What salmon
was taken in the Thanet was generally cahered, i.e., as it is
now termed, crimped, as defined above, mostly while it was
alive. Small salmon, if from 5 lb. to 10 lb. in weight, are
termed salmon cjioilts, or salmon peel. They are much
sought after because they make handsome dishes of fish
when sent to table doubly curved in the shape of the letter S.
Very similar to gwilts, though, according to some, distinct
from them, are the Berwick trout, caught in the river Tweed ;
they are dressed exactly like the gwilt.
Salmon is plain-hoiled, grilled, or broiled, mostly in
envelopes of oiled paper; crusted xuith quenelle farce, or
skinned and glaced ; all these processes* may be executed
on entire fish, if of moderate size, or on' sections, darns
(French manchon^mujf). Thus a darn of salmon, braised
with aspic, is an excellent cold entree. It may be filleted,
fried, sauced, and egged, or filleted, sliced, fried, and
stewed ; rolled or collared as practised in Ireland. There is
* Francatelli warns against excessive garnishing, which he quaintly terms
‘an unseemly species of medley.’
532
THE SPIRIT OE COoRERY
cilso a preparation called d la Gducvoise, regarding which it
is credibly reported that, when you order it at Geneva,
you have to pay for a bottle of cham^iagne and a
bottle of claret, said to have been put into the mirepoix or
braise in which the fish was done. This formula is never
employed by the Genevese themselves, but only used by
restaurateurs to give themselves an air of magnificence in
the eyes of the stranger. The inhabitants, when they can
make up their minds to go to the expense of two bottles of
wine, one of champagne and one of burgundy, do so for
the purpose of drinking it in company, and not by any
means for putting it into a caldron of their modest kitchen.
It is remarkable that Dumas criticises this Genevese formula
as having the object of ‘se donner par ecrit un faux air de
magnificence,’ while he gravely recites the faisan Luculhis
of Vuillemot, which is much more absurd than this salmon
drowned in wine.
A Galantine of Salmon, used as a cold entree, is the
most complicated of all preparations of this fish, and re-
quires a very dexterous cook for its composition. A Hot
Pasty of Salmon is also a skilful combination. Boudin of
Salmon is essentially a /o?’ce«jeai, consisting of salmon imrdc,
'panacla, eggs, and a little sauce, the whole shaped into
balls and fried in butter. Of cold preparations the most
frequently used are smolced pickled salmon, fried, or the
same in salad. Pickled salmon so called is not like the
smoked article, also termed pickled, steeped in brine or
salted, but merely immersed in a mixture of equal parts of
vinegar and water, with herbs and spices.
Smelt, French eperlan, is a small delicate fish which
lives in the sea, but ascends rivers to spawn, and is then
taken. London formerly used to be supplied from the
Medway at Eochester, where the old bridge afforded
facilities for taking many ; when the Lord Mayor of
London made his triennial visitation of Yanlet Creek, the
SMELT AND SPRATS
Ooo
Page 335
Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
A modernized reading is not available for this page yet. You are seeing the original text.
What salmon
was taken in the Thanet was generally cahered, i.e., as it is
now termed, crimped, as defined above, mostly while it was
alive. Small salmon, if from 5 lb. to 10 lb. in weight, are
termed salmon cjioilts, or salmon peel. They are much
sought after because they make handsome dishes of fish
when sent to table doubly curved in the shape of the letter S.
Very similar to gwilts, though, according to some, distinct
from them, are the Berwick trout, caught in the river Tweed ;
they are dressed exactly like the gwilt.
Salmon is plain-hoiled, grilled, or broiled, mostly in
envelopes of oiled paper; crusted xuith quenelle farce, or
skinned and glaced ; all these processes* may be executed
on entire fish, if of moderate size, or on' sections, darns
(French manchon^mujf). Thus a darn of salmon, braised
with aspic, is an excellent cold entree. It may be filleted,
fried, sauced, and egged, or filleted, sliced, fried, and
stewed ; rolled or collared as practised in Ireland. There is
* Francatelli warns against excessive garnishing, which he quaintly terms
‘an unseemly species of medley.’
532
THE SPIRIT OE COoRERY
cilso a preparation called d la Gducvoise, regarding which it
is credibly reported that, when you order it at Geneva,
you have to pay for a bottle of cham^iagne and a
bottle of claret, said to have been put into the mirepoix or
braise in which the fish was done. This formula is never
employed by the Genevese themselves, but only used by
restaurateurs to give themselves an air of magnificence in
the eyes of the stranger. The inhabitants, when they can
make up their minds to go to the expense of two bottles of
wine, one of champagne and one of burgundy, do so for
the purpose of drinking it in company, and not by any
means for putting it into a caldron of their modest kitchen.
It is remarkable that Dumas criticises this Genevese formula
as having the object of ‘se donner par ecrit un faux air de
magnificence,’ while he gravely recites the faisan Luculhis
of Vuillemot, which is much more absurd than this salmon
drowned in wine.
A Galantine of Salmon, used as a cold entree, is the
most complicated of all preparations of this fish, and re-
quires a very dexterous cook for its composition. A Hot
Pasty of Salmon is also a skilful combination. Boudin of
Salmon is essentially a /o?’ce«jeai, consisting of salmon imrdc,
'panacla, eggs, and a little sauce, the whole shaped into
balls and fried in butter. Of cold preparations the most
frequently used are smolced pickled salmon, fried, or the
same in salad. Pickled salmon so called is not like the
smoked article, also termed pickled, steeped in brine or
salted, but merely immersed in a mixture of equal parts of
vinegar and water, with herbs and spices.
Smelt, French eperlan, is a small delicate fish which
lives in the sea, but ascends rivers to spawn, and is then
taken. London formerly used to be supplied from the
Medway at Eochester, where the old bridge afforded
facilities for taking many ; when the Lord Mayor of
London made his triennial visitation of Yanlet Creek, the
SMELT AND SPRATS
Ooo