teaspoonful each, are allowed to each quart of water.
FISH. 135
Where the fish has very little flavor, Dubois' receipt for
boiling will be found exceedingly nice, and much less
trouble than the name applied by professional cooks to
this method — au court bouillon — would indicate. It is
as follows : —
Mince a carrot, an onion, and one stalk of celery, and
fry them in a little butter. Add two or three sprigs of
parsley, two tablespoonfuls of salt, six pepper-corns, and
three cloves. Pour on two quarts of boiling water and
one pint of vinegar✪ Dubois' Receipt for Boiling Fish, and boil for fifteen minutes. Skim as
it boils, and use, when cold, for boiling the fish. Wine
can be used instead of vinegar ; and, by straining carefully
and keeping in a cold place, the same mixture can be used
several times.
To BROIL Fish.
If the fish is large, it should be split, in order to insure
its being cooked through ; though notches may be cut at
equal distances, so that the heat can penetrate. Small
fish may be broiled whole. The gridiron should be well
greased with dripping or olive oil. If a double- wire grid-
iron is used, there will be no trouble in turning either
large or small fish. If a single-wire or old-fashioned iron
one, the best way is to first loosen with a knife any part
that sticks ; then, holding a platter over the fish with one
hand, turn the gridiron with the other, and the fish can
then be returned to it without breaking.
Small fish require a hot, clear fire ; large ones, a more
moderate one, that the outside may not be burned before
the inside is done. Cook always with the skin-side down
at first, and broil to a golden brown, — this requiring, for
small fish, ten minutes ; for large ones, from ten to twenty,
according to size. When done, pepper and salt lightly ;
136 FISH.
and to a two-pound fish allow a tablespoonful of butter
spread over it. Set the fish in the oven a moment, that
the butter may soak in, and then serve. A teaspoonful of
chopped parsley, and half a lemon squeezed over shad or
any fresh fish, is a very nice addition. Where butter,
lemon, and parsley are blended beforehand, it makes the
sauce known as maitre dliStel sauce, which is especially
good for broiled shad.
In broiling steaks or cutlets of large fish, — say, salmon,
halibut, fresh cod, &c., — the same general directions
apply. Where very delicate broiling is desired, the pieces
of fish can be wrapped in buttered paper before laying
on the gridiron ; this applying particularly to salmon.
To FRY Fish.
Small fish — such as trout, perch, smelts, &c. — may
simply be rolled in Indian meal or flour, and fried either
in the fat of salt pork, or in boiling lard or drippings. A
nicer method, however, with fish, whether small or in
slices, is to dip them first in flour or fine crumbs, then
in beaten egg, — one egg, with two tablespoonf uls of cold
water and half a teaspoonful of salt, being enough for
two dozen smelts✪ To Fry Fish ; then rolling again in crumbs or meal,
and dropping into hot lard. The egg hardens instantly,
and not a drop of fat can penetrate the inside. Fry to a
golden brown. Take out with a skimmer ; lay in the oven
on a double brown paper for a moment, and then serve.
Filets of fish are merely flounders, or any flat fish with
few bones, boned, skinned, and cut in small pieces ; then
egged and fried.
Page 68 · 3 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1881. 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
teaspoonful each, are allowed to each quart of water.
Where the fish has very little flavor, Dubois' receipt for boiling will be found exceedingly nice, and much less trouble than the name applied by professional cooks to this method — au court bouillon — would indicate. It is as follows : —
Mince a carrot, an onion, and one stalk of celery, and fry them in a little butter. Add two or three sprigs of parsley, two tablespoonfuls of salt, six pepper-corns, and three cloves. Pour on two quarts of boiling water and one pint of vinegar, and boil for fifteen minutes. Skim as it boils, and use, when cold, for boiling the fish. Wine can be used instead of vinegar ; and, by straining carefully and keeping in a cold place, the same mixture can be used
several times.
To BROIL Fish.
If the fish is large, it should be split, in order to insure its being cooked through ; though notches may be cut at equal distances, so that the heat can penetrate. Small fish may be broiled whole. The gridiron should be well greased with dripping or olive oil. If a double- wire gridiron is used, there will be no trouble in turning either large or small fish. If a single-wire or old-fashioned iron one, the best way is to first loosen with a knife any part that sticks ; then, holding a platter over the fish with one hand, turn the gridiron with the other, and the fish can then be returned to it without breaking.
Small fish require a hot, clear fire ; large ones, a more moderate one, that the outside may not be burned before the inside is done. Cook always with the skin-side down at first, and broil to a golden brown, — this requiring, for small fish, ten minutes ; for large ones, from ten to twenty, according to size. When done, pepper and salt lightly ;
and to a two-pound fish allow a tablespoonful of butter spread over it. Set the fish in the oven a moment, that the butter may soak in, and then serve. A teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and half a lemon squeezed over shad or any fresh fish, is a very nice addition. Where butter, lemon, and parsley are blended beforehand, it makes the sauce known as maitre d'hôtel sauce, which is especially good for broiled shad.
In broiling steaks or cutlets of large fish, — say, salmon, halibut, fresh cod, &c., — the same general directions apply. Where very delicate broiling is desired, the pieces of fish can be wrapped in buttered paper before laying on the gridiron ; this applying particularly to salmon.
To FRY Fish.
Small fish — such as trout, perch, smelts, &c. — may simply be rolled in Indian meal or flour, and fried either in the fat of salt pork, or in boiling lard or drippings. A nicer method, however, with fish, whether small or in slices, is to dip them first in flour or fine crumbs, then in beaten egg, — one egg, with two tablespoonfuls of cold water and half a teaspoonful of salt, being enough for two dozen smelts ; then rolling again in crumbs or meal, and dropping into hot lard. The egg hardens instantly, and not a drop of fat can penetrate the inside. Fry to a golden brown. Take out with a skimmer ; lay in the oven on a double brown paper for a moment, and then serve.
Filets of fish are merely flounders, or any flat fish with few bones, boned, skinned, and cut in small pieces ; then egged and fried.
Records on this page
Dubois' Receipt for Boiling FishTo Fry FishTo Stew Fish