In no branch of cooking is excellence more appreci-
ated than in that of frying. A dish of filets de sole or
cutlets, crisp and golden brown, is an ornament to any
table, and is seldom disdained by any one. Apropos of
filets de sole; it is yery high-sounding yet yery attainable,
as I shall show. I was staying with a friend early in
spring, a lady always anxious for table noyelties. ^' Oh,
do tell me what fish to order, I should like something
fried, now that you are here to tell cook how to do it ;
she hasn't the wildest idea, although she would be
astounded to hear me say so." ^^Have you eyer
had flounders ?" I asked. '' Flounders !" My friend's
pretty nose went up the eighth of an inch, and her con-
fidence in my powers as counselor went down to zero.
^' Flounders ! but they are a yery common fish you
know." ^^I know they are yery delicious," I answered.
'' Order them, and trust me ; but I must coax the
autocrat of your kitchen to allow me to cook and pre-
pare them myself."
An hour before dinner I went into the kitchen, put
at least a pound of lard into a deep frying-pan, and
set it where it would get gradually hot, then I turned
On Frying and Broiling. 57
my attention to the fish ; they were thick, firm floun-
ders, and were ready cleaned, scraped, and the heads
off. I then proceeded to bone one in the following
way : Take a sharp knife and split the flounder right
down the middle of the back, then run the knife care-
fully between the flesh and bones going toward the edge.
You have now detached one quarter of the flesh from
the bone, do the other half in the same way, and when
the back is thus entirely loose from the bone, turn the
fish over and do the same with the other part. You will
now find you can remove the bone whole from the fish,
detaching, as you do so, any flesh still retaining the
bone, then you have two halves of the fish ; cut away
the fins, and you have four quarters of solid fish. Now
see if the fat is very hot, set it forward while you wipe
your fish dry, and dip each piece in milk, then in flour.
Try if the fat is hot by dropping a crumb into it ; if it
browns at once, put in the fish. When they are beauti-
fully brown, which will be in about ten minutes, take
them up in the colander, and then lay them on a towel
to absorb any fat, lay them on a hot dish, and garnish
with slices of lemon and parsley or celery tops.
Now when this dish made its appearance, my friend's
husband, a Ion vivant, greeted it with, ^^Aha! Filets
de sole cl la Delmonico,^^ and as nothing to the con-
trary was said until dinner was over, he ate them under
the impression that they were veritable filets de sole.
Of course I can't pretend to say whether M. Delmonico
imports his soles, or uses the homely flounder ; but I do
know that one of his frequenters knew no difference.
Oysters should be laid on a cloth to drain thoroughly,
then rolled in fine sifted cracker dust, and dropped into
very hot fat; do not put more oysters in the pan than
58 Culture and Cooking,
Page 32
Presented as published in 1885. 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
In no branch of cooking is excellence more appreciated than in that of frying. A dish of filets de sole or cutlets, crisp and golden brown, is an ornament to any table, and is seldom disdained by any one. Apropos of filets de sole; it is very high-sounding yet very attainable, as I shall show. I was staying with a friend early in spring, a lady always anxious for table novelties. ^' Oh, do tell me what fish to order, I should like something fried, now that you are here to tell cook how to do it ; she hasn't the wildest idea, although she would be astounded to hear me say so." ^^Have you eyer had flounders ?" I asked. '' Flounders !" My friend's pretty nose went up the eighth of an inch, and her confidence in my powers as counselor went down to zero. ^' Flounders ! but they are a very common fish you know." ^^I know they are very delicious," I answered. '' Order them, and trust me ; but I must coax the autocrat of your kitchen to allow me to cook and prepare them myself."
An hour before dinner I went into the kitchen, put at least a pound of lard into a deep frying-pan, and set it where it would get gradually hot, then I turned
On Frying and Broiling. 57
my attention to the fish ; they were thick, firm flounders, and were ready cleaned, scraped, and the heads off. I then proceeded to bone one in the following way : Take a sharp knife and split the flounder right down the middle of the back, then run the knife carefully between the flesh and bones going toward the edge. You have now detached one quarter of the flesh from the bone, do the other half in the same way, and when the back is thus entirely loose from the bone, turn the fish over and do the same with the other part. You will now find you can remove the bone whole from the fish, detaching, as you do so, any flesh still retaining the bone, then you have two halves of the fish ; cut away the fins, and you have four quarters of solid fish. Now see if the fat is very hot, set it forward while you wipe your fish dry, and dip each piece in milk, then in flour. Try if the fat is hot by dropping a crumb into it ; if it browns at once, put in the fish. When they are beautifully brown, which will be in about ten minutes, take them up in the colander, and then lay them on a towel to absorb any fat, lay them on a hot dish, and garnish with slices of lemon and parsley or celery tops.
Now when this dish made its appearance, my friend's husband, a Ion vivant, greeted it with, ^^Aha! Filets de sole ca la Delmonico,"" and as nothing to the contrary was said until dinner was over, he ate them under the impression that they were veritable filets de sole. Of course I can't pretend to say whether M. Delmonico imports his soles, or uses the homely flounder ; but I do know that one of his frequenters knew no difference.
Oysters should be laid on a cloth to drain thoroughly, then rolled in fine sifted cracker dust, and dropped into very hot fat; do not put more oysters in the pan than
58 Culture and Cooking,