Take a Sturgeon, draw it, and part it down the back in equal sides and rands, put it in a tub into water and salt, and wash it from the blood and slime, bind it up with tape or packthred, and boil it in a vessel that will contain it, in water, vinegar, and salt, boil it not too tender; being finely boil’d take it up, and being pretty cold, lay it on a clean flasket or tray till it be through cold, then pack it up close.
[ To souce Sturgeon in two good strong sweet Firkins.]
If the Sturgeon be nine foot in length, 2 firkins will serve it, the vessels being very well filled and packed close, put into it eight handfuls of salt, six gallons of white wine, and four gallons of white wine vinegar, close on the heads strong and sure, and once a month turn it on the other end.
[ To broil Sturgeon, or toast it against the fire.]
Broil or toast a rand or jole of sturgeon that comes new out of the sea or river, (or any piece) and either broil it in a whole rand, or slices an inch thick, salt them, and steep them in oyl-olive and wine vinegar, broil them on a soft fire, and baste them with the sauce it was steeped in, with branches of rosemary, tyme, and parsley; being finely broiled, serve it in a clean dish with some of the sauce it was basted with, and some of the branches of
rosemary; or baste it with butter, and serve it with butter and vinegar, being either beaten with slic’t lemon, or juyce of oranges.
[ Otherways.]
Broil it on white paper, either with butter or sallet oyl, if you broil it in oyl, being broil’d, put to it on the paper some oyl, vinegar, pepper, and branches or slices of orange. If broil’d in butter, some beaten butter, with lemon, claret, and nutmeg.
[ To fry Sturgeon.]
Take a rand of fresh sturgeon, and cut it into slices of half an inch thick, hack it, and being fried, it will look as if it were ribbed, fry it brown with clarified butter; then take it up, make the pan clean, and put it in again with some claret wine, an anchove, salt, and beaten saffron; fry it till half be consumed, and then put in a piece of butter, some grated nutmeg, grated ginger, and some minced lemon; garnish the dish with lemon, dish it, and run jelly first rubbed with a clove of garlick.