In Jelly.—See Trout in Jelly.
Hake (Merlus).—See Cod. Roast: see Pike. Stewed: see Ling.
Halibut (Flétan).—Of the halibut little need be said. It is a large fish, endowed with firm and white, but rather coarse flesh. It is perhaps best stewed or fried. Boiled halibut is very apt to be woolly.
Herrings (Harengs).—Fried.—Take care the fish is well cleaned, without being split; 2-3 hours before cooking, lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper; when ready to cook, wipe and flour the herrings. Have ready in the frying pan as much fat, at the proper temperature, as will cover the herrings. Cook quickly at first, then moderate the heat slightly, and fry for 10-12 minutes, when they should be crisp and brown. When done, lay them on a dish before the fire, in order that all fat and fish-oil may drain from them. With this precaution, fried herrings will be found more digestible than otherwise they would be. When herrings are large, there is sometimes a redness near the bone; this will be prevented by passing a knife, before cooking, a little way down the backbone, near the head.
Rolled.—Choose herrings with soft roes. Having scraped and washed them, cut off the heads, split open, take out the roes, and cleanse the fish. Hold one in the left hand, and, with thumb and finger of the right, press the backbone to loosen it, then lay flat on the board, and draw out the bone; it will come out whole, leaving none behind. Dissolve a little fresh butter, pass the inner side of the fish through it, sprinkle pepper and salt lightly over, then roll it up tightly, with the fin and tail outwards, roll it in flour, and sprinkle a little pepper and salt, then put a little game skewer to keep the herring in shape. Have ready a good quantity of boiling fat; it is best to do the herrings in a wire basket, and fry them quickly for 10 minutes. Take them up and set them on a plate before the fire, in order that all the fat may drain from them. Pass the roes through flour mixed with a sufficient quantity of pepper and salt, fry them brown, and garnish the fish with them and crisp parsley. A difficulty is often felt in introducing herrings at dinner, on account of the number of small bones in them, but this is obviated by the above method of dressing, as with care not one bone should be left in.
John Dory (Dorée).—Stuffed.—Pick out all the flesh from a whiting, pound it with an equal bulk of breadcrumbs soaked in milk, a piece of butter, a small onion or a shallot, blanched, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg to taste; mix the whole very well, and work it into a paste with the yolks of one or two eggs. Lift up the flesh from the backbone of a good-sized John Dory, stuff it with the above composition, and tie up with string; lay in a buttered tin with a tablespoonful of minced shallots, a couple of bay leaves, some whole pepper, and salt to taste; pour in enough stock and white wine in equal parts to cover the fish, place a sheet of buttered paper over, and put the tin in the oven for about ¾ hour, more or less, according to the size of the fish. Remove the string, and serve with some of the liquor strained and thickened with a little butter and flour.
With Caper Sauce.—Place the fish, trussed with packthread, in a fish kettle full of cold water well salted; when the water comes near boiling point, draw the fish kettle aside, let it simmer gently till the fish is quite done, lift up to drain, then lay on a dish, pour plenty of brown caper sauce over.
Lamperns.—These great delicacies are in season from October to April. Many persons confuse them with the lamprey, which is a totally different fish, being larger than an eel, while the lampern is not more than 8 in. long. They should be bought alive, killed by boiling water, cleaned by stirring them briskly round in the bucket in which they are killed, and after rinsing them in cold water, rubbed in a cloth. They should then have the points of their mouths and the tips of their tails cut off, taking care to remove as little as possible, else the gravy is lost, and the nature of these fish is the same as a snipe.
Stewed.—Have ready about 3 tablespoonfuls of good rich gravy, ¼ pint claret or port, a blade of mace, 3 cloves, a teaspoonful of salt, ½ teaspoonful of pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, a dessertspoonful of Worcester sauce. This is sufficient for stewing 3 doz. lamperns. Stew them very gently for about 1 hour, set them aside in the gravy till the following day, when they may be rewarmed; the gravy thickened with butter and arrowroot, a little more sauce added; serve very hot, garnished with lemon and horseradish. They should always stand a night in the gravy before being eaten, and will keep for a week. If potted, they should be curled round in a small jar when stewed; about 9 or more fish make a small pot; the gravy requires setting with a little isinglass, and when sent to table they should be turned out and garnished with parsley. The flavour of the lampern is totally unlike that of any other fish, and epicures in Worcestershire will pay a high price for them when they are scarce. (E. B. W.)
Lamprey (Lamproie). Baked.—Skin, draw, and split the back from mouth to tail, remove the string in the back and truss it round; parboil it in salted water with sweet herbs, season when cold with nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Line a pie dish with paste, put butter at the bottom, then the lamprey, 2 or 3 onions, cloves, currants, a piece of butter; cover the pie, fill it up (through a hole in the top) with clarified butter—or boiling claret, this will not keep so long—and bake. Eels, lampreys, &c., may be baked in a glazed earthen pot (without paste) rubbed inside well with butter, and—if to keep long—they should be seasoned well with cloves, mace, pepper, and salt.