Wash and clean it nicely; put it into a fish-kettle with a handful of salt, and as much cold water as will cover it; set it on the side of the fire, take off the scum as it rises, and let it boil gently; about five minutes (according to its size) will be long enough, unless it be very large. Send it up on a fish-drainer, garnished with slices of lemon and sprigs of curled parsley, or nicely-fried smelts ([No. 173]), or oysters ([No. 183]).
Obs. Slices of lemon are a universally acceptable garnish with either fried or broiled fish: a few sprigs of crisp parsley may be added, if you wish to make it look very smart; and parsley, or fennel and butter, are excellent sauces (see Nos. [261] and [265]), or chervil sauce ([No. 264]), anchovy ([No. 270]).
N.B. Boiled soles are very good warmed up like eels, Wiggy’s way ([No. 164]), or covered with white sauce ([No. 364—2]; and see [No. 158]).
Soles, or other Fish, to fry.—(No. 145.)
Soles are generally to be procured good from some part of the coast, as some are going out of season, and some coming in, both at the same time; a great many are brought in well-boats alive, that are caught off Dover and Folkstone, and some are brought from the same places by land-carriage. The finest soles are caught off Plymouth, near the Eddystone, and all the way up the channel, and to Torbay; and frequently weigh eight or ten pounds per pair: they are generally brought by water to Portsmouth, and thence by land; but the greatest quantity are caught off Yarmouth and the Knole, and off the Forelands.
Be sure they are quite fresh, or the cleverest cook cannot make them either look or eat well.
An hour before you intend to dress them, wash them thoroughly, and wrap them in a clean cloth, to make them perfectly dry, or the bread-crumbs will not stick to them.
Prepare some bread-crumbs,[170-*] by rubbing some stale bread through a colander; or, if you wish the fish to appear very delicate and highly-finished, through a hair-sieve; or use biscuit powder.
Beat the yelk and white of an egg well together, on a plate, with a fork; flour your fish, to absorb any moisture that may remain, and wipe it off with a clean cloth; dip them in the egg on both sides all over, or, what is better, egg them with a paste-brush; put the egg on in an even degree over the whole fish, or the bread-crumbs will not stick to it even, and the uneven part will burn to the pan. Strew the bread-crumbs all over the fish, so that they cover every part, take up the fish by the head, and shake off the loose crumbs. The fish is now ready for the frying-pan.
Put a quart or more of fresh sweet olive-oil, or clarified butter ([No. 259]), dripping ([No. 83]), lard,[170-†] or clarified drippings ([No. 83]); be sure they are quite sweet and perfectly clean (the fat ought to cover the fish): what we here order is for soles about ten inches long; if larger, cut them into pieces the proper size to help at table; this will save much time and trouble to the carver: when you send them to table, lay them in the same form they were before they were cut, and you may strew a little curled parsley over them: they are much easier managed in the frying-pan, and require less fat: fry the thick part a few minutes before you put in the thin, you can by this means only fry the thick part enough, without frying the thin too much. Very large soles should be boiled ([No. 144]), or fried in fillets ([No. 147]). Soles cut in pieces, crossways, about the size of a smelt, make a very pretty garnish for stewed fish and boiled fish.