No. 247. Sturgeon Roasted.—Take a piece of fish that is adapted to stuffing, make a dressing ([No. 89].) Rub well inside and out with salt, butter and pepper; stuff and sew up, or bind firmly, and lay in baking pan with a very little water, cover with paper until nearly done, then remove paper and sprinkle a few bread crumbs over the fish and let it brown nicely. Serve with plain butter and flour added to the fish gravy. If you have a piece to roast that will not admit of stuffing, prepare some forcemeat balls ([No. 89]) and bake beside the fish. Some cook books recommend removing the back bone and inserting the dressing in the space thus obtained, but as the sturgeon has no bones whatever, this might prove a difficult thing to do.
No. 248. Brochet of Smelts.—Spread melted butter in bottom of shallow baking dish, dredge with raspings of bread, season with salt, pepper, chopped parsley and shallots; put in a laying of fish and pour over it a glass of wine and a teaspoon of anchovy sauce; cover with melted butter and bread raspings, and bake in oven fifteen minutes. Serve hot; arrange the fish on a napkin, heads to heads, in center of dish, or lay them all one way in rows, each row overlapping the next about two thirds the length of fish. Garnish with quartered lemon and fried parsley.
No. 249. Trout a la Genevoise.—Cut the heads off four little trout and put the fish in an earthen pot for four hours, with a little thyme, four bay leaves, two shallots cut in pieces, five branches of parsley, little pepper and salt and the juice of two lemons; then take out the fish and put them in a saucepan with a chopped onion, a clove of garlic and enough red wine to cover the fish; boil gently for twenty minutes; then strain the liquid in stone pot and add one half of it to half a pint of Spanish sauce ([No. 37]) and boil for one hour; then add four chopped mushrooms and truffles and a little parsley. Dish the trout, garnish with parsley and serve the sauce separately.
No. 250. Stewed Trout.—Take two trout of a pound each and lay them in a saucepan with half an onion sliced thin, a little chopped parsley, two cloves, one blade of mace, two bay leaves, a little thyme, salt and pepper, one pint white stock ([No. 14]) and wineglass port wine; simmer gently half an hour, or more, if not quite done. Dish the trout, strain the gravy, thicken with butter and flour, stirring over sharp fire five minutes, pour over fish and serve.
No. 251. Brook Trout.—Put a trout of four pounds in fish kettle with four oz. of salt; when beginning to boil, set the kettle on the back of the range for twenty-five minutes. Parboil the roes of a shad in salted water, drain and cut them in small pieces, and also a dozen mushrooms, add these with the juice of a lemon to one pint of sauce allemande ([No. 34]) and boil ten minutes. Serve the fish garnished with sprigs of parsley and the sauce in a tureen.
No. 252. Scallops of Trout.—Take a medium size trout and cut into slices one inch thick, put into a saucepan with a little melted butter, add salt, white pepper and the juice of a lemon; when done on one side, turn and cook the other. Mash some boiled potatoes and with them form a border on a platter that can go to the oven; moisten the potatoes lightly with melted butter and brown in the oven; when done arrange the scallops in the center of the potato border and pour over it a sauce bechamel ([No. 31].)
No. 253. Boiled Turbot.—Soak the fish first in salted water to take off slime, do not cut off fins; when clean make an incision down the middle of the back to prevent skin on the other side from cracking, rub it over with lemon and lay it in kettle of cold water; after it gets to boiling let it boil slowly; when done, drain well and lay on hot napkin; rub a little lobster coral through a sieve, sprinkle it over fish and garnish with sprigs of parsley and sliced lemon. Serve with lobster ([No. 30]) or shrimp sauce, or with plain drawn butter. The old fashioned way of dishing this fish is white side up, but now usually the dark side up.
1. Fish Balls.—3 pints of potatoes (measured after being pared and cut into pieces), 1 package of Favorite brand Picked codfish, 1 small onion (cut into pieces), 1 tablespoonful of butter, 1 large or two small eggs. Boil the potatoes and onion until soft, drain off all the water and mash until free from lumps. Turn the fish into a napkin and pour through it about one pint of cold water and squeeze. Mix with the potato, using a fork as it makes it lighter, add the butter and the beaten egg; now taste and if not salt enough add a little. Take up by the spoonful and drop into deep fat which is hot enough to brown a piece of bread in 40 seconds, fry until a golden brown (about 1 minute,) drain on soft paper. This makes twenty medium size fish balls. The onion can be omitted if the flavor is not liked.
2. Fish Balls.—Take one pint bowl of Diamond Wedge brand codfish picked very fine, 2 pint bowls whole raw potatoes sliced thickly, put them together in plenty of cold water and boil until potatoes are thoroughly cooked; remove from the fire and drain off all the water, mash them with a potato masher, add piece of butter size of an egg, one well beaten egg, and three teaspoonfuls of cream or rich milk. Flour your hands and make into balls or cakes. Put an ounce of butter and lard into a frying pan, when hot put in the balls and fry a nice brown. Do not freshen the fish before boiling with the potatoes. Many cooks fry them in a quantity of lard similar to boiled doughnuts.
3. “Diamond Wedge” Fish Balls.—One pint of raw potatoes, cut in pieces; one cup of “Diamond Wedge” Codfish. Boil together until potatoes are tender, then draw off the water and mash, beating well together; add one tablespoonful of butter, one egg and a little pepper. Shape into small balls and fry in hot lard.