FoodNetArchive

Miss Parloa's kitchen companion

1887

Page 92 · 5 recipe records on this page

Presented as published in 1887. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Lift the broiler, and the fish will be found on the centre of the dish, ready for the sauce, which may be simply butter; with salt and pepper, or maitre d'hotel butter. Fish requires a good deal of butter ; use four table- spoonfuls for a large one. Shad is sometimes served with a cream or Bechamel sauce. White-fish, blue fish, young cod or haddock, and, in fact, all fish that are broiled, may be treated in this manner. A very dry fish is improved by a dressing of melted butter or salad oil before being broiled. * Boiled Halibut. Pour into a shallow pan boiling water to the depth of one-third of an inch, and in it lay a five-pound piece of halibut, the black skin down. In two minutes remove the fish from the wafer, and scrape the black substance from the skin. Now wash the fish in cold water, and after laying it on a plate, set the plate in a stew-pan and cover with boiling water. Add a table-spoonful of vine- gar, a table-spoonful of salt, two slices of carrot, and a small onion. Boil gently for forty minutes, and serve with any light fish sauce. * Baked Halibut. Use a piece of halibut weighing about four pounds. Into a shallow pan put about a third of an inch of boil- ing water, and lay the fish in it, black-skin side down. In about two minutes, remove from the water, and scrape off all the black part of the skin; then wash quickly in cold water. Place a tin sheet in a dripping- pan, and lay the fish upon it. Score the fish about half an inch deep, and put long, narrow strips of salt pork into each cut. Dredge well with salt, pepper, and flour. Cover the bottom of the pan with boiling water, and 182 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION. bake the fish in a very hot oven for one hour. Baste every quarter of an hour with the gravy in the pan and with salt, pepper, and flour ; but the last time omit the gravy, and use two table-spoonfuls of melted butter and a considerable quantity of flour. This will insure a rich crust. If you wish a high flavor, put a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, half an onion, and two slices of carrot into the dripping-pan before you begin the cooking. A clove of garlic may be substituted for the onion, if you prefer. Either tomato, Bechamel, shrimp, or oyster sauce is a good accompaniment. Baked Chicken Halibut The fish should weigh about five pounds. After cut- ting off the fins, wash it in cold water, and then dredge lightly with salt and pepper. Make a dressing of a cup- ful of cracker crumbs, a heaping table-spoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of chopped green .parsley, half a table- spoonful of salt, a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, a teaspoonful of onion juice (obtained by peeling and grat- ing an onion), and three-quarters of a cupful of cold water. Mix together all the dry ingredients, and then add the water. Stuff the halibut with this dressing, and sew up the opening. Have a sheet of tin that will fit loosely into a large baking-pan. Butter it well, and lay the fish upon it. Spread soft butter over the fish, and cover it with a large sheet of buttered paper. After pouring about a cupful of hot water into the pan, place it in the oven for an hour, basting the halibut four times during the cooking with a mixture of a quarter of a cupful of butter, a table-spoonful of salt, and half a cupful of hot water.Broiled Shad