The encyclopædia of practical cookery

Matelote of Cod.— Take a fish weighing about 51b., remove the head and bones, and fill the inside with a stuffing made with j pint of oysters, 1 pint of breadcrumbs, teaspoonful of pepper, 2 teaspoonfuls of salt, 2 table-spoonfuls of butter, one egg, half a large onion, and j table-spoonful of parsley finely chopped. Cut off six good slices of fat bacon, put three of them on the top and the remainder underneath the fish, put the fish on a pan, and bake it in a good oven for an hour, basting frequently with butter and gravy made from the bones boiled in 1 pint of water. Have a little seasoning in the corner of the baking-pan. Take out the fish, put it on a dish, and with its stock make a good gravy, which pour round on the dish. For details respecting Culinary Processes, Utensils, Sauces, <Scc., referred to, see under their special heads. Codfish — continued. Nantucket Style of Cooking Cod. - Take a white dried fish, cut out the thick part, and soak it in water for ten or twelve hours ; then chop it up into smaller pieces, put these in a saucepan with fresh water, and boil them for a few minutes. Pour off the water, add fresh, and boil for a few minutes longer ; then pour off the water from the pan, letting the fish remain, add milk in sufficient quantity to a little more than cover it, and place the pan on the fire ; when it is warm, put in a little piece of butter and a pinch of pepper. Mix a little flour in some milk, and stir it in for a few minutes, when the dish will be ready to serve. Rechauffe of Cod.- -(1) Take some boiled pieces of fish and remove the bones and skin ; put these latter into a stewpan with a little good broth, place the pan on the fire, and reduce rapidly by boiling without a cover on the pan ; add to this an equal quantity of cream or milk flavoured with a little essence of anchovy, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste, and make it thick by adding corn and wheat-flour in equal parts. Put the fish into this while it is quite hot. Butter a dish, sprinkle over dried breadcrumbs, put the fish on this, dust more crumbs over the fish, put a small piece of butter on the top, and place the dish in a sharp oven for a-quarter-of-an-hour, then serve. (2) Remove the skin and bones of any pieces of boiled Cod while they are warm, place them in layers in a dish, and season each layer with spice and salt. Continue the layers until the dish is full. Put the skin and bones of the fish into a pan with a little of the liquor in which it was boiled, boil this until all the goodness is out, pour off the liquor through a strainer, and let it stand a little to settle ; then add it to the pieces of Cod in the dish. The addition of a few oysters, shrimps, or hard-boiled eggs will be a great improvement. Make a light crust, cover the dish, and bake in a brisk oven until done. (3) The same as No. 2, excepting that it is made into patties, with the fish cut up into small pieces, mixed into a paste with milk or cream, and well seasoned.