the gravy. Time.—3 minutes. Average cost for this quantity, 1s. 4d.
SHRIMPS, Potted.
Ingredients.—1 pint of shelled shrimps, ¼ lb. of fresh butter, 1 blade of pounded mace, cayenne to taste; when liked, a little nutmeg. Mode.—Have ready a pint of picked shrimps, and put them, with the other ingredients, into a stewpan; let them heat gradually in the butter, but do not let it boil. Pour into small pots, and when cold, cover with melted butter, and carefully exclude the air. Time.—¼ hour to soak in the butter. Average cost for this quantity, 1s. 3d.
SKATE, to choose.
This fish should be chosen for its firmness, breadth, and thickness, and should have a creamy appearance. When crimped, it should not be kept longer than a day or two, as all kinds of crimped fish soon become sour. Thornback is often substituted for skate, but is very inferior in quality to the true skate.