Halibut. — Halibut, or Holibut, though not much used in
England, is not to be despised if a cut of it can be bought fresh
fi’om the fishing boat. The Halibut is the largest flat fish
known, often weighing a hundred pounds and being five feet in
length. Ho young Halibut has ever been seen. The flesh is
rather coarse in texture, but very firm and white. Halibut is
best in May, and out of season in February, March and April.
Halibut can be cooked in any of the ways recommended for
Cod. It is very good in fillets au bleu like Brill, making the
fillets of two pounds of Halibut, and adding with the herbs a
tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup and the same of tomato
sauce.
Halibut Steaks with Oysters or Mushrooms. — Have
two or three rather thick slices cut from a very fresh Halibut,
wash them in salt and water, dry and flour them, and put them
into a fire-proof dish. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the fish,
add pepper and salt, and dust with Nepaul pepper. Melt from
two to four ounces of butter in a stewpan, mix in this the liquor
from twelve oysters✪ Halibut Steaks with Oysters or Mushrooms, and pour it over the Halibut. Set the
dish in a brisk oven. It will be done in about half an hour.
Serve in the same dish, and five minutes before taking it out of
the oven lay the twelve oysters upon the Halibut. The outside
of the slices of fish should be brown, crisp, and dry, and the
inside tender and flaky. The quantity of butter must be
decided partly by the taste of those who are to eat the Halibut.
Mushroom ketchup can be substituted for the oyster liquor, and
nicely broiled mushrooms can be added instead of the oysters.
I now come to the most generally used varieties of those
sea fish which swim with their backs uppermost. They are
eleven in number.
Cod. — The Cod is by far the most important fish of
Northern Seas, and the Cod Fisheries, whether British, American
7§
SEA FISH
or Scandinavian, are most important industries. For, besides
its flesli, the Cod supplies a valuable medicinal oil from its
liver, and isinglass little inferior to that of the Russian
Sturgeon is furnished by its sounds, or swimming bladder.
Isinglass, or fish glue, was formerly an important ingredient in
many dishes, but its cost is so great (Russian isinglass costs a
shilling an ounce) that gelatine, which is made from bones and
hoofs, has taken its place. Cod is in season from September to
April, and a fish weighs from five to twenty-five pounds, or more.
Cod is best bought in slices or cuts, according to the number
of those who are to eat it — a pound and a half is enough for a
party of six. The old-fashioned dish of a huge Cod’s head and
shoulders is not to be recommended, although the head of a Cod
is most valuable in making fish broth or stock. A slice of Cod
is sure to be woolly if boiled in water, and likely to be so even
if boiled in fish broth, as the flesh is thick. It is much better
to steam or bake the slice, or to use it as fillets. A good way
is to cut two slices of Cod into fillets three inches long. Dip
them in frying batter, and fry in oil to a golden brown. Fry
enough oysters to allow one for each fillet, and put them on the
fish just before serving. Oyster sauce is generally served with
■Cod. But, valuable as Cod is when first cooked, it is even more
appreciated when served up a second time. (For these dishes of
previously cooked fish see page 120.)
Page 46 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1898. 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
Halibut. — Halibut, or Holibut, though not much used in England, is not to be despised if a cut of it can be bought fresh from the fishing boat. The Halibut is the largest flat fish known, often weighing a hundred pounds and being five feet in length. No young Halibut has ever been seen. The flesh is rather coarse in texture, but very firm and white. Halibut is best in May, and out of season in February, March and April. Halibut can be cooked in any of the ways recommended for Cod. It is very good in fillets au bleu like Brill, making the fillets of two pounds of Halibut, and adding with the herbs a tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup and the same of tomato sauce.
Halibut Steaks with Oysters or Mushrooms. — Have two or three rather thick slices cut from a very fresh Halibut, wash them in salt and water, dry and flour them, and put them into a fire-proof dish. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the fish, add pepper and salt, and dust with Nepaul pepper. Melt from two to four ounces of butter in a stewpan, mix in this the liquor from twelve oysters, and pour it over the Halibut. Set the dish in a brisk oven. It will be done in about half an hour. Serve in the same dish, and five minutes before taking it out of the oven lay the twelve oysters upon the Halibut. The outside of the slices of fish should be brown, crisp, and dry, and the inside tender and flaky. The quantity of butter must be decided partly by the taste of those who are to eat the Halibut. Mushroom ketchup can be substituted for the oyster liquor, and nicely broiled mushrooms can be added instead of the oysters.
I now come to the most generally used varieties of those sea fish which swim with their backs uppermost. They are eleven in number.
Cod. — The Cod is by far the most important fish of Northern Seas, and the Cod Fisheries, whether British, American
7§
or Scandinavian, are most important industries. For, besides its flesh, the Cod supplies a valuable medicinal oil from its liver, and isinglass little inferior to that of the Russian Sturgeon is furnished by its sounds, or swimming bladder. Isinglass, or fish glue, was formerly an important ingredient in many dishes, but its cost is so great (Russian isinglass costs a shilling an ounce) that gelatine, which is made from bones and hoofs, has taken its place. Cod is in season from September to April, and a fish weighs from five to twenty-five pounds, or more. Cod is best bought in slices or cuts, according to the number of those who are to eat it — a pound and a half is enough for a party of six. The old-fashioned dish of a huge Cod’s head and shoulders is not to be recommended, although the head of a Cod is most valuable in making fish broth or stock. A slice of Cod is sure to be woolly if boiled in water, and likely to be so even if boiled in fish broth, as the flesh is thick. It is much better to steam or bake the slice, or to use it as fillets. A good way is to cut two slices of Cod into fillets three inches long. Dip them in frying batter, and fry in oil to a golden brown. Fry enough oysters to allow one for each fillet, and put them on the fish just before serving. Oyster sauce is generally served with ■Cod. But, valuable as Cod is when first cooked, it is even more appreciated when served up a second time. (For these dishes of previously cooked fish see page 120.)
Records on this page
Halibut Steaks with Oysters or Mushrooms