Miss Parloa's kitchen companion

on a table. Cut off the flanks. Next cut through the skin, beginning at the head and continuing down by the fins on the back to the end of the tail ; then cut on the other side from the tail up to where the flanks were cut off. Begin to draw the skin from the fish, starting at the head and drawing gently and firmly toward the tail. It will almost always tear off smoothly. Turn the fish over, and skin the other side in the same manner. Cut the flesh from the bones, beginning at the head, and working the knife between the bones and the flesh from the head down to the tail and round on the other side to the head. If the knife has been kept close to the bone, the flesh will come off in one piece, leaving the bone almost perfectly clean. Turn the fish over, and fillet the other side in the same manner. You will now have two fillets, which, if large, may each be divided into two or four smaller pieces. Fillets of Fish. Flat fish are skinned and filleted in much the same manner. There is this difference : the skin is cut all around near the fins, from head to tail (as shown by the dotted lines in the cut below), and on both sides. There are no flank pieces to cut off. A flat fish, no mat- Flounder and Turban of Flounder. ter how small, always gives four fillets, because it is so broad that it is cut through the centre lengthwise. Fillets are often cut from large fish like halibut and salmon. When this is done the large slices are cut into small strips about three or four inches long and two or three wide. Fillets may be served in the form in which they are cut, or be rolled and fastened with small skewers (being then called turbans), as shown in the last illustration. Sturgeon. Sturgeon is abundant in the markets from April to September, and is therefore cheap. This fish is very highly valued in European countries, but from various causes it does not hold the same place in the estimation of the people of the United States. It is a shark-like fish, with strong fins, but no scales. The fat is yellow, the flesh a pale red, and the flavor a little like meat. The flank is thought to resemble pork, while the muscular flesh of the back is thought to taste like veal. This fish requires more cooking than the ordinary kinds, and pork is employed in its preparation almost as often as with veal. When sturgeon forms a part of a meal, less meat will be required than if a lighter kind of fish were used. A piece from a fish of medium size will be found more delicate and tender than a cut from a large sturgeon. * Boiled Sturgeon. Have a middle cut of sturgeon, weighing about four pounds. Wash it in salted water, and then put it in a new basin of salted water — one table-spoonful of salt to two quarts of water — to soak for twenty minutes. Into the fish-kettle put one onion, six cloves, one large slice of carrot, three sprigs of parsley, three bay leaves, four quarts of boiling water, four table-spoonfuls of vinegar, and two of salt. Let this simmer for half an hour.