Manual for army cooks

This is the very best way of cooking shad : The plank should be three inches thick, two feet long, one and a half feet wide and of well seasoned hickory or oak. Take a fine shad just from the water, scale, split it down the back, clean it, wash it well and immediately wipe dry. Dredge it with salt and pepper. Place the plank before a clear fire to get very hot. Then spread the shad open and nail it, skin side next to the hot plank, with four large-headed tacks. Put it before the fire, with large end down. In a few minutes turn the board so the other end will be down, and do this every few minutes until the fish is done. To tell when it is done pierce with a fork ; if the flesh be flaky it is done. Spread with dripping and serve on the plank, or draw the tacks out carefully and slide the shad onto a hot dish. The whitefish caught in the lakes are excellent when cooked in this manner. TO BOIL POTATOES WITH THEIR JACKETS ON. After washing, place in camp kettle and pour on l)oiling water. Boil slowly until a fork will pierce tliom with ease. Serve hot in skins, or peel while hot ; mash into a paste, seasoji with pepper and salt, and eat hot. STEWED POTATOES. Peel and cut into thick slices, stew in stewpan, with enough water to cover them, and add two thin slices of bacon; put on the lid and cook until potatoes are soft and nearly dry, but stir frequently to prevent burning or sticking to the bottom of pan. Add salt and pepper. A raw onion or two cut into the stewing potatoes gives a flavor that a hungry soldier ahvays enjoys. BAKED BEANS, No. 1. Soak the beans over night, if possible, and boil with a inece of pork or bacon about two hours, or until a bean will mash easily between the fingers ; then strain them into a pan (pots are the best) and cover them with the liquid boiled in ; season well, adding a cupful of molasses or sugar. If pork is salty, more salt will not be required. Draw a knife blade crosswise through the rind of three or four pieces of bacon or pork ; bury them in the beans and bake slowly two to three hours or more. Brown the top before serving, but do not let the bottom get dry. Add more liquid as it becomes dry, and do not have too great a heat on bottom; stir from bottom if necessary. Some add vinegar, molasses, and mustard ; a small quantity mixed with the beans increases the flavor. If water is hard, a small quantity of saleratus when the beans are boiling will soften it. BAKED BEANS, No. 2. Boil the beans for a long time over a brisk fire, until they are perfectly soft, and settle at the bottom of the stewpan. Pour off the water, and let them dry in the stewpan by placing it on hot ashes or coals for a few minutes. When perfectly dry, mash into a fine paste ; season with pepper and salt, and place in a conical or round shape on a tin j^late. Lay two thin slices of bacon on toj) ; place in a Dutch oven (tin plate and all) with lid on ; heap live coals of fire on toj) of lid, and bake until the bacon is done, or to a light crust of brown. TO BAKE PORK AND BEANS WITHOUT OVEN.