Broiling.—(a) After the fish is scaled, &c., notch it 2 or 3 times on the back, strew some salt on, and broil, basting with butter, and turning frequently.
Frying.—(a) No way is more successful for cooking the cheaper kinds of fish. Plaice, ling, hake, haddock, small fresh-water fish, conger—all are good. The essential thing is to fry them properly. Cover each piece with egg and breadcrumb, or dip in a thick batter of flour and water; have perfectly fresh fat or sweet oil, and plenty of it; let it be sufficiently hot; and serve the hot fish nicely garnished with lemon and with slices of brown bread and butter. Conger must first be parboiled, or it will not be done enough. As for other fish, it is wise to cut them into strips or fillets.
(b) Frying fish in batter is often recommended, but it is not nearly so nice as egg-crumbing, and, indeed, when this is considered too troublesome or expensive, it is better merely to pass the fish through flour mixed with pepper and salt. Fish dipped in batter must be fried in a considerable quantity of fat, which, in small and poor households, it is generally impossible to procure. Egg-crumbed or dusted with flour, fish can be cooked in the frying-pan with a little fat, and is very good in this way.
(c) Plain flour may be used instead of breadcrumbs; in America “cracker-dust” (i.e. pounded biscuit) and Indian meal, the latter occasionally mixed equally with flour, are used instead of breadcrumbs.
(d) For eating cold. Well wash in water, rub with salt, dry, roll in a cloth, and place for a few minutes before the fire previous to cooking. Salmon, cod, and halibut should be cut into thick slices, other fish into convenient-sized pieces. Soles are done either whole or in fillets. Have ready a dish of beaten eggs, and another of flour; turn the fish well over first in the eggs, and then in the flour, so that each piece is completely covered, then place in a pan with plenty of the best olive oil at boiling heat, fry the fish gently till of a fine golden-brown colour on both sides. When done, place on a drainer before the fire, for the oil to drain off. Great care should be observed that the oil has ceased to bubble before the fish is put in, or the latter will be greasy. It is a good plan to try it with a crust of bread first. Tho oil can be used several times if carefully strained, and put aside in a jar, adding a little fresh each time if necessary.
Stewing.—Put them in a stewpan; cover with water, and either white wine or claret; add some salt, spices, and anchovies, and a bundle of sweet herbs; cover the vessel, and put in a moderate oven. Garnish with green leaves, sippets, &c.
The following dishes are mainly adapted for using up remnants of fish, though whole fish may be employed if desired.
Bouillabaisse.—Take several kinds of fish, such as whitings, gurnets, John dory, turbot; cut them in pieces the size of an egg; mince an onion, a small piece of garlic, one tomato, and a few sprigs of parsley; put the whole in a saucepan with ½ tumbler finest olive oil, a pinch of pepper, and one of mixed spice. When the onions are slightly coloured, add the fish, salt, and a very small pinch of powdered saffron; then fill up with sufficient boiling water to come up to, but not cover, the fish. This done, let the bouillabaisse boil fast for 20 minutes, or until the liquor be reduced by one-fourth. Serve the fish on one dish, and the liquor on another over thick but small slices of bread.
Boudin.—Take the raw meat of either whiting, flounder, plaice, or pike; pound in a mortar, and pass through a sieve. Put ½ pint water into a saucepan with a pinch of salt, and a small piece of butter; when it boils, stir it in enough flour to make a thick paste; when cold, take of this paste, half the quantity there is of fish, and take of butter half the quantity there is of paste; thoroughly amalgamate the whole in the mortar, season with pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg, work in 1 or 2 spoonfuls of white sauce (Béchamel), and lastly as many eggs, in the proportion of two yolks to one white, as will bind the mixture. Butter some small moulds, fill them with the mixture, and steam in a stewpan half full of water for 15-20 minutes. Turn out, and serve with white sauce.
Cakes.—(a) Take the remnants of any cold fish, pull them to pieces, and thoroughly incorporate with them a small piece of butter and some mashed potatoes; season the whole with pepper and salt to taste, and a little cayenne. Form the mixture into cakes and fry in butter till of a golden colour. Serve garnished with fried parsley.