OR,
The First Section for dressing of FISH.
Shewing divers ways, and the most excellent, for Dressing of Carps, either Boiled, Stewed, Broiled, Roasted, or Baked, &c.
[ To Boil a Carp in Corbolion.]
TAke as much wine as water, and a good handful of salt, when it boils, draw the carp and put it in the liquor, boil it with a continual quick fire, and being boiled, dish it up in a very clean dish with sippets round about it, and slic’t lemon, make the sauce of sweet butter, beaten up with slic’t lemon and grated nutmeg, garnish the dish with beaten ginger.
[ To boil a Carp the best way to be eaten hot.]
Take a special male carp of eighteen inches, draw it, wash out the blood, and lay it in a tray, then put to it some wine-vinegar and salt, put the milt to it, the gall being taken from it; then have three quarts of white wine or claret, a quart of white wine vinegar, & five pints of fair water, or as much as will cover it; put the wine, water and vinegar, in a fair scowred pan or kettle, with a handful of salt, a quarter of an ounce of large mace, half a quartern of whole cloves, three slic’d nutmegs, six races
of ginger pared and sliced, a quarter of an ounce of pepper, four or five great onions whole or sliced; then make a faggot of sweet herbs, of the tops of streight sprigs, of rosemary, seven or eight bay-leaves, 6 tops of sweet marjoram, as much of the streight tops of time, winter-savory, and parsley; being well bound up, put them into the kettle with the spices, and some orange and lemon-peels; make them boil apace before you put in the carp, and boil it up quick with a strong fire; being finely boil’d and crisp, dish it in a large clean scowred dish, lay on the herbs and spice on the carp, with slic’t lemons and lemon-peels, put some of the broth to it, and run it over with beaten butter, put fine carved sippets round about it, and garnish the dish with fine searsed manchet.
Or you may make sauce for it only with butter beat up thick, with slices of lemon, some of the carp liquor, and an anchove or two, and garnish the dish with beatten ginger.