Cassell's dictionary of cookery

iish which is plump, but not too full of roe. L;irge-roed fish are sure to be oily, and in all probability are not satisfactorily salted. The body should be firm, the flesh red, the roe well set, and the smell sweet. If too salt, the fish should be soaked in warm water a few hours before being cooked. It is well, however, to pull a few of the fins out of the back, and taste them, in order to ascertain whether it is too highly salted or not. Herinngs, Red, Mock Anchovy Toast of. — CHit the head and tail from a red herring, and let it soak in boiling water for five or ten minutes. Drain it, peel off the skin, open it, and take out as many of the bones as possible. Cut one half into slices about a quarter of an inch in thickness, and the other half into small squares. Divide a round of hot buttered toast into quarters, and place a square of herringflesh on each quarter, and round it one of the narrow slices. This will give mock anchovy toast. Place the pieces of herring between bread and butter, instead of upon toast, and you will have mock anchovy sandwiches. It will take about ten minutes to soak the herring. Probable cost, 14d. each. Sufficient for one person. Herrings, Salted at Home.— Procure the herrings as fresh as possible. Scale, gut, and clean, but do not wash them. Leave the roes in the fish. Make a brine strong enough to float an egg. Put the herrings in this, and let them lie fourteen or sixteen hours. Drain them well, and put them into jars, with a thick layer of salt under them, and salt between each row of hen-ings. Cover tightly, to keep then/ free from air. When wanted for use, soak the fish in a little milk, and boil or broil them in the usual way. Herrings, Salted, with Potatoes.— Take two or three salted herrings, which have been washed and dried, and put them into a quart stone jar, nearly filled with sliced raw potatoes. Pour a little water over, and bako in a moderate oven until the potatoes are done. Time, abeut half an hour. Probable cost, 6d. Sufficient for four or five persons. Herrings, Sauce for.— Herrings arc generally served without sauce. When fresh ones are cooked a little may be required, and then either parsley and butter, anchovy, or caper sauce may be sent to table with the fish ; or the following sauce: — Stii- a table-spoonful of mixed mustard into a pint of melted butter. A table-spoonful of finely-chopped mixed pickles may be substituted for the mustard. Boil for five minutes, add a tea-spoonful of vinegar, and serve. Probable cost, 3d. Sufficient for half a dozen persons. Herrings, Sauce of, for Pish (a German. recipe). — Put an ounce of butter into a stewpan with two finely-minced shallots. Let them remain over a gentle fire until tender, then, thicken with a table-spoonful of flour, and, when, smooth, add half a pint of fish stock or water, a tea-spoonful of vinegar, half a salt-spoonful of pepper, and two bay-leaves. Simmer gently for ten minutes. Strain the sauce, and mix with. it the flesh of a salted and soaked herring, finely minced, and an ounce of butter. Boil once more. Just before serving, and when the sauce is slightly cooled, mix in the well-beaten yolks of two eggs. Time, half an hour. Probable cost, 6d. Sufficient for four or five persons. Herrings, Smoked.— Clean and open