Home cookery

This fish rather resembles cod, but the flavour is rather more delicate and the flesh is less firm. It is also much smaller, and is therefore cooked whole, the tail being fastened through the eyes. Haddock may be had almost all the year round, but is best in the winter. It may be cooked in a great variety of ways : — Stuff'ed and baked (p. 52), filleted and fried, or (if very small) skinned and fried like whiting (p. 50). Haddock should be put into boiling water, but as it is not such a thick or firm fish as cod, it will be cooked in a comparatively shorter time. The following sauces may be eaten with boiled haddock: — Oyster (p. 161). Shrimp (p. 162). Anchovy (p. 163). Maitre d'Hotel (p. 165). TURBOT AND BRILL. These fish are much alike in general appearance, but turbot has bristles on the dark side, which are not found in brill. Turbot is the superior and more expensive fish, but the method of cooking both turbot and brill is the same. Turbot is almost always boiled. A slit should be cut along the backbone on the black side, in order to keep the skin on the white side from cracking. It should then be rubbed over with lemon before it is put into the kettle ; this keeps the colour and gives firmness to the flesh. The fins should be trimmed but not cut closely, as they are the most delicate part of the fish. A turbot-kettle should be used, and great care should be exercised, as the fish must on no account become ragged or broken. The black side must be placed underneath in the water, and must also be next the dish, the white part being always at the top. In boiling, place in cold water as directed (p. 44). The following sauces are suitable : — Lobster (p. 161). Hollandaise (p. 164). Shrimp, for brill (p. 162). Mackerel. Mackerel is m season in spring and early summer. Later on in the year it is often very unwholesome, especially the parts that are near the head. Mackerel may be boiled whole, or stuffed and baked, or filleted and fried, or it is an excellent breakfast dish if split open, sprinkled with cayenne and salt, and cooked with plenty of butter before the fire. Mackerel when to be boiled should be placed in cold water, as directed (p. 44). The following sauces are suitable : — Gooseberry (p. 163). Maitre d'Hotel (p. 165). Parsley and butter (p. 165). Fennel (p. 165). Whiting. This fish when boiled is particularly suitable for invahds, as it is very light and digestible. It should be put into cold milk, and gently simmered till done. The milk should then be thickened, and served over the fish, as a sauce. A small piece of lemon rind boiled with the fish improves the flavour of the sauce, or a dessertspoonful of chopped parsley, or a little anchovy sauce may be added, and a few drops of lemon juice. Soles, When very large, may be boiled in the same manner as whiting. Boiled soles, whether large or small, make a nice variety in invalid diet. Steamed Fish. special fish-steamers can be bought, but in case one is not at hand, small pieces of fish may be steamed in an ordinary steamer with a plate underneath it, or in the following manner : — Have ready a pan of boiling water, cover it with a plate ; on this place the fish, and cover it with the saucepan lid. Fried Fish.